Review: Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Unearthly

Author: Cynthia Hand

Publisher: HarperTeen

Series: Unearthly #1

Pages: 435

Genre: Paranormal

Release Date: January 4, 2011

How Received: Netgalley

Summary: In the beginning, there’s a boy standing in the trees...

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she’s part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn’t easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there’s another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara’s less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she’d have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

My Thoughts:

Unearthly is my first angel novel, and I have to say that I picked a really good angel novel to come into.

Most of the book involves Clara’s day to day life, and her questions of the angel blood that resides within her. I loved that Unearthly blended in the normal with the paranormal so seamlessly. It added much more realism to the story overall. I, for one, was able to enjoy the scenes in school and in the cafeteria.

Clara was such an amazing character. She has one of the few first person perspectives that doesn’t make me want to rip my hair out. Not only is she logical and sound in most of her decisions, but she’s loyal to her friends and family, and she learns how to form her own opinions on things. She’s a believable teenager – she makes mistakes a couple of times, but she learns through them, and she has her own insecurities and doubts. She stood up to her fears, miniscule and big things alike, and constantly rose up to meet the taunts Tucker threw at her. Her character development was so exponential, and I found myself really enjoying reading about her.

The romance... Oh boy, the romance. The only other romance that had me feeling so sweet, giggly, and excited was Violet and Jay’s romance form The Body Finder. Coming from me, that is such huge praise. Clara and Tucker start off indifferent to each other. They mostly stay out of each others’ way. But then Tucker starts being “mean” to her, laying on the sarcasm very hard – typical grade school, poking-you-in-the-back boyish fashion. But Tucker himself wasn’t mean. He’s charming, witty, sarcastic, kind, loyal, and very gentlemanly. It was so easy to spot Tucker’s attraction to her, even though Clara couldn’t. Their romance developed over the course of the summer. It was sweet, it was languid, and it was amazing. I found myself falling in love with Tucker.

The writing in Unearthly was superb. I’m not even sure how to describe it as. It was easy to follow, very fluid, and had a conversational tone to it. It had a plethora of description, but that didn’t take away from the pacing of the plot. I’d turn a couple of pages and realize how much just actually transpired. The pacing was great – hardly anything lulled, and it kept my attention and before I knew it, I was finished!

That ending at the end seriously made me want more... now. It isn’t that cliffhangery, but there are a lot of questions posed and a blank slate in front of Clara now, so I’m curious to see where the next book goes with that! I’m eager to see what Clara does now, and to learn more about the angels Cynthia’s concocted for us.

Cover Musings: G-o-r-g-e-o-u-s. ‘Nuff said.

Memorable Quotes:

I also recorded my experiments, like the time I cut my forearm with a knife just to see if I would bleed (which I did, a lot) and carefully noted how long it took to heal (about twenty four hours, from when I made the cut to when the little pink line completely disappeared), the time I spoke Swahili to a man in the San Francisco airport (imagine the surprise for both of us), or how I could do twenty-five grand jetés back and foth across the floor of the ballet studio without getting winded. (pg. 16)

I stare at her in dismay. Mom has tried to teach me to fly exactly two times, and both were complete disasters. In fact, I’ve essentially given up on the idea of flight altogether and accepted that I’m going to be an angel-blood who stays earthbound, a flightless bird, like an ostrich maybe, or, in this weather, a penguin. (pg. 25)

I hope there aren’t any, oh I don’t know, forest fires before he gets back. But there can’t be, can there? The fire can’t take place unless he’s there, right? Is it possible to miss my purpose because my subject won’t cooperate? (pg. 158)

He shakes his head. “Your eyebrows. They’re, like, dark gold.”

“You’re staring at my eyebrows now?”

“I’m looking at you. Why are you always trying to hide how pretty you are?” (pg. 182)

“What do you see in a guy like Christian Prescott?” he asked me that night when he dropped me off from prom. And what he was really saying then, what would have come through loud and clear if I hadn’t been so blind was, Why don’t you see me? (pg. 183)

I sit up. Maybe I should have figured this out a long time ago. I shouldn’t have needed to read his heart in order to see it. But when I felt all that love rising up in him, I didn’t know I was inside his head. I didn’t notice that the feelings weren’t mine. And why is that?

Easy.

It’s all me, the human part, the angel part. I love [him]. (pg. 200)

“Not red,” I say with a shrug.

“I always felt like there was something off about your hair.”

“So you thought you’d torture me by calling me Carrots?”

“I still thought I’d never seen anyone as beautiful as you.” He drops his head and rubs the back of his neck, embarrassed. He’s blushing. (pg. 205)

I love how he sometimes gets embarrassed by all the mushy stuff between us and then his voice gets all gruff and he tickles me or kisses me to shut us both up. Boy, do we ever kiss. We make out like champions. (pg. 206)

What can I say? Sorry, I know it seemed like I was crazy about you before, but that was before. I have a boyfriend now? You snooze you lose? (pg. 214)

Overall Thoughts/Final Comments: I had a hard time reviewing Unearthly because truly, how can I even begin to convey how amazing this book is? I don’t think I can; I don’t think I did. For a while, the “my thoughts” section only had “OMG THIS BOOK WAS SO AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”. No joke. But I figured none of you would appreciate such a short review, so I tried to get my act together. :P The characters in this book were great – I’d love having Clara, Angela, or Wendy as my friends – and the romance totally made me swoon. Almost as much as Violet and Jay’s romance in The Body Finder (again, that is HIGH praise, coming from me). It was addicting and just oh so good! I’m kind of upset that we have to wait so long for the second book. =(

Rating: 5/5

*This review was submitted in the 2011 Debut Author Challenge!

**I received a digital copy of Unearthly from the publisher via Netgalley. Thank you HarperTeen and Netgalley!

Review: Entangled by Cat Clarke

Entangled

Author: Cat Clarke

Publisher: Quercus

Series: N/A

Pages: 374

Genre: Fiction

Release Date: January 6, 2011

How Received: Star Book Tours

Summary: The same questions whirl round and round in my head:
What does he want from me?
How could I have let this happen?
AM I GOING TO DIE?

17-year-old Grace wakes up in a white room, with a table, pens and paper – and no clue how she got there.

As Grace pours her tangled life onto the page, she is forced to remember everything she’s tried to forget. There’s falling hopelessly in love with the gorgeous Nat, and the unraveling of her relationship with her best friend Sal. But there’s something missing. As hard as she’s trying to remember, is there something she just can’t see?

Grace must face the most important question of all. Why is she here?

My Thoughts:

Entangled is one of those books that truly make you think, drawing you out of your shell to become engaged and interpret things in your own way. It’s intense, harrowing, and very, very dark. During the entire book, there were a lot of things missing and we’re forced to stumble along with Grace as she figures out how she got where she was, and why.

Honestly, the connection I made with Grace transcends me being a mere reader and Grace being a fictional depiction of a teenager. I felt like the Grace I was reading about was an exact replica of me, minus all the wild sex she was having with “randoms”. I know I say that a lot, but I’m serious with this one: Grace and I both lost our dads (hers is more extreme, admittedly), we both used to cut, we had almost identical thoughts – the list goes on. I became more engrossed into the story because I could empathize with Grace. She is such a complex character that I’m sure I could spend my entire review just talking about her.

Grace had so many dimensions to her, yet she never once went out of character. While she got great grades and puts on a happy front for everyone, she went into this increasingly self-destructive spiral that made me feel helpless once it began. She is so realistically believable that it almost hurt. Grace is one of those teenagers: the ones that look perfectly normal, possibly happy, even, and no one could know that there is so much more going on with her. Hardly anyone, without reading her story, will ever look at this girl in public and want to get to know the lonely soul that I know resides within her. It’s those teenagers that get overlooked the most, the ones that think their lives are worth nothing, and the ones who feel compelled to end it all. However, despite the grimness of Grace’s character, she’s also very witty and it made great comic relief for all of the other depressing times.

The only problem I had with Grace was how oblivious she was. Perhaps it was just me, being raised as a skeptic and seeing the worst in people, but I had guessed what would happen from the very moment that there was the smallest sign. I counted other moments that would clue her—and us—in towards the end (***I’m sure all the people reading our tour copy will get sick of reading all my “uh-oh!’s” I wrote down), but Grace never saw what was in front of her. Sure, it’s realistic because it’s difficult to see bad things in people you know, love, and trust, but Grace was a little too oblivious.

The story itself was... freaking depressing, actually. The title of the book is so appropriate, because I could feel Grace’s life tangling up. I kept getting these overwhelmed feelings – the ones where everything has basically gone to shit and you can’t possibly see any way out of it without cutting the problems completely (no pun intended). I knew, somewhere at the ¼ point of the book, that the book was going to be depressing as hell. I knew that I’d probably cry and get swept up into an emotional whirlwind. And I did. When everything culminated together and things were revealed, I cried. I had seen it coming, but I still wished, dreaded, hoped that it wouldn’t be what I had thought. It was.

But the [actual] ending was the opposite: it was hopeful. I was seriously cheering Grace (and Devon, I might add!) on once Ethan ceased to exist. That meant there was a sliver of hope that Grace would be okay and that she would recover from all of the crap that piled onto her plate. And although I wish we had more to the ending (it was one of those, “I’ll let the readers imagination take a whack at it” type of endings), it was peaceful. It made me happy. It made me cry (I’ve been in the exact situation Grace was in, once upon a time), but there was hope.

Cover Musings: So, so, sooo gorgeous. Tons of cover lust. This cover is what made me sign up for the tour. I’m SO glad I did, so I have a lot to thank this cover for!

Memorable Quotes:

I’m not sure how I feel about the yes-you-really-were-minutes-away-from-topping-yourself thing now. But I’m not ready to examine feelings too closely. Not yet. It’s like I have a bandage wrapped round me. I sort of know why it’s there, but if I unravel it and actually see the festering wound underneath, all yellow and oozy, I may just lose my mind. (pg. 10)

It was a pretty normal night. No more depressed than any other day. That’s the thing: I was never happy, not really. Kind of just existed from day to day, on a weird plateau of feeling nothingness. That’s not to say I didn’t feel happy at times – of course I did. But they were fleeting moments, gone before I could even begin to appreciate them. (pg. 31-32)

To me, the scars are obvious. They stand out like they’re screaming, ‘Look at her! Look at what this freak does to herself!’

It’s more like a whisper though, to anyone who’s listening. (pg. 33)

‘I’m not sure. It’s hard. It hurts... to think about things.’

Ethan stared at me for a few seconds. ‘Maybe hurt isn’t always a bad thing.’ (pg. 84)

It felt like what Sal had said was now tattooed on my brain... some freak who cuts herself in a pathetic attempt to get sympathy from people. Each of those words cut deeper than a blade ever could. (pg. 103)

Why am I the way I am? What a weird question. Why is anyone the way they are? Nature or nurture? A bit of both? Maybe for some people it’s neither. Maybe they were supposed to turn out a certain way, but then something terrible happened. And maybe nothing was ever the same again. Maybe. (pg. 28)

It’s when I’m alone that the doubt sets in. It’s been that way for years. As long as there are people around, I can pretend that everything’s OK. But I need that audience to pretend for, otherwise it doesn’t work. Alone, I’m not that easy to fool.

It’s not that I mind being alone, not really. I can distract myself with silly fantasies and daydreams for hours, but in the end it always comes back to me. That’s what I’m left with: just me. And that’s what scares me more than anything. Me. The thoughts I try to purge by cutting. The memories that seem to get louder and brighter the harder I try to forget. The whys and what ifs. (pg. 214-215)

Questions. Lots of questions, all fighting for my attention. I hid from them under the duvet, but they seeped in somehow. Drip-drip-dripping poison into my head.

Drip. How could they do this to me? That’s what people do. Hurt. (pg. 352)

And I try and I try and...

Nothing.

But I’ll try again. Tomorrow, and the next day, and the next.

I won’t give up.

I won’t ever give up. (pg. 372)

Overall Thoughts/Final Comments: There are those books that you absolutely love and recommend to your friends. Then there are those books that you absolutely love and recommend to your friends because they changed your life or affected you in some profound way. The ones that leave their imprint on your heart and stay on your mind weeks, months, years after you’ve read them. Entangled was one of those books, for me. It was definitely NOT a lighthearted read – it was depressing and made me cry, but I was so engrossed into the story that I stayed up until 3-freaking-AM reading it. And the book goes beyond that, because it delivers a great message: despite all of the entanglements and troubles you have in life, there is always hope that it will get better.

I kind of wish I could keep the copy from the tour – reading Entangled with all of the prior tour participants’ comments was fun and truly felt interactive.

Rating: 5/5

**I received this ARC from Star Book Tours. Thank you Katelyn!
***Quercus Publishing donated this ARC to Star Book Tours in what they're calling Artwork My ARC Tour. It's where the participants in the tour can write things down on the ARC copy, or highlight their favorite passages, doodle and draw images, put post it notes, and whatever else on the ARC copy. This is what I'm talking about when I mention things like reading other participants' comments, or writing "uh-oh's" at different places, etc. 

Review: Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins

This is my very last review of 2010 - I decided to end up my year (review-wise) with a bang. And Demonglass definitely delivers a bang. I have a wrap-up post set for the 31st, but for those of you who are going out of town or whatnot, thank you so much for the past four/five months. It's been such a pleasure befriending you guys. I definitely can't wait to kick-start 2011 with you all! :)

---

Demonglass

Author: Rachel Hawkins

Publisher: Hyperion

Series: Hex Hall #2

Pages: 368

Genre: Paranormal

Release Date: February 15, 2011

How Received: Different Area Codes Book Tours

Summary: Sophie Mercer thought she was a witch.

That was the whole reason she was sent to Hex Hall, a reform school for delinquent Prodigium (aka witches, shapeshifters, and faeries). But that was before she discovered the family secret, and that her hot crush, Archer Cross, is an agent for The Eye, a group bent on wiping Prodigium off the face of the earth.

Turns out, Sophie’s a demon, one of only two in the world—the other being her father. What’s worse, she has powers that threaten the lives of everyone she loves. Which is precisely why Sophie decides she must go to London for the Removal, a dangerous procedure that will destroy her powers.

But once Sophie arrives she makes a shocking discovery. Her new friends? They’re demons too. Meaning someone is raising them in secret with creepy plans to use their powers, and probably not for good. Meanwhile, The Eye is set on hunting Sophie down, and they’re using Archer to do it. But it’s not like she has feelings for him anymore. Does she?

My Thoughts:

Oh, my, god! That ending! I thought I was upset about Hex Hall’s ending (because I NEEDED to know what happened), but that is nothing compared to Demonglass’ ending. I’m pretty much rendered speechless when I think about it and will stare at Rachel with big puppy dog eyes until the third book releases. I loved Hex Hall, but Demonglass was even better.

Demonglass transitions so well from its predecessor – I was impressed. I have to admit that I do not remember all of the little details of Hex Hall – I read it last Oct – and I was really thankful to Rachel for providing us with a sort of recap of what happened.

The plot finally got a lot scarier. Not by much, sure, but it’s hard not to be scared about losing your soul and dead things that slither and being on a “most wanted list” (figuratively). Unstable demons and the Eye are thrown into the mix, which definitely spiced things up a lot. There are tons of plot twists. There were a couple I didn’t even see coming, but most of it was predictable. The action totally kicked up a notch... and then another notch. Where Hex Hall was shrouded in mystery, Demonglass was enveloped with a fast moving plot with tons of action.

Sophie, as always, was snarky and absolutely hilarious. I had so much fun reading about her this time around because she continuously matured from the Sophie at Hex Hall. She’s always so wild and out of line, so seeing her having patience and willpower was very cool. Throwing Sophie’s dad into the mix was so awesome – I loved seeing the two interact with each other and while Sophie despised her father, I absolutely adored him.

Cal... Oh, my, god can I just say that I totally called it in the first book (and in my review)?! I had predicted what would happen with Cal while I was reading Hex Hall, and to see my prediction come true in Demonglass made me... well, excited, actually! I love Cal – I absolutely adore the strong and silent types. And he seemed to care a lot about Sophie and always went out of his way to help her. I’m so Team Cal, it’s kind of sad (in the I-don’t-think-Sophie-will-end-up-with-Cal kind of way). Archer... Oh, Archer. There are so many things I want to say about Archer, but it’ll spoil something. So I’ll just leave it as: *wistful sigh*. Because although I DO love Cal, Archer seems to fit Sophie more... snugly.

Lastly, back to that ending! I want to know what happened to Jenna, and Sophie’s father! I really didn’t think they would actually go through with what they did to him. And why do I get the distinct feeling that Cal will not be seen again? He didn’t say, “See ya, Sophie,”, he said “Goodbye, Sophie”. And Sophie’s mother being at Aislinn Brannick? Let me tell you this: the ending leaves more questions than it does answers, and I really want the third book already to see what happens!

Cover Musings: Okay while I do love the cover, I need to go on a mini-rant, like I did with Hex Hall. WHY IS THAT CAT ON THE COVER?! It’s driving me nuts! Is it symbolic or does it allude to something? Will there be some big revelation in the future book about it? I mean, Sophie is allergic to cats and she doesn’t even own one. Heck, a cat isn’t even talked about in the books. Am I looking too much into the placement of the cat on the cover? Is it really just there to draw in consumers who associate black cats with witches and magic and is therefore a marketing tactic utilized to get this book into some poor, unsuspecting teenager’s hands?!

Memorable Quotes:
I apologize for how excessive my quotes are - Sophie is just too funny for her own good! :P

Cal had been waiting for us at the pond. When he’d seen me, he’d given me a barely perceptible nod, which was the Cal version of waving his hands over his head and yelling, “Hey, Sophie!” (pg. 1)

Cal stepped forward, hopefully to come to my rescue.

“I could toss her off the pier, Ms. Vanderlyden.”

Or not. (pg. 3)

A sudden, horrifying thought came to me: holy hell weasel, were these kids my half-siblings? Had Dad dragged me all the way to England to play out some twisted version of the Brady Bunch? (pg. 39)

"I’ve heard so much about you, both from your father and from Anastasia.”

“Mrs. Casnoff?” Oh, God, if that’s where this woman had gotten her Sophie Mercer gossip, I was surprised she’d greeted me with a handshake instead of an exorcism. (pg. 40)

They were all wearing black uniforms, and had nearly identical smiles plastered on their faces.

“What are those people doing?” Jenna whispered to me.

“I don’t know,” I replied through a frozen grin, “but I’m afraid a musical number might be involved.” (pg. 43)

I held up my hand and did what I thought was the Girl Scout salute. Or it could have been that Star Trek thing. “I solemnly swear to tell Mrs. Casnoff that Elodie’s ghost looked at me. And if I do not tell her, I swear to buy Jenna a pony. A vampire pony.”

Jenna tried not to crack a smile, but no one can resist a vampire pony. (pg. 54-55)

“And of course, your dad was always talking about you, so between him and Jenna, I feel like I already know you.”

Man, first Cal, then Lara and the other Council members, now Vix. Did Dad have a blog about me or something? “My Daughter Sophie and Why You Should All Follow Her and/or Marry Her.” (pg. 171)

But all that time staring at the wall gave me lots of time to think, mostly about Archer. I’d seen the look on his face right after the explosion had gone off. He’d been scared. Shocked, even, and not in the “whoops, my assassination didn’t go off as planned” way. (pg. 240)

This may sound weird, but the first thing I thought as I watched that ten-foot-tall bronze lady plummet toward my face was, “Well, at least that can’t kill me.” (pg. 298)

Overall Thoughts/Final Comments: Demonglass was better than Hex Hall. I can’t say that for many second books in a series, but I can definitely say that for this one. I was so absorbed into the story—my goodness, it was addicting! The action was kicked up a couple of notches and it was definitely a bit scarier than Hex Hall. It made me laugh, it made me hopeful, it was filled with surprises and tons of suspense, and it made me angry at the ending. I seriously want book 3 right now! :( *stares at Rachel with puppy dog eyes*

Rating: 5/5

Want to see what I thought of Hex Hall (Book One)? Find out HERE.
**I received this ARC from Different Area Codes Book Tours

Review: Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Paranormalcy

Author: Kiersten White

Publisher: HarperTeen

Series: Paranormalcy #1

Pages: 335

Genre: Paranormal

Release Date: August 31, 2010

How Received: Won

Summary: Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie’s always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals’ glamours, but still. Normal.

Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie’s dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths. Not only that, but she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

So much for normal.

My Thoughts:

My. Bleeping. Goodness. Those three words were pretty much all I could think of while I was reading. It was that good. I had been apprehensive about listening to all of the hype around Paranormalcy, and I’m mad that I waited until now to read it.

Paranormalcy has such a unique take on paranormals. There are paranormal beings that follow the general “guidelines” that we all know – vampires that drink blood, werewolves that become wolves during the full moon – but Kiersten makes them her own. Each paranormal has the ability to glamour themselves to humans, and each species had little distinctions that made them unique to “normal” paranormal mythology.

Evie was honestly one of the most enjoyable characters I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. She reminded me a bit of Sophie from Hex Hall and Rose from Vampire Academy mashed together. She’s witty, she’s snarky, she has attitude, and she carries around a badass pink taser. But she’s also extremely sheltered, innocent, lonely, and has insecurities. There are so many dimensions to Evie’s personality that I think I could keep writing a few more paragraphs just about her. She’s so dynamic and extremely vibrant. In a huge, “underground” paranormal world, Evie is definitely not normal and yearns to be normal. Evie was such a teenager: it was almost endearing to listen to her caring more about her favorite TV show and wearing pink clothing than tagging paranormals.

I freaking loved Lend. It was hard to not love Lend. He reminded me of your typical paranormal-next-door. At the beginning, he carries a lot of intrigue because we don’t know who this person is. We don’t know his powers or what he does. But as the story progresses, little bits and pieces of Lend come peeking through his “mask” as Evie and him become closer together. And that was probably the best part about Paranormalcy: Evie and Lend get to know each other before they even come close to being in a relationship. Whenever Lend got nervous around Evie, I would squeal like a little girl. It was so cute.

The pacing was great. I ended up finishing this book in a little under 5 hours (with distractions) – I was that hooked! The plot was so unique. Humans that try to control paranormals by “tagging” them? A girl who can see through the paranormals’ glamour? Mass-murders from a seemingly unknown source? Combine that altogether, along with kick ass characters, and you have a great story, which is exactly what Paranormalcy was. Paranormalcy only touches the edges of the world Kiersten has developed – there is a lot more to the world and I really wanted to find out more about it.

Just trust me when I say this: Paranormalcy is bleeping awesome!

Cover Musings: Uhm. Gorgeous. I love that the cover is an example of what Evie wears to the prom. I didn’t realize it until the end, but still.. very pretty. <3

Memorable Quotes:

“If you fail to report within the next twelve hours, you will be terminated. If you attack any humans, you will be terminated. If you attempt to remove the tracking device, you will be terminated. We look forward to working with you.”

I always thought that last line was a nice touch. (pg. 4)

“You’re IPCA?” one of the vamps asked. The others were shifting nervously in place.

“Yes. I’m going to have to ask you to line up for tagging.” I waited for them to start laughing. (pg. 52)

“You aren’t going to kill us?” the speaker asked, giving me a suspicious look.

“Why does everyone keep asking me that?” Seriously, did I look like some sort of psycho assassin? Maybe it was the pink sneakers. Or the heart earrings? (pg. 52)

“You’ll come back, right?”

“Sure. You’re the coolest person here.” He started to smile, so I shook my head, putting on a mock-serious face. “Don’t be flattered—most of your competition is undead.” (pg. 92)

I sighed heavily. “Gosh, now I don’t even feel like watching another episode of Easton Heights.”

Lend put his arm around me and patted my shoulder. “At least there’s one good thing to come of all this, then.” (pg 126)

“We’ll talk about it later, okay? I’ve got a date to get ready for.”

“It’s gonna take you three hours to get ready?”

“I don’t know. My date’s pretty freaking hot—I’d better look good.”

He laughed, letting go of me and climbing off the bed. “Yeah, mine too. Maybe I should change?” He shimmered, switching to blond hair and blue eyes. “What do you think? Does this face make me look fat?” (pg. 267)

We sat down and Lend put his arm around me. Every single jaw at the table dropped.

“Man,” John said, shaking his head. “All this time I was pretty sure you were gay.”

I batted my eyes innocently. “I’m sorry, John. Are you disappointed?” Everyone laughed, and John grinned.

“Maybe a little,” he answered, scooting into Lend’s free side to cuddle up. (pg. 271-272)

“Lend!” I burst through his door. He looked up, surprised. Still in basketball shorts and a plain T-shirt, he was lying on his stomach on the bed, sketching. I stopped and frowned. “Aren’t you going to get ready?”

He laughed. “Remove clothes, put on tux. Should take all of two minutes. You look hot though.” (pg. 299)

Overall Thoughts/Final Comments: I haven’t been so pleased with a novel in a while, which is why Paranormalcy was such a great read. I was so engaged in the book that I whizzed through it within a few hours. Evie was a strong, sassy female lead, while Lend was more mellow and laid-back. Their personalities contrasted well with each other, and their developing romance was such a pleasure to experience. The plot was unique (and coming from a huge paranormal genre for books, that’s saying a lot!) and interesting and... Just. Gah. This book was so addicting. I highly, highly recommend it!

Rating: 5/5


**This review was submitted in the 2010 Debut Author Challenge!

Review: The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa

The Iron Queen

Author: Julie Kagawa

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Series: The Iron Fey #3

Pages: 384

Genre: Fantasy

Release Date: January 25, 2011

How Received: Netgalley

Summary:

My name is Meghan Chase.

I thought it was over. That my time with the fey, the impossible choices I had to make, the sacrifices of those I loved, was behind me. But a storm is approaching, an army of Iron fey that will drag me back, kicking and screaming. Drag me away from the banished prince who’s sworn to stay by my side. Drag me into the core of a conflict so powerful, I’m not sure anyone can survive it.

This time, there will be no turning back.

My Thoughts:

I want to start off by talking about the ending. “Because it ends at the beginning”. No, really. It all ends at the beginning. I have never been so impressed in such a long time with an ending than I have with The Iron Queen’s ending. It had all the elements that make a good ending: sacrifice, selflessness, and a sense of peace and acceptance. Everything was over. All the loose ends were being tied. To be honest, I didn’t even need the epilogue to be happy with the ending Julie gives us: I was happy right there at Meghan’s decision. Not because I’m mean or cruel, but because everything made sense – it all came together. But the epilogue just made me so much happier, because it consolidates everything (to a point) that happened in the first two books. It’s a happy ending, but at the same time, it’s not a happy ending. And I loved it.

The pacing was a bit slow for my tastes, as it was with the first two books as well. It would pick up, and I’d get excited that action is about to happen, flip a couple of pages, a couple more, and then the action starts. Don’t get me wrong – I loved the detail that went into this book, because there are a lot of things to be explained – but I kept getting distracted by other things and putting this book down a lot.

On to the characters... I just have to say thank goodness Meghan took a 180 from The Iron Daughter. I couldn’t stand her constant and unjust whining in that book. Strong Meghan, the one who takes things up on her own and wants to actively fight back – emotionally and physically – instead of remaining on the sidelines, was back and boy, was she stronger than ever. I loved all of the decisions she made in this book, and was so happy at the selfless sacrifice she makes at the end.

Ash was... Well, I’ve never been an Ash supporter, and this book didn’t really change my stance, either. I appreciated that there were more interactions between Meghan and Ash, because I never understood why Meghan liked him, other than the fact that he’s forbidden, mysterious, etc., since the two never got to know each other. I loved seeing other sides to Ash – the soft Ash, the one that cries when he feels like he’s losing his beloved, the one who will risk his own life to save hers.

And Puck. I love Puck. I am Team Puck 100%, no matter what Meghan decides. Most of my quotes consisted of lines Puck says; he’s too witty and charming for his own good! I was a bit sad that he’s pretty much getting the short end of the stick, but that doesn’t deter him. He still rushes to Meghan’s aid and still tags along with the group. In fact, I loved his decision to join Ash, his one-time-friend-but-ultimately-his-enemy, at the end. I think that, above anything else, speaks volumes of Puck’s character.

I’ve always thought the concept of Iron fey was ingenious, and this novel was no exception to that thought. Reading about the Iron realm was so exciting – it lives by its own set of rules, and I was constantly wondering what traps or things were set in store for our party when they headed into it. I personally loved the Gremlins (especially Razor). Can you say cute?! I love how Julie makes people we previously thought were antagonists and suddenly makes them into allies. I cannot wait to read more about the Iron realm!

Cover Musings: I think we can all establish that I absolutely adore most of the covers of the Iron Fey series. I think this one, though, steals the show. Love the red around the borders!

Memorable Quotes:

“Be forewarned, darling, I don’t care if you are Mab’s favorite son. If you threaten any in this house, I will rip your guts out through your nose and string my harps with them.”

“I’d love to see that, personally,” Puck muttered, smirking. (pg. 61)

“Looks like the war isn’t going well for us.”

“That’s what I like about you, prince. You’re always so cheerful.” Puck shook his head, gazing around the camp, and wrinkled his nose. “Although I will say, this place has seen better days. Does anyone feel like they’re about to hurl, or is it just me?” (pg. 138)

“The Desert of Lost Things,” Puck said dramatically. “Well, that’s appropriate. We’re here, aren’t we?”

“We are not lost,” I told him firmly, tossing the cell phone away. It hit the sand and was swallowed immediately. “I know exactly where I’m going.”

“Oh, good. And here I thought we were taking the scenic route.” (pg. 214)

Puck was already crouched behind a jagged outcropping, huddled against it as streams of sand flowed around him, bouncing odds and ends off the stones.

“Well, this is fun,” Puck said as we ducked behind the rock, huddled together as wind and sand shrieked around us. “It’s not every day I get to tell someone I was attacked by a pair of flying reading glasses. Ow.” He rubbed his forehead, where a bruise had started to form. (pg. 215)

“For the record,” Grimalkin stated as we ventured, single file, into the black, “I do not think this is a good idea. But, as no one listens to the cat anymore, I will have to wait until we are completely lost to say ‘I told you so.’” (pg. 218)

Ash gently took the branch from me, narrowing his eyes. “Do you know what this is?” he murmured.

Puck smirked. “Uh, yes, actually. In most circles, it’s called a stick. Used for starting fires, poking large insects, and playing fetch with your dog.” (pg. 243)

“Oh, look, demon fey, lake of liquid hot magma—does this remind you of anything?” He grimaced, giving me a weak grin. “When I said I’d follow you to hell and back, I wasn’t trying to be literal, princess.” (pg. 289-290)

“Last night, I was wondering how the courts were going to tell us apart from the false king’s army. Bad Iron fey, good Iron fey—they all look the same to me. Sooooo...” he swept the pole up with a flourish, and a bright green banner snapped open at the top, the silhouette of a great oak splayed proudly across the front. “I wanted to make it a picture of a flower or butterfly,” Puck said, smiling at my awed look, “but I didn’t think that would strike fear into the heart of the false king.” (pg. 301)

Overall Thoughts/Final Comments: As I got to the middle of this novel, I was almost sure of how I was going to rate this. My mind was set. Then I got to the ending. My god, did the ending change my mind! I can’t even begin to explain why I loved the ending so much. Not only was it selfless and saved a whole lot of faeries, but it tied up loose ends and was somewhat a happy ending. Meghan didn’t make me want to slap her this time; Ash showed his softer, more likeable side; Puck was just awesome and witty overall. The pacing wasn’t that great in the novel, but when the pace does pick up, it more than makes up for it.

My rating for the series overall (without the books from Ash’s perspective or the novella):

1. The Iron King (first book)

2. The Iron Queen (third book)

3. The Iron Daughter (second book)

Rating: 5/5

Review: Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead

Last Sacrifice

Author: Richelle Mead

Publisher: Razorbill

Series: Vampire Academy #6

Pages: 594

Genre: Paranormal

Release Date: December 7, 2010

How Received: Bought

Summary: Rose Hathaway has always played by her own rules. She broke the law when she ran away from St. Vladimir’s Academy with her best friend and last surviving Dragomir princess, Lissa. She broke the law when she fell in love with her gorgeous, off-limits instructor, Dimitri. And she dared to defy Queen Tatiana, leader of the Moroi world, risking her life and reputation to protect generations of dhampir guardians to come.

Now the law has finally caught up with Rose—for a crime she didn’t even commit. She’s in prison for the highest offense imaginable: the assassination of a monarch. She’ll need help from both Dimitri and Adrian to find the one living person who can stall her execution and force the Moroi elite to acknowledge a shocking new candidate for the royal throne: Vasilisa Dragomir.

But the clock on Rose’s life is running out. Rose knows in her heart the world of the dead wants her back... and this time she is truly out of second chances. The big question is, when your whole life is about saving others, who will save you?

My Thoughts:

As the final chapter closes to this amazing series, all I felt was a bittersweet goodbye. It’s so hard to let go of a series you love, and I definitely love the Vampire Academy series.

The previous book, Spirit Bound, was closed on a big cliffhanger, so I couldn’t wait for Last Sacrifice to be released. I had to restrain myself from combing through all of So. Cal. B&N’s and Borders the day before to see if any had stocked it earlier. I had been waiting such a long time for this book, and thankfully, it was one that totally lived up to my expectations (more or less).

I’ve previously mentioned that in every book, you could see Rose maturing from the hard-headed, stubborn, outburst-prone snark that she was... Well, actually, she’s still all those things! However, Rose also pissed me off in this novel. Probably moreso than she did in Blood Promise. The actions she did towards the end of the book pissed me off so damn much. I can’t say too much without being spoilery, but I’ll say this: Rose had matured so much since Vampire Academy, but with the actions she took in Last Sacrifice, it felt like she was going downhill instead of maturing. She was taking steps back. What Rose did was not what I would have expected of her character – she’s better than that, so when it happened, I was nothing short of disappointed.

Most of the book was action-packed. Rose was a fugitive and was running from the Guardians, so there was a lot of running, close-calls, and insane plans from front to finish. For someone who is supposed to be laying low, Rose found herself in a lot of dangerous situations. It sure did keep me turning the pages like a wild woman, though, since I absolutely had to find out what happened.

Every single book, Richelle continuously surprises me. You’d think that by 6 books in, there’d be nothing she could throw at me that would faze me. Nope, wrong! While I understand her writing style more and can predict when she’s throwing us something fake or getting ready for something big, I don’t understand the big plot twists until I’m right on them. And boy, did this book have plot twists! Rose even candidly mentions that her life was turning into a soap opera – it was funny, because I was thinking the exact same thing as I was reading. One thing is for sure: Richelle knows how to drop bombshells on me.

While I’m a bit bittersweet that the series ended, I also didn’t like the ending. I had pretty much guessed what the “last sacrifice” was before I even bought the book (there were only so many options), so I wasn’t too shocked when it rolled around. In fact, even though there was a happy ending, there were so many loose ends and so many hurt feelings that I couldn’t feel happy about the ending Rose got. I’m sure those loose ends were left so they could be tied up in the next VA spin-off books, but I would have liked a more conclusive ending in Rose’s perspective.

Regardless of how I disliked the ending, overall, the book was amazing. And then some.

Cover Musings: Compared to the other covers for the novels, I wasn’t too... impressed by this one. Why? Oh, the model. I preferred the other models they used on the previous covers. The look in this one’s eyes is a bit vacant – not something I’d expect from a book titled “Last Sacrifice”.

Memorable Quotes:

“Sometimes the greatest tests of our strength are situations that don’t seem so obviously dangerous. Sometimes surviving is the hardest thing of all.” (pg. 19)

 Too close, too close. We’re moving too fast.

Fast? Not by my estimation. I could have never handled this slow, stately pace. I felt especially bad for the pallbearers. If I were one, I would’ve said to hell with propriety and started jogging toward my final destination. Of course, that might jostle the body. If the funeral coordinator had been upset over Lissa’s dress, there was no telling how she’d react if Tatiana fell out of the coffin. (pg. 47)

The rest of the crowd and I couldn’t help but stare at the dazzling display.
So, you can imagine our surprise when the statues blew up. (pg. 47)

I’ve punched lots of guys who were kissing me but never one I actually wanted to keep kissing. (pg. 97)

“You’re Tainted because you joined the modern world and left behind their backward ways for your own messed up customs.”

“Hey,” I retorted. “We’re not the ones with overalls and banjos.”

“Rose,” chastised Dimitri, with a pointed look at the door. “Be careful. And besides, we only saw one person in overalls.” (pg. 148)

“I need a coffee shop or something.”

“I think I saw one in a cave down the road,” I said. (pg. 175)

From behind Lissa, I heard Christian say, “Worst. Timing. Ever.”

Adrian studied Lissa and then looked at Christian sprawling on the bed on the far side of the suite. “Huh,” Adrian said, letting himself in. “So that’s how you’re going to fix the family problem. Little Dragomirs. Good idea.”

Christian sat up and strolled toward them. “Yeah, that’s exactly it. You’re interrupting official Council business.” (pg. 313)

Being with him after so long, after everything we’d endured... it was like coming home. Like finally being where—with whom—I belonged. My world, my heart... they’d shattered when I lost him. But as he looked at me, as his lips spoke my name and ran along my skin... I knew those pieces could come back together. (pg. 484)

“But she made her choices, and all the charges against you have been dropped. You’re a free woman now. More than that. A hero. Abe’s bragging that it’s all his doing.”

That brought my smile back. “Of course he is. I’ll probably get a bill from him soon.” (pg. 555-556)

Overall Thoughts/Final Comments: As soon as I flipped through the last page, I was left with a bittersweet feeling. While I’m finally glad to get to the end of Rose’s story, I’m going to miss being in her perspective and reading about all of her crazy plans and adventures. I’m going to miss her interactions with Dimitri and her other friends. Over the course of the series, I’ve ranted on about how bad-ass, snarky, crazy and calculating she was; I’ve ranted about how many times I wanted to throw a book in her face or slap her. I didn’t realize until this book how much I had come to connect and love her character, her personality, and how much I’d miss it. In a way, I feel like I’m losing a friend. In another way, that’s a sign of an insanely good book, and an amazing series. If you guys haven’t read this series yet, I urge you to do so. It’s one series that has been my ultimate pleasure to read and easily surpassed the ranks of my other favorite books.

Lastly, I figured I’d rate the books on how much I enjoyed them from best to least now that the entire series is finished. (Also included are links to my reviews)

1. Shadow Kiss (3rd book)

2. Frostbite (2nd book) 

3. Vampire Academy (1st book) 

4. Spirit Bound (5th book) 

5. Last Sacrifice (6th book)

6. Blood Promise (4th book)

Rating: 5/5

Review: Matched by Ally Condie

Matched

Author: Ally Condie

Publisher: Dutton

Series: Matched #1

Pages: 366

Genre: Dystopian

Release Date: November 30, 2010

How Received: Won

Summary: In the Society, Officials decide.

Who you love. Where you work. When you die.

Cassia has always trusted their choices. It’s hardly any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one... until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path no one else has ever dared follow—between perfection and passion.

My Thoughts:

Matched was such a great read. I love the idea of the Matching system and Society, and the methodical way that Society has perfected its response to disease, cancers, and other imperfections. There were so many great messages in this book: freedom to think, freedom of choice, even the most perfect things have imperfections, and to not give up without a fight, among other things.  

I absolutely adored Cassia. You could see the transformation she makes from beginning to end. She sticks to the societies rules because that’s all she’s been told to do since she was born, but once the seeds of rebellion are planted in her mind, they stay there and take over all of her thoughts. You could see her struggle against going against Society, but you could also see the changes made in her and know that she isn’t going to go back. She’s very level-headed, and tried to look at things logically, and that’s what I liked about her.

The romance was a very untriangular-love-triangle. I didn’t even think Xander stood a chance, really. Half of the book involved Cassia struggling with her growing feelings for Ky, and Xander only got a few scenes in. While I’m adamantly “Team Ky”, I could see and appreciate Xander’s personality/character, because he’s essentially a good guy. Assuming Xander had more scenes and a bigger role than just being Cassia’s Match, I might have easily found myself liking both boys. But as it is, I was totally and completely siding with Ky, even before he was introduced. Yep, that’s right, I loved him before I knew him. The depth to his character, the loneliness and sadness and mystery, just added to my love for him, because his personality spoke to me on several different levels.

Pacing in the novel was so-so. It wasn’t the most action packed plot, but I don’t think it was meant to be. It was more about introducing the characters, watching character development, and planting seeds of rebellion into the main character. So while the pacing was not the most action packed, it was great in that it did what it was supposed to: introduce us slowly to the world and catch a glimpse of the discontent emanating from Cassia and the others. It gave us the time to think about the novel, to question things just as Cassia was questioning them.

The plot was interesting. I haven’t read so many dystopians to say with utmost certainty that it was a unique plot, but it was definitely interesting. The world Ally creates is based primarily on the Matching system, so that humans may be conceived with optimal results. There were so many fascinating elements to Society, and I wish we had more time to explore the intricacies of Society.

Which leads me up to my few dislikes of the novel, the first being: everything about the Society was implied. All the rules, all of the customs, all of the terms – none of them were given exact precision. When I read about dystopian books, I like being blatantly told what terms and objects and structures mean what. I enjoy having definitions. I didn’t have that for this book – you basically pick things up along the way, and while it isn’t hard to pick up and understand, it just wasn’t as concrete as being told outright.

One huge issue for me was time. There was virtually no element of time in the book. I wasn’t sure if that was on purpose (because no one in Society knows what time it is – Society keeps time for them – so perhaps Ally was creating that feeling for us, as readers), or if it just wasn’t thought of, or what. I have a very time-oriented mind, so when a book has no timeline, I get... spazzy, actually. I still can’t tell how much time transpired. In some ways, it felt like only a few months (that would make sense, from Spring to Summer), and in others, it felt much, much longer. It didn't take away from the book itself, but it was just a pet peeve of mine.

Cover Musings: It isn’t stunning, but I do love it! I loved the recurring mentions of green in the book, and this cover is no exception. It’s simple, but so complex at the same time. The intrigue factor of this cover is high up there: a girl trapped within the confines of a green bubble. How can you resist picking that up? I know I wouldn’t have been able to! (Also, on my copy, the letters of Matched aren't in white - they're in green. I prefer my copy better).

Memorable Quotes:

I will be somewhere at the end of the middle. The beginning of the end. (pg. 12)

 Still, she harbors a particular affinity for them because of the seeds, which are small and brown but cloaked in beauty, in these thin white tendrils of cotton. Little cloudy parachutes to slow their fall, to help them fly, to catch the wind and glide them somewhere they might grow. (pg. 28)

 Although, if you think about it, I am marking time for my own life, too. Every minute you spend with someone gives them a part of your life and takes a part of theirs. (pg. 65)

 I stop trying to hold onto so many other things—the memory of Xander’s kiss, what my father has done, curiosity about Ky, worry about Em in the music hall, confusion about myself and how I am meant to be and who I am meant to love. I let it all go like a child with a handful of balloons on her First Day at First School. They float away from me, bright and dancing on the breeze, but I don’t look up and I don’t try to grab them back. Only when I hold onto nothing can I be the best, only then can I be what they expect me to be. (pg. 154)

 I’ll tell her and everyone else that I know: they are giving us pieces of a real life instead of the whole thing. And I’ll tell her that I don’t want my life to be samples and scraps. A taste of everything but a meal of nothing.

They have perfected the art of giving us just enough freedom; just enough that when we are ready to snap, a little bone is offered and we roll over, belly up, comfortable and placated like a dog. (pg. 249)

 Everything I dream is something simple and plain and everyday.

That’s how I know they are dreams. Because the simple and plain and everyday things are the ones that we can never have. (pg. 260)

Overall Thoughts/Final Comments: Matched was an absolutely lovely novel. The idea of Society and the Matching system were interesting. I found myself being more and more curious about Society and its customs. The gradual development of this book – mostly with characters’ interrelations with each other – was very enjoyable to read about. I liked that everything wasn’t so action-packed, but still a lot of stuff was happening at the same time. It, like the cover, was both simple and complex at the same time. I loved Cassia, Ky, and Xander, and I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book! (It’s almost cruel that we have to wait a year for it!)

Rating: 5/5

**This review was submitted in the 2010 Debut Author Challenge