Review: Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead

Synopsis: In a futuristic world nearly destroyed by religious extremists, Justin March lives in exile after failing in his job as an investigator of religious groups and supernatural claims. But Justin is given a second chance when Mae Koskinen comes to bring him back to the Republic of United North America (RUNA). Raised in an aristocratic caste, Mae is now a member of the military’s most elite and terrifying tier, a soldier with enhanced reflexes and skills.

When Justin and Mae are assigned to work together to solve a string of ritualistic murders, they soon realize that their discoveries have exposed them to terrible danger. As their investigation races forward, unknown enemies and powers greater than they can imagine are gathering in the shadows, ready to reclaim the world in which humans are merely game pieces on their board.

Gameboard of the Gods, the first installment of Richelle Mead’s Age of X series, will have all the elements that have made her YA Vampire Academy and Bloodlines series such megasuccesses: sexy, irresistible characters; romantic and mythological intrigue; and relentless action and suspense.

Publisher: Dutton Adult

Page Count: 464

Edition: Kindle (Galley provided by publisher via NetGalley)

Rating: 3/5 stars

Review:

Mae Koskinen and Justin March live in futuristic North America called RUNA. Neither know each other until the fateful night which they meet-twice-and their lives change. Mae is a praetorian, which is an elite soldier with a chip to improve their abilities. At a friend's funeral, Mae starts a fight with another praetorian, which gets her punished. She gets sent to Panama to pick up a Dr. March. Justin March is living in exile in the province of Panama. He is in exile for unknown reasons until later in the book. Some events occur and the two meet. They have a one night stand thinking they'll never see each other again. They were wrong. (Obviously)

I am so sad I had to give this a three star rating. I love Richelle Mead's VAMPIRE ACADEMY series so much. I went into this thinking it was going to wow me. It did and it kind of didn't. I'll just start off with the good things first.

Richelle Mead always writes a tough, cool, and awesome female leads. Mae was no exception. She was tough, smart, and independent. Mae has really bad family issues and a past love that she can't forget(not for reasons you'd think). I enjoyed reading about her. Justin...let's not get into him now. I mean, I liked how interesting things happened to him. I just didn't like him. Tessa was an okay character. I don't know why we had to read from her POV but it was okay.

The whole concept of GAMEBOARD OF THE GODS was so interesting and awesome. The world building was done in such a subtle way that I barely realized I was getting a RUNA 'history lesson'. The RUNA(or Gemman society as some call it) was so freaking cool. It is almost like I imagine our future going. Well, except for the Cain thing. I liked how Richelle Mead went into more pagan religion other than the typical ones you hear about today. And the ending with this Nordic God(can't say without giving away spoilers) was so well done.

GAMEBOARD OF THE GODS had so much action. Every chapter had drama and action. There was no in between for it. It was just constant action. After reading so many romance-y dystopians, it's nice to read a pure action one. Oh yeah. There isn't a lot of romance in this book. Just a lot of meaningless sex(wasn't a huge fan of that).

Now for the things I didn't like and got this book three stars.

I hated how slow this book was. Yes, I did read it in four or five days. Yes, I read a lot of it every day. But it felt like a chore just to read a few chapters. They were all so long and something about the writing or pacing just made it hard to read. I felt like it took FOREVER just to finish one chapter. Don't get me wrong, it was very interesting. It was just so long.

I didn't like Justin. I know, I know. He was described as being arrogant and acknowledged it. But I thought he would change near the end of the book. Instead he got worse.

The last thing I want to mention was how this book just didn't wow me. I waited and waited for a moment where I could say "Wow, this is so good!" but it never came. It was really just okay. Nothing stood out to me. I could have cared less about what happened the characters. The climax didn't have me at the edge of my seat. The action scenes felt bland. The characters were just okay. I'm hoping this series gets better, but for now, I'm not going to set my expectations high.

Review: School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins

Synopsis: Fifteen-year-old Izzy Brannick was trained to fight monsters. For centuries, her family has hunted magical creatures. But when Izzy’s older sister vanishes without a trace while on a job, Izzy's mom decides they need to take a break.

Izzy and her mom move to a new town, but they soon discover it’s not as normal as it appears. A series of hauntings has been plaguing the local high school, and Izzy is determined to prove her worth and investigate. But assuming the guise of an average teenager is easier said than done. For a tough girl who's always been on her own, it’s strange to suddenly make friends and maybe even have a crush.

Can Izzy trust her new friends to help find the secret behind the hauntings before more people get hurt?

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Page Count: 304

Edition: Kindle (NetGalley)

Rating: 4 stars

Review:

Izzy Brannick is devastated over her sister going missing. While on a hunt, she accidentily slips. Her mother decided to go to a new town so Izzy can take on a smaller mission. But this mission may not be as small as everyone thinks...

I love the Hex Hall series. I was so happy when I heard this was going to come out. So when I saw it on NetGalley, I jumped on the offer. I was so surprised! Rachel Hawkins uses her humor but not in a way that makes you think that this is a repeat of Hex Hall. This story was so cute and fluffy. I couldn't put it down. The mystery during the whole book reminded me of that old show Danny Phantom. Izzy and her new friends had their ups and downs, all while Izzy was suffering from her sister going missing. I loved Izzy. She was so tough yet sweet. Dex and Izzy are so cute together!

But, this still fell flat for me. It seemed like a middle grade read. It seemed to be going somewhere and it didn't. I hope that this leads up to a better more substantial series.


Rachel Hawkins' delightful spin-off brings the same wit and charm as the New York Times best-selling Hex Hall series. Get ready for more magic, mystery and romance!(

Review: Grasping at Eternity by Karen Amanda Hooper

Synopsis: Leave it to Maryah Woodsen to break the one rule that will screw up eternity: Never erase your memories.

Before entering this life, Maryah did the unthinkable—she erased. Now, at seventeen years old, she’s clueless that her new adoptive family has known her for centuries, that they are perpetually reincarnated souls, and that they have supernatural abilities. Oh, and she's supposed to love (not despise) Nathan, the green-eyed daredevil who saved her life.

Nathan is convinced his family’s plan to spark Maryah's memory is hopeless, but his love for her is undying. After spending (and remembering) so many lifetimes together, being around an empty version of his soulmate is heart shattering. He hates acting like a stalker, but has no choice because the evil outcast who murdered Maryah in their last lifetime is still after her.

While Maryah’s hunter inches closer, she and Nathan make assumptions and hide secrets that rip them further apart. Maryah has to believe in the magic within her, Nathan must have faith in the power of their love, and both need to grasp onto the truth before they lose each other forever—and discover just how lonely eternity can be.

X-MEN meets MY NAME IS MEMORY in Karen Amanda Hooper’s latest young adult release.

Publisher: Starry Sky Publishing

Page Count: 328 pages

Edition: Kindle (copy kindly sent by the publisher via NetGalley)

Rating: 3.5-4 stars

Review: GRASPING AT ETERNITY is about a girl named Maryah Woodsen who endures a tragedy within pages of the story. She is sent of to live with Louise, her godmother, to stay there. There she meets a copious amount of people whom she comes to love or dislike. But something isn't entirely right with the Luna family. Maryah goes on a life changing journey that shakes her world and it comes crumbling down.

THAT is how the synopsis should have gone. It completely ruins the story. Now, with that said, I did find the new concept of reincarnation completely imaginative and unique. I've read the ETERNAL ONES series by Kirsten Miller and that is one of my favorite series ever. So this book had a lot to live up to. GRASPING AT ETERNITY certainly met those expectations, but maybe a little under the bar. The plot was fast paced and I was dying to know what happened to the characters. This wasn't really action packed at all. There was some action at the end, but it quickly disappeared. I like the books I read to leave on an anticipatory note, so I'm dying to read the next book. But this one just ended. It was way to happy and corny for my taste.

The characters in this book were cool. Louise was my favorite by far. I have quotes highlighted by her that were brilliant. She's so smart and wise. Every time she spoke it was like a lesson. The other characters were just bland. I hope to see more of them in the next book. Maryah as a main character fell on the annoying side. At times she was just downright mean, hypocritical, rude and sometimes closed minded. When someone did something she didn't necessarily think was the right way of doing it, she'd say stuff in her head that bugged me. But I hope she develops now that...Oops, almost gave away a spoiler! Nathaniel was so cool. I could really tell that he loved Maryah. It wasn't like with other stories where the love interest just wants her body. No, you could tell Nathaniel loved her for her.

Overall, this book was a good start to a hopefully wonderfull series. I would reccomend this to people who want a dark but light read.
 

Review: Spellbinding by Maya Gold

Synopsis: There's more than one way to be powerful . . .

It is during a routine school project that Abby Silva--sixteen and nearly friendless--makes a startling discovery: She is descended from women who were accused of witchcraft back in 1600s Salem. And when Abby visits nearby Salem, strange, inexplicable events start to unfold. Objects move when she wills them to. Candles burst into sudden flame. And an ancient spellbook somehow winds up in her possession.

Trying to harness her newfound power, Abby concocts a love potion to win over her longtime crush--and exact revenge upon his cruel, bullying girlfriend. But old magic is not to be trifled with. Soon, Abby is thrust headlong into a world of hexes, secrets, and danger. And then there's Rem Anders, the beautiful, mysterious Salem boy who seems to know more about Abby than he first lets on.

A reckoning is coming, and Abby will have to make sense of her history--and her heart--before she can face the powerful truth.

Publisher: Scholastic Point

Page Count: 272 pages

Edition: Kindle (Galley from NetGalley)

Rating: 3/5 stars

Review:

First of all, I want to say sorry to the publisher because this review is going up really late. I haven't had time lately and today was the only free day I had.

This book is about a girl named Abby. She has no friends(except one), has a crush on the 'hottest' guy in school, has an enemy who just so happens to be her crush's girlfriend, and there is a mysterious guy she has the hots for.

Sound familiar? Yep, this book is basically a YA PNR repeat. It has everything cliche in it. The plot is very interesting once you really get into it though. But it's too short to even be really good. It had great potential. The witch thing was so interesting. Abby doesn't even do anything remotely cool with it though. She just focuses all her energy on this guy she's not even sure she likes anymore. It was really pathetic too. There was a perfectly fine boy right in Salem but she blew him off because she had powers. How ridiculous!

Overall, there really isn't much to say about this. The summary is basically the whole book because of how short it is. The climax was too short to be good. The characters were bland. Abby was a selfish brat. If the book was longer-or maybe a series-I could understand more. But no. I wouldn't reccomend this book to anyone who wants a real story. I found it too juvenile. I'd recommend it to girls going into middle school.

 

Review: That Time I Joined the Circus by J.J. Howard

 
Synopsis: 

Lexi Ryan just ran away to join the circus, but not on purpose.

A music-obsessed, slightly snarky New York City girl, Lexi is on her own. After making a huge mistake--and facing a terrible tragedy--Lexi has no choice but to track down her long-absent mother. Rumor has it that Lexi's mom is somewhere in Florida with a traveling circus.

When Lexi arrives at her new, three-ring reality, her mom isn't there . . . but her destiny might be. Surrounded by tigers, elephants, and trapeze artists, Lexi finds some surprising friends and an even more surprising chance at true love. She even lucks into a spot as the circus's fortune teller, reading tarot cards and making predictions.

But then Lexi's ex-best friend from home shows up, and suddenly it's Lexi's own future that's thrown into question.

With humor, wisdom, and a dazzlingly fresh voice, this debut reminds us of the magic of circus tents, city lights, first kisses, and the importance of an excellent playlist.

Publisher: Scholastic

Page Count: 272

Edition: Kindle (A galley from NetGalley)

Rating: 3/5 stars

Review:

First of all, can we all just take a second to just stare at the GORGEOUS cover? It is so beautiful.

This book is about a girl named Alexandra/Lexi/X/Xandra Ryan whose father recently passed away. He left her no money, so she goes on a search for her mother. A clue leads her to a circus in Florida. After finding out that her mother isn't there, she decides to stay in order to make some extra money. She goes through a few jobs before she finally chooses to be a tarot card reader.

I thought this story was going to be amazing. I mean, the cover is to die for, the plot is so unique and different, I love me a good coming of age story, and it just sounded good to me. This book, sadly, did not meet my expectations.

Lexi was an okay character in the start of the book. I could really relate to her because I love to read and I don't have many friends. Lexi loves to read and she only has(had)two friends. But when you get further along into the story you find her changing. While Lexi does change in a good way, I thought that she also took a turn for the worse. She became selfish and let people push her around. I know her dad just died and I wouldn't be the same either. But she was crying in almost every chapter. Death is a hard topic for a lot of people. People grieve in different ways. Sometimes Lexi's emotional break downs were too much. Also, I hated how she quickly jumped from friend to friend to friend. In the beginning, Heather(I think that's her name)was so nice to Lexi. She showed her the ropes and had meals with her. Lina was a complete jerk to her while Heather was so nice. But the second that something better comes along, Lexi quickly goes to Lina, leaving Heather in the dust. Heather is mentioned in the first five chapters then never mentioned again. What's up with that? And when she starts hanging out with Jake and Lina gets "angry" with her for hanging out with him. She just blows him off for Lina. Then Nick comes into the picture. Don't even get me started on that.

I also hated the freaking love square. First it was Jake, then it was Nick, then it was Eli. Nobody has that many love interests in the course of a few months. Especially a girl who is "socially awkward". Lexi was not "socially awkward".

The last thing I wasn't too keen on in this book was how fast everything went. I know that it's not even 300 pages, but it didn't need to be rushed so much. The author had so much that she wanted to put into one book. I think it would have been better if it was longer and more drawn out. We'd go from one thing to another so quickly and I'd get confused. The flashbacks didn't help at all.

Enough ranting from me. Despite the very lengthy rant above, I really enjoyed this book. It was fun and light, which was just what I wanted. It didn't meet expectations, but wa still an enjoyable read.

I would reccomend this to middle school kids who want to start going into YA and anyone who wants a light read.

Review: The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett

Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare.

Literally.

Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy, is hard enough. But when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more complicated. He’s hot, which means sitting on his chest and invading his dreams couldn’t get much more embarrassing. But it does. Eli is dreaming of a murder.

Then Eli’s dream comes true.

Now Dusty has to follow the clues—both within Eli’s dreams and out of them—to stop the killer before more people turn up dead. And before the killer learns what she’s up to and marks her as the next target.

Publisher: Tor/Forge

Page Count: 367 pages (US hardcover)

Edition: Kindle galley (Kindly provided by NetGalley)

Rating: 4/5 stars

Review:

Dusty Everhart is a sixteen year old Nightmare. No, she isn't bad. She's an actual Nightmare. One night while out feeding, Dusty realizes that she's feeding on her former classmate, Eli Booker. While in his dream, some things happen. She gets taken back to her school by werewolf police after almost being caught by Eli and his father. At the school, Dusty realizes that the dream Eli was having came true. So the rest of the story is her and Eli trying to figure out who the murderer is and why they killed.

This is a very fun, action packed, mystery. I enjoyed it from beginning to end. Dusty was an all right main character. She was funny, smart and witty. But sometimes I felt like her humor was a little too forced. There were some parts in the book where the author was trying to make Dusty overly funny and it didn't work for me. I also thought Dusty was a little too trusting to most people. But I overall did enjoy her character. Dusty was very strong and stubborn. When she knew she was right, she went with her gut. She never let anyone sway her opinion.

As for her side kick, Eli Booker, I thought he was average. We never saw much of him until the second half of the book. In the first half, he hated Dusty. For a good reason, I guess. But I didn't see why we were supposed to be rooting for Eli and Dusty to be together. There was never any real chemistry between them. I hope in the next book we are able to see more of him. I liked Eli and Dusty's friendship too. They were really good friends.

Dusty also has a best friend, Selene, who is a siren. I loved Selene. She was in the whole book and that was a nice change. In most YA books when the main protaganist meets the love interest, they drop their friends and be with the love interest. But I liked that Selene was a main part of the book. She was very funny and I loved how she was a femenist of some sorts. Selene hates that sirens are objectified as sex objects, so she dresses horribly. That was a nice touch to the book. I want to see more of Selene in the next book. Maybe something to do with her past and Lance? :D

The other side characters were good as well. None of them really stand out to me any way. The characters in this book were pretty average to me.

As for the plot in this book, I loved it. The whole Nightmare thing was SO unique and I loved it. I was really confused in the beginning, but I grew used to it after about fifty to eighty pages in. Mindee Arnett kept explaining the Will more than once and I liked that. I still have a few questions that I hope are answered later on in the series. The mystery aspect of this book really made this book good for me. I was guessing the whole time right up until the end. I sort of suspected the side kick to the villian, but I didn't guess who the villian was.

All in all, THE NIGHTMARE AFFAIR by Mindee Arnett is a great start to what I hope is going to be a great series. It's very Hex Hall-esque, so if you've been missing the Hex Hall world, I suggest you pick this book up when it comes out on March 5, 2013. THE NIGHTMARE AFFAIR is different enough from Hex Hall that it won't be repetitive. I gave this book four out of five stars because to me it wasn't enough for a five stars.

Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Synopsis: Mara Dyer doesn’t think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.

There is.

She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love.

She’s wrong.

Publisher: Simon and Shuster Children's Publishing

Edition: Hardcover

Page Count: 452 pages

Rating: 4/5 stars

Review:

This book is about a girl named Mara Dyer who experiences a tragedy. Her family leaves their hometown and moves to Florida. Mara starts to experience strange things while in this town. While all this is happening, she meets a boy named Noah Shaw.

I liked this book. It was fast paced, full of mystery, and had a good amount of romance in it.* I liked how Mara at least tried to stand up for herself in this story. She didn't completely fall for Noah Shaw, the love interest, straight away. But I still thought it was too fast to be real. There was a supernatural twist to this book which was okay. I thought too much was happening and I got confused. The beginning and the end were good and I liked it. The middle focused too much on the romance and it turned into a typical paranormal romance.

I also didn't like how we never knew if Mara was telling the truth or not. I'm not saying that she was lying, not at all. Since she has "hallucinations", it's hard to tell when something is real and when it's not real. There would be parts where I would think that there was no way that this could be real, it had to be a hallucination. But then it turned out to be real and I didn't know what to think. There were parts where it was hard to understand what was going on completely. Some readers might get it but others might not.

This plot was very unique. I have never read anything quite like it. I'm curious to see where this might go in the future.

The characters in this book were real to me. But there were times where some of their actions were too unbelievable. Mara was a decent character. She declined toward the end, though. She started to get weird. "The only way I can protect them is if I leave." blah blah blah. Mara did get very selfish in the end. She thought about herself more than her family. She made it seem like she was caring but she wasn't. She put her family and Noah through crap and leaving is not the right decision. (Not a spoiler).

Let's get onto the love interest, Noah. I actually really liked him. There were times where I thought he was too arrogant but then he'd get really sweet. But really, the whole "Shaw's exhausted the whole female population of this school" thing got very annoying. It was so cliche. I loved the banter between Mara and Noah. It was so cute and funny.

If you are looking for a unique plot and a nice romance, go pick this book up if you want to. This is a lot like a typical paranormal romance** and if you don't like that, don't pick this up.

*I might be a bit biased because I love me some romance.
**By paranormal romance, I don't mean that as a spoiler. When you read the book you understand.