In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she finds herself struggling to draw the line between her Alchemist teachings and what her heart is urging her to do. Then she meets alluring, rebellious Marcus Finch-a former Alchemist who escaped against all odds, and is now on the run. Marcus wants to teach Sydney the secrets he claims the Alchemists are hiding from her. But as he pushes her to rebel against the people who raised her, Sydney finds that breaking free is harder than she thought. There is an old and mysterious magic rooted deeply within her. And as she searches for an evil magic user targeting powerful young witches, she realizes that her only hope is to embrace her magical blood-or else she might be next.

Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, the Bloodlines series explores all the friendship, romance, battles, and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive—this time in a part-vampire, part-human setting where the stakes are even higher and everyone’s out for blood.

 

Like most of you reading this, I have been a huge fan of Richelle Mead for years now. I devoured her Vampire Academy series, and I was crushed when it ended. I wasn’t an overly huge fan of Sydney in the VA series, but I was willing to give Bloodlines a chance. I remember that I read Bloodlines, and I just thought it was ok. It wasn’t Richelle’s best work ever, but there were also a couple books in the VA series that I was severely disappointed in. So, I read The Golden Lily when it came out, and I was impressed! It wasn’t the best book that I had ever read, but I liked it, and I was really excited to read The Indigo Spell when it came out. Unfortunately, I didn’t like it. At all.

I’ve always found Sydney’s character to be a little bland. I know that’s how she’s supposed to be, but I don’t really think that that makes for good reading. I want her to develop a spark. Yes, that spark is slightly developing, but I shouldn’t have to wait until book 4 or 5 to really start to see it.

The one upside about this book was Adrian. Adrian. Adrian. Adrian. I love him. I loved him more in VA, probably because I like Rose a lot better than Sydney, but he still has that charming, adorable, flirty, sexy quality about him in this series. He was the only reason I stuck with this book as long as I did. And he was the only reason that I skimmed the last half of the book.

I know that everyone was all excited about the whole Marcus Finch thing, but honestly…I just didn’t care. I didn’t care when it was mentioned in The Golden Lily, and I don’t care now. Who cares who Marcus Finch is? And I ended thinking that while reading The Indigo Spell. There was nothing special about Marcus Finch. If anything, I thought he was a creep. So, I didn’t really understand the whole hoopla about that, and I still don’t. I actually wish that that whole plotline would have been edited out or just edited better..

I did find the magic portion of The Indigo Spell very interesting, but I was so sick of having Sydney whine about using magic. She’s definitely come to terms with it a lot better than she had in the previous books, but seriously…get over it! I feel that Sydney just wants to be this giant goody two shoes, and I’m sick of it. I want her to be interesting! I want to root for her and Adrian…and I want to read an amazing book in this series…but I’m starting to think that that’s not going to happen.

I’m sorry, guys, I know how much a lot of you loved this book and love this series. And really…my review really doesn’t mean that much. The Indigo Spell has a 4.53/5 rating on Goodreads out of 2,059 reviews. That has to mean something, right? So, I think it comes down to the fact that this series just isn’t for me. I will be continuing the series, because I love Adrian so much, but I will not be buying another book in this series.

 

Pages: 401

Publication Date: February 12th, 2013

Publisher: Razorbill

Rating: :

 

Teaser Quote: “Because I can’t help doing it,” he said with a shrug. “And hey, if I keep loving you, maybe you’ll eventually crack and love me too. Hell, I’m pretty sure you’re already half in love with me.”

“I am not! And everything you just said is ridiculous. That’s terrible logic.”
Adrian returned to his crossword puzzle. “Well, you can think what you want, so long as you remember-no matter how ordinary things seem between us-I’m still here, still in love with you, and care about you more than any other guy, evil or otherwise, ever will.”

“I don’t think you’re evil.”

“See? Things are already looking promising.”

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn’t want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she’s made for herself-and realizes that the life she’s always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

I literally just finished this book, and I need to share all of my feelings right away. Before I get into all that, though, let’s start out with a brief introduction of The Selection by Kiera Cass. The Selection is set in sort of a dystopian world where everyone is classified by numbers. If you’re a 1-3, then you’re living pretty well. You never go hungry or have to work too hard. If you’re a 4-5, things are a little different. You work a little harder, and you’ve probably experienced hunger every now and then. And then you have 6-8 (I’m assuming that’s where it stops…I didn’t hear anything about 9 or 10.) These people experience starvation, work really hard only to receive barely any money, and they are basically treated as the lowest of the low.

America Singer and her family are 5′s. They work as artists, singing and playing music to people who can afford their services. America has been in love with Aspen (a 6) for the last two years. But when she receives a letter in the mail for a chance to become one of the selected, Aspen jumps at the chance for her to receive a better life.

Every time a prince is ready to get married, there is a (supposedly) random drawing of 35 girls to come into the palace and fight to win over the prince’s heart. And this is where a broken hearted America ends up after Aspen decides to let her go. America has it set in her head that she is just there for the money and the food, and she has absolutely no intention of marrying Prince Maxon. But unwanted feelings start to develop once she realizes that Prince Maxon is not the pompous ass that she once thought him to be. Now America must battle her feelings for both Aspen and Prince Maxon and thing about her wants and needs for a change.

 

The Selection had a very Hunger Games type of feel to it that I really enjoyed. No, there’s no killing or bloodshed of teenagers, but there are 35 girls in one palace who are fighting for the attention and love (not the mention the title) of Prince Maxon. You can only imagine the entertainment that this brings. Only a girl can truly appreciate how vicious girls are to other girls, and I just loved the whole concept.

It did take me a little bit to really get in to The Selection. There were a few moments that I found myself a little bored. Once America goes to the palace, though, things start to pick up and the energy starts to increase. I adored the relationship between America and Prince Maxon. She was snarky, untrained, and just herself really, while he was regal, properly trained, a true gentleman, and really confused on how to be an individual and communicate his true feelings. I felt that they blended very well together, and I’m rooting for him to eventually steal her heart.

I did have a few moments where I was honestly confused about the era of the books setting. There was a big chunk of the book that made me think it was historical fiction, but there were also parts of the book that made me think it was set in the future. I mean….the book was obviously set in the future, but a lot of the mannerism reminded me of something you would see in like the 1800′s. This did not really take away from the book, but I was pretty confused about where we were at.

I feel like The Selection is something that the YA community hasn’t really seen before. It’s not your typical dystopia book. I also never ( and still don’t) knew what was going to happen. I liked the fact that Kiera Cass kept me on my toes, and I am absolutely dying to see what is going to happen in the next book, The Elite.

The ending of The Selection was a bit of let down for my taste. I was expecting something a little bit more actiony or scandalous. I also was a little let down that there were not very many “aha!” moments in the book. The writing made up for it, but that’s why I have to dock a star from the rating. Overally, the book was really good. It kept my on my toes, and I am ecstatic for the next book to come out. The Selection is definitely a book to get your hands on.

 

Pages: 327

Publisher: Harper Teen

Publication Date: April 24th, 2012

Rating: :

 

Teaser Quote: “What do you think my chances might be of finding a soul mate in the group of you? I’ll be lucky if I can just find someone who’ll be able to stand me for the rest of our lives. What if I’ve already sent her home because I was relying on some sort of spark I didn’t feel? What if she’s waiting to leave me at the first sign of adversity? What if I don’t find anyone at all? What do I do then, America?”

In the beginning, there’s a boy standing in the trees . . . .

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she’s part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn’t easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place and out of place at the same time. Because there’s another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara’s less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she’d have to make between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

Unearthly is a moving tale of love and fate, and the struggle between following the rules and following your heart.

 

You guys voted for me to read Unearthly by Cynthia Hand, and here’s my review.

 

I have never been a fan of angel books. I’ve tried to read several, and I’ve usually put them all down. The only exception is Immortal City by Scott Speer, which is an absolute amazing read that I would recommend to everyone. Unearthly was just mediocre to me. Let me explain why.

I found the main character, Clara to be so dull and boring. I found her to have no spark, character or perk that made me sway her way. And because she is the narrator of this book, I was really bored. There was actually a point that I set the book down and decided to not read anymore. I was going to give it a DNF (did not finish) and call it good. The only thing that made me pick the book up again was Tucker.

Tucker, one of Clara’s love interests, is one of my all time favorite male characters. I found him to be so amazing. One thing that I really liked about this angel/paranormal/fantasy book is that it had a major contemporary piece to it. There is a large chunk of time dedicated to the romance between Clara and Tucker, and I loved those scenes. Thankfully, those scenes happened right after I picked the book up again, and they made me fall in love with the book itself.

I didn’t like the concept of Clara having to go do this purpose. For those of you who haven’t read this series, Clara is an angel (well…part angel) whose family up and moves to a different state so that Clara can save a boy named Christian from a forest fire to fulfill her purpose (something given to all angels.) I didn’t like Christian, and I didn’t like the concept of the purpose. I just honestly wish that the paranormal aspect of this book had been taken out and that it had been strictly contemporary.

I had a really big problem with the mom in this book. I don’t care if you’re kid has a purpose to save some random guy. If she wants to be happy with someone else and live her life…then let her. Don’t go grounding her because she doesn’t want to settle down with a guy that she doesn’t even love. I couldn’t stand the mom.

I’m sitting here talking about all of the characters and not really about the story itself, so let’s take a different approach. I found the story and writing to be very mild and relaxing. It definitely is not a book full of action and suspense. It is also very predictable. I think that the girls over at epic reads accidently gave away the ending to me, so I can’t say that I wouldn’t have been shocked…but I do think that I would have guessed what happens. Most of the characters in the book were pretty bland, but there were a couple exceptions..namely Tucker and his sister. I do have to say that I expected madness to go down with Angela’s character. I was expecting something that never happened in the book, which is really exciting. I’m going to be shocked, though, if my predictions don’t occur in the rest of the series.

Overall, I would not recommend anyone to go out and buy this book. It’s definitely something that you want to borrow from a friend or the library. I went out and bought the first two in the series, because I had heard how amazing it is, and I’m really disappointed that I did so. On the upside for all of you, I’ll probably be giving my copies away once I finish the second book.

Christina reviewed the book in 2011 and gave it a whopping 5 stars! Check out her review here!

 

Pages: 435

Publication Date: January 4th, 2011

Publisher: HarperTeen

Rating: :

 

Teaser Quote: “Think about Tucker. Think about a good memory, she whispers in my mind. Remember a moment when you loved him. And just like that, I do.

“What did the fish say when it hit a concrete wall?” he asked me. We’re sitting on the bank of a stream and he’s tying a fly onto my fishing rod, wearing a cowboy hat and red lumberjack-style flannel shirt over a gray tee. So adorable.
“What?” I say, he grins. Unbelievable of how gorgeous he is. And that he’s mine. He loves me and I love him.
“Dam!” he says.”