So what’s the game now? This, or the life I used to know?

When Miki Jones is pulled from her life, pulled through time and space into some kind of game—her carefully controlled life spirals into chaos. In the game, she and a team of other teens are sent on missions to eliminate the Drau, terrifying and beautiful alien creatures. There are no practice runs, no training, and no way out. Miki has only the guidance of secretive but maddeningly attractive team leader Jackson Tate, who says the game isn’t really a game, that what Miki and her new teammates do now determines their survival, and the survival of every other person on this planet. She laughs. He doesn’t. And then the game takes a deadly and terrifying turn.

I’ll be honest, the summary of Rush made me a bit nervous. How on earth was an author going to create a book about a girl in a video game world killing aliens? It sounds ridiculous. Fortunately, I actually really enjoyed it. It was fresh, fun and new. Yes, there were a few downfalls for me, but overall the ups made up for the downs.

My absolute favorite part of Rush was Jackson Tate. I found myself speed reading to find scenes with him. He. Was. AMAZING! It’s not easy to find a male character to fall head over heels in love with, but Jackson Tate is going to be a big hit with girls all across the globe. Ladies, if for no other reason, you MUST read this book for Jackson Tate!

The concept of the “video game” actually ended up being pretty cool. First of all, it never really felt to me that they were in a video game. For a large part of the book they are in reality, and then they get “pulled” to this alternate universe to kill Drau. So, it’s just like these really awesome action scenes that had me on the edge of my seat. The only downfalls with it were that there weren’t enough of those scenes for me. Also, it drove me nuts that I didn’t know how to pronounce Drau. I hate it when I don’t know how something is pronounced, because I spend the whole saying it different ways in my head. Not a big issue, but it did bug me a bit.

There were a couple downfalls to Rush, but nothing that really made me say WTF? It’s very, very, very, VERY insta lovey. Miki and Jackson hit it off like that and before you know it it’s the “I love you” and “I love you moooooooore!” I loved Jackson, so I couldn’t get too annoyed, but cmon! I need the pressure and the hesitation! I need my romances to develop over a very lengthy period of time.

Another thing that drove me absolutely bonkers was the fact that everything got answered at the very end of the book. It starts out with Miki dying and going into this alternate universe, and she knows absolutely nothing. Of course Jackson is an a-hole and doesn’t tell her anything. He just leaves her in suspense (as well as us!) and throws out tidbits of information here and there. In the very last few chapters of the book is when the information starts to come out. By that time, I was agitated. Just give me the information. Or at least don’t make me wait until the end of the book.

Finally, the book was very predictable. There were a few things that happened that I didn’t necessarily suspect to happen, but it was a very predictable plot. This isn’t a bad thing! Some things predictable is nice! In this case, though, I wanted more than the average cliché. I wanted suspense, unpredictability, and a plot that would leave me DYING for the next book. Don’t get me wrong, I’m going to read the next book, and I’m very upset that I probably have to wait like a year for it, but nothing happened at the end of the book that I didn’t see coming.

Overall, this was a fun summer read. It was something that I haven’t read about before, and that’s what makes this book special. This book is not for everyone, but I would recommend that everyone give it a shot. This book released tomorrow, so make sure you get your copies!

Pages: 352

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Publication Date: June 11th, 2013

Rating: :

In a futuristic world nearly destroyed by religious extremists, Justin March lives in exile after failing in his job as an investigator of religious groups and supernatural claims. But Justin is given a second chance when Mae Koskinen comes to bring him back to the Republic of United North America (RUNA). Raised in an aristocratic caste, Mae is now a member of the military’s most elite and terrifying tier, a soldier with enhanced reflexes and skills.

When Justin and Mae are assigned to work together to solve a string of ritualistic murders, they soon realize that their discoveries have exposed them to terrible danger. As their investigation races forward, unknown enemies and powers greater than they can imagine are gathering in the shadows, ready to reclaim the world in which humans are merely game pieces on their board.

Gameboard of the Gods, the first installment of Richelle Mead’s Age of Xseries, will have all the elements that have made her YA Vampire Academy and Bloodlines series such megasuccesses: sexy, irresistible characters; romantic and mythological intrigue; and relentless action and suspense.

This is going to be a really quick review, because I did not finish this book. I will not be rating this book. I am just giving my opinion on this book for fans and potential readers of Richelle Mead:

Gameboard of the Gods had a lot of potential, but it fell flat for me. I got about 100 pages into it, and I was dying by that point. Richelle Mead created an awesome world and an amazing concept for a book, but it stayed at one level consistently. There was no action, character development, etc.

A huge part of the problem with Gameboard of the Gods were the two main characters, Justin and Mae. First of all, Justin was a very sleazy character to read about, and he never got better. It ended up being very difficult to read about a character that I didn’t like. There was nothing really wrong with Mae, but she was pretty boring to read about. I just had a really hard time putting the two of them together in my head.

On a positive note, the world that Richelle Mead created in Gameboard of the Gods was awesome. I give her that. It takes talent to create the type of world that she created, and that alone will draw readers in. Unfortunately, the book fell flat, and the world she created was not enough to make it better.

It breaks my heart that I was unable to finish this book, because I am such a HUGE Richelle Mead fan. I’ve noticed recently, though, that her books just are not as good as they usually are. The Last Vampire Academy book was a snore, I cannot get into the Bloodlines novels, and now I had to put down Gameboard of the Gods. Will I continue to read her books? Yes, but I probably won’t be buying any more of them…

I know that there are a ton of you who are excited for Gameboards of the Gods. Some of you have waited for months for this book…maybe even a year. And while I would love to just tell you about the awesome books I read, I also think that it’s my job to tell you about the books that I didn’t like quite so much..or at all. Just because I didn’t like this book, doesn’t mean that you’re not going to like this book. Keep researching opinions! But now you have mine.

Pages: 464

Publication Date: June 4th, 2013

Publisher: Dutton Adult

Rating: N/A

After a bizarre accident, Ingrid Waverly is forced to leave London with her mother and younger sister, Gabby, trading a world full of fancy dresses and society events for the unfamiliar city of Paris.

In Paris there are no grand balls or glittering parties, and, disturbingly, the house Ingrid’s twin brother, Grayson, found for them isn’t a house at all. It’s an abandoned abbey, its roof lined with stone gargoyles that could almost be mistaken for living, breathing creatures.

And Grayson has gone missing.

No one seems to know of his whereabouts but Luc, a devastatingly handsome servant at their new home.

Ingrid is sure her twin isn’t dead—she can feel it deep in her soul—but she knows he’s in grave danger. It will be up to her and Gabby to navigate the twisted path to Grayson, a path that will lead Ingrid on a discovery of dark secrets and otherworldly truths. And she’ll learn that once they are uncovered, they can never again be buried.

Be warned in advance that I am going to do nothing but rave about this book throughout this entire review, because I want it to be no secret that The Beautiful and the Cursed by Page Morgan is my favorite read of the year. We’ve read through all the book hypes. Witches, vampires, werewolves, creepy babies born to vampires, mermaids, selkies, zombies, even aliens. But what we haven’t read about is gargoyles. The Beautiful and the Cursed is set around the 19th century. Two girls, Ingrid and Gabby, and their mother move from London to Paris to open an art gallery. They were supposed to meet their brother, Grayson, at their new estate, but he wasn’t there when they arrived. From there, the two girls learn that there is so much more to the world than they ever imagined. Gargoyles roam the earth and are cursed to protect the humans who live on their territory. Not only that, but there is such things as angels and demons…as well as an underworld…which is exactly where Grayson has been taken to.

I could sit here and give you the whole dang synopsis of the book, but I’m afraid that that would give too much away. Instead, I want to highlight the whole awesome package of this book. I’m not the biggest fan of historical fiction. I often find it boring and outdated. So, when I received The Beautiful and the Cursed in the mail, I was a little nervous to start it. I’m not quite sure what inspired me to read this book. I think it might have had something to do with the cover. Let’s face it, it’s no secret that I have a thing for book covers. Anyways, I was hooked into the book from the very first chapter. Every word that Page Morgan wrote was so freaking beautiful. I have to admit, I’m devastated that I’ve already finished it.

When I read that The Beautiful and the Cursed was about gargoyles, I was instantly intrigued. I haven’t read about gargoyles before. I’m sure that there are some books out there featuring gargoyles, but none in any current popular YA books. I wasn’t disappointed; the gargoyles were perfectly written. They were strong, vulnerable, dedicated, livid…any emotion that you can think of, I’m sure it can fit in with some gargoyle. I really loved the relationship between Ingrid and her gargoyle, Luc. They had a forbidden romance of sorts, and that’s something that’s going to draw a lot of you in.

There is a sort of love triangle with Ingrid/Luc/Vander. Normally, I’m not the biggest fan of love triangles, because I often find them very predictable. I have no idea who Ingrid is going to end up with. I also really like both Luc and Vander, so there’s not one particular guy that I’m rooting for. I think that people who have issues with love triangles are not going to get annoyed with this one. Quite frankly, all of the characters are so loveable that it doesn’t even really matter.

I don’t want Ingrid and her men to steal the show here, because the real catch of this book was Gabby and Nolan Quinn. I have not loved a couple so much since Jace and Clary from The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare. I whipped through this book just for the simple purpose of getting to the next scene between Gabby and Nolan. It was hot. It was sexy. It was everything I could ever ask for in a YA romantic relationship. To be honest, Gabby and Nolan are the reason that I’m having such an issue that I already finished the book. I need more of them, and I need more of them now.

Have I convinced you to go read this book, yet? If you’re not a fan of historical fiction…don’t worry! Neither am I. But The Beautiful and the Cursed is, by far, the best book I have read all year. I would call it the next Mortal Instruments. Convinced you , yet? Go and buy this one! It’s out in bookstores!

Pages: 352

Publication Date: May 14th, 2013

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Rating: :

Teaser Quote: “The hellhound’s paws scrabbled over the tunnel floor and it heaved itself toward Nolan’s voice. Sounds, amplified in the darkness, were all Gabby had to piece together what was happening. A grunt of force from Nolan’s throat, the cool chime of air rushing over a silver blade, a short, panicked choking sound from the beast, and then the scattering of gravel as the demon’s massive form buckled and fell. An explosion of green sparks lit the tunnel before fizzling back to blackness.”