Hump Day Review: Fallen

Title: Fallen

Author: Lauren Kate

Purchased: Barnes&Noble

Date Read: March 23

★★★★

There’s something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price’s attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah. He’s the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce – he goes out of his way to make that very clear. But she can’t let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, Luce has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret…even if it kills her.

Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, FALLEN is a page-turning thriller and the ultimate love story.

So, besides the following things that I seemed to dislike and get annoyed with in Fallen, I really enjoyed the novel, I actually have the second book waiting on my shelf for my next spare moment. I found the story to be centrifuging, unique and refreshing. Besides the cover, there is no indication of anything paranormal until maybe the last 100 pages. Not that there is no way of guessing, because, as reading it I expected for an elf or fairy or something to pop up out of the corner. I can hardly say I was disappointed because what did happen puts those books to shame.

As mentioned, I felt that the story didn’t really start until the last 100 pages. This was probably the point of most frustration for myself. Sure, the first 300 pages weren’t awful and there was some necessary information within them, but this book could have easily been 200 pages. In the beginning, I found myself bored and it was honestly really hard to finish it.

Now with that said, when the book picked up, it really picked up. Lauren Kate has a gift of telling a story in so few words, it is almost an insult to herself to bog down such a good concept with the unnecessary bulk at the start. The reader was kept in the dark about the main plot line until the story picked up at the end and while I typically hate this, and desire some hint of information throughout, I didn’t mind the lack in this case. This may be due to that fact that the book didn’t really begin until the end so it made sense that was when the true plot was revealed. In this case, the beginning acted as Luce’s perspective, in the dark and confused about everything, while the end was more Daniel, where the plot becomes known and we are no longer wondering.

Overall, I did like the book enough to purchase the next and I am  curious as the ending. my only hope is that the plot develops slightly faster!

xox Cat

Review!: The Elite

Title: The Elite (The Selection)

Author: Kiera Cass

Purchased: Amazon Kindle Fire

Date Read: February 27

★★★★

Thirty-five girls came to the palace to compete in the Selection. All but six have been sent home. And only one will get to marry Prince Maxon and be crowned princess of Illea.

America still isn’t sure where her heart lies. When she’s with Maxon, she’s swept up in their new and breathless romance, and can’t dream of being with anyone else. But whenever she sees Aspen standing guard around the palace, and is overcome with memories of the life they planned to share. With the group narrowed down to the Elite, the other girls are even more determined to win Maxon over—and time is running out for America to decide.

Just when America is sure she’s made her choice, a devastating loss makes her question everything again. And while she’s struggling to imagine her future, the violent rebels that are determined to overthrow the monarchy are growing stronger and their plans could destroy her chance at any kind of happy ending.

This book gave me so much anxiety. On a scale of 1-10 my anxiety was at least 500. I could not stand the thought of  American ruining her chances with the prince for Aspen or for some stupid reason. I found myself so freaking jealous that he was still paying attention to the other girls and I am not even America, I feel so bad for her. 

I really enjoyed this book, though maybe not as much as the first one. I really liked the way the plot developed and, no matter what my anxiety level, I did like the spats Maxon and America had. It showed to me that they had real feelings for each other, people who are always nice and always agree make for a boring relationship, and even more boring to read about. I hate the love triangle in this book so I basically just made myself believe that… Maxon was the only one with a chance, maybe thats why I had anxiety haha. 

I don’t have much more to add about this book, I loved it, but I wished the plot moved a bit quicker, I found I was getting a little bored and I wanted to know more faster than it was coming at me. As well as in the first review, I want to mention that I don’t find this to be such a dystopian novel, I find that it is turning and evolving into a fairy tale!

xox Cat

Vampire Wednesday: Blood Promise Vampire Academy 4

Goodreads

Title: Blood Promise

Author: Richelle Mead

Finished Reading: Feb 11

Purchased: Amazon Kindle Fire

★★★★★!!

Rose Hathaway’s life will never be the same. The recent attack on St. Vladimir’s Academy devastated the entire Moroi world. Many are dead. And, for the few victims carried off by Strigoi, their fates are even worse. A rare tattoo now adorns Rose’s neck, a mark that says she’s killed far too many Strigoi to count. But only one victim matters … Dimitri Belikov. Rose must now choose one of two very different paths: honoring her life’s vow to protect Lissa—her best friend and the last surviving Dragomir princess—or, dropping out of the Academy to strike out on her own and hunt down the man she loves. She’ll have to go to the ends of the earth to find Dimitri and keep the promise he begged her to make. But the question is, when the time comes, will he want to be saved? 

Now, with everything at stake—and worlds away from St. Vladimir’s and her unguarded, vulnerable, and newly rebellious best friend—can Rose find the strength to destroy Dimitri? Or, will she sacrifice herself for a chance at eternal love?

I. Don’t. Even. Have. Words. Okay yes I do. But I was shocked into oblivion while reading this book. My bottom jaw still hasn’t rejoined the top. It is by far the best book in the series so far. Okay. I don’t even know where to begin. I do not want to give anything away. But as you know from reading the other books, Rose sets out to find Dimitri. I have to say, her finding him is kind of a given but I was still so surprised. It was like a vampire tapped me on the shoulder, I swear I jumped a little. 

I ask myself, could Rose get any better? And then I read this book. She will now forever be my favorite character. Everything about her is so strong. She is mentally and physically strong and I admire her for that. Listen to me, I am admiring a character, but to me I want her to be real. 

I found the flashbacks at the beginning of the book between Rose and Dimitri a little pointless and irritating. I read the other books and Mead did a great job of developing their relationship, it was almost an insult to herself because as readers, we knew their connection and feeling but Mead wrote it as if we didn’t know. She had done a beautiful job of explaining it the first time, we didn’t need or want to be reminded what was being lost. 

There is not much else I can say about this book without spoiling anything for everyone, so I will stop here but man. There were so many twists and turns to this book I can’t even handle them still. I need to read the next book now. 

xox Cat

Spring Break

Hey everyone, sorry I have seemed to be super MIA lately. This week is my spring break and while I thought and had every intention of devoting my time to reading and my blog, it has worked out that I have been taking time to relax. Now, it is only Tuesday, so I have time to change my week around and I sincerely hope I mange my time a bit better. A secret, I have been addicted to watching Gossip Girl. I recently found a netflix account of my brothers that he so kindly is letting me use and I just haven’t seemed to stop. I am addicted. Anyway, that is my short schpeal on why I have been missing, I am trying to refrain from excessive amounts of Gossip Girl so hopefully when I get a few school work things out of the way, my presence will be larger in the blog community this spring break!

xox Cat

Review: Witch Finder

Title: Witch Finder

Author: Ruth Warburton

Finished: January 22

Purchased: NetGalley

★★★★

London. 1880. In the slums of Spitalfields apprentice blacksmith Luke is facing initiation into the Malleus Maleficorum, the fearsome brotherhood dedicated to hunting and killing witches.

Luke’s final test is to pick a name at random from the Book of Witches, a name he must track down and kill within a month, or face death himself. Luke knows that tonight will change his life forever. But when he picks out sixteen-year-old Rosa Greenwood, Luke has no idea that his task will be harder than he could ever imagine.

I really, really just enjoyed this book. There is really no other way to explain it. I have always been a sucker for novels that involve witches because honestly, there are always good and bad witches and who wouldn’t kill for some magical powers am I right? Anyway, not only am I a sucker for witches, but I also love me some historical references. I loved that this book took place in a different time period than now allowing for things like women’s rights to be touched upon. So just to summarize this book includes paranormal elements, witches, romance, action, and history. How could I not like it?

I felt that, to add to the historical relevance, the society that killed witches was a great addition. Well maybe not addition since it basically fueled the story, but anyway.. I thought it was possibly references the Salem Witch Trials. However, I am not aware if possible “witches” all throughout time were tried and killed as well, so it could be in fact, references another time in history. 

I thought that the characters and plot were really well developed. As a reader, I felt for Rosa and Luke and wanted nothing more than for them to succeed in matters of the heart, not violence. One complaint that I do have is the lack of mystery and unknowing. I love a book that can spin a story that you think you know and BAM something out of left field happens rendering all your previous theories and ideas out the window. The downside of Witch Finder is that I knew what was going to happen right after reading the summary and well, the author did not prove me wrong. 

I liked the calmness of this book. Not to say that it was not eventful, because it was and many things took place over the course of the book. But it was a spelling slinging read, it focused more on the history and characters. While magic was obviously a huge part of the book, it took a back seat in the necessary areas.  

So basically I really liked this book, but I wish more events happened that I just didn’t expect. I would definitely read another book in the series, which I believe Witch Finder is the first book of three, but don’t quote me.  I am intrigued enough to desperately want to know the ending, no matter if I wasn’t truly shocked with the story. 

xox Cat

Academy Friday: Shadow Kiss Vampire Academy 3

Goodreads

Title: Shadow Kiss

Author: Richelle Mead

Date Finished: Feb 10

 Purchased: Amazon Kindle Fire
★★★★★

It’s springtime at St. Vladimir’s Academy, and Rose Hathaway is this close to graduation. Since making her first Strigoi kills, Rose hasn’t been feeling quite right. She’s having dark thoughts, behaving erratically, and worst of all… might be seeing ghosts.

As Rose questions her sanity, new complications arise. Lissa has begun experimenting with her magic once more, their enemy Victor Dashkov might be set free, and Rose’s forbidden relationship with Dimitri is starting to heat up again. But when a deadly threat no one saw coming changes their entire world, Rose must put her own life on the line – and choose between the two people she loves most

So this is how I feel. I hated that I loved this book. I am so torn up about what happened. Let me start off wit the fact that I had so many doubts about this series. I was reluctant to even start them because they are about vampires, and well, that is a topic that I find to be overdone. Now look, three days, three books out of the series down, can you say addicted??

So my love hate relationship with this book in particular stems from the ending, which I don’t want to give away for any readers who want to start this book. I will say though, that I saw the ending coming, not in a bad way. But I prayed the entire book, ‘please don’t do it’ to Richelle hoping that she would twist the plot a different way. She didn’t answer my desperate pleas. There is a part of me which is glad because the story is evolving and I hate to say I like the direction it is going in, if you have read this book, you’ll understand.

Woah. Have I mentioned that I love Rose. Like to death. Can I be her? I have never been so involved with a character, she is perfectly developed and created. When I am reading this series it is as if I am her.. I can feel her emotions. I loved the spin of the dynamic between Rose and Lissa in this book as well.

I just feel the need to mention the ending one more time. I am not sure if there has ever been a more predicted, devastating ending that I have ever read. Nothing compares. I saw what was coming, and I am still probably more hurt than the characters are portrayed to be. It’s quite sad.

As you can probably tell, I recommend this book/series whole heartedly. I am so excited to get my hands on the fourth book, and all those that follow. I’m in pain because I have two large essay also due this week so I am torn between my boring essays and this series. I am hoping to start the fourth one sometime soon!!

xox Cat

Sunday Funday: The Academy First Days

Goodreads

Title: The Academy First Days

Author: C.L. Stone

Purchased: Amazon Kindle Fire

Date Read: February 19

★★★★★!

Sang Sorenson used to be the invisible girl in class. As a new student to Ashley Waters High School, Sang hopes that her new friends will be the change she’s been craving and will make fitting in a breeze.

But Academy students aren’t there to take it easy. The high school is overcrowded and rife with violence. When fights begin, Sang will uncover the true reason the boys traded in their private school life for a public one. 

This year, Sang will no longer be invisible. This year, Sang is a target.

The principal and vice principal are hot to take Sang down, and her own mother is determined to entrap Sang forever in her belief that the safest place to be is in the shadows. Despite this, Nathan, Luke, Kota, North, Silas, Victor, and Gabriel will discover Sang’s unyielding loyalty.

And they will sorely need it.

The Academy, supremely influential.

Wow. All reserves I had about the last and first book have disappeared. I was worried about the fast pace of the characters relationships developing but now after reading this second book, I could not imagine it any other way. 

It is so addicting and frustrating to read because, as the reader, we are in the dark about most of the reasons the boys have for being at the school. The Academy is a mystery, and without giving anything away, the end of the book, I’d say the last chapter or so, we start to learn more. But then it ended and I was like AHHHHH. 

Also at the end of the book, we start to learn more about Sang’s family life, well what she has of one. Things are said that can be used to start to piece together the mysterious ways of her mother. I do not want to ruin anything by saying what exactly, but basically it makes life make sense. 

I am IN LOVE with the amount of sexy boys in this. I can’t even handle it really. And Sang ends up making MORE male friends at school. I mean really, save some for the rest of the school! Really though, it makes for such a good and interesting and unique plot line. They all act as if they like her, and are all protective and she reciprocates the affections. I can’t help but loving Silas, more than North who she seems keen on. But will there be a love story here as well, maybe a love octagon? 

I am beginning to wonder, in extreme quantities, who these boys are. They are a team, a family of sorts, but what does that have to do with the academy? So honestly, for like half of this book I considered that this was going to turn into a paranormal type book, but I am not so sure of that any more. I also considered that they were ninjas and well, that’s the only explanation I can come up with. ninja school. This is why I need to read the next book ASAP.

xox Cat