Book Review: Revenge, Ice Cream and Other Things Best Served Cold (ARC) by Katie Finn

February 12, 2015February 11, 20151 Comment

This advanced readers copy was provided to me in exchange for an honest review. This in no way had an effect on the integrity of my review. Thank you Macmillan Teen.

Genre:

Young Adult, viagra 100mg Contemporary

Pages:

400

Part of a Series?:

The 2nd Novel in the Broken Hearts and Revenge Trilogy

Release Date:

May 5th, 2015

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads Summary:

The war rages on between Gemma and Hallie in the second installment of the Broken Hearts and Revenge series.

After the humiliating events on the 4th of July, Gemma’s trying to handle the fact that Hallie knew who she was all along, and she was the one who stole Teddy from her. Gemma vows revenge, but things get more complicated than she planned. Ford, Gemma’s long-time crush, has arrived in the Hamptons cuter than ever. Josh is refusing to speak to her after she lied to him, and Teddy is playing champion to his beloved Marsh Warbler (in Gemma’s backyard, no less).

Gemma and Hallie find themselves locked in an escalating revenge cycle. Just when Gemma thinks she has the upper hand, the biggest bombshell of all is dropped. And it’s one that threatens to change her life forever.

My Review:

Please keep in mind that while there will be no spoilers for this book, there will be spoilers for Broken Hearts, Fences and Other Things to Mend. Please check out my review for that here.

I adore Morgan Matson, so it goes without saying that I absolutely LOVE Katie Finn as well. Morgan has beautiful stories that usually make me all emotional. Katie Finn, her alter ego, makes me laugh, and have a blast while reading. Its great to get both of these from the same person.

When Broken Hearts left off, we had a cliffhanger. A pretty major one. Hallie had revealed some crazy things. She had known who Gemma was all along and had spent the summer doing everything she could to get revenge of what Gemma did to her family years ago. It literally blew my mind and I remember closing the book and thinking, ” I need the next one. Now.”

Which is precisely how I feel about this book as well!

Katie serves up a delicious story just like she did the first time around. We enter the book with Gemma feeling the sting of what happened with Hallie and Josh and all of that. She’s not sure what to do until…well, things keep going wrong. Her and Hallie, their fight isn’t over yet and Gemma is determined to get her revenge on what Hallie did to her this summer. And the results are pure hilarity. This book reminds me of a primetime teen drama, like something you’d see on Disney Channel or The CW and I mean that as a total compliment. When there isn’t massive drama, there’s laughter and revenge and hilarity and I sped through this book because its just so fun. At every turn, you think Hallie or Gemma has the upper hand and then the other one comes back with a WHAM and the story spins off in a completely different direction. Its a roller coaster ride of fun, and I’m on it for the long haul.

I was also really excited to meet the new characters in the novel: Ford, Gwyneth, and Darcy especially. They all added flavor and color to the novel and I was glad to have them aboard for this story. Especially Ford. I think some great things are coming ahead for us in Ford. And I also think there was a secret revealed about Gwyn toward the end that might just cause some problems in the future a little.

All in all, I LOVED this book. It was fun and juicy and the perfect beach read, which means its going to be the perfect book to pick up in May. And that cliffhanger! I thought Katie had left us hanging in the first book but she reveals another shocking secret right on the last page and leaves me hanging in the balance, ready for the next book. I, for one, can’t wait to see how things continue to unfold for these teens in the Hamptons and am anxiously awaiting that conclusion!

Rating:

4 out of 5 Stars

Book Review: The Ruby Circle by Richelle Mead

February 11, 2015February 11, 2015Leave a comment

Genre:

Young Adult, cure Paranormal

Pages:

348

Part of a Series?:

The finale to the Bloodlines series

Release Date:

February 10th, stomach 2015

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads Summary:

Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, about it one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets—and human lives.

After their secret romance is exposed, Sydney and Adrian find themselves facing the wrath of both the Alchemists and the Moroi in this electrifying conclusion to Richelle Mead’s New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series. When the life of someone they both love is put on the line, Sydney risks everything to hunt down a deadly former nemesis. Meanwhile, Adrian becomes enmeshed in a puzzle that could hold the key to a shocking secret about spirit magic, a secret that could shake the entire Moroi world.

My Review:

Please keep in mind, while there will be NO spoilers for The Ruby Circle, there might be spoilers for previous books. Please check out my past reviews for those books!

I feel like I have been waiting for this book to come out forever, and really, it hasn’t been that long. But I WHIPPED through this thing and I’m so completely satisfied.

I love this story and I love that Richelle Mead was able to take the world that she built in the Vampire Academy series and continue it so well in this series. The relationship that she builds between Sydney and Adrian, especially after their marriage in Silver Shadows, is so real, and feels like it was just meant to happen all along. Who knows? Maybe it was haha. But I love the continuation of their relationship in this book. Now that they’ve got the chance to be honest about their relationship…they have the struggle of getting everyone else on board with it. But they also have the struggle of figuring it out themselves. What they are willing to do for each other, how they fight together, how they trust each other. Its a beautiful, real relationship and I enjoyed every single minute of it while reading this book. The love that Sydney and Adrian have for each other…its just beautiful.

But what I really love about this book is how it concluded the series. It was GREAT. I’ve had such wariness with authors lately on how they conclude series. They’ve been sloppy or rushed, all kinds of things. This ending was great. From the beginning, they’re on the hunt for Jill and the hunt for Jill takes a lot of time, effort, hard work and a lot of super fun fight scenes. What I love about this is that everyone has their piece in it. We get to see Sydney using her magic, Adrian using his spirit magic, the guardians fighting their way. I love every bit of it. In Vampire Academy, it was centered on the fighting of the dhampirs and a few Moroi but in this book, we get such a hodge podge of people working together: Moroi, dhampir, alchemist, human witches, the Warriors of Light, etc. Its amazing.

We also get to explore and discover more. We see a commune of dhampir women who have chosen a life different from a guardian. We have new revelations about dhampirs and Strigoi and spirit magic. We have a super fun revelation about Dimitri and Adrian that I won’t go into because SPOILERS. We get to meet new characters and revisit old characters and I just loved every single minute of it. It was action and romance and drama and it was a great ending. I loved seeing Adrian and Sydney’s story conclude and I loved seeing new things happen but I also loved seeing Rose and Dimitri together. ESPECIALLY after the epilogue!

But I’ll also say this…I love the things that Richelle did with this book. She concluded the story, left us with a satisfying ending, all the loose ends tied up. For the most part. She opened up some new ideas, left us hanging a little, left us wondering. I think that means we just might get some more VA stories soon and I’m ALWAYS okay with that.

Rating:

5 out of 5 stars

Book Review: The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski

January 31, 2015January 26, 2015Leave a comment

Genre:

Young Adult, prescription Fantasy

Pages:

355

Part of a Series?:

The first in a planned trilogy, I believe

Release Date:

March 4th, 2014

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads Summary:

As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions.

One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin.

But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined.

Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.

My Review:

I’ve had this book sitting in my TBR pile for quite some time now and I can’t believe that it took me this long to finally get to it. I received it from Fierce Reads in exchange for helping to promote during their Spring/Summer releases last year and its a signed copy and everything. I was struggling to pick a book to read and my eyes landed on the absolutely GORGEOUS cover and decided, let’s do it.

And I am SO glad I did. I FLEW through this book. While the premise of the book sounded really great, I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did. It was just absolutely fantastic. The world that Marie created BREATHES off the page, it feels so real. The minute that you meet both Kestrel and Arin, you’re just sucked in. They both are such deep and compelling characters. Normally I’m not a huge fan of the split POVs but in this case, I loved it. You were given a chance to really get to know each character, to see them both struggle with the complicated friendship/relationship that builds between them. I also think it was a good way to build up to that incredible climax.

The book has a beautiful romance to it but there’s so much more than that. This is a country full of people enslaved to their conquerers. Arin is part of those people and you are so fiercely on his side, wanting him to overcome this life and take his country back. But you are also afraid for Kestrel, and her friends, her father, the people that you grow to care about because you’re in her head. When the climax hits (and I won’t say much more than that because, you know, spoilers), and everything kind of blows up, its incredible. It creates an incredibly complicated situation and you’re torn in pieces. You see everyone’s point of view and you want everything to just…work out and it doesn’t and its incredibly heartbreaking. Its very real and genuine and the characters are just beautiful.

What I really loved about this book is how realistic it felt. The realities of being a conquered country, of war, of a relationship between two people on complete opposite sides…it all felt so incredibly real. There was no fairy tale storytelling and that’s what I loved. You’re sitting here, thinking, how on earth is any of this going to work out…and then it hits you, maybe it won’t. And that is definitely enough for me to keep turning the page. Now I can’t wait for the second book!

Rating:

4.5 out of 5 stars

Book Review: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

January 28, 2015January 26, 2015Leave a comment

Genre:

New Adult/Young Adult Romance

Pages:

392

Part of a Series?:

The first in a series of companion novels

Release Date:

June 1st 2012

You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads Summary:

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with “freaky” scars on her arms. Even Echo can’t remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.

But when Noah Hutchins, medical the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo’s world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.

Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she’ll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

My Review:

Katie McGarry has been floating around in my peripheral vision of YA/NA literature for quite some time now. I think the first book I noticed by her was Crash Into You, which I believe is the third in the series. But I remember a lot of hype around it when it came out and I remember seeing it on the shelves of bookstores and all that and I remember thinking, well I’ll read it soon.

Now I’ve been in one of the worst slumps I’ve ever had. Ever. Guys, last year I read 208 books. With less than a month left in this year, I’m at 120 books. 120. I read two books total in the month of November. I have a stack of roughly 100 books that need to be read and I just can’t read right now. Its awful.

That being said, this book really helped to pull me out of a seriously rough slump. I immediately fell for both characters. They both felt real and it was easy to fall in love with them. I felt like it was easier to fall in love with them than it was for them to fall in love with each other. That was seriously cheesy. But very very true. They had instant chemistry and I believed in them right off the bat. Their romance had ups and downs, and it was difficult and there were secrets and it wasn’t perfect, but that’s what made it good. Romance isn’t perfect, relationships definitely are NOT perfect. And their romance is great.

What I really loved about this book is that the characters are great in themselves, separate from each other. Echo and Noah both have incredible stories, they’re both trying to figure out their lives and move on and come to terms with the things that have happened to them. And I’ve read books where it can seem cheesy or overdone or too dramatic but it didn’t feel like that at all. Everything that the two of them go through, especially Echo, really feels real. Even though I’ve never gone through these sorts of things, I felt connections with them. I felt their journey, their emotions.

Bottom line, great book. I’m excited to continue onto the rest of the series because truly, a great romance, a great character story and Katie is a fantastic writer.

Rating:

4 out of 5 stars

Tuesday Top Ten – Most Anticipated Winter Releases!

January 13, 2015January 4, 2015Leave a comment

Welcome to the new year everyone! Its a brand new beginning and all of that sort of thing. But the best part of the new year is this: NEW STUFF. All that stuff that was “next year” is now THIS year. And that includes books.

Now its time to talk about the top ten books that I’m getting excited for this winter! Check them out, troche and let me know what books YOU’RE excited about!

**10. The Shadow Cabinet by Maureen Johnson**

The third installment of the series, price and I’ve been waiting for it for so long. I feel like I’ve been waiting for so so so long for this book that I absolutely need to reread the first two books to remember what the hell is supposed to be going on in the third book.

Release Date: February 10th, 2015

**9. Dead to Me by Mary McCoy**

I am so excited for this debut novel…I think its my most anticipated debut novel of the year. I absolutely adore Mary, she’s a librarian for the Los Angeles Public Library and has always been a dear friend and supporter of me and this blog, and I can’t wait for her book. Its set in the 1940s, amidst the glitz and glamour of the film age and it sounds deliciously thrilling. I can’t WAIT.

Release Date: March 3rd, 2015

**8. The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord**

I am so so excited for this new novel by Emery Lord. I had NO idea who she was until she was on a panel with…I think Stephanie Perkins at the Festival of Books and I just loved everything about her. Plus she was so cute and I don’t know haha, I wanted to read her book. I absolutely LOVED Open Road Summer. She has a fresh teen voice and a total knack for addicting romance and I can’t wait for this one. Max sounds amazing.

Release Date: March 31st, 2015

**7. I Was Here by Gayle Forman**

Gayle Forman is a QUEEN of contemporary YA lit. She blows my mind with everything that she writes, especially Just One Day/Just One Year (which were optioned for film!!). I’m VERY excited for a brand new release from her, especially since the synopsis makes it sound like another emotional roller coaster. Oh Gayle.

Release Date: January 27th, 2015

**6. Salt and Stone by Victoria Scott**

This one would be much lower on the list but I’m spoiled as hell and I already read it and know how absolutely amazing it is. But now that I know its great, I’m dying to get that book with that beautiful cover in my hands, and for everyone else who loves the first one, you’re going to love the second one even more. Its a truly heartbreaking.

Releases: February 24th, 2015

**5. Fairest by Marissa Meyer**

I know! A novella on the list. For those that don’t know me, I’m usually not a massive fan of novellas, and find most of them are unnecessary. But…but…I think Fairest is going to be spectacular. One, because Marissa Meyer is a fantastic writer. Two, Levana is SUCH a mystery and maybe some of this will shed a little light, and maybe it’ll open up new possibilities for Winter. Either way, I’m excited for it.

Release Date: January 27th, 2015

**4. Invaded by Melissa Landers**

This is another winter release that I’ve already read. And one that I totally absolutely love. But I think I’m really excited about this because I KNOW how good it is and I get to meet her this year! Plus, if I can have more Aelyx and Cara in my life, I’m totally okay with that! And maybe if we all show love to Invaded and buy it, we WILL get more!

Release Date: February 3rd, 2015

**3. The Alex Crow by Andrew Smith**

I mean. Duh. I want my hands on this book so badly. I’ve been trying to get my hands on an ARC of this thing for MONTHS and have not been able to do that. I am dying for this book. Every single thing about this book sounds amazing and Andrew is an incredible author. When I interviewed him last year and he described the book as “It’s about a ship that gets stuck in ice, a fifteen-year-old kid, a schizophrenic who thinks he can speak to Joseph Stalin, a summer camp for kids who are addicted to technology, the de-extinction of a species of crow, and there’s a bigfoot in there, too. You know…the typical stuff.” Come on. I’m sold.

Release Date: March 10th, 2015

**2. Unchanged by Jessica Brody**

I’M DYING TO READ THIS BOOK. I need to know what happens next. Unforgotten left on such a crazy, heartbreaking, emotional note and I’m dying to see what happens next for Sera and Zen and Kaelen. It hurts just to even think about it because of allllll the crap that went down in the second book and I need this book in my hands. You hear me, Jessica? Give me the book and no one gets hurt ;)

Release Date: February 24th, 2015

**1. The Ruby Circle by Richelle Mead**

Yes. Please. More Adrian Ivashkov. Oh and of course Sydney too. But definitely Adrian. And after that ending in Silver Shadows, I basically wanted to scream, get in a car and drive up to Richelle’s house and demand that she tell me everything that was going to happen next. Luckily, I’m a patient girl (ha!) and its nearly upon us to find out the ending to this fantastic series! AND I’m finally going to meet Richelle! AGH

Release Date: February 10th, 2015

* * * * *

What are some the books that you’re looking forward to releasing in January, February and March? Make sure to share them in the comments!

Book Review: This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

January 7, 2015January 7, 20151 Comment

Genre:

Young Adult, more about Science Fiction, store Romance

Pages:

390

Part of a Series?:

The second in the Starbound Trilogy

Release Date:

December 23rd, order 2014

You Can Find the Book At:

Amie’s Website / Meagan’s Website

GoodReads Summary:

Jubilee Chase and Flynn Cormac should never have met.

Lee is captain of the forces sent to Avon to crush the terraformed planet’s rebellious colonists, but she has her own reasons for hating the insurgents.

Rebellion is in Flynn’s blood. Terraforming corporations make their fortune by recruiting colonists to make the inhospitable planets livable, with the promise of a better life for their children. But they never fulfilled their promise on Avon, and decades later, Flynn is leading the rebellion.

Desperate for any advantage in a bloody and unrelentingly war, Flynn does the only thing that makes sense when he and Lee cross paths: he returns to base with her as prisoner. But as his fellow rebels prepare to execute this tough-talking girl with nerves of steel, Flynn makes another choice that will change him forever. He and Lee escape the rebel base together, caught between two sides of a senseless war.

My Review:

While there will be no spoilers for This Shattered World, I cannot guarantee there will NOT be spoilers for These Broken Stars. You can read the review for that book here.

When I read Amie and Meagan’s novel, These Broken Stars, I thought, this is incredible. This is an incredible mix of science fiction and romance and it blew my mind. It ended up being one of my favorites of the year, and I honestly held it in such high esteem when it comes to YA sci-fi. I seriously love it and I was highly looking forward to This Shattered World. I wasn’t able to buy it until this last week because, you know, holidays at Disneyland kept me quite busy. But once I bought this book and started it, I was completely hooked.

Because, honestly, I think this book is even better than the first. Amie and Meagan are absolutely fantastic authors. Such beautiful writing. I honestly had to pause a couple times and just marvel at how incredibly talented the two of them are and how they can collaborate on such a fantastic novel. The descriptions, the way the story flows and the characters they create all flow together in this perfect sequel to These Broken Stars. The world building is so impressive and its easy to forget that this world is fictional because it feels so real.

This is what really gets me about this book: it continues the story that we see in These Broken Stars but it also feels like a completely new story as well. While we do get to see Lilac and Tarver, the main focus is on Jubilee and Flynn and the struggle between the soldiers and rebels of Avon. While this connects to the story that was built in the first book, it feels like a story in its own right and you get so caught up in it that when the connection finally is made, it surprises you. This world is so vast and complicated, which is so great of a science fiction but its also so familiar and small at the same time. It feels new and exciting but you connect with the story so easily.

Which brings me to the characters of Jubilee and Flynn. I adored Lilac and Tarver for sure, but something about Jubilee and Flynn makes me love them more. I loved being in both of their heads, seeing their struggles to help each other out while also being loyal to their “families” so to speak. You felt for both of them, trying to do the right thing, especially when the right thing wasn’t very clear. Their dislike for each other to eventual alliance and later, romance, was natural and it flowed and I was on that painful journey with them the whole way through. A beautiful set of main characters that I definitely won’t forget.

Bottom line, if you’ve read These Broken Stars, you’re going to love This Shattered World. If you haven’t, get your ass off the computer and go buy both of these books. They are absolutely fantastic science fiction romances and you should DEFINITELY read them!

Rating:

5 out of 5 stars