Monday, January 30, 2012

Destined by P. C. & Kristin Cast

Destined by P. C. Cast & Kristin Cast
Released: October 25, 2011
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Series: House of Night, Book 9
Preceded By: Awakened
Followed By: Hidden
Page Amount: 325, US Hardback
POV: 1st Person (Zoey) 
Buy it here: Barnes & NobleAmazon

OVERALL:
Plot-17/20
Characters-17/20
Creativity-16/20
Writing-18/20
Pace-9/10
Ending-9/10
=86/100 B
/5

This is the ninth book in this series, I will not post any intentional spoilers but please stop reading if you have not read the previous books in the House of Night series. 

SUMMARY:
Zoey is finally home where she belongs, safe with her Guardian Warrior, Stark, by her side, and preparing to face off against Neferet -- which would be a whole lot easier if the High Council saw the ex-High Priestess for what she really is. Rephaim and Stevie Rae are finally able to be together -- if he can truly walk the path of the Goddess and stay free of his father's shadow. But there are new forces at work at the House of Night. An influx of humans, including Lenobia's handsome horse whisperer, threatens their precarious stability. And then there's the mysterious Aurox, a jaw-droppingly gorgeous teen boy who is actually more -- or possibly less -- than human. Only Neferet knows he was created to be her greatest weapon. But Zoey can sense the part of his soul that remains human, the compassion that wars with his Dark calling. And there's something strangely familiar about him . . . Will Neferet's true nature be revealed before she succeeds at extinguishing Light? And will Zoey be able to touch Aurox's humanity in time to protect them all? Find out what's destined in the next thrilling chapter of the House of Night series. -Goodreads.com
REViEW:
The plot of Destined was a little bit weak. This series has been going on for a long time and the plots are becoming overused and a little bit boring. I do truly love this series, it is one of my favorites, but I really think the first books in this series are the best. This book was interesting but not in a "Ohmigosh I have to finish this book RIGHT NOW!" kind of way. There was not that much action in this book and not that much religious tension. It was pretty much a bunch of different character plots intertwined. This book was good, but not my favorite in the series.   

The characters were not as impressive in this series. Stark, he's still my arrow boy. I love him. I read these books solely for him :) He did not disappoint, of course. The whole thing with Shaunee was a little bit surprising. I'm not sure if I liked it, but it was definitely creative. I just really like the twins, so I felt bad for Erin. Zoey was still Zoey, aka still boy-crazy and in love with more then one guy. Surprise, surprise. I kind of want Zoey to have more substance in the next few books. I would like her a heck of a lot more if she would just grow up and be a little more mature. She made some progress in this novel, but she's still not completely there yet. Stevie Rae...hmm, I liked her, but not as much as I did in the last book. She didn't have as much character in this book. I do like her protectiveness of Rephaim though. Their romance was very well done.

Destined's ending was just as amazing as all the other HoN endings. It's like all the rest of the books where the book is okay nothing special then BAM look at that ending. It's seriously so thrilling that the endings are reason enough to read these books. Trouble is definitely on its way for Zoey and her friends.  

My Favorite Part: The ending. It's so exciting and really makes an impression.

ALL iN ALL:
Do I recommend this book? Yes, House of Night is a great and exciting series. 

Thank you all for reading! Let me know what you thought of this book and the rest of the House of Night series.

It's a Book Thing
Review by Macy ♥ 

Ruthless by Sara Shepard

Ruthless by Sara Shepard

Released: December 6, 2011
Publisher: HarperTeen
Series: Pretty Little Liars, Book 10
Preceded By: Twisted
Followed By: Stunning
Page Amount: 336, US Hardback
POV: 3rd Person 
Buy Twisted here: Barnes & NobleAmazon

OVERALL:
Plot-17/20
Characters-16/20
Creativity-17/20
Writing-18/20
Pace-9/10
Ending-9/10
=86/100  B
★/5

This is the tenth book in the series, I will not post any intentional spoilers but please stop reading if you have not read the previous books in the Pretty Little Liars series. 

SUMMARY:

For years scandal has rocked Rosewood, Pennsylvania—and high school seniors Aria, Emily, Hanna, and Spencer have always been at the center of the drama. They’ve lost friends, been targeted by a ruthless stalker named A, and narrowly escaped death. And it’s not over yet.
Aria’s love life is on the fritz. Emily’s exploring her wild side. Hanna’s kissing the enemy. And someone from Spencer’s past—someone she never thought she’d see again—is back to haunt her.
But none of that compares to what happened last spring break. It’s their darkest secret yet and guess who found out? Now A is determined to make them pay for their crime, and the only thing scarier than A is the fear that maybe, just maybe, they deserve what’s coming to them.-Goodreads.com
REViEW:

Let me start off by saying that I absolutely love the Pretty Little Liars series as well as the show. I did enjoy this book, but it lacked some of the hard core suspense that the previous books contained. For the most part, this book focussed more on the girls' experiences then the whole mystery surrounding A. I have to admit my favorite part of these books are the parts surrounding the murder of Ali and the mysterious identity of A. This book left me a little bit disappointed because it didn't have as much suspense to it. The writing also lacked some passion that I had seen before. I think that this series may be going on a little bit too long, and I would have thought that I would never say that because I love this series that much. I just think that Shepard's creative ideas aren't as present as much as they were in past installments.

The characters were lacking in this book. I started to like Aria again, which was a plus. Klaudia was a little more, uh, civilized and normal. The characters weren't as crazy and rash as before. Some things surrounding Spencer seemed kinda outlandish to me, but it wasn't as bad as some things. Emily... To be honest, she's becoming my favorite. She's so sweet and naive and just very likable. Ezra was back *applause*, I love him, especially in the show, but he didn't seem like Ezra in this book. He behaved differently from what I expected. The characters were better then in Twisted, but did not have as much depth as they had in other books in this series.

The ending was another one of Shepard's big jaw dropping moments. I loved how A came back into the mix and the whole thing with Kelsey. Wow, I enjoyed the ending. It made me want the next book. 

My Favorite Part: Definitely the ending! It had everything I wanted from the rest of the book. 

ALL iN ALL:

Do I recommend this book? Yes, this is an amazing series with so many twists and turns.
Will I be reading the next book? Yes, I have to after that ending.

Thank you for reading! I would love to hear your thoughts on the Pretty Little Liars Series or just any comments! What did you think of this book or this  series or even the TV show? Comment and let me know!

It's a Book Thing
Review by Macy ♥

Friday, January 13, 2012

Gone by Lisa McMann

Gone by Lisa McMann

Released: February 9, 2010
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Series: Dream Catcher, Book 3
Preceded By: Wake and Fade
Page Amount: 214, US Paperback
POV: 3rd Person
Buy it here: Barnes & NobleAmazon

OVERALL:
Plot-17/20
Characters-16/20
Creativity-16/20
Writing-15/20
Pace-7/10
Ending-7/10
=78/100  C
★/5


This is the third book in the Dream Catcher series, I will not post any intentional spoilers but please do not keep reading if you have not read Wake and Fade.

SUMMARY:
Janie thought she knew what her future held. And she thought she’d made her peace with it. But she can’t handle dragging Cabel down with her.
She knows he will stay with her, despite what she sees in his dreams. He’s amazing. And she’s a train wreck. Janie sees only one way to give him the life he deserves: She has to disappear. And it’s going to kill them both.
Then a stranger enters her life — and everything unravels. The future Janie once faced now has an ominous twist, and her choices are more dire than she’d ever thought possible. She alone must decide between the lesser of two evils. And time is running out. . . . -Goodreads.com

REViEW:
To be honest, I expected a lot out of this book. Was I disappointed? A little bit, yes. Fade was so fast-paced and intriguing, I thought this book would follow. This book's plot centered around Janie's life decision. I feel like this book didn't have that much substance to it. It really didn't have a strong definite plot, just a choice. Ms. McMann's writing once again had a fast pace, it just did not seem as interesting as the previous novel. Nevertheless, this book was a good conclusion to the Dream Catcher series. 

The characters in this installment weren't as developed as they had been in Fade. Cabel didn't play as big of a role as I would have liked. I mentally kept screaming at Janie to tell Cabel about the choice she has to make. That being said, Janie irritated me in this book. Her options do stink, but it was hard to see her thought process in making this life decision. I just wish I was able to better read into her thoughts and be able to picture her as a real person.

The ending was a nice little wrap-up to end this exciting series. It didn't have a big bam, but it did have a nice ending. There was one major loose end that did kind of irk me though. I wish Janie had made a more definite decision. All in all, I am glad I took the time to read this series. I look forward to reading more from McMann in the future.

My Favorite Part: The options that Janie had to choose from. They actually made me feel a little bit bad for Janie. 

ALL iN ALL:
Do I recommend this book? Yes, it's a good ending to this series.
Do I recommend this series? Yes, It's a fast series to get through and is exciting!

Thanks for reading! A lot more reviews to come! :)

It's a Book Thing
Review by Macy ♥

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

A New Year

HAPPY 2012 EVERYONE!

I know it is a little late, but better late than never. I truly apologize for not posting that much in December (or November for that matter).  This moth will be different. I have been reading more quickly and getting posts ready. I already have a lot of reviews and other fun stuff planned for this blog with the new year. I am going to start up my YouTube channel sometime this month. I can already tell that this is going to be a great year. I am going to try to post a lot more than I have been. I've just been crazy busy with work and haven't left much time to read. It will be better now though. I promise! I hope you all had a very happy holiday as well as a splendid new year! Check back all through this week for a ton of new book reviews and other cool features!

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