Mei's Reviews

Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead

2013-05-14T12:00:00.000-06:00

Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Synopsis
Mae is the the perfect government enforcer, following the rules and stamping out religion whenever it pops up. However, all of this changes when she is assigned to protect Justin, an investigator that was exiled after he found a secret that the government wanted hidden. Will Mae and Justin be able to uncover the cause of a string or mysterious killings? Or will they just become pawns between a religion hating government and the gods that are tired of being ignored?

Review
I was so excited to read this book. I love Richelle Mead and honestly, Mae is one of my all time favorite names. Richelle managed to weave a technologically strong dystopian society with magic in a manner that was engaging and amazing. She obviously is setting up for a series, but the novel also works well as a stand alone novel. She has a very strong mythos growing behind the society, and it will be very exciting to see if the characters will eventually consent to work with the gods that keep trying to influence them.

My Recommendation

I love the worlds that Richelle Mead creates, and I can't wait to read more about this one. I give it 4/5 - I really liked it.

For more information about the ratings system, please click here.

***FTC Disclosure: This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review, no other compensation was given, all opinions are my own***

Most Likely to Succeed by Kate Davies

2013-03-21T08:08:00.000-06:00

Most Likely to Succeed by Kate Davies
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Synopsis
Kelsey Moore is embarrassed to still be working at her family's flower shop when her 10 year high school reunion. The only thing that could draw her to the event is the hope of seeing her high school crush, Nathan Barrow.

Review
This novel felt short and light. None of the characters were really explored, this made the story feel like a light romp. Unfortunately, it also meant that I was never able to actually get into the story. The plot was very quick, and I had expected a bit more something.

My RecommendationIt was a fun, very light read. I give it 3/5 - Good, but not something I would repeat

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

2013-03-18T16:26:00.000-06:00

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Synopsis
Hazel spends her time tethered to an oxygen tank and occasionally attending the cancer survivors support group. She may be alive following her battle with lung cancer, but she's not actually living. All of that changes on day when she sees a new guy staring at her in group. Augustus is also a survivor and forces her to change her views on sickness and living.

Review
This book is sad, I can't really state that enough. As usual, I jumped into this book without reading the description and then spent several hours crying as I made my way through the book. I don't know if I was having an emotional day or if this is seriously the saddest book ever. In my opinion, the emotion that the middle of the book wrung out of me overwhelmed the actual story. I also felt like the last 5th of the book just kind of lost its momentum. There was so much buildup, and then it kind of petered out.
The characters are pretty strong and feel like they could actually be real. I also appreciated that there wasn't an immediate love, or any kind of normal love triangle. The reality of the story may lose some of the younger readers that are used to the fluffy paranormal books that are running around today, and that would be a shame. This is certainly the first YA book that I have read in a long time that evoked an emotion.

My Recommendation
If you are in need of a good cry, go for it! I give it 3/5 - Good, but not something I would repeat

Broken by A.E. Rought

2013-02-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

Broken by A.E. Rought
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Synopsis

Emma's life fell apart the night she watched her boyfriend fell to his death. She is stumbling through life haunted by his ghost and memories when a new boy shows up to her school. Her attraction to him and the joy in his eyes when he meets her both upsets and intrigues her. She has to both fight her guilt about moving on from her boyfriend's death and try to open herself up to the alarming happiness offered by Alex. If she can survive getting to know him, the end result might be worth the risk.

Review

I stayed up until 3 am reading this book last night. While I figured out what the big secret was fairly early on, I still really enjoyed the story. I read a lot of retellings, but I haven't seen one done with Frankenstein before. I found the story to be interesting, though for a thriller or horror book, it was really lacking in the scary department.

I've seen a bunch of reviews likening this story to Twilight, but I honestly didn't really see the comparison. I am a Twilight hater, and if a novel has a bunch of similarities to that franchise, I usually notice. Emma fell into the "instant connection" trap, but for once there was an actual reason for it. Plus, it kinda made sense. She was a fairly strong and developed character, no sitting around wanting to die or waiting for someone to save her. She was walking around doing her thing and trying to move on with life.

If I had children, I would much rather have them read this than any of the Twilight books.

My Recommendation

I really enjoyed this story and stayed up way too late reading it. I give it 4/5 - I really liked it .

For more information about the ratings system, please click here.

View all my reviews What do you think?
Do you agree/disagree? Do you want to read it now? Or not? I love to hear(read) feedback!

Fields of Elysium by A.B.Whelan

2013-02-25T11:57:00.000-07:00

Fields of Elysium by A.B.Whelan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Synopsis

While on a hike with her dog Pandora, Molly happens upon a strange glowing blue cloud in a cave. She is sucked through the portal and tossed into a different cave on the other side. While exploring she discovers a group of boys who let her know that she is no longer on Earth, but a planet called New Earth.

Review

The novel was an interesting concept, one I haven't seen presented quite this way before. The writing was a bit odd, but that is easily explained by the fact that the author is not a native English speaker. A.B. Whelan has an amazing imagination, she has certainly developed a very complex and rich world. Though the book seems to be written for a younger audience, somewhere around early teens, it does tackle a few fairly serious topics, like teen pregnancy and abuse, but in a bit of a haphazard way.

My Recommendation

While I did enjoy the novel, it did get a bit preachy at the end and wrapped up a bit too cleanly. I give it 4/5 - I really liked it

For more information about the ratings system, please click here.

What do you think?
Do you agree/disagree? Do you want to read it now? Or not? I love to hear(read) feedback!

***FTC Disclosure: This book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review, no other compensation was given, all opinions are my own***

Teach Me by R.A. Nelson

2013-01-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

Teach Me by R.A. Nelson
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Synopsis

Nine is a six foot tall amazon girl in her senior year of high school, and she's hot for teacher. Attacking her attraction with laser focus, she is amazed and astounded when her feelings are reciprocated. When the teacher suddenly breaks it off, Nine loses it. Will she find her way out of the madness?

Review

Unlike Uses for Boys, Teach Me actually had some redeeming features at the end of the painful slog. While it was written very similarly to Uses for Boys, it did have a much stronger vocabulary and more personality than that novel. That said, I still wasn't a big fan. There were several points when I would tell my husband "I'm slogging through, but I just wish it would end." The story is not told linearly, and can be a bit confusing.
Nine was somewhat likable, though I lost any affection for her as the book went on. I just wanted to beat her over the head, or any of her "supportive" friends and family. It was bizarre that in her loving family, they just kind of "let her have her space" when their daughter was completely losing her mind. They even noted all of the signs of a major issue in their daughter, but then failed to do anything about it. I realize that this happens in real life, but it just seemed out of place in the novel.
The teacher, Mr. Mann was just plain creepy in my mind. I saw a few review were people thought that he sounded dreamy. Yeah, no. As a character, he was a bit flat for me. I thought that he should have been more developed if he was going to attract the attention of a seventeen year old girl that strongly. Though, I suppose that since the book is primarily about Nine's obsession, the lack of description could have been yet another example of how unwarranted her attention was.

My Recommendation

Since I didn't actually enjoy the book, I can't recommend that you read it. I think that if you want an exploration of the themes of this book, there are way better examples out there. (Even if I can't think of them off of the top of my head at the moment) I give it 2/5 - If it happens to be around, it's OK.

Uses for Boys by Erica Lorraine Scheidt

2013-01-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

Uses for Boys by Erica Lorraine Scheidt
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Synopsis

Anna is lonely, alone, and incredibly passive; she'll let boys do whatever they want to her. I would tell you more about the story, but there isn't really anything else to tell.

Review

You will not hear this from me often, but I hated this book. I wasn't offended, even thought the novel could be graphic at times, simply bored. I think that I understand what the author was trying to do with the story, and she did paint a fairly distinct picture or a very lonely and detached girl. Unfortunately, the story never really went anywhere. I kept waiting for some kind of redeeming feature, but it just never came. I never felt that Anna actually grew a backbone or became her own person, hell, I never felt like Anna became a person at all.
For a book that primarily focused on a girl that found her identity through boys, I was surprised that the male characters were even less developed than Anna. My biggest issue with this was the character Sam. I think that he was supposed to be a good guy and a redeeming character, but he just wasn't anything beyond a vehicle for Anna into his home.
While the writing was not terrible, the formatting of the chapters was irritating. Like the sparse, blank characters, the chapters were just odd; occasionally just fragments of a story or an isolated thought. Ugg.

My Recommendation

Honestly, the story made me thing of a mindless string of paper dolls humping each other. I wouldn't recommend this novel to anyone, especially the target audience of teenagers; I fear that they might possibly think that the behavior in the novel is OK and it is simply not. I give it a 1/5 - Not worth the effort.

I Kissed a Dog by Carol Van Atta

2013-01-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

I Kissed a Dog by Carol Van Atta
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Synopsis

Chloe has the gift to mentally talk to animals and, it turns out, werewolves. Following a series of brutal murders, she is pulled into a paranormal world that she knows nothing about and asked to help solve the crimes. Along with the pack beta and his friends, she races against time to figure out who is killing innocent humans.

Review

I was so excited to read this book because I loved the title. I had hoped that the book would be humorous, but sadly the tone of the book didn't quite live up to the title.
I don't know. I liked the story, it just felt like it went the wrong direction to me. The story almost felt like two different stories squished together. I really enjoyed the first half of the book, but it somehow lost me about half way through. The incorporation of Chloe's gift into her everyday life was interesting, and I felt that her relationship with Luke should have been explored more. Instead, she was sudden whisked into this crazy paranormal word and the plot was just inundated with ideas. Then there was the complication of Valimir, a vampire; I almost felt like it was thrown in there as the required love triangle as opposed to really belonging in the story.
The plot was coherent, and had an interesting cast of characters. Chloe was a bit odd. I didn't love her, but I didn't hate her either. The book was clearly written and read pretty easily. Overall, it was an enjoyable read, but I'm not quite sure if I will read the sequel.

My Recommendation

While sometimes a bit grisly, this is a safe paranormal novel for most readers (there are a few sexy parts, but nothing compared to the romance end of the paranormal genre). I give it 3/5 - Good, but not something I would repeat.

***FTC Disclosure: This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review, no other compensation was given, all opinions are my own***

Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock

2013-01-02T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Synopsis

Mac's best friend Amy was murdered by a serial killer werewolf, throwing the town of Hemlock into turmoil. Amy's grandfather, an influential senator, brings in Trackers in to town to help solve the murder. Unfortunately, where the Trackers go, chaos and heartbreak follows. Mac must figure out how to save her friends from the vigilante group as well as the white wolf that took out her friend.

Review

Kathleen Peacock has a very well developed world for Mac and her friends. The lupine syndrome has put the country on the brink of a hate filled totalitarian regime, which was interesting. You usually read books that are already on one side or the other, not at a point where an individual could actually sway the future of their government.
I enjoyed the fact that more emphasis seemed to be placed on the murder mystery/werewolf plot rather than the inevitable love triangle. I was a bit sad that Mac's toughness and criminal past never really developed. I understand that her nightmares were paralyzing her, but she tended to be a bit too helpless for my liking. That said, I thought that Jason was pretty interesting, human wasteland that he seemed to be. Though, I'm sure that he will eventually turn into the overly monochromatic character that Kyle already is.
That said, I do actually want to read the sequel to this book and hope that it matures just a bit more and delves more into the political landscape. (not a statement I usually make)

My Recommendation

I really enjoyed the book and had a hard time putting it down. I give it 4/5 - I really liked it.

The Alpha's Mate by Jacqueline Rhoades

2012-12-31T09:00:00.000-07:00

The Alpha's Mate by Jacqueline Rhoades
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Synopsis

Elizabeth Reynolds may have wanted to change her life by moving to a cabin in the woods; but she never expected her new life to begin with a crash and a rescue by the hot sherrif when she was in nothing but her undies. The friendly town takes her in and help her fix up her new place, and everything seems to be going just peachy. It's just too bad that the hottest man she's ever met is gay, and she can't stop running in to him.

Review

I wasn't a huge fan of the cover on this book, and had I not gotten a copy for review I probably wouldn't have read it. That would have been a travesty!
I really enjoyed this story. Sometimes I'm a bit reticent about romances as they can be more love scenes than plot, but while there were hints of the impending passion, there were only two real sex scenes in the book. The story was entertaining; it was fun to see Elizabeth grow into a sassy brassy woman. The town was full of interesting characters, and the love interest was more than just a hunk of meat or a knight in shinning armor. Plus, it's always fun to read a story where the woman gets to decide if SHE wants to be with the man. I've seen way too many stories that left the relationship up to the man lately.
Oh! The best tidbit is the fact that there was an actual explanation for the instantaneous love that appears in so many of the books, and Elizabeth had an issue with it. That may sound strange, but I sometimes wonder what in the world these characters are thinking when they meet someone and fall instantly in love.

My Recommendation

Not for children, the love scenes aren't super graphic, but are best saved for a mature reader. Due to the fact that there was an interesting plot and a sassy female lead, I give it a 4/5 - I really liked it.

***FTC Disclosure: This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review, no other compensation was given, all opinions are my own***

Crewel by Gennifer Albin

2012-12-29T14:43:00.001-07:00

Crewel by Gennifer Albin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Synopsis

Adelice's parents raised her to hide her gift, her ability to manipulate the fabric of reality around her. Unfortunately on the last day of testing she slipped and is pulled into a world of secrets and lies when she is "chosen" to become a Spinster, the women that change and control the world. After her violent transition to Coventry, Adelice must fight for control of her own life and the lives of those she loves.

Review

This novel surprised me. I didn't initially think that the book would take place in a post apocalyptic male ruled society. Plus, there was an actual twist at the end of the book that I didn't see coming. (Don't worry, I won't ruin it for you) While Adelice was frustrating at times, acting on the impulsiveness of a 16 year old girl, I thought that she was a wonderful character. The pace of the story was quick, though it felt a bit rushed and cluttered at the end; obviously setting up for the sequel. I will be interested in reading the next part of the story to see what could possibly happen next.

My Recommendation

I really enjoyed this book and give it 5/5 - Amazing!.

Fangland by Matt Drabble

2012-12-26T18:00:00.000-07:00

Fangland by Matt Drabble
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Synopsis

Two friends? have to fight everything, including the undead to keep their organization together.

Review

Unfortunately, I am not a fan of "mob" type books. I like books that involve organized crime as a flavor, but not the main ingredient. I thought that the novel started out a bit choppy and slow, and I was never really able to get in to the story. I almost felt like this was more of a "guy story" and I can't really tell you why, I ready brutal gruesome stuff all the time...

My Recommendation

Sadly, I just wasn't a fan. I give it a 2/5 - If it happens to be around, it's OK.

For more information about the ratings system, please click here.

What do you think?
Do you agree/disagree? Do you want to read it now? Or not? I love to hear(read) feedback!

***FTC Disclosure: This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review, no other compensation was given, all opinions are my own***

Florence by Ciye Cho

2012-12-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

Florence by Ciye Cho
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Synopsis

It's a good thing that Florence doesn't have many ties to family and town the day that she is kidnapped and taken to the bottom of the sea. Thanks to the magic of a polyp, she finds herself in the community of Niemela; a place where mermaids rule and all animals live in harmony. Unfortunately, it's time for the ruler of Niemela to change and Florence must decide which prince she will be the best ruler. Will Niemela continue to fight the ever threatening Darkness, or make a deal with it?

Review

I enjoyed this story. I found the world of Niemela to be very well developed and defined, Ciye Cho certainly had a vivid picture of the community in her mind. While a found the story to be a tad predictable, and at times a little overly descriptive; I thought if was a quick and fairly engrossing read. There language used in the story was intelligent, occasionally hitting on a term that I was not familiar with; a very unusual occurance in a teen novel!

My Recommendation

A wholesome fun book for teenagers, though the vocabulary is probably a bit high for the intended audience. I give it 4/5 - I really liked it.

Belted by C.J. Graves

2012-11-25T19:07:00.002-07:00

Belted by C.J. Graves
My rating: 2/5 - If it happens to be around, it's OK.

Synopsis

This is the story of how a girl shuts down after years of abuse and her journey to find the strength to stand up for herself.

Review

This novel is not for the faint of heart, it's a bit graphic and brutal. While I understand why an author would use this in an attempt to express the difficulties of of Chastity's life, it didn't really work for me. I was unable to form any kind of attachment with the main character Chastity. She would suffer though these horrific experiences, but instead of rooting for her, I just kind of wondered what kind of torture would be thought of next. I didn't want to finish reading it, but it was like a train wreck that i wasn't able to look away from. One of my major problems with the story was the character development. The men in the book were developed into really strong stereotypes, but Chastity remained a one note character through out the entire book, even though the entire point of the story is her growth.

**spoiler alert**

I really didn't like that Chastity never actually grew and stood up for herself. She simply got destructively angry and then found another man, albeit a slightly nicer man, to depend upon. I think that if you are going to go for the tone that this novel had, there needs to be the growth and warmth in the characters to balance it.

My Recommendation

This novel is not for the faint of heart, or young people. Due to the lack of character growth, I'm giving this one 2/5 - If it happens to be around, it's OK.

What do you think?
Do you agree/disagree? Do you want to read it now? Or not? I love to hear(read) feedback!

***FTC Disclosure: This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review, no other compensation was given, all opinions are my own***

Above by Leah Bobet

2012-11-01T18:00:00.000-06:00

Above by Leah Bobet
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Synopsis

Founded by several people that escaped from Whitecoats and a facility that tested and tortured them, Safe is the place under the city where the monsters live in terror of Above. Those that found sanctuary there lived their lives in remembrance of the stories told by Teller, the stories that brought each of the inhabitants from the world above. The safety of their home is destroyed when it is attacked by an army of shadows; Teller and his friends must find a way to rescue his friends and rebuild Safe. If it should be rebuilt at all.

Review

I looked at the description I just wrote and realized that this book is difficult to explain. There are a bunch of negative reviews and many people found this story to be confusing, but I liked it. I don't always need my plots to be linear and complete. This novel gives you a taste of a few days in the life of Teller, one of the residents of Safe. Due to the fact that the book is narrated in the first person, you really don't learn any of the back story or know anything that Teller doesn't learn; and as happens, the story isn't complete when it ends.
One facet that I really enjoyed about the story, was that I never actually decided if everything that was described was real. Did Ariel really have the ability to turn into a bee? Or was everyone in this book just mentally compromised? I don't know, and I like it.

My Recommendation
This novel is an adventure into the mind of someone not quite normal. Some people may like it, and some will not. I enjoyed it, so I give it 4 /5 - I really liked it.

What do you think?
Do you agree/disagree? Do you want to read it now? Or not? I love to hear(read) feedback!

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

2012-10-30T18:00:00.000-06:00

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Synopsis

What would you do if you had a thousand lives to live? Would you become insular and stuck in your ways? Or would you be innovative and accept change?
Ana is the first person born into her society that hasn't lived before. The night that she was born, the tower went dark and the soul that would have been reborn was replaced with Ana. When she leaves the woman who raised and hated her, she sets out on a journey to discover who and what she is.

Review
I liked the premise of this story, I just wish that there was a little bit more action in the plot. The entire novel feels like a set up for the sequel. While Ana discovers herself and, shockingly, falls in love with the first man she ever sees, random elements are thrown in to the story and never explained or utilized. I would have loved it if the novel actually explained the presence of sylphs and dragons as opposed to randomly introducing them when Ana needed a prod to change her direction. Some stories are able to focus only on the internal growth of one character, but this novel just wasn't able to.

My Recommendation
I enjoyed this story, but it is a bit slow in places. I give it 3 /5 - Rent it/Borrow it.

What do you think?
Do you agree/disagree? Do you want to read it now? Or not? I love to hear(read) feedback!

Dishonored

2012-10-29T18:00:00.000-06:00

Dishonored

Synopsis
The rat plague has taken over Dunwall, bringing the city to its knees. When the empress is murdered and the heir kidnapped, you (Corvo) are asked the dirty work to save the city. Will you choose to save the city? Or finish it off?

Review
For starters, I am absolutely horrible at first person shooters. I know that the picture above is for the PC version, but I played this on PS3, and had a really difficult time with the controls. The game took me somewhere ~ 20 hours of game play to complete, but my guess was that I spent a good 50% of that time falling off of things and getting murdered. Or just falling to my death. I also found the hand to hand combat to be ridiculously hard, it was nearly impossible to stay targeted when people were bouncing around as we fought. (This could just be me and my not-so leet skillz) That said, the game was fun! It's actually the first game that I've played all the way through since Diablo III, and I enjoyed the experience a whole lot more than that one.
Though the game has "consequences" I didn't really notice any difference between my good decisions and my bad ones, or my lethal/ nonlethal ones. The big difference in endings that I experienced was cause by inability to not fall off of tall structures in the last two minutes of the game. (I know it's vague, but I don't want to spoil it for you...)
The story was great, and there are tons of places to explore. I thought that the skills were interesting, but it did seem that there were some skills that were entirely necessary and some that weren't. Stopping time and teleporting were a bit more important to me than summoning a band of rats or possessing something (though I do hear that it is a fun way to play the game.) I don't like the first person view point, and would have loved the ability to ZOOM OUT at times, but I could see how that made the experience more intense. I guess.

My Recommendation
While I was surprised that the game play was short, I had a great time. I give it 5/5 - Worth full price.

What do you think?
Do you agree/disagree? I love to hear(read) feedback!

Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama

2012-10-25T18:00:00.000-06:00

Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Synopsis
Hester refuses to love. Every woman in her lineage has died shortly after the birth of their first child, and she doesn't want to be the next on the list. Unfortunately, she is drawn to a mysterious man that she meets in a cave, and her feelings prompt her to start researching the women in her family. What she finds there will change the way that she sees the world, and the way the world sees her.

Review
Sadly, I didn't like this book as much as I hoped to. I found it difficult to start, as the prologue was dry and did not grab my attention. I kept going, but the story simply lost steam in the middle and I got a bit bored. I did enjoy the two timelines, and fond the switch to be fairly easy to follow.
The main character, Hester, was not as annoying and clueless as she could be, but there were still times when I just wanted to beat her over the head. The males in the book, with the exception of the priest, were not developed at all. Even Ezra, whose motivations should have been fairly clear, was just a bit flat.
I really enjoyed the mermaids in the book. They were slightly different and horrible, which I thought was great! The plot was interesting, and one of the more original ones that I have read lately.

My Recommendation
Readers that enjoy historical romances with a twist of paranormal would like this book, but it probably won’t be paced fast enough for the average teenage reader. I give it 3 /5 - Rent it/Borrow it.

Oddily by Linda Pohring

2012-10-17T18:00:00.000-06:00

Oddily by Linda Pohring (and some of Maxim, the 2nd book in the series)
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Synopsis
Oddily is a foster child that is teased and tortured each day by everyone. All this changes, however, when she meets the super hot Maxim. Suddenly everyone, including Maxim, inexplicably likes her.

Review
I straight up did not like this book. I feel like it was still in a draft state, and hadn't reached a narrative level that was ready to be published.
First of all, the writing in the book is odd and stilted. I understand that Maxim and Nexa are different from everyone else, and it makes sense that the way that they talk may be different. Unfortunately, I don't believe that they would talk in overly simplistic sentences with no contractions. Plus the statements that they make were just weird. Combining that with the internal conversation between Nexa and Maxim made the book both confusing and overly simplistic at times.
The characters were very flat and I couldn't bring myself to care about them. For instance, Oddily is seriously tortured through the first half of the book, but it didn't really seem to matter other than being part of the story.
Plot - This novel fell in to the overly cheesy YA romance trap. Maxim meets Oddily and just loves her. There's no preamble, no reason what so ever, he just loves her. For ever and ever and ever. And she loves him back. Even though he takes over her life, controlling every single aspect of it. The plot is overly simplistic and chunky. Things just suddenly happen, with no reasoning or build up. For instance, on kid decides to go from tormentor to friend on an apparent whim. And Oddily is cool with it, she lets him go from devil to bestie in a paragraph.
Finally the conclusion of the book. There isn't one. The story just cuts off in the middle of a scene and directs you to the next book. I attempted to read the next book, but wasn't able to make it more than a couple of chapters.

Side note - think of the Watchmen if you read the book and tell me if you notice any similarities.

My Recommendation

I didn't like this book. Though I forced myself to continue reading in the hopes that the story got better, it didn't. I give it 1/5- Not worth the effort

What do you think?
Do you agree/disagree? Do you want to read it now? Or not? I love to hear(read) feedback!

Angelfall by Susan Ee

2012-10-12T08:00:00.000-06:00

Angelfall by Susan Ee
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Synopsis
The world has become a dangerous, hopeless place after a league of angels appeared and destroyed the modern world. Penryn is trying to get her disabled sister to the imagined safety of the hills when a white feather drifts down in front of her. In an attempt to save her sister and her mother, she distracts a group of angels intent on killing another of their kind. She picks up a sword and tosses it to angel on the ground as his wings are cut off. In retaliation, one of the attackers steals her sister and flies away. Penryn is stuck with a wingless angel and a desperate need to find and save her sister. Can she do what needs to be done to get the answers she needs from him?

Review
This is by far the best angel book that I have read, I didn't even mind that it was set up for a sequel. I really enjoyed the fact that nothing was presented in a straight forward manner, but that the ploy was not overly twisty or contrived. Plus, I found the characters, including the inhuman angels to be realistically flawed and was moved to actually care about what would happen to them.

My Recommendation
I really enjoyed this story. I give it 5/5 - Worth the full price.

Ember by Carol Oates

2012-10-10T08:00:00.000-06:00

Ember by Carol Oates
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Synopsis
Shortly after being pushed out of a window by a sexy redheaded woman in leather, Candra begins seeing things that can't possibly be real. Suddenly her life is inundated with overly attractive people that won't tell her the whole story. All she knows is that the ridiculously good looking and surly Sebastian is constantly following her and won't even leave her alone while she sleeps and that the redheaded woman is back. Candra is finding it harder and harder to figure out what the is really going on around her and who the good guys are. Can she figure it out in time to decide if she should sacrifice the one person she might love for the possible safety of the world around her?

Review
Once I started reading the book, the first theme that popped into my head was I don't know if I can deal with yet another fallen angel book. The tend to be overly romantical star-crossed lover type stories without much substance. Yes, this story falls into that category. Honestly, the read is a bit slow, and I found that I didn't really care about the characters. I finished this book only because I started it, not because I was invested and wanted to see what happened.
The one interesting factor in the book is that the take on angels was just a little bit different. The story was set in a fictional city, and humans are "protected" by watchers, angels who where denied reentry to heaven after doing some terrible deeds on earth. The book might have been a whole lot more interesting if the story had gone into more detail about the watchers, as opposed to occasional bits of backstory that may or may not be lies.
Then there was the ending. There was buildup that a few of the characters may actually be evil, or at least had some nice nefarious plots. The tension was mounting, Candra was being pulled in two directions; and then it fizzled out. I'm not sure what happened, but it almost felt like the author gave up and just said here's a random happy ending, I'm out. Who knows for sure, but I'm sure that we will find out in the inevitable sequel.

My Recommendation
While my review may be a bit harsh, I did like some facets of the story. I give it 3/5 - Rent it/Borrow it.

Silver by Talia Vance

2012-10-08T08:00:00.000-06:00

Silver by Talia Vance
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Synopsis
Brianna hates being invisible, but believes that it is worth the sacrifice to keep the monster inside of her hidden. Too bad she doesn't know why people ignore her. She stalks Blake, the player that all the girls are after, scientifically breaking down all of their non-interactions in hopes that her theory that she is simply lacking the right pheromones to interact with others to right.
Her hypothesis is thrown right out the window when, at a house party, time stops and Blake suddenly sees her. Thinking that life has changed for the better, she is crushed when Blake returns to ignoring her the next day. Brianna's quest to finally figure out why she is invisible and what her nickname Bandia really means puts her in the path of an angry god and a possible true love. Will she be able to figure it all out and make the right choices when she finds out that a family of killers is intent on destroying everything she is and everything she could be?

Review
I adore revamped mythology, and this story was no exception. The story felt fresh, in part because it was based on some mythological figures that I am not familiar with.
The story was fast paced and managed to throw a few curve balls at me, which is a wonderful change. Brianna, the heroine, was a relatively strong female character, and her choices at the end of the book were based on her development through the entire story. Even the male figures were not as flat as most YA books these days.
My only real disappointment in the story was that it set up for a sequel. If you've read my past few reviews, I'm just getting a bit fed up with every story being part of a series. Sometimes it's nice to read a book, have a conclusion, and leave the rest to your imagination. This book did have an actual conclusion, which was nice, but I'm sure any speculation that remains will be answered in the next installment.

My Recommendation
A quick, enjoyable book with some slightly obscure mythology thrown in. I give it 4/5 - Wait for a sale/coupon.

Knee Deep by Jolene Perry

2012-10-03T18:00:00.000-06:00

Knee Deep by Jolene Perry

Synopsis

Ronnie is a lucky girl, she found the love of her life at the age of 14. She leads a charmed life; two best friends and loving parents. Even school is going her way, she was cast as Juliet's understudy after her first ever audition. If only she could figure out why she's holding back with boyfriend, and why she can't just keep him happy.

Review

More often then I would like to admit, I don't look at the description on books and read them based only on their cover. This is one of those books. I assumed that it would be yet another teen romance; and it was, kinda. I don't know that I would have chosen to read it if I would have known that it was about abusive relationships; as this can be a bit of a touchy subject with me, but I did enjoy the book.
Overall, the story was an engaging read. While it was easy to figure out that Shawn, the boyfriend, was going to be abusive, the story still managed to keep me interested in Ronnie's relationship with Luke (her best friend).
With this kind of book, sometimes I pull myself out of the story and think about the message the book conveys. I feel like Jolene Perry really considered the effect her book could have on young readers. I appreciated the fact that she had a voice of reason in the book that kept her heroine from jumping immediately from an abusive relationship into the arms of another boy. Ronnie was given the chance to face her situation and wasn't just rescued by someone, raising the book in my view.

My Recommendation

One of the better books that deals with abusive relationships for teens. I think that it would be a great read for teenagers. I give it 4/5 - Wait for a sale/coupon.

The Dark Heroine: Dinner With a Vampire by Abigail Gibbs

2012-09-25T17:26:00.001-06:00

The Dark Heroine: Dinner With a Vampire by Abigail Gibbs

Synopsis

Violet is just another rich seventeen year old girl wandering the streets of London after a night of clubbing. However, all of that comes to a screeching halt when she witnesses the massacre of a group of men by six teenage boys. The boys kidnap her and offer her a choice; become a vampire or remain trapped in a castle full of vampires for the rest of her life.

Review

When I originally picked up this book, I thought that it would be just another cheesy romance. Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised when the story turned out to be interesting. While I occasionally wanted to beat Violet over the head, I still enjoyed her character as a whole. I found Kaspar to be a more interesting character. Even though there were chapters written from his point of view, the insight into his actions was still a bit superficial. This left me wondering why, exactly, he was doing some of the strange things he was doing.
While I certainly hope that the obvious sequels provide poor Violet and Kaspar more personal growth, I'm interested to read them. I look forward to the unveiling of each of the nine dimensions and hope that the author really gets the chance to explore the similarities and differences between them.

My Recommendation

If you don't hate romance, read it! While I feel a bit like this book is a cross between Twilight and 50 Shades of Gray, I think it was an enjoyable cross. I stayed up late finishing the story, and you might too. I give it 5/5 worth the full price!

Eve by Anna Carey

2012-04-23T18:31:00.003-06:00

Synopsis

On the night before Eve's graduation, she learns a horrible truth about the school she has attended since the plague that killed off most of the world's population. The next day, she and her classmates won't be heading out to train for professions and wonderful lives, they will be chained to beds in a concrete room and forced to bear children until the die. Unable to save her friends and classmates from this horrible fate, she runs from the school with nothing more than a few rumors of a resistance and no practical skills. She will have to discover the truth of the world and figure out a way to survive.

Review

I enjoyed this book. It was a nice mix of 1984 and post-apocalyptic world. The characters were as well rounded as they could be after being raised in a fairly one dimensional world. Unlike many books that I have read lately, Eve managed to hold my attention. Plus, although the book is set up for a sequel, the ending didn't feel forced and the story actually had a conclusion.

My Recommendation

I really liked the adventure, however I'm feeling cheap today. I give it a 4/5 - Wait for a sale/coupon.