Devouring Books

A story for middle school kids so adventurous that it can be compared to Harry Potter. That's right, I said Harry Potter. I couldn't help but be reminded of that amazing series while reading this book. There were three kids on a quest to save the world, two guys and a girl. The girl was highly logical, the main character a hero and his male friend. Sound familiar? Now, don't get me wrong, in no way am I implying that this book lacks an original storyline. I mean it is based off of Greek mythology, but it isn't what I would classify as a retelling. Oh yes, you heard me right, it incorporates Greek mythology, I LOVE GREEK MYTHOLOGY!

Rick Riordan is really excellent at world building, he has incorporated Greek mythology into the modern day world, which I didn't think was possible. He also doesn't assume that you know all of the Greek myths and fills you in whenever he mentions one. He keeps the pace fast and the story light. I can tell that this is another series I will love.

I just wish that I read it when I was a little younger. WHY AM I JUST HEARING ABOUT THIS BOOK NOW? Seriously though, it's like 9 years old, where have I been?

My only fear continuing on is that the following books will not be as good. That is typically the rule with a series, the only exception is, of course, Harry Potter.

Reading Get Happy actually made me extremely happy. I have never laughed so much reading a book in my life. It was so lighthearted and hilarious. Mary Amato wrote a story that captures what it is like to be a teenager, without making the main character unlikeable. Actually, I loved Minerva. She is honest, funny, sarcastic and insecure. She reminded me so much of myself when I was a teenager.

I was shocked at how good this book was. It wasn't exactly the storyline, but it was the writing that really made this book phenomenal. This book really cheered me up and I wish I could personally thank Mary Amato for that. I'm disappointed that it's over and I need to check out Guitar Notes by Mary Amato.

I received a copy of this book to review courtesy of Egmont USA and Netgalley

There were many times in this book where I hated the characters internal monologues. I found their thoughts to be unrealistic. There was all of this preparation for a big terrible secret which wasn't as terrible as it was chalked up to be. I also found the ending rather unbelievable which kind of killed the story for me.

There were parts of this book that I really did like though. There was one scene which made me giddy with excitement. I liked Diego for the most part, except the fact that he tried to fit spanish into every sentence. It just felt as if the author was trying to show us that she knew some spanish words. Faith's actions kind of annoyed the crap out of me.

It was okay, but I'm not about to recommend this book to anyone.

I received a copy of this book to review via Netgalley.

The word eerie doesn't even cover this book, it's more like morbid. Micol Ostow writes a horror novel that is so visually descriptive that it chills you to the bone. The characters are surprisingly three dimensional, which you don't really expect in this kind of book. The flash backs between the two time periods confused me at times, but for the most part I think it worked really well. I have always liked the Amityville Horror movies and this book filled me with the same fear. Amity is the creepiest book I've ever read and I'm so glad I picked it up.

I received a copy of this book to review from Netgalley and Egmont USA

I really enjoyed the writing in this book. I loved America's character, she is such a sweetheart. I especially like how she treated her maids. This book has quite the love triangle though. Personally I'm rooting for Maxon as the series continues. I am really happy to say that this book didn't get as catty as I expected it to. 35 girls fighting over 1 guy, I expected more of a cat fight.

I think Maxon is a great guy, even though he is the prince he has insecurities. I like that he isn't super cocky and he's actually pretty down to earth. He has a good heart and I want America to fall in love with him.

Aspen on the other hand... I think that he's selfless in the way that he didn't want to bring America down because of the caste system. But I also think that love can be greedy, and that it was America's decision on whether or not she cared about the caste system. I think that in making that decision for her he no longer has any right to fight for her. You can't break someone's heart and then change your mind. You gave her up, so let her move on. You jerk.

I can't wait to read the next book. Kiera Cass is a really good writer, this book flowed really well and was never dull. I hope to read a lot more by her.

I found myself enjoying this sequel a lot more than I expected to. I heard from several people that this one was the worst book of the series. It wasn't as amazing as the first, but I still loved it. I started the book at 11 p.m. and read all through the night until I was done. The way the chapters are written with changing POV's and cliffhangers at the end, keeps you reading and interested. This book was full of excitement and certainly was never dull.

Oh and I love the twists that are revealed along the way. Just when you think you know what's happening Beth Revis rips your heart out, it's savage really, but it makes for phenomenal books. Ah I'm in love with these books. I'm going to be sad when I'm done reading them.

Wow, this is seriously the best book I've read in a very long time. I was told that it was good, but I really had no idea that it would be this phenomenal.

This book has the most phenomenal world building. Beth Revis created a world that was so futuristic and realistic at the same time. The descriptions were great, I could visualize everything without the book being bogged down with details. I absolutely loved the science aspect of this book. I don't want to give any spoilers, but this book was like giving a toy to the scientific part of my brain. I'm greedy and I want more. I can't wait to read the sequel. I really don't know how to review this book besides to say: IT'S AWESOME AND YOU NEED TO READ THIS IF YOU HAVEN'T.

I might return to this review later once I get over how epic the last 50 pages of the book were.

3.5 stars

This was the first fairy tale re-telling I've ever read. This book exceeded my expectations. I really enjoyed the modern twist on Snow White and how other fairy tales were woven into the story. At times I found the writing a bit comical. This story has really peaked my interest in the Grimm fairy tales.

I found myself a bit annoyed with Viv at times. Her actions pissed me off a lot. I found her rather self-centered and spoiled. I feel as if she took Henley for granted and then expected him to be there for her. I don't think she treated him right, she doesn't deserve someone like him. Although he does have some anger issues of his own.

I also think that too many characters were introduced too fast. I had a hard time remembering who was who. I think that some of them were unnecessary and it would have made the story less confusing if there were less characters.

Overall I'm really glad that I read this, I enjoyed reading a modern re-telling of a fairy tale that was a little dark.

Does anyone else have incredible difficulty deciding on what to read next? Maybe my problem is that I have too many books. I go by a different method to decide almost all of the time. What has the most/least pages, which book is rated the best, pick a number ect. ect.

I am so terrible at making decisions though. My boyfriend calls me Amanda the indecisive panda.

This is such a first world problem. I have too many books and I can't decide what to read. Wah.

I just want to start off by saying that Tess Sharpe is a really talented author. The story she has written is one that you won't be able to tear yourself away from. I really enjoyed that there were flashbacks and you were following three different timelines. This book was written in such a way that you could never put it down at the end of a chapter. I would have preferred the story without the twist that it has in the middle. But saying that, it was still an awesome read.
 
I loved how determined Sophie is to solve Mina's murder. Sophie is both strong and vulnerable at the same time. I admire her strength after all she has gone through, yet she is not perfect, which makes this book realistic. I would have really liked if there were flashbacks to when she was first getting clean, because I think that could have added more depth to her character.

The storyline was pretty good as well. I thought I knew who the killer was, but I actually had no idea. This was a book that kept you guessing. I think that since Sophie kept avoiding the subject of Mina I didn't really get to feel her grief. There wasn't as much emotion invoked in me as I would have liked. This was a great introduction to Tess Sharpe's writing for me and I hope to see more from her.

I received a copy to review from Curiosity Quills Press and Netgalley

It's really hard for me to write a review for this book because there are so many aspects of the story that I loved. The world Sharon Bayliss built was pretty cool, and the concept of a second family was really interesting. But I think that this book should have been two separate books instead of one. There are two directions that this story could have gone. It could have been an awesome adventure story with witches, or it could have been a heartbreaking story about sexually abused children.

I didn't feel any emotional connection to this story at all, and I think that's because the characters didn't either. They were just all kind of numb. There was no grieving or symptoms of PTSD. There was some real serious issues in this book. Where is the emotion? Why am I not crying?

As for the plot, I feel like it really didn't exist. So much of the book was spent getting to know all 8 characters and building the world that the plot kind of fell to the background. Then there was something thrown in towards the end that gave you a climax. Although, I didn't really feel like that was a climax. I was surprised that the book was over because the ending wasn't that exciting.

Overall I'm a bit disappointed. This was a story with so much potential, but it lacked direction and emotion.

I received this book from Netgalley and Clean Teen Publishing to review.

Queen of Someday is an enchanting story that is elegantly written to make your heart ache and swoon. I fell in love with Princess Sophie almost immediately. The book starts off very strong and holds your attention the whole way through. This is a story filled with secrets, betrayal and the feuding between the head and heart

There were many lines of this book that I highlighted on my kindle. The writing is marvelous and really conveys the emotions that Sophie feels without spelling it out for you. I loved all of the references to different poems, I found that aspect of this story rather romantic.

Princess Sophie goes through quite the dramatic change, we watch her grow into a very different woman as the story progresses. I think that the character development was done very well, as living at court can change a woman drastically.

I feel as if many will say that romance was a little rushed and that Sophie fell too hard and too fast. But I believe that is how love happens, especially young love and especially when you find your true love. We can not forget that Sophie is only 15 years old at the start of this story. I would not say that this book contains the dreaded insta-love that we have all grown to hate.

I was initially drawn to this story because of the beautiful cover, but the words contained once you open it are twice as beautiful. I would suggest this book to nearly anyone. It is a compelling, quick read. I am very much looking forward to a sequel.

I have a reading addiction, this is clear. It appears that I have also developed a new addiction, collecting advanced review copies. I found that different Goodreads groups had read for review programs, and that's where I got started. I gave a 5 star review to a book that I adored, and then the author contacted me asking if I would like to write reviews for RomanceJunkies.com. I was thrilled at the opportunity, of course I said yes. I have a lot of hard copies from them, I get to pick books off of a list every month and they send them to my house. It's awesome.

I discovered Netgalley and Edelweiss, and I can't stop requesting books. If I think I might like it I am rushing to click "request". My feedback ratio isn't the best, and you would think that maybe they would stop approving me, but they don't. Then I discovered contests, all of these chances to win books on Facebook, on Goodreads, on different blogs, and guess what? I keep winning! Oh, and we can't forget LibraryThing's giveaways, both the Early Reviewer's and the Member giveaways, yeah, I win those all the time too.

My point is that now I have a huge pile of books to read! I have so many books that whenever I go to pick one out it takes me about a half hour. Because, you know, you can't just read a book based on the blurb, you have to check out it's rating on Goodreads first.

So I've banned myself from entering anymore contests, or checking out the new selection on Netgalley. Because let's be honest, you are never there to "just take a look". I hope to get my giant pile of ARC's down, because there are a few books that I would like to read that have been published a while ago. Well, it's more than a few, but let's not argue semantics.

I received a copy of this book from Curiosity Quills Press to review.

The Artful is by far best book I've read so far this year. I was amazed with the world building and pacing of this story. I found it rather unpredictable, and there was never a dull moment. Wilbert Stanton takes you on a wild adventure that you don't want to end. The Artful is filled with characters that have personalities that you will love. I found this book comical and at times horrifying. I really hope that there is a sequel! I can't wait to see what Wilbert Stanton comes up with next. If you enjoy dystopian books be sure to pick this one up.

This book contained everything I could ask for in a story and more. The Replacement is an eerie book that kept me up late at night. It falls into my favorite genre, paranormal/fantasy romance, and it actually does the genre justice. My only complaint is that I wanted a little more in the romance aspect. I wasn't really sold on Mackie and Tate's romance. It's been a LONG time since I've read a book from a male point of view, and I found myself enjoying that aspect of this book a lot more than I thought I would.

I really loved the characters. Tate is my favorite because she reminds me of myself when I was a teenager. I loved Emma too, she is such a great sister and there is real unconditional love for her brother shown in this story. Mackie was pretty great too, he's a misfit and I really felt that he grew throughout the story. Roswell was such a good, loyal friend, which is something that I always admire in real life.

I really liked the whole idea of this story. I felt that it was incredibly original, which has been pretty hard to find lately. The world building was pretty good. At times I felt that I was a little confused, and I felt that the first half of the book moved a little slow for me. This is the only reason that I'm giving the book four stars instead of five. When I read the plot summary I immediately put this one on my TBR. I was so grateful to be able to receive this book as part of the traveling book program in the All About Fantasy group on Goodreads.

I don't think there is a sequel, but I wish that there was. I really loved the characters and would like to see the Morrigan and The House of Mayhem again. This was a great introduction to Brenna Yovanoff's work and I will certainly be on the lookout for anything else that she writes. She created a world that I found so fascinating, I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.