Book Review: These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Series: Starbound (#1)
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, SciFi, Romance
Published: December 10, 2013 by Disney Hyperion
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Luxury spaceliner Icarus suddenly plummets from hyperspace into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive -- alone. Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a cynical war hero. Both journey across the eerie deserted terrain for help. Everything changes when they uncover the truth.

I finished this book in December of 2014, and I have to say, I loved it. I love Sci-Fi overall, and this one didn't do much damage to my love. A lot of people recognize this book as "Titanic in Space", and it is true, because, I mean, the richest girl and a poor soldier? Yep. Titanic. It's your normal romance book, so you can guess what happens to them in the end, but I jumped into this book for the survival, and the space, and if whether or not, they get rescued from the planet they crashed on.

This was written nicely. I would skim through some parts...but realize that I did skim through the pages because I didn't understand what was happening, and I had to rewind back a few pages, and read through it...and that was...not fun, I'll tell you that.

There were, however, very few characters, and that was a fifty percent on both my dislike and my like scale. Because, reading the same two characters for like 90% of the book is kind-of boring, you know? At least, there was no love triangle(wanted to point that out), but it was also nice, because we were able to get to know them better, especially when the book is written in both of their point of views. One of my favorite parts in the book was the pages in between the chapters, because they were sarcastic and funny to read. It kind-of spoiled it, because you can obviously tell that it's a questioning session with 'someone' and our soldier, Tarver. And you know what happens when you know it's a questioning session with Tarver? It means he survived. Yep.

The suspense scenes were real suspense scenes. It's so scary that it has you on the edge of your seat. You don't know what would happen next, and seriously, this is a wrong thing to do, but I flipped a few pages ahead to see what would happen. I mean, I can't handle the mystery, alright? The world building was alright. I couldn't really imagine much scenes, and we don't really know where they are actually at because they didn't describe the places. The aliens. Let's talk about them.  To be honest, I didn't even know they were 'aliens', because the characters, Lilac and Tarver just had to make up  stupid name like "The Whispers". Like, dude. For real?

Reading this was so weird, because everything was practically fake. Lilac didn't even know what rain was, and I was like, "Oh right. Everything is fake in Lilac's world." It was just so weird, but I liked it, but it did leave me dumbfounded, because I mean, rain? Water falling from the sky is...just..normal. Lol.

I read this book, thinking it was a standalone, but I found out it wasn't. Well, Nice job.

Book Review: Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins

Series: Rebel Belle (#1)
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Contemporary, Romance
Published: April 8th, 2014 by Putnam Juvenile
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Harper Price, peerless Southern belle, was born ready for a Homecoming tiara. But after a strange run-in at the dance imbues her with incredible abilities, Harper's destiny takes a turn for the seriously weird. She becomes a Paladin, one of an ancient line of guardians with agility, super strength and lethal fighting instincts.

Just when life can't get any more disastrously crazy, Harper finds out who she's charged to protect: David Stark, school reporter, subject of a mysterious prophecy and possibly Harper's least favorite person. But things get complicated when Harper starts falling for him—and discovers that David's own fate could very well be to destroy Earth.

This book was a very, very fun read! :) I loved the main character, Harper. She's just awesome...You know what I mean? Relationships are very important to her, so you on't really have to worry about her betraying you. She will love you lots and be prepared...she doesn't curse..well....I don't remember her cursing. I love her personality, it;'s quite unique, if I must say so myself. When Saylor had asked if she was prepared, she was like "No." Just a blunt 'no', and I laughed for like hours because I expected her to say 'yes'. Oh my goodness, it's just a fun read.

This novel was such a funny one! You'll practically be laughing every page or two! The plot twist in the beginning was certainly, unexpected. I totally expected a big plot twist just like the one in the beginning, to happen in the middle. The fact that she used the heel or her heels and stab it into the neck....of this person..was something that hurt my stomach. I laughed to my death, and I especially loved how she was like "this is embarrassing". The writing wasn't too good, but it was good enough, it did have enough detail. My favorite aspect of the novel was the storyline. A. m. a. z. i. n. g.

I love how there wasn't the stupid fight of jealousy between her and her boyfriend, like the usual cliche novel, BUT, they decide to calmly negotiate and it didn't turn out to be a full blown fight. I loved her ex boyfriend though. He's soo sweet and has his own unique personality. You would think he's the playboy type, but he came back! And unfortunately, another huge plot twist happens near the end. Like what happens with their powers and stuff? The questions that remained in the air at the end is enough to make a good second book, but the ending of Rebel Belle is simply enough to leave it at that. It gives us enough room to make and imagine what's going to happen next. It's a very fun read! :)

Book Review: The Eye of Minds by James Dashner

Hey Guys! Sorry for the lack of posts! I'm vacation now, so I have a bunch of plans. I promise I'll spam you for the last four days of June and for July too! I can't guarantee though.

Series: The Mortality Doctrine (#1)
Genres: Young Adult, SciFi, Fantasy, Adventure
Published: October 8, 2013
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble 

Michael is a gamer. And like most gamers, he almost spends more time on the VirtNet than in the actual world. The VirtNet offers total mind and body immersion, and it’s addictive. Thanks to technology, anyone with enough money can experience fantasy worlds, risk their life without the chance of death, or just hang around with Virt-friends. And the more hacking skills you have, the more fun. Why bother following the rules when most of them are dumb, anyway?

But some rules were made for a reason. Some technology is too dangerous to fool with. And recent reports claim that one gamer is going beyond what any gamer has done before: he’s holding players hostage inside the VirtNet. The effects are horrific—the hostages have all been declared brain-dead. Yet the gamer’s motives are a mystery.

The government knows that to catch a hacker, you need a hacker.
And they’ve been watching Michael. They want him on their team.
But the risk is enormous. If he accepts their challenge, Michael will need to go off the VirtNet grid. There are back alleys and corners in the system human eyes have never seen and predators he can’t even fathom—and there’s the possibility that the line between game and reality will be blurred forever.

This book by James Dashner truly caught me by surprise. His best selling series, The Maze Runner, was very similar, whereas both books focus on mystery and action. They're both SciFi and Dystopian novels, with high tech advancements in the future. The only thing that was vastly different was the storyline. The Eye of Minds focused on computer hacking and games that start within your game coffin. The Maze Runner focused mainly on escaping the maze.

That storyline aspect of a novel is very unique and important to me. I read for entertainment and I review to recommend. Therefore, if the storyline/plot is boring, then I will be bored, which will cause me to review this with below 3 stars. :D  But I loved the world building and how Dashner makes the characters seems so realistic. I don't find much of the main protagonists very mysterious but that's what makes the characters seem so realistic, because they each have their own personalities and they don't really annoy me. The best part of this novel was the world building, so let me get into that element.

For obvious reasons, this reminded me of the anime; SAO (Sword Art Online) and that's what intrigued me to read EoM. The world building of the VirtNet was very interesting and differs a lot from the SAO world. And the amount of thinking that goes into writing must be insane. You just want to live in that beauty of a world. I mean, think of staying at home all the time. It must be boring, but when you get to experience a different world in your mind? It's just insanity.

I wasn't worried at all about the similarities between SAO and EoM. I was excited to read it. When SAO had ended, I was very sad. I wasn't devastated, because I'm pretty used to book series/anime series ending off, but I was just excited to read a novel that sounded a lot like SAO. That's the thing though. My first sentence of this review:  . . .caught me by surprise because it was a completely different plot. The VirtNet and the three protagonists was that aspects that changed my worries about the similarities.

Book Review: The One by Kiera Cass

Series: The Selection (#3)
Genres: Young Adult, Romance
Published: May 6th, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Selection changed America Singer's life in ways she never could have imagined. Since she entered the competition to become the next princess of Illéa, America has struggled with her feelings for her first love, Aspen--and her growing attraction to Prince Maxon. Now she's made her choice . . . and she's prepared to fight for the future she wants.

In all honesty, I wasn't surprised. It was obvious who she was gonna end up with but like, when she finally realized who she really liked and noticed the feelings were gone for that particular person I was literally jumping with joy. And I love the queen in this book and the relationships between the characters surprisingly jumped from enemy to friend which I totally loved. The only downfall of that was the fact that some characters...died. *Go cries in a corner*

I also love the "new" friends that America made and the conversations they have. "You're using Aspen as a safety net?" They basically said what I was thinking and I was just pumping my fist in the air saying "VICTORY!" because someone finally pointed it out to America that Aspen isn't really...a non-safety net that's worth her time (if that makes sense).

I couldn't believe the finishing of this series ended that quick within a matter of 300 pages. Like...it isn't enough! Especially when it started getting exciting from the middle and then it ends, you're like:

HURRAH. *Crash* WHAT? NO MORE...

Yep. That's literally how you'll feel when reading this book. The covers are also gorgeous...for every book. Isn't that enough to start getting you to read this trilogy? All I have to say is that it's over...

Book Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Well, I'm aware that my last review was on May 4th, but currently, books aren't interesting to me right now.

Series: The Lunar Chronicles (#1)
Genres: Young Adult, SciFi, Fantasy, Dystopia
Published: January 3, 2012
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl.

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

Very interesting book. I must admit though, the beginning was kind of confusing, but that didn't stop it from becoming more and more intriguing. The story was awesome. If I remember correctly, it was told from different points of views, which, made it more interesting. However, I kind-of got confused while we switched back and forth, especially when it didn't tell who's perspective/brain we were in. Overall,this was an awesome book! The second book Scarlet; the main character will be Scarlet. I guess..Right?Or did I do my research wrong?

This story is basically "inspired"...or a retelling of Cinderella, except Adri(stepmother) and the sisters are described more than the step mother and sisters in the short story: Cinderella. As like in Cinderella, Adri is such a bloopz. Her youngest daughter catches the plague, she blames Cinder and signs her up for plague research. To be honest, I don't even think Adri can feel a thing. I HATE HER. I hate how she's her legal guardian. I hate everything about her.

The reason why it had lost a star was because of two reasons.

1 - It took me a while to get into the story. I guess that's because it was confusing by the POV's switching, but it was also not...very interesting in the beginning. The hook of the story beginning wasn't enough to make me seem interested into the book.

2 - It has a slow start. I guess I kind-of mentioned that in reason number one; where I couldn't get into the book. I stopped reading it at one point, but decided to give it another try. It turns out, I won't be regretting that decision. After all, It does have a 4 star rating.

Now enough of the book rant. I loved the characters. Like, you know in Cinderella? The Disney one?  It was just a very short story about a girl who's lost her shoe at the ball and the young prince goes around from house to house and eventually finds the perfect fit: Cinderella. Then they get married and live happily ever after. But no. This Cinder was amazing, the characters and the storyline was different, but similar in some ways, which is nice. I loved the "SciFi" aspect of this novel, with the lunar people and Prince Kai. Cinder also isn't your typical average teen. She's like...amazing and not stupid.

Also, the world building. Simply fantastic and can outdo most of the world building in many popular YA novels out there. It's just extraordinary and something you would want to read and savour for the rest of your lives. This is nothing like Cinderella, but is something like Cinderella.

Book Review: Unforgiven by Jessica Miller

Series: The Wanderers (#3)
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal
Published: February 14, 2014
Publisher: Createspace
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

All it took was three magical words…

Tristan…is…alive.

Ella knew leaving was wrong. She knew there would be consequences but what was at stake was far more important than anything she could have done if she stayed. She just had to see for herself.
Ella also knows Josie’s time is limited. With the help of her friends, Ella takes off and introduces herself to a foreign land. She hoped to keep her whereabouts a secret but it isn’t long before her father discovers where she is and threatens to take her back kicking and screaming. Things quickly go awry and Ella finds more than what she was looking for in her search for Tristan.
Ella knows eventually she must return home and face the aftermath of her sudden departure. But her head and heart aren’t sure they can handle it.
Will Roman forgive her? Will Gabe and the rest of her friends hate her for abandoning them in their time of need?

Review ~

Well, this was good for the third book of The Wanderers series. I liked it. BUT...the characters..Oh dear. Save me. They all need to mature and grow up. And Tristan changed. I can't really wrap my finger around it, so I can't really rave about him changing, but all I can tell is that I liked Tristan before(a lot), but now I like Roman better than Tristan now and dear, why does it have to be Roman who has to be the one everyone pities? Ella is 19, no? She needs to grow up because she's...immature. I guess. She just needs to make more rational decisions and her friends...


Remember when she ran away to go find Tristan? Just no. No. No. No. No. NO. I mean, she loves him and all that but no matter how much she "feels" it, I don't feel even a twinge of sympathy coming from her for Roman. She led him on and she has to fix it instead of going for the loved one she thought was dead. I mean, yea, Tristan was one she loved a lot, and she has to move on, but I think the person who makes the most sense in this book was Roman.

Anyways, this book had some unpredictable moments and I liked it. Made everything come as a surprise. I also liked the pacing in this book. Not much was thrown at Ella everything as once. And the end of the novel. Woah. Well, you just need to read it to find out. Also, not to be a Disney obsessed or anything, but now, the name Ella just reminds me of Elsa(Frozen).

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.  

Book Review: Every Day by David Levithan

Series: Every Day (#1)
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, SciFi
Published: August 28, 2012
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl.

There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.

It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.

Review ~

This is a first novel I've read by David Levithan. The idea of this was very, very unique and different and was written beautifully. It wasn't very captivating or intriguing but maybe that's because I'm more of an action and fantasy type of reader. Maybe that's just me. But the way he wrote it made me think and realize things I would have never thought about in a certain way before.

I loved the character development and chemistry between A and Rhiannon. It felt realistic. As the story went on, their feelings for each other kept building and building. She still loved A and she still felt the connection between them, even in different bodies. A would notice things that Rhiannon herself didn't notice. A was just so considerate and thoughtful. 

"This is what love does: It makes you want to rewrite the world. It makes you want to choose the characters, build the scenery, guide the plot. The person you love sits across from you, and you want to do everything in your power to make it possible, endlessly possible. And when it's just the two of you, alone in a room, you can pretend that this is how it is, this is how it will be."

As  I neared the ending, I knew it wasn't to be like a happily ever after kind of ending because of their complicated relationship. It all happened  happened so fast. As you may or may not know, I'm pretty sensitive and can't really control my emotions. I finished the book around three in the morning felt really sad throughout the day. As I said, I just loved the character development and chemistry between A and Rhiannon and I didn't want it to end like that. If they ever needed to talk to each other, they would communicate through emails or meet up somewhere almost every day. But that wouldn't happen anymore... What happened wasn't a bad ending, nor was a happily ever after ending. You may think it's nothing to be sad or cry over about, but I was, I did. I get emotional, okay?

"It's only in the finer points that it gets complicated and contentious, the inability to realize that no matter what our religion or gender or race or geographic background, we all have about 98 percent in common with each other. Yes, the differences between male and female are biological, but if you look at the biology as a matter of percentage, there aren't a whole lot of things that are different. Race is different purely as a social construction, not as a inherent difference."

There is much more I would love to tell you about, but I'll just leave it up to you if you want to read it or not. I highly recommend it to people who want to read a book with a complicated romance.

There's also a short prequel called Six Earlier Days, which is only available as an ebook/kindle and a companion novel, Rhiannon, in her point of view, which is published in Spring 2015.

Book Review: Room by Emma Donoghue

Series: Standalone
Genres: Young Adult, Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction
Published: September 13, 2010
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it's where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.

Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it's not enough...not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son's bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work.

Review ~

I couldn't read from a smart 5 year old perspective. He changes, a lot, I mean, by intelligence. One moment, he's how a five year old should act, the next, he describes and says words too complicated for a five year old who's spent his life in a room, thinking that's the whole world. I would always usually think this is being told from an adult's point of view while reading for a moment or two, and then he starts using toddler language, and it really just ruins the whole thing.

“Scared is what you're feeling. Brave is what you're doing.”

When reading Room though, a smart five year old's perspective is a benefit, because you felt like you were there, not just reading some lousy old kid's limited words, there were details, not complicated or bizarre, but enough so that you could imagine what kind of life they were living in. Emma Donoghue had done an amazing job writing details so vividly clear that you could be scared out of your mind at on point while reading, or you could be jumping up and down out of happiness. It's simply amazing.

“Everybody's damaged by something.”

Here's the thing though. I liked reading when they were in the room and when they were doing something amazing, but I kind of sped through the second half of the book, which is the part where J___ Sa__ Ma and Es____. Yea, you get it right? Sorry, no spoilers, fill in the blank. :) Jack's mother was definitely my favorite character out of all. I saw her develop and change if you compare the first half and the second half of the book. She's brave and loving for a woman who's been kidnapped and trapped for seven/eight years of her life, and when a miracle happens, you could definitely see the change!

“Stories are a different kind of true.”

And the ending? Sure, it wasn't one of those books with a sad ending, it's one of those with a happy ending, and you're so filled with joy about the joys that occurred in this books that you don't even care this book is over! It's a compelling story, one that will captivate your mind until you're done with it.

Instead of my usual signature, I've decided to add a trailer for the book. Enjoy!

Book Review: Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins

Series: Hex Hall Trilogy (#2)
Genres: Young Adult, Supernatural, Urban Fantasy
Published: January 1st, 2011
Publisher: Disney
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Sophie Mercer thought she was a witch. That was the whole reason she was sent to Hex Hall, a reform school for delinquent Prodigium (a.k.a. witches, shape-shifters, and faeries). But then she discovered the family secret, and the fact 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 either destroy her powers for good-or kill her.

But once Sophie arrives, she makes a shocking discovery. Her new housemates? They're demons too. Meaning, someone is raising demons 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?

Review ~

Wouldn't this be a very cool cover for Demonglass? I mean, the original cover looks so plain!

Oops, yes...the review. But the fan cover is so cool! Anyways, this book was very short. Approximately 360 pages, it felt like I was going on a super duper fast roller coaster. Very fun and funny, just like the first book!

The jokes and sarcasm was still in this book and Sophie is still the same. And there was very, very little romance in this book, most romantic thing the characters did was just kissing... And yes, there's a love triangle. But really, it's not that bad. Two guys, one girl. Which team am I on? Cal or Archer? Yea, I love Cal, he's the good boy, one who can heal(Which I always love to do when I play games - backup) and Archer is still the bad boy we always knew, and now he pops up with The Eye. Which team? Team Archer. Yes, many will say Team Cal after reading this book, but I'm not normal. I'm extraordinary(Just kidding, but you get it.).

Demonglass is way more action packed than Hex Hall. I loved the plot and the characters! They were both fantastic! Also, Sophie's father....Yea, he's mean and bad, just like the fathers in most fantasy books, but I like him. Yea, don't ask why. I just do. I love Rachel Hawkin's writing style. It's one where you read it, and it goes by really fast and you're just hungry for more!

“Wow, Cross. I think you missed your calling. Screw demon hunting: you should clearly be writing Hallmark cards.”