The Elite by Kiera Cass

Publisher’s summary: The selection began with 35 girls. Now, with the group narrowed down to the Elite, the competition to win Prince Maxon's love is fiercer than ever. The closer America gets to the crown, the more she struggles to figure out where her heart truly lies. Each moment she spends with Maxon is like a fairy tale, filled with breathless, glittering romance. But whenever she sees her first love, Aspen, standing guard, she's swept up in longing for the life they'd planned to share.

America is desperate for more time. But while she's torn between her two futures, the rest of the Elite know exactly what they want—and America's chance to choose is about to slip away.

My take: Oh my gosh!!! This series is AWESOME! There is so much to say about why I loved, loved, loved this book! I loved The Selection and I just love The Elite even more!

The Elite picks up pretty much right where The Selection left off, and there is so much more that happens throughout this book! Oh…my! Something really terrible happens to one of my favorite characters in this book and I was absolutely horrified! That’s when we also learn how horrible the nation’s leaders really are. There are also some eye-opening things that happen that had me questioning the true motives of the rebels, and a bunch of other events that have left me curious about what is really going on all around! OH MY!!!! I’m dying to know more!

As for the romance! I was a little sad that Prince Maxon is absent from a lot of the book; especially, because Aspen is back in the picture and we see him throughout the book. I don’t hate Aspen, but I just really don’t want America to be with him. Then something horrible happens that had me questioning my feelings about Prince Maxon, but my feelings are really clear now! And this other thing that happens with Prince Maxon… I WAS a little horrified with the initial shock of it, but I should have expected it and I’m not really mad at him. I’m thinking, “Can I really blame the guy?” “Nah, I’m good!” I’m still Team Maxon!

There‘s a lot of craziness that happens near the end of The Elite, and I was worried that it was going to end in a way that I wouldn’t be happy with, but it actually ends perfectly! It ends in a way that has me dying for the last book and it left me knowing that the next book will be fabulous!

The Selection by Kiera Cass

Publisher’s summary: For thirty-five girls, The Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself—and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

My take: Loved it! Almost immediately when I first started listening to this book, I knew I’d like it!

I thought the romance between America and Aspen in the beginning of the book was sweet, and I thought right away that I’d be rooting for their relationship. But when Aspen started telling America to enter The Selection and then when he broke up with her, I was a little irritated. For a while, I gave him a break and took into consideration his insecurity about being unable to care for America, but I got over that really quick, and then I no longer cared that he was insecure…he was pretty much forgotten in my mind.

But as soon as Prince Maxon was introduced into the story, I was won over! Maxon was probably a huge factor as to why I forgot all about Aspen. There were so many moments throughout the story where I grew to like Maxon more and more. And even though America was unworthy of his affection because she kept turning away from him, I still was rooting for their relationship throughout the story. I kept hoping that America would realize that she should be falling for Maxon.

Obviously, for me the romance plays a big part in this book but, of course, it needs to be because The Selection is a dating game…right? But it wasn’t just the romance that made me love this book. I loved the interaction between the ladies in The Selection and loved learning if they could be trusted. I was also interested in discovering the dynamics of the royal family because I’m sure they can’t all be good if the country is now run so horribly.

Near the end, there was a complication thrown into the mix with Aspen, and I wasn’t too thrilled with that. But I knew it needed to happen in order for the reader to truly know if America will choose the right guy for the right reasons. And, of course, I immediately started reading The Elite as soon as I was done with The Selection.

Arclight by Josin L. McQuein

Publisher’s summary: No one survives the Fade.
They have taken everything, destroyed everything.
The only safe place left is within the wall of light called the Arclight.

No one survives the Fade.
If they call you, if you leave, you're lost.

No one survives the Fade.
They're trying to get in.

No one survives the Fade.
But she did.
She doesn't remember how.
She doesn't remember anything.

Marina survived the Fade . . .
but for how long?

My take: The moment I saw the cover of Arclight I was really intrigued and could hardly wait to read this one! And I actually ended up really liking it! I had the ARC but I ended up listening to the audio on Audible.

I absolutely love the way this book starts out. You get the feel right from the very start that Marina is kind of the odd-girl-out, and that there is a good reason why everyone looks at her like she’s a bad omen. And right when all this opening craziness happens, we get to meet a bunch of characters that are introduced into this high stress environment…including the main character Marina. Then to top it all off (along with the really cool story/character introductions), we get a feel for what the people in this story are protecting themselves from (The Fade.)

Throughout the story every scene moves smoothly and kept me entertained. There were just a few things that I had troubles with. Once we start to get a feel, or start to see a picture of The Fade, I had a hard time visualizing them in my mind. And then, when we finally do learn a lot more about The Fade, the new information just kept messing with the image that I already created in my head. Hopefully, we will get a clearer picture of The Fade in the following books. My only other problem is that I listened to Arclight pretty much right after I listened to Mila 2.0, and there were a few similarities (not much really) between the two books and the Narrator for both books is the same. I’ve listened to another book read by Tara Sands and she’s a really good Narrator, but I just felt like these two books had a similar feel to them. (Of course, the only reason I may have noticed these similarities is because I listened to both books back-to-back.) Other than those two things, I really liked this book.

The paranormal/dystopian aspect to Arclight is very different from everything else out there and I really liked this aspect of the book. I’m really looking forward to the next book so I can learn more about The Fade.

Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers

Publisher's summary: Sybella's duty as Death's assassin in 15th-century France forces her return home to the personal hell that she had finally escaped. Love and romance, history and magic, vengeance and salvation converge in this thrilling sequel to Grave Mercy.

Sybella arrives at the convent’s doorstep half mad with grief and despair. Those that serve Death are only too happy to offer her refuge—but at a price. The convent views Sybella, naturally skilled in the arts of both death and seduction, as one of their most dangerous weapons. But those assassin's skills are little comfort when the convent returns her to a life that nearly drove her mad. And while Sybella is a weapon of justice wrought by the god of Death himself, He must give her a reason to live. When she discovers an unexpected ally imprisoned in the dungeons, will a daughter of Death find something other than vengeance to live for?

My take: This book was phenomenal! I had really high hopes for this book after reading Grave Mercy and it didn’t disappoint even one bit…I got everything I wanted and more!

After reading Grave Mercy, I was super excited when I learned that in Dark Triumph we get to learn more about Sybella, cause all throughout Grave Mercy we only got to see little glimpses of Sybella, and her character was extremely intriguing. Now I know why! Holy CRAP! That girl has had one extremely messed up life. I don’t think it could at all get any worse than what she had to go through, and I knew that pretty much immediately as soon as I discovered who her family was. And OMG!...it’s horrifying. I kept questioning myself like, “Is that really her dad? Oh crap!” Being able to be in Sybella’s mind, to truly understand what she’s thinking, and gauge her reactions to situations was perfect!

Other than Sybella’s story, there are other things that I was thrilled that we get to see more of. We get to learn more about St. Mortain (Death) and the Convent. We get to see Ismae through Sybella’s eyes and we get to know more about the politics between the countries. And we learn more about the death marks!

Every part of this book was fabulous. The beginning, the middle and the end were all AWESOME! And hooray for the romance! Score!!! It was the most perfect of all perfect matches! I couldn’t have asked for a better dude for Sybella.

I’m super excited that the last book in the His Fair Assassin Trilogy is going to be about Annith. I can’t imagine what kind of life she has had, and I hope that she gets a happily ever after. I have a feeling that I’m going to have a really hard time saying goodbye to this series. I can’t believe there is only one book left.

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Publisher’s summary: “Eleanor & Park reminded me not just what it’s like to be young and in love with a girl, but also what it’s like to be young and in love with a book.”—John Green, The New York Times Book Review.

Bono met his wife in high school, Park says.
So did Jerry Lee Lewis, Eleanor answers.
I’m not kidding, he says.
You should be, she says, we’re 16.
What about Romeo and Juliet?
Shallow, confused, then dead.
I love you, Park says.
Wherefore art thou, Eleanor answers.
I’m not kidding, he says.
You should be.

Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love—and just how hard it pulled you under.

My take: After hearing from so many people who loved this book and after reading John Green’s awesome review of Eleanor & Park, I was really looking forward to reading this book.

First of all, I am quite pissed off with the ending. There was something that I was waiting, and Waiting, and WAITING for that I thought would happen sometime throughout the entire book, and then something happens in the very end that only “implies” that this particular thing “might have” happened. BUT I wanted Rainbow Rowell to SPELL IT OUT!!!! I want to know what those three friggin’ words were on that dang post card. I have my hopes about what they mean but, based on this particular character, her actions are not always what you really expect or hope for.

OK…I have a lot of emotions over this book. I think I was a little guarded through a lot of the book because I was constantly bracing myself for something awful to happen. And yes, something awful does happen and, even though I was trying to prepare myself for the worst, I didn’t think it would happen like that…so I was all thrown off. You want to know if I cried? Yep!!! I cried…a lot. But it was all worth it…and it would be even more worth it if Rainbow would actually tell us what’s on that post card. *sigh*

What I loved most about this book is how well the characters were put together. First, there are Park’s totally hilarious parents who seem to be making out all the time in every corner of the book. And then there are the all-around horrific parents of Eleanor who make you want to climb right into the book and give Eleanor a giant hug. There’s also the change in Park’s personality from the beginning of the book to the end, and then there’s Eleanor who seems like she doesn’t care what people think about her on the outside but, on the inside, she’s ALL messed up. And last there are those characters that ended up surprising me at the end of the book! Loved it!

This is a very quick read that takes you through a lot of emotions, but the best part is the very fun, intense romance that seems like it should be totally awkward, but is OH!!! SO PERFECT!

Angelfall by Susan Ee

Publisher’s summary: It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

My take: What the heck? Did all that just really happen? That is THE craziest ending EVER! Seriously…THAT was insane!

When I first started Angelfall, I sensed that it might be a really dark book because it seemed very grim. And, as I got further into the story, things just got insanely crazy. Angelfall is one of those types of books that make you wonder if you’ll have crazy dreams or even nightmares after reading. But even during the most insane moments…moments that should have had me totally freaking-out…Susan Ee had a way of writing them so they weren’t quite as disturbing as they could, and probably should, have been. I haven’t figured out how these brilliant authors are able to do that, but she did it brilliantly well.

The characters are very well done in this book. I really liked and admired the main character Penryn, and I pretty much grew attached to Raffe from the moment he was introduced. But it was Penryn’s mother who was the most fascinating. I want to know if she really is psycho, or if she really has demons controlling her. The things that woman does throughout the book are both disturbing and comical.

There’s not much more I want to say about Angelfall other than it’s a really small book and a very quick read, I would highly recommend it and I'm dying for the next book in the series.

Spellcaster by Claudia Gray

Publisher’s summary: When Nadia's family moves to Captive's Sound, she instantly realizes there's more to the place than meets the eye. Descended from witches, Nadia can sense that a spell has been cast over the tiny Rhode Island town—a sickness infecting everyone and everything in it. The magic at work is darker and more powerful than anything she's come across and has sunk its claws most deeply into Mateo . . . her rescuer, her friend, and the guy she yearns to get closer to even as he pushes her away.

Mateo has lived in Captive's Sound his entire life, shadowed by small-town gossip and his family's tormented past. Every generation, the local legends say, one member of the family goes mad, claiming to know the future before descending into insanity. When the strange dreams Mateo has been having of rescuing a beautiful girl from a car accident actually come true, he knows he's doomed.

Despite the forces pulling them apart, Nadia and Mateo must work together to break the chains of his terrible family curse, and to prevent a coming disaster that even now threatens the entire town, including Nadia's family, her newfound friends, and her own life. Shimmering with magic and mystery, New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray's new novel depicts a dark and unforgettable world of witches, curses, buried secrets, and star-crossed romance.

My take: Wow! I’m actually really surprised how much I really liked this book! When I got to the end of Spellcaster, I wasn’t quite sure if it was going to be in a series, but I’m thrilled to find out that there is going to be a series…because I’m seriously eager to find out what happens with the characters.

The very first scene in Spellcaster starts off with something crazy happening. I was totally caught off guard that something like that would happen right from the start. If the beginning of the book could start off that way, then the end just has to be pretty awesome, right? Well my assumptions were correct! The ending was pretty awesome.

Spellcaster is different than most of the other books I’ve read because it moves back and forth between the POV of the protagonist Nadia and the villain. So the difference with this book is there is not a whole lot of surprise. The benefit to seeing the story in the POV of the villain is that you know that she’s extremely crazy! She’s right up there with the all-time ultimate of all evil villains.

Personally, I loved the character Verlaine the best. So I was super happy when we got a couple POV scenes with her character. I would love it a lot if the next books in this series have her character throughout because I would love to learn more about her.

Overall, Spellcaster is a really quick and fun read. It reminded me why I love Claudia Gray’s writing style.

Easy by Tammara Webber

Publisher’s summary: Rescued by a stranger.
Haunted by a secret
Sometimes, love isn’t easy…

He watched her, but never knew her. Until thanks to a chance encounter, he became her savior…

The attraction between them was undeniable. Yet the past he’d worked so hard to overcome, and the future she’d put so much faith in, threatened to tear them apart.

Only together could they fight the pain and guilt, face the truth—and find the unexpected power of love.

A groundbreaking novel in the New Adult genre, Easy faces one girl's struggle to regain the trust she's lost, find the inner strength to fight back against an attacker, and accept the peace she finds in the arms of a secretive boy.

My take: First of all, I want everyone who’s reading this review to be fully aware that a lot of content in this book is all about THE very things that I normally say absolutely NO to when reading a book. So, me giving this book 4 stars is pretty ginormous. Number one, I do not read Contemporary. Number two, I do not read anything that has Adult or New Adult content. And, lastly, I stay 100 feet away from anything that has to do with sexual assault. All of the peeps out there who have been trying to push me into reading this book really don’t know me too well. But even after saying all that, I actually quite enjoyed this book.

I listened to Easy on Audible on a road trip, and I only started listening to it because I was struggling to keep awake while listening to another book. I’m not going to tell you what other book I had to put on hold in order to listen to Easy, but I think everyone would die if they knew what book I set aside to listen to this one.

Anyways, the scene in the very beginning pretty much should have told me to run far, far away. But it didn’t frighten me as much as it normally would, and I was consumed into the writing style so that I kept on listening.

Easy was written with extremely well developed characters. Jacqueline is struggling with a previous breakup, then this horrible thing happens to her and then she grows into a very strong character throughout the story. Everything about Lucas is easy to fall in love with from his hot looks, to his funny, playful and protective personality. And then there are the several douchebag characters that were very well developed too.

Obviously, you can see that this book is full of all kinds of drama, so it’s a given that there would be a lot of tears shed while listening to this book. And yes, I sobbed! The best part of the story was the romance with Jacqueline and Lucas! The whole development of their relationship was extremely well done.

Fragments by Dan Wells

Publisher’s summary: Kira Walker has found the cure for RM, but the battle for the survival of humans and Partials is just beginning. Kira has left East Meadow in a desperate search for clues to who she is. That the Partials themselves hold the cure for RM in their blood cannot be a coincidence—it must be part of a larger plan, a plan that involves Kira, a plan that could save both races. Her companions are Afa Demoux, an unhinged drifter and former employee of ParaGen, and Samm and Heron, the Partials who betrayed her and saved her life, the only ones who know her secret. But can she trust them?

Meanwhile, back on Long Island, what's left of humanity is gearing up for war with the Partials, and Marcus knows his only hope is to delay them until Kira returns. But Kira's journey will take her deep into the overgrown wasteland of postapocalyptic America, and Kira and Marcus both will discover that their greatest enemy may be one they didn't even know existed.

The second installment in the pulse-pounding Partials saga is the story of the eleventh hour of humanity's time on Earth, a journey deep into places unknown to discover the means—and even more important, a reason—for our survival.

My take: The moment I started Fragments, I was immediately immersed back into the world that Dan Wells created. This series is so awesome! I’m dying to get my hands on the last book in the trilogy! A year is just way too far away.

Even though I was happy that we get to follow along in Kira’s POV (so we know what the heck she’s doing after the way Partials ended), I was even more thrilled that we got a lot of the book from the POV of Marcus. Kira’s story is very important to the trilogy because it’s a huge link to everything, but I felt like Marcus’ story moved along a lot faster and kept the story entertaining. Don’t get me wrong, Kira’s story is very entertaining, but there was a lot of traveling, investigating and hiccups along the way in all of her parts, so it didn’t move as fast as what was going on with Marcus. I do have to admit that some of the craziest scenes in the book are still with Kira, but one of the suckiest scenes is with Kira as well. I could hardly believe that Dan Wells would even go there. It was actually quite cruel! So, basically, the whole book was pretty phenomenal.

One of the things I love most about these books are the intense action scenes and discovering how complicated the world has become. But what I love most about this book is that a lot of the loose ends about what truly happened to the world start to tie together, and it’s actually crazily insane. You’re left wondering what the heck the humans were thinking when they made all these crazy decisions.

There is a twist that is revealed pretty close to the end of the book that I actually figured out pretty early on, but it was still a shock to see that it was true. And how it all happened is pretty crazy in itself.

So enough about talking in riddles. The way Fragments ended is set in a way that is blatantly obvious that the last book in the trilogy is going to be awesome! I can hardly wait to experience it too!

The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

Publisher’s summary: Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father's gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true.

Accompanied by her father's handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward—both of whom she is deeply drawn to—Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father's madness: He has experimented on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. And worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island's inhabitants. Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father's dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it's too late. Yet as the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father's genius—and madness—in her own blood. Inspired by H. G. Wells's classic The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Madman's Daughter is a dark and breathless Gothic thriller about the secrets we'll do anything to know and the truths we'll go to any lengths to protect.

My take: Now that book was bizarre! I don’t even know how to review this book. And how the heck does a book end like that? I wouldn’t say that I’m too shocked by the ending because I should have seen it coming from a mile away. But, really? What the heck is going to happen now? And how the heck is this whole thing going to work out? You’re probably wondering why I’m asking all this; well, how about you read The Madman’s Daughter and maybe then you can give me some answers.

I can’t decide what part of the book was most bizarre. I’m sitting here putting all the pieces of the story together in my head, but I just can’t decide. The beginning of the book had a number of very disturbing things that happened, but then there are other disturbing things, on a whole-nuther level of bizarre, that happen all throughout the story. Then there was this big revelation that I put together probably earlier than I should have (I think it was supposed to be a twist but it was also very bizarre), and then that ending. What? OK. Really? Whatever.

I could go through all the characters that I liked, disliked or I’m unsure about, but I want to refrain from spoilers. And telling you anything about the characters at all might cause a spoiler.

Once again we have a love triangle, but most of the time I was wondering what’s the point of the love triangle because it wasn’t really much of a competition. But I love how it was brought around full circle in the end. Very well done.

I’m really looking forward to knowing what’s going to happen to this person and that person…and what will happen to all the bizarre stuff...and all those things I can’t really talk about. LOL

Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

Publisher’s summary: It's one thing to learn to curtsy properly. It's quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to Finishing School.

Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is a great trial to her poor mother. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper manners--and the family can only hope that company never sees her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminnick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. So she enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.

But Sophronia soon realizes the school is not quite what her mother might have hoped. At Mademoiselle Geraldine's, young ladies learn to finish...everything. Certainly, they learn the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but the also learn to deal out death, diversion, and espionage--in the politest possible ways, of course. Sophronia and her friends are in for a rousing first year's education.

Set in the same world as the Parasol Protectorate, this YA series debut is filled with all the saucy adventure and droll humor Gail's legions of fans have come to adore.

My take: Etiquette & Espionage was a lot of fun to read. Apparently this is a spin-off from Gail Carrieger’s popular adult series, The Parasol Protectorate. Etiquette & Espionage is definitely young adult.

In the beginning of the story there is a really funny scene that had me realize these books are intended to be a fun and funny story. I mean, really, the girls are learning etiquette and espionage on a floating school and it takes a really fast, high jumping werewolf that wears a hat (even when he shifts) to herd them all onto the platform to get them to enter the school? That should tell you!

The characters are all really different. The main character, Sophronia, always seems really concerned about learning how to truly act properly, but she’s so distracted elsewhere that it almost seems like it’s too much of an inconvenience for her to actually learn how to be a lady…even though it’s not like she didn’t really want to learn. This isn’t the case for all of the characters. There’s another girl who I would really like to be consider as the “mean girl;” a girl who really only wants to be a lady and go to a proper etiquette school. And then there’s a girl who seems like she has no intention of being a lady at all. My favorite is Sophronia’s little clockwork dog. So cute! Oh…and the boy that is introduced is cute too.

There is this whole detective thing going on throughout the story, and it all unfolds in the end in a very fun way. I’m really looking forward to reading more from this series.

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Publisher’s summary: A gorgeous, witchy, romantic fantasy by a debut author! Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and the Beautiful Creatures series!

Everybody thinks Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they're witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship--or an early grave. Then Cate finds her mother's diary, and uncovers a secret that could spell her family's destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra. But if what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren't safe--not even from each other.

My take: Oh! Crap! Did that ending really just happen? What? Seriously? Now I’m extremely upset that I loaned out my copy of Star Cursed because I really want to read it…like now!

I was a little leery about starting Born Wicked because I’ve heard some pretty mixed opinions about this book. But I’m now extremely happy that I read it! And I’m now thinking that the people who had negative thoughts about this book probably didn’t end up reading the whole book because I loved it! And the ending was absolutely phenomenal! Oh, that crazy, hectic ending for sure has set the tone for the remainder of this series, and I’m thrilled. I’ll have to admit it’s a pretty big cliffhanger, but it still ended perfectly brilliantly.

The characters were all very well developed. While reading Born Wicked, I came to feel really bad for Cate (protagonist) because she was left with the burden of protecting a huge secret and taking care of her sisters at such a young age. In their world, it is very dangerous to have any magical capabilities whatsoever, and Cate and her sisters have serious magical capabilities! They’re all witches! And Cate has to try super hard to keep this fact a secret…even from their very own father!

The world that these girls live in is very disturbing and dark. It, for sure, is not a time era I would envy living in, even if I didn’t have magical capabilities.

There is a little bit of a love triangle in this one but, in my opinion, there really isn’t a competition. So I’d be shocked if Jessica Spotswood played up that love triangle in the following books.

This book was a lot of fun to read. If you like witches in a world of historical fiction, you’ll for sure love this book. And those of you who never finished this book, you need to pick it back up!

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

 

Publisher’s summary: Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.

Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning-author John Green’s most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.

My take: Oh! Em! Gee!!! I blew through this book! It was a very quick read and it was amazing! So this is my first dive into YA contemporary, and I’m so unbelievably happy that I picked The Fault in Our Stars to be my first in this genre because it was freakin’ awesome!

So, first of all, I read The Fault in Our Stars in audio. But I was so caught up in the story that for the last few hours I listened to the book, I also followed along in my signed hardcover (thanks to Kristina.) The audio was fabulous, and the audio reader really did this book justice!!!

The one thing I have to say for sure is that I was a major hot mess while reading this dang book. I was like full on ugly crying for the last TWO HOURS of reading this freakin’ book. Yep, I was sobbing so much that I had to blow my nose more than a few times. I actually had to have a full roll of toilet paper sitting with me on my bed, and I even had to use an empty box next to my bed as a trash can. Yeah, there were a few moments where I was only just tearing up a little, but once I got to this one particular, DANG part, I was full on sobbing! And then I just couldn’t stop! It was bad! Like really, Really, REALLY bad. And, then, even when there were really funny parts in the book after that (and there were a LOT of funny parts!) I would be laughing while I was STILL crying. Thank goodness that no one was watching! I can honestly say that I’ve never been that emotional over a book before. I think the only movie/book I’ve ever cried that hard over is the movie A Beautiful Mind, but that’s only because the story to A Beautiful Mind hits me really close to home.

In fact, The Fault in Our Stars made such an emotional impact on me that, at one point (when I was feeling awful over the realization that Grace wouldn’t be a qualified candidate to receive a lung transplant because she was too sick), I thought that when I die I want to make sure I donate my lungs ONLY to someone who’s too sick to be a transplant candidate!

I need to confess my love, heart and soul to Augustus Waters! I’m not a poem writer or even a poem reader, but he makes me want to write poetry dedicated only to him! I love you Augustus Waters. LOL!

I guess I should talk about all the other awesome characters, other than Augustus Waters. I love Hazel Grace Lancaster as well! Reading from the first-person POV of Hazel was perfect! Her thought process kept the story extremely entertaining. And another one of my fave characters is, of course, Isaac. He adds just the right touch to the story. All of the characters in this book were very well developed…to the point where, even if we got to see a character only briefly, their character was very vividly developed in my mind.

This is a book I would highly recommend to anyone, but make sure you keep more than a few tissues handy.

The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson

Publisher’s summary: She does not know what awaits her at the enemy's gate.

Elisa is a hero.

She led her people to victory over a terrifying, sorcerous army. Her place as the country's ruler should be secure. But it isn't.

Her enemies come at her like ghosts in a dream, from foreign realms and even from within her own court. And her destiny as the chosen one has not yet been fulfilled.

To conquer the power she bears, once and for all, Elisa must follow a trail of long-forgotten—and forbidden—clues, from the deep, hidden catacombs of her own city to the treacherous seas. With her go a one-eyed spy, a traitor, and the man whom—despite everything—she is falling in love with.

If she's lucky, she will return from this journey. But there will be a cost.

My take: Yep! Rae Carson did it again! She’s written another phenomenal book in her Fire and Thorns trilogy. I can’t say that The Crown of Embers was better than The Girl of Fire and Thorns because TGoFaT first introduced me to this fascinating fantasy world Rae Carson created with all of its exciting and crazy things, but there were some things about TCoE that I did like better than TGoFaT.

First of all, the ending to The Crown of Embers sucks! Hardcore!!! But at the same time, there is something else entirely that Elisa does in the end that totally rocks! What an ending!

I feel like this is going to be a really short review because I think pretty much anything I’d say would be a spoiler. One of the things I especially loved about this book was trying to discover who Elisa can trust and who she couldn’t. There were also some really hard decisions that Elisa had to make in this book, decisions that both horrified me and delighted me. There is one particular decision that Elisa makes that totally horrified me, but I was even more shocked that the other characters around her were actually supportive of her decision…like she made the right one! But then I found this other really tough, pressing decision Elisa has to make quite funny…even though it’s completely obvious (at least to me!) what particular decision Elisa just needs to make, without question!

Do I sound like I’m talking in riddles? This is the only way I feel like I can express my thoughts while doing my best to refrain from revealing spoilers.

I was a little disappointed that I didn’t get to read more about the little prince in this book because he is one of my favorite characters in this series. But we do get some more of Hector in this book and I’m swooning hardcore!

The end has a pretty SUCKY, awesome cliffhanger but I wasn’t very surprised. And I just know that the last book in Rae’s Fire and Thorns trilogy The Bitter Kingdom will be fabulous because TCoE ended in a way that the last book in the series can only be amazing! TCoE is a book I’m for sure going to be pimping to everyone.

OH! And BTW…I listened to both The Girl of Fire and Thorns and The Crown of Embers on audio, and the audios are fabulous! I’ve already recommended them to a few friends and they also loved the audios too.

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

Publisher’s summary: Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.

Elisa has always felt powerless, useless. Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king who needs her to be the chosen one, not a failure of a princess. And he's not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies, seething with dark magic, are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could save his people. And he looks at her in a way no man has ever looked at her before. Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn't die young.

Most of the chosen do.

My take: This book totally rocked! And also sucked (in a good way)! I know, that doesn’t sound right…but it does in my head.

When I first started reading The Girl of Fire and Thorns, I was shocked to discover pretty much in the very beginning of the book that the main character Elisa is getting married…like literally getting dressed for the big matrimonial event! I’ve read books where a girl was going to get married, or gets married later on, or even gets married in the beginning but quickly thereafter the marriage ends, but Elisa actually gets married in the very beginning of a YA book! Like for real! And it was an arranged marriage because of her royal status. I was shocked! Can you tell? And I was immediately so intrigued about where this story was going to go, that I was stuck!

But it wasn’t just the beginning of the book that had me intrigued to keep on reading; I also think Rae Carson did a fabulous job creating a totally compelling main character, Elisa. We are basically informed in the very first scene of The Girl of Fire and Thorns that Elisa is overweight. But I was determined to discover “how” overweight she was. And being in Elisa’s head was very entertaining. Her whole thought process and her perception of everything going on around her was very fun. It was a lot of fun watching Elisa grow on the inside and shrink on the outside. Wait…did I say that? Spoiler! And then her obsession with food and all the times she would get hungry was just hilarious! OH! And the one thing that I discuss the most with everyone after I read this book is…the Godstone! I had a really hard time picturing this stone that’s imbedded into Elisa’s stomach, and all I kept thinking about was those Troll Dolls that have a jewel in their stomach. Boy was that distracting. Oh! And I can't forget that kick butt scene her nurse did out of no where! You've got to read it to see what I mean.

I’m not even going to dive in to the whole love interest thing because that could possibly be a major spoiler! Or maybe not…

Not only was this book fun and entertaining to read, but there were some pretty crazy things happening throughout the book as well. It’s not very far into the story when there is a big plot twist and then everything changes in Elisa’s life. It was awesome! And then there is the tragedy(ies)! Yep!!! I cried a couple times in this book.

Pretty much everything that happened in this book was unexpected, but I for sure didn’t expect that it would end the way it did, and I started The Crown of Embers the very moment I finished The Girl of Fire and Thorns.

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Publisher’s summary: Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

My take: This book is phenomenal! The moment I started reading Grave Mercy I knew that it was a lot different than anything I’ve ever read before. It’s set in a different time era (more than a few hundred years ago) and it starts out with a really horrible scene. In fact, the scene was so horrible and I felt so bad for the main character (Ismae) after that opening scene, that when Ismae is then taken to a sanctuary and discovers that she will become a trained assassin, I was absolutely thrilled! Isn’t that weird? That I should be happy that a character will be killing people? And thrilled that the character is the daughter of Death Himself?

I absolutely adored Ismae. She’s a very well developed character, and I loved every moment when she’d excitedly start looking for the first sign that would tell her when and who she could kill next. I actually caught myself giggling a couple times over these moments. And she is one kick butt heroine! There were quite a few characters that I also grew to care for or admire later on, but I don’t want to talk about them to avoid spoilers.

The romance in this book was very well developed. And I think it was developed in a way that is just right for Ismae because of all the horrible experiences she’s had with men in the past. And the way the romance was intertwined throughout the story was just the perfect touch.

I do want to touch on the writing in this book! Robin LaFevers writes beautifully! The whole story flowed very well, and I was easily sucked into the world Robin created in Grave Mercy.

The way the story ended was fabulously done and the whole book (and ending) have me craving for more. But I’m even more thrilled that we will be getting the story of a girl-character named Sybella in the sequel Dark Triumph. She was only briefly introduced in Grave Mercy and each moment she pops up in the story is so brief that I’m craving to know what the heck she’s up to.

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Publisher’s summary: Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart.

My take: Shadow and Bone is one of the best Fantasy books I’ve read in a really long time! The dark, twisted, magical world that Leigh Bardugo created sucked me in from the very beginning, and I couldn’t get enough! At Leigh Bardugo’s signing, she spoke about the cover of Shadow and Bone…about how much she loves it and about how there are elements in the cover that are really significant to the story. I’ll have to admit that I was impatiently waiting for the moment that I would understand what these element meant while I was listening (yeah I read it by Audible) to Shadow and Bone, and now I’m super excited that I’m in the know! I’m pretty sure I squealed the moment I figured it out. Isn’t that just silly? I think I probably appreciated it even more because I already knew there was something significant about the cover before I even read the book.

The fantasy world that Leigh created is truly unique. It’s been a while since I’ve read a high fantasy book, and I forgot how much I truly enjoy them. And Leigh made it especially enjoyable because every moment while reading I had no idea what to expect, and that is what made reading Shadow and Bone so fun.

As for the characters, Alina was the perfect female protagonist. I loved watching her grow and I understood and respected her actions throughout the story. As for the dudes, I was a fan of The Darkling throughout most of the story, but I’m now actually a huge fan of Mal!

Overall, the story was amazing, the world was awesome, and the characters were very well developed…AND I’m now dying to get my hands on Siege and Storm.