A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest
Okay, so I'd been hearing about this series for a while since I'm following the Facebook page for a few months. Finally, after a burst of Amazon money due to Xmas, I bought all five books in the series. A Shade of Vampire is amazing and wonderful, but be warned, it is definitely for older readers. As soon as I've finished the fifth book, I will review the series as a whole. The main character is Sofia, and she's definitely cool. Breakable, but cool. The male protagonist is named Derek, he is, among other things, the king of a coven of vampires. Also, he has some anger issues. The book is fairly short and kinda cheesy, but a good first novel!
A Shade of Blood by Bella Forrest
Book two in the Shade series! I definitely didn't enjoy this as much as book one, mostly because the male protagonist does some very squeamish things in this book. To be fair, he has darkness taking over his mind and everything, but REALLY dude? The main character tries dating her childhood best friend, but how badly THAT fails is almost laughable.
A Castle of Sand by Bella Forrest
AKA, the book of doubt. Sofia is CONSTANTLY thinking of her relationship with Derek as a sandcastle, something that will fall apart in time. To be fair, he's immortal and she's not, but GAH I don't need this much doubt, especially since it can't fall under SBS. But, at the same time, Derek and Sofia's relationship really evolves over this book. I can feel them growing stronger, especially after everything they faced in book two. The ending of this book, it BLEW MY MIND! Also, this is the book where shirtless guys start appearing on the cover.
A Shadow of Light
Yet another shirtless guy. The first half of this book? It was crazy. Also, middle aged people should NOT be making out, especially when one is a vampire and the other is a vampier slayer. I don't care if you were once crazy in love, you have a responsibility to be good role models and NOT MAKE OUT IN FRONT OF YOUR TEENAGE DAUGHTER! There are many characters I want to slap in this book, the most common being Ingrid and Derek. Seriously Derek, if you don't shape up, you can go die in a ditch. It doesn't matter how much I (and Sofia) love you. Because yes, Derek is definitely swoon worthy.
Touch of Death by Kelly Hashway
Touch of Death was really good. I've been wanting to read this series for a while, and when I heard it had Greek mythology, I was ecstatic. I bought the first book in December and got it New Year's Eve. It wasn't as good as expected, but was still phenomenal. That said, there is no doubt in my mind that it lives up to the hype it has been given. I can't wait to read the next two books.
Read the full review here.
Never Fade by Alexandra Braken
I loved the first book in this series. It was awesome and different and just plain amazing. The novella In Time was a bit of a let down (and I reviewed it here). I bought Never Fade on a whim back in October, and until last week, I hadn't read it. I picked it up, and immediately fell in love all over again. If you doubt the amazingness of this series, don't. I had forgotten many key points and characters, but Never Fade reminded me of everything pretty early in the book. I was not lost for one single page. The novella didn't really, as far as I could tell, play into Never Fade, but I believe it will be instrumental in book three.
Read the full review here.
Fracture by Megan Miranda
This book came out last year, and while I was intrigued, I never read it. UNTIL! At the beginning of January, I learned that the Lovestruck Tour, featuring Megan Miranda, Megan Shepherd, Kasie West, and Robin Constantine, was coming near ME! I freaked, squealed, and jumped up and down for days on end! Anyway, this inspired me to read ALL their books. Basically, this is the long way of me saying that there will be in depth reviews of ALL the books from the tour soon and a giveaway. This book will be one of the signed copies to be given away. MORE TO COME!
The Distance Between Us by Kasie West
I can't even, this book was SO good! It has some stereotypes, but that's the whole point of the story. The main character realizing that stereotypes aren't everything. I fell in love with this book. It's contemporary, which I don't read much of. Kasie has another contemporary novel, On the Fence, coming out in July and I CAN'T WAIT! For more information on a full review, check out Fracture, above.
The Madman's Daughter by Meghan Shepherd
Yet another Lovestruck Tour book! This book was creepy, interesting, and a whole lot more of creepy. Plus, it takes place (partially) in Victorian London. It's a retelling of a classic story, and the sequel, which came out on Tuesday, is as well! Again, for more information, check out Fracture, above.
Pivot Point by Kasie West
And the Lovestruck Tour list continues! I didn't enjoy this as much as The Distance Between Us. I tried to read Pivot Point a while back, but couldn't get through it. Now that I knew what to expect though, I flew through it. It's told in two different timelines, so it's a little weird. I'm excited to read Split Second, mostly because it stays on one timeline. Again, for more information on reviews, check out Fracture above.
Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott
I got an eARC of this book to review. I *might* have put off reading this until the last minute. But! The book was a nice surprise. It was a fast read that managed to put my emotions out of whack. It was touching and sweet. There was not too much nor too little of anything. It's a read that may be difficult for some people, but is definitely worth it!
Read the full review here.
Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
Cruel Beauty was really something. Both a retelling of Beauty and the Beast and having Greek mythology, it was an explosive combination. I will tell you this right now, whatever you are expecting from this book is DEAD wrong! I had so many theories while reading, and next to none of them happened exactly how I thought it out. There are hints that could go so many different ways, it's insane!
Read the full review here.
Uninvited by Sophie Jordan
One often thinks that an author's second series can never outdo an author's first. That theory is DEAD wrong! Uninvited blew the Firelight trilogy out of the water! It was so good and so much fun. I read it in 24 hours tops, on a school day no less. Let me tell you, when this book comes out, drop everything and read it! It is so good and so amazing. It made me feel for the characters, I just wanted to slap so many of them silly! It shows prejudices in a new light, and almost feels like how Divergent might have started off before the Purity War. (On a side note, check out this HILARIOUS keynote a friend of mine made that's somewhat spoilery, for Allegiant)
Read the full review here.
Where She Went by Gayle Forman
Holy bleep, these two books were an emotional roller coaster! I read book one back in December of winter break and loved it. I was sobbing only a few pages in and the tears didn't stop. I read Where She Went in a couple hours last night, and, while I held the tears at bay, the feelings in this book are never steady. I can't even express into words how heartfelt these books were.
Read the full review here.
The House of Hades by Rick Riordan
*cowers* I know, and I apologize in advance. I KNOW you're going to murder me, but please, HEAR ME OUT! The last two Heroes of Olympus I have not enjoyed in the least. I've tried rereading past books and I still love them, but The House of Hades and The Mark of Athena kill me to no end. I started writing this and realized it was getting to full review length and deleted it. A full, ranty, possibly annoying review shall be coming your way soon!
Prodigy by Marie Lu
Okay I promised you a series review and I haven't given you one yet. I'M SORRY! You will have one soon! Prodigy didn't necessarily fall under SBS, but it wasn't as fast paced as the first one. I got it from the library before winter break, but put off reading it until a few days ago. Finally, I read it and I LOVED it! After the ending, I wanted Champion more than anything! Luckily, my school library had it all ready for me to pick up! That said, this is definitely one boxed set that will be one my parents lookout for Xmas next year!
Champion by Marie Lu
WARNING! THIS REVIEW WILL BE A SPOILERY MESS!!!!!! If you want a non-spoilery review, wait until this weekend when I review the entire series!!!!!
10 YEARS! 10 BLEEPING YEARS!!!!!!! Are you trying to kill me? The last fourth of the book or so was extremely tense and I had so many bad scenarios playing through my head. While it didn't go as horribly as some of the scenarios played out, I just, I can't even. I am sobbing my eyes out right now. I get the endings where the characters pretend to start over or something, but this was TOO MUCH!!!! Just kill me know, I swear. Also, I'm typing this review up at 11:00 at night because I will get no sleep until I do. *takes a deep breath*
Read the full (and spoilery) review here.
Unhinged by A.G. Howard
Spoilers for book one ahead!
I have been broken, hit in the feels, all out murdered by this book. Why A.G. Howard, why? Just, AH! And the ending, such a cliffhanger! Are you really going to make us faithful readers wait a full year for Ensnared? You'd be killing me if I weren't already dead! *glares at book* How I
Read the full review here.
The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine
The final Lovestruck Tour book of January! I only have a couple more to read at this point! The Promise of Amazing was adorable, romantic, and the male protagonist, Grayson, is definitely swoon-worthy. Again, for more information on a review, check out Fractured WAY above!
No One Else Can Have You by Kathleen Hale
Before you ask, yes, I know what happened on Twitter the other night. It actually happened while I was reading the book. That said, whatever went down does not diminish the fact that this was a really good book. It was creepy in all the right ways. Plus, have you seen the cover? It's creeptastic. I showed it to my friends at school and they all LOVED it! There was one set of scenes towards the end that I felt was unneeded, but beyond that, I loved the book!
Unfinished Books:
With most of these books, it was not that I didn't like them, it was simply that I had a pile of other books to get to and I didn't have time to read them all. I got a couple chapters into an ARC of Avalon by Mindee Arnett, which was really good and I can't wait to pick back up! I also read the beginning of Teardrop by Lauren Kate. I was able to find a signed copy at Target, which was the main incentive for buying it. I can't wait to finish it and see why it's so amazing! The next one was A Blaze of Sun by Bella Forrest. This is the fifth book in the Shade series. Why did I stop? In this case, I was halfway through when the characters started acting like idiots (except for Sofia) and the parent make out sessions got to be too much. I still plan on finishing it and reading the next book when it releases, but I figured I needed a little break. Hysteria by Megan Miranda wasn't a start-and-didn't-finish, but more of a I-planned-to-read-this-and-never-did. I will read this before the tour though. Next is Origin by Jessica Khoury. This one is actually really good, but each time I try to pick it up, a new book comes in or I get in a reading funk. That said, I am ecstatic to read this. Last, but not least, is Rush by Eve Silver. This isn't that I didn't finish, but that I'm just reading it now. So far, it's really good and I want to get back to it NOW!
Rereads:
There weren't too many this month. I got into a book funk earlier this week and so I reread Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen. Also, I went to her book signing recently! Check out the Favorites Blog Hop post for a giveaway of a signed copy of Garden Spells and an interview with the author! I'd forgotten just how amazing Garden Spells was and fell in love all over again! The other one was Through the Zombieglass by Gena Showalter, which I reread during the snow days this week. I've reread book one multiple times, but not this one. It. Is. So. Amazing. Seriously, if you have not read this yet, do it. Zombies, explosions, kick-butt people, and romance so hot it's off the charts. Need I say more?
Book Buys, etc:
A Shade of Blood by Bella Forrest
A Castle of Sand by Bella Forrest
A Shadow of Light by Bella Forrest
A Blaze of Sun by Bella Forrest
The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine
Fracture by Megan Miranda
Vengeance by Megan Miranda
The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd
Her Dark Curiosity by Megan Shepherd
The Distance Between Us by Kasie West
Pivot Point by Kasie West
Teardrop by Lauren Kate (signed)
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen (signed)
Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen (signed)
Salvage by Alexandra Duncan (ARC)
Elusion by Claudia Gabel and Cheryl Klam (ARC)
The Caller by Juliet Marieller (ARC)
Gated by Amy Christine Parker (ARC)
Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens
Sapphique by Catherine Fisher (second hand ARC)
Switched by Amanda Hocking (second hand ARC)
The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff (second hand ARC)
Uninvited by Sophie Jordan (ARC, won in giveaway)
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