Flawless (Pretty Little Liars #2)
By Sara Sheppard
3 out of 5
Aria, Hanna, Spencer, and Emily have reconnected because of their best friend's, Ali, death. And the very personal and threatening texts they are all receiving. Each one of them is unwilling to share the their secrets, but they agree that they have to figure out who A is if they ever want to get past this. But then Toby Cavanaugh is back in town, and looking good. Three years away from Rosewoods prying eyes, and now he's suddenly back? Could Toby be A? He does have a reason not to like Ali and her band of friends.
As you know, I am only reading these books so that I can understand what is going on in the TV show. But, I have recently found seasons 1 & 2 online so I will no longer be reading the books. The book is good, but it is too confusing to watch season 1, while reading the book, and keeping up with season 3. I am in Pretty Little Liar overload! I can barely remember who is bad and who is good anymore. So one of them had to go, and the books are getting the boot! There are plenty of other amazing books out there for me to read, I don't have time to read what I can easily see. Sorry
Tiger's Voyage
By Colleen Houck
2.5 out of 5
Third book in the Tiger's Curse series. Ren's memory has been wiped clean on Kelsey, and he doesn't even want to be around her. As Kelsey deals with heartbreak, their journey must continue on to the next challenge. In this one the team learns how to dive from Texas born, boy next door Wes, who both the brothers detest. Kelsey, Kishan, and Ren also battle a brotherhood of dragons, and the evil Lokesh is hot on their trail at every turn. They will complete the task, but what about Kelsey and Ren's relationship. Will they be able to overcome their obstacles and love each other, or will Kelsey give up on Ren and go with golden-eyed Kishan?
I find Kelsey slightly annoying. She has no self esteem--she never thinks she is good enough for Ren or Kishan--she would rather use the golden fruit and the divine scarf to do all of the work for her--instead of cooking for herself or, god forbid, shopping. And she has no authority over her wants or desires. She just blindly follows after the brothers, doing whatever they want--gushing over their beauty and then feeling infinitely guilty for liking one more over the other. She panics over every little thing, but then she instantly begins to enjoy whatever it is that she was so scared to do. Plus, she is constantly surrounded by gorgeous men (based on descriptions) and yet she is not happy. She flirts endlessly with all of them but if it gets more serious than cute antics, she clams up. In my opinion Kelsey should get some balls, make a few tough decisions and stop being such a whiny bitch. Thank you for allowing me to rant about this, now I will tell you what I think about the actual book.
I really do like the storyline of this series. The idea of two princes captive in this curse that they are slowly working through and undoing makes for a very good story. I like the different personalities they meet along the way and the different challenges that the group must face together.The interweaving of myth and legend with the princes and Kelsey is balanced perfectly, I never feel like I'm reading a text book, but it also relates directly to what the group is doing. I really do like the story, and that is why I will read Tiger's Destiny when it comes out in September, but I just can't stand Kelsey. If I were her I would either have waited forever for Ren and not been afraid to tell both the brothers that I love Ren more than Kishan, or I would have ditched them both and gone for the gorgeous southern gentleman, Wes, the scuba instructor.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
By Stephen Chbosky
3.5 out of 5
Freshman, Charlie writes a series of letters to an unidentified person, telling this person about his life and the how he feels about his experiences. Charlie is an outcast, with no real friends, and a social awkwardness that makes it hard to be friendly with his classmates. Then he meets Patrick and Sam, seniors who take Charlie under their wing, and show him how the live and survive high school. But is their life the kind of life Charlie needs, or will the smoking, drinking, and drugs push Charlie even farther out of social normality?
My fist thought about this book, without even opening the book was, "I thought it would be bigger" (insert that's what she said joke here). I thought that Perks of Being a Wallflower was a decent book. Everyone always talks about how great this book is because high school students can relate to it even though it is set in 1991, and yes, high schoolers can relate to feeling invisible and doing drugs and smoking and drinking, but it that really what you want high school students to identify with?? This book was ok, but I have read way better books in my life. And maybe this book is actually pretty good, but I'm still high off of The Fault in Our Stars and nothing seems as good. Maybe. I do just have to say that Patrick, Sam, and the rest of their friends are hipsters to their core and they're doing it way better than most of the posers these days.
The Fault in Our Stars
By John Green
6 out of 5
Sixteen year old Hazel is a cancer survivor, who attends weeky support group meetings at her local church. It is there where she meets Augustus Waters. Tall, strong, charismatic and exuding health, Augustus is the kind of unatainable boy Hazel had never even thought about. But clearly Augustus has other intentions. So begins a romance, but will it last? Is two cancer survivors dating really a good idea? And what will happen if the cancer returns?
My first thoughts about this book were, "Augustus Waters is such an amazing, perfect character, it is such a shame that he has to die". Mind you, this thought came about on page 20. I will not tell you if my original thoughts came true or not, but I will tell you that I cried. I love this book. This is the best book John Green has written to date, and I kiss the air this book breathes and I kneel before it in exhultation. I adore everything about this book. I love the story, I love the banter, I love the fact that Augustus calls her Hazel Grace, I love it. I love the fact that it is not a cancer book, and that it does not end in the middle of a sentence. This has become my favorite book, and the only bad thing about it is that it so sad, you don't want to read it. You want to drag out the happy parts, knowing that the sad parts are coming, but denying them the moment of pure writing genious.
The Long Way Home (The Homelanders #2)
By Andrew Klavan
3 out of 5
Charlie West is still trying to figure out how one night he went to bed, and the next thing he remembers is over a year later. He's wanted for murder, on the run from the cops and the homelanders, and he has no idea what he is doing. Charlie makes his way back to Spring Hill, his hometown, hoping to find some much needed answers. Hiding out in Ghost Mansion, Charlie gets help from his best friends, Josh, Rick, and Miler, and his girlfriend, Beth, but what if that just puts them in danger too? What if they get hurt becuase they are trying to help clear Charlie's name?
This book is filled with action, and in my opinion, better than the first one. I liked that Charlie's character really developed due to the fact that he finds out more of what happened in his lost year. You can really see the real Charlie, and understand his beliefs better now that we know more about him. I also really like his friends and of course Beth, they all interact together really well, and they seem like real people. Shocker of an ending, but really good.
THe formatting on this post is all out of whack. I don't know what is going on with it, so it looks a little different from the rest.
Pretty Little Liars
By Sara Shepard
3 out of 5
Ali was the leader of five fearless friends, that is until she disappeared. Now three years later, the four remaining girls are no longer friends, and are leading very different lives. Hanna went from loser to Queen Bee controlling all the gossip that flows through Rosewood's halls. But is the old Hanna still there right under the surface, trying to get out? Spencer is all excited about moving into the barn-turned-into-guest-house until her sister suddenly moves in with her super hot boyfriend. But what happens if the boyfriend prefers Spencer to her sister? Aria returned from a year long move to Iceland, and met a nice guy at a local bar. They really connected in the girls bathroom, but what will become of their relationship when he turns out to be her English teacher? And Emily, seems to have everything going for her until a new girl, Maya, moves into Ali's old house. What will happen to Emily if she decides that girls are more her style and she's no longer interested in competitive swimming? Alison has been gone for three years, and she's still holding secrets over these four's heads.
I know that I am so far behind as far as Pretty Little Liars, but I just recently got into the show, and I wanted to read the books. This was actually pretty good. Someone told me that the tv show follows the books pretty closely, which is good, because I am completely lost with the show! So they aren't bad books, but I'm just reading them to figure out what is going on in the show.
Legend
By Marie Lu
4.5 out of 5
In a futuristic time, the United States is no longer. In it's place is the Republic, which occupies the west coast. The Republic is at war with the Colonies and the Partriots, two other civilizations placed in the United States land. Enter Day, a fifteen year old criminal who is the Republics most wanted. To outsiders it seems like Day is just trying to sabotage the Republic in their attempts at victory, but his motives are actually much more personal. Then there's June, the Republic's child prodigy, the golden girl of the future. When June's brother is killed, Day is the main suspect, and June goes undercover in order to find him and bring him in. But will she happen if she finds him? And what if Day is actually the one in the right?
This book follows in the Hunger Games, futuristic footsteps, but that is the only bad thing I can say about it. Full of conspiracy, adventure, and romance, this book is a completely different dystopia. I liked Day right from the beginning, and I just liked him more and more as it went on. The characters really relate well together, and it is easy to understand why they do what they do. One little thing, they describe Day as having long hair, which he ties back in a pony tail. They also describe him as very handsome. Personally, I'm not a fan of long hair on men, but other than that, he sounds dreamy! Second book, Prodigy, comes out late January.
