Hourglass by Claudia Gray

Title: Hourglass (Evernight Series #3)
Author: Claudia Gray
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Acquired: Bought
Age Group: Young Adult
Grade: 77% or C+
Buy It: Amazon

Bianca will risk everything to be with Lucas.

After escaping from Evernight, the vampire boarding school where they met, Bianca and Lucas seek refuge with Black Cross, an elite group of vampire hunters. Bianca must hide her supernatural heritage or risk certain death at its hands. But when Black Cross captures her friend—the vampire Balthazar—all her secrets threaten to come out.

Soon, Bianca and Lucas are on the run, pursued not only by Black Cross, but by the powerful vampires of Evernight. Yet no matter how far they run, Bianca can't escape her destiny. Bianca and Lucas have always believed their love could survive anything—but can it survive what's to come?

My Thoughts::

It was so so so long ago that I read Stargazer, the second book in the series. Even though Stargazer ended pretty intensely, and I was really excited for the next book, there were too many things that bothered me that I wasn't in a rush to read the next one. I waited so long to read this book that I had little idea what was going on. I had to read the wikipedia page for Stargazer to get things straight.

The first part of the book was pretty slow. I just kept waiting for something to happen and for them to make their move. I could understand why they were trying to save up money and stuff before they left, but Bianca was in so much danger while she was there. You would think that they would try to escape right away instead of sticking around.

Bianca seemed so slow to realize everything. Her situation was so tenuous that I thought she would pay more attention to what was going on. Her friends bothered me even more. The betrayal part was pretty intense and I couldn't blame Bianca for not seeing that coming. Though she was looking a bit brainwashed..

When it got to near the end I was surprised about what happened, but also a bit annoyed. I guess there are a few things from the books that hinted that this would happen, but it felt more like it was decided while writing this book that this is what would happen. So all developments for this occur super fast when it should have been built up so that it would make more sense.

Overall I think that this book didn't do much for me. It all just looked pushed together and made to work.

Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts

Title: Dark Inside
Author: Jeyn Roberts
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Acquired: Bought
Age Group: Young Adult
Grade: 82% or B-
Buy It: Amazon 

Since mankind began, civilizations have always fallen: the Romans, the Greeks, the Aztecs…Now it’s our turn. Huge earthquakes rock the world. Cities are destroyed. But something even more awful is happening. An ancient evil has been unleashed, turning everday people into hunters, killers, crazies.

Mason's mother is dying after a terrible car accident. As he endures a last vigil at her hospital bed, his school is bombed and razed to the ground, and everyone he knows is killed. Aries survives an earthquake aftershock on a bus, and thinks the worst is over when a mysterious stranger pulls her out of the wreckage, but she’s about to discover a world changed forever. Clementine, the only survivor of an emergency town hall meeting that descends into murderous chaos, is on the run from savage strangers who used to be her friends and neighbors. And Michael witnesses a brutal road rage incident that is made much worse by the arrival of the police—who gun down the guilty party and then turn on the bystanding crowd.

Where do you go for justice when even the lawmakers have turned bad? These four teens are on the same road in a world gone mad. Struggling to survive, clinging on to love and meaning wherever it can be found, this is a journey into the heart of darkness – but also a journey to find each other and a place of safety.

My Thoughts::

This was another one of those books that looked soooo amazing when I first heard about it. Right when I read the synopsis for the first time I put it on my Amazon wishlist. Buuut...then it sat on my wishlist for months and months. The majority of the money that I spend on books goes to sequels that I've been waiting forever for, and it was a while before I bought it. Then I started it not really sure what it would be about because it has been so long.

I started the book with an open mind and a little bit of confusion. I did end up reading the jacket flap because I wanted to know what I was getting into. This definitely eased the confusion. This book had four point of views plus what I like to call the "darkness" POV. I think that this worked really well with this type of book. So many things happen in apocalypse like books but it is hard to say that it all happens to one person. The author was able to spread out different experiences to each character.

The story got pretty intense. In most apocalypse stories you have some sense of control. If it's a natural disaster, you know that it's over now and you just have to move on. If it's zombies or something like that, you just stay away from them or kill them. With this, even if you're not bitten or "exposed" to it, you can still become one of the crazy killer things. That is probably the scariest part, the fact that there is nothing you can do about it.

Several times while I was reading this book I almost gave up. I kept getting annoyed by the characters or it would hit a lull. But the last third of the book really kept me on my toes. I couldn't put the book down. The ending was just so amazing that I will definitely read the next book

House Rules by Jodi Picoult

Title: House Rules
Author: Jodi Picoult
Publisher: Atria Books
Acquired: Bought
Age Group: Adult
Grade: 87% or B+
Buy It: Amazon

Jacob Hunt is a teenage boy with Asperger's syndrome. He's hopeless at reading social cues or expressing himself well to others, and like many kids with AS, Jacob has a special focus on one subject — in his case, forensic analysis. He's always showing up at crime scenes, thanks to the police scanner he keeps in his room, and telling the cops what they need to do...and he's usually right. But then his town is rocked by a terrible murder and, for a change, the police come to Jacob with questions. All of the hallmark behaviors of Asperger's — not looking someone in the eye, stimulatory tics and twitches, flat affect — can look a lot like guilt to law enforcement personnel. Suddenly, Jacob and his family, who only want to fit in, feel the spotlight shining directly on them. For his mother, Emma, it's a brutal reminder of the intolerance and misunderstanding that always threaten her family. For his brother, Theo, it's another indication of why nothing is normal because of Jacob. And over this small family the soul-searing question looms: Did Jacob commit murder?

My Thoughts::
After reading my first Jodi Picoult book, I find them very hard to resist.They always make me question myself and other morally and legally. I have to look at things from so many angles and see that the world isn't as black and white as we all want it to be. This book was no different.

Since we get chapters from Jacob's perspective, we actually know what is going on in his mind, his thoughts, and his motives. As readers we get frustrated with characters who don't reveal enough information to their friends and family, especially information that could change and help the situation entirely. I wanted to feel this way about Jacob because I wanted to believe that he wasn't guilty. If he just would have given the full story in the right way, he wouldn't be a suspect. But of course he couldn't do that and it wasn't his fault. It was the Aspberger's.

As for the plot, I was amazed. It is crazy how a lawyer can't ask if their client is guilty or not. This was even worse for Jacob, because if he was just asked to tell the whole story of what happened, there wouldn't have been such a huge disaster. I could really see the struggle of all of the characters. There was just so much evidence pinning Jacob as guilty, even though a lot of it was because of his Aspberger's. It shows just how little we concern ourselves with how we perceive each other and how we want everyone to fit the status quo, even those with disabilities.

Overall I enjoyed this book a lot. I found myself staring off to space thinking about it and how the whole situation worked out. The ending didn't really surprise me though which was a letdown. I guessed the ending right away and I spend the entire rest of the book hoping I was wrong so I could get a twist like the end of most Picoult books. Too bad it didn't happen.

The Calling by Kelley Armstrong

Title: The Calling (Darkness Rising Trilogy #2)
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Acquired: Bought
Age Group: Young Adult
Grade: 93% or A-
Buy It: Amazon 

A powerful secret. A desperate race for survival.

Maya and her friends are on the run. Having escaped a deliberately set forest fire and a fake rescue team with dark intentions, they were just beginning to feel safe again. Then their helicopter crashes near the Vancouver Island wilderness, and Maya and her friends realize they're about as far from safe as they can get.

But Maya has a secret. She can run faster, climb higher, and see better than nearly anyone else. It's part of who she really is—and it has something to do with her mysterious paw-print birthmark. Yet as Maya and her friends face unforeseen dangers, it becomes clear she's not the only one in their close-knit group who has something to hide. And if they're going to survive, they'll need all their extraordinary abilities to help them get back home.

My Thoughts:: 

I get more and more impressed with Armstrong the more I read from her. I enjoy her books so much. She knows exactly what to do to keep her readers interested, but also doesn't just give everything away too quickly. I can't believe I was able to wait as long as I did to read this book. I read so many books that it is easy to forget how much I want to read certain ones. 

For like half of this book I was so annoyed with Maya. It was frustrating how she wasn't putting the obvious pieces together faster. That she wasn't the only one with some sort of power. It was almost worse that she waited so long to tell the others about her powers. And of course, every time she tried to tell someone, something happening stopped her from doing it. Though, this did add a level of suspense to what would happen when it would be all out in the open.

The more and more referenced that we get to The Darkest Powers trilogy, the happier I get. I will have a super fan girl moment if the two groups ever interact with each other.  At least we get some confirmation that the first group isn't captured or something. I can not wait until we get even a glimpse of Chloe, Derek, and Simon.

It is going to be really interesting once the full extent of everyone's powers are revealed. I also want to know more of the back stories or whatever of how they all got into the program. I feel like we knew the events leading up to the first group being a part of the program, but we don't know much of the sciencey and history details of this group yet.

Overall I think that this was a pretty good continuation but I wish we learned more. I believe there is only going to be one more book, and I just know that I won't get as many details as I crave in it because there won't be enough time or a good reason for it.

One Second After by William R. Forstchen

Title: One Second After
Author: William R. Forstchen
Publisher: Doherty, Tom Associates, LLC
Acquired: Bought
Age Group: Adult
Grade: 92% or A-
Buy It: Amazon 

New York Times best selling author William R. Forstchen now brings us a story which can be all too terrifyingly real...a story in which one man struggles to save his family and his small North Carolina town after America loses a war, in one second, a war that will send America back to the Dark Ages...A war based upon a weapon, an Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP). A weapon that may already be in the hands of our enemies. Months before publication, One Second After has already been cited on the floor of Congress as a book all Americans should read, a book already being discussed in the corridors of the Pentagon as a truly realistic look at a weapon and its awesome power to destroy the entire United States, literally within one second. It is a weapon that the Wall Street Journal warns could shatter America. In the tradition of On the Beach, Fail Safe and Testament, this book, set in a typical American town, is a dire warning of what might be our future...and our end.

My Thoughts::
It isn't a surprise to know that my favorite genre of books beyond dystopian are books based in some kind of post apocalyptic world. Some of my favorite books from the most random authors are books that have that theme. There is just something so interesting, frightening, and surreal about how society would react to such a collapse. Just going into this book I was so excited to read it and find out how this specific situation would turn out.

The book takes place in a pretty small community, which is pretty common in books like this. I'm getting a bit tired of that, but this book added a bit of a spin on it by having this town next to another small town and not too far from much larger cities. So even though they started out secluded it didn't last long and they had to deal with all of the problems that come with more people trying to get into their town than they could possibly help or support.

The best thing about this book was how realistic and plausible it all seemed. An EMP is pretty darn serious and there were so many results that I didn't even think about before. Books like this never really address one of the biggest issues besides food, which is disease. Without electricity and medicine people get sick and die so easily. It was scary how little of the population made it through the year.

A lot of moral dilemmas were brought up as well. Is it okay to sacrifice a large amount of people to get supplies that only help a few? If you only have enough food to feed 100 people through the winter and if you feed more everyone will die, what do you do? It was so hard to read this book because the problems that come up are so hard to answer.

Overall this was a great eye opening read that shows that such a simple weapon can destroy most of what we take advantage of everyday. My only complaint is that the book would skip ahead of large chunks of time and then give only a summary of the events that occurred during that time.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Title: Insurgent (Divergent Series #2)
Author: Veronica Roth
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Acquired: Bought
Age Group: Young Adult
Grade: 95% or A
Buy It: Amazon 

One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

My Thoughts::

I loved Divergent so much that it took my a long time to finally read its sequel, Insurgent. Book in trilogies, sagas, and series seem to want to stretch the books out for as long as possible, and since this book would be in the middle, I was worried that it would be dull. However, that was definitely not the case.

Almost every faction in the book started to really get on my nerves, even the factionless. None of them were seeing the big picture and just wanted to preserve themselves, even though as readers we could see that they were doomed. I was happy though that we get to know all of the factions better in this book. We're able to see more differences and similarities between them. This added dimension to the choices that the factions made as a group, and even individually.

Tris is kind of caught up in herself in this book. She tries to see passed the bullshit of some characters and wants to get to the bottom of things, and she does this eventually. But first we had to deal with her too trusting or too wary attitude. She would get suspicious, but about the wrong people or for the wrong reasons. It made the book a bit frustrating to read but it also added tension. And to Tris's credit, even I wasn't sure who to trust. I was very surprised by some of the actions of characters that I thought I could trust

The plot thickened so much in this sequel. We finally get to learn the motives of Erudite and get the even bigger plot of why they are all there in factions in the first place and what is outside of the fence. The next book can NOT come soon enough! Seriously, there was so much racing through my mind. The last book better be really thick with details. I don't care if I like any of the characters in the last book, the plot is shaping up way too well for me to care!

Beautiful Lies by Jessica Warman

Title: Beautiful Lies
Author: Jessica Warman
Publisher: Walker & Company
Acquired: Received free for an honest review
Age Group: Young Adult
Grade: 81% or B-
Buy It: Amazon

Rachel and Alice are an extremely rare kind of identical twins—so identical that even their aunt and uncle, whom they’ve lived with since their parents passed away, can’t tell them apart. But the sisters are connected in a way that goes well beyond their surfaces: when one experiences pain, the other exhibits the exact same signs of distress. So when one twin mysteriously disappears, the other immediately knows something is wrong—especially when she starts experiencing serious physical traumas, despite the fact that nobody has touched her. As the search commences to find her sister, the twin left behind must rely on their intense bond to uncover the truth. But is there anyone around her she can trust, when everyone could be a suspect? And ultimately, can she even trust herself?

My Thoughts::
I've always had a decent interest in twins and I always liked to think that they could sense each other. Those were the immediate reasons why I wanted to read this book. The second reason was that I can't turn down a high stakes mystery. I knew the tension and suspense would be building so much in this book and I wanted in on it.

This book did something for me that is rarely done with books anymore: It surprised me. Sure, I was able to predict some tidbits, but I was unable to predict the outcome of the book. There were a couple of big twists that I could have never seen coming that totally made me do a double take. These twists switched around everything that you know so far and make you think about everything that happened so far in a completely different way. At times the plot got a little boring, but you still felt that urgency which made you not want to put down the book.

I liked that we get to know two characters very well just through the eyes of one. The bad thing is, is that this book is pretty much just about these two characters. The are a couple of characters off to the side, but not until the end do any of them matter very much. A couple of times while I was reading this book I had to really think and consider if the narrator was sane. She was unreliable at times and I wasn't sure if I could believe what she was saying. It had the feel of a psychological thriller many times throughout the book. My mind was being bent trying to understand and figure out what was going on.

Overall I think that this was a great suspenseful read that played into my interest with twins. I'm glad it kept me on the edge of my seat but I wish that there was some more character development going on.

The Angel Experiment by James Patterson

Title: The Angel Experiment (Maximum Ride Series #1)
Author: James Patterson
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Acquired: Received free for an honest review
Age Group: Young Adult
Grade: 84% or B
Buy It: Amazon

Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman, Angel, and Maximum: six kids who are 98% human and 2% bird. They grew up in cages, living like rats, but now they're free. When the bloodthirsty Erasers -- half men, half wolves genetically engineered by sick and sinister scientists -- kidnap little Angel, the Flock embarks on a rescue mission full of nonstop action, adventure, and soul-seeking -- not to mention a little bit of saving the world on the side.

After the mutant Erasers abduct the youngest member of their group, the "birdkids," who are the result of genetic experimentation, take off in pursuit and find themselves struggling to understand their own origins and purpose. 

My Thoughts::

This is one of those series that I've known about for so long but never imagined starting. There were just so many books and I was so behind. It's always a pretty big commitment to start a new series with a good amount before you would be caught up. But once I saw that the last book was coming out, I decided that it was time. I've read another book by James Patterson and enjoyed it, so I thought I would like these as well.

I wasn't really wrong either. As this is the first book, there is a lot of groundwork being laid out and getting to know the characters. But we also get our fair share of action. I was happy to see that things were really happening in this first book. I definitely got sucked into the story. There are so many unanswered questions that even though I didn't love this book, I still want to know what happens and get my questions answered,

The characters were all very uniquely different. It is rare that we get to know so many characters at once, but I think Patterson handled it well. Perspectives changed when necessary so we would know what was happening in each plot line. It kept the flow going very well and even made it more suspenseful because it always seemed to switch when I was desperate to know what happened next. This switch of perspectives allowed me to look into the mind of a few of the characters which made them much easier to get to know.

I honestly loved all of the characters. They all had completely different personalities that it was so easy to know who was who right from the start. I couldn't help but fall in love with the little one immediately, they were so precious. I seriously have no complaints about our main characters. The plot was of course thick with deceit scandal. I'm really excited to see what happens to all of them next.

Anteater-Boy by Dean Ammerman

Title: Anteater-Boy
Author: Dean Ammerman
Publisher: Kabloona
Acquired: Received free for an honest review
Age Group: Young Adult
Grade: 80% or B-
Buy It: Amazon

The school year is coming to an end and high school freshman Zak Dale wants a summer job to earn some money. His fish-eyed science teacher, Dr. Cyrus B. Fletcher, has a job opening but wants Zak to clean the science classroom, improve his grades, and deliver an award-winning speech to get it.

As Zak tries to prove he’s the best person for the summer job, he helps his best friend Miles search for the holy grail of junk food, falls in love with the beautiful and mysterious Mia Holmes, locates his missing grandmother, neglects his bladder-challenged dachshund, and takes a journey through the American Revolution with Darius Brown, his substitute history teacher.

My Thoughts::
It isn't on purpose, but I rarely read books from small publishers. I'm not sure why, but the biggest possible reason is that whenever I get emails about them for review I am rarely interested in the book that they are offering. It just isn't for me. Also, most of the books I haven't heard of or read reviews for, so I would have to put myself way out there to read something that doesn't seem like what I like. But this book definitely captured my interest enough for me to step out of my comfort zone.

I was happy getting to know Zak, because I always feel like I don't read enough books with male main characters. He was a fun character that had a really good and innocent heart. I really wanted him to succeed. But this brings me to one of my few complaints. Maybe it's because I don't read enough books with male narrators, but Zak seemed really typical and bland. I liked him enough, but he didn't capture my interest and make me want to learn all about him.

Not a whole lot happens, but since this is contemporary YA, I didn't expect explosions. The book went in a few different directions, including the romance. I appreciated the romance, but lucky for Ammerman, the book didn't need it. Miles was funny, so his scenes were very enjoyable. My favorite parts though are the ones that include the substitute teacher Darius Brown. It made the novel more than just another run of the mill story about an awkward teenager. It really made me think about some current and past issues that this country has with not only racism, but with race in history and what is taught.

Overall I think that Anteater Boy was a pleasant reading experience that was on the verge of being pretty meh overall until we get into history class.

A Midsummer’s Nightmare by Kody Keplinger

Title: A Midsummer's Nightmare
Author: Kody Keplinger
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Acquired: Received free for an honest review
Age Group: Young Adult
Grade: 91% or A-
Buy It: Amazon

Whitley Johnson's dream summer with her divorce dad has turned into a nightmare. She's just met his new fiancee and her kids. The fiancee's son? Whitley's one-night stand from graduation night. Just freakin' great.

Worse, she totally doesn't fit in with her dad's perfect new country-club family. So Whitley acts out. She parties. Hard. So hard she doesn't even notice the good things right under her nose: a sweet little future stepsister who is just about the only person she's ever liked, a best friend (even though Whitley swears she doesn't "do" friends), and a smoking-hot guy who isn't her stepbrother...at least, not yet. It will take all three of them to help Whitley get through her anger and begin to put the pieces of her family together.

My Thoughts::

I've read every Keplinger book as soon as she put them out and this one was no different. Her books always hold great interest for me because like most girls my age, I can strongly relate to them. Well, this book was a little different in that aspect, because the situation is more specific, but it was still a fantastic read. 

Whitley was a really hard character to like. She was frustrating and I just wanted to slap her sometimes for being so selfish and self centered. But I think the hardest part about trying to like Whitley was that we all have more Whitley in us than we care to admit, at least I know I do. It's hard to like someone that often displays the bad parts of themselves that you can see in yourself. But Whitley did have some great points, which is what won me over in the end.

The book was pretty predictable, which was disappointing, but the events that occurred really made me care about the characters and Whitley's story. Still, it was kind of just another classic story of a teenaged rebellion and wanting her parents to be there for her. The romance also bothered me a decent amount, and I'm not sure why, at the end, the ramifications of their choices weren't shown.

Still, with these complaints I couldn't help but be wrapped up in all aspects of the book. Keplinger pushes the envelope when it comes to writing YA, which I really appreciate. She's tackling topics that are difficult and definitely not written enough about. The book also felt incredibly real. Whitley might have annoyed me, but she felt very much like an actual person, as well as the other characters.

Overall I think that this book was a nice summer read that had a very sharp edge of seriousness that didn't take over the entire book. It was definitely a Keplinger novel with its risque content.

The Goddess Legacy by Aimée Carter

Title: The Goddess Legacy
Author: Aimée Carter
Publisher: Harlequin
Acquired: Received free for an honest review
Age Group: Young Adult
Grade: 85% or B
Buy It: Amazon

For millennia we've caught only glimpses of the lives and loves of the gods and goddesses on Olympus. Now Aimée Carter pulls back the curtain on how they became the powerful, petty, loving and dangerous immortals that Kate Winters knows.

Calliope/Hera represented constancy and yet had a husband who never matched her faithfulness….

Ava/Aphrodite was the goddess of love and yet commitment was a totally different deal….

Persephone was urged to marry one man, yet longed for another….

James/Hermes loved to make trouble for others but never knew true loss before….

Henry/Hades's solitary existence had grown too wearisome to continue. But meeting Kate Winters gave him a new hope….

My Thoughts::

I love background stories. I really do. I love seeing how people became the way that they are now and I love seeing how certain events created the circumstances that we now know. This didn't feel necessary for Carter's books until I read it. And holy cow, you need to read this if you've read the Goddess Test books. 

We get two very different types of stories in this book. The first type is about characters that we have misunderstood. These are characters that we kind of hated or at least didn't agree with their actions. But of course we forgot that they have a LOT of history to make them behave that way. The second type is of characters that we don't know much about. They don't play the biggest parts in the main books, but this gives us a chance to learn more about them.

While reading the books to this series it was at times hard to remember that these are ancient beings, except for Kate. It was fantastic to see some important moments in their long lives that made them the characters that we see in the books. I can really say that I understand the characters and the decisions that they are making now. 

I had some serious problems with a few of the characters while reading the other books. They seemed selfish, irrational, and just plain cruel. They still weren't right, but some pretty crappy stuff happened to them so I can't help but sympathize with them know since I know where they're coming from.

Overall I think this was an eye opening read that fans of these books will definitely enjoy.

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Title: Pushing the Limits
Author: Katie McGarry
Publisher: Harlequin
Acquired: Received free for an honest review
Age Group: Young Adult
Grade: 84% or B
Buy It: Amazon 

So wrong for each other...AND YET SO RIGHT.

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.

But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common.

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 Thoughts::
Frequent readers of my blog know that this is exactly the kind of book that I would have loved a few years ago. Now my favorite YA books involve a government conspiracy of some sort. But I still enjoy the kind of books that used to be my favorite when I first started reading YA lit. I love taking the journey back and this book definitely helped me remember why I loved these books so much.

The characters in this book were so enjoyable. Echo had her problems, and the book was centered around her solving them. I really liked her with Noah. Noah wasn't too shabby himself. The best thing about him was that he didn't try to fix her. He knew that she was trying to figure stuff out, and he was there for her, but he didn't try to control her life.

The pasts of both Echo and Noah kept me reading much later than I should have been. It was seriously heartbreaking learning what both of them have been through, Echo especially. Echo finally remembering what happened to her was a truly touching scene that brought some tears. I was glad that she had Noah to help her through it all. I was rooting for them the entire time.

I could feel Echo's frustration of not knowing what happened to her. While reading the book I had a couple of theories going but none of them were completely right. Having people around you that knew what happened but not telling you must have been terrible. 

McGarry tackles a lot of issues in this book and does it really well. The book is very serious without it being dark and depressing to read. At the end it was uplifting because you know they are going to move passed the past and they have each other to help them through it.

Vertigo by Kristina Dunker

Title: Vertigo
Author: Kristina Dunker
Publisher: Amazon Publishing
Acquired: Received free for an honest review
Age Group: Young Adult
Grade: 74% or C
Buy It: Amazon

And this weekend promises to be special, as she and her boyfriend, Julian, will be spending time together at his parents’ house in the country. Nothing could be more romantic and perfect. Except that the journey there goes horribly awry, and Eva’s dream weekend turns into a total nightmare.

After bearing witness to a terrible crime and narrowly escaping the scene, Eva loses her diary, an incredibly personal book that holds all of her secrets — including details of her visits to a therapist. So when she meets a helpful stranger who seems to know a great deal about her, she has to wonder if he is a kindred spirit or something darker.

Vertigo spins a psychologically intense tale of when to walk away…and when to run. 

My Thoughts::
I'm not sure if it was because I knew what the basic plot of the book was, or if it was the writing from the very beginning, but throughout the entire book I felt this creepiness. Like something was off or that something bad was about to happen. It put me in the mood to not trust any of the characters and to be wary of every event.

Even though  I was suspicious for the reasons listed above, Eva had no good reason to be suspicious and paranoid, yet she spent a lot of the book being those things. Eventually those feelings are warranted, but I couldn't help but feel that the author was trying to push Eva into feelings that weren't justified to move the book along. Either that or she's just unnaturally suspicious which just makes me not like her.

The mindset that this book put me in made it much more interesting to read. It made it seem like a psychological thriller instead of just a mystery. But eventually this wore thin and I just wanted them to figure it out already. I mean, seriously. Maybe I just read and watch a lot of mysteries, but usually the first obvious suspect is the criminal in the end. I knew who it would be so it was frustrating that the characters took so long to get it right.

Of course I didn't get every single detail though, so once all was revealed there were a few surprises to be had. Overall I think this was a decent mystery for most, but not so good for me.

The Last Princess by Galaxy Craze

Title: The Last Princess
Author: Galaxy Craze
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Acquired: Received free for an honest review
Age Group: Young Adult
Grade: 90% or A-
Buy It: Amazon

Happily ever after is a thing of the past.

A series of natural disasters has decimated the earth. Cut off from the rest of the world, England is a dark place. The sun rarely shines, food is scarce, and groups of criminals roam the woods, searching for prey. The people are growing restless.

When a ruthless revolutionary sets out to overthrow the crown, he makes the royal family his first target. Blood is shed in Buckingham Palace, and only sixteen-year old Princess Eliza manages to escape. Determined to kill the man who destroyed her family, Eliza joins the enemy forces in disguise. She has nothing left to live for but revenge, until she meets someone who helps her remember how to hope-and love-once more.

Now she must risk everything to ensure that she does not become . . .

The Last Princess.

My Thoughts::

At first I wasn't really wanting to read this book. I mean, it sounds like it's for me at first with the natural disasters decimating the earth and the terrible aftermath. But, oddly enough, I'm not a fan of princess things, so it turned me off of this book. But after thinking about it further I realized that the revolution that would ensue would be more impactful if done by a princess, so I was all in.

I think this is really realistic of what would happen almost everywhere if some huge devastation would occur. Just like in the past when food and resources were scare, we would look at whomever is in charge and accuse them of not helping their people. We would assume that they are just looking out for themselves and their families even though they are responsible for more.

Even though Eliza questions herself many times on whether or not she should kill the man who killed her family, I think she should. He is obviously doing worse than just killing her family and he needs to be stopped. It bothers me even more because he is obviously evil and obviously evil guys in books with male main characters are usually killed. I just wanted her to stop questioning herself.

She really came through for us in the end though in unexpected ways and rallied everyone together. That was really impressive and also realistic. People in the real world just can't continue fighting and risking their lives without some kind of inspiration. The other characters were almost equally impressive and I could tell how much they cared about Eliza and their cause. It was truly heartwarming at times.

Overall I think that this book was an excellent take on how a country with royalty would react to such a huge world shattering disaster. The characters were great, if not a little flip floppy and unsure of themselves in Eliza's case.

The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi

Title: The Drowned Cities
Author: Paolo Bacigalupi
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Acquired: Received free for an honest review
Age Group: Young Adult
Grade: 88% or B+
Buy It: Amazon

Soldier boys emerged from the darkness. Guns gleamed dully. Bullet bandoliers and scars draped their bare chests. Ugly brands scored their faces. She knew why these soldier boys had come. She knew what they sought, and she knew, too, that if they found it, her best friend would surely die.

In a dark future America where violence, terror, and grief touch everyone, young refugees Mahlia and Mouse have managed to leave behind the war-torn lands of the Drowned Cities by escaping into the jungle outskirts. But when they discover a wounded half-man—a bioengineered war beast named Tool—who is being hunted by a vengeful band of soldiers, their fragile existence quickly collapses. One is taken prisoner by merciless soldier boys, and the other is faced with an impossible decision: Risk everything to save a friend, or flee to a place where freedom might finally be possible.

My Thoughts::

I enjoyed Ship Breaker so much and I was very happy to read this companion novel. It's so cool getting a back story on one of the most interesting characters in Ship Breaker as well as getting to know some more fascinating people. Even more so I loved learning more about the world that Bacigalupi created and how some of the destruction happened.

Mahlia was great, in fact all of the characters were great. What I love so much about them is that, especially when it comes to females, it isn't some awesome novelty and surprise when the female is strong and determined. To live in this new world that is the norm, so Mahlia got to be a character and it wasn't some crazy big deal. I love this because authors never make a big deal when a boy is strong and independent, so why should they for a girl?

My favorite part of dystopian or futuristic novels is the world building and finding out how everything got the way that it is. At the end of Ship Breaker, I was left wanting to know sooo much. Since this book took place before Ship Breaker, there was a lot of new information given that cleared up a lot of questions that I had.

The action in the novel was so great. It wasn't over the top, but it was very gripping. I got to know the characters so well that I felt connected to them and wanted them to be fine. So when they were fighting and near death, I couldn't help but hold my breath.

Overall I think that this was a great development for the world that Bacigalupi is building. There was plenty of action and it was great with characters, especially Tool. I was so sucked into the novel at times that I couldn't be distracted.

Revived by Cat Patrick

Title: Revived
Author: Cat Patrick
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Acquired: Received free for an honest review
Age Group: Young Adult
Grade: 94% or A
Buy It: Amazon

It started with a bus crash.

Daisy Appleby was a little girl when it happened, and she barely remembers the accident or being brought back to life. At that moment, though, she became one of the first subjects in a covert government program that tests a drug called Revive.

Now fifteen, Daisy has died and been Revived five times. Each death means a new name, a new city, a new identity. The only constant in Daisy's life is constant change.

Then Daisy meets Matt and Audrey McKean, charismatic siblings who quickly become her first real friends. But if she's ever to have a normal life, Daisy must escape from an experiment that's much larger—and more sinister—than she ever imagined.

My Thoughts::
Cat Patrick is pretty much everything I want to be when it comes to being an author. She finds the perfect middle ground in fiction and is a great writer to use as a transition between regular YA lit and dystopian. I would definitely not classify her books as dystopian, but there are some elements in this book that put you in a dystopian mood.

Patrick comes up with a really cool element, and centers the book around it. In this case, it is the Revive drug. I like that in this book isn't about her discovering that her life has been revived by this drug. It is about her living her life and finally meeting people with which she would like to share this miracle and finally realizing the secrets behind what she thought was a genuine organization.

What I really love about this book was the fact that the author didn't solely rely on the drug and the organization behind it to make the book interesting. Sure, that stuff was fantastic and was a driving force but it also had great character development, relationships, and dialogue. I wasn't the biggest fan of the romantic interest stuff because I think that time in the book could have been better served, but it wasn't central and was pretty savory at time. My favorite though, was Audrey. She was so awesome and I loved watching her interact with Daisy, she definitely added depth.

My only complaint about this book was that it was too short. Patrick added a lot of elements, all of which amazing, but weren't given enough room to grow. So no matter what you were the most interested in with this novel, you were shorted.

Overall I think that the book was kind of rushed at time because there was a lot going on. However, it was still a fun read that sucked you into the story and sprinkled in some serious and thought provoking topics.

What Happened to My Sister by Elizabeth Flock

Title: What Happened to My Sister
Author: Elizabeth Flock
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Acquired: Received free for an honest review
Age Group: Adult
Grade: 83% or B-
Buy It: Amazon 

Nine-year-old Carrie Parker and her mother, Libby, are making a fresh start in the small town of Hartsville, North Carolina, ready to put their turbulent past behind them. Violence has shattered their family and left Libby nearly unable to cope. And while Carrie once took comfort in her beloved sister, Emma, her mother has now forbidden even the mention of her name.

When Carrie meets Ruth, Honor, and Cricket Chaplin, these three generations of warmhearted women seem to have the loving home Carrie has always dreamed of. But as Carrie and Cricket become fast friends, neither can escape the pull of their families’ secrets—and uncovering the truth will transform the Chaplins and the Parkers forever.

My Thoughts::
I read Me&Emma almost 2 years ago. I still remember the shocker at the end and the uneasy feeling that it left me with. It didn't look like a sequel would be released, so I sadly realized that the ending was for real and that was the end of it.

Even though I enjoyed reading the first book (who doesn't love shocking endings?), this one was even better. We get another narrator in this book which really helps. Carrie is so young so she's a pretty unreliable narrator, especially considering how the last book ended. Having this new narrator also puts a little spin on the story and puts some things in perspective.

So much is cleared up in this book, which makes me extremely happy that I read it. You can just feel how Carrie must feel being so young and so unsure of her memories. She is being told something from one person (her mom) who she loves and wants to trust, but she has memories that contradict what her mother is saying. Even though Carrie doesn't really think it, as readers we think she is making up memories because her even younger years were so horrible.

It was so heartwarming to see Carrie interact with the Chaplins, who are in the position that the readers are in. We think our problems are so big, but then get a reality check when something more terrible comes along. Learning about the truth of Carrie's past is very sad, but I was happy with the conclusion. Her mom got what she deserved and Carrie finally gets a family and happiness. Not to mention the surprise at the end of this book as well.

Temptation by Karen Ann Hopkins

Title: Temptation
Author: Karen Ann Hopkins
Publisher: Harlequin
Acquired: Received free for an honest review
Age Group: Young Adult
Grade: 77% or C+
Buy It: Amazon

Your heart misleads you. That's what my friends and family say.

But I love Noah. And he loves me. We met and fell in love in the sleepy farming community of Meadowview, while we rode our horses together through the grassy fields and in those moments in each other's arms. It should be ROSE & NOAH forever, easy.

But it won't be.

Because he's Amish. And I'm not.

My Thoughts::
I always get myself into books like this that revolve around an impossible romance that destined to not work out from the start. I hardly ever enjoy books like these, but I can't resist them. I hold out hope that each one will be different. And this one WAS different, which made the outcome a little bit better than usual.

At least with this book about an impossible romance, it had a few things on its side. First, the impossibleness of it all was caused by realistic factors that we don't see a lot of in fiction, very varied social constructs. In this case an famish person trying to date a non-Amish person. Second was that this was very refreshing compared to the usual conundrum faced in these types of teen romance books (Human in love with non-human (VAMPIRE)).

Unfortunately there were also plenty of things that I didn't like. I know all books aren't supposed to be realistic, but it still bothers me when they aren't and it is obvious that they aren't trying to be unrealistic. Whenever characters fall in love so fast it bothers me. There was no factor in the book that made this seem reasonable at all. It was rushed and because of that I didn't care that much if they ended up together. In fact, since it didn't seem real at all I got annoyed by Rose and Noah because whenever they didn't get to be together it was very tantrum like. I wasn't rooting for them because THEM didn't exist to me.

The shocking reality parts of the novel are what I enjoyed reading the most. The difference between the Amish and myself was startling. Not in a bad way of course, just...very different. And of course seeing how difficult it would be for Noah and Rose to be together with their varying beliefs, family pressures, and lifestyles.

Overall I enjoyed reading this book because it brought new information into my thoughts but it definitely had some downsides that almost overpowered the positive.

One Breath Away by Heather Gudenkauf

Title: One Breath Away
Author: Heather Gudenkauf
Publisher: Harlequin
Acquired: Received free for an honest review
Age Group: Young Adult
Grade: 87% or B+
Buy It: Amazon

In the midst of a sudden spring snowstorm, an unknown man armed with a gun walks into an elementary school classroom. Outside the school, the town of Broken Branch watches and waits.

Officer Meg Barrett holds the responsibility for the town's children in her hands. Will Thwaite, reluctantly entrusted with the care of his two grandchildren by the daughter who left home years earlier, stands by helplessly and wonders if he has failed his child again. Trapped in her classroom, Evelyn Oliver watches for an opportunity to rescue the children in her care. And thirteen-year-old Augie Baker, already struggling with the aftermath of a terrible accident that has has brought her to Broken Branch, will risk her own safety to protect her little brother.

As tension mounts with each passing minute, the hidden fears and grudges of the small town are revealed as the people of Broken Branch race to uncover the identity of the stranger who holds their children hostage.

My Thoughts::
Any book that can give me the feel of a Jodi Picoult book without all of the court mumbo jumbo that is kind of hard to understand and takes me out of the story. When I read the summary of this book I was immediately interested. I felt invested in the story already and wanted to see how things would turn out.

Usually multiple narrators makes the story choppy and hard to understand because there is too much going on and it's hard to keep track of everything. But with books that take place in such a short amount of time you want to get as much out of the story as possible. It was done very well in this book. Things moved fluidly from one character to the next and did it in such a way that kept up the suspense until the big reveal at the end.

Let's talk more about this suspense and mystery. Through each narrator's chapters they ask the same question; Who is is in the school with the gun? Each character offers different clues and different ideas about who it could be. Everytime I thought I knew something about who the man was, another character would disprove my theory. I was kept guessing until the very end and I had no clue. That was the best part. Usually I'm able to figure it out before the reveal, but this time I couldn't.

I was able to connect to all of the characters in different ways which made me see the story from several different angles. You can see how carefully the narrators were chosen by the author because they all just fit together perfectly and help you get the most knowledge about the situation.

Overall I think this was a book that can really hit you hard because of it's serious content. There was plenty of action and suspense to keep you on your toes the entire time.

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Title: My Life Next Door
Author: Huntley Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
Acquired: Received free for an honest review
Age Group: Young Adult
Grade: 91% or A-
Buy It: Amazon

The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, numerous, messy, affectionate. And every day from her balcony perch, seventeen-year-old Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs her terrace and changes everything. As the two fall fiercely in love, Jase's family makes Samantha one of their own. Then in an instant, the bottom drops out of her world and she is suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?

A dreamy summer read, full of characters who stay with you long after the story is over.

My Thoughts::
I requested this book while I was in a bit of a requesting spree on netgalley. It didn't sound like the typical book that I would request, but I just can't help myself when in comes to books that includes large families. My immediate family is only a little larger than average, but my mom came from a huge family and I've always loved reading about them when I was younger.

The plot and the way that the story was told reminded me of Sarah Dessen's books, which is a great compliment. I was enveloped by all parts of the story, not just the romance. I love getting to know the family and other side characters that aren't just the usual two best friends. Jase was the swoon worthiest character that I've had the pleasure of reading so far this summer. He was so caring and a great big brother. All of the characters really flew off of the page but I especially loved Jase's little brother George.

The plot was slow at some points and Samantha really got on my nerves at times. She would know the right thing to do, but still not do it, causing more to be ruined in the process. Her best friend bothered me even more. It really showed me how everyone can see a situation differently.

Overall I think that this book had a great romance and some fantastic characters that helped boost up the lackluster ones. This is a great summer read.