#AmReading YA

Review: The Darkest Corners - Kara Thomas

The Darkest Corners
Kara Thomas
Series: N/A
Genre: Young Adult, Thriller, Contemporary
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads 

Thanks to Delacorte Press and First in Line for the ARC I received at YALLFest!
Full disclosure: I'm reviewing this book four months after reading it because I'm the worst.

The Darkest Corners follows Tessa as she returns to Fayette, Pennsylvania, the place she used to live before Bad Things happened. Tessa and her former friend Callie witnessed a murder, and neither of them were the same after. Callie's family was torn apart, her cousin being the murder victim, and Tessa's mother and sister ended up abandoning her, which meant her being sent to live with her grandmother in Florida. But when Tessa returns to Fayette and reunites with Callie, they start to think about the murder again, wondering if things didn't happen quite how they had thought before.

There are so many layers to the mystery of The Darkest Corners. At first it seems like there's only one real mystery, but then there are multiple mysteries, all entangled together. There were so many things happening throughout the book, and it was all so fascinating. Peeling back each layer and learning more about what was truly happening kept me flipping the pages straight through to the end.

While the book was super thrilling and shocking, there were some moments that I was just like, "Really?" Some of the plot points were a little farfetched, but it sort of adds to the style of the book. Kind of like a soap opera or tele-novella - it was like the worst possible thing would always happen next. And I couldn't look away.

I wouldn't say I fell in love with any of the characters, but being a mystery/thriller, I feel like that's kind of a good thing. The back cover of my ARC says, "By the last page, there will be no one left to trust," and I think that's a really accurate portrayal of how I felt about the characters. With all the twists in this book, I wasn't sure if I could trust any of the characters.

While thriller isn't a genre I usually grab for, I'm really happy I had the opportunity to read The Darkest Corners. It was absolutely thrilling, and the ending was so crazy and then I totally freaked out at the end of the epilogue. So creepy. This definitely isn't a predictable mystery, and I highly recommend this!

What's one of your favorite thrillers/mysteries?
Let us know in the comments!

Review: Furthermore - Tahereh Mafi

Furthermore
Tahereh Mafi
Series: N/A
Genre: Fantasy, Middle Grade
Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers
Release Date: August 30, 2016
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads 

Thanks to Dutton Books for the ARC I received at BEA!

The best word to describe Furthermore is whimsical. From the start, the reader is thrown into a fantasy world called Ferenwood. In Ferenwood, color is everything - the more colorful, the more magical. However, poor Alice has no color at all, making her feel inadequate and out of place. On top of that, her mother seems to hate her and her father went missing three years ago. On her twelfth birthday, Oliver, a boy she once went to school with, says something that changes everything: he knows where her father is.

Furthermore follows this beloved duo as they journey into the land of Furthermore, which is far stranger than Ferenwood. In Furthermore, there are no rules - anything is possible - and that makes it so much more dangerous. Furthermore is absolutely not the kind of place you would want to vacation.

I couldn't help but be reminded of The Phantom Tollbooth (one of my favorite books) and Alice in Wonderland while reading Furthermore. There's something about the logic (or lack-there-of) in these three books - the fact that you never know what sort of backwards logic is actually normal in the world - that I absolutely love. I also thoroughly enjoyed the way the story was told. I kind of just imagined sitting on the floor, looking up at Tahereh Mafi reading this book to me with fun voices. It really does read so much like a fairytale, but it's more like a Grimms brothers fairytale than a Disney one.

More thoughts this way!

When it comes to the characters, I really loved the way Mafi built them. They were very far from perfect, and they had to learn how to get past things before they could truly work well together. There are so many themes explored in this book, from friendship and trust, to darker themes like prejudice and abandonment. There's even a bit with Alice's mother having an addiction to berries that make her less sad when father is away.

The plot of this book was so topsy turvy! The ending was a bit abrupt, but I kind of liked it because it was so Furthermore. Sometimes there's a big struggle to get where you're going, but other times you might just end up in the right place at the right time.

!!!!!!

Overall, Furthermore was such a fun, whimsical adventure. Even though this is middle grade (which is not a typical genre for me), it's such a fun fantasy that I think anyone can enjoy if they're in the mood for something lighter. Here's to hoping there will be a sequel!

- Kiersten

What's your favorite fantasy world?

Let us know in the comments!

Double ARC Review: Lair of Dreams - Libba Bray

Lair of Dreams
Libba Bray
Series: The Diviners, #2
Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Paranormal
Release Date: August 25th, 2015
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Thanks to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for the ARC I received at BEA!

After loving The Diviners (review here), I was very excited to dive into Lair of Dreams and see what was in store for the characters I came to love. While Lair of Dreams didn't quite live up to The Diviners, I still really enjoyed the story and thought it was a great second book in the series!

In Lair of Dreams, all the characters from The Diviners are back and getting into more trouble. While we still get a bunch of story from Evie, she takes a bit of a back seat to Henry and a new character, Ling, as they explore - you guessed it - the lair of dreams. Ling actually makes a slight appearance in The Diviners, although she is unnamed, so I was excited to see her become a part of this story.

The story starts off in Chinatown as a mysterious sleeping sickness starts to spread throughout the city. While many people have chosen to blame Chinese immigrants for bringing over this disease, the real reason is unknown. Ling, living in Chinatown, feels first hand the effect this sickness is having on the people of her town - not only are people afraid to come to Chinatown, but they want Chinese people to stay out of other parts of Manhattan.

The fact that Ling lives in Chinatown is not the only thing that makes her interesting. Ling grew up feeling the effects of racial prejudice in the 20s - she had an Irish parent and a Chinese parent, neither of whom were citizens since citizenship was rarely granted to Chinese immigrants and marrying a Chinese person meant sacrificing any hope for citizenship. On top of that, Ling is somewhat crippled - she has to wear leg braces and use crutches in order to walk. I'm pretty sure Lair of Dreams is the first book I've read with a character who is physically handicapped, and I think Libba Bray did a fantastic job showing how Ling felt about her legs without making it a huge plot point in the story. Libba Bray once again did an excellent job with incorporating diverse characters into this series in a way that is consistent with the time period and adds another level to the story. As for Ling's personality, she definitely juxtaposes a lot of the characters from The Diviners. Ling loves science and reason, and she's definitely not the type to go to a speakeasy. She's somewhat severe, quite sarcastic, and very devoted to her friends. While I did like Ling, she definitely doesn't have the charisma and charm of Evie O'Neill (which is totally fine in terms of character); however, since Evie's charm was part of the reason I loved The Diviners, this difference in personality made Lair of Dreams less fun than The Diviners.

The other main half of the story was Henry. I always felt like Henry wasn't given enough back story in The Diviners, so I was absolutely thrilled that he got his time to shine in Lair of Dreams. It was great to hear about his (tragic) past, and I loved hearing about his struggles in trying to get his music published.

Similarly to The Diviners, Lair of Dreams is a slow building story, full of many different layers and story lines, and Libba Bray's gorgeous prose once again added another dimension to the story. While it wasn't quite as exciting as The Diviners, I really enjoyed Lair of Dreams. Plus, that ending! I can't wait to find out what happens next, although I'm sure I'll have quite a while to wait.

- Kiersten

Marlon's Lair of Dreams Review
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Shout out to Little Brown for this ARC! And to Libba Bray for taking gorgeous selfies!

After having read Beauty Queens a couple of years ago, and regarding it as completely iconic, I then proceeded to not check if Libba Bray had other books. That was my bad.

I have thus far rectified that mistake through The Diviners and Lair of Dreams.

Lair of Dreams picks up after The Diviners. While the characters from the first book are present, most of them are taken out of center stage in lieu of the new protagonist, Ling. Henry's character is also upgraded and he features prominently in the book. The characters are all trying to deal with Evie outing herself, and a strange sickness spreading through New York.

First of all, the language is awesome. It sure sounds realistic and from the 20s. I don't have an incredible amount of knowledge in the linguistics of this time, but if Libba Bray had made up all of the phraseology, I feel like I'd still believe her. Like in the first book, it can get dicey when uppity characters begin speaking in their formal tones and it's meant to be serious but I can't help but laugh at them. The silliness, however, is generally mitigated by the fact that Bray's passive narration is masterfully maintaining the strong (almost pungent) atmosphere in the background. It helps to remind me that someone speaking in formal tones usually means the plot is about to shank someone in a dark alley.

Speaking of the plot. It's . . . simply awesome. While the first book definitely had more flair to its plot, helped by its characters, I liked that this novel delved into a more serious, dark place. It seems to follow a murder mystery, but delves far deeper into the characters and setting than that. While I did like the direction it took from the first book in terms of plot . . . the main plot line of the book just seemed less refined and truly creepy than the last one. Don't worry though, you will still be terrified.

Bray's true talent seems to lie in balancing. Lair of Dreams's keeps its predecessor's mix of being deeply ingrained in the historical time-line, sneakily involved with the supernatural, hungry for suspense with the horror, yet light on its feet with the humor. On top of it all, Bray is able to analyse and break down the societal problems in the 20s: racism, ableism, poverty, and so on. I'm especially glad for the change in main characters, too, as it is far more intimate and subtle when it comes from Ling, the half-Chinese, half-Irish woman who must use leg braces and crutches to get around.

My only real fault with this book, and I can't believe I'm saying this, is that it's very long. Usually, I love that in a book, and I wish more books were this length. This nearly 700 page book is, like the first one, slow building, with myriad plot lines interwoven with each other. While that is a commitment I was totally willing to make . . . my reading style is more along the lines of "devour in one sitting." You can't do that to this book. There just isn't enough basic action going on, because the story is far more involved than that. Trust me. I tried . . . and I ended up reading over a whole section from Henry that I immediately forgot.

Overall, I thought this was a pretty awesome sequel to a book that seems impossible to follow up, and I think fans of the first will really enjoy it.

- Marlon

Do you like historical fiction?

Let us know in the comments!

Double ARC Review: Never Always Sometimes - Adi Alsaid

Never Always Sometimes
Adi Alsaid
Series: N/A
Genre: Young Adult, Romance
Release Date: August 4, 2015
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Thanks to Harlequin Teen for the ARCs we received at BookExpo America!

!!! This was the first book I read after coming home from BEA, because meeting the author was fabulous and Adi Alsaid is an awesome person, and also because the book just had an undeniable appeal for me. It has a great title, the blurb made it sound super interesting, and it's a YA romance so needless to say, you didn't have to ask me twice.

The book is about best friends Dave and Julia, who, before high school, make a list of 10 cliches they never want to be apart of in high school (they are too cool and quirky for the actually fun lameness of high school). The list includes such gems as "Never hook up with a teacher," and "Never date your best friend."

I know what you're thinking: that escalated quickly. So of course, senior year, what do Dave and Julia decide to do? Complete the list of nevers. I know what you're thinking again: so if they do all the cliches listed, like hooking up with a teacher or dying their hair, wouldn't they by default also have to date each other and secretly pine after one another? You are correct yet again. While this would normally annoy me that this was kind of glazed over, I think with the way these characters were constructed, it was really believable.

Julia has this crazy energy about her, and is quirky in a way that reminded me of John Green's characters. She is insanely caring and just her voice is really interesting to read about/from the perspective of. Dave is honestly kinda bland and neither here nor there on the interesting character front, but he does make some rather unpredictable choices so I was into that.

More interesting than the actual characters was the relationship between the two of them. It seemed everything happened so quickly too so I think the characters had to be this quirky and weird to make the plot work. Everything separately (the characters, the plot, little plot holes) would not work at all, but they are so cohesive and work so well all together, especially with Alsaid's writing.

I don't want to give any of the actual plot away because there are a lot of cliches in there but it's written really well and also, you have to expect the cliches because you signed up for it when you picked up a book about cliches. I enjoyed the dialogue for the most part too. Here's the deal, I don't think you could pick up a cutesy YA romance and ask for much more than this. The characters are interesting, there's a love triangle out of nowhere, there are some unexpected turns taken, and overall the writing is compelling and fun and most of all, warm.

- Amrutha

Kiersten's Never Always Sometimes Review
Rating: 4 stars

I apologize in advance for how often a form of "cliché" is used in my review.

When I started reading Never Always Sometimes, I thought I knew how I wanted it to end - it seemed so clear to me what I would be rooting for that I never gave it a second thought. Even as plot lines that could get in the way of what I expected started popping up, I still thought I knew what I wanted to happen and what would inevitably happen. After finishing Never Always Sometimes, all my expectations and thoughts about what I wanted to happen have been thrown out the window. Never Always Sometimes was not what I expected, but I really liked it all the same.

The concept of Never Always Sometimes was super cute - two best friends make a list of clichés to never do so they can have an original high school experience. Of course, choosing not to participate in clichés simply because they are cliché is kind of unoriginal, which Dave and Julia sort of figure out along their end of high school adventure of completing the Nevers list. I really liked what Adi Alsaid did with this concept - rather than simply saying high school clichés exist because they're the best way to have fun in high school, Alsaid explores what it meant for these characters to avoid certain experiences just to be contrary and what happened to them once they decided to throw caution to the wind and just live. While playing up all the high school contemporary romance clichés out there, Never Always Sometimes shows that choosing to do sometime or not do something because it's clichéd isn't a good way to live your life - you should do what you want to do, create the experience you want to have.

Dave and Julia are certainly not extraordinary characters, which is kind of the point. Despite having avoided all those clichés, they're still impeccably average. While their humor might be slightly sharper than most people, their general ordinariness is part of what makes them so relatable to readers. Neither of them is going through any crazy, life changing thing like just losing a parent, having cancer, etc. - they're just regular kids living out the rest of high school. I loved seeing the way their friendship was built, with Dave being the more insecure counterpart to Julia's seemingly effortless confidence, and all that they experienced together throughout the book.

I'm going to keep this review short for fear of sort of spoiling something. Never Always Sometimes was somehow everything I expected while being nothing like what I expected. Adi Alsaid builds a wonderful story out of complete ordinariness, showing how even if you are ordinary or cliché, it doesn't matter as long as you're happy. I highly recommend Never Always Sometimes to fans of cutesy contemporary romance!

- Kiersten

What are some high school clichés you took part in?

Let us know in the comments!

ARC Review: Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls - Lynn Weingarten

Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls
Lynn Weingarten 
Series: N/A
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Release Date: July 7, 2015
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the ARC I received at BookExpo America!

Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls is not what I expected. To be honest, after picking up the book to read it, I'm not sure I ever read the blurb beforehand because I had no idea where the story was going. With that being said, I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that it was more of a psychological thriller than a contemporary coming-of-age story. The twists and turns of Suicide Notes made it an absolutely unforgettable ride.

As the book begins, June finds out about her ex-best friend Delia's suicide. Despite all the evidence, June just doesn't buy it. As she starts to delve into the truth of Delia's death, her life as she knows it begins to change before her eyes.

Right from the beginning of Suicide Notes, Lynn Weingarten drew me in and absolutely mesmerized me. The story is told switching between current events and memories, and it is written in such a captivating way. The entire time I was reading, I didn't want to put it down; the whole time, I just needed to read more, find out more, figure it all out. Even though the second half of the book was slightly less gripping than the first, I was still utterly compelled to keep reading. I loved finding all the pieces and trying to fit them together, just to find out that I was looking at it all the wrong way.

June is a character who is very much guided by the actions of those around her. She's not an exceptional person by any means - it feels like she barely even thinks for herself most of the time. But at the same time, there's something so interesting and complex about the way she feels things that made me love her.

It's really difficult to talk about this story without major spoilers, so I'm just going to leave you with this: I absolutely adored Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls. From beginning to the very end, it will keep you guessing and unsure of what will happen. To be honest, I'm still not entirely sure what to take away from the very end (I have a few theories), but despite that, I still thoroughly enjoyed this thrilling novel. I highly recommend this to those who enjoy psychological thrillers and unconventional contemporaries!

- Kiersten

What are your favorite psychological thrillers?

Let us know in the comments!

Review: Vigilante - Sarah Fine

Vigilante
Sarah Fine 
Series: Guards of the Shadowlands, #2.5
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads | Amazon 

Vigilante is a novella set between Fractured and Chaos in the Guards of the Shadowlands series. While the books mainly focus on Lela and Malachi, this novella is focused on Ana and takes place sometime between Sanctum, the first book in the series, and the end of Fractured, the second. Since the premise of this novella is spoilery for Sanctum, I won't be able to post a non-spoiler review. However, I can say that this novella was awesome and definitely worth a read AFTER you read Sanctum AND Fractured! The entire series is available for Kindle Unlimited subscribers, so if you are one, YOU SHOULD GO READ THIS SERIES! IT'S AWESOME!

*This review contains spoilers for Sanctum but not for Fractured. However, the novella does contain spoilers for Fractured and should be read after.*

Vigilante follows Ana after she dies in Sanctum and is released to the Countryside. Unfortunately, Takeshi is not there. While Vigilante is a pretty short novella (about 50 pages) it's completely new content that you will not get from any of the books. While Vigilante is not required before reading Chaos, I think it definitely adds something to the reading experience.

Ana is such a strong female character and it was really exciting to see her in her own story as the narrator. Additionally, the reader finally gets a look into her head, especially her memories of Takeshi. Up to this point in the series, most of the talk about Takeshi came from Malachi so getting to read about Ana's relationship him was really sweet.

Like the rest of the series, Vigilante was both well written and filled with emotional moments. However, this novella doesn't quite reach the 5 star level for me because I predicted the outcome of the story before I even started reading it and it was extremely brief. While it did the job of connecting Fractured and Chaos, I wanted a little bit more - maybe some more events before Ana crosses the desert of the Wastelands. Regardless, I really enjoyed Vigilante and highly recommend it for fans of the Guards of the Shadowlands series!

- Kiersten

Have you read the Guards of Shadowlands series?
Let us know in the comments!

Review: Through Fire & Sea - Nicole Luiken

Through Fire & Sea
Nicole Luiken 
Series: Otherselves, #1
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads | Amazon

Thanks to Entangled Teen for the eARC!

Last year, I read Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini, the first book I've read about parallel worlds and other-selves. Because I really enjoyed Trial by Fire (review here), I was approached to review Through Fire & Sea. These books definitely had a similar vibe, with other-selves in other-worlds, but they were also very different, and I'm happy to say that I thoroughly enjoyed Through Fire & Sea!

The beginning of Through Fire & Sea throws a lot at the reader right away - there's a lot of otherworldly jargon very quick in the beginning - but once I figured out what was going on, I found it a lot easier to get into the story. In the story, the land where Leah is from is being attacked by a dragon. As a way to get rid of the dragon, the duke sends Leah, his illegitimate daughter, with Qeturah, a sorceress who can send the dragon away. Qeturah teaches Leah that she can call her otherselves from mirror worlds, and from there, Leah and her otherself Holly's lives become intertwined.

One thing I was at first skeptical about but ended up really loving about Through Fire & Sea was the way it combined a totally fantastical world with the world we know and live in. The way Nicole Luiken wove the two worlds together was both fascinating and extremely well executed. It was really cool to see the juxtaposition between the two worlds and their characters.

Similarly to how the two very different worlds mixed together well, I really enjoyed how each character had a double in the other world and seeing how they could act similarly or completely differently. Like I said earlier in the review, even though this aspect was really similar to Trial by Fire, the execution was absolutely different and just as enjoyable. Another great thing about the two different characters was seeing how Leah, who lived in a world that felt like it was from long ago, reacted to Holly's modern world. Both Leah and Holly were strong and independent in their own ways, but it always felt like they were two separate and very different people.

The entire concept behind Through Fire & Sea was so interesting and I really enjoyed the journey. I'm so excited to see where Nicole Luiken goes with the rest of the mirror worlds in the Otherselves series. Book two will not come soon enough! I highly recommend this for fans of fantasy, parallel worlds, and Trial by Fire!

- Kiersten

What do you think your otherself would be like?

Let us know in the comments!

Review: Marked - Sarah Fine

Marked
Sarah Fine 
Series: Servants of Fate, #1
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Post-Apocalyptic, Mystery
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

I went into this book knowing absolutely nothing about it besides that it was written by Sarah Fine. With how much I enjoyed her books in the Guards of the Shadowlands series, that's all I really felt I needed to know. While this book follows an adult character rather than a teen and has a very different plot, there were still some similar elements in Marked and I really liked it!

Marked, in a very simple, watered-down description, is about reapers of souls and those who transport souls to either heaven or hell. I've never read a book with a concept like this (although I have seen the TV show Dead Like Me), so it was really cool to read the way Sarah Fine incorporated this concept while also building a post-apocalyptic society. I especially liked the slight references to Greek mythology that were clear as a jumping off point for the story. For example, the leader of the group who transports souls is called the Charon and the main character's last name is Ferry - both references to the figure in Greek mythology who transported the souls to the underworld. The Ferrys also received a gold coin for their service, similarly to how the Charon in Greek mythology required a golden drachma as payment for the ferry ride into Hades. As a fan of Greek mythology, I liked how these small details were interspersed throughout the story without it being the main aspect of the plot - because let me tell you, there is way more to this plot than that.

Marked is a lot of things - it's paranormal, romance, mystery, fantasy, action, and more. The story follows Cacy Ferry and her new paramedic partner, Eli Margolis, after Cacy's father's death. Things are getting even more dangerous in the city they live in and it's clear that one of the reapers, called Kere, is disobeying orders and marking people who are not supposed to die. While it felt like the plot spent a lot of time on the romantic aspect, there was definitely a lot going on with the mystery of what happened to Cacy's father and how it involved Eli's sister, Galena. Marked was an exciting read and I really did not expect it to turn out the way it did.

The main thing that kept me from loving this book was that I didn't quite connect with the characters as much as I would have liked to. I think this is, in part, because the characters are several years older than I am but also because much of the beginning of the story was focused on their chemistry and wanting for each other rather than their emotions dependent of that. While there was solid character development in between the lusty obsession Cacy and Eli seemed to have for each other, it was somewhat less satisfying because the romance felt a bit baseless at times. With that being said, I still thought the romance was compelling later on in the story.

By far my favorite part of the book was the epilogue. The epilogue followed a somewhat unexpected character and gave a deeper look into how the jobs of the Kere and Ferrys work. It also made me really excited for the next book, Claimed, since it made me have a lot of questions about what was going to happen.

Overall, I really liked Marked! I didn't like it quite as much as the books in the Guards of the Shadowlands series, but the plot was engrossing and Sarah Fine did a great job building the world and making the characters feel real. I recommend this for fans of post-apocalyptic and fantasy (especially if you like stories that deal with the afterlife).

- Kiersten

Have you read any books about reapers?
Let us know in the comments!

ARC Review: Hunter's Trail - Melissa F. Olson

Hunter's Trail
Melissa F. Olson 
Series: Scarlett Bernard, #3
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Mystery
Release Date: September 2, 2014
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: Great third book
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

It's kind of funny to me when I think back to why I started reading this series - my Amazon gift card was running low and I wanted to find a cheap ebook to read. Enter Dead Spot as a Kindle daily deal and my love for this series began.

I was quite excited about Hunter's Trail after reading Trail of Dead (review here), and then even more so after reading Sell-By Date, the Molly novella (review here). As a result, when Melissa F. Olson offered me a copy for review, I was beyond excited. Hunter's Trail was definitely a great third book in the series, although it's probably my least favorite of the three.

After Dead Spot followed vampires and Trail of Dead followed witches, it was cool to finally get insight into the mythology of werewolves. Melissa F. Olson always does an incredible job inventing a complex and interesting mythology in her books and this one is no exception. Melissa F. Olson's take on werewolves is so cool, twisting the way the reader sees werewolves in an almost scientific yet still magical way.

While the former two books in the Scarlett Bernard series focused on finding one villain, this book is a bit more complex than that. In Hunter's Trail, there are several different powers in action working against Scarlett, making this book a bit more complex than the former books. The biggest downfall to this was that there was less action and more sitting around and analyzing the situation. Since Scarlett and Jesse were partners working together again in this story, they had to have a lot of conversations about why certain things could have happened and what they had to do next. While it was definitely important and interesting, it was less exciting for the over all plot.

As always, I thoroughly enjoyed Scarlett's humor - she has a dry humor and she often incorporates some gallows humor as well. I do wish there had been more. Scarlett-Eli time in the book though - there is never enough Eli.

Overall, while there are still more Scarlett Bernard novels coming in the somewhat distant future, I thought Hunter's Trail was satisfying as the end to a trilogy. Even though it left the story open for more Scarlett adventures, it definitely tied up a lot of loose ends that came about throughout the series.  I highly recommend this series, especially to lovers of urban fantasy and mystery!

- Kiersten

What's your favorite type of paranormal being?

Let us know in the comments!

ARC Review: A Little Something Different - Sandy Hall

A Little Something Different
Sandy Hall 
Series: N/A
Genre: New Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Release Date: August 26, 2014
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: Super adorable
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A Little Something Different is just like the title suggests: a little something different. While the story is about Lea and Gabe falling in love, it’s told from the points of view of various people who interacted with them and knew they belonged together. The perspectives vary a lot: there’s Lea’s roommate, Gabe’s brother, the Chinese food delivery guy, the Starbucks barista, the diner waitress, the angry guy from creative writing, a bench, a squirrel, and many more – it’s kind of like a big party!

The way Lea and Gabe’s story progresses is pretty slow at first – they meet in creative writing class and are very shy around each other. It takes them a while to even formally introduce each other and have a real conversation even though they seem to always sit next to each other in class. Since there are no passages in Lea and Gabe’s perspective, we get most of what they’re thinking through what they tell their friends. The way the story progressed and how Lea and Gabe talked to their friends felt really natural.

Some romances either feel like the two know they are destined to be together but something is keeping them apart or they didn’t get along but then realized they belong together. A Little Something Different isn’t like that at all. It starts out as a crush for Lea and Gabe, Lea saying in passing to her friends that Gabe is cute and Gabe asking girl advice from a friend. Their love story is a slow one, starting at the beginning of the school year in September and ending after finals in May. It perfectly portrays the slow progression of a crush into a relationship, especially for someone who is kind of shy and not too forward about his feelings.

Speaking of shy, I’m talking about Gabe – he is by no means the typical love interest in a story. Gabe admits that he’s shy pretty early on in the book, writing something for creative writing about how shy he is, but it’s clear that something else is holding him back. I liked that his struggle with something that happened in his past was clearly something to struggle with but wasn’t as extreme as these types of things are in other contemporaries. While it’s a big deal to him and he has trouble coming to terms with it, it’s not like What Happened takes over the entire story – its just a bit of background that gives him more dimension.

While Gabe was very shy, Lea was a bit more forward. I enjoyed the way Lea would get frustrated about the relationship and how much she talked about it with her friends. Lea was self conscious and worried about what Gabe thought about her and her struggles were so normal that it’s something everyone can relate to.

The best thing about this book is that it has a sense of humor. The different narrators of the book were really funny about the way they talked about Lea and Gabe. It was especially humorous how some of them would meddle in the relationship and give advice, and even when they weren’t sure why they cared about Lea and Gabe at all. If you read my recent Stuffed Animal Saturday post (here), then you know how funny the squirrel’s point of view is. I’m definitely biased towards the squirrel and the bench (there are literally passages from the point of view of a bench), but I enjoyed the voices of all the other narrators as well.

Overall, A Little Something Different lives up to its name and tells a really different kind of love story. I picked up this ARC at BEA in hopes of an adorable story with a great sense of humor and I was not disappointed. I highly recommend checking this one out when it’s released, especially if you like sweet romances and stories from multiple points of view.

- Kiersten

What type of romance story is your favorite?

Let us know in the comments!

Review: Prom Impossible - Laura Pauling

Prom Impossible
Laura Pauling
Series: Prom Impossible, #1
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: So much fun!
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

I got a review copy of Prom Impossible a few months ago from Xpresso Book Tours, and, since I am the worst person ever, I completely forgot about it until after I was already supposed to have reviewed it and I felt really bad so I read it right away. So here's my review, two weeks late since I'm the lamest person ever.

Anyway, now that I'm done with my self loathing, onto my thoughts about Prom Impossible!

From the very start of the book it's clear that Cassidy has a plan - make it through senior year and attend the prom with her soulmate, Michael, who may not know he's her soulmate. Along the way, there are many bumps in the metaphorical road! Cassidy has to attend a sort of reform-summer-camp while her friends all hang out, Michael continues to be clueless to her affection, and there's a new divide between her and her friends. The story starts out at the beginning of the summer after Cassidy's junior year and ends after her senior prom, and throughout the story, Cassidy has to work her way through some troublesome situations while figuring out why things never seem to turn out how she wants.

Cassidy is definitely an interesting main character. Quite frankly, she kind of seems like a pathological liar a lot of the time - girl just can't manage to tell the truth! Even when it would be so much easier than her convoluted schemes! Sometimes I wanted to reach into the book and shake her and yell at her, "JUST TELL THE TRUTH! USE YOUR BRAIN! STOP!" However, at the same time, her ridiculous schemes were very amusing and kind of charming. Cassidy is a character with a lot of heart. While most of her disappointment is self inflicted, you've got to appreciate how much she tries (even if her efforts don't make any sense).

Besides Cassidy, there were definitely a wide variety of characters. There is a "nerdy" character who wears elf ears regularly in public, a jock who isn't so bright, a former bad boy trying to be a friend, a rich cousin who pretty much rules the popular crowd, a girl hellbent on making Cassidy miserable, a twin brother who is especially good at getting girls to love him, and a bunch more! With this spectrum of personalities, it's no wonder how wacky the story can get. I had a lot of fun seeing how Cassidy interacted with all of these characters.

Overall, Prom Impossible was so much fun! It was a relatively light, fluffy read, and I was enjoying it so much the whole time that I couldn't stop reading. I definitely recommend this book to lovers of fun romance, especially if you liked Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress (aka my favorite book ever)(review here). So, yea, if you like fun, read Prom Impossible!

- Kiersten

What are some fun contemporaries you've read recently?

Let us know in the comments!

ARC Review + Giveaway: Virgin - Radhika Sanghani

Virgin
Radhika Sanghani
Series: N/A
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary
Release Date: August 5, 2014
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: Absolutely hilarious
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Virgin is about a 21-year-old girl named Ellie who happens to be, well, a virgin. While the story follows Ellie on her mission to lose her virginity, she goes on a whole other journey at the same time.

I got an ARC of Virgin at BEA this year. I wasn't completely sure I was going to read but when I got an email that it was read-now on Netgalley, I decided to give it a try. When I started reading Virgin, I wasn't sure I'd be able to finish it. The very beginning felt way too personal for me when I'm first meeting this new character - I wanted to shout, "TOO MUCH INFORMATION" and run away. Of course, I did continue reading and I'm glad I did.

After the very beginning of the story, it gets more into Ellie's every day life in her last year of university. To say Ellie's life is hilarious is an understatement - she gets into the funniest jams and everything that could possibly go wrong for her always does. The greatest thing about Ellie is that, despite her moaning and groaning, she's a trooper - she takes most of the awkward moments in her life with a sense of humor and, with some help from her friends, doesn't let it defeat her. Ellie's thoughts are so honest that you can't help but find them funny because she really tells it like it is - no sugar coating whatsoever.

Besides Ellie, there is an AWESOME cast of friends in her life. I would tell you about them but telling you about them is probably spoilery and you should meet them for yourself.

Even though the basic concept of the story is about a 21-year-old girl trying to lose her virginity, it's so much more than that. Ellie matures so much throughout the course of the book. Not only does she learn about friendship and what really matters but she kind of finds her identity and who she is. Most coming of age stories are written about teenagers but I think Virgin is an important coming of age story for college students. As a college student myself, I completely understand Ellie's confusion about what her future holds and I loved how she discovered her voice in a way she never would have expected.

All in all, Virgin is a coming of age story packed full of humor and honest portrayals of life. Not everything turns out how Ellie expects it to; she figures out that it's ok and it makes her who she is. As much as this is a fun coming of age story, it is still pretty graphic and descriptive about mature topics, so I'd say it is definitely more of a New Adult than a Young Adult story. That being said, it really is up to the reader what she/he is comfortable with. While Virgin is unlike anything I've ever read, it does have a similar feel to the TV show Awkward, and, with Ellie's empowering journey to self discovery, it's definitely a great book for all women!

Giveaway!

Like I said in the beginning of my review, I was lucky enough to grab an ARC of Virgin at Book Expo America this year. Since I was also able to get an eARC on Netgalley, I'd like to give away this unread ARC to one of you!

To enter, just fill out the Rafflecopter below. The giveaway is open US only, unless you are willing to pay the shipping, and is open through July 24th. The winner will be selected shortly after and will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is selected. Best of luck! :)

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Early Review: Sell-By Date - Melissa F. Olson

Sell-By Date
Melissa F. Olson
Series: Scarlett Bernard, #0.5
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: Awesome!
Release Date: April 22, 2014
On Goodreads

**Sign up for Melissa F. Olson's email newsletter, The Scarlett Letter, by April 21st to get a free copy of Sell-By Date!**

When I found out that Melissa F. Olson was releasing a short story that follows Molly and Scarlett's first meeting, I was instantly excited. I'm a huge fan of the Scarlett Bernard series (read my review of Trail of Dead here), and receiving a copy for review was a very exciting thing.

As stated before, Sell-By Date follows when Molly and Scarlett first meet. For those of you who are not familiar with the Scarlett Bernard series (IT'S AWESOME. GO READ IT.), Scarlett is the main character and she is a null: a person who negates magic within a certain radius. Nulls are a concept that I find kind of difficult to explain but Melissa F. Olson does a great job with it in Dead Spots! Molly, on the other hand, is a vampire with whom Scarlett lives.

The thing I really enjoyed about this story is that we get a look into Molly's head. Molly is kind of an elusive character throughout the series and being able to understand her point of view really adds to the series as a whole for me. The short also provided a lot of vampire mythology, regarding emotions, that I found especially interesting - I had never really thought about whether or not vampires felt human emotions in the series until I read Sell-By Date.

The short also provides a bit of Scarlett's personality before Dead Spots. The Scarlett we see in Sell-By Date feels like a much gentler Scarlett than in the books. I always think of Scarlett as this sarcastic, strong woman but this was a good reminder that she does have a gentler side.

Overall, I really enjoyed Sell-By Date and it got me even more excited for Hunter's Trail! (Which doesn't come out until September. Sob.) This is a series I highly recommend to lovers of paranormal and mystery!

Book Tour Review: Reaper's Rhythm - Clare Davidson

Reaper's Rhythm
Clare Davidson
Series: Hidden, #1
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: Interesting
On Goodreads

About the book:

When everyone thinks your sister committed suicide, it’s hard to prove she was murdered. Kim is unable to accept Charley’s sudden death. Crippled by an unnatural amnesia, her questions are met with wall after wall. As she doubts her sanity, she realises her investigation is putting those around her in danger. The only person who seems to know anything is Matthew, an elusive stranger who would rather vanish than talk. Despite his friendly smile, Kim isn’t sure she can trust him. But if she wants to protect her family from further danger, Kim must work with Matthew to discover how Charley died – before it’s too late.

Review:

To say that Reaper’s Rhythm starts with a bang is a bit of an understatement – the very first scene in this book is one that grips the reader’s attention, forcing you to have so many questions about what happened and what will happen next. The opening follows Kim as she gets home a little while after her older sister, Charley, to find that she committed suicide. As she frantically runs down the stairs to call for help, a mysterious boy appears and makes her pass out. When she wakes up, she has no recollection of finding her sister or the boy who was there.

As it is a paranormal, the reader expects there is some sort of magic at play, but Kim doesn’t know any better. For a large part of the book Kim is simply adjusting to the lose of her sister rather than learning of anything mystical or magical – in fact, I’d say that the first half of the book reads more like a contemporary with that looming threat of something paranormal taking a backseat to the psychological affect of death on Kim. The way Kim’s story follows so much of her adjusting to the loss of her sister and trying to cope really helped build Kim as a character, showing a young girl who can’t cope with and accept her sister’s suicide at face value. Of course, she was right about something magical at play but it’s still an interesting view of people in denial.

Although the psychological journey of Kim in the first half of the book is very interested and made me enjoy her point of view a lot more, it was a very slow paced development. As a reader who knows something funky is going on in the background, I just wanted to find out more. Since Kim’s character development takes priority, not much of the paranormal things are allowed through and it was a long time before there seemed to be anything plot moving. It seemed as though I had to wait almost 20% between each new development while Kim continued to whine to people how her sister surely could not have killed herself. But, as I said before, Kim’s development throughout this was worthwhile, despite having taken priority over the plot development.

The dynamic between Kim and the other characters is very much that she can’t get past her sister’s death and everyone else is getting annoyed with her. The great thing about Kim is that she is very true to herself throughout his – despite how often she’s getting no as an answer and hitting more obstacles, she still searches for answers. She doesn’t care who thinks she’s crazy so long as she can find some sort of information from someone else. At the same time, there is a naïve side to Kim – she is very trusting of others and doesn’t always see their ulterior motives. Clare Davidson did a wonderful job seeing into the mind of a 16-year-old girl facing a great lose.

While Kim definitely takes the leading role in Reaper’s Rhythm, the secondary characters definitely add something to the story as a whole. From Matthew, a character that makes us wonder what exactly is going on, to Kevin, a new friend who surely must have a hidden agenda, to Tia, a disgruntled ex-friend of Charley’s, to Gage, a guy who just seems too nice for anyone’s good - Reaper’s Rhythm has a pretty well rounded out cast of characters. All of these characters had something they were hiding and it was interesting to explore how Kim interacted with them and found out what was going on little by little.

Overall I really enjoyed Reaper’s Rhythm – I felt the characters were very well developed and the idea behind the magical element was a great new twist on an old concept. I also liked how this book took place in modern England, something I’ve never read before. It was interesting to learn more about the educational system in England, as I had no prior knowledge, and to sort through all the British slang. Reaper’s Rhythm is a book I’d definitely recommend to someone who enjoys a character’s journey and growth just as much as an interesting paranormal twist.

- Kiersten

Purchase Links:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About the author:

Clare Davidson is a character driven fantasy writer, teacher and mother, from the UK. Clare was born in Northampton and lived in Malaysia for four and a half years as a child, before returning to the UK to settle in Leeds with her family. Whilst attending Lancaster University, Clare met her future husband and never left. They now share their lives with their young daughter and a cranky grey cat, called Ash. Clare juggles family life with writing, teaching and a variety of fibre craft hobbies.

Author links:

Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Website

Giveaway:

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Tour hosted by:

Review: Frozen - Melissa de la Cruz and Michael Johnston.

Frozen

Melissa de la Cruz and Michael Johnston

Series: Heart of Dread, #1

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Paranormal, Romance

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Word Rating: Cool (Get it? Because they live in world of ice? No? Ok.)
On Goodreads

Hello, everyone! I've been really absent lately due to the high volume of work I've been getting at school. Unfortunately, for the time being, I have to switch from reviewing every week to attempting every two weeks. Between all my school reading, finding time to read leisurely is really difficult – more difficult than I would have expected. For the past two weeks, in between all my homework, I've been reading Frozen, and I'm happy to have finally been able to finish it.

After reading a less than positive review about Frozen, I was a bit skeptical to jump into it. I got an uncorrected proof of Frozen at an author signing at BookExpo America this year because the cover and the plot looked really interesting. Luckily, this book did not let me down.

Frozen starts out telling us about Nat and a voice inside her head telling her what to do. From there, she goes on a journey to escape from the frozen land in which she lives and find a hidden paradise called “the Blue” with help from a “runner” named Wes and his crew. Along the way, Nat and Wes’s relationship grows and Nat figures out more and more about who she is.

Although Nat and Wes weren’t my favorite characters of all time, I still enjoyed them and their stories. Nat’s struggle to remember who she was and what she should do about the voice in her head was really interesting because the voice almost had a personality of its own. Nat also intrigued me because she had a range of how she behaved. There are some books with wimpy heroines and some with strong heroines. I’d say Nat falls somewhere in between – she tries to be brave, but sometimes she gets scared and needs Wes to come help her out. Nat is also interesting because she struggles how she sees herself. She so wants to be good, but she’s convinced she’s a monster. Watching her grow and begin to accept herself throughout the story was really great.

Similar to Nat, Wes had a good balance of personality. Wes and his crew decide to escort Nat into forbidden territory for money. Jobs and food are scarce in their world of ice, so in order to get “heat credits”, a currency in their world, he takes on the job, even though it’s dangerous. At first, Wes seems really tough and brave – he’s a former soldier who often partakes in spectacles of danger and forbidden adventures. However, we slowly see the other sides to him. We find out some of Wes’s background regarding his family and a sister he is searching for. The way he cares for Nat as well as the rest of his crew also provides a contrast to his initially smug and tough personality.

The one main complaint I have about this book is that there was too much going on and it wasn’t explained thoroughly enough. I really enjoyed hearing about the world and the different aspects, but there seemed to be so many different things being thrown to the reader throughout the book that all those things seemed like random, unrelated tidbits. The world was just so elaborate, which is awesome, but it wasn’t detailed enough to be as good as it could have been.

Other than that small complaint, the story was great and the writing was good as well. I see a lot of potential in this series and I’m interested to see the direction in which the next installment takes. Overall, I’d definitely recommend Frozen to lovers of dystopian and fantasy. The story has great pacing and keeps the reader interested as Nat, Wes, and the crew journey towards the Blue.

- Kiersten

Would you be willing to risk your life in search of a rumored paradise?

Let us know in the comments!

Double Review: Ghost Time - Courtney Eldridge

Ghost Time
Courtney Eldridge
Series: Saccades Project, #1
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Science Fiction, Mystery, Paranormal
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: Mind boggling
On Goodreads

I must admit, when I started reading Ghost Time, I was very put off by the writing style – I found Thea's shallow, valley-girl speech quite off-putting. However, as the plot progressed and we started to see some depth in Thea, I found myself more and more drawn into this story.

I received an uncorrected proof of Ghost Time from Amazon Children's Publishing at Book Expo America, and I was very excited to start it after reading the blurb – math-genius hacker, the voice of a mute girl, mysterious happenings... count me in! However, at the start of Ghost Time, the reader gets some of the prized dialogue that almost made me stop reading this book.

"It was cold, and I was just like, Brrrr!"

"...there was still a red outline of my lip gloss on his left hip bone, from when I'd knelt down, kissing him, because his hip bones drive me crazy."

"...and his bone structure, like his cheekbones, are to die."

" Because Cam has this really cool old car–it's so boss."

Ugh. Luckily, this shallow Thea didn't last too long, which gave way to her insightful side - a side that is much darker and deeper. The way Thea grows throughout the story is astounding. Gradually, the reader gains more and more information about Thea's past and her relationship with her missing boyfriend, Cam, as well as her new friend Melody, a girl who speaks to Thea in her head. Despite how she sounds at the beginning, Thea has depth that I'm not sure many 15-year-olds can understand. Throughout her life, Thea has been through many hard times, but even after Cam, a boy who taught her to see the world through a different light, disappears, she still does her best to stay strong and keep going. Thea was a surprising heroine for me. When I find a heroine I really love, it's almost always immediate, – I'm usually drawn in by her strength and general disregard for society – but Thea is completely different. Thea is weak, she cares what people think of her, she needs other people – she is a 15-year-old girl, a teenager thrown into a terrible situation. The way Thea survives throughout the story is truly heroic. No matter how bad things seemed, she kept going and hoping for the best.

And then there's Cam - who is, surprisingly, in very much of the book considering the fact that he is missing. Cam is probably definitely my favorite character in Ghost Time. While Thea may not be a scholar, Cam is very intelligent. The things he says to Thea are so insightful and captivating. Cam sees the world very different from most people, especially Thea, and he makes her see things differently. The title of the book, Ghost Time, comes from the equation that Cam is working on, regarding time moving in more than one direction at the same time. Courtney Eldridge does a brilliant job mirroring Cam's equation through the structure of the book, alternating between before and after Cam's disappearance. I love Cam. He is so loving and patient with Thea – it's kind of heart breaking. I wish there had been more Cam in Ghost Time – perhaps in Ghost Signs?

While most of Cam's appearances are from before he disappeared (obviously), Melody appears afterwards. Mel is the daughter of the cop who is investigating Cam's disappearance. While Mel is paralyzed and mute, Thea has strange visions of Mel's "true self" and hears Mel's voice inside her head. Mel is one of the only people who can make Thea forget about Cam and all the drama surrounding his disappearance. Although Thea’s past contributes to her growth in the eyes of the reader, her friendship with Mel augments this growth, allowing the reader to see a nurturing side of Thea. Thea will do anything to help Mel feel like a normal teenage girl. The way Thea takes Mel under wing makes their relationship so charming and heartwarming.

Overall, I really would have liked to give this book a higher rating, but the way Thea is portrayed in the beginning of the story just gets to me. When I compare the way Thea is in the first few chapters in comparison to the rest of the book, it's like she is a completely different character. I just don't see her being so different in the time lapses. Despite that, Courtney Eldridge crafted a wonderful novel filled with so many aspects of life: love, friendship, anger, sadness, family, longing – I could go on for a while. Even though I was skeptical about this book in the beginning, I'm glad I kept reading because the story was well worth it. The ending was very abrupt, leaving me asking, "WHERE IS THE REST OF THIS BOOK?!" but I'm hoping all will be resolved in Ghost Signs. The structure of the book along with the meticulous details, suspense, and insight made Ghost Time a great read.

Also, there's this cool thing: Saccades Project
Courtney Eldridge teamed up with some artists to gather inspiration for Ghost Time. It's really cool.

- Kiersten

Marlon's Ghost Time Review
Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
Word Rating: Incredible

Ghost time was absolutely miserable, the sort of miserable that one can only find after stubbing one's toe on a particularly blunt end-table and then promptly being made the live sacrifice to an Aztec sun god. While I agree that Deep Thea is a welcome distraction from the waterfall-of-consciousness writing style, and that bits and pieces of Cam spilling through the net of drama kept me going, this novel had a few too many disconnects and failings to warrant more than three stars.

Those three stars came from the impeccable construct of the book: Eldridge's seamless integration of scenes and story arcs is astonishing. Spoiler alert (but not really): the book successively runs scenes from both the future and past, each timeline splaying farther from the epicenter as the book progresses. Even at the beginning, this novel constantly blindsided me with this kind of construct. Each of Cam's stories grow from the insightful and intriguing bits they are into story-arc masterpieces in a matter of pages, simply because Thea connects it so bloody well.

Sadly it was not enough to save the rest of those tiny stars...

Seriously, "I was just like, Brrrr!" for the first hundred or so pages.

I absolutely despised Thea, who is undeniably a shallow bitch and yet somehow a deep, mysterious, and dark character whose love of music and media puts mine to shame . . . that didn't make sense at all. There was far too much of a disparity between the two sides of Thea. I'm not saying a deep character with a dark past should be foreboding and hesitant, of course, but only that someone who can see the world so much more vividly than the rest of us – with such a coursing imagination to boot and such a telling history – should at least make an attempt at maturity.

But no, what do I get? An insanely weak, angst-ridden annoyance that manages to represent the things I hate most: caring what other people think, selfishness and shallowness, and desperation.

And then, of course, I met Mel.

The most powerful connection in the book came to me when Thea first sees a ghost-like version of Knox's daughter, Melody. I thought back to the first few pages: "What if God was a teenage girl?" I was reflecting on what Melody had wanted from life, speculating on the insight and quality she could add to the story. I mean, after having to deal with a shallow teenage girl archetype that was a falsity, I was having a bit of a trust issue with this book. Shortly after, I realized that maybe Thea was the god of the situation. The simple fact that annoying-prissy-ugh Theadora was seeing things that shouldn't exist started to make her a tad less annoying-prissy-ugh, which coincidentally made reading a whole ton easier. (Would it KILL you to use quotation marks?)

And then Hubble started shifting reality and this book just kept getting freaking cool.

Honestly, that's my best description after this book picked up: freaking cool. The insights into reality (such as Thea's Balloon World bit) are to die for. And, for some reason, Melody brings out the kind of Thea that is slightly more enjoyable: deeply caring and concerned and giddy. All of the positive qualities Thea possesses seem to have been bottled up on a shelf for a good third of the novel, but when she begins to open up to Mel and, more importantly, the reader, she truly allows us to see what it's like to be her: the constant war of the world Cam has opened for her and the pressures of her past.

Also there's a climax and end but Kiersten's got that bit covered. Where is the rest of this book? It just dropped, in the middle of a scene.

In all, 3.75 stars, for dazzling construction and insight sorely missed by common eyes. Too bad the narration takes days to get used to and is absent entirely of everything this novel comes to represent.

- Marlon

How would you feel if your best friend just went missing?

Let us know in the comments!