Bloom by Elizabeth Scott

Hello lovelies. Did you miss me? Sorry for my absence but it was Homecoming. :) I'm also going to be absent this week since I have a lot of practice for our first competition. But I do have a review for you guys of a book that I read back in January.



Bloom by Elizabeth Scott

3 stars I think

Lauren is a girl who isn’t considered to be popular, but is only popular because she is dating the ultra-perfect-popular guy in school. Lauren is full of insecurities and she only stays with her boyfriend, Dave, because it’s the right thing for her to do so she doesn’t become her mom. Then Evan Kirkland moves back. Evan’s mom used to date Lauren’s dad and they developed a close friendship and now when she sees him she can’t deny her sudden attraction to him. Even if being with Evan means Lauren is more like her mom than she cares to admit. I’m not sure how to rate this book. I liked it and enjoyed it, but at the same time I was frustrated with Lauren and her choices.


The main female character is Lauren. I could relate to Lauren in some ways, but then I wanted to bitch slap her to the moon and back. Her choices were idiotic and made me frown at her stupidity. If I was in her shoes I would’ve just dumped Mr. Perfect in the first place. No, I wouldn’t have even dated him for as long as she did. She didn’t even really like him all that much but stayed with him because she didn’t want to be like her mom. Lauren needed to get over this speed bump of not becoming her mom. Her fear of not being her mom was actually making her, her mom. I can’t hate her completely thought because her mistakes just show that she is human.

Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 7

The main male characters are Evan and Dave. Dave was Lauren’s boyfriend and he was played like a violin. Poor guy, he seemed nice but that’s it. He had no depth and I can’t even remember what he was like (I read this book back in January so that might be why). Evan was interesting, but aside from him sounding hot and sweet I felt like I didn’t get to know him.


Swoon Worthy Scale: Dave: 4 Evan: 8

The Villain- Lauren and her dumbass fears and stupidity are the only villain this book had to offer. Her psychological problems amused me.

Villain Scale: 6

Lauren’s best friend, Katie, was so superficial. Every time she would walk into the book I would groan at her superficial remarks… and then towards the end it’s obvious she has more problems than Lauren and is a really good friend. Katie was the not-so-great friend. I think Katie should get her own novel. She would be interesting.


Character Scale: 7.5

This book was all about Lauren. Lauren’s problems, choices, and Lauren, Lauren, Lauren. I think Lauren needs to sit down and let someone have the spotlight for a second. 
 

The other characters needed love to and I don’t think they got that. The book had some good points and I got emotional at one point, even though it wasn’t really that sad, but compared to Living Dead Girl (also by Scott and my first book by her) this book failed to be special or touching. So this novel wasn't character driven, but I felt meh towards everything, but at the same time I was invested in finding out what happened. That probably made absolutely no sense but I'm conflicted when it comes to Bloom. Not Scott’s best work, but I’m still going to pick up her other books.

Cover Thoughts: I really like this cover. I’m not sure if it’s the color, the flower, or just the simplicity of it. But I like it and that’s all I have to say. 

So, what do you guys think of Bloom? Have you read it? Do you want to read it? Tell me your thoughts I would love to know.  
 

Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

First in the Raised by Wolves series

2.5 stars

Bryn has been raised by wolves (obviously hence said title) by the Alpha of a werewolf pack. Callum rescued Bryn after her parents were brutually murdered and he saved her from a rogue wolf. Growing up with a rebellious streak (not my words, trust me) and thinking that the rogue that attacked her has been dead and gone she feels remotely safe with the pack. Bryn doesn’t listen when the pack tells her to stay out of a situation she stumbled upon. Bryn’s ‘rebelliousness’ gets the best of her and she finds a handsome boy locked in a cage named Chase, who is one of the only known humans to ever be turned into a werewolf. I had been expecting this book to be amazing. I read this book back in February and I’m still pissed off at how disappointing this was. I had been expecting to be blown away and spellbound (wolfbound, wolfentranced? What would you call it?) this book. I’m starting to think the only reason my expectations were so high was because the title is the same as one of my favorite songs. I I did like this book and didn’t completely loath or hate, but I wasn’t as pleased with as I thought I would be. I was constantly annoyed by the whole pack telepathy thing between Bryn and the other wolves. I felt like we got no insight as to why they were able to this and where the werewolves even came from. There was nothing about where they come from the just sort of, well, were. They were there and that’s all I can tell you about these weres.

The main female character is Bryn. Bryn is annoying. She tries to come off as badass but she’s just stupid and impulsive. Do I have to recount her meeting with Chase because I think it backs up my feelings to this statement and most people who’ve read the book will know what I’m talking about. Bryn could’ve been a great character, but she wasn’t. She lacked everything and when she did try to be cool or interesting she failed and only made me yawn. Bryn was a fail of a heroine.  
 

Barnes tried too hard to make her rebellious, relatable, and teenagerish. Also how was that ending possible? It confused me so much. The sequel better explain it better.


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 2 (I feel like that’s generous)

The main male character is Chase. Chase was more likeable than Bryn, but I didn’t really care for him. His relationship with Bryn didn’t work out well. I think Barnes tried too hard when trying to create a wolf+ chick= true love. The relationship also felt rushed and I could care less about it. I’m just not really feeling him.


Swoon Worthy Scale: 3

Villain Scale: 2.5

Character Scale: 3


I lost interest in talking about the characters. Even though I don’t feel like talking about the other characters, but I do want to address this. What the pack did to Bryn as punishment is wrong and not acceptable. I know she broke the law, but seriously she’s a human not a wolf there’s a difference. Also Bryn needs to be more respectful towards her elders because she’s downright rude to the people who love and care for her. This novel felt rushed and Barnes tries too hard. She tried too hard to make a great heroine, a swoon worthy male, a terrifying villain, and obstacles for Bryn. I disagree with the review on the front of the book that says this is one of the best or best werewolf book, I liked Nightshade by Andrea Cremer a lot more. I liked this book, but I wasn’t blown away by it and it lacked and fell short a lot.


Cover Thoughts: I really like the cover. Since I feel so bad about being cruel towards the book I think the cover is its best quality. The imagery and lighting and coloring is spectacular.

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey

First in the Jessica series

5 stars

Jessica Packwood’s senior year was supposed to be one to remember. It was, but only because Lucius Vladescu showed up in her small, quiet town. Lucius says that Jessica is a vampire princess and that she is destined to marry him to signify the pact their parents made before they died. Jessica thinks Lucius is crazy and just wants to be normal. As Jessica starts to realize that maybe she does have feelings for Lucius, a devious cheerleader sets her sights on him and Lucius gets caught up in it. As Jessica struggles to win back Lucius and stop a vampire world that could also kill humans, she realizes that maybe she really is ready to be vampire royalty and she won’t give up until she has what she wants. I had been wanting to read JGtDotDS (the title is lengthy and even a mouthful when I type it so I’m using acronyms) since I had accidently stumbled upon it in Walmart. Never having enough money to buy it and when I finally did they didn’t have it, I decided to wait until the day I would find would come. It came last week when I walked into my school’s library for the first time. This book is everything I hoped it would be. It was funny, sweet, romantic, full of drama, and entertaining. I wasn’t bored when reading and Lucius Vladescu can suck on my neck any day.
 


The main female character is Jessica Packwood. Jessica was born as Anastasia and Lucius refers to her old name more than her American name. I liked Jessica, she was funny and her thoughts were entertaining. Throughout the story we see a drastic change in Jessica. She becomes more accepting and stronger. She also seems to be regal than as Lucius would say commoner. Sometimes I hate these kinds of changes, but not this time. I felt that this change in Jessica was necessary for her to survive in the vampire world.


Kick-Butt Heroine: 9.5


The main male character is Lucius. Lucius is dreamy and I like him. Of course I was off put by his stalking of Jessica at first but he was staking out the place and at least he didn’t show up in her room uninvited. Well he did once but it was to drop off Growing Up Undead: A Teen Vampire’s Guide to Dating, Health, and Emotions. Which is helpful and at least he didn’t pull and Edward. I think you either love him, hate him, or he grows on you. I instantly loved him and don’t want to spend the whole review fangirling.


Swoon Worthy Scale: 9.5

The Villain- Lucius’s uncle Vasile is the villain, along with Faith Crosse. Vasile is a villain but more of an underlying one and he was brought down before he could do harm. Faith is a typical Regina George.
 

From now on any bitch I come across in YA will be considered a Regina George.
I hate Faith and she belongs in the nut house along with every other crazy that self-inflicts pain for revenge.


Villain Scale: 8


Jessica’s other love interest was Jake. That was his name right? If it’s not sorry I’m watching reruns of Awkward and the guy reminds of him. Just a nice guy that’s all he is and well what he did in the end was heroic but he is nice just like Jake from Awkward. Jessica’s friend, Mindy, was refreshing and when she and Jessica were together were funny. I’m not sure where there relationship stands now though.


Character Scale: 9 


I could go on and on about how great this book is, but then I would ruin something. I try not to do that. Jessica’s Guide is definitely a great read and I totally recommend it. I can’t wait to get sink my teeth into (I did that on purpose) Jessica Rules the Dark Side. I hope for some total vampassery and a fun novel.


Cover Thoughts: I like the cover a lot. It’s cheesy and cute. Kind of like this book, but the book also has some dark tones to it. It’s not one of my favorite covers but I definitely like it.    

Almost to Die For by Tate Hallaway

Hey you guys! I'm back and I read two books today! Yes two. I haven't done that in a while. I feel bad because I haven't been on here since Monday. :( That means I've probably missed some interesting stuff. I've just been so busy. Marching season is exhausting. Anyway on to the review. The first book I finished today was Almost to Die For by Tate Hallaway.



Almost to Die For by Tate Hallaway

First in the Vampire Princess of St. Paul series

5 stars

On Anastasija Parker’s sixteenth birthday, she knows that it’ll be a day to remember and not for the best. Ana is a witch, but she’s never got a knack for a witch powers and is sure she’ll fail the Initiation ceremony. If her day couldn’t get any worse, a father she thought was deadbeat, turns out to be undead, but not just any undead. He’s a vampire king, which makes Ana a princess and totally confused about everything. As she struggles to decide which side she wants to fulfill two boys seem to vying for her heart. There’s Nikolai, a hot witch, rocker, and vampire hunter, and Elias, a vampire Commander. The Goodreads summary says Twilight meets the Princess Diaries. I can see that with the whole princess aspect of everything else in this book doesn’t resemble Twilight, not even the love triangle. I’m tired of these summarizing people coming up with these lame and false comparisons. I’ll step down from my soap box before I get to worked up and just start my review. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting when I picked up Almost Die to For. One thing I was certain about was that it was a short book and hopefully it wouldn’t take me long to read. My library put this book and its sequel in the adult romance section and I was just kind of like “What?” I had already known this was YA and didn’t see how it would be considered adult and I still don’t. There was no drinking, sex, suggestive language, cursing, and well usual “inappropriate” things. The writing was captivating for such a short read and I found Hallaway’s writing style easy to breeze through. I didn’t want to put the book down at times because the pacing was just so well done and the plot flowed.


The main female character is Ana. I was reading Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side at the same time and I thought it was weird how their names were both Anastasia just different spellings. Hehe On to my thoughts. Ana is pretty relatable for a teenager. Aside from the fact that she’s a witch and a vampire I connected with her. I like when it’s to connect with the main character it makes the book much more enjoyable. Maybe that’s why I liked this book more than others. One thing that bothers me is the ending and how it worries about Ana’s future choices. I of course have no idea where these choices will lead but I have a feeling it won’t end drama free. Ana could hold her own ground.


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 9.5

The main male characters are Nikolai and Elias. I had liked Nikolai a lot at first but then they had this one part and it made me as uneasy as Ana. Ana tried to run away but she ended up getting sucked back in by him. He sounds hot, but I just don’t trust him. I also feel like we didn’t get enough character depth when it came to him. Hopefully in Almost Final Curtain, I’ll see more. Elias was I guess supposed to be the bad boy. But these boys both seem like ‘bad boys’ to me. Which is my dream and I’m so jealous of her. How did she get so lucky and where do I sign up?  Both of these boys need more development in the next installment and I expect that. Until I get more development these boys are at a tie because I don’t know them well enough to fully judge them and compare which is best for Ana. 

Swoon Worthy Scale: Nikolai: 8 Elias: 8

The Villain- Ana’s mom? I think she’s supposed to be the villain. I mean she was a bump in the road and poses to be a problem, but she didn’t make me tremble in my socks as much as I’m sure the author intended. That whole spider web scene was pretty awesome though.

Villain Scale: 7

Ramses, Ana’s dad, seems like he’ll be there more for Ana in the future than her mom. This is my prediction. Bea and Taylor are Ana’s friends. Bea is annoying and seems fake. She turns to easily on people and that’s unsettling. Taylor is as flat as cardboard.  
 

I think I just learned more about the cardboard than I did when reading descriptions of Taylor. She has promise though.


Character Scale: 8.5


This book’s biggest weakness is character depth, but since it’s a short book and I really enjoyed it I’m not going to rant about it like I normally would. This is supposed to be a fun book and I had fun reading it. I try not to take short books seriously because then it just wouldn’t be as fun. Plus I’ve been in a pretty good mood this week so maybe that’s why I enjoyed it so much. This book has pretty much everything from vampires to witches to hunters to demons. I’m looking forward to the sequel and I expect more and hopefully more character depth. *Fingers crossed*


Cover Thoughts: I love the cover. It looks exactly like how I pictured Ana to look and it’s simple. There’s no overused flowing Prom Dress, but just a simple girl looking like a vampire. It’s perfect!  

The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark

The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark

First in the Fairwick Chronicles series

4.5 stars

Callie McFay accepted a teaching position at the remote Fairwick College in upstate New York. Since she bought Honeysuckle House, a house that called to her and beckoned her, she has been experiencing the same dream. Dreams, where a seductive stranger comes into her bedroom from the moonlight and ravishes her in ways she didn’t think were possible. Maybe the dreams stems from the fact that she wrote the book The Sex Lives of Demon Lovers. Callie has always loved fairy tales and Gothic literature and Fairwick seemed perfect because of its renowned folklore department. Callie soon realizes that her dreams aren’t figments of an overactive imagination and that she has an incubus- a demon lover. Her incubus isn’t the only mythical creature in Fairwick. That was a wild ride! I really enjoyed The Demon Lover and it was quite interesting. The concept was nothing new, but the world created was delightful and just mystical. One of the only things that bothered me was that there was way too much going on and a lot of the conflicts have yet to be resolved and the ending just added about three more conflicts to Callie’s list of problems.


The main female character is Callie. Callie connecting to people, but when she arrives at Fairwick she seems to fit right in. Callie was a smart character, but I felt like she was stupid at times. The person draining the students on campus was obvious and I knew exactly who it was. Callie was a nice girl, too nice if you ask me. I admire nice characters, but she always seemed to get sucked in to making deals that didn’t need to be made. She did piss me off when Ralph went missing and she completely forgot about him when Liam came up to her in the woods. The whole Grove conflict at the end seemed completely unnecessary. I did enjoy her POV and I’m looking forward to more as her life in Fairwick unfolds.


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 8.5



The main male character is Callie’s incubus. We never really find out the real name of the incubus and I’m sure he has one. The incubus was once a human that was lured into the world of Faeries by the Faerie Queen and eventually became a shadow. The only way for an incubus to become human again is through sex and if someone loves him. That ending was depressing and I want more of the incubus, a lot more.


Swoon Worthy Scale: 8.5

The Villain- I know who the villain is and it’s obvious that the villain was the intended villain, but there were a lot of plots and conflicts. One villain didn’t seem like enough or like we are getting the whole picture.

Villain Scale: 6


There were a lot of characters in The Demon Lover. There was Elizabeth Book, the dean of Fairwick College and a witch, Diana Hart, owner of the inn across the street from Honeysuckle House and garden variety fairy, Sohelia, a succubus, Frank, an undercover witch, Brock, Ralph, Callie’s familiar, Paul, Callie’s boyfriend, and Adelaide, Callie’s grandmother and witch. Don’t forget Fiona, the Faerie Queen. My favorite characters were Sohelia, Frank, Ralph, and Brock. I also liked Diana and Elizabeth.


Character Scale: 8.5

Aside from all of the constant new conflicts flung at Callie I really enjoyed this novel. I want more of the incubus, Ralph, Fairwick, and drama. Let’s hope for a happier ending next time too. I also really liked that the ending wasn’t so happy; it ended abruptly but set the mood for the next book. I recommended if you love fairy tales and paranormal stories.

Cover Thoughts: The cover is absolutely beautiful and I love it. At times it did feel like a YA cover though. Still an amazing cover and it’s so dark and perfect for the tone of the novel.   

Beautiful Blogger Award

                                             
 So, I haven't been on my blog in four days... I'm a horrible person. *cries* But I have been nominated for the Beautiful Blogger Award by the wonderful, Delaney, over at the Random Ranterer.  Thanks, so much Delaney. :D

Delaney, you rock and I love your blog. You're awesome. Enough said. ;)

So I haven't been nominated for any awards yet and I feel super excited and honored and full of mixed feelings and emotions right now. Today has proven to be a great day and it's just getting better. Instead of boring you with the tales of why my day was so amazing, let's move on to what I have to and all that.

Rules:

1. Write a little something about the Beautiful Blogger who nominated you with the award. See above. Don't forget to visit his/her blog!
2.  Share 7 things about yourself.

 7 Things You People Could Care Less About Me:

1. I am on the colorguard and if you're not to my blog and wonder why I don't post a lot. Well that's why. Colorguard is my life right now and I love it so much. A brief summary of what colorguard is: Colorguard is the spinning of flags, rifles, sabers, and other props. Colorguard is a year round sport, broken off into two seasons. Marching season, performing with the band at football games, and winterguard, performing indoors mostly gyms. Here's a video if my description didn't help.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5-pEoegleg

Btw, two of my instructors are in this video. How awesome is that?

2. I have a weird obsession with Lifetime murder movies and anything to do with crazy people. It all started with a Lifetime movie I saw in the fifth grade called No One Would Tell and it went downhill from there. One of my favorite shows is Criminal Minds and can't wait for that to be on again.

3. I want to be an English teacher when I'm older. I love English and when I was little I wanted to be a teacher and would play school with my Barbies and Bratz (I had over 200 of them so it was like a real school).

4. I hate roller coasters or amusement park rides they make me nauseous and queasy. But I love waterslides. We recently went to a water park/ amusement park and the waterslides were so much fun, but I rode one ride in the amusement park and almost threw up.

5. I have a terrible sense of direction and get lost easily. I got lost walking a straight line on the beach in Galveston, Texas. I walked for five miles before I realized I was lost... Don't ask me for directions.

6. I'm really quiet and soft spoken in my classes at school, but around my friends I'm super loud and crazy. I'm a completely different persona and when some people hear me talk outside of class they are all like, "Woah I didn't know you were so loud or you curse." It's really annoying.

7. I'm way to boy crazy and I'm easily distracted by boys. If a cute guy walks by me in the hall I won't be able to focus on anything else. It's a good thing the only hot guy I have in any of my classes is in an elective or I would fail. I'm obsessed with Andy Biersack, Ronnie Radke, Ian Somerhalder, Tyler Blackburn, Keegan Allen, and the cute guy in my elective. ;)

People I Nominate:

Dani's Real Thoughts on Books
Literary Love Affair
A Splatter of Ink

That's all I'm doing I would do more but I don't like choosing because they have so many amazing blogs and great people out their. I just closed my eyes let my mouse click on some faces/blogs. I don't like choosing. Remember even if I didn't nominate you I still think you're blog is beautiful, but I have to take a shower and I can't nominate everyone. It would take to long. :(
Happy reading:) I'll see you in some reviews this weekend.:D

Crusade by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguie

Note this is a rereview of a book I read back in April:)

Crusade by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguie

First in the Crusade series

2.5 stars

It all started when vampires came out of the shadows and told people they fed off of animals and wanted peace (sound familiar? Insert image)and then a war broke out when it became obvious it was all lies. Most people still worship them or are too afraid to stand up to them, but not Jenn Leitner. That’s why she left home and is now working and living with the Salamancian Hunters; the Hunters a group from Spain known for defeating vampires that try to overrun cities. When she is betrayed by someone unexpected *scoffs* (yeah right), she learns that her fight against the vampires has just truly begun. I wanted to love this book. It sounded amazing and looked promising, but I have mixed feelings about it. There were times when I would read a part and think “Wow that’s awesome.” Then there were times when I was just so bored and I thought about setting the book on fire for entertainment.
 
It was a roller coaster for me. There were ups and downs, but I think there were more downs than ups. This book is told from multiple POV. I mean there is at least five POVS total in here. The POVS could either be interesting, boring, dull, or meh. I’ll go into depth later on in this review. The pacing was slow and I felt this book was way too long. This book is 470 pages and it felt like I was reading a thousand page book. The story dragged a lot. I just didn’t want to read the book in class or at my house. I didn’t want to read this book at all. I had no motivation and then I thought “You know what let’s hurry up and get this over with.” I finished it the next day and was still feeling only a little satisfied.


The main female character is Jenn. Jenn leaves no impression on me whatsoever. She was a borefest. If you look up that word in the Urban Dictionary (Is it even in there? I made it up) you would see a picture of her. As the story progressed she seemed to become very boring. She was actually interesting in her diary pages, but after that I wanted to bang my head against the wall. I was left saying and feeling ugh every time I would go back to her POV. She had started out strong but apparently she’s only interesting when she writes about herself. The ending, well, let me just say this… It didn’t fit well with whom she is at all and she will fail… epically. I have no faith in Jenn and I think she’ll crash and burn like a bad ABC sitcom.


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 3

The main male character is Antonio. He’s a Spanish Hunter and guess what he’s a vampire because it’s obvious you can have a team of vampire hunters without one vampire. >_> Antonio isn’t really all that great of a lead male and there were time when I was just like “Yeah, OK, let’s move on to something else.” He has potential to be a character but it just didn’t work out well in this book.


Swoon Worthy Scale: 7

The Villain- Every betrayal and villain in this novel was more interesting than the main character, but even Jenn’s description of them seemed to bring down my interest levels in them.
Villain Scale: 7.5

The other members of the team are: Eriko, the leader who is more bent on the destruction of vampires than leading the team, Jamie, a hothead that hates vampires and werewolves, Holgar, a fellow werewolf and a constant victim of Jamie’s hate, and Skye, a witch with a dark past. Heather, Jenn’s sister, also plays a huge role in this novel and she more interesting than Jenn. Out of all the characters in this novel Skye was my favorite. Her secret was the most intriguing and I want to know more about her.


Character Scale: 7.5
I had really wanted to love this book, but it felt short. I think 2.5 stars is generous because I could’ve completely listed all the reasons I hated the book, but the concept was interesting and it saved the novel. Hopefully the next one is better, if it’s not I don’t think I’ll be continuing this series or maybe I will because I want to know what happens.

Cover Thoughts: I like this cover much more than the cover with just gray gates. This cover is a lot more interesting and fits the novel better. I don’t love the cover, but I don’t hate it.  

Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

Hey, guys! Sorry for the absence, but I've been mega busy with school and I had practice yesterday and didn't get any reviewing done, but I finished this today so here's my review. YAY! A review finally!

Masque of the Red Death

First in the Masque of the Red Death series

4 stars


Everything in Araby Worth’s world is dying or in ruins. Her world was destroyed by a plague that decimated the population. The people who survived are left in fear clutching masks to their faces and the upperclassmen take refuge in the comfort of the Akkadian Towers. Araby Worth’s father created masks to save the population from the plague. The first mask was meant for her brother Finn, but she took his mask not realizing that once you breathe into a mask no one else can use it. She has nothing to live for except for dazzling nights in the Debauchery Club. Where she is adorned in beautiful makeup and dresses and ways to forget everything, but in the club lays two boys that both carry secrets. Will, the proprietor of the club who elicits emotion that Araby hasn’t felt since her brother’s death and Elliot, a wicked smart aristocrat who has ties to the evil prince that could save their world or bring them down. I was expecting to be blown away by Masque of the Red Death. The book is based off of Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death, which I had gotten of glimpse of in Nevermore and was intrigued. I have still yet to fully read The Masque of the Red Death but look forward to reading it. The cover is absolutely gorgeous and the writing is flawless, but my biggest problem was the first part of the novel. I had trouble connecting to Araby. It’s hard to connect to a character that has disconnected herself from the world. I think that was Griffin’s intent when writing about Araby for the first part. We would receive glimpses of Araby’s feelings but they weren’t very noticeable. At least not until the last 50% of the novel where she starts to show the emotion she has been lacking. Araby is a disconnected from everything and even her friendship with April, another girl from the Akkadian Towers, felt fake and like they were only friends because they didn’t want to be all alone in a crumbling world. Once Araby starts spending time with Will though it becomes obvious that he and his family take part in helping Araby connect to herself again.


Yes I know this review is formatted differently from my usual way, but this book is unusual and my way just doesn’t seem right.

Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 7.5 After Transformation: 8

Will was, I admit, very dreamy and I looked forward to the times he was in the novel with Araby. I was a bit hurt by the ending though, but hopefully he will be able to redeem himself. I do understand why he did what he did though. I have mixed emotions to Elliot. I don’t like him, but when he was with Araby in the palace I found myself rooting for him. I don’t like that feeling of confliction. I like Will much more than Elliot, but at the same time I feel bad for Elliot and want him to be happy. It’s hard for me to believe that he is in love with Araby though since he seems to untrusting for love or friendship.


Swoon Worthy Scale: Will: 8.5 Elliot: 7.5


Prince Prospero holds everyone in the city with an iron fist. He says jump and they don’t even ask how high they just do it. Prince Prospero allegedly killed Elliot and April’s father, which is why Elliot is bent on overthrowing him and taking the town for away from his uncle in hopes of saving humanity. Reverend Malcontent is trying to get followers to believe that the plague was brought on by being sinners. He also poses as a threat and a force to be reckoned with. Even though there were multiple villains, they weren’t the type of villains to make me quiver in fear, but made me cringe in discomfort when described.


Villain Scale: 7
April, Elliot’s sister and Araby’s friend, as I mentioned above felt fake. In all towards the end it becomes obvious she is fake and parades her in a masquerade of beauty to hide her fear of dying. I didn’t really like April, but I didn’t dislike her either. Will’s brother and sister, Elise and Henry, are absolutely adorable and I just want to wrap them up in a tight secure blanket and take them away from the terrible world they forced to live in.

Character Scale: 7.5 


My connection to the characters was my biggest problem with this book, but after Araby’s change I sped through the book hungrily. Gobbling up every word and wanting to know all about what happened in Araby’s world. I am looking forward to more of Araby’s world and finding out how this new disease and revolt plays out. I have high hopes for the next novel and I’m sure I’ll enjoy it.


Cover Thoughts: The cover is absolutely gorgeous and is just so beautiful. Every time I look at it I feel like I’m gasping for breath in the world that Araby breaths in. The cover is absolutely breath taking is perfect for this novel. 

Waiting on Wednesday

                                                   

I don't know if I'll be able to do a Waiting on Wednesday within the next couple of weeks so I'll just put the three books I was planning on doing in one big one.



Publication Date: October 23,2012
Summary also from Goodreads:
Mara Dyer once believed she could run from her past.

She can’t.

She used to think her problems were all in her head.

They aren’t.

She couldn’t imagine that after everything she’s been through, the boy she loves would still be keeping secrets.

She’s wrong.

In this gripping sequel to The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, the truth evolves and choices prove deadly. What will become of Mara Dyer next?



Publication Date: November 6, 2012
Summary from Goodreads:
In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Karou must come to terms with who and what she is, and how far she’ll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, mysteries and secrets, new characters and old favorites, Days of Blood and Starlight brings the richness, color and intensity of the first book to a brand new canvas.



Publication Date: September 11, 2012
Summary also from Goodreads:
Love—good and bad—forces three teens’ worlds to tilt in a riveting novel from New York Times bestselling author Ellen Hopkins.

Three teens, three stories—all interconnected through their parents’ family relationships. As the adults pull away, caught up in their own dilemmas, the lives of the teens begin to tilt….

Mikayla, almost eighteen, is over-the-top in love with Dylan, who loves her back jealously. But what happens to that love when Mikayla gets pregnant the summer before their senior year—and decides to keep the baby?

Shane turns sixteen that same summer and falls hard in love with his first boyfriend, Alex, who happens to be HIV positive. Shane has lived for four years with his little sister’s impending death. Can he accept Alex’s love, knowing that his life, too, will be shortened?

Harley is fourteen—a good girl searching for new experiences, especially love from an older boy. She never expects to hurdle toward self-destructive extremes in order to define who she is and who she wants to be.

Love, in all its forms, has crucial consequences in this standalone novel.


Those are the books I'm anxiously awaiting. What's yours? Leave a comment I would love to know.:)

Jewel of Atlantis by Gena Showalter

Jewel of Atlantis

Second in the Atlantis series

4.5 stars

Every being in Atlantis wants to get their hands on the Jewel of Dunamis, which legend claims can overcome any enemy and expose their plans and secrets. Grayson James is a human agent for the Otherworld Bureau of Investigation and has orders to find and protect the jewel from getting into the wrong hands, even if it means destroying it. What he doesn’t know is that the Jewel of Dunamis is a woman. When Gray helps her win her freedom all of Atlantis is in chaos in getting her. As they are on the run they discover a love that is only doomed. I enjoyed Jewel of Atlantis, but compared to Heart of the Dragon it fell short. Why did it fall short? The characters were my biggest problem. They didn’t feel as real as Grace and Darius from Heart of the Dragon did and I also had trouble connecting to them.


The main female character is the Jewel of Dunamis. Since she doesn’t have a name, but when Gray asked her what her name was she replied Jewel. So that is the name she is called along with a bunch of other names Gray made of for her. I liked Jewel, but I couldn’t really connect with her. She was well-written and had a good story line, but I couldn’t connect to her when I read her POVs. Aside from the fact I couldn’t connect with her she was a good character. She was strong, opinionated, and she didn’t give up through all the problems she faced, all admirable traits.


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 8

The main male character is Grayson AKA Gray. Gray wasn’t very swoon worthy for me and I started to grow very annoyed with POVs. My biggest problem with Gray is that once he meets Jewel his train of the thought is perverted. He literally thinks like this.
Sex

Sex

Sex
Concentrate
Sex
Pain/ Fight urges

Sex

Sex 
 

There were more trains of thought but sex pretty much made up all of it. I couldn’t get over that. I had a hard time getting over that. I usually like Showalter’s males, but Gray fell short and I just didn’t like him. He did have good qualities but they weren’t good enough for me to forgive for his constant perverted thoughts.


Swoon Worthy Scale: 6

The Villain- Marina is the Demon queen and she wants to get Jewel back after she escaped her. Marina was annoying, vain, stupid, and manipulative. She would’ve been a great villain if she wasn’t so dumb. But she is a believable villain because she was blinded by her own wants to not realize obvious stuff. Layel pretty much stole the show as the villain. Layel can be a good guy, but he’s also no doubt a villain. We get a lot more insight into him and I can’t wait to read his story.

Villain Scale: 8.5

We get to see Grace and Darius at the end and it was nice to see them along with other dragons like Brand. The nymph king was also shown in a scene and I can’t wait to read his book.
Character Scale: 8  

The characters were my biggest problem in this book, but other than that the book was close to perfect. The storyline was entertaining, the plot was suspenseful. The writing captivated me as usual. I always seem to love Showalter’s writing. I can’t wait to read The Nymph King and find out what happens next in the realm of Atlantis.

Cover Thoughts: The guy is hot, but he looks nothing like Gray. I still like the cover though. Compared to some of the other covers for this book this one is the best.  

   

How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks

How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks

First in the Love at Stake series

5 stars

Roman Draganesti is a vampire, but he’s not just any vampire. He’s the founder/ inventor of Romatech Industries, a place where synthetic blood is manufactured and the night and day crew isn’t all just human. When Roman is brought the latest idea in vampire drinking to try he ends up losing a fang, with only 24 hours to get the tooth fix finding a dentistry opened at night is harder than it looks. He finds Shanna Whelan, a dentist who is afraid of blood and on the run from the mob. I had read this series out of order, the first book I read being The Vampire and the Virgin, and I already knew who Shanna and Roman were, but I still wanted to read their story and know all about their romance. I’m a romance stalker I guess you could say. All things romantic, I stalk it. Armed with a catchy name (you can’t deny that title is catchy) and an awesome summary, this series looks like it would be fun and it is! How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire is absolutely hilarious. From page one I was laughing like a hyena. Sparks’ writing is stunning and easy to read. She has a great with words and can bring humor into the most serious of times.


The main female character is Shanna. Shanna had witnessed a gruesome murder and she’s on the mob’s hit list. She has special psyche abilities where she can block out mind control. Shanna is such a great character. She’s one of my favorite heroines of the series.


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 8.5

The main male character is Roman. Roman is a brilliant scientist who’s not only saving human lives, but he’s also preventing them from being attacked by creating synthetic blood for his fellow vampire brethren to drink. Roman is a great guy. He’s sweet, charming, caring, and he genuinely loves Shanna. Granted they only knew each other for a short period of time, but that didn’t bother me in this story.


Swoon Worthy Scale: 8.5

The Villain- The Malcontents and the vampire hunters. The Malcontents are vampires that refuse to drink synthetic blood and love carnage, hate, blood, rape; you know the typical evil vampire stuff. I hate the Malcontents they truly have no care for what they do. The vampire hunters are humans with special abilities, like Shanna, the leader of the Stake Out team is Shanna’s father, Sean Whelan. I don’t like Sean.


Villain Scale: 8

The characters in this novel, whether they are main are side, they made me laugh and made me feel emotion. I loved every single vampire or shifter in Romatech.

Character Scale: 8.5

How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire was a great to start to a series. I’m sure I would’ve loved it even if I had read the series in order. I used to read adult series out of order so you may see that a lot in rereviews.


Cover Thoughts: I am not a big fan of the cover. I don’t hate it, but I don’t really like it. Out of all the covers in the series I think this is my least favorite. 

The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, & June by Robin Benway

The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, & June by Robin Benway

5 stars

April, May, and June are sisters. Yes, they know that their names are totally cliché and ridiculous so you don’t need to point it out to them. After dealing with their parents divorce, they find themselves living in a new house in a place where they don’t know anyone. One day they wake up and strange things start happening to them. It soon becomes clear that they have ‘superpowers’ or some kind of weird ability. April the oldest of the sisters is protective, responsible, bookish, and a mother hen. She discovers she can see the future which only proves to be disastrous when it comes to boys and her sisters. May is the middle-child and she’s a natural born loner. She discovers that she has the ability to disappear which is handy, but also a problem. June is the youngest of the sisters and she’s tired of being considered the baby. June can read people’s minds and she uses it to her advantage to become popular. Yes this book sounds super cheesy but I love cheese and sometimes a cheese fest is what I need.

I honestly have no clue why I put that picture, but I like it and think it's kind of funny in a messed up way.I was expecting a total cheese fest and I got one, but I also got a story that I enjoyed and even loved. The minute I read the first sentence I was sucked in and didn’t want to put this book down. Which was a good thing because I had to take LEAP that week, a standardized test in Louisiana taken in 4th and 8th grade to see if you are ready to pass. I’m a fast test taker so once I was finished all I did was read and if I’m going to be sitting in a desk for three hours straight when I’m done taking a test, I want to be reading a good book. The book is told from alternating points of view and each voice was enjoyable and realistic. They sounded like real teens to me and I should know what a teenager sounds like since I am one.


The main female characters are April, May, and June. Each girl has a very distinct voice, problem, and fear. April was very protective of her sisters and I could relate to that since I have a sister. She was my favorite of the three. May feels invisible and like she doesn’t belong. I liked her and I think we’ve all felt that way. June was my least favorite of the sisters but I still liked her. She wanted to belong and fit in. I think we’ve all felt that way at some point in our life. These girls were extremely relatable and their problems were fun to read about.


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: April- 8.5 May- 8 June-7.5

The main male characters are Julian and Henry. They were both love interest. Julian was April’s love interest and I loved him. Julian was sweet and their relationship wasn’t rushed and slowly blossomed from a friendship to relationship. Henry wasn’t nearly as entertaining, but I still liked his relationship with May. But he was a huge jerk at one point in the novel and he made me so angry I wanted to slap him.


Swoon Worthy Scale: Julian- 8.5 Henry- 7

There was no villain in this novel because they had to deal with their own minds and how they accepted this new power.

Character Scale: 8

One of the things I had wanted more from this book was to how and where their superpowers came from. It was slightly touched on when June talked to her mother but we never really got an exact explanation as to why they had these powers. I’m not sure how to categorize this novel. Yes they have superpowers, but the novel focused more on sisterhood and other teenage problems. So maybe, a realistic paranormal story is the best way to describe this book. I still love the book though and it was more than I was expecting. I am definitely checking out more of Benway’s works because she is an excellent writer.


Cover Thoughts: I like the cover. I usually read dark covers, but it’s nice to read a light fun cover that looks fun and makes me want to go to a sleepover. I like the other cover more, but I still really like this one.   

Stacking the Shelves

This is my first Staking the Shelves! Let's hope I do a good job.

I didn't buy any books this week, but I went to the library and checked out a bunch of books.

These are the books I got:


I'm currently reading this one and it's amazing so far. Also this is the sequel to Heart of the Dragon, check out my review for that one. Heart of the Dragon


I'm also currently reading this one and it's good so far.




I'm excited to start this one because I really loved Falling Under.


This looks really good and I'm anxious to see what's it about.


Sequel to Heart of the Dragon and Jewel of Atlantis. I'm excited about this one because I hear this one is the best in the series.


This looks really good and it's short so hopefully I'll breeze through it.


Sequel to Heart of the Dragon, Jewel of Atlantis, and The Nymph King. I'm intrigued by this one because it's about the Vampire King.


This is the sequel to Angels' Blood which I have a reviewed and I'm excited to find out more about Raphael and Elena.


The sequel to Almost to Die for. It's also short and I hope I breeze through it as well.


I'm curious about this one. It sounds interesting. Let's see how it goes.

That's my haul for the week. What books did you get? Leave me a link in the comments and I'll check it out. :D

Haven by Kristi Cook

Haven by Kristi Cook

First in the Winterhaven series

3.5 stars

Violet McKenna has always had visions and no one ever listens to her warnings. Her father is a recent example of this case. After his death, she’s forced to choose between living with her stepmom in New York or with her grandma in Atlanta. She sees a brochure for a boarding school named Winterhaven and is immediately drawn to it. She decides to move to New York with her stepmom and attend Winterhaven. Once she’s there she meets Aiden Gray. A boy who she can’t help but feel she knows somehow. The school seems to be hiding just as many secrets as Aiden and she wants to know what’s being hidden. I don’t know why but I had been wanting to read this book ever since I had stumbled upon it on Amazon. The back of the jacket-flap summary sounded interesting enough and I thought I was in for an original story. I found this book at my library and put it right on the top so I could dive right in to it. This book is nothing special. I thought I would be reading about strange super powers and some big plot to take everyone down and a romance thrown in. Sadly this was not the case. Yes there were superpowers but they were hardly touched on and only mentioned every now and then throughout the novel. This book was really all about…vampires. That’s right vampires. Not once did the summary mention vampires and I call bullshit on that.

If you write a book about vampires then I think the jacket summary should at least hint about vampires. Maybe the writer thought it would be a suspense technique but all it did was annoy me and make say, “What? I thought this book was about special abilities, not vampires.” The writer was mediocre and it didn’t captivate me very much. Let’s talk about these characters. 

The main female character is Violet. Violet was nothing special and a pretty boring character. I read this book back in March and I can’t even remember a good quality about her. I probably should’ve wrote more about her in my old review but I guess even then she meant nothing to me. I have come to the conclusion that she is just boring.
 
Overall she’s a Mary Sue.

Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 4.5

The main male character is Aiden. I think I’m spelling his name wrong. If I am sorry, but I just don’t have any fucks to give about him.


I mean he’s not a bad guy; he just wasn’t a well developed character. I like him well enough, but I don’t feel like I really learned anything about him other than the obvious things. That he likes science and some other stuff I don’t want to spoil for people that want to read this book.
 
Swoon Worthy Scale: 6
 
The Villain- I’m sure you could guess who it is so I won’t talk about it.

Villain Scale: 5


Violet’s friends are Kate, Cece, Sophie, and Marissa. I liked the girls and they each seemed different, but their friendship with Violet felt rushed. It felt like this when I was reading, “Oh look you have a new roommate and roommates always end up being friends and let’s make her friends your friends too.” The relationship also felt fake; there were times when it the friendships felt like they were just for show.


Character Scale: 6

I will give the author this though the ideas were quite original and new when it came to paranormal things we already heard about before. I will probably read the sequel. I hope to find a lot of improvements in it. I expect stronger writing, more character development, less predictability when it comes to villains, and to captivate me and make me rave. I’m curious to see where the story goes. Let’s hope it’s somewhere good.

Cover Thoughts: The cover looks pretty good on the computer; in fact I really like the cover on the computer. When I looked at the cover up close in real life, I thought it was ugly. The cover looks animated and just wrong. I mean it could’ve been a beautiful cover if the colors wouldn’t clash and it had the right kind of editing.