Book Review: Sweet Revenge

TITLE: Sweet Revenge
Book 1 in the Lady Hadley Mystery series
AUTHOR: Andrea Penrose
PUBLISHED: 2011
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: historical fiction, mystery
PREMISE: A woman goes on the hunt for answers to her father's death and becomes swept up in intrigue.
MY REVIEW: I confess, I am addicted to the cozy mystery genre. Heaven knows why. Most of them are the same plot over and over again but my inner mystery freak can't help but pick them up when I spot a fun looking one in the library. This is the same thing that has me addicted to shows like Castle and Bones. So when I saw this and saw it was a historical cozy mystery, I just couldn't resist.
It is pretty much what I wanted from it too. Fun and feisty female lead, snarky romance, fun mystery, great atmosphere, and fast paced. It is what it is. Nothing more, nothing less and I suspect the other books are much the same.
If you love the mystery genre and historical fiction I wholeheartedly recomend this because it'll be a fun read. For more challenging pursuits I'd look elsewhere though.
WHO SHOULD READ: cozy mystery fans, historical fiction fans
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five chocolates.

Waiting on Wednesday (5)

TITLE: Changling
Book 1 in the Order of Darkness series
AUTHOR: Philipa Gregory
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Historical fiction/fantasy
SUMMARY FROM AMAZON: Italy, 1453. Seventeen-year-old Luca Vero is brilliant, gorgeous—and accused of heresy. Cast out of his religious order for using the new science to question old superstitious beliefs, Luca is recruited into a secret sect: The Order of the Dragon, commissioned by Pope Nicholas V to investigate evil and danger in its many forms, and strange occurrences across Europe, in this year—the end of days.

Isolde is a seventeen-year-old girl shut up in a nunnery so she can’t inherit any of her father’s estate. As the nuns walk in their sleep and see strange visions, Isolde is accused of witchcraft—and Luca is sent to investigate her, but finds himself plotting her escape.

Despite their vows, despite themselves, love grows between Luca and Isolde as they travel across Europe with their faithful companions, Freize and Ishraq. The four young people encounter werewolves, alchemists, witches, and death-dancers as they head toward a real-life historical figure who holds the boundaries of Christendom and the secrets of the Order of the Dragon.

RELEASE DATE: May 29th

WHY I'M EAGER: I confess I've never read Philipa Gregory before. But this looks like it's the first time she's doing actual fiction instead of fiction based on real history and I think this may be interesting to see. Plus we all know I love me my historical fantasy books. I do plan on reading The Other Boleyn Girl sometime this year as well.

Top Ten Tuesday (2): Top Ten Books I'd Play Hooky With

Top Ten Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by Broke and Bookish

This Week's Topic is Books I'd Play Hooky With.

We're allowed to interpet this any way we'd like so I'm interpeting it as books with places I'd play hooky in.

1) Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling-Um, hell yeah I'd live in the Wizard World (post Voldemort if you please). Words do not describe how much I want to go to Hogwarts.

2)Caster Chronicles series by Kami Garcia and Margeret Stohl-Ah, Gaitlin. You are backwards in your ways yet I want to visit you so bad. Mostly so I can hang out with Marion and Liv in their no doubt fabulous library.

3)Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan-I'd so spend time in Camp Half-Blood.

4)His Dark Materials Trilogy by Phillup Pullman-I want a daemon. I need someone to talk me out of being stupid or help me with tough decisions.

5)Tortall series by Tamora Pierce-Because there girls are allowed to be knights.

6)Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce-Because there girls can be kick-ass mages.

7)Lord of the Rings by J.R.R.Tolkien-Middle Earth, need I say more?

8)Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins-PARIS. I want to go back. Three measly days is not enough to see Paris. Especially with a travel group to hold you back and not let you go the catacombs.

9)Graceling by Kristin Cashore-Seven Kingdoms sounds really pretty.

10)Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones-I want Howl's castle, I mean it's like a trailer home on steroids.

Book Review: Ill Wind

TITLE: Ill Wind
Book 1 in the Weather Warden series
AUTHOR: Rachel Caine
PUBLISHED: 2003
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: UF, mystery
PREMISE: Joanne is a weather warden who murdered someone and is now on the run.
MY REVIEW: My reaction to this book is pretty much the same as my reaction to Caine's YA Morganville series: Meh. I mean, I love the world building don't get me wrong. I give that it's very entertaining, fast-paced and definitely see why she's gained fans.
It's just that like Morganville Vampires it's just not really a must read. It's got lots of familiar adult UF tropes, it's a tad predictable, the characters aren't really that engaging to me, and it all just evens out to a pretty average book.
I say pick this up if you're a Urban Fantasy fan but if you never do, you aren't missing much.
WHO SHOULD READ: Rachel Caine fans, Urban fantasy fans
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five storms

Book Review: Born Wicked

TITLE: Born Wicked
Book 1 in the Cahill Witches series
AUTHOR: Jessica Spotswood
PUBLISHED: 2012
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: witches, UF, historical fiction, drama
PREMISE: A girl in a family of witches does her best to protect her sisters in a time when witchcraft is forbidden.
MY REVIEW: I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I did so much of my enjoyment comes from pure surprise at how not bad this book was. Granted, there are still a few tropes such as the ever present and obvious love triangle and the messages weren't terribly subtle either (it's feminist and proud which I'm all for but I felt the feminist leanings got lost sometimes what with the judging of women that the main character sometimes did). But other then a few minor gripes I enjoyed this quite a bit.
It's decently written, characters are fun and interesting and there's growth, there's surprises going on, interesting family dynamics, and I just love the world building that was in it. You've all probably realized by now that I have a thing for witch books and this book was no exception to my love of witches. The ending also will have you clamoring for the second book.
So while there are things that aren't terribly original about it, it's still a very enjoyable ride. I look forward to the next installment.
WHO SHOULD READ: Witch fans, fans of Prophecy of the Sisters, Gemma Doyle fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five herbs

Book Review: The Scorpio Races

TITLE: The Scorpio Races
AUTHOR: Maggie Stiefvater
PUBLISHED: 2011
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Fantasy, adventure
PREMISE: On a island a annual race takes place every year. This year a girl enters for the first time...
MY REVIEW: I absolutely loved The Scorpio Races. Granted, I feel some messages weren't terribly subtle and I still get annoying by switching POVs (really, why?) but at least Stiefvater is one of the few writers who does this trick well and has a purpose for it. Also I wish there was more explanation for things like why the heck are these people riding such dangerous creatures every year to begin with? That honestly is my only real grievance there is that little fact which kept nagging at me throughout the book. But that is a totally minor thing in a otherwise brillaint book.
As always Stiefvater writes beautifully with great pacing and has very interesting ideas going on. Scorpio Races does have one or two tropes in it but for the most part this was one of the more unique books to come out of YA in the last year or so. Characters are interesting, it's absorbing, it's well paced, and frankly just good even if maybe I wanted a bit more with the ending though it was still satisfying.
Basically, the praise for this book is well deserved. I may not agree with Stiefvater about some of the things she says (particularly the stuff about reviewing/bloggers) but I still think she's one of the better writers in YA today.
WHO SHOULD READ: Wolves of Mercy Falls fans, horse fans, anyone inclined to read it
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five races

Book Review: Dead to You

TITLE: Dead to You
AUTHOR: Lisa McMann
PUBLISHED: 2012
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: drama, mystery
PREMISE: Ethan comes back to his family but is it really him?
MY REVIEW: Sigh, I don't know what I was expecting from this book but it was more then...this. I think it's really time I part ways with McMann. Her writing is just off and on for me and this time it was really off. While the idea was interesting the execution of said idea left a lot to be desired.
The main problem is Ethan just isn't likeable. Frankly none of the characters are. There were moments I wanted to wack everyone on the head except for the poor little girl who got caught up in everyone else's mistakes. Then that ending happened and I'm just left sitting there going...what was the point of all of that then?!
I'm sorry, I just don't like endings like that which make me feel like I've wasted my time with characters I don't even like and a story that was dull and as predictable as rocks. The writing was good, again, it was a interesting concept. This book just wasn't for me and honestly, I don't really see many people getting enjoyment out of it either.
WHO SHOULD READ: Er...I don't know, sorry.
MY RATING: Two out of Five wtf endings

Waiting on Wednesday (4)

TITLE: Black Heart
Book 3 in the Curse Workers series
AUTHOR: Holly Black
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Urban fantasy, mystery, drama
SUMMARY FROM BOOK: Cassel Sharpe knows he’s been used as an assassin, but he’s trying to put all that behind him. He’s trying to be good, even though he grew up in a family of con artists and cheating comes as easily as breathing to him. He’s trying to do the right thing, even though the girl he loves is inextricably connected with crime. And he’s trying to convince himself that working for the Feds is smart, even though he’s been raised to believe the government is the enemy.

But with a mother on the lam, the girl he loves about to take her place in the Mob, and new secrets coming to light, the line between what’s right and what’s wrong becomes increasingly blurred. When the Feds ask Cassel to do the one thing he said he would never do again, he needs to sort out what’s a con and what’s truth. In a dangerous game and with his life on the line, Cassel may have to make his biggest gamble yet—this time on love.

RELEASE DATE: April 3rd

WHY I'M EAGER: I'm a big Holly Black fan (read her on Twitter, she's hilarious) and I absolutely love the Curse Workers series. It's dark, has complex characters and interesting dynamics going on, and the books are absorbing like all of Black's books tend to be. Think Godfather meets the X-Men. I cannot wait to see what ride Black takes me on in this next book.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top 10 Books on my Spring TBR Pile

This is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This is my first time doing this meme, so bear with me if I'm not doing something right.

Top Ten Books on my Spring TBR Pile

Oh god, only ten? This is going to take a lot of narrowing down...okay, in no particular order, here's what I've got my eye out for:

1) Princesses of Myth: Spirit's Princess by Esther Friesner-I fraking love these mythology books by Esther Friesner and can't wait to read about Himoko as she's a historical figure I don't know much about.
Release Date: April 24rth.

2) The Immortal Rules Book 1: Blood of Eden by Julie Kagawa-I love the Iron Fey series and look forward to seeing what Kagawa's imagination does with vampires.
Release Date: April 24rth

3) Darkness Rising Book 2: The Calling by Kelley Armstrong-I'm always up for a Armstrong book.
Release Date: April 10th

4) Starcrossed Book 2: Dreamless by Josephine Angelini-Starcrossed was a pleasant surprise for me last year (surprise because I was expecting not to enjoy it that much) and I really can't wait to get my hands on the sequel.
Release Date: May 29th

5) The Curse Workers Book 3: Black Heart by Holly Black-I love the Curse Workers series, I can't wait to find out what happens next even if Black will probably take my heart out of my chest and hand it back to me in pieces. And I'm annoyed that they changed the covers on me so my books won't match...
Release Date: April 3rd

6) Abandon Book 2: Underworld by Meg Cabot-While I admit, Abandon was not Cabot's best work, I still enjoyed it enough that I'm looking forward to Underworld. Cabot always shows me a good time with her books and this trilogy is no exception.
Release Date: May 8th

7) Seven Kingdoms Book 3: Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore-FINALLY COMING OUT! And I thought waiting on Mad Men was bad...
Release Date: May 1rst

8) Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund-Well, I seem to be in the minority but I absolutely loved the Rampant books. I love Peterfreund's writing and can't wait to see what she does with what's being called Persuasion in space.
Release Date: June 12th

9) Bloodlines Book 2: The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead-VA, need I say more?
Release Date: June 12th

10) Sookie Stackhouse series Book 12: Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris-I can't break my Sookie addiction and I don't want too. This'll tide me over till True Blood returns (in which they BETTER NOT KILL TARA).
Release Date May 1rst

Book Review: Bad Taste in Boys

TITLE: Bad Taste in Boys
AUTHOR: Carrie Harris
PUBLISHED: 2011
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: zombies, mystery
PREMISE: A girl investigates when the jocks in her school start acting strangely.
MY REVIEW: Does anyone remember the episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer where Buffy and friends investigate the swim team and it turns out the coach is putting some sort substance into them that turns them all into fish people? Well, that's pretty much the plot of this book. Just subsitute swim team for football team, Buffy and co for the Mary Sue main character, and a even more odder ending and you have this book.
Which isn't to say it's bad...it's just not very good either. Like I said, the main character is such a Mary Sue. I mean, how many times did she have to remind us that she's a geek? Oh, but she's a geek that randomly gets invited to popular kids parties but it's just because they're being polite, you know? Give me a break. While the zombie part was interesting for the first part of the book, and there are genuinely funny moments in this it wasn't enough to make up for lackluster characters, a familiar plotline, and a poorly done romance.
I say just check this out from the library if you want a zombie fix, but honestly, I've read much better zombie books.
WHO SHOULD READ: zombie fans not looking for steller plot
MY RATING: Two and a half out of Five stolen storylines from tv shows

In My Mailbox (75)

This is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren that tells people what new books we've gotten over the week.
Sorry for absence last week, I was busy moving and I also hadn't gotten any books. Chances are it'll be every other week nowadays because I only have access to the library every other week due to move and I won't be buying as many books as I'm now on a budget.

Downloaded to Kindle:
I Think I Love You by Stephanie Bond-Currently free on Kindle (for like one or two more days I believe). I've been meaning to check out Bond for awhile now. Adult book.
Burden of Blood series Book 1 by Wenona Hulsey. Adult PR that is also free for few more days.

From the library:
The Books of Raziel Book 1: Archon by Sabrina Benulis-Adult UF book from December.
Darkest London Book 1: Firelight by Kristen Callihan-Adult UF series that just came out this year. Looks fun. Part of my effort to get more into the adult UF/PR scene.
The Kendra Chronicles Book 1: Bewitching by Alex Flinn-While I was not crazy about Beastly (I prefer Beauty by Robin McKinley when it comes to Beauty and the Beast retellings) I did find the character of Kendra interesting so I'm giving this a shot. One thing though, I thought Kendra was supposed to be overweight? That girl on the cover is not overweight and I find it hard to believe she could ever be made fun of like she was in Beastly. Did she change her appearance after?
Lady Arianna Regency Mystery series Book 1: Sweet Revenge by Andrea Penrose-adult cozy historical mystery book. My cozy mystery addiction strikes again! C'mon, it's historical with chocolate cooking, and a lady sleuth? How can I resist?

Book Review: Everneath

TITLE: Everneath
Book 1 in the Everneath series
AUTHOR: Brodi Ashton
PUBLISHED: 2012
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: retelling, mythology, romance
PREMISE: A girl returns to Earth for six months after spending time in the Everneath.
MY REVIEW: Here's the thing, I do like Everneath a lot. I think it's a strong debut. I definitely get why it's gotten all this buzz. The writing is nice, the world building is fabulous, I love the twists on Persephone in it, and there's a solid plot going on that makes you want the second book like NOW. I did like it and definitely rec it. However there are two things keeping me from absolutely loving it.
The first is that I'm frankly tired of all the Persephone retellings. This is not the author's fault really, I just wish that when it came to retellings authors would pick other myths. There are several to choose from. I mean counting this series there are now three, THREE, on-going series dealing with the Persephone/Hades myth. Then of course there are all the random one-shot books out there dealing with the myth. I just think at this point in time, the myth has been overdone and it's time to start retelling something different. The second thing that keeps me from loving this is the main character. I'm sorry she's annoying. She's Mary Sueish with a martyr complex and has angst upon angst and don't get me started on how all this basically began with her being all "Oh why would such a perfect man like me of all people?". Ugh, I hate it when girls (and guys with girls) do that. Yes, I give that her reasons for angsting were valid but that still doesn't mean I need her to spend every other chapter doing so. Plus, honestly? She didn't really do much besides the angsting and the self-martyring. Since it was first person I had a bit of a hard time getting into it since I just frankly didn't care for the main character. But from reviews, I'm apparently the only one to get annoyed by her.
But like I said, this is still a strong first book, I do strongly rec it. I just hope the second book develops the main character more and that there's less of the martyring going on.
WHO SHOULD READ: Retelling fans, Persephone and Hades fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five red gowns

Book Review: Darkness Becomes Her

TITLE: Darkness Becomes Her
Gods and Monsters series Book 1
AUTHOR: Kelly Keaton
PUBLISHED: 2011
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Urban fantasy, southern, romance, mythology
PREMISE: A girl finds out she is cursed and goes to New Orleans to undo the curse.
MY REVIEW: Okay...I'm a little split on this book. There things I absolutely loved and then there was much of it where I was going "um, what?". I mean I did love what the author did with the setting, how she took a major event like Katrina and spun it into a alternate history but then she started to lose me after suddenly oh hey look Athena is here! I also feel the characterization of Athena is really off. I feel this goddess is more Hera then Athena. Hera was the one who cared about people surpassing her beauty, not Athena. Before anyone mentions Arachne, she did that because Arachne boasted that she was better at things then Athena herself. Her wrath was to teach her not to boast. It had very little to do with vanity, though some of that was in there too. So personally I think it would have made more sense for the evil goddess to be Hera.
And that is my ultimate issue with this book, despite liking quite a bit of it. I loved the creativity, but some of the creativity made no sense. I loved some of the humor to it, but equally some of the lines were very cheesy and contrived. I enjoyed some of the characters (particularly the kids) but I feel the relationships were poorly developed especially the romance which kind of came out of nowhere. It was like for everything I enjoyed, there was something else that would bug me.
So as a whole...I say this is a decent enough start to a series I just think there could be lots of room for improvement. I will be checking out the sequel though because while things did bother me, I did enjoy a lot of it. I say check it out from the library to see if it's for you.
WHO SHOULD READ: UF fans, mythology fans, you don't mind wackyness or darkness
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five snakes

Waiting on Wednesday (3)

TITLE: The Immortal Rules
Book 1 in the Blood of Eden series
AUTHOR: Julie Kagawa
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: vampires, urban fantasy, dystopian-like
SUMMARY FROM BOOK: In a future world, vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity.
Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die…or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

RELEASE DATE: April 24rth

WHY I'M EAGER: I loved Kagawa's uber fun Iron Fey series. I can't wait to see what she does with vampires. Especially as it doesn't look like there'll be any sparkling.

Book Review: Never Have I Ever

TITLE: Never Have I Ever
Book 2 in The Lying Game series
AUTHOR: Sara Shepard
PUBLISHED: 2011
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: mystery, drama, contemporary
PREMISE: Emma continues the search for her sister's killer
MY REVIEW: For some reason I enjoy the Lying Game books more then the Pretty Little Liars books. No, I don't get it either. But there it is. Whereas in TV I'm the opposite, I enjoy PLL more then The Lying Games TV show (though I think both are mediocre and LOL worthy). Go figure, right?
I think part of it is, there are actually characters in The Lying Game I actually like and sympathize with whereas in PLL I just want to smack EVERYONE. Granted, some characters in this series are just as trying as the PLL characters (particularly Sutton, good god is it wrong that I'm happy she's dead in this because if she was alive like on the show I'd spend a majority of the books wanting to bitch slap her more then I do with Allison from PLL and that's saying something because I loathe Allison with the fire of a thousand burning suns). Okay, back from ranting about horrible Sutton...I actually mildly like Emma and I find some of the friends entertaining even if I personally probably wouldn't be friends with any of these girls except maybe Char. As always with Shepard the mystery is deep and complex and I'm not sure who dun it yet which is a compliment to mystery writers.
So if you were a fan of the first Lying Game book you'll like this. I will say, I hope this doesn't go on forever like PLL. Part of the problem I have with PLL is it's kind of ridiculous that they don't know who it is after all these books. I mean, these girls have to be the dumbest detectives ever. Nancy Drew would not approve.
WHO SHOULD READ: PLL fans, those that have read the first book
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five mysterious texts

Book Review: Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side

TITLE: Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side
Book 1 in the Jessica series
AUTHOR: Beth Fantasky
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: vampires, drama, romance, urban fantasy
PREMISE: A girl learns that she is betrothed to a vampire and that she herself is a vampire.
MY REVIEW: Well, the good news is I liked this a hell of a lot more then Jekyll Loves Hyde. Why couldn't Jekyll have been written in the same humorous tone as this? I would have liked it a lot more and have been able to tolerate it.
This is funny, endearing and I get why people liked it so much. Granted I still have issues with it like I did with Jekyll. Things in it make no sense, the MC is rather annoying once she and the guy get over the fun snarky phase (why couldn't they have kept that up? I would have liked Jessica so much more by the end...), and I'm sorry but it is faux-feminist. I hated how the girl was cool on her own but of course she got sexy by the end but naturally needed the guy to tell her it was okay to be sexy and accept help from the male because you know feminists are never girly. Spare me the damning of tomboys please. Why can't a female protaginist enjoy being girly AND be tomboyish at the same time? Why does it always have to be one or the other?
Still, those are just annoyances for me. The average reader should get a kick out of this if they don't take it too seriously and look at it as the fun vampire novel it intends to be. I may be checking out the sequel that came out in January now.
WHO SHOULD READ: vampire fans, Twilighters who have a sense of humor about the series
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five gothic novels

Waiting on Wednesday (2)

TITLE: Endlessly
Book 3 in the Paranormalcy Trilogy
AUTHOR: Kierstan White
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: urban fantasy
SUMMARY FROM GOODREADS: Try as she might, Evie can’t seem to escape her not-so-normal past. And what was supposed to be a blissfully normal school break is ruined when a massive group of paranormals shows up at her house, claiming that Evie is the only one who can protect them from a mysterious, perilous fate.

The deadly war between the faerie courts looms ever closer. The clock is ticking on the entire paranormal world. And its future rests solely in Evie’s hands.

Release Date: July 24rth

Why I'm Eager for it: I fell in deep deep fangirl love with Paranormalcy when it came out in 2010. Everyone raved about it and I'm no exception. For some reason everyone wasn't as crazy about the second but I still loved that one. I just frakking love Evie. It has been a long time since I've adored a main female character as much as I've adored her (I believe the last was Hermione and the Potter series wasn't from her point of view, sadly). I enjoy White's smooth writing too. I mean, I give the series isn't all that unique but it's one of those that's so darn enjoyable I don't care. I can't wait to read the ending and the next series that White says she has in store for us. But I will miss Evie and her pink taser when she goes.

Book Review: Article 5

TITLE: Article 5
Book 1 in the new Article 5 series
AUTHOR: Kristen Simmons
PUBLISHED: 2012
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Dystopian, drama, adventure
PREMISE: In a world that restricts your rights a girl escapes her captors after being arrested.
MY REVIEW: Here's the thing, I liked this book a lot, I just didn't really connect with it. I'm not sure if that's my own fault or the author's still. It is a decently written book that gives you a lot to think about. I mean I for one have absolutely no problem picturing this happening, particularly when one listens to the rhetoric going on in the current GOP race (no offense to any conservatives, I am highly aware that not all of you think like the blockheads running at the moment; for the record blockheads is the kindest term I can think of at the moment considering much of the junk coming out of the race has been filling me with either "I can't believe this" laughter or endless rage). Seriously, this book made me think of all the commentary from the race so much it's not funny. I apologize for talking politics here, I try to do that on my tumblr only and give you guys books instead, it's just that this book is so relevant to what's going on right now I just had to mention it.
Okay, off the soapbox now, as a book this is interesting and a very nice solid start to a dystopian world I'm intrigued by. I just didn't fall in utter love with it and I think part of that is the main character. She was just...dull really. I didn't really get any time to get to know her or care about her. It was just one chapter and then boom off on the adventures. Granted the pace is great in this book but I just have a hard time connecting with a book when I can't get into the main character. Perhaps now that we've gotten the romance part out of the way in the first (I hope) the author will focus more on the characters instead of developing romance.
So I think this is a very decent start to a interesting looking series. I just hope I get into the next one more. But this is a intrigueing dystopian for sure and as seen by my ranting, very relevant in this particular political climate.
WHO SHOULD READ: dystopian fans, those that like action
MY RATING: Four out of Five bastardized versions of the constitution

Book Review: Havoc

TITLE: Havoc
Book 2 in the Deviants series
AUTHOR: Jeff Sampson
PUBLISHED: 2012
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: urban fantasy, shifters, drama
PREMISE: Emily continues to find more members for her pack...
MY REVIEW: Sigh. This was one of those series that I was really hoping would get better as it went on. I wasn't very into the first book but gave it a pass because I felt maybe there would be more interesting stuff/improvement in the future. But this is basically just more of the first book and so I think I'm done with this series.
I just can't get into it despite the fact that the series is not horrible. I can't get into the main character despite how much the author dangles her geekiness in my face, I feel side characters are really two-dimensional (particularly the mean girls), and I just feel like the plot drags and that there is way too much stereotyping and tropes such as love triangles.
Now, fans of the first book? You'll be pleased as this is basically more of the first book and I'll give there are interesting developements here and there. But I think I'm honestly done with this series, it's just not for me.
WHO SHOULD READ: fans of the first book
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five geeks

Book Review: Fracture

TITLE: Fracture
AUTHOR: Megan Miranda
PUBLISHED: 2012
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Paranormal, drama
PREMISE: A girl dies for a few minutes and then comes back with a unusual gift.
MY REVIEW: I actually don't have much to say about this book. It's average. Plot is interesting but not mind-blowing, characters are pretty normal for YA nowadays, writing is passable, and I honestly don't have any huge complaints about it.
I just don't have anything to rave about either because again, it's just average. It is one of many books out there recently that all just sort of look alike. I say read it if you're interested and even then, just check it out from the library.
WHO SHOULD READ: Paranormal fans
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five people with paranormal gifts

In My Mailbox (74)

This is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren that tells people what new books we've gotten over the week.

Bought books:
Millaneum Trilogy Book 3: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest by Steigg Larsson-FINALLY out in paperback. Of course it'll be some time before I get to this because I still have to get through book 2 as wells as Game of Thrones book 3.
Delirium Book 2: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver-My most anticipated book of February! Only reason I had to wait so long to buy is because apparently Target doesn't sell this series anymore so I had to wait to go to Barnes and Noble.

From the library:
Weather Warden Book 1: Ill Wind by Rachel Caine-While I found the first few Morganville Vampire books okay I found it quickly got rather boring and repetitive so I'm trying out Caine's adult books, hoping maybe they're not so repetitive and have a more developing plot.
Bad Taste in Boys by Carrie Harris-book from last year I've been meaning to read. I believe it involves zombies?
Dead to You by Lisa McMann-The latest McMann book.
Cahill Witch Chronicles Book 1: Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood-2012 debut about witches that sounds awesome.

Book Review: The Wood Queen

TITLE: The Wood Queen
Book 2 in the Iron Witch series
AUTHOR: Karen Mahoney
PUBLISHED: 2012
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Urban fantasy, romance, drama
PREMISE: Donna fights for her place against the alchemists. Pretty much it.
MY REVIEW: I tend to give series with three and a half star ratings for the first book a second chance to impress me. Hence why I'm reading this despite being rather underwhelmed by the first one. Sadly, I don't see much improvement like I wanted.
Characters are still amazingly two-dimensional (especially Donna's aunt, I mean considering how horrible she's skewed was anyone really surprised at her deceit? I sure wasn't), love interests are still boring and I still see no chemistry between the couple I'm supposed to be rooting for (according to the author), and everything still has a been there done that feel to it.
So no improvement. I'm still underwhelmed. I will be reading the next only to see the consequences of the door debacle but if that's underwhelming too, I'm done.
WHO SHOULD READ: Those that liked The Iron Witch
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five evil aunts

Book Review: The Mockingbirds

TITLE: The Mockingbirds
Book 1 in the Mockingbirds series
AUTHOR: Daisy Whitney
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Contemporary, drama
PREMISE: A girl who gets date raped calls for justice from her school's vigilante justice group.
MY REVIEW: The Mockingbirds is first and foremost an issue book. Therefore I don't really recomend it as entertainment although I certainly did enjoy it (I particularly enjoyed Alex's two friends because yay, female friendship and they were just awesome). Its purpose isn't really to entertain, its to inform. That part it does really well. So if you're not into issue books on a regular basis, I wouldn't pick this up unless you're in the mood for it.
But when you want a book like this, I totally rec it. It's informative, interesting, and I adore books that aren't afraid to tackle tough issues like date rape. While, I don't neccessarily think the book blew it out of the water (I actually think Speak does a far better handling of the subject) I do appreciate that the writer uses the book to tell girls that if this happens, there are places that they can go. It sounds silly, but actually most people who get date raped, don't report it. Most schools also don't talk about the subject and treat things like it exactly the way Themis does. So I do appreciate what this book says about the subject even if I'm not sure about some of the ways the author handles it in the book (and I totally wanted Alex to get together with Jones, not Martin).
This is one of those books that is good for when you want to think about subjects. Again, as far as entertainment goes, I'm not sure it fits the bill. But I definitely recomend reading it at least once.
WHO SHOULD READ: those who like or are in the mood for issue books
MY RATING: Four out of Five prep school blazers