Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Obsidian

Obsidian (Lux, #1)
Publisher's Synopsis: Starting over sucks. When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I'd pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring.... until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up. And then he opened his mouth. Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something...unexpected happens. The hot alien living next door marks me. You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon's touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I'm getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades. If I don't kill him first, that is

My Review: Seriously, believe the hype!! This book is incredible! I read it in 12 hours and couldn't sleep until I was finished at Midnight.. First off there is nothing ground-breaking here plot wise. Cute/Shy/prety new girl meets hott/mysterious/douchebag boy who inexplicably hates her at first sight, saves her against his better judgement, and is hot and cold every 3 minutes. Except for me there is something fresh here. At first the 'alien' plot made me skeptical but I totally bought into it. The hot scences were seriously hottttt and the cold scenes were definitly cringe worthy. Overall I really loved the plotline through out this whole book for two main reasons:

1. Katy's relationship with Dee was a central point in this book and I love when the romance has the same importance as female friendships. Dee and Katy's friendship was great and not filled with any mean girl antics like some books (ie- Hush Hush)I really felt for Dee and how lonely she was also, it was great that Katy was willing to risk her life not for Daemon but for Dee. Thats awesome!
2. Katy and Daemon didn't disolve into people they aren't or into a relationship that changed them over night. The fact that in the end, they're still fighting, still hot and cold was great. So many times charecters personalities completly change once they 'get together' and the badass all of a sudden becomes this doting knight in shinning armor. Well Daemon is no hero and Katy is pretty bad-ass on her own. I cant wait to see how their relationship develops (or not) in the next book and hopefully there will be lots more Daemon half naked :)
I can not wait till August I'm literally counting down the days until this book is in my hand! The writing was great and I'm looking forward to finding another book by this author. Borrowed it from a friend on my kindle but I will def be buying this for my book-shelf..This one is a keeper!!!
 
didn't like it it was ok liked it really liked it it was amazing (my current rating)

Monday, July 30, 2012

Monday Thoughts...

Today I have a terrible case of the Modays!!! But to get me through this day I started a new book!! "Obsidian" by Jennifer L. Armentrout. This is part of the Lux series and a book I have wanted to read for a few months now. So far so good..lots of one liners and I like that! In this book the main charecter Katy has delt with the death of one of her parents and I am finding this to be a trend in the books I have been reading lately. I can think of at least 6 books off the top of my head that have been published in the past year and where one if not both parents have died. Is death the new divorce? I think this is so interesting and I wonder if I'm the only one.. Do you think it's odd that a lot of plots focus on this and are these authors trying to say something specific or do you think that it's just a device to move the plot forward?! Something to think about, leave a comment and let me know what you think!!

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Embrace

Embrace (The Violet Eden Chapters, #1)
Publisher's Synopsis: On her 17th birthday, everything will change for Violet Eden. The boy she loves will betray her. Her enemy will save her. She will have to decide just how much she's willing to sacrifice.
Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, EMBRACE is a compelling novel of good and evil, seductive desires and impossible choices. A centuries old war between fallen angels and the protectors of humanity chooses a new fighter. It's a battle Violet doesn't want, but she lives her life by two rules: don't run and don't quit. If angels seek vengeance and humans are the warriors, you could do a lot worse than betting on Violet Eden.
LINCOLN: He's been Violet's one anchor, her running partner and kickboxing trainer. Only he never told her he's Grigori--part human, part angel--and that he was training her for an ancient battle between Angels and Exiles.
PHOENIX: No one knows where his loyalties lie, yet he's the only one there to pick up the pieces and protect her after Lincoln's lies. In a world of dark and light, he is all shades of gray.
Two sides: Angel or Exile.
Two guys: Lincoln or Phoenix.
The wrong choice could cost not only her life, but her eternity...


My Review: I think that "Embrace" was an excellent first book into a new series about Angels and the Grigori, half human half angel who come of age at 17 and have the choice to either 'embrace' their destiny or to never receive their full powers. This is the choice laid before Violet Eden, whose mother died during child birth and who's father has been doing the best they can. I've been reading a lot of books lately where part of the plot line is the family dealing with the death of one of the parents.
Violet's partner and love interest is named Lincoln. Her best friend Steph is awesome and The other guy fighting for her love and attention is named Phoenix, he's an exileded angel. To describe how i feel about each charecter is to give away major plot points. But what I can say this book is great and i really loved it. Ive been searching for a new series to get into and this is it!!! this book gets then mandatory negative star though for the love triangle, i understand that it was central to the plot but i still hate them.
Bottom Line? read it!!

didn't like it it was ok liked it really liked it (my current rating) it was amazing

Confessions of an Angry Girl

Confessions of an Angry Girl (Confessions, #1)
Publisher's Synopsis": Rose Zarelli, self-proclaimed word geek and angry girl, has some CONFESSIONS to make... #1: I'm livid all the time. Why? My dad died. My mom barely talks. My brother abandoned us. I think I'm allowed to be irate, don't you? #2: I make people furious regularly. Want an example? I kissed Jamie Forta, a badass guy who "might" be dating a cheerleader. She is now enraged and out for blood. Mine. #3: High school might as well be Mars. My best friend has been replaced by an alien, and I see red all the time. (Mars is red and "seeing red" means being angry-get it?) Here are some other vocab words that describe my life: Inadequate. Insufferable. Intolerable.
(Don't know what they mean? Look them up yourself.) (Sorry. That was rude.)


My review: I give this book 3.5 star.. It was provided by HarlequinTeen as an ARC from NetGalley.
This is the story about a 14 year old girl who has just entered high school as a freshman, Rose Zarelli. her father was recently killed in Iraq where he tool a job as a contractor there after loosing his job and needing to support his family. Her mother, a therapist, and her older brother who just left for college are all still dealing with his death. Rose's voice/pov sounds much older than 14 and i feel as though the tone of the book (being relaly focused on sex, losing your virginity, binge drinking, bullying) has a lot of serious issues. Dealing with things that myself, and the daughters of friends that are that age, werent really doing yet. I think that if the age of the girl was slightly older than I wouldve personally A) Been more comfortable with the plot B) feltit was more believable/bought into it. The fact that she was able to do all that she was doing because her mother wasn't paying any attention to her is unfortunatly what happens a lot more than not. Overall I thought that the story was interesting but the charecter of girls that tormented Rose were just plain mean. Not sure if i will read the sequel or not? Jury is still out..

3.94 of 5 stars

Friday, July 6, 2012

Angelfall

Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days, #1)
Publisher's Synopsis: It’s been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back. Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel. Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl. Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels’ stronghold in San Francisco where she’ll risk everything to rescue her sister and he’ll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

My Review: Where do i even begin? No seriously where do i begin?!?!OK so at first when i read this description i thought to myself here is another typical YA novel with an Angel plot... WHOA could i even be more mistaken.. I’m not even sure what category this falls in but YA is not my first guess. This is a book that makes you fear the end of the world like nothing i have ever read before. Why? Because the writing and descriptions are so vivid and terrifying and yet so simple in a way that it makes you go "yup, this is all so terribly possible". I mean Susan Ee really goes for it here. I’m talking avenging angels, cannibalism, zombie/nephilium half-breeds, things that go bump in the night and half eaten corpses on the road. Would i have ever picked this book up if i got this description prior to reading it? HELL NO bc what i just described to you is not my cup of tea. I am the kind of girl who gets nightmares from a commercial. and yet i was glued to my seat, gripping the pages and shaking with anxiety and we haven’t even discussed the plot!!!
Penryn is on a quest to save her little sister who is abducted by one of the angels who is waging war on earth -Rapture style- literally plucked out of her wheelchair and is taken. While her schizophrenic mother goes running for the hills with a carton of rotten eggs. She quickly grabs an angel whose wings have been cut off and left bleeding in the streets, Raffe, and drags him into hiding hoping to revive him and have him lead her to her sister. The whole plot is their journey to San Francisco, him to get his wings sewn back on and her to find her sister, and what happens while they are trying to survive the journey there, what they see along the way and how to break into the Aerie. But it all comes down to this, the terrifying things Pen finds when she gets there....
This is the longest book review ive ever written and honestly i feel like i haven’t even touched the surface of this book. The relationship that builds between Pen and Raffe is great. It's filled with tension but Penryn knows here priorities. The energy and pace of the book is relentless and the ending, OMG that ending!!!!! I cannot wait to read the second book. The only complaint i have is that bc i read the paperback version the chapters were too short. Overall: it was a difficult read at times but well worth it!!!!

didn't like it it was ok liked it really liked it it was amazing (my current rating)

Pushing the Limits

Pushing the Limits

Publisher's Synopsis: "I won't tell anyone, Echo. I promise." Noah tucked a curl behind my ear. It had been so long since someone touched me like he did. Why did it have to be Noah Hutchins? His dark brown eyes shifted to my covered arms. "You didn't do that-did you? It was done to you?" No one ever asked that question. They stared. They whispered. They laughed. But they never asked.
So wrong for each other...and yet so right.
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

My Review: In the words of Echo Emerson: Oh. MY. God. Where do I even begin? "Pushing the Limits" by Katie McGarry was incredible. The writing was amazing, the plot kept you guessing and Noah Hutchinson is the most swoon-worthy bad boy i have come in 'contact' with for quite some time!! The romance and tension in this book is palpable, like my kindle might just go up in smoke!!! Through the two main charecters, Echo and Noah, the POV/story telling switces back and forth. We get to here the story continued but not in a choppy way. I was unsure of that device but it really, really worked fo ths book, it is absolutly one of my favorites now..

The only complaint I have is the design of the ARC- there were no chapter numbers or even indentations to let us know the point of vie was switching, sometimes in the middle of a paragraph. I would have to stop reading and go wait that's not Noah talking anymore its Echo. In the beginning it was seriously annoyin but in the end I was able to complete the book. Since this was the fist ARC i've ever read im not sure if they usually are sent in this condition, but hopefully not.

Thank again to Net-Galley and Harlequin Teen for providing the ARC and this beautiful story to me!!! Cant wait to buy it and add it to my collection.
 
5 of 5 stars false

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Shadow and Bone

Shadow and Bone (The Grisha Trilogy, #1)


Publisher's Synopsis: Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee. Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart

My Review:  I can't remember the last time a book came out with this much Hype since i have joined Goodreads, it was everywhere!!! So naturally after much noise i couldnt wait to get my grubby little paws on it! For me the best part of this book was Alina. She was incredible and went on such a journey, the kind where a charecter actually experiences growth on the pages right before your very eyes!! The world that LB has created is luscious and inviting. It was detailed without feeling overwhelmed. The other thing i love about this book is the Romance kind of takes a back seat. Its there lurking in the background.

The Darkling is definitly one of the most compelling charecters I've read.I love him. I love to hate him. And god damn it if there isnt one redeeming quality about this sexy, dangerous, psychopath. I want to get in his head and understand what games is he playing here. I want to know his NAME!!! Basically I JUST WANT HIM.... haha ;)

While Mal is the "love interest" i find him boring and quite frankily a little to late.. However this quote is a keeper..

"I missed you every hour. And you know what the worst part was? It caught me completely by surprise. I'd catch myself just walking around to find you, not for any reason , just out of habit, because I'd seen something that I wanted to tell you about or because I wanted to hear your voice. And then I'd realize that you weren't there anymore, and every time, every single time, it was like having the wind knocked out of me. I've risked my life for you. I've walked half the length of Ravka for you, and I'd do it again and again and again just to be with you, just to starve with you and freeze with you and hear you complain about hard cheese every day. So don't tell me why we don't belong together," he said fiercely."

Bring it on LB.... Book 2 cant come soon enough!!!!!


didn't like it it was ok liked it really liked it (my current rating) it was amazing

Darkness Before Dawn

Darkness Before Dawn (Darkness Before Dawn, #1)

Publisher's Synopsis:  Only sunlight can save us.We built the wall to keep them out, to keep us safe. But it also makes us prisoners, trapped in what's left of our ravaged city, fearing nightfall.After the death of my parents, it's up to me--as the newest delegate for humanity--to bargain with our vampire overlord. I thought I was ready. I thought I knew everything there was to know about the monsters. Then again, nothing could have prepared me for Lord Valentine . . . or his son. Maybe not all vampires are killers. Maybe it's safe to let one in.Only one thing is certain: Even the wall is not enough. A war is coming and we cannot hide forever.

My Review: This book is written by a mother and son writing team under the name JA London. Darkness before Dawn was incredible. I feel like i didnt have a lot of expectations going into this book. Between vampire fatigue and the fallen-esque choice of cover art I was wary but hopefully optomistic. The bottom line? This book did not disapoint! It was incredible. I loved the vampire/dystopian plot. I love Dawn was a charecter, shes strong and wants to folow her heat but also do the best with the position she is given. She's also speacial, something about her is different but we don't know what and i like that it is still a mystery!!! I cant stand her boyfriend Mike, its kind of refreshing to have a Male charecter who is kind of a dick and who's ego is constantly on the line or needing to be stroked, seems more like a normal teenage boy depiction to me.

Victor is incredible and I fell in love with him the minute he gave Dawn that gift HAHA!!! There romance is something that hits Dawn out of no where, somthing she strugles and fights against, she doesnt go triping after him into the dark. She slowly comes to the realization of her love and that moment was intense and so gratifying.

I also enjoyed the vampire lore, mytholoy and politics of Old Families, lessers, etc. Valentine is a formidable foe and had me shivering in my 'boots'. The pacing was great and the climax was a shocker! The book ended on an insane cliffhanger but lucky me, my book included the first chapter of "Blood Kissed Sky" so my momentery freak out last only that, a moment :) Also this book is written by two authors and quite honestly, i couldn't tell, Some books Like Beautiful Creatures you can hear almost two different voices and in this one you couldnt!

Bottom line : new favorite Vampire book series for sure. IS IT DECEMBER YET??!! :)

5 of 5 stars false