Review: How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr

  Title: How to Save a Life                   Pages: 341
  Author: Sara Zarr                             Source: Publisher
  Publisher: Little, Brown Books          Published: Oct 18, 2011
  Series: N/A                                       Purchase: Amazon
  Rating: 5 out of 5

Jill MacSweeney just wants everything to go back to normal. But ever since her dad died, she's been isolating herself from her boyfriend, her best friends--everyone who wants to support her. You can't lose one family member and simply replace him with a new one, and when her mom decides to adopt a baby, that's exactly what it feels like she's trying to do. And that's decidedly not normal. With her world crumbling around her, can Jill come to embrace a new member of the family?

Mandy Kalinowski knows what it's like to grow up unwanted - to be raised by a mother who never intended to have a child. So when Mandy becomes pregnant, she knows she wants a better life for her baby. But can giving up a child be as easy as it seems? And will she ever be able to find someone to care for her, too?

How to Save a Life is an incredible story about falling apart and falling apart again, just when you think you're picking yourself back up. It's a journey of learning to trust and count on somebody for the first time in your life.

The characters in How to Save a Life are phenomenal. Sara Zarr goes above and beyond for each character and I felt like I knew them personally.

Jill is incredibly snarky and sarcastic, but it's just her defense-mechanism after her rock, her father, dies. She feels like she lost part of herself and that she can't love anyone without him showing her how. She's insecure, yet comes across as confident to your face. I loved Jill from the beginning, when she captured my heart.

Speaking of capturing my heart, so did the second heroine, Mandy. I did not like her at first, I found her to be annoying and awkward. Her personality, however, quickly grew on me. She was like a sister that steals my stuff and makes me angry, then later makes me crack up because of how eclectic she is.

How to Save a Life's plot was slowly paced at times, but Sara Zarr took my heart and squeezed it hard every now and then to make sure I was still paying attention to her beautiful story. Her words were beautiful and absolutely lyrical at times and I found myself laughing at her witty dialogue.

Overall, I highly recommend How to Save a Life to anyone. The whole novel is so amazing and one hard to find flaws in.

Cover thoughts: I really like this cover and how it pertains to the story. The snow symbolizes the loneliness of it, as does there being two sets of footprints, yet one person. I'm in the crowd though that doesn't like how huge the letters are.

I give How to Save a Life a 5 out of 5.

Review: Supernaturally by Kiersten White

  Title: Supernaturally                                             Pages: 336
  Author: Kiersten White                                         Source: Giveaway
  Publisher: Harper Teen                                         Published: July 26, 2011
  Series: Paranormalcy #2                                      Purchase: Amazon
  Rating: 5 out of 5

Evie finally has the normal life she’s always longed for. But she’s shocked to discover that being ordinary can be . . . kind of boring. Just when Evie starts to long for her days at the International Paranormal Containment Agency, she’s given a chance to work for them again. Desperate for a break from all the normalcy, she agrees.

But as one disastrous mission leads to another, Evie starts to wonder if she made the right choice. And when Evie’s faerie ex-boyfriend Reth appears with devastating revelations about her past, she discovers that there’s a battle brewing between the faerie courts that could throw the whole supernatural world into chaos. The prize in question? Evie herself.

So much for normal.

Supernaturally was an incredible sequel to Paranormalcy. I fell in love with Evie's world in Paranormalcy and fell even more in love with it in Supernaturally.

Evie is the perfect female main character in a novel, because not only is she written so perfectly, she's so easy to relate to. All she wants is a normal life in the paranormal world she lives in, but as we all learned in Paranormalcy, Evie just can't find normal.

The romance in this novel is superb, giving just enough to satisfy, but not too much to overwhelm. Evie and Lend's relationship is that perfect, adorable relationship you kind of wish you had with your boyfriend. He's so sweet and caring and not to mention absolutely HOT.

I absolutely loved Supernaturally and couldn't get enough of it. I loved reading about all the different paranormals such as selkies, sylphs, kelpies, vampires, faeries etc. that Evie’s world has to offer and loved how everything was connected in Supernaturally. I missed Evie and all her butt-kicking glory and was happily absorbed into her world for a second time. If you loved the first novel, certainly go pick this one up, you won't be sorry. If you haven't read either novel, what are you waiting for!?

I definitely can't wait to read more of Evie's life and world in Endlessly.

I give Supernaturally a 5 out of 5.

 

Author’s Note:

Do you like when I write out the summary myself, or do you not care as much? Also do you like shorter reviews or more in depth reviews? I’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts on these things or anything else! Thank you and don’t be afraid to be honest with me :).

Review and Giveaway: Misfit by Jon Skovron

  Title: Misfit                                              Pages: 384 
  Author: Jon Skovron                                 Source: Publisher
  Publisher: Abrams Books                         Published: Sep 1, 2011
  Series: ?                                                 Purchase: Amazon
  Rating: 5 out of 5

Jael Thompson is no ordinary girl. And the fact that she's moved far too many times doesn't really help the situation. What makes Jael unique? Her mother was a five thousand year old demon, and her dad an ex-priest. That makes her half-demon, half-mortal. A half-breed.

But on her sixteenth birthday, her father gives Jael a necklace her mother wanted Jael to have. A necklace that just so happens to awaken the demon in her.

Coming with her new found self are powers that she has to learn to hone, because Belial, a demon who happens to hate half-breeds, is after her and she's tired of running from him.

I finished Misfit the day before I wrote this review, but wanted to let it "sink in" before I reviewed it. I wanted to make sure I still felt the same way. I do. I loved it.

Misfit is most of the time told in alternating chapters, traveling from present day and Jael's story, to the past and her parents' story. I found this a great way to tell both the prologue-ish side, and Jael's story, because I got to understand every angle of the story of how everything came to what it did.

Misfit also has a lot of mythology and exorcism talk involved, which 1) I love both of those things and 2) makes Jon Skovron sound really intellectual (I bet he is anyway!). So if one or both of those things appeals to you, read this.

The writing is absolutely phenomenal. Jon Skovron has a natural knack for telling a story that you want to keeping reading until you've devoured every last word. His dialogue is clever and witty and his descriptions crystal clear. This is especially important when you're describing paranormal creatures, which Skovron handled with ease.

The plot was mostly fast-paced. It didn't take too long to get into the action, nor did it happen too quickly. Skovron waits the perfect amount of time to drop each twist on you and delivers an incredible ending to top it all off like a cherry on a sundae.

The characters were solid. I want to know more about them, yet I'm not left feeling like I know too little. It seemed like each character Skovron brought in played a part in the story. Each character was needed in one small way or another big way.

That brings me to Jael. She's written amazingly, for being written from the eyes of a male. Sometimes when a female lead is written by a man, she doesn't get totally captured, as some men do not understand females. This also works vice versa sometimes with woman writing male leads. There are lots of other errors men make when writing females, though, like stereotyping them or putting a certain image on them.

That being said, Jael is perfectly female, and a tough one at that. She has her insecurities, sure, but she finds out that she really can do amazing things with the abilities she's acquired. She comes further than just thinking she's an evil demon. I found that she really grew as a character, for the better.

The romance in Misfit isn't as much as I hoped for, but frankly, there was quite a bit of action going on that romance might have just watered it down. In other words, I’m kind of glad that there wasn’t more romance! So, if what you're looking for is a straight up paranormal romance, Misfit might not be what you're looking for, but let that in no way stop you from reading it!

Overall, I absolutely loved Misfit. I'm guessing there's a sequel, which I cannot wait to read if there is. If there isn't, I'd be very disappointed. There is not one part I can complain about in this wonderful novel and I command you to read it! Please?

I give Misfit a 5(hundred) out of 5.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

I have two copies of Misfit to giveaway! Read on to learn the details!

You will have two optional extra entries: Following via GFC and tweeting the contest!

 

Rules/Information:

1. Must be 13 years or older or have parent permission.
2. Must fill out the form below, comments will not counted but are still welcome.
3. Giveaway ends on September 15th.
4. Giveaway is only open to entrants residing in USA.
5. I will contact the winners by email. You will have 48 hours to contact me back before I pick another winner.
6. One entry per person. All duplicated entries will be deleted.
7. Winners will be chosen via random.org.

 

Please fill out this FORM to enter

 

Disclaimer: Copies were provided by the publisher, free for my honest review and giveaway purposes. I am not being paid for either thing.

Review: Stay by Deb Caletti (Luxury Reading review)

  Title: Stay                                                      Pages: 313 
  Author: Deb Caletti                                         Source: Luxury Reading
  Publisher: Simon Pulse                                   Published: April 5, 2011
  Series: Standalone?                                        Purchase: Amazon
  Rating: 5 out of 5

Clara's never had a true boyfriend, only flings and dates. But when she meets Christian, that changes. Without even searching, it seems she's found someone she could be with forever.

And then the unthinkable happens. Christian becomes more and more jealous and more and more obsessive. Over Clara. He accuses her of looking at other guys, of wanting to be with them. He accuses her of wanting to leave and never believes she truly loves him, only him, no matter how many times she tells him.

When Clara realizes that their relationship is too far gone - that Christian is too far gone - she leaves the city and her friends behind to stay at Bishop Rock with her father, telling no one where she's going.

There, she breathes for the first time in a while and starts picking up the pieces of her life - or at least trying. She's still scared that she may have not run far enough.

I was drawn to Stay and its premise from the first time I read the summary. I love realistic fiction and Stay leads the pack.

Want to read the rest of this review? Head on over to Luxury Reading.

I give Stay a 5 out of 5.

Review: Forgotten by Cat Patrick

  Title: Forgotten                                                       Pages: 304
  Author: Cat Patrick                                                 Source: Publisher
  Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers     Published: June 7, 2011
  Series: Standalone                                                 Purchase: Amazon
  Rating: 5 out of 5

Every night at exactly 4:33 AM, 16 year-old London Lane's memory gets wiped clean as she sleeps. And each morning, she wakes up to find a note to herself from herself telling her what happened the previous day. The day she can't remember at all.

Instead of remembering the past, London remembers the future. She remembers backwards.

None of this helps when she has to worry about school. It also doesn't help when London has to worry about a boyfriend, whose name she can't remember, who doesn't seem to be in her memories of what's to come. Nevermind the fact that her mother has been keeping secrets about a father that hasn't been in her life since she was six.

And when London starts having visions from what appears to be her future, she realizes she just may have to remember the past, before she can no longer remember her future.

Forgotten is described as psychological drama, romance, and mystery all in one. Just from that line, I was hooked.

Forgotten is incredibly confusing at first in the way that untangling a giant mess of ropes is. But after you finally untangle that last stubborn knot, you feel absolutely exhilarated.

The fact that London remembers backwards - meaning she 'remembers' her future and can't remember her past - was really confusing for me at first. I didn't mind the confusion at all, though, as it was this giant mystery that I couldn't wait to solve. Every loose end got tied up into, instead of a knot, a pretty bow.

Another part that confused me was how she remembered her classmates, where her classes were, where her locker was, etc. if she couldn't remember her past, but then I understood. She remembers the small stuff like that because she can see her future with her classmates, she can see in a few days when she walks to math class, and the time in a month where she opens her locker. That being said, she can also forget these small things when she no longer has a future with that person or object.

The characters were phenomenal and mainly consisted of London, her boyfriend Luke, her best friend Jamie, and her mother.

London was a strong character for the situation she was in. I expected her to be much more insecure and scared. She was actually very strong already, but also grew as the novel went on. I fell in love with her character and was hoping for a pleasant outcome for her.

Luke was a wonderful male lead. He was all the things almost any woman would look for in a man and more. He's sexy, sweet, loving, supportive. I could go on and on. Who wouldn't want to curl up next to a guy like that?

All the rest of the characters, major or minor, added to the story in some way. Some characters might be borderline filler, but I honestly didn't notice any character that was blatantly a filler character, other than teachers. I believe Cat Patrick did an absolutely brilliant job writing the characters so realistically and well.

The plot was fantastic. It was perfectly paced, with so many unseen twists and turns. I can't think of many twists I saw coming and I can't think of one part of Forgotten where the writing started to slow. Each and every page had me in its grasp and didn't let go until the very end.

The plot of Forgotten was unique and I applaud Patrick for finding a topic to write about that wasn't just another clichéd, over-written plot. Many have compared this novel to the Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler movie, 50 First Dates, and while the premise might sound a bit like it, I can assure you that it isn't once you dive in.

Now obviously the writing was awesome, too. I love Patrick's ability to be so descriptive, yet not so much in the way I don't care for, where every little detail is laid out for you. This usually might take years of practice to hone this ability, yet Patrick has the natural talent for it.

Overall, I absolutely loved Forgotten, if you couldn't tell. I whole-heartedly recommend this to anyone and especially people that love psychological dramas, mysteries, and romance novels.

I give Forgotten a 5 out of 5.

Review: Where She Went (Luxury Reading review)

  Title: Where She Went                     Pages: 264
  Author: Gayle Forman                      Source: Luxury Reading
  Publisher: Dutton Juvenile                Published: Apr 5, 2011
  Series: If I Stay #2                             Purchase: Amazon
  Rating: 5 out of 5

It’s been three years since the tragic accident that devastated Mia’s life and three years since she left her rock star boyfriend, Adam. He was not just another musician, but a full-blown, everywhere-he-goes-he-gets-recognized rock star.

Music is Adam’s dream, or at least it was. Now, he’s an empty shell. He goes through the actions of interviews and shows and everything associated with his rock star life in a blur of people and panic attacks.

Mia’s a rising star in the classical music world and one night, Adam finds himself at one of her concerts. He intends to just sit and listen to the music, but fate has other plans for them. She invites him backstage and before he knows it, he’s on a tour of her favorite haunts in New York, and one wild ride of emotions.

I loved If I Stay, and Where She Went was only more of the same, in a very good way. I devoured it and I’m sure it’ll be one of those books that stays with me for a long time.

Want to read the rest of my review? Please go here: Luxury Reading

I give Where She Went a 5 out of 5.

 

Confused why I don’t have the full review here? Please refer to my first Luxury Reading review here.

Review: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

  Title: City of Bones                           Pages: 485
  Author: Cassandra Clare                 Source: Library
  Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry    Published: Mar 27, 2007
  Series: The Mortal Instruments        Purchase: Amazon
  Rating: 5 out of 5

Clarissa "Clary" Fray is a normal fifteen-year-old girl. That is until she witnesses a mysterious murder at a New York club called Pandemonium. She witnesses three teens about her age killing a blue-haired boy, but she soon realizes he wasn't a boy at all. No, she figured he wasn't human when he disappeared into thin air after he was killed. She soon learns that he was a demon and there is a whole world she didn't see before now. That she couldn't see before now.

Now gifted with the Sight of this world, Clary is thrown into it, after she runs into the mysterious angelic-looking boy that killed the blue-haired demon, not once, but twice in the span of 24 hours. Soon after, she is attacked by one of the very demons he kills for a living and her mother is kidnapped. Was it demons that kidnapped her? Or something more sinister?

I fell in love with Clary even before I got to the middle of the book. She's such a mix of personality, you never know what might come out of her mouth. She's this brave, yet fearful girl suddenly shoved into this magical world she cannot explain. She evolves so much over the course of the novel, becoming more wise and experienced as it goes on. In the beginning she was incredibly naive, and pretty much sucked at reading people. As the pages were turned, however, she slowly started seeing the things that really went on around her and came out a completely changed and more mature girl. I loved her character from beginning until long after the end.

Jace was a wonderful, if slightly bipolar, male hero. You never know what he might say either. Clary and Jace clashed, yet complimented each other in such a wonderful way. Jace is this complicated character that doesn't believe in loving anyone, he believes it shows weakness. He's another character that evolved so much from the beginning of City of Bones. I loved his character as well.

Every other character seemed like they did something for the story, with only one or two that didn't seem to fit. They all have different personalities that come together quite nicely and make for an enjoying read.

Next to the characters, the plot and writing are the other most important parts of a novel. If you have a wonderful plot, but horrible characters, you aren't going to have a very enjoyable book. This is why so many people love this book, probably, because Cassandra Clare balanced all these important points of City of Bones so well.

Clare draws you in immediately in the first chapter and holds your attention by throwing twists and turns at you she knows you cannot catch, because you don't see them coming. Just when you think you've figured everything out, she shoves you with full force into a completely new twist, that leaves you breathless when you've finally come up for air. This is how I felt at the end of City of Bones.

Clare is a brilliant writer, another important part of a novel. Her descriptions are beautiful and eloquent, perfectly painted for the reader. She understands how to pull the reader in and how to keep their attention and pulls it off flawlessly.

Another thing is I loved how unique this novel was, with unique lingo and creatures. I love when you can tell that the author really thought long and hard about each part of the novel and I had that feeling all throughout City of Bones.

Overall, City of Bones is one of my favorite novels so far and I will definitely be reading City of Ashes the first chance I get. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that loves the paranormal genres and books about demons and demon hunters.

I give City of Bones a 5 out of 5.

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard review

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard
Source: Library
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Alison DiLaurentis is the popular, gorgeous It girl. Every boy wanted her, every girl - even older - wanted to be her. So when she became friends with Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna, they felt quite special. Sure, Ali could be mean at times, but they loved her anyway. They all shared their secrets with one another - its what makes best friends friends forever, Ali would say.

Then, one night at a slumber party, Ali disappeared. No one has seen or heard from her since that night. That is, until the four girls left to mourn her disappearance start getting eerie text messages, signed from A. And whoever this "A" is, they're threatening each girl with secrets only Ali knew. So... is it Alison? Is she alive, or is it her ghost? Or is it someone else entirely?

I fell in love with the show on ABC ever since it first aired. I knew that the show was based off the books, but I never wanted to read them, because I didn't want to spoil the suspense for the show. I should've much sooner.

Sara Shepard created this genius guilty pleasure of a series. There are so many twists and turns in this first book and compared to the show, I bet the book series only gets better and better.

Shepard does a wonderful job with creating these characters. They all have different personalities, even more minor characters. They all have their own problems. Shepard created characters that girls of today can relate to. There is talk about having parents that constantly expect the best and more from you, parents that are so strict in their beliefs, parents that are crazy and artistic and carefree, and a parent that is constantly working. Shepard touches upon subjects such as constantly needing to be the best, being confused about sexuality, liking someone one shouldn't, eating disorders, cutting, underage drinking, sex, and the normal pressures of being a girl in today's world. She handles each topic with ease and moves onto the next without waivering.

Shepard's writing is simple and clean. She describes stuff wonderfully. All shows and movies are different in some aspects from their book influence, so despite knowing what characters and places look like, I had a different image in my head from how Shepard described it in the book. To me, having the power to do this even though I've seen the show, shows how well Shepard can write.

Overall, I found myself loving the book as much as I love the show and am extremely glad I decided to read it. I can't wait to continue on with the other books and am already a fan of Shepard's from her book the Lying Game, this book just adding more fuel to the growing fire. I highly recommend it to anyone that's seen or not seen the show and anyone that loves books about high school, juicy secrets, and lies.

I give this book a 5 out of 5.

View all my reviews

Vesper by Jeff Sampson review

Vesper by Jeff Sampson
Source: Library
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Emily Webb is an "entertainment geek." She loves her DVDs and books and could spend most of her time in her room. In fact, she usually does. So when she finds herself with one foot out of her window, about to jump out, she's confused. First, she doesn't know why she wanted to do this in the first place. Second, she's wearing her stepsister's clubbing clothes. She's usually the jeans and a hoodie type of girl. She has no memory from the time she was just reading, to now.

She grabs her ringing phone and finds out from her best friend Megan that a classmate of theirs, the "other" Emily, is dead, shot twice. So is it a coincidence that Emily Webb was just acting like she thought Emily C. always acted like?

Now every night, Emily is changing into "Nighttime Emily." With each change, it becomes quicker and less painful. She becomes stronger and quicker. And with a murderer on the loose - one that just so happens to be killing people of her kind, whatever that may be - that may not be a bad thing. But one thing, why does she suddenly want to sniff boys to see if they're "the one"?

First of all, it was hard to write a synopsis for this book, because everything I wrote seemed confusing. Vesper is not confusing at all. Maybe in a sense that you want answers so you're confused as to what she is, but not in a way that it doesn't make sense.

Emily was a great character. She was smart, geeky, and insecure, meaning she had a personality. She had depth. She's way too insecure with herself, and that really was a contrast to Nighttime Emily's confidence in herself. I was wishing as the pages went on that Emily would see she really is pretty and to make a step in being more confident as her Daytime self.

The other characters didn't have as much personality, but in a way that was mysterious instead of flat. They had enough personality to be able to be built up for the series, instead of giving everything away in the first book. Most of them had a purpose in the book - even if you didn't find it out in this first installment - and none of them seemed like filler characters to make the story longer. I really liked this fact.

The plot was awesome. It had lots of twists and turns toward the middle and end. I wanted to find out exactly what she was and that answer didn't seem to come fast enough. Jeff Sampson did a wonderful job with the suspense. It didn't leave you feeling like it was drawn out too much, but just enough. He wrote Vesper beautifully. The descriptions were amazing and it felt like he was playing a movie for me, he described things so well. He wrote a female character with ease, not often seen with a male author.

I couldn't get into Vesper that much at first, which was surprising, because the plot was so intriguing. I blame this on the fact that I was just distracted, so if you find yourself not really getting into it at first, please, stick it out until at least the middle, if not the whole book, because it picks up even more.

Overall, I felt Vesper was a very well done young adult debut and will gladly read the rest of the series and any young adult novel Jeff Sampson writes. I felt like I was reading a book by a young adult veteran. I highly recommend this book.

I give this book a 5 out of 5.

View all my reviews

A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb review

A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb
Publisher: Graphia
Published: September 21st 2005
Source: Library
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Helen is a ghost, who attaches herself to "hosts," although she doesn't know why. She doesn't haunt her place of passing, or someone she once loved. No, she haunts people she doesn't know. When one dies, she haunts another. She doesn't even remember how she died, just that she's been dead for more than 130 years.

When she attaches herself to a high school English teacher, Mr. Brown, things change drastically for her. One of the boys in his class can see her. And not in the way that he just happened to look in her direction. He can see her and is perfectly aware of her.

Helen, who is uncomfortable at first by this new turn of events, finds out the truth about this new boy, and with his help, she goes on a quest so they can be together. In flesh.

This book is amazing, with some minor bumps in the road that are flattened by the sheer awesomeness of the rest of the book. Laura Whitcomb gave a fresh take on the ghost cliche, that I loved.

The characterization was beyond phenomenal. I knew these people. Laura Whitcomb wrote their personalities and fear and hopes so well, that you feel like you know them. You ache when they ache. I loved the romance between James and Helen. It felt so real. It did, however come way too fast and that is one of the minor bumps that I was talking about. But the realness of the romance flattened this bump out right away. All the other minor characters had personalities too, and depth not normally received from minor characters in other books.

The plot was awesome. The way Whitcomb described "Light" and "Quick" was effortless, and you pretty much instantly knew what she was talking about, once she explained. She described things so wonderfully and it makes me not want to take for granted the small things like the way things taste and smell and being able to touch people. The twists were well thought out and placed, keeping my attention to the final page. The writing in this novel was fantastic. The other minor bump in the road didn't bother me, but it might bother other people. There are swear words and teenage sex (not graphically written, just the bare basics). Like I said, that fact didn't bother me, so it does not effect the score I gave this book.

The ending was one of the best endings I've read in a novel. I actually got tears in my eyes and was smiling as I read. It was a beautiful ending to a beautiful book.

Overall, this book stands high and proud. This was a wonderful first book by Laura Whitcomb. If I didn't know better, I would have assumed she had years of experience by her excellent writing. I am now a fan of hers and will pick up any new and/or old books of hers in a heartbeat.

I give this book a 5 out of 5 (obviously).

View all my reviews

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White review

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Evie considers herself as normal as possible given her current situation. She's an employee of IPCA (International Paranormal Containment Agency) and it's her job to basically arrest different paranormal species. She has a special gift that allows her to see through "glamours," such as seeing through a vampire to their rotting corpse beneath, seeing a werewolves' yellow eyes even though it isn't a full moon, etc.

She also tries to be as normal as possible considering her ex-boyfriend Reth is a faerie, her best friend Lish is a mermaid, and she's crushing on Lend the shape shifter. What isn't normal is that there has been someone or something that has been killing paranormals and it doesn't leave a trace behind. So can Evie solve the riddle of it all before it's too late?

This book had me from the beginning because of the genius way it was written. I mean, Kiersten White took the slightly dark and mysterious subject of paranormal and made it light-hearted in a way I've never seen or read before. She doesn't make fun of the genre, she just makes it less serious, but in a good way. The way she writes is just pure awesome and hilarious.

She wrote everyone's personalities well as well, getting her characterization down. Evie is so innocent, yet experienced in things a normal teenager should not be. She's such a different character compared to all the female main characters of most paranormal books. She has such a unique personality, that it's a breath of fresh air. Something that had me loving her from the very first chapter.

I also loved the mystery of the prophecy and Reth, and I was flipping through the pages excited to learn exactly what he was up to. And of course, I cannot forget the romance between Evie and Lend as I silently urged them to get together with each passing page.

Kiersten White has such a great talent for writing such light, funny dialogue, yet can dial up the steamy romance notch any times she wants for the reader. I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish and will read anything by White in a heartbeat because of reading this book. I am eagerly anticipating the second novel of this series.

I give this book a 5 out of 5 stars.

View all my reviews

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting review

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting
Source: Library
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Violet Ambrose has a special ability. She can sense dead bodies by what she calls echoes. Echoes can come to her in the form of tastes, sounds, smells, or visual cues such as colors. This mostly leads her to find dead animals, which she buries in her backyard in a makeshift graveyard. She can also sense murderers in the same way, with the echo of the dead the same as its murderer. Usually they're only of the military, police, or doctor variety.

Violet also has another secret. She has feelings for her best friend, Jay Heaton, since childhood. Now, when Violet 'stumbles' upon a body, and then several girls go missing, can Jay put aside his protectiveness and help Violet find the killer that is terrorizing her small town, despite the risk that Violet herself might become his prey?

This is another of those books you can't put down, where you find yourself stumbling over the words because you're reading too fast. It's story is told in third person, focusing on two point of views: Violet's and the serial killer's. I loved that part of the story because it was a fresh idea, and provided insight into his insane mind. It was a change of pace when the chapters went from the cheerful mood of a party, to the creepy thoughts and actions of the serial killer.

The characterization was great. I felt that the characters were realistic and had depth. I loved the pairing of Violet and Jay. You could feel the amount that they cared about each other and it reminded me of some of my own relationships because it felt so real. It was funny to me that Violet was so clueless as to Jay's feelings for her. Sometimes, though, Jay's feelings were laid on too thick in the form of his protectiveness over her.

Even though I anticipated some of the plot twists (I have a knack for this and my boyfriend hates when we're watching a movie and I say what's going to happen next) The Body Finder is a must-read for any fans of the mystery and YA genres. A must-read in general. The entire premise of this book is one I doubt you've ever heard before and it makes for an awesome, fresh read. Kimberly Derting writes in an effortless way to pull you in from page one and keep you reading all the way to the end. I will definitely be reading Desires of the Dead as soon as I get my hands on it.

This book earned a 5 out of 5 stars from me.

View all my reviews

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick review

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
Source: Library
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Nora Grey is just your average teenager. She writes movie reviews for her school paper and hasn't really ever considered any guys from her school attractive. That is, until she meets Patch when Coach, the Biology teacher, switches around the seating chart in her Biology class. They are assigned homework to find out as much about their new Biology partner as they can and turn it in the next day. Except Patch isn't exactly cooperative with giving out information about himself, but yet he knows stuff about her that even her closest friends don't. Is it intuition or something.. else?

Nora becomes increasingly uncomfortable in the presence of Patch as the days go on as his Biology partner. He seems to be everywhere she is. Is he stalking her, or is it just a coincidence? But why does part of her feel drawn to him? Why does he always seem to evade personal questions? How and why can he put thoughts into her head like he's talking to her, yet his lips never move? And why does the new boy put Nora on edge?

Nora is certain of one thing, both Patch and the new boy seem dangerous. For Patch, she can't quite put her finger on why. For the new boy, Elliot, it's because he was a suspect in a murder investigation at his old school. And unlucky for her, they both seem to want her.

This review has been hard to write, because it seems like my words can't do this book justice. This book was beyond amazing. I had it on hold at my local library and was excited to read it, having heard positive reviews on it. Boy were they right! The mystery, the romance, everything was just perfect.

This was the kind of book that you just simply can't put down and after you've raced through all the pages, you want more. Lots, lots more. You know the kind of book I'm talking about. You read it all in one day or stay up super late reading it, wishing you didn't have to sleep. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.

The characterization was phenomenal. Fitzpatrick did so well with creating these three dimentional characters. She made them have emotions. She made you feel those emotions. She wrote their personalities brilliantly and left you feeling like you knew them.

I loved Nora, even though she's a wreck when anything bad happens. I kept expecting Patch to have to rush in and save her all the time, but it didn't happen. Most of the time she had to fend for herself, which was a fresh relief compared to all the paranormal romances out there. It's usually: girl is damsel in distress, girl gets kidnapped or trapped or something by the bad guy, in swoops the hero to save the girl every single time. Nope, not the case with this book.

Patch, oh Patchy Patch. He was delicious. Absolutely smoldering. He was the perfect bad boy and extremely cocky. He enjoyed putting Nora in an uncomfortable situation. Which he did a lot, I might add. He is super sexy and I practically had to fan myself after reading some chapters.

Speaking of which, boy can Fitzpatrick write the romance! In general, she can write extremely well. She captured my attention right away and held it until the end of the book and after. She writes beautifully and effortlessly and leaves you satisfied, yet wanting more. There were so many twists and turns, it was like she was mocking you each time you thought you knew what was going to happen.

The second book is definitely staying on my to-read list and has made my get-your-hands-on-a-copy-one-way-or-the-other-you-must-read-this-right-now list.

I don't think I have to say this, but this has earned a 5 out of 5 stars from me.
View all my reviews

Lost Voices by Sarah Porter review

Lost Voices by Sarah Porter
Source: NetGalley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fourteen-year-old Luce is practically all alone in the vast, cruel world she lives in. Luce used to travel around with her dad - the thief - all the time, until Luce's uncle talked her father into moving back to his hometown to become a fisherman and provide Luce with as stable of a life as he can. But when her father never comes home one night, Luce is left all alone with her alcoholic, abusive uncle. One day after she saves a little girl's corpse from being lost in the sea and nearly drowning herself, her uncle gets drunk beyond repair and mistakes her for his true love - Luce's mother, who was stolen from him by Luce's father. He starts to hurt her in an unthinkable way, but runs away at the last minute, leaving Luce there abandoned on the cliffside.

Without realizing it, she undergoes a transformation that hurtles her over the edge of the cliff and just out of the way as a ship hurtles toward her. She hears wonderful music, such a powerful voice, not knowing it comes from her very lips. Just as she's been under for longer than she thought she'd be able to stand, she finally starts to drown, only to be saved by a mermaid Queen. The mermaid Queen, named Catarina, takes Luce under her wing and lets her join her tribe of mermaids. Just when Luce feels like she has an actual home again, Catarina and the rest of the tribe tell her a big part of being a mermaid - mass murder through lovely singing voices. They sing to passing ships - just like Luce unknowingly did - and kill every last one of them by drowning them.

If that weren't bad enough, a new mermaid joins them soon after and is highly cunning and manipulative and she's out for the crown. Luce has to find the courage to protect her new home, even if that means being kicked out of it.

This novel starts out by telling the reader about Luce's life in an Alaskan fishing village and how she has to deal with daily life in the house of her abusive Uncle with the mentally handicapped boy that lives next door as her only friend. I loved Sarah Porter starts by telling you Luce's back story, before diving - pun intended - into the life of a mermaid. I, as the reader, started feeling for Luce and grew an attachment to her. I didn't want to see her hurt at all.

In fact, I felt for a lot of the mermaids, and each one had their own unique personality. Luce was the innocent, sort of naive girl that just needed a home. Catarina was the elegant Queen, that was slightly neurotic at times. Samantha was the one not very good at singing, so she struggled with trying to prove herself, falling into the follower position. You could feel each girls' personality and grew to like, dislike, or hate them.

There were two mermaids I didn't like. First was Jenna. She was the first antagonist introduced to the story and she was just mean and unaccepting of anyone but her foster sisters for a little bit of the story. She especially didn't like Luce, despite Luce being nothing but a friend to her. I did feel very sorry for why she became a mermaid, though. Second was Anais. I felt nothing but contempt for Anais. This was a good thing, because she was perfectly concocted by Porter as the antagonist. She was downright nasty and manipulative and I actually wanted one of the girls to go against the timahk - the mermaid's code of conduct - and slap her right across the face, maybe even drowning her or throwing her up on the beach. But I was grateful no one did, otherwise where would the story be able to go?

This novel was beautifully written with so many descriptive paragraphs about the sea, the sky, the cliffs, just everything. Sarah Porter has such a way with words that resonate with you long after you finish reading the last page of the book. I couldn't stop thinking about this book when I was away, wanting nothing more than to finish it so I could see what happened next. She painted out this slow and steady picture that leaves you wanting more after she ran out of paint. Don't waste anytime in getting your hands on this book, you're in for a wonderful read.

I give this book a 5 out of 5.


View all my reviews

The Lying Game (The Lying Game series #1) review

The Lying Game by Sara Shepard
Source: Bought
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I picked up The Lying Game from the store, not really expecting much. I wanted to choose a second book to read and the store was about to close, so I just grabbed it and checked out. I'm glad I did.

The Lying Game is about two long lost twins. Before you wrinkle your nose, thinking it's a huge cliche, you know you're in for a new twist on the cliche when Sara Shepard makes fun of it through the characters. I found this a nice little detail in an already great story.

The Lying Game follows the story of Emma and Sutton, as they try to piece together what happened before Sutton was killed and whodunnit. Only Emma can't hear or see Sutton, which I found actually kind of relieving. That would have been a whole other cliche. Instead, you feel Sutton's desperation as she realizes no one can see or hear her. This plays out rather badly as Sutton can only watch Emma, following her like a lost puppy wherever she goes, seeing only when Emma can see. I felt anxious for Sutton and Emma because at first, Emma doesn't know Sutton is dead. Emma thinks her twin is inviting her out to Arizona to reunite.

Emma then gets trapped in pretending to be Sutton, threatened by an unknown enemy that if she doesn't, there'll be severe consequences. The rest of the story slowly unfolds new memories for an amnesiac Sutton and new revelations for a terrified Emma. Emma finds out her twin wasn't what she hoped she'd be. She was actually kind of a witch.

Sutton was part of The Lying Game, a clique of four girls that got giggles from pranking people. Only they weren't your harmless jump-out-from-behind-something-and-go-boo! kind. They were far more harmful than that. But of course they had the code phrase 'Cross my heart, hope to die,' meant to be said if someone ever took the joke too far. So no one would ever take the joke too far.. right?

Overall, I found most of the characters felt quite real most of the time. Of course some parts of the book felt like filler, but I have yet to come across a book that doesn't have one single filler moment. The only characters that could have had a little more depth were the Twitter Twins and Garrett, although Garrett did grow a little throughout the story. There were also times that I wanted to reach in the book and smack Emma for not doing something I would have done. There were also some parts that didn't feel like they would play out quite like Sara Shepard wrote them.

All in all, though, I thoroughly enjoyed this first installment of what seems like a great book series. I am eagerly awaiting the release of Never Have I Ever and will definitely buy it when it comes out. If you enjoyed Pretty Little Liars or like books with catty girls, secrets, and lies, then I'd highly recommend this book as an addition to your collection.

I give The Lying Game a 5 out of 5.

View all my reviews

Matched review

Matched by Ally Condie
Source: Bought
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Matched intrigued me when I first read about it here on Goodreads. I picked it up at the bookstore when it came out, remembering it out of all the other books I wanted to read. The premise reminds me a lot of the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld, so of course, I had to read it. The book lived up to my expectations and more. It's a heroic story woven with threads of love, friendship, betrayal, and curiosity. What would you do if a seemingly perfect Society that was in charge of telling you who your future spouse was, who rarely made mistakes, made an error? What would you do if you'd already been Matched, yet you saw someone else's face, where your Match's should have been? These are just some of the trials that Cassia will have to face in the first book of the Matched series.

I love books that follow the same bones as the book Matched, and Ally Condie provided me with a fresh imaginative world where everything was decided for you and everything was based on data. No luck, just data and math and science. Ally Condie wrote the book beautifully with just enough twists and turns to keep you guessing and wanting more. Most of the characters leave you feeling like they are real, complete characters, not just ones in a book. One minute I was disliking Cassia, the next feeling for her and understanding why she does what she does. By the end of the book, I was rooting her on and with each turn of the page, hoping she'd get what she wanted and the Society would get what they deserved.

Matched gets a five out of five stars from me.

View all my reviews