Review: The Iron Witch

Author: Karen Mahoney

Series: The Iron Witch #1
Pages: 289
Format: Paperback
Rating: 3/5

Summery:
Freak. That's what her classmates call seventeen-year-old Donna Underwood. When she was seven, a horrific fey attack killed her father and drove her mother mad. Donna's own nearly fatal injuries from the assault were fixed by magic—the iron tattoos branding her hands and arms. The child of alchemists, Donna feels cursed by the magical heritage that destroyed her parents and any chance she had for a normal life. The only thing that keeps her sane and grounded is her relationship with her best friend, Navin Sharma.
When the darkest outcasts of Faerie—the vicious wood elves—abduct Navin, Donna finally has to accept her role in the centuries old war between the humans and the fey. Assisted by Xan, a gorgeous half-fey dropout with secrets of his own, Donna races to save her friend—even if it means betraying everything her parents and the alchemist community fought to the death to protect.

Review:
It's really weird, but I don't usually like faery books.  I've read some of the Iron Fey series and I really like that, but I'm just not really into faeries.  And this book was just okay for me.

When I first started it I was like Ok, this has a great story line and is going to be super exciting! but then I kept reading and although it did have a good story line, it wasn't very complicated.  It was actually a really easy read and not really young adult.  There is only one task that has to be completed and that was done in twenty pages.  There weren't any climaxes, and the staging was obvious.  However, I do think it was really good writing, I just wish there was more going on.  And the ending wasn't as exciting or complex as I think it should have been.  In my opinion, the ending should have the reader on the edge of her seat, and that just wasn't an element in the book for me.

I really like Xan.  He sounds really sweet and nice and totally swoon-worthy.  And I like him better than Navin.
I also like Donna.  She's a strong female character and I really like that Mahoney wrote her like that.

All in all, kind of disappointing but a good read none the less.

P.S. I apologize for the short review.  I'm feeling spacey today and this is the best I can throw together. :P

Review: Sweet Venom

Author: Tera Lynn Childs

Series: Medusa Girls #1
Pages: 345
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 2.5/5

Summery:
Grace just moved to San Francisco and is excited to start over at a new school. The change is full of fresh possibilities, but it’s also a tiny bit scary. It gets scarier when a minotaur walks in the door. And even more shocking when a girl who looks just like her shows up to fight the monster.

Gretchen is tired of monsters pulling her out into the wee hours, especially on a school night, but what can she do? Sending the minotaur back to his bleak home is just another notch on her combat belt. She never expected to run into this girl who could be her double, though.

Greer has her life pretty well put together, thank you very much. But that all tilts sideways when two girls who look eerily like her appear on her doorstep and claim they're triplets, supernatural descendants of some hideous creature from Greek myth, destined to spend their lives hunting monsters.

These three teenage descendants of Medusa, the once-beautiful gorgon maligned by myth, must reunite and embrace their fates in this unique paranormal world where monsters lurk in plain sight.

Review:
I was really, really looking forward to reading this book.  I totally judge books by their covers (sometimes I don't even read the summaries before I buy them) so I thought this book would be amazing, because the cover certainly is.  But, sadly, I was a little disappointed.

The story line was ok, average.  I didn't really see the point of two girls having different romances at the same time, especially when the romances contributed nothing to the book itself.  I did, however, like that the book was told from three different views because when one is laying around at home, another could be fighting a monster, and if it was just one point of view, you wouldn't get to "witness" the fight.  The did like the ending though, and the cliffhanger is completely necessary to keep people interested.

There are three different points of view here: Grethen, Grace, and Greer.  Of all three of them, I honestly can't choose which one I like best.
On one hand, Gretchen is kick-ass, no nonsense, and really smart and strong.  I like a strong character.  On the other hand, Grace is shy, a self-proclaimed door-mat, but I also like that she stood up for herself and she's the one that I relate with most, not because I'm weak or a door-mat or anything, but I just feel for her.  And Greer-I can't really say why I like Greer.  Maybe because she's popular, which I know is a really shallow reason to like someone, but oh well.  I did like that she changed though.
I said in the beginning that I didn't really get the boys in this book, and it's true: they are useless in this story.  Milo (I totally don't like his name, btw) is just Grace's brother's friend and Grace happens to think he's cute.  Now, if he was a monster with rare powers to conceal his true identity or something like that, then I would totally understand him being in this book.  As it was, he contributed nothing to the book.  And as for Nick, same with him.  They were useless and I have no idea why they were in the book.

All in all, definitely not my favorite book, but I will definitely look forward to and read the next on when it comes out.

Review: XVI

Author: Julia Karr

Series: XVI #1

Pages: 325
Format: Paperback
Release Date: January 6th, 2011
Rating: 4/5

Summery:
Every girl gets one.
An XVI tattoo on the wrist--sixteen.

Some girls can't wait to be sixteen, to be legal. Nina is not one of them. Even though she has no choice in the matter, she knows that so long as her life continues as normal, everything will be okay.

Then, with one brutal strike, Nina's normal is shattered; and she discovers that nothing that she believed about her life is true. But there's one boy who can help--and he just may hold the key to her past.

But with the line between attraction and danger as thin as a whisper, one thing is for sure...

For Nina, turning sixteen promises to be anything but sweet.

Review:
Wow.  This book is really, really complex.  The plot is so good.  Zarr did such a good job writing this book to make it look like Nina had no way to make all the problems right, but I was really impressed with how she did it.

When I started reading it I thought, Wow, I'm not going to like this book very much, because Zarr came up with all these new abbreviations for everything, like PAVs and feLS, I had no idea what they were.  But as the story progressed and grew I finally figured them out and started to really enjoy it.  The plot is simply amazing.  There were so many elements and things going on, I don't know how Zarr kept track of it all.

When Zarr first introduced Sal I didn't really like him at all, but towards the end he started to show his sensative, caring side and he grew on me.
I love that Nina's mom was a strong, defiant woman that saw through the facade the goverment had put up.
I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate Ed.  That guy is a slime-ball.
I felt so bad for Sandy at the end (not telling what happens).  Although she was completely swept up in being a sex-teen, I kind of liked her and really hoped Nina would make her come to her senses.

All in all, a really good dystopian novel, and I can't wait to read the second one.

What do you think about this book?

Review: Fury

Author: Elizabeth Miles
Series: The Fury Trilogy #1
Pages: 370
Format: Hardcover
Publish Date: August 31st, 2011
Rating: 3/5

Summery:
It’s winter break in Ascension, Maine. The snow is falling and everything looks pristine and peaceful. But not all is as it seems...
Between cozy traditions and parties with her friends, Emily loves the holidays. And this year’s even better--the guy she’s been into for months is finally noticing her. But Em knows if she starts things with him, there’s no turning back. Because his girlfriend is Em’s best friend.
On the other side of town, Chase is having problems of his own. The stress of his home life is starting to take its toll, and his social life is unraveling. But that’s nothing compared to what’s really haunting him. Chase has done something cruel...something the perfect guy he pretends to be would never do. And it’s only a matter of time before he’s exposed.
In Ascension, mistakes can be deadly. And three girls—three beautiful, mysterious girls—are here to choose who will pay.
Em and Chase have been chosen.

Review:
I really, really, really want to like this book (well, I do kind of like it) but the negatives outnumber the positives.  By a lot. ):

In a well written book, the story builds on itself.  The author drops hints here and there to give the reader clues to what this book is about.  Mermaids, unicorns, werewolves, ect.  But Elizabeth Miles didn't do that.  She went on and on for about 200 pages about Chase and Emily's social life, and at the end of every chapter they see someone looking through their window.  That does nothing.  That doesn't help the reader figure out what's going on, what creature is out there, or why.  All it says is that Emily and Chase are popular and that someone is looking at them.  The one good part of the book was the end, and that was pretty much because I finally found out what the heck was going on.

I really wish that Elizabeth Miles had incorporated more into the story, had dropped hints and had things happen.  The only things happening were Emily making out with Zach and Chase running around after Ty.  And that would be completely fine if Elizabeth Miles had just gone for a real-life, chic-lit type story, and not even mentioned supernatural.  But, as the wrote it, it didn't work out.

There really isn't any boy to swoon over in this book. ):  Zach's a jerk, Chase is an idiot, and J.D. is sweet but not swoon-worthy.  Although he is my favorite guy in the book.

The mistakes Elizabeth Miles made were beginner's mistakes, and as she learns more and writes more she will learn to make the plot complex and build the story up.  I really hope her next book shows all she will learn.

OTHER COVER EDITIONS:

What do you think about the covers?  And the book as well, of course? :P

Review: Fateful

Author: Claudia Gray

Pages: 325
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: September 13, 2011
Rating: 5/5
Summery:
Eighteen-year-old maid Tess Davies is determined to escape the wealthy, troubled family she serves. It’s 1912, and Tess has been trapped in the employ of the Lisles for years, amid painful memories and twisted secrets. But now the Lisle family is headed to America, with Tess in tow. Once the ship they’re sailing on—the RMS Titanic—reaches its destination, Tess plans to strike out and create a new life for herself.
Her single-minded focus shatters when she meets Alec, a handsome first-class passenger who captivates her instantly. But Alec has secrets of his own. He’s in a hurry to leave Europe, and whispers aboard the ship say it’s because of the tragic end of his last affair with the French actress who died so gruesomely and so mysteriously. . . .
Soon Tess will learn just how dark Alec’s past truly is. The danger they face is no ordinary enemy: werewolves exist and are stalking him—and now her, too. Her growing love for Alec will put Tess in mortal peril, and fate will do the same before their journey on the Titanic is over.

Review:
Wow.  Before I read this book I never thought I would like reading about the Titanic, but did Claudia Gray ever prove me wrong.

This book is amazing.  The plot was so complex, and the characters were so good.  If Claudia Gray had picked a single other historical event and had the same paranormal stuff going on, I don't think it would have worked half as well.  The plot was amazing, all the events happening and flowing together and leading up to one another.  The way Gray wrote Tess's situation, it was like she was pretty much guaranteed to be killed, but somehow, she always managed to survive and keep her cool.  If I had been in that situation, with some lunatic werewolf coming after me, I would have freaked. :p

I love Tess.  I love her name, I love her strong will, and I love her defiance.  She is the kind of strong female character that all books like this need, and she's so sweet to Mr. Marlowe and Miss Irene.  She is the perfect character for this book.
I hate Mikhail.  Hate, hate, hate him.  But in a way I also like him because his evilness and ruthlessness was what made this book as good as it is.  He is the perfect villain.
I really, really wanted Tess to take Irene with her when she quit her job, because I just felt so bad for her.  Her mother is so mean, and Irene is so kind and different from the rest of her family.
Alec *swooning*.  OH MY GOSH!!!  I love Alec.  He is so cute!  He is so kind and gentle, and he really feels bad about what he does when he is "different". (I won't say anything more because I would give away the story.)

All in all, this is a really sweet romantic fantasy that I think everyone will love.  And you also learn about the Titanic :P

OTHER COVER EDITIONS:

  

Which cover is your favorite?  And what do you think about this book? (:

Review: The Iron Thorn

Author: Caitlin Kittredge
Series: The Iron Codex #1
Pages: 492
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: February 20, 2011
Rating: 4/5
Cover Rating: 4/5 (a bit raunchy)

Summery:
In the city of Lovecraft, the Proctors rule and a great Engine turns below the streets, grinding any resistance to their order to dust. The necrovirus is blamed for Lovecraft's epidemic of madness, for the strange and eldritch creatures that roam the streets after dark, and for everything that the city leaders deem Heretical—born of the belief in magic and witchcraft. And for Aoife Grayson, her time is growing shorter by the day.
     Aoife Grayson's family is unique, in the worst way—every one of them, including her mother and her elder brother Conrad, has gone mad on their 16th birthday. And now, a ward of the state, and one of the only female students at the School of Engines, she is trying to pretend that her fate can be different.

Review:
To be perfectly honest, I am very disappointed with Caitlin Kittredge's young adult debut.  NOT!!

The story is just amazing, to have the complex plot it has, it's just mind blowing.  The science, the "necrovirus", the monsters, the faeries, the whole shebang, it's amazing how Caitlin Kittredge managed to keep track of it all.
I don't usually like books with romance/adventure, but Caitlin wrote it in such a way that you don't really notice the romance, and when you did it was some huge event in the book.

I love that Aoife is a strong, smart-mouthed character who can take care of herself and is brave and selfless.
In the beginning I hated Cal because he was always calling her crazy and claiming everything she said was a result of the necrovirus.  I liked him more in the end when he saved them (I'm not going to tell you how so you'll have to read the book :p).
And Dean.  OH MY GOD DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED!!  I love Dean!!  I mean, really love him.  I can't really explain it.  He's really sassy, rebellious, smart-mouthed, and really nice, and as I read more and more I fell more and more in love with him.

All in all, I can't wait for the next book to come out because Caitlin Kittredge left this book on the biggest cliffhanger you could imagine, AND I WANT TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!!

What are you thoughts about this book?  Leave comments, I love them. (: