Matched by Ally Condie

Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

Blurb from Barnes and Nobel.com

4 out of 5 stars

A beautiful book. Definitely one that makes you think about how much you can really do. A very organized, perfect world, that to anyone but the characters is completly odd.

Fans of The Hunger Games love triangle, Maggie Stiefvater's writting (particularly her Wolves of Mercy Falls series), and Julie Kagawa's writing would definitely enjoy this book.

Many of my friends liked the cover and wanted to know what it was about. So I told them that it was about a girl who lives in a world where everything is chosen for them. At first they thought it 'everything' was clothes and food, which isn't so bad. But once I explained it was more like who you love, they exploded with outragious comments, like how they wouldn't listen, how they'd rebel. And I tried to explain how they wouldn't, how if they'd grown up there, they would be just like the characters. They didn't understand, and said it sounded like a boring book. Kinda sad, isn't it?

If you agree with my friends, and you think anyone would rebel in that situation, then don't read this book. Your better off reading a different book. Because if you can't understand how people would act being raised like that, then you wouln't understand the book.

But anyways. I'm babbling.

The writing of this book was beautiful. It flowed in a poetic way, which fit some of the scenes in the book very well. This book also revolved around some poetry, so if you just absolutly hate poetry and can't stand the sight of it, don't read this book. I think maybe the author is a poetry writer, because she wrote some of the characters poetry, and her writting often flowed into poetry like thoughts and discriptions.

The ending was definitely unexpected, and left me smiling. Both a sad smile, and a happy one. The last page or so was also one of the most beautiful moments, writing wise.

I loved it, and I cannot wait for the next one. I have to go look up when it comes out right now. :)

The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima

Times are hard in the mountain city of Fellsmarch. Reformed thief Han Alister will do almost anything to eke out a living for himself, his mother, and his sister Mari. Ironically, the only thing of value he has is something he can’t sell. For as long as Han can remember, he’s worn thick silver cuffs engraved with runes. They’re clearly magicked—as he grows, they grow, and he’s never been able to get them off.

Han’s life gets even harder after he takes a powerful amulet from the son of the High Wizard. The amulet once belonged to the Demon King, the wizard who nearly destroyed the world a millennium ago. With a magical piece so powerful at stake, the Bayars will stop at nothing to reclaim it from Han.

Meanwhile, Raisa ana’Marianna, Princess Heir of the Fells, has her own battles to fight. Although Raisa will become eligible for marriage after her sixteenth name-day, she isn't looking forward to trading in her common sense for a prince with a big castle and tiny brain. Raisa aspires to be like Hanalea—the legendary warrior queen who killed the Demon King and saved the world. But it seems like her mother has other plans for her—plans that include a suitor who goes against everything the Queendom stands for.

The Seven Realms will tremble when the lives of Han and Raisa collide in this stunning new page-turner from best-selling author Cinda Williams Chima.



Blurb from Barnes and Nobel.com

4 out of 5 stars

Athough it had a bit of a slow start, this was a wonderful book. It is one of those ones that leaves you thinking about it when your not reading, laying awake at night wondering who's going to do what or what's going to happen next.

I loved the world The Seven Realms. It sounded so beautiful and dangerous and captivating that I wish I could visit it, even with all the dangerous things going on in the book. It's not likely to be a place I'll forget anytime soon.

All the characters seemed very original, and most of them could exist even today. I could picture them perfectly in my mind, see their faces and expressions. I loved both the main characters too. They seemed worlds and worlds apart, when really they could walk to each others houses. They even went to the same places, met the same people, which was unusual for a book told in two persectives.

All in all, it was a book I couldn't put down, and I'm glad I have the next one, because the ending you'll never expect! :)

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

The Scorch Trials picks up where The Maze Runner left off. The Gladers have escaped the Maze, but now they face an even more treacherous challenge on the open roads of a devastated planet.
And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.
Can Thomas survive in such a violent world?

Blurb from Barnes and Nobel.com

4 out of 5

A wonderful continuation to a scary series! This book was one of those where you think somethings a lie, and then it's the truth, and then it's a lie again, over and over untill you don't know up from down, and then you've still got to keep going.

I wasn't quiet sure where the Gladers were going when The Maze Runner ended, and I didn't believe that I could be worse than the maze and everything else they faced.

It was worse.

This book was scary in the way that makes you want to throw up, and in the mental kind of scary, the scary that mess's up your head.

And of course, this book had about the worst cliff-hanger ever written.

Of course.

So, I will be eagerly and impatently waiting for the third one. :)



Twelfth Grade Kills by Heather Brewer



Vlad’s running out of time. The Elysian Council has given him only weeks to live, and that’s if the Slayer Society doesn’t kill him — along with all the citizens of Bathory — first. Then there’s the issue of Vlad’s father, who may or may not still be alive after all these years. Oh yeah, and that tiny little detail in the Pravus prophecy about Vlad enslaving Vampirekind and the human race. So much for college applications.

In this epic finale to Heather Brewer’s heart-stopping Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, dark secrets will be revealed, old friends will become enemies, and warm blood will run cold. Just be careful it isn’t yours.

Blurb from Barnes and Nobel.com


4 out of 5 stars

I loved this book! I read it in two days!

Although, I can't give away much without revealing what happens, I must say I love the character Snow.

This one probably had the most sad parts, as it had my heart at my feet at least five times, and I know I was ready to start crying twice.

But the ending closed everything up, but still ended openly, showing that there could be more to it if Heather Brewer wanted to write more. Personally I like those endings. They show that the characters lives don't end when you put the book down. If they were real, that wouldn't be the end. They would still grow up, and do whatever they want.

Loved the series, a good and fun vampire read, less serious than some others I've read. Since the new Slayer Chronicles book just came out yesterday, I'll try to get that one read sometime too!

Eleventh Grade Burns by Heather Brewer



It’s another awful year at Bathory High for Vladimir Tod. Joss, a professional vampire slayer and Vlad’s former friend, has moved back to town. The powerful vampire Dorian has an overwhelming desire to drink Vlad’s blood. And his archenemy, D’Ablo, has brought Vlad’s Uncle Otis to trial for crimes against vampires. So much for dating. When the tables turn on Vlad, he has just enough time to return to Bathory for his final good-byes.

Blurb from Barnes and Nobel.com


4 out of 5 stars

Basically, just as good as the previous ones, if not better. Although Tenth Grade Bleeds had the most funny parts, this one had one that just really got me going. All you need to know is Joss. Once you've read this book, you'll know what I'm talking about.

This book had the worst cliff hanger in the history of cliff hangers! As soon as I read that, I felt pity for the poor people who read this when it first came out, and they couldn't get the next one for a year, or however long it took. I'm too lazy to look it up. :P

The book that I own has a conversation between Vlad and Heather in the back, so of course as soon as I got done with my extra cruel cliffhanger, I read that. And it just made the cliff hanger agony worst. I am so dumb sometimes. :)

Loved it, just like the rest of the series. Can't wait to start the final book tomorrow!

Tenth Grade Bleeds by Heather Brewer

It’s another awful year at Bathory High for Vladimir Tod. The evil vampire D’Ablo is hunting for a ritual that could steal Vlad’s powers. His best friend, Henry, doesn’t want to be his drudge anymore. And it’s getting harder for Vlad to resist feeding on the people around him. With the threat of D’Ablo looming closer and nightmares haunting him each night, Vlad realizes that having a normal high school year is the least of his concerns. He needs to act fast, and even his Pravus powers won’t save him this time.

Blurb from Barnes and Nobel.com

4 out of 5 stars

I have to say, I think this one is the funniest in the series yet! There were times where I was laughing out loud it was so funny!

This book also goes more indepth to Vlad's life at school, and about his friends.

Although this was the funniest, I also think it was the saddest. There were times I were crying, both from sadness and from laughing.

But all in all, in was very good, and I will be reading the next one! :)

Happy Reading!



Ninth Grade Slays by Heather Brewer

 

If middle school stunk for Vladimir Tod, high school is a real drain. Besides being a punching bag for bullies, he’s still stalled with dream girl Meredith, and he’s being tailed by a photographer from the school newspaper. Needless to say, practicing his vampire skills hasn’t exactly been a priority for Vlad — until now. A monumental trip to Siberia with Uncle Otis is Vlad’s crash course in Vampire 101. Training alongside the most gifted vampires is exactly what Vlad needs to sharpen those mind-control skills he’s been avoiding. And he’d better get it right, because the battle brewing back home with the slayer who’s been stalking him could be Vlad’s last.

Blurb form Barnes and Nobel.com

4 out of 5 star

Thank goodness this one was longer!

I liked this book. It had it's funny moments, just like the last one. But this one was a little more serious, a little more in depth.

I'm not really good at reviewing books after the first one in the series, because there's less you can say without revealing anything.

I do like the character Otis though. I love that his name is Otis Otis! It's funny. XD But he really is a good character.

There's not really much more to say. . . I've already started the third one, and I like it too so far, so be waiting for that review!

Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer

Junior high really stinks for thirteen-year-old Vladimir Tod. Bullies harass him, the principal is dogging him, and the girl he likes prefers his best friend. Oh, and Vlad has a secret: His mother was human, but his father was a vampire. With no idea of the extent of his powers and no one to teach him, Vlad struggles daily with his blood cravings and his enlarged fangs. When a strange substitute teacher begins to question him a little too closely, Vlad worries that his cover is about to be blown. But then he realizes he has a much bigger problem: He’s being hunted by a vampire killer who is closing in . . . fast!

Blurb from Barnes and Noble.com

3.5 out of 5 stars

I would have put 4, but this book was so short that it didn't have enough things happening to be a 4 star. If it had been one hundred pages or so longer, I think it could have gotten a 4.

I liked this book. For some of it, I could kinda tell what was going to happen, and it was a very short book. It was very funny, (which was a good change from the last book I read) and it read very easily.

I must say, the eighth graders really do act like eighth graders. Henry was spot on, although I thought he was a lot funnier, you know, had a much better sense of humor. And Vlad is probably the most mature eighth grader, but I guess when you've hid who you are all your life, you might learn to grow up a little. :)

Like I said, this was a tiny book! It wasn't even two hundred pages. But it was very good for how many pages it had, and I'm going to start the second one tommorow :)

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males born with a lifespan of 25 years, and females a lifespan of 20 years--leaving the world in a state of panic. Geneticists seek a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children.

When Rhine is sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Yet her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can’t bring herself to hate him as much as she’d like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband’s strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement; her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next; and Rhine has no way to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive.

Together with one of Linden's servants, Gabriel, Rhine attempts to escape just before her seventeenth birthday. But in a world that continues to spiral into anarchy, is there any hope for freedom?

Blurb from Barnes and Nobel.com

4 out of 5 stars

This book was scarier than I thought it would be. I was scared for the lives of Rhine, and a lot of the other characters too.

This book made me realize just how young 13 and 15 and 20 really is. Everyone is always trying to be older, and when the are, they just want to be younger. In this book, nobody wants to be older, and most don't live long enough to really need to be younger.

This book was scary, but not in a blood and gore way. In a quiet, mental way, the was a small smile from an evil man can leave you wondering what you've done, or how you'll die.

I loved this book, as creepy-thought-provoking as it was, I can't wait for the second and third one!



The Maze Runner by James Dashner

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls.

Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.

Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers.

Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.

Blurb from Barnes and Nobel.com

4 out of 5 stars

(the extra picture came up when I googled the book, and it's the original cover)

This book was so scary! I didn't really expect all of the nightmarish stuff to be in a book about mazes, but it was there.

It took me awhile to get used to Thomas, and reading about him, because at first, I didn't really like him. But like I said, I got used to him. :)

The only thing that really bothered me in the beginning was that this book is told in third person. I don't read a lot of books like that, so it took me awhile to get used to hearing the story like that. After awhile, I didn't even notice it.

This book was way better than I thought it would be. I thought it would be really good, but the start didn't really give me high hopes. I don't really know what it was, but the first pages just didn't strike me as well as the rest of the book did.

For me, this book constantly had me thinking. I was always trying to solve the maze, find a way out, think of a new way the Gladers hadn't. I would also guess over and over on theories about why the Gladers were there and why. And over and over I was proven wrong, which just made me want to read more.

Top it all off with a brutally cliff hanger ending, and I already upset that I don't have the second one, and I finished this one an hour or so ago.

Can't wait!

Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton



First there are nightmares.

Every night Ellie is haunted by terrifying dreams of monstrous creatures that are hunting her, killing her.

Then come the memories.

When Ellie meets Will, she feels on the verge of remembering something just beyond her grasp. His attention is intense and romantic, and Ellie feels like her soul has known him for centuries. On her seventeenth birthday, on a dark street at midnight, Will awakens Ellie's power, and she knows that she can fight the creatures that stalk her in the grim darkness. Only Will holds the key to Ellie's memories, whole lifetimes of them, and when she looks at him, she can no longer pretend anything was just a dream.

Now she must hunt.

Ellie has power that no one can match, and her role is to hunt and kill the reapers that prey on human souls. But in order to survive the dangerous and ancient battle of the angels and the Fallen, she must also hunt for the secrets of her past lives and truths that may be too frightening to remember.

4/5 stars

I loved this book! The only bad thing about it was that it had some parts that reminded me of Fallen, but thats not really a bad thing anyway.

And I can't even begin on how badly I wish that Will was really! He was just amazing!

But anyway . . .

There were lots of action scenes, more than I've ever read in one book. I kept waiting and waiting for romance, and once it was there, it was never enough. This book kept me on the edge of my seat, and kept me reading.

This is also the first book I've ever read about reapers, and it's probably an endangered species. I was scared enough about them, and then I had to learn all the types and how they fight. Don't even mention the ones who pretend to be people. *shudder*

I could have never guessed the ending, and now I'm stuck waiting for the next one.