Archangel's Consort by Nalini Singh

Archangel's Consort by Nalini Singh

Third in the Guild Hunter series

5 stars

Vampire hunter and Made-angel, Elena Deveraux, and her archangel lover, Raphael, are back to in the city they call their home, New York. After battling Lijuan, Neha, and Neha’s daughter in the Refuge and China in the previous book they know trouble awaits. After a vampire viciously attack an all girls’ school- the school Elena’s half-sisters attend- it starts to be the domino effect of other horrific acts that vampires are starting to do. There’s only one person or reason these acts are happening. An archangel is rising from their Sleep. The archangel, Caliane, is finally rising after years of speculation from Raphael that his mother may still be alive. Caliane awaking is only the begging to a whole new battle that awaits both Elena and Raphael. There will be spoilers from the previous books. I loved Archangel’s Consort. I will admit I had a few bumps in the road the first 100+ pages, but it all started to fit together eventually. This is such a thrilling ride. It’s somewhat of an ominous telling of what could have been an apocalypse. Caliane awakening is a scary thing and even when she isn’t awake she’s causing destruction, more on that later.


The main female character is Elena. Elena is still being her kick-ass self, but she didn’t have the vulnerability like in Archangel’s Kiss. Elena still battles with (look away if you don’t want to see a spoiler) her mother’s suicide after the attack that destroyed her family. SPOILER END Elena and Raphael’s relationship was very different from the previous books. They were more relaxed and open towards each other. I liked seeing that. Elena is probably one of my favorite heroines in paranormal romance. She’s strong-willed and caring. Seeing her interact with her half-sister was touching, but I wish there would’ve been more.


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 10

The main male character is Raphael. A lot of people hated Raphael in Angels’ Blood. Not me, I loved him from the start. Raphael is complex and he has faced pain, but it’s to be expected from a man as old as him. He’s seen as ruthless by humans and vampires, but Elena’s love has turned him mortal everyday and it shows in this book. I feel for Raphael and his reuniting with his mother was bittersweet for him. He also holds a special place in my heart. I’m sure he will always be one of my favorite archangels.

Swoon Worthy Scale: 10

The Villain- I want to say Caliane is the villain, but it isn’t that simple because there’s also Lijuan. Caliane is old, very old; older than Lijuan who was the oldest archangel of the Cadre. I have a feeling that if Caliane was in the Dark-Hunter world she would be Acheron’s aunt or cousin. She’s older than him and has been around for millennia. The thing about Caliane is I wanted to hate for what she did to Raphael, but when she woke she seemed sane not insane like before she Slept. Lijuan, though is the one that scares me. Even though Caliane could be a problem in the future, Lijuan will always be there to try to take power. Lijuan has evolved into something untouchable on Earth, but the fact she’s evolved has also made her unable to harm humanity, which is a good thing in some ways. I honestly have no idea what to expect from these villains because they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. P.S. The battle scene was EPIC!

Villain Scale: 9.5

I wanted more of Elena’s half-sister Evelyn. I felt like she should’ve been mentioned more and it didn’t seem like her interaction with Elena was fully touched upon. There weren’t enough scenes with Elena’s old friends. I wanted more Sara and Ransom. I love Illium, I want a book about Illium. Dmitri, he intrigues me and I wonder about him. Venom is freaking awesome and I want more about him. Really I just want more of these characters.


Character Scale: 9

This is the last book with Elena and Raphael for a while. Not the official last, but the last until one is written and published. Next up is Dmitri, which I’m sure, will be fascinating and a wild ride. I highly recommend reading this series if you haven’t. I love every minute of my ride with these characters and I can’t wait for more.


Cover Thoughts: I love the cover. It’s my favorite of the first three books. Elena looks so awesome, KA, and lethal. I want her wings. I also like how the bow that Sara’s husband made for her is on the cover. It fits the story, which is nice and I love when covers do that.

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

Second in the Twilight series

1 star

New Moon starts off on Bella’s eighteenth birthday in a dream. Bella sulks all day about the fact that Edward is staying forever young while she grows older. Alice throws a surprise birthday party at which Bella receives a paper cut when opening a gift and Jasper, Alice’s mate, attacks Bella causing a huge fiasco in Cullen paradise. Edward and his family then leave Forks. Edward claims that this is to protect Bella. Bella wallows in self pity and some other stuff goes down. I don’t want to give away the whole entire book in just a couple of sentences. I have to write a review after all. New Moon, where to start with New Moon? I know! How about the fact that even when I was a huge twi-hard fan of the books I absolutely hated New Moon? Yes I was a huge fan of the books when I first got my hands on them and I’m not ashamed to admit it, but that was years ago and I was only ten years old when I read New Moon. I remember even hating New Moon then. This book was a waste of space and should’ve just been skipped over completely. There were a few interesting things that happened, but were they didn’t make up for the lack of everything else in this book. Even as a ten year old I saw this and it will forever remain my least favorite of the series. I literally trudged through this book for two weeks and picking it up seemed to only make me want to fall asleep. Literally when I finished this book at the end of the day in my English I erupted with joy of finally being set free. I hated New Moon and I still do, but I hadn’t wanted to skip at the time since well I didn’t want to miss anything important. If I was to ever to a reread of the series, I would definitely skip this one.

The main female character is once again Bella. Remember in my last review how when I talked about the ending and how stupid it was to think that Edward would’ve transformed her into a vampire at prom? No well here it is to refresh your memory. Bella’s stupidity raged on after that. I think it got worse. New Moon starts off with Bella having a dream, which was a pretty boring and dumb dream. I get dreams are subconscious, but I feel like Bella’s subconscious was actually playing a cruel joke on her and us by boring us on her birthday. What a boring birthday if I may say so? I mean gosh all Bella did was mope and whine about the fact that Edward was a year younger than her.
 
Bella did it slip your mind that Edward only looks young, but he’s actually over a hundred years old? Therefore, he’s not younger than you and you don’t have to worry about the fact that you’ll be seen as a cougar. I don’t know how being a cougar is a bad thing. It’s a preference and it shouldn’t be judged so harshly like Meyer was implying. The only interesting thing about her birthday was when Jasper when crazy with bloodlust and it was awesome! 
 
Too bad he didn’t eat her. Edward then tells Bella that he doesn’t love her., he sure is you’re modern day Romeo, and then leaves with his family. Bella becomes emo and depressed for about five billion months and reading those scenes was unbearable.
 
Finally, Charlie said something and she started to make an effort of being social and talking with “friends” again. Bella eventually starts hanging out with Jacob and while she’s riding a motorcycle Edward appears to her in a spiritual form or in her mind. I’m not exactly sure because it was just so crazy. She then decides that she’s going to keep putting her life on the line just to hear Edward’s voice again. I just don’t know what to say to that. Who does that? Why would you risk your life over some guy that said he didn’t love you when he left you to die alone in the woods until finally a rescue team found your pathetic ass? Bella, you need to wake up, sit down, breathe, and get some counseling. She later runs into Laurent (more on that later). Overall Bella was so unbearable in this book. If you thought she was bad in Twilight it’s probably good if you steer clear of New Moon.

Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 0

The main male character is Edward and he is also joined by Jacob Black. Edward was only present for about a tenth of the book. Although I’m not completely sure since I didn’t document it. Edward is just as annoying as he was in Twilight, but now he’s just a constant thought in Bella’s head. “Edward, Edward. Would Edward approve of this? No, but I have to hear Edward’s voice again. Edward!” That was literally all he was for half the book. The way he broke up with her was cold. I mean he left her alone in the woods. The least he could’ve done is ran her back to her house with his super speed. Bella was literally so depressed after the breakup I’m surprised wild animals didn’t start coming sniff around her body. When Edward does make an appearance again it’s in Italy. The Vulturi was mentioned a little bit at the beginning of the book and Edward says they are powerful and should be feared and yadda yadda yadda. He is going to give himself over to the Volturi by revealing himself to all the humans by stepping out into the sun because after Bella does one of her dumb reckless stunts Alice has a vision and believes her to be dead. Of course Bella arrives just on time to stop Edward from walking shirtless out into the sun. Edward is just so unappealing and I honestly don’t understand why Bella is so in love with him or why he is so in love with her. Guess it’s just another great mystery in the universe, like aliens, we’ll probably never know the answer. Time to talk about Jacob Black! He made an appearance in Twilight when he dropped off Bella’s big truck and at the beach trip where he hinted that the Cullens weren’t all what they seemed. Now Jacob is the start of a love triangle in this book. He fixes motorcycles and cars and such. He has long black hair and he’s of Native American decent- Quileutes. As the story goes on he starts to become cold toward Bella much to Bella’s dismay. One day Bella goes to the meadow that she and Edward spent so much time at and she runs into Laurent. He is then attacked by a bunch of big ass dogs. One of these dogs looks at Bella and she believes it to be Jake. She eventually learns that she is right and that he’s a werewolf. Werewolves are enemies of vampires and Jake hates them with a passion. Alice later comes back to Forks to deliver the news of Edwards impending suicide and there is an obvious dislike and disgust towards each other. Jake is nothing special. He reminds me of a male version of Bella. I only think that Meyer wanted to create some drama so she threw Jake in as a love interest. I think if you’re going to do a love triangle the characters should at least be interesting and well-thought-out.

Swoon Worthy Scale: Edward- 1 Jacob-1

The Villain- Laurent hunted down Bella for Victoria and was attacked a pack of werewolves. Victoria also poses to become a threatening force to the lovely *gag* couple, but the real villains are the Volturi. The Volturi are the rulers of vampiredom and apparently they want the Cullens dead. I think. You know I’m really not all that sure what the point of the Volturi is and why they are such a threat to Edward and Bella. Honestly I feel like the Volturi should care less about these dumb specimens, but apparently they want blood spilled. They all have special powers which Bella is immune to. They aren’t really as threatening as I think Meyer hoped they would be.


Villain Scale: 3

Alice is the most prominent of the Cullens in this book. At the end of the book she claims to have had a vision of Bella becoming a vampire she tells the Volturi so they won’t kill her since she knows of their existence. The Cullens think it’s a great idea and Edward still refuses Bella. Jacob also threatens the pact they’ve made in honor of each other’s territories. Honestly that was pretty much all of the characters in this book. Mike went on a date with Bella and Jacob though, which was just awkward and stupid.

Character Scale: 2

New Moon is one of the most hated books I’ve ever read. Even my mom who is still a fan of the books hates New Moon. Let’s face it, New Moon is the book that shouldn’t have been written and was just a waste of space. I recommend just skipping this one completely. At least skip pretty much the first half of the book because it’s just so boring.


Cover Thoughts: I love the flower. It’s beautiful or maybe it’s a feather. I don’t know, but it’s pretty and I think it’s the only good thing about this book.



    

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

First in the Twilight series

2 stars

Twilight… what to say about it that you haven’t heard a thousand times before; well I know you’ve heard the general summary before, probably more than once, but I’m going to give it to you again. Twilight follows Isabella “Bella” Swan, a teenage girl, who moves to Forks, Washington to live with her father. Forks is a dreary little town with a small population and is constantly experiencing rain and other crappy kinds of weather. Bella meets Edward Cullen, who turns out to be a vampire. Bella knows she should stay away, but she just can’t resist him. That’s this story in a nutshell. I could go on, but let’s leave some for the review. There will be spoilers, but I don’t see how you can spoil something that’s been made into a movie, talked about constantly, and I’m pretty sure most people reading this review have read Twilight.

The main female character is Bella. Bella is known as the most hated Mary Sue protagonist in YA fiction. I totally agree with this. Bella is klutzy and thinks of herself as ugly, but everyone just lurves her. She is completely stupid and I’m surprised she has any brain cells. She is saved by Edward from a car that’s about to run over her. More thoughts on that in Edward’s section. If I woke up in the middle of the night and saw a guy from my school standing in my room I would scream, run the hell away, and call the cops.



Bella lacks this knowledge of the fact Edward could’ve been a serial killer there to slice her open for his own amusement. Her choice to go meet James at the ballet studio (How Bella was able to even dance when she is little is beyond me and plus she couldn’t even dance at prom granted she did have a cast, but she’s klutzy she would’ve done a chaine off the stage. Chaine’s are turns by the way) was a stupid, typical heroine move. Why couldn’t she have done something admirable like I don’t know sneak people into the studio? She got lucky when the Cullens were able to find her. She then tells Edward at prom that she wants to be a vampire and her dream man says no. If I remember correctly he laughed or smiled at her when she said that. My brain is fuzzy. Time to look this up. So he didn’t laugh at her. I think I just hoped he had to look like a jerk, but Bella proved her idiocy. She thought Edward was actually going to bite her under a gazebo… at prom! PROM! In front of a bunch of people. My question to you Bella is: Do you really think Edward would’ve turned you in front of a bunch of high school kids, that also happen to be your fellow classmates? They have a secret to protect you shouldn’t be so eager to have your life taken.

Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 2

The main male character in Twilight is Edward. Edward Cullen is not a sexy vampire. He’s not attractive and I personally think he’s unstable. Edward acts repulsed by Bella the minute she takes a seat next to him in Biology because they are now officially Biology partners. *rolls eyes and shakes fist in air for giving us one of the most overused clichés in YA paranormal* He listens in on people’s thoughts for crying out loud. I personally don’t want a vampire… at least one like Edward reading my thoughts and knowing my secrets. Of course the only person whose thoughts he can’t hear are Bella’s. For this he thinks Bella is special and intriguing. He goes from hating her guts and looking repulsed, to wanting to scare by revealing he’s a vampire, and then wanting to be with her forever after only a couple of conversations. The whole save Bella from getting hit by a car was a contradiction to Edward’s feelings from the beginning. He acted all repulsed by her and then jumps in front of a car and stops a guy from running Bella’s dumb self over. I’m pretty sure he wanted her to go away and yet he jumps in front of cars saving her life. He also likes to stand in Bella’s room and watch her sleep. This is disturbing and Bella’s reaction to that was unsettling even for me in the fifth grade. Edward is a contradiction to his feelings for most of the novel and I wasn’t even reading from his POV and I knew he was contradicting himself.

Swoon Worthy Scale: 1.5

The Villain- James, Laurent, and Victoria are the villains. James is a tracker and when he meets the Cullens while they are playing a game of vampire baseball and he picks up Bella’s scent realizing she’s a human. When the Cullens refuse to let him have her she becomes a target. Laurent is a friend (if consider crazy vampires able to have friends) of James and he takes part in hunting with them. Victoria is James mate and by the end she poses to be a threat to the Cullens. To be honest these villains aren’t all that bad, but they are more intimidating then terrifying. I’ve come across some pretty brutal vampires and James seems like a newbie compared to them.


Villain Scale: 7

The Cullens are a huge clan of vampires in Forks. They are a family, but not by blood. Carlisle is the head of the Cullens and a doctor and Esme is his mate and seen as the mother of the Cullens. Emmet is one of the “brothers” and is known as a skilled hunter and Rosalie is his mate. Rosalie is considered somewhat of a bully to Bella since she shows a dislike and distrusts her from the start. There’s also Alice and Jasper another pair of mates, but they play an important role. Alice is able to see the future and she quickly befriends Bella. Jasper is able to sense and manipulate emotions, which can come in handy. Alice is my favorite of the Cullens in this novel.

Character Scale: 5

The mythology of vampires is somewhat laughable. We learn that the Cullens are considered vegan vampires. These are vampires that only drink from animals instead of humans. They also sparkle in sunlight.

Attractive isn't it?
Bella claims that Edward looks like a thousand sparkling diamonds on his skin or some cheesy line resembling that. They are also able to breathe underwater from long periods of time and don’t ever sleep. They can see their selves in mirrors and have shadows. They aren’t harmed by garlic or holy items or even wooden stakes, which makes no sense because a wooden stake would kill a human and I think it should be able to kill these vampires too.
 

They are obviously good lucking, but I don’t consider Edward to be all that great looking but more of somewhat attractive. Their eyes change colors according to bloodlust. They have keen sense of smell, great hearing, agile bodies which make from fast running, and well most normal vampire stuff. They have to be dismembered and then burned immediately after dismemberment. I don’t get the point of vampire baseball and it doesn’t seem like it’s all that different from regular baseball. Aside from their supernatural abilities it’s a pretty unremarkable game.


I used to love Twilight, I did, and for that it will always have a special place in my heart. Is it an amazing series? No, but it did help introduce me to the world of YA. For that I thank Twilight, but I no longer have a deep appreciation for the characters in thinking they are amazing and well written. I’ve learned that sometimes the books you love the most as a child can become books you wouldn’t like as you grow older, but I will always love Twilight. I think it’s one of the best written book of the series and I definitely want kids and other teens to read someday because it may not be amazing, but it deserves credit for being entertaining. I’m re-reviewing all of the Twilight books because Breaking Dawn Part 2 came out in theatres, but I read these books when I was in the fifth grade and I read this right before the movie came out. I remember making my mom run all over town with me in a hunt to find this book. I don’t regret it.

Cover Thoughts: I actually like the apple cover, but it’s not the cover I had when I bought the book. I have the one with Bella and Edward on the front. I like the apple a little bit more, but I do actually like the cover I have, which is surprising.
 




 

The Awakening and The Struggle by L.J. Smith

The Awakening and The Struggle by L.J. Smith

First and second in The Vampire Diaries series

5 stars

This is a combined book of the first two books in The Vampire Diaries series. These books follow Elena, a girl who has everything her heart could desire, but is also feeling empty. Elena meets Stefan after her best friend, Bonnie, predicts that she will meet a guy who was once seen as tall. Stefan is mysterious and Elena can’t resist him. She then meets Damon, Stefan’s brother, the sexy and more dangerous of the brothers. He is determined to get revenge against Stefan and Elena is his prize. I don’t care what anyone says. You can say these books are terribly written, that they are cliché, that they suck, but to me they were the start to my YA love. This is another series that if I wouldn’t have discovered I probably wouldn’t have been able to say I loved these books before they were a TV show. A TV show which I have never seemed to be able to get into because they are so different from the books. I love these books and I still remember reading them so long ago when I was in the fifth grade. I literally remember sitting down early in the morning on my couch before school and diving into this wonderful. I remember being sucked in immediately and my love for the Salvatore brothers started.


The main female character is Elena. I loved Elena in this book. She was relatable for me at the time of my fifth grade experiences and to me that’s all that matters. I probably wouldn’t like her as much if I reread the book, but I do love Elena even though she made very stupid decisions and had me through hissy fits at her stupidity.

Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 8.5

The main male characters are the Salvatore brother, Stefan and Damon.

 
Those boys are just... yummy! I love looking at those boys. In my opinion, the TV show finally got something about a character spot on and they succeeded with these boys in bringing them to life. Let’s start with the main love interest Stefan. Stefan was the brother I had been routing for early on the books. I thought he was sweet, caring, smart, compassionate, and strong. I thought he was a package deal of greatness. Of course, my opinions have changed and I find myself routing for Damon. Speaking of Damon, Damon is your typical YA bad boy, but I always seem to have a soft spot for him. He is a tough looking guy with a big heart and he does care you just have to know where to look.

Swoon Worthy Scale: Stefan: 8.5 Damon: 8

These ratings are only for this book and not for future books.

The Villain- Since there are two books the villains obviously change somewhat, but stay the same in a sense.


Villain Scale: 7

Elena’s friends are Bonnie, who is a feisty red headed witch and loyal friend, Meredith, who is of Latina decent and also another close friend of Elena, and Matt, Elena’s ex-boyfriend and close friend of the group. Caroline was once a good friend of the girls and Matt, but they grew apart and she has a hatred for Elena and wants to bring her down. These characters have a special place in my heart even though I may not always like them I care for them.


Character Scale: 8

If you haven’t realized it yet but these books did have a big impact on my love for reading and I’ll always recommend these books to anyone and everyone looking for a good vampire series. People have said that Smith is a Meyer copycat, but actually Meyer is the copycat since these books came out in the ‘90s. I love Smith’s writing, world, characters, and books. I definitely recommend giving this series a shot if you haven’t already.

Cover Thoughts: I love the cover. Call me cheesy, but I love it and I prefer it to all the other covers they’ve given these two books.

Vampire Crush by A.M. Robinson

Vampire Crush by A.M. Robinson

4 stars

Sophie McGee’s life is pretty normal. There aren’t super hot guys checking her out when she walks by, her routine is normal, and aside from investigating for the high school paper and hoping to snag the editor and chief spot, she’s a normal high school girl. There weren’t any vampires luring in her hallways. Then a bunch of kids that looks and sounds like they’ve stopped out of a Dracula movie come to school. She’s assigned the task of getting to know four of them while competing for the editor and chief spot. She wasn’t expecting James Hallowell to come back to town or the fact that he turns out to be a vampire! I know, I know. You’ve heard this summary before it’s nothing new and probably not entertaining. Five dollars says you think this book is another Twilight-wannabe. You’re wrong this book is not Twilight at all. I was wrong to and I was glad to be proven wrong. The characters are what really made this book different from most YA paranormal books.


The main female character is Sophie. Sophie is witty and sarcastic. Her attitude is hilarious and I found myself smiling or stifling giggles while reading with other kids looking at me like I was weird. She was probably the reason I enjoyed this book so much. I loved how she wasn’t afraid to be different or fight for what she wanted.


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 9

The main male character is James. James is not heartthrob worthy, but I still liked his character. I found it refreshing how Sophie reacted to him and thought it was funny. He’s not the most appealing male I’ve come across in YA, but he’s not the worst. It’s a plus that he doesn’t sparkle.


Edward just wasn't able to handle James or Sophie's awesomeness in this book.


Swoon Worthy Scale: 7.5

The Villain- Vlad was a pretty good villain, but nothing all that shocking. All though the twist was interesting he wasn’t a very scary villain.

Villain Scale: 7

Violet was my favorite of the foreign vampires. She brought life to the story and it was nice having someone other than Sophie able to make me laugh. The other vampires were interesting, but I didn’t really feel their presence and they were sometimes easily forgotten.

Character Scale: 8

I think it’s awesome that this book openly mocks Twilight and other vampire books while the book is a vampire book. That’s ballsy. In honor, of the mocking of vampires. Here's some funny stuff to stay true to Sophie. 



Just one more.
 
 Robinson needs to write another book because I’m sure her next book will be just as good. I definitely recommend this book if you’re look for an entertaining and funny read.

Cover Thoughts: I like the cover. It’s what had caught my attention and made me want to read this book. In my opinion it’s a good cover because at least it caught my attention.

Foretold: 14 Tales of Prophecies and Predictions edited by Carrie Ryan

Foretold: 14 Tales of Prophecy and Prediction edited by Carrie Ryan

4.5 stars
Foretold is an anthology featuring a lot of the hottest names in YA fiction, which means my standards were pretty high for this. They were already high since I knew that Richlle Mead’s story was in here and that set a rather high bar. After seeing Laini Taylor’s name the bar rose higher. I wasn’t disappointed, but some of these stories didn’t live up to what I thought they would. Here’s a breakdown of each story.


Gentlemen Send Phantoms by Laini Taylor
5 stars
I’m a fan of Taylor after reading Daughter of Smoke and Bone so of course my expectations for this story were high. She didn’t disappoint. Catherine “Pippin” is the center of the story. St. Faith’s Day is the day when all the girls bake a cake they set out for their phantom husband. Pippin has her sights set on one special boy, Matty, but so do all of the other girls in the village. Pippin reminded me of Karou with her dreams of flight. It brought back memories and has me excited to read Days of Blood and Starlight. Taylor can even make a short story mesmerizing.


Burned Bright by Diana Peterfreund
4 stars
Bright is the daughter of a leader of an occult. She is waiting, along with all the other members of the occult, for Judgment. Bright and Sam must figure out what to do when this judgment doesn’t come. I’m on the fence about this one. I enjoyed it, but it made absolutely no sense to me. The ending was interesting though, but crazy. I don’t expect anything less from someone who’s been brought up in an occult. I’m interested in Peterfreund’s other works, but I never seem to get around to reading them.


The Angriest Man by Lisa McMann
4 stars
David should’ve died when he was born, but he was stung by a bee. The bee carried the hate from the angriest man to ever exist and David lives with this burning hatred. I actually liked this. It was kind of boring at times, but held my attention. The ending on the other hand isn’t how I would’ve ended, but I could see why McMann did. McMann’s writing style is still very similar to Wake and reminded me I need to finish the series.



Out of the Blue by Meg Cabot
5 stars
K.C. and Kyle are twins. One night on their sixth birthday they slept outside in a tent. A man came inside a big ship placing objects in each of the twins claiming his world needed their help. Ten years later, KC is an outcast and decides to reveal her secret on her a blog, which no one reads except her best friend. It gets out and KC, Kyle, and their friends find themselves being interviewed by special agents. I loved this one. I’ve never read anything by Cabot, which I’m sad to admit, but this was totally awesome. I loved the concept and the style it was written in reminded me of a King novel for some reason. ALIENS! Not the attractive friendly ones either. These are more reminiscent of Signs.


One True Love by Malinda Lo
3 stars
Princess Essylt’s father kept her locked away because of a prophecy about her destroying him when she met her true love. He didn’t think about her true love being a woman. Sadiya, who also happens to be the King’s next bride. I’m not a big fantasy reader and the way this was written reminded me why I never could finish fantasy books as a kid. There were too many different places being introduced and I just wasn’t all that interested. Fantasy isn’t my genre and it takes a lot for me to read one much less love it.


This is a Mortal Wound by Michael Grant
4.5 stars
Tomaso lives 2019 and the Internet has become the new way to learn. Teachers aren’t used and neither are books. When his old teacher, Ms. Gill, kidnaps him and forces him to learn from books again. Tomaso has to fight his life because of his hatred for textbooks and their lack of knowledge. I liked this one a lot. Interesting concept with great writing; it wasn’t a completely sold short story but I still enjoyed it.


Misery by Heather Brewer
5 stars
Alek and his best friend Sara live in Misery. Every year on a special day you receive a gift from the town, but no one knows where the gift comes from. When he goes to Jordyn, the town psychic, to find out his gift he is told it is nothing. I loved this. It was brilliant. The writing fit the story with a somber tone. I loved how the town had no color and pretty much lived inside of the people of Misery. The ending, it was perfect and made me think for quite some time.


The Mind is a Powerful Thing by Matt de la Pena
4.5 stars
Joanna celebrates her sixteenth birthday, but not even a great night can get the feeling of dread out of her. When she gets a fortune cookie that reminds of a horrific day she becomes paranoid and the night ends with sadness. This is a perfect example of thinking about something too much will bring it upon you. I loved it. The characters were interesting and my heart swelled for Ronny at the end.


The Chosen One by Saundra Mitchell
4 stars
Corvina isn’t as special as her sister the future queen of Vernal. Not since the accident leaving her scarred and burned. When her sister, Lucia, becomes ill before she is to host the Betrothal Quest Corniva sets out to find a cure for her. She meets Valerian who helps her find herself and the cure along the way. Like I said before I’m not a fan of fantasy, but the writing didn’t feel like a fantasy. I did still get confused though and had to reread parts several times. I enjoyed the story and quest since it seemed to flow into the story easier than the quest in One True Love did.


Improbable Futures by Kami Garcia
5 stars
Once a conry always a conry. This is Ilana’s life and the carnival is all she’s ever known, except for being in kindergarten for a month. Ilana’s job is to be a fortune teller like her mother. Ilana doesn’t give happy fortunes like her mother and knows it’s all a scam just like everything else in the carnival. She wasn’t expecting her predictions to come true. I surprisingly enjoyed Garcia’s tale which I wasn’t expecting since I've heard some iffy things about her writing along side Stohl and that's made me iffy to pick up their works.
Death for the Deathless by Margaret Stohl
3.5 stars
Adrienne and Luc are the prophet and the bringer of prophecies for the Immortals. When a final prophecy tales of not even Immortals surviving the End all hell breaks loose and the prophecy isn’t all what it seemed. This had so much promise, but I think Stohl failed to live up to this promise. I hate saying this but I think Stohl's writing is the reason I didn't enjoy this. I hate saying that but it’s true. She has great ideas and concepts, but her writing is so hard for me to get through. I still have hopes that she’ll blow me away one day and prove me wrong.


Fate by Simone Elkeles
4.5 stars
Carson moves into a RV park where he meets Willow. Willow’s optimistic views just might be the thing he needs. I thought this was adorable and so cute. The last line made me giggle like a little kid. I love Elkeles work, but I feel like she ended it too soon.

The Killing Garden by Carrie Ryan
5 stars
Tanci is the first girl to be born in a long line of males. Her father is the Gardener, which is a prestigious title, and she wants to live up to his approval and trains herself to take his place. Once she accomplishes being the Gardner and is forced to race her best friend she starts to question what exactly people do to be sent to the garden by the Emperor. She meets Rete in one of quests to find out the answer. Knowing that she’ll one day have to kill him in the Garden, but she can’t help but feel for him. I love Ryan’s work. She’s a great writer and this is such an interesting idea. I haven’t read anything like this and was sucked in. I want Tanci to find happiness wherever it may take her.

Homecoming by Richelle Mead
5 stars
 
 
 

Rose and Dimitri go to Russia!

I loved it and it was so nice to read about Rose and Dimitri again. I hope they get married and I want a short story or a book about it. Mead doesn’t fail to make me smile with the VA characters.

Overall it was a really good anthology and I recommend giving it a shot. Not just for Dimitri and Rose, but because they have some pretty awesome short stories in here and they deserve love too.

Cover Thoughts: I don’t like the cover. The coloring, girl on it, and rain just don’t fit. I feel like there are thousands of other ways to show a prophecy that could’ve been done and this was just a cheap shot try.   

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

First in The Hunger Games trilogy

4.5 stars

The world is no longer as it is today. The Capitol owns and controls everything. Every year the Capitol selects one boy and one girl from each of the twelve districts to compete in a brutal game called the Hunger Games. In the Hunger Games, the contestants are put in brutal and intense situations where they each fight for their life and only one person wins… and comes out alive. Katniss Everdeen is a hunter who lives in District 12. She provides food for her family by catching wild game and illegal trading. When Katniss’s sister, 12-year-old sister Primrose, is chosen to participate in the Games. She does the only thing she can to do to protect her family and offers herself as tribute in her sister’s place. She finds herself fighting alongside Peeta Mellark, the baker’s son, in a world that could destroy them. I was, I guess you could say a late bloomer when it came to finally getting my hands on The Hunger Games. Everyone had seemed to have read The Hunger Games at my school and I had already owned the box set, which I was greatly gifted with by my aunt for Christmas. I finally decided to pick it up two days before the movie’s release date. I now own the movie, but haven’t had the time to watch it since it’s only been in my possession for about a week. I do plan on watching the movie though, hopefully this weekend or month… sometime in the near future. This book was a last minute read and probably not a good idea since my mom wouldn’t take me to the movie (but I will be prepared for Warm Bodies and Beautiful, which I will read). The beginning was very slow. Let’s face it the Capitol was boring, but the descriptions were beautiful and brilliant. The descriptions being a plus for this book. I was expecting to either hate or love this book. I honestly wasn’t sure because it sounded appealing and interesting, but great ideas can be slaughtered with bad writing. This book and the concept for it weren’t slaughtered. I was actually surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. Let’s talk about the characters.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

First in The Hunger Games trilogy

4.5 stars

The world is no longer as it is today. The Capitol owns and controls everything. Every year the Capitol selects one boy and one girl from each of the twelve districts to compete in a brutal game called the Hunger Games. In the Hunger Games, the contestants are put in brutal and intense situations where they each fight for their life and only one person wins… and comes out alive. Katniss Everdeen is a hunter who lives in District 12. She provides food for her family by catching wild game and illegal trading. When Katniss’s sister, 12-year-old sister Primrose, is chosen to participate in the Games. She does the only thing she can to do to protect her family and offers herself as tribute in her sister’s place. She finds herself fighting alongside Peeta Mellark, the baker’s son, in a world that could destroy them. I was, I guess you could say a late bloomer when it came to finally getting my hands on The Hunger Games. Everyone had seemed to have read The Hunger Games at my school and I had already owned the box set, which I was greatly gifted with by my aunt for Christmas. I finally decided to pick it up two days before the movie’s release date. I now own the movie, but haven’t had the time to watch it since it’s only been in my possession for about a week. I do plan on watching the movie though, hopefully this weekend or month… sometime in the near future. This book was a last minute read and probably not a good idea since my mom wouldn’t take me to the movie (but I will be prepared for Warm Bodies and Beautiful, which I will read). The beginning was very slow. Let’s face it the Capitol was boring, but the descriptions were beautiful and brilliant. The descriptions being a plus for this book. I was expecting to either hate or love this book. I honestly wasn’t sure because it sounded appealing and interesting, but great ideas can be slaughtered with bad writing. This book and the concept for it weren’t slaughtered. I was actually surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. Let’s talk about the characters.


The main female character is Katniss Everdeen. Everyone with cable or access to the Internet knows who Katniss is because well she her face was plastered about months before the movie’s release date.
Katniss is a strong, well-rounded character. She’s a fighter and a survivor. The girls of Destiny’s Child would be proud.
I really do commend her strengths though. She could be considered a role model if you were looking for one in YA fiction. Did she make the best choice at the end of this book? No, but I can understand where she’s coming from and her confusion is understandable. Katniss is strong, but also caring. She does care about people even if at times in the Games it didn’t seem like it.


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 10

The main male character is Peeta. I like Peeta a lot. He’s the nice guy, but he can hold his own in a battle. Am I Team Peeta or Team Gale? I’m undecided because I like them both so far even though Gale has only mentioned in memories. Peeta is a lot like Katniss in some ways. They share traits that aren’t always distinguishable, but it’s little things. Honestly, I can't decide how much I like him since I feel like I didn't really get to know him.

Swoon Worthy Scale: 8

The Villain- I think it’s the Capitol and the people in it. I’m not really going to into the politics of Panem. I’ll just wait until I read Catching Fire (which will be before the movie’s release date). The politics and politicians are sick though. A game used for punishment against the Districts with kids killing each other. It’s unsettling and scary, but mostly disturbing.


Villain Scale: 9

Gale, of course, who is a very big part of Katniss’s thoughts and a motivator for survival. Primrose, Katniss’s little sister, who Katniss sacrifices herself for. The contenders in the Game; my favorite was Rue.

Character Scale: 8.5

I will watch the movie. This is a way for me to finally do it and stop putting it off with my laziness. I enjoyed The Hunger Games and the sick games that were cleverly played with each other. I look forward to Catching Fire and seeing more games played, even though I’m sure it’s not another Hunger Games because that would contradict the Hunger Games. This is a dystopian book that I did enjoy and they seem to either be make, break, or meh for me. The Hunger Games will definitely stay with me so if you couldn't tell I enjoyed it... immensely.


Cover Thoughts: I honestly have no feelings towards the cover other than the fact that I want a Mockingjay pin. Other than that it’s bland and fits the story. It’s pretty meh of a cover for me.