Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Blurb: I wasn't free of my past, not yet.

Sydney's blood is special. That's because she's an alchemist - one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets - and human lives. But the last encounter Sydney had with vampires got her in deep trouble with the other alchemists. And now with her allegiences in question, her future is on the line.

When Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, at first she thinks she's still being punished for her complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway. But what unfolds is far worse. Jill Dragomir - the sister of Moroi Queen Lissa Dragomir - is in mortal danger, and the Moroi must send her into hiding. To avoid a civil war, Sydney is called upon to act as Jill's guardian and protector, posing as her roommate in the unlikeliest of places: a human boarding school in Palm Springs, California. The last thing Sydney wants is to be accused of sympathizing with vampires. And now she has to live with one.

The Moroi court believe Jill and Sydney will be safe at Amberwood Prep, but threats, distractions, and forbidden romance lurk both outside - and within - the school grounds. Now that they're in hiding, the drama is only just beginning.

My Review: I'd put this book on hold for a pretty long time now, mainly because I'm not particularly fond of immediately starting a spin-off after finishing a series. I really, really liked Rose in Vampire Academy and always liked Adrian better than Dimitri so maybe that's why it took me so long to pick up this book. I wasn't ready to let go of my Adrian-Rose ship. Nevertheless, I started Bloodlines and although it took me a day to finish this, I still felt that it was too...slow. I had the same problem with Vampire Academy but with the second book, the series became one of my favourites so I'm hoping that something like that happens with this series too because even though I loved the characters and the story, in general, I just didn't feel like it had that much matter in it. I actually skipped a few pages now and then just because I knew the story isn't going anywhere and I guess that's the only reason I'm giving this book a 3 stars.

If I ignore the slug pace of the book, I actually really loved the characters. Sydney was a little annoying in the beginning with her bigoted views about humans and vampires but she goes through some major changes as the book proceeds and her character development was really interesting. I could understand how difficult it is to alter what she's believed in all her life and I think she did really well adjusting to the situations she was thrown into. She still has a long way to go though and honestly, I can't wait for it to happen.

Adrian was just..perfect, as usual. Considering how I finished Spirit Bound, the last book in the VA series, like 5 years ago, you'd think that I would've been over Adrian Ivashkov by now but noooooooo, he still happens to be one of my favourite book boyfriends and perhaps the only reason why I was able to finish the book as quickly as I could. I really didn't like the fact that Sydney and Adrian weren't thrown in together that often because it reduced his appearances in the book.
But the way Richelle Mead slowly built up the chemistry between Sydney and Adrian was really intriguing and engrossing.
They both come a long way at the end of the story and I just really enjoyed watching them transform in their own ways.

The story itself was alright. I wouldn't say it was something spectacular because halfway through the book I could figure out most of what was going on so I didn't feel any surprise or shock as such when the mystery is unraveled. However, I can tell that there's a lot to come and the first book was just about covering the surface so I'm not exactly disappointed..or elated, for that matter.

Overall, I'd say that it COULD'VE been better BUT I'm not too upset about this. It's just how Richelle Mead works. She creates some major foundations in the first book itself and builds upon those foundations in the next books which is exactly what makes the series as a whole so strong and engrossing...at least that's what happened in VA so I'm just going to assume the same for Bloodlines and hope for the best.

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Blurb: “There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

My Review: Okay so frankly, the first half of the novel was boring. A lot of people praised this book so I was quite excited when I started it but it took me wayyyyyy too long to finish because my attention kept wavering every few pages. There just wasn't enough stuff happening to keep my interest for long and that should've been enough reason for me to drop the book except that I do not like to abandon books. It's like abandoning a puppy you don't find as adorable as compared to others in the litter. Just because it's quieter and less cuter than other puppies doesn't mean there isn't potential for it to grow into an amazing, beautiful, loyal dog.
Sorry I can't really think of any other simile because I'm missing my own dog too much right now (he's a Lhasa Apso and he's a darlingggg, though a little spoilt.)
Anyway, my point is The Raven Boys grew into a wonderful dog/book/story/youknowwhatImean.

I was at 52% completion of the book (I think) when I actually FELT the change. From the monotonous, shifting POVs, suddenly, things actually started happening and I stopped minding the shifts as the story became more action packed and the characters started showing some more..well, character. This is right about the time Blue decides to defy her mother and go on the helicopter ride with Adam and the others. I say others, because Gansey really wasn't an important OR interesting character till then and seemed just as irrelevant as Ronan, Noah and everybody else.
I couldn't see the point of dragging the story so much and it just felt like the only real content the author had was so less that she had to put in unnecessary sentences in the middle of the chapters for the first part just so that she could turn it into a book instead of a short story.

Nevertheless, the second half of the book was admittedly pretty awesome and it just kept getting better till the end. There was more action and some mystery elements as well, related to the identity of Neeve, Whelk and another character which I'm not going to name because that was a BIG surprise for me and completely got me hooked to the book. Gansey also started showing signs of being a real normal human being instead of some rich, stoic dude with an identity and existential crisis.

"If you're going to embarrass me, I'll throw you out and fly myself," Gansey said from the seat beside her. This was not a true threat. Not only would he not push Helen out at this altitude, he wasn't legal to fly without her"

His dig at Helen, his sis, and this scene in general made me laugh. I mean, there was some real consideration behind that thought. "Oh shit, I can't really do that because you know I'm not legal to fly this thing without my sister if I push her out right now. Oh and yeah she might die but the more important point is truth be told, he wasn't very good at flying a helicopter, despite several lessons "
...it seemed such a sibling-y thought and consideration that this became the part where I started paying more attention to Gansey. Honestly, he seemed like a very motivated robot before.

I could imagine Blue and Gansey together and Blue also started growing on me even though initially I had thought that maybe I wouldn't end up liking her after all, especially because she wanted to keep Gansey's journal to herself and just assumed that it belonged to Adam. However, she proved my assessment of hers to be wrong in the end and actually turned out to be quite captivating.

The writing style also improved a lot in the latter part of the book and I genuinely wanted to know what happens next and how exactly the ley lines work and everything else as the story progressed.
I think I should have given this book three stars because one part was bad and the other part was good so it evens out to be okayish but the thing is that the second part was extremely riveting. It pulled me into Henreitta and Cabeswater and the corpse road. It made me want to expperience the power of the magical willow tree and search Glendower. It was more than good. It was excellent. And so, I want to continue this series and see if the next book can do better than 3.5 stars. (Dream Thieves, here I cooooooooomeeeeeee)
Seriously though, if you're the type of person who requires instant gratification of your thirst for good reads, I wouldn't recommend The Raven Boys to you. However, if you're patient and are looking for something new related to the paranormal YA genre, I'd say go for this. New concepts are really hard to find and Stiefvater still managed to do it.

Review: How to Ruin a Summer Vacation by Simone Elkeles

Book Blurb: Moshav? What’s a moshav? Is it “shopping mall” in Hebrew? I mean, from what Jessica was telling me, Israeli stores have the latest fashions from Europe. That black dress Jessica has is really awesome. I know I’d be selling out if I go with the Sperm Donor to a mall, but I keep thinking about all the great stuff I could bring back home. 

Unfortunately for 16-year-old Amy Nelson, “moshav” is not Hebrew for “shopping mall.” Not even close. Think goats, not Gucci. 

Going to Israel with her estranged Israeli father is the last thing Amy wants to do this summer. She’s got a serious grudge against her dad, a.k.a. “Sperm Donor,” for showing up so rarely in her life. Now he’s dragging her to a war zone to meet a family she’s never known, where she’ll probably be drafted into the army. At the very least, she’ll be stuck in a house with no AC and only one bathroom for seven people all summer—no best friend, no boyfriend, no shopping, no cell phone… 

Goodbye pride—hello Israel.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My Review:
This is the third time I'm reading this novel, and Amy still manages to make me laugh with her antics.
Honestly people, if you are a fan of YA contemporary and you haven't read this book yet, you're missing out on something amazing. From the writing style to the plot, everything about this book is just-


So far, I've read all Simone Elkeles' books, and there's not a single one I have not loved. But I've got to say that the How To Ruin series is my all-time favorite.
Initially Amy comes across as bubbly, girly and a little kiddish but as we delve deeper into the story, we find out that she's a lot more than that. She's a genuine, brave, honest and caring person who can do anything for the people she loves. The affection she shows for her grandmother still melts my heart.
I could also find myself relating to her a lot because her personality was somewhat like mine. Though she's definitely a thousand times more crazy than me and somehow manages to find herself in totally weird situations on a daily basis.

Coming to Avi, wellllll..


I MEAN REALLY HOW CAN SOMEONE BE SO AMAZING?
He was the perfect mix of sexy, broody, funny and caring. He had all the traits which are required for becoming my book boyfriend and frankly, I'd be dead jealous of Amy if I didn't love her character so much.

There were so many scenes in this book which I'd just love to describe in detail because of their awesomeness but then I don't want to ruin the fun of this book. This is one novel for which you should march to your nearest bookstore ASAP and grab it off the shelf. Believe me, once you start reading it, you won't be able to stop till you finish it.

Now all I'd like to say is,
If you are in a sad gloomy mood, PICK UP THIS BOOK FOR A HAPPINESS DOSE.
If you are cheery and having a good day, PICK UP THIS BOOK TO MAKE YOUR DAY EVEN MORE PERFECT.
If you are neutral and just feel like reading, PICK UP THIS BOOK AND FALL IN LOVE WITH THIS SERIES.

Okay, I'll stop sounding like a weird TV commercial now...I guess the bottom line is that Amy and Avi's story is one which you don't want to miss. Seriously.


View all my reviews

Review: Merch Girl by Rebecca Lewis

Merch Girl by Rebecca Lewis
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Blurb: 
Seventeen-year-old Lacey Kind doesn’t have the guts to talk to cute boys, isn’t a size two, and would rather stay home and listen to music than go to a party. But in the summer before her first year of college, she ends up thousands of miles away from home, in the back of a tour bus, underneath the half-naked body of the hottest teen rock star in the country.

When Lacey and her best friend Trina sneak into a Boston nightclub to see their favorite band, they not only get to watch their rock gods perform for the first time, but score a chance to meet the band too. Lacey’s heart races as she comes face-to-face with her idol, nineteen-year-old lead singer, Logan Shire.

The girls charm their way into being hired to sell merchandise on Lansdowne’s first summer tour. As “merch girls” Lacey and Trina quickly find themselves transported from their ordinary, suburban life to an exhilarating few months on the road. But they soon realize that life on the road isn’t always a smooth ride...
An e-copy of this book has been provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Merch Girl was a fun, quirky read. Believe it or not, I've never been to a live band performance but this book gave me a pretty good idea what it might be like. The writing style was awesome and kept my interest throughout. I mean, the way the author described the whole tour and the band made it seem so...realistic. The story-line was exciting and something different from the other stories I've read so far.

The protagonist, Lacey seemed slightly annoying in the beginning. I don't know whether it was her demure personality or just the helpless way she carried herself but as the story moved on, I actually started liking her.
However, the opposite happened with Lacey's best friend Trina. In the beginning, she seemed upbeat and so supportive. She dragged Lacey around with her to all of Lansdowne's events as she got closer to one of the band members of Lansdowne and I felt that that was actually pretty sweet of her, but slowly, she just became exhausting to read about. Her jealous, snobby attitude and insecurities were super irritating and the abrupt way she relationship started, then ended and then started again was a little too fast for my taste.

Thankfully, Lacey's relationship with Logan was much steadier. Initially, I'd thought that Lacey might turn out to be the dumb-protagonist after all but no, that didn't happen. She turned out to be quite level-headed and clear on what she wanted. I liked how she remained calm (or atleast tried to) as Logan's fans fawned all over him.

As for the guys, well, Ms. Lewis did an amazing job there. Logan was definitely swoon-worthy and I loved the way the story ended.

All in all, Merch Girl was a pretty good. I would've given it 4 stars had it not been for the part where I initially didn't like Lacey and the part where I almost wanted to throw eggs on Trina's obnoxious head. Anywayyyy, I'd say this definitely a fun summer read, and might just turn out to be perfect for you if you love music-themed novels.

Review: Angelfall by Susan Ee

Angelfall by Susan Ee
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Blurb:  It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again


Review: You know that moment when you stumble upon a book which totally steals your breath away and makes you sit and read it in one go because you can't afford to pull away from the story even for a second? Yeah, Angelfall did that to me.

I don't think words would be enough to describe just how much I adored this book. I mean, really. HOW CAN A BOOK BE SO DAMN AWESOME? Angelfall had an intriguing story which you can't help but love through and through. Thinking back, I can't point out a single flaw in this book and that's really saying something because even the bestest books sometimes have a teeny-tiny fluke.

The characters were perfect, their emotions were described beautifully and I couldn't help but feel Penryn and Raffe's pain and loss as they journeyed together only to find more horrors the angels had brought with them.
I absolutely loved Penryn's POV. She made me laugh so many times and her ability to move on from even the most difficult and ugliest situations was damn admirable. Her silly remarks sort of lightened the overall dark setup of the book.

Many a times it was as if I could myself feel the bleakness and the sadness of that world. The monstrous things that Penryn came across during her fearless search of her sister actually gave me goosebumps.

Raffe, well, all I can say about him is that I think I just found another book boyfriend. And this time around, he's an angel!
The moment he was introduced in the story, I liked him and , and initially when Penryn treated him so badly, I felt like slapping her. Even though her reasons were totally justified and her harshness was probably the only thing that had kept her and her mother and sister alive for so long, I still felt bad for Raffe. Neither one of them deserved what was happening, but slowly, they did start making the best of their horrible situations and maybe unknowingly became this awesome team which you can't help but adore.

I lost count of how many times I gasped out loud or cried as the story moved on. It all just seemed so...realistic. And that makes it so much more scarier. The author put those things in light which you probably never even imagined in your worst nightmares, and yet, she put it so brilliantly that I couldn't tear my eyes away from the pages even if I wanted to (which I didn't).

I can't say much further than this without revealing some spoilers but all in all, Angelfall is a compelling and spectacular novel and a MUST read for all post-apocalyptic book lovers! I won't recommend this to people who prefer a light, fluffy read, though because this one would probably just end up giving you nightmares. No, seriously.

Blog Tour: The Trouble With Goodbye by Sarra Cannon

Title: The Trouble With Goodbye

Author: Sarra Cannon

Release date: May 2013

Publisher: Dead River Books (self-published)

Age Group:  New Adult

Genre:  Contemporary Romance

Tour organized by: AToMR Tours

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-trouble-with-goodbye-sarra-cannon/1115382104?ean=2940016500355

 

Book Description:

When Leigh Anne Davis landed a prestigious scholarship to an Ivy League school, she went against her parents' wishes and said goodbye to tiny Fairhope, Georgia and the wealthy boyfriend everyone expected her to marry. Now, two years later, she's back with her tail between her legs.

And a secret she wants to bury inside forever.

That's when Lucas Young enters her life. Everyone expects Leigh Anne to pick up right where she left off, but Lucas is different. Sure, he's been in some trouble in the past and seen his share of hard times, but he's the one person she can really be herself around.

The trouble is, being with Lucas would mean disappointing her family all over again. Will Leigh Anne give in to everyone's expectations? Or will she finally find the courage to follow her heart?

  Giveaway!

(5) Print copies of The Trouble with Goodbye - International

(10) eBook copies of The Trouble with Goodbye (mobi and epub) – International

(1) $25 VISA Gift Card – open to countries able to accept VISA Gift Cards

a Rafflecopter giveaway


My Review: When I first saw came across this book. I was immediately intrigued by the book description and honestly? I'm glad I picked this one up.

Even though I wasn't really that curious about what exactly happened with Leigh Anne (it seemed pretty obvious from the beginning), the writing style and the storyline was enthralling. From the moment Knox was introduced in the story, I literally couldn't stop my fingers from turning the pages.

The best part of this book was that the author didn't use the female protagonist's stupid antics to increase the pages of the book. The pace was steady-not too fast or too slow-and the characters were brilliantly built-up. I found the chapters to be slightly short though and feel that 2 chapters could've easily be merged into one.

Leigh Anne was quite likeable. She was level-headed, caring and considerate. What was not to like? Even after all the complications and hardships in her life, she still managed to laugh and think about others. It was this quality of hers which truly made me love her
Although, I'll admit, it was super-idiotic of her to cower behind the curtains for so long just because of her parents (who were absolutely useless, by the way. I felt like throwing something at them so many time while reading -.-). She was strong, that much was pretty clear from the start but that strength got lost somewhere whenver it came to her parents which was pretty annoying. But at the same time, who could really blame her? I'm totally blaming her parents though. ESPECIALLY her mum. Gosh, what an annoying lady.

Knox was absolutely swoon-worthy through and through. I couldn't believe he had a past like what he told Leigh Anne. But at the same time, it sort of made sense. He wasn't too out-going but humorous nonetheless. His charming personality and optimistic side was ah-mazinggg. I also liked the fact that even though he really, really liked Leigh Anne, he was still his own person and didn't take any crap from her (which she did try to serve him once or twice)

Overall, I found The Trouble With Goodbye to be a good read. It had a simple storyline with a great end and a happily ever after (Oh, how I love those :'D )  If you'd like a simple, sweet and salty contemporary fiction this summer, this one's definitely for you!

My Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars.


 To see other stops on the tour for reviews, guest posts, and excerpt click here or the tour button below.

 

About the Author

 

Sarra Cannon grew up in a small town in Georgia where she learned that being popular always comes at a price. She is the author of the young adult paranormal Peachville High Demons series, which she first began self-publishing in October of 2010. Since the series began, Sarra has sold over 120,000 copies and recently signed a contract with Sea Lion Books to create a graphic novel adaptation of Beautiful Demons, the first book in the series.

Sarra lives in North Carolina with her amazing husband, her new baby boy, and her teeny tiny Pomeranian, Snickerdoodle.

Author Social Media Links:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/sarracannon

Twitter:  twitter.com/sarramaria

Website: www.sarracannon.com

Goodreads:  www.goodreads.com/Sarra_Cannon

Pinterest: pinterest.com/sarracannon/