Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

First in the Warm Bodies series

4 stars

R is a zombie. He doesn’t remember his name or where he comes from, but R is different from most zombies. He eats brains along his zombie comrades and ravages the destroyed American landscape, but he craves for something more than brains and the feeling of life they give him. He is one of the few zombies that can speak, not full sentences, but grunted syllables. After experiencing the memories of a teenage boy during an attack he saves Julie, the boy’s girlfriend. As an awkward friendship starts to form he feels himself changing into something else. I definitely wasn’t expecting that at all. I thought Warm Bodies was going to an epic zombie novel with great action scenes and a fiery romance. It wasn’t that, but I’m not disappointed at all. I hadn’t heard of Warm Bodies until sometime in August when I heard it was going to be a movie and I had seen the movie poster. The movie poster deeply resembles Twilight’s.


Aside from the similar poster when I saw the trailer I knew it wouldn’t be like Twilight at all. I rushed to my library and checked this book out immediately. The thing that’s most impressive about this novel is the writing. Marion has a way with words and he reminded me of King’s writing at times. I didn’t feel all that connected with the characters.


The main male character is R. R, well R is R. I’m not exactly sure how to explain him. Yes he is a zombie. Yes he thinks like a human. No isn’t a mindless flesh eater. His life in the airport, which is his zombie along with hundreds of other zombies, was very dull. He acquired a wife and children in the strangest way. I enjoy R’s point of view and it’s not very often that I read a full male perspective novel. R is probably one my favorite zombies I’ve come across. I haven’t come across a lot, but I’ve read about a few and he definitely stole my heart.

Swoon Worthy Scale: 9

The main female character is Julie. I don’t feel connected to Julie. There were a few times towards the end when in the stadium when I did, but for the longest time she seemed like a cardboard cutout. She’s very different in the stadium though. Realer, but at times slightly annoying. I don’t really care for her because well I feel like I don’t really know her. She seemed more like a zombie at times. I want more character development for her in the next book.


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 7.5

The Villain- The Boneys are zombies that have lost all their flesh and are just bones and skeletons. They are passed zombies and are something else completely. The scene at the end has me confused to Boneys and I’m not sure if they should be taken as a threat or as just another thing of life. I don’t really feel intimated by them. I wouldn’t want to run into them on the street, but I expected them to be a lot worse.

Villain Scale: 8

There were a few supporting characters in Warm Bodies. The biggest is Perry, the teenage boy that R ate and Julie’s boyfriend. I liked Perry he was complex. He started out happy, full of life, but he started to turn colder and he stopped living life. It was like he completely gave up on everything and was just going through the motions of life. M is R’s friend and fellow zombie. I really liked M. For a zombie he was pretty funny and I liked the ending for him. Nora is Julie’s friend and she spends most of her time with R and Julie in the Stadium. I liked Nora, she was vibrant and funny. Julie’s father, Mr. Girgio or General Girgio, was like Julie said already dead just not yet decayed. I didn’t like him all that much, but I did like Rossio, his friend and colleague.


Character Scale: 8

I’m not exactly sure why Marion made such a big deal about the fact that this wasn’t a YA novel. You have Stephenie Meyer saying what a great book on the front cover, people might assume this. I don’t think it’s YA though. Keep that in mind. There is lots of violence and gore for the first chapters as it mostly R eating brains. There’s smoking of marijuana and underage drinking. Not all that different from some YAs, but I personally don’t feel it’s a YA novel.


Marion did bore me for the longest time with part one and R’s time in the airport, but the second and third parts were great. Marion writes great action scenes though. I didn’t want to put this book down when I got to that part. I was entranced and I didn’t want the wonder to stop. Overall it’s a pretty good book, not amazing, but definitely worth reading especially if you love zombie novels.


Cover Thoughts: I don’t really care for the cover. It’s not a bad cover, but I don’t really like it all too much. I guess it fits, but I personally think the cover could’ve been better.

Before I Die by Jenny Downham

Before I Die by Jenny Downham

5 stars

Tessa only has a few months left to live. She’s tired of the constant hospital visits, tests, and drugs that seem to do more harm to her body than good; she decides to make a list. The list is a list of things to do before she dies. She calls it “To Do Before I Die”. The first thing she wants is sex. So her best friend Zoey takes her out. As Tessa starts to complete new things on the list she starts to feel alive again. As Tessa makes a new relationship with her neighbor she wonders what will happen when she’s gone. Before I Die is a book I will never forget. Ever. This book will always be with me. Tessa’s story was real, sad, touching, and utterly depressing. I knew what would happen, we all did, but when you read from Tessa’s POV you want her to live and survive and be with Adam.


The main female character is Tessa. Tessa is one of the most compelling teens I’ve come across in YA. It’s hard to read about someone experiencing what she is, but I somehow managed to read it all in one sitting.


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 8.5

The main male character is Adam. I loved Adam. He was simple and sweet. Just what Tessa needed and I feel for Adam. I remember when I finished reading this I thought to myself immediately, “What happens to Adam?” Does he find happiness, love, his dreams, where does he go now that Tessa has died? I want to know about what happens to him after his love with Tessa. I think it would be amazing. I don’t need a love story I feel like I need to know he has had closure.


Swoon Worthy Scale: 9

The Villain- *sighs* Do you really need me to tell you when it’s obvious from the summary what she has? If you didn’t figure it out which I could understand if you didn’t if it hadn’t been for my cover I wouldn’t have realized it either.
(view spoiler)


Villain Scale: 10

Zoey, Tessa’s friend, had moments when their friendship felt fake and flat. I didn’t like her very much for a while, but towards the end she grew on me and I want to know about her life as (view spoiler)I loved her family. They weren’t the most functional family, but they were there for her. At least her dad and brother were.

Character Scale: 8.5

This isn’t my best review or most thought out. I’m not really sure how to compile all the reasons I loved this book. I read it when I was in the seventh grade and it’s still fresh in my mind. It also probably doesn’t help that I’m listening to Alesana and I’m distracted, but that’s a whole other story. I loved this story. If anyone asked me what my favorite book is that opened my eyes and made me think about life and death and other things, it would be this book. I suggest a box of Kleenex when you read this because I cried rivers of tears. I will always feel connected to these characters and one day I’ll want my kids to read this book. Let’s face it I can’t do this book justice. I don’t think anyone can. You have to read it yourself to understand it.


P.S. Did you know there’s a British movie starring Dakota Fanning based on this book called Now Is Good? I didn’t know until today. I might watch it one day.


Cover Thoughts: This book has several covers. I had this one:
 
I feel like this one speaks to people. It’s not my favorite of the covers my favorite is this one:
 
But I loved my cover even if it’s not the most beautiful because it’s real and true the book. That’s what makes a good cover. 

To see the review with spoilers click here. Thanks for reading and I'm late but I was with family yesterday so HAPPY SUPER LATE THANKSGIVING!

You Against Me by Jenny Downham

 

You Against Me by Jenny Downham

5 stars

What would you do if your sister accused somebody of rape? What would you do if your brother was the being accused? Mikey McKenzie’s younger sister, Karyn, accuses Tom Parker of raping her. Mikey vows to protect Karyn and starts a plan to make Tom feel the pain his sister feels. When his friend Jacko says he wants in they decide to go through with it. Mikey ends up Tom Parker’s front porch in hopes of acting out on the plan, but he meets Ellie, Tom’s little sister. Ellie tells Mikey of a party for Tom’s bail and he and Jacko attend hoping to get information. What Mikey doesn’t expect is that his plan will turn into something completely different when he meets Ellie. Ellie is tired of constant revising and worrying if her brother really did what he was accused of. Mikey becomes someone she can truly be herself around and she loves that, but what will happen when she find out who Mikey really is? Even bigger what will Ellie do if Tom really did do what he was accused of? I wasn’t expecting this to be told in alternating POVs, but I think it was done beautifully. Once again I’m in love with a book by Downham. After reading Before I Die and being blown away I’ve hoped that Downham would release another book. I saw that she had and this book has been on TBR list for a whole year. I wasn’t expecting to be on such an emotional journey. I didn’t cry like I did with Before I Die, but I had so many emotions. I think that’s what makes Downham such a great writer. She elicits emotion in her writing and stories. I’ll admit the synopsis on the jacket hadn’t drawn in me and I was wary of it, but that wariness went out the window with just a couple of chapters.


The main female character is Ellie. I really liked Ellie. She was relatable and strong, but she questions things and worries like a person. I always felt like Ellie was real and not just another character. She had a story and it needed to be told. I did hate how easily she could be swayed by her father. It angered me because she it’s obvious that she loves her father, but her father isn’t always looking out for her. Ellie did eventually break away but I understood her sorrow and it’ll never be the same in her household.


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 9.5

The main male character is Mikey. Mikey is also very real. I loved how he was very human and wanted to protect his family. He was more of a father to his sisters and it shows how he loves his family. I don’t like how he thinks so little of himself and there was a point towards the end of the novel where this becomes a big part of his thoughts. But he is only human and humans doubt their selves all the time. I loved how he was just as caring towards Ellie as he was his sisters. I also enjoyed his dream of being a chief and I hope it’s a dream that he reaches.

Swoon Worthy Scale: 9

The Villain- This is the part of my review that I don’t want to talk about it… it’s just a big part of the novel, but this sums up my feelings.






Villain Scale: 9

There were quite a few supporting characters in this novel. Jacko, Karyn, Holly, Mikey’s mother, Tom, Ellie’s parents, and Dex are the ones that are more prominent. I have mixed feelings about Jacko. I liked him at first, but I started to feel like he did more harm to Mikey than good sometimes. I still like him though even though he can be a real jerk, but he’s real and he’ll always be there for Mikey even when Mikey’s doesn’t want him to be. I like Karyn since she shows how a teenage girl deals with rape, but I can’t say I like her as a person. I don’t think she deserved what happened to her and I wish she wouldn’t have gone to the party in the first place or that her friend wouldn’t have left her there alone. Compared to her little sister Holly she is isn’t as radiant in life, which I understand because of what, but even towards the end when she starts going outside again I feel like she’ll never be truly happy again. Holly is probably my favorite of the minor characters. I feel like she was the one thing to brighten up Mikey’s life before he met Ellie. Mikey and Ellie’s parents are both very dysfunctional and need to get their lives together before they can do healing. Mikey’s mom seems to be doing that though. Tom should fall in a whole. I hate what he did to Karyn and her family and his family. I don’t like him and he’s a villain but not THE villain. Ellie’s dad should fall in a whole with Tom. I get that he wants to protect his son from going to jail, but he has a daughter and he needs to think about her too. Dex was Mikey’s mentor and always there for him and was like a father to him.

Character Scale: 9.5

All of these characters are real. They have substance and a place in the story. I did have a problem getting used to the heavy British slang though. I haven’t read a book set in London or its surrounding areas in a long time. It became easier to understand their slang after a while, but it took time. I also don’t like how it seems like Downham doesn’t use periods after addressing a superior figure. I remember that she didn’t do that in her previous book, but every time I would see Mr I wanted to scream and write periods in the place of where it should be. I couldn’t do that since it’s a library book and I don’t like writing in books. I like how both Ellie and Mikey wanted to get information out of each other at one point and it backfired. It was probably one of my favorite scenes in the novel. Downham didn’t disappoint and I hope she writes more books because she is definitely one of my favorite writers as of this book.


Cover Thoughts: I actually like the cover. Call me crazy but I think it’s beautiful. It fits this book for some reason.

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

Fourth in the Twilight series

2 stars

SPOILERS Ahead! Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Alas, we are finally at the end of a long road of sparkly vampires, oversized dogs, stalkers, obsessive friends, and a Mary Sue who ran the show. Breaking Dawn is a big ass book. It is whopping 756 pages! For a fifth grader (which was how old I was at the time of reading this) it was humungous and I still look at the thing from across my room taking up more space than any book should. Of course it doesn’t nearly come close to It or Gone with the Wind in size but it’s humungous. Breaking Dawn is broken down into three parts: Part One-Bella, Part Two-Jacob, and Part Three-Bella. Meyer wanted to be daring by giving us Jacob’s POV which I will admit was sometimes interesting, but I often found myself wanting to hurry being done with the second part so I could read from Bella’s eyes. Part one focuses on Bella and Edward’s wedding and party. They then travel to their honeymoon on Esme Isle, which is a private island owned by Carlisle for Esme. After a lot of sex and eating of eggs Bella realizes she’s pregnant. After Carlisle confirms that Bella is pregnant, they rush home to Forks. Their baby (half-vampire, half-human) grows at an alarming weight causing Bella to be bedridden. Edward is afraid the baby will kill Bella and tries to get her to abort the baby, but Bella refuses because she feels connected to the fetus. Part two follows Jacob for which seemed like way too long. Jacob goes against his pack because they want to kill the baby and Bella. Bella soon gives birth after only a short period of time. The birth breaks Bella’s bones (try saying that five times fast) and Edward turns her into a vampire injecting her with his venom via syringe. Jacob tries to kill Reneesme (the baby) but ends up imprinting on her. For part three we are back to Bella and she’s now a vampire. Something she’s wanted to be since she found out Edward was a vampire and fell in love with him. Irina, Laurent’s mate, travels to Forks after her family convinces her to reconcile. She mistakes Reneesme for an immortal child, a child turned vampire who wreaked havoc and destroyed villages, and she goes to the Volturi. The Cullens gather allies after Alice has a vision of the Volturi coming. The Volturi want to start a fight because they still aren’t sure about Reneesme, but Alice and Jasper bring evidence of others like her. The Volturi leaves, nobody dies, and Bella and Edward and Jacob and Reneesme live happily ever after.  


The main female character is Bella. Bella was insufferable for the first part of the book with her constant I don’t deserve this and blah blah blah. She becomes better as a vampire though. I actually like vampire Bella a thousand times more than human Bella. I do think naming her kid Reneesme was a bad choice though.


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 2

The main male characters are Edward and Jacob. Edward was still a jerk. Trying to get Bella to kill the baby because he didn’t want her to die made him no better than the pack or the Volturi. He did like Bella become a lot better after her transformation. Surprisingly I enjoyed him. Jacob though well he worries me. I find it really creepy to imprint with a baby. He then jokes about it at the end with Edward asking if he can call him dad. >_> Ummm, yeah. I’ve heard people say that he wasn’t really in love with her but just looking out for her best interest. In a sense I think he is in love with her. Whether people accept it or not Jacob loves Reneesme and if it’s as a brother, lover, or friend there’s nothing we can do about. So stop fighting about it because they are both fictional characters!

Swoon Worthy Scale: Edward- 2 Jacob-2

The Villain- The Volturi are back. Honestly the Volturi aren’t threatening at all the books. I find them laughable. I saw Breaking Dawn Part 2 and let me say this Volturi in that movie are freaking scary. They are relentless and will stop at nothing to get what they want. Well at least Aro is. Aro is a jerk and creepy too. I thought he was a little wacko in New Moon, but he proves to need crazy pills at the battle scene in the movie. The movie is epic and the battle scenes are amazing. I will address something about that later on in the review though.


Villain Scale: 3

Reneesme is a character I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of the future. There is talk of a spin-off. To be honest, I’m interested in a spin-off featuring Reneesme. Alice, I love Alice. I think Breaking Dawn should’ve been written in her eyes. She was the savior without her they would’ve died. All hale Alice because she definitely deserves it. Jasper- I love you and you’re just cool. Emmett- I love your jokes and without you it would be boring in the Cullen household. Rosalie- I didn’t like you very much in the first book, but I came to like you more and more with each book. Carlisle and Esme- Forks would fall apart without Carlisle. It nearly did in Breaking Dawn or it seemed through Bella’s eyes and Esme you are probably a better mother figure than Bella’s own mom will ever be. Seth and Leah- Seth, you’re one of my favorite wolves and Leah, I hadn’t liked you at first, but I came to like you more and more. Charlie- At least you made an appearance in the book I had never seen so much of you before. To all the vampires that were allies to the Cullens- in the book you all confused me and I couldn’t keep up with which one was which, but I love you guys in the movie.

Character Scale: 3

I did enjoy Breaking Dawn, but I had a problem keeping track of characters and it seemed way too lengthy. As I mentioned earlier I really enjoyed Breaking Dawn Part 2 movie, but it proved to me something that I had suspected all along. If my memory serves me correctly there was no showing of Alice’s vision in Breaking Dawn to Aro, but in the movie it happens to be one of the most intense battle scenes I’ve watched on the big screen. The fact that it turned out to be a vision though made me realize Meyer is a cop out. All the people that would’ve died in the battle scene didn’t and the people that would’ve died are the people would’ve missed and mourned. (view spoiler)
This proved that Meyer is not at all a great writer. A great writer would’ve been able to give us an ending to a tragedy like this that made our hearts weep and make us wonder what would happen without them. Meyer took the easy way out by giving us stars and sunshine. That disappointed me. Of course books are like that. They sometimes don’t live up to their potential and take easy way outs, but the hopeless romantic side of me is glad that everyone is alive and that they got a happy ending.


Cover Thoughts: I like the cover. It’s my favorite of the books’ covers. It’s thought provoking and in a way if you think about it the Volturi does play a rather good game of chess.

To see the full spoiler review go here. 

I also noticed that I reached 50 followers! Thank you all so much! I love my followers and I'm sorry I don't host any giveaways! Thanks for reading and supporting my blog it means a lot to me!

Top Ten Tuesday

                                     

             Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.
                             Today's meme is Top Ten Authors I'm Thankful For.


Wow this a tough one and it's also my first Top Ten Tuesday! So here goes nothing!

1. Richelle Mead- I am a huge fan of her VA series and it's probably my favorite YA vampire series. I also love Bloodlines. Mead introduced me to a whole new world of vampires and she me inspired me to think outside of the box with her odd and new take on vampires.
2. Sherrilyn Kenyon- Where to start with SK? I love her and she's probably my favorite adult paranormal romance author. I had first picked up her League series and it made me appreciate Sci-Fi romance. I'm not a big Sci-Fi fan but I love the League series. The Dark-Hunter series is one of my favorite series ever! I love Greek mythology and SK's take on vampires is so original and her characters always make me laugh and I feel connected to her characters. Plus the main setting for most DH books are in New Orleans and since I'm from Louisiana I love that!
3. Kerrelyn Sparks- She was my first adult paranormal romance series. I had only thought vamps, werewolves, and faeries existed in YA, but Sparks showed me a new world in her Love At Stake series, which is one of my favorites.
4. Ellen Hopkins- I have a soft spot for Mrs. Hopkins. If you haven't read at least one of her books I suggest you run to your library now and check one out! I first read Crank when I was in the fifth grade and I hadn't known it was such a deep topic at the time, but I loved it. I picked Crank back up a year later for a reread and delved into Glass. I later picked up all of her other books, but I'm sad to say I fell behind and the last published book I read by her was Perfect and I haven't picked up Triangles, Tilt, Collateral, etc. I do plan on going on another Hopkins binge one day though!
5. Lisa Kleypas- I love Lisa Kleypas. She's my favorite historical romance writer. That's saying something since I don't pick up historical often, but I love her Hathaway series! She's my second author that I read that wasn't YA and for that she's has a special place in my heart because she not only introduced me to historical romance, but to a world outside of historical YA.
6. Laini Taylor- She brought me the beautiful book Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Her writing is beautiful, lyrical and her story line is ground breaking. She's not afraid to take chances and be different in her story telling which inspires me to take chances no matter how outrageous they may seem.
7. Gayle Forman- I love, love this lady. I had bought If I Stay expecting some sappy paranormal story, but I got so much more than that. I was introduced to questions I've never thought about and it made me really think about life and the things I take for granted. Her sequel, Where She Went, also made me question choices and their outcomes. Forman has a way of making me question outlooks on life and I love that about her. I can't wait for Just One More Day!
8. Michelle Hodkin- I loved The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. It's a humongous book and I read it in a day. She's a great writer and she writes a story that makes you question if what you're reading is happening or if Mara is really crazy. I still don't know and I cant't wait to get my hands on the sequel, which is hopefully soon.
9. P.C. Cast- Call me crazy, but I love this lady. I think her characters in the HoN series are stupid and should all be killed, but I love her series! It's one of my guilty pleasures and in a way even though I hate the characters I do have soft spots for them too. Which is saying something because I don't know very many authors who create these many mixed emotions in me.
10. Nova Ren Suma- I've only read one book by her, but it was probably one of the best books I've read. She creates a world that I'm not all that sure about and I feel like I was more than in a dream than reading a book. I can't wait to get my hands on her books.

Notable mentions:

L.J. Smith
Simone Elkeles
J.R. Ward
Kody Keplinger
Melissa de la Cruz

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

Third in the Twilight series

3 stars

We are once again in Forks, Washington. Edward is back along with the rest of the Cullens, but things are different. Bella and Edward are engaged at the end of New Moon and are keeping it a secret. Jacob is a werewolf, which makes him a sworn enemy to the Cullens and by extension Bella because she one day hopes to become a vampire. Victoria is raising an army of vampires to fight the Cullens in hopes of concurring and getting revenge. All while in the midst of the battle she has to make a final decision between Edward and Jacob. To be honest, Eclipse was the best book in the series for me. The writing wasn’t all that bad like in the previous books. Was the writing amazing? No, I don’t think Meyer can give me an outstanding writing style with the Twilight books. The writing wasn’t nearly repetive as the previous books, but nowhere near as beautiful as Laini Taylor or some YA authors I’ve come across.

The main female character is once again Bella Swan. Bella Swan, have you ever thought about your initials and how they are BS? You know why they are BS? Well, because you’re full of BS. Bella, Bella, Bella, where to start. Well you were the most infuriating thing about this book. Forget Edward or Jacob’s idiotic selves, your idiocy takes the cake or in this cake a ring since you’re getting married.
 

Bella pulled a really stupid move during the battle and I’m sure all of us have read about it, seen it on the big screen, or heard about it through the Internet. Bella kisses Jacob right in front of Edward. This pissed me off even when I was a fan, but thinking back on it now even though I hate Edward it still pisses me off. What makes you think it is okay to kiss another man in front of your fiancé? Oh, I see you think it’s OK because there’s a pretty good chance Jacob might die or your dumb self knows that you’ll probably never see him again once you marry Edward. Bella Swan you’re full of BS and you are one stupid, ignorant girl. If you’re getting married I think you should start thinking about the outcome of these kinds of impulses that could get you in a vampire divorce. Is there such a thing as vampire divorce? Probably not and knowing how vamps work has to do with one of them dying. Hopefully it’ll be Bella if their happiness starts to fade.


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 1

I was going to give her zero, but there were a few moments I did enjoy her.



The main male characters are once again Edward and Jacob. Edward didn’t piss me off nearly as much as Jacob. Jacob what don’t you understand? Just because you have the hots for Bella you can’t shove your tongue down her throat, especially not if said girl is ENGAGED! You know what I think Meyer just wanted us to be pissed off; well I am because cheating is wrong! Edward, I’m sad to say this but I sympathized with you for a little while. Of course it was only during that one part, but still that’s about all the love you’re going to get from me. Edward baffles me though still in this book. He’s been a virgin for over a hundred years. That’s a whole new meaning to 40-year-old virgin. I do somewhat respect him for holding for so long, but it also seemed like Meyer was pushing the belief that if you don’t wait until marriage you’ll go to hell. I’m Catholic and it’s a probably a shock to hear this, but I don’t think you’ll go to hell for having sex before marriage. At least not with today’s society because most teenagers I know would have a seat reserved for them in hell. I just don’t see why they had to wait until marriage. I get that Edward is old fashioned, but not everybody in the old days was pure and waited for marriage to have sex.


Swoon Worthy Scale: Edward- 1 Jacob- 0

The Villain- Victoria is back and she’s ready to get revenge on the Cullens. Victoria isn’t all that scary just manipulative and she pushes people to get what she wants. Her army was just a bunch of new vampires that were to driven with bloodlust to be able to do anything for themselves. Victoria was like the Queen Bee and they were her worker bees. When you think about it it’s a smart idea, but not all that original.

Villain Scale: 4

The werewolf pack and the Cullens put their differences aside for a couple of chapters to defeat Victoria, but by the end of the book they are once again enemies. I enjoyed learning more about the history of some of the Cullens mainly Rosalie. I enjoyed those stories, but if I remember correctly Bella attends a campfire like party and hears a Quilete tale, which was so utterly boring. I was intrigued by Bree Tanner though who was killed by the Volturi. Maybe I’ll read Bree’s story one day, but I’m not in a hurry to read it.


Character Scale: 3

That's right I enjoyed Eclipse. Was it perfect no, but I enjoyed it.


My main problems were Bella, Jacob, and how Meyer was pushing beliefs on the readers. Aside from that I did enjoy Eclipse and think it’s the best in the series. If you are curious about Twilight, but was disappointed with the first maybe skipping New Moon and going to Eclipse is the best idea.


Cover Thoughts: The cover is supposed to represent choices that Bella has to make. I think that it is Victoria’s red scarf and Meyer is trying to look deep by giving some stupid meaning. What would’ve really made that believable is if it was a string breaking. You know eternal soulmates string? No, well it’s a legend that I’ve read about a few times that says you and your soulmate are connected by a single red string.

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.