Review: The Rising by Kelley Armstrong

The Rising (Darkness Rising #3)
Kelley Armstrong
Publisher: Harper Collins
Release Date: April 2, 2013

Things are getting desperate for Maya and her friends. Hunted by the powerful St. Clouds and now a rival Cabal as well, they're quickly running out of places to hide. And with the whole world thinking they died in a helicopter crash, it's not like they can just go to the authorities for help.

All they have is the name and number of someone who might be able to give them a few answers. Answers to why they're so valuable, and why their supernatural powers are getting more and more out of control.

But Maya is unprepared for the truths that await her. And now, like it or not, she'll have to face down some demons from her past if she ever hopes to move on with her life. Because Maya can't keep running forever.

Old secrets are revealed and unexpected characters make a surprising return in this stunning conclusion to Kelley Armstrong's New York Timesbestselling Darkness Rising trilogy.

Nineteen. That's how many books I've read in this world. And it's over. All the series have ended. I was not ready to let go yet.

Okay. This isn't my favorite trilogy but I have quite grown to like it. Despite the length, I flew through this book, which I regret doing considering it's the last book I will ever read in this world (possibly). Anyway, it was very fast-paced and addicting. 

There is quite a collective crew in these books. Up until this book Maya and Daniel have been my favorite characters. However, in this book I realized just how entertaining the rest of the group is. They were pretty funny actually. And I loved a certain new character that joins the crew (can't say who because it  would be a spoiler).

If you've been following my reviews of this trilogy, you'll know why I've been looking forward to this particular book for three years: because we finally see more of Chloe and the gang from The Darkest Powers trilogy. All I can say on that topic is I was quite satisfied.

I did find this book anti-climatic. I was fine with the way it ended, but it didn't feel like there was one big epic scene. I mean, there was a final battle scene, I guess, but it was no more epic than any other fight scene. However, it didn't exactly end like I was expecting, but I was fine with it. 

So, to sum it, The Rising was not the conclusion I was looking for, but I did enjoy the ride. 

Review: Altered by Jennifer Rush

Altered (Altered #1)
Jennifer Rush
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: January 1, 2013

They were made to forget. But they'll never forgive.
Everything about Anna's life is a secret. Her father works for the Branch, at the helm of its latest project: monitoring and administering treatments to the four genetically altered boys in the lab below their farmhouse. There's Nick, solemn and brooding; Cas, light-hearted and playful; Trev, smart and caring; and Sam . . . who's stolen Anna's heart.
When the Branch decides it's time to take the boys, Sam stages an escape. Anna's father pushes her to go with them, making Sam promise to keep her away from the Branch, at all costs.
On the run, with her father's warning in her head, Anna begins to doubt everything she thought she knew about herself. She soon discovers that she and Sam are connected in more ways than either of them expected. And if they're both going to survive, they must piece together the clues of their past before the Branch catches up to them and steals it all away.

From the cover of Altered, I was expecting a very dark read. Although this novel had it's dark moments, it was a very fast read that was action-packed with it's share of mystery. 

One thing I loved about this novel was The Boys. They were very entertaining and I loved their relationship with each other and Anna. They all had their quirks and they were over all a very fun group. I wasn't expecting humor play a role in this book but these guys provided the readers with a laugh here and there.

Anna has spent most of her life at the Branch, and one thing that really bothered me was she seemed a little too passive most of the time. I don't know about you, but when I read about someone whose lives with genetically altered boys in a secret branch, I want her to be a little more questioning. About a hundred pages in Anna finally changes, helping the boys to escape. Along the way she finds a lot of secrets about her life. Again, I just felt that, most of the time, Anna was a little too passive for my taste.

This book is certainly a fast-paced read and intriguing read. It's not one of my favorites, but if you like surprises, action, and a fun crew, I would recommend you pick up Altered.

Review: Hooked by Liz Fichera

Hooked (Hooked #1)
Liz Fichera
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release Date: January 29, 2013

Get hooked on a girl named Fred…HE said: Fred Oday is a girl? Puh-leeze. Why is a girl taking my best friend's spot on the boys' varsity golf team?
SHE said: Can I seriously do this? Can I join the boys' team? Everyone will hate me—especially Ryan Berenger.
HE said: Coach expects me to partner with Fred on the green? That is crazy bad. Fred's got to go—especially now that I can't get her out of my head. So not happening.
SHE said: Ryan can be nice, when he's not being a jerk. Like the time he carried my golf bag. But the girl from the rez and the spoiled rich boy from the suburbs? So not happening.
But there's no denying that things are happening as the girl with the killer swing takes on the boy with the killer smile…

If there's one thing that I liked about this novel was that it brought two new aspects to the classic YA romance. One, that this novel brings in Native American culture. Two, that this novel centers around gold, which wasn't the most interesting aspect of the book, but Fichera still managed to keep my attention.

I liked the two main characters fine, but they didn't exactly wow. They both had their quirks. Liz is very quiet and keeps to herself while Ryan seemed to be your typical rich guy. Both of them lacked communication skills which frustrated me so much.

One of my biggest issues with this book was how back and forth Ryan and Fred went. As I said before, if they just communicated a little more a lot of pain could have been avoided. Also, although there were points of high tension, there were also a few slow parts, and the novel ended rather abruptly.

Overall, I did enjoy this story. It was entertaining and there was something unique about it. But was it anything memorable? No. I was expecting something a lot more from this book.

Review: Crash by Lisa McMann

Crash (Visions #1)
Lisa McMann
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: January 8, 2013

If what you see is what you get, Jules is in serious trouble. The suspenseful first of four books from the New York Times bestselling author of the Wake trilogy.Jules lives with her family above their restaurant, which means she smells like pizza most of the time and drives their double-meatball-shaped food truck to school. It’s not a recipe for popularity, but she can handle that.What she can’t handle is the recurring vision that haunts her. Over and over, Jules sees a careening truck hit a building and explode...and nine body bags in the snow.The vision is everywhere—on billboards, television screens, windows—and she’s the only one who sees it. And the more she sees it, the more she sees. The vision is giving her clues, and soon Jules knows what she has to do. Because now she can see the face in one of the body bags, and it’s someone she knows. Someone she has been in love with for as long as she can remember.In this riveting start to a gripping series from New York Times bestselling author Lisa McMann, Jules has to act—and act fast—to keep her vision from becoming reality.

Back a few years ago, I was obsessed with Lisa McMann's Wake series. Looking back, I think that if I had read those books for the first time now, I would have a very different view of them. That being said, I was excited that Lisa was coming out with a companion series, but I was also nervous about it for that very reason. 

Crash is a very thrilling ride. Lisa McMann sure knows how to keep you enthralled until the very end. This is the kind of book that you will read in one sitting, both because it's so short, and because you just need to know what is going to happen. 

This book needed a lot more character development. I liked Jules and Sawyer fine, and I was definitely entertained by Jules's siblings, but they all needed more developing. If I remember correctly, this was a problem in the wake series, too. It comes with having such short books. But I'm hoping that this will be remedied in the next book.   

All in all, Crash is a good start to a series. I'm not obsessed with it by any means, but I'm still looking forward to what's in store next. And Lisa continues to be an author that I'll always read.

Review: Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill

Meant to Be
Lauren Morrill
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Release Date: November 13, 2012

Meant to be or not meant to be...that is the question.
It's one thing to fall head over heels into a puddle of hazelnut coffe, and quite another to fall for the--gasp--wrong guy. Straight-A junior Julian may be accident prone, but she's queen of following rules and being prepared. That's why she keeps a pencil sharpener in her purse and a pocket Shakespeare in her, well, pocket. And that's also why she's chosen Mark Bixford, her childhood crush. as her MTB (Meant to Be).
But this spring break, Julia's rules are about to get defenestrated (SAT word: to be thrown from a window) when she's partnered with her personal nemesis, class-clown Jason, on a school trip to London. after one wild party, Julia starts receiving romantic texts...from an unkown number! Jason promises to help discover the identity of her mysterious new suitor if she agrees to break a few rules along the way. And thus begins a wild goose chase through London, leading Juilia closer and closer to the biggest surprise of all: true love.
Because sometimes the things you least expect are the most meant to be.

I was really looking forward to reading Meant to Be. It looked like a fun and romantic read. Meant to Be turned out to be a very cute read.

Julie was a neurotic mess. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing. She was very entertaining and I could relate to her (to a certain extent). What I didn't like about her was the way she treated people. She was an overall good person, but she did act very high and mighty sometimes. This was something that she had to grow out of, but I still didn't like it.

Meant to Be was a very quick and fun read. It wasn't exactly original. We have seen this concept before, several times. However, this novel did bring something new to the table, mostly in its setting. Meant to be is set in London and I loved experiencing it throughout the novel!

Overall, Meant to be is fun and cute. It wasn't anything spectacular, but I still enjoyed it and it was a quick read.

Review: Through to You by Emily Hainsworth

Through to You
Emily Hainsworth
Publisher: Balzar + Bray
Release Date: October 2, 2012

Camden Pike has been grief-stricken since his girlfirend, Viv, died. He'd give anything to have just one more glimpse of her. but when cam visits the site of Viv's deadly car accident, he sees an apparition. Her name is Nina, and she's a girl from a prallel world. When Cam follows here there and makes an unbelievable discover, it's  as if all his wildest dreams have come true. But things are very different in this other world. Nina is hiding a secret, and the window is shrinking every day. As cam comes to terms with the truth, he's forced to make a choice that will change his life forever. 

I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up Through to You. I hadn't heard much about it. As it turns out, Through to You wasn't what I was expecting and I really enjoyed it, although I didn't love it.

I will admit, Cam was kind of a douche throughout the novel. I understand that he's grieving and going through a hard time, but still. And there were several times throughout the novel that I just wanted to shake some sense into him. He could be a little dense at times. However, I know that he was an overall good guy and I was still hoping for things to work out for him in the end.

And Viv. In the beginning, I wanted to like her. I thought that if Cam, who was an overall good guy, loved her that much, she must be a good person. But the more we learned about Viv, the more I knew there was something off about her. I know that Cam's Viv was probably different, but I just could not understand why Cam centered so much of his life around her.

I loved the concept of this book. It was really unique, not what I expected at all, and it hooked me on the novel. Although I just about had everything that was going to happen figured out, I was still trying to figure out exactly how everything was happening.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, though not as much as I would have liked. It was the world and concept of this novel that kept me hooked, but not necessarily the characters.

Review: Diva by Jillian Larkin

Diva (Flappers #3)
Jillian Larkin
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Release Date: July 10, 2012

Parties, bad boys, speakeasies--life in Manhattan has become a woozy blur for Clara Knowles. If Marcus Eastman truly loved her, how could he have fallen for another girl so quickly? Their romance mustn't have been as magical as Clara though. And if she has to be unhappy, she's going to drag everyone else down to the depths of despair right along with her.
Being a Barnard girl is the stuff of Lorraine Dyer's dreams. Finding out that Marcus is marrying a gold digger who may or may not be named Anastasia? a nightmare. The old Lorraine would have sat by and let the chips fall where they may, but she's grown up a lot these past few months. She can't bear to see Marcus lose a chance for true love. But will anyone listen to her?
Now that the charges against her have been dropped, Gloria Carmody is spending the last dizzying days of summer on Long Island, yachting on the sound and palling around with socialites at Forrest Hamilton's swanky villa. Beneath her smile, though, Gloria's keeping a secret. On that chould have deadly consequences...

The Flappers is a really fun series, and Diva was no different. Diva offered a perfect conclusion to this series. 

Ever since the first book, Gloria was been my favorite character out of the three girls. Out of the three of them, she is the most down to earth. I've always rooted for her and have just wanted her (and Jerome) to end up happy. 

I think I grew to like Clara more in this novel. She is still shallow and selfish, as is Lorraine, but she grew more in this book. Even though I never particularly liked Clara and Lorraine and found it hard to relate to, they were still really interesting characters to read about and I was always wanting to know what mischief they were up to. 

Diva is a really quick read. It's easy to read, and all of the drama will keep the reader turning the pages.

Jillian Larkin's writing isn't particularly complex, but she can really capture the feel of the time period and the lives of these girls.

Overall, I didn't enjoy this novel as much as the first two, but it was still a good end to this series.

Review: Flirting in Italian by Lauren Henderson

Flirting in Italian (Flirting in Italian #1)
Lauren Henderson
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Release Date; June 12, 2012

Four girls. One magical, and possibly dangerous Italian summer. Family mysteries, ancient castles, long hot nights of dancing under the stars . . . and, of course, plenty of gorgeous Italian boys!

Flirting in Italian is a real cute and fun read. It wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but I did and enjoy it and it was a quick read. 

Despite the fun and chick-lit looking cover, this book is about a mystery. For the most part. I knew it was a mystery from the beginning, it took a while to actually start. Besides a short intro in the beginning, we weren't really introduced to the mystery until over a hundred pages through. And, even though it's a mystery, it is very chick-lit-y. 

Violet. She could be very melodramatic at times. And naive. But, overall, I liked her. She seemed to have been sheltered her whole life and is now thrown into a foreign country by herself. She really has to grow up. 

The setting. THE top place that I want to visit in the world. Unfortunately, I didn't fall in love with it in this book. While I should feel like I was there, I did not. This part really disappointed me because this is what I was most looking forward to when wanting to read this book. 

As the cover suggests, this book does contain some romance. I was not a huge fan of Luca. He could be kind of a jerk sometimes. For the most part, he was okay. I just didn't fall in love with him like I should have. 

Despite everything, I did enjoy this book. I just had higher expectations. Had I taken it at face value, I would have enjoyed it more. 

Review: Fated by Alyson Noel

Fated
Alyson Noel
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: May 22, 2012

The first book in a magnificent new series about a girl who can navigate between the worlds of the living and the dead by #1 New York Times bestselling author Alyson Noël.
Lately strange things have been happening to Daire Santos. Animals follow her, crows mock her, and glowing people appear out of nowhere. Worried that Daire is having a nervous breakdown, her mother packs her off to stay in the dusty plains of Enchantment, New Mexico with a grandmother she’s never met.
There she crosses paths with Dace, a gorgeous guy with unearthly blue eyes who she’s encountered before...but only in her dreams. And she’ll get to know her grandmother—a woman who recognizes Daire’s bizarre episodes for what they are. A call to her true destiny as a Soul Seeker, one who can navigate between the worlds of the living and the dead. Her grandmother immediately begins teaching her to harness her powers—but it’s an art that must be mastered quickly. Because Dace’s brother is an evil shape-shifter who’s out to steal her powers. Now Daire must embrace her fate as a Soul Seeker and find out if Dace is one guy she’s meant to be with...or if he’s allied with the enemy she’s destined to destroy.

While I had my ups and downs with Alyson Noel's Evermore series, it was overall enjoyable. I was anxious to see how her new series will do. It was an enjoyable ride, while I still had some issues.


While there were a few cliche's, Fated had an overall original idea. There were times when I about lost interest, but there was enough to keep me going. One thing I did like about this book was the culture behind it. I thought that was a very unique aspect of the book. 


And Daire. She was kind of bothersome, although she did have some redeemable qualities. But for the most part she whined a little too much and was a bit too childish, which is one of my biggest pet peeves.  

Overall Fated was an... interesting ride. There were a few bugs, but there was enough intrigue to keep me going. 

Review: The Gathering Storm

The Gathering Storm 
Robin Bridges
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Release Date: January 10, 2012

St. Petersburg, Russia, 1888. As she attends a whirl of glittering balls, royal debutante Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, tries to hide a dark secret: she can raise the dead. No one knows. Not her family. Not the girls at her finishing school. Not the tsar or anyone in her aristocratic circle. Katerina considers her talent a curse, not a gift. But when she uses her special skill to protect a member of the Imperial Family, she finds herself caught in a web of intrigue.
An evil presence is growing within Europe's royal bloodlines—and those aligned with the darkness threaten to topple the tsar. Suddenly Katerina's strength as a necromancer attracts attention from unwelcome sources . . . including two young men—George Alexandrovich, the tsar's standoffish middle son, who needs Katerina's help to safeguard Russia, even if he's repelled by her secret, and the dashing Prince Danilo, heir to the throne of Montenegro, to whom Katerina feels inexplicably drawn.
The time has come for Katerina to embrace her power, but which side will she choose—and to whom will she give her heart?

I was pretty excited for The Gathering Storm. Russian historical fiction with a supernatural twist? Heck yeah! However, it wasn't everything I had hoped for. It was still entertaining and enjoyable, but I was hoping for a tad bit more. 

Once thing that I did love about this book was the Russian history. This is something that I'm interested in but don't know much about. I'm glad to see it making it's way into YA. Although, it was a bit hard to follow at times. But I'll tell you nothing about Russia is un-complicated.

Katerina. Stubborn loyal Katerina. It was hard to relate to her, but I did grow to like her. Like I said, she was stubborn, but I liked that about her. And I applauded her loyalty. 

My biggest issue with The Gathering Storm is that it was slow at times. And hard to follow. It's not that there were times when nothing happened. It's just that I got a little...dis-interested in it at times. But there were times that it picked up, too. 

Was The Gathering Storm enjoyable? Yes. Was it everything I hoped for? No. Will I read the sequel? Maybe. I guess I'll just have to see. 

Review: Take a Bow by Elizabeth Eulberg

Take a Bow
Elizabeth Eulberg
Publisher: Point
Release Date: April 1, 2012

From the fantastic author of The Lonely Hearts Club and Prom & Prejudice comes a story of all the drama and comedy of four friends who grow into themselves at a performing arts high school.Emme, Sophie, Ethan, and Carter are seniors at a performing arts school, getting ready for their Senior Showcase recital, where the pressure is on to appeal to colleges, dance academies, and professionals in show business. For Sophie, a singer, it's been great to be friends with Emme, who composes songs for her, and to date Carter, soap opera heartthrob who gets plenty of press coverage. Emme and Ethan have been in a band together through all four years of school, but wonder if they could be more than just friends and bandmates. Carter has been acting since he was a baby, and isn't sure how to admit that he'd rather paint than perform. The Senior Showcase is going to make or break each of the four, in a funny, touching, spectacular finale that only Elizabeth Eulberg could perform.

Elizabeth Euelberg's first two novels were very cute and fun--and take a Bow was no different. Although there were a few problems, I still really enjoyed it. 

In Take a Bow, there were four main characters--Emme, Ethan, Sophie, and Carter. Some I liked--and some I didn't.

I'm going to start with Sophie. She was so selfish--and not in a way that makes a character real. She was willing to take down anyone to get what she wants. Regardless, I don't think you, as the reader, are supposed to like her. She's a character you love to hate. 

And Ethan. He just needed to grow a pair. He did, eventually. And I did grow to like him. Even though he was pretty needy, he was still sweet.

Emme was very naive, to a fault.She was a real pushover. But toward the end I felt that she really grew strong. I ended up really liking her in the end.

Oh, Carter. He was by far my favorite. I felt he was the most real even though he was a child star. He really had to work to find himself. He was sweet and caring. I already said this, but he was my favorite character.

This was a short and light read; nothing too serious. I do wish there was more focus on the school aspect. I would have liked to see more of the performing arts boarding school dynamics. 

Take a Bow goes great with Eulber's other books; it's light and fun. I do wish there was more, but I did enjoy it.