Hey guys so I'm back for the holidays! I haven't done much on the blog this year but it's because I have been so busy with my Honours year at university. It's been really hectic. I have been reading though but I just didn't have any time to think up reviews because honestly? When I didn't have to do anything for uni I took great enjoyment in being very very lazy, but I miss the blog so I'm making an effort.
So I spoke to Kristin about making a few changes on my end with the reviews and she agreed which made me very happy. I'm not just going to review books anymore, but everything. Books, music/music videos, movies, TV shows and anime. I am a serious anime freak and I would like to get new people watching it and share my freakouts with more anime freaks like me. Kristin unfortunately doesn't like anime because the woman doesn't like ANY type of animation, which I have to say shocked my system for about a week, but she has legitimate reasons at least so I got over it! Most people have misconceptions when it comes to anime and I'm here to set everyone straight. I'm also kind of an anime snob so if you do find yourself liking this medium and you go in search and you come across an anime I haven't talked about or that I didn't like, don't be put off, I only like a certain type of anime and you might like something completely different. I don't judge! Same goes with music, I like a great deal of different types of music but I don't care much for House, Country, RnB and Rap. All the other types I love, but if you want me to listen to a song or see a music video don't hesitate to suggest it to me. I'll listen to every song once!
I wanted to start off with a top 50 must watch, must read and must listen. Since this is originally a book blog, I will start with that. It should be up by tomorrow, maybe after. I've read a lot of books so it might take some thinking, hehe. If you guys have suggestions, I'm open to putting them into the list!
Title: Clockwork Princess
Series: The Infernal Devices #3
Author: Cassandra Clare
Genre: YA Fantasy
Publisher: Walker Books
Synopsis:
Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy.
Tessa Gray should be happy - aren't all brides happy?
Yet as she prepares for her wedding, a net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute.
A new demon appears, one linked by blood and secrecy to Mortmain, the man who plans to use his army of pitiless automatons, the Infernal Devices, to destroy the Shadowhunters. Mortmain needs only one last item to complete his plan. He needs Tessa. And Jem and Will, the boys who lay equal claim to Tessa's heart, will do anything to save her.
Ok so I have been steadily avoiding writing this review. I just did not want to. I’m probably gonna end up pissing through my eyes anyway but let’s give it a go.
When Clockwork Princess got delivered to me I ran out of the house so fast I sprained my ankle and fell on my face. Not a pretty picture I know but this series and Cassie Clare has seriously messed with my brain. So I ripped off the packaging and just sat and stared at it for a good fifteen minutes. It was so beautiful. AND I had to hypnotize myself into NOT looking at the family tree and I am so proud of myself because I didn’t.
I was so terrified of reading this book because the entire twitterverse was mourning and some even screaming in pain. Normally those types of feelings scare people away, but I know the Cassie fandom just craves for it more!
Anyway on to the actual book!
THERE WILL BE SOME SPOILERS!!!!!
Right off the bat something happens. That’s the thing with Cassie’s books they are so action packed, that the story never drags! Gabriel comes in covered in blood because of what the Demon Pox has done with his father. I loved the TMI parallel here where Gabriel talks about his father being a worm in the same way that Isabelle spoke about Simon becoming a rat. I found it quite hilarious.
Jem ends up getting sicker and we realise that he is near his end. Immediately this sets of a somber atmosphere to the story and you know that this is not going to end well. So Will, Tessa and the gang are working fast trying to find a cure for Jem.
Mortmain also steps up his game into getting Tessa and force her to marry him and have his children (sick right???). He ends up capturing her and then Will is torn between staying at Jem’s side and going after Tessa, the girl he loves. Jem finds out that Will is just as in love with Tessa as he is and he tells Will to go after Tessa and basically gives Will his blessing to be with Tessa, because Jem is just as selfless as Will.
So that is part of the story in short, really short, so now on to individual characters. I’m going to do Will, Tessa and Jem last.
Charlotte and Henry we see finally being comfortable in their marriage because they finally know how the other is feeling. Even though they are still so young they are basically the parents of the institute, especially Charlotte. She always looks after everyone and is very worried about Will’s emotional and mental health because of Jem’s death being so alarmingly close. Henry get’s more inventive and he and Charlotte realise how deep their love really goes.
Cecily, Will’s sister, is freakishly like Will and not just the physical appearance. She is just as stubborn and fierce as he is! She wants to be a part of his life even though she has a hidden agenda, to save Will from the evil Shadowhunters whom he has fallen prey to. She realises that this is not the case, that the entire institute operates as a family and Will is very happy, well as happy as Will can be, there. He has Jem and that is all he needs really. Cecily develops a relationship with Gabriel and it is utterly hilarious. She keeps him on his toes and I really ended up loving Cecily.
Gabriel IS AWESOME!!!!! He turned out to be one of my absolute favourite characters. The dude is hilarious and he is like a younger version of Jace and Will mixed together. It was quite awesome to read about him. He has a temper and it sometimes leads to hilarious scenariors. There was a part where I thought he might be a traitor but luckily he was the guy I always thought he was.
Gideon and Sophie, dear God but watching this relationship develop was so funny. Sophie rebuking him and Gideon who keeps asking for scones, just to see her, even though he hates them and ends up shoving them under his bed which infuriates Sophie. I laughed so so much! But luckily it’s a happy ending for them!
I’m going to do Will, Tessa and Jem together coz really how can I even separate them? This was the most complicated and heartbreaking love triangle I had to deal with and I already have tears in my eyes. I am not Team Will or Team Jem, I find that you cannot love the one without the other, but hey to each their own right? Anyway I wanted Jem to be alive and happy and I also want Will to be happy so how the hell does that work right? Jem doesn’t die, thank God but he turns into a Silent Brother. So he cannot marry Tessa and therefore Will and Tessa can be together. They have a happy life with children and grandchildren and Will dies of old age. My God but did I cry when that happened. It was the worst moment of my life and I’m still not over it. After like eighty years Jem finds a cure and he can switch back from being a Silent Brother and then he and Tessa can have their chance at a relationship! YAY right?? Like Woolsey said Tessa is lucky enough to have two great loves of her life and I am so happy that they could have their time together.
Okay so some people were sad that Tessa and Jem had to say goodbye and not get married and some people were sad because Will died and left Tessa behind. Me? I was sad because Will and Jem were separated! They had to live their lives basically apart from each other and then Will was dead when Jem finally got the cure. I find it unfair that they had to and have to live their lives without each other. That was the most heartbreaking thing of the entire story for me
Cassie is the most amazing writer under the son and she deserves to win a Nobel Prize for literature for this story. If you want your heart shattered and your soul shredded then read this series.
This is my Will and Tessa song: 1949 by Mallory Knox
This is my Will and Jem song: Don't Go by Bring Me The Horizon
Title: Indigo Spell
Series: Bloodlines #3
Author: Richelle Mead
Genre: YA Fantasy
Publisher: Razorbill
Synopsis:
In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she finds herself struggling to draw the line between her Alchemist teachings and what her heart is urging her to do. Then she meets alluring, rebellious Marcus Finch--a former Alchemist who escaped against all odds, and is now on the run. Marcus wants to teach Sydney the secrets he claims the Alchemists are hiding from her. But as he pushes her to rebel against the people who raised her, Sydney finds that breaking free is harder than she thought. There is an old and mysterious magic rooted deeply within her. And as she searches for an evil magic user targeting powerful young witches, she realizes that her only hope is to embrace her magical blood--or else she might be next. Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, the Bloodlines series explores all the friendship, romance, battles, and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive—this time in a part-vampire, part-human setting where the stakes are even higher and everyone’s out for blood.
Ok firstly I must apologise for my absence. I have been so
busy with university life that I haven’t had time to do anything and also to be
quite frank, I’ve gotten incredibly lazy, but! Fear not, I have returned, even
though probably nobody missed me. So now I am going to start catching up with
the 1000s of reviews I have to do. Ok maybe not that much, but it is quite a
pile!
When I got this book from Penguin Books South Africa, I
literally screamed my face off. I have the biggest Adrian obsession of all time.
I mean he is in my top 3 book boyfriends, along with Jace and Will. After the
way Golden Lily ended I was horrified and angry and manic. I literally did this
Well I didn’t throw it out of the window because would’ve
had taken excessive force since I have a paperback, but I did thrown it across
the room. Then I realized what I did and ran to pick it up too look over the
damage, yeah didn’t think that one through did I? I blame Richelle Mead!
Anyway Indigo Spell is probably the first book that made me
smile continuously. I didn’t stop smiling once! Even when a few bad things
happened. I was so overtly happy all the way through that my face started
twitching from smiling that much. I’m trying not to give away too many spoilers
but the book has been out for a while sooo, but you can probably guess what
happens since I’m so happy.
The humour was just plain awesome. I couldn’t stop laughing
at most of the things Adrian said, even Sydney made me laugh! Adrian has really
grown into the man I knew he could be, his maturity that is shown throughout
the novel amazed me. He never gives up for what he believes in and honestly I
could keep gushing about him forever but I’ll save you from my corny geekness.
Syndey, thank God, is finally working on her eating disorder.
This was something about her that bothered me immensely but I’m glad that she
shows the strength of her character by working on it. Slowly but surely I have
no doubt that she will be fine. Also she comes to terms with the fact that the
Moroi and Dhampirs are probably not what she was led to believe (DUH) and that
there might be other forces at work for the reasons she feels her
revoltions(did I spell that correctly? I don’t know). The fact that she carried
on with her magic training (reluctantly but progress right?) really made me
happy. I was quite shocked with myself for not finding Sydney annoying at all.
Normally her attitude and her thing about vampires and magic being unnatural
would’ve seriously pissed me off but Richelle Mead wrote the character of
Sydney perfectly, you just can’t help but understand her.
There were a few twists and turns in the story that really
took me by surprise and I am loving the direction Richelle is taking this story
in. this was by far her best book she has ever written like hands down. I could
not put it down, I finished somewhere in the early morning hours and then I was
so happy I couldn’t sleep, even though the ending was an “OH CRAP!” ending.
Please don’t hesitate in reading this soul-stealing,
sleep-depriving, world-forgetting book. If you haven’t read the series yet GO
BUY THEM ALL NOW!!! I mean it’s only 3 books. BUT you have to read the Vampire
Academy series before you read this so in that case it will be 9 books that you
have to buy, I mean that’s nothing right?
Title: The Lost Prince
Series: Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten #1
Author: Julie Kagawa
Genre: YA Paranormal
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Synopsis:
Don’t look at Them. Never let Them know you can see Them.
That is Ethan Chase’s unbreakable rule. Until the fey he avoids at all costs—including his reputation—begin to disappear, and Ethan is attacked. Now he must change the rules to protect his family. To save a girl he never thought he’d dare to fall for.
Ethan thought he had protected himself from his older sister’s world—the land of Faery. His previous time in the Iron Realm left him with nothing but fear and disgust for the world Meghan Chase has made her home, a land of myth and talking cats, of magic and seductive enemies. But when destiny comes for Ethan, there is no escape from a danger long, long forgotten.
No one can argue my freakout when I heard about Julie Kagawa
writing a spin off series in the Iron Fey world. I am absolutely and
irrevocably in love with this world and with Ash of course. I can write pages
about the awesomeness of Ash but I will leave that for my series review of Iron
Fey since after reading The Lost Prince, I honestly couldn’t stop myself from
re-reading the series.
This book however is about Meghan’s little brother Ethan,
now 17 years old and how he gets dragged back into the world of Faerie, to help
his half breed friend Todd even though he has been trying his best to forget
and ignore it. Ethan has to move to a different school because he was expelled
from the first one because faeries made it seem like he started a fire. In this
new school is where he meets Kenzie. I love this girl so much. She doesn’t let
anything get her down and even though she makes rash decisions she wants to
live life to the fullest and experience everything. We later learn that this is
all because of a huge secret she has been keeping. The faeries enlist the help of Ethan because
a strange form of fae are sucking all the glamour and killing the exiles and
half breeds.
Though he doesn’t want to, Ethan has no choice but to go to
his sister, in the Iron Realm, for help. FIRST GLIMPSE OF ASH PEOPLE!!!!!!!
Needless to say I squealed and jumped up and down!!! This is also where we meet
Kieran for the first time. Ethan, Kenzie and Kieran set off to find out what is
happening with The Forgotten and to find
Todd. Soon after that we find out Kieran’s own little secret.
Ok I really loved this book so so much and I cannot wait for
the next one but Ethan irritated me so much during half of the book. I mean
really dude, just suck it up and get over yourself. I get he had a traumatic
experience with the fae but he doesn’t have to be a hostile assface to the
world. Luckily he got better and now I really do love him a lot. Kieran and
Ethan do remind me a lot of Ash and Puck. Not because they are the same,
character-wise, but because of the strange friendship that formed, that
shouldn’t have formed in the first place. I also liked that Ethan wasn’t
defenseless; he could keep his own with the fae because of his training.
I cannot wait to see where this series is going and I wonder
if the prophecy that Meghan received about her first born in Iron King. Forgot
about that didn’t you? Heehee. This is a definite must read!! Also do not read
this book without reading the other four first!!!
So...Kelly M and I got to thinking we should post our favorite books of 2012. Now, Kelly M is much better at this than I am, so we'll start with her list.
Kelly M's List
These are in NO particular order
Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry
City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare
Opal by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Pure by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter
Ceaseless by Abbi Glines
While it Lasts by Abbi Glines
The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa
Rapture by Lauren Kate
Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi
Kristin's List
Again, no particular order - and I'm sure some will be repititous, sorry about that!
Brightest Kind of Darkness by P.T. Michelle
Of Poseidon by Anna Banks
The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead
Deity by Jennifer L Armentrout
Rapture by Lauren Kate
Easy by Tamara Webber
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry
City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare
Hmmm...not near as many duplicates as I would have thought. Amazing. But...there's not a book on Kelly's list that I don't think belongs there. So many awesome choices for 2012. I'm certain 2013 will be just a blessed. Drop us a comment and let us know what your favorite books of 2012 were.
Title: Torment
Series: Fallen #2
Author: Lauren Kate
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publishing Date: September 28, 2012
YA Paranormal Romance
Blurb:
Hell on earth.
That's what it's like for Luce to be apart from her fallen angel boyfriend, Daniel.
It took them an eternity to find one another, but now he has told her he must go away. Just long enough to hunt down the Outcasts - immortals who want to kill Luce. Daniel hides Luce at Shoreline, a school on the rocky California coast with unusually gifted students: Nephilim, the offspring of fallen angels and humans.
At Shoreline, Luce learns what the Shadows are, and how she can use them as windows to her previous lives. Yet the more Luce learns, the more she suspects that Daniel hasn't told her everything. He's hiding something - something dangerous.
What if Daniel's version of the past isn't actually true? What if Luce is really meant to be with someone else?
The second novel in the addictive FALLEN series...where love never dies.
Kelly M, who was unable to make this post earlier today felt like this song portrayed the essence of Torment perfectly. I have to admit I completely agree...but the important thing is, what do you think. We love comments around here...so leave one, please! They're like pretty little Christmas presents given to us a wee bit early.
Title: Opal
Series: Lux #3
Author: Jennifer L Armentrout
Genre: YA Paranormal
Publisher: Entangled
Synopsis:
No one is like Daemon Black. When he set out to prove his feelings for me, he wasn’t fooling around. Doubting him isn’t something I’ll do again, and now that we’ve made it through the rough patches, well... There’s a lot of spontaneous combustion going on. But even he can’t protect his family from the danger of trying to free those they love. After everything, I’m no longer the same Katy. I’m different... And I’m not sure what that will mean in the end. When each step we take in discovering the truth puts us in the path of the secret organization responsible for torturing and testing hybrids, the more I realize there is no end to what I’m capable of. The death of someone close still lingers, help comes from the most unlikely source, and friends will become the deadliest of enemies.
Together we’re stronger... and they know it.
Holy freaking HELLL!!!!!!! Can I just say HOW COULD YOU MS
ARMENTROUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think this woman lives to torment and destroy
our souls because honestly the ending of Opal was brutal to put it mildly. My
jaw hit the floor when it ended like I honestly couldn’t believe that this is
the cliffhanger she went with. It’s terrible and now I have to wait until JULY
FOR ORIGIN?????? Yeah I’m not gonna make it. Be prepared to plan my funeral
people because I’m gonna shrivel up and die while waiting for this book.
This is by far my absolute favourite JLA book ever! Three
reasons why that is.
Reason 1: DAEMON DAEMON DAEMON DAEMOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!!!!!!!!
The dude steps up his game in a huge way. Here we see his romantic side and boy
what a romancer he is. The guy made my insides all gooey and I melted so many
times I have no idea how I am still fully functional. He and Katy are the
perfect couple and he does everything to show her he loves her, even though he
doesn’t say it till later. He is a tad over protective of Katy during times
where she calls him a he-man (giggles) but I loved his over protectiveness.
Rather have a guy who cares too much, than a guy who cares too little is what I
always say.
Reason 2: This reason might be a bit spoilery if you haven’t
read Onyx so If you don’t want the spoiler skip over this reason!!!!!!!!!!
I must say that I completely love Dawson just as much as I
love Daemon. It was a bit sad that he was so distant from his sibs but I loved
the fact that he felt so comfortable with Katy and that he would mostly talk to
her and stay close to her side. Like at least he approves ya know? Dawson isn’t
as screwed in the head as I feared he would be. I think that he will actually
really recover.
Reason 3: Katy! I love this girl so much. She is so funny
and I really love that she is as much of a book freak as I am. She goes through
so much crap but she still keeps her wits about her. She is so stong and
admirable. She always puts everybody else’s needs before her own. She really is
just an amazing person.
What I disliked about this book is Dee. I had a huge problem
with her attitude and how she acted. I know she lost Adam but seriously? She
didn’t have to make Katy feel worse than she already does. It may have been her
fault but it’s not like she did it on purpose.
I really wanted to slap her most of the time.
Other than that this book was CRAZY GOOD IN EPIC
PROPORTIONS!!!! It’s a bone-chilling, toe-curling, inside-melting,
arms-flailing and bouts of rageful screaming read. If you haven’t read this
series yet I am ordering you to drop everything you are doing, run to the
bookstore, or drive you know whatever, screaming with your arms flailing above
your head until you have it. People might think you are weird OR they could
join you and you would have started a mass trend in buying the book!
There’s something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price’s attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah. He’s the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.Even Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce – he goes out of his way to make that very clear. But she can’t let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, Luce has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret...even if it kills her.Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, FALLEN is a page-turning thriller and the ultimate love story.
Ok I'm going to post a Music Monday for every book in this series. So the next four weeks are going to be Fallen related. If you have suggestions for a series you want me to post music about let me know or if you have music that you feel fit a series send that to me as well. You can either comment your suggestions or email us. No suggestion will be deemed as stupid. I will post every single one!
The song I chose is Angels by Within Temptation for obvious reasons but you can apply it to Luce and Daniel or to Luce and Luce and Cam. Whichever. Enjoy
Title: Alice in Zombieland
Series: White Rabbit Chronicles #1
Author: Gena Showalter
Genre: YA Paranormal
Publisher:
Synopsis:
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.
Alice in Zombieland!!!! My first ever zombie book and it
didn’t disappoint. I am hesitant to read any zombie books, firstly because they
scare me motherless and secondly I just do not see the point. But alas I really
did love this particular zombie book. I know what you’re thinking, this is just another Alice in Wonderland rip
off with Zombies shoved in just for the mickey of it. Well, at least, that’s
what I thought, if you don’t then good on you! Anyway back to my point, that is
NOT what this book is about! Even the zombies are like completely different! I
was like huh?!?! Dafuq is this weird ass invisible zombie stuff??? It actually
worked out for the better and it gave a whole different twist on the zombie
myth that we all know and love.
It starts off where Alice loses her entire family to a
zombie attack even though she refuses to believe it. She moves in with her
grandparents and has to move to a new school as well. There she finds her new
friend whom she met at the hospital, Kat and the very hot, very tattooed
awesome sexiness that is Cole. This guy is a man after my own heart. When you
read about Cole, think about me and you will know that he is my ideal guy, I
kind of literally drooled most of the time I read this. The dude is perfection.
I thank thee Mariam for freaking out so badly with this book and talking about
it nonstop.
I love Alice because she is just so tough and doesn’t
hesitate to do what she has to even if that means that she will be in danger,
lose the people she loves and get bad grades. She only cares about keeping
everyone else safe and I find that so admirable. She is also quite badass and
made me laugh a few times.
Kat is my absolute favourite character in this book! The
girl made me laugh since the first time she appeared. She is hilarious through
most of the book. Very few characters accomplish the art of making me literally
laugh out loud. She is so loyal and just plain awesome; I wish she was my best
friend.
Cole and Frosty, my two favourite male characters. Both are
very hot like I mentioned before and so fierce and can be scary when they want
to be, I loved that about them so much. I’m a freak what can I say. Guys who
look like can beat the shit out of people but are also very caring when it
comes to girls are my weak spot. Some people think I need help, others help me
embrace it, like my Starbooks girls!
This is a very actiony book with a lot of fighting and stuff
in it which is just so awesome! It never drags, it keeps you interested
straight through. I read this book until I finished it at 4:30am and I never
regretted the loss of sleep. I couldn’t put it down. It consumed my very being
until I was sucked into the story completely like Alice was into Wonderland
(that was my corny line of the day)
Please Please PLEEEEEEEEEASE read this book!!!!!!! It is the
epitome of awesome sauce topped with sprinkles of amaze balls!
Title: The Rise Of Nine
Series: The Lorien Legacies
Author: Pittacus Lore
Genre: YA Paranormal
Publisher: HarperCollins
Synopsis:
Until the day I met John Smith, Number Four, I'd been on the run alone, hiding and fighting to stay alive.
Together, we are much more powerful. But it could only last so long before we had to separate to find the others. . . .
I went to Spain to find Seven, and I found even more, including a tenth member of the Garde who escaped from Lorien alive. Ella is younger than the rest of us, but just as brave. Now we're looking for the others--including John.
But so are they.
They caught Number One in Malaysia. Number Two in England. And Number Three in Kenya. They caught me in New York--but I escaped. I am Number Six. They want to finish what they started. But they'll have to fight us first.
So I was walking casually past the book store, adamant that I wasn’t going to go in, because I was so behind on books that I had to read! I turned my head, ever so slightly just to have a lil peak at the new releases and then I saw The Rise Of Nine. All my good sense left me. I ran into the store and bought it without even blinking. Thank God is all I have to say. This was by far THE BEST one of the Lorien Legacies so far. I absolutely adored this book from start to finish. I was so excited because we finally got to read more about Nine. He and Six are my two absolute favourite and let me say, I’m rooting for them to get together. Awesome + Awesomeness = Awesomesauce!!
Nine is the most awesome Garde next to Six. His legacies are amazing and he is just so arrogant and cocky that I had to love him and besides, so far with the guys I only had to compare him to Four, whom I am not a fan of. He is a whiny little baby through most of the book and just couldn’t stop talking about Sarahand blah blah, yadda yadda, shut your face. So Nine made the book for me.
So it starts where we left off. Four is recuperating from the force field that he tried to run through to save Sam from inside the Mog cave. He and Nine are on the run to get as far away from the Mogs as possible and Six, Seven and Ten are on their way to find Eight in India. If he is even there. There was so much action in this book and that is something I love immensely.I don’t like when a book drags on in the middle. This wasn’t the case. There were so many fights. People got captured and people escaped. Some died and some came back from the dead, just barely though.
You also meet the super villain in this book, which is awesome. Even though it’s only for a small fight scene at the end. I’m glad we got a glimpse of him. It changed things a lil bit. Luckily Four improved and I ended up really liking him! There is a huge huge huge HUGE twist in the story! I was like excuse me? Dafuq did I just read?? It was a complete shocker for me, and even though you think you know, you don’t really know, you know? And yes that was very confusing but you get the idea
The Lorien Legacies comes highly recommended. If you want a fast-paced, action-filled, jaw dropping, kid forgetting book, read this series just so you can read The Rise Of Nine!
~Only the very weak minded refuse to
be influenced by literature and poetry- Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Angel
Title: Eve
Series: Eve #1
Author: Anna Carey
Genre: YA Dystopian
Publisher: HarperTeen
Synopsis:
The year is 2032, sixteen years after a deadly virus—and the vaccine intended to protect against it—wiped out most of the earth’s population. The night before eighteen-year-old Eve’s graduation from her all-girls school she discovers what really happens to new graduates, and the horrifying fate that awaits her.
Fleeing the only home she’s ever known, Eve sets off on a long, treacherous journey, searching for a place she can survive. Along the way she encounters Caleb, a rough, rebellious boy living in the wild. Separated from men her whole life, Eve has been taught to fear them, but Caleb slowly wins her trust...and her heart. He promises to protect her, but when soldiers begin hunting them, Eve must choose between true love and her life.
Have you ever walked around in a bookstore and then just the way the name is displayed on a certain book grabs your attention? Well that is what happened to me with Eve. I love the cover, it just looks so awesome and it just shows you that this story is going to be guy-in-death-metal-band hardcore. And it was. A dystopian novel focuses on the depressing side of things. So if you do not want to feel a wave of despair crawling over you when reading a book, I suggest you steer clear. I on the other hand, love dystopian novels and depression they create when reading. Don’t get me wrong, there are a few happy moments present but then it gets sucker punched by a scene that isn’t all unicorns and rainbows.
It starts off where we meet Eve, the main character, at one of the government schools of the New America. It is called this because a deadly plague wiped out most of the world population and they are trying to rebuild. These schools are only for girls though and they teach these girls that all men are bad. That men just want to use and abuse you, that they are liars and deceitful people and only want sex from women. These girls, all of them orphans, believe their teachers because it is all they know. They teach them that there is no such thing as love between a man and a woman, the women love but the men use their love to their advantage. Hectic right? This was honestly the weirdest part for me of the book. They even used Romeo and Juliette, not as the tragic love story that it is known for, but as a symbol of how men can manipulate women and isolate them from their families and that is why Juliette ended up killing herself. Not because the love of her life was dead, but because she was all alone and no one to turn to. By then I was in such a WTF mode that I had to finish this book pronto because I needed Eve to figure out that this was not the truth, that it was lies that a pathological liar would be proud of.
Things take a turn on the night before graduation. She comes across Arden, a girl in her grade, who is trying to escape. She succeeds, but before she leaves she tells Eve that the school isn’t what she thinks it is. That the girls don’t graduate to go to the Graduates Buliding to become doctors, artists, lawyers, etc, but instead something more sinister and disgusting. Eve of course refuses to believe this, as any girl of eighteen would, but during the course of the night she becomes restless and decides to go investigate. What Arden said turned out to be true and she hatches a plan to escape, until a teacher catches her. Luckily for her the teacher helps her escape.
She meets up with Arden after a few days and that is when they meet Caleb. He saves Eve from a bear attack. She, of course after all her schooling, doesn’t trust him at all even though he saved her. According to this silly girl he must have an ulterior motive. She voices that she knows he saved her just to have sex with her. This is where I literally hit myself in the face with the book. I mean honestly, so what if he wants to have sex with you (he didn’t though), the dude has dreadlocks, the body of a god and the prettiest eyes ever. If he wants to do the hanky-panky, you nod your head and just go with the flow *cough cough*. In books is the only place where this can happen so I thought it is a valid observation.
Caleb takes them to where he lives but promises to help them get to Califia, a safe haven for outsiders, as soon as they are able to. Eve also finds out that the King of the New America is personally searching for her so they need to stay hidden at all times and during that time they develop a very new sort of love, since none of them have actually experienced it before so it was quite cute.
Eve’s character starts of as very naive and infuriating and most of the time I just wanted to shake her and knock some sense into her, but at the same time I understood why she was like this. Her education gave her very few other choices. Luckily during the story she starts to develop as her own person and gets her own beliefs. I loved this story because you can actually vividly see the change in the character and it was so refreshing. Then there’s Caleb who was completely drool worthy but he did act a little childish some of the times and when that occurred bad things tended to happen to Eve.
Anna Carey has a way of sucking you right into her story. Some of the times I actually felt like I was Eve. Not many authors can do that for me and I enjoy it immensely to get completely lost in a book. This is definitely recommended. The ending will leave you with a “huh????” feeling though. Stay tuned for my review on the sequel, Once coming soon.
Title: While It Lasts
Series: Sea Breeze #3
Author: Abbi Glines
Genre: Adult Contemporary
Synopsis:
Maybe driving home after a few (or more) shots of tequila had been a bad idea, but hell, he did it all the time. The cops had to have been freaking bored to have pulled him over. He wasn’t even swerving! That’s Cage York’s story and he’s sticking to it.
Unfortunately, his baseball coach isn’t buying it. Cage has a free ride to the local junior college for baseball -- or he did, until he’d gotten a DUI. Now, Cage has to decide: does he drop out and give up his dream of getting noticed by a college in the SEC, and possibly making it into the Major Leagues -- or does he give in to his coach’s demands and spend his summer baling hay?
Eva Brooks planned out her life step by step when she was eight years old. Not once over the years had she lost sight of her goals. Josh Beasley, her next door neighbor, had been the center of those goals. He’d been her first boyfriend at seven, her first kiss at ten, her first date at fifteen, and her first tragedy at eighteen. The moment she’d received the phone call from Josh’s mother saying he’d been killed along with four other soldiers just north of Baghdad, Eva’s carefully planned life imploded in the worst way possible.
Cage isn’t real happy with his closet-sized bedroom in the back of a foul smelling barn, or his daily interactions with cows, but he knows that if he doesn’t make his coach happy then he can kiss his scholarship goodbye. Only a sick and twisted man would decide his punishment was to be working on a farm all summer. No hot babes in bikinis waiting to meet a Southern boy to make her vacation complete. Just him and the damned cows.
Oh -- and an uptight, snarky brunette with the biggest blue eyes he’s every seen. But she doesn’t count, because as hard as he’s tried to charm her out of her panties - he’s pretty sure she’d rather see him hung from the rafters than let him get a taste of her pretty little lips.
Another contemporary review. I know, shocking right? But Abbi Glines is one of my favourite authors, whether it is paranormal or contemporary. She excels in both genres in my opinion and I have fallen deeply in love with every single one of her characters, but I must say that Cage York has been my ultimate favourite of her contemporary book boys. If there ever was a broken boy, it is Cage. He made me love him in Because of Low but he stole my heart in While It Lasts.
The story starts off where Cage has to go work on a farm because he got a DUI and could lose his baseball scholarship. Now he needs to do hard time working on the farm run by his coaches’ brother. Now him working on this farm didn’t bother me at all, and I’ll tell you why. Imagine you live on a farm andupon looking out on the fields you notice this god of a man with long-ish black hair, tattoos AND A MOTHER FUDGING NIPPLE RING!!! And just like me your ovaries will explode when confronted with a sight like that. Calming down now.
She avoids Cage like the he is the Black Death. He ends up calling her his invisible fairy since she makes sure that he never sees her when she brings his food and drinks and towels and sheets. They end up forming this weird relationship between friends and friends-with-benefits.
What is different about this story is that the guy actually falls in love first and the girl is reluctant about admitting her feelings. Luckily they do end up being a couple and Cage takes her home to meet his friends and we get a small glimpse of the wonderful hotness that is Krit. I so hope Abbi Glines writes a Krit story. Anyway Eva gets confronted by all Cage’s past relationships and past behaviours and of course she freaks out and so does Cage because he is already in love and cannot bare losing her.
when they return their relationship takes a turn for the worst and they end up having to face difficult obstacles in the form of Eva’s manipulation by those views around her and in the form of her father who does not want Cage anywhere near his precious little girl. In all honestness I was only concerned about how Cage feels and just wanted them to be together so that he could be happy again, Cage is my life. That is all
This is a story with lots of heart break and frustration, so if you don’t like smashing your books against walls I suggest you take a generous amount of calming medicine.Abbi Glines has done it again and thank goodness her story about Preston is coming out soon!!!
Title: Pushing The Limits
Author: Katie McGarry
Genre: YA Contemporary
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Synopsis:
No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.
Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again
Normally I do not read contemporary books, like at all! The amount of contemporary books I have read can be counted on one hand. So when my friends on Starbooks all raved about this book for weeks on end I decided to put my scepticisms aside and give it a whirl. And by George am I glad I did. Pushing The Limits is hands down one of the absolute best contemporaries I have ever read. I do not give this praise lightly because most books of this particular genre end up being so predictable and a tad boring.
This is so far from the truth when describing Pushing The Limits. The story is dark and gut-wrenching, breath-taking and a beautiful show of strength and determination. The characters in this story have gone, and go through extreme situations that honestly is worthy of the title of the book. During most of the story i had constant tears in my eyes because I cannot imagine how Echo and Noah can go through everything and still actually have enough strength left to get up in the morning. PTL is not for people who love happy stories.
The story starts off where Echo meets her new school counsellor and they are having a family meeting about what can be discussed and what cannot be. Her father comes across as controlling and overbearing and her stepmother as a complete self absorbed idiot. Echo feels the same way. She is in therapy because her mother tried to kill her a few months back and she has no memory of that entire day whatsoever. She needs to remember in order to understand what happened and how to deal with it.
Noah sees the same school counsellor for his apparent anger management issues, the death of both of his parents and so that he can gain custody of his two small brothers when he graduates high school. You also see that this particular school counsellor actually truly cares about Noah and Echo and she forms a strong bond with Noah even though he doesn’t want to admit it. She also brings the element of humour to the story especially regarding her driving; Noah’s reactions to her driving left me laughing so hard.
Echo and Noah are forced together when Echo is asked to tutor Noah to give him the proper motivation that he needs. They end up automatically not liking each other. Echo thinks he is a mean jerk and a man-whore(which technically he is and honestly I would go all Katniss on their asses and scream I VOLUNTEER!!!! When having to tutor him, just saying) and Noah thinks Echo is a complete snob who thinks she is better than him because she rarely acknowledges his presence, even though she doesn’t really acknowledge anyone.
Eventually they become sort of friends, they fight more than anything and not cutesy-cutesy fighting, and help each other find the answers that they seek. For Echo it is what she can’t remember and for Noah it is the foster house his brothers are living in. This seems easy right? Just go get the files and your home free! Not at all! They face so many obstacles that you just feel their despair. During this process they fall in love and start dating, once again not easy. But you do feel how desperately they need each other.
Whether or not this story has a happy ending you will have to find out yourselves, I must admit that most of the time I was certain that it was going to be a depressing ending. This is not a story of happiness and laughter and frolicking-in-the-fields love. It is a true test of how far you are able to push the limits and Katie McGarry exceeds expectations.
Thanks to Dani at Refracted Light for the wonderful graphics!
Yes, this is who we are dedicating this post to today at Better Read Than Dead!
I'm not sure another author has kicked up the kind of waves Jennifer has in quite sometime. She's genre busting and not missing a beat. She writes YA fiction under the name of Jennifer L. Armentrout and dabbles in Adult Fiction/Romance under the guise of J. Lynn. To date, I've read every single book she's published, and maybe a couple that haven't hit the shelves yet...just sayin'.
Deity (3) - November 27, 2012 - Review Coming Soon
Apollyon (4) - Spring 2013
Sentinal (5) - Fall 2013
Now...I've had the pleasure of reading through Deity on this series and all I'm going to say is...
Holy Hematoi!!!
I think Jennifer is taking lessons from Cassandra Clare on how to leave an audience hanging...I mean seriously! WTH? You have got to be kidding me! OMG! Can Spring 2013 please, please, please hurry. It's very important for my mental health. And I'm obscenely worried about the girls at Starbooks, the best book club, and friends, a girl can ever have. Poor Mariam is going stark-raving mad. I swear I heard my copy of Deity hit her bedroom wall when she finished reading it and we live several states apart. I'm waiting to hear Kim's head explode and then...I'm not sure who's next. And, Kelly...well, you'll just have to wait.
Don't even get me started on the Aiden vs. Seth debate...
So, no we're all about hot aliens? Heck yeah! Have you guys seen the book trailers starring the ever-so-yummy Pepe and Sztella? Wowza! Daemon makes me swoon, hardcore. I love a little bad-boy mixed with some super snark and a beautiful book blogger - I mean what's not to love?
What? You mean you don't JUST LOVE the Onyx ending? Ugh! Again with the OMG endings. She completely left us hanging! So, now I need for December to hurry.
Okay, so here's your chance to win one of ANY of Jen's currently published books (including Tempting the Best Man - Gamble Brothers #1 - Adult Contemporary), some swag, and another super secret type goody!
Title: Onyx
Series: Lux #2
Author: Jennifer L Armentrout
Genre: YA Paranormal
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Synopsis:
Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…
Thanks to his alien mojo, Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro connection. So I’ve sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we’ve got bigger problems.
Something worse than the Arum has come to town…
The Department of Defense are here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we're linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And there's this new boy in school who’s got a secret of his own. He knows what’s happened to me and he can help, but to do so, I have to lie to Daemon and stay away from him. Like that's possible. Against all common sense, I'm falling for Daemon. Hard.
But then everything changes…
I’ve seen someone who shouldn’t be alive. And I have to tell Daemon, even though I know he’s never going to stop searching until he gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me?
No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies…
Onyx...what can I say about this book. Well I kinda shouted at Jennifer L Armentrout on Twitter that she was insane because of what she did to me. Her reply to me was the classic O_O. Even Wendy Higgins, author of Sweet Evil, took time out of her busy day to give me a Twitter tissue! It’s not a cliff-hanger per se, it was more of an REALLY??? After all that you put me through in this book you end the story like that? Apparently out of all of my Starbooks friends I had the worst reaction! Except for Kim she reacted the same way!
Other than the ending the entire story was better than I could hope for! Those of you who did not like Daemon in Obsidian (I know they do exist! I was so shocked), do not fear! You will see a completely different side to this sexy, chocolate-melting-in-mouth, delicious, dangerous, and awesome alien. I decided to stop there because there are just SO many words to describe the perfectness that is Daemon! He turns out to be more swoon-worthy in Onyx and I didn’t even think it was possible.
Daemon tries throughout most of the book to prove to Katy that what he feels for her is real and not due to the connection they now have. And Katy, being her normal stubborn self, refuses to believe that it’s true because of how he treated her before. I get where she is coming from but because of the fact that it is Daemon, I just wanted to smack her upside the head and shake her at the same time whilst screaming in her face: “JUST ADMIT YOU LOVE HIM”. Except for my frustration with her, I realised how deeply I have missed this girl. She is one of the MOST awesome female leads ever. She makes me laugh every second when reading.
Now on to the mysterious guy Blake, that comes in rather unexpectedly. He automatically takes a liking to Katy and like Daemon, I then take an immediate disliking to this dude. I mean honestly just go away, no one likes you! And then Katy starts hanging out with him to ‘prove’ to herself that she does not really love Daemon, sigh.
Even throughout all the romancy angst there is also the problems of the alien variety and that was just so amazing! JLA shocked me so much during this book that I lost sense of direction. I never expected anything except only ONE thing and I was glad that it turned out to be true.
All in all this is honestly JLA’s best book ever! She has really outdone herself and if you do not read this book within the next 24hours you will regret it!
Title: Nevermore
Series: Nevermore #1
Author: Kelly Creagh
Genre: YA Paranormal
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Synopsis: Cheerleader Isobel Lanley is horrified when she is paired with Varen Nethers for an English project, which is due—so unfair—on the day of the rival game. Cold and aloof, sardonic and sharp-tongued, Varen makes it clear he’d rather not have anything to do with her either. But when Isobel discovers strange writing in his journal, she can’t help but give this enigmatic boy with the piercing eyes another look.
Soon, Isobel finds herself making excuses to be with Varen. Steadily pulled away from her friends and her possessive boyfriend, Isobel ventures deeper and deeper into the dream world Varen has created through the pages of his notebook, a realm where the terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe come to life.
As her world begins to unravel around her, Isobel discovers that dreams, like words, hold more power than she ever imagined, and that the most frightening realities are those of the mind. Now she must find a way to reach Varen before he is consumed by the shadows of his own nightmares.
When I first heard about this book I knew I had to read it. I mean honestly, who doesn’t want to read a book with references to Edgar Allen Poe’s stories! I love that man and his crazy dark mind. And Nevermore definitely did not disappoint when it came to dark and creepy and just plain mind-fudging (yes I just made that word up). Kelly Creagh kept you thinking throughout the entire book! It was quite a fun read but it did freak me out as well!
On to the characters! At first I was so not a fan of Isobel, the lead female character, and her idiotic ‘oh I am hotter and more popular than thou’ friends. They irritated me to an extreme that I wasn’t sure if I was going to like Isobel at all and that made me worry. If I do not like the narrator of the story it is a big likelihood that I will not like the story. Luckily that didn’t happen. Isobel ended up rising to the occasion, even though it took her forever to figure out what she should do. If she just listened in the first place things would’ve gone a lot smoother, but I guess chaos always makes for a good book! Isobel was your typical cheerleader until she met Varen, and even though they had a project to do together she still cared too much about what her friends thought. Eventually she came to her senses and dumped her jock boyfriend and so-called friends to help Varen and that was the turning point in their relationship.
Now, a little more on Varen. He is all mysterious and dark and just plain delicious! A guy who can wear a lip ring and pull it off (in my mind he totally did) is one of the hottest things ever! He has black hair and green eyes, perfect combination and he is intelligent as well. How Isobel or anyone would choose an idiotic jock over him stunned me so much that I think my brain short circuited for a while, because I would be on that so fast I would break the sound barrier. Varen seems stand-offish at first but it is only because Isobel never did anything to deserve him being nice to her. Their relationship does grow to friendship and in the end to something more, thank GOODNESS!!!
Isobel ends up getting sucked into Varen’s world where his imagination runs wild. This apparently is also what happened to Edgar. She needs to save Varen from his own mind before the other world claims him for its own. This is also where you meet the Nocs, now some people might find them creepy and evil in some way but I just found them hot! I hope the next person who reads this will as well because there is a huge reason as to why I found them hot and I was so shocked.
Near the end the book got so confusing that I struggled to finish it but I’m glad I did because in the end it all made sense and I was so relieved because if it ended up ending in a confusing manner I think I would’ve gone mentally whacked as Isobel would say. It also ended in such a way that my jaw dropped, I couldn’t believe that Kelly Creagh would do something so incredibly cruel, I had to approve. The next book Enshadowed is coming out soon so my agony won’t last for long
Kelly Creagh created an amazingly dark and shadowy world that would pull any reader deep into her world and keep you there until she feels fit to release you.
Now for a small teaser!
“His voice flowed low and smooth, and she concentrated on its tone more than on the words themselves as it buzzed through her like music. With her hand pressed between both of his, her whole body seemed to hum, and she began to feel fuzzy from the inside out, like a radio stuck between channels. Her eyes fluttered shut.”
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Hey guys so I'm back for the holidays! I haven't done much on the blog this year but it's because I have been so busy with my Honours year at university. It's been really hectic. I have been reading though but I just didn't have any time to think up reviews because honestly? When I didn't have to do anything for uni I took great enjoyment in being very very lazy, but I miss the blog so I'm making an effort. 
