Dead Silence (Body Finder #4) - Kimberly Derting

Review: Dead Silence
Author: Kimberly Derting
Rating: 4/5
Genre: Paranormal-romance
Recommend To: fans of the Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

I've read this series for a while and I have started to detect a certain pattern....here's a brief overview. Violet senses a dead body. Jay tells her to trust others to handle it. Violet is dumb and goes to handle it herself, putting herself in grave danger. She survives. Jay and her kiss. They kiss some more. The killer targets more people, and is usually gravely psychotic. Something drastic happens. Violet goes to save they day. Something else happens. The killer is caught, Violet is fine. Jay and Violet kiss again.

I just summed up the whole series..but then again...it's still good. While the books follow the same path and have become very predictable, it's hard to pull yourself away. For one, Violet and Jay are too dang shmexy to resist. Really one of my favorite fictional couples (Jay is too cute). Also, The killers are CrEePy. No joke, every time you hear from their point of view, you get chills. They are very sick and twisted. And deranged. And then you almost, ALMOST, start to feel sorry for them. It's very gross and confusing and addicting. Each killer gets more and more weird and scary. Each book becomes more and more intense. The overarching plot is thickening, and we're finally getting the answers we so crave. 

It's moving from just being about Violet finding dead bodies, and it's progressing to what she wants to do with that ability, the limitations she has, and how the past affects the future. There are a lot of interesting revelations and discoveries Violet makes, and it adds to the mysterious aura of impending doom. I think the series will soon turn into a much more interesting direction, rather than just random killers. 

However, for now, Violet needs to stop being dumb and actually listen to the people around her for once. Honestly, she doesn't have the best decision making skills. She's constantly running into dangerous situations head first even after 4 books of being abducted and tortured, and putting her loved ones in danger. (Poor Jay is at his wits end). The books also need to become less predictable, although the intensity and horror factor are still fantastic.

Vesper (Deviants #1) - Jeff Sampson

Review: Vesper

Author: Jeff Sampson

Rating: 2/5

Genre: Paranormal

Recommend To: N/A

Honestly, it was weird. In a sort of not OH MY GOD THAT WAS SO UNEXPECTED but more of a .....huh...that was....unexpected...and odd...kind of way. It was just blah. The thing that attracted me to it the most was the cover. And the title. But nothing ever gets explained. There is some stuff that is supposed to confuse you, make you think plot twists and things, throw you off the trail, but it is overkill and completely ruins the romance aspect (that was awful), and other than that...the characters are pretty flat.

Ugh, what's her name....gosh I already forgot...Emily! It was Emily. Okay, Emily Webb not Cooke, it a boring person during the daytime. During the nighttime she morphs into.....oh look! Another boring Emily! Really, the concept was cool, but the rest of it really was not. The parties and random boy-licking (eew) and the drunkenness was probably supposed to make her really really different from daytime Emily, but I never even got a feel for the original character herself. The nighttime Emily was just a boring drunk. I never thought whoa, she is a really dangerous and awesome female main character. Her best friend Meghan was beyond obnoxious. Normally I love the secondary characters, they're the quirky ones who light the book up! But uhh....Meghan celebrated the death of a girl...because she was a popular girl who apparently deserved no less. Umm okay who does that? And then she wished for more dead popular people and told her best friend she was better off dead than well-liked. Great message there. There are also the usual absent parents, no older guide whatsoever, and her dad doesn't say more than 5 lines and plays video games (I get her mom is dead but still). 

The love interest? We spend ages listening to Emily ramble on about some other guy. We are introduced to the actual guy after 80% of the book is over, and we don't learn a thing about him. Bam, he is just there. Yeah, plot twist or just random and not well done? I vote the latter. They don't even TALK. It's completely useless and it's not even love at first sight. It was something else altogether. Ugh. 

The only thing that salvaged this book even remotely was the whole F. Savage dialogue interview thing. I don't make much sense but I don't really want to spoil. It was different though, I enjoyed it more than the whole book put together. And the ending was better. It really showed a better, more sarcastic, and actually intelligent side of Emily. Although still no explanation whatsoever, it just was not well done.

Overall, a pretty horrible book with the potential to be something. Maybe. It was all just weird and off kilter. The pacing was terrible, the romance was...nonexistent let's just say....and the characters were two-dimensional. 

Perfect Scoundrels (Heist Society #3) - Ally Carter

Review: Perfect Scoundrels
Author: Ally Carter
Rating: 4/5

Genre: Espionage

Recommend To: fans of the Gallagher Girls, the Specialists

Ally Carter writes the some of the cutest literature. Don't take that the wrong way, it's a compliment. If you need something light-hearted and simple to read curled up somewhere on a rainy day, Ally Carter is your way to go. I'm going to say her Gallagher Girls series didn't start of that well, but it's definitely much better in the later books. However, Heist Society is good throughout the series. 

The plots are very simple; there's a bad guy, then Kat's adorable family gets involved. They pull the biggest con ever attempted, and they win YAY. It's very suitable for younger kids, (except for when Hale gets drunk). But even then, it's written for a more juvenile audience. If you're looking for a complex. emotional plot, with twists and turns this is not it. BUT, it's still so, so enjoyable. It's fun and adventurous. The names of some of the Heist capers are ridiculous (ex. Three Blind Mice, the Anastasia, Cat in the Cradle, Count of Monte Cristo). It's so much fun imagining all the different cons those could possible refer to!

The characters are definitely one of the best aspects of this book. Kat, Hale, Uncle Eddie, Bobby, Gabrielle (who I really love), Angus, Hamish, Simon, Silas Foster, Marcus, Marianne. They're all fantastic and whimsical and hilarious and very, very lovable. And the bad guys are fun to hate too! Hale's entire family is horrible, Garrett was despicable. But it was all so lighthearted. Although, there was a scare towards the end, there is nothing awful that happens in these books. They'll just make you plain old laugh in amusement. 

The relationships are beautiful. Kat and Hale go through some bumps, but they still love each other. Kat and her Uncle Eddie are always there for each other. Kat and Gabrielle...I adore them and their little cousin bickering. The characters never let each other down though, they are loyal to the end. In these books, family is everything, and it just adds a bright spot to your day.

Overall, these books are simple, delightful, and heartwarming. It's just a pleasure to read, and will take your mind off your problems.

Mila 2.0 (Mila 2.0 #1) - Debra Driza

Review: Mila 2.0

Author: Debra Driza

Rating: 4/5

Genre: Science-fiction

Recommend To: fans of Adam & Eve, Maximum Ride, and Unwind

Hmmm...I was stoked about this book, and the cover totally helped to increase my excitement. I was expecting heart-pounding action, awesome tech, and a great cliffhanger (according to the blurb at least.)
There was also the expectation of some slow, simmering romance that would gradually build. 

I was ready to absolutely love this book, but there were some parts I could not bring myself to like. First off, there wasn't really a cliffhanger. Nah. Also, the character development was stunted except in the case of Mila's relationship with her mom. Everyone else just showed up...and then disappeared. Mila herself, I liked, she was easy to root for, but she was so typical. Bleh. Her obnoxious "friend" Kaylee? Yeah no, she was useless. It was really her mom who I could see a growing relationship and understanding developing. 

The romance was.....there? I just didn't enjoy it. There was Hunter, who falls in love with her after like a minute, and they have a secret meeting in the barn....stuff happens. Bye Hunter. Enter Lucas, a nice guy working for the bad guys, who seems to care for her.....stuff happens. Bye Lucas. Oh hey Hunter, I need your help. END OF BOOK. That was honestly it. I felt nothing for Hunter, who she kept thinking about, and then Lucas, I don't even think he was supposed to be a love interest, although it's pretty confusing when she compares the two. 

Yes it sounds awful right? The good thing was, the bad stuff was focused on very little of the time. The main focus is the action and the suspense and it delivers. Mila discovers she is an android, activate defense capabilities and badaboom she can FIGHT. Throw in some bad guys, and an evil scientist/madman, it is automatically a fun book. Mila has to learn how to use both her human and android abilities to rise up and it is so very awesome. 

The end was not a cliffhanger, but it will lead into the next book, which will no doubt be suspenseful and will probably answer some questions.

But the real question remains *serious face*....how on earth does Mila 2.0 go to the bathroom if she's an android?

The Evolution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #2) - Michelle Hodkin

Review: The Evolution of Mara Dyer
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Rating: 5/5

Genre: Paranormal-romance

Recommend To: fans of the Body Finder

Wow oh wow. I am a huge fan of the Unbecoming of Mara Dyer and the Evolution just certified that fact. It's creepy and confusing at times, and mirrors the effects of insanity (you go with Mara the whole way). The romance is practically sizzling off the page, I think I actually blushed at some points. Yeah (Noah...*sighs dreamily*). There are probably people who can argue that the basic story follows the same girl meets boy and is a superhero type of plot line, but seriously, how many times does the girl have the ability to kill everything in a mile radius and also ends up in an asylum? 

The Evolution of Mara Dyer continues on from the Unbecoming which ended with that nasty, shocking cliffhanger. Mara grows a lot, she focuses on her family and keeping them safe, as well as her relationship and familial connections to Noah *sighs dreamily again* . What I liked was that Mara recognized the fact that the more she acted insane, the more she would be scrutinized and institutionalized. She is intelligent enough to know what to do to cover up her slipping grasp on reality, whereas other characters just whine a lot. What's even more scary is when we go with her on her insane rides into the past. Her life becomes more terrifying as she realizes she is forgetting things, and at times, she'll fall asleep or have blackouts, and wake up somewhere completely different. The Jude situation worsens, as she wonders if he is stalking her and her family with the intent of doing harm (plus he's creepy, that's all I'm going to say there).

The most frustrating thing about the book was how her family wouldn't believe her and the dramatic irony of the situation. It was pretty painful, and I just wanted to shake them like *Jude is THERE and Mara ISN'T insane!!! Why can't you SEE??* Although it is so nice to have a character with an actual supportive family, rather than being a poor orphan raised by an aunt or something. That's been overdone.

Finally, the mystery of the powers she has is slowly being solved (can't wait for book 3!) and Noah is there every step of the way. The relationship between him and Mara is deepening, as they try to figure out what is actually going on with Mara and well, a whole boatload of crazy stuff. He is deep and brooding, typical guy dark hero stuff, but you can't help loving him. It's actually a fun read and isn't too heavy. It makes you go nuts, but it's always fun to get into a story the way you can easily slip into the world of Mara Dyer. I recommend for paranormal romance fans who are tired of the werewolves and vampires. 

Eve & Adam - Michael Grant, Katherine Applegate

Review: Eve & Adam
Authors: Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate
Rating: 3/5

Genre: Science-fiction

Recommend To: fans of Partials

This was not the most original book I've read all year. Just based on the cover, the whole mother is in charge of a biochem lab; the whole thing was screaming GENETICALLY MODIFIED MUTANT STUFF HAPPENING HERE. Yeah it was obvious. But it was still very enjoyable. 

It was interesting enough (just not surprising). Evening Spiker is tasked by her mother to program a human being, DNA and up. Of course she picks male. (DUH) However, the company her mother heads has some funky stuff underfoot (wow who didn't see that one?) and is breaking the law and creating biological anomalies (*gasp! WHAT?* Yeah not really) and the cute boy who works around the building thinks it's Eve's mom who's the head of the whole operation. He plans to bring the company down to expose the atrocities occurring, all the while Eve is slightly clueless. ("I'm only creating him using the program, the billion dollar biochemistry company my mom is the CEO for would never actually do something with it!") Right. Thanks for your input Eve. 

Beyond that though, the concept was cute, the wee romance was also adorable. There was not much of actual chemistry I guess, but for the book's sake let's say that Eve and Solo were cute. His determination to bring down her ruthless mother was commendable (lol). Adam....eh. I loved Aislin though, it was hard not to. She was very dumb, but I was happy in the end. Best friends are usually fun side characters and Aislin was no exception. He nherent dumbness was frustrating but that was sort of the point. She was always there for Eve. 

Terra Spiker is probably the baddest, most awesome woman ever. I hated her at first, but at the end I was totally in awe. She's that person who is emotionless, but only on the outside, and will not hesitate to TAKE YOU DOWN.

It was very predictable, and utterly simple. Even the horrifying creatures didn't really make me shiver in fear or anything. It was too straightforward. But on a hot summer day, or a cozy winter day, this book would be a good companion. It's a good tale and ends neatly. It's fantastic stand-alone book because it ends so tidily, I probably liked the ending a good amount more than the beginning of the book. The bad guys were bad, they died, the good guys were good, they lived. It was undemanding, but maybe at times, that is exactly what is needed.

The Elite (The Selection #2) - Kiera Cass

Review: The Elite

Author: Kiera Cass

Rating: 5/5

Genre: Dystopia, romance

Recommend To: fans of Throne of Glass

This is so frustrating, I think I have more questions that after the first book! Not that it's an awful thing, honestly it's just insanely complicated unraveling my own feelings next to America! Normally (and this is probably just me) after the love triangle gets introduced, I figure it out quickly. It's easy to predict who she will end up with, and it's also very simple for me to figure out whether I'm on board with it or not. Take one of the most debated (and lamest) love triangles in YA literature, Jacob or Edward. Yeah it was obvious she would end up with Edward, and the majority of people were either Team Edward or Team Jacob. It was one or the other. 

The Selection and the Elite are MUCH more complicated, love-trianglewise. The books themselves do focus a large amount on the love triangle, so even if there are all sorts of political shenanigans and rebellions going on, it's mainly about the romance. Maxon is in the spotlight for the majority of the Selection, which is why it seems like he could be America's choice, but she also is having difficulty reconciling her feelings about becoming Queen, as well as him dating 5 other girls (yeah talk about weird). Although he has promised he loves her, she can't be sure he isn't telling every girl the same thing. But Maxon is sweet, kind, knows exactly what he needs, and he can make her laugh and feel comfortable. Then there's Aspen, he is basically her history. He knows America inside and out, and is a compass with his love for her. (So who? Who is it? Total speculation here so it doesn't count as spoilers (right?) but just because of the large amount of Maxon we've been seeing, I think it might be him. Aspen's a cutie pie though.)

Other than those relationships, there are the relationships between the other girls and America which at times were downright sweet. I loved Marlee and was even liking Kriss. The others.....were fun to hate ;) Her family remains incredibly supportive, and it's easy to see where America get's her lively, vivacious nature. I loved how she made mistakes too and did stupid things, she's not a perfect person, but she always stands up for what's right. 

Finally, the action stuff. The rebellions are worsening, and there are some secrets revealed from the past. There is increasing amounts of political intrigue, but a lot of the novel is again still focused on the romance aspect. I still loved it overall, and the characters especially are really pulling me in, but avoid it if you don't like a lot of indecisive romance. IF YOU DO (and you want to be just as indecisive) I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK. Just saying.

Eleanor & Park - Rainbow Rowell

Review: Eleanor and Park

Author: Rainbow Rowell

Rating: 5/5

Genre: Contemporary, romance

Recommend To: fans of Pushing the Limits, the Fault in Our Stars (they cause similar amounts of trauma)

What did I ever do to you books? Why do I deserve this absolute heart-wrenching, completely terrifying experience? I never caused you pain, but you nearly killed me. I never made you cry, but you made me drown in tears. Why would you do such a thing? I felt compelled to write this review at 1 in the morning. Because I just finished and the tear tracks are still fresh. This is one of the most beautiful books I've ever read. 

The characters, still so fresh in my mind just evoke such emotions. Eleanor, love and independence. Park, bravery and loyalty. Richie, complete and utter hatred. Even the secondary characters invoke crazy things, Tina, Steve, DeNice, Beebi, Ben, Maisie, Park's parents, Eleanor's mom and actual dad. The feelings were just flowing freely and were completely out of control. My family probably though I was a psychopath or something. 

The writing itself, it just....I'm going to be honest here, it terrified me. I was going out of my mind. Because as the story progresses, it hastens and develops a sense of urgency. I was feeling utter dread as it continued. The beginning was almost slow, Park and Eleanor meeting, falling in love. But then it starts to go. And it makes your heart crawl up into your throat. Because you know, you KNOW, something is going to happen and you KNOW it's going to do something to do this fragile/indestructible love of Eleanor & Park and all you can do is sit tight and pray that they both don't end up like Romeo and Juliet. It's completely crazy. And it's one of my favorite books of the year. 

Eleanor. She made me want to cry. And then get a grip on myself and hug every single member of my family. Her story...just the incredible amount of things she is forced to go through. The fear of not having enough food, not having clothes, not having a bathroom door, not having batteries. A useless mother, a drug addict father (actual father). Siblings who honestly terrified me. The amount of things against her were astounding. I wanted to pack my entire room up and hand it to her with a bow. Like here...an actual toothbrush and clothes. And yet through it all, she still remained Eleanor. 

Park. He was freaking Asian Prince Charming. Can I say I completely fell in love with him? The comic books, and the music, and making Eleanor tapes. He was the opposite of Eleanor in every way. HIs family too, gods they were adorable. I loved how they eventually welcomed Eleanor into their family, especially his mom (I loved her).

Here comes the actual ranting. Richie you sick, SICK, TWISTED man monster. I hope you rot in hell. Because even if you are fictional, you embody perverts, rapists, sexual predators, domestic abusers, sex ring runners and every humanly horrible thing on this earth and I want you all to die slowly. Because you are freaking disgusting. 

Sigh, overall, this book is simply amazing. But it completely drains you. And uses every ounce of your being. Then it rolls over you with a train a couple times for good measure. Just a note of caution. 

Blood of the Sorcerer (Kingdom Chronicles #2) - B.C. Morin

Review: Blood of the Sorcerer
Author: BC Morin
Rating: 4/5
Genre: Fantasy
Recommend To: fans of the Iron King

There was loads and loads of fresh, fun, fantasy in Blood of the Sorcerer! It continues from Mark of the Princess with the rise of Samil aided by Maligo, and has the return of wonderful characters such as Alannah, Evyette, Brennus, Tristan, and Kaleb. The plot gets twisted and complicated, but remains engaging and full of magical confrontations and romance. Alannah continues her training and grapples with her feelings for Brennus who is set to marry Isibeal, who in turn is hiding a secret. Evyette continues to learn about her mysterious past with her love Tristan and friend Kaleb by her side. 

The characters themselves are very complex with intricate personalities. The relationships between them are well explored and the world building is lush and full of sensory overload. The descriptions are full of detail and the settings are easy to visualize. Although the different magical creatures can be easy to confuse (Dorchae, Drow etc.) the story isn't hard to get into; you automatically become lost in the world.

Even better was the introduction of backstories for the villains. Originally they seemed flat, but with the added tales of how Samil and Maligo became the way they are, the story was enhanced and became better in general. The villains became 3-Dimensional and were easier to understand and sympathize with while still being fun to hate.

The romance was incredible. Although there was predictable love triangle stuff, it wasn't drawn out and overly boring, plus the constant misunderstandings (especially between Alannah and Brennus) were frustrating but amusing. The tension between Alannah and Brennus was tangible (as in really WOW) and drunk Brennus is so SEXY. My gosh. Evyette and Tristan were also so adorable.

[ I'm just sad about the end, Tristan's death felt almost uneccessary. So much time was spent building their relationship and instead he just dies? And Kaleb gets the girl? No thanks I'll pass. Sigh, I don't know, I felt zilch amounts of chemistry between Kaleb and Evy. (hide spoiler)]

With all this glorious stuff there seem to be no flaws but sadly, the writing itself was not exceptional. I suppose it is a self-published book after all, but it was hard to ignore the awkward sentence structure. The dialogue was stilted at times, made to sound overly archaic and then almost modern, and it was occasionally predictable. For example, this quote is just wordy and awkward, and tries too hard to sound antiquated.

"You seem to ask a question to which you may know the answer to. Do you not, old fae?"

There were also some very cliche moments like "Huh, the last mysterious scroll is on some dark, deserted island overrun by wild beasts where NO FAE EVER GOES. Who saw that one coming?" However, there was sarcasm and tinges of humor which were very refreshing and enjoyable.

Overall I enjoyed this book, it had well written characters, a gripping plotline, and positively steamy romance. Although the wording was unnatural it was still descriptive and built the characters and world well. I would strongly encourage high-fantasy lovers to read it!

Ship Breaker (Ship Breaker #1) - Paolo Bacigalupi

Review: Ship Breaker
Author: Paolo Bacigalupi
Rating: 4/5
Genre: Dystopia
Recommend To: fans of Exodus

This was a really interesting read, and a really different spin on the entire post-apocalyptic/dystopian genre. Instead of a despotic government and rebellion, we just have total chaos and poverty. Nailer, our main protagonist, scrapes through life crewing for a team of people who scavenge valuable materials off broken ships and ancient oil tankers. It's dangerous, dirty, backbreaking work that requires total loyalty. When a storm blows an expensive ship onto the shore along with a mysterious and beautiful girl, Nailer begins to face the dilemma of upholding his morals or escaping his hellish life.

I really did enjoy this book, but I think that there were some aspects of it that others would like more. There was a lot of description of the ships, and a lot industrial details. Not to say that this is a book for boys, but the shipping and trade wars did dominate a lot of the book. The story behind the fall of humanity was explained only briefly, and some of the plot points were vague. For instance, the different countries and what kind of situation they've fallen into, as well as the genetically engineered men weren't really focused on that much (Tool was awesome, but there wasn't much explanation.) I wasn't really sure what condition the rest of the world was in other than Nailer's little world.

However, the characters were very detailed, and the story was interesting and exciting. Nailer's journey from frightened to courageous was real and believable. He was a wonderfully flawed character, and was easy to root for. Nailer's twisted father, and the other power hungry drug addicts were chilling. Tool was also alarming but awesome and very perplexing. The romance was okay, but at least it was slow, and grew over time. The adventure was new and different, and the story was very unique from others. 

Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School #1) - Gail Carriger

Review: Etiquette & Espionage
Author: Gail Carriger
Rating: 4/5
Genre: Steampunk, historical-fiction
Recommend To: fans of Leviathan, Airborn

This is book was totally unexpected. Definitely in a good way. I was expecting more of a focus on the Victorian Era rules for girls and the schooling for assassins but instead I got a LOT more steampunk than I had bargained for. If you don't really like technology or industrial oddity, then this book isn't really for you. The romance was also very low-key to nonexistent. BUT it was adventurous and exciting. 

Sophronia is a precocious 14 year old girl with a penchant for trouble. To Sophronia's horror, her mother decides to ship her off to a fancy finishing school....where they learn a different sort of finishing altogether. Honestly, I thought it would be more of a boarding school type book, rather than...strange floating machinery in the air, with vampires and werewolves. I also thought there would be more of a focus on Sophronia getting her unusual education, but instead there was the strange mystery of an odd little secret package.

The focus wasn't on what I was expecting, and certain things got smudgy and confusing...but the points of the novel that were supposed to be good were REALLY good. For one, Sophronia was hilarious, outgoing, courageous, and fair. She was an enjoyable main character. The third person threw me off for a bit because I've gotten so used to first person but it flowed well and was descriptive. The way history and technology mesh in steampunk always fascinates me because authors always do it so differently! 

Overall, it lacked in some elements, but it was original and funny. It mixed a lot of genres and wasn't a long, tedious read. It isn't the regular espionage spy-book/romance genre but it sure was fun!