[Review] The Selection by Kiera Cass

Title: The Selection (The Selection #1)
Author: Kiera Cass
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: Dystopia, Romance, Young Adult
Release Date: March 26, 2013
Source: Gifted, RAK
Purchase: Amazon | TBD | Kobo | B&N

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

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

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

So, what did I think about The Selection? About 35 girls competing for one princes affections? Well I can honestly say, I thought it was a pretty great read! I don't know why I have waited so long to crack it open and read it. (Besides the fact that I have a TBR list a mile long!)

I don't normally like "love-triangles", but this one pulled me in. You know the reason I don't like the whole triangle thing is because I always have a hard time deciding who the main character should end up with, because, let's face it, most of the time, both guys usually have the same amount of great qualities. But in this book, I can already tell you who my favorite is, and it's not Aspen.

So let's start talking about Aspen. He has gorgeous green eyes (I'm a complete and total sucker for green eyes!), dark hair and a totally caring personality. Throw in the fact that he's older and very responsible, and you have yourself a great catch. But, behind all that, you have a temper, and, coming from someone that has seen way too many tempers, it's not that attractive. There is also the fact that he doesn't see himself as good enough for America. So, he has a temper and low self-esteem. Not two of my favorite qualities. However, toward the end, he does come around to try to win back America's affections.

Now let's look at Maxon. Sure, he's the crowned prince, so who wouldn't want to marry him? But he also has a sweet side. He's caring and shy and a little unsure of himself when it comes to girls, but deep down, he knows what he wants and he is desperate to stand out and to show his father that he has what it takes to run the country.

And lastly, we have America. Whose heart was seriously broken by the boy she loved so desperately and whose mother and boyfriend pushed her to sign up for the Selection. She sacrificed her happiness for her family and her boyfriend. She is strong willed and determined. Everything I like about a heroine. Take the three of them and put them into this book and you have yourself one great story.

I just really enjoyed this book, I finished it quite fast, compared to most of the other books I have read. I will admit, I was a little confused at the beginning when it came to "castes" and the way things were, but I quickly understood what was going on and what things meant. I really enjoyed how everything came together and how Cass put a little bit of the history in the book as to how they became the new country Illea, it certainly helped me to understand a little more about it. Most of the time, with the dystopian type books I have read before, the writers leave out that detail and it leaves the readers curious about how things happened. If you are anything like me, my mind wanders and ponders over every little detail. All in all, I must say that as soon as I'm able to, I'm heading to the store to purchase the next book, The Elite.

I completely enjoyed this book. I highly recommend this book to anyone!

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{Review} Supernaturally by Kiersten White

Title: Supernaturally (Paranormalcy #2)
Author: Kiersten White
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy
Release Date: July 26th 2012
Source: Gifted, ARC
Purchase: TBD | Amazon

Evie finally has the normal life she's always longed for, but she's shocked to discover that being ordinary can be . . . kind of boring. So when she's given the opportunity to work for the International Paranormal Containment Agency again, she leaps at the chance.

But then Evie's faerie ex-boyfriend Reth appears, and tells her that a battle is brewing between the faerie courts that could throw the whole paranormal world into chaos. The prize in question? Evie herself.

Such a wonderful follow up to Paranormalcy (my review)! The characters remained amazing as did the story. And, I was hoping for more information about Evie, and I finally learned a few things about her. So very pleased!

Evie learns some new things about herself and the ones around her. We see a little more of the Faerie Realms as well as some other paranormals. This second novel was not at all what I had expected. The ride just kept going.

White also introduced us to a new character, Jack, who is a human that can travel by Faerie Path. He's rather a questionable character at first and remains questionable throughout the course of this second installment. It leaves you to wonder if we will see more of him in the 3rd book, Endlessly.

As for Lend and Evie and the rest of the gang, they were still amazing. The reader had a chance to hear more about Arianna and what happened to her and her creator. We learn how vampires were created and about Evie's family. We also see a little of Evie's high school life and her torment about not being able to be with Lend. 

I really thoroughly enjoyed this book and still recommend this series to anyone 13 and older. 

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{Review} Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Title: Paranormalcy (Paranormalcy #1)
Author: Kiersten White
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy
Release Date: August 31st 2010
Source: Gifted
Purchase: TBD | Amazon

Evie’s always thought of herself as a normal teenager, even though she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals’ glamours. 

But Evie’s about to realize that she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures. 

So much for normal.

Immediately this book grabbed me and pulled me in. I admit, I was a little confused at first, only because I didn't realize what the book was about. I just thought it was about ghosts, haha. But this one surprised me and I thoroughly enjoyed the first book of this amazing trilogy.

This book was different than most books that I have read. It was a light read, with a little comedy and some less then serious points with a good mix of serious takes. The beginning of the book is what really grabbed me, it started out with humor, which, let's be honest, not a whole lot of books start off like that. To me this was a bit of Buffy, with the whole bag and tag aspect of it with the paranormals. (Which, don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with that.)

The characters were diverse. You had humans, faeries, werewolves, vampires and just about all different types of paranormals. I have always favored anything to do with faeries and the like, so this was just a plus for me.

Evie was young, so she had a nice teenage feel to her as well as some mature tendencies. You could relate to her in some ways and you could follow her as she made some self discoveries about herself and about the IPCA. I also enjoyed her budding relationship with Lend and her friendships she had with Lish and later, Arianna.

I was slightly disappointed that some things were left a mystery about her, so maybe something will develop in the next book, Supernaturally. I would highly recommend this first book to teens ages 13 and older.

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Review: Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

Title: Carrier of the Mark (Carrier #1)

Author: Leigh Fallon

Publisher: HarperTeen

Genre: YA, UF, Mythology

Release Date: Oct 4, 2011

Source: RAK

Purchase: TBD | Amazon

When Megan Rosenberg moves to Ireland, everything in her life seems to fall into place. After growing up in America, she's surprised to find herself feeling at home in her new school. She connects with a group of friends, and she is instantly drawn to darkly handsome Adam DeRÍs.

But Megan is about to discover that her feelings for Adam are tied to a fate that was sealed long ago—and that the passion and power that brought them together could be their ultimate destruction.

This was an amazing read! For some reason I have been putting off reading this, maybe because I hadn't had the time, but I never owned a copy until recently. I received it as a R.A.K. and started reading it instantly. I am so glad that I did. I had a hard time putting this one down at bedtime. I found myself pushing the time before I finally had to put the book down and go to sleep.

This has mostly every girls dream. Most of us are drawn to foreign accents and mysterious guys. Adam DeRis is the perfect example. Mysterious, good looking and with an Irish accent to top it off. When Megan Rosenberg moves from the United States to Kinsale, Ireland, she knows that there is something different about Adam but she's not quite sure what yet. She's heard the stories about him and his family and the strange things that happen. But that doesn't bother her, she is still drawn to him. Adam can't quite put his finger on what it is about Megan that he is drawn to either, but he will soon find out.

The story and characters are just amazing, I have always been a fan of all things Irish and this book really drew me in. I recently started to read about Irish folklore and been wanting to study the mythology. So this one really had me intrigued. And now I can't wait for the second book of the series, Shadow of the Mark.

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Book Review: Flawless by Sara Shepard

Title: Flawless
Series: Pretty Little Liars #2
Author: Sara Shepard
Publisher: Harper Collins
Genre: Young Adult, Mystery
Release Date: March 15th, 2007
Source: Purchased
Purchase: TBD/Amazon

In the exclusive town of Rosewood, Pennsylvania, where the sweetest smiles hide the darkest secrets, four pretty little liars--Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna--have been very bad girls. . . .

Spencer stole her sister's boyfriend. Aria is brokenhearted over her English teacher. Emily likes her new friend Maya . . . as much more than a friend. And Hanna's obsession with looking flawless is literally making her sick. But the most horrible secret of all is something so scandalous it could destroy their perfect little lives.

And someone named "A" is threatening to do just that.

At first they thought A was Alison, their friend who vanished three years ago . . . but then Alison turned up dead. So could A be Melissa, Spencer's ultracompetitive sister? Or Maya, who wants Emily all to herself? What about Toby, the mysterious guy who left town right after Alison went missing?

One thing's for certain: A's got the dirt to bury them all alive, and with every crumpled note, wicked IM, and vindictive text message A sends, the girls get a little closer to losing it all.

Well, I will be totally honest. If you have not read the books and have only seen the TV series, this book may be a total disappointment to you. I can tell you that I didn't read the books first and when I read the books now, I'm all "this didn't happen like this" or "wait, what's going on?", but if you want to read the books after you watched the series, just keep an open mind.

I'm not a huge fan of how Shepard wrote the girls in as smokers. As a previous smoker myself, it's really not all that appealing or attractive. Also, the girls aren't all best friends in the books and don't really talk unless they are inquiring if the other received and message from "A". I may have an open mind to most of the book, but I would really like to see the girls in the book interact with each other more. I hope the other books have the girls opening up to each other more and come together to find out what's going on.

All in all, this was a pretty decent book. It kept me reading from start to end. If you love Pretty Little Liars, I suggest you pick up a copy of this book if you haven't already done so and start reading.

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Book Review: Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey

Title: Cold Kiss

Author: Amy Garvey

Publisher: HarperTeen

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal

Release Date: September 20, 2011

Source: Gifted (RAK)

Purchase: TBD

It was a beautiful, warm summer day, the day Danny died.

Suddenly Wren was alone and shattered. In a heartbroken fury, armed with dark incantations and a secret power, Wren decides that what she wants--what she "must" do--is to bring Danny back.

But the Danny who returns is just a shell of the boy Wren fell in love with. His touch is icy; his skin, smooth and stiff as marble; his chest, cruelly silent when Wren rests her head against it.

Wren must keep Danny a secret, hiding him away, visiting him at night, while her life slowly unravels around her. Then Gabriel DeMarnes transfers to her school, and Wren realizes that somehow, inexplicably, he can sense the powers that lie within her--and that he knows what she has done. And now Gabriel wants to help make things right.

But Wren alone has to undo what she has wrought--even if it means breaking her heart all over again.

A very well written story by Amy Garvey in her first Young Adult novel. It reminded me of Practical Magic, you know, the movie with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman and the two crazy aunts played by Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing (I loved that movie!). Although, unfortunately, you don’t get an appearance by crazy aunts. But there is mention of “special” relatives in this beautiful and haunting (Lauren Kate) page turner.

Wren is a confused and heartbroken seventeen year old girl who recently lost the love of her life in a horrific car accident. With her budding “powers” she decides to take matters into her own hands and raise her beloved Danny from the grave. But the consequences aren’t what she expected or thought of. Danny becomes very attached to Wren after his second birth and Wren feels very overwhelmed with it all.

Alienated by her friends and not being able to talk to her friends or even her own mother about what is going on, she reluctantly turns to outsider and new comer, Gabriel. Gabriel also has the “gift”, the gift of mind reading, kind of like an Edward Cullen sort of thing. Soon, Wren and Gabriel find their friendship budding into something else and Wren feeling hopeless and even more confused with Danny still being a walking corpse.

Everything, of course, works out in the end. However, I wish that we got to hear more about her family and their abilities and exactly how powerful her mother really is. It also would have been nice to know exactly what happens to her father so early on in her life. Garvey just leaves the reader hanging on that one. Hopefully in the second book she will reveal some more of this.

All in all, this was a very great book. I couldn’t put it down, and when I did, believe me, it was hard, since I have a 3 year old running around, haha.

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Book Review: Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik

Title: Epic Fail 

Author: Claire LaZebnik 

Publisher: Harper Teen 

Genre: YA Contemporary, Chick-Lit 

Release Date: August 2, 2011 

Source: ebook 

Challenge: TBR Pile 

Will Elise's love life be an epic win or an epic fail?

At Coral Tree Prep in Los Angeles, who your parents are can make or break you. Case in point:

As the son of Hollywood royalty, Derek Edwards is pretty much prince of the school--not that he deigns to acknowledge many of his loyal subjects.

As the daughter of the new principal, Elise Benton isn't exactly on everyone's must-sit-next-to-at-lunch list.

When Elise's beautiful sister catches the eye of the prince's best friend, Elise gets to spend a lot of time with Derek, making her the envy of every girl on campus. Except she refuses to fall for any of his rare smiles and instead warms up to his enemy, the surprisingly charming social outcast Webster Grant. But in this hilarious tale of fitting in and flirting, not all snubs are undeserved, not all celebrity brats are bratty, and pride and prejudice can get in the way of true love for only so long.

My Review:

I thought this was a very well written book.  I dove in and stayed with it to the very end. When I started to read this, I was like, “aw, this is going to be a really great and cute love story”, I didn’t realize that it was a Jane Austen re-telling. I absolutely LOVED Pride & Prejudice, so this was a welcome surprise when I realized that this is what it was, a modern re-telling of that for young adults.

At first I wasn’t sure if I was going to like Derek Edwards, but soon into the book I realized he wasn’t that bad. It was Webster Grant that I didn’t like right off the bat. You could tell he was a sneaky little slim-ball. The rest of the characters, they stayed true to character. Either you loved them or you hate them. To me, there really wasn’t a fine line between the two.

Final Thoughts:

This book is highly likable, however, very short. I can’t wait to read more work by Claire in the future.

Star Rating:

Purchase from: Amazon/The Book Depository

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Book Review: Hereafter by Tara Hudson

Title: Hereafter 
Author: Tara Hudson 
Publisher: HarperCollins 
Genre: YA, Paranormal Romance 
Release Date: June 7th 2011 
Source: ebook, TBR Challenge 
Series: Hereafter 

Can there truly be love after death?

Drifting in the dark waters of a mysterious river, the only thing Amelia knows for sure is that she's dead. With no recollection of her past life—or her actual death—she's trapped alone in a nightmarish existence. All of this changes when she tries to rescue a boy, Joshua, from drowning in her river. As a ghost, she can do nothing but will him to live. Yet in an unforgettable moment of connection, she helps him survive.

Amelia and Joshua grow ever closer as they begin to uncover the strange circumstances of her death and the secrets of the dark river that held her captive for so long. But even while they struggle to keep their bond hidden from the living world, a frightening spirit named Eli is doing everything in his power to destroy their newfound happiness and drag Amelia back into the ghost world . . . forever.

My Review:

I thought this book was very well written. It had me going from beginning to end. The characters were remember able, the story was amazing and the outcome was great. I just had one problem with it.

While Amelia was wondering aimlessly around the afterlife, she has a chance encounter with Joshua. She ends up saving Josh’s life. After that they are bound together by a strong urge to be with one another. While that is all great and wonderful, I still don’t understand how that is. How she is able to touch him and feel him when she can’t do that with anyone else. Maybe it is because of their connection, but maybe it’s not.

As for the ending of this book, it did leave it wide open for a second one. Which the second one, Arise, is due to hit shelves June 5th 2012. 

Final Thoughts:

I think overall, this was a great paranormal romance with some good twists in it. 

Star Rating:   

Purchase from: Amazon/The Book Depository

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Book Review: Die for Me by Amy Plum

Title: Die for Me

Author: Amy Plum

Publisher: HarperTeen

Genre: YA, Paranormal Romance

Release Date: May 10th 2011
Series:  Revenants

Source: ebook
Challenge: TBR Pile

Amazon/The Book Depository

My life had always been blissfully, wonderfully normal. But it only took one moment to change everything.

Suddenly, my sister, Georgia, and I were orphans. We put our lives into storage and moved to Paris to live with my grandparents. And I knew my shattered heart, my shattered life, would never feel normal again. Then I met Vincent.

Mysterious, sexy, and unnervingly charming, Vincent Delacroix appeared out of nowhere and swept me off my feet. Just like that, I was in danger of losing my heart all over again. But I was ready to let it happen.

Of course, nothing is ever that easy. Because Vincent is no normal human. He has a terrifying destiny, one that puts his life at risk every day. He also has enemies . . . immortal, murderous enemies who are determined to destroy him and all of his kind.

While I'm fighting to piece together the remnants of my life, can I risk putting my heart—as well as my life and my family's—in jeopardy for a chance at love?

My Review:
This was a very good book from start to finish. I immediately fell in love with the whole story. To me, it was like a newer version of Twilight. The reason I say that is because of the 'forbidden' love situation.

Kate had recently lost her parents and had to move to Paris with her sister, Georgia. They had moved in with their grandparents.  Georgia is the wild and care-free sister that loves to be the center of attention and party. As to where Kate is more down to earth and has an 'old soul' as her mother would say. Kate is more headstrong.

Kate starts going to a cafe and encounters Vincent. A very handsome and very dashing young man with a secret.

The whole story was amazing from start to finish, I had a hard time putting it down. I found myself pushing my sleep further and further back to just finish this book because I refused to put it down. I loved the characters, especially Jules. Jules holds a special place in my heart and I can't wait to read more about all of them!


Final Thoughts:
A very amazing book from start to finish. Would definitely recommend this book to anyone that likes Twilight and paranormal romance!

Star Rating:   

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Review: Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

Title: Pretty Little Liars

Author: Sara Shepard

Publisher: HarperTeen

Edition: Paperback, 286
Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary

Release Date: September 1st 2007
Series: Pretty Little Liars

Source: paperback

Summary (from Goodreads)

Three years ago, Alison disappeared after a slumber party, not to be seen since. Her friends at the elite Pennsylvania school mourned her, but they also breathed secret sighs of relief. Each of them guarded a secret that only Alison had known. Now they have other dirty little secrets, secrets that could sink them in their gossip-hungry world. When each of them begins receiving anonymous emails and text messages, panic, sets in. Are they being betrayed by some one in their circle? Worse yet: Is Alison back?

My Review:

I simply don't know what to say about this book. I'll be honest, it wasn't as great as I thought that it would be, even though I just had to finish it.

For me, I had to try to imagine what it would be like in this rich, preppy, high clad, high class society in order for me understand some of it. I will be perfectly honest, I didn't even know some of the brands of things that the writer was talking about half the time.

I did, however, enjoy that the writer took you through the lives of these four girls as they grew apart, I mean, you didn't go through 7th grade to 10th grade with each of them. You saw how their lives were in 7th grade before their friend, Ali, disappeared, and then you saw them three years later as their lives were coming back together again. Each chapter was about a different girl and what they were going through, it didn't jump around in one chapter, which I actually liked.

As for how it turned out...I honestly didn't expect the ending. I also enjoy a book where you don't know what's going to happen. Or that you are thinking, "well, this is how I think it's going to be" and then at the end, it surprises you.

I have to say, my heart felt bad for the character known as Spencer. She did something that was unforgettable, I wouldn't say unforgivable, and then to be treated the way she was by her parents just made me quite upset.

As for my rating. I simply gave it 3 of 5 stars because I was expecting more and I didn't get it. I was a little disappointed in that. I love Sara Shepard as an author though. I'm currently reading her The Lying Game series now.

Star Rating:  

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