The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle

The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle
Series: N/A
Source: Bought
Publisher: Amulet Books
Publication Date: August 27, 2013

For as long as she can remember, Wren Gray’s goal has been to please her parents. But as high school graduation nears, so does an uncomfortable realization: Pleasing her parents once overlapped with pleasing herself, but now... not so much. Wren needs to honor her own desires, but how can she if she doesn’t even know what they are?

Charlie Parker, on the other hand, is painfully aware of his heart’s desire. A gentle boy with a troubled past, Charlie has loved Wren since the day he first saw her. But a girl like Wren would never fall for a guy like Charlie—at least not the sort of guy Charlie believes himself to be.

And yet certain things are written in the stars. And in the summer after high school, Wren and Charlie’s souls will collide. But souls are complicated, as are the bodies that house them...

Sexy, romantic, and oh-so-true to life, this is an unforgettable look at first love from one of young adult fiction’s greatest writers.

I'm in a book-tearing-apart kind of mood. And it's all The Infinite Moment of Us's fault. I want to paste every single line of the synopsis down into this review and state every single reason for why it isn't true. But I am mature. So I will not do that. Though I am, at this very moment, fantasizing on doing that very thing.

I WILL CARRY ON AS IF THAT THOUGHT HAS NOT ENTERED MY MIND AT ALL.

Let's start with the length. Normally, if the writing is good - length is not an issue for me at all. But this one was just ridiculous. It was like a hundred pages before anything even remotely related to the romance happened. And while that's okay in a lot of books, it is NOT okay when that's what the entire storyline is based around. I mean, really.

When something finally did happen on that front, it was like an instantaneous kind of love. No feelings developed, nothing. Suddenly they're just falling all over each other in love, with none of it being shown. All we got was a lot of telling, which as you all know is the worst thing you can do in a fictional relationship. Words mean little to nothing, actions mean everything. And their actions were screaming "we're not ready for a relationship".

I didn't think that Wren and Charlie were good for each other at all. They didn't communicate enough, and their relationship really focused more of the physical than the mental. Why couldn't they talk to each other? Really. Their relationship was... gah I promised I wouldn't do this, but here!

Sexy, romantic, and oh-so-true to life, this is an unforgettable look at first love from one of young adult fiction’s greatest writers.

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But oh-so-true-to-life? No. Just no. If anything, it was nothing like real life. (It wasn't romantic, either. But we're skipping over that for reasons.) In reality, teenage relationships don't work like the one in this book, unless both people are irrevocably screwed up and over, with no chance of redemption. This relationship read more like a new adult book - and we all know how those go. There are some true diamonds, but most NA is all sex.

And in reality, that is not what an entire teenage relationship revolves around. Teens talk and hang out too. Not to mention the fact that the ending was completely too-good-to-be-true. Real life doesn't work out like that.

All in all, The Infinite Moment of Us just wasn't for me. I didn't like the characters all that much, the ending was a grotesque parody of life, and really the romance was just ridiculous. I was conned into reading it by the pretty cover. Can you really blame me?

Waiting on Wednesday #41

#Scandal by Sarah Ockler
Series: N/A
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: June 17, 2014

Lucy’s learned some important lessons from tabloid darling Jayla Heart’s all-too-public blunders: Avoid the spotlight, don’t feed the Internet trolls, and keep your secrets secret. The policy has served Lucy well all through high school, so when her best friend Ellie gets sick before prom and begs her to step in as Cole’s date, she accepts with a smile, silencing about ten different reservations. Like the one where she’d rather stay home shredding online zombies. And the one where she hates playing dress-up. And especially the one where she’s been secretly in love with Cole since the dawn of time.

When Cole surprises her at the after party with a kiss under the stars, it’s everything Lucy has ever dreamed of… and the biggest BFF deal-breaker ever. Despite Cole’s lingering sweetness, Lucy knows they’ll have to ’fess up to Ellie. But before they get the chance, Lucy’s own Facebook profile mysteriously explodes with compromising pics of her and Cole, along with tons of other students’ party indiscretions. Tagged. Liked. And furiously viral.

By Monday morning, Lucy’s been branded a slut, a backstabber, and a narc, mired in a tabloid-worthy scandal just weeks before graduation.

Lucy’s been battling undead masses online long enough to know there’s only one way to survive a disaster of this magnitude: Stand up and fight. Game plan? Uncover and expose the Facebook hacker, win back her best friend’s trust, and graduate with a clean slate.

There’s just one snag—Cole. Turns out Lucy’s not the only one who’s been harboring unrequited love...

To be totally honest, this just sounds adorable. I love the idea of unrequited love, and you know how I feel about contemporary in general... this is totally my thing.

Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Just One Day by Gayle Forman
Series: Just One Day, #1
Source: Bought
Publisher: Speak
Publication Date: April 20, 2013

Allyson Healey's life is exactly like her suitcase—packed, planned, ordered. Then on the last day of her three-week post-graduation European tour, she meets Willem. A free-spirited, roving actor, Willem is everything she’s not, and when he invites her to abandon her plans and come to Paris with him, Allyson says yes. This uncharacteristic decision leads to a day of risk and romance, liberation and intimacy: 24 hours that will transform Allyson’s life.

A book about love, heartbreak, travel, identity, and the "accidents" of fate, Just One Day shows us how sometimes in order to get found, you first have to get lost. . . and how often the people we are seeking are much closer than we know.

I'm not sure if it's these things or something else, but it makes that kiss, which I get was just platonic - a friendly, cheek handshake thing - feel momentous. A kiss from all of Paris.
Just One Day was a new kind of read for me. While I thought I would like it more than it did, that doesn't mean that it didn't hit me in a good way. From reading the synopsis, I thought it would be more like Anna and the French Kiss. I freely admit that. And while it was little to nothing like it, I still enjoyed it for what it was: a good read.

I liked the adventure of going to Paris for just one day - I love all books with travel, so it wasn't a stretch that I would like a trek across Europe. It all felt very romantic, even though I did question Willem's motives a couple of times. It wasn't hard, with Allyson/Lulu being kind of scared of his motives as well.

In fact, Allyson herself wasn't so bad. I actually ended up liking her more than I thought I would. At first, she comes off as a little uptight, but as you get to know her you realize that she's actually a sweet girl. She's just a little bit too safe, a bit scared. She was unsure.

Which is why Willem really balanced her out - if anything, he was overly sure of himself. He was also very compulsive, and honestly just a little bit crazy. In a good way, of course. I think it takes a strong person to travel around a country by themselves.

There's also something romantic about that, but let's not go there. I guess I just find travel of any kind romantic. The story itself was romantic, but I also feel like it was very nostalgic - and I was slightly disappointed when Allyson came back from Paris in pieces. She went through a bit of depression, and it was sad. I also didn't really care for the ending - it was depressing too. I've ordered Just One Year, to see if we can get a happy ending - but I'm not going to lie.

The end of this one just really made me want to cry. Even for days after, when I glanced at the book - all I wanted to do was cry. All in all, Just One Day was a good read. Depressing and romantic - but you've really got to be in a mood to enjoy that, don't you think?

And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard

And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard
Series: N/A
Source: Netgalley (Thanks, Delacorte!)
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: January 28, 2014

"In And We Stay, Jenny Hubbard treats tragedy and new beginnings with a skilled, delicate hand.  Her otherworldly verse and prose form a flowing monument to all the great storytellers of the past." --John Corey Whaley, author of the Michael L. Printz and William C. Morris award winner, Where Things Come Back

When high school senior Paul Wagoner walks into his school library with a stolen gun, he threatens his girlfriend Emily Beam, then takes his own life. In the wake of the tragedy, an angry and guilt-ridden Emily is shipped off to boarding school in Amherst, Massachusetts, where she encounters a ghostly presence who shares her name. The spirit of Emily Dickinson and two quirky girls offer helping hands, but it is up to Emily to heal her own damaged self.

This inventive story, told in verse and in prose, paints the aftermath of tragedy as a landscape where there is good behind the bad, hope inside the despair, and springtime under the snow.

She had almost laughed at how absurd it all was, how water made mud of the ground. How hearts made mud of the world.

And We Stay is one of those books that's hard to explain - there was a lot of emotion and a lot of tragedy, but it's really hard to say why it hit me the way it did. I'm usually not a huge fan of poetry, but I really enjoyed Emily's. It flowed very well, and even the normal writing of And We Stay was beautiful and poetic.

But let's talk about Emily herself. I didn't really connect with her, but this is a different case than usual. It's not that she's flat. The reason that I couldn't connect with her was very simple - she doesn't connect with herself. She's so lost in her grief and even her solitude that it just kills her personality. And let me tell you, it's hard to read about someone who's dying inside. But she regains a little of her life throughout the book, and that's what's so great about it. You get to see her journey from one moment in her life to the next. And it's interesting.

As I said before, the writing was gorgeous, and it made it all that much easier for the past and the future to intertwine seamlessly throughout And We Stay. I never felt jarred or anything like that, which is very rare for me.

The biggest thing that And We Stay communicates is an overwhelming sadness - and honestly, sometimes it's great to be sad. I liked being sad for this book, and figuring out the mysteries of how and why that it left behind.

All in all, And We Stay is a good read. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who's looking for a sad, heartfelt read.

The same sky that once held her dreams has stolen her story. And the stars will know just how to tell it: night after night, over and over.

The boy I loved had the veins of the ancient. He was eighteen, but also a hundred and eighty, Biblical and stubborn as stone lodged in the earth.

Waiting on Wednesday #40

My Last Kiss by Bethany Neal
Series: N/A
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication Date: June 10, 2014

What if your last kiss was with the wrong boy?

Cassidy Haines remembers her first kiss vividly. It was on the old covered bridge the summer before her freshman year with her boyfriend of three years, Ethan Keys. But her last kiss—the one she shared with someone at her seventeenth birthday party the night she died—is a blur. Cassidy is trapped in the living world, not only mourning the loss of her human body, but left with the grim suspicion that her untimely death wasn’t a suicide as everyone assumes. She can’t remember anything from the weeks leading up to her birthday and she’s worried that she may have betrayed her boyfriend.

If Cassidy is to uncover the truth about that fateful night and make amends with the only boy she’ll ever love, she must face her past and all the decisions she made—good and bad—that led to her last kiss.

Bethany Neal’s suspenseful debut novel is about the power of first love and the haunting lies that threaten to tear it apart.

The synopsis of this reminds me so much of Before I Fall - which I love! I'm hoping that this one impresses me just as much, because dang it sounds amazing! I can't wait to see all of this come together - although I do have one confession... (kind of unrelated, but pertaining to first kisses) I don't remember my first kiss. (I mean, I remember who it was with, but not where it was at or how it felt or anything.) This girl must have a mind like a steel trap!

Summer Experiment by Cathie Pelletier

Summer Experiment by Cathie Pelletier
Series: N/A
Source: Netgalley (Thanks, Sourcebooks!)
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Publication Date: April 1, 2014

Award-winning author makes her children's book debut with an unforgettable character

A boring summer vacation turns unexpectedly interesting when mysterious lights appear over Roberta's hometown in northern Maine. Roberta is convinced she and her best friend Marillee can win the Maine State Science Fair if only they can find an amazing project to showcase. Communicating with aliens would certainly do the trick. But in order to win they'll need to defeat their chief competitor, "The 4H's of the Apocalypse": Henry Horton Harris Helmsby.

This is a story told in a distinctive voice that is by turns funny, exciting, and sometimes heartbreaking.

I hate to be a hater, but honestly - I didn't really care for this one. I was more interested in the alien abduction story that Summer Experiment was based on/with than the actual book. I even went so far as to research the Allagash Abductions on Wikipedia and everything - and they're still more interesting than this story.

I found the main character, Roberta, to be ridiculously pretentious and annoying. A know-it-all, if you will. And I hope that's not the kind of characters that middle grade readers are looking for... because, well, I'll feel slightly bad then. I didn't care for any of the characters, to tell you the truth. They were all a little too naive, or too annoying, etc.

The ending was okay, but I was just hoping for more from this book. There just wasn't enough detail to keep me interested, and the storyline, along with the characters killed me. All in all, Summer Experiment REALLY wasn't the book for me. Sorry you guys had to read this super awkward review!

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
Series: N/A
Source: Netgalley (Thanks, Delacorte!)
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: May 13, 2014

A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.

Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.

We were warm and shivering, and young and ancient, and alive. I was thinking, It's true. We already love each other. We already do.

Sometimes, (not always but sometimes) you find a book that leaves you in a stunned world where nothing can touch you for a day or two. We book lovers like to call that a book hangover, and it's a perfectly acceptable term to use for this feeling. We Were Liars was that book. I spent the next few hours after reading this trying to duplicate the awesome high that it gave me. I thought about it for the rest of the day. I called up my reading friend, and told her all about it while I tried to convince her to read it. I started a new book, knowing that it would probably be nothing like what I had just read - and was still processing. It wouldn't be a lie to say that We Were Liars totally and completely blew my mind.

It was one of those books where you knew what was coming, but you couldn't stand to think about it - so you blocked it out. And you hoped against all logical thought that maybe you were wrong, maybe it wouldn't all end in the way it was going to. Sometimes books are perfect, even if maybe they aren't perfect in the literal sense.

Honestly, all I really want to do with this review is quote line after perfectly poetic line. But I won't, I talk about some other things too.

We Were Liars started off with a real bang - an instant "I need more" kind of line.

Welcome to the beautiful Sinclair family. No one is a criminal. No one is an addict. No one is a failure.

From that first line, I knew I wanted to know everything about this family. I knew immediately that they were going to be screwed up, and that there was going to be a tragedy - but I still wanted to know it. And most of all, I wanted to know all about Cadence. At first I thought I would dislike her, but it only turns out that I pity her, in a large way. I assumed that she was probably bipolar, and that she was for sure depressed.

But I didn't know everything about her right away. I liked that I had to work my way through the book, waiting for every single new fact to reveal itself. I lived for those reveals. Each little hint came out of nowhere, and somehow it all fit together into a beautifully crafted mystery. Some things were obvious, but most were hidden under the surface.

In many ways, We Were Liars was one of the saddest books I've read. I wanted to love Gat as much as Cadence did, but I couldn't get him. I thought that he was a jerk of the highest quality for most of the book, but when the end came... let's just say that I've never apologized to any fictional character as much as I did to him. I thought that he was so back and forth and up and down, but really, he's just a normal kind of guy. He doesn't deserve to be scorned, because his story is tragic.

Now, he was free to go forth and make a name for himself in the wide, wide world. And maybe, just maybe, he'd come back one day, and burn that fucking palace to the ground.

All of We Were Liars was tragic. And I never wanted it to end. I guess I'll leave you with one final line, to whet your appetite for this book - if I haven't already. And honestly, I'm already hoping that you've dropped everything and ordered this book - because it's simply beautiful.

My full name is Cadence Sinclair Eastman.
I suffer migraines. I do not suffer fools.
I like a twist of meaning.
I endure.

Waiting on Wednesday #39

Biggest Flirts by Jennifer Echols
Series: Superlatives, #1
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: May 20, 2014

Tia and Will’s lives get flipped upside down when they’re voted Yearbook’s Biggest Flirts in this sassy novel from the author of Endless Summer and The One That I Want.

Tia just wants to have fun. She’s worked hard to earn her reputation as the life of the party, and she’s ready for a carefree senior year of hanging out with friends and hooking up with cute boys. And her first order of business? New guy Will. She can’t get enough of his Midwestern accent and laidback swagger.

As the sparks start to fly, Will wants to get serious. Tia’s seen how caring too much has left her sisters heartbroken, and she isn’t interested in commitment. But pushing Will away drives him into the arms of another girl. Tia tells herself it’s no big deal…until the yearbook elections are announced. Getting voted Biggest Flirts with Will is, well, awkward. They may just be friends, but their chemistry is beginning to jeopardize Will’s new relationship—and causing Tia to reconsider her true feelings. What started as a lighthearted fling is about to get very complicated…

Honestly, Jennifer Echols - why do you get me so much? I forever want to read all of the contemporaries by Jenn - because I've loved all of them so far!

Two Roads by L.M. Augustine

Two Roads by L.M. Augustine
Series: N/A
Source: Bought
Publisher: Self-published
Publication Date: August 26, 2013

The only person poetry-loving Cali Monroe hates more than herself is Logan Waters, the geeky kid who lives in the dorm building next to hers.

Ever since Cali's parents told her she would amount to nothing, she has felt entirely inadequate. Friendless and alone, she takes on the mean girl role in hopes it will make her feel better--and Logan serves as the perfect target. He infuriates her with his obnoxiously long lashes, his all too perfect dimpled smile, and his complete lack of personality outside of his intelligence. It doesn't hurt that he's part of the reason her brother is dead, either. So Cali hates him, and he returns the favor. Thus, their prank-filled, insult-driven rivalry is born, and torturing Logan quickly becomes the highlight of her life.

But when Cali's parents set them up on a blind date, she begins to realize Logan might not be as boring as she always thought. He shares her love of poetry, takes a sadistic pleasure in making fun of crepes, and he makes her blush when he calls her smile pretty.

And hey, maybe those long lashes of his aren't that obnoxious after all…

Free.
For once
I am free
It really shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that I liked Two Roads. I like the author, I like angsty premises... so in the end, what's not to like about it? My answer to this question is a little complicated, I guess. Because I liked it, I really did. And I don't know what's keeping me from giving it four stars. So maybe, just listen to my words instead of my rating - four stars is still really good!

The main character, Cali, was really complicated. Most of the time, I really wasn't sure whether I liked her or hated her. She just brought out a lot for me to think about - sometimes, it seemed like she was undeniably cruel; but other times it was like she was stamping down the soul inside of her. Because she has a lot more feelings than she would like. She projects this image, the image of a cold ice queen, but really I don't think she's all that bad. She's just dealing with her problems in the only way that she knows how to, and that was one of the things that finally endeared her to me. I realized that she was flawed, and she made mistakes - just like the rest of us.

And Logan? He was his own brand of interesting. Because, well, unlike Cali, he took a completely different route to try and get over his grief. While she got mad, he tried to be happy. And it was actually kind of nice - I was rooting for them from the very beginning. I thought that maybe, just maybe they could have a chance at happiness.

But lets not talk about that - let's talk about how mean these two were to each other! I'm not ridiculously soft-hearted or anything (as you all know, I can't cry at books) but the pranks that they pulled... I would have cried over some of them. Because I don't really understand how the pranks helped. They honestly just made me sad, which is maybe why I liked this book so much - because Logan and Cali overcame so many issues together.

One of my notes says "I don't even have words for how much I love this", and I really don't. It's been about two weeks since I've read this book - and I still don't completely know how I feel about it. All I know is that Two Roads is good. Like the kind of good that you call your friends about good. It's happy and sad and romantic and poetic and it's one of the best New Adult books that I've read so far.

All in all, Two Roads is a book that you need words to describe - not ratings. There's nothing about this book that doesn't hit you where it hurts, but that's all part of it's charm.

Lovely Vicious by Sara Wolf

Lovely Vicious by Sara Wolf
Series: Lovely Vicious, #1
Source: Author for Review
Publisher: Self-published
Publication Date: November 5, 2013

Fire meets ice. Love meets hate. 

Seventeen-year-old Isis Blake hasn’t fallen in love in three years, nine weeks, and five days, and after what happened last time, she intends to keep it that way. Since then she’s lost eighty-five pounds, gotten four streaks of purple in her hair, and moved to the Buttcrack-of-Nowhere Ohio to help her mom escape a bad relationship.

All the girls in her new school want one thing – Jack Hunter, the Ice Prince of East Summit High. Hot as an Armani ad, smart enough to get into Yale, and colder than the Arctic, Jack Hunter’s never gone out with anyone. Sure, people have seen him downtown with beautiful women, but he’s never given high school girls the time of day. Until Isis punches him in the face.

Jack’s met his match. Suddenly everything is a game.

The goal: Make the other beg for mercy.

The game board: East Summit High.

The reward: Something neither of them expected.

I really didn't think that I would like Lovely Vicious near as much as I did. I was expecting a bit of cliche, and while there was that, it didn't bother me a bit, because I loved the characters! Isis, the main character, really had some fire about her. I loved her sense of humor, and even if she was a bit out there, she really was lovable. She was very genuine, and though she can take things a bit far sometimes, I think she means well.

I didn't care for her immature insults, and I cringed a couple of times, but other than that, she really was an awesome character. While I loved her instantly, it took me a bit to like Jack. There's nothing wrong with him per say, but man he chapped me!

Mostly, it was because he was such a jerk! And for a long time, too! While Isis can be rude, she's usually not intentionally mean. (At least, I never got that vibe from her.) Jack pushes the boundaries, then he runs right over them, with his ego in tow. We got to know him a bit better with the chapters from his point of view, but he could still be a jerk sometimes.

There was plenty of heart clenching throughout their romance, that's for sure! I really enjoyed that part of the book, and I liked the fact that lots of things were implied, rather than thrown in your face. It gives you a chance to fill in the blanks for yourself, which was nice.

My only real problem with Lovely Vicious? It just ends, with no warning and no resolution. Such a cliffy!

Waiting on Wednesday #38

Curses and Smoke by Vicky Alvear Shecter
Series: N/A
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine
Publication Date: May 27, 2014

When your world blows apart, what will you hold onto?

TAG is a medical slave, doomed to spend his life healing his master's injured gladiators. But his warrior's heart yearns to fight in the gladiator ring himself and earn enough money to win his freedom.

LUCIA is the daughter of Tag's owner, doomed by her father's greed to marry a much older Roman man. But she loves studying the natural world around her home in Pompeii, and lately she's been noticing some odd occurrences in the landscape: small lakes disappearing; a sulfurous smell in the air. . . .

When the two childhood friends reconnect, each with their own longings, they fall passionately in love. But as they plot their escape from the city, a patrician fighter reveals his own plans for them -- to Lucia's father, who imprisons Tag as punishment. Then an earthquake shakes Pompeii, in the first sign of the chaos to come. Will they be able to find each other again before the volcano destroys their whole world?

To be honest with you, recently I've been totally obsessed with the tragedy of Pompeii. I want to know things about it, and I'm loving the idea of a fictional book about it, especially one that involves a love story - because Lord knows, the only way it can end is tragically. And beautifully.

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan
Series: Heroes of Olympus, #2
Source: Bought
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Publication Date: October 4, 2011

Seven half-bloods shall answer the call, 
To storm or fire the world must fall. 
An oath to keep with a final breath, 
And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.

Percy is confused. When he awoke from his long sleep, he didn't know much more than his name. His brain fuzz is lingering, even after the wolf Lupa told him he is a demigod and trained him to fight with the pen/sword in his pocket. Somehow Percy manages to make it to a camp for half-bloods, despite the fact that he has to keep killing monsters along the way. But the camp doesn't ring any bells with him. The only thing he can recall from his past is another name: Annabeth

Hazel is supposed to be dead. When she lived before, she didn't do a very good job of it. Sure, she was an obedient daughter, even when her mother was possessed by greed. But that was the problem — when the Voice took over her mother and commanded Hazel to use her "gift" for an evil purpose, Hazel couldn't say no. Now because of her mistake, the future of the world is at risk. Hazel wished she could ride away from it all on the stallion that appears in her dreams.

Frank is a klutz. His grandmother says he is descended from heroes and can be anything he wants to be, but he doesn't see it. He doesn't even know who his father is. He keeps hoping Apollo will claim him, because the only thing he is good at is archery — although not good enough to win camp war games. His bulky physique makes him feel like an ox, especially infront of Hazel, his closest friend at camp. He trusts her completely — enough to share the secret he holds close to his heart.

Beginning at the "other" camp for half-bloods and extending as far as the land beyond the gods, this breathtaking second installment of the Heroes of Olympus series introduces new demigods, revives fearsome monsters, and features other remarkable creatures, all destined to play a part in the Prophesy of Seven.

Honestly, I'm sure you all remember how much I missed Percy, so I won't go into details - but I missed him. A lot. But in The Son of Neptune, we get him back. And really... it was kind of strange.

Imagine knowing every detail of the characters background - while they don't know anything. You know every move that they make, and why they feel strange about certain things - always. And they don't - it's just very... trippy, I guess. When I said I missed Percy, I meant the one who remembered everything - and while it was great to have him back, even sans memories... I still missed him. He was there but he wasn't, you know?

And on top of that... Camp Jupiter is a totally different world than Camp Half-Blood. You can see the similarities, but Camp Jupiter is much more war driven (versus fun), and there was actually a city type set up. Once you're of age, you can stay. Interesting, but I think I'd still take Camp Half-Blood - they're a lot more chill about everything.

I liked Frank and Hazel. They both had very complicated histories, but they both show exciting promise. They're braver than anyone. I'm positive! I loved the sweet romance between the two, and I think that they're perfect together. Both of them are adorable in an underdog way, but especially Frank. He's just a big huggable bear! (hee hee)

Everything that happened in this book was interesting, but I'm just not completely sure at where I stand on this series. It feels like something very big is going to happen, and I don't know what. Which is killing me. All in all, The Son of Neptune is a good book. I'll definitely give it that.

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
Series: Heroes of Olympus, #1
Source: Bought
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Publication Date: October 12, 2010

Jason has a problem. He doesn’t remember anything before waking up in a bus full of kids on a field trip. Apparently he has a girlfriend named Piper and a best friend named Leo. They’re all students at a boarding school for “bad kids.” What did Jason do to end up here? And where is here, exactly?

Piper has a secret. Her father has been missing for three days, ever since she had that terrifying nightmare. Piper doesn’t understand her dream, or why her boyfriend suddenly doesn’t recognize her. When a freak storm hits, unleashing strange creatures and whisking her, Jason, and Leo away to someplace called Camp Half-Blood, she has a feeling she’s going to find out.


Leo has a way with tools. When he sees his cabin at Camp Half-Blood, filled with power tools and machine parts, he feels right at home. But there’s weird stuff, too—like the curse everyone keeps talking about. Weirdest of all, his bunkmates insist that each of them—including Leo—is related to a god.

My thoughts on The Lost Hero can pretty much be summed up like this: I CAN'T WAIT TO GET TO PERCY! Huh. Interesting, I like this Leo boy. Jason and Piper are okay, I guess. BUT I MISS PERCY. Wow. I'm in love with Coach Hedge. BUT IT DOES NOT CHANGE MY LOVE FOR PERCY.

Basically, I missed Percy. I think that's a little bit on the expectations of a spinoff - you want to love it just as much as the original, but.... you miss the original characters. It's kind of a let down, honestly. I absolutely missed Percy throughout every second of this book, and I kept waiting for him to just... pop up or something. His character being missing... it just takes a little bit of life out of the series. He's obviously my favorite, and I felt so bad for Annabeth! (BTW, I'm totally waiting for Annabeth's POV.)

Honestly, I'm not sure that multiple points of view was the right way to go with this. It's not that I didn't like it, but... I don't know. It didn't really grab me. The characters were all good in their own ways, but I really think that the only reason I liked Jason is kind of dumb... he reminded me of Percy. And Piper? I didn't care for her very much. I can't trust the girl, that's for sure. Leo was a fun character, but sometimes... he annoyed me a little bit.

The one character that I loved to death? Well, that would definitely be Gleeson Hedge. The love that I feel for this faun is absolutely ridiculous - and well deserved! His sense of humor was freaking amazing - he's like a really old version of Grover! I really liked him!

All in all, The Lost Hero really wasn't bad. It just wasn't Percy Jackson, you know? I'll still be continuing the series, because I know that Percy does show up soon, but I'm not sure what my end thoughts on this series will be.