Taken at Dusk by C.C. Hunter

With Derek gone Kylie can finally investigate her feelings for Lucas, but that doesn't mean they can be together. With his pack, and his grandmother, both against her, their relationship will be far from easy. On top of that, animals are saving her from death, and someone is trying to kill her.

The problem I had with this book is that it's really full of non-action. I think as the third book in this series it really stalled as far as plot goes, because really nothing happens. All the development happens in the last few chapters. Kylie has really long conversations with everyone she talks to, and nothing ever comes out of them. They talk in circles about the same problems over and over again, and it gets hard to stay interested. Even the big climax is pretty bad, because all the excitement happens when Kylie isn't there, and she just rolls in later. Then the confrontation leaves her completely unscathed, and someone else dead.

I had a lot of hope for this series, and absolutely loved the first book. But at this point I'm losing interest. The little progress Kylie makes as far as finding out who she is leaves you wishing the author would just tell you already. The love triangle is annoying because Kylie ends up not being with either Lucas or Derek for most of the book, and then when she finally is with someone, she expects him to be perfect and judges him for every little thing he does wrong. Newsflash, Kylie, you were ridiculously judgmental when you first showed up, so what if he's not perfect all the time?

All in all this installment left me frustrated, and not exactly dying to read the next book in the series. I'm afraid to wait though, because I feel like I've lost all my enthusiasm, and will end up never finishing the series. Either way, I really didn't like this book in the series, which bums me out because I loved the series at the beginning. The plot is too slow, and Kylie whines too much.

Two Stars

Rosalie Williams

Taken at Dusk on Goodreads

Indebted by Amy Bartol

The third book in The Premonition series, Evie is struggling to find her place in the violent world of angels and demons. Pursued on all sides for different reasons, Evie must discover who she can trust–before it's too late.

The writing in this book is eons beyond the previous two books. The first two, while the plot, dialogue and characters were strong, the writing made me feel like I was reading a self-published Amazon book that I should have gotten for free or $0.99. But this was a 180 degree turn around as far as the quality of writing, and even the editing seems to have been stepped up for this novel, as there were far fewer errors. This leads me to believe that the second book was a bit rushed, and she spent more time on this one.

I loved the plot in this. I came to actually really likes Brennus, and I feel bad for him because he really does love Evie, but she can never love him. He is fiercely protective of her–a trait that I totally love–but also treats her as an equal. He fills her in on plans and while he wants to keep her safe, he allows her to participate. He's also startlingly compassionate, and the funeral scene was particularly moving for me. I love how Amy wrote their accents into their words, and I very much look forward to seeing what roll Brennus and the Gancanagh will be playing in the next book.

Reed really isn't in this book too much, but I liked all the scenes he was in. I do feel like his character may be slipping a little, because I don't feel the same chemistry between him and Evie that I did in the first book. To be honest, I was leaning a little more towards Evie and Brennus by the end of this.

Here's the thing though. People are always coming after Evie, and I love the plot, because it's exciting and fresh. But nothing really bad ever seems to happen to her. It's always red-shirts that are dying, and I feel like that makes it unrealistic. She's always crying about how awful her life is, and yet compared to most people (especially other people in the group) nothing terrible has happened, and yet they all treat her like she's survived worse things than them. Shall we recap? She hasn't been physically tortured (Russell, Brownie, Reed, Zephyr and probably Buns, though it doesn't mention it). She hasn't been raped (every girl in the Gancanagh castle). She hasn't had the love of her life turn on her (Reed, Brennus and Russell). So I just don't understand why Amy is making it out that her life is so bad. Sure she's always running, but she seems to have escaped the worst of it.

I'm very interested to see where the plot leads. I'm not completely sure if the fourth book is the last, but I think it is. The story ended with a lot of potential, and I hope that the ending lives up to the excitement of the rest of the series. I can honestly say I can't predict the ending, which is very new to me. I just hope that it's a good one, and doesn't ruin the series for me.

Four Stars

Rosalie Williams

Indebted on Goodreads

Born at Midnight and Awake at Dawn by C.C. Hunter

 

Born at Midnight is the first in a series of five books. Narrated in third person by the main character Kylie Galen, the story takes place in a Texas summer camp called Shadow Falls. We first meet Kylie as her father leaves her with her icy mother, and are told that she has a mysterious stalker who no one else can see. After being arrested at an underage party, her mother ships her off to a summer camp with all sorts of strange people, who do very strange things. Derek, a boy who resembles her ex-boyfriend (but even more attractive) takes an instant liking to her. We also meet Lucas, a boy from Kylie's past who she isn't sure remembers her or not, but still has a pull on her.

A quick disclaimer, I'm doing the first two books as a single review because I read the second before I wrote about the first, and unfortunately it did change my feelings, and I can't give the first quite the glowing review it deserves.

Therefore, the first book was very good. It held my interest and I instantly liked Kylie. Unlike many heroines these days, I found her reactions to the male protagonists to be better than most. She isn't overly clumsy (for some reason YA writers think this is an endearing trait to teenage girls, let me tell you, it's not) and she's beautiful, but doesn't flaunt it (that bothered me especially in the Vampire Diaries books). But the best thing was she was nice, without being a pansy. She cares about her friends and makes good decisions by them, but doesn't act like a wimp, or pretend to be nice to everyone no matter what.

So what, might you ask, changed my mind about liking Kylie so much? Well, I'll tell you, the second book did. The storyline is good and interesting, and so in that aspect I really enjoyed the second book. I listened to it on tape and managed to finish it in two days (that's about ten hours of listening). But like so many unfortunate heroines of YA these days, Kylie couldn't make up her mind about the boy she likes until it was too late, and he couldn't be with her anymore. It's unfortunate because in the beginning I liked that she didn't lose her head over the two boys, but in the second book she falls into the trap of every other YA love triangle out there.

SPOILER ALERT!

I can't write about the part where my feelings are the strongest without getting into details, so if you don't want to know, skip this paragraph! So here we go. Lucas is gone for most of the second book, which honestly didn't bother me that much, because I liked Kylie's relationship with Derek. But, like I said before, she couldn't stop thinking about Lucas, and eventually that came between her and Derek. When she finally chooses him, he is leaving the camp and says he can't be with her until she has her feelings for Lucas sorted out! Don't get me wrong, I like both Derek and Lucas, but Derek was there for her the entire time, and so I really wanted them to finally be together! To no avail I'm afraid.

END OF SPOILERS!

The end was very good. The finale of the second tied into the finale of the first, and I can see a sort of string stretching between them, and the overall storyline of the series is beginning to be flushed out. If you're wondering, no, Kylie does not find out what she is in the second book, but we do get some more clues. I've been grappling with whether or not to google what she is, because to be honest, the suspense is killing me and the third book is currently checked out from my library. But here's what's held my hand thus far: the mystery is really keeping me interested in the story. If I find out I'm afraid I'll just get frustrated because I know, and Kylie doesn't, and that's such a big part of the story I know I'd get angry.

So there you go. I liked everything in the first book. but Kylie really lost brownie points with me in the second. Hopefully she can redeem herself in the next book, because I'm not sure I can handle more of these cliche, overprinted YA love triangle mishaps.

Born at Midnight: Four Stars
Awake at Dawn: Three Stars

Rosalie Williams

Born at Midnight on Goodreads
Awake at Dawn on Goodreads

Cress by Marissa Meyer

Cress is the third book in the Lunar Chronicles series. Told from the point of view of almost every character in the story, the complicated storyline begins to solidify. Cress fits seamlessly into the fold of the story, just as Wolf and Scarlet did. Any reservations about another character being added should be cast aside, because the almost 500 page book doesn't leave anything out. Cinder even gets a little romance *wink wink*.

Anyone who's read my reviews about the first two books will know how much I adore this series. Even with those high expectations, Cress absolutely did not disappoint. In fact, this is probably the best book in the series so far. There is a lot of action, and each character goes through a different part of the journey, so it never seems tedious. The twists are nonstop, but it isn't ridiculous. Loose ends that are all but forgotten from previous books jump into place, and resolve themselves perfectly. The planning that must have gone into this series is incredible, because not only does it have a creative and original storyline, but it ties in the traditional fairytale stories as well.

The romance is subtle, but that's something to be appreciated in itself. Since most of the original fairytales consist of the protagonists falling hopelessly in love with each other at first sight, it's important to reserve the reality factor in retellings. Thus while the romance may seem slow, it's a subtle undercurrent throughout the entire book, and is just enough to keep you satisfied. While the characters all mirror their ancient origins, Meyer has managed to thoughtfully bring a new dimension to their actions and words that brings them to life more realistically than the original stories.

Since this is the third book in the series I'm trying to be very careful about not revealing andy spoilers, because a lot changes in this book from the second. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who has the time to dedicate to really sitting down and reading this series. The only thing that I find a little disappointing is that because of the complexity of the storyline, I imagine it will take more than a year for the next book to come out. A quick search has revealed a late 2015 release date on November 10th. The title is Winter, without an illustration yet. It will be interesting to find out if there will be another princess added to the story, or if the main cast will remain the same. Based on the title, I believe we will be seeing more of Queen Levana's stepdaughter, the frail princess who we were briefly introduced to in Cress.

Four Stars

Rosalie Williams

Cress on Goodreads

Promise by Kristie Cook

As a foreward, I would like to preface this review with a quick mention of my thoughts. Despite the review, I was drawn to this book from the beginning. I was hooked immediately, regardless of all the flaws, and couldn't stop reading. The only reason it's getting such a low review is because of the ending. It was a five star book and probably my next favorite save the ending, which destroyed all my positive emotions for the plot, and the characters, and especially the author.

If you've read Twilight, you know exactly what the plot is, minus the love triangle, and replace the vamps with angels and demons. Despite that, I liked the story a lot more than Twilight. Why? I honestly can't tell you. So let's break it down.
1. The writing wasn't great, definitely a self-publisher.
2. The plot moved very quickly, and lacked substantial development.
3. The romance was superficial, and Alexis and Tristan seemed very awkward together despite their constant confessions of endless love.
4. This was such a big deal I have to say it twice, this literally was Twilight.

They fall in love (though there isn't much development, it just happens), and get married. The girl is special even before she becomes a vampire–oh! Excuse me, an Amadis, my mistake–and they know she will have awesome power. Tristan is afraid to hurt Bella–Alexis! Sorry! I'm not sure what's wrong with me today–and so refuses to have sex with her until they're married. Alexis gets sick but no one considers she might be pregnant even after all the unprotected sex! It's ridiculous, honestly.

This read very much like a bad young adult novel save for the poorly written sex scenes.

Tristan was definitely my favorite character, though that's not saying much. The only other character with good development was Alexis, and she was immature and annoying. She most definitely didn't seem like she was nineteen, and most definitely not ready to be married and having children! None of the other characters became substantial or even played a big role. Her mother and grandmother were carbon copies of each other, and were completely interchangeable throughout the story.

While I won't ruin it for the readers, the ending ruined the entire story for me. Like I said, I was completely planning on buying the second book and giving this a five star rating until the last thirty pages destroyed everything. Trust me on this one, it's bad. I no longer have any intention of reading the next installment in the story.

Two Stars

Rosalie

Promise on Goodreads

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Meghan Chase must follow her best friend, the infamous fairy Puck into another world to save her brother who has been replaced by a nasty, biting child.

The writing in all of Julia Kagawa's books is fantastic. While the storyline didn't appeal much to me, after reading her Immortal Rules book I decided I had to give it a try, and I'm glad I did.

Now, the first thing I have to rant about quickly is the similarity between this book and the Immortal Rules. While I like the story, I feel like they are exactly the same, just one with vampires and one with fairies. In both the girl's life changes early in the beginning, and has to go on a quest or journey. They both meet boys who eventually help them and fall in love, and they both achieve their goals only to be separated from their loves. So, yeah, very similar. If I had to choose, hands done the Immortal Rules was better.

Now, on to Meghan. Something I've noticed about Julie's books is people are very mean to the heroine. While I realize the world she lives in is dangerous, not everyone is mean like that. Every turn Meghan is making a new enemy and people are trying to hurt her. To me there wasn't enough balance, and I did get tired of the animosity always targeted at Meghan, and I ended up not liking her very much either.

The Prince, yum. I really did like the romance in this book. However, like the Immortal Rules series, they are separated at the end! Why can't her romances have happy endings? Unfortunately I read the description of the second book and I don't know if I'll be reading it simply because it sounds dumb. Enough said.

The story itself was exciting with basically nonstop action, and a lot of really fun magical scenes. I wish the relationships had developed more, but all in all I did enjoy it, though I definitely wouldn't call it a page turner.

Three Stars

Rosalie

The Iron King 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