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.