{Review} Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent
by Veronica Roth
Series: Divergent #1
Pages: 487
Release Date: April 25, 2011
by Katherine Tegen Books (an imprint of Harper)

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In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series--dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.

**MAJOR SPOILERS THROUGHOUT!**

Even though I started re-reading this book with the specific goal to love it as much as everyone else on this planet, I just couldn't.  I'm sorry, but I just couldn't.  I liked it better on the second read than on the first read, but still.

Mostly my problem is Fourtris.  But I'll get to that later.  I liked the writing, and I liked the idea.  It was the execution that was lacking.  A long initiation into a faction and oh yeah there's going to be a war that will be sneaked in during the last 50 pages or so.  Sounds good.  There was no build, no complex staging of any kind for the attack.  It was mostly Tris getting her ass kicked, acting like a child, and Four prancing around with Tris following him.  Plus the staging was really poor.  I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of this book when I thought the story line was very good and fast paced.  A lot happened.  It was during the second half that everything went to shit.  I think that it would also be nice to have the action scenes described a little better.  They were very hard to follow and imagine in my head and that really bugged me.

 

Just so many things didn't add up in the ending.  Why on earth would Tris shoot Eric in the foot and leg but not kill him? I'm sorry but what was she thinking?  And it was never explained how Four snapped out of it when he was about to shoot Tris because of the serum.  He “just heard her voice”?  Bullshit.  She had been talking to him for like 5 minutes before it got to the “I'm gonna shoot you” part.

 

But I was impressed with how courageous Veronica Roth was when it came to killing characters.  She doesn't care about your feels, she'll kill who she wants.  She killed off Will, Tris' mom and dad.  I couldn't believe it, so I definitely have to give her credit for that.

The characters were a problem.  I knew I hated Tris when I read this book for the first time so I tried REALLY HARD to love her this time round.  I'm sorry but I just can't.  She's so freaking annoying!  She's weak, no she's strong, actually she's emotional, nope she's a rock.  Back and forth.  I've figured it out.  Veronica Roth over-developed Tris.  She stuffed so many different personalities into one character that it just didn't work.  In the beginning I liked Tris...up until the first night after transferring when Al is crying and Tris is angry about it even though she was crying a second ago and she calls him weak.  From then on, I hated her.

Now I enjoyed Four's character a LOT more this time round.  Not because I suddenly felt a connection to his character, but because I imaged him as Theo James.  It made the experience of reading this book again much more pleasurable.  But if I wasn't imagining Four as Theo I would hate him because I just feel like we don't get a description of him.  We don't know what he looks like.  Okay, he has blue eyes and long fingers.  That's it!  So I didn't feel like I couldn't connect with him that way.  Plus his character is extremely underdeveloped and just like a piece of wood.  Also, that one scene where Tris says she's not pretty...HELL TO THE NO!  Here's a direct quote:

*looks for 20 minutes for the page because for some reason I didn't think to mark it when I read it I am an idiot*

“I just don't get it.  I'm younger.  I'm not pretty. I--”

He laughs, yadayadayada
“Don't pretend,” I say breathily.  “You know I'm not.  I'm not ugly, but I'm certainly not pretty.”
“Fine.  You're not pretty. So?”

 Acca-scuse me.  What did I just read?!  Okay yes I realize that saying “You're perfect just the way you are” or “You're beautiful to me” is cheesy, but you DO NOT tell a girl she isn't pretty and then make out with her.  What kind of sick man are you, Four?!  That's just not okay!!

Rant over.  Off to read Insurgent then Allegiant before I get spoiled.

I increased my rating by a half star because I liked the first part of the book.  You're welcome ;P

2 stars



{Book + Movie Review} The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

The Perks of Being a Wallflower
by Stephen Chbosky
Pages: 216
Release Date: August 14, 2012
by MTV Books

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Charlie is a freshman. And while he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his year yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it. Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mix tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But he can't stay on the sidelines forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a deeply affecting coming-of-age story that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up.

This is a very special book.  It’s unlike any book I’ve ever read, that’s for sure.  It’s more serious, it’s got older issues, and it’s deeper.  It’s books like these that are the hardest to review because there are so many unique and different things about them.  This book had absolutely gorgeous writing, and the voice for the whole book was very – I’m not sure how to explain it – childish, but at the same time very teenaged and serious.  I know that probably doesn’t make any sense, but it’s the only way I can think to describe it.  The story line was very interesting, and the story was heartbreaking but uplifting at the same time.  For me, the ending was really sad because I was hoping for everything to turn out differently, but it also seems like the right ending for the book.

When I come across these kinds of books, I can’t help but compare them to Silver Linings Playbook.  I’m talking about problem books with messed up characters who do messed up things.  YA needs some imperfect characters, and I feel like this book was full of them.  Charlie is very shy, has very little self-confidence, but is also very adorable, in my mind, and a very nice kid, and the perfect narrator for this story.  Patrick is gay, confident, but also messed up because of the things that he does (like getting drunk or high or something.)  Sam is the same way.  She’s very confident, very sure of herself, but also, at least in my opinion, very vulnerable and weak under all that.  And she makes the same mistakes as Patrick.  As a whole, the cast is very unique, and perfect for this book.

This book didn’t absolutely blow me away, and it wasn’t my favorite, but it was enjoyable, and it had a serious undercurrent, and I can’t wait to watch the movie adaptation of it.

2 stars

Movie Review:

Release Date: October 12, 2012
Director: Stephen Chbosky
Starring: Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller
Genre: Drama, Romance
Rating: PG-13

Trailer / IMDb

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is based on the wildly popular novel by Stephen Chbosky about a freshman named Charlie (Logan Lerman) who is always watching from the sidelines until a pair of charismatic seniors takes him under their wing. Beautiful, free-s pirited Sam (Emma Watson) and her fearless stepbrother Patrick (Ezra Miller) shepherd Charlie through new friendships, first love, burgeoning sexuality, bacchanalian parties, midnight screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show and the quest for the perfect song.

Even though I thought the book was okay, I really liked this movie.  It was really sad, really depressing, really awkward, and really crazy and inappropriate, but it was good because there need to be movies like that out there.  I think it was a great adaptation of the book, probably because Stephen Chbosky directed it himself.  So, even though some things were different, for the most part it stayed true to the book, and I think it was very well done.  The lines and events were very well done, and the actors did a really great job.

I think the casting was done very well for this movie, and I think the actors played their parts perfectly.  Emma Watson as Sam was very good, even though at times I thought her American accent sounded a bit Irish, but oh well.  She was how I imagined Sam, for sure, and Emma did a great job.  Logan Lerman as Charlie was also very good.  He played the pathetic, shy, adorable, sad Charlie that I imagined perfectly, and he really put a ton of emotion into the movie.  And also it doesn’t hurt that he’s pretty cute.  And then Ezra Miller as Patrick was very good as well.  His personality was great, and his spunk and confidence really showed through in Ezra’s acting.  Great job cast.

I think the movie might actually be a bit better than the book, which doesn’t happen very often for me, but the great acting, movie making, and screenwriting really made this movie special.

3.5 stars

{Review} Then You Were Gone by Lauren Strasnick

Then You Were Gone
by Lauren Strasnick
Pages: 224
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: January 8, 2013
by Simon Pulse (an imprint of Simon & Schuster)

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In the tradition of 13 Reasons Why, a suspenseful and heart-wrenching novel from the author of Nothing Like You and Her and Me and You. Two years ago, Adrienne’s best friend walked out of her life. One week ago, she left Adrienne a desperate, muffled voicemail. Adrienne never called back. Now Dakota is missing. She left behind a string of broken hearts, a flurry of rumors, and a suicide note. Adrienne can’t stop obsessing over what might have happened if she’d answered Dakota’s call. And she’s increasingly convinced that Dakota must still be alive. Maybe finding and saving Dakota is the only way Adrienne can save herself.
Or maybe it’s too late for them both.

This book was not what I was expecting it to be.  The main reasons that I had issues with this book was the writing, the story line, and the ending.  The writing was not good.  It was disjointed and didn’t flow.  Also, Strasnick doesn’t explain setting.  For example:

.

Lunch.  Lee’s birthday. Me, Katie, Lee, sharing a sleeve of Fig Newtons and throwing shit (pen caps, paper clips, baby carrots) at each other’s faces.  We’re laughing.  I’m in Lee’s lap.

I could go on and on copying the passage, but basically, they are in the school cafeteria.  There is no mention of where they actually are until the next few pages after.  Now, I know this might seem like I’m being annoying and stuff, but this bothers me, because I can’t image the scene.  Also, that was an example of Strasnick’s writing.

The story line was lacking as well.  It didn’t really focus on Dakota being missing, it mostly focused on Adrienne’s issues with her boyfriend, and her sneaking around with this guy, Julian.  Great.  And then, the ending was SO WEIRD!  [SPOILER: Dakota ran away.  That is not okay.  I would have been okay with it if the book had focused on Adrienne looking for clues as to what happened to Adrienne, but, as it was, it stunk.  Yes, I get the explanation for Dakota running away…but doesn’t Dakota not being dead kind of make the whole book pointless? ]

Let me just start off by saying that I was NOT happy with how this book ended on the romance side of things.  [SPOILER: I did NOT want Adrienne to end up with Julian.  Lee was a great guy, really nice, and Julian was just kind of meh. ]

Adrienne was an ok character.  I think she was really messed up, and a very damaged character.  Her thinking was at times completely crazy, but sometimes YA needs those messed up, dark characters.  Lee was a really nice guy, good boyfriend, and I really liked him.  Julian was just kind of a weird character for me, and I wasn’t really a huge fan.

This book was very dark and gritty and messed up, and I liked that aspect of the book.  But the writing, story line, and ending really brought the book down for me.

2 stars

{Review} Black City by Elizabeth Richards

Black City
by Elizabeth Richards
Series: Black City #1
Pages: 374
Release Date: November 13, 2012
by G.P Putnam and Sons (an imprint of Penguin)

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In a city where humans and Darklings are now separated by a high wall and tensions between the two races still simmer after a terrible war, sixteen-year-olds Ash Fisher, a half-blood Darkling, and Natalie Buchanan, a human and the daughter of the Emissary, meet and do the unthinkable—they fall in love. Bonded by a mysterious connection that causes Ash’s long-dormant heart to beat, Ash and Natalie first deny and then struggle to fight their forbidden feelings for each other, knowing if they’re caught, they’ll be executed—but their feelings are too strong.
When Ash and Natalie then find themselves at the center of a deadly conspiracy that threatens to pull the humans and Darklings back into war, they must make hard choices that could result in both their deaths.

I kind of had medium expectations for this book.  I’d heard mostly good reviews, so I wanted to give it a go.  Some aspects of the book were good, others…not so much.  I DID really enjoy the romance, the world, and the writing. However, I didn’t like the story line, the description scenes, the world building, or the ending.  I loved how Richards got into the story really quickly and explained the society and the world.  However, I really would have appreciated an explanation on how people turned into vampires and the society turned into what it was (or I might have skipped over that part because it was boring.  If so, my bad).  I will admit that I DID enjoy the romance and how it was so unique, and the conflicts and the back and forth.  It was very cool learning why Natalie and Ash were reacting to each other the way they were.  [SPOILER: However, I didn’t like how Richards decided to add some random mythology out of the blue to explain how Ash and Natalie are Blood Mates.  It didn’t really make sense, and it was totally out of place.  ]  However, I didn’t like how Richards added random characters in to make the plot more exciting or to get an event to happen.  [SPOILER: For instance, how she introduced Sigor, the vampire absadador or something like that, to get Ash into the vampire part of the city and so he could meet a random person, Evangeline, who complicated the romance. ]  Richards did a really great job of staging things though.  The twists were literally jaw-dropping crazy!  I guessed some of them but others were just out of the blue amazing crazy.  Also she did a really great job of explaining Natalie’s past to support her staging and twists.[SPOILER: I NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS SAW THE TWIST ABOUT HOW NATALIE’S HEART WAS REPLACED WITH EVANGELINE’S AND THAT WAS WHY ASH WAS ATTRACTED TO NATALIE, BUT ALSO TO EVANGELINE!  OMG!  That was amazing by Richards to think of that twist, and I literally sat in my chair for like 5 minutes going “WTF just happened!?”  OMG!  Richards did such good staging on that one too because she mentioned Natalie getting a heart transplant earlier in the book but I didn’t think it would be a huge thing in the book, but wow was I wrong.  But I did guess that the stuff in the Golden Haze that was killing people and creating the virus was Basset venom and I totally guessed that it was coming from Natalie’s mom.  BUT I DIDN’T GUESS WHY!  Haha.  Also I was totally blindsided by Polly being Purian Rose’s daughter!  Wow Richards completely threw me for a loop with this book! ]

However, the story line was not my favorite.  I mean, it was a good story, it was interesting, just very poorly put together.  Like I said, the staging for the twists was good, but the story didn’t flow.  It was disjointed and kind of random.  Also the ending was really bad in my opinion.  It was so freaking cheesy! [SPOILER: Ash and Sebastian standing off in the square with their armies behind them, Natalie hanging onto Ash asking him not to fight, and Ash and Sebastian are like staring each other down.  The way I imagine this in movie form is they’re standing all manly and there are close-ups of their faces and Natalie’s hair is like blowing in the wind or something.  And then, AS IT STARTS TO RAIN, they charge.  HOW FREAKING CHEESY IS THAT!?  Ugh. ]  But I also kind of enjoyed it for a different reason than I discussed in the spoiler part because the very ending, which perfectly sets up the second book, was very interesting and honestly made perfect sense. [SPOILER: What I mean is when Ash dies but Natalie brings him back because of the oxygen in his system because his heart doesn’t work and then Natalie brought him back by kissing him and there was that charge between them because they’re blood mates.  That was very well done. ]

Also, two things that I feel like I have to mention that don’t really have anything to do with the story so aren’t really spoilery but I’ll white them out anyway are:

[SPOILER: First, the fact that the characters don’t swear.  Oh wait, correction, they don’t say “fuck”.  But they have no problem saying “bitch”.  Richards replaced “fuck” with “fragg” so she would have the characters say like “fragg you” or “fragg it” or “did you fragg her?!” UGH SO FRAGGING ANNOYING!  ;P

Second, Ashe’s hair.  Apparently Ash’s hair moves on its own.  It senses blood.  And if Natalie rubs it it can turn him on.  Enjoy below:

“Maybe…you…should…stop,” he says between rapid breaths.  “I’m…losing…it..”

I carry on massaging his hair, knowing what it’s doing to him, knowing how sensitive his hair is to stimulation and loving the fact that I have this effect on someone as beautiful as him”.

Excuse me while I go vomit. ]

Even with all I said above, I still really liked these characters.  I should be so freaking annoyed with them after all the drama and back and forth but I’m not.  I don’t know why.  I liked how the romance was set up, first off, because I liked how Ash and Natalie hated each other and then started to love each other.  They were really great characters.  Ash was a nice guy, but also dark and damaged and flawed and vulnerable.  He has personality, he has strength.  Natalie was also a very strong character, and I loved how she was defiant, strong under pressure, and brave.  I loved how Richards delved deeper into Natalie and Ash’s characters and explained their individual histories.

Even though this book had a lot of good things going for it, the ending and story line, not to mention some other VERY creepy things, kind of off-set the good.  I loved the staging, twists, writing, world, and characters, but the ending was just so cheesy and the story line was so choppy.  But I still, in a weird way, enjoyed this book.

2 pink flowers

What did you guys think of this book?  Leave your thoughts in a comment and we'll have a discussion! :)

{Review} Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black

Dance of Shadows
by Yelena Black
Series: Dance of Shadows #1
Pages: 447
Release Date: February 12, 2013
by Bloomsbury

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Dancing with someone is an act of trust. Elegant and intimate; you're close enough to kiss, close enough to feel your partner's heartbeat. But for Vanessa, dance is deadly – and she must be very careful who she trusts… Vanessa Adler attends an elite ballet school – the same one her older sister, Margaret, attended before she disappeared. Vanessa feels she can never live up to her sister's shining reputation. But Vanessa, with her glorious red hair and fair skin, has a kind of power when she dances – she loses herself in the music, breathes different air, and the world around her turns to flames… Soon she attracts the attention of three men: gorgeous Zep, mysterious Justin, and the great, enigmatic choreographer Josef Zhalkovsky. When Josef asks Vanessa to dance the lead in the Firebird, she has little idea of the danger that lies ahead – and the burning forces about to be unleashed…

*A copy was provided by Bloomsbury for review purposes*

Coming into this book I wasn’t sure what to expect, and I’m glad that I didn’t have very high expectations because I would have been even more disappointed than I am now.  What this book had was a bad case of bad-execution-ites.  The idea for this book was awesome, but the execution was not.  The writing was definitely not amazing, but the thing that really got me was the bad staging, and the lack of finesse when introducing new characters or situations.  The staging was way too obvious and easy, and the events were choppy and disconnected.  Vanessa had 4 best friends within 10 pages, and they were tight, tight, tight.  And the way they were introduced wasn’t very well done.  Also, this book had insta-love at it’s finest.  Not to mention, the guy dumped his then girlfriend to go with Vanessa.  Now I don’t know about you, but I don’t really like when that happens – in real life or in books.  The ending was pretty decent, but I think it was way to easy to overcome the evil and come up with a solution.  It wasn’t thrilling, it wasn’t very well done, and pretty much summed up the whole book: too sudden and lacking finesse.

I had a huge problem with this cast.  First off, Vanessa.  Who, as I mentioned earlier, stole another girl’s boyfriend.  Enough said.  She was annoying, weak, and clueless.  And boyfriend himself, Zep.  Ditto what I said about Vanessa.  He was annoying, controlling, mean, and a jerk.  There were so many things wrong with these two characters that they really shouldn’t have been written like this.

The only reason I’m not giving this book a big fat 1 star is the idea and the few bright moments in the book where things moved smoothly and the staging was good, and also because of the fact that the book was pretty well written, in the middle at least.

2 pink flowers

{Review} Wish I Could Have Said Goodye by Shari A. Brady

Wish I Could Have Said Goodbye
by Shari A. Brady
Pages: 260
Release Date: June 11, 2012
by CreateSpace

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Before my older sister Francesca died, I worked at the bakery and wrote songs, but now I write lists. Lists like ten reasons why it's my fault Francesca's dead, or five reasons why I should try and win Howie back, or one reason why I need to stop lying to everyone, including myself.
Wish I Could Have Said Goodbye is an extraordinary novel about one family's struggle to make sense of their world after losing a family member to addiction. Through sixteen-year-old Carmella's eyes, we witness the courage and strength it takes to overcome the consequences of grief, guilt and co-dependency. WIth conviction and determination, Carmella shows us what can happen when we're open to love, feel the pain of our loss, and find the courage to accept the truth of our lives.

*A copy was provided by Shari Brady for review purposes*

Wow, what a strong book.  I have never read a book with this setting and situation before, and it was pretty eye-opening.  The idea was very good, I just think that the execution wasn’t done very well.  The writing wasn’t, but the story line was atrocious, and it completely ruined the book for me.  And even though I really liked that the romance was really sweet and played a huge part in this book, I don’t like how it was written.  It’s wasn’t a case of insta-love by any means, because Howie and Carmella were dating over a few months, but it felt like insta-love because the story line jumped around so much.  There was no flow, just disjointed, random events.  The writing wasn’t very awesome either, with some sentences being run-ons, or not being correctly punctuated – well, in my opinion at least.  Also, Brady tried to put a little drama into the romance, and it was just so obvious that it was annoying instead of dramatic.  Also, the ending was really weird.  I think that Brady could have done something different and better with it, because as it was it didn’t really complete the book.

Even though the writing and story line weren’t really that awesome, I really enjoyed the characters.  Carmella is a really troubled girl, and I loved seeing her grow over the course of the story, and get over all her problems.  She was kind of a tortured heroine, and I felt really bad for her, but she was also pretty strong, so I really enjoyed the part she played.  Howie is really just a very sweet guy, and there isn’t really anything bad I can say about him.  He was nice, cute, and really supported Carmella in her struggles, so I enjoyed that.

Even though the idea and tortured characters were all set up to make this book an amazing coming-of-age story, I feel like Brady could have done a much better job finishing it off with the writing and story line, and maybe adding a new ending that actually completes the book.

2 pink flowers

Review: The Madman's Daughter

The Madman's Daugther
by Megan Shepard
Series: The Madman's Daughter #1
Pages: 432
Release Date: January 29, 2013
by Balzer + Bray

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In the darkest places, even love is deadly.

Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father's gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true.

Accompanied by her father's handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward—both of whom she is deeply drawn to—Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father's madness: He has experimented on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. And worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island's inhabitants. Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father's dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it's too late. Yet as the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father's genius—and madness—in her own blood.

Inspired by H. G. Wells's classic The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Madman's Daughter is a dark and breathless Gothic thriller about the secrets we'll do anything to know and the truths we'll go to any lengths to protect.

*A copy was provided by Harper for review purposes*

Oh Shepard, this book could have been so good! I was loving it, and then you blew it! GAAHHHHH!
Unfortunately, this book was horrible. It was wrong on so many levels, suffered from a severe bout of insta-love, and had one of the worst main characters I’ve ever seen. The writing and story line was REALLY good, and I loved the idea of vivisection and making humans out of animals. The book was fast-paced , creepy, dark, and thrilling throughout, and the story line and staging was awesome. I loved how Shepard dropped hints throughout the book about certain things (if you've read this you'll know what I mean) so that the reader was able to figure out stuff before they happened.  I don't think I've loved a book so much, but at the same time hated it so much!  Really, I would have given this book 5 stars based on the story and writing alone...and then page 30 rolled around (or somewhere around there) and it went downhill – fast. Just as fast as the romance happened, and that was pretty quick. Literally 10 pages after Juliet was introduced to Montgomery, one of the love interests, she was obsessed with him and wanted to kiss him and have him touch her and blah blah blah. Insta-love. For the record, I hate insta-love. In my opinion, love is supposed to be introduced, then grow over the course of the story, making it really sweet to read about. The love in this book, however, was the complete opposite! Also, there was a horrible love triangle that was painful to watch play out. Now, I can handle a well-written love triangle, but this one was just atrocious. There were two insta-love moments in this book, which I didn’ t think was ever possible in a book, and it wasn’t that I didn’t like the guys, it was just that it was introduced so horribly.
There were several things that I found deeply wrong about this book. One was Juliet, but I’ll get to that rant later…actually, I’m going to talk a bit about her now. Let me explain this situation: Juliet’s father dissects animals and makes them human, and Juliet finds out by snooping. So she’s in the operating room, her dad isn’t there, and Montgomery walks in. So what does she do? She makes out with him on the operating table, where her dad tortured animals. I know that this is kind of a stupid thing to be upset about, but I’m an animal lover, and I hate it when animals are hurt. Not to mention, there’s got to be blood on that table. Why on earth would you make out with someone on a blood-soaked torture table?!
Another thing was Montgomery and the father’s relationship. When it suited Shepard and the book, the father treated Montgomery like “a son” and called him that too. But then, 10 pages later, Montgomery is no longer “his son” and the father hates him. This was so annoying because it just went back and forth, love, hate, son, not son, and it was so obvious that Shepard just manipulated that relationship as it suited the story.

And then we get to the characters. *deep breath*. I’m going to save Juliet for last and am just going to talk about the love interests. For the record, I’m Team Montgomery! I don’t have anything against Edward, I just think that Montgomery is a nicer guy. He’s nice, caring, gentle, and you can tell that he really cares about Juliet. I just didn’t get those vibes from Edward, and he wasn’t very attractive in any way. Honestly, I don’t understand why either of them put up with Juliet. Montgomery DEFINITELY didn’t deserve to be treated the way he was.
And now we get to the manipulative bitch that used these two innocent guys for absolutely no reason. Can’t figure out who that is? Well I’ll tell you – Juliet. If Juliet was to introduce herself to you, she might say something like this: “Hi, my name’s Juliet. I’m a madman’s daughter – and I’m a bit loony myself. I’m a bitch who used two guys just for the run of it. I’m annoying, clueless, and am super proud of my father for torturing animals.” You said it Juliet, not me. She is easily in the top three of my Worst Female Characters list. She was weak, annoying, helpless, and a user. She went back and forth between Montgomery and Edward –“ I love this one, no I love this one.” And even though she loved Montgomery, she was still fantasizing about kissing Edward! AND, as if that wasn’t enough, she was proud of her dad for murdering animals. And all Shepard Juliet blamed it on her dad’s madness being passed down to her because she had “his blood running through her veins.” God, I hate her.

This book had everything going for it! The idea, story line, and writing were AMAZING!  I’m genuinely sad that I didn’t like this book, but Shepard just wrote the insta-love love triangle and Juliet so horribly that I just COULDN’T like this book :(

2 pink flowers

Review: Darkness Before Dawn

Author: J.A. London
Series: Darkness Before Dawn #1
Pages: 342
Format: ARC
Source: HarperTeen
Release Date: May 29, 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
Rating: 2/5

Summery:
This electrifying new trilogy blends the best of paranormal and dystopian storytelling in a world where the war is over. And the vampires won.

Humans huddle in their walled cities, supplying blood in exchange for safety. But not even that is guaranteed. Dawn has lost her entire family and now reluctantly serves as the delegate to Lord Valentine, the most powerful vampire for miles. It isn’t until she meets Victor, Valentine’s son, that she realizes not all vampires are monsters....

Review:
When I first started this book I loved it.  It had huge potential, was fast-paced, and kick-butt.  And then it…wasn’t.

This book had everything going for it: plot, idea, setting, everything.  And then, it kind of ruined it.  The writing was never amazing, but I was willing to overlook that if the other aspects of the book lived up to their full potential.  They didn’t.  The idea was amazing.  I loved the setting, a dystopian world where vampires don’t kill you in exchange for a monthly blood supply.  Ingenious.  And the story line was really good too, and then…okay, so I’ve done a lot of thinking about this and have finally come to the conclusion that the romance ruined it.  Dawn looked like she was going to be the completely kick-ass character that I love…and then she falls in love and gets all helpless.  I hate it when the authors do that.  And there was one event that really made me angry: Tegan meeting Sin.  Literally, they met and then five minutes later they were holding hands.  It’s like the authors said “Okay, I don’t feel like putting a lot of effort into this part of the book so they’ll just meet one minute than be making out the next.”  It freaking pissed me off.  I hate it when authors do that, and the only conclusion I can come to is that they were too lazy to develop the romance.  And, what should have been the best part of the book, the ending, fell completely flat.  There wasn’t any real build towards it, and it was over like *snaps fingers* that.  No, just no.  The ending was hugely disappointing.

In the beginning, I loved Dawn.  She could take care of herself, knew how to fight, and could use a stake (the things they use to kill vampires).  And then…she met Victor.  After that, I hated her.  First off, when she first meets him, she really likes him because she thinks he’s human.  Then, when she finds out he’s a vampire (don’t worry, that isn’t a spoiler) she hates him.  Do you see what I’m trying to say?  He’s obviously a good guy because he just saved her from five bloodthirsty vamps, but since he’s one himself, she hates him, but if she didn’t know he was one, she’d love him.  That.  Is.  Horrible.  And then, after she finally gets past her prejudice and starts liking him, she’s so freaking sappy, I really wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her.  She was weak, useless, and could only stand around helplessly while Victor fought to the death for her.  No, just no.
I will admit that from the second he was introduced, I loved Victor, despite the fact that he’s a vamp.  In fact, that made me like him more because he was doing what was right, which is getting rid of the bad vamps.  He was cute, sexy, and totally kick-butt.  I honestly don’t know why he put up with Dawn the fifty pages she hated him.  She was so freaking mean to the poor guy and he was just trying to help her.

I had such high hopes for this book, and at first it lived up to what I expected, and then mean heroines turning weak and totally cute guys putting up with her crap, not to mention the climax, or lack there of, and because of that this book fell flat for me.

What did you guys think?

Review: A Beautiful Dark

A Beautiful Dark
by Jocelyn Davies
Series: A Beautiful Dark #1
Release Date: September 27, 2012
HarperTeen

Goodreads / Purchase

On the night of Skye's seventeenth birthday, she meets two enigmatic strangers. Complete opposites--like fire and ice--Asher is dark and wild, while Devin is fair and aloof. Their sudden appearance sends Skye's life into a tailspin. She has no idea what they want, or why they seem to follow her every move--only that their presence coincides with a flurry of strange events. Soon she begins to doubt not just the identity of the two boys, but also the truth about her own past.In the dead of a bitingly cold Colorado winter, Skye finds herself coming to terms with the impossible secret that threatens to shatter her world. Torn between Asher, who she can't help falling for, and Devin, who she can't stay away from, the consequences of Skye's choice will reach further than the three of them could ever imagine."A Beautiful Dark" is the first book in a captivating trilogy by debut author Jocelyn Davies.

I will admit that the only reason I bought this book is because I adore this cover.  I mean, look at it.  It's spectacular.  Unfortunately, what's between the covers isn't as good.

To be honest, for half of the book I felt like I was reading a chic lit book.  It was all social, school, drama, all that, and the Skye making a spark of electricity here and there.  It wasn't really paranormal until the last 100 hundred pages.  And for the other 200 there was absolutely nothing going on: no action, no building, only going to school and sneaking peaks over shoulders to look at the new boys.  That was it.  There was good writing, but not really a story line.  And I mean that literally: this book was pointless until the last 100 pages.  Although I did enjoy the ending, I wish the whole book had been like it.

Usually when an author has a male character that is confidant and kind of full of himself, I love him because the author also writes him as sexy.  In this book, Asher was that guy.  Only I didn't like him.  At all.  Davies didn't take the time to develop him AT ALL.  He wasn't sexy, he wasn't kick-ass, just stuck up and annoying.  Really the only thing I liked about him was the fact that he was on the rebels' side.
The other boy in Skye's life is Devin.  I didn't like him either.  Although he was kind of nice in the beginning, he slowly turned into a jerk and he wasn't sexy at all.  And I hated the side he was on.
I didn't really like Skye either.  She wasn't particularly kick-ass or strong.
To be honest, Cassie was my favorite character, and that's because she actually had personality.  I've noticed that none of the characters are very developed.  They're just kind of there.

I will read the second book but I def won't buy it.

2 pink flowers