Review: Shadows by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: Shadows (Lux, #0.5)

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Series: Lux, #0.5
Release Date: February 1, 2012

Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Format: Kindle Book

Source: Amazon

Add it: Goodreads
Rating: 4/5

The last thing Dawson Black expected was Bethany Williams. As a Luxen, an alien life form on Earth, human girls are...well, fun. But since the Luxen have to keep their true identities a secret, falling for one would be insane. Dangerous. Tempting. Undeniable. Bethany can’t deny the immediate connection between her and Dawson. And even though boys aren’t a complication she wants, she can’t stay away from him. Still, whenever they lock eyes, she’s drawn in. Captivated. Lured. Loved. Dawson is keeping a secret that will change her existence...and put her life in jeopardy. But even he can’t stop risking everything for one human girl. Or from a fate that is as unavoidable as love itself. (Goodreads Summary)

After reading Obsidian I thought that Jennifer L. Armentrout might become one of those authors who I read everything from and after reading Shadows I can confirm that. This novella is seriously amazing, and I can't wait to read the next book in the series, Onyx. Which doesn't come out until.... AUGUST! I guess I'll just have to hold myself together by reading every other thing this author has written.

As soon as I was finished reading Obsidian I wrote my review and then started reading Shadows immediately! This book is a prequel to the events that take place in Obsidian and focuses on Dee and Daemon's brother Dawson. Dawson is so much more normal then his siblings are. That might sound mean, but it's the truth. He's legitimately trying to fit in with the humans and I admire that about him. His and Bethany's relationship is so sweet and adorable, it's one of those relationships that makes you believe in love at first sight. 

This book is a short story, but honestly it didn't feel that way. It was just as satisfying as a normal sized book would be and that's probably one of my favorite things about it. Another really great thing about this book was the background history we got on Obsidian. After reading it we're left with so many questions and this book answers almost all of them. Like why Daemon hates humans so much, or what happened to Dawson and Bethany! The ending of this book had me crying like a baby, well not literally, but you get what I'm trying to say. 

I recommend this book to anyone who's already read Obsidian and is in desperate need for another fix of the characters. For those of you who haven't read Obsidian you NEED to go out and buy it now and then buy Shadows because trust me you won't be disappointed. Also, even though this is a prequel to the events in Obsidian, I would recommend reading Obsidian first otherwise the mysterious aspect will be missing. So, I have some theories about what may or may not have happened at the end of this book. Anyone care to discuss about them in the comments?

What do you think? Excited for this series yet?

Review: Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: Obsidian (Lux, #1)
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Series: Lux, #1
Release Date: November 10, 2012
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Format: Kindle Book
Source: Amazon
Add it: Goodreads
Rating: 5/5

Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I'd pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring.... until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something...unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon's touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I'm getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don't kill him first, that is. (summary from goodreads.com)

Jennifer L. Armentrout why haven't I read one of your books before now? She definitely knows how to write one amazing book! This book had everything you could want in a book - original plot, amazing characters, action packed scenes, and an adorable romance. I had a huge grin on my face the whole time while reading this book, so you need to read it!

I haven't read many alien books or seen many movies for that matter, but in my opinion this book was pretty original. I won't say too much because I don't want to spoil the book for you, but I can say this. Even if you aren't a fan of sci-fi books you'll enjoy this book. Sure it has that sci-fi aspect, but it's not overwhelming. It's set at the perfect pace between the alien things and the more normal things. There's also an amazing amount of background history on the aliens which is refreshing because sometimes in books we don't get to know the background of a story.

Katy's character was amazing! She was so different from the other female characters I've been reading about! She's strong, funny, loyal, and sticks to her decisions. Also she's a BOOK BLOGGER who writes reviews! She's a great friend who will do whatever it takes to protect the people she cares about. Daemon is Katy's insanely hot neighbor who just so happens to be an alien. He's always treating Katy poorly to begin with but after a while you find out that he's just doing it to protect his sister. He always has some sort of comment about everything which proves to be hilarious most of the time. I love Katy and Daemon's characters individually, but together their EPIC! When they fight it's hilarious and you can tell that they're obviously enjoying themselves.

One thing that might have been confusing to some readers would be the blogging aspect. I really appreciated getting to read about a book blogger, but to someone who isn't familiar with the world of blogging would be confused. I know that if I didn't know what some of the memes were I would think they were made up instead of being real. This was really the only thing I didn't like about this book, and it was a pretty minor detail. 

I recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of YA novels and is looking for a book with a unique plot, amazing characters, and an adorable romance.

If you haven't read this book you NEED to go buy it now so you can experience the amazingness that is Daemon. And if you have read this book are you excited for the sequel, Onyx. Personally, I can't wait!

What do you think? Are you going to give the whole alien book a chance, or if you have read it did you love it or hate it?

Review: The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines

Title: The Vincent Boys (The Vincent Boys #1)
Author: Abbi Glines
Series: The Vincent Boys, #1
Release Date: October 12, 2011
Publisher: Abbi Glines
Format: Kindle Book
Source: Amazon
Add it: Goodreads
Rating: 4/5

Ashton is getting tired of being good, of impressing her parents and playing ideal girlfriend to Sawyer Vincent. Sawyer is perfect, a regular Prince Charming, but when he leaves town for the summer, it’s his cousin Beau who catches Ashton’s eye. Beau is the sexiest guy she’s ever seen, and even though he’s dangerous, Ashton is drawn to him.

Beau loves his cousin like a brother, so the last thing he wants to do is make a move on Sawyer’s girl. Ashton is off-limits, absolutely. That’s why he does his best to keep his distance, even though he’s been in love with her forever. When Ashton wants to rekindle their childhood friendship in Sawyer’s absence, Beau knows he should say no.

Ashton and Beau don’t want to hurt Sawyer. But the more they try to stay away from each other, the more intense their urges become. It’s getting way too hard to resist

Abbi Glines sure does know how to write a good story! This is my first book of hers and I already have like three more waiting for me on my kindle! I put off this book for a long time because I thought that I wouldn't like, but boy was I wrong! This is probably one of my favorite contemporary YA books I've read in a long time.

Ever since Ashton Gray was a little girl she had two best friends - Beau and Sawyer. Ashton and Beau would cause all sorts of trouble and Sawyer would always be there to bail them out. When they got older Ashton started dating Sawyer and her friendship with Beau ended. As the years go on Ashton finds herself gradually changing to please Sawyer and her parents. When Sawyer goes on vacation for the summer Ashton and Beau start up their friendship again. But what happens when they start to develop feelings for one another?

I honestly have no idea why I waited so long to read this book! I think what turned me off for so long was the fact that I got this book free on Amazon. I don't know when I'm going to learn that free books are just as good as books that are priced. Abbi Glines is probably one of my favorite new authors and that's just after reading one of her books! Not only does this book deliver romance and heartbreak, but it jerks your emotions all over the place. It's also written in two different points of view which I am a complete sucker for!

Okay let's start with the three main characters of this book - Beau, Sawyer, and Ashton. I always love best friends turned relationship stories, so I instantly took a liking to this story. While growing up Ashton was always closer with Beau, but when Sawyer becomes interested in her they start dating effectively ending her relationship with Beau. After a few years of dating Ashton's changed everything about herself to please her parents and boyfriend. She thinks that she needs to be this perfect person to be worthy of dating Sawyer, which is completely ridiculous! When she starts to hangout with Beau again she finally realizes that she's not happy in her relationship and goes after what she wants. Sawyer and Beau are cousins and bring out two completely different sides of Ashton. Sawyer is the typical good guy and Beau is the ultimate bad boy. Personally I preferred Beau his characters was just so full of life and Sawyer was a bit flat.

At the end there was an unexpected twist in the story that just made me love this book even more! It was really well handled and it just made me respect Sawyer in a whole new way. Also if you're a bit hesitant on the whole love triangle aspect of this story DON'T! It was handled in the best way possible and the ending was just perfect.

I recommend this to anyone who is a fan of contemporary YA novels and if you're in the mood for a seriously swoon worthy story! There's also a sequel coming out this summer called The Vincent Brothers. Anyone else excited?!

What do you think? Have you read this book. If you have are you team Beau or Sawyer? 

Review: Scary School by Derek the Ghost

Title: Scary School
Author: Derek the Ghost
Series: Scary School
Release Date: June 21, 2011
Publisher: Harper Collins
Format: Kindle Book
Source: Author for honest review
Add it: Goodreads
Rating: 5/5

You think your school's scary? 

Get a load of these teachers: 

"Ms. Fang," an 850-year-old vampire
"Dr. Dragonbreath," who just might eat you before recess
"Mr. Snakeskin"--science class is so much more fun when it's taught by someone who's half zombie
"Mrs. T"--break the rules and spend your detention with a hungry "Tyrannosaurus rex" 

Plus 

Gargoyles, goblins, and Frankenstein's monster on the loose
The world's most frighteningly delicious school lunch 

And 

The narrator's an eleven-year-old ghost 

Join Charles "New Kid" Nukid as he makes some very Scary friends--including Petunia, Johnny, and Peter the Wolf--and figures out that Scary School can be just as funny as it is spooky (summary via goodreads.com)

Scary School is definitely one of the funniest books I've read in a long time. I usually tend to read semi-depressing YA books, so this book was like a breath of fresh air. Even this book is titled Scary School it is the farthest thing from "scary" in my opinion. I guess if I was to think of this in an elementary school kids point of view it could very possibly be scary!

The writing in this book was amazing. It was simple and straight to the point, so younger readers would easily be able to read this book. Even though the writing was simple it didn't take away from the reading experience like you would expect it to. Another really cool thing about this book was the way it was written. The book has a main plot, but it's written in a series of short stories that tell about the teachers and students of Scary School. It's also narrated by Derek the Ghost which I really enjoyed. This writing style was really unique and I  would definitely like to read more books like this.

The characters in this book were amazing. Although this books lead character was Charles NuKid, I couldn't find myself connecting to his character. I really enjoyed reading about Derek the Ghost. Derek is an eleven year old ghost who died the year before during a science experiment in Mr. Acidbath's class, but since he died at Scary School he was given the opportunity to stay there as a ghost.

This is the type of book I would buy my younger siblings to get them interested in reading. If I ever see this book in a bookstore I won't hesitate buying it for my little sister. I would recommend this book to anyone who knows elementary or middle schoolers that like to read, but I think that adults will enjoy this book just as much because of the funny aspects. 

The sequel to Scary School will be released later this year so be on the lookout for Scary School #2.

2012 Just Contemporary Reading Challenge

I'm excited to do this challenge! I love reading YA contemporary books. They're the most realistic of any books I can read right now because I'm a young adult and they portray real life situations. 

This challenge is hosted by Ashley @ Basically Amazing Books

There are two possible ways to participate:

The first is simple- Read Contemporary YA. Every single Contemporary counts. Challenge yourself to read more Contemporary YA than normal. If you never read it, add a few next year. If you are new to it, try for one a month. Or two a month. Or even more!

The second is the same basic idea (read more) but it adds variety to what you pick. Instead of reading any Contemporary, this gets you to mix-it up. There are so many sub-genres within Contemporary that I want to encourage people to try more of them. This is a good place for those who already read a lot of Contemporary.

Books must be read between January 1, 2012 and December 31st 2012.
Any Contemporary YA book will count toward this challenge regardless of publication date.How great is that?!

I'll be sure to keep you updated on my reads for this challenge. Have any of you entered this challenge or any others for 2012?

Review: The Fine Art of Truth or Dare by Melissa Jensen

Title: The Fine Art of Truth or Dare
Author: Melissa Jensen
Series: No
Release Date: February 16, 2012
Publisher: Speak
Format: Kindle Book
Source: Amazon
Add it: Goodreads
Rating: 2/5

Ella is nearly invisible at the Willing School, and that's just fine by her. She's got her friends - the fabulous Frankie and their sweet cohort Sadie. She's got her art - and her idol, the unappreciated 19th-century painter Edward Willing. Still, it's hard being a nobody and having a crush on the biggest somebody in the school: Alex Bainbridge. Especially when he is your French tutor, and lessons have started becoming, well, certainly more interesting than French ever has been before. But can the invisible girl actually end up with a happily ever after with the golden boy, when no one even knows they're dating? And is Ella going to dare to be that girl. (summary from goodreads.com)

To say that this book was one of my most anticipated contemporary novels for this year is an understatement. After hearing that this book was a mix between Anna and the French Kiss and Pretty in Pink I was automatically sold because those are two of my favorite books and movies of all time. After reading The Fine Art of Truth or Dare I was thoroughly disappointed. There was just something about this book that I didn't like. The writing was great, the characters were great, but the story just wasn't great.

Although I was disappointed by this book I wouldn't blame it on the story because I actually enjoyed reading it, but the fact it was compared to Anna and the French KIss. I don't know why, but when you compare one book to another book that so many people love it's a set up for some major comparisons. This book was good just in a slightly different way then Anna. The author did a great job at writing this story, but at times I felt like I had missed a whole portion of the book when I really hadn't. 

The two main characters were probably one of the reasons why I didn't like this book. Ella was completely relatable and she was a great character, but she was a little weird. She's just the slightest bit obsessed with this famous artist Edward Willing and while that's okay it's just at a certain point it's weird. For the longest time I thought she was legitimately crazy because she would have conversations with him. I finally realized that it was her own way of speaking with her subconscious. Then there's Alex Bainbridge. Before reading this book I had heard about him and I was just expecting so much more. In my opinion he was complete jerk who had his nice moments, but just didn't do it for me. The romance between the two of them was sweet at times, but I just didn't like them as a couple.

The secondary characters in this book were by far my favorite part of the story. Ella's two best friends Frankie and Sadie are seriously amazing. I found my self reading faster just so I could get to a part with them in it. Actually it was more Frankie then Sadie. He was hilarious, and I would have much rather read a book about him then Ella. I guess that sound mean, but it's the truth.

It's not that I didn't enjoy this book, I just didn't love it. I'm definitely going to be reading more books by this author because I did enjoy the characters. I hope you like this book more then I did. 

Favorite Quote / Moment:

"Frankie turned back and forth in front of the three-way mirror. "I have absolutely no ass whatsoever." A few feet away, a woman whose designer velour fit her like a sausage casing, gave an amused snort. "Honey," she said over a display of two-hundred-dollar T-shirts. "I have been waiting forty years to say those words." Frankie padded toward her in his socks and Alexander McQueen pants. He thrust his hands into the pockets, pulling the fabric tighter, and presented her with his outthrust bottom. "Honestly. This is what you want?" She lasted about five seconds before grinning- and sighing at the same time. "No, I guess not."

Review: Remembrance by Michelle Madow

Title: Remembrance (Transcend Time #1)

Author: Michelle Madow

Series: Transcend Time, #1

Release Date: July 25, 2011

Publisher: Dreamscape Publishing

Format: Kindle Book

Source: Amazon

Add it: Goodreads

Rating: 3/5

Lizzie Davenport has been reincarnated from Regency Era, England ... but she doesn't know it yet. Then Drew Carmichael transfers into Lizzie's high school at the beginning of the year, and she feels a connection to him, almost like she knows him. She can't stop thinking about him, but whenever she tries talking with him about the mysteries behind her feelings, he makes it clear that he wants nothing to do with her. Reaching him is even more difficult because she has a boyfriend, Jeremy, who has started to become full of himself after being elected co-captain of the varsity soccer team, and her flirtatious best friend Chelsea starts dating Drew soon after his arrival. So why can't she get him out of her mind? Even though Lizzie knows she should let go of her fascination with Drew, fighting fate isn't going to be easy. (summary via goodreads.com)

Remembrance is the first book in the Transcends Time series by Michelle Madow. The goodreads summary above sums the story up pretty well, so I won't go over that again. The cool thing about this book is that it's based on a Taylor Swift music video. If you have ever watched the Love Story music video you can see how one might be interested in this story. The author even wrote a letter to Taylor Swift telling her about how her music had inspired this book, but has yet to hear back. Thus creating Project Tell Taylor, which is basically the goal of having Taylor Swift tweet about Remembrance.

The characters in this book were one of the things that I enjoyed the most. They just seemed so real. Lizzie wasn't the strongest character in the beginning, but throughout the book she gradually became more confident in herself and stopped others from pushing her around. I didn't like Drew as much as I think I should have. He was distant and moody for most of book, so when it actually came down to him and Lizzie getting together I was a bit annoyed of him. But compared to the other characters in this book he was a relatively good character. Chelsea and Jeremy were probably two of the most annoying characters I've ever read about. They pretty much only ever thought about themselves, but I liked that about them. They were consistent throughout the whole book, and lightened the mood of the story!

This was a great book, but I did have a few problems with it. One of them being that there wasn't much of a plot. Right from the beginning the stories about how Lizzie is attracted to the new student at school, but she's still dating her boyfriend so she has to make a choice. Not that this type of book is bad because it isn't. It's just I was expecting more from this book. It's supposed to be about reincarnation, but there wasn't much of a focus on it. Another thing I didn't like was how once Lizzie found out about said reincarnation, she just goes online to research it. I was so frustrated at that point, it's like do something, anything else other then google reincarnation.

Overall, I'd give this book 3 out of 5 stars. The writing was really well done and flowed nicely, but I felt like the plot wasn't as strong as it could have been. This was a great debut novel, and I will definitely be reading the next book in the series; Vengeance.

What do you think? Was this review helpful, will you be reading this book anytime soon? Or if you have read this book. What did you think of it?

Review: Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey

Title: Cold Kiss (Cold Kiss #1)

Author: Amy Garvey
Series: Cold Kiss #1

Year: September 20, 2011

Publisher: HarperTeen
Format: Kindle Book
Source: Amazon

Add it: Goodreads
Rating: 3/5

It was a beautiful, warm summer day, the day Danny died. 

Suddenly Wren was alone and shattered. In a heartbroken fury, armed with dark incantations and a secret power, Wren decides that what she wants--what she "must" do--is to bring Danny back. 

But the Danny who returns is just a shell of the boy Wren fell in love with. His touch is icy; his skin, smooth and stiff as marble; his chest, cruelly silent when Wren rests her head against it. 

Wren must keep Danny a secret, hiding him away, visiting him at night, while her life slowly unravels around her. Then Gabriel DeMarnes transfers to her school, and Wren realizes that somehow, inexplicably, he can sense the powers that lie within her--and that he knows what she has done. And now Gabriel wants to help make things right. 

But Wren alone has to undo what she has wrought--even if it means breaking her heart all over again. (summary from goodreads.com)

Wren's boyfriend Danny died in a car accident, and in a moment of sadness she brings him back from the dead. The thing is he's not the same Danny she remembers. He's confused, angry, and most of all cold.

Okay, you might be thinking "why would she bring him back from the dead.", but it was understandable. Think about it. What would you do if you had the power to bring back someone you loved? That's exactly what Wren did, but she didn't think of the consequences her actions would cause. The thing I loved about this book was that it didn't try and make what she did seem right. The main character Wren realizes that she made a huge mistake and that she had to fix it. I appreciated knowing the female lead wasn't well for lack of  a better word- an idiot.

Wren's character was so frustrating at times. I just wanted to grab her out of the book and shake her until she realized what she needed to do. She was so stubborn and didn't realize that it was okay to ask for help with her problems.Then there was Danny, the boy Wren brought back from the dead. I felt so bad for him throughout the book. Not only was he brought back from the dead, but he didn't understand what was happening to him. I wish that I had gotten to know Danny before he died because I think I would have loved his character. The other character I feel is worth mentioning is Gabriel. He's the mysterious new guy who just so happens to know about Wrens powers. I didn't really understand Gabriel. In my opinion he was just a filler character that was in the book to show that there is life after your first love is gone.

The writing in this book was extremely descriptive. Maybe a little too descriptive. I felt like there wasn't enough dialogue between the characters. Don't get me wrong the writing was great, it's just I expected a little more action from this book. This is a standalone paranormal novel, which is something you don't find all that often. In case you haven't figured it out by now this book is about zombies. Yes, zombies! But don't let  that discourage you from reading this book. It's all about the grieving process, and the different ways you can go about it.

Overall this was a great book that had it's fair share of high and low points. The high point had to be the way the story was told. You got to get to know Wren and Danny through a series of flashbacks which was just amazing. Sure there was a bit of romance after the whole zombify Danny thing, but the best parts were told in flashbacks. The low point of this story was probably how there were so many loose ends at the end of the book. As a reader I was left wondering about so many things that I couldn't thoroughly enjoy the book.

What do you think?

Does this sound like a good book?

Feature & Follow Friday # 8

Feature & Follow Friday is a blog hop that expands your blog following by a joint effort between bloggers. 

This meme is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read.

Featured Bloggers this week:

Le Grande Codex

&

Beef Cakes and Babes

Q: I like unique names for characters and am looking forward to coming up with some when I start writing. What's the most unique character name you've come across?

A: Hmm. I've come across a lot of unique names while reading, but the strangest one was probably Renesmee from Breaking Dawn. Also pretty much all of the names from the Harry Potter series; Hermoine, Neville, Sirius Black, Dumbledore.... 

What is the most unique name you've come across while reading?

Review: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Title: Before I Fall

Author: Lauren Oliver
Series: No; Standalone
Release Date: March 2, 2010

Publisher: HarperCollins
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought

Add it: Goodreads
Rating: 4/5

What if you only had one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life? 

Samantha Kingston has it all: looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it turns out to be her last. 

The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. Living the last day of her life seven times during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death--and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing. (summary via goodreads.com)

Before I Fall is the debut novel of author Lauren Oliver. The book follows the life of Samantha Kingston, your typical mean girl on the last day of her life. After Samantha dies she gets the amazing chance to relive her last day; seven times to be exact and during the time she finally learns what is important in life and tries to fix the mistakes she has made. 

Samantha Kingston is your typical mean girl. When the book starts she pretty much only cares about how many roses she gets on Cupid Day. Sam and her three best friends make up a group much like the group of girls in the movie Mean Girls. They get everything they want and don't have to face the consequences of anything that they do. Throughout the last day of her life, you get to see how bad of a person she really is. She's mean to people and justifies it by saying that she was once made fun of, so it's only fair that now that she is popular that she does that same thing. So when she dies in a car accident I didn't feel the least bit bad. I know that's a bad thing to say, but it's the truth.

Over the course of seven days, Sam gets the chance to relive the last day of her life and fix a few things. At first Sam has no idea that she has died, and thinks the whole things a dream. Once she realizes that she is dead she goes on a bit of a downward spiral which includes - lashing out on her best friend, hooking up with her math teacher and stealing from her parents. After this she finally realizes that she's being given these do overs so she can fix something. By the end of the book Sam is a completely different character then the one we met in the beginning. She's finally starting to see that when you treat someone badly that there are consequences. I'm glad that by the end of the book Sam finally realizes that life isn't just about "how many roses you get on Cupid Day".

The one thing I didn't like about this book was the ending. Sure, Sam now knows that what she's done is wrong, but is anything really going to change? That's question is completely up to what the reader is thinking. I felt like by the end of the book she was more focused on doing the right thing so she would feel better about herself, not because she wanted to do the right thing. I don't know, that might just be me. 

Favorite Quotes / Moments:
Maybe you can afford to wait. Maybe for you there's a tomorrow. Maybe for you there's one thousand tomorrows, or three thousand, or ten, so much time you can bathe in it, roll around it, let it slide like coins through you fingers. So much time you can waste it.But for some of us there's only today. And the truth is, you never really know.”

What do you think? 

Will you be giving this book a chance if you haven't already read it.

Cover Reveal: Taste by Kate Evangelista

Taste will be released later this year by Crescent Moon Press.

At Barinkoff Academy, there's only one rule: no students on campus after curfew. Phoenix McKay soon finds out why when she is left behind at sunset. A group calling themselves night students threaten to taste her flesh until she is saved by a mysterious, alluring boy. With his pale skin, dark eyes, and mesmerizing voice, Demitri is both irresistible and impenetrable. He warns her to stay away from his dangerous world of flesh eaters. Unfortunately, the gorgeous and playful Luka has other plans.

When Phoenix is caught between her physical and her emotion attraction, she becomes the keeper of a deadly secret that will rock the foundations of an ancient civilization living beneath Barinkoff Academy. Phoenix doesn't realize until it is too late that the closer she gets to both Demitri and Luka the more she is plunging them all into a centuries old feud.

What do you think about this book?

The summary?

The cover?

Review: Providence by Jamie McGuire

Title: Providence (Providence #1)

Author: Jamie McGuire
Series: Providence, #1

Release Date: November 20, 2010

Publisher: Self-Published by author
Format: Kindle Book
Source: Amazon

Add it: Goodreads 
Rating: 4/5

In the old world shadows of Providence, Rhode Island, Nina Grey finds herself the center of a war between Hell and Earth. Struggling with her father’s recent death, Nina meets Jared Ryel by chance…or so she believes. Although his stunning good looks and mysterious talents are a welcome distraction, it soon becomes clear that Jared knows more about Nina than even her friends at Brown University. When questions outnumber answers, Jared risks everything to keep the woman he was born to save—by sharing the secret he was sworn to protect. When her father’s former associates begin following her in the dark, Nina learns that her father is not the man she thought he was, but a thief who stole from demons. Searching for the truth behind her father’s death, Nina stumbles upon something she never expected—something Hell wants—and only she holds the key (summary via goodreads.com)

Providence is the first book in the Providence Trilogy by Jamie McGuire it's a great paranormal YA romance novel. Yes, the same Jamie McGuire that wrote the amazing book Beautiful Disaster. I will admit that I picked this book up just for that reason and didn't even both finding out what it was about. But I'm glad that I didn't know what this book was about because if I had the mysterious element would have been gone from the book.

Jared and Nina are two parts of a forbidden romance. Their not meant to be together, but they want to be. It wasn't easy for them, but they tried their hardest to stay together. And that's really all you can ask for, right? Jared and Nina's relationship was realistic and I felt like what was happening to them could possibly happen to me. Sure they had all of these insanely crazy things going around them, but I forgot all about those things when they were together. This book has some serious "aww" moments, so if you're a fan of those, you definitely won't be disappointed.

I'm only going to admit this one time.... I'm NOT a fan of paranormal books. I don't know what it is about them, but I can't ever get invested in the stories or characters. But that wasn't the case with this book. Sure there was a large portion of the book based on the paranormal, but it was evened out with the normal parts of the book. The thing I loved the most about this book wasn't the paranormal parts. It was the way the author could make the simplest things into the most memorable moments. There was this one scene where two characters played this game where they go back and forth saying slogans. It's such a simple concept, but it's what I remember two days after reading the book.

If you weren't convinced after reading Beautiful Disaster, then after reading Providence you will be convinced that Jamie McGuire is one a great up and coming author!

Review: Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

Title: Catching Jordan

Author: Miranda Kenneally
Series: Companion Series

Release Date: December 1, 2011

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Format: Kindle Book
Source: Amazon

Add it: Goodreads
Rating: 4/5

"Whoever said football and girls don't mix hasn't read Catching Jordan. I couldn't put it down " -- Simone Elkeles, New York Times bestselling author of the Perfect Chemistry series

ONE OF THE BOYS

What girl doesn't want to be surrounded by gorgeous jocks day in and day out? Jordan Woods isn't just surrounded by hot guys, though-she leads them as the captain and quarterback of her high school football team. They all see her as one of the guys and that's just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university.

But everything she's ever worked for is threatened when Ty Green moves to her school. Not only is he an amazing QB, but he's also amazingly hot. And for the first time, Jordan's feeling vulnerable. Can she keep her head in the game while her heart's on the line. (summary from goodreads.com)

Okay, I loved this book! I picked it up yesterday around lunch and didn't set it down until I had finished it that night. I bought this book on my kindle and was a bit hesitant because the price was lowered considerably from the last time I had looked at it. I didn't have very high expectations of this book, and I'm happy to say that I was wrong. This book is probably one of the best books I've read in a while. The writing just flowed off the pages, the characters seemed so effortlessly relatable, and the way football was incorporated into the storyline was amazing. 

Jordan Woods is probably my favorite female lead in a book since Anna in Anna and the French Kiss. Yeah, she was that great! Jordan was strong not only physically but emotionally. By that I mean she knows what she wants and she's going for it, but at the same time she knows when something just isn't for her. She had a great family that supported her, except for maybe her dad. Although I loved Jordan's character, my favorite part of this book hands down were the guys on her football team. Carter, JJ, and Henry aren't the only guys on the football team (obviously), but they did have the most impact on the story. They were Jordan's best friends, and acted exactly how high school guys actually act. I loved how that as soon as the new guy came to town they were really protective of Jordan because they didn't want her to lose her position. Then there was Ty. He was the new guy in town who just so happened to play the same position as Jordan. Ty was an okay character, but I didn't feel like his character really developed enough for me to like or dislike him. 

My favorite part of this book was that it wasn't about just one thing. It might seem like just another book about a girl discovering herself, but it's so much more. This book deals with family, first romances, friendship, and sports. The thing I loved the most about this book was that the characters believed in themselves and had amazing self confidence. The ONLY thing I didn't like about this book was the ending. The book was finally going the way I wanted it to and then it was just over. Don't get me wrong, it was a good ending. I just wish there was more to it. 

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a funny and inspiring YA book. There was romance in this book, but it wasn't overdone. Fans of Anna and the French Kiss will definitely like this book! 

What do you think?

Will you be giving this book a chance?

Feature & Follow Friday # 7

Feature & Follow Friday is a blog hop that expands your blog following by a joint effort between bloggers. 

This meme is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read.

Featured Bloggers this week:

Goldilox and the Three Weres

&

BookChowDown

Q: What would your prefer: reading your favorite book over and over again until you got sick of it OR reading 100s of mediocre books? And why?

A: I would definitely prefer reading my favorite book over and over again over 100s of mediocre books. There is a reason it's my favorite book. It's like why would I waste my time reading a book I don't want to read when my favorite book is just sitting on my book shelf. It's kind of like when people are dieting. They're not enjoying the food they are eating, but they  are still eating it. So rather then diet I would rather just eat my favorite foods. The diet food being the mediocre books and the good food being my favorite book. Does that make sense? It made sense in my head, but now I'm not so sure.

What do you think? Favorite book over and over again or 100s of mediocre books?

*Don't forget to follow this weeks featured bloggers and the hosts of feature and follow friday!!