Bright We Burn by Kiersten White is the third and final book of the And I Darken series. The author saved the best for last! This book is fantastic! This is full of action. Lada is so Good! Nobody had better get in her way! She is so "bad ass."--LOVED IT! In this book, Lada controls her land, but she wants ore and wants it known that she is in charge! However, not everyone goes along with that and the fighting begins! This whole series is really good!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)
Teaser from page 219: "How could a woman do this?" Ali Bey's voice was filled with equal parts wonder and disgust.
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Catwoman Soulstealer by Sarah J. Maas does what she does best--writing about a young female who kicks butt that you better not mess with! Her name in this is Selina. I would describe this book as an adult comic book because it has Catwoman and Batman as the main characters! I enjoyed Selina very much and lots of action kept me turning pages! This is a standalone with a really good ending.
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)
Teaser from page 6:
That's what the match emcee was declaring down the hall. Selina could just make out the croon of words: The undefeated champion, the fiercest of Leopards . . .
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Fury Born by Clair Legrand is the first in The Empirium trilogy. This novel is told by Rielle and Eliana--two kick-butt women that you do not want to mess with at all! Rielle exposes her powers that she should not have to save her boyfriend, the crown prince. Now she must go through trials or die doing them. Eliana is a bounty hunter who will do anything to keep her family safe. But when her mom is taken, she must join forces with a rebel captain to save her!
This book is action packed from start to finish which I like. I enjoyed both women very much. If you like Sarah J. Maas books, I think you would also like this.
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)
Teaser from page 14: A force slamming into him, snatching him forward by his bones. The baby being ripped from his arms, no matter how hard he tried to hold on to her.
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Genesis by Brendan Reichs is the second book in the Nemesis series. As in the first book, the story is told by Noah and Min. They are trying to find out what comes next in "The Program" and what the guardian has in store for them. I thought this book was just as good, if not better, than the first. There is good action and a good twist near the end. Too bad I have to wait until spring of 2019 for book 3!
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)
Teaser from page 3: I'd been murdered over and over back in the real world, never knowing why, wracked by the pain and humiliation of thinking I was crazy. But I'd had it all wrong.
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In Not If I Save You First by Ally Carter, Maddie and Logan are young teen friends. Logan is the President's son. Maddie is the daughter of the man who helps keep the President safe. They get caught up in an incident at the White House that will make this an adventure for both of them.
This is pretty good stuff. There is good action and I liked Maddie and Logan; plus it has a good ending!
(Gerard's review, 4 stars)
Teaser from page 19: For a second, the world stood still, and then he pulled the trigger just as Maddie's father jumped between the man and Logan. And fired.
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In I Was Anastasia by Ariel Lawhon, on July 17, 1918 Valimir Lenin orders the entire Romanov family to be killed! Germany, February 17, 1920, a young woman is pulled out of the water. She looks like one of the daughters of the Romanov family. Could this be?
Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres so naturally, I thought this book was really well done. It goes back and forth in time, but that only builds up the suspense. There is good action that kept me turning pages. I enjoyed the two dogs in the story very much!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)
Teaser from page 37: "What do we do now?" I ask, my voice temulous with exhaustion and growing fear. Jimmy, ever sensitive to my moods, presses his cold, wet nose against the back of my hand.
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Everwild by Neal Shusterman is the 2nd book in the Skinjacker series. In this book, a lot of new characters are introduced. I enjoyed Moose and Squirrel the best! This book started out good with Allie the Outcast and Mikey as the main story line; however, then it got into a bunch of story lines and I did not know who was good and who was bad. I thought the ending was okay. I am in no hurry to read book 3 though!
(Gerard's review, 3.5 stars)
Karen's review, 5 stars: Everwild by Neal Shusterman, book 2 of the Skinjacker trilogy, is as good as the first. Ally finds her parents in the real world and skinjacks a 7-yr-old boy that was pretty funny. Milos leaves Ally and sides with Mary Hightower who also has Jackin Jill with her. Mikey continues to stew about losing Ally, but is reunited with her temporarily when she is on her way to warn Nick about Mary's plans. Poor Nick runs into a major problem of his own! There is lots of action in this book and the plots thicken. I loved it and laughed out loud at some parts! Can't wait to move on to book 3 and see how it all turns out! I highly recommend this series, but read Everlost first or this book won't make much sense to you.
Teaser from page 8: "I'd still rather be alive," Speedo would say whenever she spoke of how blessed they were to be here in Everlost. "If I had lived," Mary would remind him, "I'd be long dead by now . . . and you'd probably be a fat, bald accountant."
STOP READING HERE UNLESS YOU HAVE READ THIS BOOK--SPOILER ALERT!
IF YOU READ THIS BOOK, PERHAPS YOU COULD EXPLAIN A FEW THINGS TO ME:
When Ally was trying to get into her parents house, why didn't she just walk through the wall or the door, staying in Everlost but being able to see them? OR
Why didn't she skinjack her parents so she could talk directly to them?
I didn't get why Mary turned back to alive just because she went into the real world. Was it only skinjackers that could go into both worlds? Maybe I missed something.
Why did Nick keep getting more chocolatey? Was it just because he was made more aware of it when other afterlights started referring to him as the Chocolate Ogre?
I wondered why Mikey didn't go with Allie to help her save Nick.
Maybe we could get some discussion going on this in the comments? Please let me know your thoughts on these questions.
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Undivided by Neal Shusterman is the 4th and last book in the Unwind series. The author saved the best for last! Conner, Lev and Risa all have action-packed chapters in this book. The pacing is really good in that you were on the edge of your seat for sure. The last part of this book is pretty much unputdownable! Well done, Mr. Shusterman!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)
(Karen's review 12/18/17, 5 stars:) UnDivided by Neal Shusterman did not disappoint at all! I LOVED it and what a fantastic finish to a thrilling series with lots of ups and downs and twists and turns! This story is about friendship, betrayal, teamwork, sacrifice and making a difference. It has humor, a bit of romance, lots of adventure, some very creepy things, revenge, some fighting, justice, lots of escaping and just extremely interesting characters. The teens in this series are very brave, smart and creative! The ending is great!
WOW! I loved this book. After the last one, UnSouled, I didn't think this series could get any better, but it did! This book had my emotions covering the spectrum, from humor, to sadness, to happiness, to relief, to shock to tears of joy! I liked how I felt the characters were real and got drawn into their story lines. This would be a great series for a book club because there is so much to discuss and so many characters to analyze. It was a very thought-provoking series that I wanted to read straight through.
Teaser from page 14: "There isn't one single thing that will end unwinding," she tells them. "It will take a hodgpodge of random events that come together in just the right way and at just the right time to remind society it's got a conscience."
SPOILER ALERT--skip this unless you have read this book: In this book, Connor and Grace make it to Sonia's where he and Risa are reunited and discover an invention that Sonia's husband had been working on that can manufacture human parts! It gives them all hope that an end to unwinding is possible! Lev does what he can to get the Indian reservation to publicly announce that it is a sanctuary for AWOLS. Hayden, Bam and Jeeves team up to overthrow Starkey and Hayden begins podcasting again against unwinding. Argent is betrayed by Nelson and switches sides to help Connor and Risa. Cam brings down Roberta and the Proactive Citizenry operation all by himself. The ending was so touching when Conner was finally reunited with his family!
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Warcross by Mari Lu is teen science fiction that had my head spinning trying to figure out how everything worked. This is about a worldwide, popular virtual reality game with tournaments that people actually attend! Emika Chen is what is referred to as a bounty hunter who helps the cops capture bad guys, primarily ones who illegally bet on Warcross games. She is a hacker who got an offer to work for the creator of Warcross, Hideo Tanaka, to figure out who was sabotaging his security system for the games. Emie lives in NYC, travels by skateboard, has a big debt and is being kicked out of her apartment for not paying rent when she gets his offer. She accepts and her life changes completely!
I liked this book, but there is a lot of things I really don't understand about how all this advanced technology works. Sometimes it seems as though the players are physically in the game and other times as though it is their avatar playing. This is fast-paced and very interesting, but a lot of things just didn't make sense to me. I like Hideo and think Emie should stick with him, but have a feeling she is going to defect to the other side. I like his big invention too!
(Karen's review, 4 stars)
Gerard's review, 11/8/17, 5++ stars: Warcross by Marie Lu is about the game played worldwide called Warcross. It is an obsession to most people. When one young down on her luck girl, Emika, hacks into the opening game of the tournament, she becomes known to all. When she gets a call from the game's creator, she does not know what will happen to her. Teaser from page 10: I fire the stun gun once more, this time at close range. It hits true. His body goes rigid, and he collapses on the pavement, trembling. Marie Lu knows how to write and it is on full display with this book! I was engaged from the get go! Emika is a great character and it was a joy to follow her. There is good action and an ending that leaves everything up in the air! Do not miss it!!
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In Dogs of War by Jonathan Maberry, a radical scientist has come up with a plan that will cause havoc on earth. Billions will die and there is not too much that can be done to stop it! The technology is that good. Joe Ledger and a rebuilt department of military sciences are all that is left to stop this from happening! Plenty of action makes this book zoom right along!
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)
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The One by Kiera Cass is the third book in The Selection series and my favorite so far! In this the action really picks up, Maxon and Aspen form a bond, America's father dies, Maxon finally chooses his princess and it has some surprises and several die. This is like a roller coaster with happy moments and very sad moments. My emotions were all over the place. The relationship developments, the danger at the palace, the plot with the rebels and Maxon's father continuing to knock America out of the competition made this book hard for me to put down.
I am loving this series and so glad I gave it a chance despite the boring covers. I like both Maxon and America and loved the ending of this one even though it was not what I expected! I am flying through these books because I am enjoying the characters so much. What a great book, loving this series!
(Karen's review, 5 stars)
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Endgame--The Calling by James Frey & Nils Johnson-Shelton has constant action! Welcome to Endgame. Twelve players in the whole world. They have been trained for this. They must find three keys. There can be only one winner, no rules, Kill or be killed! The one feature I enjoyed about this book was the constant action. I never knew what was coming next! This is the first book of three so I will be moving on to Book two!
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)
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Wow! After coming off A Court of Mist and Fury, I was doubtful if anything would come close to keeping my interest as much, but The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst did!
In this fantasy novel, humans are attacked by six different spirits: air, water, earth, ice, fire and wood who feel the land belongs to them. These spirits have two instincts: destroy and create. Certain humans have an affinity to control them in different degrees and The Queen is the most powerful and keeps everything in balance and protects the people. Over time though, the Queen can lose some of her power and so they have heirs trained and prepared to become Queen if the Queen dies. The kicker here is that the spirits are the ones to choose the next Queen and they give her more power. The main character is Daleina who as a child demonstrates she has the affinity to control spirits when her home is attacked. She is smart, nice, and determined to learn more so that she can become Queen and protect people from these spirits but do no harm. The Queen must be able to control the spirits, not just wipe them all out because that would wipe out their land as well.
I loved this book so much, I even read it at night to finish it! (I hardly ever read at night.) I got so engrossed in it that was almost late getting back from lunch and had to stop earlier than usual on the bus so I wouldn't miss my stop. It is a fun and interesting read that shows how important good leadership and teamwork are. There is a lot of killing in this book and I felt so bad for Daleina when her friends died. There is lots of action and humor which kept this from being depressing because of the killing. Daleina is such a great character who truly wanted to protect others. She befriends a wolf who proves to be a loyal asset to her and also is chosen to be trained by Ven who brings along a healer, Haman. The three of them work together to do what is best for the land. I really look forward to the next book in this series, Queens of Renthia.
(Karen's review, 5 stars)
In The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst, Daleina is a young girl whose community is torn apart and its people are killed by the spirits. This is not supposed to happen! The Queen is supposed to protect the people. Daleina decides to try out to be a champion. A champion is a person who protects the people and is an heir to be a queen. But the odds are long that she can become one. Is the queen losing her power?
I thought this book was very good. I was into it from page 1 because Daleina is a great character. This has plenty of action and a few twists that I did not see at all. I am looking forward to reading the next two books in this series.
(Gerard's review 12/23/16, 5++ stars)
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Remember Yesterday by Pintip Dunn is the follow-up to Forget Tomorrow. This is ten years later and Jessa is now 16. She mourns the death of her sister and is working with the underground to overthrow the government. One day a boy who never had any time for her, gives her some new information. Will Jessa join up with the enemy if it means the world will look better to her?
This book is so much better than the first one! It has more action and less romance with a good ending to set up book 3.
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)
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Wow! A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas is so good! This is the second book in A Court of Thorns and Roses series and is even better than the first! This review has some spoilers so read the book first and then come see what I thought of it. Definitely must read the first book before this one. If you like fantasy and magical kingdoms, this is a "must read." (This would be R rated for sexual content.) SPOILER ALERT: Feyre pretty much tells Tamlin to “jump in the lake” and chooses to stay with Rys who is her mate and challenges Feyre to use her skills. This book is full of new adventures with lots of wit and packed with both heartbreaking and heartwarming scenes and lots of good dialogue. I like all the characters in Rys’ inner circle and loved their trip to the Summer Court and how the wraiths came to save Feyre and Amren from drowning. I cheered when Feyre served Rys the food in the cabin, accepting the bond as mates. The ending is Great and I can't wait for the next book!
I was having a hard time deciding on my favorite read for December until I read this one which is the winner! (Karen's review, 5 stars)
Gerard read this first, 6-15-16: A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas is the follow-up book to A Court of Thorns and Roses and is like ten times better than the first one! Feyre survived Amarantha's clutches to return to spring court, but at a high cost. She still has the bargain with Rhysard.
Wow, oh Wow! I really liked the characters, the writing and the action which all work together to make the story flow well. The ending is probably the best I have ever read! I want book 3 NOW!
(5++ stars)
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The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson is the third and final book of the Remnant Chronicles series, and in my opinion, the best! Lia survived Venda and is now headed home to save her people because an army is coming to her land. I thought this book was very good. At close to 700 pages, it is a big one! Lia was so good! Even better in this one than the first two. Rafe and Kaden were good as well and I enjoyed them too. I LOVED the ending! This is my book of the month for December! (Gerard's review, 5++ stars)
Karen read this one first: The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson is the third book of the Remnant Chronicles series and finishes strong. Princess Lia continues to be awesome and an amazing peacemaker! In this book, traitors are caught and alliances are made with love taking a back seat as Rafe, Lia and Kaden work together to bring down the cruel Komizar of Venda. All through, I kept hoping that Lia and Rafe would eventually marry. Do they? You'll have to read the book to find out!
Wow! This book drew me in and I found myself thinking about it even when I wasn't reading it. I loved this series and really cared about the complex characters as they developed. Every book in this series is great! I liked this series even more than THE THRONE OF GLASS series by Sarah J. Maas because it was much easier to follow and wasn't so much magic which made it more believable and realistic.
(Karen's review, 12/2/16, 5 stars)
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A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas is about a human, Fayre who is the sole provider for her family until she kills a Faerie and gets taken by a beast away from her home to his Faerie kingdom. The beast, Tamlin, treats her well and they fall in love. Wanting to protect her from the impending trouble, he sends her back home to the human world. However, her love for him is so strong that she decides to go back and try to help him no matter what. I liked Tamlin, but didn’t care for Feyre in the beginning but grew to like her as the book progressed. I liked this book because the suspense built and the romance blossomed gradually. I also liked Lucien and Rhysand who were interesting characters. This book has magic, adventure, suspense, romance and an interesting plot that was easy to follow.
(Karen's review, 4 stars)
Gerard read this one first: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas is about a young girl named Feyre. She is the sole supporter for her family, a dad and her two sisters. One day while hunting, she shoots a deer and a wolf that was going after the same deer she shot. That was a BIG mistake as she soon found out. Another wolf comes and gives her a choice to either be killed now or go live with the wolves.
This book was outstanding! I LOVED the characters in it. The middle dragged some but the last 100 plus pages more than made up for that. I can't wait to read the second book in this series!
(Gerard's review 7-30-15, 5++ stars)
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The Diabolic by S. J. Kincaid has plenty of action and so many twists my head was spinning! Nemesis is a Diabolic. It will kill to protect the one that it is pledged to. But now, the emperor summons Sidonia, the owner of Nemesis, to his court to be held as hostage for the doings of her father. To protect her, Nemesis goes instead. Can she pull this off though? And if not, then what will happen? LOVED THIS BOOK!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)
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Saving Red, by Sonya Sones is about Molly, a teen girl with a service dog, Pixel, who helps her cope with her panic attacks. She becomes friends with a homeless girl, Red, who has some mental issues of her own. Molly decides to help reunite her with her family before Christmas.
I enjoyed this unique teen fiction book written in verse. It goes very quick and I liked the story line. It touches on PTSD, suicide in addition to homelessness, mental illness and guilt. It was interesting to see her make friends with Red and also Cristo and his cat! Although this book deals with some heavy subjects, it is not dark at all but pretty uplifting.
(Karen's review, 5 stars)
In Saving Red, by Sonya Sones, Molly is a young teen girl who has a dog named Pixel. You will love Pixel! One night, Red is out doing community service and she sees a young red-headed girl who she becomes friends with. She wants to get Red back to her family in time for the holidays but can she?
This book is told in verse with ongoing action so it goes very fast. I enjoyed all the characters. If you are looking for a feel-good book, this is it! I LOVED IT!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)
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In Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas, Aelin is looking for a way to save her homeland before it is overtaken. Manon has a big part in this book surrounded by good action. Her and Aelin together are really good! Lysandra also has a major role and I also enjoyed the parts with Rowan. In this book, the author concentrates on other characters besides Aelin which I was fine with. The pages leading up to the ending were the best part of this book. It is action packed for sure and impossible to put down! I LOVED IT and am looking forward to book 6.
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)
Karen's review: Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas is the second to last book in The Throne of Glass series and is full of adventure, battles, plotting and romance. Aelin continues her quest to save the world to make it better and it is good to see her rally her friends to help her. If you have been reading this series, definitely continue on with this book but don't read this one until you have read all the previous ones.
Parts of this book were puzzling to me; however, the action scenes are very good and I cheered for Rowan and Lysandra in the battles and also for Mannon and her Wyvern, Abraxos! I really liked these characters especially in this book! Aelin now fights with her magical fire more than her swords which is okay, but I liked the sword fighting better. This book has very strong female characters who always seem to stay one step ahead of the males in this book. It was good to see Ansel back too. I liked her and Aelin working together.
(Karen's review, 4 stars because I didn't like the raunchy sex scenes in this one)
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