Review: Defiance

Title: Defiance
Author: CJ Redwine
Series: Defiance #1
Publisher: Balzer & Bray
Source: ARC from Publisher

Within the walls of Baalboden, beneath the shadow of the city's brutal leader, Rachel Adams has a secret. While other girls sew dresses and obey their male Protectors, Rachel knows how to survive in the wilderness and deftly wield a sword. When her father, Jared, fails to return from a courier mission and is declared dead, the Commander assigns Rachel a new Protector, her father's apprentice, Logan--the same boy Rachel declared her love for two years ago, and the same one who handed her heart right back to her. Left with nothing but a fierce belief in her father's survival, Rachel decides to escape and find him herself. But treason against the Commander carries a heavy price, and what awaits her in the Wasteland could destroy her.

At nineteen, Logan McEntire is many things. Orphan. Outcast. Inventor. As apprentice to the city's top courier, Logan is focused on learning his trade so he can escape the tyranny of Baalboden. But his plan never included being responsible for his mentor's impulsive daughter. Logan is determined to protect her, but when his escape plan goes wrong and Rachel pays the price, he realizes he has more at stake than disappointing Jared.

As Rachel and Logan battle their way through the Wasteland, stalked by a monster that can't be killed and an army of assassins out for blood, they discover romance, heartbreak, and a truth that will incite a war decades in the making.

My thoughts:

I have only just discovered that I really love fantasy about last year when I read The Girl of Fire and Thorns and it literally blew my mind. I've been on the hunt for other fantastic fantasy novels ever since because I seem to have this thirst that only really great fantasy novels can quench! The cover of Defiance just screams epic adventure and I knew it was going to be a must read for me!

Defiance is not really the typical fantasy novel in the fact that it takes place many, many years in the future when the world has become a barren wasteland instead of taking place in an alternate world. But it almost seems like it takes place in a completely different world because of how much the world has changed. Instead of towns and cities, there are only these little settlements that have rulers who don't really like each other very much.  People who live there have reverted back to a very old fashioned way of living. And in the miles between these settlements there are a lot of barren wastelands that are plagued by some very vicious creatures called the dark ones.

There is just something so appealing about the male hero and protector in fantasy novels! Maybe because they're almost like a throwback to Arthurian times and they're these iconic knights in shining armor characters. They just twist my heart and make me fall hard! Logan is definitely worthy of being one of the Knights of the Round Table! He is protective, fiercely loyal, strong and compassionate all while being hot and irresistible! And then Rachel is a rare female character who doesn't annoy me. I see her as this woman with two sides. She plays the good little girl while she's in public but while she's at home her father has taught her to be a fierce warrior and how to take care of herself! And she's not a whiner! She rises up to become Logan's equal instead of someone she has to depend on.

Defiance was definitely one of my favorite reads of 2012. It's an adventure with twists and turns around every corner. And that passionate love story had me on the edge of my seat just waiting for them to take their relationship to the next level! If you love fantasy and you have not read Defiance yet, DO IT!!!! So good!

Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Title: Cinder
Author: Marissa Meyer
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #1
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Source: Purchased

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

My thoughts: 

When I bought this book, Marissa was on her book tour and Cinder and just been released. I knew there was a lot of hype surrounding Cinder but for some really it just didn't appeal to me.  I had never read anything dealing with cyborgs and honestly I thought the was weird-striking-but weird, nonetheless. So I bought the book in April of last year and I'm telling you, it sat on my shelf for a least 6 months and my blogger friends kept asking me if I had read it yet! I pretty sure I read it just so that I could say yes when they asked me again. Even though I wish I had read it earlier and that I hadn't waited so long, I'm glad I read it later because it was really fresh in my mind for when I read Scarlet!

I cannot believe how completely involved I got into Cinder! I loved the futuristic setting, the mystery of the moon colony and the Lunars' powers, the part cyborg people, the cultural Chinese elements mixed in with a heart warming boy meets girl story. Cinder is a very exciting adventure that had me turning pages until the very last chapter!

I can honestly say that I liked, if not loved all the characters. Cinder in very endearing and charming in the way that she is somewhat an airhead and a tomboy with a little sarcastic wit. She is so likable and one of those characters that I wish was a close friend in real life. Kai is definitely the embodiment of prince charming; he is a swoon worthy gentleman! But above all my favorite character is Cinder's bot personality Iko! She was definitely the comic relief and had me rolling with her blunt statements! 

Cinder was a true highlight of 2012 and had me anxiously awaiting the release of Scarlet! It's really a very unique novel in a sea of YA novels that tend to feel the same. If you're reading this review and you STILL haven't read Cinder, read it right now! Right this minute! 

Chris Colfer Signing Recap and Giveaway!

I have known for some time that Chris Colfer was writing a middle grade novel but what I didn't know was that he was going to do a book tour! I just figured that because he's super famous and so busy with Glee that he probably wouldn't.  But to my surprise, no only did he do a book tour but he had two separate appearances in the Los Angeles area! I was so excited to go; I couldn't wait!!

So we (my sister, my friend and I) arrived at Mrs. Nelson's around 2:30 and there already were a whole bunch of people there.  We hung around until they started passing out wrist bands so that we could line up.

We came prepared! It was a pretty warm day so we brought a huge umbrella, sunscreen and a few chairs because we didn't want to sit on the ground. 

While we were waiting, the staff of Mrs. Nelson's passed around a copy of The Wishing Spell for everyone to sign if they wanted as a gift for Chris. My sister put her phone number in it!

When he finally got there, they herded everyone through as fast as they could. There were no pictures, no personalization of books, no talking, reading or Q&A.  It was kind of a let down. It all happened so fast I didn't even have time to process that I met the guy! Luckily my sister didn't follow the rules and snapped a few pics! 

And she got one of Chris and me in the same picture!!

Craziness, I know!!! So when it was all said and done, I got my book signed, he actually said words to me and my sister got a picture with him and me, sort of! 

Kind of a crappy signature, but oh well! I'm sure he signs thousands of autographs a year! 

And now for the giveaway! Unfortunatelly I was unable to get my ARC signed but that doesn't mean one lucky person won't get the chance to win it! It's still a free book! 

Rules:

• Must be 13 years or older to enter
• Must be a US resident
• Giveaway will end promptly on Friday Aug. 17 at 11:59pm
• Winner has 48 hours to claim their prize or another winner will be chosen! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: The Little Woods

Title: The Little Woods
Author: McCormick Templeman
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Release Date: July 10, 2012
Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads
Source: ARC

Are the woods behind St. Bede's Academy really haunted, or does bad stuff just happen there? When Calista Wood, a new student, arrives midway through her junior year, St. Bede's feels like a normal school . . . until she discovers that a girl had disappeared a couple of months earlier. Some kids think she ran away, others think she was murdered, but it's only when Cally starts digging around that she finds the startling truth.

Watch as Cally enters a world of privilege, weekend-long parties, high school romances, and . . . well-kept secrets. This page-turner will appeal to teens looking for a fast-paced thriller. Written in a voice at once gripping and crystal clear, debut novelist, McCormick Templeman, will take readers on a twisting and turning journey as only a "new girl" can experience.

My thoughts: 

I was so excited to get my hands on this book and start it! I thought I was really going to get a good scary story but when I discovered was a bit different. I wasn’t necessarily disappointed, because it was good, but it turned out to be more of a mystery/thriller type book. It isn’t bad because I love a good mystery that I can’t figure out but I was really hoping for something with a little more horror.

I was very intrigued by the synopsis! A little girl and her friend go missing in the wood near a boarding school and then about ten years later the little girl’s sister decides to attend that boarding school. We’re given no information of the facts surround her disappearance, so going into the story you don’t know if there could be a paranormal aspect to it. So there’s all this mystery surrounding this school before she even gets there.

Personally, I think the main character Cally is a little crazy for willingly applying and enrolling in the very school where her sister went missing! Really, really creepy! And of course there is more going on than Cally could ever have imagined. Before she arrived at the school, another girl went missing and most people believed she ran away. But when Cally and her friends find a body in the wood, things begin to unravel very quickly!

Boarding school dramas are always very interesting to me because with the absence of parents and constant chaperons, almost anything can happen. You don’t question why kids are sneaking around the school grounds late at night or throwing parties or hooking up behind the gym. It’s a boarding school and they’re usually not going to get caught.

Overall, I really enjoyed this thrilling mystery! I couldn’t figure out who had done it by the end so that’s a win in my book. I give The Little Wood 3 hearts for being an interesting mystery even though I was hoping for a horror.

Review: Shadow and Bone

Title: Shadow and Bone
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Series: The Grisha Trilogy #1
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.
Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads
Source: Purchased

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart.

My thoughts: 

I pre-ordered this book because of the amazing early reviews that it was receiving and I don’t do that very often, especially for a debut author. I went into this book knowing it was going to be awesome and unique, read it in about a few hours and finished it knowing that it had exceeded my high expectations. I loved this book and I would recommend it to anyone who loves to read fantasy!

There’s a map in this book! Whenever there are maps, I try to get a good feel for where cities and countries are so that I don’t have to flip back and forth but I always end up flipping back and forth! Which it didn’t mind at all because I wanted to know everything about this world that Bardugo created!

Alina is such a great heroine and an awesome well-rounded character! She’s strong, grounded, loyal, she knows who she is and when the story beings, she has accepted her lot in life. She fights in the King’s army and she knows she’ll probably die doing it. But her whole world changes when her undiscovered magical talent is revealed during a near fatal attack. This is when Alina struggles to put her trust in those around her because she doesn’t feel like she really belongs.

The Darkling is also one of my favorite characters! I was drawn to him from the beginning (maybe for the sheer fact that he’s called The Darkling) and I rooted for him throughout the story! Even after finishing it I still hope that he’s going to turn out to be good and that he isn’t evil! I also loved him because he was always encouraging Alina and supporting her when most of the Grisha snubbed their noses at her. He knew she was going to be great even when she was having trouble summoning her powers.

I was able to attend a book signing and an author panel in which Leigh Bardugo was a part of. I just love listening to authors talk about how they create their worlds and invent their characters. Bardugo mentioned that she wanted take the intangible concept of darkness in a country or nation and put it into reality. Ravka is literally divided by an impenetrable darkness which is filled with terrify monsters. I think that hearing tidbits from authors gives me a better understanding of the book and a greater appreciation!

Shadow and Bone is such a great book that sucked me in during the first chapter, making it impossible to put down! I give Shadow and Bone 5 hearts for being one of the best fantasy novels I’ve ever read!

Review: Something Like Normal

Title: Something Like Normal
Author: Trish Dollar
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's
Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads
Source: ARC compliments of the publisher

When Travis returns home from a stint in Afghanistan, his parents are splitting up, his brother’s stolen his girlfriend and his car, and he’s haunted by nightmares of his best friend’s death. It’s not until Travis runs into Harper, a girl he’s had a rocky relationship with since middle school, that life actually starts looking up. And as he and Harper see more of each other, he begins to pick his way through the minefield of family problems and post-traumatic stress to the possibility of a life that might resemble normal again. Travis’s dry sense of humor, and incredible sense of honor, make him an irresistible and eminently lovable hero.

My thoughts:

Something Like Normal is a powerhouse that grabs you from the beginning, takes you on a ride and doesn’t let go until the last page. That it literally how I felt when I finished Something Like Normal after reading it in only a few hours! I really wish I would have known the pull it had on me beforehand because then I wouldn’t have read it at work!

I’ve said it before and I will say it again, I love a good young adult novel from the male perspective. I’ve read a few fantasy and paranormal novels from the male perspective but I think this is the first contemporary. It’s really refreshing because young adult males see the world differently than females. Travis is back home for a short time after serving in the Marine Core in Afghanistan. He has come back a different person and feels uncomfortable around the people he once knew. While at a bar he runs into a girl he knew in middle school but didn’t talk to too much in high school. He is also suffering from PTSD after losing a good friend in the war. This is a book about healing, acceptance and learning how to get back to yourself after a tragic situation leaves you broken.

Harper (love that name!) is one of my favorite characters in this book and I have to give her major props! I would not be able to date a guy after he absolutely ruined my life. I am a grudge holder and I’m really bad at giving people second chances. But that’s what Harper did! She saw the changes in him and was willing to leave what was in the past in the past. I also love how the relationship was built. They got to know each other and they built a foundation of trust before they admitted that they liked each other. They had their ups and downs because they’re not perfect. It was really beautiful without the case of insta-love.

I fell head over heels in love with Something Like Normal! It’s everything I could ask for in a contemporary novel and it’s an outstanding debut! I have to give Something Like Normal 5 hearts because it’s one of the best contemporaries I’ve read this year!

Review- The Girls of No Return

Title: The Girls of No Return
Author: Erin Saldin
Publisher: Scholastic
Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads
Source: Purchased

Erin Saldin's The Girls of No Return is a lacerating young adult debut about girls, knives, and redemption. The Alice Marshall School, set within a glorious 2-million acre wilderness area, is a place where teenage girls are sent to escape their histories and themselves. Lida Wallace has tried to negate herself in every way possible. At Alice Marshall, she meets Elsa Boone, Jules, and Gia Longchamps, whose glamour entrances the entire camp. As the girls prepare for a wilderness trek, Lida is both thrilled and terrified to be chosen as Gia's friend. Everyone has their secrets – the “Things” they try to protect; and when those come out, the knives do as well.

My thoughts:

It’s been almost a month since I’ve read this book and I still don’t know how I feel about it. I guess it just threw me completely off guard and not in a good way. When I first saw the cover and the title, I thought that the book would be a little bit scary. I was actually hoping that it would be. Here is what I thought it would be about in one sentence: A bunch of girls who are at a camp or boarding school, row off together but something so terrible happens that only one of them returns. That was not what The Girls of No Return was about.

I crack open the book, so excited to get started on this super crazy, creepy mystery, that I could hardly contain my excitement when the book starts off with these really cryptic journal entries about something that happened that the main character can’t talk about. My excitement continues until about half way through the book when I realize that my assumptions are probably wrong. As it turns out, it’s about a girl who is sent to an all girl boarding school in the middle of nowhere because she’s rebellious.

Lida is a pretty cool character who really discovers who she is and what she’s good at while she attends the Alice Marshall School. I felt so bad for her after another girl cut off her hair while she slept during her first night there. Which made me think there was going to be some kind of mean-girl action going on which would have been awesome, by the way.

As far as the story goes, I really liked it. I’m always up for a good boarding school book and even though it was an all girls’ school, it still kept me interested. It was paced really well and I didn’t find myself getting bored. The ending was crazy and I definitely didn’t expect it. I give the Girls of No Return 3 hearts because the back and forth flash back action was done really well.

Review- Breaking Beautiful

Title: Breaking Beautiful
Author: Jennifer Shaw Wolf
Publisher: Walker Children's
Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads
Source: ARC compliments of the publisher

Allie lost everything the night her boyfriend, Trip, died in a horrible car accident—including her memory of the event. As their small town mourns his death, Allie is afraid to remember because doing so means delving into what she’s kept hidden for so long: the horrible reality of their abusive relationship.

When the police reopen the investigation, it casts suspicion on Allie and her best friend, Blake, especially as their budding romance raises eyebrows around town. Allie knows she must tell the truth. Can she reach deep enough to remember that night so she can finally break free? Debut writer Jennifer Shaw Wolf takes readers on an emotional ride through the murky waters of love, shame, and, ultimately, forgiveness.

My thoughts: 

Breaking Beautiful is about a girl dealing with the after math of a very serious car accident that ended her boyfriend’s life and coming to terms with their abusive relationship after his death. Most of the crash is missing from her memory because of her head injury but it turns out there is a lot more surrounding the accident than she first believed.

I really wanted to absolutely love this book. I really did. I mean, look at that gorgeous cover! I’ve been pinning for this book ever since I read the synopsis almost a year ago. But to be honest, because I must always be honest, it was slow and hard to get into. It’s evident after the first two chapters that her boyfriend was abusing her for most of their two year relationship. There are a few flashbacks but I really would have liked more.

I have a really hard time reading books about abusive relationships because they really get my blood boiling. Personally I can never understand what it’s like to love someone and have that same someone hurt you over and over again. If it had been me, I would have kicked him to the curb the first time he laid a hand on me. The part that really pissed me off was when he hit her in front of his friends and they pretended like they didn’t see it. What a bunch of pussies for not standing up to their friend.

I didn’t like that everything happened so suddenly at the end. I think I would have liked it better if it had been more progressive. A whole lot of shit when down at the end, almost all at the same time. Maybe the book wouldn’t have been so slow if it happened intermittently instead of all at once. I was feeling overwhelmed while I was reading it. I give Breaking Beautiful 3 hearts because even though it was heartbreaking it was slow going.

Review- Lies Beneath

Title: Lies Beneath

Author: Anne Greenwood Brown

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Release Date: June 12, 2012

Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads

Source: ARC compliments of NetGalley and Delacorte

Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy. But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother's death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family's homestead on the lake. Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's daughter, Lily. Easy enough — especially as Calder has lots of practice using his irresistible good looks and charm on unsuspecting girls. Only this time Calder screws everything up: he falls for Lily — just as Lily starts to suspect that there's more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined. And just as his sisters are losing patience with him.

My thoughts: 

I have always been a firm believer in the fact that there is not enough mermaids in YA fiction. Mermaids have always been my favorite form of paranormal characters and sadly the YA mermaid books are few and far between. Ever since I saw The Little Mermaid in theaters with my grandma when I was four years old, I knew I was hooked (pun intended, haha)! I don't care if the mermaids lure men to their deaths with their beautiful songs or if their only joy in life is collecting forks and other human objects, we need more of it in YA!

I really enjoyed Lies Beneath. I came into it completely objective and I actually thought it was the story of a mermaid because of the cover and not a merman. I really liked the creativity that Brown had with the story. It's not your typical story of merpeople living in colonies under the sea. Calder lives with his sisters and they murder humans for their life force. It's very intoxicating for them which is why they are drawn to humans in the first place. They live on land (even though they move around) but they can't be out of the water for more than twenty-four hours at a time. Every winter they are drawn back to Lake Superior where they were born. But this particular winter, they go back to murder a man who unknowingly owes them a life debt.

What I loved most was the perspective of the guy. From the beginning we really don't know a lot about him, but throughout the story his life is revealed and how he came to be a merman. I definitely don't picture Calder as the person on the cover of the book but more of a surfer build, tan with shoulder length blond hair. Absolutely swoon worthy! Lies Beneath is also a story about romance. He's definitely falling in love with Lily when him and his sisters are trying to lure her dad to his death.

I loved the whole mystery surrounding the reason for the life debt. I always enjoy a good mystery especially if I can't guess the ending!  There's a lot of family history that they uncover and it had me anxiously reading until the last page! Lies Beneath is an excellent YA mer story that I will be continuing to read in the future. I give Lies Beneath 4 hearts because I finally have a book boyfriend that is a merman!  

Review- Harbinger

Title: Harbinger
Author: Sara Wilson Etienne
Publisher: Putnam
Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads
Source: ARC from Putnam

When sixteen-year-old Faye arrives at Holbrook Academy, she doesn't expect to find herself exactly where she needs to be. After years of strange waking visions and nightmares, her only comfort the bones of dead animals, Faye is afraid she's going crazy. Fast.

But her first night at Holbrook, she feels strangely connected to the school and the island it sits on, like she's come home. She's even made her first real friends, but odd things keep happening to them. Every morning they wake on the floors of their dorm rooms with their hands stained red.

Faye knows she's the reason, but what does it all mean? The handsome Kel tries to help her unravel the mystery, but Faye is certain she can't trust him; in fact, he may be trying to kill her - and the rest of the world too.

Rich, compelling writing will keep the pages turning in this riveting and tautly told psychological thriller.

My thoughts:

Reading Harbinger did not go as well as I had planned. When asked if I would like to review it, I was so excited! I featured as one of my WoW’s because I loved the cover and I thought the synopsis sounded fantastic. I got it pretty early on so I put off reading it closer to the release date. I started it in November and put it down 80 pages into. The release date came and went and I decided to give it another try. Maybe when I tried to read it the first time I was going through some kind of reading slump and I might love it this time around. I hoped for these things, I really did! I so wanted to love this book.

First of all, I want to say that I know there has been some controversy around negative reviews. I personally don’t see anything wrong with them as long as the blogger/review is not personally attacking the author. I believe it’s rude and inappropriate and if someone has something to say to an author, it should be done in private and not on a public forum. With that being said, I’m giving my honest opinion of a book that just didn’t connect for me as it did with others.

I’m going to try and tell you exactly why I didn’t like this book but first just picture me struggling through every last page. Since I got this book for review and I wanted to speak honestly about my thoughts, I knew I had to read the whole thing.

A big part of why the book just fell flat for me was the characters. I wasn’t able to connect to Faye or Kel or any of the other characters for that matter. I felt like we weren’t given a chance to get to know them. All of a sudden they’re thrown into this school without a solid pretext of their lives before. Even after the last page I couldn’t tell you who was good and who was evil or even what had just happened.

I got the sense that Harbinger is set in an America that is not the same as the present America. It seemed to be a poor attempt at building a dystopian world. Nothing was clearing stated about the world outside of the academy.

Even after all my dislikes, this book still had some redeeming qualities. It was creepy and I liked that. It was also so confusing that I read to the end just to know what happened. These are all good elements for a book to keep the audience reading. I also liked that the island and the land that the school was on had a past and a history. I really enjoyed when the sections of the journal was revealed. It really kept me reading.

I’m glad there are readers out there who really enjoyed this book but it just wasn’t for me. Which is why I can’t justify giving it any more than 2 hearts.

Review- The Alchemy of Forever

Title: The Alchemy of Forever
Author: Avery Williams
Series: Incarnation #1
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads
Source: Purchased

Seraphina has been alive since the 1300's, made immortal when the boy she was beginning to love back then, Cyrus, saved her from death with a strange liquid - a method of alchemy that lets them swap bodies with any human being. But now, in modern day America, Sera has decided that she can no longer bear the weight of stealing people's lives so she can keep living on. So she decides to run away from Cyrus and end her stolen existence once and for all. Her plan goes awry when she accidentally takes the body of a dying teenager and feels forced to take over her life. When the lines between Sera and Kailey's identity begin to blur, Sera finds a reason to desire to live once more. But she can't shake the guilt of having taken Kailey's life, even if she was dying. And what if Cyrus finds her?

My thoughts: 

When I first picked up The Alchemy of Forever I was super excited but the cover is just gorgeous and the synopsis sounded amazing! I also needed a book by a debut author for January but that's beside the point. But in the end I was a tab bit disappointed because of the direction it went.

When I started the book, I just ate up the beginning. I thought it was an original and unique idea of being able to separate the soul from the body therefore living as long as they desired. Seraphina comes by this existence by accident when she is stabbed. Her good friend Cyrus is the son of the town's alchemist and they believed they had found a way to separate the soul from the body. They had not tried it yet but since she was dying, he felt like he had no choice and her soul is put into the body of a near-by servant girl. Fast forward almost 800 years where Cyrus, Seraphina and a few others that they've picked up along the way are living in New York. Over the years, Cyrus has become controlling and doesn't let Seraphina out of his sight and she is dying to get away from and to finally die. She makes makes this whole elaborate plot to escape and then it kind of becomes a normal story of a girl just trying to be a teenager and fitting in.

I felt like the story went a little bit downhill from there. It became boring because it was just chronicling the life of a girl who was trying to become the girl of the body she stole. She knew that if she ran away from Cyrus that he was going to do everything in his power to find her. I was just annoyed by how easily she let her guard down and just seemed to forget that Cyrus was looking for her. If felt like there could have been more to the story but maybe the author is just saving all the good stuff for the next book! I give The Alchemy of Forever 3 hearts for originality and creativity with the hope that the next book will be more exciting.  

Review- Slide

Title: Slide
Author: Jill Hathaway
Publisher: HarperTeen
Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads
Source: ARC from HarperTeen

Vee Bell is certain of one irrefutable truth—her sister’s friend Sophie didn’t kill herself. She was murdered.
Vee knows this because she was there. Everyone believes Vee is narcoleptic, but she doesn’t actually fall asleep during these episodes: When she passes out, she slides into somebody else’s mind and experiences the world through that person’s eyes. She’s slid into her sister as she cheated on a math test, into a teacher sneaking a drink before class. She learned the worst about a supposed “friend” when she slid into her during a school dance. But nothing could have prepared Vee for what happens one October night when she slides into the mind of someone holding a bloody knife, standing over Sophie’s slashed body.

Vee desperately wishes she could share her secret, but who would believe her? It sounds so crazy that she can’t bring herself to tell her best friend, Rollins, let alone the police. Even if she could confide in Rollins, he has been acting off lately, more distant, especially now that she’s been spending more time with Zane.

Enmeshed in a terrifying web of secrets, lies, and danger and with no one to turn to, Vee must find a way to unmask the killer before he or she strikes again.

My thoughts:

Over the past few months I have really become a huge fan of books that I consider to be mysteries with just a hint of the paranormal. In these books, there's usually no such thing as vampires or werewolves, just someone with a slight ability that makes them unique. For example: Violet from the Body Finder Series can sense the echos of those that have been murdered, Delany from Fracture is drawn to those that are dying and Vee from Slide can fall into a person's body if she is holding one of their personal items. I really love a good mystery, who-done-it type of book.

The main character Vee pulled me in two opposite directions. On the one hand she is very closed off, has about one friend who doesn't even know about her ability and acts like a mother to her younger sister. She seems to be this really closed off person who doesn't really let anyone in but as soon as the new guy in town shows a little bit of interest in her she is all over him! I thought it was kind of a contradiction to her character.

I thought Vee's little sister was a brat and I wanted to slap her so many times! She was always mad at Vee because Vee chose to be best friends with someone who was considered a “loser” and never really wanted to go to the big parties or the social functions at school. Characters like that are just really shallow and very annoying.

Even though I sort of figured out what was going on about two-thirds of the way through the book, I still really enjoyed it and I was still surprised to find out who all was involved in the murders. I thought it was a very good stand alone book and I have just come to realize that it's the first in a series. I don't know how this is going to be a series because I think it's a great book by itself. I give this book 3 hearts because I really thought it was an original idea but I figured out who was master-mind murderer.