{Review} Frostbite by Richelle Mead

Frostbite
by Richelle Mead
Series: Vampire Academy #2
Pages: 327
Release Date: April 10, 2008
by Razorbill (an imprint of Penguin)

Goodreads / Purchase

Rose loves Dimitri, Dimitri might love Tasha, and Mason would die to be with Rose...

It’s winter break at St. Vladimir’s, but Rose is feeling anything but festive. A massive Strigoi attack has put the school on high alert, and now the Academy’s crawling with Guardians—including Rose’s hard-hitting mother, Janine Hathaway. And if hand-to-hand combat with her mom wasn’t bad enough, Rose’s tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason’s got a huge crush on her, and Rose keeps getting stuck in Lissa’s head while she’s making out with her boyfriend, Christian! The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy’s not taking any risks... This year, St. Vlad’s annual holiday ski trip is mandatory.

But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only create the illusion of safety. When three friends run away in an offensive move against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. But heroism rarely comes without a price...

What a sequel!  Wow.  I don't really know what to say about this book other than that it was awesome!  The combination of kick-ass action and heartbreaking romance made this book oh so good.  I loved how this book continued off of Vampire Academy but also had its own story.  It continue the story perfectly and added so much to the series.  The writing, I've realized, isn't amazing.  It's kind of juvenile at times, but the story line and staging and action make up for it.  The twists and turns in this book kept me on my toes constantly.  The staging was so well done, and the story line led up to the ending so perfectly.  It was really heartbreaking, and the romance added so much to the story.  The ending was absolutely amazing and wrapped up everything that had been introduced in the beginning of this book.

I must say, Dimitri is one smoking hot Guardian.  Please, can I have him?  The combination of sexiness and selflessness just makes me melt.  It's so hard to describe him, and Mead did such a good job of developing him and showing a different side to him in this book.  He is such a nice guy, and he really cares about Rose.  If he didn't he wouldn't act like he does.

Rose, I have to admit, is pretty kick-ass.  I really like her and her spunk and attitude.  Seriously, she's me in half-vampire form.  In this book she had a lot of flaws, or mistakes I should say, and she grew so much in this book.  She learned from her mistakes, fixed them, and moved on.

I honestly can't wait to read the next book.  This series is so amazing and I can't wait to see the characters develop even more.

5 stars

 

 

Richelle Mead's other YA books:

 

Vampire Academy series (6 books)

Bloodlines series (5 and counting books)

 





What On Earth Is Going On With Me?

Most of you probably saw my last post about how I am shutting down this blog.

Well the thing is, the second I posted that announcement I started to miss blogging.  It's something that I've been doing for 3 years and I can't just dismiss it from my life in 5 minutes and one blog post.

First, I want to apologize for going back and forth again and again on what the heck I'm going to do with this blog.

This is my perspective: I started this blog 3 years ago because I love books with a fiery passion and I wanted to talk to other people who loved books too.  I used to get a decent amount of comments on my posts and reviews about what that person thought of the book and I loved every single one.  It made my day when I saw someone who cared enough about that book to leave a comment on my blog.  That was about a year ago when I was able to post regularly and before I started college.  Since I started my first semester of college last year I put a hold on the blog to focus on my school. But this semester I'm going to try and keep the blog alive...the only problem is it's been out of commission for so long that no one really checks on it anymore.  So when I post a review I don't get any comments or views.  I'm not obsessed with how many views I get, but if I work for a long time to review the book and put together the post then I kind of want someone to see my work.

The reason I was going to shut this blog down was because I wasn't getting as much traffic as a year ago, which is completely understandable.  I can't expect that kind of traffic back in a week.  But my problem is every review I post is special to me and I want it to be seen and appreciated by people, and I just don't feel like it's fair to the book when no one sees the review because I haven't been posting regularly for a long time now.

So that is my dilemma.

I have decided that I WILL continue on with this blog, and I will post as often as I can.  I can get easily discouraged if no one comes to my blog, but I'll try and keep to it and work as hard as I can to make this blog what it used to be.

Thank you all for handling all my mood swings and back and forth and I love and appreciate every single one of you! ♥

{Review} Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Vampire Academy
by Richelle Mead
Series: Vampire Academy #1
Pages: 332
Release Date: August 16, 2007
by Razorbill (an imprint of Penguin)

Goodreads / Purchase

St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger...

Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever.

What an amazing start to an amazing series!  This book was awesome.  I can already feel another fandom growing within me haha.  I'm going to be obsessed.  Basically, to sum up this book, it wasn't very well written, but it was very entertaining.  I'm not ragging on Richelle Mead or anything but her writing isn't amazing, but her characters and story make up for that.  The romance pretty much killed me.  The feels were intense man!  The build to this book was very well done, and I loved how Mead introduced the setting, characters, and situation so effortlessly, and was able to manipulate it as the story progressed.  And that ending!  OH MY GOD!  That ending gives a new meaning to edge-of-your-seat.  It was a double ending, meaning there was a climax...and then another one.  Killer, yes.

I love these characters SO MUCH!  First off, Rose is hilarious.  I love her attitude, snark, personality, and kick-ass-ness.  I love the way she doesn't take shit from anyone, and her fierce protectiveness of Lissa.  Dimitri...hold on I gotta go cool off for a bit.  He's too hot I can't take it.  Seriously though, this man is amazing.  Sexy, kick-ass, reserved, mysterious...yeah, I want him.  Lissa was a great character too.  It was really intense to watch read about her though because she was a mess, but in the end I thought she was pretty good character.

I can't wait to get completely immersed in this series.  I know it's going to become another obsession but hey, I'm looking forward to it.

5 stars

 

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

So as most of you know, the movie came out February 7 (last Friday) and sadly I didn't go see it, nor can I go see it anytime soon.  Trust me, I'm not happy.

It looks so amazing.

But I would really recommend everyone go see it if you can because I've heard nothing but good things about it, and also Dimitri is in it...do you really need another reason?

Whether or not we get a sequel movie depends on how much money it makes in the first couple weeks so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE go see it!

 

Here is the trailer, if you need anymore convincing:

 

 

I'm Shutting Down This Blog

I've thought about this for a long time and I think it's something I have to do.

Don't get me wrong, blogging these past 3 years has been amazing...it's just my life is a lot different now than it was when I started.

I'm now in college and I have less time both to read but to also put as much effort into this blog as I would like to.

I've loved all my followers and blogging friends and I'll miss everyone, but I think this is best.

Don't worry, I won't stop reviewing!  I'm still going to be active on Goodreads so if you want to friend me on there I'll talk to everyone!

Thanks for understanding and for sticking with me through all this crazy blogging!!

Love you all!!!!

 ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

{Review} Manor of Secrets by Katherine Longshore

Manor of Secrets
by Katherine Longshore
Pages: 320
Release Date: January 28, 2014
by Point (an imprint of Scholastic)

Goodreads / Purchase

The year is 1911. And at The Manor, nothing is as it seems . . .

Lady Charlotte Edmonds: Beautiful, wealthy, and sheltered, Charlotte feels suffocated by the strictures of upper-crust society. She longs to see the world beyond The Manor, to seek out high adventure. And most of all, romance.

Janie Seward: Fiery, hardworking, and clever, Janie knows she can be more than just a kitchen maid. But she isn't sure she possesses the courage -- or the means -- to break free and follow her passions.

Both Charlotte and Janie are ready for change. As their paths overlap in the gilded hallways and dark corridors of The Manor, rules are broken and secrets are revealed. Secrets that will alter the course of their lives. . . forever.

*A copy was provided by Scholastic for review purposes*

 

A complex, fast-paced, impossible story is not what you would expect from a historical fiction book.  But that was what this one had.  I have to say, I was very impressed with it.  The setting and situation were very well explained to I got the full picture pretty quick, and man was it dismal.  Everyone was unhappy in this book and as I was reading I was trying to figure out how Katherine Longshore was going to make it right.  But she staged everything in such a way that when she did make it right, it made perfect sense.  The story line and plot was very complex and interesting, and the story moved very fast.  There were a lot of different elements to this book, romance, intrigue, drama...you get the idea.  I liked the 2 POVs in this book.  When having 2 POVs there is the danger of one being less interesting, but in this book they were both equally gripping and it really showed the difference in how Charlotte and Janie lived.  The ending was absolutely awesome and definitely gives a new meaning to “fairytale ending”.

The characters in this book were great.  Charlotte and Janie were very well developed and you got to know them very well.  Charlotte is trapped in her life and she wants to rebel, but can't.  She was a pathetic character in the beginning but over the course of the book you can see her grow and become stronger.  I really loved Janie's spunk and attitude, and her selflessness.  I also really like Henry and Andrew Broadhurst – he's so sweet, though I found it a little convenient that he was so unconventional.

All in all, a fantastic historical fiction book that managed to be gripping and interesting throughout.

 

4 stars