Book Review: Three

TITLE: Three
Book three in the Article 5 Trilogy
AUTHOR: Kristen Simmons
PUBLISHED: February 11th
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Dystopian
PREMISE: Ember and Chase take one last stand against the government...
MY REVIEW: Article 5 is one of those quiet dystopians no one ever really talks about. Which is a shame because I think its issues are very relevant to issues going on nowadays.
As an ending...I admit, it was a tad lack luster. There were no major surprises. No character deaths. No big reveals that made me go OMG. But it also ended the thing properly and didn't screw up its continuity. I mean, I'm reading Allegiant now and if I had to choose endings, I'd take this over Allegiant any day (seriously, this book is screwing up the whole trilogy. I'm not even a HUGE Divergent fan and I'm kind of getting pissed on behalf of the fans).
So...not a spectacularly huge ending. But it ends in a satisfactory way that fits the trilogy so I'm not complaining too loudly. Trust me, as any Divergent fan will tell you: we could have it a lot worse.
WHO SHOULD READ: Article 5 fans, dystopian fans (who don't mind quiet dystopian books)
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five nods
RATING FOR TRILOGY: Four out of Five governments run amok

Book Review: The Tyrant's Daughter

TITLE: The Tyrant's Daughter

AUTHOR: J.C. Carleson

CATEGORY: YA

GENRE: Realistic Fiction

PREMISE: The daughter of a dictator goes into hiding with her family in the United States...

MY REVIEW: This was an interesting one. I'm honestly not sure how to review it. I don't kid myself into thinking this would ever be a commercial friendly sort of read. I highly doubt it's one of those that many readers will actively go looking for unless that happens to be what they were into/in the mood for. 

If you do however, like politically motivated books that talk about issues like this, I would definitely rec this one. It ends a bit abruptly and sometimes is all over the place with the ideas, but it's nice seeing an author take risks and talk about subjects like these.

I can't tell you how accurate its portrayal is (I'm not Muslim, so I don't know what is accurate). But I do think this one is a good one for getting discussions going, which I think is ultimately what the author was trying to achieve.

WHO SHOULD READ: Realistic Fiction fans

MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five hmms

Book Review: The Fiery Heart

TITLE: The Fiery Heart
Book 4 in the Bloodlines series
AUTHOR: Richelle Mead
PUBLISHED: 2013
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Urban Fantasy, Vampires
PREMISE: Sydney and Adrian try to navigate being in a relationship.
MY REVIEW: At this point in time, there's probably not much I can say about Bloodlines/Vampire Academy that I haven't already said or that you haven't already heard. Just know, I'm very much a fan, so this review is biased.
As an installment this one...stalled a little. Honestly, not a lot happens till the last fifty or so pages which leave you on a rotten cliff hanger (evil, Mead, EVIL). So I advise patience while reading it. Although, if you're into this series for the Adrian/Sydney, you'll probably love all the couple moments.
So, a slow installment till the very cliff hanger like end. Good for fans of the series. Everyone else has probably already made up their mind if they want to bother with this or not.
WHO SHOULD READ: Bloodlines fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five tatoos

Book Review: Lady Thief

TITLE: Lady Thief
Book 2 in the Scarlet Trilogy
AUTHOR: A. C. Gaughen
PUBLISHED: February 11th
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Historical Fiction (sort of), Retelling
PREMISE: Scarlet continues her adventures
MY REVIEW: I was probably one of like ten people or so who thought Scarlet was just okay. I mean, I didn't think it was horrible. But at the same time...I wasn't very impressed either. It was one of those situations where I was kind of scratching my head and wondering why people where going nuts over it which kind of happens to me a lot, sadly.
I happened to see the second book in the library and decided to give it another try. Sometimes second books in series/trilogies are better after all. Look at what happened with Across the Universe. Unfortunately, that didn't happen here. In fact...I think the sequel just magnified the problems I had with the first one. Which was mainly that Scarlet did EVERYTHING. I've been trying to stay away from using the term Mary Sue lately because of the way fans tend to just throw the term at characters they just don't like. But I'm sorry, in Scarlet's case? She's kind of a Mary Sue. She's literally perfect. Has no faults whatsoever. Never screws up, always seen as in the right, etc, etc. Honestly...she's damn boring once you take away the fact that she dressed as a boy and joined the Merry Men (and it's never clear on why she even joined the Merry Men in the first place).
The real sad thing is, I LIKED the idea of Will Scarlet actually being female. That could have been golden. But Scarlet does all the things that WIll Scarlet never did. In the first one, she basically took over the role of Robin Hood (even though Robin Hood was RIGHT THERE, along with Little John and don't even get me started on that ridiculous love triangle). I had wondered in my review where hell Maid Marian was and it turns out, Scarlet is also Marian. What are the odds, right? Literally, she is every good character in Robin Hood EXCEPT Will Scarlet. Oh, and on top of being Maid Marion, turns out she's actually secretly a heir to the throne. Sigh.
I'll give that Gaughen can spin an entertaining and readable tale. But it's all sort of surface quality. Once you actually start to sit and think about the book, the whole thing falls apart. So, I must bid this series farewell. It just is not for me.
WHO SHOULD READ: Fans of Scarlet
MY RATING: Three out of Five kind of annoying main characters

Book Review: Burn Bright

TITLE: Burn Bright
Book 2 in the Dark Star series
AUTHOR: Bethany Frennette
PUBLISHED: February 25th
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Urban Fantasy
PREMISE: Audrey deals with new powers, a new threat in her city, and trying to navigate friends, boyfriend, and a superhero mother.
MY REVIEW: I will forever be puzzled about why Dark Star isn't more popular then it is. Because it really should be more buzzed about. It's got all the things that usually inhabit popular YA titles: likable main character, fun friends, hot guy (who in this case doesn't act like a jerk, yay), fast-paced plot, fun set up. Yet...no one ever talks about it. Honestly, YA world, what gives?
This one was just as enjoyable as the first one. There's plot twists galore, action, and character growth. It does all the things sequels should do while managing to be entertaining as hell.
If this one slipped by your radar, I beg you to please give it a chance. Especially if you're into urban fantasy/superheroes.
WHO SHOULD READ: fans of Dark Star, Mortal Instruments fans, comic book fans
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five superheroes kicking butt

Book Review: Mistwalker

TITLE: Mistwalker
AUTHOR: Saundra Mitchell
PUBLISHED: February 4rth, 2014
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Paranormal
PREMISE: A man tries to lure a girl into taking his spot where he's trapped in a lighthouse collecting souls.
MY REVIEW: Mitchell is one of the many unsung YA authors out there. One of the things I like about her is that you never know what you'll get with her. Each of her books are different, except all have a paranormal spin to them. All are interesting and unique ideas.
This one is no exception. It's a paranormal but with little to no romance in it. It's just a straight up creepy story about a guy trying to get a girl to take his place so he can be free. He does do it by trying to seduce her, but it's made clear that this is not okay. It also throws in some timely observations about economy and its effects on people in a sly way.
Personally, I liked this one. The ending was a bit abrupt, but the story leading to the ending was interesting and it's nice seeing a author do something that is unexpected. Sadly, looks like the masses and I don't agree on this one. Oh well. C'est la vie.
WHO SHOULD READ: Saundra Mitchell fans, Paranormal fans, Stephan King fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five lighthouses

Book Review: What's a Witch to Do?

TITLE: What's a Witch to Do?
Book 1 in the Midnight Magic Mystery series
AUTHOR: Jennifer Harlow
PUBLISHED: 2013
CATEGORY: Adult
GENRE: Mystery, Romance, Urban Fantasy
PREMISE: A witch tries to figure out who's trying to kill her while nursing an injured wolf, preparing for her sister's wedding, and taking care of two kids...
MY REVIEW: I had picked this one up not realizing that it is actually a bit of a spin-off series of another series called F.R.E.A.K.S. However, the author does give enough info where you can figure out the gist of the world so it doesn't really matter if you haven't read that series.
As far as these cozy mysteries go, it was cute. I got a kick out of the humor. The MC wasn't irritating. It's readable. It's just...very stuck in the cozy mystery formula so I'm not sure how much it's worth continuing because this formula can get stale fast.
But if you're in the mood for a cute romantic story featuring witches and hot werewolves and need your fix, this one should do the trick.
WHO SHOULD READ: cozy mystery fans, F.R.E.A.K.S fans, urban fantasy romance fans
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five flustered witches

Book Review: Split Second

TITLE: Split Second
Book 2 in the Pivot Point series
AUTHOR: Kasie West
PUBLISHED: February 11th, 2014
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Science Fiction
PREMISE: Addie deals with the choices she made in book one with surprising results....
MY REVIEW: Pivot Point was one of the many pleasant early surprises last year (seriously, January and February were good months in 2013). It was one of those where I had no expectations because it hadn't gotten overhyped and I was able to enjoy it as is. Now, with the sequel, I had bigger expectations because I enjoyed the first one so much. Luckily, the author delivered.
This was such a good sequel. It expanded on ideas from the first one. It grew characters (even the mean girl got some development! Yay!), it continued the plot, and we get more Laila, aka my favorite character.
So I was personally really pleased with this one and I imagine many fans of Pivot Point will be as well.
WHO SHOULD READ: Pivot Point fans, Fringe fans, Sci-fi fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five choices to choose from

Book Review: Enders

TITLE: Enders
Book 2 in the Starters series
AUTHOR: Lissa Price
PUBLISHED: January 7th, 2014
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Dystopian, Sci-Fi
PREMISE: Callie's fight isn't over and now she has to deal with the consequences of the deal she made...
MY REVIEW: I wish more people knew about Starters. It's definitely one of the may unsung dystopians out there. It's got an interesting premise, good writing, and a action packed plot. Its sequel, continues that.
I love dystopians that slyly comment on things that are going on now. This series takes the generation gap going on and examines it further. This is why I like dystopians. I like it when they take relevant issues going on today and then twist them around and say what if? That's what dystopians are supposed to be! Sadly, the genre's become a bit warped as of late, so dystopians that actually do this are few and far between (and usually don't become popular).
True, there are a few tropes here I could do without (love triangle, totally not needed, but there for some reason) but this remains one of the more interesting dystopian series out there that I wish more people would give a chance.
WHO SHOULD READ: Starters fans, Hunger Games fans, dystopian fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five computer chips

Book Review: Will Grayson, Will Grayson

TITLE: Will Grayson, Will Grayson
AUTHOR (s): John Green and David Levithan
PUBLISHED: 2010
CATEGORY: YA
GENRE: Contemporary/Drama
PREMISE: Two Will Graysons, as different as can be, meet through circumstance.
MY REVIEW: Ever have one of those books where you like what it has to say more then the book itself? That's me and this book. Now, once again, I feel like had I found this book in my teen years I would have been all over it and probably have liked it a whole lot more. So I strongly urge teens to read this because I bet you guys will get more out of this book then I did.
As it is, I just found it a decent read, but don't have quite the strong personal attachment to it that others seem to have. But that seems to be my lot in life when it comes to John Green (and Levithan, whom I've also read before off and on). Ah well. I will say however, I adored Tiny Cooper with every inch of my being. Dude needs his own book.
So decent read. If you're a contemporary fiction fan, I would definitely check it out.
WHO SHOULD READ: John Green fans, David Levithan fans, Realistic fiction fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five guys named Will Grayson