*Review* Asunder – Jodi Meadows

 Asunder (Newsoul #2)

Jodi Meadows

406 pages

ISBN: 9780062060785

Read 4-30-13

Format: Hardcover

Source: Library

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DARKSOULS
Ana has always been the only one. Asunder. Apart. But after Templedark, when many residents of Heart were lost forever, some hold Ana responsible for the darksouls–and the newsouls who may be born in their place.

SHADOWS
Many are afraid of Ana’s presence, a constant reminder of unstoppable changes and the unknown. When sylph begin behaving differently toward her and people turn violent, Ana must learn to stand up not only for herself but for those who cannot stand up for themselves.

LOVE
Ana was told that nosouls can’t love. But newsouls? More than anything, she wants to live and love as an equal among the citizens of Heart, but even when Sam professes his deepest feelings, it seems impossible to overcome a lifetime of rejection.

Jodi Meadows writes some of my favorite book scenes and she writes some of the best musical scenes!  I can almost hear the music swirling around me when I read those passages.  Her descriptions are really wonderful and magical; love it.  The first book was mostly very beautiful, but this book takes quite a different turn and is full of angry people and scenes that make me really angry, but it does show how ugly people really can be just because someone is different.

I really like Ana.  She is very strong and fights for whatever she believes in.  She has a good heart and wants the best for everyone, even after everything the people of Heart put her through.  Much of this book left me feeling very angry because how Ana is treated and it really made my blood boil.  I don’t like when people discriminate the way they do.  Sam is great also, I still love him and he is still one of my top book boyfriends.  He is just so amazingly sweet and loyal to Ana.  Dear Council, I hate you.

There were some interesting story twists along the way and I really can’t wait until the third book, which is sometime next year, and see how everything works out.  Religion is not something I seek out in a book, but I like how this book has a religious aspect without it being overkill.  This book is definitely easy to get yourself lost in and I didn’t want to put it down; it just really sucks you in.

Beautiful descriptions, bubbles emotion, great characters, didn’t want to put it down!

*Review* Catching Fire – Suzanne Collins

 Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2)

Suzanne Collins

391 pages

ISBN: 9780439023498

Read 2-19-13

Format: Audiobook

Source: Library

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Against all odds, Katniss has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol – a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she’s afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she’s not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol’s cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can’t prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.

In Catching Fire, the second novel of the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, testing her more than ever before…and surprising readers at every turn.

I loved the first book, and the second book was great, too.  There was a lot of action in the second half of the book and we get to see more of the menacing, evil President Snow in this one as well.

In the first book, I wasn’t crazy about Peeta and Katniss’ relationship since it was so forced and had no build, but they made up for it in Catching Fire and I am definitely Team Peeta.  Peeta is so protective of Katniss, and those of you who know how I am, know I am a sucker for protectors and he is definitely one of my book boyfriends.  For Katniss, we get to see how she has been affected by the trauma of being the arena.  She is plagued by terrifying nightmares and constant worry about President Snow and his threats.

The year’s Hunger Games is the third Quell and to mark the milestone, there is a horrible surprise in store.  It hurt my heart and made me so mad when I found out what it was and President Snow is a despicable person.  I really liked all the new faces when I met the past Hunger Games champions.  There were several intense moments during the second half of the book and I am so glad that I didn’t have to wait long to read the final book because of the way it ended.

Great new characters, evil President, loved Katniss and Peeta’s relationship, can’t wait for the movie!

*Review* Days of Blood and Starlight – Laini Taylor

 Days of Blood and Starlight (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #2)

Laini Taylor

517 pages

ISBN: 9780316133975

Read 1-27-13

Format: Audiobook

Source: Library

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

This is not that world.

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

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

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

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

This is one of my reviews I am behind on since I took an unexpected break from the blog when things got crazy at home, so here is my review which should have been posted 3 months ago…

I listened to most of this book on the drive down to Florida to see my best friend.  I am a horrible person to be driving long distances like that since I have a tendency to fall asleep, espcially when I am alone.  It’s realyl hard to stay awake, even if I am blasting loud music, but this audiobook was great and the 6 hour drive flew by.  Khristine Hvam is still my favorite audiobook narrator so far.  Her accents are awesome and she really gives life to the characters with her voice.

The first few chapters were a bit confusing because of the way the story jumped around.  We get to see some new faces and great descriptions of chimaera.  I love the chimaera and their world.  I also think it’s cool we get to hear origin stories of the chimaera.  I really liked where the story went and the twists that were taken toward the end.  I can’t wait to find out what happens in the next book.  I enjoy Laini Taylor’s style of writing and I hope to see a lot more by her.  This trilogy is really a very unique experience!

The cover is beautiful and I love the detail, but my favorite part of it is the color splash; it gives the cover a great accent and pop.  Zuzana is one of my most favorite secondary characters of everything I’ve read.  She has quite a fiery personality and she’s a great friend to Karou.  We also get to see her and Mic together, which is fun since he knows how to handle her and banter with her.  We also get to see more of the angel’s world and how horrible some of them actually are.  Karou has to deal with a lot of stuff where she is now and she is becoming a stronger person.  I look forward to seeing how everything pans out and how she works out the problems between two different worlds.

Favorite reader, great secondary characters, twists, a bit confusing in the beginning.

*Review* On The Jellicoe Road – Melina Marchetta

 On The Jellicoe Road

Melina Marchetta

300 pages

ISBN: 9780670070299

Read 4-17-13

Format: Audiobook

Source: Library

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Abandoned by her mother on Jellicoe Road when she was eleven, Taylor Markham 17, finally confronts her past. Hannah, the closest adult she has to family, disappears. Jonah Griggs, moody stares and all, is back in town. If Taylor can put together the pieces of her past, she might just be able to change her future.

THIS BOOK!  Oh, this book.  It is so hard to tell the wonderfulness that is this story.  When I read the synopsis I wasn’t really sure if I was going to like it since it really isn’t my normal kind of read, but I had heard a lot of great things about this book and decided that I wanted to see what all the hype was about, and I am SO GLAD I did.  This story was absolutely brilliant!  Very emotional and heart wrenching and amazing and I just want to hug everybody and it just draws you in and doesn’t let you go.

I feel like I know everybody involved in this book and the character development was incredible.  Taylor lets people think she really doesn’t care abotu anything and she comes off very abrasive with people at first, but she really changes through out the course of the story with everything she goes through and finds out.  Jonah also is not quite what he seems on the outside.  Raffy is a great friend and I really like her by the end of the book.

The story is a bit confusing at first (which is why I had to deduct half a star) and I had to figure out the lingo and what was going on before I really got into the book.  It will definitely be one I will want to reread and there will be no confusion the second time around.  There are actually two story lines going, the present and one with a group of 5 friends from almost 20 years ago, which crash together.  Everything is so well-written and intricate and the stories are woven so well together.

It really is hard to express how incredible this book is.  Really, really wow.  One of my new favorites!  Next time I think I will read the book (since I will definitely be buying a copy) instead of audio.  The reader was australian and she did really well, hoever I did not like the music that played before and after each chapter introduction and ending.  It was kind of annoying and I just wanted to hurry up and get back to the reading.  This one is a must have for book shelves!

Excellent characters, emotional, poignant, slow beginning.

*Review* Lola and the Boy Next Door – Stephanie Perkins

 Lola and the Boy Next Door

Stephanie Perkins

338 pages

ISBN: 9780525423287

Read 1-16-13

Format: Hardcover

Source: Own

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 Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion…she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit–more sparkly, more fun, more wild–the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.

When Cricket–a gifted inventor–steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

This was my Random Read for January and I knew I was going to love this just because I loved Anna.  This authoris an incredible writer and really knows how to put you in the shoes of her characters and feel exactly what they feel.  Both of these books were so real and readers can easily relate to Anna and Lola.  I also loved seeing Anna and St. Clair in this book.

Lola is a wonderful character.  She is smart, lively, fun and different; different in a very good way.  I would love to meet someone like Lola.  And Cricket?  Who wouldn’t want to fall in love with the thoughful, sweet, hot next door boy?  As for Max, at first I kind of liked him, but he became a jerk quickly.  We have all made the mistake of being blinded by love, but when nobody liked the guy you’re with, then something is wrong.

This story is set in San Fransisco, and because of this book, I really want to go, especially to see the wild parrots and the Japanese tea garden.  It’s obvious that the author is very familiar with this area (she used to live there) and she portays it beautifully.  The cover of the book is cute, it isn’t super fantastic, but it goes perfectly with the story becuse it really captures Lola and Cricket right down to the star on his left hand.  Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see St. Clair on the cover of Anna, so I’m very glad we got to see Cricket.

I am definitely a die hard fan of Stephanie Perkins now and she is on my auto-buy list.  I am very excited about her upcoming Isla, plus, next year, she is publishing a teen slasher novel and it will be really interesting to see how she does in that from romance.  Aside from a few words missing from sentences in a couple of spots toward the end of the book, it was pretty near perfect.  I loved it almost as much as I loved Anna!

Beautiful setting, incredible characters, couldn’t put it down, LOVE!!

*Review* Pandemonium – Lauren Oliver

Lauren Oliver

375 pages

ISBN: 9780061978067

Read 12-27-12

Format: Audiobook

Source: Library

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Lena joins the resistance effort against the oppressive government and fights for freedom.
After escaping from Portland, Lena makes it to the Wilds and becomes part of an Invalid community. Weak and grieving for Alex, Lena fights to survive. And then she fights her oppressors.
As the viewpoint shifts between Lena’s time in the Wilds and the present day, which is set in Brooklyn, Lena transforms into a warrior for the resistance. In New York City, the grass-roots movement for a Deliria-Free America (the DFA) is gathering strength, and its leader, Thomas Fineman, recruits more supporters by the day. His son Julian–as-yet uncured–heads up the DFA’s youth organization. Lena is tasked with blending into the DFA’s rallies; she seems to be a supporter yet she is really a spy.

I still find the concept of love being a disease a very interesting concept and  love how the author pulls it off!  I enjoyed the first book, but I think I actually enjoyed this one more because it had more action in it, where Delirium was more of a slow build.  Pandemonium jumps back and forth from what is happening now to when Lena was first out in the wilds.  I like how things connect and weave into each other from past and present.

I really liked the new relationships and characters that came in for this story.  I liked Julian better than Alex and Raven is an interesting character who I liked sometimes and wanted to blow up at other times.  There are some very heart breaking points in the book and few very slow points.  I enjoyed the ending (even if it was a cliffhanger) and I can’t wait to see what happens in Requiem (only 2 more months!).

Great characters, great writing, more action, a must read!

*Review* Ten – Gretchen McNeil

 Ten

Gretchen McNeil

294 pages

ISBN: 9780062118783

Read 11-1-12

Format: Hardcover

Source: Library

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SHHHH!
Don’t spread the word!
Three-day weekend. Party at White Rock House on Henry Island.
You do NOT want to miss it.

It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives—an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school’s most eligible bachelor) and look forward to three glorious days of boys, booze and fun-filled luxury.

But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.

Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?

I hadn’t read a good murder mystery in a while, so I was very happy when I fianlly got my hands on Ten.  I saw the book trailer and it was one of the most thrilling book trailers I had ever seen, so I knew this was a definite read for me.  This book had a great dreadful, gloomy feel to it right from the start and the rainy island setting was perfect.

It wasn’t scary for me at all, but it was wonderfully suspenseful as you started to uncover clues and wonder who was going to be next.  I was majorly analyzing everybody as I read trying to figure out who the killer was going to be and I am really good at figuring out endings (I even had a few quite twisted scenarios in my head for how it could end), but it still came as a surprise for me, which really pleased me.

I liked Meg.  She was a very logical kind of person and loyal to her friend Minnie (even though I never thought Minnie deserved it), and very strong for everything she had to go through.  Minnie was one of my least favorite characters.  She was selfish and very attention seeking, and I’m not quite sure how she was Meg’s best friend.  I liked T.J.; he seemed like a great guy, very nice and helpful.  Not all of these teen are what they seem!  I also liked how short the chapters were and it made the book fly by.  This was a great book that kept me guessing and was an excellent Halloween suspense.

Great twist, fast read, exciting, annoying best friend.

*Review* Girl of Nightmares – Kendare Blake

 Girl of Nightmares (Anna #2)

Kendare Blake

332 pages

ISBN: 9780765328663

Read 11-29-12

Format: Hardover

Source: Own

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It’s been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can’t move on. 

His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live—not walk around half dead. He knows they’re right, but in Cas’s eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.

Now he’s seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he’s asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong…these aren’t just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.

Cas doesn’t know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn’t deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it’s time for him to return the favor.

This was the book that was chosen for my first Random Reads with I’m Loving Books, and it was the perfect selection since I was wanting to read it anyway!  Anna Dressed in Blood was one of my favorite books last year and  wasvery excited for the sequel.  Kendare Blake is an excellent writer and makes wonderfully sassy female characters.  There probably isn’t any characters in her books that aren’t well-written and she does an amazing job of making them all feel like real people.

I enjoyed the way the story wrapped up and my heart went out to Cas with everything he had to go through.  The only real complaint I have is that we don’t get to see much of Anna, aside from the visions Cas has and the last 30 pages of the book, she is nowhere else in it.

The ghost scenes are great with incredibly vivid descriptions.  I loved it!  The hell that Anna is trapped in is such a strange and horrible place, and the Suicide Forest is quite creepy.  I can’t stress enough how great of a writer Kendare is.  If her other books are anything like the Anna books, I will get everything she writes.

Incredible writing, wonderful characters, fast read, not much Anna.

 

*Review* Something Strange and Deadly – Susan Dennard

 Something Strange and Deadly

Susan Dennard

388 pages

ISBN: 9780062083265

Read 10-24-12

Format: Hardcover

Source: Library

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The year is 1876, and there’s something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia…

Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she’s just read in the newspaper—

The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.

And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor…from her brother.

Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she’ll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including their maddeningly stubborn yet handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.

Ok, so I know I am behind on my reviews, but NaNoWriMo takes up a lot of time!  Apparently more time than I am able to put toward it since I am only at 20k words and unless I get a ton of time to get the other 30k words out, I am not going to be able to finish it, sadly.  Though, I figured I probably wouldn’t be able to, but my story is about 70 pages started, so that’s a big accomplishment for me!  We will see what happens by November 30th   Now, on to the review!

I read this book while participating in the read along with Brittany at The Book Addict’s Guide, and I really enjoyed it.  This was my 2nd zombie YA book and my first book with steampunk elements.  I really liked the world of 1876 Philadelphia that the author showed us; there were really good descriptions for everything.

Eleanor is definitely like no other high society girl.  She is not afraid to get her hands dirty and certainly isn’t worried about how others see her life like her mother is.  I really didn’t care much at all for Eleanor’s mother; she was very materialistic and made her moves based on how she thought others would react.  Eleanor is very strong and does what she feels is right, even if she has to sneak around to do it.  And with how often she ends up making decisions that land her in danger’s way, she is either incredibly brave or incredibly dumb.

Daniel was kind of rude, but I eventually did warm up to him.  He has some secrets and we don’t get to learn too much about him until the second half of the book.  The second half also had a lot of surprises and twists.  I was actually quite surprised by a number of things that happened and I like it when an author can surprise me.

Romance is definitely not something you are going to find in this story, so those who dislike insta-love, no worries with this one.  But I am hoping for romantic development in the sequel.  I really like this cover and the overall darkness and feel of it.  The cover to the sequel is fitting and continues the same kind of style.  I am definitely looking forward to continuing this series.

Surprising, fast read, great descriptions, no romance.

 

*Review* Alice in Zombieland – Gena Showalter

 Alice in Zombieland

Gena Showalter

404 pages

ISBN: 9780373210589

Read 10-22-12

Format: Hardcover

Source: Borrowed

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She won’t rest until she’s sent every walking corpse back to its grave. Forever.

Had anyone told Alice Bell that her entire life would change course between one heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. From blissful to tragic, innocent to ruined? Please. But that’s all it took. One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone.

Her father was right. The monsters are real….

To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Ali isn’t careful, those secrets might just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies….

I wish I could go back and do a thousand things differently.
I’d tell my sister no.
I’d never beg my mother to talk to my dad.
I’d zip my lips and swallow those hateful words.
Or, barring all of that, I’d hug my sister, my mom and my dad one last time.
I’d tell them I love them.
I wish… Yeah, I wish.

This book was so awesome!  It is definitely not your ordinary zombie tale.  Instead of the usual sluggish, walking dead physical zombies, these are actually spirits that are infected and they are strong and fast.  Also, you can’t just shoot them in the head to kill them, it’s much harder.  It was definitely a book I could not put down, one of my favorites this year and I want the next one NOW.  Why must I wait an entire year?!

This book was very exciting in several different ways and there is so much more to learn and uncover.  The action scenes were really well-written and not at all confusing.  The whole thing reads so fast and I would have finished it sooner than I did if life had let me sit down to it more.

There are so many characters I liked.  Ali of course was awesome.  She had to deal with a huge tragedy and she bounces back well.  Her friend Kat is quite a character.  Incredibly upbeat, incredibly fiesty, and an awesome friend.  Ali’s grandparents were funny old folks who had some hilarious lines where they try to talk slang.

“You’re smart, pretty and you’re not a douche purse.”
If I’d had food in my mouth I would have spewed it.  Douche purse?  She must mean douche bag.  But okay, I could roll.  I was getting used to her filthy, funny mouth.  Pg. 265

As for Cole, I wasn’t too crazy about him at first.  I do like a confident, strong male lead, but in the beginning, he was a bit too forceful and a jerk.   It was like he was two different people at first, but eventually we got to see who he was and I definitely warmed up to him.

The cover of this book is one of my favorites because of the details in it; the little skulls, the symbolds of the card suits, and the skull & crossbone design on the inside of the hardcover.  All I have to say is READ THIS BOOK!  A great book and a great Halloween read.

Zombies, action, great characters, witty banter.