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Lose Time Reading

Book Blogger & Bibliophile

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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Jim Dale, J.K. Rowling
A Great and Terrible Beauty
Libba Bray
The Truth About You and Me
Amanda Grace, Mandy Hubbard
Freshman Forty - Christine Duval When I read the synopsis for Freshman Forty it immediately struck me as something I would enjoy. It’s a great mix up in the new adult genre from the usual steamy romance and built up sexual tension of freshman college students. Freshman Forty is about a college freshman who gets pregnant and then has to deal with the struggles of her choice, to tell her father and the baby’s father all while keeping up her grades and dealing with her first year in college.The main character, Laurel, was exceptional. I loved her. She was SO realistic for a college freshman. Outside of her struggles with the pregnancy situation she was dealing with her disconnect from her father, his remarrying after the death of her mother, finding her way in a new world at college, trying to keep up with the heavy courseload and experiencing the connection with a new found crush. I loved her voice and her independance. She was just so determined, even though it might have seemed that way and I LOVED her. I also really liked Mike and Amber. They were both steady rocks for Laurel, and while they both had a disappearance they were always in Laurel’s corner.This story captivated me. I didn’t move the entire time I read it, I could not put it down. I loved the plot, the pacing and the entire story. Honestly, I cannot rave enough. The fact that the story itself is so different from what I’ve read in new adult thrilled me and Christine Duval’s writing is just amazing and incredibaly easy to read. One of the things I enjoyed most was the fact this is not a romance story. Granted there is a bit of romance in it but the story is not focused on that, it’s focused on Laurel’s journey.The ending was great. It ended in such a way I didn’t feel starved like I do after a big cliffhanger but in a way that definitely makes you need to read the next book. I cannot wait happen’s next with Laurel. I absolutely recommend this to anyone that likes realistic contemporary. It’s a beautiful story. I laughed, I cried and I will definitely be purchasing this one in hard copy
Spellcaster - Claudia Gray Nadia, along with her father and brother, have just moved to Captive Sound after their parents divorce. In the middle of Nadia’s magic training(which the male members of her family know nothing about), her mother up and left them. When they arrive in Captive Sound, Nadia immediately knows there is a strong magic force at work there and she knows she has to get to the bottom of what’s happening before it’s too late. Along with Mateo and Verlaine, Nadia, who hasn’t completed her witch training, needs to stop whatever is draining Captive Sound.Nadia, the main character, was interesting enough. I didn’t have issues with her, but she was pretty flat. I felt absolutely no emotional attachment to her whatsoever. Even when she was in danger my reaction was just, “Oh”. I enjoyed her strong family connection and the relationship with her father and brother but herself as character was fairly uninteresting. Mateo, the love interest, was also boring to me. I did enjoy him well enough as he had an interesting back story that ties into the overall “mystery” but once again I didn’t form an attachment. Verlaine, by far, was my favorite character. I thought she was spunky, I liked her style and the fact that she was an outcast immediately warmed me to her. That being said, although she was my favorite character, I didn’t have a strong emotional connection with HER either. There is a part where Verlaine gets into a bit of “trouble” and my reaction was, “That sucks”. I found that hard to swallow because, if she is one of my favorite characters, shouldn’t I be a bit more upset? Overall, one of the main issues I had with Spellcaster was the character building. I had zero connection with any of the characters, and while I liked almost all of them, they were very one dimensional and didn’t have any layers. What was presented to us at the start of the novel was what we got for the remainder of the story. The biggest disappointment of this was Nadia. I thought since she was not yet an official witch, but still had to use her powers there would be a lot more discovery and development. Nope, same Nadia.Now, onto the plot. I actually LOVED the story. I thought the concept was extremely interesting and very unique to anything I’ve read. Every detail about what was happening currently right down to things that happened hundreds of years ago was well thought out. And the way the history was presented to us was pleasant and gradual, no info dumping. I enjoyed learning about Steadfasts, the curse of the Cabot’s, and the First Laws. The revelation of what is happening in Captive Sound is also very interesting. It wasn’t what I thought it was going to be, and I found a few surprises as well. Nothing that will blow your mind, but a few things I didn’t expect. Honestly the plot of the novel is probably my favorite part. I love witch novels, and Spellcaster had a well thought out and unique story.I REALLY loved how there is no insta love here. Nadia and Mateo’s relationship was gradual and progressive. There was instant attraction, which is something I very much like, but for them to get to the point they are at towards the end of the novel takes the entire story. Very refreshing to see this in a YA novel, I’m sick of instant love.The only other issue I had with Spellcaster was the pacing. While the plot was fantastic sometimes this novel just dragged on. At one I thought I was never going to finish. There was a lot of rehashing the same stuff, just in a different scene. I felt like several chapters were just fillers.The ending was by far my favorite part of the novel. I thought the ending was a surprise and not something I expected. I also think there is something about Verlaine as well as Nadia’s mother that we will learn about in the second book.Unlike most of my two star reviews, I will be continuing the Spellcaster series. I loved the plot, and I’m interested to see what happens after the ending. I also think there is something else we will discover about Verlaine as well as her mother HAS to play a part in some of this story. I feel like there is something just outside of our grasp when it comes to Nadia’s mother and I’m interested enough to read on. Also I WOULD recommend Spellcaster. It was a really good story, and despite my faults with it, I did enjoy it. If you like witch novels, this is a good addition to the genre but a borrow not a buy.

Fall From Love

Fall from Love - Heather London I want to start off my saying that books that deal with death are not my thing. I avoid them at all costs… if I see it’s mentioned in the synopsis chances are I’m not likely to read it. That being said, reading the synopsis I knew there was going to be tons of heart wrenching and I’d probably cry but for some reason when I read the blurb, Fall from Love just grabbed me. I instantly wanted to read it, and I was absolutely pleasantly surprised.I wholeheartedly loved Holly, the main character. Everyone about her was so real to me. Her reactions, her emotions, just her. I really appreciated the fact that she knew she was wrong and that she always admitted to it. Someone I find that main characters make awful decisions and then have no idea or acceptance of why they ended up where they are. Holly was not like that; every time she took out her anger, her guilt, her sadness on someone she always felt guilty and I just really appreciated the honesty of her character. Not to mention that she was adorable. And Carter. Oh. My. God. Carter. Swoon. I didn’t instantly warm up to him but when I did… I loved him. He was so sweet, so kind and the fact that he wanted nothing but to keep Holly safe and protected just won me over. I also loved Holly’s best friend, Jenna. She was an amazing friend and loyal like no other.There was a bit of back and forth in Fall from Love, like there always is in New Adult romance but in Fall from Love it didn’t get to me. It didn’t have that, “Are we finished yet?” quality where you just want to shake the characters into their senses. Maybe it’s because it really made sense for this story because it’s about Holly having to let herself love and be loved back. Either way, I loved it and I can absolutely say I did not want this book to end.The ONE fault I had with Fall from Love is that the “together romance” between Carter and Holly didn’t take place until the very, very end of the book. I won’t spoil it but I just wanted MORE. I definitely didn’t want the ending to come so quickly.If you love new adult romance you will Fall from Love. It’s a fantastic debut and Heather London’s writing is absolutely captivating. I felt like I was in the story, and I knew these characters and that is exactly what made me love it so much.
Live Through This - Mindi Scott Live Through This has been on my TBR for a while now… since before it was released actually. I didn’t hesitate when I seen this at the library, I knew I had to pick it up and read it straight away.Let’s start with the characters before anything. Coley, the main character, besides having an awesome name was great. She was totally realistic for a teenager. Her emotions with dealing with her best friend, her first major boyfriend, her feelings toward her stepfather; it was all so true for a teenage girl. She was also an extremely raw character. Her constant personal battles with the abuse and her inner conversations almost forced me into tears so many times. Coley was so brave. So strong. A fantastic, well crafted main character. Reece, Coley’s boyfriend was ADORABLE. I freaking loved this kid. He was so incredibly kind and sweet. All that aside my absolute favorite part about Reece was that he wasn’t the popular boy. I loved that he was in a band, was a little bit geeky and more often than not, corny. I also really enjoyed the strong family presence in Live Through This. Coley’s mother was just a great mom, and I loved that the parents were so present in this book. And the triplets. Gosh they were adorable… and hilarious! Brian(Coley’s older brother) was hard to judge for me though. He was so standoffish throughout the novel and the real perspectives we had were from Coley flashbacks about previous times. It’s obvious that Brian was really damaged from the previous years abuse.Now… the pacing. I know this is a story about abuse so as I read I knew that the issue of abuse would eventually be confronted but for a large part of the novel I felt like it a love story. As much as I loved Reece, I wish that was not as big of a focus. I understand that the process of her falling in love for the first time is directly related to her abuse and her struggle with it but I just would have liked to see a much larger focus on the main topic at hand. It’s not unlike, What Happens Next, which I also had the same problem with.That being said, once the abuse came more to the forefront of the novel I was incredibly shocked at who the abuser was. I mean astonished. I was reading this on the train to work and literally had to go back several pages because I was certain I had missed something. I had a ton of guesses in my mind, and perhaps I overlooked dropped hints but I was stunned. And it absolutely crushed me. Once I realized what was happening, you would have been hard pressed to find me without tears every couple of pages.The only other problem that I had with the novel was the ending. Now, don’t get me wrong, the ending was fantastic and for a while I thought I would end the book with throwing it at the wall in frustration but it was done very well. I was satisfied with the outcome of the entire situation however I would have liked to have more. I don’t want to spoil the ending so I have to be rather elusive but I would have liked to see the outcome after the fact.Even with my issues, and I seem to be one of the only ones who didn’t LOVE it, it’s a fantastic book. I really enjoyed Mindi Scott’s easy to read writing style and her character building was phenomenal. If you like contemporaries that deal with tough topics(sexual abuse) then I definitely recommend Live Through This. You won’t be disappointed.

Yellow Socks and Blood Spots

Yellow Socks and Blood Spots - Bailey J. Thompson Isabelle just found out she is pregnant. Her boyfriend, Jason seems to be so supportive(except he is pressuring her into his decision), her friends seem to be supportive and so do her family. Then when Isabelle makes her decision… her world comes crashing down around her.I really enjoyed the main character Isabelle. She was a very smart, very realistic teenager character. Not without flaws, but a pretty good head on her shoulders, she was honest, caring and emotional. Her boyfriend, Jason, I didn’t like from the beginning. I felt this suspicion about him right from the start and the further the read the more I disliked him. I obviously won’t go into this too much, as to leave what happens throughout the story spoiler free, but let it be know that I really disliked him. Isabelle’s parents and family were wonderful. So often families in Young Adult are so unrealistic but I really loved how Isabelle’s family was present, caring, opinionated and very supportive of her as their daughter.The story is heartbreaking. I didn’t think at first I would become so emotionally attached to Isabelle and her journey, but you warm up to her character so much that it’s hard to not feel her emotions. I had a hard time relating sometimes to parts of Isabelle’s story but that’s simply because I am not a teenager anymore(and quite far from it) and also because I’ve not been in the situation she has been. That being said, I think this book is really geared towards teenagers and is a great, fact driven depiction of what this situation could be like. Somethings are hard to stomach but I feel as that’s what Bailey was going for with this. It isn’t the total happy ending story but it’s a realistic and beautiful story of a teenagers emotional struggle.The pacing did confused me a bit, and for the first several chapters I found it hard to grasp a timeline. It does jump back and forth several times from past to present but once you get used to that there are no other problems with the pacing. Bailey’s writing is fantastic. It’s extremely fluent and easy to read. I felt as if she was telling me the story herself, in person as opposed to be reading it.All in all, Yellow Socks and Blood Spots is a great read. I think it really is a book FOR teenagers and a sad, heartbreaking story.
Fang Girl - Helen Keeble Ever since I participated in the Fang Girl book blitz back in December I’ve been dying to read this one. The excerpts were hilarious and I already knew that I would love Helen Keeble’s writing style. I had a hard time finding this at the bookstore so when I finally got my library card this was one of the my first requests!!The main character, Xanthe, or Jane was hilarious! I loved her snarky, dry sense of humor and even though she was a vampire, she was such a realistic 15-year-old. I actually loved her entire family, especially her little brother. Even though they came of as a bit corny at times, they were so loving and also provided a ton of laughs.Fang Girl is so hilarious that it borders on making fun of the vampire genre. It was exactly what I needed in a paranormal, especially vampire lore. It seemingly poked fun at some of the silly vampire stereotypes that exist now and it was altogether chapter after chapter of laughs. There was a twist on a love triangle as well, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I’m so sick of love triangles and the fact that they are all the same but Helen Keeble did a good job with having one, but mixing it up… you actually might not even be able to tell there is a bit of one Fang Girl was fast paced and kept me quite on the edge of my seat. It wasn’t over the top action but the suspense of what was going to happen, who this mystery member of the bloodline was, who Lily really is… I just needed to have answers. Luckily Helen Keeble’s writing style is wonderful. At no point during reading Fang Girl did I feel like it was dragging on, and the comedy adds so much to the pacing as well.I don’t want to reveal too much of the story as there are a few “twists”, so I’ll leave my review at that. If you are eyeing this up, love paranormal with comedy and even if you are getting sick of the generic vampire novels, definitely give Fang Girl a try!I cannot wait to read Helen Keeble’s upcoming novel!
The Beautiful and the Cursed (The Dispossessed) - Page Morgan I was so torn on whether I should read The Beautiful and the Cursed when it came out. It sounded like such a great story plus it has an amazing cover however I wasn’t sure it would really suit me as it’s historical fiction. I’ve attempted enough historical fiction to know that it more often than not does not work out for me but needless to say I seen it at the library and figured I would give it a go.Ingrid, the main character, has just moved with her younger sister, Gabby and their mother to Paris. Her brother, Grayson had went to Paris ahead of them to get a house ready and get everything settled before their arrival. When Ingrid & family arrive in Paris they immediately realize something is very wrong: Grayson is missing, the police are not interested in his case and it seems less and less likely that he will be found. There is a killer on the loose in Paris, who is kidnapping young girls… does Grayson tie into this? The only person who truly believes that Grayson is alive is Ingrid; because he is her twin she has an intuition that he is definitely alive. Oh yes… and there are gargoyles!Ingrid was fabulous. So was Gabby. I loved the two sisters separately, I loved them together… they were just amazing characters. I enjoyed that they were quiet rebellious for that time period and often felt like they weren’t being appropriate, I found it quite easy to see what they were about because of this as rebellion is something ALL teenagers go through, no matter what time period. Ironically(and strange for me) I did not get attached to the male characters. I thoroughly enjoyed all of them but to me the “love triangle” could go either way I would be satisfied. The character building is great especially since a large focus of the novel is how Ingrid is trying to discover how she is “special” and unlike others.I thought the storyline was incredibly original. I have never read a novel about Gargoyles and with Angels, demons, and hellhounds added into the mix it was really interesting. The only part I disliked was that it was a bit slow going at times. Now take this with a grain of salt as I often find historical fiction to be quite slow sometimes. Other than that the suspense was great and I always felt like a new secret was going to be discovered. There were quite a few surprises and about 70% through the pace really picks up and you just need to finish in one sitting.The Beautiful and the Cursed was a wonderful debut novel. Original, interesting and some wonderful new paranormal creatures! I definitely recommend this if you love paranormal. I will absolutely be continuing this series, I can’t wait to see what will happen next with Ingrid… especially after the ending.

Another Little Piece

Another Little Piece - Kate Karyus Quinn Umm… what? I’m hoping this review will be more than a rambling bunch of nonsense because honestly, I am not quite sure I can put into words what Another Little Piece did to me. I’m not going to go into a summary as the synopsis is great and is exactly what the story is about… so twisted.Annaliese or Anna as she calls her self was such a warped, amazing character. Honestly, one of the best main characters I have read, as a whole, in a very long time. She was confused, alone, and felt like she was constantly longing for something… and you come to learn that she is. I’m not sure what it was exactly that made me warm up to Annaliese so much but I adored her. As sick and twisted as some of the things you come to learn about her, there was this soft spot in her that I clung to. I also really liked “the dad” and “the mom”, they just had such undying love for Annaliese that it made my heart hurt a bit. And Dex… he was super weird as well but I really liked his character.Another Little Piece is not for the weak hearted. It is pretty disgusting at points, it’s completely twisted and at some especially descriptive points I thought I would have to put it down. That being said it is a completely original and beautiful novel under all of that. I have never read anything like this novel, and I’m not sure it could ever be matched. Kate Karyus Quinn is a fantastic writer, honestly her prose is phenomenal. The way Annaliese’s poems were inserted into the storyline just added to the creepy factor and made it eerily beautiful.The ending was complete. I actually didn’t expect to be satisfied with the ending, once you read this you will understand, but it didn’t seem like it would be an ending that left you satisfied. Not so obviously because I couldn’t have been happier with how all the ends were tied up and questions answered.I absolutely recommend this book, it’s a wonderful story, a fantastic refreshing addition to the Young Adult genre and I cannot wait to see what Kate Karyus Quinn as in store for us next! My review cannot even begin to do this amazing book justice!

Faking It

Faking It - Cora Carmack Wow. Faking It definitely did not have “second book syndrome”!!!I was quite excited when I found out there would be a companion novel to Losing It. I really enjoyed Cora Carmack’s easy to read, fluent writing style so I could not wait to get my hands on the second book; little did I know that it would be about Cade!Max, the main character, was fantastic. She was so much different from your usual main character; she was spunky, tattooed, full of piercings and held her own. She is probably one of my favorite main characters in a contemporary thus far. And Cade… in Losing It I didn’t really pay much thought to him. I liked him well enough and thought he was sweet but you could tell that he was not going to be the love interest chosen so I didn’t dwell on him too much. I LOVED him in Faking It. He was amazing… actually perfect, and that is exactly how he is portrayed in Faking It.I adored Max and Cade’s story. My favorite part of the entire novel was that it was a “bad girl” and “nice boy”. It’s almost always the opposite so it was so refreshing to have a different take on the generic love story. I also really liked that Max actually had a back story. She endured an extremely traumatic experience witnessing the death of her sister and it hardened her. It was realistic and portrayed quite well. Her struggle to put aside her past and follow her heart was fantastic. To compare it to Losing It(which was rather cliché with the student falls in love with the teacher) it was better by a long shot.All in all, Faking It was great. The only reason I gave it 4 stars is because I felt the ending was kind of abrupt. I loved the ending, don’t get me wrong, as I thought it tied up the story nicely but I just expected a little bit more. If you enjoyed Losing It you need to read Faking It. It’s a great companion novel, and an awesome story in and of itself.
Anna and the French Kiss (Anna and the French Kiss, #1) - Stephanie Perkins,  Kim Mai Guest I seriously felt like the last person left on the planet to read Anna and the French Kiss so I finally sucked it up and decided to borrow the audiobook from my library. WHY did I wait so long? I fell in love with this story, the characters and Paris.I adored Anna. She was quirky, emotional and just overall a great character. I loved how imperfect she was, she definitely had her flaws but she was adorable and I loved her. And Etienne … well does anyone not like him? I swooned over him just like every other character in this book. He was sweet and handsome… oh, perfect.The narrator, Kim Mai Guest, did an amazing job. I was nervous about trying this on audiobook because it’s such a popular book and I didn’t want to dislike it because I wasn’t reading it myself. I had nothing to worry about. Guest did so much to add to the characters, I think I felt more attached to them because this was an audiobook! You could hear so much emotion through her and the voices she put on for the characters were fabulous.I loved the buildup to Anna and Etienne. There was so much tension and by the end of it I was practically screaming for them to get together. I really enjoyed the close friendship they built first and the fact it wasn’t insta love! I haven’t read a lot of books where Paris is the main setting but I immediately wanted to go to Paris after finishing. I can see why everyone loves books set in Paris, there is just this amazing atmosphere surrounding it.I really don’t have much more to add that hasn’t already been said. PICK UP THIS BOOK! It’s cute, HILARIOUS, a great summer read, the audiobook is fantastic… I could just keep going. I am definitely picking this book up now and will be “re reading” it in actual book form.

What Happens Next

What Happens Next - Colleen Clayton I’ve wanted to read What Happens Next ever since I discovered it on Goodreads. I am an emotional reader, that’s no secret, and it sounded like it would absolutely break me. What I got was a book that I, still, feel like I cannot put into words but I will try my best. It’s the exact definition of mixed feelings… but yet I gave it 4 stars? Let me explain…I absolutely 100% loved the main character. Sid was such a wonderful character. I loved her voice, her emotions, her feelings, her sarcasm… I just loved her in general. She was such a well-developed, fleshed out character for a young adult novel. Her wit and dry humor was exactly what I like best in characters, and in life. She made me laugh so many times and on the other hand she also made me want to cry so many times. I actually really loved most of the characters in What Happens Next. Her mother, Katherine, was just such a great Mom. She was kind, strict and gave her all for her children. And Corey… I had a little crush on him from the moment he was introduced. He was presented as a stoner kid who screws around, has been to juvie and will amount to nothing but it couldn’t be farther from the truth. He was gentle, romantic and loved with his entire being.Sid & Corey’s relationship was what made the book for me honestly. It was fascinating to experience this their romance. Sid held back so much but Corey was so gentle and soft with her. Ahhh.. I just loved their relationship so much.Now… onto what I didn’t like. I didn’t feel like this was much of an issue book. I thought a lot of the tough topics were glazed over… the rape, her eating disorder(especially her eating disorder). The potential was there but I felt that this was a romance than a book about tough topics. Maybe I looked too deep, I don’t know, but I thought they would have been touched on a bit more. I think I disliked it so much because her eating disorder, which I thought, was spirally out of control all of a sudden came to a halt. I felt like it was made to seem easy to get over something like that, when in fact it’s a daily and sometimes lifelong battle for those who struggle.That being said, the ending was phenomenal. My heart was in my throat in the final chapter… I was literally aching for Sid and for Corey. It was definitely an emotional read, but more so at the very end. I also have to say that Colleen Clayton’s writing is remarkable. I could hear Sid’s voice clearly. She perfected a teenage voice, without overdoing it.I would definitely recommend What Happens Next. It’s a great read with great characters.

Dare You To

Dare You To - Katie McGarry Holy. Smokes… I was absolutely over the moon when I found out that there was going to be a second Pushing the Limits book. When I read Pushing the Limits I just barely enjoyed contemporary and it completely took me by surprise. I could not believe that a contemporary romance could make me feel all of the emotions that I did while reading it so I was thrilled to think that I would potentially experience it all over again. And I was completely right to be thrilled because Dare You To just surprised any and all of my expectations for it.Beth was hands down one of my favorite characters in Pushing the Limits; at times I thought I actually loved her more than Echo so when I learned that the second book in the series would be focused on her I was ELATED! I loved Beth. Loved, loved, LOVED her. She was the most perfect imperfect character. I loved how real she was, how raw her emotions were and her strong and undivided loyalty to those she was most close to. I also love Isaiah… oh my word, I adore that boy. And I had a huge issue with the fact it wasn’t him and Beth together, I wanted them together so bad. I was adamant that I would not like Ryan… nope, not happening. And then I fell in love with him too. Ryan Stone will sweep you off your feet ladies and gentlemen, completely and totally woo you. There relationship was just amazing. It was so flawed, realistic but beautiful. To watch their struggle together, and Beth’s struggle to allow someone in, broke my heart so many times and then stitched it right back up again.Beth’s story is heartbreaking. I knew it was going to rip me apart but it really hits you. Katie McGarry is amazing at making you personally connect and feel what these characters do. It’s remarkable. I never thought going into this (now) series that I would be totally addicted.I could go on and on for hours but it’s all going to come down to this: Read Dare You To. If you loved Pushing the Limits, you will love Dare You To. It’s different from Pushing the Limits but still just as amazing. I do not have a single negative thing to say about it: the characters, the story, the romance… it’s complete

The Vincent Boys (The Vincent Boys, #1)

The Vincent Boys (The Vincent Boys, #1) - Abbi Glines I read The Vincent Boys for the Spring into Summer read along. I again, was last(or close too it) and as the other girls reviews started to pop up I got more and more nervous about reading it. Their reviews weren’t good; but I buckled down last night and read it in a sitting.Ashton, Beau and Sawyer were best friends since childhood. Then when Ash grew up both boys lusted after her … and Sawyer got her. It’s the summer before senior year and Sawyer is away with his family. Ash has no one so she tried to rekindle her old friendship with Beau. Obviously they do more than rekindling their friendship and by the time Sawyer returns they are head over heels for each other…The characters. I honestly didn’t care about any of them. I liked a few of them well enough but the attachment with them was zero. Ashton was just the stereotypical perfect preachers daughter who really has a bad side. It’s been done countless times so she didn’t surprise me. I did like Ashton though, even if I hated half of her choices. Beau I had a love/hate relationship with. From the first of the story I thought he was such an asshole but throughout the book I did like him at certain parts. He was just overall really aggressive for no reason and irritating. Sawyer was just boring. I mean seriously. Plus I really hated how at the end he stood by and watched Ash get tortured for a while. Not cool.The plot was extremely, extremely predictable. I knew what was going to happen before it happened. Well… except for that one thing at the end between the two boys. Yah… I didn’t see that coming at all. But the whole love triangle with childhood best friends-good boy has the girl-bad boy wants her. I knew it.Now, that being said this is a total guilty pleasure read. I did enough the story and it’s fast paced and predictable. I finished it in a few hours so it’s not a tough book to read. If you want something that’s fairly light and a “snack” style read between books, pick this up. The character development is not there but it’s easy to read and will keep you entertained for a few hours. I will be reading the second book.

Clockwork Prince (Infernal Devices)

Clockwork Prince - Cassandra Clare *May contain spoilers for Clockwork Angel*I came off such a book high with Clockwork Angel I immediately had to pick up the second book, Clockwork Prince. I am completely and utterly addicted to this series and all of the characters. Clockwork Prince starts off exactly where Angel leaves off. The Magister has the pyxis, Nate has betrayed his sister and the Shadowhunters are about to be in the middle of a war.Tessa Gray is such an amazing main character. I adored her in Clockwork Angel and I didn’t think it would be possible to love her anymore. She is slowly starting to find herself while living with the Shadowhunters and realizing that it’s not all about being proper when your amongst the Shadowhunters world. She wears her heart on her sleeve, although she does try not too and it’s clear by the way all of the other characters adore her. Sophie played such a large part in Prince as well and I was excited to see that. I really warmed up to her in the first book and I was glad to see she had such a role in Clockwork Prince. Will & Jem… well I continue to love them more and more. I could keep talking about the characters for days honestly because the character development and building is just so great. Cassandra Clare is a master at creating these believable and lovable(and hateable!) people and the secondary characters are as strong as the main.Clockwork Prince was a lot more fast paced then Angel in my opinion. In the first book, the characters were being developed and the story being told but in Prince we get so much more action. I love when the shadowhunters go to battle so I was happy to see it again! One thing I thoroughly enjoyed was that there wasn’t a massive gap between where the first and second book left off. In a lot of trilogies or series I find that there is a sometimes months between the stories and you are expected to fill the gaps with what happened. That’s not the case with The infernal Devices, which is great as we get to experience the full story.There was quite a few surprises in the second installment. I was shocked by several of the things that happened and that also helped in keeping the pace and plot running. I also appreciated that we learned more about Will and his family and also learned about quite a few shadowhunters and downworlders.Clockwork Prince definitely did not suffer from second book syndrome and it’s made me even more excited to read Clockwork Princess! 100% recommend this!

Night School

Night School  - C.J. Daugherty Allie is a troublemaker. Ever since her brother disappeared she has been getting arrested and making a ton of trouble for herself. After her parents are forced to remove her from another school she is sent to Cimmeria Academy. Cimmeria Academy is a posh boarding school for academically inclined teens, set in the middle of nowhere and has a ton of its own secrets. Allie starts to make friends there and with the strict rules she is actually in a good place. Then strange things start to happen, dangerous things. Allie and her friends are on a race with time to figure out what is happening before it’s too late.I have to put this out there for anyone that may be thinking the same thing: this is not a paranormal book. I went into this thinking it was a paranormal boarding school; it’s not. Goodreads may have led me astray. I spent approximately 75% of the book assuming some paranormal twist was going to happen… it’s not. Contemporary folks, don’t be confused like me I really enjoyed the main character, Allie. I thought she was pretty intriguing. She had a lot on her plate, with her brothers disappearance and mixed with her parents standoffish attitudes, so she rebelled. I think this is pretty true to real life situations(while not necessarily the situations but the reactions) so it made her an extremely believable character. She was put into such a different environment and it was really interesting to see her feel her way out, learn who she could and couldn’t trust.. oh yah, and get mixed up with some boys I really loved Carter as well. I thought he was a great character and he really intrigued me the entire time. I think there is going to be something revealed about him later on in the series, he just has this mysterious air. While I really enjoyed a lot of the characters I didn’t necessarily love them. The entire book is based on suspense and mystery so I was constantly suspicious of everyone. The character building is great though and a lot of the characters are strong. I really enjoyed that there were such a huge amount of secondary characters that played important parts. Secondary characters are usually my favorites.The mystery and intrigue in Night School was fantastic. I did not want to stop reading. As I mentioned above, I was extremely suspicious of nearly every character and determined to figure out who(or what… in my case) was doing these awful things to the students at Cimmeria. Now that being said, the pacing is slow. This is a pretty large book, at 400 pages, and nothing… absolutely NOTHING is revealed before 75%. There is a lot of build up, and you can tell it’s coming but it just took so long. If it wasn’t for the intrigue that surrounds the story I’m certain I would have thrown the book down. That’s the one problem I had with Night School and unfortunately it caused me to not love it entirely.That all being said, it’s a great read and I will definitely be continuing the series. There is quite a big cliffhanger at the end so it basically forces you to read the next book. I’m dying to figure out how everything will play out and I have to admit I’m a bit interested to see where the love triangle will go.If you enjoy boarding schools, mystery and suspense I absolutely recommend Night School. While the pacing is slow the suspense will keep you pulled in!
Golden - Jessi Kirby I went into Golden with high, I mean HIGH expectations. I expected to be swept off my feet, bawl my eyes out and just feel like my heart was ripped out of my chest… none of that happened. Now let me explain…I loved the main character Parker. I thought she was one of the most realistic and raw characters I have seen in a book in quite some time. Her emotions and actions were just so true for that time in her life. She was irrational at times but it led her to a good place and the struggle she had with finding herself I think is something that a lot of people will relate to. The coming of age aspect of this novel was done exceptionally well. I also really enjoyed her best friend, Kat. Their relationship was done very well in my opinion. Kat had such honest emotions with the fact that Parker would be leaving for university and she would be remaining in town. The friendship between Parker and Kat was probably one of my favorite things about Golden.The plot, for me, was so predictable. I just seen everything that was going to happen coming well before it did. I’m not sure why… and I’m not sure if I was supposed to but it really kept me from loving the story. I obviously won’t go into the details because these are major plot points that we are talking about but… ah, it frustrates me that I wasn’t surprised. The story about Julianna and Shane is just heart wrenching. It’s a really, really sad part of the book. I didn’t openly cry but I felt this ache in my chest the more Parker read Julianna’s diary. To think that someone so young had her fire snuffed out… oh, it’s just so sad.My other love for Golden was the writing. I adore Jessi Kirby’s writing style. She brings you entirely into the story and carries you along with it. It’s like music. Between her writing and the characters Golden was saved for me.Now don’t mistake that this isn’t a wonderful story, it is. And I did like it but I think my high expectations crushed this one for me, which is unfortunate. I wanted to love this. It’s well worth the read, especially if you love contemporary. And believe me … there are a ton of AMAZING reviews for this. Take mine with a grain of salt.