Review: Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

Book: Catching Jordan
Author: Miranda Kenneally 
Publication Date: December 1st, 2011
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Pages: 281
Rating: 2 Stars

What girl doesn't want to be surrounded by gorgeous jocks day in and day out? Jordan Woods isn't just surrounded by hot guys, though-she leads them as the captain and quarterback of her high school football team. They all see her as one of the guys and that's just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university.

But everything she's ever worked for is threatened when Ty Greeen moves to her school. Not only is he an amazing QB, but he's also amazingly hot. And for the first time, Jordan's feeling vulnerable. Can she keep her head in the game while her heart's on the line?

This may just be a coincidence, but now I get why they didn't show the people's heads on the character! Oh, that little plot twist in the middle. I don't know why I didn't see it. Of course Jordan couldn't just be a badass tomboy; she had to regress to being a whinging teenage girl at some point!

Cons: 
The crying.
Jordan acting like a total girl, and mentioning that Ty is "hot" as an excuse for why she's dating him when she obviously has feelings for someone else. 
The crying.
Tyler being a crybaby...?
Mediocre writing that's very choppy at times (One phrase where the coach "stares into" Jordan's eyes, which is a bit weird.)
The crying.
The fact that Jordan uses Sam's last name, Henry, so much that I completely couldn't connect him to the his first name. And I happen to like the name Sam very much.
Lots of welling eyes and pooling tears and however different ways to describe crying.
I'm beginning to sense a pattern here, are you?

Pros:
Sam and Jordan's friendship. Very sweet, and I especially liked the part with the football charm and how he picked wildflowers for her.
Brief moments of hilarity, like when Jordan cries into Luigi's face (what?).
The happy ending.

In conclusion: 
Feelings towards this book are lukewarm at best. All the crying just didn't do it for me. It actually angered me to the point of writing a post ranting about it, which can be found here. Liked the football and the fact that it was contemporary, but I didn't like Ty at all, and I had no idea what was going on with him. He was just there as a catalyst for Jordan's realization that she loved someone else, and after that, he pretty much disappeared. It was all HenryHenrySamHenry after that. And tears, of course. Let's not forget that.

I'm sad. I need something good to read.
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Review: Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

Book: Sweet Evil 

Author: Wendy Higgins
Series: Sweet Trilogy
Publication Date: May 1st, 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
Rating: 1 Star

Embrace the Forbidden

What if there were teens whose lives literally depended on being bad influences?

This is the reality for sons and daughters of fallen angels.

Tenderhearted Southern girl Anna Whitt was born with the sixth sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She’s aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but Anna, the ultimate good girl, has always had the advantage of her angel side to balance the darkness within. It isn’t until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage and her willpower is put to the test. He’s the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna.

Forced to face her destiny, will Anna embrace her halo or her horns?

This book has everything I hate. I'm not kidding.

1. An idiotic, annoying heroine.
2. A love triangle.
3. More telling than showing.
4. Info dumps.
5. Douchebag love interest.
6. Things that happen that make no logical sense at all. 

The things I could say about this book... If you saw my comments as I read, well, you'd understand. I'm surprised this has such a high rating. Because of it, I had high expectations, and they all came crashing down the moment Anna opened her mouth and started talking about her appearance, how she was soooo plain. But I kept going, hoping that maybe Kaidan, the love interest, would redeem the story. I mean, if you're going to throw good and evil together, there should be some serious chemistry, right?

WRONG.

All Kaidan turns out to be is a knife-wielding, wannabe bad boy who lays every girl in a ten mile radius under the pretense of "working." I found his need to have sex with at least one girl every night extremely distasteful, since he wasn't being forced into it, as shown by his later ability to just drop his work whenever he chooses.

But Anna still chooses to follow him like a simpering puppy.

You know why this book is 1 star? I'll tell you why. The main character.

People expect stuff from young adult books nowadays. They expect a girl who can kick asses and take names as well as she can pull off a ballgown, who's as smart as she's pretty.

I don't expect that. Sure, it's nice, but it's becoming the norm, and I want something different. Anna could have been that, but she failed completely. Here are some quotes that show just how insufferable she is:

A vibrant energy rushed through my body as the pieces slammed into place. Oh, dear Lord. I was in love with him. And there wasn’t a thing on earth, in heaven, or in hell that could have stopped me.

Spare me. She barely knows the guy. He's the first guy she's been attracted to, and she's ready to face heaven and hell? Bella Stewart, come on down! I think we've found you a buddy.

We couldn’t just stand there loitering. I made a quick decision to trust them and hoped it wouldn’t turn out to be one of my naive moments.

So. She decides to go into the company of potentially dangerous people to avoid LOITERING? Priorities, girl. Sort them.

“Look, Jay, I’m going to be honest with you, even though it’s embarrassing. I’m one step away from stalking him.” My voice shook. “All I do is think of him. If there were no such thing as caller ID, I would call him all day just to listen to him talking on his voice mail. I’m having an extremely difficult time getting over him. If I see him again...”

DOES SHE HAVE ANY COMMON SENSE? DON'T SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

What's probably even worse is Jay's reply, which is: "'Sorry, man... It's cool.'"

But it doesn't stop there...

I dealt with the pain by shutting down. The more time asleep, the better. I missed school a few times, just to lie in bed. Failed a major test. Lost weight. But I knew time would heal the ache, and everything would be okay. I could move on. I would come back to life. Eventually. But not yet.

Remind you of anyone yet? Take the vampires and replace them with angels, and voila! You get Sweet Evil. There is nothing about this book that's interesting in the least. Not crybaby Anna and her pathetic obsession with Kaidan, who basically strings her around and gets laid every night anyway. Oh, and he also makes "masculine growing sounds" and gives her "crushing stares," not that I have any idea what any of those mean.

Not her best friend, Jay, who acts like a wannabe gangster and cheats on his somewhat-girlfriend. And not her friends, who represent sins and don't really give a crap about the chaos they induce.

There was also too much drinking and substance abuse in this for me to be okay with it. If Higgins was trying to teach us anything, it was that it's easy to get fake IDs and that drinking is totally okay as long as we know when to stop. Also, you can apparently dump illegal drugs out of your car window...

I'm pretty sure the people who know when to stop wouldn't be drinking in the first place.

The idea with the Dukes and their children was an interesting one, but Higgins has botched it in a way that's so annoyingly stereotypical that I was begging for the book to end and put me out of my misery. The writing is subpar, with words that don't really mean anything and illogical sentences that make no sense. I wouldn't have read on, but Higgins pulled a dirty trick. The relationship between Anna and Kaidan reaches no closure, and if there's one thing I can't deal with, it's unclosed relationships. So I'll be reading on. Hopefully, Anna will get over herself (not likely), and Kaidan will stop being a douche (even more unlikely).
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Review: Grave Mercy by R.L. LaFevers

Book: Grave Mercy
Author: R.L. LaFevers
Series: His Fair Assassin
Publication Date: April 3rd, 2012
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Pages: 549
Rating: 3 Stars

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

For while I am Death’s daughter and walk in His dark shadow, surely the darkness can give way to light sometimes.

Killer nuns? Historical fantasy? Right on!

I wasn't all that interested in the first couple chapters. Well, the first chapter definitely got my attention. First chapters that involve almost-rape always capture my attention. I think that's what they're supposed to do. But after that, things got a bit ehhhh. Okay, convent with lots of poisons that Ismae is fortunately immune to. Lots of man hating, as well as a class in which women can learn how to seduce...? Some interesting side characters that you think are going to have greater importance but end up popping up only once or twice throughout the story. Most of all, there was a lot of preaching about how killing a man is better than...doing anything else with a man. Yeah.

One heart cannot serve two masters.

The political intrigue was good stuff. It takes some serious logic to think of all the plots and pitfalls that come with being a duchess. Although, I didn't really get the duchess. She didn't really do anything useful except be pale yet determined (???)  all the time. While we're on redundancy, I have to mention that there was a lot of elbow grabbing and iron grips. What's with that?

 In addition, I want to point out that despite the gigantic problems that arose, they were all solved relatively quickly and efficiently. Duchess can't get a good husband? Here comes a man who just happens to have just lost his wife and has both looks and a formidable army! French whore (I don't call her this, the abbess does. Are nuns allowed to call other women whores? Huh.) and her son might be traitors? Just swear an oath and be spared from death (why didn't they do this sooner...?) I just don't think problems that concern a country's future can really be solved so easily. Then again, this IS a YA novel. Can't expect serious fiscal-crisis-stuff. That would ruin everything. Just like it's ruining America now. Ahem. Moving on!

The romance made me roll my eyes a healthy number of times. Example:

Perhaps Mortain knew I could not kill him even if he bore the marque. I cannot kill the only man I have found it in my heart to love.

Of COURSE he's the only man. You were locked up in a convent for most of your life until you met him! 

Anyway, Ismae sort of bothered me. She was way too good at everything she did, and even though I have great admiration for her collection of poisons and that badass bracelet she uses for strangulation (or something of the sort), there's no way for one person to excel at killing and hiding the way she does. Just... nuh-uh. No way. And that part at the end where she saves Duval? Totally expected something like that. The only problems she seemed to have concerned her angsting over him and the way she completely lost all of her nunnery smarts whenever he came into the picture. 

I do have a soft spot for Duval, though. He's way too sweet and perfect, which is how I like my fictional men.

“I know some call him oath breaker, for although the oath he swore to Saint Camulos required him to stand and fight, he turned his back on the fighting and instead carried me to safety. But as he explained to me later, what good is fighting if what you are fighting for is lost?”

Deep stuff. Anyway, Grave Mercy is how I've come to expect all these paranormal/fantasy/whatnot young adult novels to be. Now authors are trying to throw in kickass heroines and swoon-worthy males at an alarming frequency, and I don't think I like it. But you could definitely do worse than this book. Thus, 3 stars.

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Review: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Book: The Raven Boys
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Series: Raven Cycle
Publication Date: September 18, 2012
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Pages: 408
Rating: 4 Stars

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before.

 Gansey, she warned, but she felt unstable and dangerous. I just want to pretend, Gansey said, the words misting on her skin. I want to pretend that I could.

First of all, I received this ARC from a Goodreads giveaway, and I spent an appropriately long time fawning over the cover after it arrived. So thanks, Scholastic, for making a girl go crazy over a...painted raven.

I approached The Raven Boys dubiously, since I've read Stiefvater's books, and I got the sensation that they were either really boring, spent too much time on details, or the guys were total pansies (Sam, not Sean. I liked Sean, even though it took him a while to get to the point.). Thus, I am happy to say that this book did not do any of these, and that I think it's the best of Stiefvater's writing that I've seen to date.

The book starts with an unhealthy dose of intrigue, and I was forced to pay attention to each word said, since all of them seemed to have some hidden meaning that would be unveiled towards the end. Also, Stiefvater's gorgeous writing continues to play a large part, except now it's actually relevant to the story. Her style is very well suited to the sort of atmosphere she creates in The Raven Boys, one that's normal on the outside but throwing off sparks of hidden magic on the inside. I was less dissatisfied with the world-building in this book, though there is the fact that it doesn't extend beyond Blue's weird home and the Gansey's apartment. Everything else is fantastical and otherworldly, and Stiefvater does a wonderful job of creating these other worlds apart from the real one.

 I do want to note, however, that Stiefvater seems to really like the word dusty. Just an observation.

What I loved most, however, as I loved about The Scorpio Races, is the uniqueness of the characters that she creates. Not only Blue and Gansey are people worth loving for; Stiefvater makes the side characters matter in a way that not all authors can. I cared about them. I cared about Adam and the fact that he's more than a scholarship student, I cared about Ronan and the fact that he's still living with some sort of secret, I cared about Noah and the way he likes petting Blue's hair. They're all so distinct from each other, it's impossible to forget them. Blue's mother and her psychic friends are also not exactly forgettable.

Where do you live?

Adam's mouth was very set. "A place made for leaving." 

You'll have to forgive me for my sparse quotes; I didn't really take copious notes while reading because I was too busy flipping pages. But my point is that everything the characters say and do is special, and you keep an eye on their words. I certainly did. They also throw in a little humor on the side that adds another dimension of reality to their world, even though it's nothing like ours.

One thing I really felt cheated on, though? The relationship. From the get-go, Blue's warned that she'll cause her true love's death. She's incessantly warned of this, and she mentions it multiple times. She meets four boys who are very much available (okay, maybe not emotionally, but you get my drift). She shares some tiny, cute moments with Adam, like when he gives her a puny bouquet or the infrequent hand-holding. But there was almost nothing with Gansey except for some weird visions. After reading the blurb, I fully expected their relationship to at least solidify in this book, but I got nothing of the sort. The quote I gave you guys at the beginning of the review? It's a lie. IT'S ALL A LIE. I mean, I didn't make it up. But it's one of the few teasing morsels that Stiefvater tosses to us.

I don't know about you, but I don't like SCRAPS.

If you come into this expecting a deep, all-encompassing love, be ready for disgruntlement. I only hope that Stiefvater develops this in her next couple books, or else I will be a very unhappy girl, indeed.

Now that I think about it, I didn't really like Gansey any more than I liked everyone else. He did always seem like a guy with too much free time on his hands, despite our glimpses into the emptiness inside him. I think my favorite of the guys is Ronan, considering his bitter past and the little affection he lets seep through. If you ask me about my favorite character, though, it'll always be Chainsaw. Oh, Chainsaw. So much love for that black feathered beast.

I'm very excited over what's happening next! Gansey and Blue better do it soon.

Thank you to Scholastic Press for sending me an ARC of this book.
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Review: Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff

Book: Stormdancer
Author: Jay Kristoff
Series: The Lotus War
Publication Date: September 18, 2012
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
My rating: 4.5 stars


This didn't happen. This was a dream. Tomorrow, I will wake up and realizing I dreamed all this stuff about bigass thunder tigers and Japanese people dying.

Oh, who am I kidding? This book was awesome, and it is everything it says it is.

EVERYTHING, PEOPLE. EVERYTHING.

From the moment I read the blurb of Stormdancer, I knew it would be something amazing. The premise is captivating: a feudal dystopian (ironic) Japan with Iron Samurai and a weed that's sucking the life out of a previously beautiful country. And after reading Kristoff's own review of his book, I was expecting a lot out of it: creativity, romance, high adventure... Basically, all of the things I would look for in different books seemed to have culminated in this one. But what I hadn't expected was for this book to completely tear me apart in the way that it did.

I'll have to admit that the first part of the book didn't interest me much at first. There were long blocks of text that described the setting in precise detail, and for someone like me with the attention span of a gnat, it was difficult to read through them despite Kristoff's gorgeous style of writing. I think I did a lot of my skimming there and missed a bunch of facts about the background of the society, which came back to taunt me afterwards. However, the long-winded descriptions almost completely stopped being an issue in the second and third parts. That was when Kristoff began focusing on the action and plot development, not so much the setup. And boy, does Kristoff do a good job with action. It's so vividly told, and the weapons are so vicious, you're pulled in the moment blood starts to spill. And Kristoff leaves no survivors. Everyone comes out with some sort of injury or trauma, which is a welcome relief from the annoying part when the heroine is always saved by some dreaaamy guy.

Speaking of the love story in this book...

 
SPOILER ALERT. IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW ABOUT HOT SAMURAI, DO NOT READ ON. I MEAN IT.
It completely threw me for a loop. I had inklings that it might happen, and Kristoff didn't really let us know Hiro (the hot samurai, if you were reading my status updates) very well. His and Yukiko's relationship seems mostly founded on lust, but AGHHHH. I couldn't believe it, still. I think it's because no author has done that to the main character's obvious love interest. Now, I have no choice but to put my support behind Kin, although I didn't like him that much. He seems a bit girly and weak, but he has an entire series in which to reassert himself.

That said, I don't think I liked the love in here. It played a measly part, especially since Yukiko spends 200 pages dreaming about some guy with creamy jade eyes, and we only get him for fifty before he goes stark raving mad. I don't think you could even count it as a romance element. It was more a couple secret smiles and sexsexsex at inopportune moments. 

--END OF SPOILER--

I think the huge blocks of description in the first part and the romance were my only issues with the book. Oh, and a little bit Masaru & Kasumi & Naomi. I know it's feudal Japan and whatnot, but I didn't like it. It made Masaru and Naomi's love much less authentic and believable.

Criticism over! Now, onto what made this book amazing.

BURUU. Oh, Buruu, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways:
First of all, the majesty and power that Kristoff gifts Buruu with. Yet the way his thoughts are twined with Yukiko's makes him much more human and vulnerable. Kristoff can write animals. Like... I don't know how to explain it, but he's great at it. Maybe in a past life, he was a griffin. But that part with Yukiko's dog, Buruu, dying? I started telling my friends about it and how it was so sad and they were just looking at me with are you a psycho?  looks on their faces. But I really like Buruu. Especially the way he loves Yukiko and his devotion to her towards the end when he has to choose between flight and her. It gave me chills.

THE WOMEN. Despite her somewhat bad decisions with Hiro (but he was sexy, so I'll give her that), Yukiko's a badass. She can kick some serious butt. But not just her. Aisha, I thought, was a wonderful character. I like that Kristoff empowers his women but preserves their femininity. There are some astute observations about the way men treat them, but it's not preachy, and the women fight back. It's great. It's just great.

SETTING. Shima is a complicated place, and the fact that it's set in Japan requires a bunch of study. Well. Kristoff took that concept, and he conceptualized the crap out of it. I don't even know if that makes sense; I may just be blubbering now. Despite the long lines of description in the first part, he begins utilizing action and adventure to paint the image of the world, and I loved the elements of Japanese culture that I saw. It made it so much more exotic and beautiful than some lame, humid forest in the middle of Washington or something.

THE END. The end blew my socks off. It was so heartrending, climactic, and altogether shocking. Prepare the tissues, because you'll be saying goodbye to many characters that you learned to love during the novel.

And that's all I'm going to say. Read the book and find out for yourselves! This one was so amazing... I wonder what the next one will be like.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for giving me a chance to read and review this book.
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Review: Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park

Book: Flat-Out Love
Author: Jessica Park
Publisher: Self-Published
Pages: 400
My rating: 3 Stars

Goodreads Summary:
Flat-Out Love is a warm and witty novel of family love and dysfunction, deep heartache and raw vulnerability, with a bit of mystery and one whopping, knock-you-to-your-knees romance.

Something is seriously off in the Watkins home. And Julie Seagle, college freshman, small-town Ohio transplant, and the newest resident of this Boston house, is determined to get to the bottom of it.

When Julie's off-campus housing falls through, her mother's old college roommate, Erin Watkins, invites her to move in. The parents, Erin and Roger, are welcoming, but emotionally distant and academically driven to eccentric extremes. The middle child, Matt, is an MIT tech geek with a sweet side ... and the social skills of a spool of USB cable. The youngest, Celeste, is a frighteningly bright but freakishly fastidious 13-year-old who hauls around a life-sized cardboard cutout of her oldest brother almost everywhere she goes.

And there's that oldest brother, Finn: funny, gorgeous, smart, sensitive, almost emotionally available. Geographically? Definitely unavailable. That's because Finn is traveling the world and surfacing only for random Facebook chats, e-mails, and status updates. Before long, through late-night exchanges of disembodied text, he begins to stir something tender and silly and maybe even a little bit sexy in Julie's suddenly lonesome soul.

To Julie, the emotionally scrambled members of the Watkins family add up to something that ... well ... doesn't quite add up. Not until she forces a buried secret to the surface, eliciting a dramatic confrontation that threatens to tear the fragile Watkins family apart, does she get her answer.
Flat-Out Love comes complete with emails, Facebook status updates, and instant messages.

There is no denying that Flat-Out Love is a very well-done book. That despite Jessica Park's little team-up with Jamie McGuire, this book will make you feel. Even though she's not acting cordially through her her support of McGuire in attacks against reviewers, I do not regret reading this book. The behavior of an author does make my opinion of him/her fall considerably, but it doesn't stop me from reading a book that promises to be good.

The revelation at the end was mind-blowing. I had no idea it was coming until a couple pages before (probably because I was up at 3 AM finishing up). Park duped me, and I feel simultaneously gratified and offended.

The cast of characters...I loved the characters in this book. Celeste, Matt, Erin, Finn...Ha. The dialogue was quick and witty, and I couldn't put the book down. I read it, in fact, for 5 straight hours. It's beautiful. This messed up, dysfunctional family, was beautiful. Julie was plenty amazing, too, with the way she deals with the situation and her attempts to help. Even though it was hard to like her at first for her rejection of the quirks of the Watkins family, her behavior towards Celeste and Flat Finn was enough to redeem her in the end.

I need to reread all of the messages with Finn after this. Damn it, that was brilliant.

I decided to be diplomatic and rate it a fair 3 stars, because even though I gave my honest opinion in this review, I still can't completely forget Park's past behavior.

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Review: The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Book:  The Scorpio Races
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic Inc
Publishing Date: October 18th, 2011
Pages: 409
My rating: 3.5 Stars

Goodreads Summary:
It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

My AP U.S. History teacher used to joke that he'd given us fun projects for the final couple months of the year because they always erased the bad memories we had of the grueling tests and homework packets we had to do for the majority of the year.

And that's what the last fifty pages of The Scorpio Races have done. They were so intense, they basically obliterated the mind-numbing monotony of the other 350 pages. I would've given this book 5 stars for the last 30 pages alone. But nope. Stiefvater had to attach the other 300+, and so I am aggrieved that I can't give it a very high rating because of them.

When I say monotonous, I mean bored-out-of-mind monotonous. I was praying for something to happen, and I skimmed a lot of the paragraphs about Thisby or the details of the island and races because there were so many of them. Don't get me wrong, Stiefvater does have a gift with words, but it got a bit grating to keep learning about the sea and the horses over and over. Then again, if she hadn't focused on the world-building, the world of The Scorpio Races might not have come as alive as it did. That's the crux of the matter. Also, the book actually got pretty creepy and gory. I liked that.

I was practically begging for Sean and Puck to just do it in a patch of cliff grass or something. I mean, Sean and Puck don't even meet until 100 pages in, and their relationship progresses at the rate a snail takes to go uphill. Which is not bad at all, but took a lot of the excitement out of the book. And what is it with all the parents missing? That's just...weird and coincidental. I would've liked to know more about them, since Sean didn't seem to feel all that bad about his father being eaten up. Maybe I skipped more paragraphs than I should have?

I liked the characters (George Holly. What a badass. Oh, and Benjamin Halvern and his butter tea. I sort of want to try it), though, and the sweet romance once it started going. Sean was quite different from all the guys I've been reading about, with his sharp demeanor and quiet devotion. However, I'd have to say my favorite part was the relationship between Sean and Corr. It's just one of those friendships between animal and human that's stronger than you could ever expect. They're totally my OTP now. All in all, I'm satisfied with this book despite the utter boredom I went through, and I'm definitely encouraged to read Shiver now.



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Review: The Selection by Kiera Cass

Book:  The Selection
Author: Kiera Cass
Series: The Selection
Pages: 327
Publishing Date: April 24th, 2012
Publisher: Harper Teen
My rating: 1 Star

Goodreads Summary:

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in the palace and compete for the heart of the gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself- and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

May I present to everyone The Hunger Games...Girlified!
Disclaimer: Despite the fact that I am drawing comparisons between the two, there is no way that this sad little novel (if it can even be called that) will ever match up to The Hunger Games.

Similarity #1: A "cutthroat" competition in which only one winner will be left standing.
Why It's Girlified: Instead of engaging in bloody struggles to the death, the girls instead compete by wearing prettier dresses, better makeup, and having etiquette. The closest they get to violence is when one bitch-slaps the other.

Similarity #2: A poor heroine who seems like an unfeeling douche in the beginning but somehow manages to endear herself to the public with her antics.
Why It's Girlified: America Singer (this name. I can't even.) is the most self-centered, weepy little twit I've ever read about. She does multiple things that would be considered horrible if others had done them, such as badmouthing the prince, throwing tantrums, but somehow the prince loves her and wants to be her best friend (because he's as stupid as she is, probably), and the public adores her.
This quote basically sum up her dazzling personality:

His black T-shirt was worn to threads in several places, just like the shabby pair of jeans he wore almost every day. If only I could sit and patch them up for him. That was my great ambition.

First selling off virginity, then this. This book is doing leaps and bounds for femininity, let me tell ya.

Similarity #3: The love triangle between the boy back home and the new boy whose personality the MC comes to know and adore.
Why It's Girlified: I can't make a decision between Aspen and Maxon. Why? Because I would rather make no decision at all. Neither of them have desirable qualities besides their broad shoulders and strong fingers. Cass needs to learn that just because the guys are hot doesn't mean they won't act like sticks of wood.

We have Aspen:
He ripped back my blankets in a move both graceful and violent.

I was internally screaming RAPE at this part. Love of my life or no, I don't want him ripping my sheets off me after I hesitated over answering whether or not I loved someone else.

We have Maxon:
He had his own smell, a mix of chemicals that burned out from him.

Do any of you find the fact that Maxon is toxic attractive? Because I don't.

Basically, what I'm saying is that this book has obvious aspects that come from The Hunger Games. However, it is also so girlified, teenybopperified, and altogether stupidified that these features have become almost unrecognizable. The writing is clumsy. It goes sort of like this:

Yesterday I brushed my teeth. I looked out my window and saw my boyfriend with his arms around another girl. Tears welled in my eyes. I smiled. I smiled again. I whisper-yelled at him. It took a while for me to rest, since I was so tired.

It's so painfully elementary that I wanted to slam my head against a tile.

Anyway. Please don't be like me, in that others' countless negative reviews weren't enough to convince you this book is utter crap. Because it is. Even the ending is crap. I might have been a bit more lenient if Cass hadn't finished what she'd started this book for. I don't even get what the conflict was. And there was no anticlimactic finale. There was no climax AT ALL. The plot is just a straight, boring line to nowhere. There were some iffy mentions of rebels and America's doubts about Illéa (doesn't make any sense to me why that makes this a dystopian, but whatever), but that's all overshadowed by the pressing concern of getting the attentions of some prince who doesn't know jack about his own country but still manages to make spur-of-the-moment, groundbreaking decisions. Oh, and he claims to know nothing about girls and to be afraid of their crying, but he manages to say all the right things and bring them all into giggly puddles of goo? This is disgusting and unflattering. I'm sure I speak for most women when I say that not all of us are reduced into pathetic tear-streaked damsels because of some guy.

I tried to read this like a chick lit. I did. But I doubt even my swoony, easily convinced self would've liked this.

My computer erased my previous review, which was already 3/4 written, which makes me hate this book even more.



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Review: Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler

Book: Bittersweet
Author: Sarah Ockler
Publishing Date: January 3rd, 2012
Publisher: Simon Pulse
My rating: 4 stars

Goodreads Summary:
Once upon a time, Hudson knew exactly what her future looked like. Then a betrayal changed her life, and knocked her dreams to the ground. Now she’s a girl who doesn’t believe in second chances... a girl who stays under the radar by baking cupcakes at her mom’s diner and obsessing over what might have been.

So when things start looking up and she has another shot at her dreams, Hudson is equal parts hopeful and terrified. Of course, this is also the moment a cute, sweet guy walks into her life... and starts serving up some seriously mixed signals. She’s got a lot on her plate, and for a girl who’s been burned before, risking it all is easier said than done.

It’s time for Hudson to ask herself what she really wants, and how much she’s willing to sacrifice to get it. Because in a place where opportunities are fleeting, she knows this chance may very well be her last...

One thing is for sure: Bittersweet is definitely better than Twenty Boy Summer. That book was just...blech.

So, I really like this cover. I think it's very fitting, and it gives off that quaint wintry feel that I got from the entire setting of Watonka (is that a real place? The name is so...whimsical. I like.). I really liked Ockler's writing in this novel, and I remember it was pretty good in That Other Book, too. This is how Hudson describes the place in the end:

All the little quirks that make even the most barren, frigid places beautiful, that make a tiny gray dot on the map the one place you'll always call home, no matter where your glamorous, boring, adventurous, average, ridiculous, impossible, epic, romantic, bacon-infused life leads you.


It's not the best quote in there, but it was one that struck a chord with me. As someone who yearns to leave my dumpy little town for the big city, this book was a good reminder that it's the people that make a place special, and to be alone while reaching for your dreams is sometimes worse than having support in your failures. Also, I loved the cupcake descriptions. If I weren't on a diet, I'd go snarf a couple vanilla wafers from my pantry right now. I mean, dark chocolate espresso cupcakes topped with cinnamon café au lait icing, white chocolate chips, and chocolate-covered espresso beans? Come into my mouth, please!

This is a sweet book, packed with delicious desserts and likable people. Bug was the cutest one of them all. I think Bug added a star to this review. He thought maraschino cherries were martian cherries. I wish my sister were that cute.

However, I can't say as much for the main character, Hudson. Strangely enough, I liked what Ockler did with her side characters like Trick, Bug, and even Dani. But it was hard for me to like Hudson. That's not to say that I couldn't understand her conflicts or her sudden alienation of everyone important in her life. She just didn't do things that were very endearing and made it difficult to sympathize; namely, when she kept cutting off Frankie when she was trying to tell her about Will. I thought it was obtuse of her, especially after she'd already learned that Frankie was right the first time. It bothered me that she wouldn't learn. Josh was your average, cute boy who shares music and all that cute stuff. But he didn't have much of a defining aspect, besides his sister Abby (and who hasn't seen the girlfriend-is-actually-sister thing before?). In fact, I felt that Will had much more charisma and personality than Josh. So I think Ockler should have worked a bit more on her main characters, who pale in comparison to the other less important people.

That said, I enjoyed this book way more than That Other Book, and the characters and plot were way more fun to read about, too. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go stare at cupcake pictures on Tumblr.
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Review: Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard

Book:  Wanderlove
Author: Kirsten Hubbard
Release Date: March 13th, 2012
Publisher: Delacorte Books
Pages: 338
My rating: 5 Stars

Goodreads Summary:
It all begins with a stupid question:

Are you a Global Vagabond?

No, but 18-year-old Bria Sandoval wants to be. In a quest for independence, her neglected art, and no-strings-attached hookups, she signs up for a guided tour of Central America—the wrong one. Middle-aged tourists with fanny packs are hardly the key to self-rediscovery. When Bria meets Rowan, devoted backpacker and dive instructor, and his outspokenly humanitarian sister Starling, she seizes the chance to ditch her group and join them off the beaten path.

Bria's a good girl trying to go bad. Rowan's a bad boy trying to stay good. As they travel across a panorama of Mayan villages, remote Belizean islands, and hostels plagued with jungle beasties, they discover what they've got in common: both seek to leave behind the old versions of themselves. And the secret to escaping the past, Rowan’s found, is to keep moving forward.

But Bria comes to realize she can't run forever, no matter what Rowan says. If she ever wants the courage to fall for someone worthwhile, she has to start looking back.

Kirsten Hubbard lends her artistry to this ultimate backpacker novel, weaving her drawings into the text. Her career as a travel writer and her experiences as a real-life vagabond backpacking Central America are deeply seeded in this inspiring story

There needs to be a destination, even if it's way off in the haze of my unlived life. And in that life, I'd like to be an artist.


I have a headache from reading this book. I think this is one of the few times where I'm pleased, despite the pounding in my head.

I honestly didn't expect the impact this story would leave on me. Maybe a few iguanas, some rain forest talk, barracudas...But Hubbard managed to make this into something profound. She brought the eternal problem of discovering yourself to South America, and in the process, she made something beautiful.

To begin with, the main character, Bria, has incredible character development. Over the course of her stay in various places of the wilderness, she develops her own independence and confidence in fighting for what she loves. Of course, she is pretty pitiful in the beginning, but I found it adorable instead of irritating. She has a voice that's completely sincere. As a teenager, I can completely sympathize with the way she feels: torn between places. Her connection to her art reminded me of how much I love my own writing and the possessiveness that comes with our own personal creations. Also, I loved the little pieces that Hubbard would slip in that made Bria so much more believable. For example, there's this one part when she's trying to put on her summer dress in front of Rowan and two other girls and gets stuck before she can get it all the way on. It's stuff like that that makes me believe that the author really has gotten into the mindset of the characters she's writing and knows that it's not just pretty words that makes a story: it's voice. And I'm happy to say that Bria's is an especially enjoyable one to read.

Onto Rowan. Damn, does he sound like a delicious piece of man meat. Despite his ponytail. Ha. I loved that he had his own problems, and that his bad boy past hadn't turned him into some dark poetry-reciting maniac (It has happened in other books. I would know.). Throughout the story, he comes off as someone truly likable and sweet, with a big heart and secrets of his own that he won't share unless the right person comes along. I loved tracking how he changes and opens himself to Bria throughout the novel, and I'm thankful that Hubbard never made their love story easy. Caution: whenever Rowan and Bria seem to be getting along better, don't get your hopes up. Something, be it Scandinavian giants or seasickness, will probably mess it up. Those who've read this book know what I'm talking about. But it all comes down to the issue of trusting someone else, not just with your safety, but with who you really are. That's why those who are sick of insta-love and unrealistic characters should read this book. There are real discoveries of what it means to exist in this world, and what it takes to step out of the comfort zone and pursue dreams that are actually worthwhile.

Not only do we have a hilarious, lovable, and begrudging travel couple, we have the beautiful backdrop of South America and the Caribbean. After all this, I have a hankering to visit there. Although I would never backpack. It sounds brutal, and I like comfortable hotels. Yup. Anyway, the way Hubbard describes the seas and brilliant sunsets are so vivid, it makes me yearn to be able to experience it once in my life, too. The drawings that were included were a lovely addition, especially the last couple ones, which let me visualize what kinds of people Starling, Rowan, and Bria are. I'm actually considering buying this book, which is big, since I'm pretty stingy in buying books because I think I won't ever read them again.

In truth, I don't think any review I write can do this book justice. You'd have to read it to know why I love it so much. Just like Bria observes that people can't understand the beauty of travel unless they've done it themselves.

So...yeah. READ THIS BOOK. If you don't like it (which is doubtful), at the very least you won't have felt like you lost brain cells in the end.




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Review: City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

Book: City of Lost Souls
Series: The Mortal Instruments
Author: Cassandra Clare
Release Date: May 8, 2012
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Source: Library Copy
Pages: 534
My Rating: 4 stars

Goodreads Summary:
The demon Lilith has been destroyed and Jace has been freed from her captivity. But when the Shadowhunters arrive to rescue him, they find only blood and broken glass. Not only is the boy Clary loves missing–but so is the boy she hates, Sebastian, the son of her father Valentine: a son determined to succeed where their father failed, and bring the Shadowhunters to their knees.

No magic the Clave can summon can locate either boy, but Jace cannot stay away—not from Clary. When they meet again Clary discovers the horror Lilith’s dying magic has wrought—Jace is no longer the boy she loved. He and Sebastian are now bound to each other, and Jace has become what he most feared: a true servant of Valentine’s evil. The Clave is determined to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. Will the Shadowhunters hesitate to kill one of their own?

Only a small band of Clary and Jace’s friends and family believe that Jace can still be saved — and that the fate of the Shadowhunters’ future may hinge on that salvation. They must defy the Clave and strike out on their own. Alec, Magnus, Simon and Isabelle must work together to save Jace: bargaining with the sinister Faerie Queen, contemplating deals with demons, and turning at last to the Iron Sisters, the reclusive and merciless weapons makers for the Shadowhunters, who tell them that no weapon on this earth can sever the bond between Sebastian and Jace. Their only chance of cutting Jace free is to challenge Heaven and Hell — a risk that could claim any, or all, of their lives.

And they must do it without Clary. For Clary has gone into the heart of darkness, to play a dangerous game utterly alone. The price of losing the game is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she even still trust him? Or is he truly lost? What price is too high to pay, even for love?

Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.

'You can't raise a child to believe the opposite of what you do. I don't think she doesn't believe she can die. I think, just like you always did, she believes there are things worth dying for.'

Hear that? I think that's the sound of Cassandra Clare's brilliance coming back. If there is one thing that is true about the Mortal Instruments series, I think it's that this book is way better than its predecessor. The plot isn't going haywire anymore, and for once there's direction to what the characters are doing. That's not to say that all the different perspectives and couples didn't boggle my mind, but I will willingly overlook that in this case. Clare has brought back the old sparkle that made her previous books so hotly discussed. I was no longer irritated with her for drawing out Clary and Jace's suffering. In fact, I thought Jace was pretty cute in this book. It was probably because he'd lost all moral obligation and wasn't angsting all over the place like he was in CoFA. My mom actually read this book before me, and she agrees with me. I really enjoyed the multiple facets that were seemingly given to Sebastian, and I almost found myself trusting him too. Which I never should have done, but kudos to Cassandra Clare for making me almost believe that the evilest evil-doer on the face of evil could actually be good. The best villains, after all, are the ones who are convinced that they're doing something right. Also, I am now 99% certain that Brother Zachariah is Will. Please. His "interest" in the Herondales and that time when he says he would die for two people? He's definitely not Barney the Purple Dinosaur.

One thing that stands out to me most about this book: Clary. She goes from the wimpy girl from CoB to a total demon ass-kicking heroine. I was pretty worried in the middle about her developing a case of Stockholm Syndrome, but even though she wavered at moments, she never forgot about the task at hand. Especially when she fights back against Sebastian. Speaking of Sebastian and Clary. Ewwwww. That scene with them...ewwwwwww. That is all I have to say. Anyway, Clary's final act at the climax proved to me that she had learned from all her experiences considering selfishness, love, and sacrifice. Which brings me to the next topic.

Whew, is there a lot of sacrifice in this book. There are people offering themselves up left and right, clandestine exchanges everywhere...It's a pretty bittersweet ending that this book has, and I hope that all of the characters will end up finding happiness, if only because all of them have been through such complete, utter crap. I mean, Magnus and Alec? It made me sad. It really did. But I was glad that Magnus had finally decided to speak out against the way everyone was treating him like the answer to everything. But I really like Magnus, and so I hope he and Alec solve their problems and are a happily ever after couple. Because they deserve nothing less.

One thing that niggles me about this book is the fact that the Clave seems totally useless. They're like the cops in those superhero movies, in that they always rush in and make things worse by getting in the superheroes' faces with their walky-talkies and badges or whatnot, and in the end their cop cars blow up and the villains escape because of them. I haven't seem them do anything good, actually. Their contempt towards Downworlders and the ineffectiveness of the "Law" don't exactly strike much faith in me. Also, I didn't enjoy Maia and Jordan's pillow talk. Or anything about them, really. Too much kissing, not much else happening. That was a problem throughout the book for me, actually. There was too much almost-sex happening where it didn't really mean anything, and I found myself skimming those parts. The ol' metaphors and similes are still at large, and I could have done with less description. But I loved learning about Paris, Prague, and Venice. It's always a nice surprise when the characters travel to different places.

Other than that, I really did like this book. I finished it in two days, if that's any indication.

Last thoughts:
Maureen: What. The. Flipping. Flamingo. I'm scared.
And one again, Magnus and Alec:


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Review: Timepiece by Myra McEntire

Book: Timepiece
Series: Hourglass
Author: Myra McEntire
Release Date: June 12th 2012
Publisher: Egmont USA
Source: NetGalley
Pages: 336
My Rating: 2 stars

My only reaction to this book: meh.

I think I couldn't enjoy this book partly because I remember next to nothing from Hourglass and didn't have the time or patience to reread it again, and partly because I didn't much care for Kaleb's character.

Too many rules. There are way too many rules about time traveling, and I couldn't keep all of them straight. For the first half of the book, I was just wondering, Who's Dune? Who's Nathan (actually, I still am not too sure who Nathan is). What's duronium? When did Michael and Em get their rings? Who the hell is Poe? Too many characters, too much going on. Too much of everything, with the exception of an engaging plot. It's a cheap trick, I'm starting to think, to take away lives easily by changing time. It's redundant, and frankly, boring. The same problem can't keep popping up every ten pages; the point of a story is for the people to hurdle barriers and meet new ones. Also, the way McEntire tells the story wasn't particularly interesting, either. The "climax" at the end lasted about five pages, while there were about a couple hundred pages of Kaleb and Lily running around from place to place discovering new things in massive info dumps. Seriously, this is how the climax went down:

Kaleb: He has my girlfriend! I'll kill him!
Lily: Aahhh I'm scared.
Kaleb: He has my girlfriend! I can actually see it happening now! I'll kill him!
Jack: *evil laughter*
Kaleb: Ohmygod where did you come from! What do I do now!?
Lily: I was too stupid to lie before, but I am now because my boyfriend told me to!
Jack: *more evil laughter*
Teague: The answer to all your problems--me--is here!
Lily: *suddenly gets smart and strikes deal with Teague that Teague is too stupid to see through*
Kaleb: We're safe! But Em and Michael are gone :(
Em and Michael: We're here!
Everyone: Yaaaay!

If you do not have the reaction of "wtf" to my summary of the last part of this book, I beg you to explain it to me. Because I fail to understand what the big deal was, if everyone was just going to magically appear (not kidding, they really do). There is no thought-out resolution. Everyone. Just. Appears. And the cliffhanger? Come on. It's so soap opera-like that I cringed. Jack is a failure of a villain. I mean, "rotten to his core?" Come on. The explanation of why he was doing everything was rushed, so I came away going, okaaaaaaay, and I should care about this why?

Kaleb seemed to be a shortcut of explaining all the emotions of the characters so McEntire wouldn't have to actually describe them. Maybe if she'd bothered to write more according to how the others interacted with Kaleb instead of how Kaleb was feeling what they were feeling (mega-confusion, right?), I would've felt more connected to the story. I didn't like the main character of this story. Not at all. He is, of course, the reformed bad boy with a drinking problem, tats, and piercings all over the place, as well as an unhealthy libido that is what attracts him to Emerson's best friend, Lily, in the first place. He also is so full of rage and desperation that it blocks out anything interesting about him. Half the time, he's ranting about his anger and sadness, and the other half he's waxing poetic about Lily. In other words, he seems like your average teenage girl (minus the lusting after Lily thing).

Don't even get me started on their relationship. Three quarters of it was comprised of Kaleb talking about Lily's smell or how she looked. Their more emotional reasons for liking each other were painfully shallow. Just because a guy is desperate and self-destructive does not make him attractive! If I met a guy like Kaleb who tried to cop a feel when I was clearly uninterested, in addition to his constant rage over everything, I would scream and run. Really. So no points to Lily, even though she was clearly McEntire's attempt at a kickass female character. I totally rooted for her in the beginning, but when she started showing off that lacy camisole and touching Kaleb's face (lots of face-touching), I was out of there.

There's more I could say about this book, but that's it for now. I don't think I really like much about it, although I did enjoy the descriptions of the rips. I love the concept of time travel, especially when the characters go to different centuries or places, but and the series in general has none of that appeal. However, I will say that the characters aren't as stupid as some of the ones I've read. Which is why I gave the book 2 stars. I may also have been so confused by information overload and all the different places they were running to that I might not have even realized they were being stupid.

I think I've given up on this series, but that's no reason for you to! I'm sure if you've read Hourglass recently, this book will be much more enjoyable.

I do love this cover very much, despite the fact that it's very deceiving. It should show Kaleb punching through a door instead.

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Review: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Book: Insurgent
Series: Divergent
Author: Veronica Roth
Publishing Date: May 1st, 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
My rating: 4 Stars

Actual Rating: 4.5 Stars Also, spoilers from the first book.
My face after I finished:



Roth, way to make me sob for the next book.

How will I start this review? I'll start it with a quote from the book itself, because this book deserves to be quoted:

People, I have discovered, are layers and layers of secrets. You believe you know them, that you understand them, but their motives are always hidden from you, buried in their own hearts. You will never know them, but sometimes you decide to trust them.

I loved this book, despite some of its inconsistencies, because of the strength of its characters and because of what it says about human nature and the world. I know some don't like Insurgent as much as Divergent, and that's understandable. Insurgent takes things to a darker, grittier level. This is the aftermath of the first book, where Tris has already seen family die and killed a friend with her own hands. For much of the beginning, I felt hopeless, just as I'm sure she did, too. That doesn't make up for the fact that Tris makes some pretty stupid decisions. For example, turning herself in when it wouldn't have done much good in the first place. I mean, all that happened was that they would run tests on her and try to control everyone, so I didn't see how she thought self-execution would help. But I can't hope to understand someone who has basically had all of her family torn away, who doesn't know whom to trust, and who's consumed by grief and rage. I felt that this book was better than the first because it dealt more with the characters themselves, especially Tris, and how they were shaped by their choices.

Once again, Roth brings back a whole bunch of action sequences that are clear-cut and narrated in her usual, clinical style. I finished this book (500+ pages!) all today, so I count it as a grand accomplishment. It was hard to read, not because of pacing, but because it was difficult to see all the hurt and deaths due to cruelty. That's why I loved this book more than the first. The emotions are expounded upon, and good and evil aren't black and white. Nobody was as he/she first appeared, and because of this, Roth does an excellent job in making each character more memorable and standalone. I liked what she did with Peter, Marcus, Christina, and Jeanine. It was just one guy double crossing the other guy's double cross all over the place, but I enjoyed the twists. They kept me guessing, unlike the first book. Also, I adored Tobias. I'm pretty sure he's my favorite fictional male protagonist because he's strong, honest, has his own past and suspicions. It made him seem real, not just some other attractive dude thrown into the main character's path so they can kiss and sacrifice the entire world for each other. The romance is some of the plot, but it never gets overbearing or gag-inducing.

"I don't..." I sound like I am being strangled. "My family is all dead, or traitors; how can I..." 

I am not making any sense. The sobs take over my body, my mind, everything. He gathers me to him, and bathwater soaks my legs. His hold is tight. I listen to his heartbeat and, after a while, find a way to let the rhythm calm me.
 
"I'll be your family now," he says.

ARGH! HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE HIM?

Besides the character, Roth says a lot about the world itself in her books. She brings up topics of bravery, sacrifice, the strength of love and loyalty, and what exactly the right choice is. I'm so sick of all the YA novels talking about the importance of love or how it can ruin a person forever, and I'm glad that someone has the sense enough to speculate more into topics that will come of a shattered world, maybe even the future we're all destined for. I'll probably get condemned for this comparison, but I'm just going to say that these books remind me the most of The Hunger Games because it's not love-centric, and it definitely does what a good dystopian novel should.

The ending definitely wasn't as anticlimactic as the one I got in Divergent, though it still didn't seem that earth-shattering because of all the crappy stuff that happens throughout the book, and I can't say it was wholly unexpected. But it riled me up for the next book, and I'm like a cheerleader with pompoms right now, I'm so excited for the third. There were a couple discrepancies, and sometimes I felt that it was sort of difficult to keep up with what was happening with all the groaning and screaming through teeth, but I made it through okay. There was this part where Tris shoots a window with her gun when just a couple minutes before she refused to take one because of the whole shooting-Will-PTSD, and that made me a bit confused. But other than that, everything was spectacular.

I'm expecting a lot from Ms. Roth now.

And ugh, I'm going to go read a romance novel or something. All of this angst and world destruction has made me feel icky.

(Also, apologies if this review was not as succinct/sensible as my others. I find it difficult to talk about books I love. It's definitely easier to insult books than to really capture all the things that make them great.)

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Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Book: Cinder
Author: Marissa Meyer
Series: Lunar Chronicles
Publishing Date: January 3rd, 2012
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
My rating: 3 Stars

Initially, I wasn't going to read this book, maybe because I was a bit wary of a cyborg-Cinderella story. I mean, a cynic like me who hears rumors of a dystopian novel set with robots, technology, kingdoms, and BEIJING would immediately have expected something subpar. But I looked at that cover, and I thought that I should get it just to stare at it. I still can't stop staring at it. The reflections on the shoe and the metal bones. AHHH. That is some serious case of cover-love.

For this review, I'll start with the characters.
Cinder: Cool. Awkward. Another one of those ugly-but-pretty girls. Prone to strange acts of embarrassment, like hiding herself behind her hair while she gasps? I don't know. Meyer's description needs some improvement.

Kai: Cute. Immature, but of course he's never been taught in etiquette because he's a prince! No, he just suffers from some foot-in-mouth syndrome sometimes. Other than that, he improves towards the end, and his reaction to the situation is about the only one that made sense. Although he needs to stop inclining his head and making his hair fall into his eyes. He's going to go blind soon if he doesn't get a haircut.

Peony: Meyer is just too cruel. Peony is the sweetest character ever. And I feel like she had more potential than what she was given. To be honest, it felt more like she was more engineered to die and give Cinder something to fight for than anything else.

Pearl and Adri: Honestly? Bitches. Both of them. I was hoping for something that would make them understandable, and Meyer seemed to have been going in that direction in the beginning of the book, with all the stuff about Adri seeming guilty about sending Cinder away. But nope. They're just bitches. Which was quite a disappointment. Like Meyer sort of wanted to change things up but got lazy or forgot.

Dr. Erland: I quite like this guy. He's funny. Strangely enough, I thought he was the evil one, and his ulterior motives were some of the few things I didn't immediately realize in the beginning.

Queen Levana: Perhaps even bitchier than Pearl and Adri. Definitely more diabolical. However, I think Meyer spent a little too much time talking about Levana being evil instead of showing that she was. Because of this, her actions seemed more wooden, and I could only manage a "huh, did she just ruin all their lives?" at the end.

Not a very exciting cast of characters (with the exception of the Doctor. He was awesome.) or even witty dialogue, in my opinion, but something that redeemed this was the idea. CINDER is possibly one of the more original books I've read, which is ironic considering the fairytale it revolves around. It had so much potential, but Meyer only pulls off half of it. I loved the idea of the Lunars, since moving to space is a big deal in the world of science. That an author would consider exploring the ramifications shows capacity for creativity. The unfortunate thing is that Meyer starts off with a predictable plot, and an equally predictable set of characters. Despite the fresh idea, this book seems to be only a shell of what could have been amazing. The setting of New Beijing in the midst of all this stuff about "dystopian America" is actually nicely done. I can't complain too much about her world building--despite passing off a disease as something with no cure, no origins, no nothing, she does explain, albeit blatantly obviously.

That was what knocked off a star for me. How blatantly obvious everything is, even from the beginning. I basically read 200 pages just to have everything confirmed for me. It would've been nice if Meyer had thrown in a plot twist or two to spice things up. The ending was intended to be cliffhanger-y, but I just said "meh," then booted up my computer to write this review.

The other star is for the mediocre cast. The three stars are for the brilliant idea and the cover, maybe even for some of the cute scenes between Kai and Cinder that made me laugh. I liked her entrance into the ball. Also, this book kept me reading, despite everything, and that's always important.

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Review: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Book: Anna and the French Kiss
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Publishing Date: December 2nd, 2010
Publisher: Dutton
My rating: 4 Stars

This was a delightful change from the sudden-love witch-vampire-weird supernatural love triangle. I haven't read chick lit in so long, I've forgotten all the cute NORMALCY that you find in them.

What I liked most about this book was the voice. Anna has a strong voice, and her teenager-esque comments were always amusing. She has a passion--movies--and she has her own understandable problems, though it may not seem like it at first. Also, throughout the book, I didn't get pissed at the things she did. She does dumb things, sure, but they make sense. They're not just creepy or weird. Don't even get me started on St. Claire. I liked that he wasn't just blindingly gorgeous-which he is-but that he was a little on the short side and had his own issues.

The character development for Anna was strong, and that's the kind of thing that these kinds of novels need. Perkins does a great job of it, and the way she narrates Anna's journey through France at the same time that she's building friendships is smooth. I like that she doesn't just do the old love triangle-she puts a new spin on it, and I was pleasantly surprised. In addition, the sexual tension is just plain hot.

The reason I couldn't give this 5 stars is that there were moments when the book was just a little too cliche for me. I understand that Perkins was probably trying to give those old cliches a new, fun spin, but they were a bit overwhelming sometimes.

I do recommend this book for anyone who's looking for a fun read, though, because it is definitely that.

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Review: Angelfall by Susan Ee

Angelfall by Susan Ee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

OH. MY. GOD.
I CANNOT. EVEN. FATHOM. WHAT JUST HAPPENED.
Review to come because I put off about 3 hours of studying for this.

Edit-Rating: 4.5 Stars
This book is incredible. The very first sentence just sucks you in, and I swear I tried, but I could not untangle myself from this story. I had to finish it, and finish it I did, at the price of not getting any work done. But it was well worth it. Why?

Because Penryn is a badass, that's why! And because Raffe makes all the girls' hearts flutter.

So, let's think about what you get from this book. You get a heroine who can actually kick some serious butt and has undying loyalty that gets her in bad situations but simultaneously makes her endearing and not whiny. In addition, she is not willing to sacrifice her strange family even for some hot stranger with wings (Hush, Hush, anyone?). You get a dreamy guy who is all suaveness and charm but gets some serious hurt throughout the story instead of somehow being untouchable. Also, he doesn't sound like some blathering romantic and actually is not emasculated by his time near possible love interest (*cough* Daniel Grigori *cough*). And you get a plot that leaves you reeling and basically sobbing for the next book.

A bonus? There are flesh eating creatures and some Mengele-esque experiments.

I think I've already given away too much, but it's safe to see here that this story is definitely original. Susan Ee knows what she's talking about, and she's not afraid of writing it. While I recommend this for slightly more mature young adult audiences, I think that everyone would get a kick out of this book. This is the first book in months in which I have actually been emotionally invested in, and that's a bad sign about the publishing industry, if they're publishing books like Fallen over jewels like this one. While I would have liked a bit more world building, like why Gabriel was flying around in the sky in the first place, that definitely didn't affect the pace with which I devoured this book. I seriously devoured it. I put my iPod in my bathroom, and after I finished showering, I stayed in the bathroom for an hour reading.

Engrossing. If you're looking for action, stop here. Right now, I believe this is the best post-apocalyptic book out of 2011 because of the amazing job Susan Ee has done with her characters and her plot. All of her characters have weaknesses and distinguishing points, with the exception of Obi, who I was little iffy about. The love relationship develops slowly and subtly, in a way that's believable. And I loved the voice that Ee gave to Penryn. She doesn't wax poetry or complain shallowly (Juliette from SHATTER ME and almost all other heroines), and her voice comes as painfully sincere. A teenager thrust into the boots of a grown-up who is taking the responsibility but holding on to who she is the way she knows how. The fact is that nobody in this book is perfect, and that's definitely a change from the usual la-la-la the world is blowing up around me but nothing's my fault trend.

This is also the best book about angels I've read so far. Daniel Grigori, Patch Cipriano, and the Churches can all burn in a bloody hellfire as far as I'm concerned. Ee did her research. She definitely didn't mess up with the Grigori and the archangels. Somehow, she has spun it to a darker angle than most would be used to. The end definitely made me clutch my chest. I had no idea what would happen to the characters, and I zoomed through the last 100 pages because I couldn't bear not knowing what would happen to everyone. It threw me for a loop, but the book did end on a hopeful note that closed it off but had me banging my head when I realized that I don't know when the sequel is out.

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Review: Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins

Book: Spell Bound
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Series: Hex Hall
Publishing Date: March 13th, 2012
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
My rating: 3 Stars

**There will be spoilers, but I'll tell you beforehand**
It's finally over! *big exhale* I'm giving this book 3 stars because, despite the quips and awesome make out scenes, it was still lacking a lot of important parts that make up a novel. But I'll begin with the things I liked about it.

Sophie's character. Sometimes she was a bit blabbery and annoying, but I never thought her choices were dumb. Her internal monologue actually made me laugh multiple times, and she exemplifies the teenager with tons of supernatural issues perfectly. She deals with them with a certain amount of light-heartedness and fear, which I thought were sincere and real. Not many authors remember to make their heroines have a bit of common sense, and I'm glad Sophie had some of that.

Her relationship with Jenna. I loved it in the previous books, and in this one, it was the same sort of snappy camaraderie that makes them so likable.

The fact that even though the plot was serious and pretty darned freaky, Hawkins managed to insert humorous parts that alleviated the heaviness. Some could argue that it ruined the atmosphere and made problems seem insignificant, but I liked it.

What I didn't like, however, was the suddenness of the plot. I finished the book in one day, so it was a short read. But I thought everything was executed too quickly, especially the part with the war. I mean, it took up, what, five pages? And it seemed too easy. It was like get in, faint[ witches kill themselves, fiance dies (hide spoiler)], and everything is happily ever after. There was some unfinished business, and I didn't like it. What happened to the Vandy, Torin? And the thing with the dream at the end seemed like Hawkins just wanted to hurry up and finish the book. I would've liked to see what happened immediately after the battle sequence, not Sophie just passing out.

Okay. You are now venturing into spoiler territory. I repeat, SPOILER TERRITORY. Read on at your own risk.

Also, the thing that irked me most was how Hawkins solved the issue of the love triangle in the end. I mean, killing off the other guy? That just seemed completely undeserved, and I felt really sad at the end, even though Cal comes back to haunt them. It just didn't feel complete to me, and it was more than cliche.

That said, I did enjoy this book, and I recommend it for anyone who wants a whole lot of magic and cheese.

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