Shatter Me

Shatter Me (Shatter Me, 1)
by Tahereh Mafi
Rating: 5 Bows!

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

If you follow my blog, you should know that I'm not a big fan of dystopian novels. I'll read them if they sound really interesting but other than that I tend to stay away from them. 

I waited a long time to read this book because I wasn't sure if I would like it...well I was right. I don't like it, I LOVE IT!

Tahereh Mafi created a spectacular novel full of action, despair, anguish, hope, and yes love. All the characters are not who they seem and that just adds a level of mystery to this novel!

Juliette is a great heroine. She is strong and all around good, despite everything she's been through. In the face of destruction and the world falling apart, she held it together pretty well. She's not perfect, which is why I love her so much. She get's shy, she feels angry, and even when she swoons for a boy who is evil, she knows he's not good. 

Adam was interesting. He's complicated yet he knows what he wants. The way he cared for Juliette and the reasons for it were heart warming. However, I found it really strange how he would do anything, and I do mean ANYTHING, for Juliette. I feel like their relationship, friendship wise, should have developed more.

Warner...I love and hate him. I hate how he gets a kick out of watching Juliette torture people. But at the same time, I love how he cares for her after. Kind of twisted I know but, hey I can't help it. I can see that Warner truly does care for Juliette. It may be because he thinks that they have a lot in common but that is just what started the development of his feelings for her. I'm hoping that as the story goes on, Warner will see that his way of showing Juliette he cares is wrong and he'll change. By the way, did I mention how gorgeous Warner is? Well he's stunning!

I'm definitely a team Warner girl, and just like Warner, I'm patient. I will wait patiently until Juliette sees Warner the way I do. 

Tahereh Mafi has made a unique and wonderful story. If you aren't hooked on this series yet, I suggest you go out and get it ASAP!

AngelFall

Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days, 1)
by Susan Ee
Rating: 5 Bows!

It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

This book took everything I had read about angels in other books and threw it out the window. The concept about angels being the good guys and fallen angels trying to redeem them selves doesn't exist in this novel. But that's not a bad thing!

The book starts off with Penryn and her family trying to survive in a world were Angels have taken over. Hence...Angels are not the good guys in this story. Penryn is the strength of her family since her little sister is in a wheel chair and her mom is a schitzo. When she encounters a group of angels taking the wings of another she can't help but stare. Unfortunately this costs her and the group of angels kidnap Penryn's little sister while her mother flees. Determined to get her sister back, Penryn plans to nurse the wing-less angel back to health and strike a deal to get him to help her find her sister.

Penryn is just a normal girl trying to get her sister back. I had to admire her determination even when all the odds were against her. Her mentality was always "famlily first" and she stuck by it. She was strong, caring, and always did what was right, even if it meant going against your own kind to save an angel. 

Now Raffe...oh my. Carmel skin, black hair, deep blue eyes, and a toned athletic body...swoon! This was one case where I did not mind the attitude at all. Raffe is arrogant, bossy, and hard to read. Raffe agrees to help Penryn and I was pleasantly surprised that given Raffe's attitude, he was shocked and amazed whenever Penryn refused to leave Raffe behind. 

I loved this novel because of its originality. The mere fact that the two main characters are true fighters and will fight until the end for their cause. It was different to see Rafee and Penryn learn to truly care for each other through trust and of course through fighting together!

Angelfall is about a journey with an unexpected ally and discovering secrets that not even the high ranking angels new about. This novel does not have an obvious romance but it is there and we get to see a little bit of it towards the end which leaves me wanting the sequel so badly to see where it takes them. There is plenty of action and drama that will leave you cheering for Penryn and Raffe! 

Black City

Black City (Black City, 1)
by Elizabeth Richards
Rating: 5 Bows!

A dark and tender post-apocalyptic love story set in the aftermath of a bloody war.

In a city where humans and Darklings are now separated by a high wall and tensions between the two races still simmer after a terrible war, sixteen-year-olds Ash Fisher, a half-blood Darkling, and Natalie Buchanan, a human and the daughter of the Emissary, meet and do the unthinkable—they fall in love. Bonded by a mysterious connection that causes Ash’s long-dormant heart to beat, Ash and Natalie first deny and then struggle to fight their forbidden feelings for each other, knowing if they’re caught, they’ll be executed—but their feelings are too strong.

When Ash and Natalie then find themselves at the center of a deadly conspiracy that threatens to pull the humans and Darklings back into war, they must make hard choices that could result in both their deaths.

Wow. That's all I can say about this book because nothing I think of does it justice. I was not expecting this book to be this great and I was glad to be proven wrong. The story sorta reminded me of Darkness Before Dawn by J.A. London but it held its own.

A quick explanation of the story: The city is divided by a wall that keeps Darklings separated from humans and Darkling half-bloods. There is a law trying to be passed, Rose Law, to completely eliminate any half-bloods living with the humans and send them out with the Darklings. Natalie, the emissary's daughter, meets Ash, a twin-blood darkling, who happens to attend Natalie's new school. Natalie and Ash have a connection but exploring that connection leads to a ripple of events that have a catastrophic ending. 

Natalie, to me was the perfect heroine, she wasn't afraid to stand up for what she believed, she wasn't discriminating, and she wasn't a pushover. Ash was a class-A jerk but given his circumstances, I wasn't too hard on him. I love that Ash and Natalie don't have an instant love connection and that they don't like each other at the beginning, this made their relationship feel more real. The concept was new to me and it was a little confusing as to how the Darklings came to be but I was grateful that the explanations were made simple and not overcomplicated; The most interesting explanation or "legend" was the blood mate story, it was beautiful. 

This novel pulled so many emotions out of me: I cried for Natalie and Ash, I screamed in frustration at the injustice of discrimination, and got angry of the unfairness of it all. 

Reading Black City, I experienced betrayal, lies, and shocking revelations that left me speechless but with a hint of hope as well. Black City is not a series to be missed!!

Waiting on Wednesday: These Broken Stars

These Broken Stars (Starbound, 1)
by Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner

It's a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone.

Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they’re worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help.

Then, against all odds, Lilac and Tarver find a strange blessing in the tragedy that has thrown them into each other’s arms. Without the hope of a future together in their own world, they begin to wonder—would they be better off staying here forever?

Everything changes when they uncover the truth behind the chilling whispers that haunt their every step. Lilac and Tarver may find a way off this planet. But they won’t be the same people who landed on it.

This cover is absolutely stunning! It's what caught my eye...and then I read the synopsis. I've really been liking a lot of science fiction/dystopian novels lately and this book is one I'm dying to read! It feels like it will be something along the lines of Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi and Gravity by Melissa West. 

I'm so excited for this novel that I already have such high expectations. PLEASE PRETTY PLEASE don't disappoint!!!  

Hover

Hover (The Taking, 2)
by Melissa West
Rating: 5 Bows!

On Earth, seventeen-year-old Ari Alexander was taught to never peek, but if she hopes to survive life on her new planet, Loge, her eyes must never shut. Because Zeus will do anything to save the Ancients from their dying planet, and he has a plan.

Thousands of humans crossed over to Loge after a poisonous neurotoxin released into Earth's atmosphere, nearly killing them. They sought refuge in hopes of finding a new life, but what they became were slaves, built to wage war against their home planet. That is, unless Ari and Jackson can stop them. But on Loge, nothing is as it seems...and no one can be trusted.

OH DEAR BABY JESUS! This book was absolutely fantastic, words really can't explain how much I loved this book!!

Hover picks up where Gravity left off and the action starts the moment Ari opens her eyes. I really admired Ari in this novel. She picks up the role of a leader without question and her motives or always for the good of the people. We get to see Ari grow up in a blink of an eye and the situations she's placed in were terrible and I think that's what made me love her more, she always had hope.

Jackson..swoon. I adored Jackson. We get to see more of him and why he is the way he is. My heart broke for him and for everything he's been through. He is truly the strongest person ever! The love he has for Mami is heart-wrenching and you really see his true colors when he speaks about her. 

Jackson and Ari's relationship is non-existent for most of the book...but don't worry it comes back and with a vengeance! I can understand why Ari pushed him away most of the time, I mean he lied to her about everything, so I would want to get to know the REAL him also before letting him back in again. When they get together, wow. It's a beautiful love full of trust and the ability to lean on one another. This is the kind of love that I wish more YA books would have.

I'm not gonna lie, the events that occur in this book are hard. There's anguish, death, fear and anger. Everything leads to the Zeus. I wanted to kill Zeus myself every time he   made an appearance, I HATE HIM!!! And that's not even the worst of it, the ending...WOW...I did not see that coming. Warning: It is a cliffhanger BOO!!! 

Seriously...GO READ THIS SERIES IT'S AMAZING!! <3

Scarlet

Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles, 2)
by Marissa Meyer
Rating: 5 Bows!

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

It just keeps getting better! I haven't found a YA series that progressively gets better as the books go by since Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments. Marissa Meyer has an act for intertwining fairy tails with her novels without us even noticing because we are too wrapped up in the story...and I love that!

Scarlet starts right where Cinder left off and the action starts from there. 

In a way this was two different stories to me until I got close to the end. We meet Scarlet a red-headed farmer who is looking for her Kidnapped grandmother. She meets Wolf, a mysterious fellow who seems to know where her grandmother is. And so the journey begins for these two.

Then we have Cinder. Following the doctors orders, she escapes prison, but not alone. Captain Thorne is a prisoner as well and with his help, they manage to flee the prison. Cinder and Captain Thorne set off to find the woman who was responsible for bringing Cinder to Earth.

While everyone is off on their journey, Emperor Kai is dealing with the Lunar Queen and the fact that she has launched attacks on Earth. 

The new characters were perfect in this story, Wolf was powerful and secretive and that made him so sexy! Captain Thorne was handsome and down right hilarious! And Scarlet was so much like Cinder, strong when she needed to be while still being a teenager and falling for Wolf. 

Marissa Meyer I salute you! This was a fantastic sequel to Cinder and I can't wait for Cress. My only complaint is WHY WON'T IT COME OUT SOONER!!!!

Cinder

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, 1)
by Marissa Meyer
Rating: 5 Bows!

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl.

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

I did it, I gave in to the hype that is Cinder and you know what? It was all it was cracked up to be!! It was a wonderful rendition of cyborg-Cinderella! Say what now? You heard me, our "Cinderella" is a cyborg...in a dystpoian era...how cool is that?

I've gotta give Marissa Meyer credit for creating such a unique character in Cinder. I absolutely loved Cinder. Cinder is not all human, she's a cyborg because of her metal leg and hand. But that's not all, she also has no tear ducts and she can't blush. I'm not sure if that's a bad thing, not being able to blush, I mean you wouldn't have to look like a tomato whenever you're swooning for a boy, right?! 
I loved that Cinder's personality was a mix of sarcasm and heroism. She truly has a warriors heart.

Prince Kai was just like any other male character but he was also different. The way he acted, sometimes unsure and shy about himself, mad him so much more swoon worthy! Oh Kai <3

Even the side characters were great. They provided a good balance to the hecticness that was going on in Cinder's life and brought laughter and tears to my eyes. 

The story had an easy flow to it and even though some parts were predictable, I hardly paid attention to that because I was too busy laughing and enjoying myself with Cinder's sarcastic comments!!
This book is a great read and everyone should pick up a copy, I promise it won't disappoint!!

Under The Never Sky

Under The Never Sky
by Veronica Rossi
Rating: 4 Bows!

WORLDS KEPT THEM APART.

DESTINIES BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER.

Aria has lived her whole life in the protected dome of Reverie. Her entire world confined to its spaces, she's never thought to dream of what lies beyond its doors. So when her mother goes missing, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland long enough to find her are slim.

Then Aria meets an outsider named Perry. He's searching for someone too. He's also wild - a savage - but might be her best hope at staying alive.

If they can survive, they are each other's best hope for finding answers.

Can I just say how beautiful and captivating the cover is? I must admit that the covers of books sometimes determine whether I get the book or not, I try really hard not to do that though but it just happens! Well the cover of this book definitely drew my attention. Again, I'm not very big on the whole "earth is destroyed and there's different worlds" types of books so I never really wanted to read this. There was however so much hype about this book that I gave in and read it.

However I was a little disappointed, there was so much hype that I expected this grand story and it just fell a little flat to me. There were some things that I just couldn't get my mind wrapped around and some things that I thought needed a little more explanation. I ended the book with questions (which is not a happy thing for me) like "What happened to Cinder?" "What exactly is Aether" but it is a series so I'm assuming explanations will be given later.

On a good note, I did like Aria. She behaved like any normal person would if they were in her situation. She was scared and confused being left in an unknown place and it took her time to gradually trust in Perry and have courage in herself. This is a big thing for me because it makes the character more believable and relatable. 

Perry was just as great. Being a "savage" he pretty much acted like one through out the story until he came to accept Aria and trust in her. I loved all his mad skills and the concept of his abilities. What I really liked about Perry was that he didn't automatically fall in love with Aria, it took time and it progressed through out the book. 

The side characters play big roles in the story and they brought humor and suspense to Aria and Perry's quest. I gotta say though, I hope we see more of Roar in the next book, he cracks me up!

For being a novel with a theme that I stay away from, it was good. I wouldn't say it was up there with the hype it was given, but that's just me. I think everyone should give this book a chance and it may turn out to be your cup of tea and you'll really love it. I'll definitely be picking up the second novel "Through The Ever Night"!