ChicaReader

Ever since I caught a glimpse of this book at my local indie, I knew I would love it. And by glimpse, I mean reading the first chapter and absolutely dying that I couldn't buy it right then. I wanted to know more about this chubby princess who was soon to be known queen in a kingdom she'd never been before. I wanted to read about her new husband who's kind but a bit of a ditz when it comes to actual battles. And most of all, I want to warm to the history of the Godstone and all its previous bearers. All this is introduced in the very first chapter and it was this that kept me in the book's thrall till I could get a copy of my own.

Lucero-Elisa de Riqueza is a known princess in her country, Orovalle, for being chosen soon after birth by God, to fulfill an important service. Unfortunately, due to her country's beliefs, Elisa was kept in the dark of what exactly the service my entail and the true fatality that's more than likely to occur were she to fail completing the service. It's with the help of new friends that Elisa makes in her new home country that she realizes the complexity and enormity of her service unto God. While war is something Elisa enjoy reading about in her Belleza Guerra, she never thought she'd be asked to put her expertise into the real makings of war. The Girl of Fire and Thorns depicts a fantasy world where war is an all to real prospect, and where the identity of the Godstone-bearer is a fundamental element to both sides, where the power it represents could make or break a nation.

Characters: Of course, I must start with Elisa; for she is my favorite character and main heroine in all this. Even though I knew in the very beginning that she was a tad too immature to govern a whole nation because she's been mostly living on sweets and the Godstone to get her by, she had the potential makings for a magnificent ruler.With the help of her nurse, Ximena, and her lady-in-waiting, Aneaxi, Elisa was a well-rounded person capable of compassion and grace with a healthy level of insecurity that throughout the book flourishes into quite the polar opposite. Her development was in part due to the strength she constantly saw in the people making the decisions around her and her own belief that she could be an asset instead of a hindrance. Most of the other important characters had their individualistic roles to play, like Alejandro King of Joya d'Arena, Lord Hector his personal guard, both influential Priest that help guide Elisa, and of course the Malficio. Each person and group of people that Elisa meets, in some way make a difference and enhance the plot with presence. Even the evil dudes, the Invierne, have their own spotlight for a time that illuminates their cataclysmic tendencies.

Plot: The unpredictability of The Girl of Fire and Thorns was my favorite aspect of the whole book. Even more than the characters because I loved how it always kept me on edge and I honestly could not predict what was going to happen with the Godstone until it was all unveiled in the last stint of the book. The flow and pace as which the story progressed was suitable to the constant twists that the author liked to input every two chapters or so. I couldn't fully grasp some of the paths that Ms. Carson took the book in because it took my expectations and incinerated them with an Invierne amulet; I was riveted the whole way through. Unbelievably so, this book will have you thinking about it even after you've finished and have you guessing numerous times as to what book two could entail.

Originality: Seriously, who could up with this stuff? Ms. Carson, you're fan-flipping-amazing. Not only did the characters bring something new to the YA Genre but the settings and vivacity of the change in scenery every quarter of the book kept it alive and refreshing. One moment you're in a desert, the next you're deep in the forest and mountain ranges, and then you circle back to the monstrous palace. It's absolutely incredible what this author can do with words.

Overall: You could not prepare for how epic this book is, so I suggest you just enjoy the escape it provides and thrive in the experience.

Grade: A

Perfect ending to the series because it really summed it up in saying that the Dark Swan novels were about Eugenie, not her children, not Dorian, not the Otherworld, but all of these things combined, the impact they had on her life, and her own choices. Freak destiny!

The Probability of Miracles was one of those that I developed an appreciation for and had a connection with because the whole cancer issue is close to my heart and ended up liking the book, but...that's where it ends. It was just a decent read. For some odd reason, I felt like I couldn't get a grasp on the main character. She was all over the place for me, and she would constantly contradict herself; it ended up driving me nuts.She'd stick to saying and thinking that miracles and believing and magical wonders are just fantasy, not something she could put her trust in. That was understandable after all she'd been through, but she'd deny that those things could happen so much so that it became obvious she didn't believe herself. A bit too "Thou doth protest too much" type of thing. Then, of course, by the climax she does a whole 180 on herself and I'm left a little dizzy with all the different attitude changes. The only characteristic I could truly admire about Cam is that she does genuinely love her family and try to make it so everyone around her doesn't just think about her as the sick girl. Her makeup and background was one of my favorite character outlines ever; it was so original. This Samoan teenager who's father recently passed, who's mom dances in the Polynesian hotel exhibit in Epcot, likes to work in the hotel's kitchen, who has a terminal diagnosis of cancer and a little Norwegian half-sister, is somebody new to me. And I liked that.

So basically her doctors tell her "Your life is over", and her mom decides it's time to do something a little more drastic, like take the summer off to live somewhere that births miracles daily. There Cam runs into the "catalog kids"--model lookalikes--who become her friends and she starts to slowly take matters into her own hands to make her last few weeks in such a cool beach-side environment to die for. While the plot does take a while to take off because the road trip included making two stops to Cam's best friends in North Carolina and her grandmother in Jersey, there were more and more characters that affected Cam's life exponentially. I did not by any means like Cam's friend, Lily, who was also terminal because the brief instance where her character played a significant part she acted just like Cam offhandedly described, like a spoiled child. I didn't get her appeal whatsoever.

Asher, the quiet team player, has the pleasure of seeing Cam's crazy family up close since they are staying at his house while he lives in the nearby cottage. Even though Ms. Wunder includes the basics of who Asher is, his personality and appeal besides his good looks is a bit nonexistent. And when Cam was right--as she usually was about everything--about his secret pleasure, I was stunned. It came completely out of left field. She predicted it because she thought she had him figured out but overall, The Probability of Miracles when a little extreme at times. I kept asking myself, "Why take things so far?

The pros that outweighed the cons for me mostly had to do with the crazy shenanigans that Cam did in Maine, and Promise, Maine in general. After reading this book, I would seriously consider convincing my mom for a lengthy road trip just to see the beach, the purple dandelions and flock of flamingos. I loved the author's descriptions of the scenery and her upfront and humorous writing style.

C

I would give this book a solid B because it made me look beyond what the main character was feeling in the very beginning and see that there was something a bit deeper going on than Clem just feeling guilty. I liked how the addictive writing style got me staying up till 2 in the morning before I could put the down. I did think the ending was perfect but the plot had a bit of a blatant build-up quality to it that I wished that it hadn't stopped there, and had more of a conclusion ending to make Clem's story more of a full-circle feel.

Overall I would give Unbreak My Heart a great YA contemporary recommendation because it's not about a love story that could have been but tests of friendship and allowing oneself to know there's more to being happy than there is to being sad.

With the escalation of missing-persons in Bedford, Maine, Zara White decides to take the duty of being the pixie queen of Astley's pixies seriously, especially since the world's about to end and all. She feels the weight of what it is going to take to fight all of Frank's pixies and find out what she has to do in order to keep the world intact. Help comes from her multitude of friends and family that she has accumulated since arriving in the tiny town of Bedford. In the middle of all the chaos, Zara soon comes to realize that the love she and Nick shared has been treading on a razor blade edge since she saved Nick in Valhalla. So many challenges face Zara as the pixie queen, as "the chosen one" in the mysterious prophecy, as Astley's partner. In the end she'll have to ask herself, "Is she willing to risk it all for the prosperous lives of the people and world she loves?"

As far as the romance that simultaneously lessens and grows in Endure, I'm super glad about the outcome. Nick is the same macho, bossy, brutish character he was in Entice and I wanted to slap him numerous times. And of course Astley's wonderfully sweet nature doesn't change and I wanted to kiss him numerous times. Pixie fate doesn't sound so bad, right? Back to Nick, though....There was one particular scene in Endure that some of the characters go back to Iceland--not going to say why--and Nick decides to tag along this time. There's a little respite from the chaos and Zara and him get to talk. Let's just say, if you were holding out for Team Nick to pull through, this scene will flush any chances of that happening down the drain. What's funny is that he thinks he hasn't done anything wrong by Zara till that point, and I'm like, "Seriously?"

Guess I should talk more about the gloom and doom climax since that's primarily what the book centers around. I don't think Ms. Jones could have down a better job at putting every piece of the puzzle in its place to cinch up the final book in the series. While I think she could have adjusted the execution of all the Norse mythology as things were heating up in the book more structurally, I liked how she re-introduced the important events that happened in previous books and made everything wrap up nicely. It was ironic how easily the whole pandemonium of the apocalypse was avoided but that didn't leave the book without its own fair share of battle scenes and war chaos. The challenges that Zara faces include standing up to multiple gods and goddesses, ruthless pixies, and acceptance that even when she thinks she's lost and there's no way they can win, it only takes the power of something she's had all along to stop the world from ending.

I sincerely loved and enjoyed reading the Need series. All the characters that I met throughout all the books develop into people with the strength to fight and endure till the very end. I would recommend the whole series to people not afraid of blue-tinted skin, razor-toothed mouths and shapeshifters who need an attitude check.

Grade: A-

Oh ending, how you affect me so...hurry up book 3!

I breezed through this book, only took me 2 days--mind you, I have school to contend with as well. There's so much jammed pack information about the Triton and Poseidon territories to start this series off, but for me it still wasn't enough.

Plot: We've got Emma whose violet eyes connect her to the Syrena, both Triton and Poseidon house, but her white hair and skin are anomalies since Syrena have olive skin and dark hair. Her ability says she's of Poseidon, more connected to the sea world and its creatures than any known Poseidon Syrena. One fatal tragedy in the deep oceans on the Florida coast brings out her astonishing capability in the ocean, but too late to stop the shark before it bites. She didn't know that earlier, the strange boy and girl she'd crashed--literally, she's quite the klutz--into were twin royals of the human-loathing Triton house who, after seeing her violet eyes and sensing her through touch, could . Galen may be a prince of Triton but he's also their human ambassador. He knows that if Emma is a descendant of Poseidon himself then she should be the Syrena that mates with the next in line for the Triton throne, his brother Grom. It would be the only way to stop the current bloodless war between the two Syrena from escalating to violent methods. In order to protect the people he loves he has to follow Emma back to New Jersey where he can make her understand. He doesn't anticipate, however, how difficult that might be, for her and him.

Writing: I know that the tragedy spin is supposed to give the book a somewhat darker spin--or at least, that's what I surmised from the Goodreads synopsis--but Of Poseidon was more humorous than daunting. I didn't anticipate my love for this book to grow with every page but I'd spend a long time zoned out and thinking about the dynamics Ms. Banks presents in the mythology and mythological creatures that make up this book. I've become a little wary on the topic of first books in a series since I know it's the introduction into a fantastical world that's going to unfurl as the books release. It's almost always the execution that rubs me the wrong way because some authors have all this information and creativity in their minds but the structure of their novels don't always match the level of originality. This, however, is far from spetactular execution of Ms. Banks debut novel, for something couldn't me more intriguing to read than a book from an author that knows the voices of young adults so well and can communicate that in her writing. Bravo, Ms. Banks, Bravo.

The pacing kept me flipping the pages at break-neck speed, and the use of dialogue between characters was funny and entertaining, but sad and disheartening when called for. Is it ironic that teared up a bit in English class in a particularly discouraging scene, or just sad?

Characters: Emma and Galen have so much sexual tension writhing between them that it's plain as day to everyone but them. They got to know each other better before deeper feelings made it into the picture. The fight and resistance that their relationship creates between them produces a tantalizing romance that made me want to see develop into something more. Rayna, Galen's twin, was also a bit of obstacle when she saw Galen getting friendly with Emma before she could even develop into a full-blown Syrena and meet their brother Grom. I suppose that's what made me like Toraf so much for putting up with her and taking her away every so often. While being able to meet all these new people becomes special to her, Emma questions her past and parents, faces the decision of what to do in the future and how to come to terms that she is part fish.

Originality: More and more sea-related stories are being written and published in the YA genre, but Of Poseidon has taken the cake in creativity and imaginative disposition.

Now, the one thing I would caution potential readers about and feel I have to mention becomes it seemed fatal was...the cliffhanger ending almost damned me. I said so many OMGs and was pacing around my house before I could fully calm down to get a well-deserved rest. WHY?! Why do authors do such cruel things to their readers? Sigh. Sadly (or fortunately), this in no ways stops me from dragging everyone by the hair to buy this book when it hits store near you.

Grade: A

Ana signifies nosoul, alone. No one has ever been there to help Ana or teach her the ways and practices that have existed for thousands of years. Li--Ana's mother and guardian--makes sure she gets as little exposure to the public as possible but when her eighteenth birthday finally arrives, Ana decides to venture to the center of it all; the one place where she might find some answers for her existence, Heart. When she takes a wrong turn and ends up going in the opposite direction of her destination, she's put into a near-death situation but is unexpectedly rescued. Sam saves her, but seeing as how this is the first time anybody has tried caring for Ana, she's understandably hesitant to trust him. One thing binds them together though, music.

With the help of Sam and his friends in Heart, the encompassed white-wall enclosure where most of the population lives in Range, Ana is able to live with him and allowed to explore their libraries to learn more about how the million souls, under the rule of the Council, live.

My first impression of Ana's character was that she had trust issues and questioned everything about the way the oldsouls lived. Ms. Meadows goes into her story head-on but throughout the book, she unveils the reasoning and thought process for Ana's decisions and attitude. I grew to like her brave impulsiveness and polar opposite personality from Sam. She definitely grew into her own person even if she didn't see that herself at first. Sam was a sweet love interest that indulged Ana more than he probably should have. His protective and hesitant nature flourished due to Ana's influence and vice versa. They both developed simultaneously and learned from each other.

I liked reading about the other characters involved in the Ana's life as well. I appreciated their roles and how they reflected on Ana's life but I could also see how their individual lives were part of the million souls.

The secretiveness and distaste behind Ana's existence is evident from the very beginning. Ana's quest to find out more about her raison d'être takes hold of the story's plot line as does the intensity behind her relationship with Sam.

I had some problems while going through the book because I wanted more of the technological background for the oldsouls, less to do with their feuds with dragons and all the other mystical creatures and more about how they live, what their individual jobs are, how the Council makes its decisions and keeps track of everything. All of these elements are mentioned but never truly gone into depth about. The only truth given for Heart's creation was that a being named Janan supposedly built it for the humans that were being reincarnated. And what bothered me the most was the mysterious structure that stuck out like a sore thumb in the book: the temple. We only get the answers and reason behind the temple's creation towards the end of the book and even though, I was so confused I was getting wrinkles. All the answers that Ms. Meadows was trying to give at the end had too many gaps and just left me frustrated and wanting to shake the book--in this case, my Kindle--for more thorough explanations.

Another smaller issue I had a problem with was how the climate and time-telling inside heart was different than outside the walls. This also leads to my problem with how one year is called the Year of Drought, the next the Year of Souls. There's no explanations for the cycles or when they know another Year of Souls is coming up.

I will be reading the sequel for Incarnate just to follow along and see if I can get some answers to my questions and that will be what determines if I read the rest of the Newsoul series. I do recommend picking up Incarnate because of its originality and new twist on the ever-growing popularity of the dystopian genre.

Grade: C

Honestly I wish I could give this 0 stars. I hate that I didn't like Switched as much as I wanted to. This type of poor execution of a book makes me want to rant about how terrible it was. I didn't like the main character, Wendy, didn't like that ALL of the questions she had went unanswered because by the end I felt like I was left with one big question on my forehead. I don't even know what the purpose for this first installment in the series was. Usually the first book is the base, when you first get introduced to most of the characters--which this book did do--and when you get the background/details necessary to somewhat discern what the rest of the series will be about--which this book failed to do. The latter frustrated me to no end.

It's when I got to the very last page in the book that I realized everything that had previously occurred--all the action that took place, the secret behind Wendy's true identity--had no significance whatsoever.

SPOILER: She ended up right back where she started.

I'm sorry if this sounds incoherent but I skimmed through the majority of the book, hoping that by some miracle it would reel me in enough to take notice of the little details that make books unique in their own right. Obviously, that did not happen and I felt reading this book was a waste of my time.

Even though I like the happy-go-lucky families in my novels as much as the next girl, I think the fights this family had is what made this 4 stars instead of 3. The reasoning behind Ashlyn's father's--Charles--overprotective nature is what built up the tension for the Adair family from the start. It is only when an "old family friend"--as Ashlyn's mother, Fiona puts it--takes authority of being Ashlyn's bodyguard that things start to go haywire in the family's townhouse on Fifth Avenue.

When Ashlyn Adair started to feel uncomfortable with her bodyguard Stuart, she knew it was time to convince Daddy to let her have her freedom once and for all. But, as per usual, Charles ignores his little girl's wishes--and by this time she's almost eighteen--and decides to hire another bodyguard that'll annoy Ashlyn just as much, Colin Brennen. The strange feeling that Ashlyn gets around Colin hasn't ceased to grow inside her since the last time they saw each other but the bullying that Colin administered when they were younger is particularly unforgettable. This by no means stops Ashlyn from acting out her longing wish of freedom.

Since I've read four other books by Jennifer Laurens and one under her pseudonym J.M. Warwick, and since I loved ALL of them, my expectations were very high. But honestly I was just glad to be able to read another book by her again. When I first read the synopsis for Overprotected, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it and when I finally did, it took no longer than two days to breeze through it.

While the romance that slowly kindled between Ashlyn and Colin was passionate and tasteful, I think the core of the plot centered on Ash's familial issues. And there were plenty to be dealt with. All the imperfections that surrounded her didn't deter her determination to fulfill her one wish of freedom. Her love of music and playing the piano with an excellent skill provided the "innocent" quality that others see in her and a humbleness since she doesn't realize her own innocence. For some reason, going into this book, I expected Ashlyn to be more outspoken and rebellious; and while she does rebel against her father when she can find the courage, her subdued demeanor radiates a sense of inborn class. I admired Ashlyn for her individualistic character while in a household that feels more like a cage than a home. Colin wasn't as mischievous as I thought either, but whenever he flashed those intense blue eyes and crooked smile, I could admit to myself that his protective FBI persona was hot.

The writing was not any less addicting than in Ms. Laurens' previous novels, but every once in a while I'd catch myself in the middle of one family argument and had to stop and take note of the impressive manipulative skill that was demonstrated in the conflicting personages of each individual. Charles' irrationality when it came to his daughter's freedom and expression made me reflect on how parents' final decisions can ultimately affect the child--or children--and have their own repercussions.

I would recommend Overprotected for the sole reason that it is by Jennifer Laurens, but for those in need of more persuasion, I'd say to pick up the book because you won't want to miss how one girl separate from the outside world becomes the missing girl everyone in New York is buzzing about.

Grade: B

The Fault in Our Stars is for me what An Imperial Affliction is for Hazel Grace before she introduced it to Augustus Waters.

"And then there are books like An Imperial Affliction, which you can't tell people about, books so special and rare and yours that advertising your affection feels like a betrayal."

Em first made it onto the island looking for nothing more than a great half-summer and a little truth about this second part of her family she knew nothing about. As she starts relaxing and having fun with her cousin and aunt in the Pepper House, Em starts to learn what it really means to have the confidence to do the things you love and not worry about disappointing others. The Pepper House soon becomes the B&B that feels like home and the people who work there like family.

Coming from the world of constant expectations bombarding you to paradise island where freedom is comforting, Elizabeth Margaret immediately goes with the flow and adapts to the life she never thought she could have. The mystery with the family secret being the main plot, I thought that Em's insistent investigative nature was helpful to push the story along and an admirable trait. It was the sub-plots that I enjoyed the most: Em's passion for cooking, the budding romance between her and Cade, the awesome cousin she shares a bonding connection with. They all amount to the developments Em makes as a character, and the developments the other characters make as well. It felt appropriate for them to have grown in different forms considering all their personalities and backgrounds. That's one thing I loved about Ms. Greenland's writing style, the fact that every person introduced in the book sounded authentic and realistic.

During the time I was reading the book, I made some off-hand reference to The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han because some of the characters in this book made similar connections with the protagonist that reminded me of another summer-beach read. I won't say they're the same because once I started The Summer My Life Began, I absolutely grew addicted and wanted to go to Outer Banks for a summer vaca, too. I certainly didn't enjoy The Summer I Turned Pretty for various reasons that I won't elaborate on in this review. However, the tone of these two books were comparatively similar and I wouldn't put it past the reader to pick up Ms. Han's novel after reading Ms. Greenland's.

I'm glad this brief summer read is being published close to the summer months because it will just add to the wonderful experience of reading the book under the warm sun.

Grade: A

Loved the majority but hated the disconnection towards the last quarter of the book.

Living in the Canadian suburbs has not stopped Ian from thinking of bigger and better things for his dancing career. Ever since he was a tot he hasn't done anything or thought about anything more all-consuming than his dancing. And although the teachers at his high school don't like to talk and rather stay away, they can't ignore the results that incorporating his dance techniques and flexibility exercises helps improve their athletes mobility. When a certain jock takes notice of Ian, it sparks a secret relationship between the two that the former would die to keep.

To start off, the predictability bar was set very high and did not disappoint. I knew what was going to happened before I even read the book. One thing I did not expect was for Chance to Dance for You to be crazy funny and satirical at times. Ian loved to make fun of the jocks, the burbs, his school in general and I loved reading all the names he came up with; they all had their own original twist on the names we hear everyday. I also appreciated the fact that Ian had a separate life that concentrated on his dancing when he started his relationship with Jess. That distraction definitely gave a spin to the book that was needed in order for the plot not become stagnant and solely focused on the secrecy between Ian and Jess.

Since Chance to Dance for You was such a short read, the only issues I had with it was the predictability and the ending. In a lot of ways, these two things coincide and it was the ending that I saw coming and did not enjoy reading at all. I know some may say different, that it's really the reality of homosexuality right now but the way and context in which this book was written set up such high hopes for the reader only to have them come crashing down in two seconds. However, I imagine that's how brief it would take to ruin someone's life, and I understand how the author wanted to illustrate that.

Grade: C

Thought it would be a bit better but that's because of my astronomical expectations. Some of the conflicts seemed superimposed and unnecessary. Decent read overall but I wish it wasn't so predictable and a bit more spice between Rileigh and Kim. LOVED Quentin, though!

Thought it started out interesting but there was no segue into the second portion of the book making the two parts feel like polar opposites. The reason Evan acted so strangely really came out of left field, making the book NOT a victim of Chekhov's gun.