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Review: Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik

Title: Epic Fail
Author: LaZebnik
Pages: 295 pages paperback, 309 ebook
Rating: ★★★★

I started Epic Fail because I was in the mood for a light, sweet read that would put a smile on my face and wouldn’t make my heart hurt at all. That is exactly what I got.

The story centers on Elise and her relationship with Derek. Derek is the son of two famous movie stars and despite her desire to not judge him based on that, in trying to do so, she ends up judging him the wrong way from the beginning. They go back and forth in liking each other and not, but it doesn’t get annoying or frustrating. It still holds that sweet feeling of high school romance.

The other reason I enjoyed this book so much was the relationship between Elise’s sister Juliana and Derek’s friend Chase. Those two are the initial reason Elise and Derek begin to hang out and even though they aren’t the main part of the story, I loved reading the little bits of their relationship as well. They have the high school drama as well, but once again, it wasn’t eye-roll worthy. It made the characters a little more real to have something like that happen, but they also didn’t break down like the “typical” teen in a book would do. Juliana brushed herself off and kept on moving forward.

Elise’s family was a little extreme, but they were made that way. Her little sister Layla is a lot to handle and even though she was one of the annoying characters in the book, in a way, her excessive amount of drama even made sense.

Epic Fail is a quick read book, but it is still a sweet look at high school romance in a unique setting. It made me smile and it’s the perfect kind of book for a pick-me-up kind of afternoon.

If Epic Fail sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
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Review: Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

Title: Hopeless
Author: Colleen Hoover
Series: Hopeless series
Pages: 486 pages
Rating: ★★★★★

Here’s the thing. There’s a lot about Hopeless I shouldn’t like. Holder was a little too perfect for my tastes, there’s a lot of drama, and the high school is stereotypical. The adults are a little too conveniently absent, there’s a friend you shows up occasionally…basically, a lot of the things that usually turn me completely off a novel are here and yet…I loved it. Hoover wrote everything in such a way that I didn’t care about any of that. I was completely engrossed in the novel and never wanted to put it down.

Let’s start with Holder first. I mean…they guy is practically perfect and usually, that bothers me. I like when they screw up and say stupid things and aren’t perfect. Holder knows the right thing to say, the right thing to do even before Sky knows it’s what she needs. I think in any other book, I would have been rolling my eyes and yet I found myself smiling each time he spoke of did something. I think I was okay with it because it wasn’t because he was perfect, but rather because he pretended to be and that confidence made everything work.

The storyline is filled with turns and even though I had figured most of it out pretty early on, I still wanted to see how everything played out. I wanted to see Sky face everything and see how she came out on the other side. I was rooting for her the entire time and her strength was amazing. She found that being weak doesn’t mean you aren’t strong…it only means you need a break before turning around and facing everything again. She found her strength in her weakness and I love it.

Hopeless is a book that I love more than I should. I love it more than I thought I would. It’s heartbreaking and yet impossibly sweet. Hoover’s novel sucked me in and I couldn’t put it down. Definitely an amazing read.

If Hopeless sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
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Review: The Shoemaker’s Wife by Adriana Trigiani

Title: The Shoemaker’s Wife
Author: Adriana Trigiani
Pages: 475 pages hardcover, 496 paperback, 494 ebook
Rating: ★★★★★

Wow.

That is the only word that was running through my head as I finished reading The Shoemaker’s Wife. I did not expect to feel as much as I did. This book grabbed me from the very first word and wove its way through my heart.

Ciro and Ezra grew up in villages just a few miles from each other and yet never met. Ciro and his brother are raised by nuns after their father dies in a mine accident in America and their mother is unable to care for them. Ezra grows up on the mountainside, taking on more responsibility than she is asked, growing up faster than the rest of her siblings. Their first meeting is filled with such sweetness in such a sorrowful moment that I couldn’t help but wish for them.

Both end up going to America; Ciro is to become a shoemaker’s apprentice after being banished from the mountain and Ezra is going so she and her father can make more money in order to build their dream home. Ciro and Ezra run into each other in New York, but once again, life has different plans for them.

Throughout the entire novel, my heart was with these two. There were so many chances, so many opportunities for these two to get together, but their timing was just never right. Their paths crossed, but didn’t entwine.

By the end of the novel, tears were running down my face. I simply cannot think of powerful enough words to describe how much this book touched me. Trigiani pulled me right in and I fell in love. Ezra and Ciro had such a perfectly imperfect, sweet, wonderful, powerful, all-consuming love for each other that it was almost as if I could reach into the novel and touch it.

The Shoemaker’s Wife will grab your heart and make you cry with how amazing it is. I truly do not have the words to say how much I love and adore this book.

If The Shoemaker’s Wife sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
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Review: Sever by Lauren DeStefano

Title: Sever
Author: Lauren DeStefano
Series: The Chemical Garden series
Pages: 371 pages hardcover/paperback, 384 ebook
Rating: ★★★★

I wasn’t incredibly impressed with the first two books of this series. Pieces didn’t feel right and some felt a little forced. I wasn’t really a fan of the Rhine and Gabriel romance and I wasn’t sure DeStefano would be able to wrap things up in a way I liked.

Sever was nothing like I expected. I thought I knew how I felt about everyone and every situation Rhine had gone through. DeStefano completely turned it all over and had me feeling things I never thought I would. She expertly wrote a story that shows that most people are not completely good, nor are they completely evil. Motivations can cloud judgements and what one person views as right, another can view as wrong.

Sever is not a book that focuses on romance, and I’m thankful for that. It focuses on character and looking at life in different ways. It looks at love and how it helps and hurts, how love can be different things to different people, and how love can move people to do things they wouldn’t do before.

So much happens in Sever, there is so much revealed, that as I got closer and closer to the end, I wasn’t sure how the story would be able to resolve. The last pages are touching, reflective and perfect.

The Chemical Garden series started out a little shaky for me. It felt disjointed and a little rough. Sever is by far the best book of the series. It is heart-wrenching at times, full of hope in the darkest times, and every other page has a new revelation. I’m glad the focus was on the characters instead of the romance. It wrapped the series up the only way it could have ended. I’m looking forward to reading more of DeStefano’s writings in the future.

If Sever sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
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Review: Evidence of Life by Barbara Taylor Sissel

Title: Evidence of Life
Author: Barbara Taylor Sissel
Pages: 304 pages paperback, 320 ebook
Rating: ★★★★

I’m not sure what my expectations where when I started reading Evidence of Life. I thought the plot sounded interesting and there were so many places the story could go that I was ready to sit down and enjoy the ride.

Abby is not always the most reliable character and I really enjoyed that. While some people would look at the storm that blew through and accept that her family was gone, she is driven to find the answers. She needs to know what happened and in her quest to discover that, she starts to doubt the life she thought they had.

Sissel wrote a story that weaves in and out, leaving little clues here and there, just to see if you can pick up on them. I thought I had the story figured out, but then something new would pop up and it would make me stop and think.

I think what I enjoyed most about this novel is how well Sissel wrote both a mystery novel and a look at the human character in the same book. One did not detract from the other; they only enhanced each other. In order to figure out what happened to Abby’s family, first you have to figure out what is happening with Abby. It was wonderful.

Evidence of Life is a fantastic novel that takes a look at how not knowing the answers can push a person further than they ever thought possible. It twists your heart at times and you can’t help but hope for a future for Abby.

If Evidence of Life sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
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Thank you to Mira Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson

Title: The Madness Underneath
Author: Maureen Johnson
Series: Shades of London series
Pages: 290 pages hardcover, 304 paperback/ebook
Rating: ★★★★★

I’m always afraid to start book series because the second book rarely lives up to the first. For some reason, the second book always seems like more of a way to get from A to C without really having much of a point. The Madness Underneath is not one of those books. It’s definitely not a book that can stand by itself, but it is its own book and serves a greater purpose than tying book 1 to book 3.

The Madness Underneath deals with the aftermath. The aftermath of the attack on Rory, the aftermath of her newly discovered power, the aftermath of what happened in the bathroom at Wexford. There’s a lot of material to work with in this book and Johnson does a suburb job of handling it all.

Rory has been living at home with her parents, but just wants to get back to her life in London. She wants to go back and act like she’s the same person she was before everything happened. Once back at school, she realized she’s bit off a little more than she can chew. The world didn’t stop for her while she was gone, and now she’s lagging just a little bit behind everyone else.

On top of that, she still has to deal with her new ghost knowledge and powers. There are things going on that only she and a few of her friends know about, but even they aren’t sure how to handle this new situation.

The Madness Underneath didn’t have me fearing every little noise, but it still had a sense of creepiness. There was no way to guess at what was about to happen and the ghosts are still sticking around. This was a book even better than the first. After the major cliffhanger in The Name of the Star, I thought I’d be able to handle anything Johnson threw at me. But the ending of The Madness Underneath punched me in the gut. I simply cannot wait to read what comes next.

If The Madness Underneath sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
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Thank you to Putnam and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: Prodigy by Marie Lu

Title: Prodigy
Author: Marie Lu
Series: Legend series
Pages: 356 pages paperback, 372 hardcover/ebook
Rating: ★★★★★

I’ve been getting lucky lately when it comes to reading the middle book in a series. So far, they’ve been avoiding the sophomore slump and have been as good, if not better, than the first novel. Prodigy definitely doesn’t disappoint.

There is no break in the action from Legend. The story starts right away with June and Day trying to find the Patriots. From there, it is non-stop, keep-you-on-the-edge-of-your-seat fantastic. The world Lu has created drew me right in and it felt like I was running right along with them.

June and Day’s relationship has moved quickly. They’ve only known each other for about a month when all of this goes on. That doesn’t bother me though. There is something so perfect about how these characters are written, so amazingly human and real, that everything that happens feels perfect. They have those lusty moments teens are supposed to have, they can be over-thinkers, jealousy is there, they say things without thinking…all of that combines to create two wonderful people in the middle of a sweet romance in the middle of a crazy world.

The twists and turns this novel takes are out of this world. Just when I’d think I’d have something figured out, Lu would throw a new loop in and pull me completely off course. And the ending. Wow. I had been hearing about the gut-punch that was awaiting me at the end of this book and thought I was ready. I had prepared myself for so many different scenarios that when the end actually came and I turned the last page, I was still reeling.

Prodigy is the kind of book that you can’t start and stop. You have to sit down and read it all in one go. It pulls at your heart, hurts you where it counts, and yet you still keep coming back for more. I cannot wait to get my hands on Champion and find out what is in the future for June and Day.

If Prodigy sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
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Review: Shadows in the Silence by Courtney Allison Moulton

Title: Shadows in the Silence
Author: Courtney Allison Moulton
Series: Angelfire series
Pages: 469 pages hardcover, 384 ebook
Rating: ★★★★★

Shadows in the Silence blew me away. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading and as soon as I finished, I had that feeling. There’s really no way to describe that feeling, but you know when you have it.

Ellie really comes into her own in this novel. She’s strong, determined, and really figures out who she is. I really liked the focus on Ellie and her humanity. Moulton did an amazing job of speaking about what makes humans human without sounding like she was trying to preach; she wrote about souls perfectly. The struggle Ellie faces between saving the human world and possibly losing herself, or keeping who she is and risking evil taking over is done in a breathtaking way.

Will and Ellie together are fabulous. They realize that while love can make you weak in the knees, it does not make you weak in the heart. It gives you something to fight for when everything looks like it is stacked against you. They rely on each other, but they aren’t dependent upon each other. There’s a wonderful balance of give and take in their relationship and it’s perfect.

I was very hesitant about reading the Angelfire series. I just wasn’t sure if it would be my cup of tea. Moulton’s writing shook me and made me think, really slow down and savor each word she wrote. Ellie and Will’s story is timeless and I’m completely in love with them. Shadows in the Silence is a gripping, fast-paced novel that keeps you turning page after page, needing to know what’s next. Even in the darkest times, Moulton created a world that still had that ray of hope.

This is a definite must-read series for me. Don’t make the mistake I did and pass it up for two years. Read it, and read it as soon as possible.

If Shadows in the Silence sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
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Review: Wings of the Wicked by Courtney Allison Moulton

Title: Wings of the Wicked
Author: Courtney Allison Moulton
Series: Angelfire series
Pages: 516 pages hardcover, 544 paperback, 533 ebook
Rating: ★★★★★

I had heard of Angelfire a couple years ago. I thought it sounded a little meh and predictable. I didn’t look at it again for almost two years, when the final book in the series was getting ready to be released. I both love and hate myself for that decision. I love that by putting reading it off for two years, I don’t have to wait a year to see how the series ends.

I hate myself because that is two years that this book series wasn’t in my life.

Wings of the Wicked was spectacular. If the action and drama of having to destroy the demonic wasn’t enough, Ellie must deal with finding a way to balance every piece of her. She needs to be Gabriel, she needs to be Ellie, and she needs to be Will’s. There is always the worry in her mind of losing one of those pieces and not knowing what her world would be like if a chunk of it was suddenly gone.

Will and Ellie’s romance was superb. It wasn’t the typical Young Adult, teen love angst. Yes, some of that was there, but there was another layer to it because even if they looked young, their souls had been through so much. I felt so caught up in their every interaction, my heart hurting at one moment and soaring the next.

I’m so happy and relieved I was able to get Shadows in the Silence the moment I finished Wings of the Wicked because I would have crumbled if I had to wait. I want to dive right in and let Moulton’s story wrap its arms around me and take me right back into Ellie’s life. I am officially a Courtney Allison Moulton fan.

If Wings of the Wicked sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
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Review: Stealing Parker by Miranda Kenneally

Title: Stealing Parker
Author: Miranda Kenneally
Series: Hundren Oaks series
Pages: 462 pages
Rating: ★★★★

Sometimes, companion novels worry me. I spent time falling in love with the characters of one book and introducing me to other characters can rattle me a bit. I was already so in love with one set of characters, why not write more of their story? Why risk writing a new story when people already love the original?

Stealing Parker makes me rethink my view on companion novels. It is a separate entity from Catching Jordan, but it is still just as sweet. Through the entire novel, I just wanted to pull Parker away from the choices she was making and make her see what she was doing. My heart hurt for her and how much hurt she had gone through. Trying to navigate through some tough issues while still being a teen is never easy.

Right from the beginning, it’s easy to see things aren’t going to be easy. Things keep building up; creating a precarious tower that could fall at any second. For each little happy thing that happened, something equally as horrible was added to the pile until it all falls down.

The ending was sweet, but I felt like there was a little bit more story to tell. Parker has a few choices in front of her and I wish I got to read the path she decides to take. The end tied up loose ends, but the ends were still a little bit frayed and there was the possibility to explore just a little bit more.

I really didn’t think I would end up enjoying Kenneally’s books as much as I have. Catching Jordan caught my attention and as soon as I finished it, I knew I was going to be a Kenneally fan. She writes teens exceptionally well and manages to put in some good life tips while doing so. Stealing Parker is another fabulously sweet novel and has me anxiously awaiting Things I Can’t Forget.

If Stealing Parker sounds like your kind of book, you can purchase it here:
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