Origin by Jenniger L. Armentrout

Title: Origin

Series: Lux Series #4

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Date Published: August 27, 2013

Genre: YA fiction, sci-fi, supernatural, action

Pages: 400 (paperback)

Age Range: 13+



Summary


Daemon will do anything to get Katy back.
 

After the successful but disastrous raid on Mount Weather, he’s facing the impossible. Katy is gone. Taken. Everything becomes about finding her. Taking out anyone who stands in his way? Done. Burning down the whole world to save her? Gladly. Exposing his alien race to the world? With pleasure.

All Katy can do is survive. 

Surrounded by enemies, the only way she can come out of this is to adapt. After all, there are sides of Daedalus that don’t seem entirely crazy, but the group’s goals are frightening and the truths they speak even more disturbing. Who are the real bad guys? Daedalus? Mankind? Or the Luxen?

Together, they can face anything.  

But the most dangerous foe has been there all along, and when the truths are exposed and the lies come crumbling down, which side will Daemon and Katy be standing on? And will they even be together?

Review


Aaaand we're back to cheesy book covers *fake applause* This is a book cover Daemon would make fun of. I can picture him cracking jokes about the guy being shirtless, and--ironically--Daemon is on the cover...shirtless! I poke fun at the covers for this series but I really do feel like they go with the series. The covers are very fitting, in a good way!

Now, let's get down to it.

Let's get all of the boring stuff out of the way first. The writing was amazing, as usual! I think this book was more intense than the others! It was action-packed from beginning to the end! Once I started, I could not put it down! I can't believe I ever put this series on my "paused" shelf, but I'm glad I'm finishing it now! 

The last book (Opal) left off with a major cliff-hanger where Katy is captured by Daedalus. Things are intense from the moment you pick up this book. Katy is scared, fierce, and unsure of how exactly things are going to play out. She fights back against the people that are holding her there and refuses to cooperate from day-one!

Meanwhile, Daemon is locked up as well. But that only lasts for a few pages because he's awesome and manages to break out of the place so he can go find Kat. He ends up giving himself over to Daedalus and makes a deal with the groups evil leader, Nancy, in order to see Kat. As soon as he gets there, Kat is happy and relieved, but, at the same time, totally horrified that he's turned himself over and is deciding to go through this with her.

Not long after their little reunion, Daedalus start their experiments. A lot of things are revealed that I wasn't expecting and there's a lot of terrible deaths involved.

This book was fun even when things were supposed to be series. I feel like Daemon's sense of humor helped ease some of Katy's tension while they were in Daedalus. I think there were only 2 things that kept Kat from breaking down sooner.
1. Daemon's presence and not wanting him to see her lose it. She wanted to stay strong for him.
2. She didn't want to give Daedalus's the satisfaction of seeing her break down.

I could feel that Katy got stronger in this book. Physically and mentally, she grew as a character. I also loved reading from Daemon's perspective. I really enjoyed reading from both their point-of-views!

We had a bunch of new characters introduced but my favorite has to be Archer. I find Archer very intriguing and I can't wait to see what else he brings to the table. I feel like he will be a big asset in the next book. Which, I'm downloading to my iPad right now. As I type this. And I'm going to start reading it right after I finish this review...It's done downloading so.....BYE

4.5 STARS

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Oblivion by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: Oblivion

Series: Lux series #1.5

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Date Published: December 1, 2015

Genre: YA fiction, romance, sci-fi, action, supernatural

Pages: 352 (paperback)

Age Range: 13+


Summary

Experience the epic love story of OBSIDIAN as told by its hero, Daemon Black…
 
I knew the moment Katy Swartz moved in next door, there was going to be trouble. Lots of it.
And trouble’s the last thing I need, since I’m not exactly from around here. My people arrived on Earth from Lux, a planet thirteen billion light years away. Plus, if there’s one thing I know, it’s that humans can’t be trusted. We scare them. We can do things they only dream about, and honestly, we make them look weak as hell. ‘Cuz they are.

But Kat is getting to me in ways no one else has, and I can't stop myself from wanting her—or wanting to use my powers to protect her. She makes me weak, and I’m the strongest of our kind, tasked with protecting us all. So this one simple girl…she can mean the end for us. Because the Luxen have an even bigger enemy—the Arum, and I need to stay on my game.

Falling for Katy—a human—won't just place her in danger. It could get us all killed, and that’s one thing I’ll never let happen...


Review


This series is keeping to the cheesy/fun book cover theme and like it! The cover actually reminds me of one of the book covers Daemon was teasing Kat about.

It was great reading--basically--Obsidian from Daemon's perspective. It answered a lot of questions I had while reading Obsidian. Now I know he's not such a jerk. He did what he had to do, even though he had crazy mood swings. He really did like Kat from the start and tried to do right by her by trying to keep her away. He went about it the wrong way (by being a total jerk face half the time) but he felt like he needed to drive her away so I can understand to an extent. Yet he couldn't keep from being pulled toward her.

Reading from Daemon's POV was very steamy...and shocking a few times. I wasn't expecting a few things to happen but...it was good otherwise lol. I was reading from a guy's POV so I guess such things should be expected (totally kidding lol).

I still love Daemon and Katy's banter. It's cute and, now that I've read from Daemon's point-of-view, I know they both really did genuinely care about each other during the first book. It wasn't one-sided on Kat's side, and it almost happened immediately. Daemon was drawn to Katy just like Katy was drawn to Daemon.

Daemon's arrogance might aggravate you a few times (or possibly more than a few) and the way he reacts to Katy sometimes is upsetting because he's reacting the wrong way for the right reasons. 

This is a rather short review but it's because I've already reviewed Obsidian so I don't feel the need to talk about the characters. The writing was good, naturally. Armentrout always writes spunky-fun and steamy books and writes them beautifully. Daemon and Katy always make me laugh. If you're a fan of the Lux series, I would recommend picking up this book. It will answer any questions that you had while reading the first book from Katy's perspective and it was very enjoyable and fast read.

Though, I will admit that I was hoping for a little more action and insight to Daemon's life and the Luxen. Didn't really get much outside of what we originally read in Obsidian. 

So, I haven't finished the rest of the books in the Lux series BUT I'M GOING TO NOW. I have 2 books left to read but now I'm back into it and excited to get my hands on them!

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Forsown by Emily Wibberley

Title: Forsworn

Series: The Last Oracle #2

Author: Emily Wibberley

Publisher: CreateSpace Publishing

Date Published: June 27, 2015

Genre: YA fiction, romance, action, thriller, fantasy, paranormal, suspense, mythology

Pages: 410 (paperback)

Age Range: 12+



Summary


Clio can see the future, but what she doesn't know about her past could destroy her.

It's been a year since Clio made her sacrifice to the Deities and embraced her destiny as the Oracle to save her people.

The only family she has left is a brother who wants her dead.
The prince, her oldest friend, is a king with his own agenda.
And the man who once loved her, now hates her.

All she can do is try to forget about Riece, the enemy commander whose heart she broke to save his life, as she serves the Deities. Her days are filled with Visions and bloodshed in a never-ending war against the Untouched. To add to her problems, she must pose as King Derik's mistress to conceal her forbidden powers from the Emperor's spies.

When Riece unexpectedly returns to Sheehan with a new and beautiful ally, Clio knows she must put him out of her mind once and for all, but first, they are thrust together into battle against a mysterious Untouched warrior with otherworldly power.

To reclaim her city, she must team up with the man she hurt, the man she still loves but can never be with, and finally confront the questions about her origin-questions with answers that Clio may not be prepared to face.


Review


This cover looks better in person than it does online! I think it's one of the coolest book covers on my shelf!

I bought the book without reading the summary because I was just too excited about getting it. I read the summary when it came in and was shocked to find that the book is set a year after ending of the first book (Sacrificed). I immediately started panicking because that meant that Clio hadn't seen Riece in a year and that was not okay for me.

And, speaking of Riece, let's focus on him for a second.
He's brave, strong, and muscular yet he's very loving and soft. When I started reading the book, I was a little pout-y because all I wanted was for Riece to show up again. I wanted things to be okay between him and Clio again. But Clio clearly didn't want that. As soon as he showed up and she laid eyes on him, Clio's emotions came back in a wave. It was wonderful! The sight of him made her feel faint and breathless and shaky. It was a good way to bring Riece back into the story.

But then! SPOILER AHEAD! But then you find out that Riece is traveling with someone else. A woman. And she is engaged to Riece. I immediately wanted her dead lol. I was not okay with that. Not okay at all. SPOILER END.

There were a few new characters as well. Clio took on Vessels to help her protect Sheehan.

The parts between Derik and Clio and Riece were hilarious to read about! I loved it every time they were in a room together because, even when they weren't saying anything, you could feel the tension! It was so...ugh! You could feel that Clio wanted to open up to him but wouldn't let herself because of what she Saw. But also Derik knew that Clio wanted to be with Riece but knew the reasons why she couldn't. And then Riece has no idea that Clio still loves him and doesn't know that the reason she really left him is because she Saw that he was going to die, so he hates her because he thinks she used him! It was so frustrating and exciting at the same time!  

The only downfall I saw in this book was that Riece and Clio didn't have enough romantic scenes. I know why; I understand. They are both stubborn and Riece has a fiance now but I mean...C'mon! I waited very patiently and I didn't get much in return! I mean, there were a bunch of parts of them talking/fighting and then, later, kissing and sharing moments but it wasn't enough.
 There better be some steamy scenes in the third book, Emily Wibberley, because this book was a tease. 

QUICK SPOILER; BEWARE
OH! When Derik finally showed up toward the end of the book, I almost screamed because I knew that he had been marked by Daizon! I was on the edge of my seat during the ending, when they were battling at Sheehan! So thrilling and so exciting! OKAY; NO MORE SPOILER.

Emily Wibberley certainly takes you on an action-packed story that has many twists and turns that you don't see coming. I'm never sure about what's going to happen next! I'm not sure what has me so drawn in, whether it's the characters, the story, or the setting, or all of it! I'm just not sure but I love it and I can't wait for the third book!

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Sacrificed by Emily Wibberley

Title: Sacrificed

Series: The Last Oracle #1

Author: Emily Wibberley

Publisher: CreateSpace Publishing

Date Published: January 5, 2015

Genre: YA fiction, romance, action, thriller, fantasy, paranormal, suspense, mythology

Pages: 350 (paperback)




Summary


Knowing the future can save her city - but not her heart.

Born to serve the merciless Oracle, Clio wants nothing more than to break free. But when her entire family is murdered by Mannix, the king's adviser, Clio inherits the Oracle's power, a power she never wanted and doesn't understand.

Hunted by Mannix, Clio is forced to flee her home in Sheehan and seek refuge in a foreign city where oracles are forbidden. If she's found out, she will be sacrificed atop its great pyramid.

Clio has no choice but to win the trust of Riece, an enemy warrior. Despite the undeniable attraction between them, Clio knows that if he finds out who she really is, he won't hesitate to execute her.
Clio tries to hide her budding powers, but the Visions she keeps having of Mannix and his barbarian army slaughtering her people torture her conscience. She alone has the strength and foresight to stop him, but only if she can embrace her destiny and sacrifice everything.


Review


This book caught my interest from the very beginning! The summary sounded good so I decided to give it a try, and ended up loving the book just as much as its synopsis! The cool book cover also caught my interest.

The writing was good, not amazing but pretty great. The characters were...genius! Riece is sexy and enticing and mysterious; yet open. Clio is tough, smart, and daring. And Mannix is evil beyond a doubt.

Derik is pretty nice too but he wasn't in the book very much so there wasn't much time to get a feel for who he was. I actually thought he was secretly siding with Mannix for a while, and was intending to betray Clio. That did not happen, thank goodness! Because now book two will have a very interesting love triangle (that, at the same time, isn't really a love triangle because Clio considers Derik as family).

I really liked how Clio grew up so dramatically. It's always refreshing to read about a character that evolves so strongly. I felt really sad for her in the beginning even though I knew what was going to happen to her family. I felt like the author captured Clio's pain pretty well considering that she didn't have a strong bond with her family. Clio cared about her family and grieved for them but it wasn't overdone.

Mannix. Everything about him was amazing! He was such a good villain! There was one thing about him that I hadn't seen coming though 
(SPOILER AHEAD)...that he was Clio's sister!! I was totally caught off guard with that one! I figured he was an Untouched but I wasn't sure how since he still had his tongue. This detail was very believable for this book.

SPOILER FREE ZONE

The last 50 pages or so were so action-packed!! The whole book is pretty action-packed but the last pages had me on the edge of my seat! I could not put it down!
I am pretty excited about reading the sequel soon because I really want to know what will happen between Riece and Clio, Clio and Derik, and Mannix and Clio. I need answers!!! Where did Mannix go? What is he going to plan next? Will Clio go back for Riece? Will Riece take Clio after everything she said to him to drive him away? Will Derik make a move for Clio now that Riece is sort of out of the picture?
So many questions!! And I really need answers! 

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None Of The Above by I.W. Gregorio

 Title: None Of The Above

 Author: I. W. Gregorio

 Publisher: Balzer + Bray

 Date Published: April 7th, 2015

 Genre: Contemporary

 Pages: 352

 Age Range: 15+







                                                                       Summary:

     What if everything you knew about yourself changed in an instant?

     When Kristin Lattimer is voted homecoming queen, it seems like another piece of her ideal life has fallen into place. She's a champion hurdler with a full scholarship to college and she's madly in love with her boyfriend. In fact, she's decided that she's ready to take things to the next level with him.

     But Kristin's first time isn't the perfect moment she's planned—something is very wrong. A visit to the doctor reveals the truth: Kristin is intersex, which means that though she outwardly looks like a girl, she has male chromosomes, not to mention boy "parts."

     Dealing with her body is difficult enough, but when her diagnosis is leaked to the whole school, Kristin's entire identity is thrown into question. As her world unravels, can she come to terms with her new self?

                                                                         Review:

      I've been reading hyped up books lately because I feel so behind of the times, and this book is no exception. But, I LOVED this book. And it's kind of rare that I love hyped books so much. To prove my point, my average rating on Goodreads is a 3.21, and I've reviewed over 300 books. I'm a tough reviewer, but this book did everything right for me. This book really made me think though, about gender and what it means, and I appreciate that.
      The book opens with a nice scene between Kristin and her boyfriend, Sam. Honestly, I thought that their relationship was kind of perfect, at least in the beginning. Their relationship seemed to be mutual, healthy, loving, respectful, and all the positive things that come from true love. I opened the book with fuzzy feels, but those vanished in a matter of chapters. Pretty soon into the book, Kristin finds out that she is intersex, and then stuff hits the fan. The pacing of the book always moved pretty quickly, except for a few necessary moments where the story stalled a bit to let things sink in not only for the reader, but for Kristin.
     I truly felt for Kristin. I felt physical pain at her plight, and I was near tears in some parts. Her plight was so real and the consequences so cruel, yet realistic, that I was left reeling. At some points, when Kristin reached out for help, I cheered her on, and when she was in her lowest parts, I just wanted to give her a huge hug. Obviously, I loved Kristin's plight and her character, but I also really loved Darren's character. Throughout the whole book, he was very caring and sweet and I just really liked him and his support. I also greatly appreciated Gretchen and her presence- she was in the book just enough, and she was perfect! Pretty much everyone else I disliked. Faith, I could understand why she did what she did, but it doesn't mean that I have to like her. Vee, Sam, and the other slew of bullies, I despised. But in a good way. They were the perfect villains.
      All told, I loved this book, and I hope that I. W. Gregorio writes again. Although, she is a surgeon, so she's just a lil' busy.


                                             

The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp

 Title: The Spectacular Now

 Author: Tim Tharp

 Publisher: Ember

 Date Published: July 9th, 2013

 Genre: Conteporary

 Pages: 304 (Paperback)

 Age Range: 16+

                                                                           Summary:

     SUTTER KEELY. HE’S the guy you want at your party. He’ll get everyone dancing. He’ ll get everyone in your parents’ pool. Okay, so he’s not exactly a shining academic star. He has no plans for college and will probably end up folding men’s shirts for a living. But there are plenty of ladies in town, and with the help of Dean Martin and Seagram’s V.O., life’s pretty fabuloso, actually.

Until the morning he wakes up on a random front lawn, and he meets Aimee. Aimee’s clueless. Aimee is a social disaster. Aimee needs help, and it’s up to the Sutterman to show Aimee a splendiferous time and then let her go forth and prosper. But Aimee’s not like other girls, and before long he’s in way over his head. For the first time in his life, he has the power to make a difference in someone else’s life—or ruin it forever.

                                                                            Review:

     There are very few books that I read where I need a few more chapters, or at least an epilogue if not another entire book. The Spectacular Now is one of those rare little gems. It was very real, raw, and poignant- a painful read about a subject that really shouldn't be so painful to read about. So few books make me cry, and shake my fist, and pull out my hair, and cry some more, but the Spectacular Now made me do all of those things.

     First, the characters were incredibly flawed. Sutter Keely really is a good guy at heart, but he is a terrible alcoholic. I have never read a book that had so much alcohol in it before. Now the thing is, in YA, alcohol is usually presented at parties and in kegs. In the book, the alcohol was a very main element. Usually alcohol is portrayed in a negative light, girls get drunk and go off with strange men, boys trash the house and say things they shouldn't have. Through this all, alcohol is portrayed as a bad thing while it truly isn't. The people abusing the alcohol are the real problems,and this book kind of gently delves to the root of that.
     Amy is introduced as Sutter's opposite, and she never really stops being his opposite. He's a fun-loving guy, knows everyone, wants to a lot of people, etc. But Amy is much more reserved and quiet. It was fun to watch Sutter pry apart Amy's shell and watch her really come into her own. She was a girl that everyone can relate to,and I liked her character a lot.
     Now, as the book progresses, Amy falls into a downward spiral. She spins from being this straight-laced, uptight girl, to letting loose way too much. I really liked Sutter's character, but his character pulled Amy to be more like him in his attempt to help her. Then, he realized what he had done, and that miserable excuse for an ending came by.
     This book actually made me hurt in many ways. I hurt for Amy and Sutter's positions at first, and then I really did feel for Sutter. When he lost his job, my heart broke into a million pieces, and the ending made me cry a little bit. I loved the openness of the ending, and the overall feel because it just fit with the book, but I didn't like how everything wasn't perfectly resolved.
     I really wanted this book to end with a happily ever after (that doesn't happen too often), but instead I was left with an ending that made my heart hurt, and my eyes leak. I would definitely read this again, and since the movie has Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller, I will be watching it very soon!

                                     

Uninvited and Unleashed by Sophie Jordan

 Title: Uninvited

 Author: Sophie Jordan

 Series: Uninvited Series #1

 Publisher: HarperTeen

 Date Published: January 28, 2014

 Genre: Dystopian, Romance

 Pages: 384 (Hardcover)

 Age Range: 14+






                                                                    Summary:

     Davy had everything—a terrific boyfriend, the homecoming crown, a bright future at Julliard—but when her genetic tests come back positive for Homicidal Tendency Syndrome, she loses it all. Uninvited from her prestigious school, avoided by her friends and family, she is placed in a special class with other "carriers" who are treated like the murderers they someday might become.

     Only Sean, a fellow HTS carrier, can relate to her new life and tells her that she alone controls her actions—not the code embedded into her DNA. But even if she can learn to trust him, can Davy trust herself?

                                                                      Review:

     Sophie Jordan is coming to my town, so I just had to read a book by her before I get a book signed. I had some pretty average expectations for this book. I was expecting a pretty interesting plot, some meh characters, and a killer cliffhanger that would make me want to kill someone to have the next book. I waltzed into this story only having read the flap, and that is the best way to go into this book- knowing nothing. Now is where I say that this book went beyond what I had imagined. It was surprisingly good, and it left me thinking. That being said, the book fell flat at the same time.

     One way that the book fell short in my opinion was that things moved very erratically. At first things start chugging along, and then things slow down drastically before they pick up again. Besides the erratic pace, I didn't like some of the characters. Tori felt like a completely random, unnecessary character just used as a plot device. Zac, I just despised- I never really liked him; his affection always seemed stilted. I disliked the ending of this book too. This book did NOT need to be a duology! This book could have easily been a slightly longer standalone. In fact, I would've liked the book better if everything had been resolved in this installment.

     Besides those rather small issues, I really did like this book. I LOVED Sean. Oh my, goodness gracious. Yes, he was cliche, and yes, there was instalove. HOWEVER, he was so sweet, and a bad-boy which I love. I also really liked Davy herself. She wasn't anything super special, but she fit perfectly into the story. I REALLY, REALLY wanted to read more about Mitchell. He was so funny, sarcastic, and I really wanted to wanted to see some more depth on his part. Honestly, I just wanted a lot more of Mitchell. I enjoyed meeting Sabine and Gil, but I hoped that they would get together.
     The near-ending was... interesting. For awhile, it looked like we would have a promising, open-ended ending. Instead, we had... the ending that we did. I really was praying that this book would end in one book, but of course it couldn't! Goodness gracious.





Title: Unleashed

Author: Sophie Jordan

Series: Uninvited Series #2

Publisher: HarperTeen

Date Published: February 24, 2015

Genre: Dystopian

Pages: 368 (Hardcover)

Age Range: 14+




                                                                       Summary:

     Davy has spent the last few months trying to come to terms with the fact that she tested positive for the kill gene HTS (also known as Homicidal Tendency Syndrome). She swore she would not let it change her, and that her DNA did not define her . . . but then she killed a man.

     Now on the run, Davy must decide whether she'll be ruled by the kill gene, or if she'll follow her heart and fight for her right to live free. But with her own potential for violence laying right beneath the surface, Davy doesn't even know if she can trust herself.

                                                                         Review:

     Honestly, this book was not necessary. At all. Now that I have read it, I can definitely say that this book adds very little to the story. I am very upset that this book is so bad, especially since I loved the first one so much.

     This book totally ruined what we built in the first one. Whatever we built with Sean became a problem after it wasn't a problem in the first book. And then, Sophie Jordan cruelly throws this new guy in here.. that I also love. WHY YOU DO THIS TO ME?!?! This book is both more boring, and more action-y than the first one. At times, I wanted to blow something up to make something- anything- happen. And other times, I was panting.

     Davy didn't change very much in this installment. She became a bit tougher, and she became more brutal, but- if anything- she made some steps backwards. We meet some new characters, and not a whole lot of them stick out to me. I did love Junie, even what ended up happening to her. Besides her, the only other character that I can really remember is Tabatha. And I felt very... meh towards her. Then, my favorite character is Caden. He was wonderful, and I was severely torn about this whole Sean vs. Caden thing.

     The plot thing with Sabine and Sean was... wow. Just wow. I was really angry because we never got to see what ended up playing out with Sean and Sabine and Gil while Davy was gone. The letter that Gil sent Davy at the end had me tearing up a little because, letters man. They always kill me.

     Overall, I would give this series four stars. The first book was so much better than the second, but they were both pretty decent.

                                       

Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken

Title: Never Fade

Series: The Darkest Minds series #2

Author: Alexandra Bracken

Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Date Published: September 30, 2014

Genre: YA fiction, romance, action, thriller, fantasy, adventure, sci-fi

Pages: 544 (paperback)

Age Range: 13+




Summary


Ruby never asked for the abilities that almost cost her her life. Now she must call upon them on a daily basis, leading dangerous missions to bring down a corrupt government and breaking into the minds of her enemies. Other kids in the Children's League call Ruby "Leader", but she knows what she really is: a monster.

When Ruby is entrusted with an explosive secret, she must embark on her most dangerous mission yet: leaving the Children's League behind. Crucial information about the disease that killed most of America's children-and turned Ruby and the others who lived into feared and hated outcasts-has survived every attempt to destroy it. But the truth is only saved in one place: a flashdrive in the hands of Liam Stewart, the boy Ruby once believed was her future-and who now wouldn't recognize her.

As Ruby sets out across a desperate, lawless country to find Liam-and answers about the catastrophe that has ripped both her life and America apart-she is torn between old friends and the promise she made to serve the League. Ruby will do anything to protect the people she loves. But what if winning the war means losing herself?


Review


In the beginning, I couldn't really get into it. Because I was looking for Liam. All I wanted was to find Liam! I didn't care about anything else. But then I started to get to know the new characters. 

I love the new characters! Vida is so badass and snarky that I really liked her, even though everyone kinda hates her (just a little) because of how annoying and obnoxious she is. I thought it was great. I want her blue hair! 

Nico wasn't really in the story so I don't have much to say about him, except, "Why didn't he keep up with Jude at the end of the book??"

Jude was my absolute favorite character in this book! I liked how he wasn't as brave, or sure of himself as we've seen with the other characters. He's not naive and is serious when struck with a serious situation, like when he saved Ruby and all the others from Michael and his gang. I thought he was really, really sweet...*sob*

I'm sorry but there are going to be spoilers because I just can't keep this bottled up (it's unhealthy).

WARNING: SPOILERS! AND TEARS

JUUUUUUUUUUDE WHYYYYYYY!!? WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE JUDE?? SOMEONE SHOULD HAVE SAVED JUDE! WHY DID HE HAVE TO DIE!?

When the place blew up and everyone assumed Clancy would die down there, I was like "Okay, at least something good came out of the League building collapsing and killing my favorite character...kinda"
10 pages later. "WHAT?"

SPOILER SECTION OVER

Okay...sorry, I just--I just couldn't keep it inside any longer....Whyyyyyyy????

I liked watching Ruby's powers grow, even though it got out of hand. I hated Knox. He made me really mad, so I was happy when he was out of the picture. Bye bye Knox. Bye bye Rob.

I was upset and panicking when they finally found Liam, but I was super, super happy to have him back! The only problem...His memories. He doesn't remember Ruby and, after seeing what she'd done to her parents and Sam, I was worried it would be hard for him to get his memories back, or that he wouldn't at all.

WARNING: SPOILERS AGAIN
 
When Liam got his memories back...I was so so so happy. It was such an intimate moment. It felt like I could really feel his panic and confusion. He was distraught that Ruby had done this to him. He'd trusted her! He never thought she would use her powers against him in order to send him away.


SPOILER SECTION OVER
 
The writing was good, but it was hard to follow sometimes. It was like the characters didn't really know what was going on sometimes when they should have. Also, I felt that there were a few unnecessary parts in this book. And these are the only reasons why I'm rating it 4 stars instead of 5. Plus, I'm mad about Jude so take the 4 stars and leave me with my grief!

Sorry for all the spoiler sections lol.

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Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Title: Fangirl

Author: Rainbow Rowell

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Date Published: September 10, 2013 (normal edition)

Genre: YA fiction, realistic fiction, funny, contemporary, romance

Pages: 464 (hardback) - (exclusive collector's edition)

Age Range: 13+





Summary


Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan, but for Cath, being a fan is her life--and she's really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it's what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath's sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can't let go. She doesn't want to.
Now that they're going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn't want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She's got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can't stop worrying about her dad, who's loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?


Review
 

This book had it's up and downs but I turned out loving it in the end. The book started rather slow, but around chapter ten or eleven, things started to pick up a little. Then it got slow again, only to pick up speed later. This book was like a roller-coaster.

I thought the book would pick up and get really exiting. Like, something exciting or outraging would happen. But nothing really did. I know it's a contemporary novel and there isn't much you can do plot-wise that would be original--I just thought that since the story was original, something more would have happened. Some parts did surprised me, like when Nick kinda stole the story he worked on with Cather. It was slow in a lot of places and there were a lot of things I (personally) would have taken out. I kept reading and eventually things picked up until I couldn't put it down towards the end.

Let's talked about the fanfiction.
I really felt that it was unnecessary. What was the point? I mean, sure Cather wrote fanfiction but did we need to read it and parts from the Simon Snow series? No. I felt it was irrelevant to the plot of the book. It would have been okay to add the fanfiction when she read it to Levi. But I found the fanfiction useless otherwise.

Speaking of Levi! The relationship between Levi and Cahter is so sweet and awkward. I thought they were perfect together. I am a Levi & Cather shipper!! I totally ship them!

It was a great coming-of-age novel!! It's a wonderfully amusing read. It expressed what teens think when they first start college, though doesn't go into too much detail about college life.

Cather did a lot of things in the beginning that I saw myself doing. I'm shy and really awkward around people I've just met (just like Cather). So the first few chapters kind of reminded me of myself because I could see myself doing the same things as Cather. 

It had some really funny parts! And the last couple-hundred pages made it impossible for me to put it down. The night I finished it, it was kinda late and I had about 70 pages left. I was tired so I decided I would just read some and finish it the next day. Once I started, I could not stop. I stayed up and finished the book.

I was going to rate this book 3.5 stars but the book was just too good towards the end, so 4 it is!

Ashes to Ashes by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian

 Title: Ashes to Ashes

 Series: Burn for Burn Trilogy #3

 Author(s): Siobhan Vivian, Jenny Han

 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

 Date Published: September 16, 2014

 Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal

 Pages: 401 (hardcover)

 Age Range: 14+




          Summary:

     They only meant to right the wrongs. It was about getting even. Burn for burn.
     But the fire they lit kept raging…Reeve ended up hurt, then Rennie ended up dead.
     Everything will turn to ash if they don’t stop what they started. But now that Mary knows the truth about what happened to her, will she want to?
     Secrets drew Lillia, Kat, and Mary together. The truth might tear them apart.

                                                      Review:

     Oh, my literal gosh. Ashes to Ashes is like that third book in a series that you just have to read, but you kinda wish you could rewrite. It's slightly angering, more than slightly intense, and a little perfect. Honestly, I'm not sure how to rate this book- I almost wished that I hadn't read it. I want to give it all the stars, but I also want to take away a few stars because of... issues. This review is going to be spoilery because I can't talk about this book without being spoilery. I just can't...
     Mary became so evil and awful in this book.I knew that something was totally wrong with her, but I never guessed ghost. When I read Mary's chapter and found out that she's been a ghost the whole time, I lost my mind. And that was the beginning! It really set the mood for the rest of the book. I really hated Mary in this book. She became so evil and vengeful over something that she did entirely to herself. I liked Lillia even more through this book, but she made a few stupid decisions. That being said, I felt bad for Lillia too. Kat... was Kat? She didn't undergo much of a change throughout this trilogy and I didn't get to see her shaken up that much except when she gave up Oberlin. Reeve- oh, Reeve- I kinda love him now. He's changed so much throughout this trilogy, and he's not the person that I though the was at first. Alex also didn't go through much change, but I still really like him.
     The plot in this book is slower than in the others, but there's also so much more that happens. When Lillia gave up Reeve, and Kat gave up Oberlin to kill Mary, I was rocking back and forth like a crazy person- I was so upset. And when Lillia broke the seal with Reeve that had been placed on Mary, I was screaming at Lillia for being such a fool. One of my favorite parts of the book was when Reeve was shoving Kat and Lillia out of the room so he could deal with Mary. I almost cried when Reeve cut himself, and I thought that he was dead. My favorite part of the book is when Mary realized that she had done everything to herself. I really liked how the authors dealt with Mary's problems and suicide.
     The epilogue... I don't even know. I really started shipping Reeve and Lillia and then Lillia never hears from Reeve again?! What is up with that? And Kat settling for a different school? And Alex and Lillia are together? I'm glad there was an epilogue because I hate open-ended books, but I'm not sure if I liked the epilogue. It was so...final. And so final in things that I'm not sure if I like.
     I'm so glad I read this series, and Fire With Fire is my favorite book out of the three. Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian truly have some talent- especially together.