Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Warning: Some spoilers...

WITHER was a different kind of dystopian novel. I really loved and yet I'm still not quite sure what to think about it. I felt that it was too short. What I initially had thought it would be like turned out to be fairly different and in a good way, but there were certain characters and relationships that I felt were still undeveloped.The ending felt like it was lacking for me also.

For instance, there was such an important relationship between Rhine and Gabriel and yet at the end, I felt like there was still something missing. Perhaps it was Gabriel's development in the story. I still feel like we don't know very much about him. I do know that this is a trilogy and that more information will be given in the sequels, which I can't wait for, but I still really wish she could have told us more about him.

Now that I've given my reasoning for that one missing star, I can say just how much I loved everything else about this book. It was really beautifully written. Rhine was a lovely character, with hopes and dreams, and this insatiable need to be free. Everything about her was admirable. Housemaster Vaughn was perfectly creepy and his "experiments" in the basement were enough to create that desired ominous effect fort this reader. I grew to Love Governor Linden as well. I had a lot of conflicts, just as Rhine did, on how I should feel about him, but in the end I've come to the conclusion that I feel just as she feels; he is an oblivious, yet lovable and kind person that was raised in a corrupt fashion. I even think that Rhine really did fall for him in the end, which leaves me wondering if he will become another interest in future books. As for the sisters, I loved them too. While Cecily was difficult to love and quite annoying at times, I can't help but feel a pinch of compassion for her in this twisted world they live in. Jenna was absolutely beautiful and such a wonderful person that I came quite close to crying at one part in the book. Basically, all of the characters were amazing. Even Deirdre, Adair, and Elle. I felt reader's love for all of them.

I'm still thinking about this one, which makes it great, but I'm still stuck on this feeling of it being too short. I want more and the ending wasn't as satisfying as I'd hoped. Perhaps it was because it seemed to play out so easily when I expected a dramatic mess that would have left me on a cliffhanger for the next book. Either way, I'll definitely be reading the sequel next year.



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Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Before I continue crying some more, I promised I'd actually get to a review on time for once.

I'm very late to the game on this one. I kept hearing about it and hearing about it, and hearing so much PRAISE about it, that I should have picked it up a long time ago. But to be honest, I think I was scared to. The title and the cover, and then the jacket as well, all let you know that this story is about a girl that dies. She dies. There's no point in letting you think that once the seven days are up, she can somehow win her life back with a good deed or two. And I knew that it would probably be very amazing. But I didn't tell myself that. No, I tried to keep myself from reading it by saying that it wasn't fantasy, and it was probably about catty popular girls and somehow still depressing because one of them dies. So, I put it off.

Then I read DELIRIUM by Lauren Oliver. I was enraptured and totally caught up with this author's way of describing the world, even in a futuristic fictional one that would probably never be, I totally understood that she was, and could only be, talking about our world. Us. I fell in love with that story. And then I thought, why not? Pick up BEFORE I FALL. It might be depressing, but Lauren Oliver's already opened your eyes once, maybe she'll do it again. And I expected BEFORE I FALL to be good. I expected it to be sad, but oh so powerful. What I didn't expect?

That it would literally grab a hold of my soul and transform me. That it would literally open my eyes up to myself.

That probably sounds pretty dramatic. Probably something that a sap would say and probably not as reliable coming from an unknown source that's trying to recommend a book to you. But it's true...

I can't explain how this book has touched me. It's a personal story. All I want to say about it is that I cried during all of Sam's scenes with Izzy (her little sister) because I once had an older brother, and I wondered what he might've been thinking those couple of years in the hospital when he was spending time with his baby sister. I couldn't stop crying when Sam accepted her fate and during her last moment in her own fictional world. That's how good this story is.

I just know that Lauren Oliver has this ability to make the most amazing characters. Characters so real that you feel like you've known them your whole life. I can't stand letting Sam go. And even after I turned the last page, trying really hard to ignore the tears running down my cheeks, my fingers kept fumbling for more, not wanting to let go of her. Not wanting her life to end. And I knew how it would end all along, but like she says in the book. We still hope. We're still human...

If there's any book in the world, I could say without a doubt has helped shape me or moved my heart in some form or another, it's BEFORE I FALL. Read it and you'll know. I hope you do.



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The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


THE GODDESS TEST was excellent!



It was so refreshing to read a book that was beautiful yet simplistic in it's appeal. The plot was unique for it's genre and the characters were to die for. I really loved Kate as a protagonist. She was going through some true pain with her mother dying from cancer. Based on personal experience with family members and this particular disease, I can say that the emotion there was raw enough to bring me to tears. Even Henry, who I was skeptical of at first in the prologue, really won me over.



I also loved Ava and James. They were real friends. What was so refreshing about them was that they weren't perfect though. They weren't just sideline characters that cause some trouble on the side and whatnot. They were just as immersed in the plot as Kate was. In fact, almost every character served a purpose one way or another and that can't be easy to do as a writer.



The love story was unique in it's own right, and I thought Carter's way of turning Greek mythology on it's head and really making it her own was just fine. For others, I can see how it might bother them that the Gods and Goddesses weren't as mythological legend says they are, but I didn't have a problem with this. I felt that her recreation of them was unique and interesting. Henry completely revamped Hades and made himself the complete opposite of what one might think that an Underworld-ruling-God should be. His interactions with Kate were soft and heart-aching. I felt what Kate felt for him and it's not easy to make that connection with readers sometimes. Hats off to Carter!



i have to say though, that I figured out the murderer pretty fast once I started eliminating the suspects in each chapter. Wonderful twist though!



Personally, I'll be among those vying for the sequel, GODDESS INTERRUPTED. I just have that I have so much longer to wait now.



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Hereafter by Tara Hudson

Hereafter by Tara Hudson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


3.5 stars.



HEREAFTER is another one of those recycled plots you'll see in almost every book in the Young Adult section these days. Plot: insert supernatural girl who is "alone" in the world, meets the boy of her dreams after some life saving dilemma, they fall in love instantly, conflict = they can't be together because of some supernatural drama, annnd just for kicks and to add originality let's add in a boogey man who's more hot than scary.



I've read it all before in different shapes and forms. It's old and tiresome. When reading becomes a labor, then the book is seriously disappointing.



Lately, I've been coming across lots of books with GORGEOUS cover art, but miraculously all of the plots are the same old boring schtick that everyone's using to get published these days. The Twilight Fad. I really hate comparing any story to this book. It was a break out novel for it's genre and for readers around the world, but with the over rated phenomenon, I really don't understand why there are so many writers out there stuck on this mind set of supernatural "die for you" romance.



But I wouldn't have rated HEREAFTER this high if I didn't enjoy it a little. Despite the dated plotline, I still felt that some of the aspects in this story were sincere, and I cannot hate it for that. Amelia seemed like a good person and her relationship with Joshua was fine. I just wish that the plot hadn't been so slow. Nothing really happens until the last five or six chapters out of thirty in the whole book. I wanted more action. Less talk. Less romance that didn't really have anything unique about it.



I may or may not read the sequel, but I'm just sorry to say that this story didn't really hold any interest to me. Perhaps it will for others, but if you're looking for something completely new, I'm not sure that it's here...



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Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I really, really wanted to get into this one. The cover is drop dead gorgeous, but unfortunately the plot and characters for me were just drop dead boring. Perhaps I've just read too many paranormal YA lit these days and I've seen too many similar plot holes. But Helen wasn't relatable for me. Her love story with Lucas was too played out. The villain was too... "muhahaha" for me (the everyday archetype). And the writing wasn't engaging enough to keep my attention.



The idea itself was so promising. There were so many ways that Angelini could've taken this. Recreating the Trojan War and adding some starcrossed love drama would have been so epic. That's what I expected. And where there were expectations, there were short comings. It's a shame.



Not that I won't give credit where it's due. The fact that there were a few lines once in a while that held my attention would have kept me reading. And believe me, I'm not one to not finish a book. However, the timing for this one just sucks right now. I have work and school and a million other books to read. But I will recommend Starcrossed to anyone who hasn't read a billion paranormal YA books and those of the younger generation that want a dramatic teenage romance to read.



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The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver

The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Definitely an interesting take on Angels and Demons.



I'd say that this book is pretty complex and refreshing. Oliver really did well in the world-building department. It's 2018 and the world is all going to hell. Literally. It seems that there are so many little details, I'm surprised that she got all of them in there. Or at least, so many of them.



It's hard to go back and recall each and every thing that I liked about this one. There were a lot of good points. Riley's a tough character and I really loved that she could hold her own in a fight, but at the same time be a totally normal girl. She was very grown up also, which was refreshing. She had to deal with so much loss and at the same time had to worry about bills. Beck is also one of my favorites now. He was very complex and I feel like there's so much more we have to learn from him. I'm interested to see how things develop between him and Riley. They're more like family right now, but I have a feeling that's going to change.



The only few things that I disliked about this book were the pace, the easy fix ups, and the small stereotypes. The pacing seemed a bit off. It was slow in parts that should have been more meaningul, but left you wondering when you moved on. And then when action DID hit, it would all be over in a flash. The final battle was so fixed and quickly done, I'm not quite sure what happened or why. It really annoyed me that one moment Riley's in this life or death battle with a freaking Geo-fiend and the next she's all safe in the cemetery. I mean... what. just. happened? And the stereotypical way that the demons looked was a little annoying. Big furry monsters, not very intelligent, horns, claws, red eyes, fire, etc. I didn't see a lot of originality there.



Over all, I really liked this book. I thought it was an interesting new take on the angels and demons genre that seems so popular lately. I will read the next book simply for the characters that I enjoyed so much, but I hope that some of these pacing issues and short conflicts will be better in the next go-around. On to the next one, folks!



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Captive by Lisa Kumar

Captive by Lisa Kumar

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


What can I say?



This is not my usual cup of tea. For one, it's a short story. Secondly, it's an adult fantasy romance. For three, it's about elves.



And it's very, very good. I'd take a refill of this new tea, please!



I would like to add that this is definitely an adult short story and probably wouldn't recommend it for young readers. However, once said readers are of a more mature age, I would definitely advise giving CAPTIVE a shot.



I like to think that I know Ms. Kumar fairly well. She's in my group Goodwriters for Goodreads and has always been kind, VERY creative, and from what I've read thus far and CAPTIVE has proved quite tremendously, a tremendous writer. I absolutely loved her use of vocabulary in this short story. Her use of description was also just lovely. I have no doubt in my mind as to her ability to control language.



As for the characters, I thought they were also very well written. Emma was a well-rounded woman held captive by an arrogant, yet complex Elvin Lord. Why wouldn't you want to read about these people? Cian (Emma's captor), proves to be a tough mystery for Emma to solve. One minute she detects a tenderness to him that she can't help, but be drawn to and the next he's ordering her around and referring to her as his 'human pet'. The plot was simply captivating! Pun intended, but nonetheless true!



So why not give it the whole five stars? Because it's a short story. I felt like CAPTIVE was more of a preview, like it simply couldn't be this short! It's a full-fledged story cut down to the most important and intense scenes. I would've really loved seeing those inbetween scenes! I wanted to make this journey with Emma from the very first step. Basically, in all my greedy appetite I'm saying I want more. I want a novel! It's simply too good to condense.



However, if there cannot be more then I will finish the review and give CAPTIVE four stars. It's a beautiful story about love and trust. The fantastical element of Elves gives it something unique (I would really love to learn more about Kumar's fair folk in general) and there seems to be so many good opportunities to expand. Ameon for example. The wilderness for another. The whole prospect of the story that lies behind this short story just generates so much anxious excitement in me!



So, anyone who hasn't read this yet, please do so. And then help me enlist an army to petition for more of Emma and Cian! Absolutely lovely and quite fresh!



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