Review: Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter

Today I am reviewing Aimee Carter’s upcoming second novel in the Goddess Test series: Goddess Interrupted.

Title: Goddess Interrupted

Author: Aimee Carter

Release Date: March 27, 2012

Series: The Goddess Test #2

Pages: 304

ISBN: 9780373210459

Description: 
Kate Winters has won immortality. 

But if she wants a life in the Underworld with Henry, she’ll have to fight for it. 

Becoming immortal wasn’t supposed to be the easy part. Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she’s as isolated as ever. And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he’s becoming ever more distant and secretive. Then, in the midst of Kate’s coronation, Henry is abducted by the only being powerful enough to kill him: the King of the Titans. 

As the other gods prepare for a war that could end them all, it is up to Kate to save Henry from the depths of Tartarus. But in order to navigate the endless caverns of the Underworld, Kate must enlist the help of the one person who is the greatest threat to her future. 

Henry’s first wife, Persephone.

My thoughts:

I loved this book.  It's really that simple.  Goddess Interrupted is the first book I've finished in 2012 and I was so glad I put down the other books I had started to begin this one.  It took me four days to read this book, which is really good for me, especially lately since I've been in a sort-of slump and no book seemed to keep my interest.  I couldn't put this book down, including during my classes (the beauty of having an eReader).
Kate faces all sorts of new adventures and dangers in this book.  Now that she's immortal, she figures she can't be hurt, so she doesn't need to be protected.  Henry has different ideas which start to get on Kate's nerves (and I applaud her for that).  The family drama surrounding an ancient family of gods is amazing.  I mean, I thought high school had drama, but when you have eons to develop relationships and get on each other's nerves, the drama must multiply.  As if Kate didn't have enough to worry about entering this ages old family and as a queen no less, now she has to deal with her distant husband's ex-wife who still holds his love.  I don't think I could do what she did, I would want to stay as far away from that chick as possible.  The story line was predictable in the sense that I knew when something big is about to happen, but what is going to happen is another whole issue.  And when it did I was like O.O "What the heck just happened?!"  I love that about this book!
This book left me dying for more.  I was hoping it wouldn't end where it did, but I'm excited to read more when The Goddess Inheritance releases.  Aimee Carter also has an eNovella The Goddess Hunt releasing on March 1, 2012, so be sure to look for that as well!

Overall Rating:

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Review: Crossed by Ally Condie

Today I am reviewing Ally Condie’s newest novel Crossed.

Title: Crossed

Author: Ally Condie

Release Date: November 1, 2011

Series: Matched #2

Pages: 367

ISBN: 9780525423652

Description: 
The hotly awaited second book in the dystopian Matched trilogy

In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky - taken by the Society to his certain death - only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake.

Cassia's quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander - who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia's heart - change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever.

My thoughts:

I read the eBook version of this book and literally got to the end of the book without realizing it.  I flipped the page and saw "Acknowledgements" and had to flip back a page to make sure I didn't miss something.  Cassia developed nicely as a character. I don't think there was any point in the book when I didn't like her which was great because there were a few points in Matched when I didn't like her.  I thoroughly enjoyed Cassia's journey to find Ky.  The friends she made and lost, really define who she becomes as the story goes.  The book alternates between Cassia's and Ky's point of views every other chapter.  I absolutely loved having Ky's point of view in this book.  Getting into Ky's head and really finding out more about his life story and the way he thinks was great.  Even getting to know Cassia better was great, she becomes a better person once she's out of the society.  I attribute that mostly to the fact that she's not as sheltered anymore and she's actually got a goal in life.  Cassia kept her head up for the majority of the book even when all seemed lost in her life.  The cover of this book is fantastic.  Cassia bursting out of the bubble on the cover so well portrays how she bursts out of society within the story.
I recommend this book to anyone who read and enjoyed Matched.  The series is great for anyone who enjoys a fairly light dystopian read.  I cannot wait for the third and final Matched book to release to get the rest of the story.

Overall Rating:

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Review: The Pledge by Kimberly Derting

Today I am reviewing Kimberly Derting’s new dystopian novel The Pledge.  I received an eARC of this title from Simon & Schuster’s GalleyGrab.

Title: The Pledge

Author: Kimberly Derting

Release Date: November 15, 2011

Series: The Pledge #1

Pages: 323

ISBN: 9781442422018

Description: In the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. The smallest transgression, like looking a member of a higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always been able to understand the languages of all classes, and she's spent her life trying to hide her secret. The only place she can really be free is the drug-fueled underground clubs where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. It's there that she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy named Max who speaks a language she's never heard before . . . and her secret is almost exposed.
Charlie is intensely attracted to Max, even though she can't be sure where his real loyalties lie. As the emergency drills give way to real crisis and the violence escalates, it becomes clear that Charlie is the key to something much bigger: her country's only chance for freedom from the terrible power of a deadly regime.

My thoughts:

The cover:  LOVE the cover.  I had no clue what this was about and knew I needed to have it because of that cover.  When I read that it was a dystopian based on languages as a class system, I needed it even more.  What a great concept.  I love that the girl is in a dark hood, looking determined, but cautious at the same time.  It fits the story very well.

The story:  The story was so well planned out and written.  I loved the premise of language being a barrier between classes in a society.  It was a completely original aspect for a dystopian society, and I’m glad for that.  There were a few too many things going on in this particular book, that maybe some could have waited until the second installment in the series, but I can’t really pinpoint what needed to go.  The random chapters from Xander, Max and the Queen’s point of view (still all in third person though) were great, I liked being able to see a little more of their lives when Charlie wasn’t around. 

The characters: The characters were well developed.  Charlie is amazing.  Being able to breach the language barriers for any type of language is unheard of in Charlie’s world, and she must keep it a secret.  The secret gets her in trouble sometimes, but the fact that she can understand everything anyway makes the story much more interesting because you don’t really know where that gift is leading until a while into the book. I loved Brook, but that could be because she was fearless and pretty much did what she wanted.  Aron wasn’t a big part of the story, but he was still a great friend to Charlie and Brook, and it showed in his actions.  I couldn’t decide if I liked Max & Xander at first, but they grew on me later in the book.  Max ended up being my favorite though because of the things he says to Charlie, and the way he says them.  As horrible a person as Queen Sabara was in the story, I actually liked her.  She made the perfect villain for sure, but more than that, she was ancient.  She was queen literally forever, and that’s a twist that’s revealed in the beginning of the story (prologue actually), but made more clear toward the end.

Overall:  Loved. This. Book. Simple as that.  I sticky-noted this book so many times in Adobe Digital Editions because I had so many favorite passages, or lines I wanted to remember.  I believe there were over 70 “notes” by the time I was done.  The way the characters were written, and the overall storyline were amazing.  I can’t wait until the second book in the series releases, and this book has me beginning Kimberly Derting’s other series The Body Finder because I loved her writing style so much.

Overall Rating:  

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I’m now reading Crossed by Ally Condie and hope to finish it within the week.

Review: The Girl Who Owned a City: The Graphic Novel by O. T. Nelson, Dan Jolley, Joelle Jones, and Jenn Manley Lee

Today I am reviewing O. T. Nelson’s The Girl Who Owned a City, which has been brought back as a graphic novel.  I received an eARC of this title from NetGalley.

Title: The Girl Who Owned a City

Author: O. T. Nelson (Adapted by Dan Jolley, Illustrated by Joelle Jones, Coloring by Jenn Manley Lee)

Release Date: April 1, 2012

Series: N/A

Pages: 128

ISBN: 9780761349037

Description: A deadly virus killed every adult on Earth, leaving only the kids behind. With her parents gone, Lisa is responsible for her little brother, Todd. She has to make sure they stay alive. Many kids are sick or starving, and fierce gangs are stealing and destroying everything they find. Lots of people have given up, but on Grand Avenue, some kids are surviving. Because of Lisa.

Lisa figured out how to give the kids on Grand Avenue food, homes, and protection against the gangs. But Tom Logan and his army are determined to take that away and rule the streets themselves. How long can Lisa's group keep fighting them off? They need to find a place to live safely. A strong place. A secret place.

In a world like this, someone has to take charge. But does Lisa have the strength to take charge of a whole city?

My thoughts:

The cover:  I love the cover image depicting Lisa leaving behind the burning building.  She seems determined and ready to build her city.  The illustrations throughout the whole book are great, they really bring the story to life.

The story:  This story line is fantastic.  Having a world where only kids survived, and most of them barely surviving, is amazing.  These characters worked together to build and protect a city, all while taking on attacks from gangs of other children that want their supplies.  What if something like this actually happened?  Not that I think a virus would only target people over the age of twelve because I don’t think viruses actually know how old people are, but it makes for a totally different story than any I’ve ever read before.

The characters: Lisa and Tom Logan are the main characters followed in the story.  They are both strong and oppose each other in everything.  Lisa’s citizens are followed throughout the story, some more than others.  Her little brother, Todd, plays a big role, as well as Charlie, Craig, and Jill.  They are Lisa’s main “go-to” people throughout the story, and they help her build her city to what it becomes.  Lisa has disagreements and full on battles that she has to handle, at only twelve that’s a lot of responsibility to take on.  No one else in Lisa’s city seems to want to handle anything, so she continues to be the responsible one.

Overall:  I loved the adaptation of this story into graphic form.  It was great to be able to see what the story looks like instead of just imagining it.  The way the illustrator brought the characters to the page was great.  Since it’s been so long since I’ve read the book, it was awesome to revisit it.  To fully compare the original story  to the graphic novel, I’d have to re-read the original, but as far as I can remember, it is pretty spot on with original story.

Overall Rating: 

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I’m now re-reading Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (before the movie comes out on Friday), but I don’t plan to review it.  I will, however, be reviewing The Pledge by Kimberly Derting next! 

Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Today I am reviewing Tahereh Mafi’s debut novel Shatter Me.  I won a signed advance copy from a giveaway Tahereh was hosting on her blog.

Title: Shatter Me

Author: Tahereh Mafi

Release Date: November 15, 2011

Series: Shatter Me #1

Pages: 342

ISBN: 9780062085481

Description: 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:

- The cover: Gorgeous. I love it. Though I have to say when I saw the Swedish cover (pictured to the right) I fell in love with that one more than the US cover because it seems to depict Juliette’s character better than the US one with the white dress.  The US cover is definitely better in person than in pictures though.  It’s shiny, sparkles a bit, and the writing is raised, all put together it’s a great cover.

- The characters: I fell in love with Juliette’s character right away.  And don’t even get me started on Adam.  He’s my new favorite book boy.  I couldn’t peg whether he was bad or good for a while, but then he turned out to be awesome.  The way the characters were written was amazing.  Tahereh has a style of writing that I’ve never encountered before, but I loved it. I love that Juliette knows her touch is lethal, so she never wants to touch anyone, but at the same time, being in isolation for 264 days, she wants nothing more than to feel human contact.  I don’t know how she didn’t go insane without any contact for that long.  

- The story: Mafi has a great way of writing that just drew me into the story.  Juliette is in a constant battle with herself about whether she is good or bad.  Is her power a gift or curse?  Throughout the book I think she proves a few times that her power is both a gift and a curse, depending on the situation.   The use of strike-outs in the writing is great, it brings out Juliette’s battle with herself in the best way possible. 

- Overall:  I am in love.  This book left me speechless for at least three days after reading it.  I still can’t really find the right words to describe how I feel about this book.  I don’t want to get all spoiler-y but I can definitely say that this book is a wonderful addition to my shelf and I am already anxiously awaiting its sequel.

Shatter Me has been optioned by Fox as a movie and I’d be SO excited to see this on the big screen.

Overall Rating:  

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Meet the Author:       Blog                Twitter                       Website

I’m now reading The Pledge by Kimberly Derting and hope to have it finished by the time Thanksgiving rolls around, keep an eye out for that review soon!

Review: Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs

Today I am reviewing Tera Lynn Childs’ newest release Sweet Venom, which is the first in a the Medusa Girls trilogy.

Title: Sweet Venom

Series: Medusa Girls #1

Pages: 352

ISBN: 9780062001818

Author: Tera Lynn Childs

Description: Grace just moved to San Francisco and is excited to start over at a new school. The change is full of fresh possibilities, but it’s also a tiny bit scary. It gets scarier when a minotaur walks in the door. And even more shocking when a girl who looks just like her shows up to fight the monster.

Gretchen is tired of monsters pulling her out into the wee hours, especially on a school night, but what can she do? Sending the minotaur back to his bleak home is just another notch on her combat belt. She never expected to run into this girl who could be her double, though.

Greer has her life pretty well put together, thank you very much. But that all tilts sideways when two girls who look eerily like her appear on her doorstep and claim they're triplets, supernatural descendants of some hideous creature from Greek myth, destined to spend their lives hunting monsters.

These three teenage descendants of Medusa, the once-beautiful gorgon maligned by myth, must reunite and embrace their fates in this unique paranormal world where monsters lurk in plain sight.

My thoughts:

- The cover: This cover is simply gorgeous.  The way the girl’s hair swirls at the end reminds me of the way Medusa’s hair would have looked (if it wasn’t snakes).  Under the dust jacket the title is foiled in blue so it’s shiny and gorgeous and I really just can’t get enough of this cover.  I carry around a Sweet Venom bookmark in every book I read so that I always have the cover art with me. :)

- The characters: The story is told from three points of view with alternating chapters of the three sisters descended from the gorgon Medusa; Gretchen, Grace, and Greer.  I absolutely love the way Tera weaves the girls’ story together seamlessly.  Gretchen is the tough girl that is so closed off to socializing with others and I love her for it.  She’s almost socially awkward, but not in a sad sense, more in a “she’s a complicated person, you wouldn’t understand” type way (if that makes any sense to anyone other than me).  Grace is the eco-friendly girl who has a loving and supportive family.  I love Grace, I feel like if I ever met her I wouldn’t be able to help myself from hugging her because she’s so cute.  Greer has to be my favorite of the three sisters though.  Greer is the “snobby” rich girl who has the perfect life from the outside looking in, but of course, isn’t the upperclass witch she comes off to be.  I always love these types of characters and I can’t figure out why because I can’t relate to them at all, but I guess they’re just the most fun to dissect because there’s always more to them than meets the eye.  (In this case, there’s more to each of these girls than meets the eye though).

- The story: This is the first in a trilogy so it sets up the way the rest of the trilogy will play out.  Sweet Venom gives a background of each sister, then slowly weaves their story into how they meet and get to know each other.  All the while though, there is enough action to keep the story interesting so it’s not just a “this is a starter book to the series” type of story.  I laughed at loud many times reading this book, I don’t know if it was always at the most appropriate times to be laughing at the characters’ actions, but I found myself smiling, and giggling throughout the book.  Parts of the story were a little predictable but other areas were more like “holy crap where did that just come from?!”  

- Overall:  I am in love.  I cannot wait until Fall 2012 for Sweet Shadows to release.  I was in awe when I closed the book and I believe my tweet went something along the lines of “O.O < my face right now.  Sweet Venom = Epic awesomeness” and that was literally the only words I could use to describe the book for a couple days because it was so good.  The ending is the perfect cliffhanger to leave you needing more of the story in your life.  This, like Tera’s other series, has landed a spot on my “re-read over and over” list because I will be reading this book again and again.

Overall Rating: 

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Right now I’m reading Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi and can’t put it down, look out for the review of this book next weekend!

Review: Matched by Ally Condie

I’m trying something new with my review today, I decided to make a model type thing for the “my thoughts area” so that I can use it for all my reviews to keep myself consistent (hopefully it works). J


Today I am reviewing Ally Condie’s most recent release Matched, which is the first in the “Matched” trilogy.  The cover art and description are from Goodreads.

Title: Matched

Series: Matched #1

Pages: 384

ISBN: 9780525423645

Author: Ally Condie

Description: Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.
The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

My thoughts: 
- The cover: I love the symbolism of the cover, being that Cassia is trapped in the bubble that the Society has kept her, and the rest of the citizens, in for their whole lives.  I also love how the coloring matches the dress Cassia wore to her Match banquet.
- The characters: Cassia’s character is strong, and this is actually mentioned several times in the story because she is strong enough not to have to take her green tablet (the calming tablet), no matter what is going on in her life.  She starts out being perfectly normal in the Society’s eyes, not one to cause trouble or anything.  After her Match banquet it starts becoming different, Cassia starts breaking rules and I like her for that, I think it makes her stronger.  As for the boys in the story, Xander definitely sounds awesome, and he is very protective of Cassia, which makes sense since they’ve been best friends since they were children.  But then there’s Ky.  He’s mysterious, possibly dangerous, and totally off limits, so naturally he’s an interest of Cassia’s.  Ky has a dark past which makes him strong but cautious to the Society, he knows how things work and where he should be in the system at all times.  I am definitely rooting for Cassia & Ky to get together in Crossed, but I think Xander will put up a fight for her which will be good.

- The story:  This is the first in the trilogy, so I think the fact that it was mostly informational, about the Society, and the characters and how they interacted with each other was normal, and a good set up.  I can’t pinpoint the exact spot where it changed, but it felt like all of the sudden the book became intense, the last four chapters were probably the most intense part of the whole story.  I loved that the story is going along as any story would and then something happens to all of them and life is completely different.
- Overall: I think the book is great, I love the characters, and the struggle they are put through. I look forward to reading Ally’s next book in the trilogy, Crossed (releasing November 1, 2011).

Overall Rating:

Look for my next review on Abandon by Meg Cabot, next weekend.

Review: Fins Are Forever by Tera Lynn Childs

My first review day!  Yay!!  I hope the review is good, as far as how I write it, it’s going to take me a couple weeks to get used to writing reviews though, sometimes I just start summarizing the story, which I caught myself doing already when I wrote this post.

Today I am reviewing Tera Lynn Child’s most recent book Fins Are Forever, which is the second in the “Fins” series.  The cover art and description are from Goodreads.

Title: Fins Are Forever


Series: Fins #2


Pages: 272


Author: Tera Lynn Childs

Description: On Lily Sanderson’s eighteenth birthday she’ll become just a girl—still a mergirl, true, but signing the renunciation will ink Princess Waterlily of Thalassinia out of existence. That leaves plain old Lily living on land, dating the boy she loves, and trying to master this being-human thing once and for all.
Now that Lily and Quince are together, mer bond or not, she’s almost content to give up her place in the royal succession of Thalassinia. But just when she thinks she has everything figured out, the waves start to get rough. Lily’s father sends a certain whirlpool-stirring cousin to stay with her on land. What did Doe do to get herself exiled from Thalassinia and stuck in terraped form when everyone knows how much she hates humans? And why why why is she batting her eyelashes at Lily’s former crush, Brody?
The seafoam on the raging surf comes when a merboy from Lily’s past shows up—Tellin asks Lily for something that clouds her view of the horizon. There’s a future with Quince on land, her loyalty to the kingdom in the sea, and Lily tossing on the waves in the middle. Will she find a way to reconcile her love, her duty, and her own dreams?
Tera Lynn Childs’s sequel to Forgive My Fins offers another tail-flicking romance with plenty of fun, sun, and underwater adventure.

My thoughts: First of all, beautiful cover! I definitely think the cover of this one is better than Forgive My Fins, but they're both really pretty.  I have been anticipating this book since I finished Forgive My Fins.  I absolutely love Tera Lynn Childs’ writing (her other series, Oh. My. Gods. is great too).  I knew I would love it, because I loved the first one, but it was reassuring to be sucked in after only a chapter.  So, this book leaves off right where the last one ended.  Lily and Quince have just gotten together, and past the separation of their bond (which turned out to be sort of a mistake since they’re together now anyway, and super in love).  The characters really broadened in this book, I loved learning more about everyone, except Lily’s aunt Rachel who doesn’t show up much.  Dosinia, or Doe for short, has gotten herself into some trouble in this book, which is not such a shock for Doe since she’s always breaking rules, and not caring about the consequences.  This time though, she’s gotten herself exiled from Thalassinia, which I think is pretty awesome, because really, who is that badass to get themselves exiled, especially when she’s the king’s niece?  This girl obviously did something terrible… which she fails to tell anyone for the majority of the book, when even the king won’t tell Lily what’s going on with Doe, she starts to worry that her cousin really did do something terrible.  As the description says, when Doe hits land, she has her sights set on Brody, Lily’s Brody.  This sends Lily into shock at first and everyone is confused because Doe is supposed to hate humans.  Doe is supposed to be living with Lily to get past her hate for the humans, and learn something about how humans function.  Let’s just say, Doe is not the best mergirl fitting in as a human.  When Lily goes home to Thalassinia for her dress fittings, we get to see outside the palace walls for a bit, and then there’s the birthday ball for Lily’s eighteenth birthday, which requires tons of planning, and of course, a beautiful dress for the birthday girl made by her best friend Peri.  The story wraps up very nicely, but still leaves so much yet to be answered.  This book is a great read, it’s short, but fun.  There is so much going on in this story and everything that I want to spill about it, would be spoiling it, so I’ll leave it at it’s awesome and I highly recommend it.  Books like this one are my favorite because I always know there’s going to be a happy ending, even if the journey there is a bit rocky.  I can’t wait to get my hands on the next book in the series.

Overall Rating: