Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik

Pride and Prejudice takes place in a modern, LA high school! Elise Benton is Elizabeth Bennet and Derek Edwards, son of the famous movie star Melinda Anton, is Mr. Darcy!

My Thoughts:

1. As an adaptation of Pride and Prejudice this book was excellent! All the good bits are here, and the unnecessary stuff (Mr. Collins, Lady Catherine de Bourgh etc. etc.) is not. The Elise/Derek relationship progressed exactly as it should and it was just wonderful! Layla/Lydia also got a happier ending, however, there was no Mary! Granted, she wasn't a very important Bennet sister, but I always identified with her bookish-ness and I would've like to have seen Claire LaZebnik's take on her character. 
2. Juliana/Jane and Chase/Charles were just so adorable! 
3. Humor throughout keeps it from being too sappy!
4. The romance between Elise and Derek was just wonderful! He was the perfect example of brooding and mysterious by secretly sweet and adorable! The scenes toward the end when Jackie, his nanny, was embarrassing him and when he was tentative to sit next to Elise on the couch were so cute!
5. It's one of the books that just makes you giddy and happy and lovestruck all at once!

Who Should Read It:

• Jane Austen fans! I believe that this is a well done modern adaptation that stays true to the spirit of Jane Austen's characters and intentions. (Don't get me started on the travesty that was Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.)
• Cute, fluffy romance fans! This is a nice light romance for all who long for happy endings!
• If you love the archetypal "bad"-brooding-guy-with-a-sensitive-side kind of hero (think Damon Salvatore or Lucius Vladescu or pretty much your standard issue love interest in a teen girl romance), Derek is a nice variation of that that goes in a different direction which I think you'll like (well, I liked it). 

Final Score: 9/10 

This book was wonderful, and I highly recommend you all check it out! For more info on Claire LaZebnik and her other works, check out her website here. I have tons of new books piled up, so I don't know what I'll be reviewing next!

Edit: It's going to be Cloaked by Alex Flinn (author of Beastly)! I'm about one third of the way in and I LOVE it, so stay tuned!

Ruined by Paula Morris

You'll remember I really enjoyed Dark Souls by Paula Morris, so I ordered another of her books for young adults from Barnes and Nobles a few weeks ago. This is about a girl, Rebecca, who has to spend her senior year in New Orleans where she finds oppressive class-based social structures, ghosts, and a guy named Anton.

My Thoughts:

1. I enjoyed that this was set in New Orleans - I've always wanted to visit, so that was a cool effect for me.
2. I really didn't enjoy Rebecca's thoughts on the whole "class system," which they set up like Rome, with Patricians and Plebeians and everything. I mean, she's a new girl who shows up and immediately starts bashing the way of life down there...of course no one is going to like her!
3. The curse on the Bowman family was well done - very creepy, very well-written.
4. The relationship with Anton was not well handled, in my opinion. He was AWESOME and Rebecca doesn't even take advantage of the wonderful opportunity presented her. He apologizes profusely and she refuses to forgive him even though she does stuff that is so much worse and is just all around awful! 
5. The third act shocker was priceless! You find out something about Rebecca and her father. 
6. *SPOILERS AHEAD!*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* When Helena died there was nothing! Nothing! She died and Rebecca might as well have killed her and there was NO remorse! AH! I was NOT happy!
7. I could not feel sympathy for Lisette and her mother. Okay, your daughter is killed, you're angry, I get that. The woman who killed her dies and then you curse the entire family so seven girls from their family die in their teens? For something there long dead relative did? Even though the entire book is about escaping your past? What. The. Heck?! Horrible, horrible, horrible! Loses the book five points in and of itself! *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*SPOILERS OVER* 

I wanted to like this book, I really did, but I just couldn't. 
Final Score: 3.5/10
The next book I'll be reviewing is Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

This is the companion novel to the absolutely amazing Anna and the French Kiss, also by Stephanie Perkins. It's about Lola, an aspiring costume designer, and Cricket, an inventor.

My Thoughts

1. This was set in San Francisco, not Paris, which detracted the book. 
2. I really didn't find that I could connect with Lola at all. I mean, she was dating this older guy who was clearly a total jerk and she wore all these completely outrageous outfits and I couldn't love her or identify with her like I did with Anna from the previous book. I didn't hate her, but I didn't like her either.
3. There was a moment of Lola getting on her soapbox that I didn't like. 
4. On the plus side, Cricket was a nice love interest, funny and sweet, so I kept reading for him.
5. On the MAJOR plus side - ANNA AND ST. CLAIRE WERE IN IT!!!!! That alone makes buying and reading this book so worth it! 

Who Should Read It

• Fans of Stephanie Perkins (see review of Anna and the French Kiss to see who that should be)

In short, Anna and the French Kiss was to DIE for, and this was an enjoyable read.

Overall score: 7.5/10

Dark Souls by Paula Morris

This is about a teenage girl named Miranda, who, after experiencing the death of a friend, realizes she can see ghosts. They take a family trip to York, England, which is one of the most haunted cities anywhere. She meets a guy, creepy ghost related plot ensues etc. etc.This is an excellent book!

My Thoughts:

1.  First, it takes place in York, England, and I LOVE books that are set in foreign countries (mainly England, France, and Italy)! 
2. I have not read Paula Morris' other book, Ruined, but I plan to - I love her writing style! Her descriptions are vivid and her dialogue is witty!
3. I love Miranda! She is a great main character! Not whiny or depressed, but a real, relatable character! 
4. And the guy, Nick, is wonderful! He's creepy in a good way, kinda dangerous/bad boy but kind of not...a little damaged, but cute as can be! I love him! (There's this one scene, at the end, and Morris' description of him just blew me away! 
5. The paranormal aspect is also really well done! It was believable without being mundane and totally awesome without being too far fetched!
6. There was some really great humor in this book, particularly from Miranda's brother Rob and their interactions together. 
7. It had some genuinely scary moments! I always read at night, downstairs, by myself, when the rest of the house/outside is dark, and when the ghost across the street did that thing with the blood on his hand...that thing where the back of your neck prickles like something's there TOTALLY happened to me! 
8. And the ending! Bittersweet and adorable!

Who Should Read It:

• If you love ghost stories, England, history etc. you will love this book!
• If you like guys like I described in #4, you will love this book!
• If you generally read young adult paranormal romance, I suggest you check this out!

For more info, you'll find a link to the author's website here. Stay tuned for my next review on Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick.

As You Wish by Jackson Pearce

This is a wonderful book! It's fairly short (298 pages, I read it in 3 hours or so), but is it ever awesome! It's about a teenage girl, Viola, who is about to be granted three wishes by Jinn, who is A jinn. BUT they fall in love!

My Thoughts

1. First, the narration switches perspectives between Viola and Jinn! I absolutely love love love that!
2. Jinn! Oh, he is awesome! He's witty and sarcastic but super sweet and romantic, too! Some of his lines are just so swoon-inducing! He practically restores my faith in guykind! (Yes, I know the author is a woman. He still gives me warm bubbly vibes towards the rest of (fictional) guys, in terms of romance). He's like an archetypal character! Jinn: the Perfect Man!
3. Just enough angst to not be too angsty but still make me tear up!
4. Happy ending!

Who Should Read It:

• Anybody who loves a good romance!

Love this book! For more info, check out Jackson Pearce's website here! Stay tuned for my next book review, most likely of Jean Kalogridis' The Borgia Bride or Stephanie Perkins's Lola and the Boy Next Door.




EDIT: Just finished a quick rereading of this book. I still love it, and I totally teared up again and I just cannot get over how much this book pulls at my very soul. I think it might be because, like Viola, I have always had an unrequited desire to belong...or guys like Jinn set my heart aflame. Whatever the case, great book, I highly suggest you get this book and read it along with everything else Jackson Pearce has ever written.

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

This book is the second one in the Heroes of Olympus series, which is the continuation of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. We're seriously diverging from format here, mainly because I am too excited about this book to do anything but gush!

This series is the most amazing ever and this installment did not disappoint! First, we're back in Percy's perspective (instead of Leo, Jason, and Piper's like in The Lost Hero)!!!! And there's some Nico (and you know I love him, too!) And at first I really didn't like the Romans (all this discipline and duty stuff...give me the Greeks and their arts, philosophy and poetry any day!) but they grew on me. Percy is so freaking amazing! I'm a little worried about what Rick Riordan is setting up with Annabeth and how Percy can't make a sacrifice (that Frank WILL make) because he's too loyal.....I am a die-hard Percabeth fanatic...so that better make it through this series!!!

In short, I love Percy and I love this book and I love this series and you should all read them all!

Here's a link to this series' site; check it out! And read it! Read them all!

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Okay, this book is about a teenage boy, Jacob, who discovers a secret about his grandfather and himself and then goes to Wales to check out the abandoned orphanage where it all happened.

This is my first negative review, so the format will be slightly different.

What I Liked

1. The book itself is gorgeous! Red leather, gold lettering - it's very luxurious looking. 
2. The creepy photographs are super cool, that's what prompted me to purchase the book in the first place. They're very interesting and they really make you look and think. 
3. The premise was cool - I love time travel, and this has elements of that; I loved the little circus thing they had with all the children. 

What I Didn't Like

1. I expected the book to have a more Victorian era feel, possibly even Steampunk. Instead the book was more witchcraft/paranormal centered. 
2. I didn't feel connected to the characters at all. I just could not feel for Jacob. Or any of the characters.
3. The romance was terribly unbelievable. I didn't like the girl, feel for her, want her to end up with Jacob, anything like that.

Who Should Read It

• I can't in good conscience tell anyone "You will love this book!" but I suppose if you like the 40s, Wales, and a new mythology/paranormal universe, you might enjoy this book.

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

In this book, Rory, a teenager form Louisiana. goes to boarding school in England. The day she arrives, a murder is committed by a copycat killer, in the style of the infamous Jack the Ripper. Rory is soon swept up into the case (and love).

My Thoughts

1. I loved Rory's love interest Jerome! He is super awesome! Curly hair, accent, general awesomeness - oh, yes! I am SO there! 
2. I didn't feel too strongly about Rory as a character, but I suppose I could say that I liked her - she was believable and not whiny, so she was a good heroine! She did have some really funny moments, particularly recounting takes of her neighbors back home in Louisiana.
3. Takes place in London - you know how I LOVE books that take place in far away places, particularly places I'd like to visit one day. (I don't want to visit London nearly as much as I want to visit Paris (for the awesome) or Rome (for the art), but it's definitely on the list of places to visit eventually.) 
4. The aspect of the paranormal was very well executed - not too cheesy, not too dark - just a very good paranormal novel. 

Who Should Read It:

• Maureen Johnson fans - if you like her other works, you'll probably like this one!
• According to this book, there is a group of people called Ripperologists, who devote their life to the study of Jack the Ripper...so, if you're one of those, you'd probably enjoy reading this novel. 
• If you love guys with accents. I do. I so do, and if you do too, then you'll love the English-accented love interest!
• If you've got an interest in the paranormal - like I said, very well done in this novel.

That's about it. For more information on the book (or more books by Maureen Johnson), please check out the author's website here

Stay tuned for my next review, which will be of Rick Riordan's Son of Neptune (Book #2 in his The Heroes of Olympus series)....God, it is SO good!