The Search for the Panacea [6]: The Lazy Edition

So...this Search for the Panacea is called the Lazy Edition because I didn't have time to film. Well, that's not strictly true. I did have time to film, but then fell into the abyss that is TV shows (God, Reign. SUCH a guilty pleasure...) and so didn't want to film. So you get photos instead haha. Sorry about the terrible foto skillz (still better than Chantelle's lol #cobloggerlove)

This is my book haul for the month of March.

How to get into the mood... for the DIVERGENT movie!

Today is the day that that high-budget, highly anticipated, incredibly hyped up film, DIVERGENT, is out in Australia! I'm so nervous about seeing it. I'm both ecstatic about the cast, and so so nervous about the cast, and whether they've been able to make this book-adaptation into everything I've hoped for. For people that don't know, I am a HUGE fan of Divergent, and Insurgent... not so much Allegiant, but that's a topic for another day. After the anticlimaxes of City of Bones, and Vampire Academy, I didn't really want to get my hopes up about DIVERGENT but! the good reviews have been pouring in, so why not get ourselves hyped up.

So here are some promotional YouTube videos that I don't think you'd have seen, full of dramatic music, actor featurettes (any opportunity to see Shailene Woodley's amazing eyes should be incentive enough) and quick action snippets that are sure to get you into the mood.

Review: Me Since You by Laura Wiess

Title: Me Since You
Author: Laura Wiess
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Source: Simon & Schuster Australia and MTV Books via NetGalley. Thank you!
Goodreads | The Reading Room

Are there any answers when someone you love makes a tragic choice?

Before and After. That's how Rowan Areno sees her life now. Before: she was a normal sixteen-year-old--a little too sheltered by her police officer father and her mother. After: everything she once believed has been destroyed in the wake of a shattering tragedy, and every day is there to be survived.

If she had known, on that Friday in March when she cut school, that a random stranger's shocking crime would have traumatic consequences, she never would have left campus. If the crime video never went viral, maybe she could have saved her mother, grandmother--and herself--from the endless replay of heartache and grief.

Finding a soul mate in Eli, a witness to the crime who is haunted by losses of his own, Rowan begins to see there is no simple, straightforward path to healing wounded hearts. Can she learn to trust, hope, and believe in happiness again?

Review by Nara

Discussion: Paradigm Shifts

Title: Days of Blood and Starlight (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #2)
Author: Laini Taylor
Genre: Young adult paranormal fantasy
Source: Dymocks, 3 for 2 sale (aka party time)

Average Goodreads rating: 4.29 out of 5.00 (30, 360+ ratings)
Goodreads | The Reading Room

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a world free of bloodshed and war.

This is not that world.

Art student and monster's apprentice Karou finally has the answers she has always sought. She knows who she is—and what she is. But with this knowledge comes another truth she would give anything to undo: She loved the enemy and he betrayed her, and a world suffered for it.

In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Karou must decide how far she'll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, secrets and impossible choices, Days of Blood & Starlight finds Karou and Akiva on opposing sides as an age-old war stirs back to life.

While Karou and her allies build a monstrous army in a land of dust and starlight, Akiva wages a different sort of battle: a battle for redemption. For hope.

But can any hope be salvaged from the ashes of their broken dream?

Discussion by Chantelle

Review: Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover

Title: Maybe Someday
Author: Colleen Hoover
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance
Source: Simon & Schuster Australia. Thank you!
Goodreads | The Reading Room

At twenty-two years old, aspiring musician Sydney Blake has a great life: She’s in college, working a steady job, in love with her wonderful boyfriend, Hunter, and rooming with her good friend, Tori. But everything changes when she discovers Hunter cheating on her with Tori—and she is left trying to decide what to do next.

Sydney becomes captivated by her mysterious neighbor, Ridge Lawson. She can’t take her eyes off him or stop listening to the daily guitar playing he does out on his balcony. She can feel the harmony and vibrations in his music. And there’s something about Sydney that Ridge can’t ignore, either: He seems to have finally found his muse. When their inevitable encounter happens, they soon find themselves needing each other in more ways than one…

Review by Nara

Quiz: Genre Conundrum

Okay, so admittedly, I'm not a complete expert on genres, so if you disagree with any of the things I say, then feel free to attack me in comments. Also, this isn't meant to offend in any way- I mean, I sometimes get these things mixed up as well :)

Anyway, this post is just something I thought up a few weeks back- I saw some people arguing about the genre of Sea of Shadows by Kelley Armstrong. I personally think it's a high fantasy- it's set in another world- but some people argue that it's a paranormal. Regardless, that inspired me to write this post about some of the genres that get easily mixed up- my definitions for them and a quick quiz.

Review: House of Ivy and Sorrow by Natalie Whipple

Title: House of Ivy and Sorrow
Author: Natalie Whipple
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal Fantasy
Release Date: 15 April, 2014
Source: HarperTeen via Edelweiss. Thank you!

Average Goodreads rating: 3.77 out of 5.00 (130+ ratings)
Goodreads | The Reading Room

Josephine Hemlock has spent the last 10 years hiding from the Curse that killed her mother. But when a mysterious man arrives at her ivy-covered, magic-fortified home, it’s clear her mother’s killer has finally come to destroy the rest of the Hemlock bloodline. Before Jo can even think about fighting back, she must figure out who she’s fighting in the first place. The more truth Jo uncovers, the deeper she falls into witchcraft darker than she ever imagined. Trapped and running out of time, she begins to wonder if the very Curse that killed her mother is the only way to save everyone she loves.

Review by Nara