Livinginabookwonderland

This review can also be found here I was so excited to read this book, I have never read anything set in India and I was interested in how the author would weave Indian myths into the story. I believe that the myths used in this story were very interesting and worked very well. I just wish I liked the book more than I did. Don't get me wrong I did like it, I just thought that I would love it.The idea that a curse was put on two Indian princes and they have been trapped as tigers for more than 250 years was definitely intriguing and unique. The author pulled this off very well and placing it in modern times just added an element of understanding to the story. It also made it more difficult for the aforementioned princes.Overall, I liked the characters. Ren was funny and sweet. He was completely loyal to Kelsey even when she treated him like crap. He refused to give up and even after living with the curse of being in the form of a tiger, he was one of the nicest people. I liked Kelsey in the beginning, she was cool and I could relate to her. As the story went on however she really started to annoy me. Ren was completely in love with her and she started pushing him away because she thought that once he was returned to his human form he wouldn't want her anymore because she's "plain". Even when Ren told her that he loved her she tried pushing him away, when that didn't work she got rather nasty with him. This drove me insane because she kept thinking that she loved him as well, she was being selfish and ridiculous.My one major issue with this novel was that it was rather slow. The beginning drags a little bit but as the story progresses, there is a lot more action and the speed picks up. The adventure is compelling and it had me on the edge of my seat. Even though I didn't love this story, I liked it enough that I will be purchasing the second book because I can't wait to find out what happens to Ren and Kelsey later on in their adventures.

This review can also be found hereThis was actually my first Maggie Stiefvater book so I had absolutely no idea what to expect when going into it. The cover is what drew me to the novel in the first place and then after reading the description I knew I had to buy it and read it. Unfortunately, it ended up sitting on my shelf for a long time.I can't say I was absolutely blown away by the book, that would be completely false. I did however, enjoy it quite a bit. I had a bit of trouble getting into it for the first third of the book or so. I found it to be pretty slow and there was a ton of description. Once the story started to progress, I found myself completely captivated by the plot and the characters.I had a slight issue with Gansey. He reminded me of a teenage version of Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Just the way he spoke and his actions were very similar. Once I got past that, I absolutely loved Gansey. He was a vulnerable, caring guy and it was really nice to see a YA love interest who wasn't a complete jerk.I honestly found myself frustrated with Blue. One minute she's complaining about Gansey and then the next she's thinking maybe she might be wrong about him. I wish she would have made up her mind because it got old after awhile. Besides that issue, I thought she was a pretty unique and interesting character. Meanwhile I absolutely loved Ronan. I started off disliking him immensely but he ended up growing on me. Who doesn't like the bad boy? Deep underneath that hard shell I think lies a boy who is tormented by his past and vulnerable. He's not a terrible person he just tends to put on a front to push people away.While this was my first book by Maggie Stiefvater, it most definitely will not be my last. The world she created was spellbinding and the storyline was enough to have me coming back for the sequel. Based on this work I will also be checking out some of her other stories.

Guys, I just couldn't bring myself to finish this one. it takes a lot to make me actually not finish a book and I couldn't get through this. Since I didn't finish I will not be rating this book. Who knows, it may have gotten better later on but I will never know.My first major issue with this book is the amount of swearing. Yes I know teenagers swear. That is not a knew concept. When there is a curse word in most of the sentences, it really turns me off. It seemed almost like the author was trying to use cuss words to make the story seem grittier where the subject matter could have done that by itself.I really couldn't even bring myself to care about the characters. I know it makes me sound harsh because of all that they deal with but come on, the main character brings it on himself. He is offered chances and he repeatedly throws them away. From what I read none of the characters really seem to have much of a personality and they were kind of just there.All in all, I will not be picking this book back up in the future. I tried to read it and I admit I failed with this one but I'm totally okay with that.

Actually rating 3.5.This review can also be found here. I absolutely love Alice in Wonderland retellings. I'm also becoming a huge fan of zombie books and by combining those two things you'd think I would be absolutely in love right? Well only kind of. I did love the second half of the book, I just found the beginning pretty boring.There is only so much you can take when the main character doesn't really do anything. Yes, I know, her family just died, but still the book could have had a lot of the moping, doing nothing part cut out. Once she starts school it gets a little better and then when she finally joins up with Cole's group things get interesting.The idea of teenagers going out and hunting zombies is pretty cool. The thing that really makes this story is what the zombies actually are. They aren't your typical zombies that go around eating human flesh, they're more of a spirit form. I really have never seen zombies done in this way and that really makes this book stand out.I really wasn't a huge fan of Alice in the beginning. I got pretty bored while she moped and did nothing. As the story went on however, she turned out to be a pretty tough character who knew how to kick zombie butt. Then there's Cole, the love interest. He's tall, dark and brooding. Oh and he's major trouble. What isn't to love? He's actually pretty sweet and kind once you break through that bad boy shell of his too. One of my favorite character's was Kat. She was funny and outgoing. Spunky and outspoken. She was just an all around enjoyable character, I found myself looking forward to the parts where she made an appearance.This is definitely a unique twist on the zombie story which I really liked. I am definitely going to be picking up the sequel when it comes out and I can't wait until the next trip into Zombieland.

This review can also be found here I was so excited to start this book, I had been hearing wonderful things about it and the premise sounded really interesting. I just wish that I liked it more than I did. This was a good book, don't get me wrong, but I think the thing that ruined it most for me was that my expectations were too high based on everything I heard. The storyline was still interesting, but I just couldn't dive in as much as I wanted to.There were some issues I had with this. First off the way that A spoke. No teenager speaks the way he does. It was too mature for how old he was and I just couldn't believe it. If anything in a story should be believable it should be the main character. My next biggest issue was the serious case of instant love. A knew Rhiannon for maybe 6 hours and he knew he was in love with her? I think that is kind of forced. No way can anybody fall in love with someone after 6 or so hours. It just does not happen, you can't know anything about the person that has any substance at all.The one part of this story I liked the best was the end. Not because it was over but because of how the story ended. I believe that A made the right choice in the end, both for Rhiannon and himself. I think the decision itself showed how much A cared about her because he knew he wouldn't be able to be what was needed. While this story may not have been the one for me I will definitely be checking out another one of his books.

This review can also be found here.I wasn't sure about this book for the longest time. I would always look at it but something would end up preventing me from buying it. I eventually gave in and I absolutely loved it. This is one of those novels that just got into my head and seriously messed with me. Even at the time of writing this review (2 days after I finished the book) I can't stop thinking about it. The twists were intense, the subject was dark at times and it was creepy.I don't know about anything else but I love books where the main character can't remember what happens and they believe that they're crazy. There's just something about seeing things through their twisted perspective that just makes the story creepier than if it was being told through someone else. I loved Mara. Slipping into her head during her descent into madness was absolutely thrilling. Just like Mara, I had trouble telling what was real or a delusion until she figured it out herself and that just made the story because I was constantly left wondering if an event really happened or not. Then thee is Noah Shaw. That boy is just completely swoon worthy. He seems like the typical arrogant bad boy but there is so much more to him. He's actually a pretty deep and caring character. I absolutely did not see the twist with him coming in the story either.If you haven't read this book yet all I have to say is go get a copy. This is one book that even after you turned the last page it will keep you up at night wondering just what exactly is going on. I will be reading the next book in this series as soon as I have a chance and I am absolutely looking forward to it.

This review can also be found here Actual rating 3.5 stars.In the beginning this novel was really slow paced to the point where I almost gave up. I found that I had to actually force myself to get through the first third of the book. After that I really got into the story and I enjoyed it greatly. I found the use of native American beliefs to be extremely interesting and really gave the story something real to focus on. There are also Spanish beliefs mixed into this novel as well and surprisingly the two beliefs compliment each other really well to make the story flow.I loved the whole idea for the book. A teenage girl with mystical powers who has the ability to travel between the three worlds to try and stop an evil force from taking over. And to make the story even better the evil this girl has to battle comes in the form of an attractive teenage guy AND she doesn't go gaga over him which was a major bonus. To make matters worse he has a twin brother who is the complete opposite and has a strong connection with Daire.There are exciting moments in this book where Daire is travelling between the different worlds and she gets put into situations where she could be caught at any moment or even killed. These parts were extremely well done and I found myself on the edge of my seat hoping Daire could get out okay. The points between these exciting adventures are so full of information and description that you can't help but be intrigued.As for the characters I really liked almost all of them. Daire tended to get on my nerves in the beginning. She was always complaining and it really seemed like she only cared what people looked like. The way she acted made me believe that she thought she was better than everyone else. Throughout the story however she really seems to change and actually becomes quite caring and interesting. Dace was such a sweet character. He takes care of the people he cares about and doesn't expect anything in return. Cade on the other hand was a complete jerk. He seems to have ulterior motives whenever he does anything and I found myself really disliking him.I loved the intricate story and the mystical aspects in this book. I am definitely going to be reading the sequel Echo and I hope it is just as exciting and interesting.

This review can also be found hereWhen I saw this book I got so excited and requested it from the publisher for review, I mean I am a huge fan of steampunk so why shouldn't I be into this one right? Well, I didn't enjoy this one as much as I thought I would. It was a good book but I guess I went into with expectations that were too high.The world building in this novel was phenomenal. A world within the center of the Earth just sounds exciting right? Well it totally was and somehow the author made it work. The descriptions of this world were magnificent and I could picture them in my head as the story progressed.Now the story line on the other hand had great potential. I was expecting it to be full of danger and suspense, don't get me wrong there was some but just not as much as I thought there would be. The story really dragged in some places, like the times between the exciting adventures, and I found myself having trouble getting through those parts.What redeemed this for me were the characters. Emilie was awesome and wasn't afraid to tell someone off or put them in their place and I loved that about her. Lady Marlende was another great character, she was intelligent and was ready to protect herself and fight anything that came at them. I think my two favorite characters were Kenar and Rani, two cirathi who lived in the world inside of Earth. They had fur and scales but weren't too different from the humans in the story. They showed great compassion and developed a close friendship with the humans they were travelling with.All in all this was an interesting story and I would definitely recommend this for those who like their steampunk with loads of description and interesting worlds. This ARC was received from the publisher for review purposes and did not effect my opinions in any way. The opinions expressed in this review were mine alone.

This review can also be found hereI should probably start off by saying that I had my doubts about this book. I tend to dislike books everyone raves about and the hype surrounding this book (and the entire series thus far) has been insane. The hype almost scared me off from reading this and I'm actually really glad that I picked it up because I absolutely loved it.It was nice to see a book about aliens in YA instead of the usual vampires/werewolves/faeries which make up the stories for a lot of the genre. Really how many alien young adult books are out there? I can't think of many. And the fact that there were good aliens and bad aliens just made the story even better.I loved the plot. Also the story behind the aliens was extremely well thought out and didn't sound ridiculous and was completely original. I loved the fact that different aliens had different powers and no two had the same level of power. Yet even with this they all blended into human society quite well.I loved Katy. She was obsessed with books, had a book review blog and didn't put up with any of Daemon's crap. Because trust me there was a ton of crap from him. That boy seriously got on my nerves in the beginning, to the point where I wanted to smack him. He eventually grew on me when the other, nicer side of him made appearances.When I finished this book I went out and ordered Onyx, the second book in the series. I can't wait to start it and I hope this series just gets better and better.

This review can also be found hereIt's no secret that I fell in love with Daughter of Smoke & Bone last year, it even made it onto my top reads of 2012 list, but this one just added a whole new layer to this series. It's so dark and different from Daughter of Smoke & Bone but fans of this series will be sure to love it none the less.I was petrified to start this one, after the way the first book ended I had the worst ideas as to what Laini Taylor was going to do. Thankfully I was wrong but this book is still pretty difficult. There is a lot more killing and blood shed than in the first one and it's just so dark, but still unbelievably magical.This time around we get to see how the characters act through different eyes: such as Zuzana and Mik's as well as Ziri and Akiva's. This added a great aspect to the book and I really enjoyed seeing things from different characters. I kept praying that Karou and Akiva would work everything out and just be together, but seeing how they were apart for most of the book I was pretty sad. There are parts when they seem to be growing close again but then something happens and it is forced away. Hopefully the next one will provide us with a little more Karou/Akiva.The writing is still magical and amazing. Laini Taylor is a master and no matter what she's writing whether it was sweet and fully of magic like Daughter of Smoke & Bone or dark and gritty like Days of Blood & Starlight, she can pull it off flawlessly.If you were a fan of the first you definitely need to check this one out right away. It is darker but it still provides you with a sense of hope even when everything seems like it is falling apart. I will be waiting not so patiently for the next installment of this series which comes out next year.

Review can also be found here Since this was a collection of short stories I'm just going to offer a brief opinion on each one, seeing how if I say too much it will ruin the stories for everyone else.Gentlemen Send Phantoms by Laini Taylor 5/5I think this was my second favorite story out of the whole book. It was just so, creepy but cute at the same time. Laini Taylor's writing is just magical and I kind of wish she would write a full length novel based on this story.Burned Bright by Diana Peterfreund 3/5This one was alright, the whole premise really creeped me out, and was a bit too religion based for me. But in general it was a good story and was well written.The Angriest Man by Lisa McMann 1/5This one was a big disappointment. I love Lisa McMann but this story was highly repetitive and just made absolutely no sense to me. I really wanted to like this one but I just couldn'tOut of the Blue by Meg Cabot 4/5I really enjoyed this one. The whole story takes place being told through the perspective of different teenager's who were there when an alien landed. The whole time I was reading this I kept imagining that they were being interviewed by The Men in Black. This was a great story, especially if you're a big sci-fi fan.One True Love by Malina Lo 2/5This one was an okay story. It involves love between two people of the same gender, which I have no problem with, but it really wasn't for me. I'm not a big fan of the whole knight in shining armor even if it is a woman! This is a Mortal Wound by Michael Grant 3/5This one was creepy, students no longer have to go to school and learn their lessons anywhere they want by using a computer. The teacher in this one went a little too far and that kind of freaked me out a little. The story goes pretty quick and it is definitely interesting.Misery by Heather Brewer 4/5I really didn't get what was going on until after I thought about it and then once I understood the ending I realised that I absolutely loved this story. It was dark and hopeful at the same time.The Mind is a Powerful Thing by Matt De La Pena 3/5This one just shows that if you think about something too much you are pretty much inviting it to happen. It was an interesting read and would have made a pretty good full length novel.The Chosen One by Saundra Mitchell 2/5I'm not a big fan of the whole princess having to save the other princess because she's better than her and what not. It just doesn't work for me. The only thing I really liked about this one was the ending. It was written well but it just wasn't for me.Improbable Futures by Kami Garcia 3/5What would you do if you learned that your predictions, which you thought were fake were suddenly coming true? I really enjoyed this one, it was interesting and I really didn't see the ending coming.Death for the Deathless by Margaret Stohl 5/5This is another one of my favorites. It was so well written and I loved the spin on Nostradamus. The ending was a major surprise for me seeing how there were predictions throughout the whole story but I guess it really shows that some things aren't what they appear.Fate by Simone Elkeles 2/5I'm not really sure about this one. I don't see what it has to do with prophecy or prediction or even fate for that matter. It was a cute story but I just don't see how it fits.The Killing Garden by Carrie Ryan 5/5The whole premise for this one was just awesome. Carrie Ryan definitely knows how to write an interesting story that leaves you breathless with the twist in the end. Definitely check this one out!Homecoming by Richelle Mead 5/5This one was my favorite out of the whole collection. I was so glad to dive back into the world of Vampire Academy with Rose and Dimitri. It's funny how even when they're on vacation they still find themselves facing strigoi, but those too probably can't sit still for too long anyway. For fans of Vampire Academy this story is an absolute must.

This review can also be found here Let me start by saying that I didn't get my hopes up for this one, and because of that I was pleasantly surprised. I found myself enjoying this story even though at certain parts it is extremely slow. I think the thing I enjoyed most about the book was the fact that it was told through a guy's point of view. It left me as confused and lost as Ethan was and I had to discover the truth about Lena right along with him. I loved that the story was set in the South. Because of this you can really see how poorly Lena is treated by the people in this town especially since they go by Southern hospitality. Where was it for her? Just because she was different all pretense was dropped and she was treated like a pariah. When Ethan begins to hang out with Lena, he begins to lose everything as well even though the town still claims him as their own since his family has been there for years. He begins to be shunned just as much as Lena, the only difference is Ethan is perfectly okay with it.The fact that the story is about magic is what really held my attention. I love stories about witches, though in this case it's Casters. It was even more enjoyable due to the fact that the one telling the story wasn't the Caster but a Mortal. So we get to see the magic through the eyes of someone who isn't used to it and that really brings a whole new level to the story.I really liked Ethan. He was loyal and kind and didn't put up with any of the crap the other kids in his class did. He stood up for Lena even though he was the only one doing it and never even thought twice about it. Lena was another great character, though her constant worrying did get old pretty fast, she was strong as well and when it came to Ethan there was nothing she wouldn't do to save him. I recommend this for anybody who enjoys having a male point of view in Young Adult fiction. If you're a fan of magic and mystery as well as adventure then you should definitely check this book out.

This review can also be found hereThis book was extremely gritty and shows what can happen when the streets overtake someone you care about. It also shows the lengths that one teenager will go to just to rescue his brother. This is not a happy book, though it does have a happy ending. The journey throughout is dark and dreary and not full of much hope. That's the funny thing about teenagers, they try no matter what, especially when it's one of their own that's in trouble.This is a story about love, but it's also a story about hate. What happens when one teen is pushed too far over the edge could very well be what happens to anyone. The streets claim you and when there is nobody left fighting for you there is no way out. Luckily for Indy his brother never gave up on him, no matter how angry he became and Tate would stop at nothing to save his brother and bring him home.This is one of those books that will stay with me a long time. It's hard to forget about the struggles these characters went through, not because they're extreme or disturbing, though they certainly are, but because they're real. Any number of the events that take place in this novel can happen to anybody, and they do. The whole skateboarding aspect adds a happier, more entertaining edge to this otherwise gritty novel. I don't skate and I don't pretend to know anything about it but the author made it like you knew everything these teenagers were doing. Besides the tricks there is no extreme skater lingo in this book and for that I was glad because it probably would have taken away from the other part of this story.I liked Tate and Indy. They were two kids who may not have had the best lives but proved that you can fix your mistakes and still have a future no matter where you come from. Just because they come from the wrong side of town and grew up surrounded by drug dealers does not mean that their lives are set to follow that path. After all of the mistakes, Indy finds the strength to turn his life around.I really would not reccomend this for younger audiences, the topics include drugs and violence and would be better suited for more mature Young Adult fans.

This review can also be found here I really could not get into this story. Sure the adventure was thrilling and the plot was fast paced but there was something about it that truly kept me from enjoying it. It took everything I had just to continue reading this, just to get to the end and have closure. This book is aimed at Young Adults but at times it read more like a Middle Grade book than anything else. I found the writing to be choppy and at times many things didn't make sense. I found myself confused quite a few times and had to go back to re-read a paragraph just to make sure I didn't miss something.I only really liked one of the characters and that was Fyffe. She was so shy in the beginning but she toughened up during her adventure with the main character Nikolai. I found Nikolai to be annoying and he aggravated me. Sure all he wanted to do was save his friends and protect them but he just rubbed me the wrong way. For hating Southsiders so much, he befriended quite a few of them pretty quickly.I didn't enjoy it but that doesn't mean that you won't! If you're a die-hard fan of dystopian's then you may want to check this one out. It's a quick read but there are parts that are pretty graphic (blood and such.)

This review can also be found here.I actually almost gave up and stopped reading this one a few times. I found the beginning to be extremely boring and Gwyneth to be annoying. I'm really glad that I didn't give up on it though, since about halfway through the story really began to pick up and after that point I was hooked. The idea of time travel isn't anything new but I really enjoyed the in depth this book made it. Other books have time travelling sure but they never explain it, this one does.Being a huge fan of history I was delighted to find the characters travelling to different points in the past such as the Rococo period and England in 1912. I can appreciate the fact that not only did the author research the time periods and correctly portray them but also the characters were dressed in the fashion trends of the day and who doesn't love the idea of wearing formal gowns?The characters were for the most part likeable. Gwyneth got on my nerves in the beginning but she quickly grew on me. Where I thought she was a whiny brat she actually ended up being a pretty tough character. There were times when she had to show her bravery even though she was petrified. Gideon was a jerk. Simple as that. He really said some nasty things about Gwyneth, even though it wasn't her fault she was unprepared for time travel. Then he just does a complete 180 and ends up becoming extremely close to her, it seemed pretty unrealistic to me. Lesley and James were by far my favorite characters and they weren't in the book that much. Lesley was Gwyneth's best friend and she helped her gather information and she was all around funny and kind. James was a ghost that haunted their school and he was extremely kind even though he didn't realize he was dead yet.All in all, this was an interesting story that had a great plot. The time travelling aspect of the story had a lot of thought and detail put into it and actually worked for the story. The history aspects were by far the best part of this novel and I am looking for ward to seeing where and when Gwyneth and Gideon go next.

This review can also be found here This is one of those books that when I finished reading it, it was all I could think about. I'm not really sure why but I found it impossible to get it out of my head. I'm not sure what made me love this one, maybe it was the characters or maybe it was the idea of immortality or possibly the ghosts.The idea of a girl who hears ghosts isn't exactly new in the YA genre, but I have never read a book that's done it quite like this one. Lenzi does hear spirits and it is her job as a Speaker to help these spirits find peace and move on from Earth. Along with her protector, Alden, she completes these spirit's last wishes. Sometimes though they come across a Malevolent, which is an evil spirit fueled by hate. I really liked Lenzi, she was stubborn and went for the things she really wanted no matter what anybody tried to tell her. She didn't let her gift ruin her life and even though she was dealing with the supernatural she seemed pretty normal. We also have Alden, who is caring and intelligent. He follows rules to a fault and is willing to risk his life to protect his speaker, Lenzi. I absolutely hated Zak, Lenzi's boyfriend in the beginning, he seemed like he was bad news and I just couldn't deal with him. We are also introduced to Race and Maddi, two protector friends of Alden's, these two are funny and I loved the scenes that they were in, even if it was serious they still came across as fun.This book has everything in it, action, suspense, some mystery and even romance. If you're a fan of any of these things I definitely suggest you give this book a chance, it's a quick and fun read.