Trial By Fire

I was first drawn to Trial By Fire because I liked the author's first trilogy so much (Starcrossed).  I didn't even know what it was about when I picked it up to read.  That didn't matter though.  The author has a way of drawing you into the story and hooking you from the very start.  Full of action, there was never a dull moment.

This story follows Lily, a girl weak of body but strong of mind.  She is practically allergic to the world.  All she sees of her future is the eventual isolation in a plastic bubble.  When her heart is broken, she succumbs to a voice in her head asking her to come with her.  Before she knows what's happening, Lily is sucked into a world different from her own.  This world is filled with magic.  The version of herself that belongs in that world is the most powerful witch in all the Covens.  All Lily wants is to go home, but Lillian has no intention of sending her back.  Lily flees the Citadel and runs across Rowan, former lover, current enemy to Lillian.  After some cajoling, Rowan begins to train Lily on how to use magic, for she has the same power Lillian possesses.

The question is, can she progress enough in her training before it is too late?  Can she find her way back to her own world?  Does she still want to go back?  This book is filled with great characters.  I just loved Lily.  Despite being thrust into a foreign and scary world, she is able to persevere.  She makes friends, learns to control her own power, and stands up for what she believes.  She is the kind of character you can get behind and find yourself cheering on at every turn.  Rowan is another character I really enjoyed.  Powerful in his own right, Rowan is distrustful and hesitant to let another Lily into his life in any form.  He is always on guard, but will ultimately do anything to protect Lily.  The two make a great pair/team.  I am definitely excited to see where their story goes.  This is a strong start to another promising series from Josephine Angelini.  I only wish I didn't have to wait so long for the next book.  Happy reading!

Four

For all you Divergent fans out there, Four is a must read!  It is a collection of novellas about everyone's (mostly) favorite character.  I always loved Four/Tobias in all the books and was excited to get a deeper look into his head and learn more about his past.  If you haven't read the Divergent trilogy yet, this post and the book itself contains spoilers.  So, if you intend to read/finish the trilogy, do so before reading on.

In the first story (The Transfer), we learn about Tobias' aptitude test, his Choosing Ceremony and his transfer to Dauntless.  In the second story (The Initiate), we are right there with Tobias as he meets Eric for the first time, gains his nickname, and wades through the initiation process before becoming a full-fledged member of Dauntless.  The third story (The Son), takes us through the failed recruitment of Four into Dauntless leadership, his discovery of the connection between Erudite and Dauntless leaders, and the discovery that his mother is still alive.  The final story (The Traitor) takes place during Four's second year as an instructor (the year Tris is an initiate).  Some of the events are the same as those in Divergent, only from Four's point of view.  It tells of his growing attraction to Tris, his uncertainty about what to do with the knowledge of the upcoming attack on Abnegation, and his developing realization that he doesn't really belong in Dauntless.

There are also a couple scenes thrown in from Divergent, retold from Four's point of view.  It was very interesting to see Tris through Four's eyes.  We hear from him in Allegiant, but his character is very different in the beginning, as well as his relationship with Tris.  I really enjoyed seeing that initiation process through his eyes.  All four novellas, as well as the bonus scenes, where quite enjoyable.  It has been a long time since I immersed myself in the world Veronica Roth created, and I rather liked going back there.  The books are all good, so if you liked them (even if you only liked the first book), these stories are definitely worth reading.  I just love the character of Four, so getting to know him better was awesome.  Happy reading!

Jasper Dent

This trilogy follows Jasper Dent, son of the most famous serial killer of all time.  His father Billy was finally arrested after 123 kills.  Jasper was raised by him to be his successor.  As the protege to a crazed sociopath, Jasper grew up with lessons on how to kill, torture, mutilate, as well as clean up a crime scene to ensure no evidence is left behind.  There were lots more lessons that Jasper can't get out of his head.  Billy's voice is always there, egging him on, telling him to kill.  All Jasper wants is to be normal, but he will never have that.  As Billy says, "You're a killer who hasn't killed yet."  Jasper is in constant fear that Billy is right.  He is determined to overcome his upbringing and his genetics, but isn't sure it is even possible.  He does what he can to keep himself from turning into another sociopath.  He befriends the weakest boy in town, Howie, a hemophiliac.  He makes sure that Howie is by his side whenever he is doing anything that toes the line.  He starts dating Connie, a black girl, because she is safe.  Billy never killed a black woman.  He keeps these two close, and they in turn are determined to keep him from becoming Billy.  He helps the police by pointing out things in crime scenes they may have missed.  After all, he has a serial killer in his head and knows how they think.  He helps the cops track down other serial killers, and gets sucked into their sick games.  The series is dark, twisted, and gruesome, a psychological roller coaster ride.  It is about serial killers, so couldn't really be anything else.  The characters are great and the intensity of the story just sucks you right in.  You can't help but cheer for Jasper as he struggles to stay on the right side of the line.  All he really wants is to put an end to Billy once and for all.  He is prepared to kill him if need be.  These books are very good.  The writing is excellent and the pacing keeps you up at night.  Like I said earlier, they are quite gruesome and intense.  You feel like you are right in there with Jasper and crew as the serial killers play with them and taunt them.  It is enough to give you nightmares, if this kind of stuff does that to you.  For me, I have a sick fascination with it.  I love Dateline and 48 Mysteries, etc.  Crime Dramas are my favorite TV shows.  This is right up my alley.  I loved every second of it.  Give it a try, if you dare.  Book three, Blood of my Blood, is set to release next week on Tuesday (9/9).  Happy reading!

What I Thought Was True

What I Thought Was True is a summer romance with a little more depth than usual.  I didn't think it was quite as multi-leveled as Sarah Dessen tends to pull off, but I was pleasantly surprised by the complexity of this seemingly simple summer romance.  It isn't a typical summer fling story though.  The main character, Gwen Castle, lives on a small island and definitely cannot wait to escape it.  She just has one more year of high school to go and she will be free.  She just has to make it through the summer first.  The one problem, she is constantly bombarded with the one boy she can't seem to get out her mind, despite their less than pleasant past.  He is a rich boy from across the bridge.  She shouldn't have to even see him over summer break.  Unfortunately, he has taken the job yard boy to the island.  Now she can't avoid him.  Over the course of the summer, she begins to realize that she never really knew him, or even herself really.  While all the relationships and people around her seem to be changing or revealing truths she never saw coming, Gwen is forced to decide for herself what she really wants and what will truly make her happy.  Mistakes is the underlying theme of this story, but perhaps some mistakes are not that at all.  Perhaps it is the mistakes that will shape the future and decide the truth path.  I rather enjoyed the characters in this book.  Gwen, trying to be herself despite an unfortunate and maybe undeserved reputation.  Cass, a good guy plagued by an unfortunate choice in best friend and a family that expects more from him.  Emory, the little brother that is not quite right, but finds his way to every heart.  There are more characters, but those three are my favorites.  I just loved little Emory.  Grandpa Ben was a lot of fun too.  Coming from a small town that is invaded by outsiders in the summer, I could relate a little to how Gwen felt.  For her though, it was a bunch of rich entitled people coming in for the summer and treating the island people like the hired help, even those who weren't.  Mrs. Ellington and her group of ladies provide a fun comic relief.  It did bother how long into the book you have to wait to find out what happened between Cass and Gwen in the spring.  It is alluded to throughout, but not revealed until almost the ending.  That bothered me because it left me unable to fully develop an opinion of Cass.  I liked him from the beginning, but couldn't know for sure if I should, since I didn't know whatever he did or didn't do to Gwen previously.  Overall, I enjoyed the book.  It was a solid three out of five stars for me (I rarely give anything five stars, so keep that in mind.  Three for some people may be low, but for me it is a solid book).  You can decide for yourself.  Happy reading!

How To Love

How to Love is definitely not a book for everyone.  I hesitated to read it because I don't like books dealing with teen pregnancy.  This book does have a teenage mother, but it isn't about her being pregnant.  In fact, her entire pregnancy is skipped over.  This book jumps back and forth between Before and After, letting the past and present unfold simultaneously.  It tells the story of Reena and Sawyer, from Reena's point of view.

In the Before, she has been in love with Sawyer since the seventh grade.  Their parent's are best friends, so they have grown up side by side.  Sawyer is two years older than her.  Despite her obsession with him, he doesn't seem to even notice her.  Then one day, he asks her to hang out and the rest is history.  The two fall in love.  He is far from perfect though.  He drags her around to parties she has no interest in going to.  All she wants is to graduate early and get out of town.  With college acceptance on the horizon she discovers she is pregnant.  When she goes to Sawyer's to tell him, she watches him packing into his jeep like he is going on a trip.  Little does she know, his trip will last over two years, with no word to anyone on where he is or if he is okay.

The After begins with Sawyer's return to town.  He wants to pick things back up with Reena, but she is less than thrilled to see him.  When he learns about their daughter, Hannah, he wants to be a part of her life.  Reena has a new boyfriend, a new life.  Sawyer, however, cannot be ignored.  He keeps popping up at inconvenient times, forcing her to deal with him.  This is definitely an unconventional love story, but that is indeed what it is.  Both Reena and Sawyer have to learn what it truly means to love someone else and even more importantly, how to love themselves.  Both characters are very flawed.  A lot of people don't like Sawyer, which makes them not like this book.  I listened to it on audio, and the reader did a good job of capturing his character.  If I had read him instead, I may not have liked him.  In the audio version, I couldn't help myself from cheering him on.  I wanted him to get it together.  I had an easier time excusing his idiocy and empathizing with him.  Reena's best friend, Shelby, was lots of fun.  Overall, I enjoyed the book.  Like I said, Sawyer will either make or break this book for you.  It definitely isn't for everybody, but I liked it.  Happy reading!

Isla and the Happily Ever After

This is the third and final book in the series.  As far as series go, these books are barely tied together.  Each title has it's own character and own story.  The overlap is the couple from the first book are minor characters in the second book, and the couples from the first two books make an appearance in the third book.  It is lots of fun to have those characters visit though.

This third book follows Isla Martin as she embarks on her senior year of boarding school in Paris.  Things seem to be looking up when longtime crush, Josh, not only notices her, but might actually be interested in her.  All her dreams are coming true, until a mistake is made and the love birds are torn apart.  As Isla gets an inside look into Josh's life, she realizes that maybe she doesn't really know him at all.  On top of that, she starts to question his feelings for her.  She doesn't believe he really loves her.  Can she learn to trust herself and Josh before her happily ever after melts away?

After reading this book I really want to reread the first one (Anna and the French Kiss).  Josh is best friends with St. Clair, one of the main characters from the first book.  I don't remember Josh much from that book and now I want to reread it.  He is only a minor character, but he is in the group of friends that Anna makes.  Isla even makes a cameo in that book.  Now that I've gotten to know Josh better, I am curious about his character in the first book.  In this book he is all alone.  His friends all graduated the year before.  This book takes place the year after the first book.  I wish I could remember more, but it is a really good book so I don't mind rereading it someday.  It's a really good series and this was a fun ending.  All the main characters from the three books come together for a night.  It was a fun reunion.  The books are all worth a read.  As far as teen/young adult romance is concerned, Stephanie Perkins is one of those authors that takes it to the next level, in my opinion.  She writes interesting characters that are fun to get to know.  Give her books a try.  Happy reading!

The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone

This book is sort of written like a celebrity biography.  It's completely fictional, but it is laid out like a true story with the author writing about her own brief, yet memorable, encounter with the subject and how that inspired her to look a little deeper into Addison's life.  I enjoyed this book because it was different from other books I usually read.  There are photographs of the characters throughout the book to further illustrate their personalities and to make it more real.  The story is told through a series of interview entries, without the interviewer presence.  It details the final two years (maybe a little less) of the life of Addison Stone, an up and coming artist already famous in NYC.  She is a very interesting and complex character.  A ticking time bomb that was bound to explode.  He covers her struggles with mental illness (schizophrenia), her manic energy, and thirst for experiencing life.  She didn't feel fear, even when she should have.  She didn't have a great home life and couldn't wait to escape.  When a chance to move to NYC came, she grabbed it and never really looked back.  Too young to be alone in the big city, she didn't always make the best choices.  It details her highly dysfunctional relationships with both friends and lovers.  The interviewees include her long time best friend, Lucy, high school boyfriend, Jonah, a variety of authority figures (parents, teachers, influential people in the art world), as well as New York friends, her brother and two New York boyfriends, Zach and Lincoln, who are both people of interest in her death.  Following her ups and downs was rather entertaining.  She was full of an energy that just sucks you right in.  The author created a very interesting character.  Despite knowing from the beginning that she died, I found myself holding on to the very end wanting to suck up all the details of her story that I could.  It reminds me of those behind the scenes TV True Hollywood Stories or whatever they are called.  This was just like that.  It reminds me of the headlines and stories all over the place telling us details of famous people's lives that I think all of us can't help but read a little, even if we couldn't really care less.  Call it morbid fascination.  That is probably why I liked this book.  It felt like an inside look into the life a young, famous person who died too young.  Guilty pleasure or whatever, it is worth a read.  I enjoyed the various narrators helping piece the story together.  It was a nice change of pace from the normal stuff I read.  If you are looking for something a little less mainstream, perhaps this is it.  Happy reading!

Killer Instinct

Killer Instinct is the second book in the Naturals series.  It is perfect for fans of The Body Finder series by Kimberly Derting.  I am absolutely loving this series.  This second installment (set to be released November 4, 2014) is just as good, maybe even better than the first one.  The Naturals are a group of teenagers with highly developed skills that help the FBI solve cold cases.  They keep getting dragged into active cases, which is what they prefer anyway.  The FBI agent in charge of them wants them far away from danger, but they can't help but get involved.

The characters include Cassie, a profiler who can get inside the mind of anybody.  Dean is also a profiler who developed his skill while being raised by one of the countries most notorious serial killers.  Michael is an emotion reader.  He can read even the slightest facial expression and know what anyone is feeling.  Lia is a human lie detector. A born liar herself, she can discern even the slightest falsehood in others.  Last but not least we have Sloane, a genius with a memory for facts and numbers and an eye for detail.

The kids all live in a house with Judd, a retired Marine, as their guardian.  Together as a team they are pretty much unstoppable.  The problem is they don't like to follow the rules, which often leads them into trouble and sometimes even danger.  They are a very interesting and fun team.  All of them have messed up childhoods, some of which we are still learning about.  This book involves a serial killer, as does the first book.  Despite specific instructions to stay far away from the case, the group can't help but get involved.  This case has Dean's psycho father written all over it.  They are forced to seek his help from his prison cell, and none of them will be the same once he is inside their heads.

This book is just awesome.  I love a good murder mystery/psychological thriller and this book hit the spot for sure.  I really enjoy the characters and can't wait to get to know them further.  I am loving this series!  The books are well written and well paced.  I just want to keep reading to see who the killer is and whether my guess is correct.  I guessed right in this one, but that didn't make me enjoy it any less.  I'm now experiencing the down side of reading an advanced copy of a book.  I have to wait even longer for the next one to come out.  I'm definitely glad I found this series.  It is well worth the wait.  I highly recommend hit.  Happy reading!

Book Lover's Day

Tomorrow, August 9th, is Book Lovers Day.  It is meant to be celebrated by settling down with a good book and enjoying the simple act of reading.  It is the perfect day to share books with friends and family.  I'm going to take this opportunity to share some of my all time favorite books with you.

Let's start with kids books.  Where the Sidewalk Ends is my kind of poetry through and through.  It's simple, humorous and is easy to read.  Shel Silverstein is just brilliant.  The Secret Garden is a children's classic that everyone should read, especially girls.  I have read it probably six times and loved it every time.  Matilda is another book I have enjoyed over and over.  What a wonderful little girl she is.  Roald Dahl's dark and twisted humor always entertains.  Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH is such a fun and fantastic adventure.  I can't wait to read it with my daughter.  I'll wrap up this portion with two series I adore.  First, Percy Jackson and the Olympians is a perfect blend of action, adventure, mythology and friendship.  It is very entertaining and should not be missed.  Finally, Harry Potter.  It is a series that forever changed the book industry and has turned millions of people into readers.

The next group of books I want to discuss are in the Young Adult genre (arguably my favorite genre).  I guess I am one of those stunted adults that just can't get enough of it.  I've selected just two to talk about.  The Book Thief is a beautifully written, life changing story about the love of books and the power they have to transform lives.  It truly is a magnificent story that everyone should read.  The Truth About Forever is my guilty pleasure teen book of choice.  It is filled with wonderful characters.  It is about friendship, learning to live again after tragedy and finding love when you least expect it.  I just love that book.

On to adult books.  My favorite is The Power of One.  It is just such an awesome and inspiring story about overcoming limitations.  It exemplifies how one person truly can make a difference and perhaps even change the world.  To Kill a Mockingbird is one of those books that touches your heart and changes your life.  It captures childhood and the human experience better than most books can ever hope to.  These is my Words introduces a character like no other.  She is not soon forgotten.  Sarah will get under your skin and leave you wanting more.  Gone With the Wind is a love story for the times.  I fell in love with Rhett Butler and wanted to strangle Scarlett O'hara for not seeing how great he is until it is too late.  Another great love story, retold more than any other one (perhaps besides Romeo and Juliet) is Pride and Prejudice.  It may be cliche, but I still love it.  Mr. Darcy is wonderful.  Last but not least, Atlas Shrugged.  Ayn Rand is one of my very favorite authors.  Her fiction is not for everyone, but I wish there was more of it.  I really enjoy books that make you think and expand your outlook, and her books truly do that.

I challenge everyone to take some time tomorrow to sit down and read, not because you have to, but because you want to.  Read alone or together as a family.  Just enjoy a good book because you can.  Take it one step further and share your favorite books with your friends and family.  Sharing books and the love of reading is one of the best gifts you can give others.  At least that is what I think.  Happy Book Lover's Day and Happy reading!

The Mortal Instruments

Most people have probably heard of this series, but if you haven't (or just haven't read it yet), here is my shout out to the Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare.  There are moments that will infuriate you, but over all the books are very good.  They are jam packed with action and danger.  The world of Shadowhunters and Downworlders that the author has created is very interesting.  It is set in 2008 in modern day New York (mostly).  The Shadowhunters (Nephilim) are a race of angel blessed people set to the task of protecting the world from demons.  They are warriors with special weapons and covered in runes that help enhance their natural abilities.  The main players are teenagers who live and train at the New York Institute, a Shadowhunter establishment.  Brother and sister Alec and Isabelle Lightwood, adopted brother Jace make up the three musketeers.  Enter mundane (ordinary human) Clary Fray.  She sees the trio slay a demon at a night club.  The only problem, mundanes can't see Shadowhunters.  They are glamoured to the naked eye.  She and her best friend Simon are thrown into the Shadow World, and their lives will never be the same.  Warlocks, Vampires, and Werewolves (the Downworlders) as well as the Fair Folk fill our the cast of characters.  The first three books (meant to be a trilogy) have an overall story arc that plays out at the end of book three.  The next three follow a continuing story arc with a newish big bad.  The books are well written, fast-paced, and full of excitement.  The characters are complex and far from perfect.  There is a wide variety of characters that make up the complex world expertly created by the author.  They are definitely worth reading.  If you are interested in them, the author wrote another trilogy set in the same world, only 100 or so years earlier called The Infernal Devices.  The two series tie together nicely in book six (City of Heavenly Fire), as well as set up her next series, The Dark Artifices, whose first installment is set to be released sometime next year.  If you are interested in trying one of her series, this one is the best.  Just a bit of advice, don't let any revelations in book one stop you from continuing the series.  I promise everything will be satisfactorily resolved in further volumes.  If you haven't read this series yet, give it a try.  Happy reading!

Fangirl

Fangirl is the ultimate coming of age story.  Twin sisters Cather and Wren are heading off to college.  Wren, the extrovert, wants nothing more than to branch out.  Cath, the introvert, has no interest in meeting anybody.  Her whole world revolves around her fan fiction site.  She has spent years writing Simon Snow (a Harry Potter-like character) fan fiction, gaining thousands of followers.  She prefers to live in that world.  Wren wants to walk away from the fangirl life that bonded them as kids.  She spends too much time partying it up and immersing herself in the college life.  Cath spends all her free time writing.  Her roommate Reagan and her boyfriend Levi make constant attempts to coax her into the real world.

At its core, this book is about growing up.  Change is not something everyone is good with, but it happens anyway.  Cath is one of those people forced to deal with the changes that come from growing up.  She has to decide what she really wants and whether she will let fear keep her from getting it.  It is a story about falling in love, accepting who you are, making new friends, letting go of the past and embracing the future.  The characters are spectacular.  They are so well written you can't help but feel you know them.  This book will just suck you in and keep you going to the very end.

I myself am not now nor have I ever been a fan fiction reader/fan, but the culture of fandom is something that fascinates me.  The passion that people feel for fictional characters and worlds can be contagious.  It always entertains me when I read about or see that world come to life.  This book is really about fandom, so if you are not interested in that, don't let that be what stops you from reading this.  Also, don't read it hoping to get a book about fandom.  This book is about a fangirl who is forced to grow up and figure out what life outside the fantasy world of Simon Snow means.  On her own for the first time, she has to find herself and figure out who she wants to be.  It is definitely worth reading.  Once again, the characters are what make this story stand out.  They are exceptional.  Happy reading!

One Past Midnight

Another winner from Jessica Shirvington.  One Past Midnight had me sucked in from the very beginning.  The idea alone was intriguing.  Add her writing talent to that and it was a total success for me.  The story follows Sabine, a girl plagued with two lives.  Every night at midnight she "Shifts" between her two worlds, forced to live every day twice.  After spending the day in one life, she shifts back to the exact moment she left in the other life.

In one life she is part of a rich family with two older brothers and divorced parents.  She is one half of the most envied couple in school, although she is somewhat repulsed by Dex's kisses.  Her life is pretty much the picture of perfect.  In her other life she has a little sister she absolutely adores and two workaholic parents.  She is a bit of a punk, considered somewhat of a troublemaker, with a best friend her parents don't approve of.  All she wants is to have a normal life like everyone around her.

After she turns eighteen, things start to change.  When she breaks her arm in one life, the injury doesn't carry over to the other life.  Encouraged by this new development, she begins to experiment.  First she cuts and dyes her hair.  Then she hurts herself.  Finally, she poisons herself.  None of the effects carry over.  Her dream of a normal life may be attainable after all, she just has to choose which one she wants.

I really enjoyed this book.  I loved the idea of the two lives, and the author did a fabulous job of writing the less than appealing reality that would pose.  In eighteen years of actually living, Sabine has to live thirty-six years of days.  The weight of juggling two lives drags her down.  It definitely makes you see that no matter how bad you think your life is, it could be worse.  Also, the author does a good job of showing that no matter how perfect someone's life may appear to be, everyone has problems to overcome.  It was a very engaging book.  I felt right there with Sabine when she was going through all the struggles life was throwing at her.  I would definitely recommend this book.  Happy reading!

Sinner

When I saw a follow-up book to the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy was coming out, I was so excited.  I really liked that series, and Cole was a very interesting character.  In Sinner Cole and Isabel get their very own book.  The story takes place after the trilogy.  Isabel has moved with her mother to California.  Cole is ready to get his life back.  What he wants most is Isabel.  He accepts a Reality TV gig, following him as he records a new album, and heads to LA to win Isabel over.  She is less than thrilled with his appearance.  She doesn't know if she can trust him, and she doesn't want to let herself fall in love with him again.  The book alternates perspectives as we watch Isabel try to deal with Cole being back in her life and what that might mean for the future.  We watch Cole try to face his own demons.  His past is only a step behind and he has trouble not giving in to temptation.  Instead of drugs, he turns to the wolf, forcing changes to help himself cope.  His character is very interesting to follow.  His manic and addictive personality is quite entertaining.  I found myself constantly cheering him on, hoping he wouldn't succumb to his demons.  His relationship with Leon was the best.  I really enjoyed this book and thought it was a great follow up to a series I was sad to see end.  Cole's dynamic personality definitely begged for more attention.  This book was perfect for that.  He is very complicated and deserved to be the main character of his own story.  I loved seeing him back as the famous rock star, dealing with what that meant for his new life and trying to reconcile with his past self.  This was an excellent self-discovery story.  He needed this and as a fan, so did I.  Anybody who is a Cole St. Clair fan, you will love this book.  If you haven't read the trilogy first, you will be a little lost though.  All four books are quite good, in my opinion.  Give them a try.  Happy reading!

The Iron Fey

For years I though about reading The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa.  It wasn't until she started a new series, The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten, that I finally gave it a try.  The author said the first four didn't have to be read before book five (aka book one in the new series).  That sounded like a good deal to me.  I really liked that fifth book and was instantly intrigued by the previous four.  Of course I hurried to read them, as well as the bridging novellas, before book six came out.  I found that I actually liked the original four better.  The bad thing was, by reading book five first, a few things were ruined for me.  The second series takes place twelve or so years later and follows Ethan Chase, the younger brother or the main character in the Iron Fey series.

The original series follows Meghan Chase as she heads into the Nevernever to rescue her four year old brother, Ethan, after he is kidnapped by faeries.  It isn't long that she learns she is part faerie herself, the half-human daughter to none other than Oberon himself.  The Summer princess makes friends and enemies along the way.  Her travel companions are the Summer prankster, Puck, and his best friend/worst enemy the youngest Winter prince, Ash.  Finding Ethan is not their only problem.  A new kingdom, made of iron, is rapidly growing.  The Nevernever is starting to die as the poisonous iron overtakes the land.  None of the faeries can stop it.  Meghan's human half makes her immune to the effects of iron, so it is up to her to try to stop the Iron King before all the Winter and Summer lands and faeries are dead.  Of course there is also romance.  Puck is in love with Meghan from the beginning, but it is the forbidden Ash she is drawn to.  He is cold, cunning and lethal, just like his mother, Mab, values.  Meghan catches glimpses of who he is under that mask.  The two can't help but fall in love.  The problem, their parents are mortal enemies and it is forbidden for Summer and Winter to be together.  Will they risk exile to be together or walk away?  You'll have to read to find out.

While there is romance, as in most young adult books, it is by no means the driving point of the story.  The life and death action and adventure will keep you reading.  If you are at all interested in the world of Faerie, I think you will enjoy these books.  The Iron kingdom is fascinating to me.  I think it was a brilliant idea to shake things up in Faerie.  I really enjoyed the characters, especially Ash, although Puck's antics are always entertaining.  The stories are well-written and well-paced.  I never got bored.  The first three books are more of a trilogy, following Meghan, while book four is about Ash.  Meghan is only in it for a little bit.  It feels like a bonus book to satisfy Ash fans, although it does tie into the overall story.  Like I said, they are quite enjoyable.  Give them a try.  Happy reading!

The Ascendance Trilogy

I recently read The Ascendance Trilogy, partly to see what the fuss was about.  A while back the first book was quite popular for awhile and I was curious.  I found that I rather enjoyed these books.  They got increasingly better as the story progressed through the three volumes.  In the False Prince a nobleman scours orphanages to find candidates he can train to act as the missing, presumed dead, young prince.  He chooses a few young boys that could pass for the prince and trains them up.  He will pick one to make an attempt at the throne, if he can convince the regents that he is Jaron.  In The Runaway King, Jaron's regents don't believe the threat to Carthya is real and are pushing to place a steward on the throne until Jaron comes of age.  To save his country, Jaron flees to confront and destroy the pirates that pose the biggest threat to his country.  In the Shadow Throne, all three neighboring kingdoms have banded together to wage war on Carthya and the young King.  King Vargan of Avenia wants to overthrown Jaron and set himself up as emperor of all the land.  The war seems impossible to win and the likelihood of survival slim.  This series is very fast-paced, full of action and adventure, suspense and intrigue, loyalty and friendship.  Jaron is quite the witty young man and proves to be the thorn in many a side.  He is a very smart, strong and fast thinking leader, proving more of an opponent than any gauge him to be.  The characters are very likable.  Jaron, Imogen, Ronan, Amarinda, Tobias, Mott, Harlow, to name a few.  It is definitely worth reading.  I found myself rather entertained, trying to keep up with Jaron and his antics.  Give them a try.  Happy reading!

The Violet Eden Chapters

I found The Violet Eden Chapters, a.k.a. the Embrace series, to be quite good.  The author created a world involving fallen angels (exiles of light and exiles of dark) and angel-made human warriors known as Grigori.  The two sides are in constant battle.  The exiles are strong, ambitious, and a tad crazy.  Most desire to rule the humans, and it is up to the Grigori to protect the human race.  Grigori are made when an angel imbues his essence upon a baby during its first few weeks of life.  Violet is one such baby.  On her seventeenth birthday, her world changes.  She learns of the hidden world surrounding her and the new powers growing inside her.  She feels betrayed by Lincoln, the man who has been training her (and who she has been falling in love with) for the last two years.  It turns out he is Grigori and knew all along that she is too.  He was training her to become his partner.  All Grigori have partners that can help heal them and fight side by side with them, the down side is they can never be together as a couple because it weakens them.  The books are filled with the whole will they won't they between Violet and Lincoln.  They are in love, but can't be together.  Then there is Phoenix (my favorite character in the series).  He is an exile, only different from the others.  He hasn't gone mad and is able to pass himself off as human when he wants to (it is because of who his parents are).  He also has his sights set on Violet.  The two have a complicated relationship.  Part of him loves her and part of him wants to destroy her.  His dual nature makes him the ultimate unpredictable foe.  Despite all he does, Violet repeatedly trusts him.  He is a very interesting character.  The love triangle is fun too.  You always know Violet is in love with Lincoln, but a part of her will always belong to Phoenix.  Outside the love story, it is a story of life and death, survival and annihilation, friendship and loyalty.  A war is brewing and Violet and her friends have to do all they can, including give their lives if need be to stop the exiles.  There is lots of action and danger, suspense and twists, betrayal and grief.  Each book will keep you on the edge of your seat.  They are all well written with interesting and action-packed plots.  I vastly enjoyed this series and highly recommend it.  Happy reading!

For Darkness Shows the Stars

For Darkness Shows the Stars will appeal to fans of Jane Austen.  It is a futuristic, dystopian retelling of Persuasion.  As far as everyone knows, the inhabitants on the two large islands they live on are the only survivors left in the world.  It is a couple generations since daring scientists/innovators tried to make themselves and all their followers into gods.  They replaced body parts with better working ones, tapped into the human brain to make it better, etc.  The result was catastrophic.  The Luddites (those who didn't embrace the technology), thought God punished them by Reducing them to little more than simple-minded people who couldn't take care of themselves.  It fell to the Luddites to care for and protect the Reduced.  In reality, the Reduced are now little more than slave labor to most Luddite lords.  A new generation (Children of the Reduced, or CORs) has been born unaffected by Reduction.  These Posts are starting to rebel against life on the estates, striking out to make lives of their own.

The story takes place on the North estate.  Eighteen year old Elliott North is left to make sure the farm and its inhabitants survive.  Her father is power hungry but has no sense of how to run a farm.  Her older sister doesn't want to have to get her hands dirty.  Elliott spends her days working the land and taking care of the Reduceds and Posts on her estate.  Her energy goes to convincing herself she didn't make a mistake four years earlier when she chose to stay on the farm instead of running off with Kai, the Post boy she grew up with and came to love.  One day the famous Cloud Fleet, a group of Post explorers, comes to rent out her grandfather's land in order to build a new ship for renowned captain Malakai Wentforth.  He turns out to be none other than her Kai, only he is very angry and hostile toward her.  The boy she knew is long gone, replaced by a man she almost doesn't recognize.  Can the two learn to be friends again, or did her decision to stay end all hope of any future?

For fans of Persuasion, you will know how the story goes, but it was still rather enjoyable.  I really liked Elliott.  She was a very strong and interesting character.  Between chapters there were letters from Elliott and Kai's youth that they had left for each other.  It was a lot of fun reading them and getting to know the younger versions of them.  It was a clever way of filling in back story while remaining in the present tense.  Baron North was a horrid individual.  I wanted to strangle him.  I hated seeing Elliott impotent under his reign.  There is a sequel I am very interested in reading.  I want to know what becomes of all the characters.  Even if you aren't a fan of dystopian, but are a Jane Austen fan, I think you will enjoy this story.  Happy reading!

Starcrossed

The Starcrossed trilogy is one of my favorite teen series dealing with Greek Mythology.  The cast of characters are all modern day incarnations of tragic demigods of old.  History is stuck in a loop, the same tragic tales played over and over again spanning multiple generations.  The same will happen this time around unless Helen can somehow stop the Fates.  It's a series full of action, betrayal, danger, friendship and family.  It is also a story of starcrossed lovers.  Helen and Lucas are drawn to each other, almost to the detriment of all.  They are this generation's Helen of Troy and Paris.  They share a love that defies all else, but they can't be together.  Both of them constantly struggle to accept the fate they are dealt, all while trying to save the world.  They have to contend with angry gods, try to keep the Furies at bay, and unmask a traitor in their midst.  At the end of the day, all the weight rests on Helen's shoulders.  Can she be strong enough to beat the gods and end the cycle the Fates have them all stuck in?  I really liked this series.  I thought these books were well-written and vastly entertaining.  The characters are all quite enjoyable, even the less than likable ones.  I loved Helen's relationship with her father.  Also, her best friend was all types of fun.  The stories are filled with all the markers of a good fantasy/mythology story: a prophecy, an epic battle, the fight for survival, the responsibility of great power, and a romance to end all romances.  This is a series that I highly recommend.  Happy reading!

The Testing

A friend recommended this series to me.  It wasn't even on my radar before that.  The Testing is a Dystopian adventure quite reminiscent of The Hunger Games.  It is a bit more psychological though.  It takes place in a future society decades after the world fell to war.  Bombing and fighting has left the earth devastated.  Most human life erased, animals dead or mutated, and plant life destroyed.  America is broken into colonies, relatively independent of each other.  The central government holds a yearly Testing that takes the top students from each colony and weeds them down to select the top few for university study.  They are trying to pick the best future leaders to help continue the revitalization efforts.  When Cia is one of four picked from the Five Lakes Colony, she is ecstatic.  No one has been chosen in years from her home town.  After warnings from her father, she soon realizes that perhaps the students were being protected from a less than safe and friendly testing situation.  You see, over a hundred are selected to begin with and only twenty will move on.  No one knows what happens to those not selected for University.  They never return home.  Those who do pass, have their memories wiped in order to keep the Testing secret.  The first round of Testing encases a couple days of intense written examinations.  The second round is hands on problem solving.  The third round is an exercise in teamwork.  The fourth round is all about survival and perseverance--the remaining candidates are dropped, by themselves, in the ruins of Chicago.  It is 700 miles away from the Testing grounds.  They have to find their way back.  Some band together, some choose to eliminate the competition.  Of all those who return alive, twenty are chosen to attend University.  Throughout the four rounds, Cia experiences many things she would rather forget, but at the same time doesn't want to ever forget.  She thinks there is something horribly wrong with the Testing process.  She is very smart and recognizes the importance of surviving so she can try to change things.  The only problem, if she does survive, her memory will be wiped out.  I really enjoyed this book.  Book three in this trilogy just came out.  I plan to read the next two books soon and hope I am not disappointed in how it turns out.  I've mentioned before that I am often disappointed in Dystopian trilogies.  They often start out strong, but can't maintain the world they set up.  I'm hoping this series is not one of the disappointments.  I'll let you know.  For the time being, if you are a fan of the Hunger Games and looking for more like it, then this is definitely a book you will like.  Cia is an awesome character, one I would definitely like to get to know more.  Happy reading!

The Fault in Our Stars

After months of The Fault in Our Stars being on the bestseller lists, I figured I should see what all the fuss was about.  That was over a year ago, and it is still on the bestseller lists.  If you have yet to read it, I recommend seeing for yourself what the big deal is.  There are plenty of people who have read it and still wondered about all the stink, but I was not one of them.  I absolutely loved this book.  It is one of those stories that keeps you thinking about it long after it is over.  I don't know if I would have had the same reaction if I had read it.  You see, I listened to the audio version, and it was phenomenal.  The voice actor did such a wonderful job of portraying the characters.  I've been saving this book for June, which is audio month.

As far as audio books go, the reader definitely holds a lot of power as far as making a book wonderful or forever ruining it for the world.  I have listened to plenty of books that I may have liked a lot better if I had read them myself instead.  Sometimes it is simply the readers voice that bothers me.  Other times it is their inability to do proper accents when appropriate.  Whatever the reason, I have definitely come to appreciate the true talent that voice acting involves.  Narrating an audio book is a lot more than merely reading it--Listen to Harry Potter and tell me anyone can do it.  I dare you.  I have listened to books that I love and been unable to even finish the audio version, forever grateful I read it first so as not to miss out on it.  There are also plenty of audio books that I probably liked better than if I had read them myself.  I have yet to read this book, for fear I will not like it as much, although I did purchase it with the intention of someday reading it.

I rarely give five star reviews on Goodreads, but this is one of those titles that made the cut.  Like I said, the reader had me so absorbed in the story I hated to see it end.  You'll definitely need a box of tissues on hand.  All the main characters are cancer patients.  When Hazel's mother makes her go to a cancer support group, she makes friends that will forever change her life, short as it may be.  She knows she is terminal, but when she meets Augustus she truly begins to live.  It is a story about love, friendship, loyalty, dreams and living your life to the fullest.  If you have not yet read it, I highly recommend giving it a try.  Better yet, listen to the audio version.  The movie comes out on Friday, and I can't wait to see it.  I hope I won't be disappointed.  Since the previews make me cry, I may have to wait until it comes out on video so I can blubber in the privacy of my own home.  Although, I will hardly be the only one reaching for a tissue.  It is not a feel good book, but it will definitely make you feel.  Happy reading/listening!