Fighting Destiny

Title: Fighting Destiny (The Fae Chronicles, #1)
Author: Amelia Hutchins
Release Date: June 4th, 2013
Rating: 3.5-4/5

Hey there!
As of one minute and 37 seconds ago, I finished reading Fighting Destiny by Amelia Hutchins. And holy-hot dang. A few weeks ago I was looking at the championship round to Mel, Erin & Regina's Book Boyfriend Battle Royale, and found that Ryder was one of the contestants. I dug a little deeper and found his novel and I was hooked. I ordered on amazon ASAP, and when it got here, I couldn't put it down. Now, with my emotions still boiling, I must share them through a review:

First there must be this warning: do not pick up this book unless you are . . . exposed . . . to more . . . sensual books. Seriously, in the first ten pages there were three very explicit . . . ahem experiences. At first it seems like that is all the book focuses around, (and in a way I guess it does, but not in the way you're probably thinking. You dirty reader you). You see, the mystical creatures in this novel are Fae, which feed off of emotion. And these Fae found the best way to get emotions out of people was from bringing out their more emotional side (if you know what I mean). This was not necessarily my favorite part of the book.

Another part of the overall writing of this book that bugged me was the way the author never explained anything. She would just state what was happening and expect the reader to know what it meant. This was difficult for me as I am not very attuned in the Fairy world, especially the one she came up with.

The characters. Ah how I love them. Syn, our main, is such a bad ass and I love it. She bottles her emotions up, which I relate to, but then when she lets them out, she explodes and I love it. Larissa is the sweetie that everyone can't help but love. And Adam. The other half to our Synthia. My thoughts are that Adam and Larissa are perfect for each other. Now, to the most important (in my perspective) character; Ryder. Honestly, Ryder is probably the only reason I was so enthralled by this book. I couldn't wait to see what happened next between Ryder and Syn, whether it be hate, love, violence, deception, or acceptance. He is what made this book complete and I can see how he finished second in the Battle Royale.

The plot, sadly, was not laid out very well. Don't get me wrong, dear reader, I loved the twists and turns. But I did notice that some of the details in the beginning were dropped, as if the author decided to go another path with the story and didn't edit out the mistakes in the beginning. This thoroughly bugged me. It probably didn't help that the company I ordered from delivered a book with a blurry cover, as if it was photocopied onto it. It just looks horrible, and was a turn off for me. Overall, this felt like it was the authors first novel, which it is. I just hope this means there is room for improvement.

Don't get me wrong! I am definitely entrapped in this story Ms. Hutchins has created and will definitely continue to read the series, I just hope to see the improvements to the books overall. I give this book a 3.5 out of 5, simply because of the few plot/clerical errors. This is definitely an enjoyable and fast paced read.

Until next time, Keep Reading!

Amber Earns Her Ears

Title: Amber Earns Her Ears
Author: Amber Michelle Sewell
Release Date: July 12, 2013
Rating: 5/5 (for Disney lovers!)

Hello, hello, hello!
For everyone who doesn't know, I am a very avid Disney fanatic, so I am very excited to share my thoughts on Amber Earns Her Ears by Amber Michelle Sewell. As a Disney fan, I plan on taking part in the Disney College Program (DCP) and this book is actually a secret journal Amber kept while she was a part of the DCP. It was witty, funny, and brutally honest. Amber was not afraid to spill the "dark side of Disney". However, this did not deplete my love for the Magical World of Disney in any way, shape, or form. I enjoyed this book from beginning to end and cannot wait to spend my time in the most magical place on Earth. I definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in the DCP.

Until next time, Keep Reading!

Unravel Me

Title: Unravel Me (Shatter Me, #2)
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Release Date: February 5th, 2013
Rating: 5/5

Alright Everyone.
Let me start out by saying before I start going crazy, the first part of this review will be non-spoiler. The half with spoilers will be below the picture. Thank you.
Holy Crow. If you have never heard of the Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi, then you have been camping out under a rock in the deepest part of the major ocean trenches. These books are loved by many and it is obvious why that is. About two minutes and 36 seconds ago, I closed the last page in Unravel Me, the second installment of this beautiful trilogy. You need to pick these books up now. Seriously. A few years ago I fell in love with Shatter Me, and I am ashamed to admit that it has taken me this long to get my hands on the second book. They are both absolutely amazing and beautiful, and eye-opening, and wonderful, and crazy, and adventurous, and lovable. I will admit, the romance between Juliette and Adam may be a little cheesy at times, but I am totally willing to look over that detail considering what happens during this book. Let's just say, there is trouble in paradise.
There is only one negative thing I have to say about this book. Okay, maybe two. But the second is so small it doesn't really count. First, I just was not sucked into this book until around 150 pages. I couldn't tell you why that is but I just could not get into it. It was probably because nothing really happened, but after that, I flew through the pages. It got so good incredibly fast. Ugh fell in love. The second minor problem I have is that it seems these books end and begin at really random pages. Like in this book, Unravel Me ended but it didn't feel like the end. So I continued reading the excerpt to the third book, Ignite Me, and that is where I feel the book should have really ended. I could not have gone a few more weeks without reading that excerpt. I felt abandoned and like I wasn't finished with the book yet. However, after reading the three chapters from Ignite Me, the feels are real, and they are potent.
Now I will continue on to the spoilers. If this is where you click off, then I severely recommend you get your hands on a copy of this book, preferably your own so you are free to carry it around with you wherever you go for the rest of your life.

*SPOILERS*

Now the real fun begins. 

OH MY GOD THE FEELS. They are real. Holy crap. Honestly. I really hope you guys have read this book so you can relate. The romance, the action, and emotions, the adventure, the danger. Holy cow. First there's Juliette and Adam. Then things go south when we discover that Juliette is actually hurting him. Obviously they can't be together. But then Juliette and Kenji start kind of having a flirtationship, but don't worry, that goes nowhere. They it's back to Adam, and then there might be something with Winston, but I really think that was part of my imagination. Then we meet Anderson and the whole scene with Adam and Anderson goes down where I was like "What?" But that doesn't really end up coming up again until almost the end of the book. And then, quite possibly one of my favorite things in the entire book but something that I didn't think I would enjoy. WARNER IS BACK.  I know, I know. When that first happened and we started hearing Juliette's steaming thoughts about him I was like Huh? But now I am totally in love. Throughout the entire novel, Juliette's feeling just took me on one huge emotional roller coaster ride, especially the end (am I right?). Sorry, I don't want to give too many spoilers away for anyone who just had to take a peek at this review. But I  was totally devastated to learn what happened while Juliette was ahem knocked out. I felt the need for revenge like she did, and now I crave, desire, and need the third book to find out what happens. 

At this point, there is only one question left to ask. 

Team Adam? or

Team Warren? 

(I'm 100% Team Warren). 

Tell me your feels in the comments. 

Sorry for sporadic nature of this review, but I'm still going off that reading high you get after a fantastic book. Anyways, 

Until next time, Keep Reading!

Die For Me

Title: Die For Me
Author: Amy Plum
Release Date: May 10th, 2011
Rating: 1/5

Hello everyone!
Up next is Die For Me by Amy Plum. For the first time ever, I will shamefully admit that I did not finish this book. I know, I know. How can I truly be a book lover if I ever put a book down before the last page? Well, I'll tell you.

Let me start out by saying that for the longest time I was genuinely intrigued by this book, I just never had the time to pick it up. I am always intrigued by books that take place in far away places like Italy, Spain, Rome, and in this case, Paris, France. The cover also helped (I think it's gorgeous.) However, once I started reading it I realized how incredibly cheesy it was. My first clue was that the two characters instantly fall in love. Second, every other event is skipped except those that have to do with our hero of the story. By the time I was on page 100, it felt like I was reading a Twilight spin off written by a 12 year old. I know that sounds incredibly harsh, but if you've ever tried to crack this book open, you know why. The plot is poorly thought out, the dialogue is extremely cheesy and hard to follow, the actions are those of a pre-teen in love. The only aspect I enjoyed was the Sci-fi zombie-angels.

This is one book I would not recommend to anyone over the age of 13.

Sorry for the rude and spiteful feeling of this review, I was just very disappointed. If you have read and enjoyed this book, just remember that we may just have different tastes!

Until next time, Keep Reading!

The Darkest Minds

Title: The Darkest Minds
Author: Alexandra Bracken
Release Date: December 18th, 2012
Rating: 3/5

Alright everybody,
Time to get down to business. There is now a massive pile of reviews I must plow through. The next one I have for you is The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken. I'll start off by saying this: I have no idea. Honestly, this book took me a couple of weeks to get through. And considering my track record of reading books, that's a lifetime. I just could not get sucked into this book. All around the internet all I've heard are great things about it, but I just didn't see them.

Warning: There are spoilers down below. Scroll to the last paragraph to hear my final (non-spoiler) thoughts.

First of all, we start out with quite an interesting back story. The protagonist, Ruby, lives in a society where all the children around her age develop powers that the older generation think are too dangerous. They get locked up in these camps to either live out the rest of their days or die depending on what level of power they have. Ruby is one of the highest levels but tricks the employees of the camp into thinking she isn't so that she can live. That's the interesting part of the story.

Next, Ruby gets chosen by a group called the Children's League and is shimmied out of the camp to join their forces. Only Ruby decides to spit in the faces of the League and runs away and finds a group of kids in a minivan. Zu, Chubs, and Liam. They have all been in camps similar, but not as severe as the one Ruby was in, but they organized a breakout led by the fearless and brave Liam. You can guess which one Ruby falls for.

Eventually they make it to a society of teens just like them. Escaped the system, strengthening powers, hidden away, desire to survive. They call it East River. Which turns out to be led by none other than the renowned and "cured" son of the president, Clancy, who also has powers. Of course a little romance appears between Ruby and Clancy. That is, until Clancy betrays Ruby and all of the other teenagers.

On the run once again, an injury occurs and in a moment of complete stupidity, Ruby calls the League to come pick them up. They give her an ultimatum; Work for us, or the boyfriend dies. Which do you think she chooses? However, the only way for Liam to truly be free is if she erases herself from his memory. And that, my children, is how this story ends.

Overall, this book honestly wasn't that bad. The back story was very well-planned and I did enjoy the powers and problems Ruby faced over the course of the novel. I guess I was just a little disappointed. I was expecting a great book because of all the fantastic reviews I found, only to find and eh that was alright kind of book. I guess my expectations were just too high. However, if you like books like Flecks of Gold by Alicia Buck, but not quite as exciting, then this book is for you. I would recommend giving it a try. Your opinion on it might be totally different from mine. I do not regret reading this book at all, I regret looking at the reviews on it first. I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.

Until next time, Keep Reading!

Just One Day

Title: Just One Day
Author: Gayle Forman
Release Date: August 20th, 2014
Rating: 4.5/5

Hello!
Today, I have for you, a review of Gayle Forman's novel Just One Day. At the almighty Barnes & Noble, this book immediately caught my attention. Maybe it's the adventure lover in me that wishes I could visit Europe, or it was the adorably romantic cover, but as soon an I picked up this book I knew I was walking out with it. And boy am I glad I did. This book was absolutely lovely. It was adorable and hilarious and heart breaking, and realistic . . . .  well mostly, how many of us really skip out on a school trip to spend the day in Paris with a dreamy European actor? (Don't get me wrong, I wish I could). Anyways, safe to say I loved it.

Usually I'm an action-packed, always-on-the-go type of reader, but when this book slowed down (sorry, but it does) I still found myself intrigued with what Allyson was doing at college. It made me look forward to my freshman year (next year, kind of scared. . . . ). It starts to speed up again right before the climax. . . . and then drops off. Literally. As soon as the climax hits, the book ends. I know, really disappointing. Long story short (not really a spoiler but kind of), Allyson meets Willem, runs away with him, they get separated, she goes to college, then looks for him, eventually finds him, and it ends. That's it. It left me infuriatingly wanting more. So I guess this means I have to go find the other novel, which is from Willem's POV. Anyways, I definitely suggest you pick this one up!

Until next time, Keep Reading!

Hopeless

Title: Hopeless
Author: Colleen Hoover
Release Date: December 9th, 2012
Rating: 4/5

Hey Guys!
I know it's been a few months (I'm slacking from my computer duties, I know, how horrible) and I have a HUGE pile of reviews to get through. Just because my computer time lacks, doesn't mean my bookie time takes a punch ;). Anyways, the first review I have for you is Hopeless by Colleen Hoover.

Let me start out by saying this book confused me. Not in the events that were happening, I followed those just fine, but in the way I was left at the end. I felt it almost left me hanging even though I knew there was nowhere else Hoover could have gone with the story. When I was almost finished there were parts where I was like "This book should have ended here." Only to find there were fifty more pages left. I felt like I was slugging my way through the end of the book just so I could put it down and move on. However, I did absolutely love the beginning and middle part of the book. I even like the ending, just not after the ending. If that makes any sense at all.

I loved the way the protagonist, Sky, was written. I loved her character and her personality. She was very relatable. Now Holder was a different story. His emotions and actions were so spread out everywhere I couldn't figure him out. One minute he was flirty, then mad, then sweet, then angry, then yippy, then brooding, then . . . . you see my point. I just could not keep up with this guy and it quite honestly pissed me off.

To top it off, Hoover throws in twists that I never saw coming and were completely unrealistic. Don't get me wrong, I think the idea and main plot behind the book could have been great, but there were so many details that just didn't add up. Like parts with the mother/aunt, how the father ended up,the fact that Sky's friends really had nothing to do with the outcome, and so many other little details that just did not make sense to me.

Overall, this is a very good book. Though it may not seem like it from that review (I must be in a mood or something). I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Gayle Forman, Julia Hoban, and Justina Chen Headley. I would give it three out of five stars.

Until next time, Keep Reading!