Book Review: With All My Soul - Rachel Vincent

Published March 26th 2013 by Harlequin Teen

Goodreads Description

What does it mean when your school is voted the most dangerous in America? It's time to kick some hellion butt...

After not really surviving her junior year (does "undead" count as survival?), Kaylee Cavanaugh has vowed to take back her school from the hellions causing all the trouble. She's going to find a way to turn the incarnations of Avarice, Envy and Vanity against one another in order to protect her friends and finish this war, once and forever.

But then she meets Wrath and understands that she's closer to the edge than she's ever been. And when one more person close to her is taken, Kaylee realizes she can't save everyone she loves without risking everything she has....

Wow. I don't even know where to begin. The fact that this is the last book in the series makes me even more worried about getting this review right. Not to mention trying to keep it spoiler free. Well, here goes nothing:

After the shocking events that happened in the end of Before I Wake (Soul Screamers #6), we were filled with endless questions about the fate regarding our favourite characters, and as well as the big one: "How do you defeat something that can't be killed?"

With All My Soul answers most, if not all, of these questions. However, it is also the most heart-breaking one of the series. So you've been warned.

Kaylee and her friends have been through many tough battles. But the war isn't over for them. Not when there are many hellions out there wanting to take possession of your soul. After the loss of numerous lives, Kaylee has had enough; it is time to make the hellions pay for everything that they've done. Although hellions of the Netherworld are immortal, they do have a single weakness: the emotions for what they themselves represent. By the end, we've met:

• Avari, the hellion of greed
• Invidia, the hellion of envy
• Belphegore, the hellion of vanity
• And a new character, Ira, the hellion of wrath, who was just as intriguing

So, the master plan involves making the demons suffer from their symbols. Which is a lot easier said than done. And Kaylee and her friends risk everything in this last fight. Their homes, their friends, their families and their lives. 

Like with all of her books, Rachel did a fantastic job with her writing. It was smooth, action-packed and full of emotion. Her characters were plausible in terms of their actions and emotions and you couldn't help but feel the same if you were in their place. Each one of them has come a really long way and it makes me proud as a reader and a fan of this series to see how much they've grown since the first time that we met them. Even the characters I thought I hated, I became attached to them by the very end, which I definitely didn't see coming.

First off, I'd like to start with Nash. Out of all of the characters, I think he is the one who has suffered the most. Especially when his life began spiraling downwards after his addiction with frost. But here, the Nash that I loved, broke through once again, determined to protect those he loves. His unwavering courage and loyalty helped redeem him in my eyes. It was heart-wrenching when Nash found out the truth to his life, but it was beautiful at the same time. He saw things in a different light and because of it, he was more determined than ever to keep on living and making the best out of it.

I've always admired Kaylee for her passion, love and courage. And it didn't change here. She is someone who is willing to do whatever it takes to keep everyone she loves safe. And that aspect of her gets taken to the extreme in this book. By the end of it, she realizes that there's a way to win this battle. However, the consequences are mind-shattering. But even then, she knows it must be done and doesn't hesitate to do it, if it meant saving everyone. I didn't agree with all of her decisions in With All My Soul, but I have to say that she is braver than any other heroine that I've ever read.

And finally, my favourite character: Tod. When we first met him in My Soul to Take, he was a cheeky, kind of arrogant character who was too good looking for his own good. I never thought I would have loved him so much, but I do. Despite being a reaper, he was full of light. And he was so strong. Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. Whenever there were times that Kaylee felt that things were impossible, he was her anchor; Tod kept her spirit going. He loved her more than anyone else and the readers can feel that more than anything. In a heartbeat, he would sacrifice his life as many times as it would take, as long as the people that he loved could keep on living. His love is so beautiful that it was painful. My heart ached for him in Chapter 21, which was beyond anything I would have imagined. If Tod could die again, it would have killed him to let Kaylee go the way he did. But at the same time, he knew that it was what she wanted, so despite what he felt, he couldn't stop her.

I really enjoyed this book, though I have to admit that If I Die (Soul Screamers #5) is still my favourite of the series. But I shed a few tears by the end of the series because of the events that took place here. In all, I say that With All My Soul is a heart-wrenching, beautiful and perfect conclusion to the Soul Screamers series, a series that I was so fortune to have gotten the chance to read.

Source: Owned
My rating: 4 and a half coffee cups (Loved it)

Book Review: Throne of Glass - Sarah J. Maas

Published August 7th 2012 by Bloomsbury USA Children's

Goodreads Description

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 four 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.

I remember hearing a lot of hype over this book when it first came out last year. After skimming the hundredth book review about how amazing this book was, I decided to put it onto my to be read pile. I didn't get a chance to read it until last week, but I have to say that I definitely agreed on how good this book was!

From the summary, Throne of Glass reminded me a little of Hunger Games with the whole need-to-kill-your-enemies-or-be-killed-tournament. But there was a lot more going on than just the tournament:

Celaena Sardothien is the region's most famous and talented assassin. Taken in at the age of eight by the king of assassins, Celaena has committed many heavy crimes and when she was finally caught, she was taken to the salt mines of Endovier. She spent a year slaving away in prison, barely surviving each day when she was finally taken out and offered a chance at freedom from the crown prince.

The catch? Become his champion in a tournament to find the best assassin in the region. Celaena hates the idea of being a tool to anyone, but she realizes that this is her only chance at freedom, so she accepts the conditions that should she come out as the victor, she'd have to serve the king for an additional four years before being a free woman.

Disguised as another lady in prince Dorian's court, Celaena spends her days training and practicing with the captain of the guard, Chaol Westfall. However, as the tournament progresses, strange deaths occur after one another, all including the participants of the tournament and Celaena is forced to solve the mystery.

I have to admit, the part that drew me in wasn't quite the tournament itself, but rather the parts where she has to train with Chaol. Sad but true. There's just something so alluring and sexy about battle commanders... like Dimitri Belikov from Vampire Academy and damn, he is drop dead gorgeous.

Unlike Dorian's flirty, womanizing and gentlemanly ways, Chaol is almost his opposite with his stoic, loyalty and sense of duty. He is constantly aware that Celaena is a criminal who could kill him and the prince if he let down his guard. However, as he spends his days with her, he sees more of her gentler side and is reluctantly drawn to her. I really loved Chaol's character. He is just so dynamic. One moment, he'll be dragging Celaena away in shackles and chains with a cold and uncaring face, the next, he'll be blushing and tripping over his feet. I enjoyed reading about his conflicting thoughts about seeing Celaena as a criminal. He doesn't want to care for her, but he cannot help it

Dorian is the prince of Adarlan. With such a role, he is responsible for his people and is forced to entertain the nobles at the court. However, he hates court life, especially now that he's at the age where he could marry. Polite and warm hearted, Dorian is loved by his people. Wanting to prove his independence, Dorian is the one who offers Celaena the chance at freedom if she wins the tournament. Like Chaol, Dorian had very little intention of interacting with her more than needed, but over time, he sees that she is very different from the rest of the noble women. She is able to make him forget about his title, and make him laugh like no other noble can. And so, like Chaol, Dorian falls for her a little more throughout the story. However, unlike his childhood friend, Dorian is less subtle with his attempts to woo her.

Romance aside, I enjoyed reading about the mysteries surrounding the tournament, especially when the participants are being taken off one by one. And how none of the deaths were natural. At first, I didn't think that there would be supernatural aspects with this type of story, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that there was and it made up endless possibilities as to how Celaena would solve this mystery.

The writing was very smooth and easy to follow. When I first picked up the book, I was interested in the summary, but I didn't think that I would love it so much. Other than times I was forced to put the book down, I didn't want to because it was so suspenseful and I wanted to see if Chaol was able to convey his feelings. The ending wasn't much of a surprise because I kind of knew how it would end, but even then, there were some aspects that weren't predicted and I can't wait to see where Sarah J. Maas will take us with the next book in the series, Crown of Midnight, now that the stakes are even higher.

Source: Borrowed

Rating: 5 coffee cups (Loved it and couldn't put it down)

Book Review: Second Chance Summer - Morgan Matson

Published May 8 2012 by Simon and Schuster Publishing

Goodreads Description

Taylor Edwards’ family might not be the closest-knit—everyone is a little too busy and overscheduled—but for the most part, they get along just fine. Then Taylor’s dad gets devastating news, and her parents decide that the family will spend one last summer all together at their old lake house in the Pocono Mountains.

Crammed into a place much smaller and more rustic than they are used to, they begin to get to know each other again. And Taylor discovers that the people she thought she had left behind haven’t actually gone anywhere. Her former best friend is still around, as is her first boyfriend…and he’s much cuter at seventeen than he was at twelve.

As the summer progresses and the Edwards become more of a family, they’re more aware than ever that they’re battling a ticking clock. Sometimes, though, there is just enough time to get a second chance—with family, with friends, and with love.

Wow. I really loved this book. It's been a really long time since I've read something that moved me really deeply. I first heard of Morgan Matson when I picked up her debut book, Amy & Roger's Epic Detour, which I also really liked. So when she published this one, I had to read it.

Like the summary says, Taylor's family isn't the closest. Her older brother, Warren, was the smart child in the family. He knew everything from academics to random trivia stuff such as why and how certain things were invented. Taylor's younger sister, Gelsey, was talented in ballet, and liked to spend her summers at dance camp. As the middle child, Taylor didn't consider herself to be a genius in anything. Maybe except running away. Which she did whenever it got too hard for her to stand it. However, when the family received tragic news regarding 4th stage pancreatic cancer in Taylor's dad, they decide to spend one last summer together at the lake house.

Every summer for as long as Taylor could remember, they had spent their summer in the Pocono Mountains by the lake. However, it all stopped when Taylor was 12. After a whole misunderstanding between her ex-best friend, ex-boyfriend and herself, Taylor refused to return and it seemd like the whole family found excuses not to go back. But there was no stopping them this time around.

In a place where there's no where to run to, Taylor is forced to bear through situations where she would normally run from if she got the chance. This includes seeing her ex-best friend, Lucy, and her ex-boyfriend, Henry. And neither are happy about meeting her again.

Although Taylor's summer started out rockily, it became more and more tolerable as Taylor learns that she needed to stop running away, advice that was given by her father, whom she was closest to in the family. Slowly, friendships mended and her relationships with her family improved as she got to know them better. However, even though Taylor gets a second chance with her friends, family and maybe even love, she's aware of the time that is ticking away, taking away someone who she had never gotten a chance to know until this summer.

Honestly, in the beginning, I was frustrated with Taylor's lack of courage. Running away never solved anything and most of the time, it made it worse for her. But at the same time, it was Taylor's character flaw and it improved as the book progressed. While I liked seeing her relationship mend itself with Henry, Lucy and her family members, it was the time that she spent with her father that really moved me.

Robin Edwards was described as a large, strong man that seemed to always be present in Taylor's life. Whenever she ran away, he was the one who found her and instead of demanding to know why she took off, he would comfort her and wait until she was ready to talk about it. Unfortunately, as time passed, it was evident both to the reader and Taylor, that Robin Edwards was getting progressively weaker as the cancer took its toll. And Taylor knew that her chance to know her father was slipping away. Slowly, the two of them bonded over countless trivial questions (such as their favorite movies, colour etc.) and the time that they spent together. But the good times didn't last.

I started to tear up a little when Robin was bedridden, so weak that he was unable to remain awake for long periods of time. Seeing a get well card during a hospital visit makes Taylor realize that she had not said that she loved her father for many years. It took her some time to finally say it to him during a special moment for both of them. And there it was that I had to put the book down during my bus ride because it was so emotional that it was painful to keep my tears from escaping.

Morgan Matson did an amazing job with this one. I could experience each and every one of Taylor's emotions as though they were my own. Her words were beautifully, yet powerfully written and I found that I couldn't put this book down. It was a serious heartgripper and one that I'll remember when it comes to recommendations.

Source: Borrowed
My rating: 5 coffee cups (Loved it and couldn't put it down)

Book Review: Sing Me to Sleep - Angela Morrison

Published March 4 2010 by Razorbill

Goodreads description

THE TRANSFORMATION 
Beth has always been "The Beast",that's what everyone at school calls her because of her awkward height, facial scars, and thick glasses. Beth's only friend is geeky, golden-haired Scott. That is, until she's selected to be her choir's soprano soloist, and receives the makeover that will change her life forever. 
THE LOVE AFFAIR 
When Beth's choir travels to Switzerland, she meets Derek: pale, brooding, totally dreamy. Derek's untethered passion,for music, and for Beth, leaves her breathless. Because in Derek's eyes? She's not The Beast, she's The Beauty. 
THE IMPOSSIBLE CHOICE 
When Beth comes home, Scott, her best friend in the world, makes a confession that leaves her completely torn. Should she stand by sweet, steady Scott or follow the dangerous, intense new feelings she has for Derek? 
THE HEARTBREAK 
The closer Beth gets to Derek, the further away he seems. Then Beth discovers that Derek's been hiding a dark secret from her that could shatter everything.

Well, I read this one about a year ago, but I loved it so much that I wanted to reread it and finally do a review on this one. Although you're not supposed to "judge a book by its cover", I picked this one up in the library and thought that it looked cute, fluffy read, so why not? But wow, it certainly wasn't what I had been expecting.

Starting off, Beth is described as a "beast". Someone who looks so hideous that she is bullied mercilessly by the other students at her school. But one of the good things in her otherwise miserable life is the fact that she finds solace in singing with her emotions. In fact, she has joined an all girls' choir and when an opportunity came, Beth took it and rose as the choir's soloist. However, one of the choir girls' mother cannot allow such an ugly human being represent her daughter's choir in a music festival, so Beth is given a huge makeover. And from there, Beth's life changes.

After a surprising online conversation with the boys' choir from across the border, the two meet up in the same festival as competitors. Despite keeping her guard up after the harm caused by the guys in her life, she finds herself to be unable to turn away from Derek, who seems to be perfection personified. Surrounded in mystery with dark hair, chocolate brown eyes and pale pale skin. One of the best singers in the boys' choir and composer. And the fact that he claims that he fell in love with her voice and that she "sings [him] to sleep".

And just like that, in a matter of a few days, Derek becomes Beth's drug. Once the competition is over, the two of them swore to remain together, vowing to meet on both sides of the border. But what about Beth's geeky best friend, Scott? The one who had loved her before her "transformation" and continues to do so?

Despite her friendship with Scott, Beth still chooses the guy that she met at the festival. But as she gets to know him, there is more to his weird behavior than she initially thinks. And some of what he's hiding may make her regret her decision.

The writing was very smooth and intriguing to read. If school had not gotten in the way, I probably could have finished it in a sitting or two. I really loved the idea of the plot revolving around music even though I'm not very familiar with that type. It was also refreshing to read about a male singer who wasn't a rock star or anything similar.

The first time I read this book, I was highly skeptical of Derek and his motives for getting close to Beth. Did he like her for just her appearance or was he genuine when he admitted that he loved the beauty that he saw when Beth sang from within. Not to mention how he was surrounded in mystery and pushed her away when Beth came close to picking at the cracks. And his odd "drug" habit that one of his friends had revealed. Was he really a good guy?

However, regardless of Derek's occasional weird behavior, Beth loved him with every inch of her being and it soon became apparent that he returned her feelings. But when it became too much, Beth realizes that something is wrong and discovers the truth.

SPOILERS AHEAD

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There were occasional foreshadowing in the story that I caught in the second time through, but for the first read, Derek's actions were sometimes a little strange, but nothing out of the ordinary. And certainly, I wasn't expecting anything life threatening. So when it was revealed that Derek had been fighting his entire life to live with cystic fibrosis, it was a bit of a shock. For the most part, he had seemed fine when he really wasn't. Even though he suffered, he wanted to meet Beth after listening to her sing online. And he wanted to be someone who wasn't sick and dying because when he was with her, he almost believed it. It made him strong enough to live a little longer.

Admittedly, I bawled a lot in the end. Both the first and the second time. As soon as I realized that she was learning to truth, it got to the point where I stopped reading it on public transit because my eyes were watering when I read about him telling her that he was ready and that she needed to let him go. But the scene where Beth was singing (the song that he wrote for her) to him as he drifted away was tragically beautiful. No matter how much it hurt, Beth never regretted loving him.

Source: Borrowed
My Rating: 4 and a half coffee cups (Loved it)

Book Review: Vampire Academy - Richelle Mead

Published in August 16 2007 by Razorbill

Goodreads description

St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger...

Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever.

This review has been pretty long overdue considering I first read it over two years ago, but due to a lack of books in the house, I decided to re-read the whole series and give a review to one of my favorite series out there. The first time I picked up this book, I was rather skeptical because as the title implies, it is about vampires. So I guess you can't really blame me for going, "Another one?" with an added eye roll. But anyway, after some searching, I found that this series came highly recommended and that there was a character who had the same name that I had been obsessed with ever since I saw 20th Century Fox's Anastasia (1997). And that name was Dimitri. And according to some of the Vampire Academy reviews that I had read, he was a sexy traffic-stopping-hot badass Russian vampire-killer, who was also a major character. So, I decided: Why not? You can't really go wrong with "Dimitri" in there... And words cannot describe how glad I am that I did pick it up over two years ago because my life would have not been complete without this series.

So first off, something that's nice to know before everything else is the terminology, which Richelle Mead does a fantastic job bringing into the story. 

"Moroi" are living good vampires who usually wield magic in the form of one of the four elements: air, water, earth and fire. They are generally peaceful and live among humans (and yes, they drink blood from willing victims in exchange for the endorphins that are released when a vampire feeds). Moroi are usually pretty tall, slender and pale.

"Dhampirs" are half human, human Moroi. They have the best of both races, given human traits (that are able to withstand the sun), athleticism, and immunity to most diseases like the Moroi. Dhampirs generally train to become bodyguards (AKA "guardians") for the Moroi to defend them against the Strigoi (explained below). Most dhampirs (but not all) are somewhat tanned (from training outside) and normally shorter than their Moroi counterparts.

"Strigoi" are the undead evil vampires. They are not born but created. There are two ways to become Strigoi: 1) If you were originally a Moroi, you had to drain the blood of your victim or 2) Be forcibly turned by another Strigoi which requires them draining your blood and feeding theirs back to you. As undead creatures, they can be of any race (Moroi, Dhampir or Human) and if they were originally Moroi, they have lost their magic with this change of existence. They love to feed on Moroi and they kill for no reason, so Dhampirs are trained to kill Strigoi.

Anyway, moving onto the plot. Vampire Academy centers around a Dhampir named Rose Hathaway and her best friend, the Moroi princess, Lissa Dragomir, the last of the Dragomir clan. Due to prior events in the book, as Lissa's to-be-guardian, Rose took Lissa away from St. Vladimir's, the boarding school they were originally at, from unseen danger, but after two years on the run, they were finally caught by the school's officials and dragged back. As the one who organized their getaway, Rose is given two choices: 1) Be expelled from the school and forced to live elsewhere or 2) Take supplementary combat lessons from one of the school's guardians. So not really a choice if Rose wants to be Lissa's guardian when she graduates. Obviously, she picks the latter and then becomes Dimitri's student. And the fun begins.

 

Rose is a super kick ass character. She's strong willed, takes on challenges, throws witty comebacks and her loyalty to Lissa never falters. Everything she does is for Lissa's sake. As her guardian-to-be, Rose wouldn't hesitate to risk her life to save her friend's. Due to the reason that she missed the last two years of guardian training, Rose struggles to match her classmates, but with her determination and will power, she is able to with Dimitri's help. When things start to go wrong shortly after their return to St. Vladimir's, Rose does everything in her power to find out what's going on to protect her friend. Although she can be a little hard to relate to, Rose's motives are generally good and her personality is always fun to read about. With her big dark eyes and her dark brown hair that seems nearly black in dim lighting, Rose often refers to her appearance as looking like a "semi-exotic desert princess". If I could cast her by just appearance alone, I'd pick Odette Yustman. I originally pictured Nina Dobrev as Rose, but Nina seemed a little too sweet and nice.

Next up: the reason why I read this book... Dimitri Belikov. He is a 24 year old (7 years older than Rose) dhampir guardian, with a faint Russian accent, gorgeous expressive chocolate brown eyes and chin-length hair that he often ties into a ponytail. He is also 6'7 and lean, muscular and physically fit. Deemed a "god" by some of the guardian novices, Dimitri has killed a fairly large number of strigoi and is normally rather anti-social. When he isn't on the job, Dimitri loves listening to old country music as well as music from the 80's. Never seen without his cowboy duster, Dimitri is also often seen sprawling on the floor while reading western novels, which Rose rolls her eyes at. Although he is very strict and has a no-nonsense attitude, Dimitri is very patient towards Rose and doesn't mind her snarky commentary as long as she does well in her training. He was first introduced as someone who was very mysterious and brooding, but as the events in the book take place, he shows some of his less-intense sides of his character to Rose, which the latter starts to have mutual feelings for him. Dimitri is very dedicated to his job and given the temporary role of Lissa's guardian, he looks after both Rose and Lissa with a careful eye. Picking an actor based solely on appearance, I'd say Ben Barnes, though the only problem would be their difference in physique. But that aside, Ben Barnes definitely has the right facial look.

When I first picked up this book, I was rather doubtful that I'd like it due to the sudden vampire hype that was going around, but I found that I couldn't put the book down as I got further and further into it. Richelle Mead did a great job keeping me interested and I love the interaction between Rose and Dimitri. The super serious mentor and the reckless student who is trying to find her place in the world. It was nice to see that both of them allowed the other to change for the better. Dimitri was able to soften up a little while Rose was able to lose some of her flamboyant attitude and become more dedicated to her rose as Lissa's future guardian.

I enjoyed learning more about Richelle Mead's vampire world as it is quite different from the other vampire stories that I've heard of. There was quite a lot of suspense throughout the story to keep the reader guessing and intrigued to learn more. What I didn't like as much was some of the flashbacks in the story which made it hard to keep track of what happened when. Although they were informative, it was a little difficult to know when they ended and you had to pay attention to the wording to realize that it was over. But everything else was fantastic and I agree with the rest of the book blogosphere that this series is highly recommended.

Source: Owned (and signed/personalized by Richelle Mead!)
My Rating: 4 coffee cups (Enjoyed it immensely)

Book Review: Before I Wake - Rachel Vincent

Published June 26 2012 by Harlequin Teen

Goodreads Description: 

I died on a Thursday-killed by a monster intent on stealing my soul. The good news? He didn't get it. The bad news? Turns out not even death will get you out of high school...  Covering up her own murder was one thing, but faking life is much harder than Kaylee Cavanaugh expected. After weeks spent "recovering," she's back in school, fighting to stay visible to the human world, struggling to fit in with her friends and planning time alone with her new reaper boyfriend. But to earn her keep in the human world, Kaylee must reclaim stolen souls, and when her first assignment brings her face-to-face with an old foe, she knows the game has changed. Her immortal status won't keep her safe. And this time Kaylee isn't just gambling with her own life....

As the 6th book in the Soul Screamers series, I have been waiting not-so-patiently for its release since If I Die (Soul Screamers #5) came out last year. And the wait was definitely worth every second of this book. It was so filled with action and other goodness that I had to read it twice to absorb everything to the fullest extent.

For those who haven't read the previous book, it's a pretty big spoiler that our protagonist, Kaylee Cavanaugh, died but was brought back as an extractor, someone who had a similar skill set to that of reapers, but had a different job, which was to extract souls away from those who don't belong with them. But despite that, her actual status is that she is dead because her life ended at the hands of a succubus who was determined on stealing her soul. So anyway, Before I Wake tells the story of Kaylee's afterlife and the consequences that follow.

As mentioned in the description, pretending to be "alive" is a challenge that Kaylee is constantly at war with. Her heart no longer beats if she doesn't concentrate, as well as her breathing. Heck, just the will to be visible and audible to others is a chore. If Kaylee briefly slipped up, her visibility will fade from the physical plane and that would be a huge problem if she suddenly disappeared in the middle of class. But most of all, the nothingness that Kaylee feels when she is alone with her thoughts are unbearable. Because she is undead, she is facing eternity of the same routine over and over, with the exception of when she has to work as her role as an extractor. Everything that had an appeal in life was no longer relevant in Kaylee's afterlife. She couldn't sleep and she didn't even have to eat or drink. With being only a month dead, forever seemed like a long time. The monotony of it is overwhelming.

Luckily, she has an undead reaper boyfriend who had once been through and felt everything that Kaylee is going through. Tod is Kaylee's saviour in so many ways, though she has saved him countless of times as well. While nothing seems to matter to Kaylee anymore, the only time where she feels her heart beating is when she is with Tod. In a way, they're both anchors to each other because they enable the other to keep their humanity and the will to remain "living" as ironic as that is. Throughout the book, when everything seemed to be in black and white, Tod was the only one who was in colour. He loved her more than his afterlife, as proven in the last book, where he refused to reap her soul and thus lost his life (which Kaylee then bargained back when she was requested to be an extractor).


But anyway, moving onto the rest of the plot. Shortly after Kaylee decides to return to school, there was talk about a serial soul thief who was going around taking unauthorized souls and it was up to her to reclaim them. The first time around, it turned out to be a rogue reaper, one that she hoped she would never see again, but like her, he had managed to escape death again. And from there, things just got worse when the identity of the actual soul thief was revealed and the horrors that came with it.

I enjoyed reading about the healing that took place in this book. Mainly the forgiveness between Nash and Kaylee. Now recovering from his recent relapse of Frost addiction, Nash is starting to piece his life together again and growing as a character. I admired the way that instead of living his life in ignorance and bliss, he went to Kaylee to talk about the pain that he felt and from there, they reached a tentative agreement to remain as friends despite everything that had happened between them. However, that didn't mean that Nash forgave his undead brother that easily. Although it was a little frustrating at times to see the Hudson brothers at ends with each other, it was quite amusing in some instances as well (ex. the shirt scene at Nash's house). And when they settled their differences long enough to work towards a common goal, it was evident that they are a powerful team.

I also really liked the development of Kaylee's relationship with her dad. Knowing that he lost his daughter and couldn't save her, it had a huge impact on Aiden Cavanaugh. It hurt him every time Kaylee succumbed to depression over her state of not-being there. She had no will to live because nothing was relevant to her anymore. But as her father, he did all he could for her, even if it meant accepting her reaper boyfriend, who he initially disliked. That path wasn't the quickest, it was definitely heart warming for both Kaylee and the reader to see that he honestly did believe that they belonged together and that they could help each other withstand eternity.

This book's conflict was initially a little confusing because it involved so many characters and breached many of the original rules regarding the real world and the Netherworld, but after a second read, it made more sense. So far, this book definitely had the most death and each of them had their impact on Kaylee. However, one in particular made me tear up for a good 15 or so minutes, because I would have never expected this particular sweet character to not make it to the end of the series. And the emotions that Kaylee felt regarding this character's death hurt all the more because of the way that they died.

But even with this unexpected turn of events, I really love Tod for being there for her. I couldn't imagine a more solid anchor of support who was always present by her side. And his love for Kaylee strengthened her enough to carry on, swearing to turn her pain into a weapon that could be used against her enemies.

The ending of Before I Wake will leave readers gasping for more as another unexpected situation turns up, hardening Kaylee's resolve to strike back against those who have hurt everyone she had cared for. With only one more novel in the series, I am very excited and anxious to see how things will end up for Kaylee and her friends.

Some quotes that I liked:
-"Forever used to feel like a curse. Now it feels like a promise." (p. 65)

-"I signed on for the role of 'boyfriend', not 'conscience'." (p. 66)

-"Of course. 'A reaper is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous...'" He shrugged. "It gets boring after that. But this situation is clearly covered under the 'helpful' category." (p. 116)

-"Whenever you want. Death itself would wait for you..."(p. 164) 

-"You're not lost, (name omitted). You can't ever be lost, because I'll always know where you are. And if I'm not there with you, I'm on my way, and nothing standing between us will be standing for very long." (p. 269)

Source: Owned
My rating: 5 Coffee cups (Loved it and couldn't put it down)

Book Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs

Published June 7 2011 by Quirk Books

Goodreads Description

A mysterious island.

An abandoned orphanage.

A strange collection of very curious photographs.

It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

I've always been intrigued by the cover of this book. It just wasn't something that I saw everyday and it wasn't until that I actually picked it up to read it did I discover that the girl was actually floating in the picture. I had originally thought that it was just some sort of shadow behind her. Anyways, I read the summary inside the book jacket and was immediately taken in by the mysterious wording that promised a good suspense read and it was.

Originally, when I read the brief description mentioning "family tragedy" and "journeying to a remote island", somehow I pictured Jacob Portman being stranded there by a mechanical failure of a sort, but it wasn't like that. Instead, the book started off with Jacob listening to his grandpa tell incredibly unbelievable stories that left him hanging for each word. Some of them spoke of an invisible boy, whose clothes that he wore were the only aspect of him that were visible. Others included a boy who had bees living in his stomach and whenever he opened his mouth, they would fly out. Naturally, they were just stories, right? With his grandpa's age, it was even harder to believe those old stories. But when an unexpected event occurs, Jacob starts to question whether or not they were some form of truth.

By piecing together small hints that his grandpa gave, Jacob eventually ends up on the island in his grandpa's stories. And there, he discovers the ruins of the old children's home, where his grandpa had once stayed. At first glance, it seemed impossible that anyone could live there. And when Jacob asked around, it turned out that that very spot had been the location of a bomb during World War II and all its residents had perished. And yet, there was something about that home that called to Jacob, which leads him to meet the peculiar children, who had somehow escaped the disastrous event and were still living, nearly 70 years later... at the age that they were during that day.

The writing had me hooked right away. Everything was so suspenseful that I had to know more. What added to the book were the photographs that were a little terrifying, yet intriguing. They showed some of the peculiar children, who had very interesting talents, such as the ability to float, the talent of manipulating fire and various other skills. The way the photographs were taken were striking too. There was an air of mystery in them that made me anticipate what the next photograph would be like.

As awesome as the writing was, I did find some of the plot to be rather confusing and I was unable to keep up with what was going on exactly. For the characters, there wasn't a particular character that I felt attached to, since there wasn't a lot of detail for each of them, other than their peculiar abilities. And because of that, I bumped it down a few notches. Nevertheless, it was an interesting read and the photographs were definitely worth looking at.

Source: Borrowed

Rating: 4 coffee cups (Enjoyed it immensely)

Book Review: If I Die - Rachel Vincent

Published September 27 2011 by Harlequin

Goodreads Description

The entire school's talking about the gorgeous new math teacher, Mr. Beck. Everyone except Kaylee Cavanaugh. After all, Kaylee's no ordinary high-school junior. She's a banshee—she screams when someone dies.

But the next scream might be for Kaylee.

Yeah—it's a shock to her, too. So to distract herself, Kaylee's going to save every girl in school. Because that hot new teacher is really an incubus who feeds on the desire of unsuspecting students. The only girls immune to his lure are Kaylee and Sabine, her boyfriend's needy ex-girlfriend. Now the unlikely allies have to get rid of Mr. Beck…before he discovers they aren't quite human, either.

But Kaylee's borrowed lifeline is nearing its end. And those who care about her will do anything to save her life.

Anything.

Um, wow. Where do I begin? There's so much that I have to say about this book that I'm pretty overwhelmed at the responsibility of doing the book justice. But what I do know for sure is that: THIS BOOK FALLS UNDER THE CATEGORY OF DROP-EVERYTHING-ELSE-AND-READ-IT-ALREADY-BECAUSE-IT-IS-BLOODY-FANTASTIC!!!!! (see the five exclamation marks there? Just in case my point hasn't been received). It's been a really long time since I've read anything that was this good lately, so be prepared for a lengthy book review that goes over why this book deserves such a praise (and probably a lot of fangirling too).

Like the book's description, Kaylee and her friends don't get a break in their abnormal lives when their classmate, Danica, suddenly falls over, bleeding massively on the ground. It turns out that Danica had a miscarriage, one month into her pregnancy. But the question is, who was the father if it wasn't her boyfriend? Danica refuses to say, but Kaylee knows that something's wrong because Danica wasn't someone who would do something like that when she loved her boyfriend. Not to mention that Danica's insides were so messed up from the miscarriage that she wouldn't ever be able to have kids in the future. Something was definitely wrong here. To make matters worse, they find out that their new gorgeous math teacher isn't human; Mr. Beck is an incubus, a netherworld creature who feeds on desires and lust. Was it just a coincidence that he also happened to be Danica's teacher and was tutoring her when she had problems in math? After learning so much about the world that Kaylee lives in, she knows that there are no such things as coincidences.

But before Kaylee gets time to even digest the information that her teacher is an incubus, another bomb gets dropped on her. This time, it was the news of her upcoming death. That's right; Kaylee was going to die in six days. Her extended time was already up.

Instead of constantly grieving about her lost time, Kaylee decides to put everything right. And it's no small list. Not only did she have to find a way to prevent her dad from trying to exchange his life for hers, but she also had to keep her enamored best friend, Emma, away from this teacher, who is looking less and less innocent by the second.

Turns out that Mr. Beck, the incubus, is doing all he can to get himself a son, an heir incubus, because he's also running out of time. However, if the fetus does turn out to be male, they generally end up in a miscarriage or they kill the mother carrying them before they are born because of a human's inability to give birth to one. So, that means more than one poor girl out there is carrying a potential monster baby. And not all of them will make it. Some will die, while others will be so messed up from the miscarriage that they won't be able to ever have kids again, like Danica. So Kaylee has taken it upon herself to end Mr. Beck's extracurricular activities before her time ends.

I was really impressed with Kaylee's character in this book. Although she knew that she was going to die, Kaylee didn't fall into a state of denial. Instead, she accepted it calmly, because there was no way that she would be able to get a second extension. Despite her calm exterior, there was the occasional overwhelming feelings of panic and fear, but it was only expected of someone who only had a matter of days left to live. Kaylee also decided to do everything she could to make the her passing away safer and easier for everyone. And that included her boyfriend, Nash. She knew that there was one person out there who would be able to be there for him after she was six feet under and Kaylee accepted that fact.

Instead of leaving others to deal with the problem with the incubus, Kaylee was determined to end it before her death, so she could go peacefully, knowing that those she loved were safe. And so, she spent the last of her days plotting and researching anything that had to do with Mr. Beck.

Her relationship with her father tugged at my heart. I really felt the pain that they went through at the news of Kaylee's death. Aiden Cavanaugh finally had his daughter back after thirteen years of absence, only to lose her not six months from their reunion. He had already lost her once and couldn't bear the thought of losing her again. And so, Kaylee's father does all that he could, even begging the reapers to take his life instead of his daughter's.

Another character that shone in this book was of course, everyone's favorite not-so-dead reaper, Tod Hudson. Although they were not supposed to deliver news of one's impending death to the receiver, he did so because Kaylee was someone that he cared deeply for. And it hurt him that there wasn't anything that he could do. There were no second extensions.

Tod has been wrestling with his humanity throughout the series because after being death for more than two years, it was starting to slip away from him, leaving him numb and unfeeling. Normally, it was difficult for Kaylee to read Tod's emotions because he refuses to let anyone see them, but in this book, Tod feels so much that even he isn't able to control them. And some of his feelings start to show themselves to Kaylee.

But what really captured my heart was the fact that he was always there for Kaylee when she needed him. He knew that despite Kaylee's cool and calm exterior, she was terrified about dying. And he would support her in whatever she did, no matter how crazy or dangerous it seemed. There was a major part in the book where Tod did something so unbelievably heroic that it blew my mind away. He knew the risks that he was taking, but he took them anyway, for the sake of the girl that he loved. And for that, Kaylee was finally able to really see him.

The book was really fast paced and despite it being a re-read for me, I couldn't put it down at all. Each page had me craving for more. It was just that unbelievably amazing. Not to mention loving everything that happened in book that had to do something with the goodness that is Tod. It was about time that he got the spotlight and I was ecstatic with the result because he deserved every second of it.

Rachel Vincent did an OUTSTANDING job with this one and I loved reading every word. I am so so happy that I got a chance to read this really amazing series because I would have totally been missing out if I didn't. Now, I'm waiting anxiously for the next one, Before I Wake, because not only am I positive that it will be mind-blowing-fantastic, but also because I love her characters enough to want to know what will happen to them.

Some of my favorite quotes:
-"You just say the word, and I'll make the rest of the world go away. I'll take you someplace safe, where no one else can reach us." (page 140)

-"There's a good kind of crazy..... It's the kind that makes you think about things that make your head hurt, because not thinking about them is the coward's way out. The kind that makes you touch people who bruise your soul, just because they need to be touched. This is the kind of crazy that lets you stare out into the darkness and rage at eternity, while it stares back at you, ready to swallow you whole." (page 244)

-"... I would do anything for the girl who granted my dying wish." (page 280)

Source: Owned

My rating:  5 Coffee cups (Loved it and couldn't put it down... if I gave off the scale ratings, I definitely would for this one!)

Book Review: My Soul to Steal - Rachel Vincent

 Published on January 4th 2011 by Harlequin

Goodreads Description:

Trying to work things out with Nash—her maybe boyfriend—is hard enough for Kaylee Cavanaugh. She can't just pretend nothing happened. But "complicated" doesn't even begin to describe their relationship when his ex-girlfriend transfers to their school, determined to take Nash back.

See, Sabine isn't just an ordinary girl. She's a mara, the living personification of a nightmare. She can read people's fears—and craft them into nightmares while her victims sleep. Feeding from human fear is how she survives.

And Sabine isn't above scaring Kaylee and the entire school to death to get whatever—and whoever—she wants.

When I read this book for the second time, I noticed a lot of things that I didn't realize the first time around. I guess it's because the first time through, I had been more focused on the plot rather than everything else, so I'm pleased to get the chance to see everything in a bigger perspective.

It started off pretty fast and I couldn't say where there was a time that I found that the pacing was slow. I'm starting to find that as the series progresses, the faster the action. Anyway, onto the review:

The main conflict of this book is between the constant war between Kaylee, and a new character, Sabine Campbell. When she first arrives, she was so happy to see Nash that it rang some bells in my mind. Especially their reactions to each other upon their reunion. There was no way that they were just friends. To Kaylee's horror, Sabine was Nash's ex-girlfriend, but technically, as Tod put it, "they never did" break up. So where does that put Kaylee? Especially when she wasn't so sure about her relationship with Nash considering what had happened between them in the last book. To make matters worse, Kaylee lost a major advantage to what she would have had over Nash's ex. Sabine wasn't human either. In fact, she was the living personification of a nightmare.

And indeed, she has the abilities to give nightmares to anyone she wishes. So any guesses to who Sabine directs most of them at? If you guessed Nash's current girlfriend, then pat yourself on the back. But like the true heroine that Kaylee is, she refuses to give Nash up. The harder Sabine pulls, the more determined Kaylee is to keep Nash at her side. How does the guy feel about this? Well, let's just say that he's at a loss between the two girls. After a major descent from the top of the social ladder, Nash is left with very few friends, with Sabine quickly promoted to the "best friend" position. However, his current girlfriend doesn't like that fact. So what's a guy to do? He can either keep one of them or lose them both.

I have to admit that the set of characters in this book annoyed me most when I compare them to the other books in the series. If you read Rachel Vincent's Niederwald or Fearless, you would have already had the chance to meet Sabine Campbell. Back then, I sympathized for her character, after everything that she has gone through. In some ways, Kaylee seems to have it good. She has a family who cares for her, a best friend that she can always depend on and a pretty good life in general. On the other hand, Sabine doesn't have a permanent family because she unintentionally scares them to the point that she can't stay with a family for too long. However, despite those reasons, it still irritated me whenever Sabine came into the picture. It's something about her in-your-face type of personality and the way she talks that makes me grit my teeth.

As for Kaylee, I can see why she refuses to lose to someone like Sabine, but on the second read, I started to feel that she was a little over the top with her stubborness. Yes, she had something strong and special with Nash, but after the incident in the previous book, that bond became fragile. Almost to the point that it would break with the smallest amount of applied pressure. Despite being told that over and over, Kaylee refused to give Nash up. Even when it was pointed out that perhaps Nash wasn't the best thing for her, Kaylee snapped at her friends and was hurt by their betrayal. Not to mention, quickly jumping to conclusions that Sabine, the mara, was dangerous and a potential threat to them all. In normal circumstances (like if Nash's ex-girlfriend was determined to take the "ex" part out of the equation), Kaylee would have thought things through a little more, such as getting as much information as she could get and talking it out with others instead of pointing fingers. But unfortunately, her extreme dislike for Sabine made her skip all of that and become reckless.

Nash in this book didn't win any favors from me either. Personally, I thought that he was rather useless throughout this book since he couldn't decide what to do regarding the love-triangle that he was in. But I guess that I would also have to cut him some slack after all he has been through. Again and again, he made several promises to Kaylee, only to break them in the end. And as a result of that, Kaylee was provoked mercilessly by Sabine on several occasions. He wants to strengthen his bond with his girlfriend, but I just thought that he needed to get back to the Nash that we met in the first book. Which seems like an impossible feat as of the moment.

And Tod? The not-so-dead reaper? There were a lot of hints about him that I didn't see on the first read, so I'm delighted to be able to catch each one on the second time through. The oh-so-subtle hints regarding his character made me love him even more. He truly cares for his friends and family and tries to do the right thing, even if it meant being hurt in the process. His selflessness only adds to his character. Whenever Kaylee is in need of a friend who knew everything that had gone on, Tod was the perfect person. So yes, Tod has deserved his time in the spotlight.

In general, I liked this book well enough. The conflict between Kaylee and Sabine could be a little long after a while, but it really did give me a bigger look into both of their characters. That they both have darker sides to them. The characters in general grew a lot since the last book. Probably due to the fact that they went through hell to survive until now. The relationships between the characters was probably the most important aspect of this book as we learn a lot from reading their reactions towards one another. Rachel Vincent has done an amazing job (like always) to make anyone really passionate about her characters. To give a damn about what happens to each of them and feeling their emotions as if they were our own.

As an ending note, I have to say that I really really can't wait to read the next one, as it is my favorite book out of the whole series.

Source: Owned
My Rating:  4 and a half coffee cups (Loved it)

Book Review: The Summoning - Kelley Armstrong

Published July 1 2008 by Harper Collins

Book description:

My name is Chloe Saunders and my life will never be the same again. All I wanted was to make friends, meet boys, and keep on being ordinary. I don’t even know what that means anymore. It all started the day I saw my first ghost — and the ghost saw me.

Now there are ghosts everywhere and they won’t leave me alone. To top it all off, I somehow got myself locked up in Lyle House, a “special home” for troubled teens. Yet the home isn’t what it seems. Don’t tell anyone, but I think there may be more to my housemates than meets the eye. The question is, which side are they on? It’s up to me to figure out the dangerous secrets behind Lyle House . . . before its skeletons come back to haunt me.

Well, it's been a long time since I've actually read this book from the beginning to the end. Usually I would read only my favorite parts, but due to forbidding myself from going to the library until my exams end, I have nothing else to read but those from my personal bookshelf. So why not choose my favorite YA series? Besides, I loved this series so much and I've read it a lot, so I decided that it definitely deserved a review from me, especially since this book isn't that well known in the YA fiction section. There was also the excuse that I could definitely refresh myself with the characters since I get the feeling that they're starting to go out of character in my fanfics, but again that's just an excuse. Simply put, I just wanted a reason to re-read it, since it's just that good.

I can't say that this review will be non-spoilery, since there's just so much information, but I'll give it a shot.

The book starts off with our narrator and protagonist, Chloe, dreaming of an event that had possibly happened in the past, which concerned a toddler, a dark basement and "boogeymen". But that's just a dream, right? Because boogeymen don't exist. Well, we'll find out soon enough.

The girl who has a normal life so far suddenly wakes up one day to discover that she sees ghosts everywhere. Some who are just passing through while others are chasing after her, demanding to talk to her. Of course, that's a sign of a mental breakdown and as her luck would have it, Chloe gets sent to a Lyle House, a group home for disturbed teens, under the diagnosis of schizophrenia. To make things worse, there's a ghost at that house who would also like to talk to her. But does he actually exist? Or is he just a figment of her imagination? Soon Chloe realizes that there's a lot more that's going on around her and that she has to uncover the truth to get out of it.

When I read that it was about a necromancer, I was a little surprised since not a lot of female protagonists were necromancers, so that piqued my curiosity. Not to mention the whole "mysterious group home" aspect. And why did Chloe's powers suddenly decide to manifest? Lots of good questions. Even though it wasn't the fastest-paced book that I've read, it was quite fast. Enough that I couldn't put it down. Not to mention all the suspense that kept nagging at you to find out what happens. When I first read it, I recall reading into the very late night, or the very early morning and thinking once the book was over, I had to get the second one ASAP. And I did. The very next day to be exact.

The plot itself was very suspenseful. There were so many questions that I wanted to find the answers to. Why was the ghost at the group home so insistent on talking to her? What was up with all the weird residents? Especially Derek, the creepy (or so I thought in the first place) guy who threw the word, "necromancer", at her face? Obviously, ghosts weren't real, so he's just mental, right? When her friend Liz was transferred, why couldn't Chloe talk to her? Time passed so quickly without me realizing it because I was just that absorbed into the book.

I loved the characters that Kelley introduced in this series. Chloe is a girl who dreams of having a normal life but never realized that she already had one. Losing her mom at the age of 5, being the rich kid who was in the drama stream but didn't want to be an actor. Moving from school to school, always being the new kid. At the very least, it's more normal than being diagnosed as schizophrenic and being thrown into a group home, with no sight of release. What really made me love Chloe was the fact that despite being a sheltered art student, she wasn't afraid of taking crap and dishing it right back. Instead of waiting and praying for rescue, she takes matters into her own hands and questions every suspicious event that comes her away. Not to mention standing up against a really tall, intimidating and rude guy and refusing to back down. If I had to cast her, I'd probably pick AnnaSophia Robb (from Bridge to Terabithia look..but with more of a hint of red in her hair). Cute, short and looks young for her age:

Another honorable mention would be Simon Bae who is half-swedish and half-korean with dark blond messy hair that is spiked. He's a very cute and charming guy and is typically the sort of guy that a girl would have a crush on, because he's the type of guy who looks after you and always makes sure to include you in whatever he's doing. Which is not surprising when Chloe does take a liking to him and vice-versa. When I picture Simon, I like to think of him as Kim Bum (yes, the one from Boys Over Flowers, but his character is super smooth and he's really good at being a player). He's a little old to play the part, but if he was younger, then he would be perfect... just add the dark blond hair.

Don't forget Victoria (Tori) Enright, the typical mean girl. At Lyle House, she's super possessive of Simon despite his disinterest and holds that against Chloe. The two of them get off to a rocky relationship and it doesn't really improve by the end of this book when she goes for a dangerous tactic that could have seriously injured Chloe. I don't really have an actress planned for her, but she is tall (about 5'6), slender and has cropped short dark hair.

Last but not least, Derek Souza. Ah Derek. There's so much that I can say about this character. Well, let's start off with a description. His actual height is never revealed, but it's definitely six-something feet. His shoulders are as wide as a doorway and even though his build is a big as an adult's, he couldn't be mistaken as one. And upon meeting him for the first time, Chloe even thought, "His face could be used as the 'before' picture for acne cream." Truth to be told, I was definitely surprised and even almost a little relieved, believe it or not. Because apparently in YA fiction, the guy is always "drop dead gorgeous" with angelic blond curls and the bluest eyes ever. Either that or eyes that screamed "mysterious! Must. Uncover. His. Secrets" at you. Sure, it gives you something to swoon about, but really, after the tenth novel or so with a similar description, I have to say that it gets rather tiring and unoriginal after a while. So Derek made me pause, blink and go, "Wait. What?" then re-read the passage to make sure that I had read that correctly.

But yes, there's a lot more to his appearance as well. For a large majority of the book, Chloe (and probably by associate, the reader as well) thought of him as a creeper and a jerk. It doesn't help that he's rude and intimidating as heck. Derek would quietly walk up behind her and say something that will cause her to jump like a foot into the air. Not to mention the whole throwing-the-word-"necromancer"-in-your-face thing. Even though Chloe was having difficulty accepting that she was schizo, it definitely didn't help that Derek practically forced her to admit that she was seeing ghosts and as a result, she was a necromancer. Which leads to the conclusion that there's a whole supernatural world out there and that Derek must be a supernatural as well. Funny, so is Simon. Click click click. Those are the sounds of pieces coming together to help Chloe realize that there's something severely wrong with Lyle House if 3 supernaturals were grouped together all at once like that. So maybe there should be some re-evaluation on Derek's character. After all, he did kind of help her discover the truth about herself. But still, it'd also be nice to know what kind of supernatural being he was. And it isn't until the near end do we find out. And by the end, his character was just that intriguing, complex and awesome that I liked him way better than Simon, who (I personally think so anyway) isn't that interesting. I don't have an actor in mind for him because he's just that awesome and no one can match that greatness.

I've said this before, but I really did find this the be a great read. When I first picked it up, I was a little wary of paranormal books due to a certain series that has been a little overrated and crazy. Not gonna point any fingers... *ahem*. But I was glad that I did, because it's definitely one of my favorite YA series and made me love reading all the more.

And I was able to meet this really amazing awesome author, who signed all of my books!! THANK YOU!!

Because her books are just that amazing, the publishing company is cool enough to put up the first 10 chapters of the book for free: Harper Teen: The Summoning Preview

Source: Owned (duh)
Rating: 4 and half coffee cups (Loved it)

Book Review: Shatter Me - Tahereh Mafi

Published November 15 2011 by Harper Collins

Goodreads Description:

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

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

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

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

In this electrifying debut, Tahereh Mafi presents a world as riveting as The Hunger Games and a superhero story as thrilling as The X-Men. Full of pulse-pounding romance, intoxicating villainy, and high-stakes choices, Shatter Me is a fresh and original dystopian novel—with a paranormal twist—that will leave readers anxiously awaiting its sequel.

When this book first came out, there was a huge hype for it. Every book blog that I visited had something amongst the lines of: "Oh my god! Shatter Me was freaking AMAZING! Y U NO READ?" After what seemed to be like the 100th post with glowing reviews about this book, I figured that I should probably pick it up and see what the fuss was about. However, the wait for my turn in Holds list at my local library took forever longer than I would have liked, so I didn't get a chance to read it until today. And wow. It's been a really long time since I last read something so good that I wanted to stop everything else and just read it. Unfortunately, I had school, so that wasn't possible. So to my unending agony, I had to make do with reading while on public transit and in between classes. That ruined the effect of the book a little, but nevertheless, I still loved it and finished it within half a day (and regrettably but unavoidable several sittings).

Upon hearing about this book for the first time, I was intrigued by her mysterious power to kill with her bare hands just by skin contact. I originally thought that she reminded me of Rogue (from X-Men... yes, I'm a geek 8D) and I was pleased to see that I wasn't wrong there. Like Rogue, Juliette Ferrars (I keep thinking Ferrari... ) has the ability to absorb someone's life force and feed off it. However, if they hold on to the other person for too long, it could kill the unfortunate soul. Which does happen to Juliette, explaining why she ended up at an asylum. Unlike Rogue, Juliette doesn't absorb the talents or abilities of others (so far in the series, anyway).

As stated in the summary, Juliette hasn't had contact with anyone for 264 days. Not even with her jailers. She is isolated alone in her own cell until one day, they bring in Adam, a boy with striking blue eyes that remind her of someone that she used to know. However, even with a jail mate, Juliette is hesitant with being near him because she initially thought that he was also insane, but we find out that he's quite normal and the two strike up a tentative friendship. Despite Adam's normalcy, it makes you wonder what he did exactly to end up in a place where people lose their minds and the endless screams that fill the night. Soon enough, we find out.

Shatter Me takes place in a dystopian world, where poverty consumes most of the world that Juliette grew up in. Anyone who was different was an outcast, and with her odd abilities, she was definitely considered one. Even her family was terrified of her. No one cared for her except for one boy. And that boy has a huge impact on Juliette's decisions  in the present.

Like I said earlier, I really enjoyed this book and I fell in love with the writing right off the bat. Juliette's initial behavior was odd enough that somehow it drew you in and made you want to keep reading. Tahereh Mafi had a marvelous way of describing the detail in this book and I enjoyed the characters that she created. I could say that Juliette was definitely a brave heroine. She had faced so many terrible events in her life, but somehow, she is still able to find a way to live. Even when she was thrown into a life of misery and isolation, Juliette was still able to keep her mind intact and her spirit. When she was taken out of that life and thrown into another, Juliette resisted the tempting offers that were thrown at her because she refused to be used like a weapon to torture others. Although she wasn't the easiest character to relate to, I could still feel pain that she endured during her hardships after her life in the asylum. And that took a great amount of courage.

And Adam? He has faced his equal share of hardships. Should he be ruled by his emotions or should he follow his duties? To my surprise, he didn't have as much difficulty as I had expected of him. Adam's super caring and very very sweet. Not to mention the amazingly beautiful blue eyes that Juliette has mentioned on more than one occasion. In other words, the perfect love interest.

However, as much as I liked Adam, I couldn't help but have a spark of curiosity for Warner, the book's apparent antagonist. He is the young general that rules a sector of The Reestablishment. Not only is Warner's first name not revealed, but he has no shortages of mystery behind him. Despite his young age (19 in fact), he has spilled a fair amount of blood. Cunning, possessive and cruel, Warner doesn't hesitate to use his men like pawns in a chess game. He would use them on suicide missions, knowing clearly the end result. But he does it to show the influence he has over his sector. In my opinion, he was pretty much a psychopath, but it was oddly intriguing to read about him. He had this sexy, dark, mysterious air about him that made you want to know more about him, despite everything that he had done.


The only part that I didn't enjoy as much as the other parts of the book was in the last quarter. While I had expected tragedy, it somehow turned into a perfect world for Juliette, Adam and the rest of their group. To make it even more unbelievable was the fact that Juliette discovered that she wasn't alone. As a result, I knocked off a few points from a perfect 5. But yes, like everyone else, I would definitely recommend to read it.

Source: Borrowed
My Rating: 4 and a half coffee cups (Loved it)

Book Review: My Soul to Keep - Rachel Vincent

Published on June 1st 2010 by Harlequin

Goodreads Description:

Kaylee has one addiction: her very hot, very popular boyfriend, Nash. A banshee like Kaylee, Nash understands her like no one else. Nothing can come between them.Until something does.Demon breath. No, not the toothpaste-challenged kind. The Netherworld kind. The kind that really can kill you. Somehow the super-addictive substance has made its way to the human world. But how? Kaylee and Nash have to cut off the source and protect their friends—one of whom is already hooked.And so is someone else…

Like with the rest of the books in the series, it's been a little over a year since I last read this one. But despite that fact, the emotion that I felt with the book haven't changed in the slightest.

It starts off pretty normal; Kaylee, Nash and Emma are at a party hosted by one of Nash's jock friends. But a few pages later, all of that innocence changes because Kaylee discovers that one of their friends was taking Demon Breath, a dangerous, addictive substance that originated in the Netherworld from a hellion, which could result in the loss of the taker's sanity. As horrifying as it is, Kaylee decides to step in once again to put a stop to this.

However, it's not as easy as it seems, because they also have to find out who's selling Demon Breath (AKA "frost" as they call it), what demon it came from and how it crossed over into their world. To make matters worse, the popularity of Demon Breath is quickly spreading throughout the teen population and is becoming an epidemic crisis. And to add to their trouble, Kaylee has to keep all of this away from her father's ears or else he would put an end to his daughter's involvement.

I can say that definitely, this is one of my favorites in the series, since the theme suddenly got a lot darker than the previous two books. The deaths and a huge character plot revealed made my heart ache for everything that Kaylee had to go through. Life for her used to be a lot simpler than it was now, but she can't go back to the way it was. And it's certainly not like she could just turn a blind eye on everything that's happening, especially when it's this close to home, endangering everyone that she knows.

Kaylee never fails to impress me with her courage and intelligence, and in MStK, there's no exception. This is probably why I love her so much as a character. Sure, she does have a few insecurities and weaknesses, but it only makes her character realistic and easier to relate to. Kaylee is not afraid of backing down no matter what the circumstances are and I admire that aspect of her. As for Nash, I have to admit that even though I knew what was going to happen, I couldn't help but be annoyed and frustrated with Nash throughout the book. It wasn't until more than halfway through was the reason revealed for his actions. Lastly, Tod... oh my reaper. Although I hated the fact that he was absent for the first half of the book, his screen time in the second half made up for it. While Nash was away, Tod was there as a beam of support for Kaylee. He helped her when she needed it and stood by her, supporting her all the way. And when we found out what he was doing during his absence in the first half? All the love for Tod. I think it was here (when I first read this) that I fell in love with Tod's character. Especially what he did in the end for Kaylee.

Once again, Rachel Vincent did an AMAZING job with this book. If you haven't read the series (and is a YA paranormal fan), I would highly recommend that you do.

Source: Borrowed
My Rating:  4 and a half coffee cups (Loved it)

Book Review: Anna Dressed in Blood - Kendare Blake

Published August 30, 2011 by Tor Teen

Goodreads Description:

"Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story. . .

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

And she, for whatever reason, spares his life."

Ever since the release (and even before it), I've heard/read from many blogs out there that this was an amazing read with a plot that was bound to keep you glued to the book. Well, luckily, after waiting for what seemed like forever, I finally got my hands on a copy on this book. And I must say that what is being said about this book is definitely true.

Though I'm not a horror-genre fan, I do enjoy the aspects of a suspenseful thriller. Anna Dressed in Blood didn't quite fulfill my expectations of the genre, but I still must say that it was a very interesting read.

The story starts out with Thesus Cassio Lowood (AKA "Cas"), our hero, on a trip to hunt down a hitchhiker, but soon enough, we learn that this hitchhiker is no average wayfarer. In fact, this person is already dead. However, after dying a tragic death, the hitchhiker's ghost makes it his mission to murder everyone in the same manner that he died in. As a result, Cas, the so-called "ghost buster" comes in and kills the ghost.

It wasn't thoroughly explained in the book, but Cas' bloodline contains a rare ability to see and kill the dead. And after having lost his father to one, Cas has sworn to get even and is training in every possible way to take down his father's killer. In the meantime, as ironic as it sounds, he kills the dead for a living.

When I first read the summary of the book, I was really excited to learn about Anna, the vengeful ghost who haunts her house and forbids anyone to leave alive, with the exception of Cas. Why was she different compared to the other ghosts that Cas had hunted? What made her unable to move on? So many questions, which piqued my curiosity and made me pick up the book. Well, that and the hundred or so reviews putting a good word for this book. What I enjoyed most about this book was the fact that those who died a gruesome death came back to take more victims in the same manner that they kicked off. As wrong as it sounds, I found it to be a very interesting plot.

While there wasn't a whole lot of character development, I did enjoy seeing Cas make some friends instead of being the loner that he was. Since he was always on the move, he didn't think it was important to make connections with others, other than getting the information about the ghosts that he needed to know. It was also nice to see him get his butt kicked around by Anna, to show that he still had a long way to go before tackling the one who killed his dad.

I found the book to be pretty unpredictable as I had previously guessed that Cas would spend the entire book trying to figure out what to do with Anna, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that I was wrong. There was a lot more that went on and gave the book more depth.

Source: Borrowed
My rating: 4 Coffee Cups (Enjoyed it immensely)