ENTICE by Carrie Jones

Entice
Carrie Jones

Rating: A-
Synopsis from goodreads.com:
Zara and Nick are soul mates, meant to be together forever.
But that's not quite how things have worked out.

For starters, well, Nick is dead.
Supposedly, he's been taken to a mythic place for warriors known as Valhalla, so Zara and her friends might be able to get him back. But it's taking time, and meanwhile a group of evil pixies is devastating Bedford, with more teens going missing every day. An all-out war seems imminent, and the good guys need all the warriors they can find. But how to get to Valhalla?

And even if Zara and her friends discover the way, there's that other small problem: Zara's been pixie kissed. When she finds Nick, will he even want to go with her? Especially since she hasn't just turned...she's Astley's queen.

This Week's Books

I found this new awesome thing called Stacking the Shelves, which is hosted by Tynga's Reviews! So I'm going to give it a try! 

I'm also taking part in:

The Sunday Post is a meme hosted by

 Kimba the CaffeinatedBook Reviewer.

  ~ Inspired by the meme In My Mailbox.~

 It's a chance to share News.

A post to recap the past week,

showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

E-Galleys for review:

Unbreak My Heart
By: Melissa Walker
Release Date: 05/22/12
A big thanks to Bloomsbury!
Synopsis from goodreads.com:
Sophomore year broke Clementine Williams’ heart. She fell for her best friend’s boyfriend and long story short: he’s excused, but Clem is vilified and she heads into summer with zero social life. Enter her parents’ plan to spend the summer on their sailboat. Normally the idea of being stuck on a tiny boat with her parents and little sister would make Clem break out in hives, but floating away sounds pretty good right now. Then she meets James at one of their first stops along the river. He and his dad are sailing for the summer and he’s just the distraction Clem needs. Can he break down Clem’s walls and heal her broken heart? Told in alternating chapters that chronicle the year that broke Clem’s heart and the summer that healed it, Unbreak My Heart is a wonderful dual love story that fans of Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, and Susane Colasanti will flock to.

Timepiece
By: Myra McEntire

Release Date: 06/12/12

A big thanks to EgmontUSA!

Synopsis from goodreads.com:

A threat from the past could destroy the future. And the clock is ticking...

Kaleb Ballard's relentless flirting is interrupted when Jack Landers, the man who tried to murder his father, timeslips in and attacks before disappearing just as quickly. But Kaleb has never before been able to see time travelers, unlike many of his friends associated with the mysterious Hourglass organization. Are Kaleb's powers expanding, or is something very wrong?

Then the Hourglass is issued an ultimatum. Either they find Jack and the research he's stolen on the time gene, or time will be altered with devastating results.

Now Kaleb, Emerson, Michael, and the other Hourglass recruits have no choice but to use their unusual powers to find Jack. But where do they even start? And when? And even if they succeed, it may not be enough...

The follow-up to Hourglass, Timepiece blends the paranormal, science fiction, mystery, and suspense genres into a nonstop thrill ride where every second counts.

One Moment

By: Kristina McBride

Release Date: 06/26/12

A big thanks to EgmontUSA!

Synopsis from goodreads.com:

This was supposed to be the best summer of Maggie’s life. Now it’s the one she’d do anything to forget.

Maggie Reynolds remembers hanging out at the gorge with her closest friends after a blowout party the night before. She remembers climbing the trail hand in hand with her perfect boyfriend, Joey. She remembers that last kiss, soft, lingering, and meant to reassure her. So why can’t she remember what happened in the moment before they were supposed to dive? Why was she left cowering at the top of the cliff, while Joey floated in the water below—dead?

As Maggie’s memories return in snatches, nothing seems to make sense. Why was Joey acting so strangely at the party? Where did he go after taking her home? And if Joey was keeping these secrets, what else was he hiding?

The latest novel from the author of The Tension of Opposites, One Moment is a mysterious, searing look at how an instant can change everything you believe about the world around you.

Purchased:

Van Alen Legacy
By: Melissa De La Cruz
Side note: I have this entire series on my Kindle, but I'm adding the physical books to my collection as I run across them in used bookstores because the covers are so pretty!
Synopsis from goodreads.com:
With the stunning revelation surrounding Bliss's true identity comes the growing threat of the sinister Silver Bloods. Once left to live the glamorous life in New York City, the Blue Bloods now find themselves in an epic battle for survival. Not to worry, love is still in the air for the young vampires of the Upper East Side. Or is it? Jack and Schuyler are over. Oliver's brokenhearted. And only the cunning Mimi seems to be happily engaged.

Young, fanged, and fabulous, Melissa de la Cruz's vampires unite in this highly anticipated fourth installment of the Blue Bloods series.

This Side of the Grave
By: Jeaniene Frost
Side note: This is another one that I have on my Kindle, but I want for my collection. I have the first four in print, and the last two on my Kindle. I need these in print as well. I'm happy that I found this at the used book store!
Synopsis from goodreads.com:

Danger waits on both sides of the grave.

Half-vampire Cat Crawfield and her vampire husband Bones have fought for their lives, as well as for their relationship. But just when they've triumphed over the latest battle, Cat's new and unexpected abilities threaten to upset a long-standing balance . . .

With the mysterious disappearance of vampires, rumors abound that a species war is brewing. A zealot is inciting tensions between the vampires and ghouls, and if these two powerful groups clash, innocent mortals could become collateral damage. Now Cat and Bones are forced to seek help from a dangerous "ally"—the ghoul queen of New Orleans herself. But the price of her assistance may prove more treacherous than even the threat of a supernatural war . . . to say nothing of the repercussions Cat never imagined.

The Hunger Games
By: Suzanne Collins
Side note: Yes I have been living under a rock, and I do realize that I am the last person in the world to consider reading this book. I found it at the used book store today and had to get it. I hope it's as amazing as everyone says it is! 
Synopsis from goodreads.com:
Could you survive on your own, in the wild, with everyone out to make sure you don't live to see the morning?

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival


What did you get in your mailbox this week?

THE LOST CODE by Kevin Emerson

The Lost Code
Kevin Emerson

Rating: C-
Release Date: 05/22/12
Synopsis from goodreads.com:
WHAT IS OLDEST WILL BE NEW, WHAT IS LOST SHALL BE FOUND.

The ozone is ravaged, ocean levels have risen, and the sun is a daily enemy. But global climate change is not something new in the Earth’s history.

No one will know this better than less-than-ordinary Owen Parker, who is about to discover that he is the descendant of a highly advanced ancient race—a race that took their technology too far and almost destroyed the Earth in the process.

Now it is Owen’s turn to make right in his world what went wrong thousands of years ago. If Owen can unlock the lost code in his very genes, he may rediscover the forgotten knowledge of his ancestry…and that less-than-ordinary can evolve into extraordinary.


My thoughts on the book:

When I requested this book, I was like "Yay! I love Atlantis and mythology! Weeee!" However, that was the only bit of excitement I really felt about this book. The book wasn't bad, it just wasn't something that I could relate to. I think part of the problem is that the narrator and main character was a teenage boy, and I've never been a teenage boy. That made it hard to relate to him right away. I guess he seemed pretty authentic for a teenage boy, albeit a bit G-rated. I've put a lot of thought in this and I put of reviewing this book because I couldn't figure out what it was that made me reject all of the characters. I finally came up with the answer: This book is written for a younger audience. That has to be it. I couldn't relate, and it was very G-rated and very immature at times. So, I think this was written for a junior high/early high school audience. Considering I'm an adult female college student, this did not work for me at all. 

This story started out slowly, but in the second half of the book, the pacing picked up substantially. I mean, you'd think it'd be action packed because it started out with the main character dying, but I didn't feel a sense of urgency there. And Owen is about the most boring character I've ever read. I didn't really care if he died. He just didn't have much of a personality. I never knew what Owen was feeling other than confused. That also made it hard for me to connect to him or any of the other characters. Since I was seeing the other characters through his eyes, they all seemed boring because he described them in a boring fashion. 

The idea behind the story is great, but I do feel that it could have been executed better. I needed to care about Owen before I cared about any action that happened, and I did not. Also, I think that more information and more of the suspenseful occurrences should have happened in the first half. Not necessarily at the beginning, but in the first half, at least. I think the way this book was laid out was just all wrong. First, we needed character development so that we cared about the character. Without the "so what?" question answered from the beginning, the reader is not going to care about the rest of the book. Next, we needed something to keep us reading past the first half of the book. Give us some more information and some more action. Third, the book needed a romance that actually felt like a romance. Any romance in the book (there was very little) was also boring and lacking feeling. It was also incredibly G-rated, which leads me to think that this book was meant for a younger audience. 

Overall, I'd recommend this book to kids in junior high who want to read a mythological adventure story. If you're over the age of 14, I'd say check it out from the library first. 

Want to pre-order The Lost Code?

Amazing deal!

Hey everybody, there's an amazing deal going on over at Amazon right now! The first book from Kelley Armstrong's Darkness Rising trilogy, The Gathering is available on Kindle for only $2.99! That's right guys! Be sure to go get your copy while the sale is going on and then, when you finish it, be sure to get The Calling, which is the second book in the series! If you're curious about the series, you can check out my review of The Calling before buying either book!

Buy The Gathering here!

Synopsis from goodreads.com:
Sixteen-year-old Maya is just an ordinary teen in an ordinary town. Sure, she doesn't know much about her background - the only thing she really has to cling to is an odd paw-print birthmark on her hip - but she never really put much thought into who her parents were or how she ended up with her adopted parents in this tiny medical-research community on Vancouver Island.

Until now.

Strange things have been happening in this claustrophobic town - from the mountain lions that have been approaching Maya to her best friend's hidden talent for "feeling" out people and situations, to the sexy new bad boy who makes Maya feel . . . . different. Combine that with a few unexplained deaths and a mystery involving Maya's biological parents and it's easy to suspect that this town might have more than its share of skeletons in its closet. 

CAPTIVATE by Carrie Jones

Captivate
Carrie Jones

Rating: B
Synopsis from goodreads.com:
Zara and her friends knew they hadn't solved the pixie problem for good. Far from it. The king's needs grow deeper every day he's stuck in captivity, while his control over his people gets weaker. It's made him vulnerable. And now there's a new king in town.

A turf war is imminent, since the new pixie king, Astley, is moving in quickly. Nick nearly killed him in the woods on day one, but Zara came to his rescue. Astley swears that he and Zara are destined to be together, that he's one of the good guys. Nick isn't buying it, though Zara isn't as sure -- despite herself, she wants to trust the new king. But it's a lot more than her relationship with Nick that is at stake. It's her life -- and his.

Only click read more if you've read Need because there are Need spoilers in the review!

Wooo Team Daemon Invasion is here!!!

Over the last couple of weeks, you’ve heard us talking about the upcoming #daemoninvasion and we’re so excited to finally share with you what is going on.


Really excited.


The beautiful and uber cool models, Pepe Toth and Sztella Tziotziosz, who grace the Lux covers, will be joining us in the United States! You heard right. They are flying here, from Hungary to spend a few days as Daemon and Katy! While they are here, they will be working with Vania, from VLC Productions (the team behind Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments, Melissa de La Cruz, Kimberly Derting, Moira Young, Kami Garcia and Margret Stohl, Hillary Duff, Lauren Destefano, and many, many more authors’ book trailers), to film book trailers for the Lux Series.


During the filming in Atlanta, they will be accompanying us on tour! What does that mean? You get to meet them. In the flesh. They will be participating in the signings and events. At those signings, we’ll be giving away signed posters, photos, and other swag. There will also be meet and greet events you can join in on. 
At each signing, there will be advanced copies of Onyx given away!


And to top things off (as if this isn’t enough, but we don’t do anything small), there’s something very, very exciting in the works! It involves advanced copies of Opal, water, and a little destination known as the Bahamas. 


I am not kidding. 


This will be epic. 


Are you excited? I am! This tour is going to be so, so much fun, and I’m so thrilled that Pepe and Sztella are a part of it. We owe them a huge thank you and a giant welcome making the 16 hour flight to meet the readers of the Lux Series. You!


Daemon Invasion Signing and Event Schedule
June 8th
FoxTale Book Shoppe
Woodstock, GA
3:00pm


June 10th 
Barnes and Noble
St Johns Town Center 
Jacksonville, FL
3:00pm


June 13th
Barnes and Noble
Waterford Lakes Town Center 
Orlando, FL
3:00pm


June 14th
Barnes and Noble
The Palladium at City Place
West Palm Beach, FL
4:00pm 

There are several #daemoninvasion street teamers out there and if you want to join a team to win exclusive prizes, search down the #daemoninvasion hashtag to join one of the teams!

Don’t forget to visit Jennifer L. Armentrout’s blog to win a signed set of Half-Blood and Pure (insert direct link: http://jenniferarmentrout.blogspot.com/2012/04/tempting-best-man-and-contest.html in celebration of her adult romance release, Tempting the Best Man, under pen name J. Lynn. It can be purchased here (insert direct link:http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tempting-the-best-man-j-lynn/1110370701?ean=2940014566698 ) 


This wonderful announcement is brought to you by:

Our amazing team is bringing you all of the info about these awesome events first, so be sure to follow all of us!


Here are the Members of this Elite Street Team

Jen Smith

www.passionatebookdivas.com

http://www.facebook.com/#!/smith.jenn...

http://www.facebook.com/#!/smith.jennifer.44

@jendsmit or @PBookDivas

Christie Rich
http://christierich.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?i...
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1773919086
@authorchristier

Alana Rock
http://darkobsessionchronicles.blogsp...
http://darkobsessionchronicles.blogspot.com/
http://passionatebookdivas.com/
https://www.facebook.com/loonyalana

Terri Thomas

http://mybookboyfriend.blogspot.com/
@mybookboyfriend

Tana
http://tana-someofmyfavoritebooks.blo...
http://tana-someofmyfavoritebooks.blogspot.ca/
@tanaraereads
http://www.facebook.com/index.php?fi....

Nikki 
www.passionatebookdivas.com
https://www.facebook.com/#!/nlauerpet...
https://www.facebook.com/#!/nlauerpeterson
@trubloodjunkie

Tiffany
www.trh87books.blogspot.ca
http://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Purrf...
http://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Purrfect-Read/141225222654112
@trh_87

Amber Lane
http://falln2books.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/falln2books
@amberlane

CarrionElsa
https://twitter.com/#!/CarrionElsa
http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.ph...
https://twitter.com/#!/CarrionElsa

Reminder of my absence

Hey everyone, I hope you're all doing well. This is just a reminder that I will be pretty much MIA on the review and meme front until the end of next week. I may be able to post one review and one meme over the weekend, but we'll see. This is the last week of classes, and next week is finals week. I'm bombarded with homework and studying my butt off! I'll be back soon!

xoxo

In My Mailbox #14

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme brought to you by The Story Siren. 

This has been a great week for e-galleys! Click read more to see the awesome titles I've received!

Follow Friday #11

This is a meme hosted every Friday by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read, where book bloggers answer a question each week and check out how others answered it. It's a cool way for bloggers and viewers to connect and learn more about each other!


If you can't follow via GFC, then please follow via NetworkedBlogs or e-mail! :)

Please state in the post if you're a new follower or old follower. If you don't tell me that you are following, then I don't know that you are. Therefore, I'll not follow you back. I would like to follow each and every one of you back, so it is important that you clearly state that you are following me and not just stopping by. When someone says, "just saying hi!" or "just hopping through!" then I have no idea if you are following or not. That means that I may or may not return the visit, depending on how much time I have. The people who state they are following me will definitely get a visit and follow back. Also be sure to leave a link back to your blog, otherwise I won't know where to go to follow you! Thank you. 

Q: Fight! Fight! If you could have two fictional characters battle it out (preferably from books), who would they be and who do you think would win?

A: I would like to see Clayton Danvers from Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series fight with Charles from Patricia Briggs' Alpha and Omega and Mercy Thompson series. Both men are werewolves, and both are their packs' enforcers/hit men. As far as who would win, I really have no idea. Clay's ruthless, but Charles has this quiet strength. Since Briggs never shows us Charles in action when he goes out to kill misbehaving wolves, I'm going to have to go with Clay. I know more what he can do. So for now, I'm going to say that Clay would beat Charles... barely. 

What do you guys think?

Finals week is coming up

So I may not post as much as usual for the next week or two. After that, I'll be on vacation (yay beach!) and I'll be reading and posting a lot. I just wanted to give an update to everyone so you guys knew what was going on. I hope you're all doing well!

xoxoxo

Amber

GILT by Katherine Longshore

Gilt
Katherine Longshore

Rating: C+
Release Date: 05/15/12
Synopsis from goodreads.com:
In the court of King Henry VIII, nothing is free--
and love comes at the highest price of all.

When Kitty Tylney's best friend, Catherine Howard, worms her way into King Henry VIII's heart and brings Kitty to court, she's thrust into a world filled with fabulous gowns, sparkling jewels, and elegant parties. No longer stuck in Cat's shadow, Kitty's now caught between two men--the object of her affection and the object of her desire. But court is also full of secrets, lies, and sordid affairs, and as Kitty witnesses Cat's meteoric rise and fall as queen, she must figure out how to keep being a good friend when the price of telling the truth could literally be her head.


My thoughts on the book:
Well, this book was okay. It wasn't the best historical fiction I've ever read, though. Longshore clearly did her research, but she didn't deviate much from said research. She took no creative license with these people's lives whatsoever. At least she didn't do anything that hadn't already been done. The idea was intriguing: Catherine Howard, promiscuous queen and Anne Boleyn's cousin, told through the eyes of her chambermaid. However, the story itself just fell flat. I didn't really like any of the characters, and I already know how crappy court life is. I wanted something new, and unfortunately, I didn't get it. 

The characters in Gilt are either doormats or extremely vile. Neither option appealed to me. Sure, Kitty stands up for herself at the end, but overall, she was a complete doormat. She seriously needed to grow a spine. And Cat? Why would you cheat on the man who already beheaded your cousin? Are you stupid or just crazy? Because seriously, no one in her right mind would do that. And by being so careless, Cat put herself and everyone who associated with her at risk. Needless to say, I didn't feel like it was any great loss when her head got chopped off. 

There's really not as much of a love triangle as the synopsis suggests, and while I generally don't like love triangles that much, it would have at least added some excitement to the book. This novel just wasn't that suspenseful to me. I'm assuming I wasn't kept on the edge of my seat because I already knew what happened to Cat. If Longshore had brought something new to the table, I think I would have been much more invested in the plot. As it stands, the story dragged quite a bit for me and it took me several tries to actually get through the book. 

Longshore's writing is top notch, though. I really enjoyed her wording, for the most part, and I felt that the story flowed well. She got a little modern colloquial at times, but in general, the writing was quite good. The pacing was okay, but, as I stated above, the book did drag for me some. However, I think the dragging came from boredom more than pacing. 

Overall, I'd read another book by Longshore, definitely. I enjoyed her writing style. I would not read another Tudor book by her, though. This isn't because the book is bad, it's just because I already knew the story. If she wrote something contemporary, then I'd absolutely read it. I'd recommend this book to historical fiction buffs (I like some historical fiction, but it's not my favorite) and people who do not know the story of Catherine Howard. If you know much about the Tudors, this novel may bore you. 

Want to pre-order Gilt?

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Book Depository

Insurgent Celebration Release!

Title: Divergent
Author: Veronica Roth
Series: Book #1
Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books/ HarperCollins
Release Date: May 3, 2011


Book Summary:

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.
During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves… or it might destroy her.

Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series—dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.

COMING SOON!

Title: Insurgent
Author: Veronica Roth
Series: Book #2
Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books/ HarperCollins
Release Date: May 1, 2012

ONE CHOICE
A CHOICE BECOMES A SACRIFICE
A SACRIFICE BECOMES A LOSS
A LOSS BECOMES BECOMES A BURDEN
A BURDEN BECOMES A BATTLE
WILL YOU SURVIVE OR WILL IT DESTROY YOU?

To celebrate the release of Insurgent, Harper Collins is sponsoring a click through challenge. 50 Blogs have been selected to promote the release of Insurgent by driving traffic to specific links.

Team Abnegation's goal is to get the most clicks to these links:

Faction News Site: http://bit.ly/abnegationfaction
HarperTeen Insurgent Page: http://bit.ly/choose_abnegation



To help Team Abnegation reach our goal I Am A Reader, Not A Writer has organized this giveaway for a $100 Amazon Gift Code.

This giveaway runs from April 18th to 30th. You can enter daily to increase your odds of winning.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Waiting on Wednesday #14

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly post hosted at Breaking the Spine. Here are the upcoming releases that I'm not-so-patiently waiting for!

Thirteen
By: Kelley Armstrong
Release Date: 07/24/12
Synopsis from goodreads.com:
The #1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong delivers the novel her fans have been clamoring for: The epic finale of the Otherworld series.
It’s been more than ten years, a dozen installments, and hundreds of thousands of copies since Kelley Armstrong introduced readers to the all-too-real denizens of the Otherworld: witches, werewolves, necromancers, vampires, and half-demons, among others. And it’s all been leading to Thirteen, the final installment, the novel that brings all of these stories to a stunning conclusion.

A war is brewing—the first battle has been waged and Savannah Levine is left standing, albeit battered and bruised. She has rescued her half brother from supernatural medical testing, but he’s fighting to stay alive. The Supernatural Liberation Movement took him hostage, and they have a maniacal plan to expose the supernatural world to the unknowing.

Savannah has called upon her inner energy to summon spells with frightening strength, a strength she never knew she had, as she fights to keep her world from shattering. But it’s more than a matter of supernaturals against one another—both heaven and hell have entered the war; hellhounds, genetically modified werewolves, and all forces of good and evil have joined the fray.

Uniting Savannah with Adam, Paige, Lucas, Jaime, Hope, and other lost-but-not forgotten characters in one epic battle, Thirteen is a grand, crowd-pleasing closer for Armstrong’s legions of fans.

My thoughts:

Okay, so I'm waiting for this and dreading it. It's going to be a bittersweet book, for sure. I've been reading Kelley Armstrong for YEARS, and she is one of my absolute favorite authors. I fell in love with her writing and the world she created with Bitten, and I've been hooked ever since. I hate to see this series end, but if Armstrong feels that it's time, then it's time. I trust her choices. I can't wait to see what she comes out with next, but I will miss reading new adventures about some of my favorite characters. 

SHATTER ME by Tahereh Mafi

Shatter Me
Tahereh Mafi

Rating: A+

Synopsis from goodreads.com:
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.

In this electrifying debut, Tahereh Mafi presents a world as riveting asThe Hunger Games and a superhero story as thrilling as The X-Men. Full of pulse-pounding romance, intoxicating villainy, and high-stakes choices, Shatter Me is a fresh and original dystopian novel—with a paranormal twist—that will leave readers anxiously awaiting its sequel.

My thoughts on the book:
Okay, for someone who claims they don't like dystopian (me), I certainly enjoyed this book! Maybe the genre's growing on me. I do like the revolutionary ideas behind the genre, that's for sure. Shatter Me is an empowering novel about one girl's fight to stay true to herself. Juliette doesn't want to be a monster, even though society (including her own parents) treat her like she is. Shatter Me has well-developed characters and an intriguing plot. The world-building is lacking a bit, though. I wanted to hear more about what has happened to the world. I don't know how it felt to live in such a destroyed society. I know how it felt to be locked up and treated like a monster because that's what Juliette was going through, but she didn't know much about the state of the world. I'm assuming the world was extremely oppressive from what little I did learn about it, but I hope that Mafi builds this world up a bit more in the sequel. 

Juliette has to be one of the most unique main characters I've read about in a long time. Her narrative voice was extremely different from most female YA leading ladies. She was very much herself and unapologetic for that fact. That could be due to the fact that she'd been isolated her entire life, so she never cared what people thought. However, I really enjoyed seeing the world through her eyes. Things were a bit jumbled and eccentric, and she had a tendency to repeat words three times in a row. I thought that would have been annoying, but it wasn't. It was endearing. Mafi has almost a poetic quality to her writing, and Juliette's descriptions of things really captured that. Juliette was brave, strong, and caring. She didn't want to hurt people, and she felt awful when she was forced to or when she did accidentally. Juliette has a lot of potential to grow into an amazing character over these next few novels. She already grew quite a bit in Shatter Me. I can't wait to see what changes she goes through next. 

Adam is also pretty perfect. Sure he's flawed and doesn't always know what to do, but he means well. He's a caring person and wants to do what's best for those he loves. You certainly can't fault the guy for that. Also, I have a weakness for guys who have black hair and blue eyes, so that also put him on my good side. I really liked his character, and I can't wait to learn more about him and his and Juliette's past in the next book. 

Warren, on the other hand, is one of the most vile villains I've ever read. I seriously don't think the guy has a soul. I mean usually I love the tortured, misunderstood-seemingly-evil guy, but he is just too much. The things he does to Juliette are disgusting. He is a complete psychopath. I think the creepiest part about him is that there are people out there like him. Just look at the news. It's terrifying how realistic he is. I never wanted to get that close to someone like him. However, he does add a lot of suspense to this novel. I'm interested to see how he changes over the course of time and if he can redeem himself somehow.

The plot is captivating and kept me hooked throughout the entire novel. I wanted to learn more about the world that Juliette lives in. Mafi did get a bit "causey" at times. She seemed to use her characters as mouthpieces to preach about her causes. I could be mistaken, but that's how it seemed. I agreed with most of her causes, though, so it didn't really bother me. I know a lot of people don't believe that authors should use books and characters to state their own views, but to me you're supposed to be honest to yourself and what you believe. If that includes using a character to discuss your beliefs, then that's fine. Basically Mafi just spoke out about oppression, absolute power, and careless behavior that destroyed the world. It's nothing religious or that controversial. I think we all can agree that something needs to be done about how the world is right now. Anyway, other than that, which may or may not bother you, the plot was excellent. The pacing is spot on, and the ending wraps up most of the questions raised in this novel while leaving room for the sequel. 

Overall, I'd recommend this book to anyone, whether or not they are dystopian fans because it's so much more than just another dystopian novel. It's a story about finding yourself and standing up for what you believe is right. It's a story about not compromising your beliefs no matter what selfish benefits may come your way if you do. It's a story about love and loss and hope, and it will stick with you for a long time. Shatter Me is one of those unforgettable novels that burrows into your heart and refuses to let go. You do not want to miss this book.

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NEED by Carrie Jones

Need
Carrie Jones

Rating: C+
Synopsis from goodreads.com:
Zara White suspects there's a freaky guy semi-stalking her. She's also obsessed with phobias. And it's true, she hasn't exactly been herself since her stepfather died. But exiling her to shivery Maine to live with her grandmother? That seems a bit extreme. The move is supposed to help her stay sane...but Zara's pretty sure her mom just can't deal with her right now.

She couldn't be more wrong. Turns out the semi-stalker is not a figment of Zara's overactive imagination. In fact, he's still following her, leaving behind an eerie trail of gold dust. There's something not right - not human - in this sleepy Maine town, and all signs point to Zara.

In this creepy, compelling breakout novel, Carrie Jones delivers romance, suspense, and a creature you never thought you'd have to fear.

My thoughts on the book:
Need is a somewhat unique take on the typical faerie lore out there in the YA market. We're dealing with pixies here instead of faeries, though I'm not really sure what the difference is. I liked all of the characters (other than the bad guys), and I felt that they were fairly well-developed for a first book. The plot was intriguing, and the pacing was pretty spot-on. However, the writing itself wasn't the best. Jones worded things awkwardly, and at times I had no idea what she was talking about. If it wasn't for the awkward writing style, then this book would have probably gotten an A. As it stands, I can't give it any higher than a C+. I am hopeful that Jones will improve her writing in the following books, though.

Need had a lot of potential. Creepy-stalker faerie guy? Check. Hot love interest? Check. Quirky parental figure? Check. Somewhat strong main character? Check. Remote, but interesting setting? Check. I just wish that Jones had read her sentences out loud before she sent them to the publisher. Or that the editors had read them out loud and said, "hey, this sounds really freaking weird. We should have her reword this..." Here are some examples:
"Snow stains his hair white, sticks in his eyebrows. His face rivers into something warm." - rivers is not a verb. Seriously, someone should have caught this.


"His jaw is so straight and his eyes are so deep, like a tree where the bark is all textured." - okay, really? Your eyes are like trees? Umm if someone told me that, I'd smack them. 


Also, sometimes there were inconsistencies in the tensing. I think this book would have been much better in past tense.

Anyway, moving on. There wasn't much suspense. She hints at things like a three year old keeps a secret. I mean she seriously throws in way too many "clues" for anyone not to get it. Aside from the character reveals, which weren't a surprise, there were a few semi-surprises. I really hope that Jones becomes a more graceful writer by book two.

Other than Jones' lack clumsy writing skills, the book was actually pretty good. The plot was interesting, and I never got bored. I liked how Zara was obsessed with phobias. Her Amnesty International thing got really annoying for me, but the phobia thing was cool. I liked how every chapter was titled with a phobia that somehow tied into that chapter. Every character was quirky and a bit unique. No cookie-cutter characters here. And the main characters all seemed to develop a bit over the course of the novel. Not too much, but enough that it was at least noticeable.

Overall, I'd recommend this book to someone who's looking for a light read. The writing is awkward, though, (I know I keep saying awkward, but I don't know how else to describe it) so I'd recommend checking it out from the library first, just to be sure you actually like it. It's definitely worth giving a chance, though. I'm looking forward to reading the second book in the series.

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