Wings

Wings by Aprilynne Pike

My rating: 4/5
Summary (from Goodreads):  Laurel was mesmerized, staring at the pale things with wide eyes. They were terrifyingly beautiful—too beautiful for words.
Laurel turned to the mirror again, her eyes on the hovering petals that floated beside her head. They looked almost like wings.

In this extraordinary tale of magic and intrigue, romance and danger, everything you thought you knew about faeries will be changed forever.


My review:

I couldn't stop flipping the pages, one after another, once I started.  I just kept on going, on and on and on.

What a weird twist on faeries.  Flowers?  Plants?  Really?  Those were my first thoughts.  I was doubtful, but also intrigued.  I wanted to know more about why she had a growing lump on her back.

Unfortunately, none of the characters really jumped out at me. Laurel was a pretty good character, but one of the only reasons why I liked her was because of her helplessness about the flower on her back.  David was okay too, but he wasn't that great.  I wasn't quite sure how to imagine him: interesting or a nerd.  I think that he was a bit of a geek, because of his love of school, and, more specifically, science, especially Laurel.  But he also seemed pretty cool.  His attitude wasn't nerdy, like I would have expected, more gentle, calm, and helpful.  I have mixed feelings about him.

Tamani.  He was. . . strange.  At first I didn't like him.  In fact, I didn't even like to read about him.  The only reason that I liked the parts he was in was because he gave Laurel the answers that she needed.  By the end of the book, I didn't mind him so much, but he honestly wasn't my favourite character.

The plot was good.  There was rising action all the way through when there was a lump on her back, and past when she grew a flower, right to the very end, and the part where she finds out she was a plant was quite interesting to read about.  I couldn't put it down until I found out her past, and also why she didn't have a heart or blood.

Before the last page, I knew that I would definitely want to read the whole series, which I still need to do.    Again, I have to say that I love the twist on regular faerie tales!  And I'm so so so so so so glad that there's a faerie book out there that isn't the same as  all the others.

Beautiful Creatures

Beautiful Creatures  by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stoll

My rating:  4/5
Summary (from Goodreads):  There were no surprises in GatlinCounty.
We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.
At least, that's what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.
Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.
In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.


My review:


Three words can describe this whole book: gothic, dangerous, and intriguing.

I started this book unsure of whether I would like it or not.  By the tenth page, things were already looking positive.  I liked the main character, Ethan.  When Lena came in, I loved her almost immediately.  Her gothic taste and secretive style fit perfectly with the concept of the book.  To me, the characters are the most important part in a story.

The plot was amazing.  Questions were running through my  mind the whole time I was reading.  Who is this person, Lena, and her Uncle?  What is she?  What does she have to hide.  I loved the mysterious touch to this book that kept me waiting and anticipating.  The best part in Beautiful Creatures is the end, where Lena has to choose: Dark or Light.  That fight and decision had the blood roaring in my ears, head pounding, and heart racing.  It had me waiting for the happy ending, but it never came.  It had me sitting in suspense, waiting for more pages to appear.

The romance between Ethan and Lena was interesting.  I didn't know where it would end up.  In fact, I didn't know where anything would end up.  I could only guess where the plot was going to go, and I was almost never right.

As a debut novel for a series, Beautiful Creatures did a great job of keeping me craving more!

Gone

Gone by Michael Grant

My rating:  4.5/5
Summary (from Goodreads):  In the blink of an eye. Everyone disappears. GONE.
Except for the young. Teens. Middle schoolers. Toddlers. But not one single adult. No teachers, no cops, no doctors, no parents. Just as suddenly, there are no phones, no internet, no television. No way to get help. And no way to figure out what's happened.
Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents—unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers—that grow stronger by the day.
It's a terrifying new world. Sides are being chosen, a fight is shaping up. Townies against rich kids. Bullies against the weak. Powerful against powerless. And time is running out: On your birthday, you disappear just like everyone else...


My review:

Gone was more than amazing.  The only reason I didn't give it five stars was because I forget the details, maybe if  I read it again, I would remember how good it really was.

First, I love the idea.  Adults disappearing, animals mutating, creature lurking, teens getting new powers.  Second, it explains it really well.  A lot of the books that I've read have made no sense until about the hundredth page.  In this book, I knew what was going on right from the beginning. I didn't know why people were disappearing, but I just knew that they were.  Also, I felt like I knew the characters quite well by the time I got to the tenth page: their personalities, and their interests.

My favourite characters in this book were Astrid and Sam.  I like Astrid because of her intelligence, her calm way of handling things.  I like Sam for the opposite reason.  I like his bold way of fighting, more on the offensive than the defensive, plotting to get rid of his enemies.  He's not cruel because of that; he's just trying to help everyone while the adults are all gone.

One of the things that I didn't feel, though I should have, was the urgency that the characters felt.  Because I knew that somehow they were going to make it, I couldn't feel that anxiety.

This book was better than I expected, so I couldn't wait to go buy the second in the series.  Gone was superb!

Marked

Marked by P.C. and Kristin Cast

My rating:  4.5/5
Summary (from Goodreads):  The House of Night series is set in a world very much like our own, except in 16-year-old Zoey Redbird's world, vampyres have always existed.  In this first book in the series, Zoey enters the House of Night, a school where, after having undergone the Change, she will train to become an adult vampire--that is, if she makes it through the Change.  Not all of those who are chosen do.  It’s tough to begin a new life, away from her parents and friends, and on top of that, Zoey finds she is no average fledgling.  She has been Marked as special by the vampyre Goddess, Nyx.  But she is not the only fledgling at the House of Night with special powers.  When she discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school's most elite club, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look deep within herself for the courage to embrace her destiny--with a little help from her new vampyre friends.

This book didn't quite drag me in immediately, but it definitely did eventually.

I'll admit, I had no idea what was going on in the first few pages of this book.  When Zoey Redbird gets Marked in the beginning, I had no idea what that meant.  I didn't realize until a while later that she was then a fledgling vampyre.  The way that they put it, it made absolutely no sense to me.

The House of Night was a cool place; I would want to go to school there.  The House of Night is a school for fledgling vampyres, where they'll learn about the change to becoming a full vampyre, and lots of other things that anyone would regularly learn in school.  It didn't seem like a school though, and that's the main reason that I like it.  It was more like a castle, dark, in some parts eerie, and, in my mind, made of stones.  I would find that an amazing place, even if the mortals despised me.

My favourite character was Stevie Rae, Zoey's roommate, and closest friend.  She never gawked at Zoey's strange Mark, or pressured her.  She was encouraging, all the time.  She had a quirky taste.  She had a western style to her; wearing cowboy boots, jeans, and the same themed shirts. 

I didn't like Aphrodite, leader of the Dark Daughters.  The Dark Daughters are a group of fledglings who perform rituals for their Goddess, Nyx.  She was self centered, cruel to anyone that didn't immediately draw her attention.  As leader, she was the one that everyone followed, but they weren't given a good example from her.


Zoey had to overthrow Aphrodite, because of the heartless way that she acted towards all the younger fledglings in the Dark Daughters.  That lead to a huge seen at the end, where Zoey's friend from the mortal world, is in danger, because of one of Aphrodite's rituals gone wrong.


I have to say that I really didn't expect the way that this book went, I thought it would have more to it than what was there, but I still loved it all the same!

City of Fallen Angels

Wicked Lovely

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

My rating:  4/5
Summary (from Goodreads):  All teenagers have problems, but few of them can match those of Aislinn, who has the power to see faeries. Quite understandably, she wishes that she could share her friends' obliviousness and tries hard to avoid these invisible intruders. But one faery in particular refuses to leave her alone. Keenan the Summer King is convinced beyond all reasoning that Aislinn is the queen he has been seeking for nine centuries. What's a 21st-century girl to do when she's stalked by a suitor nobody else can see? A debut fantasy romance for the ages; superlative summer read.


My review:

Just from the front cover, this book already looked interesting.  The first few pages didn't grab my attention, but the rest of the book did.

The main character has the Sight, and is able to see faeries.  I do and don't envy her that.  As fun as it would be to have the ability to see another world of different creatures, it would be a huge burden to carry, seeing all the horrible things that the faeries do.

The reason that Wicked Lovely doesn't rate 5 stars is the characters.  Keenan was the worst.  Being the Summer King, I would have thought that he'd be a kind, lighthearted person. But he wasn't.  All he tried to do was make his court the best, therefore earning Aislinn's love.  He was selfish and greedy.  Aislinn was a fairly good main character, but I got mixed feelings from her.  Did she want this or did she want that?  Does she love him or does she love him?  I wasn't quite sure what the author wanted to say.  The character that I liked the most was Donia, a Winter Faerie.  The main reason I liked her is because I felt bad for her.  She was always subject to the will of the Winter Queen, Beira.  Beira was cruel, heartless, and cold.  I was sorry for her; Beira is not someone I would want to have control over me.

The plot was great, and so was the description.  In my mind I could see every little thing that was happening, especially in the last battle scene at the end, where the Winter and Summer king were fighting.  The plot lead up to that well, increasing my need to get to the end.

When I finished, I couldn't wait to get my hands on the next one.

Evermore

Evermore by Alyson Noel

My rating: 2/5
Summary (from Goodreads):  Since a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever can see auras, hear people’s thoughts, and know a person’s life story by touch.   Going out of her way to shield herself from human contact to suppress her abilities has branded her as a freak at her new high school—but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste…
Ever sees Damen and feels an instant recognition.  He is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy, and he holds many secrets.  Damen is able to make things appear and disappear, he always seems to know what she’s thinking—and he’s the only one who can silence the noise and the random energy in her head.  She doesn’t know who he really is—or what he is.  Damen equal parts light and darkness, and he belongs to an enchanted new world where no one ever dies.


My review:

When I bought this, I couldn't wait to start reading it.  That changed quickly.  By around the fiftieth page, I was already seeing how weak the writing was.

In the beginning, I liked Ever.  I liked the idea of someone who could see auras of other people, and their thoughts.  But she was black and white.  She had no personality, no thoughts of her own.  Soon, I could see that there had been almost no creativity put into her.  Ever gave off the impression of being self-centered, caring about nobody but herself.

When Damien came in, I must admit that I made the same mistake of liking him.  He sounded like a kind person, when in reality, he was rough, pushing people away from him without a second thought. The romance between him and Ever was predictable, and they didn't seem to have any real feelings for one another. 

The plot was just as weak as the characters.  The author didn't quite seem to know what she wanted.  All the places they went, all the things that they did, they all crammed together to bring you to the climax with no rising action before it.  There wasn't enough description to see things in my mind, so I barely knew what was happening in the last, half-exciting part.  Like I said before, it was all back and white.

The antagonist wasn't great, and didn't seem threatening in the least.  But I was rooting for her for the entire book, because I didn't think that Ever and Damien could beat her, no matter how bad she was at fighting.

I'm not happy that I bought this book, but I can't really take it back now, so maybe I'll come back to this book, and like it some more.

Fire

Fire by Kristin Cashore

My rating:  5/5
Summary (from Goodreads):  Beautiful creatures called monsters live in the Dells. Monsters have the shape of normal animals: mountain lions, dragonflies, horses, fish. But the hair or scales or feathers of monsters are gorgeously colored-- fuchsia, turquoise, sparkly bronze, iridescent green-- and their minds have the power to control the minds of humans.

Seventeen-year-old Fire is the last remaining human-shaped monster in the Dells. Gorgeously monstrous in body and mind but with a human appreciation of right and wrong, she is hated and mistrusted by just about everyone, and this book is her story.


My review:

From the very first page, this book was breathtaking.  I could see in my mind every strand of grass on the fields, every crack in the stones, everything down to the very last leaf on a tree.

At the very being, the main character, Fire, is shot by a mysterious person.  I loved this as an introduction; it really makes you ask why she's shot, and by whom.  Fire was an excellent character for this book.  She was a monster that wished not to be a monster.  As interesting as it would be to have those powers, I don't think that I would want them, if I would then be a monster.  I love that Fire hates to use her powers, but uses them more and more, and is no longer afraid of using them, but still only does good things with them, unlike her father, Cansrel.

Brigan was definitely my favourite character.  He was calm and levelheaded, able to control himself around Fire.  I understood why he didn't like Fire at first, even though he seemed really cruel.  As time went on in the book, I could see how well Brigan and Fire were suited for each other.

King City was the main setting in Fire.  It was also definitely my favourite place in the whole book.  I imagined it in a medieval sort of way, with the stones and the castle, the poor and the rich.  In my mind, I could see the castle with torches lighting the chambers, and tapestries hanging on the walls.

I don't know why I can't think of much to say about thin book, even though I've read it more than ten times.  But either way, this is an excellent book!

Graceling

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

My rating: 5/5
Summary (from Goodreads):  Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight — she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme, and in her case horrifying, skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug. When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change.

She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace — or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away... a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.


My review:

Breaking my heart, bringing me further and further in, Graceling was fascinating the whole way through.  Once I was started, I couldn't stop, and I actually ended up walking around while reading this book.

This was given to my brother as a birthday gift, but I got to it before him.  I started by just reading the first page, and I was already intrigued, with questions running through my mind.  Why is she running through a dungeon sort of place in the dark?  What is her mission?  Where?  Who is she?  And many more than just that.  Just by hearing what Katsa's Grace was made me interested; graced with killing, she was already someone that you would want to read about.  (For anyone that doesn't know what a Graceling is, it's a person who has eyes of two different colours, and has a special talent.)  The main reason that this book rates five stars is because of the characters, so I'll start with them.

Katsa:  Katsa is the main character in this book.  Although she is Graced with killing, she obviously wants to do the opposite.  I love the battles that she's fighting with herself, and there's more than one.  There's the fight about whether she really is just the kings' dog, or if she can actually do something about that.  She's scared that if she defies the king, and he maker her angry, then she'll kill him.  Even though she doesn't like him, she's scared of what will happen if she kills him, if she really would be a slave to her anger.  Her other battle is about Po.  She loves him, but she can't decide whether she wants to marry him, because she still wants to be her own person, free to do what she likes.  This is an interesting part because I could never really tell what her ending decision would be.

Po:  I loved Po.  He was a great character, full of life, pain, and love.  He wanted to tell Katsa his secret, but wasn't sure if he could trust her.  That's one of the reasons why I like him; he has to really trust a person to tell them something that almost no one else knows.  I can connect to him because of that, I don't like to say much about myself before I really trust the person.  He always kept calm on the outside, even if he was really angry.  Another thing that I liked a lot about him is that his personality is so lifelike.  All his feelings are so possible, so realistic, that anyone in the world is like him at one point in their personality.  But in this book, it seems unique, such a strange way of putting regret, anger, pain, love, and sadness together.

The plot and the suspense in this book are also enjoyable, keeping you going and making you want to read more.

This book was definitely worth all five stars!