The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

I know I haven't done a book review in a while, but I want to review this because no one ever really reviews books outside of the contemporary timeline in a "just for fun" way as opposed to a way that assumes that you read it for a class of some kind. So, I'm going to! Yay!

I was hesitant to pick this up, only because I don't like to read long books if I don't know for certain that it's good, but I did, and it was amazing!

This was a very rich and complex narrative, written as an investigation of sorts, alternating between the narratives and diaries of the characters and reports by various minor person.

This is the kind of book read when you curl up under the covers with some tea and read for hours...very immersive, but still accessible.

This book was so great, and the writing and style were wonderful! I'm going to purchase the collected works of Wilkie Collins at the earliest possible opportunity!

The love story was so sweet, and Walter was so open about his feelings in his narrative that it made it all the better!

Not the kind of book you reread, but one that I am proud to own and have read!

Thanks for reading!

World Without End by Ken Follett

*This review contains spoilers.*

I picked this book because I had read Pillars of the Earth and seen that miniseries on Starz. I really, really loved Pillars of the Earth, and I liked World Without End, too, but not as much.

Essentially, it follows the descendants of Jack and Aliena, Merthin and Ralph, as well as Caris Wooler and her cousin Godwyn, and a pair of peasants, Gwenda and Wulfric.

Personally, and this has always been a problem with his books for me, I think it took a little too long...I am extremely impatient, and waiting ages and ages for characters to get together irks me to no end. I utterly adored Merthin, but the way Caris treated him bugged me a lot, and I loved Gwenda to death. I also had a bit of a soft spot for Ralph, even though he was the "bad" guy, just because he was not as bad as William Hamleigh of the original.

I find that the plot and even the characters are fairly similar to the original, but that has never bothered me, so read this if you liked the first one. It's also an excellent portrayal of life in the Middle Ages if you don't like that it has a similar plot.

Also, I watched the miniseries and I loved it! They cut out some stuff, hurried it along, and added more action and romance...so, you know, I was golden. It wasn't as good as the Pillars miniseries, but that of course had David Oakes in it, and you can't beat him. Anyway, this one had Tom Weston-Jones (of BBC America's Copper) as Merthin, so, of course, I died! Also, TV!Caris, played by Charlotte Riley (Cathy in my favorite version of Wuthering Heights) was so much less annoying than book!Caris. There was also much more of the royal family in the miniseries, which I loved. Oh, and the miniseries Ralph is ridiculously attractive; his name is Oliver Jackson-Cohen and I've never seen him before, but he is very, very attractive. Be warned, when he took his shirt off, I actually gasped I was so surprised there was so much hair there, but I got over that quickly.

Anyway, if you're undecided, I recommend the miniseries, but if you loved Pillars or really enjoy Medieval life, then I recommend the book and miniseries!

I bought a huge selection of books on  Black Friday, so look forward to more reviews!

The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan - Heroes of Olympus Book Three

*This review contains spoilers.*

So, The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan, third in the Heroes of Olympus series.

I absolutely loved this book. I really love the Percy Jackson stuff in general, as I love Greek mythology, and I think the books have the perfect balance of humor, action, romance and tragedy, i.e. the makings of a classic. Needless to say, I was ecstatically looking forward to getting this book, because I love all of Rick Riordan's stuff, and expected this to be no different.

 Even then I was surprised how much I loved this book.

Of course, I love Riordan's style, and the general premise of the Percy Jackson books, and you do, too, if you've searched for this post, i.e. if you're a fan of the series, this will not disappoint. Books where people lose their memories or are lost for some time usually irk me, and even though I love this series enough for that not to happen, I was very pleased that Jason, Piper, Leo, Hazel, Frank, Percy and Annabeth were all back together, knowing who they all are.

Another aspect of this book was the emotional growth of the characters. I feel like we saw a lot more of Percy and Jason in terms of how they feel about their leadership, which was a fascinating and enjoyable delve into their psyches. Also, and I've never really felt much of a connection to Annabeth, there was a little more depth to her, and I guess I saw her as less of an abstraction in this installment.

Okay, romance! Piper and Jason are wonderful...I think they have what I consider the ideal relationship archetypes for some reason, with him being a child of Zeus, and her of Aphrodite...it just feels like the way things should be...and they're all sweet and caring about each other and such. ...And Percy and Annabeth...I actually had a tear brought to my eye by this one. There was a point where Percy had just gotten Annabeth back, and he says that he always feels like he's walking on eggshells and that any second he might shatter his relationship...and that made my tear up, all vulnerable sounding and such. They were also more open then we've ever seen them, which I really enjoyed...and I've always nursed a bit of a thing for Percy...so, yeah.

In short, the book was absolutely excellent! The romance, the humor, the style, the mythology, the pacing, the plot, the everything was completely perfect! I even liked the ending...both joyous and tragic, in its way.

Complete Tangent: This book just brought me back to the good old days...I decided to read Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief in the stairwell of my middle school. I talked to some girl I thought I hated in chem my junior year because she had The Lost Hero...yes, it was probably started with 12 year old boys in mind, but I don't care. Warm and fuzzy feelings, I say! Not as many feels as Harry Potter, but just pleasantly familiar and good and such. I've started college, and I'm disappointed with the way it all turned out and I'm just kinda miserable about it...put Percy Jackson made me happy in a way I haven't been since I got here, and I thank him for that.

Back on track: Basically, best book ever and you should absolutely read it!

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

*This review contains spoilers.*

It's JKR's first book for adults, I'm going to assume you know what it is about if you've looked this up and/or aren't living under a rock.

Before I give a judgment, I want to say that, of course, the style of this book was phenomenal, and just so engaging. I mean, it's JKR, aka the greatest storyteller ever, and the various narratives that made up this book were superbly woven together and completely engaging and I went through it rather quickly.

I also want to say that I think part of my childhood may have been shattered. On my other blog, I've enumerated many times the impacts which Harry Potter has had on my life, and how I have learned everything I ever needed to know from that series, even giving a speech on it in AP Lit, and that JKR is basically the gospel of my life.

And then I read this book. It frightened me, truly. Everyone in Pagford seems to being living lives of quiet desperation, and there is so much pettiness and meanness and incivility and I don't know what to think. I'm not even sure I can come up with a theme or message at this point, I'm so shell-shocked.

I don't know why the death and misery of this book is so much more hopeless than the death and misery in the Harry Potter series, but it just is....in Casual Vacancy there is no one side of goodness, not even one character that is truly good, or even sympathetic...

I miss children's literature...it was grand and sweeping and epic and had something worth fighting for in it.

Thanks for reading, I'll probably talk more about this book as I analyze it more.

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

*This review may contain spoilers.*

This book is absolutely phenomenal, and if you're thinking about getting it, just buy it, you will love it! The book trailer did not do it justice, in my opinion, I found it a bit hokey, but the book was wonderful, and much better than the trailer led me to believe.

I hadn't heard of Rachel Hartman before, which is explained when the inside front cover states that this is her "fantasy debut." However, I am very happy that I am now aware of this author, because she is awesome!

First off, I got this book because I was intrigued by the amazing cover I saw in an email from Barnes and Noble; it's like an antique wood engraving or something! Then, if you look underneath the dust jacket, it's bound in this golden color with a black leather type thing on the spine...it's really, really beautiful. Also, it's a good size book, too, nice and big!

I had my father pick this up for me, and he handed it to me around noon and I finished it just now (around quarter 'til nine), so that should give you an indication of how engaging a read this was! Books that I can finish in one day really, really go up in points for me.

The world in this book was just great! I, personally, get a bit of a Medieval feel from the clothing and system of government, but it's set in a completely fantasy world. Our protagonist hails from Goredd, but there is an abundance of other places and peoples referenced; I always like to feel like the world is a world that I have the privilege of peeking in on through the page, not like the world was created to allow for the story to take place, and I absolutely get that feeling from Seraphina.

I really, really, really like Rachel Hartman's style of writing. It's a very melodious, almost like it has a cadence of some sort, which is quite fitting, due to Seraphina's musical abilities. I find I am unable to describe it accurately, but it's very lush and magical; I enjoyed it immensely. I am definitely keeping an eye out for this author's future novels.

I also found Seraphina to be a great heroine. I really enjoyed the way she grappled with truth and her identity and such, and it really touched me.

...And, of course, the romance with Prince Lucian Kiggs. Yay, romance! This book didn't have an overwhelming amount of romance, but what there was was very satisfying. I liked Kiggs a lot, though I didn't get all melt-y over him like I do with other heroes, it was  more of a pleasant, heartwarming kind of a thing. I may or may not have engaged in some good old-fashioned fangirl squeeing during their final scene in the tower.

The mystery and intrigue and the anger and violence and prejudice and death in this book...I don't want to say it was gritty, since that would be very discordant with the overall tone, but it was ... real. For a book marked as for people 12 - 17 on the Barnes and Noble website, it was surprisingly sincere and deep and ... epic.

That's a good word...this is not a young adult novel, this is an epic. Okay, maybe not with an invocation of the Muse or an in media res opening, but it's just a broad, sprawling narrative that encapsulates a young woman's quest for truth and love, the politics of two kingdoms soon to be at war with themselves and each other and very universal themes that make this book one of the best ones I've read in a long time.

Final Verdict: Infinity and beyond/10. It was completely perfect, and I highly recommend you pick it up! I'm completely genuine when I tell you that if you are a literate individual, then this book is for you! It's just magical, really. I'm going to make one of the most radical statements I have ever made in my entire eighteen years of life: I believe this book to be the best fantasy book I have ever read, possibly ever written. The world was expansive and rich and real and the characters were genuine and lovable and the plot was intriguing and everything was just perfect.

For more info, check out the author's website here, I'm going to go put this book on The Shelf.

Thanks for reading!

Perception by Kim Harrington

*This review contains spoilers.*

This book is the sequel to Clarity, about a teenage girl in Cape Cod who has psychic abilities and finds herself faced with a murder investigation as well as a love triangle.

My Thoughts:

1. I should mention that I loved the first book, so of course I picked this one up. 
2. I really, really enjoyed this book. It was so engaging that I can honestly say I read it in about two and a half hours. 
3. Just a random thing, the inside covers are done with this really natural looking green paper...it's like flecked with tree fibers or something. It's just a gorgeously bound book in general. 
4. Like the first book, I enjoyed the paranormal influence throughout...how normal it is to the Fern family, how embedded it is. 
5. Kim Harrington's style is just to die for! I love, love, love the way she writes. It's very accessible and fluid, but still very much poignant, in my opinion. 
6. The mystery in this book is just amazing! You really are kept guessing on all fronts. Twists and turns all over the place. 
7. I really did feel genuine prickles of fear on my spine. It's easy to get that through the visceral sense of cinematography and sound effects in a movie, but I rarely get that in a book. However, here, I was literally freaked out. Like, I read this from roughly 6:00 PM to 8:00PM and if it had been any later, I would've genuinely been frightened, Kim Harrington is that good. 
8. The love interests! Woooo! Can I just say I love Gabriel. His protection of Clare from Cody, his passion, his understanding, how he's willing to bank his future on her decision...just his general demeanor is very appealing. In the end, the love triangle was resolved in a very satisfactory manner. 
9. I loved the ending of this book. Clarity ended on kind of an ominous note, what with the creepy prediction from that other psychic in town, but Perception ended on a high note. 
10. I don't mean to be critical of the Young Adult genre (I am a young adult, after all), but I find that some of them are characterized by rather cheap thrills. That's fine, I mean, camp is a good, fun romp occasionally, but I really think that this book is better than that. I don't mean to say that I think it was necessarily an awakening of my soul or anything, but I did think a lot about relationships and popularity and people and my own life. You know, it kind of was soul-stirring, for me at least. 
11. I don't know what to tell you other than I thought this was a well-written, engaging, entertaining book that genuinely made me care for the characters and swoon a bit over Gabriel. (Not that it's hard to make me swoon.) This is pretty much what I want to get when I go to the store looking for a new book. 

Who Should Read It:

• Mystery fans! Seriously, I was guessing and having to re-evaluate and guessing again for a good two-hundred of the almost three-hundred pages of this book. 
• People who read the first one! This one is just as good, if not better, in my opinion. 
• Most people! I really like this as a book and highly recommend it. 

Final Score: 10/10 Pretty much perfect. Not in a way that I'd ever read it again, but in a reading it was a wonderful experience kind of way. 

I checked out Kim Harrington's website (here), and apparently her next book is called The Dead and Buried and will be available next year! Ah, I'm so excited! Definitely look that up (or click that link) because it sounds really good!

Thank you for reading!

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

Recently, I purchased a bunch of classic novels from Half-Price Books, and this was among them. I was very excited to read it, and it did not disappoint.

My Thoughts

1. I absolutely love Sir Walter Scott's style - it's amazing! His language is simply enthralling, and I highly recommend this book just for that. 
2. I will allow my nerdy flag to fly high: Medieval England is very near and dear to me, so I liked that a lot. 
3. I mean, come on, Robin Hood was in it! Woo!
4. I'm not going to lie, everything Wilfred went through to marry Lady Rowena and even for Rebecca was just so touching, and I thought the relationships were wonderfully portrayed. 
5. I really can honestly say I cried while Cedric was in the dungeon waxing poetic on the degradation of his race (the Saxons), Scott is that good. 
6. Brian de Bois-Guilbert. I was rooting for him, too, licentious though he was. Something about him get niggling my brain, and I finally realized what it was when he approached Rebecca in her cell before her execution and told her he'd dishonor himself as a Templar, as a knight and as a man and not turn up at the trial by combat if she only promised to love him in return. She refuses, and he's hurt that death is preferable to life with him. Think on that for a bit, it should come to you.....Sir Guy of Gisborne to Marian in BBC's Robin Hood! When the people who laid siege to Nottingham Castle told Guy he could only take his wife with him, and he proposed to Marian and she refused him! Then, later in Ivanhoe, when the trial by combat is about to commence, Brian de Bois-Guilbert asks Rebecca to climb astride his horse and is prepared to sacrifice everything, most likely have to fight for their survival and ride pell-mell out of England all together, and Rebecca still refuses him! I wanted her to love him back, even though he had his vices, I just think it's horribly sad when that level of devotion is rejected. Back to the Robin Hood analogy, it does not hold true in that respect: Robin/Marian is my OTP and I will go down with that ship. However, I, personally, am somewhat co-dependent and have a thing for damaged men (and, you know, the appreciation for Richard Armitage in leather pants that I am sure is universal to the female population). 

Who Should Read It

• Fans of Medieval romances/epic quests/knights in shining armor/damsels in distress, that kind of thing. 
• Fans of literature. 

This was an amazing book that I really enjoyed reading and have placed on The Shelf...10/10 at least...really, really, really good. If you're contemplating reading it or just looking for a book, you will not be disappointed with Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe. 

The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne

*This review contains spoilers.*

It's time for another book review! You should expect a lot of classics from me, since I recently purchased a fairly abundant stack from a place called Half-Price Books, which I absolutely love, because they have such old, careworn copies of things - the Great Expectations I purchased even has someone's handwritten notes in it! I just love stuff like that!Anyway, I'm not reviewing this book for it's literary merit or syntactical elegance, so if you're looking for some kind of SparkNote like thing, go there, not here, this is just what I thought of the book.

Surprise, surprise, it's set in New England and centers around the eponymous House of the Seven Gables and its resident Hepzibah and Clifford Pyncheon, the new addition of Pheobe Pyncheon and the daguerreotypist, Mr. Holgrave. Long story short, the first American Pyncheon accused Mathew Maule of witchcraft, resulting in his death and Pyncheon receiving the land, so Maule cursed the house and the whole Pyncheon family for eternity.

My Thoughts

1. Some people might be put off by the vocabulary of this book, but it's something I love. Once you read lots of older novels, it just comes naturally for you to read and even think (and occasionally speak, to the dismay of my friends) in language like this. I absolutely revel in additions to my vernacular, and I found two wonderful ones: obstreperous and eleemosynary, meaning noisy; difficult to control and relating to charity, respectively. Now, don't you just want to incorporate that into your quotidian conversations?
2. Also, I like the overall premise of the book; I'm very interested in mystical stuff, and the book's window into the mid-19th century perspective on "Mesmerism" was quite fascinating. And, I mean, who doesn't love a good family curse/haunted house?
3. I really felt for Clifford. I wouldn't have spent fifty pages describing his many idiosyncrasies, but this is Hawthorne after all, so I don't know what I expected. Wasted potential is something that always gets me, mainly because I hate how I'm eighteen years old and have no discernible way of achieving my purpose in life. 
4. I absolutely adored Phoebe. She's the kind of person I strive to be, you know? Pleasant, kind, cheerful, that sort of thing. She struck me as very genuine, I suppose. 
5. Clifford's speech to the random old gentleman during his and Hepzibah's train excursion was completely fascinating. He discussed how the entire course of human history was basically an upward spiral; we were nomadic before, so shall we be again. 
6. Phoebe/Holgrave. I loved them, truly. They're no Darcy and Elizabeth or Heathcliff and Cathy, but they're up there. I like that they complete each other: Phoebe soothes Holgrave's oddities, and he awakens Phoebe to a different world. I also swooned when Holgrave realized he had hypnotized Phoebe but chose not to irrevocably complete that action. Their declaration of love scene was precious. It was heartfelt and genuine, and the way that they did it as Judge Pyncheon's body sat in the parlor reminded me of Robin's proposal to Marian in the BBC version of Robin Hood (2006), which was my absolute favorite proposal scene in the history of literature, cinema and television. 

Who Should Read It: 

• Fans of supernatural/paranormal mysteries.
• Fans of mid-19th century American literature
• Fans of Hawthorne, or even if you're indifferent, I suggest you give this one a try. 
• Romance lovers!

Overall Rating: I give this an 8.5/10. At no point did I actually weep or feel my heart swell, and I'm generally fairly emotional while reading, but I certainly believe reading this book to be time well spent. 

The next book I will be reviewing is Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott. 

You may be wondering what kind of teenager spends the last summer before college in this manner. This kind is all I can say, though I say it with assurances that I do leave the house and visit friends occasionally. 

Thank you for reading. 

Feel free to comment. 

The Serpent's Shadow by Rick Riordan

The third and apparently final book in The Kane Chronicles. To be totally honest, as I only am with you, dear blog readers, I had no idea this came out until I saw it at the store and bought it. I loved it, like I do all Rick Riordan's books, and here's a little bit about why.

My Thoughts

1. I started this book today at about 6:00 PM and read it straight through in five hours. Like all of Riordan's books, it's a very engaging read. Some people think quick books indicate a low level of literature, but I strongly disagree: it's so good, you just plow right through three or four hundred pages, completely unaware of even turning them you're so absorbed. His writing is accessible or relatable or something...I don't know, but I highly recommend his works.
2. I am, of course, fascinated by mythology. I'm particularly partial to the Greco-Roman  pantheon, but I'm still quite interested in the Ancient Egyptian deities as well, so that was very interesting to me. 
3. As always, there's a fair bit of light humor, which never ceases to make me giggle. 
4. I'm not gonna lie: at the end, as Carter was waxing poetic (and I love poetry, so I use that phrase without a hint of sarcasm) about civilization before they took on Apophis, I teared up. I know, realistically, that in no book/film/TV show is the world ever really going to dissolve away into nothingness/chaos/hellfire - that just doesn't happen - but I still got emotional..and I love a book that can make me cry.  
5. I'm not going to lie about this either: I have totally had a thing for Anubis in these books. Their relationship, and the Walt element, a Sadie's mother's line about them being awkward in the mortal world just made my heart melt. You have to admit, it's probably the world's only unique ending to a love triangle. Ever. In the history of love triangles. 
6. I love everyone's premonitions about the "other gods" at the end of the book. :)

Final Score: 10/10

It's a fun read, with great characters and engaging plot and adorable romance...I recommend this, as well as all of Rick Riordan's other books like it, i.e. the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, The Heroes of Olympus series, and of course, the first two books in this series. 

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

*This review contains spoilers*

Of course, this book was absolutely phenomenal because it's from the Mortal Instruments, other reviews of which you can check out in the archives, so I won't show you my synonym finding skills by telling you that again.

My Thoughts:

1. I absolutely adored Jordan and Maia. The scenes that they spend together in Jordan's bedroom and the just the way they act is adorable. It's like they're getting to know each other all over again, but with the undercurrent of an eternal passion, as they've previously been together. That, and I just loved Jordan's mix of cockiness and vulnerability. 
2. Likewise, I find Isabelle and Simon to be an amazing couple as well. They're cute, but they've got an edge. They're too imperfect people who have found themselves fitting together perfectly, and it makes my heart ache, genuinely. 
3. The scene with Simon and his sister, Becky, aka the first fictional Becky who is not a freak or a loser, is just the most endearing, adorable wonderful scene for Simon. 
4. The verbal sparring in this book between Sebastian, Jace and Clary is just deliciously funny. 
5. I'm going to lay all bare and tell you that, in the middle of the novel, when Sebastian was telling Clary he just wanted to abolish the Clave and he wanted Clary by his side and he'd only tried to kill Jocelyn because he was hurt and lonely and such...I was so gone; he had me hook, line and sinker. ...Then, of course, we find his real designs are destroying humanity/hooking up with his sister....yeah, I'm a poor judge of character, okay? Though, to be fair, in fiction the bad guy really does just need someone to love him to make it all better...Props to Cassandra Clare for going a different way. 
6. This book has all the awesome of the previous books by Cassandra Clare, i.e. epic writing, engaging characters, amazing plot twists, heart-wrenching romance, but there's also new things like The Iron Sisters and a more in depth interaction with Raziel. 
7. Jace's scene with Clary when Magdalena cut Lilith's mark,....I'm not gonna lie, that was hot :)
8. This, and the rest of the Mortal Instruments/Infernal Devices books by Cassandra Clare, is what a book should be. It's why I read, and I would recommend it to anyone!
9. I have a prediction, since Clockwork Princess hasn't been released yet: William Herondale and Brother Zachariah are one and the same. Okay, bear with me. We saw Tessa in City of Glass, and the last time we saw her in Infernal Devices, she'd agreed to marry Jem. So, Will, distraught and unable to reconcile his love for Jem with his love for Tessa runs away. Eventually, Jem dies. Tessa is immortal, but Will will die...unless he becomes a Silent Brother. On page 517, Brother Zachariah tells Clary he would have died for two people....Jem and Tessa! Okay, that's far-fetched and a little ridiculous, I know, but it just struck me. 

Final Score: Infinity and beyond/10 Amazing book, as are the rest. Read them all!

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Oh, my God! This book has been setting in my "to read" stack for at least three weeks - maybe even a month - and I can't believe I waited this long to read it! It should have been pulsing with awesome or something! My God, this was it! The perfect book! It's set in a dystopian future where love has been declared a disease and everyone is given a "cure" at age eighteen (basically like a lobotomy). The story centers on Lena, who meets a man, Alex, who is from the Wilds, i.e. the unregulated lands.

My Thoughts

1. This book is to die for! I don't even want to dissect it, but here we go!
2. This book was so enthralling and engaging and heartwrenching and ravaging and ravishing and raw and real and wonderful and amazing and beautiful!
3. The world of this book is so meticulously created to parallel our own - Romeo and Juliet is still read in freshman English classes - and I really, really love that. The way that the author uses quotes and such from official government publications at the beginning is really phenomenal in terms of world creation. 
4. Lena! Oh, wow! I loved Lena! She thinks of herself as no one special, then she lets herself fall in love and feel and think and be and, my God, is she a wonderful character!
5. Alex!!!!! Oh, he is perfection! I cannot get enough of the way the author describes his hair as a crown of fire/thorns/glory etc. It is just phenomenal. He is just phenomenal. He opens Lena's eyes to the world, but he is also such a real guy. I also LOVE that he shares Shakespearean sonnets and Elizabeth Barrett Browning poems with her. That's how you know you've got a good guy. I cannot gush about him enough!
6. As someone who has never been in love, I found the idea of experiencing love through the perspective of one who has never even considered "love" as an option to be beyond magnificent. It was amazing! Honestly, the entire time I was reading this book, I was getting that feeling that you get, when you feel like your heart is too full and you can't talk and you think your heart might just burst through your chest? That might just be me, but you get the idea. 
7. One of my favorite scenes was in Alex's home in the Wilds, when Lena asks him what poetry is, and he reads some. Even though I'm no stranger to poetry, it's also a really rapturous experience to see something like that through the eyes of a person like Lena. It's like, you read a poem, you go "that's a good poem" and you think, well, of course it's good, it's poetry that's endured forever. But, Lena's reaction just made me appreciate it all the more, things like poetry and beauty and stuff. Like, I genuinely stopped to muse on how grateful I am to own several books of poetry and how beautiful things can be. 
8. Speaking of beautiful things, the imagery in this book and the author's writing style was beyond magnificence, into full-fledged glory. A recurring theme is Lena's emergence from the fog of her previous life, into the awe of the world around her (the real world)  and her appreciation for passion and love and that is something that really appeals to me. Just, the metaphors - particularly the fire ones - and the raw, seething, teeming emotion was just incomparable. And, that last image of Alex, oh, God is was art. 
9. This book was my book. Lena, a girl who is, by her own reckoning nothing special, is shown the way by Alex, the most magnificent guy, and follows her passions and awakens to the beauty of the world and poetry and sonnets and love. Okay, that last bit hasn't happened. I'm still technically a random nondescript girl, but, still, Lena reminded me that I want to throw myself on the mercy of some great passion, have one of those epic romances, take the romance with the tragedy, appreciate, wonder, awe, live, love - I could go on. This book spoke to me so deeply, you don't even know how much this affected me. 
10. As I was reading this, all I could think was "My God, this is literature - this is love!" This is what it's supposed to be. What everything was supposed to be. This made me cry and laugh and sigh and love and hope and dream and wonder and gush and long and yearn and desire and need and all sorts of other things. This book reminded me of goals I've had that had really been lost as impossible or immature. Apart from the Harry Potter series, I can't think of another book that influenced me as much as a person. 

Who Should Read It: 

• Everyone! This is a book for all time. 

Final Score: All that is great and good and wonderful in this world/10 

Read this! You won't be disappointed! I cannot tell you how much I loved this book, but you need to read it!

Next I'll be reading Pandemonium, the sequel! Woooooo! 

The Once and Future King by T.H. White

So, this book is about King Arthur, and I saw it on sale at Barnes and Noble and I picked it up. I didn't get what I expected, but I wouldn't say I wasted the time I spent reading it.

My Thoughts:

1. This is divided into several books, and the first one is basically the plot of Disney's Sword and the Stone, which, all things considered, was most definitely not a bad thing. 
2. I was very upset as the book was drawing to a close. It had gone from this successful, glorious Camelot to these sad, worn-down, old people. I don't know why I thought it would be a happy ending. Then again, my previous knowledge of the topic would be the movie Arthur (the one with Kiera Knightley as Guinevere), which had an amazingly happy ending, the Showtime miniseries Camelot, which had too much sex and death to ever get truly tragic, and  the book Avalon High by Meg Cabot, which was about some teenagers in Maryland who were the reincarnations of important characters from Arthurian legend, and that was an amazing book, with a wonderful ending. I highly recommend it!
3.  I mean, the good guys prevailed, but I'd expected more of a ride off into the sunset type of ending. The ending of this reminded me of the ending of BBC's 2006 Robin Hood (which I'd been thinking about since I read that Lucy Griffiths (Marian from that show) will be in Season 5 of True Blood): tragic, but not wrong.
4. The writing style is like nothing I've ever read before, and I do read a fair amount. 
5. This book is very hard to describe. I'm not sure if I even liked it. I don't dislike it and I don't regret buying it and reading it. I enjoyed reading it, I suppose, and I'm glad I did...but I'm not sure if I liked it per se. I don't know how I feel about it, and I'm the type that I feel most truly my impression of a book right after I've read it, so if I don't know now, I'm not going to know.

Who Should Read It:

• I honestly can't say; this book really stumped me. 

Final Score: -/10 I'll leave this one open. 

Next, I'll either be reading Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell or Middlemarch by George Eliot. 

Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen

You remember Will Scarlet from the legend of Robin Hood? Well, this is that legend from his (or, more accurately, her) eyes. That's right, there was a woman in Robin Hood's band of Merry Men! And, of course, a love story!

My Thoughts:

1. This book has Robin Hood as a love interest! THE Robin Hood!!! Reading this book inspired me to trace the evolution of my undying love for said legendary character, which you can read here, if you are so inclined. 
2. I absolutely LOVE novels set in the days of yore, and this delivered nicely in that department. 
3. One thing I didn't really like about this was the Marian/Scarlet thing. See, Scarlet is a "tough girl" type character...and I just don't identify with women like that. I can respect women like that, but I am just not like that. How can you have this heart-stopping romance without the element of he is a nobleman who has defied the system to be come an outlaw, she is a noblewoman who has to choose between him/life in the castle type element. I don't know, Scarlet just struck me as coarse, and I'm sure that's probably accurate, but it just didn't do it for me. The author even says in the back of the book that simpering Marian didn't do it for her, and Robin deserved someone strong, a fighter. Well, I'm a proponent of opposites attract, and I think there's something to be said for people like Marian in BBC's 2006 Robin Hood, who spy for information, distract the bad guys etc. Not everyone has to whip their weapons around to make a difference. (Not that 2006 Marian doesn't do a bit of that as well, but you get the idea). All I'm saying is, I prefer the more traditional Marian, but you obviously know what you prefer in your heroines, so don't discount the book for that reason.
4. This had a fair amount of adventure and suspense, and it didn't drag either.
5. At the end, the author put historical info/recommended works on Robin Hood, which I thought was great because, geek that I am, I am SO into stuff like this!
6. This was a nice book. It was a quick read, it made you think, but not too much and, while it didn't have a profound impact on my love of Robin Hood, it is worth reading. 

Who Should Read It:

• Fans of Robin Hood. (Yes, you, don't tell me you're not out there.)
• Fans of historical novels
• Romance lovers!

Final Score: 8/10 I had a really hard time deciding on this. I think the reason I'm hesitant to give this book a higher score, is because I've had so much exposure to the story of Robin Hood that I've sort of taken aspects of the different adaptations and put together in my mind my perfect version of the legend, and, obviously, this isn't my perfect version of the Robin Hood legend, it's A.C. Gaughen's.

Siren by Tricia Rayburn

This book is about Vanessa, a teenager who spends her summers in Winter Harbor, Maine. It's an idyllic place, until her sister dies and men start washing up on the beach, bruised but with wide grins on their immobile faces. Also, romance between Vanessa and a local, Simon.

My Thoughts:

1. First off, the cover has women standing on rocks out at sea, and it was called Siren, so I was thinking classical Greek myth sirens, i.e. head of a bird, lured sailors to wreck their ships. These creatures seem more like mermaids to me, murderous ones at that. Not that I have a problem with books about mermaids, but, if you're really into Greek mythology and that's why you pick up this book, you might be disappointed. 
2. I like that Vanessa has a pathological fear of lots of things, as that is something I can identify with. 
3. I love the Justine/Caleb and Vanessa/Simon relationships as a whole, though Simon is not really my type, per se. 
4. There were good parts, like the explanation of the history of the sirens and such, but there were also parts that really broke verisimilitude for me, like the explanation of Justine's jealousy. 
5. It wasn't that this was a bad book, but it didn't make my heart race or anything. 
6. This is one of those books you read because you enjoy the act or reading, not because you're particularly interested in the plot of the book. 
7. I'm not going to go out of my way to go and get the sequel, but I'll pick it up if I ever see it when I'm browsing through the shelves. 

Who Should Read It:

• This book is probably not so very different from most young adult novels, but it just didn't really work for me. If you're a reader, I'd suggested checking it out; I mean, it's in paperback, and what's $8.99? Nothing, really, so you should at least read the back or flip through a bit. 
• Like I said, if you like to read and you want something quick and not particularly analytic, this is worth checking out. 

Final Score: 7/10

Next, I'm reading Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen...it's about Robin Hood! :) :) :)

Angel Fire by L.A. Weatherly

This is the sequel to Angel Burn. Yesterday, at around 4 o'clock in the afternoon, I was on page 200 of this 638 page book. I just finished now (10:31 PM). OH MY GOD!

My Thoughts

1. The first 200 pages were a little slow, as they mainly comprised Alex and Willow drifting apart to enable the formation of a love triangle, but, by the time you get to page 350, 400, there is MAJOR squee going on!
2. This book has everything: love, loss, grief, passion, adventure, tragedy, death, compassion - Ah! 
3. SEB! Oh, wow! He is perfect! Bad boy with a heart of gold, curly hair, accent - he is just amazing! My heart broke for him as much as it broke for Alex! 
4. Something that I love about this book is its sense of real tragedy. So many young adult books lack what I'd call grit. They don't feel grounded in real, raw human emotion, but this IS. Oh, man, I can't tell you how amazing this book is!
5. The cast of supporting characters was very fully realized and the setting - the stark, beautiful landscape - was just amazing and captured so sincerely by L.A. Weatherly. 
6. This is another one of those books - the kind that makes your heart contract so that you can barely speak. The kind that makes you laugh out loud and brings tears to your eyes for characters you never thought you really cared about. The kind of book that becomes a part of you, becomes as much a part of your consciousness as your friends or parents or life experiences. This is the kind of book that makes people love reading. If I hadn't decided to become a writer after reading Harry Potter, I'd decide right now. 
7. This book was so great, plot-wise as well. It's broad and sweeping but also a very human experience and I can't explain why but this was an amazing book. I feel like for a book to be truly a great book, then you can't explain why. If you can choose an individual element that you like more than the rest, than it's not a great book; it's a good book, written by an author with a great sense of humor or whatever the element might be. 
8. This is one of those books...it's just...poignant. And engaging. I feel so emotionally spent right now. Totally in a good way, of course, but I want to express how vivid this was. And sensual. It's like the author and I am have the same taste in romance or something, the way this was written so perfectly to my tastes (except for the hair cutting part. I am absolutely neurotic in my preference for long hair and I teared up when Alex cut Willow's.). 

Who Should Read It:

• This is for the romantics out there. You know who you are. 

I have no idea what I'm starting next, but I've got lots of options! 

Need, Captivate and Entice by Carrie Jones

This is a series, and I decided to wait until I finished all the ones that are out now (the fourth comes out in May of this year) to review this book. I don't think this was such a good idea anymore, so this is going to be a fairly truncated review.

This book was really great in terms of its mythology: pixies, elves, weres, Norse gods etc. As someone who absolutely loves folklore and such, I really appreciated all the details that Carrie Jones included. This book was also a quest/adventure type plot and who doesn't like that? Plus, the romance aspect was really great. You're supposed to be rooting for her and Nick, but I found Astley (cool name, no?) to be much more compelling and much more my type. If you've read the book, you know that probably says something!

Final Score: 8.5/10

I enjoyed these books and I will pick up the next one, but I wasn't absolutely floored by them like I was by Angel Burn by L.A. Weatherly or Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi. So, read them if you like adventure/romance/folklore, but I wouldn't say these are going to be classics.

Next on my reading list is Angel Fire by L.A. Weatherly :)

Angel Burn by L.A. Weatherly

Oh my God! This book was fabulous! It takes place in a world where angels are actually evil (well, most angels) and they feed on the life force of humans, giving them angel burn, which can be anything from cancer or MS to depression or other mental illnesses. The main female character is Willow Fields, half-angel and psychic.  The male lead is Alex, Angel Killer (or AK) and assassin sent to kill Willow. However, he realizes she's different and that Project Angel (run by the CIA) has been infiltrated by the angels. So, they embark on a mission to save the world from the next wave of angels...falling in love in the process!

My Thoughts:

1. Wow! This book was VERY good! It's another one of those books where I almost don't want to try to pick out individual things I liked, because it was all so great that it almost didn't feel like a plot and characters and a setting and such, but just this world with no edge or formula to it. 
2. First off, the book is given through multiple perspectives. Mainly through Willow (in first person) and Alex (in third person) and some from Raziel (head of the bad angels) and their contact inside the Church of Angels. First off, hearing a romance from both perspectives is something I absolutely adore! Especially since Alex is so very romantic about Willow and Willow is such a lovely character. Another thing I liked about this was that lots of books sort of do alternating chapters, like Simone Elkeles' Perfect Chemistry series, which is great, but this one just shifts whenever it suits the plot, kind of like what Cassandra Clare does. I think it gives the story a more natural flow, I guess, and I really like it. 
3. Willow is great! I find it hard to like a book if I don't like the main character, and I absolutely loved Willow! She was fun and sweet and spunky and selfless and romantic and just a perfect heroine. 
4. Alex! Oh, wow, Alex! First off, dark hair and blue-gray eyes? SO hot! He was so so so great! You think he's this tough guy type, just into killing angels, but when you get his thoughts about Willow, you find out that's he's really pretty romantic and sweet and when he thinks about his brother Jake there's just so much vulnerability I wanted to cry for him! He is an AMAZING love interest! I would so brave the angel apocalypse if it meant spending time with him! 
5. The Alex and Willow romance is to die for! Oh, wow! I haven't read a romance this believable but still compelling since Etienne and Anna in Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins! Their physical scenes are just so ... so ... charged! It's amazing! It's the perfect combination of just lying next to each other or Alex commenting on how soft Willow's hair is and heated kissing. My heart was all a-flutter the entire time :). This, to me, was the perfect romance. So many relationships that I see in real life are purely physical and/or between two people who don't think they're old enough to know what love is and I just hate that. This relationship is a full on, love at first sight, undying devotion, I would DIE for you love. And that is the only kind of love worth having. And reading about, of course. 
6. The style was just so expressive. I finished this last night around 11 o'clock (which I blew off reviewing my friend's essay to do, but no sacrifice is too great when a book is concerned) and I can honestly tell you I cried non-stop for the last 30 or so pages. I cannot believe I have never heard of L.A. Weatherly until now. I got some BN gift cards for my birthday (Woo! I'm an adult.), and I plan to purchase everything she's written tomorrow. 
7. This book had a very satisfying conclusion AND a sequel! It's the best of both worlds! 
8. The actual plot of this book was great! Adventure, action, save-the-world type awesome! 
9. This book is just one of those books that is amazing! I can't explain it, it just is. I haven't done the book justice, but I hope I've given you an idea as to how amazing this book is!

Who Should Read It:

• Romance fans! Oh, my God, you will die!
• People who are looking for a new take on a supernatural element. 
• People who like to read! L.A. Weatherly just does an amazing job!

Final Score: Infinity/10!

For more info, check out the author's website here. I recommend you go to the UK one. They have an about the author section then links to different blog posts she's done, and they are AMAZING!

I'm going book shopping tomorrow, so who knows what will be next!

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Oh my God! This book was so amazing I can barely make my thoughts coherent enough to form a post! It takes place in a dystopian future where the environment has gotten so bad (plagued by Aether storms etc.) that people have resorted to living in Pods and experiencing things virtually (in the Realms). However, unlike the Dwellers, some people lived outside these things - they're known as the Outsiders or Savages and are a primitive, tribal people. Some of them have been Marked by the Aether with special abilities. Unfortunately for Aria, a terrible situation leads to her being exiled from her Pod, where she meets Perry, a "Savage." At first, they both just use each other to try to get back something of theirs, but, you know what they say about opposites.

My Thoughts:

1. I picked this book up on a whim from the Teens' New Releases section on Barnes and Noble's website. It came at 6 PM from UPS yesterday, and I've just finished (8:45 PM Thursday). This book was just so riveting and gripping. It's like the entire thing could have been italicized it was such an invigorating rush of a read. 
2. This book was perfect. Absolutely perfect! I can barely go into what I liked about it because everything was just a seamless whole. It was an experience! An enigma! Oh my God! Go read this book! Stop reading this review and go and read this book!
3. Aria was a great heroine. She was tough, but relatable and she opened up to Perry/was sweet to him in a decent amount of time. (As you know, I love the hate turns to love type romance, but if they're awful to each other for too long, I tend to not go for that.)
4. Perry. Oh, wow. Just wow. He was perfect. Handsome in a rugged sort of way, brooding, protective, caring, sweet, strong, sensitive - oh, he was just wonderful! There was a line of his that was just so lovable I might have wept a bit from happiness. *squee!*
5. The romance was beautiful. It was sensuous and sweet and passionate and heart-wrenching. This relationship was so beautifully rendered I can honestly say I had moments of doubt about my intended future of solitude and cat lady-dom. The build-up was great, but the crowning moments were even better. It was magnificent. 
6. The world. Oh, my God! It was perfect. You don't know everything and it's tantalizing yet not annoyingly out of reach. It's rich and fully realized in a way that the young adult genre rarely sees. 
7. The plot was also very captivating. So much is left to discover, but the journey they've already taken was very fulfilling. It's like a classic, fairy tale quest but re-imagined so fully as to warrant its own genre. 
8. It was just so almost luscious in tone. I can't place it, but my heart was in my throat the entire time. It just felt luxuriant in it's emotion. It was genuine and engaging and just something I've never really experienced before (and I read A LOT).
9. It has it. That undefined, undefinable essence that I peruse shelf after shelf searching for. I finally understand why the Romantics appreciated the unclassifiable. 

Who Should Read It:

• Literate people of the world: you NEED to read this book. If you have an ounce of emotion in your body, you will appreciate this book. 

Final Score: There is no numerical value I can give this book that will do it justice. This is a masterpiece. This will be the classic of our generation. (Apart from Harry Potter, of course, which is a given.) I'm not sure if people who read the literary canon as new releases knew what they held in their hands, but I know that Under the Never Sky is something special. 

For more info, check out the author's website here. I have tons of new books, but I'm thinking either Overbite by Meg Cabot or Entice by Carrie Jones will be next. 

The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges

This book centers around Katerina, Duchess of Oldenburg in 1888 Russia and necromancer. Different supernatural groups are vying for the throne/choosing one side or another (including revenants, witches, vampires, fairies and werewolves). Katerina's power is sought after my member's of all sides and she is forced into a relationship with the evil Prince Danilo...but wait! Will she be rescued by the utterly amazing Grand Duke George Alexandrovich?

My Thoughts

1. First and foremost: the relationship between Katiya and the George was just amazing! He starts out hostile towards our heroine, but he gradually warms to her and it's just so charming. And, of course, he's dashing and sexy but cute and sweet too (especially when he's jealous...aw!) This is one of those romances that I'm not even going to describe because I can't find the words! And Princess Alix and the tsar's eldest son were just adorable!
2. You know I love historical fiction, and the portrayal of the Russian Imperial Court was just great - it was like Anastasia, only without the songs!
3. In that vein, most historical fiction books are either centered in England or France or America, and I'd never really read one centering on Russia before. I was a little wary (you know me and change), but I absolutely loved it! The author provided a little info on some stuff at the beginning and it was definitely a nice change. 
4. Also, I'm not familiar with Russian folklore, so all the aspects of it the author included were completely new to me - which I loved, since I am such a nerd about stuff like that. 
5. I feel like I'm not explaining this book well, but it was a really amazing and engaging read. I probably spent a total of five hours on it over two days, since it was so good.
6. The overall plot was also really amazing. It was very complex and kept you guessing, but never to the point where you couldn't make a guess about what might happen. I loved the elements of mystery and intrigue that flowed seamlessly with the supernatural elements and the personal drama of Katiya and her relationships. 

Who Should Read I

• Romance fans who want to read about a really awesome romance with a really wonderful love interest!
• Fans of historical fiction!
• Fans of paranormal or supernatural or folkloric literature!

Final Score 10/10 A very enjoyable read!

I really recommend you check this book out, since it was something I really liked and I feel like you might like it too! For more info (it's part of a trilogy! YAY!), check out the author's website here. 

The stuff I ordered from Barnes and Noble came in the mail today, so I'm starting Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi!

The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton

This book is about Tiki, a young woman from a well-to-do family forced by circumstances to pick pockets on the streets of 1871 London. When she steals the Queen's ring, which binds the fairies to a truce with the English, she then embarks on a quest to recapture it and save her "family" of fellow pickpockets. Also, this really hot guy, Rieker, turns out to be more than he seems. *wink*

My Thoughts:

1. First off, Tiki is so cool! I was originally wary of this book, since I like to identify with the hero or heroine of any story I read, and I've never had to be a pickpocket, but Kiki Hamilton is amazing with Tiki's characterization. She was relatable, but not in a bland, every-girl kind of way. She was stubborn and confrontational when she needed to be, but also very caring and compassionate. 
2. The faerie element of this book was absolutely amazing! It is absolutely seamless in terms of integration into the real world and just a very engaging universe. Some of the phrases/terms/names inspired me to Google around and read up on faeries and such and it is absolutely fascinating. I also really like how much actual faerie lore Kiki Hamilton put into this story; that makes it all the better!
3. Rieker. Oh, wow, was he great! It's like Kiki Hamilton took every desirable trait from every fictional crush I've ever had and lumped them into one amazing man. He has EVERYTHING! Long, dark hair - a strong profile - brooding eyes - a tragic past - a compassionate side - fashion sense - a soft spot for children - a bit of vulnerability - an all-consuming love for the heroine ... he was just impeccable! Sometimes, I get upset that I'll never have a functional relationship because no man will ever be as amazing as the fictional heroes of the novels I've read...but fictional Rieker versus real-world Mr. Average? He makes me look forward to being an old cat lady with nothing but a cottage and my books. 
4. This was a really solid, great book. The writing, the plot, the universe, the characters, the ending, just everything. 

Who Should Read It:

• Fans of romance! This is a good one!
• Fans of supernatural/faerie stuff. 

Final Score: 9.5/10 (for not being longer!)

I really recommend this book, even if it doesn't sound like something you're interested in. For more info, check out the author's website here. Next, I'm not sure what I'll be reading, but I have about five books coming from Barnes and Noble as soon as UPS gets here. 

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

I absolutely loved the 2007 movie version of this book (which I watched because it had the always scrumptious Ben Barnes in it :) ) so when I saw the book version of this, I immediately picked it up. It was also recommended to me by the coolest person ever, Laura, who has a blog you should check out. Anyway, this book is about Tristran Thorn who lives in the village of Wall and ventures into the magical land of Faerie to find a shooting star to bring to his love, Victoria, so she will marry him. Little does he know, the star is actually a woman named Yvaine.

*Here, there may be spoilers*

My Thoughts:

1. First off, for those of you that are thinking "Neil Gaiman is a children's author, I'm not reading this!" know that it is not a children's book. The f-word is used and there is sex. That being said, I don't want to say that it's not a children's book either. It's like a book that transcends age groups or something, which is one thing I liked about it. 
2. I have to save the movie was better in several respects. First off, the pirates weren't in the book! I loved them! Second, the ending! The movie ending was infinitely better! The whole thing about Tristan living forever because he captured Yvaine's heart? That was beautiful! Also, the scene where Yvaine was walking and Tristan was running and Una was driving the cart? That was so great! In the book, he just tells  Yvaine she'll turn to dust in England. And the coronation? And the music? This is one of those cases where I prefer the movie. 
3. That being said, I really liked the feel of this book. It evoked a very classic tale, I think. I mean, is there any more traditional a story than one about a quest? Just, the way it was written was very good. People don't write books like this anymore and I can't quite put my finger on why, but it's something I really like.

Who Should Read It:

• Fans of fairy tales! This is amazing in that respect!
• Fans of the movie! I didn't think it was as good, but you may think differently. Even if you agree with me, I think the book is still very much worth reading. 

Overall Score: 9/10

I debated for a while on what to give this. I can't say that I liked the way it ended, but I certainly didn't dislike the story. It made me sad, but it's one of those books you may not end up liking, but you just have to read anyway. I liked the movie more, but the book was ... was ... almost magical, in a way. To cut a long story short, this book took me about 3 hours to read, and they were 3 hours well spent. I recommend you read this book. 

I just started The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton, and it is AWESOME!

The King's Daughter by Christie Dickason

This book is about Elizabeth, daughter of King James I of England and her slave (and later friend) Tallie. The book follows Elizabeth being implicated in a treasonous plot through various suitors to her eventual marriage.

My Thoughts:

1. Just a warning, this book is ... I don't want to say explicit ... but I recommend it for like 13 and up. 
2. Elizabeth is a very relatable character and so is Tallie - if you can't identify with something in the one, you'll probably find something in the other. 
3. There were some genuinely tragic moments - tears welled in my eyes (though I wasn't overcome enough to actually shed any).
4. The relationship between Elizabeth and Frederick is endearing and enticing at the same time.

Who Should Read It:

• Fans of Christie Dickason
• Fans of historical fiction/romance

Final Score: 6.5/10

This wasn't a bad book, I just don't think it was for me. 

I am currently reading the second book in Carrie Jones' Need series and OH MY GOD it is absolutely amazing! I'm going to wait 'til I finish the series to do a review, but I highly recommend you check it out!

Jessica Rules the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey

Secret to Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side!!!!!! Oh my God, this is the best book ever! Jess and Lucius are sexy as ever and Mindy and Lucius's cousin (who he thinks of as a brother) have the most amazing romance ever and there's mystery and suspense and angst and romance and love and all the awesome things that books should have! This gets an infinity and beyond times like a million out of ten, and you should ALL read it!

Blood by K.J. Wignall

This book centers of Will (AKA William, Earl of Mercia), who became a vampire (or member of the undead, as he prefers) in 1256. He periodically rises to drink blood, and he had just recently awoken in the 21st century, where he finds his destiny, discovers who made him a vampire, and Eloise (love interest!) - and sets up  a major quest.

My Thoughts:

1. At first, I thought this was your average vampire romance (the cover is a shirtless guy), but then I opened it. There is certainly a romantic element, but its not the forefront of the story. It's a lot more about Will trying to find out who made him a vampire and why. 
2. That being said, the Eloise/Will that we do get is awesome! It's like she symbolizes his pre-vampire, pre-crippling loneliness, pre-miserable, human life or something, and it's just sweet, even though they can't be together. 
3. It's from the guy's perspective! I don't read a lot of those, but this is good!
4. The way the author describes the past and time and history is just beautiful!

Who Should Read It:

• Vampire romance fans: Pretty straightforward
• Fans of novels with action in them: there is totally a sword fight. 

Overall Score: 8.5/10

For more info, I encourage you to check out the author's website. This is a trilogy, btw. 

Next I'll be reviewing Jessica Rules the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin

This book centers around Avery, a teenager in the small town of Woodlake, who's parents were murdered in front of her, but she doesn't remember who (or what) killed them. Eventually, a new guy, Ben, arrives in town (yay!) and I think you can tell where this is going. Though Woodlake doesn't have a lake, it does have legend of creatures in its woods, creatures more than wolves but not entirely human...*cue ominous music*

My Thoughts:

1. Usually I don't like stories that focus very strongly on grief - had I read the back more thoroughly, I might not have picked up the book - since I haven't experienced a loss like that. However, Avery's feelings were very well described, allowing me to almost feel feelings I've never felt before (not to the point of earth-shattering crying or anything). That's probably not something most people would think about, but it made the book that much better for me. 
2. Okay, I realize that lots of people think paranormal romance is played out...but, it's still just SO much fun to read! Besides, there's not much centering on werewolves, and this was done very - I don't really have a word here - tastefully, I guess? It's not cheap thrills, it's very ethereally beautiful. This is a look into the supernatural that's very respectful and sincere, something I think is rare in the young adult paranormal romance genre. 
3. The love story between Avery and Ben is so great! There's danger and angst and sweetness and a touch of humor and everything you ever wanted! Ben's feelings, in particular when Avery suspects him, are just so touching for some reason.
4. The nature imagery and the lore of the forest is really amazing. It really appealed to me, and I thought it was a really creative and unique aspect of the story.
5. Oh, also, they used COLORED ink! The little designs at the page corners and on chapter pages were RED!  

Who Should Read It:

• Paranormal Romance fans: Trust me, you need to add this to your library. 
• Werewolf fans: This one's for you. 
• Romance fans: This is just so great!

Final Score: 9/10 

This was a great book that I recommend you check out! For more info, check out the author's website here. 

Next I'll be reviewing Blood by K.J. Wignall, which is AWESOME!