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: Full Moon

Author: Rachel Hawthorne

Series: Dark Guardians #2
Pages: 263
Format: Paperback
Release Date: July 1, 2009

Rating: 3/5

Summery:
I may be promised to another . . . but thoughts of Rafe consume me. I don't know how much longer I can resist.

Lindsey is wild and reckless, a natural rebel - maybe because her entire life was laid out for her even before she was born. Her parents are among the most powerful members of the Dark Guardians, an ancient tribe of werewolves, and they arranged Lindsey's betrothal to Connor long ago. The next full moon is coming all too soon, and then her commitment to Connor will be final - no turning back. She should be happy . . . so why can't she stop thinking about gorgeous, brooding Rafe?

When a dangerous threat on the pack escalates, so do tensions between Connor and Rafe. A fight over Lindsey is imminent, but will it be to the death?

Review:
I was really impressed with Hawthorne after I read this book because I had read the first book in this series, Moonlight, and didn't really like it as much.  But this one, I really enjoyed.

I loved the story line, and you really couldn't tell where the story would go.  The love triangle and indecision was awesome, and it kept me on my toes, and there were twists and turns and change ups that I never saw coming, but I did suspect a few (like the ending) :p
.
I really like Lindsay, she seems strong and kind.  Rafe, I don't really like the picture Hawthorne painted with him.  The name, the look, all that, it just didn't work for me.  And I loved Connor, he was so sweet.  I'm sad for him.

I can't wait to read the next book and see what happened to Brittany!


OTHER COVER EDITIONS:


Indonesian cover.  Rating 1/5







What did you think of this book.  Leave comments, I love them. (:

Review: Starcrossed

Book: Starcrossed
Author: Josephine Angelini
Pages: 487
Series: Starcrossed #1
Publish Date: May 31, 2011
Rating: 1/5
Cover Rating: 4/5
Add this book to your to-read shelf on Goodreads

Summery:
Heleen Hamilton has always tried to hide how different she is-no easy feat on an island as small as Nantucket, and only getting harder as she finds herself haunted by hallucinations and vivid nightmares.  It's not until she crosses paths with Lucas Delos at school that Helen's true heritage is finally revealed.  Yet even as Lucas helps her awaken her startling powers, they can never be together-not unless they can break free from the tragic destiny the Three Fates have in store...

Review:
To be perfectly honest, I was disappointed. It was a pretty good story line, but reminded me of the Twilight Saga, which I'm not crazy about. The writing was choppy and disconnected, and there wasn't any building to the story. There was no foreboding comments, no climax leading up to an event, it was just sudden and unexpected, and not in a good way.

I didn't like--or understand--how Helen and Lucas were one second trying to kill each other and the next deeply in love. Lucas is, however, completely swoon-worthy. He sounds so cute and like the perfect guy.

I didn't like the fact that Lucas and Helen could fly.  It was a little over the top.  I did, however, like that Helen was a powerful character, and I loved the lightning.
Although I like the cover, I don't like the content, and I'm really sorry I don't becuase a cover like that just has to have a great book inside it.  I really hope that Josephine Angelini does better with the next book.

OTHER COVER EDITIONS: 


Rating: 5/5

What do you think about the book?