Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1) by Tahereh Mafi

Synopsis: "I have a curse
I have a gift

I am a monster
I'm more than human

My touch is lethal
My touch is power

I am their weapon
I will fight back

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior."

Title: Shatter Me
Genre: Dystopian, Romance YA
Series: Shatter Me #1
Pages: 338
Ages: 15+
My Rating: 3.5 stars
One Word: INowLoveInsanePeople!!! <3
Fave Quote: “All I ever wanted was to reach out and touch another human being not just with my hands but with my heart.”  

Review

 

This Review is Rated R for Language (oops)After all of the hype on this book, I knew I needed to read it.

And oh fuck.

Adam and Juliette's relationship was so hot, but it wasn't all about the relationship which made me love the book even more. I seriously hate it when dystopian books revolve around the love and relationship when it's supposed to be action-y and awesome like this book! Making the romance more subtle made it SO MUCH BETTER.

"His eyes pin me in place. His urgency ignites my bones. Rivulets of water snake their way down the polished planes of his face and his fingers press me up against the wall.
His lips his lips his lips his lips his lips
My eyes are fighting not to flutter
My legs are fighting not to tremble
My skin is scorched everywhere he's not touching me.
His lips are so close to my ear I'm water and nothing and everything and melting into a wanting so desperate it burns as I swallow it down" (116).

I gotta say, Tahereh Mafi knows how to describe how a girl feelings. SHIT.

Moving on, let's just say I am pretty impressed by this book, and already knowing that people loved it, it had my expectations high. I'm happy to say that I still thought this book was awesome even with my high expectations. Shatter Me had me feeling all sorts of things, I felt everything that Juliette was feeling, and fuck do I want an Adam of my own.

Even Mafi's writing; from the beginning when you can tell that Juliette is just a little insane (with the personification and the crossed out lines where you know she's in denial and going wacko in her head) to when she starts getting normal again after being with civilization. I love this whole storyline and I love Juliette and Adam and James and Kenji and yeah...

not so much Warner AND JULIETTE BETTER NOT START HAVING FEELINGS FOR HIM *ahem*

However, I felt like the suspenseful part where Juliette is trying to find Adam was just a little too coincidental... I was really thinking that they (AKA Warner and Co.) knew where Adam, Kenji, and Juliette were, but in the end it ended well.

The reason I gave this 3.5 stars was because I wasn't really hooked in like other books. The romance was phenomenal, but the action was a little...slow and predictable. Other than that, I really liked the book (especially the insane girl writing in the beginning) and we need more books with an insane protagonist! :D

★★★1/2

Through the Ever Night (UtNS #2) by Veronica Rossi

Synopsis: "It's been months since Aria learned of her mother's death.
Months since Perry became Blood Lord of the Tides, and months since Aria last saw him.

Now Aria and Perry are about to be reunited. It's a moment they've been longing for with countless expectations. And it's a moment that lives up to all of them. At least, at first.

Then it slips away. The Tides don't take kindly to former Dwellers like Aria. And the tribe is swirling out of Perry's control. With the Aether storms worsening every day, the only remaining hope for peace and safety is the Still Blue. But does this haven truly exist?

Threatened by false friends and powerful temptations, Aria and Perry wonder, Can their love survive through the ever night?

In this second book in her spellbinding Under the Never Sky trilogy, Veronica Rossi combines fantasy and sci-fi elements to create a captivating adventure-and a love story as perilous as it is unforgettable."

Title: Through the Ever Night
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopia, Romance
Series: Under the Never Sky #2
Pages: 341
Ages: 13+
My Rating: 5 STARS
My Word: Emotional :(:
My Fave Quote: (throughout review)

 

Review

“Aria stood. She wanted to hold him and sob with him. Give it to me, she wanted to scream. Give me the pain. Let me take it from you” (285).

Jesus.

This book held my heart. In the beginning of the book, it pounded gently and evenly with pure love. Then, nearer to the end, it would pound faster and faster, getting out of control, until it eventually fell out of grasp and landed on the floor, in a million pieces.

My heart is in pieces, and the ending was like a meager attempt of sewing it back together.

Two main reasons why this book was amazing: LOTS of suspense (even more than the first book) and LOTS of beautifully written romance once again.

God. So much sadness and love and life and confusion and happiness all in one book. One minute I was bawling with Roar and Aria, and the next I was laughing with Perry. I was so bipolar when reading it, my mom must've thought I was crazy (sorry, I'm not sorry).

The suspense throughout it just made me grip the book harder, turn the pages as fast as I could to read on. What could possibly happen? Who's going to die? Will the succeed? I needed to know those answers. Also, all of the things in this book connected, and it explains everything, with Cinder, Liv, Hess, everyone. At the end, my mind was blown, everything just fit together.

And god that ending. Seriously Rossi? Leaving it at a suspenseful moment. I have a stack of library books that I just checked out yesterday, but I'm tempted to go back and get my hands on the next book. The "Dwellers" and the "Savages" are so completely different, that I'm so curious as to how Rossi has written the last book.

Now I can't forget about the romance. Beautiful once again.

“Aria laughed. That was attractive. She smelled like horse.
‘Do you ever miss anything?’
Perry smiled. ‘You, all the time’” (99).

“’We’re together now,’ he whispered against her forehead.
‘The way we should be.’
She closed her eyes and relaxed her breathing, seeking calm. He was rendered to her. Maybe he’d feel it too. ‘Sleep, Perry.’
‘I will,’ he said. ‘With you right here, I will’” (121).

“’Love is a rebellious bird that nobody can tame,’ she said. ‘It’s from an opera called Carmen.’
Liv narrowed her eyes. ‘Are you the bird, or is my brother?’
Aria smiled. ‘I think the bird is the connection between us…I’d do anything for him,’ she said, and realized that it really was that simple” (233).

“Aria kept her gaze on his face. On the blond stubble across his jaw, and the bend in his nose. She could look at him forever. She could spend her life watching him just blink and breathe that close to her” (321-322).

“Aria watched, silent in his arms. His gaze trailed over the curve of her shoulder, the slope of her cheek. The dark flick of her eyelashes as she blinked. His heart filled with hurt. Hers. His. Her understood exactly what she felt” (333).



Never have I been more serious when I say that I wish I had a relationship like Perry and Aria. They love each other so much and so intensely that it makes me want to tear up whenever I read about their feelings for each other. WHY DO THEY HAVE TO BE SO PERFECT?

This book was simply amazing. It earns a true five stars and I will read the last book very soon.

★★★★★



City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments #2) by Cassandra Clare

Synopsis: "Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go — especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil — and also her father.

To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings — and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?"

Title: City of Ashes
Series: The Mortal Instruments #2
Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Adventurous
Pages: 453
Ages: 13+
My Rating: 3 Stars
My Word: ImTired (Seriously though idk I can't think right now)
Sorry, no fave quote for this book... I'm literally so tired I don't even know what I'm typing


Review:

Although City of Ashes wasn't the MOST enduring book on the planet, it still kept me turning pages. I kept thinking: WHEN ARE CLARY AND JACE GOING TO NOT CARE ABOUT THIS DAMN SIBLING THING AND JUST KISS ALREADY?! But, of course, books never turn out that way until the ending... the VERY ending...AKA the last book in the series. By getting there, I must read every book before that, and yeah, that won't happen for a while because of, wait for it, SCHOOL. Anyway, this book was pretty interesting with...more Although City of Ashes wasn't the MOST enduring book on the planet, it still kept me turning pages. I kept thinking: WHEN ARE CLARY AND JACE GOING TO NOT CARE ABOUT THIS DAMN SIBLING THING AND JUST KISS ALREADY?! Because we all know that Cassandra Clare would totally make these really shallow characters find some way to kiss without making it really gross that they're siblings. But, of course, books never turn out that way until the ending... the VERY ending...AKA the last book in the series. By getting there, I must read every book before that, and yeah, that won't happen for a while because of this book. Anyway, this book was pretty interesting with okay characters and a moderate plot. It just felt like it was repeating itself from the first book except this time, Valentine takes the Soul Sword *gasp*. But seriously, this book really needed a few corrections. I'm sorry but Clary especially gets on my nerves because she can't make up her freakin mind about the boys and it was...ugh just so unrealistic this whole book. I hope the third book, if I ever read it, has Jace and Clary stop whining about stupid things! Don't get me wrong, the book was okay, just some most things were getting on my nerves.

★★★

Reached (Matched #3) by Ally Condie

Synopsis: "After leaving Society to desperately seek The Rising, and each other, Cassia and Ky have found what they were looking for, but at the cost of losing each other yet again. Cassia is assigned undercover in Central city, Ky outside the borders, an airship pilot with Indie. Xander is a medic, with a secret. All too soon, everything shifts again."



Title: Reached
Series: Matched #3
Genre: Science Fiction Romance, Dystopian
Pages: 512
Ages: 12+
Date I Finished: July 29th, 2013
My Rating: 3 Stars
My Word: GREAT OVERALL PLOT

Review

Reached, the final book of the series Matched.

I wish I liked it better, I really did.

I was going to give this book 4 stars, but then I thought better of it. Here's my explanation of why I rated it:

Good:
-The plot. I like the creativity of the plague, and how when you go "still", you can still hear your surroundings. Also, the way that you can communicate with another "still" person in your mind. But, the only way to communicate with them is when the other is about to die. Also, the whole Rising and they're plans were very intriguing to me. The whole idea of all the puzzling pieces, such as The Rising's plan for the plague, the meaning of 'the pilot' that Oker told Xander, Nea Lei, the Red Garden Day, etc. All the puzzle pieces were figured out and fit together throughout the book which made me pleasantly surprised to have the book's very own unexpected twists.

-In addition, I liked the little bit of suspense with Ky having the 'you know what'.

-The poetry was so beautifully written, it made me wish I was a poet like Cassia haha.

Ok, here comes the bad: The character development. Ever since the beginning of the series I knew there was something off with the characters, I just couldn't figure what.

Now I know, it's that some characters have a lack of human feelings. Like, Xander isn't even the slightest bit jealous of Ky? Or that Cassia doesn't even shed a tear when she finds out her papers are (view spoiler)gone?!?! Or that Ky and Cassia don't even feel the urge to come hug each other once they finally see each other again after what seemed like forever for them, although the plague is a warning to not get too near each other? Literally, all Ky said during that moment was "I see Cassia." Some parts, though, they did show a little of their loving feelings, and I thought it was cute the way Ky and Cassia shared poems. But, the list could go on for lack of feelings.

Don't get me wrong, some characters, such as Indie and Oker were pretty well thought out and had a nice edge in their personality, but Xander, Ky, and Cassia just didn't feel enough emotion.

Next, the love triangle. It wasn't that great, because, as I noted earlier, Xander wasn't even jealous, nor did he try anything to win Cassia's heart. He kind of just gave up, so I can assure you the love triangle didn't go very far.

Lastly, the story was way too stretched out in the beginning, it was kind of hard to continue reading it in a longer sitting. Knowing me, I like more fast-paced, action books, so I guess this just wasn't the one for me:/.

That's about it! This is more of my constructed, criticized reviews because this book just didn't fill me with that emotional happiness in the end, although it was happy. I just sort of forgot about it in the end. Nothing that made me keep my thoughts on the book after I read it, like what happens with my 5 star rated books. This book missed some things, but overall, I liked it.
★★★

Requiem (Delirium #3) by Lauren Oliver

Synopsis

"They have tried to squeeze us out, to stamp us into the past.

But we are still here.

And there are more of us every day.

Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has been transformed. The nascent rebellion that was under way in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight.

After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven—pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators now infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels, and as Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor.

Maybe we are driven crazy by our feelings.

Maybe love is a disease, and we would be better off without it.

But we have chosen a different road.

And in the end, that is the point of escaping the cure: We are free to choose.

We are even free to choose the wrong thing.

Requiem is told from both Lena’s and Hana’s points of view. The two girls live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge."

 

Title: Requiem

Series: Delirium #3

Genre: Romance, Sci-Fi, Dystopian, Cray-cray

Pages: 391

Ages: 14-17

Date I Finished: July 7th, 2013

My Rating: 5 Stars

My Word: I'll miss this series so much :'(/BEST ENDING

 

Review

 

FINALLY, I finally read the last book to this series, and boy was I satisfied! Although you may see the five stars I've rated this book, it wasn't nearly as good as the first one (I'm still obsessing over the first book) and it still wasn't even as good as the second! But, that obviously doesn't mean it can't get five stars. You can never go wrong with the last book of a series! The real reason I was absolutely fine with this book was the ending.

Yes, that probably seems predictable. The ending is always the best in the end of a series ladidadida. BUT, if that's what you are thinking, you have NO IDEA why this ending was so great.

Maybe it's just me, but the boy Lena picked and the absolute happiness she was feeling in the end was enough to make me do this:



Seriously, the ending was perfection. I've wanted Lena to pick that boy throughout the whole book and I'm so happy she did.

I love all of the characters, especially how Lauren Oliver makes Hana's feelings toned down, but her observations really high, just like a person would be like when they have the cure. Julian and Alex were so different, yet amazing boys. (Yet I liked one a little better than the other for Lena ;) AKA the one she chooses in the end. HUGE SPOILER-->>>Ok, I can't handle it anymore, Alex was always perfect for her omgomgomg, and how mcuh they loved each other in Delirium and how great they are together I...JUST...CAN'T<<<--HUGE SPOILER I just thought their love story was so much more beautiful than the other one, except the two boys are both perfect *o*. Why can't they be real??)Also, Lena's "new" self is so bad ass (LOVE IT) and hardcore. "The old Lena is dead."

That moment with Hana and Lena together was one of the best moments in the last book :') it made me shed a tear. I also LOVE how Hana wasn't cured too perfectly. AKA the dreaming, the guilt she felt of Lena, the regret, etc.

Additionally, each end of the chapter made my stomach do back flips. The writing was beautiful, but of course it is because it's Lauren Oliver writing this for crying out loud. The plot, on the other hand, wasn't as GREAT as I expected. My expectations are high for every one of Oliver's novels. Obviously, the plot had to be what it was because the resistance had to make a stand, but the suspense wasn't as great as it should've been. BUT the writing totally made up for it with it's perfection and beauty.

Anyway, sorry for this unorganized review, but I couldn't write the review right after I finished the book--what I usually do--or else my review would've been 100% better.

Lastly, I have to brush up on the ending ONE LAST TIME because it was that perfect. It's not just the romance or the fact of happiness that made this ending so perfect; it was great because of how INSPIRING it was.

"All of you, wherever you are: in your spiny cities or your one-bump towns. Find it, the hard stuff, the links of metal and chink, the fragments of stone filling your stomach. And pull, and pull, and pull.

I will make a pact with you: I will do it if you will do it, always and forever.

Take down the walls."
★★★★★

The Summer I Turned Pretty (Summer #1) by Jenny Han

Synopsis

Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer--they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.



Title: The Summer I Turned Pretty
Series: Summer #1
Genre: Romance, Summer Read, YA
Pages: 276
Ages: 12-17
Date I Finished: May 25th, 2013
Rating: 4 Stars
My Word: JER-I-MI-AH

Review

 

Some Spoilers throughout review!!

It's about time I read this book!

This book is definitely a summer read, I must say. I loved basically everything...

The Plot: Very creative. Usually only one boy is involved, but Jenny Han incorporated THREE boys (the more the merrier!).

The Characters: I loved Belly and her personality, yet I didn't like some of the decisions she made :( *cough cough* the end. I LOVED Jeremiah LOVELOVELOVED him, you have no idea. Cam wasn't even that bad! They had the cutest moments together,(Inside joke to readers who've already read the book: "IOU one skinny dip" :')) and she just ignores/forgets him in the end D:. I HATE the decision she made with CONRAD. Okay, he was such a jerk in the beginning to the middle of the book and I know he was just releasing his sadness and all that, but JEREMIAH was so much nicer D:. Taylor=SLUT and I'm happy Belly never brought her again.

Well, I guess that's what sequels are for ^^.

Let's just hope Cam and Jeremiah come back in Belly's love life ;).

The Ending: No, just no. Conrad is OK, but not the right boy for Belly. Although, the ending WAS kind of cute. (I'm a sucker for ANY kind of romance, including CONRAD :') )

This review is pretty boring, a few GIFs would've been better, but I'm lazy :9.

Total Overview: Summer read that had a lot of cute moments in it :). And especially Belly never really left her inner kid self which I like ;). TEAM JEREMIAH. (There I go again)
★★★★

Not Exactly a Love Story by Audrey Couloumbis

Synopsis: "Fifteen-year old Vinnie isn't having a good year. He's recovering from the worst case of galloping acne his dermatologist's ever seen. His girl moved to California without even saying good-bye. And the ink on his parents divorce papers is barely dry, when his mom announces that they're moving from Queens to Long Island.

The silver lining in all this is that they move next door to Patsy—everyone's dream girl. Not that she'd ever notice him. But when Vinnie calls Patsy one night, it leads to a chain of anonymous midnight conversations. Under the cover of darkness, Vinnie becomes Vincenzo, Patsy's mystery caller, and the two share a side of themselves they would never reveal in daylight and develop a surprisingly real connection (despite the lies it's built on). As Vinnie gets to know Patsy in real life though, it becomes clear both identities can't survive and he'll have to find a way to hangup the phone and step into the daylight. Fraught with complications and crackling with witty dialogue, and all the angst and electricity that comes with always being just a phone wire away from the one you want, acclaimed author Audrey Couloumbis's YA debut is a smooth-talking Cyrano meets Saturday Night Fever and tells a quirky, flirty, and smart story that will appeal to fans of Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Frank Portman's King Dork, Natalie Standiford's How to Say Goodbye in Robot, and John Green's An Abundance of Katherines. It's not exactly a love story . . . but it's pretty close."

Title: Not Exactly a Love Story
Series: None
Genre: "Romance I guess" Fiction
Pages: 288
Ages: 12-16
Date I Finished: March 20th, 2013
My Rating: 3 Stars
My Word: BOOOORRRINNGGGG haha...jk....actuallyitwasboringshhhdon'ttell

 AWKWARD MOMENT WHEN THE LAST POST WAS POSTED IN NOVEMBER. :/ Sorry guys I've had SO MUCH homework, and now it's spring break so hopefully that means more book reviews!

Review:

The only books that I give five stars to have at least one of the following: -Funny -Suspenseful -Romantic -Or just plain INTERESTING Don't get me wrong, this book was interesting at least, it just wasn't interesting ENOUGH for my five-star standards. I never really liked average life stories. I am more of ascience fiction, romance, or suspensefully person. Even though it may sound like a romance novel; it wasn't really. Ok, so I know the title is NOT EXACTLY a Love Story, bust still, it should have...more The only books that I give five stars to have at least one of the following: -Funny -Suspenseful -Romantic -Or just plain INTERESTING Don't get me wrong, this book was interesting at least, it just wasn't interesting ENOUGH for my five-star standards. I never really liked average life stories. I am more of ascience fiction, romance, or suspensefully person. Even though it may sound like a romance novel; it wasn't really. Ok, so I know the title is NOT EXACTLY a Love Story, bust still, it should have been more interesting and romantic right?! I thought since the words "love story" were in the title, it would have more romance. Not bad of a book, it just took me a while to finish because it was more boring than I hoped. I was in a romancy mood and decided to check this book out of the library. It was the first time I read a book set in 1970s, but it didn't even seem like it was in that time period without looking in the summary saying "in the 1970s". This book was great, but I felt it was too damn slow. It had an awesome background plot. The guy calls every day at midnight and all, but I thought there would be a twist or something. It was all straight forward, which isn't my favorite type of writing. I don't know, I just didn't fall for this book at all. Also, if I received an obscene phone call who's first words are "Wanna fuck?" I would be like "Get the hell away from me and don't call again!" And I would hang up the call and never answer again if he called back to apologize. Luckily, it worked out for Patsy because the person who called wasn't a freaking pedophile. Patsy kind of did that the first few times until she started liking him. So unrealistic!

 Sorry for this boring review, it's been a while :'(.
★★★