Happy Holidays/New Years!!

I realize this is a little late, but I stumbled upon this picture and just had to share it with you guys. The girl is Eva Nine, the main character from The Search for WondLA, which I urge you to read. Since it's close to January 1st, happy New Years!!!

Never Mind

Remember how I told you to get ready for lots of Meg Cabot? Yeah, that's not happening. I was half-way through Code Name Cassandra (the second book in the 1-800-WHERE-R-YOU series) when I just couldn't take it anymore. Cabot books are like icecream; they're really good at first, but eat too much and you'll get sick. I do have Born at Midnight and Awake at Dawn (by C.C. Hunter) on hold, so I'll be reading those soon and subsequently posting a review.

When Lightning Strikes

Title: When Lightning Strikes

Author: Meg Cabot

Rating: 3 1/2 stars

Summary: Jess Mastriani has never been what you'd call a typical Midwestern teenager—her extracurricular activities, instead of cheerleading or 4-H, include fist-fights with the football team and month-long stints in detention. A part of Jess would like to be the prom queen her mother has always envisioned her being, but another part is secretly counting the days until she's saved up enough money to buy her own Harley.

Then something happens that guarantees Jess will be one of the in-crowd... unless her new found talent ends up getting her dead

Review: I picked up the first four books in this series, so get ready for some Meg Cabot! I prefer Abandon, another one of Cabot's books, but this one is pretty good. Aside from an excessive use of the phrases "I mean" and "you know," this is a quick read that you'll enjoy. 

Evil Genius

Title: Evil Genius

Author: Catherine Jinks

Rating: 3 stars

Summary: Cadel Piggott has a genius IQ and a fascination with systems of all kinds. At seven, he was illegally hacking into computers. Now he’s fourteen and studying for his World Domination degree, taking classes like embezzlement, misinformation, forgery, and infiltration at the institute founded by criminal mastermind Dr. Phineas Darkkon. Although Cadel may be advanced beyond his years, at heart he’s a lonely kid. When he falls for the mysterious and brilliant Kay-Lee, he begins to question the moral implications of his studies for the first time. But is it too late to stop Dr. Darkkon from carrying out his evil plot?

Review: I've read Jinks' werewolf and vampire books and they were okay. I wouldn't have read this book based on the other two, but I was intrigued by the summary. I got into it really quickly, then near the middle it began to drag. I was very close to putting this book away half-finished until the conspiracy theories started flying. It was awesome, but then it got to a point where I was thinking: "How much more complicated can it get?" I'll be reading the rest of the series, but this book went on a bit too long.

***UPDATE***

 I will not be reading the other Genius books. I started reading Genius Squad, but got really bored with it and stopped half-way through.

The Name of the Star

Title: The Name of the Star

Author: Maureen Johnson

Rating: 4 stars

Summary:  The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.

                  Soon "Rippermania" takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target?

Review:When I was at the Austin Teen Book Festival, I went to one of the panels primarily to see Scott Westerfeld. Maureen Johnson was also on that panel, and she talked a bit about this book, which sounded really interesting. I made a note to self to reminding myself to read it. The fact that the festival was the beginning of October and it is now mid-December is irrelevant; I don't read my note-to-self notes.I'm not usually one for ghost stories, but I will most certainly make an exception for this series. I learned more about Jack the Ripper than I really wanted to know, e.g., detailed descriptions of his (and the copycat's) gruesomely dissected victims. Even if you're a little squeamish, you shouldn't miss this book!

Reckoning

Title: Reckoning

Author: Lili St. Crow

Rating: 5 stars!!!

Summary:  Nobody expected Dru Anderson to survive this long. Not Graves. Not Christophe. Not even Dru. She's battled killer zombies, jealous djamphirs, and bloodthirsty suckers straight out of her worst nightmares. But now that Dru has bloomed into a full-fledged svetocha - rare, beautiful, and toxic to all vampires - the worst is yet to come.

Because getting out alive is going to cost more than she's ever imagined. And in the end, is survival really worth the sacrifice?

DRU ANDERSON'S NOT AFRAID OF THE DARK.
BUT SHE SHOULD BE.

***Huge, giant spoiler alert***

 Review: 

Behold, mortals, for greatness incarnate has graced us with its presence.

It's the final Strange Angels book, people!

St. Crow knows just when to put in some humor, and keeps it going throughout the book. Dru is my nosferat-slaying ninja buddy, and I'm so sad that I have to say good-bye. Thank God somebody finally told Cristophe how creepy it is that he's in love with Dru and  he was in love with her mom. Even though he's coming back, why did Graves have to leave? Why? :( I don't even need another book to know that Dru is going to end up with Graves, though I sure would like one.

 

City of Bones

Title: City of Bones

Author: Cassandra Clare

Rating: 4 stars

Summary:  When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder - much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing - not even a smear of blood - to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. 

 ***Spoiler Alert***

Review: Why is that almost every time an unsuspecting main character discovers some secret city/society/world-within-our-own, it's in New York City? It's not a bad thing, just something that I've noticed. When Jace was first introduced, I was all: Clary and him are going to fall in lo-ove. (sing-song voice) Then, it turns out that Jace and Clary are siblings! I thank you, Cassandra Clare. I was getting a little tired of oh-so-predictable "true love." Even if you read this, you should still read the book. There's a whole lot more surprises that I didn't spoil. :) 

Legend

Title: Legend

Author: Marie Lu

Rating: 4 stars!!!!!

Summary: What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

Review: Finally, after two weeks, a really good book! When Crossed tried to pull of an alternating-view point dystopian with some romance, I was like "FAIL!" But Legend is amazing! Admittedly, the conspiracy theory and the romance was expected, but I still loved this book!

Shatter Me

Title: Shatter Me

Author: Tahereh Mafi

Rating: 3 stars

Summary: Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.



Review: So, Juliette is a half-crazy girl with an obsession with number and can kill anyone she touches. Of course, the only people she can safely touch is the guy she's in love with and the psychopath who wants to own her. How convenient. Massive numbers of people and animals are dying each day, and the earth is supposedly on it's last legs. But it seemed that all the places Juliette went were perfectly fine. In spite of all that, for some random reason I still kind of like the book.

The Scorpio Races

Title: The Scorpio Races

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Rating: 2 3/4

Summary: It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.
 
Review: An intriguing concept, but I just wasn't interested. Also, I didn't, and still don't, understand why they would decide to race the water horses. If you discover that man-eating horses come out of the sea every year, is your first reaction to capture them and race them in a contest where multiple people die? 

Hereafter

Title: Hereafter

Author: Tara Hudson

Rating: 2 1/2 stars

Summary:
Can there truly be love after death?
Drifting in the dark waters of a mysterious river, the only thing Amelia knows for sure is that she's dead. With no recollection of her past life—or her actual death—she's trapped alone in a nightmarish existence. All of this changes when she tries to rescue a boy, Joshua, from drowning in her river. As a ghost, she can do nothing but will him to live. Yet in an unforgettable moment of connection, she helps him survive.
Amelia and Joshua grow ever closer as they begin to uncover the strange circumstances of her death and the secrets of the dark river that held her captive for so long. But even while they struggle to keep their bond hidden from the living world, a frightening spirit named Eli is doing everything in his power to destroy their newfound happiness and drag Amelia back into the ghost world . . . forever.

Review: Meh. I got bored with this book pretty quickly, and was on auto-pilot for most of it. The relationship between Josh and Amelia, while a major part of the story, annoyed me because it didn't really make sense. The only human being she can affect is Josh, and Josh is a 'Seer'? How absurdly convenient.

Plain Kate

Title: Plain Kate

Author: Erin Bow

Rating: 2 stars

Summary: Plain Kate lives in a world of superstitions and curses, where a song can heal a wound and a shadow can work deep magic. As the wood-carver's daughter, Kate held a carving knife before a spoon, and her wooden talismans are so fine that some even call her “witch-blade”: a dangerous nickname in a country where witches are hunted and burned in the square.

For Kate and her village have fallen on hard times. Kate’s father has died, leaving her alone in the world. And a mysterious fog now covers the countryside, ruining crops and spreading fear of hunger and sickness. The townspeople are looking for someone to blame, and their eyes have fallen on Kate.

Enter Linay, a stranger with a proposition: In exchange for her shadow, he’ll give Kate the means to escape the angry town, and what’s more, he’ll grant her heart’s wish. It’s a chance for her to start over, to find a home, a family, a place to belong. But Kate soon realizes she can't live shadowless forever -- and that Linay's designs are darker than she ever dreamed.

Review:

	I had no clue as to what Kate looked like, and only a general guess as to her age. At first I was interested, but as the book went on I found that I alternated between either not understanding what was going on and dragging myself through, or understanding what was going on and dragging myself through.

Starcrossed

Title: Starcrossed

Author: Josephine Angelini

Rating: 3 1/2 stars

Summary:
How do you defy destiny?
Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is—no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it's getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she's haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood . . . and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they're destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history.
As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together—and trying to tear them apart.

Review: Truth be told, I skimmed the last two chapters. It started off really good; I liked the humor, but I got bored with the story about half-way through. I loved how instead of falling in love with Lucas when she first sees him in the hall, Helen tried to kill him. The cousin factor was weird, though. When Daphne said she was married to Ajax, I figured that Helen and Lucas would never work out. Don't read this book unless you enjoy being disappointed.

The Seer and The Sword

Title: The Seer and The Sword

Author: Victoria Hanley

Rating: 3 stars

Summary: Legend states that there exists a mighty sword that makes its possessor invincible to his enemies. But there is a curse on anyone who lifts the sword for conquest. King Kareed of Archeld goes after this sword anyway, winning it from the King of Bellandra. When he returns home from battle, he brings his daughter, Princess Torina, two special gifts. One is a unique crystal, in which she can view visions of the future. The other gift is the defeated king’s son Landen, who is to be her slave. Torina immediately releases Landen, who becomes a member of the King’s army and her close friend.
But trouble is lurking in the kingdom of Archeld and people are accusing Landen of plotting against the King. Torina refuses to believe he would hurt her family. Then Torina begins seeing deadly visions in her crystal. Can she save her father’s life and the future of her kingdom?

Review: One of my best friends has been trying to get me to read this book since the fifth grade, but I waited until now to read it. It's not amazing, but it's a beloved classic you'll want to re-read over and over again. A book like this I would normally give 4 stars, but I couldn't really connect with the characters. They were like some distant relatives you know exist, but don't actually know.

Always A Witch

I finished Always a Witch this morning. 5 stars! I read the first book, Once a Witch, back in February, when I also gave it 5 stars. They're both just all around awesome, funny, and I love the time travel aspect. I hope that there are more books in this series, but I don't see what Tamsin can do anymore that can fill an entire book.

Angelfire

Not amazing, but you should definitely read it. The second book comes out mid-2012, and the third one is released in 2013. Moulton's (the author) take on angels and reapers is not only original and exciting, but also a refreshing change from all the vampire/werewolf/paranormal monsters hype. (There's no cover for the third book yet.)

Book 1

Book 2

Theatre Illuminata

I read Eyes Like Stars about a year and a half ago, and waited forever to finally get my hands on a copy of the second book, Perchance to Dream. By the time I got the second book, the third book had come out, so yay!! :) Throughout the trilogy I was "Bertie should be with Nate." About half-way through the second book, though, "Bertie should be with Ariel!" Then back again. My favorite characters are the fairies, with their lovable antics, witty banter, and how they're always thinking of food!

                                                  Favorite cover!

The Leviathan Trilogy

I finished the final book, Goliath, yesterday afternoon. The romance? So obvious that it was going to happen. But that's okay. The Uglies series was definitely better, but I'll give the whole trilogy 3.75 stars.

Web of Air

So I finished A Web of Air a long time ago, and since then I have read the three books in the rest of the series. I haven't read the fourth one and am not planning on doing so beccause I read the summary and it seems pointless.

A Web of Air

So I just started this book yesterday after waiting almost a year for it. That's because not a single library had it. And I'm talking about three different libraries, one being a giant city one. Also, I was confused about the numbering system. Who has two prequels? Anyways, I'm only on page 129 but it was definately worth the wait!