Something True by Kieran Scott // A Captivating Finale to Scott's Mythologic Trilogy

Something True (True Love #3), by Kieran Scott
Publication: February 3, 2015, by Simon and Schuster BFYR
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance, Mythology, Fantasy
Pages: 304
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased
Rating: ½

Will the love of her life distract True from reuniting with…the love of her life? Find out in the third book in Kieran Scott’s delightful series that blends ancient mythology with contemporary romance.
True Olympia is in the home stretch. After being banished to Earth without her powers as punishment for falling in love with a mortal, True was tasked with matching three couples before she could return home. Now, with two couples fully in love, she is ready for her time in New Jersey to come to an end.
But as easy as it should be to match one more couple, things are complicated by her immortal love Orion (who also appeared on Earth, just without the memory of their love). He’s dating another girl, but can’t seem to avoid spending time with True. Something about her finally seems familiar to him. But if True wants to get back with Orion for real, she needs to focus. Just one more couple, one more couple... 

My Thoughts:

Finales in a trilogy or series are always difficult to handle for me. THEY’RE SAD, OKAY? I’ve been anticipating Kieran Scott’s finale to her True Love trilogy since the start and I’ve totally been wanting to discover what will happen to True and if her relationship with Orion would be revived to what it once was. Thankfully, this was a great ending and I’m so glad that it ended the way it was. Now my collection is complete and I’m done with yet another series that made me smile. I love Greek mythology now! 

Now that we’re all done here, I’d definitely love to talk about what my overall thoughts of the series was. I guess that it all went from best to worst, not that this book is horrible or anything close to that. It started off with a five star rating, being beautiful and unique, but the series had gotten a little less awesome. But whatever, it was totally enjoyable throughout! Scott’s writing is as riveting as I always found it to be, from the start of the series to the end, or through any of her other books. I just can’t wait to see what else she has in store for readers in the future!

“Tears sprang to my eyes. Tears of relief, of joy, of sheer ecstasy. I clung to him and kissed him back with everything I had. I’d waited for this moment for what felt like an eternity. Ever since I’d been torn away from him back at the palace, and even more since the day he’d been sent to Earth and hadn’t known me.” (156)

Awh. So we all know that True had to bring three couples together in order to have her mission succeeded, basically. As she had completed two in the past novels, she has one more left, and that can definitely be her and Orion, right? Now her enemy’s in town and things are getting weird, but she still has Orion to wish about… that their relationship can go back to the neutral position.

I guess that the question that everyone is asking us is: Will they get back together and can True get back to Mount Olympus before time runs out? I obviously won’t spoil that for you (it spoils the whole series, gods), but I love the concept. Scott’s take on Greek mythology is wonderful, just wonderful. It seems like she has put so much research on her hands to make it perfect and unique, just to the right point. I kept second guessing everything and the captivation was real. Suspense is the author’s middle name.

“Just knowing my bow was with me was a tremendous boost. Holding it had made me feel myself again. And when I was Eros, Goddess of Love, nothing could stop me.” (214)

Kieran is a remarkable writer. Her books always go into some kind of depth and are paced perfectly. They’re rarely lacking something major, and I just want a huge collection of her works to indulge in and fall in love with. She’s the master of romance. The kissing scenes are always something that make my heart skip a few beats, just saying. *winks*

Something minor that was missing for me was a nice continuation of Orion’s character. I would’ve liked to find out more about him. He spent most of his time not remembering anything and just playing the role of a normal teenage boy, which he certainly wasn’t. I wish that we could’ve heard some of his background history and about some of the things that he and True had done together on Mount Olympus. Hmmph. But they had a cute romance and I shipped them together.

Kieran added some depth into some other characters who we only knew a little about, like Darla and Wallace. And guess what? They fell in love with each other as well. *rolls eyes* The take on popularity and the issues of high school was not-so-perfect and I had a few issues with it but it didn’t impact my rating too, too much anyway. 

I'm obsessed with this trilogy. I guess that it's even got me to believe in love at first sight and true love as well. You'll be superbly impressed from the start and see how intriguing the writing is. It's fluffy, cute and full of names that you probably won't be able to pronounce until after some practice but hey... it all works out fabulously because you like it no matter what. At least, that's how I feel with everything by the author. It's surely one of the most memorable series-finishers, that's for sure. Everyone can fall in love!

Do you, wonderful reader, think that you are able to make people fall in love? Or people who are in 'different social circles?'

ARC Review: Reawakened by Colleen Houck

Reawakened (The Reawakened #1), by Colleen Houck
Publication: August 25, 2015, by Delacorte Press
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy, Romance
Pages: 400
Format: ARC
Source: BEA/Publisher
Rating: 

When seventeen-year-old Lilliana Young enters the Metropolitan Museum of Art one morning during spring break, the last thing she expects to find is a live Egyptian prince with godlike powers, who has been reawakened after a thousand years of mummification.
And she really can't imagine being chosen to aid him in an epic quest that will lead them across the globe to find his brothers and complete a grand ceremony that will save mankind.
But fate has taken hold of Lily, and she, along with her sun prince, Amon, must travel to the Valley of the Kings, raise his brothers, and stop an evil, shape-shifting god named Seth from taking over the world.
From New York Times bestselling author Colleen Houck comes an epic adventure about two star-crossed teens who must battle mythical forces and ancient curses on a journey with more twists and turns than the Nile itself.

My Thoughts: 

The funny thing is that I never expected to get this book. On the last day of BEA, I went to a galley drop at the Penguin booth, not even knowing what books were being given out, and then I finally discovered that this was by MRS COLLEEN HOUCK when I looked over the day's haul that night. I was shocked. Yes, I had heard about this book and its concept, but I kind of was clueless at the same time. Reawakened was pure awesomeness and I need the sequel immediately. 

So I'm kind of clueless (as well) when it comes to Egyptian myths and its history. Basically all I know is: pyramids, mummies, sphinxes, Pharaohs and cats. Would you call be a history loser, my friends? I think that I would call myself that, too. This was my most anticipated read of the year and it rocked my world. With a mix of contemporary fiction through the setting of NYC, but mostly magic and spells in the Egyptian world, Colleen takes us into another world that's completely different than that of Tiger's Curse. Anyone who thinks that they sound awfully similar is completely wrong. Here we don't have a love triangle, for one. 

"It means a bit more than a simple thank-you. It is a term implying a deep sense of gratitude for another person. It is an expression of thankfulness for the enduring warmth and comfort one feels when in the presence of someone special. I do not thank you, Lily. I am thankful for you." (ARC, page 111)

'Aw' is the complete right word to use in this situation, my fellow friends. It's all about an Egyptian Prince and normal girl coming together to kick ass. Basically, at least. Lily is your average teenager who likes to spend time in the Met art museum, starring at the different pieces and getting inspiration, as well as people-watching. When she one day heads into the forbidden Egypt section, she meets Amon, who claims to be connected to Lily and needs her help to fight evil and get his inner organs back as he'll continue using some of her energy to stay alive. Anyways, it's a fucking long story to explain. But they eventually take a plane to Egypt, using Amon's magical powers to take over some people, and even see some kind of connection... mostly romantic between each other.

I love the length of this novel. It's long (with so many details that can explain everything to me without leaving me asking questions like an idiot) and the writing was fantastic. What kind of left me stirring to an awkward position was the pacing in the middle of the novel. I originally had the rating at 4.5 stars but I kind of lost that towards the middle and then it picked up again when everything turned out great afterwards. It then turned into a stellar series debut. 

This is going to be a series as well, just saying in case you didn't know. WOW. It had the perfect ending to act as a standalone but things also CAN'T END LIKE THAT either. It's a hand-in-hand 50/50 thing I guess. Either way, I'll read whatever Colleen writes because she's a YA master and her take on mythology and old tales rule quite often. If it isn't tiger princes, then it's an Egyptian prince who has so much passion and love for a regular girl who thinks he's the hottest guy on the planet when she usually never takes love for granted, you know?

"My love for you will not diminish. During each night that passes I will bring your image to mind. You are mine—my Nehabet—a rare desert flower that blooms in the waters of the oasis. As the days and years of your life go by I will keep watch over you, and when your blossom closes its petals, finally surrendering to the night, I will meet you at the dawn of your new existence and I will be your guide in the afterlife." (ARC, page 378)

I bet that you now know what I've been talking about for the longest time, tee hee. Lily was a perfect heroine who had so much in her and she kept showing her fullest potential, always. She added humour to a book that initially sounded like a dark fantasy with tons and tons of action. And Amon? HOLD ME BECAUSE I LOVE HIM SO MUCH AND THEN I CRIED AND CRIED AND CRIED WITH THE ENDING AS THE WORDS KEPT GOING. I wanted to pass out, honestly. Houck always comes up with the hottest fictional boyfriends for me, and now I just can't get over him and his cluelessness of reality and which clothes to put on. Eeee!

I'm hoping that you can tell that I enjoyed this book SO MUCH by now. I had such a great time reading it and trust me—it'll only take a quick sitting to actually get through it. Egyptian Princes are super hot and steamy, trust me. And trust me that the writing is fantastic and this will be on everyone's Top Ten Favourites Lists of 2015 by December, AND STARE AT THE COVER, PEOPLE. It's more beautiful than anything else I've seen, you should see the way it feels. *rubs the cover* I want to be reawakened by the gorgeous Amon and have Lily by my side as a best friend. *wiggles eyebrows*

*A review copy was provided by the publisher via BookExpo America in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much!*

Complete Nothing by Kieran Scott Review

Complete Nothing (True Love #2), by Kieran Scott
Published On: September 30, 2014, by Simon and Schuster
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Mythology, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 336
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased
Rating: 

True is not exactly loving New Jersey. Banished from Mount Olympus and tasked with helping couples find love without using her powers, the goddess-formerly-known-as-Cupid is having a tough time. Especially now that True’s immortal love, Orion, has also appeared at her New Jersey high school—but with no memory of their relationship.
To distract herself from seeing Orion flirt with another girl, True focuses her efforts on making a match: Peter and Claudia. Peter is the star quarterback and the most popular guy in school. But he’s insecure about his future, so he preemptively dumps Claudia, his girlfriend. (If she won’t want to be with him later, why stay together now?) Claudia doesn’t take the breakup too well, and she’s ready to show the quarterback of their rival school just how ready she is to get over it.
But True sees something in these two seniors. She believes they should be together—but can she help them find their way back to each other (and get herself closer to home)? Or have things already spun too far out of control?

A few months back, I’ve come to realize that I’m a very picky and subjective person when it comes to choose to read a book. I’m a very sceptical person, especially with genres that I don't really read much of—like mythology. This book is definitely like a crazy very-much modern day version of Percy Jackson, with a female kick-ass protagonist and a point of trying to get people to fall in love.

I have to say that the first book was better than this—the sequel. But deep into my heart, I can still tell you that this is one of the best series I’ve read in a long time. Scott is probably the master of contemporary and her books are a pleasure to read—always. This was like the book where we should know what’s happening, and it’s a continuation.

In the last book, True matched a couple up and she now has two more in order for her to head back to Mount Olympus and be with Orion, her true love. But now he’s here, at Lake Carmody High, and doesn't seem to remember True at all. And he’s all she cares about. When Peter, the star quarterback has messed up feelings about his relationship with his loving girlfriend, Claudia, they break up and True begins to try her best to get them back together.

“Every last one of them thought I was a freak. Including the love of my life.” 

Firstly, can I just mention that these covers are so gorgeous? LIKE, THEY’RE SO SIMPLE BUT BEAUTIFUL. And especially the last book—OMG. But really, this book was beautiful inside and out as well, whereas the first was just precious to the heart. This concept was a continuation but total fun for someone who’d like a light, quick romance read mixed in with some Greek mythology and history.

To let you know, for 336 pages, this book’s plot was very well-detailed but to the point. There weren't too much of things, and I was barely bored. There was a new romance, new set of characters and a new set of POVs, switching between Claudia, Peter and True. Scott gave us a whiff of what these characters were really thinking and what they meant during some times.

What I did have a tiny problem with was the characters themselves, preferably Peter and Claudia. I loved them together (I shipped them so hard) but both of them were too sassy and idiotic at times. Claudia was too snobby and she tried to hard to accomplish something that was impossible in her situation which she knew would never happen and peeked for attention. Peter, on the other hand, was actually the same. He was a show-off, and he took his life too easily and thought about having fun. He ran away from seriousness.  

"This was so wrong. We were soul mates. We were each other one and only. I knew him like the back of my hand. Shouldn't he have known me no matter what? Shouldn't our eternal connection be more powerful than any spell a god could cast on him?"

True, of course was our protagonist—she’s the person who figured out the plot. I never have problems with her, and I just want her to succeed happiness. Aha, that scene when she gets a cell phone for the first time was absolutely hilarious.

Romance, passion, funniness and sexiness, this book had it all. It’s a very simple read that you don’t end up having any large thoughts about, and you’ll feel like you need to grab the last book right away. The romance was absolutely worth fighting and reading for, and what we were left with were a few mishaps with the characters, specifically Peter and Claudia. If you adored the first book as much as I did, then I’d say to go and grab this one right away, and pre-order the last book as well. :)