Angel Burn, by L.A. Weatherly

Angel Burn (Angel #1), by L.A. Weatherly

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Angels

Other Angel Books

Rating: 4/5 stars










Goodreads Summary: "Willow knows she's different from other girls, and not just because she loves tinkering with cars. Willow has a gift. She can look into the future and know people's dreams and hopes, their sorrows and regrets, just by touching them. she has no idea where this power comes from. But the assassin, Alex, does. Gorgeous, mysterious Alex knows more about Willow than Willow herself does. He knows that her powers link to dark and dangerous forces and that he's one of the few humans left who can fight them. When Alex finds himself falling in love with his sworn enemy, he discovers that nothing is as it seems, least of all good and evil."


Review:

• I had enough of those cheesy books with love triangles and where the love interest is some sort of supernatural creature. Angel Burn is the new "it" book that every teen girl and boy should pick up, the events were fascinating and the whole book itself was addicting.
• This book was very fast paced, although it did take a while for the romance to start. 
• I loved Alex and Willow together. Some people may disagree, but I totally ship them. They're a perfect couple! 
• Willow was a good character, I like girls who are unique and different from other characters like those who resemble those other brats in other books.
• I found this to be gorgeous and addicting. I got sucked in from the start. L.A. Weatherly's writing style is different from other authors and I really would like to see what else she is going to come up with in the future.

Flowers in the Attic; Petals on the Wind, by V.C. Andrews

Flowers in the Attic; Petals on the Wind (Dollanganger #1-2), by V.C. Andrews

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Thriller, Mystery

Other Dollanganger Books

Rating: 4/5 stars










Summary from Back Cover (Goodreads didn't have one): "Chris, Cathy, Cory, and Carrie had the perfect lives- until a tragic accident changed everything. Now they are trapped in their grandparents' attic, waiting for Momma to figure out what to do next. As the days turn into weeks and the weeks turn into months, the unspeakable horrors that plague them are rivalled only by the sinful jealousies that begin to rise... Flowers in the Attic and Petals on the Wind were the first two books ever publishes by V.C. Andrews, who has more than eighty-five million copies of her books in print. Join the legions of readers who have already discovered this twisted and terrifying saga of a family blinded by fear, money, and lust."


Review:

• When I bought this, I barely scanned through the summary and just bought it right away. I've heard that V.C. Andrews was a legendary classic teen novel writer, so I decided to give her a try.
• For an author's debut novels, this was written spectacularly. I was very pleased with how it ended up- one word in my mind stayed with me throughout the novel- addicting. This book got me so addicted, I didn't want to put it down and I was stuck reading it late into the night.
• The first one was the one that caused the rest of the books to unfold. The whole main story happened in the first book, and the second revolved from there.
• I hated Cathy's mother, she was such a bitchy person. She didn't care about them at all, she just wanted fortune and romance. The children were probably an accident. Marrying your half-uncle? What was that? I guess that's where Cathy got that... scandalous personality from.
• I hated Cathy so much. In the first book, she was okay, and an okay storyteller/narrator. But in the second, oh my. She basically ruined it, even though I liked the second book better than the first. Cathy was so... fictional. She never had friends because she was too busy running after men... who weren't even her age. She didn't know what she wanted, she went off cheating on different men, and they all still adored her, like how could that happen in reality? How did she have any friends? I'm sorry, but she didn't deserve to live, her younger sister and her younger brother did, and they were left dying. Come on, kissing your older brother? Ugh, I was so frustrated with that chaos it kept me up half of the night. 
• Although most of the characters were a mess, V.C. Andrews did a stunning job with this one. The idea and concept weren't scary... just thrilling in a way. I'd really like to see where the series would head next.

The Forbidden Game by L.J. Smith

The Forbidden Game (The Forbidden Game #1-3), by L.J. Smith
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Paranormal Romance, Supernatural, Thriller
Other L.J. Smith Books
Rating: 4/5 stars
First Line: "Jenny glanced back over her shoulder."

When Jenny buys a game for her boyfriend, Tom, she finds herself inexplicably drawn to the guy behind the counter. There is something mysteriously alluring about Julian's pale eyes and bleached-blond hair. And when he places the Game into her hands, she knows their connection is something deeper.
But as Jenny and her six friends begin to play the Game at Tom's birthday celebration, a night of friends and fun quickly turns into a night of terror and obsessive love. Because the Game isn't just a game - it's the seven friends' new reality, where Julian reigns as the Prince of the Shadows.
One by one the friends must confront their phobias to win the Game. To lose the Game is to lose their lives. And that is only the beginning...

Review:

• Just like The Year I Turned Sixteen, this one has been in my bookshelf forever. I had mixed feelings about it, I was scared that it would be bad, but then I knew that The Vampire Diaries is really good, so this would be good too. I didn't want a vampire book, I wanted a paranormal thriller.
• The first few pages captivated me from the start. Buying an absurd game is weird, but the story unfolded so perfectly, and it ended up being really good by the end.
• The first book was the best. We got to know the characters easily and the whole nightmares in the weird dollhouse was gorgeous, even though I would never want to be in that situation. This book caused us to think, because some of us don't even have our phobias and we have to think about what we would do if we were in their situation.
• The second book was the worst out of the three. It became too slow-paced and I got bored. I think that the author over-exaggerated a little with the whole trilogy. Maybe two books should've stayed as the limit. 
• The third was the second best, I liked the whole amusement park thing and the mysteries that they had to solve. The whole trilogy was thrilling, and gave me a lot to think about.

The Year I Turned Sixteen, by Diane Schwemm

 


The Year I Turned Sixteen (The Year I Turned Sixteen #1-4), by Diane Schwemm

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance, Chick-lit

Other Diane Schwemm Books

Rating: 5/5 stars

First Line: "Sometimes I wish I didn't live in a small town."








Goodreads Summary: "Turning sixteen is an unforgettable milestone, and each of these four sisters has her own story to tell. Rose, the oldest, feels like she has the most responsibility when her father dies, and yearns to be true to herself. Daisy wants to break free from her family, but trouble arises when she falls for a bad boy. Laurel struggles with the loss of a close relative and finds herself drawn to a boy who may actually understand. And Lily, the youngest sister, feels like nothing could be more difficult than actually being herself. These four books in one special bind-up make for a great value; and an even better read."


Review:

• Never in a million years I would think that I would adore this book as much as I did. It's been sitting in my bookshelf for years, and I never picked it up before. Why did I wait so many years? It was perfection.
• It was full of cliffhangers, romance and fun. I cried, I laughed and it made me feel all warm inside. The author's words caused the reader to think more about life, and I couldn't have asked for it to be even better.
• This was the perfect teen summer read by the beach or even at home. I needed a chick-lit/contemporary book, and this one got me right in the mood for more. Too bad there weren't any more sisters, I'd read more from Diane Schwemm any day at anytime!
• Rose's story was very girly and fun. From her personality, you could tell that she was the eldest sister and by far the most calm. Seeing her grow up in the later stories just made me want to tear up, things became so unexpected for her and I was happy for her, even though this is all fiction.
• I think that Daisy was the best character. Even though she was a rebel at times, I loved to see her change, from being the goody-two shoes to the hardcore piss-off rebel. <3
• Laurel's story was by far the best, even though I didn't like her character at times. I felt that she was too weak and couldn't take so much all at once.
• Lily was exactly like me. I could relate to her so much, I felt everything that she said. She was a writer, like me, and a wallflower, also like myself. She liked to be alone and away from reality sometimes.
• From the best stories to the worst- Laurel, Lily, Rose, Daisy. And from the best characters to the worst- Daisy, Lily, Rose, Laurel.
• Gorgeous and captivating, girls, go on and grab this goodie!

Tumble & Fall, by Alexandra Coutts

Tumble & Fall, by Alexandra Coutts

Genre: Young Adult Fiction. Contemporary (make a note of that)

Rating: 2.5/5 stars











Goodreads Summary: "The world is living in the shadow of oncoming disaster. An asteroid is set to strike the earth in just one week’s time; catastrophe is unavoidable. The question isn’t how to save the world—the question is, what to do with the time that's left? Against this stark backdrop, three island teens wrestle with intertwining stories of love, friendship and family—all with the ultimate stakes at hand. 

Alexandra Coutts's TUMBLE & FALL is a powerful story of courage, love, and hope at the end of the world." 

Review: 

I guess that I have to trust my fellow bookworms, the reviewers. There were so many bad reviews about this one, and the Goodreads Average Rating is really low itself, but I've read Alexandra Coutts's other books, and I really adored them, so I thought that I'd end up adoring this one, too. 

Other reviewers have mentioned this too- this is not an apocalyptic novel, not even one bit. It's a contemporary novel disguised as one. I picked this one up mainly because I was looking for an apocalyptic dystopian novel about meteors and a lot of information about the meteor and what the planet was going to do once it arrived and the effects of it. In this one, we learned a little about Persephone and how scientists have been tracking her for decades. The characters in this novel didn't even seem to care that a meteor was coming quick, and had the possibility of destroying the planet and leaving it ruined. Their lives could end in a week, and nobody even cared. This book was just about the characters' problems, including battling suicide, and having love life problems. This was nothing like what I expected- and what I wanted the story to become. I was totally shocked, and disappointed. What happened here?

I thought that I couldn't trust the reviewers, sorry guys but I definitely should have. I've learned that just because one author did amazing on writing a book on a specific concept doesn't mean that another book of another concept of the same author will be the same or even better. 

I didn't like the characters, at least not very much. Sienna and Zan were annoying and they seemed kind of whiny in my opinion. The dilemmas and problems that they had weren't too bad, but I felt that the book shouldn't have been all about their own personal problems, wasn't everything about the meteor? I felt that the author just added in the meteor thing to make it more interesting. 

Everyone, if you see that a lot of people think that the book wasn't good, don't read it. You have to trust the reviews, and trust me on this one.

Asylum, by Madeleine Roux

Asylum (Asylum #1), by Madeleine Roux

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Horror, Mystery/Thriller

Other Asylum Books

Rating: 4.5/5 stars










Goodreads Summary: "For sixteen-year-old Dan Crawford, New Hampshire College Prep is more than a summer program—it's a lifeline. An outcast at his high school, Dan is excited to finally make some friends in his last summer before college. But when he arrives at the program, Dan learns that his dorm for the summer used to be a sanatorium, more commonly known as an asylum. And not just any asylum—a last resort for the criminally insane.

As Dan and his new friends, Abby and Jordan, explore the hidden recesses of their creepy summer home, they soon discover it's no coincidence that the three of them ended up here. Because the asylum holds the key to a terrifying past. And there are some secrets that refuse to stay buried.

Featuring found photos of unsettling history and real abandoned asylums and filled with chilling mystery and page-turning suspense, Madeleine Roux's teen debut, Asylum, is a horror story that treads the line between genius and insanity."

Review:

  I really liked the review that I created for this book on Goodreads, so I decided for this one time, to keep it in a normal paragraph format, so here it goes.

  My first thought before anything else- creepy and vicious. 

So I've seen this book everywhere, and I heard that it was amazing and spectacular, and to tell you the truth, it really was. I begged for this for Christmas, and when I finally received it, I was so thrilled I couldn't wait to read it. This book really was flawless, I mean, in the writing way, not the freaky pictures. The only teensy flaw was the turbulent beginning. I didn't know what this book would eventually become, and I was kind of scared to see what the author would do with this.

Of course, it's a 4.5 star rated book in my opinion, so it did get better, in fact, much better. 

I was totally creeped out by page 50, and I was glued into it. Every chapter left me off at a cliffhanger and I wasn't able to put it down. I loved it so much and it was plain flawless and creepy, all at the same time.

I actually never read the Goodreads summary for this before, so I never actually saw the reference to Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, but midway through the novel, I realized that it was formatted the same, with all the photos and such. The story was definitely not the same, but the two were very much alike in a way, and I love them the same and beyond.

Dan was a fine character. I needed a new male-perspective book, and here I got it. He was calm and was willing to take risks to find the truth. He was adventurous and everything you'd like to see in a character.

I loved what the author did with the romance between Dan and Abby, she didn't overdo it and made it something to make readers interested that happened on the side of the book, and it wasn't there to make the book more interesting than it already was, it was there to keep the story going.

I feel that this story had some deep meaning to it. It was plain gorgeous. I can't wait for the sequel! 2014, this will be the year for great sequels and comebacks!

Evercrossed, by Elizabeth Chandler

Evercrossed (Kissed By An Angel #4), by Elizabeth Chandler

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Angels, Paranormal Romance

Other Kissed By An Angel Books

Rating: 4/5 stars










Goodreads Summary: "It’s been a year since Ivy’s boyfriend, Tristan, died. They’ve both moved on—Tristan to the other side of the afterlife, and Ivy to sweet, dependable Will. Now Ivy’s heading to Cape Cod, hoping to leave the horror of last summer behind. She wants nothing more than to lie on the beach, sip lemonade, and hang out with her friends. 

But then a car crash ends Ivy’s life. 

As she floats to the beyond, looking down on the life she’s left behind, Tristan breathes life back into her with a passionate kiss. She wakes up in the hospital, surrounded by Will and her family, but all she can think about is the love that she lost. 

But memories aren’t all that’s come back from the past. And this time, Ivy’s not sure love will be enough to save her."

Review:

• After reading the first three in the series, I decided to read the fourth, since I already had it. Elizabeth Chandler always leaves us at a cliffhanger at the end of the book, so I decided to read this one to break the whole suspense thing that was going on.
• In my previous review, I mentioned how much the characters annoyed me. But I really felt that they were built up stronger in this one, and from that, I thought that this one was the best out of the four books in this series that I've read so far.
• I was also kind of happy that we didn't get so much of the whole "Tristan" thing going on here. Like the summary said, everyone's moved on now. It's been a year. But we all know that Tristan will obviously not be forgotten, the whole story is about him, anyways.
• This was the most fast-paced out of the four, and it really was enjoyable, I cannot wait for the final two in the series.

Kissed by an Angel, by Elizabeth Chandler

Kissed By An Angel (Kissed by an Angel #1-3), by Elizabeth Chandler

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Angels, Paranormal Romance

Other Kissed by an Angel Books

Rating: 4/5 stars









Goodreads Summary: "Kissed by an Angel": Ivy and Tristan have the love of a lifetime--until Tristan dies in a car accident. Now Tristan returns as an angel, but Ivy is unable to feel his presence. 

"The Power of Love": Tristan has learned that the person responsible for the car crash is after Ivy. Can he cross the boundaries of life and death to warn Ivy that she is in trouble? 

"Soulmates": Tristan must rescue Ivy, but if he does so his mission will be finished and he will have to leave his true love forever."

Review:

• This one has been sitting in my bookshelf for the longest time. I should've picked it up ages ago, because it was really good, and there were so deep, meaningful words in there.
• Ivy was okay at times, and at other times, I really didn't like her. I felt that she wasn't a strong character, and always had to rely on the other characters for help. She became too attached to people and didn't ever realize the truth when it was right in front of her.
• In the beginning, I really liked Tristan as Ivy's love interest but then I realized that Gregory was a better match- he was adorable until I found out the truth. He was always there for Ivy, the author left me at such a heartbreak. Each of her books left me at a cliffhanger. :(
• I really loved these three books, and can't wait for the other three.

Have any of you read this? What were your thoughts?

Heaven, by Alexandra Adornetto

Heaven (Halo #3), by Alexandra Adornetto

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Angels, Paranormal Romance

Other Halo Books

Rating: 4.5/5 stars









Goodreads Summary: "Only sixteen when she started the series, Ally Adornetto knows how teen hearts beat, and this long-awaited conclusion is certain to be her most popular book yet. 

Bethany, an angel sent to Earth, and her mortal boyfriend, Xavier, have been to Hell and back. But now their love will be put to its highest test yet, as they defy Heavenly law and marry. They don’t tell Beth’s archangel siblings, Gabriel and Ivy, but the angels know soon enough, and punishment comes in a terrifying form: the Sevens, who are rogue angels bent on keeping Beth and Xavier apart, destroying Gabriel and Ivy, and darkening angelic power in the heavens.

The only way Bethany and can elude the Sevens is to hide in the open, and blend in with other mortals their own age. Gabriel and Ivy set them up at college, where they can’t reveal their relationship, and where there is still danger around each corner. Will Bethany be called back to Heaven – forever – and face leaving the love of her life?"

Review:

• I never thought that I would've made it up this far with this series- I've heard a lot of bad reviews. But I'm glad that I kept on going with this.
• I love the powerful romance between Xavier and Bethany- it's gorgeous. They love each other so much and you could definitely see that through the author's words. I love them together so much, I ship them so much.
• Not a lot of people know about this trilogy, but I think that they definitely should pick it up and give it a try. It's different than from other angels and I feel that it's so deep and meaningful. I cannot wait for more Alexandra Adornetto!

Confessions: The Private School Murders, by James Patterson

Confessions: The Private School Murders (Confessions #2), by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Mystery, Murder

Other Confessions Books

Rating: 4/5 stars









Goodreads Summary: "Wealthy young women are being murdered, and the police aren't looking for answers in the right places. Enter Tandy Angel. Her first case was the mystery of her parents' deaths. Now she's working to exonerate her brother of his girlfriend's homicide. And danger just got closer.One of the recent victims was a student at Tandy's own elite school. She has a hunch it may be the work of a serial killer... and Tandy perfectly fits the profile of the killer's targets. Can she untangle the mysteries in time? Or will she be the next victim? James Patterson keeps the confessions coming as Tandy delves deeper into her own tumultuous history and the skeletons in the Angel family closet."



Review:

• I adored the first Confessions novel and James Patterson left us at such a cliffhanger, I began to check for any information on the next book, and when I did find out that this is coming out, I began to have a panic attack, jokes.
• I wish that the mystery was different, I liked the whole thing with Matthew but not with the private school girls and stuff. I wish the mystery was more unique and different from the ones we hear about on the news.
• This book wasn't as fast-paced as I would've wanted it to be, to get to the main point of the story took a while, I had to get into half of the book before the mystery actually started. 
• Tandy has definitely grown from the first book- she now feels and has emotions. She has become more afraid of things, but also has grown stronger. She's come to realize that her parents have caused many problems for her and her brothers now. I love her confessions and the way she thinks.
• I would have liked it to be a little better, but it still was enjoyable. I love James Patterson's books.