Embrace, by Jessica Shirvington

This is yet another book where everything changes for our heroine on a magical birthday. In this case it's her seventeenth, and on this incredible day she finds out that she's some sort of half-angel and that her crush is also a half-angel who has been lying to her about it this whole time. Violet is also important in the battle of good vs. evil and although I didn't get that far, she probably ends up saving the day because she's extra special. I would continue with a summary except for the fact that I gave up right after the battle between good and evil was explained and I don't really remember all those details.

I've said before that all the fairy books blend into one another in my head, and though that isn't quite the case with angel books, it is true that there are very few that I have really truly loved (I think the Unearthly series is the only one and I even had problems with that one). I was more excited for this book because it seemed a bit different from the others and that can make an ordinary book extraordinary. Unfortunately for this one, the fact that it was different but still ordinary made it seem even worse.

You may now be wondering what was so horrible about this book, and it was a whole myriad of things. First and foremost, I thought it was written badly. I feel bad saying that because it isn't like I think I'm the most amazing writer, and if I wrote a book it would probably be worse than this one, but what I mean is that if you're publishing a book and putting your name on it, it should at least be written well. And this one wasn't. Another problem I had was that all the mysterious details were revealed within the first couple of pages, and they weren't even revealed well. There was an actual conversation between Violet and two other half-angel dudes who told her almost everything from start to finish, and frankly, it was exhausting and annoying to read. The best books of this type are the ones that reveal the information slowly and give you time to guess what will happen, but this book told you everything before you even realized there were strange things going on. The final big thing that bothered me was Violet's pretentiousness. All of these factors together, plus a few more that I did not mention, left me bored and disappointed and persuaded me to shut this book once and for all while I still had pages and pages remaining.

2.4 stars.
 
It starts with a whisper: “It’s time for you to know who you are…”

Violet Eden dreads her seventeenth birthday. After all, it’s hard to get too excited about the day that marks the anniversary of your mother’s death. As if that wasn’t enough, disturbing dreams haunt her sleep and leave her with very real injuries. There’s a dark tattoo weaving its way up her arms that wasn’t there before.

Violet is determined to get some answers, but nothing could have prepared her for the truth. The guy she thought she could fall in love with has been keeping his identity a secret: he’s only half-human—oh, and same goes for her.

A centuries-old battle between fallen angels and the protectors of humanity has chosen its new warrior. It’s a fight Violet doesn’t want, but she lives her life by two rules: don’t run and don’t quit. When angels seek vengeance and humans are the warriors, you could do a lot worse than betting on Violet Eden…

Audrey, Wait!, by Robin Benway

Do you ever hear a song on the radio and wonder who it was written about? When Audrey's ex-boyfriend's band comes out with a new hit single called "Audrey, Wait!" Audrey is thrust into the spotlight. Now the music-loving witty teenager is forced to deal with her 15 minutes of fame and all the good and bad that comes along with it while trying to live an ordinary life just hanging out with her best friend and crushing on her cute co-worker.

For the most part, this entire novel was very clever and witty. From the story to the one-liners to Audrey's thoughts, it was very entertaining but perhaps a bit too much so. Don't get me wrong I loved it and how smart it was, but sometimes I felt like it was so smart that it wasn't realistic.

The idea behind this book really was adorable and the characters were all very interesting and life-like (except for their extreme levels of wittiness). What I didn't get was why all of America cared so much about what Audrey was up to. I really enjoyed the book but if the tabloids were going crazy about the subject of a hit song then I would probably just ignore it all. It was nice that Audrey wasn't bitter, as were the heroines of the few other books like this that I've come across. Audrey was happy with who and where she was, she wasn't begging for attention and she wasn't desperate for a guy who wouldn't look at her twice.

4.7 stars
 
 California high school student Audrey Cuttler dumps self-involved Evan, the lead singer of a little band called The Do-Gooders. Evan writes, “Audrey, Wait!” a break-up song that’s so good it rockets up the billboard charts. And Audrey is suddenly famous!

Now rabid fans are invading her school. People is running articles about her arm-warmers. The lead singer of the Lolitas wants her as his muse. (And the Internet is documenting her every move!) Audrey can't hang out with her best friend or get with her new crush without being mobbed by fans and paparazzi.

Take a wild ride with Audrey as she makes headlines, has outrageous amounts of fun, confronts her ex on MTV, and gets the chance to show the world who she really is.

Erasing Time, by C.J. Hill

On a perfectly ordinary evening, twins Sheridan and Taylor get sucked through some sort of time portal and end up 400 years in the future with no way home. They find themselves in a domed city with no animals, a strange dialect of English, and psychedelic fashions that look kind of ridiculous to their 21st century eyes. Their only friends, or at least the only people they can converse with, are two linguists who have studied the 21st century dialect, a father and son duo who explain that the girls were brought into the future by accident when a group of scientists tried to bring a famed 21st century physicist instead. The girls are warned about the totalitarian government and a mafia-esque Dakine group who will surely be after them as soon as they find out about the girls from the past. Taylor and Sheridan know that they need to get out of the city as soon as they can, and must put their faith and trust in the mysterious Echo, the linguist's son who has his own reasons for trying to escape.

The time travel concept behind this book was a lot more unique than I expected, probably because there was almost no hope that the girls would go home. It was fascinating to have twins be the main characters, instead of what would have usually been a pair of best friends or a girl and a boy who would end up together at the end of the novel. Furthermore, having two points of views-one from the present past and one from the future present truly showed all sides of this new era that that book takes place in. From Sheridan's POV we saw the world as we would see it, and from Echo we saw it as those who were born in it do.

Before I get to the things that I love I'm going to get the things that I didn't love out of the way as fast as I can. The romance was a bit too fast for my taste. Sheridan and Echo were making out after knowing each other for how long? My other disappointment was not in the author, but in me as I couldn't really remember the names of half the characters (mostly villains). I was able to follow the story and I knew who most of the important people were but at some point I started putting all the government villains into a folder in my head labeled "all seem like the same person so don't waste brain cells on them".

Now for some particular things I loved about this novel. The jawdropping moments were just that-jawdropping. I actually got out of bed to go discuss it with my sister because of how shocked I was. I can usually predict these things in books so it was nice to be completely surprised and then look back to realize all the hints. The sisterly love between Sheridan and Taylor was also very sweet. They understood that they were all each other had left and stuck together through everything. Needless to say it was very heartwarming.

4.8 stars

 When twins Sheridan and Taylor wake up 400 years in the future, they find a changed world: domed cities, no animals, and a language that's so different, it barely sounds like English. And the worst news: They can't go back home.

The twenty-fifth-century government transported the girls to their city hoping to find a famous scientist to help perfect a devastating new weapon. The same government has implanted tracking devices in the citizens, limiting and examining everything they do. Taylor and Sheridan have to find a way out of the city before the government discovers their secrets. To complicate matters, the moblike Dakine has interest in getting hold of them too. The only way for the girls to elude their pursuers is to put their trust in Echo, a guy with secrets of his own. The trio must put their faith in the unknown to make a harrowing escape into the wilds beyond the city.

Full of adrenaline-injected chases and heartbreaking confessions, Erasing Time explores the strength of the bonds between twins, the risks and rewards of trust, and the hard road to finding the courage to fight for what you believe in.

The Wells Bequest, by Polly Shulman (The Grimm Legacy #2)

Leo gets the shock of his life when a miniature version of himself arrives in his room on a time machine with a gorgeous girl. Future Leo instructs present Leo to read H. G. Wells' The Time Machine. After reading the book, Leo searches for how and why future him appeared, and he finds his answer at the New York Circulatory Materials Repository (or something like that). There are a few special collections in the Repository, The Grimm Collection (or something like that), which was the subject of The Grimm Legacy, as well as several others including The Wells Bequest. The Wells Bequest contains objects from science fiction tales of the past (not new cyborgy type stuff-that's a different collection), including the time machine from The Time Machine. In the Repository, Leo meets Jaya (Anjali's little sister from The Grimm Legacy), and when an angry boy with a crush on Jaya threatens to use a nuclear weapon and destroy New York, the pair must set out on a trip through time to stop him.

This was a fantastic book, and in my opinion was even better than The Grimm Legacy, which is quite impressive coming for me because I'm a sucker for fairy tales and would usually choose them over science fiction. This was what I consider a semi-sequel because it takes place in the same universe after the events of the previous book and has several overlapping characters but is still able to stand on it's own. Of course it's better appreciated if you remember Jaya and all her adorableness from The Grimm Legacy, but even if you don't you can still enjoy this book and not feel too confused.

As soon as I found out about the other two special collections, I started salivating for semi-sequels involving them as well. I don't know if it's a bit too much to ask for, but I think that if Polly Shulman does write them, the four books together would make an awesome series collectively. I do feel like there's hope for it because I think that she mentioned them to hint at the possibility.

This book, compared to the Grimm Legacy, had a lot more action and a lot less sitting around and talking, which definitely added to the excitement. However, this difference can be explained by considering the personalities of the different narrators. Elizabeth was a lot more wary and was seen as the voice of reason by her friends, while Leo is a bit more impulsive and relies on his gut a lot more than Elizabeth did.

Every novel involving time travel has to deal with all the paradoxical elements involved with it, and this one did so with aplomb by not doing it. Shulman explained that each time machine had rules applying to the novel it came from and since H. G. Wells did not give any rules to his time machine, the characters could do anything with no explanation necessary. Usually I spend ages trying to determine what the rules of a book's universe are but the explanation here managed to explain it by not explaining it and strangely enough it was satisfying.

5 stars

 
Leo never imagined that time travel might really be possible, or that the objects in H. G. Wells’ science fiction novels might actually exist. And when a miniature time machine appears in Leo’s bedroom, he has no idea who the tiny, beautiful girl is riding it. But in the few moments before it vanishes, returning to wherever—and whenever—it came from, he recognizes the other tiny rider: himself!

His search for the time machine, the girl, and his fate leads him to the New-York Circulating Material Repository, a magical library that lends out objects instead of books. Hidden away in the Repository basement is the Wells Bequest, a secret collection of powerful objects straight out of classic science fiction novels: robots, rockets, submarines, a shrink ray—and one very famous time machine. And when Leo’s adventure of a lifetime suddenly turns deadly, he must attempt a journey to 1895 to warn real-life scientist Nikola Tesla about a dangerous invention. A race for time is on!

In this grand time-travel adventure full of paradoxes and humor, Polly Shulman gives readers a taste of how fascinating science can be, deftly blending classic science fiction elements with the contemporary fantasy world readers fell in love with in The Grimm Legacy.

The Fall of Five, by Pittacus Lore (Lorien Legacies #4)

My reviews of the previous books:

 I Am Number Four

 The Power of Six

The Rise of Nine

 
I wasn't going to write a review for this book, but I was so upset after finishing it that it didn't leave me much choice. I was convinced that this was the final book in the series and was crazy excited to read it because of that. Don't be mistaken-this series is no where near to being my favorite, just the plot was so interesting that it piqued my curiosity. When I got to the last page, I didn't believe it. Why didn't I believe it? Because there were around 80 PAGES LEFT! The publishers played a nasty trick where they stuck an entire freakin' novella after the end of the book that convinced me there was a ton left to the story when in reality it just had a bad ending.

Even ignoring my anger and disappointment about the non-ending, this book was still disappointing because of its lack of action. Most of the book was spent with the characters waiting around, bonding and learning how to fight. That probably should have been a clue that this book wasn't the last one, but because there were so many pages left I figured the author still had plenty of time to pick up the story. Sadly, no.

2.7 stars 


The Garde are finally reunited, but do they have what it takes to win the war against the Mogadorians?

John Smith—Number Four—thought that things would change once the Garde found each other. They would stop running. They would fight the Mogadorians. And they would win.

But he was wrong. After facing off with the Mogadorian ruler and almost being annihilated, the Garde know they are drastically unprepared and hopelessly outgunned. Now they’re hiding out in Nine’s Chicago penthouse, trying to figure out their next move.

The six of them are powerful, but they’re not strong enough yet to take on an entire army—even with the return of an old ally. To defeat their enemy, the Garde must master their Legacies and learn to work together as a team. More importantly, they’ll have to discover the truth about the Elders and their plan for the Loric survivors.

And when the Garde receive a sign from Number Five—a crop circle in the shape of a Loric symbol—they know they are so close to being reunited. But could it be a trap? Time is running out, and the only thing they know for certain is that they have to get to Five before it’s too late.

The Garde may have lost battles, but they will not lose this war.

Lorien will rise again.

Messy, by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan (Spoiled #2)

Brooke and Max were the best parts of Spoiled, and now they're the stars of their very own book. Brooke decides that to take her fame to the next level she needs a blog about her life, but since she doesn't have the time, patience, or wit for one, she hires Max to do it for her. This looks like a recipe for disaster and it is one as two totally different girls suffer a bit of an identity crisis and mix up their personalities, dreams, and the boys they like.

This was a great sequel, in that it wasn't much of a sequel and more like a novel taking place in the same world slightly after the events of and featuring the characters of Spoiled. I like my novels to have a beginning and end, and my favorite series and sequels are ones like this one that aren't so sequel-y.

I loved how different Brooke was in this book than in Spoiled. I thought her character had potential in Spoiled but her actions were so despicable that I just hated her and didn't even try not to. However, she became infinitely more likable in this novel and I was able to put the events of the previous one out of my head because it's a different book.

All in all, I liked Messy a lot more than I liked Spoiled for several reasons, including that it was organized a lot better and had more of an actual plot, and Brick was barely in it. Brick is the kind of character who is funny when he's only in a few scenes here and there but when he's a significant character, like in Spoiled, it can be a bit too much. My one major disappointment was the lack of Molly and Teddy love, but the rest of it was so good that I didn't mind.

4.8 stars

When sixteen-year-old Brooke Berlin catches a taste of fame and her movie-star father's attention, she decides it's time to take her career to the next level--by launching a blog that will position her as a Hollywood "It Girl" who tells it like it is. But between schoolwork, shopping, and spray-tan appointments, she hardly has the time to write it herself...
Enter green-haired outsider Max McCormack, an aspiring author with a terrible after-school job pushing faux meat on the macrobiotic masses. Max loathes the celebrity scene almost as much as she dislikes Brooke, but wooed by an impressive salary, Max reluctantly agrees to play Brooke's ghost-blogger -- and the site takes off. How long will their lie last? Can the girls work together to stay on top, or will the truth come out and ruin everything they've built?
Along with an entourage of fame-hungry starlets, scruffy rocker wannabes, and sushi-scarfing socialites, the case of Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan's dazzling debut, Spoiled, are back for another adventure in Tinseltown.

The Time of My Life, by Cecelia Ahern

We get reminders from doctors and dentists about our next appointments, but Lucy got a reminder about not missing her appointment with life. Yes, life. After skipping her appointment several times, Lucy eventually comes face to face with her life in the form a run-down man. As Lucy continues trudging through her days, her life takes over and leads her in directions that she never would have dreamed of.

The concept of this book seems a bit confusing, especially because the man Lucy's Life (as in his name) but rather Lucy's life (as in the noun). When I first saw that life was a man I was convinced there would be a romance between him and Lucy but once I vaguely understood the concept of an appointment with life I realized how implausible that would be. My comprehension of the idea swayed back and forth between a logical explanation of that being Lucy's life was the man's job, but at some point in the novel I was forced to let go of logic and enter Ahern's slightly magical world.

My favorite thing about Cecelia Ahern's books is how though they may seem similar to many other novels, there is often either a mystical element or a unique way of writing that lifts her books above the norm and keeps them from being cliche. She manages to insert humor into topics that aren't the most cheerful and reading her books ignites all different sorts of emotions in the reader.

The reason why I gave this book 4 stars was because of the slow beginning. It took a while for it to really kick off and so when I was really tempted to stop I flipped to the ending and after determining that I liked it I resumed at my boring location near the beginning. My advice is to stick through the dull parts because once it gets good it gets great.

4.3 stars

Lucy Silchester has an appointment with her life – and she’s going to have to keep it.

Lying on Lucy Silchester’s carpet one day when she returns from work is a gold envelope. Inside is an invitation – to a meeting with Life. Her life. It turns out she's been ignoring itand it needs to meet with her face to face.

It sounds peculiar, but Lucy’s read about this in a magazine. Anyway, she can’t make the date: she’s much too busy despising her job, skipping out on her friends and avoiding her family.

But Lucy’s life isn’t what it seems. Some of the choices she’s made – and stories she’s told – aren’t what they seem either. From the moment she meets the man who introduces himself as her life, her stubborn half-truths are going to be revealed in all their glory – unless Lucy learns to tell the truth about what really matters to her.

Touch of Power, by Maria V. Snyder

Avry is a healer, which means that she can heal people with just a touch by taking their sicknesses or injuries into her own body. When a plague spreads throughout the land and there are too many sick people for the healers to save, they are blamed and persecuted. Avry has been on the run for two years and after risking her freedom to save a sick child, the child's parents give her in to the authorities who plan a public execution. The night before her planned death, Avry is rescued/kidnapped by a group of rogues who need her to use her talents to save their friend, the very prince who started the uproar against healers.

This book was absolutely incredible, but it did feel a little bit like I was reading Poison Study all over again. This isn't necessarily the worst thing ever though, because that book was really good. The similarities in the plots and characters were a little too much and even though I enjoyed it, I am hoping that the second book is not also a repeat. However, in this novel's defense, the storyline was amazingly intricate and so detailed that I felt like I was being transported to another world. The way everything can be (or will be) explained with either magic or science in this world is absolutely fascinating so despite the similarities to Poison Study, I was still extremely pleased with this book.

4.7 stars

Laying hands upon the injured and dying, Avry of Kazan assumes their wounds and diseases into herself. But rather than being honored for her skills, she is hunted. Healers like Avry are accused of spreading the plague that has decimated the Territories, leaving the survivors in a state of chaos.

Stressed and tired from hiding, Avry is abducted by a band of rogues who, shockingly, value her gift above the golden bounty offered for her capture. Their leader, an enigmatic captor-protector with powers of his own, is unequivocal in his demands: Avry must heal a plague-stricken prince—leader of a campaign against her people. As they traverse the daunting Nine Mountains, beset by mercenaries and magical dangers, Avry must decide who is worth healing and what is worth dying for. Because the price of peace may well be her life....

Spoiled, by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

On her deathbed, Molly's mom reveals the truth about Molly's father-that he's none other than Brick Berlin, the famous Hollywood actor. Suddenly, Molly is plucked from Indiana obscurity and flown off to live with her dad and sister Brooke in the land of the rich, blonde, and tan. Brooke is not happy with the arrival of the other Berlin girl. The paparazzi is more interested in Molly now than they were in Brooke as far back as she can remember, and Brooke's workaholic dad cares more about making up for lost time with Molly than he ever did for his non-absentee daughter. Brooke wants everything to go back to normal, and is willing to do anything to get it there.

I heard of this book through the authors' fashion blog, Go Fug Yourself (look it up!), and was thrilled to find out there were two entire books of their witty and hilarious writing. Ironically, that was what I disliked most about the book. While short little paragraphs on their blog are smart and funny, it didn't translate well to the book format, where their tendency to ramble got annoying rather than hysterical.

What kept bothering me throughout the novel was Brooke's mistreatment of Molly. It's bad enough that she's acting completely horrible towards her sister, but the fact that Molly's mom just died makes Brooke's actions absolutely deplorable. She couldn't care less about Molly's feelings and made it all about her own emotions, even though she's been feeling those feelings for years and years already while Molly's mother died only about a week before. I understand why Brooke is portrayed this way but her epic levels of meanness earlier in the book prevented me from buying into her repentant act later in the book.

The McCormack siblings were by far my favorite part of the book. Max provided the sarcasm that everyone reading the novel was thinking and did it with the perfect amount of snark. Teddy was, of course, the romantic part of the story and my only disappointment there was the lack of focus on it throughout the story and then an ending for him and Molly that could really go in any direction.

3.9 stars.
 
Sixteen-year-old Molly Dix has just discovered that her biological father is Brick Berlin, world-famous movie star and red-carpet regular. Intrigued (and a little) terrified by her Hollywood lineage, Molly moves to Los Angeles and plunges headfirst into the deep of Beverly Hills celebrity life. Just as Molly thinks her life couldn't get any stranger, she meets Brooke Berlin, her gorgeous, spoiled half sister, who welcomes Molly to la-la land with a smothering dose "sisterly love"...but in this town, nothing is ever what it seems.

Set against a world of Redbull-fuelled stylists, tiny tanned girls, popped-collar guys, and Blackberry-wielding publicists, Spoiled is a sparkling debut from the writers behind the viciously funny celebrity blog GoFugYourself.com.

The Grimm Legacy, by Polly Shulman

Elizabeth was just getting accustomed to her new school where she had no friends when one of her teachers offers her a job as a page in a repository that lends out objects like a library lends out books. Hidden in the basement of the repository is the Grimm Collection, where the objects in question are the magical ones from fairy tales like seven league boots, Snow White's stepmother's mirror, and a mermaid comb that makes your hair look awesome. Some of these precious magical items have been disappearing from the Grimm Collection, and when Elizabeth and her fellow pages get mixed up in the danger, it's up to them to find the items and return them safely to the repository.

I absolutely adored this book. It was a completely refreshing take on the fairy tales of old but had a plot that was completely its own and not a retelling of one we know well. Don't get me wrong, I have a very soft spot for fairy-tale retellings, but the originality in this novel was off the charts. The references to various fairy tales and mythologies were incredibly diverse and incorporated into the story very well, and the fantasy and reality parts of the novel meshed comfortably, if you know what I mean. If you don't then think about it and get back to me.

The situations that Shulman put her characters into were utterly hysterical. At some point while reading I looked up and said out loud what was going on and realized exactly how crazy I sounded, but that only made me love it more. The whole idea that this book is based on is so different and unique that the characters never end up in cliche predictable situations. One more thing that I enjoyed was how Elizabeth was no one special. It sounds weird to say that, but having an ordinary girl as the main character was truly refreshing in a world where every teen novel has a hero/heroine who is special because of who or what they are. Elizabeth is a normal girl who finds herself in extraordinary situations and manages to keep her head on straight, and I commend her for that.

5 stars

Elizabeth has a new job at an unusual library - a lending library of objects, not books. In a secret room in the basement lies the Grimm Collection. That's where the librarians lock away powerful items straight out of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales; seven-league boots, a table that produces a feast at the blink of an eye, Snow White's stepmother's sinister mirror that talks in riddles.

When the magical objects start to disappear, Elizabeth embarks on a dangerous quest to catch the thief before she can be accused of the crime or captured by the thief.

Polly Shulman has created a contemporary fantasy with a fascinating setting and premise, starring an ordinary girl whose after-school job is far from ordinary and leads to a world of excitement, romance and magical intrigue.

The Unwritten Rule, by Elizabeth Scott

Brianna is the girl everyone wants to be or be with, and Sara is her best friend. Sara is perfectly fine with living in Brianna's shadow, even though Brianna's new boyfriend is Ryan, Sara's crush. Though Sara tries really hard not to like Ryan, everything gets way worse when they kiss one night after a party. Sara, who has never been anything but loyal to Brianna, is wracked with guilt for what she did and what she wants, but can't help herself from getting closer to Ryan. Yes, it's another one of these stories, but this one is pretty good.

I've read these stories before, and chances are if you're reading this review that you have too. There was no unique twist that made this one completely different from any other book like it, unless you count Sara's selflessness, which I don't since it wasn't important enough to make this book stand out from the other "I'm in love with my best friend's boyfriend" books. However, this book was written well and it really showed all sides of the story well. Somehow I didn't hate Sara, Brianna, or Ryan when I finished the book because Scott managed to show each character perfectly. Brianna was just mean enough that you cheer Sara and Ryan on, but just pitiable enough that you don't consider her a horrible person. I suppose Ryan would be the one to blame but I felt like he was a victim just as much as the other two were.

4.0 stars. Not out-of-this-world incredible, but definitely enjoyable.

 
Everyone knows the unwritten rule: You don’t like your best friend’s boyfriend.

Sarah has had a crush on Ryan for years. He’s easy to talk to, supersmart, and totally gets her. Lately it even seems like he’s paying extra attention to her. Everything would be perfect except for two things: Ryan is Brianna’s boyfriend, and Brianna is Sarah’s best friend.

Sarah forces herself to avoid Ryan and tries to convince herself not to like him. She feels so guilty for wanting him, and the last thing she wants is to hurt her best friend. But when she’s thrown together with Ryan one night, something happens. It’s wonderful... and awful.

Sarah is torn apart by guilt, but what she feels is nothing short of addiction, and she can’t stop herself from wanting more...

Dust Girl, by Sarah Zettel

In Kansas during the Dust Bowl, Callie LeRoux is off on an adventure to save her kidnapped mother and long-lost father. She knows her parents are in California so along with Jack, a sweet teenage hobo, she sets off to find her parents and discover the truth about her fairy father and who she really is.

The beginning of the novel was intriguing and got me excited for what was to come. Sadly, the rest of the book did not live up to the beginning. Once Callie and Jack set out, the initial mystery of what was to come was gone and left me trudging through the rest of the book.

I was unsure what to make of this book. On the one hand, it's yet another fairy book, and unlike witches, vampires, and werewolves, I find fairy fantasy extremely tedious and repetitive. Don't get me wrong, the other stuff can be repetitive too, just for some reason I feel like every single fairy book has the same plot. There's usually a girl who is half human and half fairy princess who must set out on an adventure through Fairyland with a cute guy and in the end she learns that fairies can't be trusted. The sad part is, even if a fairy book didn't have that plot, I get so bored with them that it probably wouldn't matter to me. I was hoping that the unique setting (Dust Bowl era) would redeem this one, because I love when fantasy plots are plopped into different time periods (like steampunk), but it only did enough to pull me through to the end.

I wish I could analyze more details of this novel for you, but since I've already forgotten most of it, I am forced to bid you an early adieu.

2.9 stars

 
Callie LeRoux lives in Slow Run, Kansas, helping her mother run their small hotel and trying not to think about the father she’s never met. Lately all of her energy is spent battling the constant storms plaguing the Dust Bowl and their effects on her health. Callie is left alone when her mother goes missing in a dust storm. Her only hope comes from a mysterious man offering a few clues about her destiny and the path she must take to find her parents in “the golden hills of the west”: California.

Along the way she meets Jack, a young hobo boy who is happy to keep her company—there are dangerous, desperate people at every turn. And there’s also an otherworldly threat to Callie. Warring fae factions, attached to the creative communities of American society, are very much aware of the role this half-mortal, half-fae teenage girl plays in their fate.

For Darkness Shows the Stars, by Diana Peterfreund

In this sci-fi adaptation of Jane Austen's Persuasion, the human race is still reeling from scientific experiments gone wrong and is now being led by the Luddite nobility. Years before the events of this novel, some ambitious scientists found a way to manipulate DNA to make better humans. However, when the offspring of these people were all born with severe mental retardation, called the Reduction, it appeared to be the end of the human race until the Luddites, a strict religious minority who had been in hiding, came out and became the new majority. Elliot, our protagonist, has been managing her Luddite family's estate since the death of her mother four years prior, while her father and sister spend the family's money with no qualms about their impending poverty. When Elliot is approached by a post-reductionist fleet, the mentally capable children of the reduced, about renting property from her to build a boat, she grabs at the opportunity to make a little more money to help her family and those living on their property survive, not knowing that part of this fleet is Captain Malakai Wentforth, the boy who she refused to run away with after her mother's death.

This book was absolutely incredible. Whether you're a Jane Austen fan, a sci-fi fan, or neither, you should read this book anyway because it was so amazing (but if you are either or both of those you'll find it all the more entertaining). The science fiction part of the novel was relatively tame but still strong enough to keep the part of me that longs for the extraordinary happy.

Not only was the story and how Jane Austen's tale of long-lost love was adapted fascinating, but the way the story was written and told was exceptional as well. I thought the pace was perfect. Persuasion is not a particularly climactic tale, but Peterfreund managed to space out little tidbits of information to shock the reader just enough so that you absolutely have to continue reading. What I loved most though were the personalities of the characters. Almost every one was round, the heroes, villains, and un-labelable, and acted as a real person would. All in all, this was a phenomenal book and if you haven't read it yet, you're missing out.

5 stars.

 
It's been several generations since a genetic experiment gone wrong caused the Reduction, decimating humanity and giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology.

Elliot North has always known her place in this world. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family's estate over love. Since then the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress, and Elliot's estate is foundering, forcing her to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth--an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliot wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she let him go.

But Elliot soon discovers her old friend carries a secret--one that could change their society . . . or bring it to its knees. And again, she's faced with a choice: cling to what she's been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she's ever loved, even if she's lost him forever.

Inspired by Jane Austen's Persuasion, For Darkness Shows the Stars is a breathtaking romance about opening your mind to the future and your heart to the one person you know can break it.

Abandon, by Elana Johnson (Possession #3)

 Please note that this review contains spoilers for the first two books in this series, Possession and Surrender.

In the finale to one of the most confusing series ever, the rebellion is finally ready to take action and overthrow the mind-controlling government once and for all. The supernaturally gifted teenagers leading the rebellion are faced with the hardest decisions they've ever had to make, involving war, the moralities of their powers, and their hearts. Vi chose Jag already so that love triangle is over, but Zenn is still in love with Vi and has to take orders from the boy she loves. As the rebellion comes to a climax, loyalties are tested and there is too much flip-flopping between sides for me to recount it here.

This book was way too long. In some cases I'm thrilled when the final book of a series is 464 pages long, and when I'm done I'm salivating for more, but in this case it was just too much. Halfway through I was so bored but yet desperate to know the end that I read the last chapter before returning to where I was up to. The ending was just enough motivation to get me through, as it finished the series off on the right note, though I will warn prospective readers that it was bittersweet. If you're looking for rainbows and unicorns you should put this book down.

There were so many gifts and talents and combinations of them amongst the characters that I lost track of who could do what pretty quickly. The fact that nothing was ever explained did not help with this confusion, and after a while I just assumed that everyone could do everything because it was so misleading. I also didn't understand half of what was happening when each character used their powers because I was so unsure of what their powers actually were.

Before I go, I have a question to ask you which has been bothering me. If there are adults involved in the rebellion, why is Jag, a teenage boy, the leader? He's been the leader for years which means he probably took over when he was around 14 or 15, and if I was part of this rebellion there is absolutely no way I would trust a boy in the middle of puberty. Why did the adults listen to him in the first place? Did he use his voice on them? Because that's a very long ruse to keep up if he's going to keep using his voice to get them to listen to him, and they'd have probably figured it out eventually. For now I will be content that the answer is that the author wanted Vi's love interest to be the leader of the rebellion, but if anyone has a better answer please supply it.

3. 6 stars

seduced by power,
broken by control,
and consumed by love...

Vi has made her choice between Jag and Zenn, and the Resistance may have suffered for it. But with the Thinkers as strong as ever, the rebels still have a job to do. Vi knows better than anyone that there's more at stake than a few broken hearts.

But there is a traitor among them...and the choices he makes could lead to the total destruction of everything Vi has fought for.

Vi, Jag, and Zenn must set their problems aside for the Resistance to have any hope of ending the Thinkers' reign. Their success means everything...and their failure means death

Texas Gothic, by Rosemary Clement-Moore

Practical Amy Goodnight, together with her absent-minded scientist sister Phin Goodnight, has a new summer job taking care of her aunt Hyacinth's ranch. However, this isn't an ordinary farm as all the Goodnights have some sort of psychic or magical power, and when a malicious ghost starts haunting the ranch, as well as the ranch belonging to the cute but infuriating cowboy next door, everyone turns to Amy to vanquish the ghost and save them from his wrath.

I had this same complaint about The Splendor Falls, and I'll say it again here. This book had a very slow beginning. Different details pertaining to the plot were introduced but they didn't inspire any excitement until the very very end. It wasn't horrible in the slightest, as Clement-Moore's writing style is extremely entertaining, but I did have to trudge through to get to the good part. I am not a fan of ghost stories, but since Clement-Moore takes some of the somberness out of them and takes them to a place of perfect balance between dreary and hilarious, I am always willing to read one of hers.

This book was a semi-predictable whodunit, but I don't have any problems with the semi-predictable part because I think that was on purpose (or even if it wasn't, the action was good enough that the story was interesting anyway).

One thing I loved about the characters in this novel was how from the beginning, Amy portrayed herself as the normal one, and despite all her adorable quirks, she still seemed to be the sanest person around even when she clearly wasn't. It made the first-person point of view a lot more tangible and at times I almost felt as if I were Amy.

4.3 stars.

 Amy Goodnight knows that the world isn't as simple as it seems—she grew up surrounded by household spells and benevolent ghosts. But she also understands that "normal" doesn't mix with magic, and she's worked hard to build a wall between the two worlds. Not only to protect any hope of ever having a normal life.

Ranch-sitting for her aunt in Texas should be exactly that. Good old ordinary, uneventful hard work. Only, Amy and her sister, Phin, aren't alone. There's someone in the house with them—and it's not the living, breathing, amazingly hot cowboy from the ranch next door.

It's a ghost, and it's more powerful than the Goodnights and all their protective spells combined. It wants something from Amy, and none of her carefully built defenses can hold it back.

This is the summer when the wall between Amy's worlds is going to come crashing down.

Keeping the Castle, by Patrice Kindl

In this Jane Austen-like tale written in the 21st century, our heroine, Althea, is on a mission to (pardon me) keep her castle. Althea, her mother, her brother, and her two wicked stepsisters live in a dilapidated castle in the English countryside, and if Althea doesn't marry rich soon, they will all be homeless. Luckily, Althea is very pretty, very smart, and very determined to find a rich husband. When the young handsome rich and title Lord Boring arrives, Althea decides he would be the perfect man for her to marry. However, there is one big obstacle in her way in the form of Mr. Fredericks, Boring's friend, cousin, and business manager who sees right through Althea's plan.

As a Jane Austen fan, I absolutely adored this book. It was a whimsical take on Jane Austen, including imitations of many of her characters, yet it somehow had a modern feel to it. Instead of the hints and innuendos in Austen's novels, Kindl said everything she wanted to say directly, to the point where she actually named a character Boring. Boring was a Bingley-type character, good-looking and well-intentioned, but he had an edge to him that made him less clean-cut than the Bingley of Pride and Prejudice. Althea greatly reminded me of Emma (from Emma) who tries to manipulate and control the lives of everyone else around her while digging herself a bigger and bigger hole, while Mr. Fredericks was obviously Kindl's take on Mr. Darcy. The stepsisters were utterly hysterical and added a Cinderella twist to the whole story.

5 stars

Seventeen-year-old Althea is the sole support of her entire family, and she must marry well. But there are few wealthy suitors--or suitors of any kind--in their small Yorkshire town of Lesser Hoo. Then, the young and attractive (and very rich) Lord Boring arrives, and Althea sets her plans in motion. There's only one problem; his friend and business manager Mr. Fredericks keeps getting in the way. And, as it turns out, Fredericks has his own set of plans . . . This witty take on the classic Regency--Patrice Kindl's first novel in a decade--is like literary champagne!

The Peculiars, by Maureen Doyle McQuerry

I dislike writing reviews on books I didn't like almost as much as actually reading the books. This book was one that I thought I'd enjoy, and I had every intention of finishing it until I realized that I had to drag myself to pick it up and that I had plenty of other books waiting in my bedroom that I was a lot more interested in.

Lena always knew she was different, and not only from a gut feeling but from actual physical proof: she has abnormally large hands and feet. Her father disappeared years before and there were rumors that he was a goblin from the mysterious land of Scree. When Lena turns 18 and receives money her father left for her, she decides to journey to Scree to discover the truth (or something like that). She ends up in a small town on the coast and meets a bunch of not so interesting people and stays there for as long as I had the book open.

I was excited when I started the book because unlike many others with similar plots, this one actually moved at the beginning. The problem wasn't the beginning though. Because the momentum started so early in the novel, I expected the entire book to run at a high pace but was dismayed to discover that most of the rest of the book was dreadfully dull. At some point I flipped to the end to see if that interested me at all but even though the ending did look interesting, I realized that the author's writing style didn't appeal to me and despite the intriguing ending, I did not get the extra push from it that I needed in order to finish the book.

One major contributor to the intense boringness (is that a word?) of this book was the author's attention to detail. As an extremely curious person, I sometimes get annoyed by lack of detail and explanation but McQuerry explained way more than necessary and provided enough details that not only could I imagine Lena's world, I was also bored by it.

2.0 stars

On her 18th birthday, Lena Mattacascar decides to search for her father, who disappeared into the northern wilderness of Scree when Lena was young. Scree is inhabited by Peculiars, people whose unusual characteristics make them unacceptable to modern society. Lena wonders if her father is the source of her own extraordinary characteristics and if she, too, is Peculiar. On the train she meets a young librarian, Jimson Quiggley, who is traveling to a town on the edge of Scree to work in the home and library of the inventor Mr. Beasley. The train is stopped by men being chased by the handsome young marshal Thomas Saltre. When Saltre learns who Lena’s father is, he convinces her to spy on Mr. Beasley and the strange folk who disappear into his home, Zephyr House. A daring escape in an aerocopter leads Lena into the wilds of Scree to confront her deepest fears.

Towering, by Alex Flinn

Almost as far back as she can remember, Rachel has been locked in a tower for her protection. Her Mama tells her that she must stay hidden from the bad man who killed her mother and wants to kill her as well. However, lately Rachel has been having dreams of a mysterious man and as her hair grows longer, Rachel sings out her window and longs for someone to hear her and release her from her prison. Wyatt has been shipped to a tiny town in upstate New York for the rest of the school year and is living with a little old lady whose daughter used to be his mom's best friend. As he settles in, Wyatt starts hearing a haunting voice singing that no one else can hear, and when he investigates he finds a beautiful girl who has been locked in a tower for almost her entire life. The two of them team up and hope to free Rachel from her tower once and for all.

I absolutely love Alex Flinn's other fairy tale retellings. Beastly and A Kiss in Time are two of my favorite books ever, and I was very excited to read Towering. However, Towering had a very different feel to it than the others. Perhaps it was the the plot involving drug lords rather than princesses, but the overall tone of this novel was a lot darker than the others. This is only a negative point because I expected a colorful adventure like the ones in all the other books, but instead found this one a dull gray. The story was also told a bit too slowly, and I had to push myself to get through at least half the book before I actually wanted to open it up and devour it.

***SPOILERS AHEAD***
One problem I always had with the story of Rapunzel, especially the Disney version, is the Rapunzel has no problem killing the woman who raised her. Yes, she was evil and kept her locked up for all those years, but she never did her any physical harm and Rapunzel was taken away young enough to not remember anything better. Therefore, without taking into account the moral compass of the witch, Rapunzel killing the witch is not an act of a hero conquering a villain, but of someone turning her back on the woman who rose her. Rapunzel killing the witch may have turned out okay because the witch was evil, but imagining Rapunzel as pure and good is projecting the third-person perspective of the story onto Rapunzel, who doesn't know that the witch is evil until she falls for a stranger who climbs through her window and he tells her so. This monologue brings me to my point, which is that finally the captor is not the evil one. It was a relief to have the villain be someone else entirely with Mama being entirely innocent, and it let Rachel be a true heroine. 

3.6 stars
 
At first, I merely saw his face, his hands on the window ledge. Then, his whole body as he swung himself through the window. Only I could not see what he swung on.
Until, one day, I told my dream self to look down. And it was then that I saw. He had climbed on a rope. I knew without asking that the rope had been one of my own tying.
Rachel is trapped in a tower, held hostage by a woman she’s always called Mama. Her golden hair is growing rapidly, and to pass the time, she watches the snow fall and sings songs from her childhood, hoping someone, anyone, will hear her.

Wyatt needs time to reflect or, better yet, forget about what happened to his best friend, Tyler. That’s why he’s been shipped off to the Adirondacks in the dead of winter to live with the oldest lady in town. Either that, or no one he knows ever wants to see him again.

Dani disappeared seventeen years ago without a trace, but she left behind a journal that’s never been read, not even by her overbearing mother…until now.

The Locket, by Stacey Jay

On the worst night of her life, after her boyfriend finds out that she cheated on him and leaves her on the side of the road in the pouring rain, Katie wishes she had never kissed her best friend Mitch. When she opens her eyes, the locket she borrowed from her grandmother has transported her to an alternate universe, one where she has the chance to redo that fateful moment of betrayal. However, the magical world of redo isn't exactly like the world that Katie came from. There are some subtle and some not-so-subtle differences in this redone world, as well as consequences that Katie never counted on. At some point Katie has to ask herself, is it really worth turning back the clock?

The concept of turning back the clock and going to an alternate universe is not a new one for Stacey Jay, and kind of seemed like a book-long version of the end of Juliet Immortal. However, I did think that unlike Juliet Immortal, it was done incredibly well here, with all the tiny details lining up (or rather, not lining up) and the complicated topic not being squished into ten pages. I especially liked how she made the plot develop, with the events of the alternate universes getting progressively worse and worse. It kept the story moving, and was sufficient background for Katie to determine which boy she loved, as she was put into odder and odder situations with them.

I have only one complaint about this book. Katie got the locket from her grandmother, and based on the pictures in the locket it is assumed that Katie's grandmother used the locket to make everything turn out as they did in the universe Katie originated in. I just want to know what happened. I think that would make an amazing prequel, and it would provide a lot more insight into the mysterious titular villain of The Locket.

4.5 stars.

On her seventeenth birthday, Katie discovers a locket and decides to wear it for good luck. But when her boyfriend Isaac finds out she cheated on him - with their mutual best friend Mitch, no less - he dumps her, leaving her devastated.

And then a miracle happens. The locket burns on Katie's chest and she feels herself going back two weeks in time, to the night she cheated with Mitch. At first, Kate is delighted to be a better girlfriend to Isaac this time around. But as other aspects of her life become inexplicably altered, she realizes that changing the past may have had a dangerous effect on her present.

Can she make things right before the locket destroys everything - and everyone - she loves?

The Body Finder, by Kimberly Derting

Since she was little, Violet has been able to detect the corpses of murdered people and animals and connect them to their killers. This strange and disturbing talent goes much ignored for many years, until Violet finds a dead girl's body swimming with the fishes while Violet is at a beach party. Soon after, other girls start going missing, and while Violet is on the hunt for the serial killer with her police chief uncle, she knows that she herself can become a target as well. And of course, there's some romance going on between Violet and her best friend, Jay, but it's very corny and I'll get to that soon.

Even though I don't like mysteries, I did like the supernatural twist and I thought the plot was interesting. However, I also felt that the prose was a little too juvenile for me. I wasn't too impressed by the prose in The Pledge, but that book had so much plot that I wasn't disappointed by the immature prose. The sense of immaturity was only furthered by the simplicity of the romance. Violet suddenly has a crush on her best friend when he turns all hot, and when they get together (not a spoiler because totally inevitable) it happens in a snap with only a few pages of discomfort. Life doesn't happen that way, and the assumption that it does did not mesh well with the maturity of the serial killer plot.

I have no plans of reading the sequels to this book, but I will say that it is not a horrible book and I would recommend it to any young teenagers who love mysteries.

3.3 stars.

Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her "power" to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes that the dead leave behind in the world... and the imprints that attach to their killers.

Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find the dead birds her cat had tired of playing with. But now that a serial killer has begun terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet on her quest to find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved to find herself hoping that Jay's intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she's falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer... and becoming his prey herself.

The Iron King, by Julie Kagawa (The Iron Fey #1)

When Meghan's little brother is kidnapped and replaced with an evil fairy child thingy, Meghan sets off to fairyland, called NeverNever, to rescue him. Upon arrival Meghan discovers that she is the long lost child of one of the rulers, and that finding her brother will be a lot more complicated than she expected. With the help of the mischievous Puck and the handsome prince Ash, Meghan faces an enemy unlike one that anyone in NeverNever had ever heard of before.

For some reason, I don't find YA fantasy about fairies nearly as satisfying as any about other sorts of fantastical creatures. This book didn't defy that expectation, but it was one of the better fairy books that I've read. It did have all the same annoying markings-a half mortal/half fairy main character, dark brooding handsome prince love interest, her long-lost father is king, rescuing a mortal loved one-but it didn't feel as overdone as most other fairy novels. Perhaps because in this book the fairy world had rules that made sense and were easy to follow, as opposed to the ones where random things happen and are explained afterwards.

Was it just me, or did the Ash romance happen too fast? One second they're mortal enemies, and the next they're true love. It happened so quickly that my initial thought was that he was pranking her or part of some elaborate scheme on his mother's part. He may very well might be though, because there are still more books left to the series.

4.0 stars

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined.

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

Sweet Peril, by Wendy Higgins (Sweet Evil #2)

After the tragic events of the Summit at the end of Sweet Evil, Anna Whitt knows that the Dukes mean business, and she also knows that they must be stopped once and for all. Together with her father, Belial, the duke of substance abuse (I know, it's a little far-fetched, but just go with it), who is not quite as evil as his fellow dukey counterparts, Anna is trying to recruit other Nephilim to her cause. Throughout Anna's junior and senior years of high school, Belial is doing research on which Neph are likely to betray their fathers, and sending Anna and Kopano, son of the duke of wrath (a lot more typical, thank goodness), to go fetch potential allies to their cause. As Anna and Kope start getting closer, Anna can't stop thinking about Kaiden (stupid name, but again, just go with it), son of the duke of lust, but Kaiden has been impossible to reach since the Summit in New York. Anna has to decide whether to settle with the good guy or hold out for the bad guy with the potential to make her heart explode. Gee, I wonder who she chooses.

Sweet Evil sucked me in with the idea of a good girl stuck on the bad side, but in Sweet Peril that idea seemed kind of old. I found it a lot more cliche and emotional than Sweet Evil, with a little too much complaining about Kaiden, but still very good. I got so annoyed with her pining for Kaiden that at some point I was transferred to Team Kope. Despite my complaints about Anna's lovesickness, the way that all the Neph's emotions were being toyed with and how they all twisted up into a giant spiderweb was very cool. A little overdone, but cool nonetheless. It made certain parts that would have been a lot more boring intriguing.

My last note will seem sort of odd, but I still think it's valid. The dukes are just too nasty. I know they are supposed to be demons/devils/really really bad fallen angels, but the nastiness of the evil ones is so extreme that it takes away any character from them and makes them simply bad things. The supreme level of evilness that they have risen to has taken away any semblance of personality they may have had and makes them characters who can solidly be relied on to be cruel and bad. I would have loved to see a soft side to several of the dukes who have been declared as purely evil, but I doubt that will happen.

4.2 stars

Anna Whitt, the daughter of a guardian angel and a demon, promised herself she’d never do the work of her father—polluting souls. She’d been naive to make such a vow. She’d been naive about a lot of things.

Haunted by demon whisperers, Anna does whatever she can to survive, even if it means embracing her dark side and earning an unwanted reputation as her school’s party girl. Her life has never looked more bleak. And all the while there’s Kaidan Rowe, son of the Duke of Lust, plaguing her heart and mind.

When an unexpected lost message from the angels surfaces, Anna finds herself traveling the globe with Kopano, son of Wrath, in an attempt to gain support of fellow Nephilim and give them hope for the first time. It soon becomes clear that whatever freedoms Anna and the rest of the Neph are hoping to win will not be gained without a fight. Until then, Anna and Kaidan must put aside the issues between them, overcome the steamiest of temptations yet, and face the ultimate question: is loving someone worth risking their life?

The Elite, by Kiera Cass (The Selection #2)

 America is faced with a choice. She can accept her prince's proposal and end the Selection, becoming princess of the realm, or she can run off with her first love Aspen and live the rest of her life away from all the political drama. As America is pulled in both directions, the Selection continues and Prince Maxon starts getting close to another one of his chosen few. When rebels attack repeatedly, America must look inside herself and determine what she really wants-why is she still here, and what is her destiny?

This book only took me 2 hours to read. I don't know if it was an easy read, or if I was so desperate to know what will happen next that I half-skimmed it, but I was done in 2 hours. I enjoyed learning the history of how the castes were formed and why they still exist because it gave the series more depth and explained some things I'd been wondering about, namely why there are castes at all. I have just realized the obvious redundancy in the previous sentence, but I refuse to change it, so I am very sorry if it bothers you.


SPOILERS AHEAD

I am 100% Team Maxon, and I was thrilled when America made her choice. I figured she would choose Maxon in the end, just because she didn't run off with Aspen as soon as he asked her to, but it was still nice to have confirmation. Not only do we know now who America will end up with (because there's going to be a happy ending after the third book, no doubt about it), we also know who the real villains are, which is a relief. The first book was wishy-washy about the rebels and who they are and what they want, but finally the truth has been revealed, that the antagonist of the novels are not the rebels, but the king himself. I should have predicted it, but his lack of presence in the first book just made me think that he would be killed off soon. Oh, well. I was wrong. Now we can move on to the third book with all the facts laid out-we know who America will end up with, and who they will have to defeat.
  
Also, I compared this book to The Hunger Games, and like Katniss, America chose her Peeta.

4.8 stars.

 
Thirty-five girls came to the palace to compete in the Selection. All but six have been sent home. And only one will get to marry Prince Maxon and be crowned princess of Illea.

America still isn’t sure where her heart lies. When she’s with Maxon, she’s swept up in their new and breathless romance, and can’t dream of being with anyone else. But whenever she sees Aspen standing guard around the palace, and is overcome with memories of the life they planned to share. With the group narrowed down to the Elite, the other girls are even more determined to win Maxon over—and time is running out for America to decide.

Just when America is sure she’s made her choice, a devastating loss makes her question everything again. And while she’s struggling to imagine her future, the violent rebels that are determined to overthrow the monarchy are growing stronger and their plans could destroy her chance at any kind of happy ending.

Spellbound, by Cara Lynn Shultz

I almost always finish the books I read. Only when I absolutely cannot stand a book do I put it down in the middle, because even if I don't like what's going on, I don't want to stop without a sense of completion. Unfortunately, this book was so bad that I didn't even go past the third chapter. When I realized how corny, cliche, and superficial it was getting then I flipped to the end to see if maybe it's not worth putting it down. Nope, it was worth it.

The main reason why I hated this book was not the totally cliche story. Don't get me wrong-it was cliche, but I've read so many YA fantasy books at this point that I rarely find one that isn't cliche, and sometimes good prose or interesting characters can make up for that. This story was a typical one of a girl with a tragic past in a new school where she falls for the cool guy and there's some secret magical background connecting them. I was able to predict everything-exactly where all the blow-ups would happen, who she would be friends with and everyone's fate, but I didn't care enough to stick around to see if any of it actually happened.

What really upset me was how nasty the main character was. Emma mentions how she's gone through a lot, and how she doesn't want people at her new school to judge her but she doesn't hesitate in judging them. When the mean blonde girl was rude to her she answered with an excessive amount of unnecessary comebacks. It was slightly overkill. The girl gave her one small insult and she responded back with some nasty and insensitive words. Strangely enough, what pushed me over the edge was when she met Angelique. She took one look at her and decided she'd like her. I am extremely superficial, but even I don't look at someone's outfit and decide that I'm going to be her friend.

2.0 stars. Don't read this. Just don't.

  What's a girl to do when meeting The One means she's cursed to die a horrible death?
Life hasn't been easy on sixteen-year-old Emma Connor, so a new start in New York may be just the change she needs. But the posh Upper East Side prep school she has to attend? Not so much. Friendly faces are few and far between, except for one that she's irresistibly drawn to— Brendan Salinger, the guy with the rock-star good looks and the richest kid in school, who might just be her very own white knight.
But even when Brendan inexplicably turns cold, Emma can't stop staring. Ever since she laid eyes on him, strange things have been happening. Streetlamps go out wherever she walks, and Emma's been having the oddest dreams: visions of herself in past lives— visions that warn her to stay away from Brendan. Or else.

Envy, by Elizabeth Miles (Fury #2)

Skyler McVoy is new to Ascension, and she is determined to start over and forget her dark past. Soon enough, Skyler is friends with the beautiful Meg, as well as popular Gabby. However, Skyler isn't okay with just being friends with Gabby-Skyler wants to replace her as the queen bee, and has the help of Meg. Emily Winters, Gabby's best friend, recognizes the signs of the Furies around Skyler, and is determined to stop them once and for all and reclaim all they took from her.

Like Fury, this book was extremely dark, and also like Fury, was a blend of a teen fantasy novel with a psychological thriller. While I normally don't read those sorts of books, and prefer a little more light-heartedness in my books, I couldn't put Envy down. I thought Fury was amazing, but Envy only built on that. I ended up staying up way too late and almost having nightmares, but it was totally worth it.

The ending was absolutely crazy. It was shocking and I LOVED IT. It was the perfect way to reveal crucial information and leave the most amazing cliff-hanger that is leaving me panting for the third book to come out. There was also a lot of death in this novel, and the reality of people dying because of the Furies grounded the story in a way that most other fantasy novels aren't.

5 stars.

Spring is coming, and the ice is slowly melting in Ascension... revealing the secrets buried beneath.

Emily Winters knows the Furies have roots in Ascension, Maine—but she’s about to discover that they’re deeper than she ever imagined. With the help of her new friend Drea, she vows to dig them out. But it’s hard to focus when she’s desperate to make up with JD, and to figure out why Crow, a mysterious Ascension High dropout, seems to be shadowing her.

Meanwhile, new girl Skylar McVoy is determined to leave her own dark past behind. So she’s thrilled when popular Gabby takes her under her wing, and the stunning and sophisticated Meg offers to give her a major makeover. But everyone knows what happens to the vainest girl of all…

It’s tempting to be naughty. But beware: the Furies are always watching, and their power grows stronger by the day.

Etiquette and Espionage, by Gail Carriger (Finishing School #1)

Years before Alexia Tarabotti started getting in the middle of supernatural disasters, 14-year-old Sophronia Temminick broke a dumbwaiter. Sophronia is not quite the young lady her mother wishes she was. Sophronia spends her days taking things apart, putting them back together, and breaking dumbwaiters. Sophronia is a fun name to type and is apparently a real name because it isn't being underlined, so I shall be repeating it as many times as I can without sounding like an idiot. Anyway, when Madame Geraldine, from Madame Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality, offers to whisk Sophronia away, Mrs. Temminick couldn't be more relieved. What Mrs. Temminick doesn't know, is that the finishing taught here is not restricted to dance, dress, etiquette and the like, but also includes the fine arts of death, espionage, and being a lady in the most...interesting...of situations.

Set 25 years prior to the Parasol Protectorate, Etiquette and Espionage is the teen version of Gail Carriger's wonderful approach to steampunk, werewolves and vampires. This book was absolutely adorable, and I definitely recommend it to any fans of the adult series. This book is a fantastic start to the parallel series, and was connected perfectly so that it doesn't matter which series was started first. While there were several overlapping supporting characters, the main characters were completely separate from The Parasol Protectorate, so though I knew the fates of the overlaps, I did not know how the series would end.

Of all the things I could have taken away from this book, the one thing I chose to focus on upon completion was how young Sidheag must be in Parasol Protectorate. From her description I was convinced she was in her 50's or 60's, but if this book is only 25 years prior then she can be under 40! Of course, it is entirely possible that I missed one very important word revealing her age in The PP series, in which case I apologize for this rant.

One last thing: I love Madame Lefoux. She was awesome, even as a kid.

4.8 stars.

It's one thing to learn to curtsy properly. It's quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to Finishing School.

Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is a great trial to her poor mother. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper manners—and the family can only hope that company never sees her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. So she enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.

But Sophronia soon realizes the school is not quite what her mother might have hoped. At Mademoiselle Geraldine's, young ladies learn to finish...everything. Certainly, they learn the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but they also learn to deal out death, diversion, and espionage—in the politest possible ways, of course. Sophronia and her friends are in for a rousing first year's education.

Set in the same world as the Parasol Protectorate, this YA series debut is filled with all the saucy adventure and droll humor Gail Carriger's legions of fans have come to adore.

Tap and Gown, by Diana Peterfreund (Secret Society Girl #4)

My reviews of the previous books can be found here: Secret Society Girl, Under the Rose, Rites of Spring (Break)

Graduation is approaching and tap time has arrived. Amy and her brothers are searching for suitable Eli-ites to replace them in Rose and Grave and are running into a few more issues than expected. Amy's list of prospective Diggers is growing and shrinking, and while she's doing recon on her candidates she's also trying to finish her thesis and get closer to her new boyfriend. Everything comes to a climax when information is revealed about Amy's first choice that threatens to undo over 50 years of society history.

This book was a great ending to a great series. I was nervous that the last book would totally undo all the awesomeness of the previous books but thankfully it didn't. Funnily enough, all my predictions about this book were wrong. George and Clarissa did not end up together, Matthew did not get a Digger boyfriend, and the Diggers didn't redeem themselves. Though they did seem a lot less pathetic. My only disappointment was that Michelle wasn't in any previous books. She was awesome and had way too few appearances.

5 stars. The best of the series.
 
The countdown to Amy’s graduation has begun, and suddenly the perfect ending to a perfectly iconoclastic college career is slipping from her grasp. Her new boyfriend is considering an offer he can’t refuse, while Amy hasn’t even filed her fellowship applications. And the young woman she’s chosen to take her place in Rose & Grave seems to come complete with a secret life already intact.

Lunging toward real life in the world beyond the hallowed halls of Eli University, Amy finds trouble around every corner, from society intrigues and unlikely stalkers to former flames and mandatory science credits. Surely it couldn’t get worse . . . until Initiation Night explodes into a terrifying scene and into a final test of wits for a young woman just trying to make it out of the Ivy League in one piece.

The Rising, by Kelley Armstrong (Darkness Rising #3)

Links to my reviews of books 1 and 2 in the Darkness Rising trilogy:

The Gathering

The Calling

After running, getting caught, escaping and going on the run again, all while meeting up with various different friends, Maya is about to do that for another book. This time though, she has the company of her long-lost twin, who isn't quite as brotherly as Maya had hoped for. Maya and her friends want to go back to having a normal life with their parents, but will have to determine who the real enemy is before they make any final decisions. Along the way they meet up with some fellow teens on the run, but do the two groups have the same goals or are they willing to turn each other in for a quiet life?

There are books about almost every type of supernatural and books combining different types of supernaturals in every conceivable and inconceivable combinations. Yet despite this, or maybe because of this, I liked how these supernaturals were ones that I'd never heard of. Now that I think about it, I probably liked that because it didn't contradict any known legends about the supernaturals, but invented its own legends.

The ending was perfect. Don't worry-I won't give any spoilers here, but I will say that I had no idea how all the issues would be solved to give out happy ever afters. I was nervous there would be some totally improbable ending but instead it was one that made sense and made me content. It was a way of solving the problems without really solving them.

4.6 stars.

Things are getting desperate for Maya and her friends. Hunted by the powerful St. Clouds and now a rival Cabal as well, they're quickly running out of places to hide. And with the whole world thinking they died in a helicopter crash, it's not like they can just go to the authorities for help.




All they have is the name and number of someone who might be able to give them a few answers. Answers to why they're so valuable, and why their supernatural powers are getting more and more out of control.

But Maya is unprepared for the truths that await her. And now, like it or not, she'll have to face down some demons from her past if she ever hopes to move on with her life. Because Maya can't keep running forever.

Old secrets are revealed and unexpected characters make a surprising return in this stunning conclusion to Kelley Armstrong's New York Times bestselling Darkness Rising trilogy.