These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

What makes a human being? Is it their memories, things they've done throughout their lives? Are we made up of tiny moments absorbed from other people, not really ourselves but a million faceted reflection of the world around us? Or is there something more? Are our thoughts, feelings, and desires driven by our memories or do we have souls, individual and precious to each of us? I'd never thought this through too deeply until I read the spellbinding tale of the Icarus, and it's two passengers, Lilac and Tarver.

After crash-landing on an unknown planet, Lilac and Tarver are thrown into a race to survive far more taxing than either could have ever imagined. Led across the land by mysterious beings called the Whispers, they find that the world is nothing like anything they've ever seen before. They each find something in themselves they never thought could exist, and in each other find a reason to keep on living. Both driven by the desire to signal for help, each with a different reason.

This is the best book I've read in a very long time. From the writing, to the characters, the plot and the setting, it is a rose in a briar patch of young adult novels. I'd forgotten what a good book really read like until I picked this up, and set it down not hours later, gasping for breath after finishing it.

The writing is incredible, some of the best I've ever seen. The world is painted in such bright clarity that not once was it a struggle to picture what was happening. Though not overly descriptive to the point of being tedious, I was so swept away it felt like I was watching a movie rather than reading a book. Had I known how amazing it would be, it would not have sat on my shelf for the week it did.

This book as changed the parameters for which I rate things, and now I feel like I should go back through every book I've rated in the last year and take away a star. This book has raised the bar for literature, rivaling some of the best books in history.

Lilac and Tarver are wonderful characters. Not only are they great to begin with, both outsiders in their own worlds, but they grow too. Not just though their love for each other, but also within themselves. Lilac goes from a complaining, eager to aggravate princess, to a hardworking and stubborn fighter. She grows from a child to an incredible woman throughout the book, and you don't even feel it happening. Tarver, a war hero and self-appointed guardian also grows throughout the story. You don't realize it at first, but looking back it's easy to see that finally loving someone the way he loves Lilac allows him to truly grow into his potential as a man. Their personalities are distinct, and don't falter throughout the story.

In an attempt not to spoil the heart-wrenching action of the last seventy pages, I'll try to keep my next sentences as vague as possible, while still getting my point across.

The writing in this book is so good, they tell you things without having to say them. Feelings and emotions practically pour from the pages without you reading a word. Your mind changes with the story up until a point, and then you feel like you've been snapped out of a coma, the bleak world snapping back into brilliant, colorful focus. As a reader it was a tantalizing experience, one I can say I am grateful to have been given the chance to read.

Five Stars.

Rosalie Williams

These Broken Stars on Goodreads

Intertwined by Gena Showalter

Intertwined, as suggested by the title, is about the lives of four teenagers, who all seem to be mysteriously linked. Aden, the main character, has four souls trapped inside of him, who can do numerous paranormal acts such as time travel, raising the dead, body possession and seeing the future.

Unfortunately I cannot give a plot summary because this book was highly complicated, as well as deceptively long. But basically Aden falls in love with vampire Victoria, Mary Ann falls in love with werewolf Riley, and Aden and Mary Ann feel a strange connection like they are siblings. Aden is a troubled teen being kept at the D and M Ranch because of his diagnosis of schizophrenia, and violent history. That's about as basic as I could possibly go, because there are so many elements in this it would be impossible to explain the book without giving away the ending and the two climaxes.

So let's start with Aden. Overall I liked him as a male lead. He recognized Victoria's strength as a woman and a vampire, but also felt it was his duty to protect her. He was very selfless throughout the entire book, and apart from an extremely awkward beginning, he was a good friend.

Mary Ann on the other hand, was beyond annoying. Not only is she self-centered, but she's obsessed with being a goody-goody and grades and school and her job. The amount of times she said "I want to be a clinical psychologist, so I know blah blah blah" made me want to scream. Really, I'm sorry, but she was the weakest link in the story. Sort of like a Bella character, everyone feels drawn to her and love her oh so very much, but to the reader she just seems awkward and self-absorbed.

I'll take Riley and Victoria together, since Riley is Victoria's bodyguard. They were fun characters, but still didn't seem to have as much substance as Aden did. Riley was super fantastic, and deserves way better than Mary Ann. Victoria was cool, but didn't really do anything to stand out much throughout the book. Mostly Aden just obsesses about her, and then she shows up and says some things, then leaves and Aden goes back to obsessing.

As far as the plot goes I'll say it was a little predictable, but not completely. I can say I guessed one of the climaxes, but not the other. However, the story seemed really long. It took me forever to read, when I've read much longer books in a shorter time. I'm not sure why this is, but it could have had to do with how many elements were in the plot. It just felt like it would never end! And it doesn't, by the way, most of the big mysteries are left unsolved, which makes it clear Ms. Showalter was planning on making a few sequels.

Gena mostly writes adult novels, a few of which I have reviewed on this sight. Normally I really love her stories, but I think this attempt at Young Adult was a little weak, to be honest. I think it got too complicated, and there was so much plot mixed in that there wasn't time for character development. There was a lot of internal conversations going on that weren't really necessary, and that made it really drag. I'd say I definitely like Gena's adult books more than this one.

So in conclusion I'd have to say I don't recommend this very highly. I don't think I'll be finishing the series, and to be honest I'm really glad I'm down so I can move on to something better. The world and characters all just seemed blurred and grey to me, though I wish I could say otherwise.

Two Stars.

Rosalie

Intertwined on Goodreads

Greta and the Goblin King by Chloe Jacobs

This is the kind of book you would never admit to liking. The name, Greta and the Goblin King, implies a kind of cheesy-ness that makes you embarrassed just to say the name. But despite the self-eplanatory name and poorly marketed cover art, I actually enjoyed this book a lot.

The goblin king, Isaac, had the strong willed determination that is often lacking in the heroes of YA literature these days. In a time that is fiercely promoting female heroes and strong heroines, I find myself missing the knights in shining armor. But what stood out about this book is that it had a strong heroin and a knight! Not only that but there was romance and a brief love triangle!

I would say the biggest turn-off about this book was a lot of the plot contained simply this: Isaac chases Greta, trying to convince her to trust him. She kisses him and almost believes him, the goes all defensive and runs away. Repeat several times.

That was frustrating because I really liked Isaac and I wanted to scream at Greta to get herself together! But in the end she managed to straighten everything out, and even saved some people! I think the finale was fitting for the story, and she even admitted her feelings in the end which was a nice change from the stubbornness that she maintained throughout the entire story.

While it wasn't one of those breathtaking books that changes your life, I enjoyed it. Despite some heavier material in the plot, it felt light, like I wasn't taking on some great burden that will weigh down my soul as I read. It was a feel-good read with fun characters and a vivid new world. If there is a sequel I am looking forward very much to reading it.

The creativity of Ms. Jacobs is extremely refreshing, and it was nice to not be able to predict a plot for once. While the stubbornheadedness of Greta did sometimes get on my nerves, she was a good person all around, and a real person. I think the maturity that the characters showed really elevated the storyline. It wasn't a bunch of hormone ridden teens making rash decisions and professing undying love to each other after knowing each other for a day. This was a real plot, with excitement and fantasy. Really a perfect book if you enjoy the genre as much as I do.

I would highly recommend this book if you can get over the cover and the old-world title, because it truly is a wonderful story.

Four Stars.

Rosalie

Greta and the Goblin King on Goodreads

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

After a confusing reaction to the first book, I had a lot of trouble convincing myself to read the second. I'll admit that after retrieving it from the library I allowed it to sit dormant on my shelf for a week or so. I can't hide that I was procrastinating reading it. But now that I have I am very glad that I did.

First I've come to the conclusion that the reason the first book left such an unsatisfying aftertaste in my mouth is because of the romance that I witnessed. Prince Kai was pretty great, but as soon as he became emperor he lost all his freedom, and so the romance in the book failed pretty miserably. But I am happy to say that the romance in the second is much better.

Another apprehension I had about Scarlet is I didn't like the idea of new characters being introduced into the story. But in the end I can say I like Scarlet and Wolf's story more than I liked Cinder's. Cinder had a rather boring tale throughout this book, but Wolf and Scarlet were thrilling and so much fun to read.

At one point something happened that upset me so much I put the book down and didn't pick it up again for a solid two days. I was so afraid that what happened in the first book was happening again in the second–the romance was being ruined. But in the end that moment only made the ending more exciting, and so much better when Scarlet and Wolf resolved themselves.

It's a long book, I will say that. There's a lot of plot and character development throughout it though. It's basically two stories in one, so it makes sense to be so long. The font is rather wide and big, so it doesn't actually take too long to get through. The story is so interesting that you can blow through fifty pages without even realizing it, I assure you that.

Meyer did a good job of balancing the stories. Sometimes with story and personality breaks, the author will cut at the climax of one person's story, to something less interesting going on with another character. This is a dire pitfall because then the reader is tempted to skip that chapter (as I will admit to doing more than once), and in good writing every chapter should be important, and the reader unable to skip a chapter. As I said Meyer did a good job of avoiding this, and keeping the reader engaged.

There are two more books in the series, or that's what I've been told. I can say I am much more excited going into the third than I was going into the second. Meyer is a gifted writing, crafting a world wonderful, exciting and imaginative, that you can't help but fall in love with. If the next two books are as good as this one was, I think it's safe to say this will be one of the best works of YA writing we've seen in the current decade.

Four Stars.

Rosalie

Scarlet on Goodreads

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

This was an enormous book. From beginning to end there is so much in the plot that I feel as if I've read multiple stories in one. While I very much appreciate the skill of an author that can create such natural flow and extended story lines, it also makes for a very difficult review.

So I suppose I shall start at the beginning.

Katsa. She is an incredible heroine, and I very much appreciate the struggle she has with her Grace as well as the jobs she is given. However I will admit sometimes she's too volatile for me to like. There is a lot of character development with her from beginning to end as far as her interactions with other people, however, there are some aspects in which she doesn't change at all, and those are the ones that bothered me the most.

Po. Let's start with the name, shall we? It bothers me, I'm not going to lie. Initially Cashore tries to paint this strong boy who is a worthy opponent to Katsa. He's big and powerful and has startlingly intense eyes. But this image wavers throughout the book, and I wish she'd put more effort into his character. In different parts of the book it felt like I was reading about a different person. Sometimes he's strong and manly but also a good friend to Katsa, and the next he's weak and kind of pathetic. I think if Cashore had put as much effort into Po's character as she did Katsa's, I would have appreciated him a lot more in the story.

There's a lot of introduction and then disappearance of characters. Most the the characters you meet at the beginning of the book aren't in the majority of it, and then when they're brought up again later you've forgotten who they are!

The world building in this was fantastic. Katsa travels all over the place, and you get a very good sense of the world she's living in. Most of the people she encounters are given good depth and many of them are quite interesting. However, I feel like a lot of them should have played larger roles, and developed stronger ties to Katsa. This tags along with the character introduction and then disappearance that I mentioned before.

The romance in this was interesting, to say the least, and not always in a good way. Po really gets into Katsa's mind, but she's a huge baby about it. I don't think their relationship was dealt with in the right way, however once accepted it was very fun. But there's also something serious about it that I hate to bring up but I really have to. There's a lot of casual sex, and Katsa even says she's fine with Po loving other women, which I don't think is a good base for a YA romance. To my dismay, upon reading the reviews of the next book, Fire, it seems this is a theme with Cashore. While I don't have anything against people having sex before marriage, this is marketed to young children, even middle school age, and I don't think that's the morals that they should be reading.

All that aside, I really did enjoy the book. It had an exciting plot with lots of action, and never a dull moment. While I wish Katsa and the characters hadn't been separated for so long, it wasn't hard to stay interested.

The next book, Fire, has some extremely mixed reviews. I have a few things on my plate currently, but afterwards I do think I'll make an effort to read it. The ratings are either five stars or one star pretty much, so it would be nice to get my own take on it. From what I've read it seems significantly darker than this book, which I think could be good, because a lot of aspects of this world were left unexplored.

Three Stars

Yours Truly,

Rosalie

Graceling on Goodreads

Countdown by Michelle Rowen

I am going to begin this review rather bluntly in saying that I would not recommend this book. Honestly, I'm not quite sure how this got published. I've read amazon books for free that are better than this one, and I must say I despise the poor writing and slow story lines in free ebooks. So you can imagine this must have been pretty awful for me to say such a thing.

Let's start from the beginning. The writing style? Nothing particularly interesting about it. It's not bad, though maybe a bit lacking, but not godawful. The cover? A little cheesy, but it caught my attention! Then in the summary promised a Hunger Games-like book? Sold! If only it were that easy.

Rogan, the main boy of the story I will admit to liking very much. I'm not sure why, but something about him was really fun. Kira on the other hand? I did not like her, not at all. She was trying way to hard to be like Katniss, and honestly I think the author was just trying to hook people on this story because of their love for the Hunger Games.

I wanted to like this, I really did. In fact, for the first one hundred pages I really did like it! I'd read a few poor reviews about it, and up until that point I was wondering what could have spurred such negative thoughts! Then the games ended, and there was still one hundred pages left in the story! The story line started getting really weird, and at that point I couldn't take it anymore. There were conspiracies, and hidden houses and all sorts of things that I just could take.

As for the romance, it progressed way too quickly. For people supposed to hate each other, they sure fell in love quickly! Rogan almost seemed to go into the games with his mind set on falling in love with her! From the first seen he seems ridiculously devoted to her! Honestly while I adore a love story as much as the next girl, it has to feel genuine, and this was anything but.

Another thing that really bothered me was the way it was obvious the author was setting everything up. Unlike a good story, things didn't flow. I didn't become lost in the story. Normally you can emerge yourself and feel like you're there with the characters. They make their own decisions, and the story flows in a way that seems real. This had none of those qualities. Especially when it got to the part where Kira was dressed like slut, it was just too much. Unfortunately I felt like the author was literally telling me the story, and begging me to believe that these people and actions are real.

The world building in this story is truly terrible. I cannot even picture the world because there is so little to go off of! It feels like this story is occurring in a white box floating in the nothingness of space, and for a dystopian novel, that is a very bad thing.

I'm not sure if there is a sequel, and if there is I am not interested in reading it. If you're looking for a good book to read, I strongly encourage you to steer clear of this one.

One Star

Yours Truly,

Rosalie

Countdown on Goodreads

For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

From the moment I picked up this book something about it called to me. And yet somehow, I have undoubtably mixed feelings regarding this book. As much as I wish I could dislike it so I could simply toss aside the series, I cannot stop my mind from wandering to this strange and so beautiful future. Even as I considered tossing the book aside and not finishing it, I stayed up reading late into the night, unable to put it down.

For the most part I think I was waiting for something to happen. The entire book feels as if you're teetering on the edge of action, of romance, of anything! That if you just read onto the next chapter the characters will be in love again the anger and strife will end. To my dismay, the suffering of the main character doesn't end until the last ten pages of the book!

The finale to this story is undeniably wonderful, though the proceeding book also plays to that a lot. For the first ninety five percent of the book the main character is sad, treated poorly, and almost everyone is miserable. At one point it got to be so depressing and seemingly hopeless I almost started crying out of frustration (of the book, not the character's struggles)! So why was I unable to put it down? I honestly can't say. Something about the character's personalities appealed to me immensely, and I must say I am very glad that I finished the book, because the ending is wonderful.

Elliot is a lovely heroine, but at times I did become fed up with her. What I really did respect though was her loyalty to those who she loves, even when they were wretched to her. One of my biggest angers with the book's characters was inability for any of them to see how hard she worked for them all.

Kai was amazing, but he also pissed me off to no end. He is so terrible to her. I know it must have been hard because he loved her so much, and I can imagine that feeling like she'd abandoned him must have hurt a lot. Unfortunately, this does not justify his behavior. If he hadn't won my heart with the ending of the book, I believe this review would be going a lot differently.

All in all I feel like the sequel to this will be much better than the first, and I look forward to reading it. This whole book felt like a set up for the next won, and I am curious to see where the storyline goes. It will be nice to watch Elliot and Kai's romance bloom and expand a little more. In this we never see them together. Mostly all you have to go on is the strange letters written by children interjected between every few chapters, and Elliot's miserable internal musings about how much she loves him. Despite that all though, you can tell that they are meant to be together. There is a chemistry between Elliot and Kai that cannot be denied, and I hope that the next book will extrapolate on their relationship some more.

The writing is a bit strange. Although it is good and has some finesse, there's something lacking in it, that I will admit turned me off a bit. It felt a bit like the writer was rather inexperienced, and as I have high hopes for the story and the romance in the next book, as do I hope that Diana's writing will have improved.

Overall I will say that I liked it, but feel as if it set up more for the next book, so I hope it lives up to high expectations that are now being set forth.

Three Stars

Yours Truly,

Rosalie

For Darkness Shows the Stars on Goodreads

Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

Masque of the Red Death is a post-apocolyptic novel about a young girl named Araby. After losing her brother to the contagion she becomes reliant on parties and drugs to escape into the oblivion. Determined to deny herself any experiences her brother did not get to have, she remains relatively checked out from the world. Then her best friend disappears, and she is pulled deep into the world of the rebellion, where she will learn that sometimes it's worth dying to stop death.

A truly haunting tale, Bethany Griffin doesn't shelter us from the world of the plague. Not only that, but the plague isn't gone. Everyday people live in crippling fear of contracting the deadly illness, some even never setting foot outside. The world depicted is so depressingly accurate, I feel for the first time that I've been given a look at what life would really be like if humanity was struck by a plague.

The cover art is absolutely incredible. A better cover could not have been chosen for such a numbing book, and you don't understand until the end how truly perfect the red represents everything that happens in the book.

Araby is a wonderful character, and you actually see growth throughout the novel! From a withdrawn and suicidal girl, to someone who cares so passionately she'd sacrifice her own life. It isn't a split second change either. Ms. Griffin takes the time to truly establish the characters before having them change too much. By the end you feel a real attachment to them.

For a young adult novel this is wonderfully written and fantastically unsheltered. I will say that the writing style took some getting used to, but once you adapt it really paints the world in an exciting way. Sometimes the scenes feel a little bit disjointed, and you wonder about things because Griffin doesn't always describe in minute detail every aspect of what's going on. At first it threw me off, but a few chapters in I realized it really provided the room for your own interpretation of what the world looks like.

Honestly, I wouldn't change a thing. Normally I really don't like plague books because the idea of a massive disease decimating humanity is truly frightening, especially if you know the truly awesome abilities of bacteria and viruses. Even today disease like Ebola are reminiscent of the Red Plague described in this very book. But Griffin has won me over with a fast paced, exciting book with fun characters that actually develop over the course of the book.

Four Stars.

Rosalie

Masque of the Red Death on Goodreads

The Nymph King by Gena Showalter

The Nymph King is the third book in the Atlantis series by Gena Showalter. This story encompasses the tale of Valerian, the king of the Nymphs, and the third species to be addressed in the series.

Unable to resist the call of beautiful surface women, Valerian and five of his warriors use the forbidden portal to leave Atlantis and travel to the surface. Once there they round up every beautiful woman in sight—including Shaye Holling—and return to Atlantis with them. Shaye, embittered by her mother's foul treatment and many husbands throughout her young life, is resistant to love, despite the fact that she is Valerian's soul mate, as each Nymph has only one. Shaye must allow herself to love, or risk being taken from Valerian forever.

First I would like to say that the world of Atlantis is shockingly original and intriguing. The races all living together in a drowned city with only a few portals to the surface is so peculiar that it inspires the mind. All the characters are wonderfully vibrant and have their own distinct personalities. With romance series the author always runs the risk of creating characters too similar to each other. While the physical appearance of most of the males is the same (muscular and devastatingly handsome), they have very different personalities. Similarly with the women, Ms. Showalter manages to have each one embody a different kind of beauty. I very much respect that in an established romance author.

On to the characters…

I'm not going to lie, Shaye did get annoying. Of all of Gena's characters, Shaye is by far the most stubborn of all of them so far. While at first I can respect her resistance, at some point it just gets ridiculous. The first sixty pages focus solely on the time it takes to get Shaye into Atlantis, and I daresay it was highly amusing. Yet after that the majority of the book is heated conversations between Shaye and Valerian, all about Shaye rejecting him. By the end I rekindled my respect for her, but in the middle it was buried deeper than Atlantis itself.

Valerian was wonderful. Perhaps a tad bit more aggressive than the other men in Gena's stories, he is still the perfect guy. He doesn't give up on Shaye, even when she's being so annoying that even I would have slapped her. He protects her even to the point of almost dying, and gives her times to realize she loves him. He looks to please her, and does several incredibly sweet things throughout the book. I love his protectiveness, and his repentance over his previously tempestuous ways.

The sub plot of this stories I will admit I did not like very much. I've noticed in Gena's writing that she adds these when she realizes that, a) the story will be too short without them, b) there aren't enough sex scenes between the main couple or c) the plot is lagging. While the main plot of this story was fun, not much actually happened. Hence the sub plot, which honestly I ended up skipping most of those chapters because they were rather boring.

All in all I really enjoyed this book, and I do like the series. No plot is perfect, but as far as originality and entertainment go, this is a fantastic series. There is one more book left for me to read and I am excited to get around to it.

Four Stars

Yours Truly,

Rosalie

The Nymph King on Goodreads

Embrace by Jessica Shirvington

As far as angel books go, this is one of the best.

Lately there has been a big influx of angel series into the YA market. Probably starting with Fallen, on to The Fallen and Leviathan to the more recent Unearthly. All have unique takes on the angels sent to earth, and their purposes there. Embrace really hooked me with the characters though. 

What I appreciated most I think was the blurring of good and evil. There weren't angels who only did good things, and angels who only did bad things. There were insane exiled angels who did bad things, but it wasn't like they physically couldn't do good. 

The characters were vibrant and realistic. Pheonix was, in a word, hot. It's a thin line to walk with young adult books as far as sexual content goes. You don't want it to turn into one of those strange, over-descriptive, sex novels. But you also don't want to be too prude about it. I think Pheonix did a great job of being realistically boyish, this was particularly well demonstrated in the way he took advantage of her, felt bad about it, but didn't necessarily stop. He did feel remorse later, and I think he has real feelings for her, but that didn't stop him from doing exactly what most guys would when they have that kind of power. Yet he still had emotional depth, and I think that's what really sold him. 

Lincoln on the other hand, pissed me off. While I did actually like him, I hated how hot and cold he was. He spends almost the entire book trying to win Violet back from Pheonix. He even tells her they belong together when he's dying. Yet when she is finally free of Pheonix's hold, he disappears! I understand that he feels hella guilty that he was passed out unconscious while she was bleeding to death on the floor, but still! She needed him, and the one time he could actually be there for her, he wasn't!

Obviously I liked Violet, and I loved her best friend! Just when the story was starting to feel kind of heavy, she would jump in and add some comic relief that left me smiling. There was a startling amount of action and storyline in the book, which is a big relief from the last novel I read-Legend of Ociena Dragon-which felt like I was reading the beginning of a story stretched out through an entire book! This was filled with action and I really really enjoyed it. 

Just to make my feelings clear, I think I am officially team Lincoln. Don't let me down Vi!

On the other hand, I adored the ending of this book. It left my soul in tact, and I don't feel like I need to go eat a gallon of ice cream while watching the Breakfast Club until my whirlwind emotions calm down. I have the second book already downloaded from my library's online library, but do I dare open it? This novel left off on such a pleasant note, I'm deadly afraid of my heart being ripped out in the second!

Even if you haven't loved the angel craze, I do highly recommend this book.

Yours Truly,

Rosalie

Embrace on Goodreads

One Foot in the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

I apologize for reviewing the second book in the series before first posting the premiere novel, but in this case I read the book so long ago I feel I cannot post an accurate or fair review, particularly after reading the second book in the series.

Since I haven't told you about the first book, let's start there. First I'll say, it's fantastic. So far this series has been an absolute stunner to me. In the first book we meet Cat, a half human half vampire who's mother hates nothing more than vampires themselves since Cat's father raped her before drinking her blood. Cat is an amateur vampire hunter, who's greatest advantage is surprise, since none of them expect a human with the strength of a vampire. Enter Bones, an extremely powerful master vampire bounty hunter who kidnaps Cat and forces her into an alliance with himself. Basically they fall in love, and their romance is truly fantastic. But of course life goes downhill and fast forward to the end; the only way for Cat to save her mother and Graves is to leave Bones and go to work for a branch of Homeland Security specializing in the undead.

Now on to the second book. It's four years since Cat left Bones, and she hasn't been with anyone since. She has friends, but of course isn't happy with her life. Luckily for her Graves tracks her down–because someone put a bounty on her head. The rest of the book concerns them trying to find out who is trying to have her killed, as well as Bones' sire trying to take her as her own.

I know I really summarized the second book up, but I really don't want to spoil the story. Sound boring? Absolutely not. It is nonstop action and romance. Cat is truly a badass, and I love that she can really fight. But then there's Bones, the absolutely perfect boyfriend, Of course he's mad she left him, but he is still in love with her. Instead of holding a grudge he focuses more on keeping her safe, and getting her to fall in love with him again.

There's definitely some growth from the first book, and I really enjoyed that. There is more development on the vampires themselves, which keeps it interesting. In the first book we don't really see the extent of the vampires, and in the second Cat deals with some much more powerful vampires. I also enjoyed the expansion on Bones' past and his own powers. We definitely find some more things out about his powers, as well as meet some characters from his past.

Throughout the whole book there was never a lull. I read it all in one seating if that tells you anything. The plot flows so naturally that before you realize it, you're at the end of the book!

I do have one thing (only one!) that I did not like about this book. Normally the sex scenes are pretty great in this book, and there's no question that they get even more intense in this one. But here's the deal. I won't state explicitly what happens, but let's just say Bones is showing Cat the skills he acquired as a young gigilo, and one of them is rather distasteful. For what it was Ms. Frost did a good job of making it sound less perverse than most people view this act, but it still made me feel rather uncomfortable. That scene however, was quite long, and the before and after parts were interesting and exciting.

So in light of this I will strongly encourage you to look into this series. However this is a very adult series, so if you're younger please consider your maturity level as well as if you would want your parents to know that you're reading it before you dive in.

Four Stars

Yours Truly,

Rosalie

One Foot in the Grave on Goodreads

A Beautiful Dark by Jocelyn Davies

Skye is turning seventeen when two mysterious and strikingly handsome boys start fighting in the middle of her party. She's never seen them before, but can't help from being fascinated. They begin to appear more and more in her life, only to find out they are angels from both sides of the heavenly war monitoring her. Why? You'll just have to read it and find out.

This was a lovely book that I read on a road trip. I'll admit it was very addicting, but not for the page turning action that books often utilize. Throughout the entire story you feel like something big is about to happen, and if you can just read the next chapter you'll crack the code … and then the next chapter … and then the next. Do you catch my drift? The whole time you're on the brink of the plot breaking into excitement and it just never does. That's what really limited my enjoyment of the whole thing. While the writing is beautiful and truly describes the world well, not enough happens for how long it is. Even when you finally reach the climax it is very short, and not as shocking as it should have been.

I loved Asher, and Devin was cute, though I don't think we really saw enough of either of them in the entire book to really become emotionally attached. I hope that when I read the second I get to delve a little deeper into the series, because right now I'm very distant. I liked Skye a lot. Maybe because something about her name is just badass, or maybe because she didn't completely piss me off–I don't know. Either way, I can't wait to read more about her. She pulls off the awesome card way better than all those wanna-be badass heroines you see these days. 

It was beautifully written, truly professional writing I must say, and the cover art is dazzling. The world was painted in intricate detail, and I can't wait to find out more about it. 

I hope that she expands more on the characters, and answers some of the questions; because God knows she built up a lot of them, and answered very few!

Four Stars

Rosalie

A Beautiful Dark on Goodreads

Branded by Abi Ketner and Missy Kalicicki

Branded (A Sinners Series #1) is about a young girl named Lexi who is arrested for a crime she did not commit. In this not too distant future all those who sin are branded around the neck with the color of their crime, and sentenced to a lifetime of servitude in the Hole. As a beautiful girl branded with the crime of Lust, Lexi is an immediate target in the Hole. If not for the guard assigned to her—Cole—she never would have survived. A whirlwind of action and romance, Branded concludes with a heart wrenching finale.

I would like to begin by saying I received this book as a Read and Review from Goodreads. What I did not know at the time was that this isn't published in print. Branded is a self-published novel and can be purchased for a dollar or two on any e-reader. Often times self published books aren't very good, and there's a reason they have to be published by the author. But I will say I'm surprised this novel hasn't been picked up by a printer yet, because it is really fantastic.

Branded immediately became one of my favorite books. First of all, Lexi, the main character, is wonderful. Not only is she smart and beautiful, but she has a real head on her shoulders. As a heroine she doesn't make stupid choices (with the exception of once) and remains fairly balanced throughout the novel. There is an honest use of compassion in this story. The author doesn't just talk about what a good person Lexi is, she demonstrates it through her actions and words.

Cole is wonderful. Could you ask for a better male hero? In my mind, doubtful. This isn't one of those abusive relationships often featured in YA novels these days. Cole has Lexi's best interests in mind, and from the beginning works hard to keep her alive. Right off the bat as a guard he is kinder to her than the others, which shows the empathy his character really has. As his feelings for Lexi grow throughout the book we really see the more sensitive side of Cole come out, and it's really nice having a genuinely kind person in the story.

So now that I've gushed about the wonderful main characters, I have to mention a few tiny details I didn't appreciate as much.

First, the letter that Lexi writes to Cole before he leaves, describing all the terrible things that her stepfather did to her was cheesy. It was a wonderful tale and actually explained a lot of strange things that had been going on with Lexi's character throughout the book. But honestly, it was too much of a story. She goes into graphic detail in the letter, which is great for the story because we finally find out what drove her to attempting suicide, but in reality I feel like the letter would have been much simpler.

Second, Lexi falls into a stupor when Cole leaves, which was too Twilight-esque for me to really appreciate. I understand missing someone, that much, but it doesn't turn you into a robot. From the author's perspective, I understand it's hard to keep a plot interesting when one of the main characters is away, but there are methods other than having your other lead go into a coma.

Lastly, the ending. I'll admit I enjoyed it, but I'm bias because I fell so hard for the story in the beginning. Honestly the ending was too coincidental. Spoiler alert! Her stepfather is also the Commander? I mean, come on. Sure it gives Lexi some closer and there's poetic justice to it all, but what are the chances? It simply falls too far outside the realm of reality for me to believe.

The ending was adorable, though I'm not sure how much room is left in the storyline for a sequel. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely want another book with those characters, but I feel like a lot of the fun of the story came from Cole being Lexi's guard in the Hole. I'm afraid that if the authors do plan on publishing a sequel (which I assume they do since they named this as the first in a series) they will fall into the Hunger Games trap and send Cole and Lexi back into some kind of enclosed setting.

Regardless of my concerns if and when the sequel is published I will definitely be getting my hands on a copy.

Four Stars and my heart.

Yours Truly,

Rosalie

Branded on Goodreads

Heart of the Dragon by Gena Showalter

I was finding the lack of interesting plot lines in adult novels growing increasingly frustrating. Yes, okay, magnetic attraction, instant chemistry, blah blah blah... isn't that what adults harp on Young Adult book for? Hypocrites... but the nature of hypocritical adults aside, this was great. The story line was fun and for once created a whole world that I wanted to jump into. I understand there is a whole series in this world, and I am now in possession of the second book, and can't wait to jump in!

I would say my only quandary with this book is the main character. Honestly, I'm not a fan of red-heads, and by red-heads I mean gingers. The author clearly describes her as one, and that just flat out bothers me. I know, I'm a terrible person, but physical attraction is a real thing people. The male protagonist sees her as this angelic being who is so beautiful, and yet no one else does. Is it true love? Perhaps. Maybe. But here's the thing, they have that magnetic attraction I mentioned earlier, and being a woman of the real world, I know that instant attractions almost always have to do with physical appearance. Okay, so she has these magnificent eyes, but eyes aren't the entire face and body. Maybe I'm being mean, and perhaps a but gingist (racist against gingers), but that bothered me. Also, her obsession with unhealthy foods. She complains about being fat, but then has all this junk food lying around! Come on girl, have some restraint!

But other than having me reservations about the female lead, I think it was a really dun story line, and was up far too late into the night reading it, and finished it this morning. Practically a one-day book, and with the attention span I've been having lately it really has to be good to hold me for that long. 

So you may ask, "If it's so great, why isn't it on your favorites shelf?" Well dear reader, I'll tell you why: The story took too long to get going. It was fun, but the main plot took too long to fall into place. That, and while I thought it was really fun, quite a few scenes bored me. If not for the super hot main character Darius, I probably never would have finished the book. The whole searching for her brother thing (no that's not a spoiler it tells you that in the first chapter) bored the hell out of me. And I skipped all the chapters from her brother's point of view. I'll never understand these romance writers' need to have a sub-romance going on, but I'll tell you, they're never as interesting as the main one, and often don't lend anything to the plot. I probably skipped a total of thirty or forty chapters of the story and it didn't take away anything. Does that tell you anything?

So all in all a good book, and I hope the rest of the series is just as good, if not a little better!

Four Stars

Rosalie

Heart of the Dragon on Goodreads

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder was a hard sell for me, and even finished I can't decide whether or not it's a winner. Fairytale retellings are like candy to me, so much fun and yet so romantic and lovely following those original story lines. Classic princess tales like Beauty and the Beast, the Little Mermaid, will leave be crying every time. So I was very excited about a Cinderella retelling. But I'll say this book left me with very mixed feelings. I don't usually lay things out in lists like this, but I feel it's the only way to organize my very muddled thoughts in this case. So here goes! Things I did not like: 1. The cyborg issue-Obviously she's still mostly human. We have people nowadays with prosthetic limbs, and they aren't treated like minorities… 2. The ending—She shows up in a gross dress with gross gloves. I get that it's supposed to show how much of an underdog she is and how what else could she do and all. But come on. Cinderella is supposed to show up and surprise everyone with her beauty, not like she crawled out of the gutter. 3. Her reasons for not attending the ball—Even now I'm not quite sure what they are. I guess she wanted to escape that night, but Prince Kai asked her to go! Why not leave the next night? 4. The whole immunity scam by the doctor—Had the doctor not lied to her the whole time and just straight up told her she was the missing princess, a lot of things could have been avoided. 5. Prince Kai—Okay he was sweet, but really he kind of annoyed me. I think his character lacked personality. 6. Decision making—Decision making in this book was down the drain. Half the choices Cinder made ahd me slapping my forehead in disbelief. Come on hun, have some common sense please! For example, not telling Prince Kai you're the lost princess…really dumb my friend. Things I did like: 1. The lunar thing—Okay, that was brilliant. A branched off race of human evolution living on the moon? Bravo. Original, and very possible. I wish she had gone into their society deeper. 2. Lost princess—Even though I called it from the beginning, I still really liked it! 3. Mechanic aspect—I liked that about Cinder's character. I think it added an edge to the story that made it more fun than if she'd been a baker or something. 4. Science—As a Medical buff I enjoyed the little bit of science we got exposed to. So as you can see the did not like list is longer than the liked list. But that's human nature, isn't it? We can always complain better than we can compliment. Either way, I enjoyed the book, but I was a little off put throughout the entire story. I am planning on reading the next book, and I am looking forward to it, although I do have my reservations. I think the conclusion to this story could either be fantastic or a total train wreck. Three Stars Rosalie Cinder on Goodreads

The Mephisto Covenant: The Redemption of Ajax by Trinity Faegen

This was a fantastic book. I am happy so say that after a few weeks I have finally found a new book I can add to my favorites bookshelf.

A lot of reviews that I have read demote this book for characters that are too transparent and blatantly one-sided. But something that one must consider while reading this book, is the context. The Anabo are daughters of Aurora and descendants of Eve. They are purely good, and don't feel the more powerful of the evil emotions, ei. jealousy, hatred and rage. But what we do see in this book is the tremendous change that Sasha undergoes as she transforms into Mephisto. She slowly starts to feel those emotions, feel the temptation to resort to violence, and even succumbs to rage. So many reviewers' thoughts that she was too "goody goody" are the consequence of them not truly absorbing the plot. Had she not been so good, the story would have been flawed.

As for Melanie, her aunt, the same can be said for her. (I don't really think this is much of spoiler, but I'm going to mark it anyways just in case you don't want to risk it. I don't reveal anything huge about the plot though, only about Melanie's character). While she may be extremely evil, that is because she sold her soul to Eryx, therefore no longer feels the good emotions, the way Sasha does not feel the bad. Now, of course she was very evil before selling her soul, but I think that was a logical touch. Had Ms. Faegon tried to chalk up all evil to the lost people who had sold their souls to Eryx, I would have called BS. There is evil all through this world, and while a lot of people like to ignore it, the truth is it's out there, and a lot of it. Books often are filled with characters so intent on doing good and helping others. But in reality, few people are like that.

As for Jax, well, damn. Hot and I'll admit I'm a sucker for guys with a jealous streak. I only wish he'd been just a little bit more badass, if you know what I mean. Of course he was undergoing the transformation of becoming Anabo, so he was becoming more good, but still. I also really appreciated that Ms. Faegan didn't try to sell that he was a one thousand year old virgin. I mean come on, that would have been ridiculous. In the end I think it was a lot of the little things that made me really like it. The smaller touches that so often put me off of other books, drew me into this one.

The ending. The ending was great. Sometimes I want that heartbreaking finale that will leave me sobbing into my pillow for an hour, but in a book filled with so much religious thematics, I couldn't help but love the ending. Meeting God and sacrificing himself even though he knew she was already dead, I went all mushy over it.

Alright, here're the two things that I did not like about this book. One, I was confused. Did Eryx follow through on the promises he made in order to get souls? He followed through on some in the beginning, but later on it was like no one was getting what was promised. So that bothered me. The other thing was how Jax kept saying he loved her, but it's like it didn't really count until the end. Did he just want her to stay with him the whole book and only when she was dying realized that he loved her? Or what, because that was uber confusing to me.

Despite quite a few bad reviews on here, I would definitely recommend giving this book a chance. It may not be for everyone, but if you like it, you'll love it.

Four Stars

Rosalie

The Mephisto Covenant: The Redemption of Ajax on Goodreads