Beautiful Darkness

HI!
Hope you are having a good Tuesday and can you believe November is already here!?

Title: Beautiful Darkness

Author: Kami Garcia and Margret Stohl

Rating: 5 stars

Review: Ethan Wate is growing further and further apart from his caster girlfriend, Lena.  All it seems she can do is act like someone entirely different than she is and avoid Ethan. Meanwhile, Ethan is trying to unravel secrets about himself, his mother, the caster world and about what is happening to Lena. But as Ethan tries to figure out what is going on with Lena, he starts to venture deeper into the tunnels that cross the South, Ethan gets way more than he bargained for.

Beautiful Darkness was a great book, that turned out to be even better than the first.

I do have to admit that it was pretty slow going in the beginning and I felt like I was just waiting for something to happen. And it didn't, not till about around page 200, if I am correct. That's when the real action started, when Ethan, Link and a new girl on the block, Liv started exploring the Tunnels. Ah the tunnels, I loved the tunnels, so unique, so great and full of dangers and mysterious, magical things. Which reminds me of the labyrinth  from Greek mythology built by Daedalus. Which then of course reminded me of Percy Jackson and The Battle of the labyrinth by Rick Riordan.

Does everyone know how much I love Link, Ethan's best friend??! I love him A LOT!!! He was even better in this book and what happened at the end....let's just say I was devastated. Do not worry though. Ethan was just as good too even though he can be just as emotional as a girl sometimes! Lena was soooo moody and if I was Ethan I wouldn't have put up with her. Well maybe not if I loved her as much as Ethan loved her! Lena was still a good, unique character that was just slightly annoying.

Ridley, Lena's cousin is becoming one of my favorite characters along with Liv.

The ending was surprising and I still don't think I know everything I want to know about the Caster World yet! I really want the 3rd book!!

Trance

Hi!
Hope you are having a very exciting Thursday! I am! Today I am reviewing a great, great book by one of my fave authors, Linda Gerber!

Title: Trance

Author: Linda Gerber

Rating: 5 stars

Review: Ashlyn Greenfield's mother is dead and she is having trance's again. Ashlyn had been having Trance's ever since she was a little kid and she is deeply ashamed of the Trance's. Ashlyn feels if though she was the cause of her mother's death just because she didn't have one Trance that could have warned her of her mother's death. Now Ashlyn is having the Trance's again and when she starts having them about a friend of hers.....Ashlyn knows that she needs to step up and save a life.

Another great, no fantastic, book by Linda Gerber. And it is paranormal which makes it even better!

The story was incredibly emotional, especially since Ashlyn's mother is dead, her sister disappeared and her father ignores her. All of that made me extremely sad. I would hate to be ignored by the family I loved. Even worse, Ashlyn was ashamed of her ability to see people's deaths and felt like she was cursed or something stupid! I loved how Ashlyn worked at a photography booth at a mall. Her co-workers were great and cute. =)

Ashlyn was a great character and while I felt sorry for her, I also admired her and the ways she tried to cope with everything in her life. She didn't have many friends because of her ability but her one friend, Michelle was so-so. Jake, that cute co-worker, was understanding but sometimes jumped to the wrong conclusions about things he shoudln't. Naughty, Naughty.

If Ashlyn was real, than I would love to know her! And the cliffhanger at the end! OMG! I want a sequel!!

Such a amazing book and heartouching too!

Intrinsical

Hi and Happy Tuesday!

Title: Intrinsical

Author: Lani Woodland

Rating: 5 stars

Review: When Yara Silva arrives at Pendrell Boarding School with her best friend Cherie she sees a handsome student get attacked. Now Yara isn't sure what attacked the student but she has a pretty good idea that it has to do with her heritage. Yara's grandmother is a waker, which means that she can see and communicate with ghosts. Yara isn't exactly looking forward to being a waker so after 16 years when it finally shows up she is not excited. But what she saw attack the student was not at all friendly and now Yara decides to take it upon herself to figure out the curse of her elite boarding school and save herself.

I discovered this book by chance and boy, I am so glad I did.
 Intrinsical starts with a bang and keeps on going all the way to the end. The plot was SO full of twists and turns and new developments that I was constantly kept on my toes. I happened to also be screaming, "OMG, I never saw that coming!" At the beginning though things were a confusing and I had a hard time getting into the book but then I started understanding everything and it was a smooth ride till the very end.

Yara was a great character and I loved her a lot. She was extremely relateable, if you ignore the fact that she can see ghosts. Since I am pretty sure that is not possible. But, hey you never know! Yara could take care of herself and was headstrong. Cherie, her best friend, was a good addition to the book and even though she couldn't see ghosts, that sure didn't stop her. Brent......is yummy.....do I have to say anymore? He was just the perfect, in a flawed way, character and I loved him. There were some pretty villainous characters in this story too!

All in all, I loved this book and I can't wait for a sequel! Which I contacted Lani Woodland about and she said she was working on another book and was planning a sequel to Intrinsical. So we will just have to wait and see!

Um did anyone else notice that the name of the boarding school was the same as the publisher? Maybe I am just being weird but.....

Siren

Hi!
Happy Wednesday! Now let's review my favorite new book! Siren!

Title: Siren

Author: Tricia Rayburn

Rating: 5 stars

Review: 17 year old Vanessa Sands is afraid of everything and now she is afraid to go cliff diving with her sister Justine and their friends the Carmichael Brothers. That evening Justine and her sister get into a huge fight and the next time Vanessa sees Justine … she's dead. Now grieving Justine's death Vanessa travels back to their summer home in Winter Harbor, Maine where the death happened. Now with the help of Simon Carmichael, Vanessa starts to investigate the death of her sister and the disappearance if Simon's brother, Caleb. But as Vanessa gets closer and closer to falling in love she just might have to sacrifice it all to save her friends and the town if Winter Harbor and if she finds out about herself.

Eek! I love this book! It was the best and I love it deeply with passion! So if you haven't already read this book or you have it go read it or re read it and if you don't have go run and I literally mean run and go get it!

Siren was a little confusing at first but then everything started clicking together and the rest of the book was perfect!

I loved Vanessa the main character! She was so sweet and I felt an immediate connection with her. She developed greatly during the book, which made me love her even more!

And then the Carmichael Brothers. Doesn't that name just sound enticing! So old schoolish sounding and so awesome. Now on to who they actually were! Simon was the nerdy, walking-talking weather channel, who was much much cuter this summer. I used to not like the name Simon but trust me now my mind has been changed entirely. And there is nothing wrong with a nerdy cute guy, emphasize on the cute! The other brother Caleb was just as smoldering but I like Simon much much better! Plus Simon and Vanessa make such a cute couple and Simon is always there for Vanessa! There were also some great supporting characters too.

The Plot, thanks to the title, obviously included sirens. I liked the title but it gave a little too much away but there was still some mystery to the book. The cover was a good but the eyes looked way to fake which annoyed me.

I loved the way the novel was resolved but it left quite the cliffhanger! I can't wait for the second book in this trilogy!!

Crescendo

Hi!
Today is the release of Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick and of Nightshade by Andrea Cremer so congrats both of you!

Title: Crescendo

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick

Rating: 5 stars

Review:  Nora Grey is still dating her guardian angel, Patch Cipriano. She is having the best time ever until Patch starts drawing away and isn't telling Nora anything, which isn't too unusual. With Patch ignoring Nora and with him spending time with Marcie Millar, Nora decides to start hanging out with a childhood friend, Scott Parnell, who is hiding more secrets than Nora can even count. So when some light about her Dad's murder comes to Nora's attention she is more confused than ever and has no idea who to trust.

I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVED CRESCENDO!!!!!!! Um....ya I think you can tell that I though it was amazing so I won't say that! Sorry if all those Capital letters bothered you but I had to get my point across somehow, didn't I?

Nora was at her best in this book but she was a little annoying when it came to Patch. Did she love him? Yes. Did she do a good job of acting like she hated him? YES! Why? To protect him. That doesn't exactly mean that you can go around being all lovey dovey one second and then I hate you get out of my life the next. Despite all of this I still loved Nora, even though she got herself into quite a few dangerous situations and could have died. A LOT.  If my good old Patch hadn't come to the rescue! Nora needs to stop doubting Patch and trust him! Did he ever do anything to harm her? um...not really. So why doesn't she trust him now!? Who knows! I think I can stop talking about Nora now. I still loved her though. Despite... Katie! Um no more.

The plot, just like Hush, Hush had me guessing till the very end and I was pretty surprised when I found out who murdered Nora's Father. I was kept entertained through the whole book and I speed through this book.

I think I have finally figured out why the titles are what they are! Hush, Hush means like everything is quiet and nothing big has happened yet. Crescendo means things get louder and louder and more dangerous. So I think each of these things relate to the books. Nora was in a danger in Hush, Hush and she got into even more drama/danger in this book! And the 3rd one is Tempest so I think we can all figure that out!

I also put together the books on my bookcase and I realized that Hush, Hush has a grey spine and Crescendo has a Grey and a black spine like everything is getting darker and more dangerous. Not sure what it means or if it is just a coincidence but I think The Tempest will have an all black spine.

Loved it! When I finished this book I screamed out "How I am supposed to wait for the next one?" and got a few odd looks. Not my greatest moment! But you still should read this!

Comes out "officially" today!

Lies

Hi!
It is Saturday and I will post this review nice and quick so I can get to work on my Power Point Presentation for School! Fun, right?

Title: Lies

Author: Michael Grant

Rating: 5 stars

Review: We are back in the FAYZ, the Fallout Alley Youth Zone, and the problems are getting more serious than ever. The newly formed City Council is taking over and getting too much power in some of the citizens eyes. And even worse the council is starting to tell lies. Sam no longer feels like he can do anything because of the council and is in great emotional distress over Drake, the boy he thought was gone. And while everything starts to unravel bigger things are starting to happen.

Lies was so much better than Hunger and I just flew through it!
There were some surprising twists and turns in the plot, especially with Orsay. Sam is going through some bad times and was so depressed and feeling not very useful. Not to mention that he and Astrid are on bad terms for most of the book! Astrid was incredibly bossy during the entire time but I think she managed to redeem herself. Possibly. I like all the supporting characters and there were some new ones too that were interesting.

I loved everything that happened in the book and the character alternations were quite good.

But I am a little worried for the next book called Plague, since in Lies everyone was starting to get sick too. So hopefully Grant doesn't kill off all of my favorite characters!

So if I were you I would jump in a car, hitchhike if you have too and go to a local bookstore and pick up this series!

Linger

HI!
Happy Friday!

Title: Linger

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Rating: 4.5 stars

Review:  In the sequel to Shiver, Sam and Grace are still in love and both are trying to survive. Sam, newly human, is struggling with being human, of course, and is afraid that one day he will be a wolf again. Worst of all his emotions are overriding his brain and Sam is often worried and can't seem to ever get things perfect between himself and Grace. Grace is trying to fight becoming a wolf and isn't doing a very good job at it. And we now have Cole, a newly turned wolf who is trying to escape his human past but can't seem to do so without falling in love again with Isabel, Grace's friend. With the four of them together, survival chances might seem high but that probably isn't going to happen.

I liked Linger much more than, Shiver. It was more exciting, it had more action and there was more mystery about how you could cure a wolf.

The plot was basically about keeping wolves human and figuring out all the kirks of being a werewolf. Linger got pretty scientific which I liked immensely, but if you don't like that you don't have to worry because it isn't too present.

I liked each character more and more as the story went on! Sam was getting a little less melodramatic and girlish towards the end but then something happens (read the book to find out) and he went back to being his old sappy self. I liked Grace more too. She was just a better character. I really liked Cole, the new wolf. He was a great character that was so different from the others and I loved him for it, even though he doesn't always have the best moments. I liked the connection between Isabel and him but I think that neither of them can handle anything, currently.

My favorite scene had to be when Grace and Sam went to a recording studio. The premise was just so cute and totally lived up to that.

So if you liked Shiver or even loved it, I think you will like Linger even more! I did.

Celebrate Good Times. . .!!! The Challenge has started!

Hi and I hope everyone is having a super Happy Friday!
My Physical Science teacher always says that every single day! Well, not happy Friday by happy whatever! And it annoys me terribly because his class is not a happy place! Well enough of that stupid stuff, because it is time to get this Challenger officially started!

Even though so far there are only 2 people entered, and only one has a Blog, I think that this challenge will be the best ever! If you still want to enter just go here, and then read all the rules and boring stuff. If you want to know what I will be reading then go here. I am thinking about adding one more book to it because I need to read it because it is due at the library on the 6th! And I am almost done with it too, so it will not be that big of a deal! And can you believe that I finished Before I Fall, Before the Challenge (ha ha Before I fall and Before the Challenge!! that was really poor)

So I am off to work on challenge related stuff and my review page! It is almost done!