Tag: Young Adult (Page 122 of 159)

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: Firefight (Reckoners #2)

January 28, 2015 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

Firefight (Reckoners #2)
by Brandon Sanderson
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
From the #1 "New York Times" bestselling author of Words of Radiance coauthor of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, and creator of the internationally bestselling Mistborn Trilogy, Brandon Sanderson presents the second book in the Reckoners series: Firefight, the sequel to the #1 bestseller Steelheart.

They told David it was impossible--that even the Reckoners had never killed a High Epic. Yet, Steelheart--invincible, immortal, unconquerable--is dead. And he died by David's hand.

Eliminating Steelheart was supposed to make life more simple. Instead, it only made David realize he has questions. Big ones. And there's no one in Newcago who can give him the answers he needs.

Babylon Restored, the old borough of Manhattan, has possibilities, though. Ruled by the mysterious High Epic, Regalia, David is sure Babylon Restored will lead him to what he needs to find. And while entering another city oppressed by a High Epic despot is a gamble, David's willing to risk it. Because killing Steelheart left a hole in David's heart. A hole where his thirst for vengeance once lived. Somehow, he filled that hole with another Epic--Firefight. And he's willing to go on a quest darker, and more dangerous even, than the fight against Steelheart to find her, and to get his answers.

This time, when she’d pointed it at me, she’d flicked the safety on. If that wasn’t true love, I don’t know what was.

Oh sparks, that was good. Like….exceeding my expectations good. Second books in a series sometimes fall flat-no, scratch that-they almost always fall flat. It’s hard to make that huge connection between the first book we all fell in love with and then make it flow seamlessly to the big bang of a conclusion in book three. Or…well, er, I can’t confirm if this is a trilogy. A little help, guys? Anyway, my point, which I was getting to, is that it’s hard to make every little book live up to our massive expectations, especially a second book. I must say, though, that I am in love with this series, and getting a second look into the inner workings of David’s mind only made me love him more, and I can’t see how anyone didn’t fall for his quirkiness in this one.

She gave me a kind of apologetic grimace and shrugged.
“Well, trust me,” I said. “I’m more intense than I look. I’m intense like a lion is orange.”
“So, like…medium intense? Since a lion is kind of a tannish color?”

As with all second books, there are things for me to spoil from book one, so if you haven’t read the first and plan on doing so, proceed with caution. The Reckoners have taken out the high epic, Steelheart, and David’s thirst for revenge has been satisfied. But after achieving your greatest goal….then what?? Are you empty? Hollow? Do you have a direction to go now that you’ve invested your whole life into one thing that has finally been achieved?

The answer was beginning to settle on me like a dinosaur upon its nest. My life wasn’t just about one city, or one Epic, anymore. It was about a war. It was about finding a way to stop the Epics.
Permanently.

And see, this is why I am in love with David. He is literally just soooo…..optimistic. He may have avenged his father’s death, but he isn’t bloodthirsty for more. He doesn’t NEED to continue ridding the world of evil epics…he just does it now because he is part of the Reckoners and, of course, it helps to make the world a better place. But he is starting to doubt his whole life’s passion-what if, and this is a HUGE if, what if not all epics are bad? What if his father’s belief is finally coming to life? What if there are finally some good epics who can help stop those who are corrupt?

In the bank nearly eleven years ago, I’d cowered in fear when my father fought. He’d died.
Better to drown. I gathered up all of the emotions I felt at looking into the depths-the terror, the foreboding, the primal panic-and held them in hand. Then crushed them.

At the end of book one, the huge twist was that Megan was Firefight. Crazy. Amazing. SO unexpected. And so….not what he has been taught and learned through years of research. She had infiltrated the Reckoners, the very people designed to kill PEOPLE LIKE HER, and she hadn’t made a move on them. See, when she doesn’t use her powers, she doesn’t feel that itch to kill, to make people around her suffer, and it makes her seem like she could almost be normal-and I feel like this was such a large theme in this book-fighting to be the best you can be.

I knelt in the inferno of hell itself, the world dying around me, and knew I had failed.

Prof, as we learned at the end of book one, as well, is also an epic. He RARELY uses his powers because it takes him to a dark place and he becomes the evil he seeks to rid the world of. So, when David pleads that Megan, who has fled, is changing and not using her powers, Prof isn’t having it. After all, he’s an epic so only he knows what it’s like to have the darkness creep in and consume your soul. See the problem? One is hopeful, optimistic, believing there are still good epics in the world, while one ACTUALLY IS AN EPIC and thinks he knows the inevitability of being cursed by Calamity.

I settled down, sitting on the bed beside her. The tension in her voice, that look in her eyes. “Is it working?” I asked. “Do you feel like murdering people indiscriminately?”
“I always feel like murdering you. If only just a little.”

But by far my favorite thing about this series is, and I think Kat is FINALLY ON BOARD (toot toot), the relationSHIP between Megan and David. I was a mess. I was excited. I was girly and giggly and smiley as all get out…all because I adore them. I love seeing how David would defend her NO MATTER WHAT, even when the most horrific things are being said, even when everyone would turn on him in a second because of it, and even when he doubts her motives. GOD I fell so hard for him in this book. As if I needed another reason to love a series like this: Peril, action, friendship, missions, peril, love….Jesus I’m about to combust over here. But, through it all, here it is in a nutshell and why I FELL EVEN HARDER for them, Megan is completely and utterly into David. Oh yeah. It’s happened. She is officially a David fanboy, just like me-no matter how much she fights it.

She cocked her head. “Did you just invite me on a date…to spy on a deadly Epic planning to destroy the city?”
“Well, I don’t have a lot of experience with dating, but I’ve always heard you’re supposed to pick something you know the girl will enjoy…”
She smiled. “Well, let’s get to it then.”

So, to save you all more David-ness, I’ll say one last thing to wrap up my swirling emotions of fangirling-He’s like that person that is always smiling. The one you want to punch because literally nothing gets them down (okay, maybe I’M a bit evil). His happiness is infectious and his metaphors are adorable-he is always trying to do something more, and I think that’s why I love him-he literally NEVER gives up. That is all.

“We need to talk,” she said. “And you were ignoring me.”
“I wasn’t ignoring you. Things have just been very busy.”
“Busy looking at women’s backsides.”
“I wasn’t…Wait.” It hit me and I smiled. “You sound jealous!”
“Don’t be a buffoon.”
“No,” I said. “You were jealous.” I found I couldn’t stop grinning.
Megan seemed confused. “Normally, that’s not something people smile about.”
“It means you care,” I said.
“Oh please.”
Time to say something suave. Something romantic. My brain, which had been working a few steps behind all day, finally came to my rescue. “Don’t worry,” I said. “I’d rather ogle you any day.”
Wait.

I can’t say I love Brandon Sanderson yet, because I feel like a newbie who has only just begun to stick her toes in the water of experimentation, but I feel like he and I are about to become the best of friends. I ADORE this series. I ADORE the characters. I ADORE the situations he puts them through….I think I just wanted a little more. I wanted him to push the envelope on a couple things and he pulled back at the last second and that’s why I deducted half a star. The action was almost as perfect as the first, but didn’t quite get there, for me. So, while the romance was PERFECT in this one, I wanted him to rock out on the action…and it just was missing a little something. I cannot believe I have to wait until 2016…SPRING 2016…it might kill me. But maybe I’ll start filling my time with a little more Sanderson. Sounds like a plan to me.

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Buddy read with Kat!!!

BOOK REVIEW: The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

January 21, 2015 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life - and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two. Toby was Bailey's boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie's own. Joe is the new boy in town, a transplant from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched only by his musical talent. For Lennie, they're the sun and the moon; one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But just like their celestial counterparts, they can't collide without the whole wide world exploding.

This remarkable debut is perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, and Francesca Lia Block. Just as much a celebration of love as it is a portrait of loss, Lennie's struggle to sort her own melody out of the noise around her is always honest, often hilarious, and ultimately unforgettable.

“The sky is everywhere, it begins at your feet.”

AAAAAAH! My first review since…like…ever!!! I have MISSED REVIEWING!! Well, I’m finally back and I am so glad I chose this book to revive me in the reading world. It was just light enough, just angsty enough, just just just what I needed. I needed a shock to my system. It’s like this totally angsty book brought me back to life, a tad. Not to say I didn’t have a wonderful honeymoon and all that jazz, but…well….books. I missed them. They are like my right arm. I cannot function without them. So…to say I am sooooooo happy to be reading and FINALLY not stressed about planning anything (holidays, bday, wedding, honeymoon, OH MY)…is an understatement.

Later, as he plays and plays, as all the fog burns away, I think, he’s right. That’s exactly it-I am crazy sad, and somewhere deep inside, all I want is to fly.

This book…it was super weird. And I was kinda mad when everyone kept saying that in reviews. I was thinking-nah, people are just super judgmental (Anna-I SWEAR I’m not pointing at you-I love you too much…*side smirk emoji*). But, it really was just super odd. From the sex-crazed mourning main character, to the mourning boyfriend, to the type of writing-It made for a super interesting plot. I don’t think I particularly disliked anything. I just think certain things made me feel a little weird.

Grief is a house where no one can protect you
where the younger sister
will grow older than the older one
where the doors
no longer let you in
or out

For instance, a lot of times, and at first I didn’t mind because it was one character speaking like this, characters left out words at the beginning of the sentence. They would leave out “I” or “It” or something that added extra emphasis on what they were speaking about, and being a perfectionist….by about 50% I was tired of EVERYONE talking in such a manner. I thought it was cool for a couple people, but when they ALL started to, it lost it’s poetic emphasis.

There were once two sisters who shared the same room,
the same clothes,
the same thoughts at the same moment.
These two sisters did not have a mother
but they had each other.
The older sister walked ahead of the younger
so the younger one always knew where to go.

Hmmm what else?? OOOH the big ol’ elephant in the room-If, and I do mean IF, I were to pass for some reason, I can assure you that my amazing sister and my especially (and sometimes asshole-ish) amazing HUSBAND wouldn’t hook up. Here are the reasons I know this to be true: A) It’s icky. B) I have the most loyal sister and he was the most loyal boyfriend for 8 years. C) It’s icky. Not that this doesn’t happen in real life but….It wouldn’t happen. Even in the past 8 years, I know for a fact my was-a-boyfriend wouldn’t have crossed that line. I hope I will NEVER know that grief-EVER-but I just don’t see myself immediately falling for the boyfriend of my deceased sister. I guess this is why it is labeled fiction. I might never know the answers to these horrific and complex questions. All I know is-If there was a boy (not the deceased sister’s boyfriend (yes this is a love triangle)) with a smile that was saved just for me and he made my heart burst with beautiful and hopeful emotion…I’d be hanging on to him with my very being.

I look into his sorrowless eyes and a door in my heart blows open.
And when we kiss, I see that on the other side of that door is the sky.

And this is where the fabulous, adorable, and talented Joe comes in. I loved his personality! He was so sweet and charming and wow was he in love with Lennie. He fell for her so quick and gave her his undying attention from the start. His mile long lashes would bat at her and her libido would go crazy. He was optimistic and always blushing when caught off guard when people called him out on his feelings-to say it was adorable would be underselling it. In fact, I don’t quite know how to sell Joe. I think I’m underselling him, hmmm…*Squinty-eyed emoji*….let’s leave it here-While there was a lot that made me skeptical in the beginning, Joe made this book addictive the minute he started coming around-It’s that simple. I really liked, almost loved, this story because of Joe’s adorable love/crush on Lennie.

He shakes his head like it doesn’t matter, and then to my surprise he doesn’t kiss me but wraps his arms around me instead. For a moment, in his arms, with my mind so close to his heart, I listen to the wind pick up and think it just might lift us off our feet and take us with it.

Like I said, there was a lot going on with this book-a lot that I still don’t quite understand-but it really was a great book for me to start out with. It was cute, funny, sad, witty, addicting….weird (just like me)….so it worked. I am so happy I finally read this-I had it picked out probably 5 years ago, maybe longer-I can’t remember, and never ended up buying it at the store. So, after all these years, I finally read it. And I think I have to admit something-I’m glad I ~~forgot~~ waited this long….I don’t think I was as developed as a reader back then. Sure, I read a ton, but my preferences were narrow-minded and a lot of the same type of book on repeat. So, in essence, back then I probably would have hated it, whereas now I can appreciate the complexity of the story. I believe everything happens for a reason…and I am so happy I finally got to this book. ♥

BOOK REVIEW: Steelheart (Reckoners #1) by Brandon Sanderson

January 5, 2015 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

Steelheart (Reckoners #1)
by Brandon Sanderson
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Ten years ago, Calamity came. It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers. The awed public started calling them Epics. But Epics are no friend of man. With incredible gifts came the desire to rule. And to rule man you must crush his wills.

Nobody fights the Epics...nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans, they spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them.

And David wants in. He wants Steelheart - the Epic who is said to be invincible. The Epic who killed David's father. For years, like the Reckoners, David's been studying, and planning - and he has something they need. Not an object, but an experience.

He's seen Steelheart bleed. And he wants revenge.

I’ve seen Steelheart bleed.

And I will see him bleed again.

This book was EPIC. Eh? Eeeeh? See what I did there? lol

Yeah, okay. I wasn’t going to say anything AT ALL, but I can’t do that-lack of time be damned.

I LOVED this book. Not only because it was the perfect escape from reality that I needed, but because I am completely and utterly obsessed with superheroes. The idea of them, the sacrifices they make in their lives, and, cliche as it is, the damsels in distress they are always trying to save. You name it, I love it. But, in this case, it’s not about superheroes. It’s about normal people given superhuman abilities…that they choose to do evil with. Oh, MAN did this blurb hook me. When I saw my good friend reading this on here, I did what any sane person would do-I stalked her up and down until she finished to see what she ultimately thought. Her word is like law, you know.

I know, better than anyone else, that there are no heroes coming to save us. There are no good Epics. None of them protect us. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

So, to say I was excited to start this was an understatement. I don’t read many books like this, so I can’t actually say whether it was up to par with other fantasy type novels or even his other works….And I certainly can’t say that it will be everything you’ve ever imagined and more. I only know what I enjoy and what I like….and I LOVED this one. I loved the characters and their mission. I loved the world this author created. I loved our main character, David, like crazy-I don’t think he was completely developed, for my taste, but he cracked me up at every turn and he always brought a smile to my face, especially his metaphors-they got worse and worse! In fact, they were terrible! But that’s part of the charm of this novel. It’s imperfect perfectness.

I could imagine shooting through the streets on one of these. They looked so dangerous, like alligators. Really fast alligators wearing black. Ninja alligators.
I decided not to use that one on Megan.

-Lmao, my absolute favorite line of the whole book >.<

I dunno. I’m one of those chicks that LOVES the idea of fantasy….but I just can only scratch the surface, it seems. I am so busy all the time and the idea of world-building and world-building on top of strategizing and strategizing when I get home from work isn’t exactly what I want…but these are the types of books that give me exactly what I seek most: hardcore fight scenes, light love interest, hopefully a perilistic ending with declarations of love as one of main characters is on the brink of death in the face of evil and….yup. I know this is the genre I need to break into, but I just love the YA aspect so much I think that holds me back in the more advanced fantasy type books.

I looked up the cavernous shaft. It resembled an enormous throat, stretching upward…one we needed to get up…which made us…
Bad analogy. Very bad. Regardless, there was a twisting feeling in my gut.

So basically…my point is this: I love this shit. I even really like the male POV. I don’t get enough of that, I don’t think. I don’t have much time to write many reviews this month, that’s just the way it goes. But, I couldn’t leave for my wedding/honeymoon without saying SOMETHING. It physically bothers me not to! So, I said a little bit of my piece (two weeks after finishing) and now I’ll post a couple quotes. Eh, it’s not what I wanted for this book, or any book to follow during my review drought, but it’s certainly better than nothing.

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.

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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.

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BOOK REVIEW: Firefight (Reckoners #2)

Synopsis:

This time, when she’d pointed it at me, she’d flicked the safety on. If that wasn’t true love, I don’t know what was.

She gave me a kind of apologetic grimace and shrugged. “Well, trust me,” I said. “I’m more intense than I look. I’m intense like a lion is orange.” “So, like…medium intense? Since a lion is kind of a tannish color?”

The answer was beginning to settle on me like a dinosaur upon its nest. My life wasn’t just about one city, or one Epic, anymore. It was about a war. It was about finding a way to stop the Epics. Permanently.

In the bank nearly eleven years ago, I’d cowered in fear when my father fought. He’d died. Better to drown. I gathered up all of the emotions I felt at looking into the depths-the terror, the foreboding, the primal panic-and held them in hand. Then crushed them.

I knelt in the inferno of hell itself, the world dying around me, and knew I had failed.

I settled down, sitting on the bed beside her. The tension in her voice, that look in her eyes. “Is it working?” I asked. “Do you feel like murdering people indiscriminately?” “I always feel like murdering you. If only just a little.”

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BOOK REVIEW: The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

Synopsis:

“The sky is everywhere, it begins at your feet.”

Later, as he plays and plays, as all the fog burns away, I think, he’s right. That’s exactly it-I am crazy sad, and somewhere deep inside, all I want is to fly.

Grief is a house where no one can protect you where the younger sister will grow older than the older one where the doors no longer let you in or out

There were once two sisters who shared the same room, the same clothes, the same thoughts at the same moment. These two sisters did not have a mother but they had each other. The older sister walked ahead of the younger so the younger one always knew where to go.

I look into his sorrowless eyes and a door in my heart blows open. And when we kiss, I see that on the other side of that door is the sky.

He shakes his head like it doesn’t matter, and then to my surprise he doesn’t kiss me but wraps his arms around me instead. For a moment, in his arms, with my mind so close to his heart, I listen to the wind pick up and think it just might lift us off our feet and take us with it.

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BOOK REVIEW: Steelheart (Reckoners #1) by Brandon Sanderson

Synopsis:

I’ve seen Steelheart bleed.

And I will see him bleed again.

I know, better than anyone else, that there are no heroes coming to save us. There are no good Epics. None of them protect us. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

I could imagine shooting through the streets on one of these. They looked so dangerous, like alligators. Really fast alligators wearing black. Ninja alligators. I decided not to use that one on Megan.

I looked up the cavernous shaft. It resembled an enormous throat, stretching upward…one we needed to get up…which made us… Bad analogy. Very bad. Regardless, there was a twisting feeling in my gut.

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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.

She gave me a kind of apologetic grimace and shrugged.
“Well, trust me,” I said. “I’m more intense than I look. I’m intense like a lion is orange.”
“So, like…medium intense? Since a lion is kind of a tannish color?”

The answer was beginning to settle on me like a dinosaur upon its nest. My life wasn’t just about one city, or one Epic, anymore. It was about a war. It was about finding a way to stop the Epics.
Permanently.

In the bank nearly eleven years ago, I’d cowered in fear when my father fought. He’d died.
Better to drown. I gathered up all of the emotions I felt at looking into the depths-the terror, the foreboding, the primal panic-and held them in hand. Then crushed them.

I settled down, sitting on the bed beside her. The tension in her voice, that look in her eyes. “Is it working?” I asked. “Do you feel like murdering people indiscriminately?”
“I always feel like murdering you. If only just a little.”

Grief is a house where no one can protect you
where the younger sister
will grow older than the older one
where the doors
no longer let you in
or out

There were once two sisters who shared the same room,
the same clothes,
the same thoughts at the same moment.
These two sisters did not have a mother
but they had each other.
The older sister walked ahead of the younger
so the younger one always knew where to go.

I look into his sorrowless eyes and a door in my heart blows open.
And when we kiss, I see that on the other side of that door is the sky.

I could imagine shooting through the streets on one of these. They looked so dangerous, like alligators. Really fast alligators wearing black. Ninja alligators.
I decided not to use that one on Megan.

I looked up the cavernous shaft. It resembled an enormous throat, stretching upward…one we needed to get up…which made us…
Bad analogy. Very bad. Regardless, there was a twisting feeling in my gut.