Review: Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

Unspoken

Author: Sarah Rees Brennan

Release: September 11th 2012

Genre: Urban Fantasy, Magic, YA

#1 in the Lynburn Legacy trilogy

Sequels: Untold (#2), Unmade (#3)

Plot:

Kami Glass loves someone she’s never met . . . a boy she’s talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn’t silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood, and is thus a bit of an outsider in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn’t suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head.

But all that changes when the Lynburns return.

The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy away from the unknown—in fact, she’s determined to find answers for all the questions Sorry-in-the-Vale is suddenly posing. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him? Does she hate him? Can she trust him?

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Review: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Grave Mercy

Author: Robin LaFevers

Release: April 3rd 2012

Genre: Fantasy, Historical, YA

#1 in the His Fair Assassin trilogy

Companion novels: Dark Triumph, Mortal Heart 

Plot:

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

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Review: Between The Devil and The Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke

Between The Devil and The Deep Blue Sea

Author: April Genevieve Tucholke

Release: August 15th 2013

Genre: Horror, Paranormal, YA

#1 in the Between duology

Sequel: Between The Spark and The Burn (#2)

Plot:

You stop fearing the devil when you’re holding his hand…

Nothing much exciting rolls through Violet White’s sleepy, seaside town… until River West comes along. River rents the guest house behind Violet’s crumbling estate, and as eerie, grim things start to happen, Violet begins to wonder about the boy living in her backyard. 

Is River just a crooked-smiling liar with pretty eyes and a mysterious past? Or could he be something more?

Violet’s grandmother always warned her about the Devil, but she never said he could be a dark-haired boy who takes naps in the sun, who likes coffee, who kisses you in a cemetery... who makes you want to kiss back. 

Violet’s already so knee-deep in love, she can’t see straight. And that’s just how River likes it.

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Reading Habits TAG

Hello, friends! Today I was in the mood for a Tag again, so I went ahead and watched some Booktube videos and found this nice little Tag which basically screamed "DOOO MEEEEE." So, here I am.

Review: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

Author: Holly Black

Release: September 3rd 2013

Genre: Supernatural, Urban Fantasy, Vampires, YA

Plot:

Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown’s gates, you can never leave.

One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself.

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is a wholly original story of rage and revenge, of guilt and horror, and of love and loathing from bestselling and acclaimed author Holly Black.

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Review: In The After by Demitria Lunetta

In The After

Author: Demitria Lunetta

Release: June 25th 2014

Genre: Post-Apocalypse, Utopia, YA

#1 in the After series

Sequel: In The End (#2)

Plot:

They hear the most silent of footsteps.

They are faster than anything you've ever seen.

And They won't stop chasing you...until you are dead.

Amy is watching TV when it happens, when the world is attacked by Them. These vile creatures are rapidly devouring mankind. Most of the population is overtaken, but Amy manages to escape—and even rescue “Baby,” a toddler left behind in the chaos. Marooned in Amy’s house, the girls do everything they can to survive—and avoid Them at all costs.

After years of hiding, they are miraculously rescued and taken to New Hope, a colony of survivors living in a former government research compound. While at first the colony seems like a dream with plenty of food, safety, and shelter, New Hope slowly reveals that it is far from ideal. And Amy soon realizes that unless things change, she’ll lose Baby—and much more.

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Review: Mind Games by Kiersten White

Mind Games

Author: Kiersten White

Release: February 19th 2013

Genre: Paranormal, Science Fiction, YA

#1 in the Mind Games duology

Sequel: Perfect Lies (#2)

Plot:

Fia was born with flawless instincts. Her first impulse, her gut feeling, is always exactly right. Her sister, Annie, is blind to the world around her—except when her mind is gripped by strange visions of the future.

Trapped in a school that uses girls with extraordinary powers as tools for corporate espionage, Annie and Fia are forced to choose over and over between using their abilities in twisted, unthinkable ways…or risking each other’s lives by refusing to obey.

In a stunning departure from her New York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy, Kiersten White delivers a slick, edgy, heartstoppingly intense psychological thriller about two sisters determined to protect each other—no matter the cost.

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Review: The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

The Dream Thieves

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Release: September 17th 2013

Genre: Supernatural, Urban Fantasy, YA

#2 in the Raven Cycle 

Series: The Raven Boys (#1), Blue Lily, Lily Blue (#3), The Raven King (#4)

Plot:

The second installment in the all-new series from the masterful, #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater!

Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same. Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life. Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after...

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Review: The Elite by Kiera Cass

The Elite

Author: Kiera Cass

Release: April 23rd 2013

Genre: Dystopia, Romance, YA

#2 in the Selection series

Series: The Selection (#1), The One (#3), The Heir (#4), The Crown (#5)

Plot:

The hotly-anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestseller The Selection.

Thirty-five girls came to the palace to compete in the Selection. All but six have been sent home. And only one will get to marry Prince Maxon and be crowned princess of Illea.

America still isn’t sure where her heart lies. When she’s with Maxon, she’s swept up in their new and breathless romance, and can’t dream of being with anyone else. But whenever she sees Aspen standing guard around the palace, and is overcome with memories of the life they planned to share. With the group narrowed down to the Elite, the other girls are even more determined to win Maxon over—and time is running out for America to decide.

Just when America is sure she’s made her choice, a devastating loss makes her question everything again. And while she’s struggling to imagine her future, the violent rebels that are determined to overthrow the monarchy are growing stronger and their plans could destroy her chance at any kind of happy ending.

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Review: Rush by Eve Silver

Rush

Author: Eve Silver

Release: June 11th 2013

Genre: Science Fiction, Aliens, YA

#1 in The Game trilogy

Sequels: Push (#2), Crash (#3)

Plot:

So what’s the game now? This, or the life I used to know?

When Miki Jones is pulled from her life, pulled through time and space into some kind of game—her carefully controlled life spirals into chaos. In the game, she and a team of other teens are sent on missions to eliminate the Drau, terrifying and beautiful alien creatures. There are no practice runs, no training, and no way out. Miki has only the guidance of secretive but maddeningly attractive team leader Jackson Tate, who says the game isn’t really a game, that what Miki and her new teammates do now determines their survival, and the survival of every other person on this planet. She laughs. He doesn’t. And then the game takes a deadly and terrifying turn.

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Marry, Kiss, Cliff TAG

I told myself I wouldn't do this tag. Nope, I won't. But... I'm weak, so.. I'M DOING IT, OKAY. Don't judge me. Basically the gist of this is that I have a little bowl with pieces of paper, and on each of those is a name written of a fictional guy I really like and I have to draw three pieces of paper. And of each of those characters, I have to choose whom to push off a cliff, whom to marry and whom to kiss. Got it? Okay, here we go.

Review: Frigid by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Frigid

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Release: July 15th 2013

Genre: New Adult, Contemporary

Plot:

For twenty-one-year-old Sydney, being in love with Kyler isn't anything new. They'd been best friends ever since he pushed her down on the playground and she made him eat a mud pie. Somewhere over the years, she fell for him and fell hard. The big problem with that? Kyler puts the 'man' in man-whore. He's never stayed with a girl longer than a few nights, and with it being their last year in college, Syd doesn't want to risk their friendship by declaring her love. 

Kyler has always put Syd on a pedestal that was too high for him to reach. To him, she's perfect and she's everything. But the feelings he has for her, he's always hidden away or focused on any other female. After all, Kyler will always be the poor boy from the wrong side of tracks, and Syd will always be the one girl he can never have. 

But when they're stranded together at a posh ski resort due to a massive Nor'easter, there's nothing stopping their red-hot feelings for each other from coming to the surface. Can their friendship survive the attraction? Better yet, can they survive at all? Because as the snow falls, someone is stalking them, and this ski trip may be a life-changer in more ways than one.

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Review: The Essence by Kimberly Derting

The Essence

Author: Kimberly Derting

Release: January 1st 2013

Genre: Dystopia, Fantasy, Paranormal, YA

#2 in the Pledge trilogy

Series: The Pledge (#1), The Offering (#3)

Plot:

At the luminous conclusion of The Pledge, Charlaina defeated the tyrant Sabara and took her place as Queen of Ludania. But Charlie knows that Sabara has not disappeared: The evil queen’s Essence is fused to Charlie’s psyche, ready to arise at the first sign of weakness.

Charlie is not weak, but she’s being pushed to the brink. In addition to suppressing the ever-present influence of Sabara, she’s busy being queen—and battling a growing resistance determined to return Ludania to its discriminatory caste system. Charlie wants to be the same girl Max loves, who Brook trusts, but she’s Your Majesty now, and she feels torn in two.

As Charlie journeys to an annual summit to meet with leaders of nearby Queendoms—an event where her ability to understand all languages will be the utmost asset—she is faced with the ultimate betrayal. And the only person she can turn to for help is the evil soul residing within.

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Review: The Pledge by Kimberly Derting

The Pledge

Author: Kimberly Derting

Release: November 14th 2011

Genre: Dystopia, Fantasy, Paranormal, YA

#1 in the Pledge trilogy

Sequels: The Essence (#2), The Offering (#3)

Plot:

In the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. The smallest transgression, like looking a member of a higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always been able to understand the languages of all classes, and she's spent her life trying to hide her secret. The only place she can really be free is the drug-fueled underground clubs where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. It's there that she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy named Max who speaks a language she's never heard before . . . and her secret is almost exposed.

Charlie is intensely attracted to Max, even though she can't be sure where his real loyalties lie. As the emergency drills give way to real crisis and the violence escalates, it becomes clear that Charlie is the key to something much bigger: her country's only chance for freedom from the terrible power of a deadly regime.

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August Wrap-Up / September TBR

Whew. This last month was an absolutely terrible, terrible month in terms of reading for me. I know, I anticipated this, but still... I am shocked at how little I read. I mean, for the first quarter of the month I was too obsessed about Teen Wolf to read anything and the other 3/4 I was busy with school beginning, because next week I'm already starting my final exams for this semester and so it was very crammed and very much work. I'm excited for Year 11 though, so far, it's been lots and lots of fun!

Review: The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong

The Reckoning

Author: Kelley Armstrong

Release: April 6th 2010

Genre: Supernatural, Urban Fantasy, YA

#3 in the Darkest Powers trilogy

Series: The Summoning (#1), The Awakening (#2)

Plot:

Chloe Saunders is fifteen and would love to be normal. Unfortunately, Chloe happens to be a genetically engineered necromancer who can raise the dead without even trying. She and her equally gifted (or should that be 'cursed'?) friends are now running for their lives from the evil corporation that created them.

As if that's not enough, Chloe is struggling with her feelings for Simon, a sweet-tempered sorcerer, and his brother Derek, a not so sweet-tempered werewolf. And she has a horrible feeling she's leaning towards the werewolf...

Definitely not normal.

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Review: Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor

Lips Touch: Three Times

Author: Laini Taylor

Release: October 1st 2009

Genre: Fantasy, YA

Plot:

Three tales of supernatural love, each pivoting on a kiss that is no mere kiss, but an action with profound consequences for the kissers' souls:

Goblin Fruit

In Victorian times, goblin men had only to offer young girls sumptuous fruits to tempt them to sell their souls. But what does it take to tempt today's savvy girls?

Spicy Little Curses

A demon and the ambassador to Hell tussle over the soul of a beautiful English girl in India. Matters become complicated when she falls in love and decides to test her curse.

Hatchling

Six days before Esme's fourteenth birthday, her left eye turns from brown to blue. She little suspects what the change heralds, but her small safe life begins to unravel at once. What does the beautiful, fanged man want with her, and how is her fate connected to a mysterious race of demons?

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