Review: Dare You To by Katie McGarry

Dare You To

Author: Katie McGarry

Publication Date: May 28, 2013

Publisher: HarlequinTeen

Genre: Contemporary

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Synopsis:

Ryan lowers his lips to my ear. "Dance with me, Beth."

"No." I whisper the reply. I hate him and I hate myself for wanting him to touch me again....

"I dare you..."

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does....

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all....

My Thoughts: So I think I liked this even more than Pushing the Limits, which was pretty good. Heck I know I liked it more because I loved Dare You To. For some reason I found it to feel more realistic than Pushing the Limits. I know both books cover issues that could really and do really happen in real life, but I would guess that the issues in Dare You To are a lot more common, therefore easier to imagine for me.

I really liked Beth's story and think that it's a very common one. There are a lot of kids out there who are in similar situations. I felt bad for Beth because she has had a rough go of it. She has complete trust issues because anyone she has ever trusted has left her. Isaiah is the only one that she has who she can trust. He's her best friend. Then everything changes and she ends up living with her uncle, who also abandoned her. She is bitter towards him and hates that she's been moved to a new town, her hometown, back with all the people who judged her family to begin with.

Ryan is a sweet guy. He's a jock, which makes you think he's going to be a jerk, Beth sure thinks that, but he turns out to be really nice and actually really likes Beth. He has his own issues at home, which whilre they aren't as bad as Beth's, they are still not ideal and very realistic. His dad is pushing him into going pro, his brother announced he was gay and his dad basically disowned him. Life gets pretty crappy for Ryan.

Luckily, Katie McGarry does another wonderful job with creating a story that you can get lost in. I certainly had a hard time putting it down and again the ending was somewhat heart breaking. There were some pretty tough decisions to be made but I love how it turned out in the end. I'm really looking forward to the next book which is in Isaiah's PoV. It really is a wonderful read!

Review: The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa

The Eternity Cure

Author: AJulie Kagawa

Publication Date: April 30, 2013

Publisher: HarlequinTeen

Genre: Paranormal / Dystopia

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Synopsis:

Allison Sekemoto has vowed to rescue her creator, Kanin, who is being held hostage and tortured by the psychotic vampire Sarren. The call of blood leads her back to the beginning—New Covington and the Fringe, and a vampire prince who wants her dead yet may become her wary ally. Even as Allie faces shocking revelations and heartbreak like she’s never known, a new strain of the Red Lung virus that decimated humanity is rising to threaten human and vampire alike.

My Thoughts: Once again Julie has done it. I loved The Eternity Cure. I honestly don't think it's possible fore her to write something I'll dislike. I have enjoyed everything that I've read by her so far, which is everything she has out, I think. If I've missed something, I'm pretty sure I'll have to read it soon! All I can say is I did see what happens at the end coming, well not all of it but one thing! I'm pretty sure I need the next book like yesterday.

I liked Allie's character again. She is pretty kick butt and has a lot of self control. She is still trying to avoid being a monster and wants to make Kanin proud of her. She has a lot of loyalty for her maker. She is still in love with Zeke, even after she's left him behind at Eden. She is a decent vampire, only goes for "bad" guys. She doesn't like to hurt people if she can help it, but occasionally the monster will poke it's head out (which totally just made me think of A Game of Thrones and Dany's physcotic brother telling her not to wake the dragon). Regardless, I think she is an awesome character.

We get to see Jackal again. And he's not a complete jerk all the time! Only most of the time. Stick is back too, he's a complete jerk and I didn't like him at all. Even someone you won't expect shows up. Oh and let's not forget Sarren. He is still a creepy and crazy vampire.

The Eternity Cure is a great read overall. I absolutely loved everything about it. The story line flows pretty quickly for the most part. There are some slow bits but they didn't really bother me at all. Julie Kagawa just has this writing style that I can't seem to get enough of. I love this series and can't wait to see what happens next!

Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Throne of Glass
(Throne of Glass #1)

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Publication Date: August 2nd 2012

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Genre: Fantasy

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Synopsis:

Meet Celaena Sardothien. Beautiful. Deadly. Destined for greatness.

In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year-old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake: she got caught.

Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament—fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. But will her assassin’s heart be melted?

My Thoughts: So with all of the hype around Throne of Glass at it's release, I decided that I absolutely NEEDED to read it and it is the only book that I have ever preordered (I even got the UK cover because I like it so much more!). So of course, it sat on my bookshelf until this month. Go me! Am I glad I finally got around to reading this (as well as the four novella prequels)? Yes, yes I am.

First of all, if you are planning on reading this and haven't read the novella's yet, you should most definitely check them out first! There would have been so many references that I didn't get if I hadn't of read them. And they are really cheap, like $1 each for Kobo. Secondly, stop hesitating like I did! These are seriously awesome! I love the world, characters and the writing style. It had been so long that I've read a decent fantasy that I couldn't get enough. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book. Sarah J. Maas just has a way of grabbing a hold of you and dragging you in. Only letting you emerge long enough to go into withdrawals before needing to continue reading. In my case it's terrible because I have to wait so long for me next "fix". I'm seriously a book junkie.

So the main character is Celaena. I like her a lot but I'm still having a hard time judging her character. I mean, she is the deadliest assassin around. I get the feeling that she doesn't like what she does most of the time, but then sometimes she does, if she really despises the person she's killing. She is apparently stunning and knows it. She's been pretty spoiled during her training, so is a bit of a brat to begin with (in the novellas more so) but after her time in Endovier she does change a bit for the better. She has trust issues (someone did set her up to get her captured) and no friends, so a bit of a loner. Overall, while I wasn't her biggest fan to begin with, she did change enough that I really like her now.

Since she is at the Glass Castle for the tournament, she is always guarded. As are the other champions. Mostly she is followed around by Captain Westfall, who is fairly cold toward her. There are a couple of love interests at the castle (both who are swoon worthy in their own ways! And no a love triangle is not set up! At least it didn't end with a feeling of one!) and a couple of friends to be made. There is something scary going on as well. Something killing in the castle, but only the champions. There are a ladies who'd like nothing better than to dispatch of Celaena, not that they know who she is. So Celaena has a lot of people to watch out for. As well as visits from ghostly figures.

As I said before though, Sarah J. Maas is a great story teller. I've already added any and all of her upcoming books to my TBR pile, how can I not after how thoroughly enjoyed Throne of Glass. She just has a way with words that made me unable to put this down. It's most likely going to be one of my top reads of the year. I definitely recommend it. Especially if you enjoy fantasy! It really is as good as everyone says! Just read the novellas first!

Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
(Mara Dyer #1)

Author: Michelle Hodkin

Publication Date: September 27th, 2011

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Genre: Paranormal

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Synopsis:

Mara Dyer doesn’t think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.

There is.

She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love.

She’s wrong.

My Thoughts: Alright, can somebody tell me why I didn't read this one sooner? Seriously, I'd like to know what I was thinking putting this one off. It was freaking AMAZING! I read this with Book Twirps for their October Read A Long, let me tell you, we always left off at the worst places each week. I would sit there and read the entire week's reading in about an hour, then I'd sit there anticipating the next week so I could read some more. I was very glad when we finally got to the last week because it meant no more waiting! I know, I could have just read ahead, but that's not how read a longs work!! So why did I love this one? It was super creepy! I'm still confused about some things and how they happen after finishing, I think I'm going to need to pick up the next book sooner rather than later. Another reason I like it? Hot British bad boy. Yup! I liked Noah pretty much right away, I always like the bad boy. I'm not really sure why, but come on, he was British!! The accents!

So Mara Dyer moves to Florida after her best friend and two other "friends" die from an old asylum caving in on them. Mara is the only one to live and she can't remember what happened. What she does know though, is that she's seeing her dead boyfriend, who was with them, and it's freaking her out! It she going insane? Most likely. She might end up in her own asylum if she's not careful. After everything, she starts a new school and meets Noah. The boy who is the school player, the one she can't stop thinking about no matter how badly she wants to, the one she can't stay away from. Then strange things start happening to her. She is imagining things that are actually coming true, horrible things.

Poor, poor Mara. She is having a really hard time, she has almost no friends in her new school, her best friend died, people are dying around her in horrible ways, oh yeah, and she's having hallucinations. Just showing her how crazy she is. She's afraid to tell anyone anything because there is always the chance it hasn't really happened and she'll be sent to a padded white room. All she wants is to be normal, but I can tell you, considering everything that happens to her, she seems to be doing pretty well. There is a minimum of breakdowns from her. She doesn't trust herself though, since so many weird things are happening, but aren't really happening. If you know what I mean. She definitely a different type of protagonist. You get to watch while her mind falls apart and it's somewhat creepy.


So should you read The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer? Yes, yes you should. Especially if you are a fan of creepy stories. This one has plenty of creepiness. It's also written in a way that you'll have a hard time putting it down. I know I did (even though I forced myself to for the read a long!). There were so many times that I found myself thinking about what I had read so far. Easily one of my favourite reads this year! Michelle Hodkin is amazing!!

Review: Son by Lois Lowry

Son
(The Giver Quartet #4)

Author: Lois Lowry

Publication Date: October 2nd, 2012

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children

Thank you Thomas Allen and Son for the review copy!

Genre: Dystopia

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Synopsis:

They called her Water Claire. When she washed up on their shore, no one knew that she came from a society where emotions and colors didn’t exist. That she had become a Vessel at age thirteen. That she had carried a Product at age fourteen. That it had been stolen from her body. Claire had a son. But what became of him she never knew. What was his name? Was he even alive?　 She was supposed to forget him, but that was impossible. Now Claire will stop at nothing to find her child, even if it means making an unimaginable sacrifice. Son thrusts readers once again into the chilling world of the Newbery Medal winning book, The Giver,　as well as Gathering Blue　and　Messenger　where a new hero emerges. In this thrilling series finale, the startling and long-awaited conclusion to Lois Lowry’s epic tale culminates in a final clash between good and evil.

My Thoughts: Awesome! I don't think Lois Lowry could have written a better ending to The Giver Quartet. After following all of the characters for so long, I was happy to see them all moving on with their lives, seeing Jonas, Kira and Gabe find happiness. Learning about Claire and her struggles. Son shows just how strong a mothers love can be, even if you're not supposed to feel any emotion, it can have a way of sneaking up on you. Claire is very determined to find her son and will do everything she can to find him.

So in Son we meet Claire. She's from the same place as Jonas and Gabe. She's three years older than Jonas and at her ceremony of Twelves she was assigned the role of Birthmother. Well, with her first birth something goes wrong and she is dismissed from that position. Her Product (baby) is number Thirty-six (who do we know that had that number? ;) ) and someone lets it slip that it was a male child to her. After she's reassigned to the Fish Hatchery she realizes that she can't stop thinking about her son. So she finds out who he is and visits when she can at the Nursery. Somehow, she ends up on the delivery ship that comes to the community, in a storm and is washed out to sea. She is rescued and can't remember anything except for her name, Claire. She knows there is something important that she can't remember and once she remembers, she decides she must leave this safe place and find her son. The only way out is to scale a cliff, which means she's going to need to train for it. Son shows how Claire can overcome anything to find her son that was taken from her. She is a strong character and I can't help but feel terrible for her. She nearly makes it when she has a brush with Evil which almost takes everything from her. She makes huge sacrifices for her son, who in turn makes sacrifices for his mother. Everything comes down to that adorable blue eyed Gabe from the Giver, can he defeat the Evil and save his mother after everything she's done for him.

Lois Lowry is a fantastic storyteller and I continuously find myself completely lost into the story. When I'm reading her works I see and hear nothing going on around me. I first read The Giver years ago, I think I was about 10. I found a copy in my older brothers room and being the bookworm that I am, I devoured it. I picked it up again a few years later in high school, remembering that I greatly enjoyed it and I read it again. Just recently this year, after finding out that there were more books to the series, I knew I had to read them. This past week I've once again reread The Giver and the rest of the series, ending it with this amazing ending. Lois Lowry has once again made me an emotional wreck whilst reading her writing. Dystopias are quickly becoming one of my favourite genres and it's all thanks to this series. If you haven't read The Giver or it's sequels, you really must. You'll be missing out if you don't! These are highly recommended by me!

Review: The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle

The Hallowed Ones

Author: Laura Bickle

Publication Date: September 25th, 2012

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Genre: Paranormal

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Synopsis:

Katie is on the verge of her Rumspringa, the time in Amish life when teenagers can get a taste of the real world. But the real world comes to her in this dystopian tale with a philosophical bent. Rumors of massive unrest on the “Outside” abound. Something murderous is out there. Amish elders make a rule: No one goes outside, and no outsiders come in. But when Katie finds a gravely injured young man, she can’t leave him to die. She smuggles him into her family’s barn—at what cost to her community? The suspense of this vividly told, truly horrific thriller will keep the pages turning.

My Thoughts:  Amish + Vampires, what's not to love?? The Hallowed Ones is a scary, page turner that is unique in it's genre. This was Laura Bickle's debut into YA and I just have to say, keep it up! I'm actually saddened that this is a stand alone because I want more! Laura's writing style kept me hooked and it was one of those books that when I did have to set it down (unfortunately), I was constantly thinking about it. Yes, I needed to know what happened next, had to. I still wonder what happened after the ending. I also have to say that I love the cover for this one, it's so dark and actually suits the story quite well, always a plus. I learned so much about the Amish and their ways while reading, which was also nice.

The protagonist is Katie, a teen aged Amish girl who is anxiously awaiting her Rumspringa. She has been waiting for years, excited to get a taste of  the Outside world. Then, mere weeks before she is supposed to journey out, the Elders call for a lock down due to the strange activity that's going on in the Outside. Katie ventures into town and runs into monsters and sees the destruction that they've caused. How they brutally murder their victims. But, she can't say anything, she'd have to admit to breaking the rules and leaving. She could be exiled for it. Also, if they found out about the young man she's hiding who was outside of their fence, the man the Elders wanted to kill, that she dragged back in the dead of night to hide. The one she left to get antibiotics for. Katie seems to be breaking all of the rules, but she doesn't care as much as she feels she should.

I really enjoyed Katie's character, she grows as the story goes on. She is supposed to be obedient and follow the rules with no questions asked, but she is brave enough to go against the rules when she knows they are wrong. She helps when no one else will, braving the monsters in the dark even. She is a survivor no matter what and it makes me respect her. And who else is happy that she saved Alex from death, eh? I love me some awesome Canadian men!

The vampires are monsters in this book. They are cold blooded murderers who rip their victims apart. I'm not going to lie, there is some pretty brutal scenes to read, so if you're squeemish, you should probably hold off on this one. These aren't like your Twilight vampires. Heck. they aren't even as tame as the True Blood vampires. These vampires are downright scary. I would recommend this to older teens as it is pretty gruesome. But, that being said, it's one of the things that makes this book so awesome. Makes it so you can't place the book down for very long. It's just an amazing read with some scary, scary vampires! So if you're looking for something awesome, scary and unique, give The Hallowed Ones a read, it's a new favourite for me!

*Thank you to Thomas Allen & Son for the review copy!*

Review: Adaptation by Malinda Lo

Adaptation

Author: Malinda Lo

Publication Date: September 18th 2012

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Genre: Science Fiction / Contemporary

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Synopsis:

Reese can’t remember anything from the time between the accident and the day she woke up almost a month later. She only knows one thing: She’s different now.

Across North America, flocks of birds hurl themselves into airplanes, causing at least a dozen to crash. Thousands of people die. Fearing terrorism, the United States government grounds all flights, and millions of travelers are stranded.

Reese and her debate team partner and longtime crush David are in Arizona when it happens. Everyone knows the world will never be the same. On their drive home to San Francisco, along a stretch of empty highway at night in the middle of Nevada, a bird flies into their headlights. The car flips over. When they wake up in a military hospital, the doctor won’t tell them what happened, where they are—or how they’ve been miraculously healed.

Things become even stranger when Reese returns home. San Francisco feels like a different place with police enforcing curfew, hazmat teams collecting dead birds, and a strange presence that seems to be following her. When Reese unexpectedly collides with the beautiful Amber Gray, her search for the truth is forced in an entirely new direction—and threatens to expose a vast global conspiracy that the government has worked for decades to keep secret.

My Thoughts: I'm just going to start off with a bit of gushing. I completely LOVED Adaptation!! I couldn't put it down and just developed this connection with Reese, the protagonist. My feelings mirrored hers and I just wanted the best for her. I hadn't read anything by Malinda Lo before, but I will definitely be checking out her other works. There was just something about the style of her writing that grabbed my attention and wouldn't let me think of anything else until I finished the novel. I even had a dream about it. Here I am finished and am just itching for the next book! Unfortunately for me, it's going to be a long wait! Also, I just want to say that I really love the cover, it's so pretty and creepy at the same time.

Adaptation follows Reese while she struggles to try and figure out what happened to her and David after the accident that they can't talk to anyone about. They've been sworn to secrecy but weird things are happening to them. What exactly is going on, they don't know, but they are determined to find out. Then she meets Amber and things get complicated, there is just something about her that attracts Reese. Then they realize that they are being followed and there are bugs in their homes. They have to figure this out before they are silenced forever.

This was a fairly refreshing read for me, it's been awhile since I've read a sci fi about actual aliens. Malinda Lo uses the widely known conspiracies of Area 51 to her advantage and weaves a tale that will cause you to ask questions. Who knows, maybe something like this has really happened, without the world knowing about it. It will make you think about it! So what do you think? Is it possible that there are aliens out there? Have they already visited us without us knowing? I have to say that I personally believe that there is other  life out there, whether or not they've visited us, I couldn't say. Whether you're a believer or not, you should give Adaptation a try, it's a compelling read that is impossible to set down!