Review: The Fifth Wave

The Fifth Wave
by Rick Yancey

Book Description:
After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it's the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth's last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie's only hope for rescuing her brother--or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

Review: 

An excellent read.  This book feels real.  Cassie has to deal with being alone, trying to decide if anyone can be trusted.  When she realizes that anyone could be one of them... how can she trust anyone ever again?  Then Cassie meets someone that she desperately wants to trust... 

Her devotion to finding and saving her brother is admirable and heartbreaking.  Seeing in the alternating chapters what is happening inside the camp he's been taken to... I found myself wanting to yell through the book to the characters letting them know what was going on with each other.  Though I could see where things were going most of the time, Yancey's writing still kept me on the edge of my seat.  

For older readers looking for a thrilling, can't put it down type of science fiction read. 

Review: Relic

Relic
by Heather Terrrell
The Books of Eva, book one

Book Description:

When Eva’s twin brother, Eamon, falls to his death just a few months before he is due to participate in The Testing, no one expects Eva to take his place. She’s a Maiden, slated for embroidery classes, curtseys, and soon a prestigious marriage befitting the daughter of an Aerie ruler. But Eva insists on honoring her brother by becoming a Testor. After all, she wouldn’t be the first Maiden to Test, just the first in 150 years.

Eva knows the Testing is no dance class. Gallant Testors train for their entire lives to search icy wastelands for Relics: artifacts of the corrupt civilization that existed before The Healing drowned the world. Out in the Boundary Lands, Eva must rely on every moment of the lightning-quick training she received from Lukas—her servant, a Boundary native, and her closest friend now that Eamon is gone.

But there are threats in The Testing beyond what Lukas could have prepared her for. And no one could have imagined the danger Eva unleashes when she discovers a Relic that shakes the Aerie to its core.

Review:

This post-apocalyptic dystopia opens a new series that is both an exciting tale of self-discovery and one of great societal commentary. In Eva’s world the polar ice caps have melted and modern civilization was destroyed. Survivors turned to a simpler lifestyle, one more easily controlled by those in power. It's a cold world, both climatically and in temperament. Eva feels stifled and longs to learn more about her world, an opportunity she can't turn down once she decides to undertake The Testing.

Slowly, you get to piece together New North’s history as Eva uncovers startling revelations about her own hidden background. Deft world-building creates a believable society in an icy clime with a strong and well-rounded main character. Eva’s choices for the future left me anxious to see her tale continue in the series’ next installment. I found this to be a refreshing new addition to the dystopian field.

Review: The Testing

The Testing 
by Joelle Charbonneau

Book Description:
It’s graduation day for sixteen-year-old Malencia Vale, and the entire Five Lakes Colony (the former Great Lakes) is celebrating. All Cia can think about—hope for—is whether she’ll be chosen for The Testing, a United Commonwealth program that selects the best and brightest new graduates to become possible leaders of the slowly revitalizing post-war civilization. When Cia is chosen, her father finally tells her about his own nightmarish half-memories of The Testing. Armed with his dire warnings (”Cia, trust no one”), she bravely heads off to Tosu City, far away from friends and family, perhaps forever. Danger, romance—and sheer terror—await.

Review: 

If you devoured The Hunger Games and having been struggling to find something with just the same bite to it, look no further.  This is the book you've been waiting for... it is the closest I've come yet to the experience I had reading The Hunger Games. 

This book has the same danger, excitement, self-sacrifice, a hint of romance...and left me DESPERATE to get my hands on the second book.  I highly recommend this one. 

Review: Across a Star-Swept Sea

Across a Star-Swept Sea
by Diana Peterfreund
Companion to For Darkness Shows the Stars

Publication Date: October 15, 2013

Book Description: 

Centuries after wars nearly destroyed civilization, the two islands of New Pacifica stand alone, a paradise where even the Reduction—the devastating brain disorder that sparked the wars—is a distant memory. Yet on the island of Galatea, an uprising against the aristocracy has turned deadly. The revolutionaries' weapon is a drug that damages their enemies' brains, and the only hope is rescue by a mysterious spy known as the Wild Poppy.

On neighboring Albion, no one suspects that the Wild Poppy is actually famously frivolous teenage aristocrat Persis Blake. Her gossipy flutternotes are encrypted plans, her pampered sea mink is genetically engineered for spying, and her well-publicized new romance with handsome Galatean medic Justen Helo . . . is her most dangerous mission ever.

Justen is hiding things, too—his disenchantment with his country's revolution, his undeniable attraction to the silly socialite he's pretending to love. Persis is also falling for Justen, but when she discovers his greatest secret—one that could plunge New Pacifica into another dark age—she realizes she's not just risking her heart, she's risking the world she's sworn to protect.

Review:
Now, this book doesn't come out for a while, but I really loved the advance copy I got to read, so I wanted to share it with you anyway.  Keep an eye out for it this fall!

Like For Darkness Shows the Stars(see the gold star review here), this book is based on a classic. This companion book is actually inspired by The Scarlet Pimpernel, which I've never read, but having read the description I can very much see how the Scarlet Pimpernel inspired Persis' Wild Poppy.

I found Persis herself to be a fascinating character. Uber-intelligent, Persis realizes that in order to do the best thing for her country, while it's on the brink of war, she must actually play dumb. Persis becomes the epitome of a superficial socialite in order to defray any suspicion...in order to let the Wild Poppy remain undiscovered. She is SO good at her scheme that even her parents have no idea what she's really up to... Experiencing the dichotomy of Persis' two worlds, the whirlwind of the posh Lady-in-Waiting and the dangerous rescue missions as the Poppy... it was so exciting, I felt like I could drop right into her world.

I loved watching the relationship develop between Persis and Justen. I like that DP does not do "insta-love." These relationships have major ups and downs, and often the characters really have to work at it for things to work out. That makes them feel SO much more real to me. I like the added depth and the gratification I feel when they finally head in the direction I'm dying for them to go, LOL. [And, yes, for those who are wondering, we do get a connection back to FDStS in this book...]

Can I but hope for a third book in this world???

Gold Star Review: The Elite

The Elite
by Kiera Cass
The Selection, book two

Book Description:
In America Singer’s world, a bride is chosen for the prince through an elaborate televised competition. In the second book of the Selection series, America is one of only six girls left in the running. But is it Prince Maxon—and life as the queen—she wants? Or is it Aspen, her first love?

Review: 

I have to admit that I was equal parts extremely excited and extremely nervous for this book. I really loved The Selection, a lot more than I had anticipated I would...it was a fast, easy read that drew me right in... (You can read my review here) I could not wait for the sequel, but I was terrified of "middle book syndrome, " you know, the middle book in a trilogy that really serves no purpose...the one that should just have never existed because the "trilogy" would have been better as a duet? I was especially scared about this one because I knew it was going to focus so heavily on the romantic triangle in America's life.

I was so HAPPY when I read this book. Yes, it focuses on the romantic issues, but it does so openly, honestly, without pretending to do anything else...AND, though I'm still a HUGE fan of Prince Maxon, I found myself wavering into Aspen's camp from time to time. That *never* happens to me. That means that Kiera Cass has basically written the MOST CONVINCING ROMANTIC TRIANGLE I think I've read to this point. Super KUDOS to that... and a GOLD STAR!




Besides the romance and the interactions between the girls, which I continue to find fascinating (it's like watching ANTM, you know at some point there's going to be cat fights...they can't help it!), there was actually a lot more revealed about the politics and origin of America's world. I loved how Cass revealed things through America's own education and felt that the world was really starting to come into focus around her. I cannot wait to see how America faces the political prospects that face her in the next book...it should be *very* interesting...

Review: Sever

Sever
by Lauren DeStefano
The Chemical Garden Trilogy, book three

Book Description:
With the clock ticking until the virus takes its toll, Rhine is desperate for answers. After enduring Vaughn’s worst, Rhine finds an unlikely ally in his brother, an eccentric inventor named Reed. She takes refuge in his dilapidated house, though the people she left behind refuse to stay in the past. While Gabriel haunts Rhine’s memories, Cecily is determined to be at Rhine’s side, even if Linden’s feelings are still caught between them.

Meanwhile, Rowan’s growing involvement in an underground resistance compels Rhine to reach him before he does something that cannot be undone. But what she discovers along the way has alarming implications for her future—and about the past her parents never had the chance to explain.

Review:
Okay, it's going to be a little tough to review this book without spoilers since it is the final book in the trilogy.

This whole series has left me somewhat of an emotional wreck. DeStefano's books are INTENSE. The way that book two left off gave me shivers and I knew as soon as we got Sever into work I HAD to finish the series, reading responsibilities be damned! I even ended up cheating a little bit by flipping to the last page (WHICH I NEVER DO!) to verify that Rhine doesn't end up dying. I just couldn't take the emotional uncertainty anymore...I had to know that she made it!

I don't want to give anything else away, but I will say there were huge highs and lows in this book and that overall this has been one of the few dystopian series lately that I have gotten heavily emotionally invested in. The whole premise felt really realistically possible and I think that I will remember these books for a long time.

Movie Review: Beautiful Creatures

Beautiful Creatures

2013

Alcon Ent./Warner Bros.

Rated: PG-13

124 Minutes

 

Movie Description:

Ethan longs to escape his small Southern town. He meets a mysterious new girl, Lena. Together, they uncover dark secrets about their respective families, their history and their town.

 

Review: 

This movie was good. I really liked it and will probably see it again...even though they did change some BIG things from the book!

 

All right, without trying to ruin this for anyone, I will try to disclose how I felt about the changes without giving too much away. Let's see if I can do it!

One: A huge revelation about a character's secret identity is revealed about one third of the way into the movie...allowing viewers to build the story upon that reveal...BUT I loved how in the book, I was pretty sure that was going on, but did not find out for sure until the LAST third of the book. I thought it was much more dramatic in the book, though the revelation scene in the movie was well done, too!

Two: Although the movie still features one of the coolest libraries I've ever seen in fiction, I was saddened that they combined two characters in the movie, cutting out the awesome librarian from the book series. I suppose this was to make it easier for viewers to keep track of characters, but it also inadvertantly changed Ethan's mother's backstory in a way I wasn't too fond of... *and* the library itself is a little downplayed in the movie. *My librarian heart is breaking.*

Three: When Lena must finally face what is going to happen on her sixteenth birthday, she decides to handle the situation all on her own. A HUGE change from the book. This change sets in motion a bunch of littler changes, including the entire moral character of one of her cousins, and allowed for a very different ending to seem to happen. Thankfully, in truly movie magic fashion, and a very dramatic way, the moviemakers pulled through at the last moment and things work out again...though it will make for an interesting start to the second movie...

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and think that people who have not read the book will love it. I think readers will probably bemoan the same things that I did, but also realize that this made for a great *movie* experience. And now, I have to read book two!

Review: Three Times Lucky

Three Times Lucky

by Sheila Turnage

 

Book Description:
Rising sixth grader Miss Moses LoBeau lives in the small town of Tupelo Landing, NC, where everyone's business is fair game and no secret is sacred. She washed ashore in a hurricane eleven years ago, and she's been making waves ever since. Although Mo hopes someday to find her "upstream mother," she's found a home with the Colonel--a café owner with a forgotten past of his own--and Miss Lana, the fabulous café hostess. She will protect those she loves with every bit of her strong will and tough attitude. So when a lawman comes to town asking about a murder, Mo and her best friend, Dale Earnhardt Johnson III, set out to uncover the truth in hopes of saving the only family Mo has ever known.

 

Review:

Though this book is aimed for a slightly younger audience, it is a GREAT read. 

 

It has murder, it has mayhem...it has a killer storm, it has a kidnapping, it has HUMOR.  There is action around every corner in this story and Mo has a funny little sarcastic remark about every bit of it.

 

Mo is one of my favorite narrators to date. She is smart and a smart-alek.  She doesn't take nothing from nobody and when she decides she's going to do something she gets it done!

 

Try this one out. You won't be sorry.



Review: Rift

Rift

by Andrea Cremer

prequel to Nightshade

 

Book Description:

Sixteen-year-old Ember Morrow is promised to a group called Conatus after one of their healers saves her mother's life. Once she arrives, Ember finds joy in wielding swords, learning magic, and fighting the encroaching darkness loose in the world. She also finds herself falling in love with her mentor, the dashing, brooding, and powerful Barrow Hess. When the knights realize Eira, one of their leaders, is dabbling in dark magic, Ember and Barrow must choose whether to follow Eira into the nether realm or to pledge their lives to destroying her and her kind.

 

Review:

It's been a little while since I read an Andrea Cremer book and I'd forgotten how easily she draws me right into the Nightshade world! Now, this book is a prequel, so it takes place in an older society, and I thought she did a really great job fleshing out this time period. Though many things are still secret (we are dealing with a secret sect of a religious army derived from the Templars, after all), the process by which the initiates choose and are accepted into their branch of service was well thought out and interesting, and the power structure of their world was explored just enough to be illuminating, but Cremer wisely withheld enough to make things very intriguing for the sequel...

 

 

I liked the very Celtic feel of this time and place. This was strongly enhanced by listening to the narrator of the audio book, Sile Birmingham, who did an excellent Scots accent. With action, romance, and a very creepy "bad guy," I cannot wait to dive into this world again in the sequel, Rise, which will be coming out this spring.   

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: Spark

Spark

by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Sky Chasers, book two

 

Book Description:

After a desperate escape from the enemy ship, Waverly has finally made it back to the Empyrean. The memory of home has been keeping her alive for the past months… but home is nothing like she left it. Forced to leave their captive parents behind on the New Horizon, she’s returned only to find that Kieran has become a strict leader and turned the crew against Seth. What happened to the Kieran she thought she knew? Now Waverly’s not sure whom she can trust. And the one person she wants to believe in is darkly brilliant Seth, the ship’s supposed enemy. Waverly knows that the situation will only get worse until they can rescue their parents – but how?

Before they have time to make a plan, an explosion rocks the Empyrean, and Seth and Waverly are targeted as the prime suspects. Can they find the true culprit before Kieran locks them away… or worse? Will Waverly follow her heart, even if it puts lives at risk? Now more than ever, every step could bring them closer to a new beginning – or a sudden end.

 

Review:

After my sparkling gold star review of Glow, I was beyond excited to read Spark. Unfortunately, for me, the magic was just not quite there in this sequel.

 

 

Ryan added a point of view by having chapters told from Seth's perspective. Though I absolutely saw the need for this in terms of moving the storyline forward, it was somewhat jarring to have happen at the very beginning of the book and it threw the "flow" off for me. It also vastly complicated the emotional tenor of the book and thus slowed the building of the story.

 

 

Though there was action and suspense in this book, it was much slower in the beginning... I was not immediately grabbed like I had been in the first book. By the time I was nearing the ending, it had started to get the magic back, and I will definitely be reading book three to see how things end, but I'm hoping that the author will capture the magic again! 

Review: Throne of Glass

Throne of Glass
by Sarah J. Maas

Book Description:

Show More

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After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom.

Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined. 

Review:
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Celaena is a broken, yet resiliant character. She's notorious and almost anonymous at the same time. Though she's the kingdom's premier assassin, most have no idea what she looks like and no one knows her true past. She survived a year in a death camp, working the salt mines, and that is almost unbelievable. Is it any wonder that she terrifies and enchants almost everyone she meets?

Though love triangles start to feel old if they are not done well, in this book, the triangle totally worked for me. Perhaps because Celaena continuously puts her own well-being first...the way things should work! Though she's entranced with the Crown Prince and would gladly be with him, if she is to be his Father's Assassin, a relationship could never work... and then there is the Captain of the Guard. Though he does not elicit the same, ahem...feelings in her, there is a soul deep connection that can only make them truly friends...and perhaps more someday.

Maas did a masterful job at worldbuilding in this book. While the reader never truly gets the entire back story on the kingdom that Celaena finds herself in, Maas trickles little bits of information into the story as things develop, allowing readers to learn just enough to be aware of how things work, and also leave them salivating for more backstory. In fact, I'm now working my way through the four e-pubbed novellas (The Assassin and the Pirate Lord, The Assassin and the Empire, The Assassin and the Desert, and The Assassin and the Underworld) in hopes of learning more before the next book...

In a kingdom where magic is forbidden, there is certainly a lot of weird, unexplainable things going on here. There also seems to be a certain reason why a lot of these events seem to seek out Celaena... Maas again managed to blend the perfect amount of realism and the fantastic. With characters that know things they shouldn't and those that seem to be perfectly in the dark... Celaena must determine who she can truly trust...her life most certainly depends on it.

Fans of Tamora Pierce, Rae Carson, and other fantasy writers with strong female characters will devour this book!

Review: Timepiece

Timepiece

by Myra McEntire

Hourglass, book two

Book Description:

A threat from the past could destroy the future.Kaleb Ballard was never supposed to be able to see ripples--cracks in time. Are his powers expanding, or is something very wrong? Before he can find out, Jonathan Landers, the man who tried to murder his father, reappears. Why is he back, and what, or whom, does he want?

In the wake of Landers's return, the Hourglass organization is given an ultimatum by a mysterious man. Either they find Landers and the research he has stolen on people who might carry the time gene, or time will be altered--with devastating results for the people Kaleb loves most. Now Kaleb, Emerson, Michael, and the other Hourglass recruits have no choice but to use their extraordinary powers to find Landers. But where do they even start? And when? Even if they succeed, just finding him may not be enough ...

Review:

Kaleb. Kaleb. Kaleb. Need I say more? If you've read the first book in the series, Hourglass, then I'm sure, like me, you were already half in love with Kaleb.  Such a great, broody hero. <3

 

Aside from the return of some rockin' romance, some awesome time travel and some amazing plot twists that keep readers on their toes, I cannot tell you how much I appreciated the change of narrator in this book. I loved Emerson and I still do, but Kaleb holds a special place in my heart...

 

Again, I could not put this book down! There were heartbreaking moments, there were spots where I couldn't stop grinning... there was a passage I loved so much that I tweeted it:

 

From p. 197

"Maybe." The word caught in my throat. How did she see the man that I wanted to be so clearly, instead of the ugliness that was really there?

"Why don't you believe me?"

...and it has another killer ending that is just making me want book three NOW!! Myra McEntire has found a truly devoted fan in me. :)

What's On My Hold List?

Welcome back to

"What's on My Hold List?"

This is the June 2012 edition!

One of the most beautiful things about working at our Library is that I know what's coming out and what we'll be getting and I can put the books on hold right away!

These are some of the books that I'm currently waiting for:

Sleepover Stakeout

by Kim Harrison

Sleuth or Dare, book 2

The Inferior

by Peadar O. Guilin

*If you click on each title, it will take you to the book on

Amazon.com for more information. :)*

So, these are the books I'm waiting anxiously to get my hands on...

what are YOU waiting for??

Review: Insurgent

Insurgent

by Veronica Roth
Divergent trilogy, book two

*CAUTION - If you have not yet read Divergent... you may want to skip this review!!*

Book Description:
One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

Review:
It is no secret that I LOVED Divergent. It was amazing...and while I really enjoyed Insurgent, it just didn't have that same magical *spark* that Divergent did...

One of the things I liked the most about this book...and simultaneously cursed, was that it broadened our world-view and gave much more depth to whole story. Readers got to learn more about each faction - how it was developed, who runs it and where, what are its principles - and how they interact with each other. It was really cool to see how the entire city worked as a whole.

The world-building felt much more developed here, but in Roth's feeding us so much information, you lose the magic of living directly in Tris' head. As such, I felt that the first half of the book developed very slowly... it was not until midway through that I became really solidly invested in the characters again.

And what Tris and Four go through... I just wanted to reach through the book and hug each of them... There are betrayals, there are massive secrets revealed, there are deaths. I cannot say more without getting all spoiler-y.

Now... all that being said...the end of this book goes out with a BANG! I love where Roth took this, though I was left with some burning questions that I can only hope get answered in the final book. For a variety of reasons, book three is a must read!

Review: Body of Water

Body of Water

by Sarah Dooley

Book Description:

Twelve-year-old Ember’s trailer home has been burned in a fire set most likely by her best friend, a boy whose father believes Ember’s family are witches. Yes, Ember’s mom reads Tarot cards as a business. Ember’s friend set the fire to warn the family before his dad did something worse to them. The friend never intended to do so much damage.

Now the family is homeless, and living in a campground. They have no money. Ember’s beloved dog is missing. School is going to start, and Ember and her sister have no clean clothes, no notebooks. The only place Ember feels at peace is floating in the middle of the lake at the campground. She has to make a fresh start. Can she? 

Review:

Ember has no house, no money, no clothes, and no friends.  Life sucks.

 

Though I didn't *like* Ember, I really understood her.  She was not always nice, but who would be when they were homeless and knew that their best friend had betrayed them??  I understood where she was coming from all the way through. 

 

Though the end of this book seemed to wrap up a little too neatly, I really enjoyed the story and thought it was way more interesting than the poor cover that the book got saddled with...

 

Review: Circus Galacticus

Circus Galacticus
by Deva Fagan

Book Description:
Trix can deal with being an orphan charity case at a snotty boarding school. She can hold her own when everyone else tells her not to dream big dreams. She can even fight back against the mysterious stranger in a silver mask who tries to steal the meteorite her parents trusted her to protect.

But her life is about to change forever. The Circus Galacticus has come to town, bringing acts to amaze, delight, and terrify. And now the dazzling but enigmatic young Ringmaster has offered Trix the chance to be a part of it.

Soon Trix discovers an entire universe full of deadly enemies and potential friends, not to mention space leeches, ancient alien artifacts, and exploding chocolate desserts. And she just might unravel the secrets of her own past if she can survive long enough.

 

 

Review:

I loved this book. It is the perfect blend of the fantastic elements of a circus and the sci-fi adventure of space travel!

 

Trix was a character desperate to fit in. To find where she truly belonged. To find lifelong friends....and she finds it all in the Circus Galacticus.

 

Never mind that she has to help them win an inter-galactic war...with cool powers!

 

Never mind that she has cotton candy pink hair!

 

Never mind that there is an awesome and mysterious Ringmaster... and a big top that turns into the coolest space ship...EVAH!

 

LOVE. LOVE. LOVE.

 

Bam - GOLD STAR!!

Review: A Beautiful Evil

A Beautiful Evil

by Kelly Keaton

Gods and Monsters series, book two

Book Description:

After the epic graveyard battle at the end of Darkness Becomes Her, Ari and her friends know what they’re up against: Ari is facing the Medusa curse and is haunted by the image of what she will become. To make matters worse, the heinous goddess Athena has kidnapped young Violet and is threatening to destroy Ari.

Ari, along with the superhot Sebastian, is doing everything she can to learn more about Athena and to get Violet back. But the battle of good and evil is bigger than she realizes, and she’s about to be pulled into a world more horrific than she could ever imagine....

Review:

Keaton has blown me away again with the second book in this series.  I love the decaying side of New Orleans and its futuristic society found here. Everything is the most elegant mix of lushness and disrepair. Ari even travels to Mount Olympus and finds the same strange mix of revelry and ruin. Gorgeous in both imagery and the written word.

The stakes get even higher in this sequel. Ari must face what she will become...and her place in society. Her friends get pushed to the limits and some even have to pay the ultimate price.
Gripping. Phenomenal. A definite GOLD STAR.



I'm really not sure how I'm going to be able to wait for the third book!!

Review: Everneath

Everneath

by Brodi Ashton

Book Description:

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath. Now she’s returned—to her old life, her family, her boyfriend—before she’s banished back to the underworld . . . this time forever. She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can’t find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these precious months forgetting the Everneath and trying to reconnect with her boyfriend, Jack, the person most devastated by her disappearance—and the one person she loves more than anything. But there’s just one problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who enticed her to the Everneath in the first place, has followed Nikki home. Cole wants to take over the throne in the underworld and is convinced Nikki is the key to making it happen. And he’ll do whatever it takes to bring her back, this time as his queen.

 

 

As Nikki’s time on the Surface draws to a close and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she is forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole’s queen.

Review:

I really liked this new mythology about the Underworld.  Here there are immortals who feed off of regular humans to stay alive for centuries...but at what cost?! I thought that Nikki was a great main character and that her emotional state was really believable. 

This book has love, betrayal, danger, imminent death, ethical choices...it has it all. A fun read for anyone who likes mythology. 

What's on My Hold List?

I wanted to try out a new feature...

I think it will be fun a lot of fun!

Each month, I'll let you know

"What's on My Hold List?"

One of the most beautiful things about working at our Library is that I know what's coming out and what we'll be getting and I can put the books on hold right away!

 

These are some of the books that I'm currently waiting for:

 

Surrender

by Lee Nichols

Haunting Emma, book three

*This one is still on my hold list...apparently it's taking forever to come in. I may break down and get this one on my nook soon!*

 

Under the Never Sky

by Veronica Rossi

*Another one that's still on my list, but I believe it is on its way!*

 

Perception

by Kim Harrington

Clarity, book two

 

Starters

by Lissa Price

 

*If you click on each title, it will take you to the book on

Amazon.com for more information. :)*

So, these are the books I'm waiting anxiously to get my hands on...

what are YOU waiting for??