Tag: Paranormal (Page 37 of 51)

BOOK REVIEW – Silence (Hush, Hush #3) by Becca Fitzpatrick

August 19, 2014 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

Silence (, )
by Becca Fitzpatrick
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

What a breath of fresh air! I was really starting to think I was never going to rate a book in this series more than 3 stars! It’s like Fitzpatrick has all these awesome, creepy ideas, but didn’t know how to execute them! Well, I am happy to say I really and truly enjoyed the third installment in the series and I’m glad I didn’t give up on it.

Patch is finally a guy I can relate to-protective, sweet, helpful, vulnerable, and jealous. Guys who are mysterious and quiet for each and every story in their series are not for me (well, that might be a lie, maybe I just couldn’t relate to Patch-whatever, moving on),

so I was ecstatic when I realized he had dropped the facade.

I have never disliked Nora, so again, Nora was cool, and it appears she has gotten a little smarter in her decisions. Sooo I liked her even more. What I liked the most, though, was the lack of Vee. That girl just drives me insane. She is loyal, sometimes funny, yes, but she really makes the stupidest decisions and aside from helping Nora, she is totally self-centered and thinks only of numero uno. So, yes, I was very happy with the lack of Vee in this installment.

Now, I am going to go out on a VERY shaky limb here and say that I don’t get Nora’s venemous attitude toward Marcie ALL the time. Yes, Marcie is a bitch, but in the past two books she honestly hasn’t been as bad as Nora previously described. More so in this story I feel Marcie was actually pretty decent. She, of course, has a hidden agenda, but she isn’t evil. Her father is evil-of course she has a ‘tude. We probably all have people we don’t like or didn’t care for in HS-I know I did. But the fact is, my senior year, we tolerated and talked to each other. It happens-people grow up and get nicer or, I suppose, more tolerable. Idk. That’s just my opinion. I’d much rather have Marcie plastered all into the story than Vee. She is WAY more interesting and makes funnier comments than the latter.

This is definitely my favorite in the series and I am happy to say it left me wanting more. There is an epic battle to come, from what I hear, and I hope it will satisfy in both action and peril. I can’t wait to see what happens in the finale of the Hush, Hush series. (haha, incidentally, Finale is the name of the last book, funny)

BOOK REVIEW – The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #1) by Michelle Hodkin

August 19, 2014 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #1)
by Michelle Hodkin
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

*sighs* I don’t know what went wrong here…and there really isn’t much I can say to justify why I feel this way without throwing a spoiler in every two sentences.

Was the plot line intriguing? Yes. Did I enjoy the first half of the book? Yup. Was the male lead undeniably sweet, attentive, and attractive? Absolutely. But here is the most important question of them all: Was Noah the ONLY thing that made me want to finish after 65%? It’s sad to say, but it rings true. Noah is literally the only thing this story had to offer. I was fooled by the first 100 some pages, I’ll admit that. There was cute banter between Mara and Noah and I thought this might turn out to be kind of fun. I mean, I chuckled a couple times to myself so I’ll admit that also. But the point remains-at a certain area in this book, and I’m not sure when, Mara went from being a poor, tolerable girl suffering from unfortunate circumstances to an annoying (let’s admit it) psycho who quite frankly was too dumb to deserve Noah and his help.

More than once I wished Noah could be taken out of this story and placed into another more well-rounded novel. But then we wouldn’t have a story at all, would we?

The dialogue became corny and forced, and the situations became so…I don’t even know the word….wonky? That I could hardly contain my laughter. (view spoiler)

The thing is, I feel that what can only be described as a cliffhanger was supposed to save the story. You know, make people want to come back for more. But sadly, while it was kinda cool (if not completely silly and unrealistic) it wasn’t enough to save what I can only label as a time waster. Yes, I wasted 4 days wading through this swamp of crap and have nothing to show for it. And more than that? I can’t stand the thought of spending 9.99 on the next installment, even if I was a little curious about this mysterious cliffhanger and the fate of Noah.

And believe me when I say this: Kris-If it wasn’t for you, reason numero dos, I most likely wouldn’t have kept going. So, yeah, thanks for not making this a total waste of time…essentially. lol

BOOK REVIEW – Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days #1) by Susan Ee

August 19, 2014 / Chelsea / 2 Comments

Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days #1)
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
It’s been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back. Anything, including making a deal with Raffe, an injured enemy angel. Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they journey toward the angels’ stronghold in San Francisco, where Penryn will risk everything to rescue her sister and Raffe will put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

Re-read with my buddies Kristin (KC), Jennifer, Natalie, and Sarah

Raffe was even better the second time around-this book has not left my thoughts since I finished it a month and a half ago. Well-written, fast-paced, and swoony as all get out, I could not be happier with this story and I am proud to say that it has earned
5 stars
in my eyes. It deserves it.

Thanks for taking a chance on this guys 🙂

Officially one of my favorite books of all time. ♥

~~4.25 Stars~~ 5 AMAZING STARS

This was a hard book to rate-it took me forever to decide what amount of stars to forever attach to this story. I repeatedly make the mistake of reading reviews over and over again until I get a chance to sink my claws into the story. It’s no secret that this book is well-liked among the GR community. Now, I get the hype, I actually get it for this one. For real.

There was just a point in the middle where it lost some of it’s…let’s say sparkle, because they were at one place for an extended period of time (in this story, anything more than a day is too long based on what they seek). The beginning seeped action with pure malice right at the starting gate. Nothing good can come from your sister being abducted by the things that started the apocalypse-the end of your world as you know it, right? So, sooo right. More than you can know.

Penryn is attempting to survive with her handicapped sister and, I’m sorry, crazy mother in a world where the gangs rule the daytime and creatures that even the gangs fear rule the night. Talk about a win/win situation. Then, on the fateful night that her sister is taken, she sees an angel being attacked by his own kind-and quite frankly, holding his own. But when things take a turn for the worst, the angel’s wings get cut from his back and Penryn has a decision to make: help the angel, or keep running. Let’s just say her decision pisses off a particularly vengeful angel, thus leading to the abduction of her kid sister.

Raffe was such a fun character to read about. Strong, lightweight (literally, lol), fierce, loyal, and passionate. He is so many things wrapped into a neat, angel-sized package, with more to give than we even realize. I always love that story where the supernatural being pushes the human girl away, only for us to realize or think he is bluffing. I’m not saying either way, I just love the dynamic of it all. It’s that love story you are dying to see unfold, because it isn’t just handed to you on a silver platter. We have to work to get what we want, and all the while we grow fonder and fonder of the characters and their struggle to survive.

More than anything, though, this book had humor laced into each chapter. I love dystopian-but add some humor to the main characters or the situation and I LOVE dystopian. Yes! There IS a difference. Raffe honestly cracked me up with his half smirks when he thought she wasn’t looking and the eye-rolling when she was just trying to help. At one point I laughed out loud because I could just see this clumbsy scene unfold where a tiny human girl is trying to help a strong angel out of a tense situation. That’s about as comical as it can get. Even when Raffe is hurt, he has the whole “mouth twitch” thing going on. Thank God for small favors in this morbid society.

“In the long second before everyone absorbs what just happened, I see the angel rolling his eyes heavenward, like a teenager in the presence of overwhelming lameness. Some people just have no sense of gratitude.”

With so much happening throughout the story, I thought it had gotten about as gross as it could get in the woods. *Cue Cady from Mean Girls* Wrong. So Wrong. There is a point near the end when I literally was so disgusted with what was unfolding before my eyes, that I had to put the book down and digest just what I was reading. I didn’t think the author would go there…but she did. Full-force. It got weird, people. Beyond disturbing. So kudos on that, because I devoured that whole sequence.

It takes a good author to slow my roll as I read, and Susan Ee is a DAMN good author. I was shaking with anticipation and dread in the final chapters, I couldn’t put the book down, I couldn’t read fast enough nor could I read slow enough, and I just had no idea what direction she would take. Needless to say, I loved the direction she took. So again, I am faced with yet ANOTHER cliffhanger and ANOTHER long wait until the next installment comes out. Haven’t I been punished enough? Can’t something be released early for my wounded reading soul? Apparently not. Now, we wait.

Reading Order & Links: Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles) & Book Depository (click on book #)
Angelfall #1 Reviews: Jen Chelsea Laura Anna	World After #2 Reviews: Jen Chelsea	End of Days #3 Reviews: Jen Chelsea

BOOK REVIEW – Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone #1) by Laini Taylor

August 19, 2014 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone #1)
by Laini Taylor
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

3.5 Odd, not sure why stars

This is such a hard book to review for SO MANY different reasons. On the one hand, we have a fantasy novel. My GR friends and I who chose to buddy read this had, as Tasha said, “our paranormal hats on,” and had no idea we were going to be reading something so…out there. On the other hand, we have a strong romantic sub-plot that becomes, ultimately, the main plot in the last fourth of the story. I, for one, loved the romance aspect. There have been so many romances that have been labeled ‘epic’ recently, that when an actual ‘epic’ love story comes around we don’t know what to do with it. So many people didn’t like the strong romantic turn in the story, whereas I thought it saved the story.

We start with Karou, a chick from Prague who helps her otherworldy friends with weird “errands.” They are her family, but no one around her knows anything of them. This is where that explanation stops for me, because as I said before, there were some things in this story I wasn’t prepared to be reading, and the names of LITERALLY EVERYONE were one of those things. I could hardly pronounce (in my head) half the names presented, let alone the origin of what they were. I like to think I am an intelligent person, so don’t take my pronunciation issues into account with my overall knowledge and intelligence. This was an entirely made up world and the breed of what these things are/were, whatever, hard to decipher. SO. Anyway, this leads to my next point.

The world building was…not my favorite, to say the least. I like stories that are different. I do. Ask any of my closest GR friends, I have read some doozies in the past few months-but on the weirdness scale? This one takes the cake. I just couldn’t immerse myself in the world this author was building or make myself care about Karou..that much. Based on how much this book has been talked about here on GR, I was expecting some pretty amazing story telling and kickass battle scenes, but it was honestly just more of a weird world with a girl doing errands and trying to get to her family in, yes, another world.

Now, I can’t hate on that “other” world too much, because frankly, this other world contained the best part of the story. Oh yes. The best part comes with a name-Akiva. This is where other reviewers rejoiced or parted with the story. I rejoiced. He was the only thing that made this start even close to a 3 star rating. Without this male lead, I would have maybe, maybe given this two stars. Doesn’t say much about the storyline from my perspective, does it? Akiva’s passion, loyalty, and sweetness drew me in from the moment he stepped into the story. Some might cry insta-love, but there is more to it than meets the eye. I have to say I ‘hate’ insta-love normally, but in this instance, there was just something different about it. Also, and everyone can note this, I don’t care if it’s insa-love, forbidden love, unrequited love…if it’s
WELL-WRITTEN
(idc if that’s how you say it or not, it gets my point across) then I will give anything a chance, and I have to say I’m glad I did on this one.

This review is getting long so I’ll wrap it up. The emotions conveyed in this story from, you guessed it, Akiva captivated me. His story was just so HEART-WRENCHING that I couldn’t help but to love him and add some points to the board. And the ending. Wow. Maybe the end didn’t touch others like it touched me, but that last page or two swayed my rating from like a 2.5 to a 3.5. The end was what I wanted to see the whole book, instead, there was a whole lot of nothing. So when we finally get a badass final line/cliffhanger, I was ecstatic. It didn’t truly change the GR rating, but it gained that half star of repect in my eyes, and that means the world to me. To those who like an offbeat story with a difficult or different world to grasp onto, you will love it. Honestly. It was good writing and a decent concept, it just was not a win for me.

Thanks to Tarra and Tasha (my two T’s :P) for buddy reading this with me! When I doubted about finishing I dredged on ONLY because of you both. I would probably not have gotten to my main man Akiva otherwise 🙂

*****

Ok….initial thoughts after finishing: I told myself that the end would define whether I kept my rating at three stars (which it was clear the whole time it was at most three star worthy IMO). There were 3 PAGES left, 3! and I was like “meh, I might rate this 2.5.” And then…and then, the ending. Those last two pages (epilogue not included) literally raised it from a 3 to a 3.5. Seriously. Just those last few measly sentences of this odd, ooodddd book made me like it almost a whole star better. It was such a strong ending-it was what I was waiting for the whole book, honestly.
*review to come tomorrow*

BOOK REVIEW – Darkhouse (Experiment in Terror #1) by Karina Halle

August 14, 2014 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

Darkhouse (Experiment in Terror #1)
by Karina Halle
Purchase on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

I can’t even begin to tell you how exciting it was to read this book. Back in the day, my best friends and I would gather around the basement big screen television and watch every scary movie known to man. Hell, we watched so many that I was literally jaded when an actual good scary movie came out-I was never scared. Jump to present day, about 7-8 years later, and I can’t even watch a scary movie commercial. Yeah, things went south quickly.

SO. I have sworn off scary movies (for the most part, I’m a lot like Perry in this sense) or anything remotely scary that might freak me out and give me more nightmares than those that already plague me. I am so happy my friend asked me to read this with her, because if she hadn’t, I most likely would have never gotten the lady balls to read this or to finish it if I had attempted to even start it.

The story most definitely starts out with a bang, I must say. Perry is having a recurring nightmare (or is she?) that haunts her frequently. Now, this made a fan out of me right off the bat, because as I stated above, I have recurring nightmares as well. Scarily enough? She has the SAME. EXACT. DREAM. that I do. She has it in the same fashion, is laying in the same position on the bed, and has the same end result as I do: Screaming her freakin’ head off. The only difference is the mouth on the nightmarish figure-that doesn’t appear in mine. Needless to say, I knew that while this might be a “starting point” in the series and not so scary for some people, it would most likely be a trigger for me. I am happy to say I did finish the book with minimal freak outs and only had to stop reading once due to the scare factor. Yay me.

Perry is such a fun character, and as I told my friend I read this with, she is the mirror image of me and my personality. It’s always fun when you can identify with the main character, and Perry didn’t disappoint. She was quirky, funny, witty, and brave to boot (now that I edit this, I see that it’s implied I think I am all these things-not what I was going for here-I was only saying she has the same inner dialogue/thoughts as I do and a lot of the same mannerisms…just a note). The biggest character trait that separates fictional Perry and I? If I had seen that freakin’ creeptastic lighthouse, I would have RAN AS FAR AWAY AS I COULD HAVE and never looked back. Oh wait, I would NEVER HAVE LEFT THE GROUP IN THE FIRST PLACE! So, suffice to say, she was a very brave character who faced her fears head on, while I, as Perry stated in numerous instances, am a chickenshit.

**“Now, despite my interest in the paranormal, I never watched those ghost hunting shows on TV. Ironically, I am too chickenshit and my imagination is far too powerful.”**

^See? That’s me-right there in a nutshell.^

And then we have Dex. Declan-whatever you want to call him. His name(s) says it all. He is a mysterious, brave, fun, and infuriating man. He lives on the edge of his seat, as far as I can tell, and doesn’t seem to be afraid of much. He is brave in the face of terror, for both himself and Perry, but urgent and quick-to-react when necessary. He is the most fascinating and intriguing when he is protecting Perry. I love seeing the change in demeanor for both high-adrenaline situations and run-ins with bitchy college “friends” from the past. I don’t think he ever has a consistant personality in any certain situation, but one thing never changes: he does his best to protect Perry, both physically and mentally. I really loved seeing his character development throughout the story, because he became a really sweet (mostly), charming guy. I can’t wait to see what happens between the two.

The writing was very good as well. I couldn’t believe that this book, that was FREE on Nook, had such good writing. It was funny, sharp, and witty. I was drawn in from the first page, and even more so after a couple chapters. This author had such a fun way of writing the story that the reader finds themself pulled into each chapter without even realizing it. If I didn’t have so many books to read at this time, I would most defintely be starting the next in the series-BUT, since I do, I will just keep this little gem called Red Fox hidden away until I get a chance to read it. I seriously can’t wait.