Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols

Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols 
Source: bought paperback
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: June 6th, 2013
Age Genre: Due to sexual situations and themes, I would rate this NA

Heaven Beach, South Carolina, is anything but, if you live at the low-rent end of town. All her life, Leah Jones has been the grown-up in her family, while her mother moves from boyfriend to boyfriend, letting any available money slip out of her hands. At school, they may diss Leah as trash, but she’s the one who negotiates with the landlord when the rent’s not paid. At fourteen, she’s the one who gets a job at the nearby airstrip.
But there’s one way Leah can escape reality. Saving every penny she can, she begs quiet Mr. Hall, who runs an aerial banner-advertising business at the airstrip and also offers flight lessons, to take her up just once. Leaving the trailer park far beneath her and swooping out over the sea is a rush greater than anything she’s ever experienced, and when Mr. Hall offers to give her cut-rate flight lessons, she feels ready to touch the sky.
By the time she’s a high school senior, Leah has become a good enough pilot that Mr. Hall offers her a job flying a banner plane. It seems like a dream come true . . . but turns out to be just as fleeting as any dream. Mr. Hall dies suddenly, leaving everything he owned in the hands of his teenage sons: golden boy Alec and adrenaline junkie Grayson. And they’re determined to keep the banner planes flying.
Though Leah has crushed on Grayson for years, she’s leery of getting involved in what now seems like a doomed business—until Grayson betrays her by digging up her most damning secret. Holding it over her head, he forces her to fly for secret reasons of his own, reasons involving Alec. Now Leah finds herself drawn into a battle between brothers—and the consequences could be deadly.

I came into Such a Rush weary. I've read Echols's Dirty Little Secret and I wasn't exactly a big fan of it. But I knew she was considered a really great contemporary writer, so I decided to give her another shot. And ultimately, I'm really glad I did.

I have to admit, Echols has the best and most interesting settings. Like in Dirty Little Secret, which was all about fiddle playing, Such a Rush brings to the plate the unique setting of piloting planes. I've never read such a book and I enjoyed the ride--or, well, the flight--even though I'm one of the people who go "hmm, plane" rather than watching it fly.

I'm beginning to understand Echols writes really humane characters. And that means, you're going to hate them sometimes. You're going to want to shake them, or slap them, or tell them to 'snap out of it!'.

Take Leah, for example. For the most part, she's a really great character. She cares greatly, and she's doing everything in her powers to get away from the bad place she was born in and live a good and happy life doing something she truly and honestly loves. But then there will be all the parts with Mark, when you'd be like 'how can you do that?' especially since she usually has more respect toward herself.

Then there's Grayson. He was the reason I was not sure about this book at first, because at page 86 it seems like he was becoming Sam, the male protagonist of Dirty Little Secret whom I completely hated. But he wasn't. I could relate and understand Grayson. I could even swoon for him, even though the majority of the time I wanted to throttle him and tell him to stop what he's doing.

The only two things I really didn't like were A. the time span of this book. It seems like a lot of time passes in this book, but it doesn't. It was kind of a complete shock to realize it's been a week. One effing week, and all this stuff happened, and they fall in love (p.s - don't let the summary fool you. There is no "love triangle"), and it somehow helps them heal, even a little bit. While I didn't feel it was so short while reading (kudos for that, Echols!), it did bother me when I realized that.

B. Would they really be allowed to take over the business? They are not even out of high-school. It seemed kind of bizarre to me, but maybe that's because I've never had a family business and I don't know how they really work.

All in all, I really liked this one. I can certainly see myself picking up more of her books after reading it.

Nitzan★

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

A great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray 
Series: Gemma Doyle #1
Age Genre: Young Adult
Narrative: First Person
Source: Own Paperback
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: May 1st 2006

It's 1895 and, after the death of her mother, 16-year-old Gemma Doyle is shipped from the life she knows in India to Spence, a proper boarding school in England. Lonely, guilt-ridden, and prone to visions of the future that have an uncomfortable habit of coming true, Gemma finds her reception a chilly one. She's not completely alone, though... she's being followed by a mysterious young man, sent to warn her to close her minds against the visions.
It's at Spence that Gemma's power to attract the supernatural unfolds, as she becomes entangled with the school's most powerful girls and discovers her mother's connection to a shadow, timeless group called The Order. Her destiny awaits... if only Gemma can believe in it.

So... how do I start this?

After reading Libba Bray's The Diviners and embarking on a full on crush (and really not so secretly coveting her writing skills) I vowed to read anything the woman has ever written, even if it's the damned phone book! So, naturally, I picked up A Great and Terrible Beauty. Mostly because of its beautiful name and its beautiful cover. I admit I've never even read the summary. I mean, why should I? It's Libba Bray!

Well, Libba Bray or not, this book was... err, how to put it? meh. I was mostly... disappointed. 

The writing was still immensely beautiful. Hauntingly beautiful, really. But everything else... that's where it fell short.

First and foremost - I couldn't connect to any of the characters. Not to Gemma, our MC, and not to any of her "friends". Half the time, they didn't feel quite real to me, and the other half I was kind of annoyed with them and how they were acting. Maybe the goal was to make them feel other than human, but I struggled with it.

I'm not entirely sure I can call them "friends", either. It didn't feel like friendship, at any rate. It felt like... well, the closest I can describe is using each other. There was no real give and take between them, just take take take. If I had these kind of "Friends" I wouldn't survive in this world. 

And if that's not bad enough - there's the "plot". It didn't grab me. It wasn't exciting. It was barely even there. I kept waiting for something to happen. For things to get interesting. I had to wait a long time. 

And the worst thing about this whole book was probably the romance, because Gemma and what's-his-name barely know each other. They speak maybe three times, and two out of those are not very pleasant. And yet Gemma is already thinking things about him. From sexual to emotional. It's all very insta love, a major no-no for me. 

I wonder if I had read this book before the Diviners would I feel similarly. I may have rated it higher, even though I feel this rating is very merciful of me. And mostly it's because the writing is painfully gorgeous. 

I don't know if I'll ever continue with this series. Probably not, as it did not get me interested enough. Plus, Megs might have accidentally spoiled some aspects of the finale that make me even less enthusiastic to continue... 

Nitzan★

Two Lies and a Spy by Kat Carlton

Two Lies and a Spy by Kat Carlton
Series: Two Lies and a Spy, #1
Source: Bought
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: September 3, 2013

Kari plunges into the world of espionage on a mission to save her parents while trying to impress the guy she’s been in love with forever.

When sixteen-year-old Kari’s dad sends her an unexpected text, she and her brother immediately go into hiding. Because when your parents are superspies and your dad declares a Code Black, it can only mean something bad. Very bad.

Kari soon discovers that her parents have been disavowed and declared traitors, and she’s determined to clear their names. Breaking into the Agency seems like a reasonable plan, especially with the help of a team that includes her longtime crush, Luke, as well as her two best friends—an expert hacker with attitude and a master martial artist—and Luke’s popular, vindictive twin sister. Oh, and a new guy, who’s as cute as he is complicated...

As I know you've all guessed by my rating, I didn't really care for this one, and I'm sure you all know that I'm going to tell you why in this review. And really it's simple - I was expecting Two Lies and a Spy to be more like the Gallagher Girls' series, or even Heist Society; but it had none of the qualities that I expect from either of those series, which turned out to be a huge disappointment. You'd think that I would've figured out how to control my expectations, now that I've been doing this for a couple of years, but you'd be wrong.

In an unfortunate twist, I really didn't care for Kari. I couldn't get a feel on her at all. You all know that character depth is very important to me, so it should come as no surprise that I couldn't love the book after meeting Kari. She was just too juvenile for my tastes, and sometimes it just seemed like she was way too dramatic. Everything was made so much more complicated than it was, and I just didn't care for that aspect of the book at all. In normal terms, I'm not so sure that I could have been friends with Kari.

I could, however, have been friends with Evan. I really liked his sense of humor, and his all around jovial personality. He was very persistent, and he never let anything get him down. I liked that about him. The other characters were all kind of unappealing and unmemorable, though.

On the over-dramatization subject, there's also the plot. Not only was it over-the-top, but at many points it was just unbelievable. We were immediately thrown into a world we knew nothing about, and the statistical probability of any of their hare-brained schemes working out are like zilch; so the plotting really was a bust. I couldn't buy the fact that everyone in the 'agency' had children that went to the same school, and that in some weird twist they all kind of knew each other. That is way too far-fetched, in a big school like that.

Not to mention the fact that everything was way too easily resolved - like 'okay you stole it's okay go free'. Real life doesn't work out like that, and not everything ties up in a perfect little bow like that. I didn't like that everything worked out just fine. Plus I just can't get behind Kari's decision making skills, but whatever.

All in all, Two Lies and a Spy was okay, but it's nothing like I expected; and I can't really say that I would recommend it to you guys.

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
Series: N/A
Source: Bought
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: April 15, 2014

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.

If love is like a possession, maybe my letters are like my exorcisms. My letters set me free. Or at least they're supposed to.

I just have a little remark to say about the cover, before I get started with the review - I love it. I like the way the title appears to be written in Sharpie, and how the girl is writing in her diary, and the simple layout and everything. To me, this is just the perfect cover style. It's just too pretty.

Now let's get down to business - I actually really liked this one, a bit more than I thought I would... but also a bit less on some points. I enjoyed the actual letters a lot, and the bit of a side romance, but I'm not so sure about some of the side characters, such as Margot. She was such a jerk! I couldn't stand her, not even a little bit. But I liked Lara Jean herself. She was really quirky, and it was pretty cute. I also liked the fact that most of the time she was pretty even keeled. Which is always nice, in a more dramatic storyline such as this.

And I really, really, really liked the fact that I got to read the letters that Lara Jean wrote - those were such fun!

Throughout To All the Boys I've Loved Before, I will admit to having one question that plagued me - and was never answered. How did the letters even get sent out? I don't understand, and while there were several moments where I felt like the book was pointing towards one certain person, it was never truly resolved, and I'd be lying if I said that didn't bother me.

But in the end, I really did end up enjoying this one - it was a fun read, and as you all know - I really love Jenny Han, so it was great to read another book by her. I'd definitely recommend this one for your next contemporary read. :)

How My Summer Went Up in Flames by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

How My Summer Went Up in Flames by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski
Series: N/A
Source: Bought
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: May 7, 2013

First she lost her heart. Then she lost her mind. And now she’s on a road trip to win back her ex. This debut novel’s packed with drama and romance!

Rosie’s always been impulsive. She didn’t intend to set her cheating ex-boyfriend’s car on fire. And she never thought her attempts to make amends could be considered stalking. So when she’s served with a temporary restraining order on the first day of summer vacation, she’s heartbroken—and furious.

To put distance between Rosie and her ex, Rosie’s parents send her on a cross-country road trip with responsible, reliable neighbor Matty and his two friends. Forget freedom of the road, Rosie wants to hitchhike home and win back her ex. But her determination starts to dwindle with each passing mile. Because Rosie’s spark of anger? It may have just ignited a romance with someone new…

I really expected How My Summer Went Up in Flames to be different. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but... for lack of a better choice of words, my ship sank. My OTP didn't happen. I feel slighted. I'm pretty sure this has never happened to me like this. I mean, of course my ships have sank before... but it's never felt this ridiculously off. Like, why did she even go for the other guy? I don't even understand the appeal, you know? But I've got to talk about something else for a bit.

I wasn't sure I would like Rosie in the beginning. Sometimes she seemed okay, but other times she was just out of nowhere impulsive and kind of annoying. She was definitely 900% high strung, that's for sure! She could be hard to deal with, even for me.

I love love loved the character of Matty, who was a my ship. I freely admit that I wanted Matty and Rosie to happen - because the guy she chose is nothing in comparison to Matty, who was super sweet. He could also be super nerdy, and he was just ridiculously adorable. He seemed like a little kid sometimes, but then others he acted like an adult. It was part of his charm.

Logan and his brother were okay, but they didn't really stand out as characters. They had a few moments, but most of the time they were kind of in the background. All of the boys were super endearing, though. As a group, they really worked well together, and I liked the dynamics of it.

The road trip was fun too - it's always fun when you squish a group of people in a car for a trip! I always love road trips. The time progression was a bit weird, though. It felt like the trip went on forever, and that everything that happened was months old. Which is not necessarily a bad thing!

All in all, How My Summer Went Up in Flames would have totally been better if my ship had sailed, but it really wasn't a bad book in spite of it. Just a bit sad.

Out of Reach by Carrie Arcos

Out of Reach by Carrie Arcos
Series: N/A
Source: Gifted
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: October 16, 2012

How do you find someone who doesn't want to be found? A girl searches for her missing addict brother while confronting her own secrets in this darkly lyrical novel.

Rachel has always idolized her older brother Micah. He struggles with addiction, but she tells herself that he's in control. And she almost believes it. Until the night that Micah doesn't come home.

Rachel's terrified, and she can't help but feel responsible. She should have listened when Micah tried to confide in her. And she only feels more guilt when she receives an anonymous note telling her that Micah is nearby and in danger.

With nothing more to go on than hope and a slim lead, Rachel and Micah's best friend, Tyler, begin the search. Along the way, Rachel will be forced to confront her own dark secrets, her growing attraction to Tyler, and the possibility that Micah may never come home.

For me, Out of Reach was an interesting read - I enjoyed seeing the effects of addiction on family members - a lot of the time, we read more about the person who's addicted. It was nice to see some variation to the trope.

But I went into Out of Reach expecting the story to end on the last page - and I expected closure. I really didn't get it. The story has a very open ending, with an unfinished feel, and I didn't particularly care for that. I wanted to see how everything turned out. I wanted to see where the growing attraction between Rachel and Tyler went, and so many other things.

I wanted more from this.

Don't get me wrong, I liked it! I liked the overall feel - the sad and the happy. I liked that Rachel grew throughout the book, and that maybe she came out a little happier than she was when she went in. I sympathized with Rachel - I wouldn't know what to say or do in that situation either, so I react to things similarly. In the beginning, I feel like Rachel was severely depressed. The first chapter is told in completely monosyllabic sentences - straight and to the point, which set the feel of the novel.

I'm glad that was over by the second chapter, though - I don't think I could have taken it for much longer. I wanted Rachel to just feel - to feel anything! And by the end, I really do think that she was feeling. We started out with an empty shell of a character, but she grew up from that.

I liked Tyler - he was very chivalrous. I think that they (Rachel & him)  would have made a good couple. He was adorably protective of her, and I just want them to be together. They could be good for each other.

The flashbacks that Rachel had of times with Micah were good - I liked seeing his progression through her eyes, and seeing all those sweet moments with them as kids. It added an interesting depth to the story.

All in all, I can't say that I didn't enjoy Out of Reach, it just left me with more questions than answers.

Breathe by Abbi Glines

Breathe by Abbi Glines
Series: Sea Breeze, #1
Source: Bought
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: June 4, 2013

In the shore town of Sea Breeze, Sadie discovers that fame is nothing in the face of passion. A steamy read from bestselling author Abbi Glines.

Sadie White’s summer job is at the beach, but she won’t be working as a lifeguard. Since her mom is pregnant and refuses to work, Sadie will be taking over as a domestic servant for a wealthy family on a nearby island.

When the family arrives at their summer getaway, Sadie is surprised to learn that the owner of the house is Jax Stone, one of the hottest teen rockers in the world. If Sadie were normal—if she hadn’t spent her life raising her mother and taking care of the house—maybe she’d be excited about working for a rock star. But she’s not.

Even though Sadie isn’t impressed by Jax’s fame, he is drawn to her. Everything about Sadie fascinates Jax, but he fights his attraction: Relationships never work in his world, and as badly as he wants Sadie, he believes she deserves more. Yet as the summer stretches on, Jax’s passion leaves him breathless—and Sadie feels like the only source of oxygen.

Can their love overcome the disparity in their lifestyles? One breath at a time, they’re going to find out…

I'm going to come right out and say that I expected more from Glines - I read and loved her Vincent Brothers, and I put all of that expectation into Breathe. Let's just say that it didn't exactly turn out the way I had planned. Don't get me wrong, I liked it. Breathe was a plenty sweet read, but I felt like the romance was very... cliched.

I felt like Sadie and Jax really didn't have time to get to know each other. They fell in love really quickly, and suddenly they're just saying and doing cheesy things all the time. I'm not a fan of the cheese, to tell you the truth. Something like "you're my air" being repeated over and over just makes me roll my eyes, and I can't help it!

It was super hard for me to connect with Sadie. I don't feel like she ever just let herself go, or that she ever just acted like a teenager. So I just can't relate to her - she's too stiff. Jax was okay, I guess, but he only got about 1/3 book time, compared to Sadie.

I felt like the "choice" between Marcus and Jax was ridiculously understated. I'm really, really glad that she only loved one of them (and I'm not sure she's actually in love), but that part of the story passed so quickly that it was just kind of like a speed bump. And I really felt bad for Marcus. Nitzan pointed out that everything he did was for himself, but I really thought that he was a sweet guy. I'm definitely interested to see his story in Because of Low!

There were a few fluttery moments in this one, but I feel like they were ruled by a bunch of drama (one particular instance towards the end had me rolling my eyes), and they mean less like that to me. I think it's ridiculous when characters push each other away, even if there's a good reason - and in this case, there really wasn't. I didn't particularly care for the ending.

All in all, Breathe was a cute read, but it's definitely not one of my favorite Glines books.

Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano

Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano
Series: The Internment Chronicles, #1
Source: Bought
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: October 1, 2013

On Internment, the floating island in the clouds where 16-year-old Morgan Stockhour lives, getting too close to the edge can lead to madness. Even though Morgan's older brother, Lex, was a Jumper, Morgan vows never to end up like him. She tries her best not to mind that her life is orderly and boring, and if she ever wonders about the ground, and why it is forbidden, she takes solace in best friend Pen and her betrothed, Basil.

Then a murder, the first in a generation, rocks the city. With whispers swirling and fear on the wind, Morgan can no longer stop herself from investigating, especially when she meets Judas. He is the boy being blamed for the murder — betrothed to the victim — but Morgan is convinced of his innocence. Secrets lay at the heart of Internment, but nothing can prepare Morgan for what she will find — or who she will lose.

I see no proof, only words, but words can be powerful. Words can be what puts a boy to death.

I really wish that I could give Perfect Ruin a bazillion of million stars. But I can't. Don't get me wrong at all - I quite enjoyed it! But I can't discount the fact that I just didn't love the characters. The atmosphere was wonderful, and the prose was superb; but I wanted the characters to have deeper personalities, and more motive.

Morgan was okay. Sometimes I liked her, but most of the time she was kind of meh-ish for me. I loved that there was an existing romance - I'm seeing this trend more and more often in YA books, and I'm loving it! Basil and Morgan were so adorable together; and I liked that their romance was more sweet than steamy. I have to admit that the whole idea of "betrothal" upsets me, though. It's just... depressing. The idea that someone else chooses who you're going to be with for the rest of your life - and you have no say. I mean, it's working so far in Basil and Morgan's case, but who knows if that'll last. We ARE talking about YA here. I hope that it lasts, though; because as I said before, it's adorable.

I'm not going to lie here - Morgan's best friend, Pen, kind of miffs me. I keep expecting her to betray them all and do something drastic, which so far hasn't been proven true. But I don't trust her. I just can't explain it any better than that. I feel like something about her is...off.

I liked the air of "mystery" (oooOOOOooohhh) that surrounded Judas. I never really thought that he murdered the girl, because he just puts off a good guy vibe, which I have to admit was pretty nice. I do wonder if there will be a love triangle later in the series, though. This both thrills and upsets me, and I'm not sure which feeling will win out in the end.

I have a few philosophical questions and theories about the book, but I won't delve into them. I'm afraid you'll all run away screaming "WHY COULDN'T YOU JUST ACCEPT IT!" LOL. The ending was fabulous - my only problem was that I felt like it could have gone on just a bit longer... I mean, it just... ended. What am I supposed to do with my life until the next book comes out?!

Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A. Tucker

Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A. Tucker
Series: Ten Tiny Breaths, #1
Source: Netgalley
Publisher: Atria
Publication Date: September 24, 2013

Kacey Cleary’s whole life imploded four years ago in a drunk-driving accident. Now she’s working hard to bury the pieces left behind—all but one. Her little sister, Livie. Kacey can swallow the constant disapproval from her born-again aunt Darla over her self-destructive lifestyle; she can stop herself from going kick-boxer crazy on Uncle Raymond when he loses the girls’ college funds at a blackjack table. She just needs to keep it together until Livie is no longer a minor, and then they can get the hell out of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

But when Uncle Raymond slides into bed next to Livie one night, Kacey decides it’s time to run. Armed with two bus tickets and dreams of living near the coast, Kacey and Livie start their new lives in a Miami apartment complex, complete with a grumpy landlord, a pervert upstairs, and a neighbor with a stage name perfectly matched to her chosen “profession.” But Kacey’s not worried. She can handle all of them. What she can’t handle is Trent Emerson in apartment 1D.

Kacey doesn’t want to feel. She doesn’t. It’s safer that way. For everyone. But sexy Trent finds a way into her numb heart, reigniting her ability to love again. She starts to believe that maybe she can leave the past where it belongs and start over. Maybe she’s not beyond repair.

But Kacey isn’t the only one who’s broken. Seemingly perfect Trent has an unforgiveable past of his own; one that, when discovered, will shatter Kacey’s newly constructed life and send her back into suffocating darkness.

Ten Tiny Breaths surprised me in a good way. I had seen this one around, and I'd been keeping it in my sights, but it was one that I wasn't sure I'd ever get to. Turns out that it would of been a mistake if I had never read it, because I really liked it. Kacey was such an amazing character, and I love watching her grow and heal as a character.

Her sense of humor was fantastic, and I loved that tough-as-nails exterior that she was putting off, it was great. My favorite part of this book would have to be the character relationships, though. Every one of the secondary characters was well developed and had a purpose...which only made me love them more. I was mostly proud that there was no pointless characters, to tell you the truth. My recent experiences with New Adult have left a bit to be desired, if you catch my drift. I'm glad that this one didn't. It was fantastic.

Every page of this was like...I don't know. It was just really good. There were a few predictable scenes, but what is a good book without a feeling of predictability? Personally, I'm a fan of some predictable things, so it was no problem for me. Kacey still remains my favorite part of the book, though.

She was her own person, and although she didn't pick the best way to handle her problems, I think that in the end it made her every bit of who she was. I also loved her relationship with Trent. He has several skeletons in his closet too, but he was perfect in almost every way for Kacey. They compliment each other.

Just like Storm and Kacey-- Storm makes a fantastic best friend for Kacey. I couldn't help but think that the balance each other out, and I was really surprised by Storm. Though I keep wanting to call her Stormy, and I have no idea why...

All in all, Ten Tiny Breaths is worth a read...like a lot. I think that you should give it a chance, because it might surprise you.

Doll Bones by Holly Black

Doll Bones by Holly Black
Series: N/A
Source: Bought
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: May 7, 2013

Zach, Poppy and Alice have been friends for ever. They love playing with their action figure toys, imagining a magical world of adventure and heroism. But disaster strikes when, without warning, Zach’s father throws out all his toys, declaring he’s too old for them. Zach is furious, confused and embarrassed, deciding that the only way to cope is to stop playing . . . and stop being friends with Poppy and Alice. But one night the girls pay Zach a visit, and tell him about a series of mysterious occurrences. Poppy swears that she is now being haunted by a china doll – who claims that it is made from the ground-up bones of a murdered girl. They must return the doll to where the girl lived, and bury it. Otherwise the three children will be cursed for eternity . . .

Doll Bones was something I just picked up. I had no prior interest in it, and honestly, I don't particularly have any interest in it now. My only real interest in it was the scare factor. How scary could a MG book be? But then I started it. And realized, that, well, yes, as expected, it wasn't that scary. But first, let's get this out of the way-- I am deathly afraid of some of those porcelain dolls. They just freak me out, and that being said, well, this one didn't. Ouch, that's pretty sad.

The doll's story was actually fairly mediocre. That may have just been because I was expecting to have the wits scared out of me, but I can't discount the fact that it just wasn't scary. But I need to move on.

I don't very often read books with male narrators, so Doll Bones was unique in that way. Zach was kind of a funny kid, but the more I read from his point of view, the more I realized...he's like twelve. Maybe 13, and they're playing with "dolls"? That was a slight character flaw in itself. I mean, I realize that some people are more mature than others, but does a twelve year old boy really play with dolls? Not in this day and age. You'd be lucky to find a twelve year old that hasn't already had a girlfriend.

But aside from that, I did enjoy Zach and his friends, Alice and Poppy. Their adventure was awesome, and I liked the way that they were around each other. They were just simply friends.

All in all, Doll Bones was neither creepy enough, mature enough or interesting enough to have me hooked, but it was an okay read.

Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger

Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger
Series: Keeper of the Lost Cities, #1
Source: Bought
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: October 2, 2012

Twelve-year-old Sophie Foster has a secret. She’s a Telepath—someone who hears the thoughts of everyone around her. It’s a talent she’s never known how to explain.

Everything changes the day she meets Fitz, a mysterious boy who appears out of nowhere and also reads minds. She discovers there’s a place she does belong, and that staying with her family will place her in grave danger. In the blink of an eye, Sophie is forced to leave behind everything and start a new life in a place that is vastly different from anything she has ever known.

Sophie has new rules to learn and new skills to master, and not everyone is thrilled that she has come “home.”
There are secrets buried deep in Sophie’s memory—secrets about who she really is and why she was hidden among humans—that other people desperately want. Would even kill for.

In this page-turning debut, Shannon Messenger creates a riveting story where one girl must figure out why she is the key to her brand-new world, before the wrong person finds the answer first.

Keeper of the Lost Cities was an odd change for me. As you guys know, I'm really more of a contemporary gal, even in MG. But I tried it, because it looked interesting-- admit it, that cover is so adorable. It looks kind of like a mix of City of Ember and I don't know, something else that I can't remember right now.

It was completely different, though. Keeper of the Lost Cities was about the elves, which I thought was a unique idea. I liked the capitalization on all of the powers of the elves and the lost cities, but I felt like there was more potential that wasn't really carried out. Not very much has been done with elves, and the author had the power to really make them her own, but she didn't really. Fortunately though, the plot kept me interested.

It was very slow in the beginning-- the first two-hundred pages were the slowest, because nothing was really happening. I mean, things were happening of course, but it was all happening so slowly that it was hard to pay attention. Fortunately, it picked up around the middle, where it became interesting and fast enough to keep me glued to the pages.

I liked our main character, Sophie. She seemed like a really sweet kid and she was pretty funny, but she wasn't all that remarkable. She could have had more development, but I look forward to reading more about her-- she has some great potential ahead of her. All in all, Keeper of the Lost Cities may not have been all that I had hoped, but that doesn't meant that it was terrible. It sounds like I liked it less than I did.

Seventeenth Summer by Maureen Daly

Seventeenth Summer by Maureen Daly
Series: N/A
Source: Traded for
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: April 27, 2010

A summer to remember… Angie always thought high school romances were just silly infatuations that come and go. She certainly never thought she would fall in love over one short summer. But when she meets Jack, their connection is beyond any childish crush. Suddenly, Angie and Jack are filling their summer with stolen moments and romantic nights. But as fall grows closer, they must figure out if their love is forever, or just a summer they’ll never forget.

I don't know just why I'm telling you all this.

For whatever reason, Seventeenth Summer was just a flat read for me. I didn't connect with the characters, and I really didn't see the romance in it.

Angie, our main character, is way too prim and proper. I couldn't relate to her in any way, and I often found myself wondering why she even bothered? She would say how disgusted she was with Jack's eating habits, or his family, and I don't understand why it matters? She's supposed to love him, right?

They fell in love way too fast. It was like an instantaneous "he sees me then we go on a date then we love each other" kind of thing. And it drove me crazy! I don't see how they could be in love so easily. Jack doesn't appear to be very into Angie at all, but as I mentioned before, they're "in love". But Jack is always running off to talk to someone else and making Angie feel awkward and out of place. Basically, I didn't feel emotion from either of their characters. It was a big mocha latte of flatness.

If that wasn't bad enough, I couldn't keep our secondary characters straight. They seemed to just pop out of random places and to be with different people often enough that it confused me. I couldn't figure out who Angie was related to, or who her friends were dating...I just couldn't.

All in all, Seventeenth Summer really fell flat for me, which is sad, because I was really expecting to like it.

Girl Stays in the Picture by Melissa De La Cruz

Girl Stays in the Picture by Melissa De La Cruz
Series: Girl, #1
Source: Bought
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: June 2, 2009

Devon (one name only) is the most famous singer/actress in the country, and she is on location filming her newest blockbuster in the South of France. While there, she forms a bond with the director’s daughter—the hottest thing in Hollywood since she has recently lost two hundred pounds—who is learning to enjoy being young, rich, and famous. Devon also befriends Casey, a small-town girl who is an assistant to Devon’s biggest rival. Together, the three of them hit the best clubs, the beach, the Cannes film festival, and anyplace else where there is fun to be had.

As far as Devon was concerned, there was only one way to arrive in Saint-Tropez: on board a magnificent seventy-five-foot yacht.

Girl Stays in the Picture was a fun and fluffy read. Now that's not really true-- it was fun and fluffy, but it was also a tad bit serious at times. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would-- I was worried that this would be a meh read.

I was wrong. It may have been light and fluffy, but on a rainy day this was exactly what I needed to cheer me up. My only real issue with this book is that it's part of a series, and ends on a cliffhanger. Normally, this wouldn't be such a big deal, except this book was released in 2009 and freaking goodreads doesn't show a sequel in the works. o.O

I'm actually having problems writing this review-- I don't really know what to say!

I liked Casey, Livia and Devon. I can't really pick a favorite, but I definitely relate to Casey more, because I'm a small town southern girl too. The difference between me and her is that I can't stand it when people talk down to me. Everyone puts their britches on one leg at a time, and you? Well, you're not better than me, just like I'm no better than you.

As a result, I hate it when anyone talks down to anything. And poor Casey just got the brunt of all of that, and I just...wanted to beat her boss to death. I'm not normally a violent person. But I wanted to. I have to move on, because I feel a rant bubbling up inside.

I loved the inside look at fame. It doesn't seem to be near as glam as everyone makes it out to be, and it was interesting to see what Devon, Casey and Livia all thought about it, and how they handled it. I also loved the sweet romances that were intermingled into the book. They were just too cute.

All in all, I enjoyed Girl Stays in the Picture and I'd love to see a sequel.