Shadows

Shadows (The Rephaim, 1)
by Paula Weston
Rating: 3 Bows!

It's almost a year since Gaby Winters watched her twin brother die. In the sunshine of a new town her body has healed, but her grief is raw and constant. It doesn't help that every night in her dreams she fights and kills hell-beasts. And then Rafa comes to town. Not only does he look exactly like the guy who's been appearing in Gaby's dreams, he tells her things about her brother and her life that cannot be true, things that are dangerous. Who is Rafa? Who are the Rephaim? And who is Gaby? The truth lies in the shadows of her nightmares.

So this book was completely different from any angel book I have read. After finishing the book, I'm not quite sure how I feel about it. I liked the book, but I felt it was lacking. 

Gaby Winters is grieving for the loss of her brother for over a year. She's trying to move on with her life when Rafa comes in and turns her world upside down. I liked Gaby, she was a strong female character yet she wasn't an emotionless zombie. What made me really like her though was that she didn't trust Rafa right away, you could really see her trust in him build as the story progressed. It was refreshing. 

Rafa was a sexy arrogant jerk. But he was loyal and trust-worthy. Again, it took some time for me to fall for Rafa and I think that's what made it better. Paula Weston let us know the character before giving us the swoon worthy moments.

The side characters were a mix of love and hate. Obviously the ones on team Rafa were awesome and I loved them and the ones on the other side..grrr I wanted to punch them for their stubborn way of thinking. Even then, both sides were equally bad ass and awesome fighters!

My only remark, and this could be because I'm just a sucker for romance, is that there was very little of it. Like extremely little. I absolutely love Rafa and Gaby and I'm hoping that in the next books their relationship will grow and we get to see a little more of it. 

The story of the nephlim and rephaim, is different in this story and although it took a bit to understand, it's a pretty cool concept. I may not have completely loved the story but I will continue to read the next books to see where the story goes. I have a feeling it will get better. 

Happy Thursday!

Happy Thursday everyone!

This week has been so hectic. It's finals week guys...and we 

all know how that is right?! Constant studying, panicking, and

I'm trying to get back into the rhythm oh blogging

again!

The hardest part though? Is trying to read books for leisure 
when I have to read textbooks instead...

JUST LET ME READ MY BOOKS!!! Waaah :(

Anyways, I seem to have a problem of buying books when I

already have 3 or more books that need to be read.

In my head though I'm like "you can never have

too many books" what happens 

when I've read all the books I have? I'm going 

to need to buy

more books, but in my case, I already bought more books so 

I won't have to wait! See? Pretty smart thinking

of me right? :D

If only others saw it that way haha

Well I just wanted to share a little of what's going on this week with you all. Hopefully everyone is having a 

good week...and if you're not...don't fret tomorrow is 

FRIDAY :)

*Be on the look out for a few more reviews this weekend!

Teardrop

Teardrop
by Lauren Kate
Rating: 4 Bows!

Never, ever cry...

Seventeen-year-old Eureka won't let anyone close enough to feel her pain. After her mother was killed in a freak accident, the things she used to love hold no meaning. She wants to escape, but one thing holds her back: Ander, the boy who is everywhere she goes, whose turquoise eyes are like the ocean.

And then Eureka uncovers an ancient tale of romance and heartbreak, about a girl who cried an entire continent into the sea. Suddenly her mother's death and Ander's appearance seem connected, and her life takes on dark undercurrents that don't make sense.

Can everything you love be washed away?

So I want to start off with saying that before I pick up a book, I usually look at reviews to see what everyone else is thinks about it. When I looked Teardrop up, there was so many negative reviews about it that I was scared...mostly because I had already purchased the book.

I have to say, all the reviews are so critical that it is absurd to me. You can't compare a completely different series with a previous series from the author. 

Now, there are some scenes of hard passion for example: "he grabs me and pulls me towards him with such force and kisses me" (this doesn't happen, I'm just using this as an example) some people are so over critical and complain that "Girls shouldn't be treated that way, I wouldn't like that" It is a story folks! It's not real...and some people like to have passion in their love life..jeez! 

Now for the actual review, Teardrop was a pretty cool concept. Atlantis? We haven't really had much books on this topic, so I thank Lauren Kate for that because we are slowly departing from the whole vampire/werewolf/angel topics. 

The story does take a little while to pick up but that's understandable considering she has to give us all the details and background information. Eureka, yes I will agree with everyone that that name is not a very nice one, was a strong female character, but she was very naive. I'm hoping to watch her grow through out the series. Ander, was a gentleman. I loved the way he dressed and how protective he was of Eureka. Im at the first stages of falling in love with him! Brooks...I'm still confused about what you are. But I didn't like his dramatic change that happened over night. He was sweet and caring and then BAM a total ass! Not quite sure what to make of him yet. 

I'm looking forward to see where Lauren Kate takes this new series, hopefully it's just as good as Fallen but with a better ending!!!! 

World After

World After (Penryn & the End of Days, 2)
by Susan Ee
Rating: 4 Bows!

In this sequel to the bestselling fantasy thriller, Angelfall, the survivors of the angel apocalypse begin to scrape back together what's left of the modern world.

When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken.

Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.

Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?

I ABSO-LUTELY love this series!! I am in love with Raffe, I admire Penryn, and I love the concept! 

This book starts where Angelfall left off. Right from the start, there is action, death and angels. There was a moment where I was saying "Can't this girl catch a break?!" 

I have to admire Penryn's strength. She may be a human but she will protect her family from anything...and I mean anything. We learn more about what the angels are up to and let me just say that it's not anything good. 

Now I said that right from the start we have Angels...but we don't have Raffe. We catch small glimpses of him here and there but he doesn't make an appearance until the last 30 pages of the book. 

At first I was mad because Hey! we all want Raffe right? But as I kept reading I loved that we didn't get to see much of Raffe. Crazy huh? But it was a great tactic for Susan Ee because it built this tension for Penryn and Raffe when they finally saw each other. 

I almost cried when Raffe saw Penryn. It was so beautiful and heart-wrenching and I loved it. I'm so fan-girling at the moment. I love him to death but I want to kick him because he still holds back his feelings for Penryn when it's so obvious he cares deeply for her! Ugh!!

I'm hoping that Susan Ee will release the third installment very soon because I have to know what will happen with the world, with the angels, and of course Penryn and Raffe!!! If you liked the first one, you will definitely love the sequel!!! 

Collide

Collide (Collide, 1)
by Gail Mchugh
Rating: 3 Bows!

On the heels of college graduation and the unexpected death of her mother, Emily Cooper moves to New York City to join her boyfriend for a fresh start. Dillon Parker has been sweet, thoughtful, and generous through Emily’s loss, and she can’t imagine her life without him—even as her inner voice tells her to go slow.

Then she meets Gavin Blake. A rich and notorious playboy, Gavin is dangerously sexy and charming as hell. Their first encounter is brief, but it’s enough to inflame Emily’s senses. When their paths cross again through an unexpected mutual acquaintance, she tries to deny the connection she feels, but Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome won’t let go so easily.

As she discovers Gavin’s pain-filled past and Dillon’s true nature begins to surface, Emily knows she must take action or risk destroying everyone—including herself. But how can she choose when she can’t trust her own heart?

So I'm in a conflict with this book... It wasn't the story, because the story flowed great and was pretty intense to keep me interested. My conflict is with the characters. 

Gavin Blake, he was perfect. Handsome, polite, determined, and rich (not that that's why I love him, it just helps haha). He was always a gentleman and he was like Edward Cullen without the whole sparkly vampire thing. What's not to love. 

Emily. God I wanted to punch her in the face! I could not understand why she was so blind to what her boyfriend was doing and kept rejecting Blake even after he protects her over and over again. She was actually sort of a slut in this novel...It got to a point where everyone was apologizing to her and it was never her fault that I got so mad I stopped reading. 

That's never happened to me before! I usually just forget about it and keep reading but this was so bad that I couldn't content until the next day. I was sorta happy the way the book ended because it wasn't a pretty ending. I felt it was something Emily brought on herself and she deserved having Blake ignore her. That's what happens when your a dumb oblivious person! Ugh!! Sorry I get a little worked up when I think about everything she did.

Aside from that, the book was pretty interesting. I feel like the only reason I finished this book and the only reason I'll read the next one is to follow Gavin Blake. He is now a wounded man and I want him to be happy so I'll read to find out!

I would give this book a chance but be warned, if you're like me, you'll be screaming at this chick a lot!