Author: Chelsea (Page 65 of 111)

BOOK REVIEW: This is Not a Test (This is Not a Test #1) by Courtney Summers

February 16, 2015 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

This is Not a Test (This is Not a Test #1)
by Courtney Summers
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
It’s the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won’t stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self. To Sloane Price, that doesn’t sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed and since then, she’s failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up. As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she’s forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live. But as the days crawl by, the motivations for survival change in startling ways and soon the group’s fate is determined less and less by what’s happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life—and death—inside. When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?

I am so sad.

I am so sad it makes me heavier than the sum of my parts. I shift, restless, but it doesn’t help. It’s like-time. All this time in here is on me, has its hooks in me. Maybe if I sleep more, I’ll wake up and I’ll feel different, but I can’t. The storm is really happening now and it makes the room feel emptier. Makes me feel emptier.

Okay, okay so…..I had some SERIOUS doubts on this one. Not because I don’t trust my wonderful Alien friend (Anna), and not because I don’t love dystopian anymore. No, I had doubts because I haven’t read a dystopian in what feels like forever-hell, I can’t even name the last one I read because I don’t remember. This is my favorite genre and I haven’t read one in what feels like an eternity. But facts are facts: Excellent dystopians are rare. There is only so much disappointment a person can take, and when you continually see fail after fail, you begin to hold out for that one special book that will make you fall head over heels in love with the genre that stole your heart before. This is that book. This is the book that had me reading at every opportunity, even at the expense of not eating. This is the book that felt so real, so dark, that it touched me on a visceral level. No fluff. No excuses. No one safe. That…is the definition of an excellent dystopian.

My body wants to stop.
Thud. I end up on my knees. I’m dripping with sweat and my stomach is churning and the sound I heard was not the sound of myself falling and landing but-thud.
I turn my head to the exit.
Thud.

I fear I won’t be able to say enough to express how wonderful and refreshing this story was. And I never would have guessed, either. Zombies? Pass. But a story that instills the fear of them watching you, waiting for you, wanting to eat you…without actually seeing them every five pages? Mother, may I? For real. This was everything I didn’t hope for and more. That’s right-I had ZERO expectations going in and figured this one wouldn’t be for me. After all, I’m just so damn picky about my favorite genres. When that first thud. Thud. THUD. happened I about lost my shit-they were practically tearing down the doors…but we didn’t have to see them. Their shelter was surrounded, but we didn’t see the grotesque assholes in the windows or clawing all over our not-so-perfect cast of characters. No….Summers just placed a pin in that fear. She made you fear the moment that one would get in. She made you ponder if that school was closed up tight enough. She placed a little nugget of doubt about the morality of the main characters. After all, a scorned human being is more dangerous than any loaded gun, right?

The world breaks into a million pieces and comes back together just as quickly but it comes back together wrong. The picture is wrong. Upside down, awful.

And this leads me to our ~~deplorable~~ cast of ~~survivors~~ characters. What do you get when you are stuck in an abandoned school with a brother and sister who are devastated by a tragic turn of events, the person they blame, a boy who cries about anything and would switch loyalties in a minute, a girl who’s circumstances have pushed her to feel as if she doesn’t want to fight anymore, and a boy who’s….well….ummm perfect?! Okay, the last one is a lie but I LOVED him. So, what do you get? A huge MESS is what you get. Bare trust, pencil thin alliances, explosive fights, and a whole lot of hormones.

I pull at a strand of my hair. I want to rip it out. I want to climb onto the roof and throw myself off it. I want to bash my head against the mirror until it breaks.

Sloane was our main character. She lived alone with her father after her sister ~~abandoned~~ left, and he has became even more abusive than before-and it was all centered on her. When her sister left her, she lost the will to live, the need to fight, the gumption to go on. But after the zombie virus begins, she stumbles across ‘friends’ from school who grab her and bring her with them in their mad dash to survive. This went against all her plans to just lay down and let the zombies have her. This went against her suicide plan. This went against everything she had planned….and so did he.

I turn my face away from him. He’s right. Who cares. Maybe I’m infected. I try to listen to what’s happening inside me. If there’s any part of me that’s dying and becoming more rotten but more purposeful than what I am now.

Aghhhhh Rhys! I LOVE YOU! And, ya know, there wasn’t anything particularly special about him. He’s just an average boy who gets as scared as anyone else. But there are these moments where he shows immense protectiveness for Sloane. These shining moments where he singles her out and takes care of her more than others. These beautiful, wonderful, amazing moments where he begs her to just live…and stay with him.

We’ll make movies about it, hundreds of movies, and in every one of them, we’ll be the heroes and the love interests and best friends and winners and we’ll watch these movies until we are so far removed from our own history, we’ll forget how it really felt to be here.

Now, I am TOTALLY going to step on Anna’s toes and steal some of her words-because she said it best. I think the reason I loved this book so much was because of the characters. They were all so real. Their reactions, their emotions, their ANGER. It resonated deep within me and I felt their turmoil deep inside. I’d blame. I’d shout. I’d cry a ton. I’m a Grade A wuss! They were mean, sometimes cruel, and they forgave no one. This…this is the reality of the nasty world we live in. People won’t forgive just because you’re sorry. Sorry doesn’t fucking cut it when lives are at stake. And the truth of the matter is, their reactions were candid. No faking, lots of un-truths, and quite a few betrayals. The sad thing about me? I kind of loved the one who might or might not have cost some lives. Sue me.

He tries again. “If you’re staying, I want you to stay with me.” I want so badly to ask him why, why he thinks he needs me, but he continues. “If you’re not staying…if you’re going to go through with it, wait until we’re out of your way. I couldn’t stand to see it.”
“Okay,” I say.
“I really hope I don’t see it, Sloane,” he says softly. “I really hope you wake up.”
He hesitates and then he brings his hand to the crook of my elbow. He presses his lips against the side of my mouth and my heart recoils because for all its gentleness, it hurts.

Okay so I’ll wrap this up, because guess what?? I’m leaving because it’s snowing like crazy!! I could say a million more things, but I think the truth is in the words-the writing speaks for itself. It’s raw. It’s gritty. Not everyone makes it. And it’s a harsh, cruel reality. I wish I could go on and on and on and on….but there is only so much I can say before I start to give things away. If you aren’t sure about dystopians, if you don’t like zombies but are willing to give them another shot, if you’re on the fence at all, about anything to do with this story, read it. It’s amazing. And I am so damn glad I decided to read it. That just goes to show that there is still a chance to make these novels amazing. They can still be harsh and have a little romance and still be amazingly blunt and well-written. I cannot wait to read the novella….I hope it is equally amazing as this book, but if it’s only a fraction as good, I’ll still die happy.

BOOK REVIEW: White Cat (Curse Workers #1) by Holly Black

February 11, 2015 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

White Cat (Curse Workers #1)
by Holly Black
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Cassel comes from a shady, magical family of con artists and grifters. He doesn't fit in at home or at school, so he's used to feeling like an outsider. He's also used to feeling guilty; he killed his best friend, Lila, years ago.

But when Cassel begins to have strange dreams about a white cat, and people around him are losing their memories, he starts to wonder what really happened to Lila. In his search for answers, he discovers a wicked plot for power that seems certain to succeed. But Cassel has other ideas and a plan to con the conmen.

Lie until even you believe it-that’s the real secret of lying. The only way to have absolutely no tells.

Too bad I’m not quite there yet.

When I try to think of a word that reminds me of this book, the most forthcoming is just this: Weird. This book was all kinds of weird. But, when I take the time to really delve deeper and actually peel back the layers of this intricate story-line, I begin to ‘see’ so many more words pop into my mind: Haunting, clever, mesmerizing, addicting…sweet. There are so many ways to look at a story and if you filter all the mystery out of the words, then it does, in fact, come off as a super weird book. But when you totally immerse yourself and ask ‘Why is this happening?’, ‘What triggered this?’, ‘Where the hell is this going?’, I swear that you’ll find yourself racing through the pages and before you know it, you’ll be closing the book. It’s that kind of story.

I don’t want to be a monster, but maybe it’s too late to be anything else.

Cassel is one of those characters that really gets under your skin. You don’t quite know why you like him, but you find yourself laughing at his sarcasm, feeling pain for this kid who grew up feeling like the most insignificant member of his family. You find yourself smiling at his charm and your heart breaking when he thinks of Lila, his childhood best friend (and only friend), and the girl he killed years ago. This sounds shady as fuck, I’ll give you that, but in this world, everyone wears gloves to hide their ‘curse’ and to prevent their touch from doing irreparable damage by making contact with someone’s skin. This is a world where children grow up around con workers as mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers. Even if you aren’t involved with the con work, there’s still a chance you’ve been ‘cursed’ and are considered a worker. This simply means you might have a touch that causes selective memory loss, luck, death, etc. But with each of these ‘gifts’ there is ample cost-No gift in their world comes without a price.

I hate that I love this. I hate that the adrenaline pumping through the roots of my body is filling me with giddy glee. I’m not a good person.

You’re probably still wondering about how he murdered his best friend and the girl he’s always been in love with, right? I didn’t know how I’d feel about it, personally. But, for whatever reason, I found myself identifying with him, sympathizing for him, hoping it was all a misunderstanding and that he had been worked. See, Cassel is the only one in his family without a gift-he is the only non-curse worker. I think this made him a really sweet and relatable character, and all the more identifiable as someone who had significantly screwed up in his past. And, more than that, it was devastating to see how much he just wanted his brothers to love him and accept him, but instead they grew up stomping him under their foot as if he was an insignificant piece of trash, just because they could. Now, I can’t say nothin’ about anythin’ but I will say this-If you grew up with a deplorable family that did deplorable things…what keeps them from conning you?

Marks think they can get something for nothing.
Marks think they can get what they don’t deserve and could never deserve.
Marks are stupid and pathetic and sad.
…..
Marks forget that whenever something’s too good to be true, that’s because it’s a con.

At times I found this to be very dark and even somewhat disturbing, but that was more at the beginning. Once I began to see everything unwind, it all started to make sense and I became fully immersed in figuring out what was wrong with the distorted picture we were being given. Lies upon lies, and betrayals on top of betrayals, we don’t get a clear picture until the end-and even then it’s like looking through fractured glass. It was excellent.

The easiest lies to tell are the ones you want to be true.

Altogether an amazing story that I couldn’t put down even for a minute. More than once I was covering my mouth with my hand to stifle a gasp and begging for a better end than what was coming for Cassel. In a way, this book was almost told through an unreliable source’s eyes and we are left wondering what’s reality and what’s make-believe. I loved this aspect. Each time we learned something, we realized there was so much more to the story and it never really stopped growing as a plot, it never really and truly ended. So, I absolutely cannot wait to start book two. If it’s even half as good as this one I will be ecstatic…but more than that, I can’t wait to see what becomes of Cassel and his new-found ‘friends.’ He’s still trying to figure all that out. And that cliffhanger-agh!!!

BOOK REVIEW: The Trouble with Love (Sex, Love & Stiletto #4) by Lauren Layne

February 9, 2015 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

The Trouble with Love (Sex Love & Stiletto #4)
by Lauren Layne
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
As Lauren Layne’s salacious Sex, Love & Stiletto series returns, a jaded columnist discovers a steamy way to get over an old flame: falling for him all over again.

As Stiletto magazine’s authority on all things breakup-and-heartache, Emma Sinclair writes from personal experience. Five years ago, Emma was Charlotte, North Carolina’s darling debutante and a blushing bride-to-be. Now she’s the ice queen of the Manhattan dating scene. Emma left her sultry Southern drawl behind, but not even her closest friends know that with it she left her heart. Now Emma’s latest article forces her to face her demons—namely, the devilishly sexy guy who ditched her at the altar.

After giving up everything for a pro-soccer career, Alex Cassidy watches his dreams crumble as a knee injury sidelines him for good. Now he’s hanging up his cleats and giving journalism a shot. It’s just a coincidence that he happens to pick a job in the same field, and the same city, as his former fiancée . . . right? But when Emma moves in next door, it’s no accident. It’s research. And Alex can’t help wondering what might have been. Unlike the innocent girl he remembers, this Emma is chic, sophisticated, and assertive—and she wants absolutely nothing to do with him. The trouble is, Alex has never wanted her more.

Praise for the Sex, Love & Stiletto series

“Fun, sexy, and sharp as a spike heel.”—New York Times bestselling author Ruthie Knox

“Packed with loads of sizzle and Snickerlicious fun, Lauren Layne’s After the Kiss is a knock-your-stilettos-off, total page-turning treat that had me fan-girling up within the first chapter.”—USA Today bestselling author Mira Lyn Kelly

“Spunky, flirty, and full of sass, Love the One You’re With is everything a romance should be! Lauren Layne has a winner.”—New York Timesbestselling author Christie Craig

“Sexy, sassy, and surprisingly sweet, Lauren Layne’s Just One Night is a total page-turner!”—New York Times bestselling author Donna Alward

Includes a special message from the editor, as well as an excerpt from another Loveswept title.

Buddy read with my Frenchy Bug!

**ARC kindly provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

You used to love when I put my hand here.” Cassidy’s voice was rough.
She lifted her chin slightly. “Did I? Must have blocked that out.” But the way the heat from his palm branded her made the lie come out just a little bit breathlessly.
His hand pressed, pulling her closer until there was nothing between them but their stormy past. “You sure about that?”
“Yup,” she said, her eyes looking anywhere but his. “You’re utterly forgettable.”
His other hand found her chin, his fingers lifting her face to his. “Prove it.”

AGH! Wow. I loved this. It was, in a few words, addicting, sexy, breathtaking, heart-stopping, giggle-inducing, unputdownable, and, most of all, heartwarming. It literally warmed my soul. Yes, light radiated from my chest the whole time I was reading this. True Story. There are few (*cough* none) LL books I dislike, but because I love this author so much, it tends to make it hard when people ask which I would recommend to them. How do you pick a favorite when they all exceed your expectations? There are some that tend to stick out, but the more I read from her, the more I start to say: ‘No, this is my favorite. No, this is my new favorite. No, no, this one!’ And so on and so forth. But, for whatever reason, this one really and truly did speak to me.

**Emma had tried the happily-ever-after route, and knew that for every woman who rode off into the sunset on a white stallion, another one got kicked in the face by that very same horse.**

I got this back in early December and, for whatever reason, didn’t think I’d love it. Go figure. I don’t know if it’s my aversion to second chance love stories or just a case of being nervous because I have such high standards with this author, but no matter the reasons, I was very scared to pick this one up. But sometimes it’s all about the timing. I was sitting around on Saturday, trying with all my might to get into the book I had picked out, and I just couldn’t do it. I was sad, for some reason, and I just couldn’t get out of that funky mood. So, I sat there for a couple seconds and thought, you know what? Screw it. It’s Lauren Layne time. I picked this up and I immediately started to feel my lips turn up and my spirits inexplicably lift. No other author has the ability to effect my mood like this, but this woman has my ticket. I don’t know if it’s the dialogue, the quirky inner thoughts and banter, or that ultimate HEA she loves to give us, but this is my go to author. She is
‘the one’, so to speak.

Cole leaned forward and reached out a hand. “Lemme see the orgasm bit.”
Alex ignored him, pulling a sheet of paper from the top and shaking it. “This one is two thousand words about push-up bras. About the brands, and the way they should fit, and listen to this: ‘The trick with the appeal of push-up bras is to know what kind of guy you’re dealing with. Is he visual? If so, he’s not going to mind that you had a little help to achieve that fantastic cleavage. But if he’s more tactile, you might want to consider skipping all that padding…He wants to feel the real you.'”
Alex let the paper flutter to the desk in horror. “I just…I can’t even.” Continue reading

BOOK REVIEW: Thoughtful (Thoughtless #1.5) by S.C. Stephens

February 6, 2015 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

Thoughtful (Thoughtless #1.5)
by S.C. Stephens
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
A new novel in the Thoughtless series from #1 New York Timesbestselling author S. C. Stephens!

Every story has two sides, and in this new book, the epic love story between Kiera and Kellan is shown through his eyes.

All Kellan Kyle needs is his guitar, and some clean sheets of paper. Growing up in a house that was far from a home, he learned a hard lesson:You're worthless. Now his life is comfortably filled with passionate music, loyal band mates, and fast women...until he meets her.

Kiera makes him ache for more. Makes him feel for the first time that he'sworth more. But there's one problem - she's his best friend's girl.

Just when Kellan thought his emotional defenses were rock solid, Kiera's indecisive heart wreaks havoc on his soul, changing him forever. Losing Kiera is not an option.

**I’d like to put a disclaimer before I even start this review: S.C. Stephens is an amazing author and she is one of my favorites. Nothing I say below has changed my opinion of her as an author….I just wanted so much more because I know how awesome she can be.**

Did she realize I screamed my heart out in my lyrics? Did she understand that my life left me feeling vacant inside? That I was so fucking lonely I almost couldn’t stand myself? << Love this line.

This hurts me to say, worse than any of you can imagine but….this book was so unnecessary. It’s exactly what I thought. I shouldn’t have read it and, in the end, it took some of the magic away from book one of the series. I can’t help it, though. I needed this book. BAD. And here I am, disappointed. But what right do I have? I requested it and was just positive I would get denied. I played Russian Roulette and found myself on the receiving end of the bullet. But, even more than that-I wanted this book to be glorious. I wanted to experience all the same emotions as I did with Thoughtless, Effortless, Reckless….it’s not possible. Not for me, anyway.

Kellan Kyle is one of my absolute favorite book boyfriends. It’s something anyone close to me is more than aware of-I adore this guy. Thank God, though, my opinion of him hasn’t changed like it did with Travis from the massacre Walking Disaster. Some things should just be left sacred. I’m sorry, but some books and series should be left the fuck alone. This is one of them.

That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy certain parts. I’ll admit it-I’ll admit that! I could NEVER HATE my favorite scenes in the history of holy hotness-The lime scene, the coffee stand scene, the dance club scene, the RAIN SCENE for fuck’s sake!!! But I just…I don’t get it. Why did he fall for Kiera in this book? How? And it makes no sense because we’re in his head and he’s sitting here telling us why he loves her, but as with ALL male POV re-dos…Kiera just wasn’t Kiera. And oh, here we go, I hear all the boo-hisses from all those who loathed her, but guess what? I liked her. She fucked up-Royally. She really did. And, yes, she really annoyed me when I read Thoughtless two years ago. But, the fact remains, I still liked her. I did. She made a mistake-no, she made mistake after costly mistake. But Lord, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again-I can barely even choose where to eat lunch!! How in the ever loving fuck am I supposed to choose between two hot, supportive, amazing guys? That’s the question, though, isn’t it? You shouldn’t get yourself into that position, anyway. But, would I be able to hold up under that pressure after I thought my forever-love had abandoned me for his career?? I. Don’t. Know. I’d like to think so, but I’ve never been, or put myself, in that position. I don’t condone cheating an any cost, but this is fiction, people! And I’m circling my point-I didn’t feel even a fraction of the angst, emotion, or heartache that I did with it’s namesake. I didn’t. When authors switch sides, we lose all that depth and all that hard work that was put into the main female character. We know her now, sure, because we read that book. But guess what-This book is not the same book. I want to see it all again. I want to see him fall in love with a real person, not a stand-in or a mannequin of the girl we are supposed to know. This Kiera, she wasn’t a betrayer or an adulterer or even a confused young girl anymore…she was, simply put, just another piece of paper. That girl that I was angry at and cried for was not here. I know people wanted more Kellan and that was the whole point, but….is he supposed to be the only character?

I’d seen anger, jealousy, bitterness, and resentment. Love equaled pain in my world. And I generally tried to avoid pain.

It’s so hard to explain and people most likely won’t get it, but I need two complex characters. Two characters that make me rip my hair out and who fight each other and who LOVE PASSIONATELY even as they live in sin. I love Kellan so much, more than anyone could know….but this story didn’t do him justice. I liked a little mystery to his character. I liked his smokey looks and secret glances her way. Being told he’s doing such things takes all the breathtaking imagery away and hands me a formulaic script for what I already know: Kellan loves Kiera. God, don’t I know it. But I wanted to see them fall in love all over again-from his eyes. And if you take all the mystery, the angst, the ‘I don’t know what’s going to happen’, and the heated conversations, you stunt what was already an amazing (albeit controversial) book. Tell me….what do you have left?

With less inner dialogue it would have changed the story, in a good way. Hearing a play by play of every little conversation is where it all went downhill. Telling instead of showing and hearing instead of seeing really halted the flow. A lot of times we were left hanging and days would pass. That’s fine, sure, but don’t say ‘over the last three days, Kiera started to give me evil looks-I needed to talk to her about that.’ That’s not an actual line, but it gives you the gist. I just didn’t care for this and I never have in any story.

I’d never experienced anything like this before. It was beyond all expectation, all reason. It changed me. I would never be the same after this. We would never be the same after this.

I do have to throw in some positive, though. I never am this harsh and even with that harsh reality of how I really felt about this book, there were still moments that made me smile and reminisce. The absolute best scene(s) in this story was when the shit hits the fan. Oh yeah, you all know that part-when everything falls apart. THAT was the most emotion I felt in the whole novel. Pretty much anything that happened to do with the unraveling of it all was the best. I cried a little for the airport scene and I felt pain when Kiera realized what she’d done….to everyone. It was just…it was everything I had wanted for the whole book-too bad it was so late in the story. I loved being in his head for just for the simple fact of how and why he does what he does with other women. It was touching in a way I never imagined possible, because I felt like it would be hard to read about him having sex with other women, but it was okay, for me, because I saw what it did for him. It was about that one moment of connection and how it made him feel alive, wanted, complacent…if only until his climax when he is discarded just like he does with his condoms. It was heartbreaking. But, on that same token, if you don’t want to see the illustrious Kellan Kyle have sex with someone besides Kiera-this book isn’t for you.

Maybe what we’d done was wrong, but we’d loved with all our hearts, and no one could take that away from us. Not Denny, not fate, not life.

So, to all my friends who have been asking me if they should read this? No. I do NOT recommend this book if you held the Thoughtless series dear to your heart, like I did. For those who just want more Kellan? Go for it. And for those who don’t mind monotonous accounts of his everyday life as he waits to see Kiera again, filler scenes that feel dull and lifeless, generally repetitive thoughts and accounts of what had already happened, and shameless obsession (we know he loved her to the point of obsession, but seeing it play out and just knowing it by our own knowledge is completely different. It ruins it when we’re forced to hear it every page) that makes you feel just plain sorry for him…then this is your book.

There will always be nostalgia with this story and I will always get those little butterflies-But it wasn’t what the story could be. S.C. Stephens-you sold yourself short….and I’m so damn sad.

**ARC kindly provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

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Wellll…something amazing has happened. It seems fate has reached out and decided FOR ME whether to read this or not-while I am STILL super nervous to read this book that could potentially ruin one of my all time favorite series ever, I have been given an ARC!!!!!! So, it seems, that I am about to read a book I am very apprehensive about….but also so excited about that I might pee my pants. So, eh, I’ve never been that smart anyway. lol.

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To read, or not to read??

I don’t know yet. I have seen this bouncing around on GR and I don’t know if I can put myself through another FAILED male POV. Do I take the chance and possibly ruin one of my all time favorite series….? Or just leave it be as is and accept that I was happy enough with the story as Stephens left it.

After the massacre also known as WALKING DISASTER (Which irrevocably changed my feelings and ruined my outlook about one of my other all time favorites Beautiful Disaster) I am skeptical as to whether I’m willing to put the Thoughtless series at risk.

But Stephens is a better author than McGuire…..so I’m still 50/50. Guess we’ll see.

******OH! Another example of an epic fail in Male POV is Come Alive by Karina Halle. It ALMOST ruined my outlook on the series….but book 8 came back strong and became another favorite of mine….

BOOK REVIEW: Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) by Brandon Sanderson

February 5, 2015 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1)
by Brandon Sanderson
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
In a world where ash falls from the sky, and mist dominates the night, an evil cloaks the land and stifles all life. The future of the empire rests on the shoulders of a troublemaker and his young apprentice. Together, can they fill the world with colour once more?
In Brandon Sanderson's intriguing tale of love, loss, despair and hope, a new kind of magic enters the stage - Allomancy, a magic of the metals.

Buddy read with my darling, Anna-She wrote her review in a gaming form…so fun!!! ♥

He forced himself to smile-not out of pleasure, and not out of satisfaction. He smiled despite the grief he felt at the deaths of his men; he smiled because that was what he did. That was how he proved to the Lord Ruler-and to himself-that he wasn’t beaten.
No, he wasn’t going to walk away. He wasn’t finished yet. Not by far.

Wellllll guys, I did it. I finished this amazingly awesome, exceedingly complex, and altogether EXTREMELY LONG novel. I can’t say I didn’t have to push myself-that would be false. But, the fact remains, I knew if I trudged ahead that there was epicness ahead…I just had to get there. I have been trying to break into high fantasy for FOREVER and just can’t seem to get over that hurdle. I may be able to goof around on Goodreads during the day sometimes at work (okay, I MAKE that time, sue me) but that doesn’t mean I’m not here every day during the week from 8-5. So, that means that it’s EXTREMELY difficult for me to read a book that is eons long with loads of world-building if it’s not on the weekend. For example: I started this book on Friday…..but I JUST BARELY finished at midnight last night, and that’s because I read THE WHOLE NIGHT AFTER WORK to jump that hurdle. I think that’s the main reason I’ve never been able to break into this genre…it just takes A LOT of time. But, for Brandon Sanderson, I’m so so happy I took that chance. I finally did it-and I enjoyed it. Immensely.

Plots behind plots, plans beyond plans.
There was always another secret.

I also won’t lie to you all (or whoever reads this) about how hard this was for me: It was very hard lol. Not because I am dimwitted or daft…I just have a very short attention span. Frankly, I have NEVER been a fan of plotting or organizing rebellions if they take more than a few chapters. I think this stems from my dislike for lengthy conversations and planning in books. It’s just. Too. Much. But, and I’ll probably say this one hundred more times before I die, if there is/are action, betrayals, fight-scenes, peril, LOVE-INTERESTS, flirting, battles-galore….I will MAKE myself enjoy those strategy scenes. I will MAKE myself push through those difficult and infuriating descriptions of lengthy world-building. I truly believe that the end justifies the means, and I WANT to be a part of this beautiful, vivid, and extremely well-crafted world. If I can just get past those scenes, I’m golden.

“The best liars are those who tell the truth most of the time.”

I must admit that having read Steelheart and Firefight from this author helped me along the way. I knew that, in the end, I would love what he did with this world and this story. I did trudge through because of that common familiarity that made me more comfortable in my own skin, impostor that I was. When I was apart of this book, it made me happy. Sanderson creates some truly imaginative worlds that make us all want to delve deeper and break through the barriers of their lies, secrets, and betrayals. He makes us want to be apart of the story and he takes us to a level where, for one peaceful moment, we are smiling and laughing at his jokes and the closeness of the people on those pages before us, and then tearing up and gasping in the next, if only because, not just a moment before, these friends were hanging out and having a good time and now two of them have ceased to exist. It’s madness, but it’s the kind of madness that makes you want MORE, makes you happy in spite of it’s cruelty. Sanderson is exactly the kind of author I have been looking for-he can do it all.

“Yes,” Kelsier said, “it’s probably best that you avoid Venture completely. Try to offend him or something. Give him a couple of those glares you do.”
Vin regarded Kelsier with a flat look.
“That’s the one!” Kelsier said with a laugh.

And here’s my favorite thing of all: I love the characters he creates. He makes me care about them on a visceral level, no matter their intentions. Even the villain I found myself connecting to. Is that weird? It feels weird to say that-but it’s true. I was so deeply attached to Vin, to Kelsier, to Elend….I loved them all. Dockson, Breeze, Spook….you name them, I most likely loved them for specific reasons. But, obviously, my most tried and true connections were to Vin, Kelsier and Elend. Vin was just so hard NOT to connect to. She felt unloved, unwanted, and she has always known people to leave her. No one has ever made her feel wanted or like they care about her, so seeing her turn into a badass was something to behold. Even more than that, though, it was so heart-warming to watch Kelsier coax her into their group, to finally help her feel like she belonged. I loved him and I loved what he stood for….even when everyone made him feel like he was a loon for trying to achieve something virtually impossible.

“True,” Elend said. “I do, however, recall telling you that the Ventures were an annoying lot. I’m just trying to live up to the description.”
“You’re the one that made up the description!”
“Convenient, that,” Elend said, smiling slightly as he read.
Vin sighed in frustration, scowling.
Elend peeked up over his book. “That’s a stunning dress. It’s almost as beautiful as you are.”

And, being the girl that I am, I do have to mention…OMG the romance was ADORABLE. I know I know….I’m like….the only person to mention romance in a review about this novel but UGH-

COME OOOON it was SO cute to see Vin, the fierce little Mistborn, falling for a noble of all things! Who READS, no less! That shit is just too cute, sorry not sorry. Anywho…I HAD to mention that while my mind was completely satisfied by all the awesome battles and fight scenes, my heart was soaring, too. And I’ll just leave it at that, I think.

“My behavior is, nonetheless, deplorable. Unfortunately, I’m quite prone to such bouts of deplorability-take, for instance, my fondness for reading books at the dinner table. Excuse me for a moment; I’m going to go get something to drink.”
He stood, tucking the book into his pocket, and walked toward one of the room’s bar tables. Vin watched him go, both annoyed and bemused.

So, all in all, I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I am SO glad I finally picked this up and, frankly, I feel like I’ve made it loads easier to pick up the next one in the future. It’s like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders and I can finally just…breathe. I know that when I want to pick up the next I must simply slot in enough time for it and I better NOT have any other books on my mind for after. It effects my enjoyment of the book and makes me feel like pacing around my house because I just know I have to get that ARC done by a certain date and blah blah-it’s not good lol. So, despite how long it took me to read and how I might have had to push myself a little at times, I really did love this book. One of my GR friends, Robin, said in her review that at the end of the novel you felt like you were really a part of the world and that despite all you learned, Sanderson paced it so that you pretty much had a handle on everything (the magic) by the end of the story-and I agree. I feel like I learned SO MUCH….but I don’t feel bogged down, now. I feel great. I’m happy. And I’m ready for book two-I can’t wait.

Author: Chelsea (Page 65 of 111)

BOOK REVIEW: This is Not a Test (This is Not a Test #1) by Courtney Summers

Synopsis:

I am so sad.

My body wants to stop.
Thud. I end up on my knees. I’m dripping with sweat and my stomach is churning and the sound I heard was not the sound of myself falling and landing but-thud.
I turn my head to the exit.
Thud.

The world breaks into a million pieces and comes back together just as quickly but it comes back together wrong. The picture is wrong. Upside down, awful.

I pull at a strand of my hair. I want to rip it out. I want to climb onto the roof and throw myself off it. I want to bash my head against the mirror until it breaks.

I turn my face away from him. He’s right. Who cares. Maybe I’m infected. I try to listen to what’s happening inside me. If there’s any part of me that’s dying and becoming more rotten but more purposeful than what I am now.

We’ll make movies about it, hundreds of movies, and in every one of them, we’ll be the heroes and the love interests and best friends and winners and we’ll watch these movies until we are so far removed from our own history, we’ll forget how it really felt to be here.

BOOK REVIEW: White Cat (Curse Workers #1) by Holly Black

Synopsis:

Lie until even you believe it-that’s the real secret of lying. The only way to have absolutely no tells.

Too bad I’m not quite there yet.

I don’t want to be a monster, but maybe it’s too late to be anything else.

I hate that I love this. I hate that the adrenaline pumping through the roots of my body is filling me with giddy glee. I’m not a good person.

Marks think they can get something for nothing.
Marks think they can get what they don’t deserve and could never deserve.
Marks are stupid and pathetic and sad.
…..
Marks forget that whenever something’s too good to be true, that’s because it’s a con.

The easiest lies to tell are the ones you want to be true.

BOOK REVIEW: The Trouble with Love (Sex, Love & Stiletto #4) by Lauren Layne

Synopsis:

**Emma had tried the happily-ever-after route, and knew that for every woman who rode off into the sunset on a white stallion, another one got kicked in the face by that very same horse.**

BOOK REVIEW: Thoughtful (Thoughtless #1.5) by S.C. Stephens

Synopsis:

BOOK REVIEW: Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) by Brandon Sanderson

Synopsis:

Plots behind plots, plans beyond plans.
There was always another secret.

“The best liars are those who tell the truth most of the time.”

“Yes,” Kelsier said, “it’s probably best that you avoid Venture completely. Try to offend him or something. Give him a couple of those glares you do.”
Vin regarded Kelsier with a flat look.
“That’s the one!” Kelsier said with a laugh.

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BOOK REVIEW: This is Not a Test (This is Not a Test #1) by Courtney Summers

Synopsis:

I am so sad.

My body wants to stop. Thud. I end up on my knees. I’m dripping with sweat and my stomach is churning and the sound I heard was not the sound of myself falling and landing but-thud. I turn my head to the exit. Thud.

The world breaks into a million pieces and comes back together just as quickly but it comes back together wrong. The picture is wrong. Upside down, awful.

I pull at a strand of my hair. I want to rip it out. I want to climb onto the roof and throw myself off it. I want to bash my head against the mirror until it breaks.

I turn my face away from him. He’s right. Who cares. Maybe I’m infected. I try to listen to what’s happening inside me. If there’s any part of me that’s dying and becoming more rotten but more purposeful than what I am now.

We’ll make movies about it, hundreds of movies, and in every one of them, we’ll be the heroes and the love interests and best friends and winners and we’ll watch these movies until we are so far removed from our own history, we’ll forget how it really felt to be here.

Share this:

BOOK REVIEW: White Cat (Curse Workers #1) by Holly Black

Synopsis:

Lie until even you believe it-that’s the real secret of lying. The only way to have absolutely no tells.

Too bad I’m not quite there yet.

I don’t want to be a monster, but maybe it’s too late to be anything else.

I hate that I love this. I hate that the adrenaline pumping through the roots of my body is filling me with giddy glee. I’m not a good person.

Marks think they can get something for nothing. Marks think they can get what they don’t deserve and could never deserve. Marks are stupid and pathetic and sad. ….. Marks forget that whenever something’s too good to be true, that’s because it’s a con.

The easiest lies to tell are the ones you want to be true.

Share this:

BOOK REVIEW: The Trouble with Love (Sex, Love & Stiletto #4) by Lauren Layne

Synopsis:

Emma had tried the happily-ever-after route, and knew that for every woman who rode off into the sunset on a white stallion, another one got kicked in the face by that very same horse.

Share this:

BOOK REVIEW: Thoughtful (Thoughtless #1.5) by S.C. Stephens

Synopsis:

Share this:

BOOK REVIEW: Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) by Brandon Sanderson

Synopsis:

Plots behind plots, plans beyond plans. There was always another secret.

“The best liars are those who tell the truth most of the time.”

“Yes,” Kelsier said, “it’s probably best that you avoid Venture completely. Try to offend him or something. Give him a couple of those glares you do.” Vin regarded Kelsier with a flat look. “That’s the one!” Kelsier said with a laugh.

Share this:

Follow Us

Enter Email to Subscribe to Posts

Recent Reviews

Fun Lists About Books

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Jen’s Currently Reading

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Search:

Archives

Recent Reviews

Fun Lists About Books

Recommendations

My body wants to stop.
Thud. I end up on my knees. I’m dripping with sweat and my stomach is churning and the sound I heard was not the sound of myself falling and landing but-thud.
I turn my head to the exit.
Thud.

Marks think they can get something for nothing.
Marks think they can get what they don’t deserve and could never deserve.
Marks are stupid and pathetic and sad.
…..
Marks forget that whenever something’s too good to be true, that’s because it’s a con.

**Emma had tried the happily-ever-after route, and knew that for every woman who rode off into the sunset on a white stallion, another one got kicked in the face by that very same horse.**

Plots behind plots, plans beyond plans.
There was always another secret.

“Yes,” Kelsier said, “it’s probably best that you avoid Venture completely. Try to offend him or something. Give him a couple of those glares you do.”
Vin regarded Kelsier with a flat look.
“That’s the one!” Kelsier said with a laugh.