Don't Follow in My Footsteps I Run into Walls: June 2012

Wednesday 27 June 2012

A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger Review

4.5 STARS

	Kody Keplinger just when I think your writing can't get better you prove me wrong. A Midsummer's Nightmare revolves around the life of 18-year-old Whitley Johnson. The first chapter starts off with her waking up with a hangover the morbing after her high school graduation party where she soon realises she slept with a guy she doesn't know and when he asks for her number she blows him off. She soon leaves for the summer to be with her dad but finds out he has gotten engaged. Not only will she be gaining a stepmum but two stepsiblings but that isn't it, her soon to be stepbrother is the guy she slept with on graduation night. I flew through this book I just loved Whitley. She definitely wasn't perfect and a big party girl and has done a lot of things she isn't proud of as well as can't remember. But Whitley was a very interesting character, I could definitely understand why she does these things and actually felt really sorry for her. She also was very hilarious and how can you not love someone that is funny? It was so sweet seeing her stepmum and stepsiblings trying to make her feel welcome and trying to get to know her despite her horrible behaviour to them. Sylvia was so sweet to Whitley but definitely knew when to put her foot down (she actually reminds me of my mum). Bailey was so cute and adorable, I could see why Whitley couldn't say 'no' to her. Nathan was still looking out for her despite her rejecting him. The chemistry was crazy between these two. Honestly when going into this book I was a bit irked by this relationship but I was definitely wrong. Their scenes were just amazing and hot. Harrison why do you have to be gay? Just an awesome guy and definitely a good friend for Whitley. Particularly in a certain scene he stole my heart, he honestly had to be one of my favourite characters and everyone should have someone like him in their lives. All I can say is her parents are absolute assholes espeacially her dad he needs to have a connection with my fist to his face. However I found the ending a bit rushed and the resolution to come too quickly for me to believe it. Their just seemed to be a character change in a certain character[her dad (hide spoiler)] that I just didn't believe they would change their mind that much. It also seemed Keplinger tried to make them in depth and have a soul but no I still believe they have no soul. But other than that I loved the shit out of this book so you all should check it out, it will be your loss if you don't

Kody Keplinger just when I think your writing can't get better you prove me wrong.

A Midsummer's Nightmare revolves around the life of 18-year-old Whitley Johnson. The first chapter starts off with her waking up with a hangover the morbing after her high school graduation party where she soon realises she slept with a guy she doesn't know and when he asks for her number she blows him off. She soon leaves for the summer to be with her dad but finds out he has gotten engaged. Not only will she be gaining a stepmum but two stepsiblings but that isn't it, her soon to be stepbrother is the guy she slept with on graduation night.

I flew through this book I just loved Whitley. She definitely wasn't perfect and a big party girl and has done a lot of things she isn't proud of as well as can't remember. But Whitley was a very interesting character, I could definitely understand why she does these things and actually felt really sorry for her. She also was very hilarious and how can you not love someone that is funny?

It was so sweet seeing her stepmum and stepsiblings trying to make her feel welcome and trying to get to know her despite her horrible behaviour to them. Sylvia was so sweet to Whitley but definitely knew when to put her foot down (she actually reminds me of my mum). Bailey was so cute and adorable, I could see why Whitley couldn't say 'no' to her. Nathan was still looking out for her despite her rejecting him. The chemistry was crazy between these two. Honestly when going into this book I was a bit irked by this relationship but I was definitely wrong. Their scenes were just amazing and hot.

Harrison why do you have to be gay? Just an awesome guy and definitely a good friend for Whitley. Particularly in a certain scene he stole my heart, he honestly had to be one of my favourite characters and everyone should have someone like him in their lives.

All I can say is her parents are absolute assholes espeacially her dad he needs to have a connection with my fist to his face.

However I found the ending a bit rushed and the resolution to come too quickly for me to believe it. Their just seemed to be a character change in a certain character that I just didn't believe they would change their mind that much. It also seemed Keplinger tried to make them in depth and have a soul but no I still believe they have no soul.

But other than that I loved the shit out of this book so you all should check it out, it will be your loss if you don't

Blazing the Trail (Dragon Diaries #3) by Deborah Cooke

5 STARS

	I absolutely loved this book to bits. Dragon Diaries has to be one of my favourite series of all time. Blazing the Trail is teh 3rd book in the Dragon Diaries where Zoe's battle with the Mages ain't quite over with them still got a few tricks up their sleeves. Zoe has to try and keep herself and everyone intact and work with the other three races of shifters if they want to survive and if she wants Derek or Jared. Zoe was great as usual and fun to read from. She is still struggling with her Wyvern powers without going insane. She also has some bad luck of trusting the wrong people. But she finds a way to figure all this out while trying to juggle high school and dodging the bloody school counselour: Muriel. God I hated that woman so much. Zoe does screw up a few times but like she has in other books learns from them and finds a way to solve it, not hesitating to confide in the Pyr and her friends. Her friends were actually very helpful and I swear she is one lucky dragon to have them. There was a lot of action and fighting making me jumping up and down in anticipation, eagerly turning the pages to find out what happens next. She does choose one of the guys and doesn't try to drag it out, once she knew who she wanted she didn't dawdle and beat around the bush. She got straight to it. Only disappontment for me was that this was the last book and I wish there was more Zoe adventures to come.

I absolutely loved this book to bits. Dragon Diaries has to be one of my favourite series of all time.

Blazing the Trail is teh 3rd book in the Dragon Diaries where Zoe's battle with the Mages ain't quite over with them still got a few tricks up their sleeves. Zoe has to try and keep herself and everyone intact and work with the other three races of shifters if they want to survive and if she wants Derek or Jared.

Zoe was great as usual and fun to read from. She is still struggling with her Wyvern powers without going insane. She also has some bad luck of trusting the wrong people. But she finds a way to figure all this out while trying to juggle high school and dodging the bloody school counselour: Muriel. God I hated that woman so much. Zoe does screw up a few times but like she has in other books learns from them and finds a way to solve it, not hesitating to confide in the Pyr and her friends. Her friends were actually very helpful and I swear she is one lucky dragon to have them.

There was a lot of action and fighting making me jumping up and down in anticipation, eagerly turning the pages to find out what happens next. She does choose one of the guys and doesn't try to drag it out, once she knew who she wanted she didn't dawdle and beat around the bush. She got straight to it.

Only disappontment for me was that this was the last book and I wish there was more Zoe adventures to come.

Specials (Uglies #3) by Scott Westerfeld Review

5 STARS

This was such a great ending to Tally's story it was just so awesome.

Specials is the 3rd book in the Uglies series where we see Tally Youngblood now turned into a Special. With Shay she is hellbent on catching the Smokies particularly David and bring them back to be changed whether they like it or not. But the old Tally is still lingering there not ready to quit yet.

This world just gets more and more amazing each book. Reading from Tally as a Special was just amazing. Specials remind me of human terminators. They are nearly indestructable and I admittedly wouldn't mind being one myself.

Instead of being "bubbly" we now have "icy" which is nice to see Westerfeld still keeping the slang. It was interesting seeing how cutting was introduced into this world and was used for mostly the same purpose as actual cutters.

Tally was awesome as usual and I am quite shocked that instead of hating the heroine by the end of the series I think I am more in love with her character than I was to begin with. The shit she went through was both heartwrenching and awestrucking. She was able to be a strong character and go through some very traumatic events in a very realistic way.

I actually loved the ending and think that is exactly how it should of ended. So Scott Westerfeld let me just say you are fucking amazing and people should read more of your books.

Pretties (Uglies #2) by Scott Westerfeld Review

5 STARS

Wow an actual well done love triangle.

Pretties is the second novel in the Uglies series and follows Tally who is now a pretty. Tally enjoys her life as a pretty, getting to join the Crims and even snagged a boyfriend. But Tally's ugly life catches up with her reminding her why she is here. Tally must now find a way to get back to the Smokies as well as save all the friends she has now made.

The Pretty world was actually quite interesting and wasn't annoyed too much by the slang they used like "bubbly" and "bogus". We see that Tally is still Tally even with her now super gorgeous looks. I still love her and she is definitely my favourite character in the series. The shit she has to deal with is crazy. Her friendship with Shay was so heartbreaking to watch it detereorite and the friends turn into enemies.

Her situation with Zane and David is what I call a good love triangle and I honestly don't know who she is going to end up with or if she will end up with neither. I actually love both guys and think they are both equally flawed but not heaps that I want to beat them to a bloody pulp.

Again I love the narration even when the scenes had no action or things actually happening. Scott Westerfeld knows how to write and I am so angry at myself for not reading his work earlier.

I did however see the ending happening since we were alluded to it early on in the book. But I don't know how Westerfeld managed it he was able to keep me gaping at the end he is just that amazing.

So if you haven't yet go read this series it is just "bubbly". :)

Uglies (Uglies #1) by Scott Westerfeld Review

	555455555 STARS I loved this narrative so badly. Even when nothing was happening Westerfield was able to still keep me engaged in the story and I want a hoverboard god dammit! Uglies is set in a futuristic world where everyone who is born is perceived as ugly and when they turn sixteen get an operation that turns them pretty. We follow the story of Tally Youngblood who is eagerly awaiting her sixteenth birthday so she can become pretty espeacially since her best friend is already one. Tally soon meets a fellow ugly named Shay and coincedently they are both born on the same day and become pretty together. Tally soon finds out that Shay is very reluctant to turn pretty and leaves a week before they are suppose to turn pretty. When the time comes for the operation Tally is informed that she is not allowed to become pretty unless she brings Shay back if she fails she will be ugly forever. At first when reading this I really didn't like Tally mainly because she always goes on how much she is ugly and everybody is ugly which I guess is just a reflex of the people I remember in high school who would go on about how they are ugly or fat all the time. However I quickly began to empathise with her and really saw how brainwashed this whole society was and you know what I can actually see this happening to our society in the future. Tally became very open minded person and it was nice to see her try to deal with the load of information that has basically shattered everything she has believed. Tally also makes a lot of mistakes and doesn't get away with it. She knows she must face it and that it will eventually come out. I have to admit that she is very intelligent and it was just amazing how quickly she can think on her feet. I really loved the Smoke and the people within it since it would make sense for there to be people questioning this and eventually someone would figure out what was going on. David I was very iffy about particularly when it came to him and Tally but the way he explained his attraction to her then made me really love him and just seeing them interact made me smile. It was definitely heartbreaking with what happens at the end. Shay I loved straight away and and enjoyed every scene with her. Her friendship with Tally I also love and may rival my feels for Tally and David. I don't I just love seeing really great friendships in books. Their friendship definitely gets complicated and strained which I hope is resolved in the future books. The ending I definitely did not see coming and made me rush straight to the second book to find out how the hell this story is going to turn. Only thing I can really criticise with this book is that looking over the whole arc of teh book not a lot really happens but like I said above the narrative was enjoyable so it wasn't as dull and boring.

5 STARS

I loved this narrative so badly. Even when nothing was happening Westerfield was able to still keep me engaged in the story and I want a hoverboard god dammit!

Uglies is set in a futuristic world where everyone who is born is perceived as ugly and when they turn sixteen get an operation that turns them pretty. We follow the story of Tally Youngblood who is eagerly awaiting her sixteenth birthday so she can become pretty espeacially since her best friend is already one. Tally soon meets a fellow ugly named Shay and coincedently they are both born on the same day and become pretty together. Tally soon finds out that Shay is very reluctant to turn pretty and leaves a week before they are suppose to turn pretty. When the time comes for the operation Tally is informed that she is not allowed to become pretty unless she brings Shay back if she fails she will be ugly forever.

At first when reading this I really didn't like Tally mainly because she always goes on how much she is ugly and everybody is ugly which I guess is just a reflex of the people I remember in high school who would go on about how they are ugly or fat all the time. However I quickly began to empathise with her and really saw how brainwashed this whole society was and you know what I can actually see this happening to our society in the future. Tally became very open minded person and it was nice to see her try to deal with the load of information that has basically shattered everything she has believed. Tally also makes a lot of mistakes and doesn't get away with it. She knows she must face it and that it will eventually come out. I have to admit that she is very intelligent and it was just amazing how quickly she can think on her feet.

I really loved the Smoke and the people within it since it would make sense for there to be people questioning this and eventually someone would figure out what was going on.

David I was very iffy about particularly when it came to him and Tally but the way he explained his attraction to her then made me really love him and just seeing them interact made me smile. It was definitely heartbreaking with what happens at the end.

Shay I loved straight away and and enjoyed every scene with her. Her friendship with Tally I also love and may rival my feels for Tally and David. I don't I just love seeing really great friendships in books. Their friendship definitely gets complicated and strained which I hope is resolved in the future books.

The ending I definitely did not see coming and made me rush straight to the second book to find out how the hell this story is going to turn.

Only thing I can really criticise with this book is that looking over the whole arc of teh book not a lot really happens but like I said above the narrative was enjoyable so it wasn't as dull and boring.

A Letter from Luisa by Rowena Mohr Review

	3.5 Stars Normally I wouldn't like a book like this but it was shown in a different light than from other many novels with this kind of relationship in it. A Letter from Luisa is a about a 16 year old girl named Luisa Linley who is writing a letter to someone named M about how she has gotten herself suspended from school for many reasons that we only get a quick glimpse of. So as the story goes Luisa tells M of the events leading up to her suspension and how it resulted in that. The story begins with Luisa at school called Motherwell High where she is in Year 10. We find out herself and her father are really into music and has come up with an idea to get Jet Lucas' attention. Jet is the guy that all the girls are all infaturated with with Luisa being one of them. Jet is into music too and plays guitar and is performing at the function they are having at the school. Luisa convinces him to let her be his music assitant by setting the mic and music right and even bringing in her dad's music equipment to use for the performance. Now Luisa and Jet's relationship was the highlight of the book for me. Not because they were perfect for each other and soulmates but because of Luisa obession with him and how she is blinded by what kind of person he really is. Even after finding out he is unfaithful to her she is hellbent on "winning" him back because she thinks they are perfect for each other. Now your probably wondering why would I like that? Because the novels shows that the way Luisa is thinking and acting is not normal or good. Funnily enough there are characters in other bookswho think and act like this but the authors of those books show it as a positive and normal thing. There are also male characters in other books who are a lot like Jet who are seen as loving and caring and you know what some of those charcaters arev even worse than Jet. Luisa's best friend Meko notices Luisa's behaviour and even points out Jet isn't a nice guy as well as other characters who are concerned for her with how she starts to act around other people as a result. I swear if I ever see Rowena Mohr she is getting a big ass high-five from me as well as praise for showing how unhealthy Luisa's obsession with Jet is. Reason it is only getting a 3.5 is because as much as I love what it covered it wasn't completely and absolutely amazing for me that I am obsessing over it like Luisa over Jet.

3.5 Stars

Normally I wouldn't like a book like this but it was shown in a different light than from other many novels with this kind of relationship in it.

A Letter from Luisa is a about a 16 year old girl named Luisa Linley who is writing a letter to someone named M about how she has gotten herself suspended from school for many reasons that we only get a quick glimpse of. So as the story goes Luisa tells M of the events leading up to her suspension and how it resulted in that.

The story begins with Luisa at school called Motherwell High where she is in Year 10. We find out herself and her father are really into music and has come up with an idea to get Jet Lucas' attention. Jet is the guy that all the girls are all infaturated with with Luisa being one of them. Jet is into music too and plays guitar and is performing at the function they are having at the school. Luisa convinces him to let her be his music assitant by setting the mic and music right and even bringing in her dad's music equipment to use for the performance.

Now Luisa and Jet's relationship was the highlight of the book for me. Not because they were perfect for each other and soulmates but because of Luisa obession with him and how she is blinded by what kind of person he really is. Even after finding out he is unfaithful to her she is hellbent on "winning" him back because she thinks they are perfect for each other. Now your probably wondering why would I like that? Because the novels shows that the way Luisa is thinking and acting is not normal or good. Funnily enough there are characters in other bookswho think and act like this but the authors of those books show it as a positive and normal thing. There are also male characters in other books who are a lot like Jet who are seen as loving and caring and you know what some of those charcaters arev even worse than Jet.

Luisa's best friend Meko notices Luisa's behaviour and even points out Jet isn't a nice guy as well as other characters who are concerned for her with how she starts to act around other people as a result.

I swear if I ever see Rowena Mohr she is getting a big ass high-five from me as well as praise for showing how unhealthy Luisa's obsession with Jet is. Reason it is only getting a 3.5 is because as much as I love what it covered it wasn't completely and absolutely amazing for me that I am obsessing over it like Luisa over Jet.

The Den of Shadows Quartet by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes Review

This is starting to remind me so much of the Night World series by L.J. Smith.

In the Forests of the Night: 3 Stars
Alternates between present and past events. Risika was very enjoyable to read from and a pretty good version of vampire lore. I loved reading about her past and really felt her pain and anger. Had a bittersweet ending which I felt was the perfect way for it to end. I also enjoyed reading every fighting scene she had.

Demon in My View: 1.5 Stars
I just couldn't like Jessica at all. She bitches constantly that she has no friends and she is ostracised from everyone but when a girl actually approaches her and tries to be friends with her she basically tells her to fuck off. She was also so horrible to her mother who was nothing but nice to her and tried to make her happy. The romance was just horrible, I could not understand why she liked him considering she knew everything he has done without remorse. I also couldn't understand how she could prefer being a vampire than side with witches. Only reason it didn't get a zero was because I liked Caryn and the rule that you will be a weaker vampire if you willingly turn and a stronger vampire if you unwillingly get turned.

Shattered Mirror: 2.5 Stars
In the first half I was absolutely loving the story and the characters and was racing through the story. However the second half was just bad, the characters had a rapid personality change and the ending to me just made no sense and I didn't understand how it ended like that. The author seems to want her readers to hate the witch hunters and favour the vampires but I prefer the hunters over the vampires so this ending really pissed me off. I also didn't like the romance in this one either, too cheesy for my taste.

Midnight Predator: 4 Stars
This was my favourite story of the four. Turquoise was such a complex character and it was so sad reading what had happened to her. She is definitely my favourite character as well from all the stories. I loved reading the fighting scenes and the whole idea of Midnight, it would make sense for the vampires to make a place like that. I absolutely loved the romance, mmm Jaguar is so yummy. I really felt the chemistry between the two of them that seemed to lack in the last two books. I was worried at one point that it was going to end much like Demon in My View and Shattered Mirror but thank god it didn't. We are left with an open ending and I wish I knew what happened to her after that.

Friday 8 June 2012

Glow (Sky Chasers #1) by Amy Kathleen Ryan Book Review

	4444 4 Stars I definitely enjoyed Glow much more than I expected to and so angry at myself for only reading it now when it had been on my shelf for all of this year. Glow is set in the future where Earth is now not possible to live on and has two ships called Empyrean and The New Horizon that are halfway through it's journey to New Earth when the book begins. We meet straight away 15 year old Waverly Marshall and 16 year old Kieran Alden who are on the Empyrean and the oldest children born in space. They have been together for nearly a year and are in love. But very soon the Empyrean is attacked by it's sister ship: The New Horizon who kidnap all the girls including Waverly. Now both Waverly and Kieran must fight for their lives to be together again. The novel is told from both Waverly and Kieran which I loved since we knew as the reader what was going on with the girls on The New Horizon as well as what is going on with the boys on the Empyrean. What both characters go through really shocked me in a good way. They both definitely suffered from their ordeals and I am happy that Ryan explored that and didn't fluff over it and try and soften the blow. What happened to the girls was definitely a very big issue that has been on my mind recently which is probably what mde me love this book more. I connected and liked Waverly's point of view much more since I did find Kieran annoying at times. Not because he is a bad character he just thought much differently than I did and made decisions that fristrated me. But other people will probably like him more than I did. Nothing in this novel was black and white having "good" and "bad" people intermingled in both ships. The ordeal has a definite effect on Waverly and Kieran's relationship and has changed it forever, which is something that cannot be fixed easily and I will happily read the next book to find out. Although I knew it is set in a futuristic world I found it hard to believe that these kids that are 16 and under know how to use this technology let alone figure out how to fix these technical issues by themselves with no adults. Other than that I definitely recommend this book.

4 Stars

I definitely enjoyed Glow much more than I expected to and so angry at myself for only reading it now when it had been on my shelf for all of this year.

Glow is set in the future where Earth is now not possible to live on and has two ships called Empyrean and The New Horizon that are halfway through it's journey to New Earth when the book begins. We meet straight away 15 year old Waverly Marshall and 16 year old Kieran Alden who are on the Empyrean and the oldest children born in space. They have been together for nearly a year and are in love. But very soon the Empyrean is attacked by it's sister ship: The New Horizon who kidnap all the girls including Waverly. Now both Waverly and Kieran must fight for their lives to be together again.

The novel is told from both Waverly and Kieran which I loved since we knew as the reader what was going on with the girls on The New Horizon as well as what is going on with the boys on the Empyrean.

What both characters go through really shocked me in a good way. They both definitely suffered from their ordeals and I am happy that Ryan explored that and didn't fluff over it and try and soften the blow. What happened to the girls was definitely a very big issue that has been on my mind recently which is probably what mde me love this book more.

I connected and liked Waverly's point of view much more since I did find Kieran annoying at times. Not because he is a bad character he just thought much differently than I did and made decisions that fristrated me. But other people will probably like him more than I did.

Nothing in this novel was black and white having "good" and "bad" people intermingled in both ships. The ordeal has a definite effect on Waverly and Kieran's relationship and has changed it forever, which is something that cannot be fixed easily and I will happily read the next book to find out.

Although I knew it is set in a futuristic world I found it hard to believe that these kids that are 16 and under know how to use this technology let alone figure out how to fix these technical issues by themselves with no adults.

Other than that I definitely recommend this book.

This was originally posted on Goodreads.

Indelible (Yara Silva Trilogy #2) by Lani Woodland Book Review

5 Stars

I honestly believed that I wouldn't love this book as much as I loved Intrinisical but I was dead wrong.

Indelible was amazing. It was suspensful and I had no idea what was going to happen next not to mention how scared I would feel in Yara's shoes and I am not someone that is easily scared.

Yara was so great in this and grew so much. She is enjoyable to read from the point of view of and she is just a strong character. I enjoyed seeing her grow as a Waker as well as she is still accepting and understanding what it means to be one.

Brent did bother me at times in this book and had me questioning what Yara honestly saw in him that made her want to be with him. But luckily for him he redeemed himself by the end and learnt from his mistakes. Yara and Brent's relationship is very well done and very realistic even if it does have a supernatural aspect and really work hard to maintain it.

It was nice to also see more of Cherie and Steve since we didn't see them a whole lot in Intrinisical who were definitely a great addition to the novel.

I love this supernatural world it is quite unique and I love ghosts I am much like Cherie when it comes to them. And more importantly I loved there was consequences from what happened in the first book as well as in this book and the characters actually suffered from this.

So I will definitely be waiting eagerly to read Inevitable as soon as it hits shelves.

This was originally posted on Goodreads.