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.”

Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.

Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.

Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was, a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often—violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.

Being a Keeper isn’t just dangerous—it’s a constant reminder of those Mac has lost. Da’s death was hard enough, but now her little brother is gone too. Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.

In this haunting, richly imagined novel, Victoria Schwab reveals the thin lines between past and present, love and pain, trust and deceit, unbearable loss and hard-won redemption.

 

The Archived is a story full of mystery, suspense, building love, and secrets that jump right out of nowhere. The story surrounds Mackenzie Bishop who is a Keeper. What is a Keeper? A Keeper is someone who is charged with keeping the Histories (dead people) from entering the mortal world. Mackenzie has been a Keeper since she was a little girl. She’s lived a life full of lies, death, betrayal, and without much sleep. But when Mackenzie and her family move to a hotel turned apartment, she is quickly overwhelmed with a massive amount of Histories in her districts. She doesn’t know what is bringing upon these Histories, but she does know that it needs to be fixed or there is going to be a big problem.

 

I cannot begin to tell you guys how thrilled I am that I ran across The Archived by Victoria Schwab. 2013 has started off very slowly with books. I’ve discovered some books that were good, but mostly I’ve just had horrible luck. I immediately got sucked into the world of The Archived. Victoria Schwab created such a interesting and wonderful world. I just want the next book in my hands right now.

One thing that I really enjoyed about this book were the characters. First, there’s Mackenzie. Mackenzie is strong and powerful in her own right, and she broke my heart at the same time. Mackenzie loses her little brother before the book takes place and that plays a major role in the book. I cannot imagine losing someone so close to me, and my heart just shattered for her.

And Wesley! Wesley, Wesley, Wesley. I find it really difficult to connect with male leads, but I adored Wes. I wish that he had a few more scenes than he actually did, but I loved how Mac and Wes were so hesitant to start whatever it is that they have. I hate books where the main characters jump at each other on the fourth chapter. That’s definitely not what happens in this book. It’s slow progression of confusion, interest, lust and chemistry.

Some people have had some problems reading this book, and I understand why. The first several chapters of this book are a little strange, but they’re not unreadable or even bad. The book is just so mysterious that it took awhile for my brain to catch up. I also had a problem during the very beginning because I didn’t realize that the “Da” was the grandpa, and I was really confused as to why her dad was still alive. My questions were answered by Victoria herself, but the book may have just started off slow for me because I didn’t understand who was who.

One problem I had with this book was that it was very repetitive. I felt that Mac was always in the Narrows and in the Archive, and I just wanted to see more of a mix. I didn’t want to see her just going to work everyday. Another thing was that the ending was very predictable to me. There was a small part that I didn’t guess, but I knew everyone who was involved with the scandal long before it happened. I’m one who usually guesses those things, though, so that might play a part in my judgment.

On a more positive note, I loved the mystery that surrounded The Archived. It kept me on my toes, and I was dying to find out what happened next. The book is great. The writing is fabulous. I just want to kidnap Victoria Schwab and have her write for me all day. I will definitely be picking up the next book in the series as soon as it comes out. And just so you guys know, The Archived is already out in stores! I saw the hardback cover at Barnes and Nobles today, and I felt this moment of just…pride…and it’s not even my book. Go pick this book up today!

 

Pages: 328

Publication Date: January 22nd, 2013

Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Source: ARC provided by publisher

Rating: :

 

Teaser Quote: “Because the only way to truly record a person is not in words, not in still frames, but in bone and skin and memory.”

In a city full of vampires, trouble never sleeps.

At the tender age of 27, Merit became a sword-wielding vampire. Since then, she’s become the protector of her House, watched Chicago nearly burn to the ground, and seen her Master fall and rise. Now she’ll see her mettle—and her metal —tested like never before.

It started with two . . . Two rogues vanishing without a trace. Someone is targeting Chicago’s vampires, and anyone could be next. With their house in peril, Merit and her Master, the centuries old Ethan Sullivan, must race to stop the disappearances. But as they untangle a web of secret alliances and ancient evils, they realize their foe is more familiar, and more powerful, than they could have ever imagined.

 

I have been such a huge fan of the Chicagoland Vampires series for several years now. I remember sucking down the first three books in a matter of days, and it has been a struggle to wait for the new releases ever since then. I cannot even being to tell you guys how much I love this series and how excited I was for this book to release. Unfortunately, I didn’t like it, and I’m going to find it really difficult to write this review.

I noticed in the last book, Biting Cold, that the series was starting to develop a sort of slowness. It took about a quarter of the way through for me to get interested in Biting Cold. Once I did, though, I fell in LOVE with the book. House Rules started out exactly like Biting Cold. It was really slow, but this time it started to edge on borderline boring. Unlike Biting Cold, House Rules just did not pick up. I ended up skimming the very last half of the book, because it just got too painful to read.

Ethan and Merit are still as adorable as ever, but I feel like there’s nothing really to latch on to now that they’re officially a couple. In previous books, we got to see the hunky, snarky, masculine side of Ethan, but now he seems pretty tame. Likewise, Merit has also changed. I have always liked Merit’s character, but I couldn’t stand her in House Rules. I felt like she had a total personality change. I cannot really put into words how she was different, but she was.

One thing that really bugged me was that I had a really difficult time finding individual voices for all of the characters. Some of you may know what I am talking about when I say that I can see the characters in my head and hear them speaking when I am reading a book. This time, though, everyone sounded like Merit. Another way to put it is that everyone sounded like Chloe Neill. I was reading the words, I was staring at the characters, but nobody really stood out to me. It kind of felt a little bland to me.

I’m starting to fear that this series is going on too long. I love these books, and I want to read about Ethan and Merit forever, but the books are no longer holding my interest. They are lacking the spark that the first three or four books have, and I want that spark back! But I did not feel that spark in House Rules, and I am unsure if I will be continuing the series.

 

Pages: 352

Publisher: NAL Penguin

Source: Finished copy provided by the publisher

Publication Date: February 5th, 2013

Rating: :

 

Teaser Quote: “But is like Twilight in real life!” Berna protested. “Sparkles!”