Masters of the Veil by Daniel A. Cohen

Title: Masters of the Veil
Author: Daniel A. Cohen
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Publication Date: March 1, 2012
Source: Thanks Dan and Kate!
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Summary: Life can't get much better for Sam Lock. Popular, good-looking, and with a future as a professional football player. every guy at Stanton High School wishes he were Sam. That is, until his championship football game, when Sam accidentally links with an ancient source of energy known as the Veil and reveals his potential to become a powerful sorcerer.Sam is whisked off to Atlas Crown, a community of sorcerers who utilize the Veil as a part of everyday life. Once there, he trains beside a mute boy who speaks through music, an eternal sage who's the eyes and ears of the Veil, and a beautiful girl who's pretty sure Sam's an idiot.As it becomes clear Sam's meant for power magic-the most feared and misunderstood form of sorcery-people beyond Atlas Crown learn of his dangerous potential. An exiled group of power sorcerers are eager to recruit Sam, believing that he is destined to help them achieve their long-held goal. If they succeed, they could bring about the downfall of not only Atlas Crown. But all humankind.


Review: Masters of the Veil is a fantastic book that shows that there can be so many new original things still to be discovered in the genre of fantasy. Cohen does a great job with this one!


Sam is such a fun guy! He wasn't the easiest to connect with-a problem I've been having lately-but that didn't mean that I didn't like him. He was such a pleasure to read about. He definitely developed a lot during the book. I enjoyed being there for his crazy sorcerer journey.


The supporting characters were pretty good. I loved the vast variety of them and just the different personalities of them. Some were a bit two-dimensional but I still loved them!


Like I said before, the fantasy is fantastic! There's tons of information packed into Masters of the Veil, the first in the trilogy. It could be a little overwhelming at times but you just have to get used to the flow of information. Then it gets enjoyable.


Overall, Masters of the Veil is a fun book that never fails to be interesting. This is definitely one for the fantasy lovers!


Rating: 3.5 stars

The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

Title: The Future of Us
Author: Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler
Publisher: Razorbill
Publication Date: November 21, 2011
Source: Won ARC


Summary: It's 1996, and less than half of all American high school students have ever used the Internet.

Emma just got her first computer and an America Online CD-ROM.

Josh is her best friend. They power up and log on--and discover themselves on Facebook, fifteen years in the future.

Everybody wonders what their Destiny will be. Josh and Emma are about to find out.
Review: The Future of Us is an awesome story that asks the question, “What would you do if you knew your future?”

Personally, I thought this was a great book. One of the things I liked most about The Future of Us was the different narrators. The two narrators are the two main characters, Emma and Josh. I really enjoyed Josh’s narration. He seemed like such a great guy. Emma did annoy me a little but she, like Josh, was very easy to connect to. I was invested in the book from very early on. I had to see what journey Asher and Mackler took them on.

I LOVED the idea that Emma and Josh got to see their future Facebook profiles. It was so interesting to see how the littlest, or the biggest things changed their futures. Emma was a little reckless about this ability but I guess I understood why she would be. It was so cool to see what their status updates from the future were.

One thing that I was aware about, and worried about, was that this was set in the 90’s.  I was alive in the 90’s but I’m nowhere old enough to remember anything about that decade. But surprisingly I wasn’t phased. There was some things I’d heard of but really wasn’t overly familiar with, mostly the bands. But there was one thing that totally made me laugh. A beeper. Which I learned was a Pager type of thing. I admit having to ask my parents what it was.

Overall, The Future of Us was an amazing read. The plot was engaging, and I instantly connected to the characters. I’d definitely recommend this one. If you’re younger don’t shy away from this because it’s set in the 90’s!

Rating: 4.5 stars

Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: Half-Blood
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Publication Date: October 18, 2011
Source: ARC from Publisher, thanks Kate!

Summary: The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi-pure-bloods-have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals-well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures.Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1:Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden.Unfortunately, she's crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn't her biggest problem--staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck.

Review: Half-Blood rocked my world for the four days that I read it.

DO'S AND DONT'S WHILE READING HALF-BLOOD:

Do...cheer on Alex. Alex was such a strong, snarky character. I loved to cheer her on, see her fight and even watch her struggles. Alex is a character that I will want to see time and time again. Armentrout knew how to write a convincing strong, yet vulnerable, character.

Don't...have lots of homework when you read Half-Blood, like I did. Yet again this was a good thing. I got to savor Half-Blood and I enjoyed every minute of it. I didn't want to leave the world where Alex lived. The Covenant, where the Half-Bloods go to school, was an awesome environment.

Do...think Aiden is a hottie. He most definitely is. The forbidden romance between Aiden and Alex was complete sizzle. There is nothing better than a forbidden romance where the guy is so sweet and he has some serious fight moves.

Don't...underestimate the mythology Armentrout creates. Half-Blood was filled with daimons, half-bloods, pure-bloods, and you'll never expect all the things each one can do. I loved the mythology.

Half-Blood is definitely one of the must-read books of 2011. With characters that you can root for and spine-tingling forbidden romance, you'll fall in love, just like I did.

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