Review: Boundless

Boundless
by Cynthia Hand
Unearthly series, book three

Book Description:

The past few years held more surprises than part-angel Clara Gardner ever could have anticipated. Yet through the dizzying high of first love to the agonizing low of losing someone close to her, the one thing she could no longer deny was that she was never meant to have a normal life.

Since discovering the special role she plays among the other angel-bloods, Clara has been determined to protect Tucker Avery from the evil that follows her . . . even if it means breaking both their hearts. Leaving town seemed like the best option, so she's headed back to California—and so is Christian Prescott, the irresistible boy from the vision that started her on this journey in the first place.

As Clara makes her way in a world that is frighteningly new, she discovers that the fallen angel who attacked her is watching her every move. And he's not the only one. . . . With the battle against the Black Wings looming, Clara knows she must finally fulfill her destiny. But it won't come without sacrifices and betrayal.

In the riveting finale of the Unearthly series, Clara must choose her fate once and for all.

Review: 

I thought that Hand did a bang-up job finishing the series. There were things I thought would probably happen and they did, but the suspense to get there was perfect. Clara remained a character that I could totally believe, stuck in a situation that kept me riveted. I loved her relationships with friends and family and the way that nothing was black and white...everything had shades of gray. The way that the romance tied up, too, left me absolutely satisfied. All around this is one of the best angel-themed series I've read and I can't wait to recommend it to more readers!

Review: Second Chance

Second Chance

by Heather Brewer

The Slayer Chronicles, book two

 

Book Description:

The summer after Joss failed to kill the vampire Vladimir Tod, he gets a second chance to prove himself as a Slayer. He is sent to New York City to hunt down a serial killer that the Slayer Society believes is a vampire. It is up to Joss to lead his Slayer team, and through their detective work, they discover that there are actually four vampire brothers who are on the killing rampage. Joss must use all his skill to save the innocent people of New York City from the murderers. Joss's status as a Slayer depends on it.

 

Review:

Though I mostly enjoy these books as I'm reading them, I don't really remember them that well afterwards...I suppose that's a type of review in itself, right?  Like the first book, First Kill, Joss' story is full of action, danger, and deception. No one can be fully trusted and I know that I was kept on my toes throughout the book. 

 

What I liked best about this book, though, was the way that the author promised readers much more of a background to Joss and Vlad's connections later in the series.  Even as I was following along with Joss hunting down the serial killers plaguing New York City, I was really just dying to get more into his family's secrets and background...

 

I need to get my hands on the next book AND I really need to go back and read the Chronicles of Vladimir Tod series!


Review: Sweet Shadows

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sweet Shadows

by Tera Lynn Childs

Sweet Venom, book two



Book Description:

Gretchen may have known she was a descendant of Medusa long before her sisters—after all, she's spent her life fighting the monsters that escape the abyss—but that doesn't mean it will be easy to teach the other girls the ropes. Can she rely on Grace and Greer, or even trust herself to keep them safe? Greer has pressing social commitments on her plate and precious little time to train in her newfound powers. But that wretched second sight won't leave her alone, and her fabled heritage seems to be creeping into her fashionable life.

 

Grace has worries closer to home—like why her brother, Thane, has disappeared. He's hiding something. Could it possibly be related to the secret heritage the triplets share?

With the warring factions among the gods of Olympus coming for them, the creatures of the abyss pushing into their world, and the boys in their lives keeping secrets at every turn, the three girls must figure out where their fate will take them and how to embrace the shadows of their legacy.

 

Review:

I am a huge fan of Tera Lynn Childs's writing style. If you want a fun, easy to read book, you can pick up any one of her titles and throroughly enjoy yourself. There is always a little element of romance and there is also plenty of adventure.

In this series, TLC has definitely taken things up a notch. Not only are there three main characters, the triplets Gretchen, Greer, and Grace, to juggle, but each has her own day-to-day teen problems...and a prophecy that leaves them hunting monsters and running for their lives in their spare time. :P

This book was impossible to put down. From the first page, the girls were battling monsters, uncovering big secrets, and well, trying to figure things out with the help...inadvertantly, of course, of the cute boys in their lives! After the girls had discovered one another in the first book, Sweet Venom, they had still been somewhat uneasy with one another. Here, though, readers get to watch the girls turn to one another. They start to not only depend upon one anothers' talents, but also to seek each other out for emotional support. I truly think that was my favorite aspect of the book.

I cannot wait to find out all the secrets that are still just out of reach in the next book! I, for one, am *DYING* to know exactly what Grace's brother, Thane's, big secret is... he definitely knows a lot more about what's happening than he lets on. 

Review: Struck

Struck

by Jennifer Bosworth

 

Book Description:

Mia Price is a lightning addict. She’s survived countless strikes, but her craving to connect to the energy in storms endangers her life and the lives of those around her.

Los Angeles, where lightning rarely strikes, is one of the few places Mia feels safe from her addiction. But when an earthquake devastates the city, her haven is transformed into a minefield of chaos and danger. The beaches become massive tent cities. Downtown is a crumbling wasteland, where a traveling party moves to a different empty building each night, the revelers drawn to the destruction by a force they cannot deny. Two warring cults rise to power, and both see Mia as the key to their opposing doomsday prophecies. They believe she has a connection to the freak electrical storm that caused the quake, and to the far more devastating storm that is yet to come.

Mia wants to trust the enigmatic and alluring Jeremy when he promises to protect her, but she fears he isn’t who he claims to be. In the end, the passion and power that brought them together could be their downfall. When the final disaster strikes, Mia must risk unleashing the full horror of her strength to save the people she loves, or lose everything.

 

Review:

This was a cool book. The way that Mia was addicted to being struck by lightning was original, creepy, and totally compelling to read about.

This is a post-apocalyptic book...sort-of...at the beginning, only Los Angeles is really affected. Well, decimated in reality. However, the leaders of two different and warring cults are both claiming that another storm is coming...one that will cause an earthquake that will devestate the entire world!

Mia was a very intriguing main character. She was tough, used to having to provide for her brother and somewhat catatonic mother... but she also had hints of vulnerability. She admits to her addiction and tries to fight it.

I also really liked some of the secondary characters. I felt like they were very defined. You knew who they were. That also became a fault of the book in one sense... there was a revelation about the real identity of one character that was not surprising, at all. I still very much enjoyed the twist, but it wasn't really that shocking.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one and look forward to more from this author. Though not the best in the genre recently, this had a refreshing new twist that made it stand out for me! 

Review: Troy High

Troy High

by Shana Norris

 

Book Description:

Homer’s Iliad, the classic tale of love and revenge, is shrewdly retold for teens in Troy High.

 

 

Narrated by Cassie, a shy outsider at Troy High, the story follows the Trojans and Spartans as they declare war on the football field. After the beautiful Elena—who used to be the captain of the Spartan cheerleaders—transfers to Troy High and falls madly in love with Cassie’s brother Perry, the Spartans vow that the annual homecoming game will never be forgotten. Off the football field, an escalating prank war fuels tensions between the schools.

 

 

The stakes are raised when Cassie is forced to choose between the boy she loves (a Spartan) and loyalty to her family and school.

 

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Review:

This may not become an epic classic, like the Iliad on which it's based, but I actually really enjoyed reading this book. Not only was it a fun contemporary read with a main character that I just could not help but root for, but it also was really fun trying to remember who the characters were from the Iliad and trying to match them up with Troy High.

While this book is loosely based on the classic tale, there are some things that were definitely changed and it really does have a great modern feel - if you had no idea what it was based on, you really wouldn't be missing anything, you could just enjoy it as is... - and in reality, I liked the ending of THIS tale a whole lot more. :P

If you have time for just a breezy sort of book, you may want to pick this one up!

For a little fun, here's the cute book trailer:

Review: The Death-Defying Pepper Roux

The Death-Defying Pepper Roux
by Geraldine McCaughrean

Book Description:

Pepper's fourteenth birthday is a momentous one.

It's the day he's supposed to die.

Everyone seems resigned to it—even Pepper, although he would much prefer to live. But can you sidestep Fate? Jump sideways into a different life? NaÏve and trusting, Pepper sets a course through dangerous waters, inviting disaster and mayhem at every turn, one eye on the sky for fear of angels, one on the magnificent possibilities of being alive.

Review:
I really enjoyed this book. I felt so bad for Pepper, growing up convinced by the grown-ups around him that he was going to die at fourteen...good for him, taking his fate into his own hands! What follows is a mad-cap adventure, a-la cheesy adventure movie style, with lots of twists, coincidences, and finally a happy ending.

I thought Pepper was a great character...charming, polite, well-intentioned, and fortunate in his friends. I was very happy to see the way things turned out for him. I thought the author did a really great job at keeping the tone of this book light and fun, because poor Pepper's life just starts out so sad...