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BOOK REVIEW – Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1) by Tahereh Mafi

August 13, 2014 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1)
by Tahereh Mafi
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Raindrops are my only reminder that clouds have a heartbeat. That I have one, too.

Intense, dangerous, and absolutely awesome, Shatter Me barged into my life and didn’t let me go until I was completely finished. Every review I read prior to reading this had a negative undertone, almost causing me to move on without giving this one a chance. This just goes to show that while reviews are a great way to scope out books, they aren’t the only way to scope out books.

In the absence of human relationships I formed bonds with paper characters. I lived love and loss through stories threaded in history; I experienced adolescence by association. My world is one interwoven web of words, stringing limb to limb, bone to sinew, thoughts and images all together. I am a being compromised of letters, a character created by sentences, a figment of imagination formed through fiction.

I am absolutely and completely stubborn-ask any of my closest GR friends-If I want to read it, I will read it. No amount of bad reviews will keep me away if I think a book is worthy of my time, and I wanted nothing more than to read this book. I went in expecting a not-so-great story-I’ll admit it. I thought, Ok, so, not many people seem to like this book-it will be corny, horribly written, and completely unlikeable. But, hey! I will give it a try anyway, just because I want to.

This book was anything BUT stupid. Well…in my opinion. 😉 View Spoiler » but that was literally my only gripe. Some say this book isn’t really a dystopian. Why? Just because it has a lot of romance it can’t still be labeled a dystopian? I don’t get it. The world is falling apart and the military (or something of that sort) is taking control-food is hard to come by and animals are nill and none. People are hiding away and freedom with safety is hard to come by. There is talk of destroying all books and memories and everything we learned of our past history…they want to reshape the world. I get that there was a very light element of dystopian, but it still, ultimately, screamed…dystopian.

I’ve been screaming for years and no one has ever heard me.

Juliette has a lethal touch. Anyone who touches her succumbs to physical, mind-fracturing, limb-freezing pain-and only she can pull away and break that connection. But with that connection, she starts to feel heady and light, powerful and hungry for more, each time making her feel more and more like a monster. The same for if she touches someone-they freeze in their stance and start to fry on the spot. She is labeled crazy. Evil. Psychotic. Placed in a mental ward in a cell where she hasn’t had any human contact in 264 days, she begins to feel a little crazy herself. Until Adam, her new cellmate, enters.

”Juliette,” he whispers, and I realize just how close he is. I’m not sure why I haven’t evaporated into nothingness. “It’s been me and you against the world forever,” he says. “It’s always been that way. It’s my fault I took so long to do something about it.”

I absolutely loved this book. Yeah, it’s super far fetched, but that’s exactly what I wanted! I don’t want safe and easy when I pick up a book-I want to be transported to another world where things DON’T HAVE TO MAKE SENSE. Here is what I know: The writing was AWESOME. I love Patrick Ness, and this author made me feel like I was reading a Ness novel, and that’s so astounding to me. I was shocked to feel that way as I read. Next, I loved Adam. Sweet, kind, fierce, strong, and endearing, he was a great character to become attached to. Finally, I loved the action. It was fun, crazy, and absolutely perilous-this book had me eating out of the palm of it’s hand.

Sometimes I wish I never had to sleep. Sometimes I think that if I stay very, very still, if I never move at all, things will change. I think if I freeze myself I can freeze the pain. Sometimes I won’t move for hours. I will not move an inch.

A great story with a crazy addictive group of characters, I couldn’t put this book down even if someone paid me to. I would read this over and over again, if only to get that awesome, exhilarating feel I did the first time. But the thing is, I can never re-read this book for a first time and that saddens me. But what I can do is get my friends to give it a try. If nothing else, this is an escape from reality that will keep you interested for a few days. I can’t wait to read book 2, but until then I will live in the moments when I read this first installment, and I will thoroughly enjoy looking back at my many, many highlights.

BOOK REVIEW – Unravel Me (Shatter Me #2) by Tahereh Mafi

August 13, 2014 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

Unravel Me (Shatter Me #2)
by Tahereh Mafi
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

4.5 Unsure Stars

And I understand for the first time, that I have the power to destroy everything.

I think there are many things that define how I rate a book…and it’s not always obvious how I am going to feel after I finish a story. I like to tell myself that ‘teams’ don’t sway how I rate, and for the most part, they don’t effect me, because I try to stay in that ‘neutral’ zone. That zone where I like or will be okay with either guy she ends up with. It has gotten me through so many love triangles I can’t even count. And I have even convinced myself in a matter of one year that I ♥ the angst of the triangle, but I’ve decided I’m only lying to myself.

I absolutely LOVED this story. No, it wasn’t as awesome as the first, and no, it didn’t set the world on fire peril wise or romantically (FOR ME, others were VERY pleased). Juliette, Adam, James, and Kenji made it where they needed to be. All is well and Juliette is learning to harness her abilities. Now, I thoroughly enjoyed what was happening with the story-there was romantic angst among Adam and Juliette, because they just love each other so much and they want what’s best for each other. I found myself tearing up more than once as Adam would proclaim how much he loved Juliette. But then…then something started to happen. The story started to swivel on it’s axis, the world became a topsy turvy mess and I don’t know which way is up or where I stand.

I’m beginning to wonder if I should just bury myself in the ground before I remember that technically, I already am. I never even needed a shovel.

I adored the idea of a bad boy who lusted after Juliette-it was the perfect way to add some spice to the story. Truly, it was. And it was cute for a minute, the unrequited love between Warner and Julia. But, BUT, the author began to paint Warner in a less than realistic ideal light, where all the horrid things he has done in his lifetime start to make sense, and isn’t it okay to make the bad guy seem hot, appealing, like a basket case that Juliette needs to save?? Of course. Of COURSE it is. But don’t make us fall head over heels for one guy then start to make him look like the douche. I don’t get it. At least make it fair. Don’t change the ideals of this awesome person who was so strong-willed and sexy in book one.

Bad news offers no returns once received.

And this is my problem. I lost a lot of sleep last night-A LOT. That’s the best feeling in the world, though, right? When you finish a book and absolutely cherished it and you can’t sleep because it was just so, so good? Right. Well, this is where I was upset. I couldn’t fall asleep because I just felt icky. I am starting to sense where this author is taking the story and not feeling one bit good about it. It physically bothers me that such a strong character is being made to look whiny and making way for Mr. Evil Gone Good. *SMH*

So, in a nutshell, although this review is more negative than positive, I did love the story. Truly. I love the way this author writes. It’s just so different and it makes you feel happy and disconnected from reality….the ending just started to push in a way that scares me. Makes me want to look at spoilers for book three the minute it is released in February. I mean, come on-View Spoiler » I still would suggest this book to anyone who wants to read a great dystopian with crazy twists. It’s very well-written and it’s sure to make you feel good-a fun, crazy, easy read that will have you on the edge of your seat at all times.

(I’m sorry-this was more of a rant-I am sick and very hazy right now, so this is what came spewing from my mouth)

BOOK REVIEW – Cruel Beauty (Cruel Beauty Universe #1) by Rosamund Hodge

August 13, 2014 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

Cruel Beauty (Cruel Beauty Universe #1)
by Rosamund Hodge
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

I do like a wife with a little malice in her heart.

A dark, twisted spin on a childhood fairy tale, this book has been on my radar for a long time now. I anxiously awaited it’s release, counting down the days until I would get to dive head first into a book that has a spin on the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast. I began to worry as the release date approached-what if my expectations were too high? What if I got excited for nothing? Why are the ratings already lowering??? I couldn’t have been happier with the result of the story and it was well worth the wait.

I was the girl who had broken her sister’s heart and-for a moment-liked it. I had left somebody in torment and liked it. I didn’t want to keep being that person.

Beautiful, poetic writing with a dark undertone to the whole story, we are swept into a world where the courageous Nyx is being sent to the ‘Gentle Lord’s’ house to be his wife-and to kill him to free all of Arcadia. All her life Nyx has known that she was going to be bargained off to the dark castle for the ultimate sacrifice. She has never complained or questioned her duty, all the while building up long term resentment towards her father, mother, and twin sister.

“You must betray one of us. I suppose which one you pick depends on whom you love the most.”

What I loved most about this story, though, is that Nyx didn’t whine. She didn’t complain. She never wanted to back out of her responsibility…until she fell for him. Until she fell for Ignifex, the man she is destined to kill in order to save the people she has vowed to sacrifice her life for. It was both admirable and heartbreaking to watch her struggle and determination to keep her vow all the while falling in love with the man that can’t live. The man that reigns over her land and her freedom.

If you desired someone, if he comforted you, if you thought he might leech the poison out of your heart, was that love? Or only desperation?

A tale of a soul-shattering love that could never possibly work, this book owned my heart. We have this broken shell of a man, a demon, someone completely incapable of feelings, for how many bargains has he made that ensure the demise of the people of Arcadia? Surely he is a heartless monster that could never fall for Nyx, his latest bargain…until he does.

He opened his eyes and stared up at me as if I were the door out of Arcadia and back to the true sky. “That’s what makes you my favorite.” He reached up and wiped a tear off my cheek with his thumb. “Every wicked bit of you.”

Honest to God, there are no words. I am literally a rambling, bumbling mess that can’t think of anything to satisfy how I truly felt about this book in just a review. There are no words to describe how beautiful this love story was…and more than that, it was a story of that desperate need to do what’s right, to do what she has always been trained to do. But how can she do that with this beautiful shell of man who is transforming before her eyes? Who inevitably has fallen for her as she has fallen for him? Can she kill this vulnerable demon who has grown to trust her and finds comfort in her embrace as things go bump in the night? Will she really be able to kill him?

“Where you go, I shall go; where you die, I shall die, and there I will be buried.”

I wasn’t lying when I said I was speechless. I have been so excited to write this review since Friday night, and here I am with a keyboard in front of me and no words seem to suffice. So I will just say this: this story was breathtaking, magical, and twisted beyond words, it bordered on tragic, making me tear up with the inevitability of what was to come, of what needed to be done….it was almost too much to bear. More than once I freaked out about the decision that Nyx was going to have to make…begging my Ipad to not let this possibly happen. And….there’s just nothing more to say. Although this review didn’t say much, this story speaks for itself.

“Though mountains melt and oceans burn, The gifts of love shall still return.”

A warning, though: if all you care about is the male lead or the progression of love in the story, this book is not for you. There is more than just two characters, and there is more at stake than just a budding forbidden romance. There is a backstory and mythical elements that shape how they act and what they do. It is beautifully built, but not all about the romance. It is about the choice of a young girl and the struggles she faces with the decision that has been thrust upon her shoulders-if you are not okay with this, then don’t bother.

BOOK REVIEW – Fighting Fate (Granton University #1) by Linda Kage

August 13, 2014 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

Fighting Fate (Granton University #1)
by Linda Kage
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

*Leaning towards 4.5 Stars*

Half of a moon dangled among the glittering stars, just like half a man stood next to the most dazzling female he’d ever know.

I don’t know….this totally wasn’t what I expected. In more ways than one, I was completely prepared to dub this ‘meh’ and move on. And let me tell you why: reviews. People’s reviews, whether glowing or not so fond of, littered the board with explanations that lead me to believe that my earlier impression of what the story would be was entirely false and that this would be some kind of, I don’t know, insta-love and that there would be very little progression from I hate you to I love you. But, and I’m going to be very diplomatic when I say this, that, my beautiful GR friends, is why I no longer trust reviews.

She hated him more than she thought it was possible to hate, because for a brief moment, he’d actually made her feel sorry for him. He’d actually made her respect him.

I had bought this thinking I’d love it, then started to look at reviews, and alas, the descriptions of this relationship started to deter me from wanting to read the story. I’m really glad I did, though.

But she didn’t want to feel awe or respect for him. She wanted to keep hating him. Blaming him.

While not an entirely realistic story, I found that I enjoyed the plot and how the author decided to play it out. The beginning was hard for me to like because I’m on a serious paranormal and dystopian run, but when I really and truly committed to these characters and their story, I began to really
love
what was going on in front of me.

“What do I want?” When a sad smile flittered across Logan’s lips, Paige shuddered, practically tasting his misery. Closing his eyes, he confessed, “Everything I know I shouldn’t, I guess.”

Paige…sigh, what to say about Paige? Paige was a pretty decent character. She tucked tail and ran a lot, but other than that, I can understand a little of the blame she puts on Logan. People need an outlet for their grief, and the boy who was in a fight with her brother as he died is a pretty good place to put the blame. She was a tad vindictive at times, yes I understand why, and even a bit harsh, but as she started to grow and see that Logan was only trying to move on with his life and forget that fateful night, the story began to take off for me. Seeing her hate turn to curiosity, to tentative understanding, to a heartbreaking compassion helped me to admire her as a character and to like the story more.

She groaned to herself and wrapped an arm over her closed eyes, hoping to dispel the image of him sitting on the floor by Mariah’s bed a few nights before. He’d looked so vulnerable, so touchable. Lost and alone. Why did she always feel compelled to comfort tortured souls? She wanted Logan Xander to be tortured, to stay tortured.

Logan was a tortured soul. For three years he has been harboring guilt, resentment (both for himself and from others), blame, and the loss of familial support. He doesn’t believe he deserves to be happy, no matter how many people he tries to save by being a DD at all times, and no matter how much he does to resolve his mistake. It was heartbreaking to see his torment and his less than stellar impression of himself, but even more heartbreaking when the sister of the guy he killed is at the same college as he, and everywhere he turns he sees her. Talk about torture.

“But I do.” Misery filled his eyes. “And I don’t regret it. I’ve fallen in love with you, Paige.”

A shockingly tender, sweet love story about second chances and forgiveness, Fighting Fate shows a journey from self loathing to the desire to be apart of the normal world again and how one person’s forgiveness makes a world of difference on this young man’s life. I was so skeptical at first as to how this story could possibly progress, but all at once it became addictive and impossible to put down. I adored the way their relationship came to be and it wasn’t at all how I expected it to begin. I’m glad that at 5% they weren’t all mooney-eyed and falling in love-that’s flippin’ stupid and not at all how it would happen. I’m glad it took most of the book for them to realize what they meant to one another-that fragile tether they have that separates them from the rest of the college campus-that knowledge of tragedy and what it’s like to feel alone and afraid with no one who understands…until they find one another.

He sniffed and tilted his face slightly away in a hopeless effort to hide the fact he was still crying. But in doing so, he only slid his cheek alongside hers. Their flesh brushed and one of his tears sealed their skin together, compressing it as someone would press a sentimental flower petal between the pages of a book.

Again, I can’t stress enough the importance of just going with your gut when you see a book that calls to you. This book almost sat untouched on my app due to other people’s opinions, and that really makes me think twice about how many books I have passed up on the chance that no one else liked them. I don’t know. I guess I’ve always been the black sheep liking those stories that not many others do…and while this was well received, some people found this less than impressive. I loved it. Baaaa

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BOOK REVIEW – Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress #1) by Jeaniene Frost

August 13, 2014 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress #1)
by Jeaniene Frost
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

*4.5 Color Me Surprised Stars*

My chin stuck out. Pride or peril, take your pick.

I’m not going to say that this was the most groundbreaking and extraordinary book I’ve ever read, but it had something I have been missing for a while now-a male lead that, while undead, was still the most loyal, sweet, endearing, and attentive guy I have read about in a while. Sure, I had to substitute his platinum hair for brown immediately….a discussion that was at the forefront of the buddy read thread since we couldn’t focus on anything but that dreadful hair color for quite a bit, but Bones managed to weasle his way into my daydreams as I sat mindlessly at work attempting to finish up so I could just get home and read. And that, my friends, was all I really wanted at this moment-a sweet guy that could take my mind off of every day life if only for a moment.

Cat is half human, half vampire. See, her mother was raped 22 years ago by a vampire, therefore setting Cat up for the ‘job’ she currently holds: killing every vampire she can get her hands on. She wants vengeance for her mother’s fragile state of mind about things that go bump in the night, and also that fact that she is part ‘monster’. Then one night she approaches Bones for her latest kill, and soon her world doesn’t seem quite so black and white as she had once imagined.

You stare straight through me as if I’m not even there. You look at me…and you don’t see a man. You see a vampire, and therefore accord me less substance”

Overall, I would have to settle my inner debate that I liked Cat. At first, I loved her. Then she started to grate on my nerves, because how many times does this awesome ~~vampire~~ guy have to save you, treat you admirably, practically drool all over you (in a non-clingy and very passionate and sweet sort of way) before you realize that he is loyal and not the monster you think his kind to be? That he is perfect for you because he has nothing but respect for you? I just hated seeing her continually hurt his feelings, and it started to become a problem for me. I liked at first that she wasn’t quick to jump in the sack with him-it’s nice to see a heroine not go all mushy right up front, but then after about 50% of the book, I was like, ‘Dude, okay. We get it-you are strong and not easily manipulated-NOW KISS HIM, YOU FOOL!!!’. Then as the story started to wind down, she started to become pretty badass, I will admit. I started to love her again, because that strong will was necessary. So, ultimately, I respected her as a character. (PS, I TOTALLY understand where Cat gets her stubbornness-Damn, but her mother annoyed the living daylights out of me)

“I’m saying I’m a moody, insecure, narrow-minded, jealous, borderline-homicidal bitch, and I want you to promise me that you’re okay with that, because it’s who I am and you’re what I need.”

It can be said that I’m a sap, that I cry at the drop of a hat, and in real life-maybe. But for books, I do have a little backbone when it comes to the tears and hysterics. FOR MOST BOOKS. Now, I knew what was going to happen at the end, because my curiosity knows no bounds and I always research just a little too much, but I STILL started to get a little misty eyed when things unraveled at the closing of the book. And I’m so happy I did-I’m so excited that I cared enough about these characters to give a damn about their well-being. It’s an accomplishment, and I will most definitely be moving forward to the next book tonight. (It should be noted that this is under my ‘tearjerkers’ shelf-I’m getting so blurry about the lines that decipher what needs to be on these shelves….for instance, this should probably be under my ‘cliffhanger’ shelf as well, but I’ve not been accurate on that shelf for a while-I don’t even know what a mild cliffhanger is like anymore because almost every book seems to have a cliffhanger now-ARRRGHHH)

So, no, this wasn’t the most earth shattering story I’ve ever read, but it made me happy. All I wanted was an escape from reality and a fluffy story where things aren’t so complex that I need to ponder them after I’m finished with each chapter, and that’s exactly what I got. A solid, fun group (or pairing) of characters in a somewhat perilous story where no one is safe…and sometimes that’s all you need.

Jen	Chelsea
Arielle	Cassie

Jen	Chelsea
Arielle	Cassie

BOOK REVIEW – Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1) by Tahereh Mafi

Raindrops are my only reminder that clouds have a heartbeat. That I have one, too.

I’ve been screaming for years and no one has ever heard me.

”Juliette,” he whispers, and I realize just how close he is. I’m not sure why I haven’t evaporated into nothingness. “It’s been me and you against the world forever,” he says. “It’s always been that way. It’s my fault I took so long to do something about it.”

Sometimes I wish I never had to sleep. Sometimes I think that if I stay very, very still, if I never move at all, things will change. I think if I freeze myself I can freeze the pain. Sometimes I won’t move for hours. I will not move an inch.

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BOOK REVIEW – Unravel Me (Shatter Me #2) by Tahereh Mafi

And I understand for the first time, that I have the power to destroy everything.

I’m beginning to wonder if I should just bury myself in the ground before I remember that technically, I already am. I never even needed a shovel.

Bad news offers no returns once received.

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BOOK REVIEW – Cruel Beauty (Cruel Beauty Universe #1) by Rosamund Hodge

I do like a wife with a little malice in her heart.

I was the girl who had broken her sister’s heart and-for a moment-liked it. I had left somebody in torment and liked it. I didn’t want to keep being that person.

“You must betray one of us. I suppose which one you pick depends on whom you love the most.”

If you desired someone, if he comforted you, if you thought he might leech the poison out of your heart, was that love? Or only desperation?

He opened his eyes and stared up at me as if I were the door out of Arcadia and back to the true sky. “That’s what makes you my favorite.” He reached up and wiped a tear off my cheek with his thumb. “Every wicked bit of you.”

“Where you go, I shall go; where you die, I shall die, and there I will be buried.”

“Though mountains melt and oceans burn, The gifts of love shall still return.”

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BOOK REVIEW – Fighting Fate (Granton University #1) by Linda Kage

Half of a moon dangled among the glittering stars, just like half a man stood next to the most dazzling female he’d ever know.

She hated him more than she thought it was possible to hate, because for a brief moment, he’d actually made her feel sorry for him. He’d actually made her respect him.

But she didn’t want to feel awe or respect for him. She wanted to keep hating him. Blaming him.

“What do I want?” When a sad smile flittered across Logan’s lips, Paige shuddered, practically tasting his misery. Closing his eyes, he confessed, “Everything I know I shouldn’t, I guess.”

“But I do.” Misery filled his eyes. “And I don’t regret it. I’ve fallen in love with you, Paige.”

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BOOK REVIEW – Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress #1) by Jeaniene Frost

My chin stuck out. Pride or peril, take your pick.

You stare straight through me as if I’m not even there. You look at me…and you don’t see a man. You see a vampire, and therefore accord me less substance”

“I’m saying I’m a moody, insecure, narrow-minded, jealous, borderline-homicidal bitch, and I want you to promise me that you’re okay with that, because it’s who I am and you’re what I need.”

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