Specials by Scott Westerfeld

Specials by Scott Westerfeld
Rating: 3/5 Stars

Will contain spoilers!!!

It pains me to say that I am extremely disappointed by this book. There was a decent amount of action in it but I was still very bored while reading it. I just wasn’t feeling it and I was just reading it so I can finish it faster. There was barely any romance in this book either, which is what I was expecting considering it’s the last book. There was a big question everyone wanted answered, who would Tally choose? Zane or David? But it doesn’t even get answered. Zane dies and she stays with David and they don’t even kiss once in this book. Zanes death was also so unnecessary and it broke my heart.

I have a love/hate relationship with this series. It got confusing at times and Tally annoyed me but I loved the concept of it and some characters. Overall, there were more things I hated than liked in this book but I still enjoyed it. One thing I hate the most is the ending because it was not satisfying. I don’t like how Tally stayed as a Special Circumstance either but whatever. I’ll probably read “Extras” sometime in the future and I heard that Tally appears in that so hopefully I get a little closure from that book.

UnSouled by Neal Shusterman

UnSouled by Neal Shusterman
Rating: 4/5 stars

I have 3 papers due this week so I'm going to keep this one short and to the point.

This is one of those books where you can put it down for a while and when you pick it up again, you get right back into it. When I started this, I honestly forgot a lot of the characters and their storyline but once I started reading their POV chapters, I remembered right away who they were.

I’m not a fan of changing POV chapters but I’m used to it when it comes to the Unwind series. I think it actually helps you keep track of the characters and their storyline since there is so much going on. If there weren’t different POV chapters for this series, I have no idea how it would turn out.

One thing I loved about this book is how Wil is mentioned a lot even though he is gone. I honestly thought he was just going to be in that novella “UnStrung” but he was a big part in this book. If you did not read “UnStrong” but read this, you might be a little confused so I definitely recommend reading that first.

The whole idea behind this series is so disturbing but it is honestly so much better than it sounds. Not my favorite out the series but it is still worth the read. I was planning on this being the last book but I’m so glad Neal decided to make one more because if he ended with this book, it would have been rushed and there would be a lot of unanswered questions. And now, the wait for Undivided begins…

Champion by Marie Lu

Champion by Marie Lu
Rating: 4/5 stars

For some reason, I honestly have no idea what to say for this book so I’m just going to keep this short. Plus, I finished this over a week ago and I forgot what I wanted to originally say. Opps, this is what I get for putting this off.

The reason I started reading this series is because I went the library one day and just picked up a random book that sounded interesting and I’m SO glad that I picked this one. This series is great and will be greatly missed.

This book does not pick up right after Prodigy, it’s about 8/9 months after which was annoying. I usually don’t like books that don’t start right after the previous but it worked with this series. It had a lot of action but at the same, not as much action as the previous books. It had a lot more politics and war, which would get boring and confusing.

Throughout the book I wanted to give it 5 stars but the ending made me give it four. I have mixed emotions about the ending. It felt extremely weak to me. It reminded me a lot of Mockingjay, It wasn’t horrible but it could have been A LOT better. The only thing that made me happy was that Andun and June gave dating a try, even though it doesn’t go into details. I wish there was more of him; I didn’t love him as much as Day but I would have loved to see how him and June were like in a relationship.

Overall, this book was not a disappointment. Marie Lu has really grown as a writer and you see it in this book. I loved all three books, which is surprising because there is usually one book that is not as great as the others. I will miss this series but I am really looking forward to Marie Lu's next series The Young Elites!

Sentinel by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Sentinel by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Rating: 5/5 stars


NOW THAT IS HOW YOU END A BOOK **cough Veronica Roth cough**.  This is such a flawless ending to a series. A little sad and will most likely make you cry but at the same time its reasonable and will make you unbelievably giddy.

I was SO nervous about this book considering it was the last one and there is nothing worse than a disappointing ending in a series that you love. I had a lot of experiences where the last book in a series is so unfair that it puts you off the series but this has such a bittersweet ending. It is SUCH a plot twist and I did not see that coming.

There is a lot of drama when it comes to these books since it is very similar to the Vampire Academy series but I read both series and I actually love this one A LOT more. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Vampire Academy books too, but there is something about these books that is more appealing. Despite the similarities to Vampire Academy, this series has become its own and I love it.

If there's one thing I'm going to miss about this series, it is the characters.
-Aiden. Oh my gods, he might actually be my number one "book boyfriend". Usually there is a least one thing I dislike about a character but I can’t think of a single thing for Aiden.  He is basically everything you want in a man. He is extremely supportive, passionate and love-able. "I just don't want you to feel that way, because I love you. I'm in love with you. Forever and ever, and all the corny things I can attach to that.” SO adorable.
-Alex is probably one of the bravest characters out there, even up until the very end. I admire her so much. She is so strong and she isn't afraid to show that she is scared and to show emotion.
-SETH. Oh my, I am so happy about how he turned out even though it’s not a perfect happy ending. Most readers did not like Seth since the beginning since he’s an ass and especially after everything he put Alex through but I always loved him. I always knew he cared for Alex even though he had a strange way of showing it. You saw in this book how deep his love for Alex is and he would do absolutely ANYTHING for her.

This book has less romance than the other books but I still love it nonetheless. The moments where there is romance involved, it was incredibly sweet. There was a lot more Action that will have you on the edge of your seat. It had a perfect amount of both action and romance.

I really liked Solo’s story about how he got his scar, I did not see that coming and ever since we were first introduced to Solo in the books, I always wondered how he got his scar. I also love how Jennifer brings Caleb back in multiple books, I was heart-broken when he was killed and Alex being able to see him in the underworld makes it less painful. One thing that I’m mostly upset about is that the battle wasn’t that long. I thought that it was going to take up most of the book but it didn’t. It seemed like it just started then you blinked and it was over.

Anything that Jennifer L Armentrout writes is gold in my eyes and Sentinel does not disappoint. This whole book is incredible and I can’t believe it’s over. It is definitely one of my favorite series and I see myself re-reading it in the future.

Allegiant by Veronica Roth

WILL CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS!!!!!

Allegiant by Veronica Roth
Rating: 3/5 Stars

I started this book off with four stars but after thinking about it for a while, I changed it to three, even though it absolutely kills me. I don’t think I can ever write a proper review for this book. I finished this over 2 weeks ago and I still don’t know what to write, so this “review” is just going to be one big rant and I’m sorry.

First of all, the Divergent series is one of my favorites of all time but this book is definitely my least favorite out of the three. The other two books, Divergent and Insurgent, took me no longer than two or three days to finish and this took me over a week. I’m not sure if it was because mentally I didn’t want to finish it or if it was just really boring and not as exciting. I also felt like it was very rushed and that Veronica Roth just wanted to get it done with.

The beginning started out really slow and I was a little confused since they didn’t start off where Insurgent left off. I honestly did not get into the storyline till towards the end. A lot of irrelevant events happened and it had a different vibe from the other two books and I did not like it. I wanted a lot from this book, considering it is the last in the series, but one thing I really wanted but didn’t get was more Peter. Even though he was an absolute horrible person in Divergent, he redeemed himself for me in Insurgent and I started to love him. I wanted Tris and him to become friends or for Peter to admit that he had a crush on her. BUT HE WAS HARDLY IN. None of their friends were in it as much either and that pissed me off. I wanted more Christina too, and Uriah was in it for like 5 seconds than died. How was that even fair?

Caleb is a special snowflake and gets his own little paragraph. Even though he was not there for Tris in Insurgent and basically led her to her death, for some reason I still had a soft spot for Caleb. I knew from the minute Tris suggested that Caleb go into the room, I knew she would go instead. My heart broke a little when he let her go. I don't think he will ever recover from that but a part of me still wishes that Caleb been the big brother he should have been and went instead.

I loved the romance. I saw a lot of negative things about both Tris and Tobias and how they were both annoying in this book but I didn’t mind the fighting, even though it was frustrating at the time. The fighting made it seem more realistic and I loved seeing them get through the rough parts together. With all the fighting,  you see that they truly love each other and can get through anything.

The ending is what the hype of this book is about. I honestly saw something like this coming, especially since they did the deed, but I still cried. A LOT. I did not agree with the ending but I respect it. It was a bold move to end it that way because Veronica knew she would most likely get hate for it and it was not like every other Dystopian novel where the main characters get together in the end. It was nice to switch it up even though it killed a part of my soul.

I wanted to love this book with all my heart but it just didn’t happen for me. This book wasn’t her best but I will still read anything Veronica Roth writes. Divergent will forever be one of my favorite series, even with that heart-breaking ending.

Egghead

Egghead by Bo Burnham

Rating: 4/5 stars

Finished reading: October 22, 2013

If it weren’t for the fact that Bo Burnham wrote this, I probably would have never read it. I don’t read much poetry but this was great. This is such a witty and hilarious read and the drawings are great. Not only were most of his poems hilarious, some were adorable that would make you grin from ear to ear. Even if you're not a fan of poetry, I would recommend picking this book up.

One of my favorite poems from this book is
“I love you just the way you are
but you don’t see you like I do.
You shouldn’t try to be perfect.
Trust me, perfect should try to be you.”

Destroy Me

Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi
Rating: 4/5 stars
Finished reading: October 20, 2013

Destroy Me is a novella told in Warner’s POV right after he was shot in Shatter Me. In the first book, most people didn’t like Warner but there was always something about him that I liked for some reason. You can tell he always thought he was doing right thing and actually cared for Juliette in his own sadistic way. After reading this, you see that he really does love her, more than anything else.

This book gives you a glimpse into Warner’s head and will probably make you fall in love with him. Everything you thought about him will change because there is so much more to him than he lets on. Warner’s “obsession” with Juliette runs very deep and in this novella you get to see why. You get to see his relationship with his brutal father and the reasons why he is the way he is.

There is nothing more frustrating than a love triangle, especially since Adam is perfect, sweet and everything you want in a man. This novella will definitely make you think twice about whom you ship with Juliette. Overall, this book will change the way you look at Warner and will even make you feel bad for him. It is an amazing follow up to Shatter Me.

Wallbanger

Wallbanger by Alice Clayton
Rating: 3.7/5
Finished reading: October 18, 2013.

Caroline Reynolds has a fantastic new apartment in San Francisco and she has a successful interior design career but she is missing her “O”. On the first night at her first apartment she is awaken by thumps on the wall and this goes on for 3 nights and each night gets weirder. A couple weeks later, it happens again and she gets furious when she is woken up and goes over and banged on his door till he answered. It’s pretty basic from here, they obviously feel some kind of connection when they meet, and the rest of the story is them starting off with a truce when they meet unexpectedly at a party, becoming friends and obviously eventually falling for each other. Within the story you also get to know Caroline’s friends, cat and even Simon’s friends.

After a stressful week, I wanted to read a book that was fun and quick. Going off the cover and title of this book, I thought I was going to hate it but based on the reviews, everyone said it was hilarious and a fast read so I thought I would give it a try. It actually wasn’t as horrible as I thought it would be. I thought it was going to be like another 50 Shades of Grey but it wasn’t even close, it was completely different from what I thought it would be about. There were things I liked and disliked about it.

One thing I love is how the all the characters are so easy to love; I surprisingly didn’t hate any of them. Simon was especially very swoon-worthy. I liked his old school music choices, how much he loved Caroline’s baking and that wherever he traveled he collected bottles of sand from the beaches.  The banter between the characters was great and I loved the slow romance and how they didn’t get into a relationship right away. Another thing I loved is Caroline’s cat and I’m not even a cat person! His involvement in the story was great and creative.

One small thing that annoyed the hell out of me was how Caroline would always be slapping him, flicking his ear, pointing her finger at him, ruffling his hair etc. Another was the “O” thing. I’m not even going to get into this but I know it was supposed to be funny but it was just annoying and strange. “I think O even popped her head up for a moment, like a groundhog. She took a quick glance around and pronounced it much closer to spring than she’d been in months” So. Weird.  She also personified her nerves, vagina, brain, etc. which made me cringe.

Overall, this book was perfect for a quick enjoyable read. I liked it a lot. It was hilarious, drama-free, sexy, light and I had a giant grin on my face the entire time I was reading it. It was easy to get into and it flowed easily. I definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a fun light read.

“Always take a compliment. Always take it the way it was intended. You girls are always quick to twist what others say. Simply say “thank you” and move on.” – probably one of the lines I would always remember from this book.

The House of Hades

The House of Hades by Rick Riordan

Rating: 5/5 stars.

Finished reading: October 15, 2013.

Just a heads up, I’m not going to do a description of the book and IT WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!

       The House of Hades is the fourth book in The Heroes of Olympus series. The third book, The Mark of Athena, leaves off with Percy and Annabeth falling into the Tartarus so the year long wait for this book was absolute torture. On the first page of the book, there is a little message from the author Rick “To my wonderful readers: Sorry about that last cliff-hanger. Well, no, not really. HAHAHAHA. But seriously, I love you guys.” I knew right then I was going to love this book. There is no slow start to this book; you are thrown right into action. Of course everyone wanted the first chapter to be in Annabeth’s or Percy’s POV but it wasn’t. That frustrated me so much, the readers waited a year to see what happened to Annabeth and Percy but nope, we get Hazel’s POV first but nonetheless it was great.

       I don’t think I ever rated a Rick Riordan book lower than 5 stars and if I did, it was no lower than 4. They are all brilliant and once you start reading, you won’t be able to put it down. Sometimes changing POV’s can be very confusing and annoying in a book but I like that Rick made the characters POV for a few chapters and not just one, it made it flow better. I also LOVE how he brought in old characters and flashbacks from the Percy Jackson series. I literally forgot all about Bob, Calypso and the empousa. They even mentioned Clarisse and a scene from The Demigod Diaries! With all those flashbacks and old characters coming back, it made me miss the Percy Jackson series so much more. I feel like since the final Heroes of Olympus book is coming out in a year, Rick is going down memory lane so we can officially start saying goodbye to Percy and Annabeth. The thought of this makes my heart hurt. And that little glimpse of Grover and Rachel was great and such a tease, I hope we see more of them in the final book.

       There is SO much character development! You get to see a whole new side of each character. Rick somehow made me love the characters even more. If there was a character you were not fond of in the other books, you most likely start liking them in this book.  

Hazel: She is learning more about her powers, especially her newfound magic. She is becoming much more powerful and clever. 

Piper: Ahhh Piper is not her usual annoying self and obsessing over Jason. She didn’t have that many chapters but with the chapters she had, she was great. She proved her worth for the team and she is much braver and stronger.

Leo: He has matured the most and I love him even more. Yes, he is still his hilarious self but at the same time you can see how much he changed. His newfound love surprised me so much; it literally came out of nowhere! I can’t help but think that this is going to end badly for him, seriously who falls in love with someone who is immortal? But I trust Rick with this insane plot twist and I hope Leo gets a happy ending.

Frank: He is FINALLY accepting who he is and has probably the biggest character development out of all of them. He is no longer hiding the piece of wood that could kill him and that is such a bold move for him and it must have taken a lot of strength to do that. He is much more confident and sees himself as a leader and not as baggage for the group.

Jason: I don’t have much to say about Jason but I love how he supported Nico’s secret. He opens up more and now realizes where he truly belongs.

Percy and Annabeth: They get their own paragraph because their relationship in this book is heartwarming. Their romance never overshadowed the story and you see their dedication to each other and how they wouldn’t be able to survive Tartarus without each other. Everyone loves Percabeth but you see sides of them you never seen before. You get to see Percy’s darker side and how vulnerable he is and Annabeth is still clever, brave and a kick-ass heroine but you still see her guilt for Luke and how much it still hurts her.

Nico: He is not part of the seven, it’s hard to remember that he’s not since he is very important to the story, but he gets his own paragraph because he is that special. I have the biggest soft spot when it comes to Nico. One of the biggest plot twists that I thought was in the book was that (spoiler!!!) Nico had a crush on Percy while everyone thought he had a thing for Annabeth. I did NOT seeing that coming. Also, it was a bold move for Rick to make a character gay in a children’s book but I love him even more for it. Nico is one of my favorite characters and seeing him through all that pain kills me. All I want for when this series is over is for Nico to be happy.

       This book has a lot of action, once you pick it up you will not be able to put it down. It’s a roller-coaster ride of emotion and twists. It is much more darker than any other book Rick has written but at the same time there is a perfect amount of humor and romance and you will not be disappointed by it. I’m used to waiting for Rick Riordan books so maybe the year long wait for the next book won't be horrible, especially since there wasn’t a giant cliffhanger but either way, I can’t wait for the next book even though it is the final book in the series and I don't want to see it end.

The Evolution of Mara Dyer

The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
Rating: 4/5 stars.
Finished reading: October 10, 2013.

This is my first review on this blog. Hopefully it's decent and I don't sound like I have no idea what i'm talking about..

     The Evolution of Mara Dyer is the sequel in the “Mara Dyer” series. Michelle Hodkin is very talented; her writing is both beautiful and haunting. The book mainly picks up right where the first book leaves off and Mara Dyer is in an psychiatric unit. But is she really crazy? Did she really see her dead ex-boyfriend Jude? Mara no longer goes to Croyden but is put into a Horizons Outpatient Program and goes there 5 times a week. Throughout the book, Mara notices that things in her house are either going missing or appearing somewhere else. Mara is even having blackouts, flashbacks, sleepwalking, forgetting things, etc. We find out more about her grandmother and find out that her and Mara might have something in common. There are surprising plot twists, a scary stalking ex-boyfriend, and intense moments that will keep you on your toes. The book ends with a cliffhanger that leaves readers in a state of shock.
     I was very hesitant about starting this book; even though I thought the first book was good, I still found it so creepy that I got a bad vibe with it. I didn’t want to go through all those crazy emotions again and I knew that the sequel was going to be even creepier. I wasn’t expecting a lot out of this book but this was surprisingly really great and it would keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time. This book was MUCH creepier than the first one, as I predicted; at times this book was so scary I had to stop reading and wait till it was daylight outside. One thing that actually scared me the most, aside from Jude, was the fact that people thought Mara was crazy but no one, except Noah, would believe her. The thought of that happening to anybody is horrifying. I love how Mara didn't give up even though she was so fragile on the inside and that her own family didn’t trust her with anything.
     The romance in this book is incredible. “If I were to live a thousand years, I would belong to you for all of them. If we were to live a thousand lives, I would want to make you mine in each one” SWOON. Noah Shaw is an absolute babe in this book. In the first book, Noah is just a rich guy, who is cocky and sleeps with a lot of girls and out of nowhere he and Mara are in love. In this sequel, you see their relationship grow and he is totally dedicated to Mara. No matter what Mara said/did, he was by her side through all of it. You see that he actually really cares about her.
     I have a love/hate relationship with her family. I loved how her family, especially her mom, cares about Mara. It is very realistic; in other books, parents seem to disappear most of the time. But at the same time, it annoyed me so much how no one in her family would believe her and would watch her, just waiting for her to say something that would consider her “crazy”. The only people in her family that didn’t bother me were her brothers. I absolutely love Daniel, every girl wants a brother like him, and Joseph is so innocent and adorable when he is with Noah.
     Overall, this book gets a little confusing and complex at times but in the end it is great and worth the read. The only downside is that both books gave me so much anxiety, this book especially. Reading this book during midterm week at school was a bad idea. My emotions were everywhere! The wait for the next book is torture and I am defiantly going to start reading it the day it comes out.

Clare xx

Hello!

I've been wanting to make this blog for a while now but never got around to it until someone suggested that I should make one. Since I read a lot, I decided that I should post reviews here, books I buy, etc. I don't usually review books because I am very lazy, I just want to start a new book right away and I am horrible when it comes to writing reviews but if I do review a book it is usually short and sweet. I want to change this. I am going to attempt to write legit reviews that will help other people decide weather or not to read a certain book. Reading reviews helped me discover so many books that I love and I want other people to discover new books to love too. I probably won't post reviews on pervious books I read, because I like reviewing a book right after I finish. But maybe on a rainy day, i'll review an old book I remember well.

I will also be posting my reviews on goodreads.

Clare xx