A Good Book

You absolutely know that you've read a good book when you can feel it sink into you after you've finally pressed the pages back together. You let out this sigh and your heart kinda melts as you either hug the book to your chest or you just sit and stare at this mass of ink and pages. It seems so simple and it's bizarre how such a thing could make you feel so much and think so much. It's different for everybody. Everybody connects and is influenced differently by different things, but it's so immensely gratifying to feel that you've read a good book, no matter what the book ends up to be.

Review: Throne of Glass

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas 

This book was exciting, adventurous, fantastical, and brilliant. I've had this gem sitting on my bookshelf waiting to be read for about a year and I regret never picking it up sooner. It took me all of a day to finish the Throne of Glass and not because it was simple or short but because I simply couldn't put the book down. It was enchanting in all of its action, suspense, fantasy, and even romance. Maas created an entirely new world in which magic was once prevalent but had disappeared long ago. The characters were wonderfully developed and I absolutely fell in love with Celaena Sardothien.

It is impossible to rave about this book without mentioning how amazing Celaena is. She's our main character, an eighteen year old girl, and a deadly assassin. Celaena has been through a hellish past and has still come out able to smile, laugh, and love; character traits that show exactly how strong she is. She has got a fiery attitude and a brilliant mind. Not to mention she kicks butt for a living and reads in her free time. She's amazing in so many ways, but she's not perfect which makes her all the more lovable.

We start our journey with Celaena in Endovier, a death camp that she was sentenced to when she was only seventeen, and where she has been whipped everyday as well as forced to mine salt for a year. Endovier is a sort of hell and when the Captain of the Guard appears one day to personally escort her somewhere she believes that it has finally come for the day of her execution. However, it wasn't her death that awaited her, but the Crown Prince of Adarlan. He was there to offer Celaena her freedom from the prison in return for her to compete as his champion in the King's new competition. This competition would pit her against the country's greatest thieves and criminals in a contest to win the title of The King's Champion. 

In her quest for freedom, she befriends both Prince Dorian and the Captain of the Guard, Chaol. Fair warning, there is a love triangle in the works, which would usually annoy me a bit. However, the romance in this book completely takes a back seat. Who loves who is not nearly as important as everything else going on in the book and Maas did a fantastic job at mixing in just the right amount of romance to spice things up. 

I absolutely recommend that anybody read Throne of Glass. It has become one of my new favorite books and I can not get enough. 

Review: 5 stars

Recommendations: If you like magic, humor, and adventure, you should watch Merlin the BBC television show. Celaena's kick but skills and attitude reminded me fairly of Rose Hathaway from the Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead, and if you love the Fae like I do absolutely read Tithe by Holly Black

Book Review: Half Blood

Half Blood Jennifer L. Armentrout
"The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi pure bloods have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals--well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures. Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1:Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden. Unfortunately, she's crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn't her biggest problem--staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck" (blurb via goodreads)

Jennifer L. Armentrout has become one of my favorite authors of all time. I fell in love with the Lux series and decided I wanted to give the covenant series a try. I'm very glad that I did, because Half Blood exceeded my expectations. I have to admit, it wasn't one of my favorite books; it was a bit predictable and the plot never really gripped my attention the way I wanted it to. However, it's definitely worth reading. I loved the fact that it was based upon descendants of Greek gods and Armentrout mentions aspects of the mythology throughout the book. I would have preferred that maybe there was more of the actual myths intertwined into the story, but maybe that's just my mythology obsession talking. I wouldn't say that the blurb really gives Alex credit in the sense that Aiden really wasn't that big of a problem. Their relationship wasn't overly sappy and it didn't overrun the story the way the summary implies. The romantic development between Alex and Aiden was both subtle and heart wrenching. They're both intelligent enough to know their limits, being together would mean risking both of their futures, and that only made it all the more frustrating to watch them fall head over heals for each other. As the book progressed, I fell in love with the characters. Alex is strong, stubborn, independent, and over all a great heroine. While Aiden is a warrior in every sense. Half Blood is written in a very light and casual tone that gives us a chance to get to know Alex's personality. it also offers some insight on her thoughts, which can either make you laugh, cry, or scream.
Honestly, I have a feeling I may have enjoyed this book more if I hadn't spent the entire time comparing it to other books. It is basically a rewrite of the entire Vampire Academy Series condensed into one book with the moroi, damphire, and strigoi(Vampires) replaced my pures, halfs, and daimons(descendents of Greek Gods). It prevented me from really getting connected with the plot when i pretty much knew what was going to happen. I wish I had found Half Blood when I was still in my Vampire Academy book hangover. It would have been perfect.
Review: 4 stars
Recommendations: if you liked this book you will absolutely fall in love with Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead. If you're interested in modernized greek mythology read Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan, The Medusa Girls series by Tera Lynn, or the Soul Screamers series by Rachel Vincent. If you like the idea of mystical creatures going to school together try the Hex Hall Trilogy by Rachel Hawkins, the House of Night series by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast, and The Shadow Falls Series by C.C. Hunter

Book Review: Dorothy Must Die

Review: 3:59

3:59 Gretchen McNeil

Josie's life is falling apart. Everything from her parent's relationship, to her boyfriend, and even her AP Physics experiment are going wrong. It seems even her sanity has taken a turn for the worse because she's begun to have dreams about another life, another reality, and the image in her mirror doesn't reflect, but it shows another room, another person in her bed. After a few days she discovers that the dreams and the image in her mirror occur every twelve hours, always for just a minute at precisely 3:59. The girl on the other side of the mirror, the girl who possesses the perfect life Josie has been living in her dreams, is her doppelgänger. Josie and Jo are the same person but with entirely different personalities and they live in different universes. With the belief that Jo has a life free of complications, Josie agrees to switch lives with her for a day. The world Josie steps into is a far cry from the paradise she imagined. The darkness brings monsters that crave human flesh and a power supplier, called the Grid, provide the only source for light. Josie has entered a world of corrupt government experiments and an endless fear of the dark. 3:59 has it all, from beautifully crafted sci-fi, enthralling mystery, suspense to keep you glued to the pages, and even romance. Personally, I've always been more for fantasy than sci-fi but this book definitely impressed me and McNeil better write a sequel.

Warning: the book ends on a slight cliff hanger
Rating: 4 stars
Recommendation: If you're interested in the idea of different universes and you love sci-fi watch the TV series "Fringe"

Review: Raven Boys

Raven Boys Maggie Stiefvater

The first thing I would like to say about this book is that the blurb on the back is EXTREMELY misleading. When you read the summary you may get the feeling that Raven Boys is all about the romance, all about Blue and Gansey's allure to each other, and it's just another teen romance story. Don't fall for it. Stiefvater put together a truly enthralling story, filled with fantasy and adventure, with a gripping mystery keeping you on the edge of your seat. The writing is amazing and it switches point of views between four different characters throughout the book. Blue Sargent is one of the most unique characters I have ever had the pleasure of reading about. She's the daughter of a psychic, but her only power is the ability to strengthen the skills of other psychics. She's strange in a way that she's proud of being different. Blue has been told for her entire life that she would one day kill her true love if she kisses him. It never really proved to be a problem until she sees the spirit of a boy who is destined to die within the next year. His name is Gansey. He's either her true love, or she's fated to kill him... or both. Their meeting is inevitable, but it isn't love at first sight as you would expect. Gansey has it all; he's rich, powerful, and has some of the most loyal friends he could ask for. He has devoted his life to finding a long lost king, supposedly buried somewhere near their town, and Blue soon finds herself involved in the search. Honestly, I found the search for the king to be odd and random, but it was interesting none the less. Raven Boys is fairly fast paced and is definitely a very fantasy heavy book. However, I would like to warn you that if you are searching for romance then this isn't where you'll find it. There are glimpses of what I assume to occur in the next two books of the trilogy between Blue and Gansey, but nothing serious. If you're in the mood for a new adventurous fantasy, then Raven Boys is your book.

Rating: 4 Stars

Review: Sweet Evil

Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins


Sweet Evil takes the typical fallen angel book to a whole new level. The Demons are split in social levels; lowly demons, whisperers, and the Dukes. The lowly demons do not leave hell and do not work on the earth plane. The whisperers are dark shadow-like creatures who obey the orders of the dukes as they whisper bad thoughts and insecurities into the ears of the humans. The Dukes are the only ones who are permitted to possess a human body. They each are the embodiments of sin and work to spread sin amongst humans. Their children, however, are called Nephalem and are half human. It is their job to be bad influences among their peers and use their lure to their demon parent's sin to promote it.
Anna Whitt is as good as it gets. She's the goody two shoes of the school and has one of the most empathetic souls out there. She's the the last person you would expect to have demon blood coursing through her veins. Anna can see people' aura's (how they're feeling by the color that surrounds them), can see everybody's individual guardian angels, and has supernaturally magnified senses, but she also has a strong pull towards drugs and alcohol that she has been struggling to repress. At a concert with her best friend Jay, her eyes land on the drummer. Kaiden Rowe is one of the most good looking guys alive, a phenomenal musician, and has an english accent. To make matters worse, he is basically the son of lust. There's something strange about him; he doesn't have a guardian angel and she can't read his emotions. He is a Nephalem. From the moment they meet, Anna's life is turned upside down with the discovery that she isn't the only one with her abilities. She discovers that she is the daughter of The Duke of substance abuse, but she is also different from the rest of the Nephalem because she is the first ever half angel and half demon. Anna must stay out of the eye of the other Dukes and the whisperers as she and Kaiden make their way to California to find out more about who Anna really is. If the other Dukes find her and see that she isn't able to perform at being a bad influence because of her good nature, she is of no use to them and she will be killed.
The use of a demon social pyramid gave this book a new and refreshing quality. While I love the typical angel falling for a human book, the new play on the Nephalem was intriguing to me and made for an interesting plot. However, I found the book to be predictable and the characters were less developed and realistic than I would have liked. I didn't find myself falling in love with Kaiden like I knew I should have. There just wasn't enough personality put into him. I also didn't feel like I could relate very well with Anna. Higgins put a lot of effort in selling that Anna was the "ultimate good girl" and in the process she made it so that Anna was a little too good to believe. I didn't find enough strength in her character and she fell in love a bit too fast. While I know Anna is innocent and part angel I think there should have been a bit more stubbornness and power in her personality, something to root for. Sweet Evil was definitely a quick read. I breezed through it in one sitting. The idea behind the book had a whole world of potential and while it was good it still didn't meet my expectations. Even so, I really want to get my hands on the sequel and I do recommend reading this book, but only for anybody who has run out of material and needs some supernatural romance to hold them over until the next book in their favorite series comes out.
Rating: 3 stars
Recommendation: If you're looking for angels and romance try the Hush, Hush series by Becca Fitzpatrick