Book Nerds Across America

So, I have been noticing a bad rut that I've gotten myself into. As you all know, a lot of great books come in 3s these days. Trilogies are the way to go, and I love them -- I do. But what I've noticed lately is that I will read the first book and most often love it. I'll read the second book and I'll either love it or I'll think it got the Middle Book Syndrome. (I can expand on this point, if you'd like to know more of my thoughts here -- just ask :) Then I'll have to wait the year for the final book to come out. And by that point, I've already been wowed by a shiny new trilogy. And while I may have absolutely loved the first two books, for some reason, I never make it to reading the third.

So, with all of YOU as my witness, my 2013 Book Goal is to conquer the Challenge of 3. Below are a list of  trilogies in which I have read the first two books, but not the third. Honestly, this list is kind of embarrassing. I know for a fact that I'm going to get called out for not having read some of these yet. But I will endure that, because I need the motivation to make time to get them read! So, without further adieu, here are my books on the Challenge of 3:

Boundless by Cynthia Hand
Requiem by Lauren Oliver
Reached by Ally Condie
Shades of Earth by Beth Revis
Shine by Jeri Smith-Ready
The Goddess Inheritance by Aimee Carter
Sever by Lauren DeStefano

So, my vow is to have all of these trilogy conclusions read by the end of the year. I'll be hashtagging it over on our Twitter #Challengeof3. Do you have any trilogy conclusions that you haven't read yet? Let me know in the comments if you're up for the challenge and/or tweet us @booknerdsblog with the hashtag #Challengeof3.

Ironically, I got both of these Greek mythology based books from giveaway wins in the same week! The Goddess Legacy is courtesy of author Aimee Carter, and I'm excited to attack it! I had thought it was a novella, but it's a full-out novel. Good times.

Sweet Shadows is an ARC I won from fiktshun, whose blog you should check out because she has a lot of awesome giveaways!

Do I spy another Greek Week in the near future?!

What are your favorite books based on Greek myths? I love them, and BookNerd Jacque asked me for some opinions the other day, so we would both love to hear some you have read!

Bella Swan gets a lot of flack. I personally think she is one brave girl. In the first book, Twilight, after finding out that the guy she has only know for a few months is a vampire, she's like, "That's cool. You won't hurt me." That takes guts! But she ends up getting a bad rap for when he leaves in New Moon and she just gets all mopey for several months instead of doing something productive.

Kate Winters was similar to me in Goddess Interrupted. The book was one big spinning wheel of listening to Kate feeling insecure and everyone telling her she has no reason to. I mean, I understand the scenario -- I do. Your husband is obviously in love with a woman who broke his heart and you feel like you can never live up to that. It sucks, it does. But the entire middle section of the book was Kate thinking about how she felt insecure, whining to the other gods that she feels insecure, then whining to Henry to do something about it. AND THEN she has the audacity to get mad at James for something he did thousands of years before she even existed! Really, Kate?! You're going to hold that against your best friend??!? And then the straw that broke the camel's back for me was when some chick she didn't even know had to reassure her that Henry loved her. Because it wasn't enough to hear it from her mother and all the other gods!

I have to be honest...I almost gave up halfway though this book.

I'm glad I didn't, though. I had heard all these mysterious comments about a cliffhanger ending -- and it is. I wasn't expecting any part of that at all! And for all my whining about the middle of the book, it made the final scenes between Kate and Henry that much sweeter.

I am expecting great things for The Goddess Inheritance. It will start off with some great action, and I think Kate will finally, truly be at her best and ready to help the other gods win the war.

~Flo~

Click here to read my review of The Goddess Test.

I received an Advanced Reader's Copy of this book courtesy of Netgalley.

"It's always been just Kate and her mom—and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall. Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld—and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests. Kate is sure he's crazy—until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess." (from Goodreads)

This was such a cute book! It took me a little while to get into it, but by the middle I was curious as to what exactly Kate's tests were and how she was doing with them. And I must say, I love the way everything tied up at the end. It was one of those endings where I had guessed some of it, but not all of it, and definitely not how it all tied together. I was definitely like, "OMG, that's...." and "Oh! That was that test?!" (At one point as I was reading it, I was definitely shunning, you know, my life and responsibilities. I tweeted Aimee Carter that I blamed her for the neglect and she cheerfully tweeted back that she was glad I liked I the book. :)

What I liked best about the book was Henry. Carter's personification of Hades, Lord of the Underworld, is probably the best one I've read. We see a man who has been deeply hurt, yet still does not want to hurt Kate. He definitely has darkness, but he also has feelings. I loved seeing the relationship between him and Kate grow.

The next book in the trilogy, Goddess Interrupted, comes out in April 2012 and I want it already!

~Flo~

An advanced reader copy of this book was provided to me by NetGalley.