[Blog Tour] Review & Giveaway: Dead To Me, by Mary McCoy

Title: Dead To Me
Author: Mary McCoy
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Release Date: March 3rd 2015

LA Confidential for the YA audience. This alluring noir YA mystery with a Golden Age Hollywood backdrop will keep you guessing until the last page.

"Don't believe anything they say."

Those were the last words that Annie spoke to Alice before turning her back on their family and vanishing without a trace. Alice spent four years waiting and wondering when the impossibly glamorous sister she idolized would return to her--and what their Hollywood-insider parents had done to drive her away.

Review: There Will Be Lies, by Nick Lake

Title: There Will Be Lies
Author: Nick Lake
Publication Date: January 6, 2015
Genre: Thriller

In four hours, Shelby Jane Cooper will be struck by a car.

Shortly after, she and her mother will leave the hospital and set out on a winding journey toward the Grand Canyon.

All Shelby knows is that they’re running from dangers only her mother understands. And the further they travel, the more Shelby questions everything about her past—and her current reality. Forced to take advantage of the kindness of unsuspecting travelers, Shelby grapples with what’s real, what isn't, and who she can trust . . . if anybody.

Award-winning author Nick Lake proves his skills as a master storyteller in this heart-pounding new novel. This emotionally charged thrill ride leads to a shocking ending that will have readers flipping back to the beginning. -Goodreads

3.5 Stars

Thank you Bloomsbury for sending me this copy for review!

For a majority of the There Will Be Lies, I was absolutely clueless. It was more of this engaged cluelessness, this burning curiosity to understand what exactly is happening.

Review: On the Fence, by Kasie West

Title: On the Fence
Author: Kasie West
Publication Date: July 1, 2014
Genre: Contemporary

For sixteen-year-old Charlotte Reynolds, aka Charlie, being raised by a single dad and three older brothers has its perks. She can outrun, outscore, and outwit every boy she knows—including her longtime neighbor and honorary fourth brother, Braden. But when it comes to being a girl, Charlie doesn't know the first thing about anything. So when she starts working at chichi boutique to pay off a speeding ticket, she finds herself in a strange new world of makeup, lacy skirts, and BeDazzlers. Even stranger, she's spending time with a boy who has never seen her tear it up in a pickup game.

To cope with the stress of faking her way through this new reality, Charlie seeks late-night refuge in her backyard, talking out her problems with Braden by the fence that separates them. But their Fence Chats can't solve Charlie's biggest problem: she's falling for Braden. Hard. She knows what it means to go for the win, but if spilling her secret means losing him for good, the stakes just got too high. -Goodreads

2 Stars

You could say that I am "on the fence" about this novel.

IT HAD TO BE SAID.

Meme creds: me.

Fellow pun lovers, were those perfect, or were they perfect? *snorts* Anyway.

Review: Dreams of Gods and Monsters, by Laini Taylor

Title: Dreams of Gods and Monsters (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #3)
Author: Laini Taylor
Publication Date: April 8, 2014
Genre: Fantasy

By way of a staggering deception, Karou has taken control of the chimaera rebellion and is intent on steering its course away from dead-end vengeance. The future rests on her, if there can even be a future for the chimaera in war-ravaged Eretz.

Common enemy, common cause.

When Jael's brutal seraph army trespasses into the human world, the unthinkable becomes essential, and Karou and Akiva must ally their enemy armies against the threat. It is a twisted version of their long-ago dream, and they begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people. And, perhaps, for themselves. Toward a new way of living, and maybe even love.

But there are bigger threats than Jael in the offing. A vicious queen is hunting Akiva, and, in the skies of Eretz ... something is happening. Massive stains are spreading like bruises from horizon to horizon; the great winged stormhunters are gathering as if summoned, ceaselessly circling, and a deep sense of wrong pervades the world.

What power can bruise the sky?

From the streets of Rome to the caves of the Kirin and beyond, humans, chimaera and seraphim will fight, strive, love, and die in an epic theater that transcends good and evil, right and wrong, friend and enemy.

At the very barriers of space and time, what do gods and monsters dream of? And does anything else matter? -Goodreads

3.5 Stars

Ughhhhhhhhhhhh. You do not know how much I hate myself right now, how much it physically hurts to give this book any less than five stars. I AM DYING INSIDE. *hyperventilates*

Blog Tour: 3 Reasons to Read The Fire Wish + Giveaway!

Title: The Fire Wish (The Jinni Wars #1)
Author: Amber Lough
Publication Date: July 22, 2014
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 3.5 stars

A jinni. A princess. And the wish that changes everything. . . .

Najwa is a jinni, training to be a spy in the war against the humans. Zayele is a human on her way to marry a prince of Baghdad—which she’ll do anything to avoid. So she captures Najwa and makes a wish. With a rush of smoke and fire, they fall apart and re-form—as each other. A jinni and a human, trading lives. Both girls must play their parts among enemies who would kill them if the deception were ever discovered—enemies including the young men Najwa and Zayele are just discovering they might love. -Goodreads

I just finished The Fire Wish a couple weeks ago, and OH MY GOD YOU GUYS HAVE TO READ THIS. There are Jinnis, princesses, princes, magic, palaces - basically, if you love fantasy, this book will satisfy you and go above and beyond your expectations. Yes, there are flaws, but most of them I was able to ignore.

Here are 3 Reasons to Read The Fire Wish!

1. Because it's far more authentic than the watered down Disney version (ahem, Aladdin) 

Mini-Reviews: Trouble and Delirium

Title: Trouble

Author: Non Pratt

Genre: Contemporary

Publication Date: March 6, 2014

In this dazzling debut novel, a pregnant teen learns the meaning of friendship—from the boy who pretends to be her baby’s father.

When the entire high school finds out that Hannah Shepard is pregnant via her ex-best friend, she has a full-on meltdown in her backyard. The one witness (besides the rest of the world): Aaron Tyler, a transfer student and the only boy who doesn’t seem to want to get into Hannah’s pants. Confused and scared, Hannah needs someone to be on her side. Wishing to make up for his own past mistakes, Aaron does the unthinkable and offers to pretend to be the father of Hannah’s unborn baby. Even more unbelievable, Hannah hears herself saying “yes.”

Told in alternating perspectives between Hannah and Aaron, Trouble is the story of two teenagers helping each other to move forward in the wake of tragedy and devastating choices. As you read about their year of loss, regret, and hope, you’ll remember your first, real best friend—and how they were like a first love. -Goodreads

Meh. That's what I thought of this book. It wasn't amazing and it wasn't terrible, just meh.

3.5 Stars

The first half of Trouble I loved! The storyline was interesting, the characters were realistic and so were their problems and then suddenly all of that seemed to change. The storyline got sort of boring, the characters started to really annoy me and the whole book seemed to be exactly like the sort of gossip you read on bathroom walls.

Mini-Reviews: If You Find Me, and The Diamond Thief

Title: If You Find Me
Author: Emily Murdoch
Genre: Contemporary
Publication Date: March 26, 2013

There are some things you can’t leave behind…
A broken-down camper hidden deep in a national forest is the only home fifteen year-old Carey can remember. The trees keep guard over her threadbare existence, with the one bright spot being Carey’s younger sister, Jenessa, who depends on Carey for her very survival. All they have is each other, as their mentally ill mother comes and goes with greater frequency. Until that one fateful day their mother disappears for good, and two strangers arrive. Suddenly, the girls are taken from the woods and thrust into a bright and perplexing new world of high school, clothes and boys.

Now, Carey must face the truth of why her mother abducted her ten years ago, while haunted by a past that won’t let her go… a dark past that hides many a secret, including the reason Jenessa hasn’t spoken a word in over a year. Carey knows she must keep her sister close, and her secrets even closer, or risk watching her new life come crashing down. -Goodreads

3 Stars

I hadn't anticipated the depth and power of If You Find Me when I first acquired it. I didn't expect it to be such a dark, deep novel. It tells the story of a girl who has lived in the woods her entire life, along with her sister and drug-addicted mother. She is completely disconnected from society, and has trouble adjusting into the life of a normal teenager.

Review: Code Name Verity, by Elizabeth Wein

Title: Code Name Verity
Author: Elizabeth Wein
Publication Date: February 6, 2012
Genre: YA Historical fiction

Oct. 11th, 1943-A British spy plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France. Its pilot and passenger are best friends. But only one of the girls has a chance at survival.

Arrested by the Gestapo, "Verity" is given a choice: reveal her mission or face a grisly execution. They'll get the truth out of her. Only, it won't be what they expect.

A Michael L. Printz Award Honor book that was called "a fiendishly-plotted mind game of a novel" in The New York Times, Code Name Verity is a visceral read of danger, resolve, and survival that shows just how far true friends will go to save each other.

3.5 Stars

"Must be lovely flying in peacetime." 

Five tries. It took me five tries, over the course of a year, to actually finish this novel. Not to say it was bad - on the contrary, actually - but  the confusing plot combined with my relatively short attention span made it difficult to actually finish Code Name Verity.

*pages of details on airplanes*

Me: Oh, look, a fly!

Review: Jasper Jones, by Craig Silvey

Late on a hot summer night in 1965, Charlie Bucktin, a precocious and bookish boy of thirteen, is startled by an urgent knock on the window of his sleep-out. His visitor is Jasper Jones, an outcast in the regional mining town of Corrigan.

Rebellious, mixed-race and solitary, Jasper is a distant figure of danger and intrigue for Charlie. So when Jasper begs for his help, Charlie eagerly steals into the night by his side, terribly afraid but desperate to impress. Jasper takes him to his secret glade in the bush, and it's here that Charlie bears witness to Jasper's horrible discovery.

With his secret like a brick in his belly, Charlie is pushed and pulled by a town closing in on itself in fear and suspicion as he locks horns with his tempestuous mother; falls nervously in love and battles to keep a lid on his zealous best friend, Jeffrey Lu.

And in vainly attempting to restore the parts that have been shaken loose, Charlie learns to discern the truth from the myth, and why white lies creep like a curse.

In the simmering summer where everything changes, Charlie learns why the truth of things is so hard to know, and even harder to hold in his heart.

My Rating: 3.5 stars 

"I don't understand a thing about this world: about people, and why they do the things they do. The more I find out, the more I uncover, the more I know, the less I understand.

Many are boldly making the claim that this is the Australian To Kill A Mockingbird. I don't think I agree with this, in the sense that it didn't affect me as much as the latter did. The similarities are there, nonetheless. It shows the cruel world from an innocent 13-year-old's point of view, much like what To Kill A Mockingbird does.

I have to give it to Silvey, he has a lot of talent. The writing is quite absorbing and unique, and while it did take some getting used to, it started to grow on me. A bit clumpy at times, but still compelling. I might even go so far to say that this is one of the best reflection of a teen boy's voice; a quality you'd be hard-pressed to come across in YA.

Charlie is the main character of the novel. For a majority of the novel, I would describe the guy as a wimp. He's the kid that gets bullied just for being smarter than everyone else, the kid that would rather be reading than hanging out with other teens. His awkwardness and low self-confidence are shown in the tone of the writing. I don't know if I love him, or even feel a sort of bond with him, but I will say that he is very well-developed, as are the other characters.


At times, though, his thoughts seemed way too mature for a person his age. C'mon, no teen talks like a freaking philosopher all the time. We might mistake him for an old man. It simply wasn't realistic.

Jasper Jones is the town outlaw, the scapegoat of all the town's problems. If a flower dies, it's Jasper Jones' fault. If you lose your ring, Jasper stole it. Same with if a girl is murdered. You get the picture.

Which brings me to the town in which the story takes place. It's the ignorant town that is exactly how I picture one of those overly-conservative towns down in the South. They blame everything on one person, treat the Vietnamese immigrants like trash, (this is set during the Vietnam War), and just portray pure ignorance.

Where the novel fell flat, I think, is the mystery aspect. It didn't interest me at all. It could be that I didn't care much for the person that the mystery was related to, or that mystery really isn't the genre for Silvey and he should stick to coming-of-age novels.

There were way too many sub-plots the author was trying to fit into one book. What puzzled me is how many different issues there were, but the plot still managed to move SO SLOW.

I like how the Vietnam War and Cold War were brought up, adding more maturity to the novel. While only subtly alluded to, I did appreciate their mentioning and their significance during that time.

I can't help but feel that this book and the praise along with it is pretentious, which I think took away from my enjoyment of the book. I was hoping to love this, but it didn't cut it for me.

Review: The Immortal Rules, by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden #1)
Author: Julie Kagawa
Genre: YA dystopia
Pub. Date: April 24, 2012

To survive in a ruined world, she must embrace the darkness…

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a walled-in city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten. Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them—the vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself dies and becomes one of the monsters.

Forced to flee her city, Allie must pass for human as she joins a ragged group of pilgrims seeking a legend—a place that might have a cure for the disease that killed off most of civilization and created the rabids, the bloodthirsty creatures who threaten human and vampire alike. And soon Allie will have to decide what and who is worth dying for…again.

Enter Julie Kagawa's dark and twisted world as an unforgettable journey begins.

Julie Kagawa never fails to amaze me with her storytelling. Her novels will pull you into the world that she has superbly created with her beautifully detailed writing.

As hard as it is to admit, this book was, in summary, a disappointment. With my standards set so high, I was expecting something with more pizzazz (I can’t think of a better word, so I’ll just use that weird one).

It's not like the author did not do a good job in portraying vampires as how they are supposed to be portrayed. It's not that the story wasn't written well or the characters were flat or whatever. It's that I was not that affected by this story. Yes, the middle part was totally epic, but the rest... I don't know. It just was not that notable or magnificent, to me.

I guess a good way to put this is that this book will be easily forgotten, blurring in with the other insignificant books.

It causes me utmost pain to be giving Kagawa's book, an author whom I have been a major fan of, a rating of less than 4 stars. But I feel like there are other books out there worthy of 4 stars, more so than The Immortal Rules.

The only two characters that I truly felt a connection with are Caleb and Allie, not so much the others. And Caleb only because of how young and cute he is, and I have a soft spot for little kids. Zeke, while sweet and kind, was a little too perfect in my opinion, and was not that interesting to read about. Kanin was very mysterious and we know absolutely nothing about him besides what was revealed near the end. But I think that this was intentionally done in order to expand on his character in book 2. Kagawa did a good job with developing Allison as a main character, but neglected the other characters by not putting as much effort into them.

I can’t find any solid justification for rating this book 3.5 stars, other than the fact that I felt so disconnected from a majority of the characters. Though, I think that not being able to connect with the characters takes a lot away from the reading experience. So I guess that is a good enough reason.

I’m sorry Julie Kagawa, AKA one of my favorite authors of one of my favorite series, for giving your book 3.5 stars. I truly am. Still, I am firm in my belief that this book is not that great as I expected it would be.

*Cowers in a corner out of shame*

But there is still hope for book 2!

3.5/5 stars

Review: Falling Kingdoms, by Morgan Rhodes

Title: Falling Kingdoms
Author: Morgan Rhodes
Genre: YA High fantasy
Pub. Date: December 11. 2012

In a land where magic has been forgotten but peace has reigned for centuries, a deadly unrest is simmering. Three kingdoms grapple for power—brutally transforming their subjects' lives in the process. Amidst betrayals, bargains, and battles, four young people find their fates forever intertwined:

Cleo: A princess raised in luxury must embark on a rough and treacherous journey into enemy territory in search of a magic long thought extinct.

Jonas: Enraged at injustice, a rebel lashes out against the forces of oppression that have kept his country impoverished—and finds himself the leader of a people's revolution centuries in the making.

Lucia: A girl adopted at birth into a royal family discovers the truth about her past—and the supernatural legacy she is destined to wield.

Magnus: Bred for aggression and trained to conquer, a firstborn son begins to realize that the heart can be more lethal than the sword. . . .

The only outcome that's certain is that kingdoms will fall. Who will emerge triumphant when all they know has collapsed?

This is definitely one of the more harder reviews to write. I feel like I could gush all day about this book, but at the same time, it is just too flawed. These flaws are much too noticeable, and nagged me while I was reading, making my experience reading this less entertaining than I would have expected.

With war, fighting, magic, bloodshed, and political intrigue, this seemed like the perfect book for me. And if the many flaws were ignored, it could have been.

The thing that bugged me the most was the writing. It was so boring, so monotonous, that one could easily lose interest in the novel. In the high fantasy genre, even fantasy in general, the writing is supposed to reflect the mood of the book. The author failed in this.

Another major issue I had was how the war started. Apparently, the three kingdoms have been at peace for centuries, living alongside each other with minimal fighting (collectively speaking, that is). I find it extremely hard to believe that the death of an "insignificant peasant" would brew up a bloody war between the three kingdoms. It is simply hard to comprehend that the book's plot is based around the death of one peasant.

In plain terms, the romance sucked. Badly. The most unimpressive one was the romance between Cleo and Theon. Not only did their romance pop out of the blue, Theon was also a character that lacked depth. I knew nothing about him and he wasn't described too well. I felt so detached and uninterested in their romance that I did not feel much remorse over him whatsoever.

What with all these flaws, it's surprising that I actually liked reading this book. I stayed engrossed in the novel and felt connected to the seemingly unlikable characters.

Which brings me to an important point. At first, I absolutely loathed all the characters at the beginning of the novel. But I think the reason for this is because we are unable to relate to these characters, since it is hard to imagine what it would be like if we were in their situations. Excluding Theon, the characters were, overall, well-written characters.

This is not one of those stories with the whole "good guy-bad guy" scenario, in which the villain is easy to name and is evil just for the sake of being evil, with no reasoning as to why that particular villain acts like that. No, Falling Kingdoms was not that black-and-white. I am so glad for this, as it gave the story complexity and made it deserving of being in the genre of high fantasy. I found it hard to choose sides, because each side did have justifiable reasons for their actions, in a sense. 

The first novel really sets a strong base for upcoming sequels, especially that last scene. There is just enough unresolved conflict to keep me reading this series.

Falling Kingdoms is a book that has spectacular qualities, but at the same time, amateur mistakes. I recommend this book to fans of Throne of Glass and Graceling.

3.5 Stars

Review & Giveaway: Oath of Servitude, by C.E. Wilson (The Punishment Sequence, #1)

Title: Oath of Servitude

Author: C.E. Wilson

"This is the story of Teague and Cailin, two teenagers who have been brought together by fate. Teague, a human, struggles to come to terms with the consequences of a recent accident that has destroyed the happy life that he had once enjoyed. Cailin, a pixi, is trying to stay true to herself while fighting against forces beyond her control that have exiled her from her home into this strange world of humans. She fears the darkness. He cannot escape it. But when the two of them are thrown together, they begin to discover the light inside of themselves."  -Goodreads

First of all, I want to thank C.E. Wilson for providing me with a copy of this book.

This was a fun read, not exactly action-packed, adventurous, or anything else you'd expect from a book in the paranormal genre, but it was still entertaining.

I'll start with the not-so-good qualities of this book. Firstly, the writing, at times, was kind of awkward. There were a few instances when the wording didn't make sense. Another thing about this book was that some secondary characters were a bit...dry. I wish that the author had developed those characters more, so that the readers would have understood them more.

The ending would have affected me more if the author had explained the pixis and Cailin's family better. I know that the author left questions unanswered to give the book more suspense and to make us want to read the next installment, but leaving that much information unknown just confused me.

Since I have stated what I disliked about this book, I will now go on to what made me like this book. I loved the idea of pixis and the author's originality. With the YA genre being taken over by vampires, its nice to have a different type of paranormal creature being introduced.

I also liked Cailin's character. She is not what anyone would expect a pixi to be like; she has a lot of pride and is very stubborn. Her ignorance of modern day things is amusing to read about (her explanation of baseball is hilarious). Teague was a character that I didn't love, nor did I hate. I felt bad for him, but at the same time, he didn't exactly act like a normal 19-year old. He was too whiny and acted more like a twelve year old. Cailin and Teague's relationship was cute, and I liked how Teague depended on Cailin a lot, not the other way around (unlike other YA couples).The nonstop banter that was a common occurence between Teague and Cailin was enjoyable to read.

Personally, I thought that this book was okay. I was looking forward to read a book with a fresh take on pixis. Sadly, it didn't go in depth about this topic. Most of the novel was Teague and Cailin's relationship and their gradual acceptance of each other. This is a book for people looking for a quick, short read. It had moments when it shined, but it also had some mediocre moments, so I will give this book a 3.5/5 stars.

Release Date: September 2012
Page Count: 159
My Rating: 3.5/5 stars

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