White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Rating: 3/5

Armentrout’s WHITE HOT KISS is an addicting book. I flew through just over half of it in a couple of hours. However, this book did not wow me like I expected it to. After hearing so much about her Lux series (and after reading Obsidian), I honestly expected this book to be pretty close to a knock-out. But it wasn’t. While the details and plot in WHK were different from its counter-parts in Obsidian, WHK still gave me a feeling of similarity to Obsidian. The voice of Layla felt really similar to the MC in Obsidian and she seemed to always have love on her mind. Plus some of the decisions she made were so incredibly DUMB! YOU DO NOT FOLLOW A DEMON – NO MATTER WHAT ITS RANK – INTO A DARK, SECLUDED ALLY. NEVER! EEVVVEERRRR!! And then there was the whole part where she didn’t tell anyone about Roth and a couple of other things that also made me shake my head.

Also, this may sound odd, but the cover and spine of this book just look so disappointing. The cover is just horribly disgusting – you’d think Harlequin Teen could do better than that (unless they were going for a Harlequin romance kind of feel) – in a way I will never be able to explain. The spine is just so BORING. The back of the book is merely acceptable in my books. I think it would be better without the tag line down the left half of it. REMOVE IT!

But, this book still has it’s redeeming qualities. Even though I found nothing special about it and definitely was never moved by it, it was still entertaining. Armentrout’s style is quick, easy & HOLY COW ADDICTING. Overall, I liked this guy.

Winterling by Sarah Prineas

Rating: 3/5

Cute, quick and easy to read. This book was fun and entertaining and I liked reading it. :)

Jennifer (or "Fer") is often pestered, teased and even bullied at school. Because of this, Fer often feels like she doesn't fit in. And she is right on more levels than she knows...

After having a rough day at school, Fer decides to take the long way home so she can en

joy the outdoors more than usual since her Grand-Jane keeps her under lock and key at home. Upon coming home, Fer's Grand-Jane gets angry and scolds her for arriving home late. Coming home to this after her already stressful day at school, Fer escapes the house the first chance she gets. Feeling alone and isolated, she runs into the forest near their house until she fins a small pond that is just like her. Alone and isolated.

Collapsing in front of the pond, Fer touches the surface of the pond to cool off and... Falls into a whole new world.

This is where things take off. Fer meets Rook and the Lady of the Land and is quickly whisked away on an adventure of self-discovery and bravery.

As I said in my little mini-review at the top... This book is fun and cute and easy to read... And it's not really much else. It's not life-altering. It's not heart-shattering, but it's not a book that you make you feel with your whole heart, either.

However, that is not to say that this book is not at least a little bit of each of these things. WINTERLING is a fun book that would be great to introducing someone in this age group (8-12) to the world of reading. Again, it was nice, fun, cute & quick to read. :)

I liked Winterling and that's about that. :)

Circle of Fire by Keri Arthur

Rating: 2/5

"Sixteen teenagers taken from their homes. Eleven bodies recovered, each completely drained of blood. Some believe vampires are responsible. Jon Barnett knows that what’s happening is far worse. Sent by a group of paranormal investigators known as the Damask Circle, Jon quickly becomes enmeshed in a web of black magic and realizes he needs help. But fate gives him only one choice."

With a synopsis like that, how could I not expect edge-of-your-seat suspense? But I guess the other half of it should have warned me...

"Madeline Smith has retreated to an isolated farmhouse, afraid of the abilities she cannot control—abilities that have killed. But when a “ghost” brings a warning of danger and her nephew goes missing, Maddie not only has to leave her haven, she has to place her trust in a man who is neither ghost nor human. As the noose of sorcery tightens, the search for the teenagers becomes a race against time. But the greatest danger to Maddie and Jon could be the intense feelings they refuse to acknowledge but cannot ignore."

That one sentence should really take up more than one little line of the synopsis, because for me, CIRCLE OF FIRE felt more like a sappy insta-love story than anywhere near a thriller.

This book is about 45% romance, 45% repetition and 10% action. while reading the CIRCLE OF FIRE, we would constantly be reminded of how badly Maddie's past has messed her up and made her become oh-so-scared and how Jon could tell something had messed her up and mad her oh-so-scared.

And honestly? If this story's main characters weren't adults, I never would have guessed that this was an adult book... The writing was extremely simple and juvenile, and there was the annoying repetition at least every page or two throughout the entire book. Every other page we were either reminded about 1)how Maddie's past still effects her to this day or 2)how drawn Maddie/Jon was to the other.

However, it is the small bit of action and this books simplistic writing style that is it's saving grace. The small bit of action at the end made me bump up my rating from 1 star to 2 stars, and the simplistic writing is what was allowing me to finish the book.

I think the main reason I disliked this book so much was because the synopsis mislead me. Going into it I expected an intense, magic-filled thriller that would keep me on the edge of my seat. Yes, this book was filled with magic, but the thriller part just wasn't there for me and was instead taken over by the extremely aggravating love story between Maddie and Jon.

If you plan on reading this book, please be sure it's because you want one of those sappy love-stories. If you go in expecting what I did, I have no doubt that you will be just as disappointed as I was.

Indelible by Dawn Metcalf

Rating: 3.5/5

Joy already has a tough enough life before a stranger tries to stab her in the eye. Her mom abandoned their family in the company of a younger man, her brother Stefan doesn’t talk to her since leaving for college and Joy just can’t relate to her father. Needless to say, Ink stabbing her in the eye is the last thing Joy needs. Especially when he accidentally misses and ends up marking her as his instead. Thus, Joy is thrust into a new world of strange creatures, dark corners, and danger at every turn.

Joy is a typical YA MC. A whiny, moody, “nobody understand me” type of girl. We are never really given a physical description on her, so it’s pretty hard to make Joy unique from all of the other characters I’ve read about. Throughout the majority of the book, Joy is always the damsel in distress. She does her best to solve her problems, but she always needs to rely on others to finish the job for her. Mind you, most of these situations were out of her control, so we’ll cut her some slack. (Plus, she did really kick some butt in those last few pages!)

As for Ink &Inq, they’re what Melcalf describes as “scribes.” From what I got from the book, they’re there to act as a type of messenger between the other-worldly beings also known as the Twixt. They are given jobs by different members of the Twixt (some warriors, some aether spirits, amongst a whole slew of other un-named creatures), to carry and mark their signaturae on humans so that they can claim them as their own.

Why the Twixt needed them to mark people for them is unknown to me. In the book Metcalf explains it as keeping the Twixt safe and out of the way of exposure… But the only reason Joy was even able to see all these other-worldly creatures was because she has the “Sight,” which obviously gives her the ability to see Ink & the like. Ergo, I am very confused as to why these Twixt would need to keep to themselves from “risk of exposure” if there really is no risk at all.

Now, let’s break down this plot…. Wait. What plot? Pretty much the first two-thirds of this book are dedicated to Joy & Ink and them being seen together so that Ink doesn’t get in trouble for messing up and marking Joy by accident (Ink & Inq claimed that marking Joy was done on purpose so that they wouldn’t be considered fuck-ups & therefore disposable & replaceable). It’s not until you hit about page 200 that there is even a baddy/conflict identified for Ink & Joy to beat/over-come.

So, by now you’re probably thinking to yourself… Lex, why the hell did you give this book a 3.5 star rating if all you’re doing is trashing everything about it? Well, let me tell you…. This book has some unknown addictive quality to it that I can’t even begin to understand… Also, I was really in the mood for a super cheesy paranormal romance thing, AND! THE CREATURES IN THIS BOOK WERE SO FANTASTICAL. I think that’s why the plot and everything else was so lacking, because if I were Metcalf and I had images of these creatures in my head, I would want to spew them out on paper and show them off to everyone, too. These creatures, and the last 150 or so pages make up for pretty much all of the weak points of this book.

I read a review of someone else’s that mentioned that the creatures reminded her of a Miyazaki film and I think that’s why I liked this book as much as I did. I love his movies and I can’t help but be amazed by the different types of creatures. So, if you’re a fan of Miyazaki films I would suggest checking this book out and giving it a shot for yourself. :)

Rapid Reviews (1)

Hey guys!

A good, lengthy review takes a lot of time, thought and effort and thought to produce and sometimes just by missing one I won't write a review on a book. So, I thought I'd start something that I like to call Rapid Reviews! These are basically just books I've recently read but haven't written a full-length review on and not really planning to...

Hopefully this way I will actually post more, because the idea of doing this kind of excites me. :)

So, I'll start with what I've read since I finished The Darkest Minds (check out my review for that here).

The Emerald Atlas
by John Stephens

The Emerald Atlas was a fantastic read full of great characters! I loved Emma, Michael and Kate! They all worked so well together and you could see the obvious love between the three siblings. Being a middle-grade read this book is chalk-full of lots of adventure and wonderful, creative imaginings! I give this one a 5/5 because I simply loved it! :)

Virtuosity

by Jessica Martinez

Virtuosity is a great book about self-discovery and what it really means to follow your dreams. The main-character plays the violin and I'm just a sucker for all things musical so there was no way that I couldn't not like this book. I give it a 4/5 and would recommend it to anyone else who loves music too.

The Friday Society

by Andrienne Cress

Now, this is the book that I got stuck on while I was in my disgusting month-long reading slump. My only complaint about it was how slow it was in the beginning. Since we had to meet all of the  three main characters and wait for them to be introduced to each other, it took me until the last third or so of the book to really get into the story. But once I did get into it I ended up really enjoying it and giving it a 3/5 star rating :). 

Waiting on Wednesday (8)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme held by Jill over at Breaking the Spine.

Through Wow, bloggers alike can share what they just can't wait to get there hands on this Wednesday!

I thought I'd do another two books for this week's WoW. So, without further ado... Here is what I'm waiting on this week!

                         Ink by Amanda Sun            A Million Suns by Beth Revis

Ink: First of all, the cover is freaking GORGEOUS, and second of all the summary for the book just sounds amazing, check this out: 

"I looked down at the paper, still touching the tip of my shoe. I reached for it, flipping the page over to look.

Scrawls of ink outlined a drawing of a girl lying on a bench.

A sick feeling started to twist in my stomach, like motion sickness.

And then the girl in the drawing turned her head, and her inky eyes glared straight into mine.

On the heels of a family tragedy, the last thing Katie Greene wants to do is move halfway across the world. Stuck with her aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, Katie feels lost. Alone. She doesn’t know the language, she can barely hold a pair of chopsticks, and she can’t seem to get the hang of taking her shoes off whenever she enters a building.

Then there’s gorgeous but aloof Tomohiro, star of the school’s kendo team. How did he really get the scar on his arm? Katie isn’t prepared for the answer. But when she sees the things he draws start moving, there’s no denying the truth: Tomo has a connection to the ancient gods of Japan, and being near Katie is causing his abilities to spiral out of control. If the wrong people notice, they'll both be targets.

Katie never wanted to move to Japan—now she may not make it out of the country alive."

I don't know what you're thinking right now, but all that's going through my head is how much I want to get my hands on this book! Inkheart fascinated me when I was younger. The whole idea of bringing fictional characters to life plastered a huge smile on my face. Hell, it still does. So to see a book being written about a girl who can draw things to life? That is so, so, SO cool!

A Million Suns:
Now, I know that this book has been out for over a year already and that it's sequel Shades of Earth is coming out on the fifteenth, I wanted to point out that I'm waiting on this because I am. So desperately. I read Across the Universe a couple of weeks ago (check out my review here), and I absolutely adored it. So, needless to say, I am eagerly awaiting the day that I open up the cover to it's sequel and devour it page by page.

And for the curious, here's the summary of the book (which may or may not contain spoilers for the first book):

"It's been three months since Amy was unplugged. The life she always knew is over. Everywhere she looks, she sees the walls of the spaceshipGodspeed. But there may be hope: Elder has assumed leadership of the ship. He's finally free to act on his vision--no more Phydus, no more lies. But when Elder learns shocking news, he and Amy must race to discover the truth behind life on Godspeed, all the while dealing with the romance that's growing between them and the chaos that threatens to tear them apart."

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

Rating: Starry Eyes (5/5)

Release Date: December 18th, 2012

Publishers: Disney Hyperion

Pages: 496

Source: Bought

Series: The Darkest Minds #1

A quick summary from Goodreads:

"When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she’s on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.

When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living."

Let me start by saying how  absolutely wonderful The Darkest Minds is. Even though I'm sure an idea similar to this has been published before, Bracken's novel seemed so original and fresh and something that can stand completely on it's own. 

When kids started dying on their 10th birthday as a result of IAAN, the kids who survived started to show that they had unbelievable abilities and were forced into Thurmond and camps similar to it as a result in an attempt at "rehabilitation." Immediately upon their arrival, they were marked with a large red, orange, yellow, green, or blue X across the backs of their camp clothes.

The reds are able to set things on fire.

The oranges can simply whisper something into your ear and you have no choice but to follow their words.

The yellows have power over technology.

The greens are incredibly smart.

The blues can send things flying across a room with a flick of their wrists.

Ruby is classified as a green upon her arrival to camp Thurmond, where she's put into a cabin of other green girls. After a couple of months, all of the reds, oranges, and yellows are sent away after the camp finds them too hard to control, even with the effects of the Calming Wave, set to a certain frequency that only the kids can hear. One day while Ruby is working on the grounds, a Calming Wave is released and has more of an impact on Ruby than it usually does, leaving her head pounding, nose bleeding and passed out on the ground. When she wakes up, she's in the camp's hospital, and the doctor that's looking after Ruby leaves her a note of promised escape.

And from there the story takes off. Ruby then meets Chubs, Liam, and Suzumi, two blues and a yellow. Each character has their own wonderful back story and I just couldn't help but fall in love with everyone of them. Chubs is the unyeilding, loyal, cynical friend who would do anything for you once you get on his good side. 

Suzumi is the little girl who was dealt a harsh life and only wishes for a life where she can fill her days with simple things like pink dresses. 

Liam is the leader of the group. The one who trusts easily and leads with an eager heart. 

There is romance in this book, but this is a romance that only adds to the story, and never takes away from it. Without it, the ending would have had a completely different tone and wouldn't have left me in such an emotional wreck. 

The relationship between the four of them is just so well done that you can see the love that the four of them have for each other through every word, every look, every touch. And I absolutely love the fact that friendship plays such a large roll in this book. 'Cause while romance is great, let's face it. It's in just about every single YA book that you pick up off of the shelves and it can never substitute what the element of strong friendship does in a book.

All together, The Darkest Minds pulls together a little bit of everything that you could ever ask for in a book, and I absolutely loved it, and I can easily say that this book will stick within my top 10 - maybe even my top 3 - for this year.