Wake

Wake

By Lisa McMann

"For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people's dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie's seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime.

She can't tell anybody about what she does they'd never believe her, or worse, they'd think she's a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn't want and can’t control.
Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone. For the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else's twisted psyche. She is a participant." Courtesy of Goodreads

Rating: 4 of 5

This book was intriguing. How does a child process being able to go into some else's dreams? How can you hold onto the secrets that you get to live in their dreams? I think this girl handles things a lot better than most people ever would. The relationship between Janie and Cabel is crazy. I never expected the twist that happened. I was so heartbroken with Janie up until then. I just think would definitely be difficult to have this ability knowing that she goes blind to see these dreams. She is at a lot of risk. I'm so ready to read the next one.

The only complaint I have is with the set up. It reads like a story but is set up like a journal, so I felt like I was talking in the third person the entire time. It was a bit uncomfortable.

Beautiful Redemption

Beautiful Redemption

By Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

"Is death the end . . . or only the beginning?

Ethan Wate has spent most of his life longing to escape the stiflingly small Southern town of Gatlin. He never thought he would meet the girl of his dreams, Lena Duchannes, who unveiled a secretive, powerful, and cursed side of Gatlin, hidden in plain sight. And he never could have expected that he would be forced to leave behind everyone and everything he cares about. So when Ethan awakes after the chilling events of the Eighteenth Moon, he has only one goal: to find a way to return to Lena and the ones he loves.

Back in Gatlin, Lena is making her own bargains for Ethan's return, vowing to do whatever it takes -- even if that means trusting old enemies or risking the lives of the family and friends Ethan left to protect.

Worlds apart, Ethan and Lena must once again work together to rewrite their fate, in this stunning finale to the Beautiful Creatures series." Courtesy of Goodreads

Rating: 5 of 5

Ok, this was the perfect way to end the series. The previous book broke my heart when he had to die, but this is exactly what the title says. I love that the tables have turned and now Lena has to be the one not giving up on Ethan and hoping that he will find his way back. More importantly, I'm glad there is a way back. It made me so happy that Ethan got to see his mother and aunt, but there was no way I would have accepted that he could not get back to Lena. I don't think he would have either. I'm so happy with the ending. 

I absolutely loved this series! It was a fantastic love story. I lost sleep trying to finish these just to know what happened. I will say again that I don't think I would have loved this series as much if it was through someone else's eyes other than Ethan's. I just love his character. He's not the perfect hero, but he is for this story. 

Series Rating: 5 of 5

Lots of News!!!

Lot of excitement in the household from Christmas!

It seems like books were the running theme on a lot of people's Christmas lists this year! We all must have been good because Santa brought us all some! I also received books from my cousin, including a few series that were high on my to read list. I am so excited! 

Another big announcement....  

We are getting tattoos... I am still trying to figure out the specifics of the tattoo I will get. It will be my first, and it will more than likely be book related.  My cousin has two already and knows what she wants, as does my aunt who is getting one too. I am so excited/ nervous!

Happy Reading!

 

Beautiful Chaos

Beautiful Chaos

By Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

"Ethan Wate thought he was getting used to the strange, impossible events happening in Gatlin, his small Southern town. But now that Ethan and Lena have returned home, strange and impossible have taken on new meanings. Swarms of locusts, record-breaking heat, and devastating storms ravage Gatlin as Ethan and Lena struggle to understand the impact of Lena's Claiming. Even Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals is affected - and their abilities begin to dangerously misfire. As time passes, one question becomes clear: What — or who — will need to be sacrificed to save Gatlin?

For Ethan, the chaos is a frightening but welcome distraction. He's being haunted in his dreams again, but this time it isn't by Lena - and whatever is haunting him is following him out of his dreams and into his everyday life. Even worse, Ethan is gradually losing pieces of himself — forgetting names, phone numbers, even memories. He doesn't know why, and most days he's too afraid to ask.

Sometimes there isn't just one answer or one choice. Sometimes there's no going back. And this time there won't be a happy ending." Courtesy of Goodreads

Rating: 5 of 5

This book broke my heart. When its says there is not a happy ending, there isn't. Honestly, you hold out hope that John Breed is the one to make the sacrifice. (I'm on board with Ethan; despite what he does, he will still be the guy who tried to run off with Lena.) I held out hope til the Lilium told him he was the crucible that it would not be him. Like with all good books though, it had to be him. This boy makes so many sacrifices. He sacrificed his normal life in the first book. He sacrificed almost everything to guide Lena to the right choice in her claiming and to get her back from harm. Now, his life? Goodness! Come on! How it happens is so beautiful though. He gets a chance some people don't, and that's to say goodbye.  

This book like the others is about the teenage struggle to figure how to balance relationships and to figure out what it wrong with both the Caster and Mortal world and fix it. Neither of which is easy. The ending was clever, and I have only twice before have I wanted to read the next book ASAP. I was glad I had it handy and finished it only hours after this one. 

Beautiful Darkness

Beautiful Darkness

By Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

"Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen.

Sometimes life-ending.

Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan's eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there's no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town's tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems." Courtesy of Goodreads

Rating: 5 of 5

Gosh, these books are good. It takes certain things about books that draw you in. I felt everything that Ethan felt. This book made me so angry because Lena had someone who would sacrifice his health, life, and everything else in between just to love her and be with her. Then, she runs off with this other guy and expects Ethan to just be chill and accept her decision. Ok, so I get that she is afraid of hurting him if she turns, and I get that she blames herself for Macon's death even though she had no idea what the Book of Moon would take from her. I think she took it all to extremes, and I don't understand how she could hurt Ethan like that regardless of how afraid she was to hurt him or how upset she was at what she had gave up for him. I feel bad that she had to go to such a dark place before she came back. I felt that Ethan had every right to have the relationship that he did with Liv. Ethan had every right to walk away right there, but, honestly, how can you give up someone who you met in your dreams? It must really hurt Liv to have feelings for someone and watch them break their own hearts for someone else. I love that these books are from Ethan's point of view. The fact that no matter what Lena did or who came into his life that he wanted to save her are absolutely incredible. I don't think I would have enjoyed them as much from Lena's. I adored how the claiming turned out. I love than Ethan and Lena had each other again.

Beautiful Creatures

Beautiful Creatures

By Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

"There were no surprises in Gatlin County. 
We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.
At least, that's what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything." Courtesy of Goodreads

Rating: 5 of 5

Ok, so I lost some sleep over this book. It's very captivating. I love them relationship between Lena and Ethan. For him to give up everything he had known for her is a big sacrifice, especially in a small town where image and pride is everything. These two are so great together. I wish I could communicate with people the way they could. The ending was probably my favorite part. It made me cry and shake with anger. Macon?! And Ethan?! Really?! Come on! Then the sacrifice and the cast and everything. It was so good. 

The book was very long for the story that it told. I thought I would never finish. The thing that threw me was that I watched the movie before reading the book. I normally do it the right way around but curiosity got the better of me. Big no, no in this case. I almost feel like the movie and the book are two separate things. It's kind of like the rumors spread in the town: same basic information, two totally different ways of portraying it. It also bothers me that Lena, her family, and Amma keep Macon's sacrifice from Ethan. I could understand why, but it'll ruin things in one way or another. 

The 39 Clues, Pt. 1

The 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones

By Rick Riordan

"Minutes before she died Grace Cahill changed her will, leaving her descendants an impossible decision: You have a choice - one million dollars or a clue.

Grace is the last matriarch of the Cahills, the world's most powerful family. Everyone from Napoleon to Houdini is related to the Cahills, yet the source of the family power is lost. 39 clues hidden around the world will reveal the family's secret, but no one has been able to assemble them. Now the clues race is on, and young Amy and Dan must decide what's important: hunting clues or uncovering what REALLY happened to their parents." Courtesy of Goodreads

Rating 5 of 5

I absolutely love this author. I loved the Percy Jackson series and thought I would give this a try. I wasn't disappointed

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The thought of going on an adventure and trying to find out a big secret would be absolutely amazing. Amy and Dan Cahill are your typical siblings in a not so typical situation. I loved that they chose to burn the two million in inheritance and go on the chase. I hope I would make the same choice in that circumstance. I could identify with how overwhelmed they felt by everything that was happening. It had to be hard on them. The odds continued to stack against them. Every member of the other teams seemed to be out to get them. (Uncle Oh is shady, too, but I'm going to reserve judgement for now.) This book is fun and educational. I learned more about Ben Franklin from this book than from the rest of my history courses I have taken (which I believe is ridiculous). Coming from someone whose almost least favorite subject was history, I think these books are a way to get kids interested in the subject. 

I feel I need to read further into the series in order to see if the things I have concerns with are resolved. 

The Warrior Heir

The Warrior Heir

By Cinda Williams Chima

"Before he knew about the Roses, 16-year-old Jack lived an unremarkable life in the small Ohio town of Trinity. Only the medicine he has to take daily and the thick scar above his heart set him apart from the other high schoolers. Then one day Jack skips his medicine. Suddenly, he is stronger, fiercer, and more confident than ever before. And it feels great - until he loses control of his own strength and nearly kills another player during soccer team tryouts.

Soon, Jack learns the startling truth about himself: he is Weirlind, part of an underground society of magical people who live among us. At their helm sits the feuding houses of the Red Rose and the White Rose, whose power is determined by playing The Game - a magical tournament in which each house sponsors a warrior to fight to the death. The winning house rules the Weir.

As if his bizarre heritage isn't enough, Jack finds out that he's not just another member of Weirlind - he's one of the last of the warriors - at a time when both houses are scouting for a player"

Courtesy of Goodreads

Rating: 4 of 5

I enjoyed this book. I have always had a soft spot for books with wizards, warriors, and dragons. This book has all of them though maybe not in the package you expected. The story developed perfectly and created a fantastic underdog story where it didn't seem exactly miraculous that the hero could possibly win. This was something that really caught my attention. Even though Jack went in to the bout less experienced and less trained in battle, he still had a fighting chance. I was really glad they did not make him seem completely hopeless. As you follow Jack through his journey, there are parts of this book that grab you and implore you to keep reading. I honestly loved the cat and mouse relationship between Jack and Ellen through the book, and where it ended up was both shocking and absolutely perfect. Honestly, it had me on the edge of my seat praying she didn't take the upper hand. 

However I found myself skimming parts of this book. I'm not sure if it was wanting to know the ending or if parts dragged on a bit much for me. I felt the romantic relationship between Jack and Ellen could have been spelled out a bit more at the end, but it might be waiting in the next book (which I have yet to read). The big thing for me was I was expecting a real dragon to set about the resolution. The way it was set about was fine, but all the talk of a dragon left me wanting one. Plus, I wanted those wizards to be scared a bit more.