This is the first novel I´ve read written by Cecelia Ahern, it´s her Young Adult debut and I did enjoyed it.
The story unfolds in a country wh3.5 stars
This is the first novel I´ve read written by Cecelia Ahern, it´s her Young Adult debut and I did enjoyed it.
The story unfolds in a country where the people morally defective is punished as it is expected to have a society that is morally perfect. Taking a bad decision, lying, being disloyal, get out of line with society, etc., if a person is found guilty of being defective or flawed in court, the person is marked with a hot iron with the letter F to indicate that he/she is flawed besides he or she lose certain "privileges" to live his/her faulty life. Besides this, to help or aid a flawed person is considered a crime which could result in jail.
Celestine is a 17-year-old girl that lives in this country and believes in the system, she's dating Art Crevan, the only son of Judge Crevan, the main judge of the Flawed court, a man feared by many, but to her he´s only Bosco, her neighbor and father of her boyfriend. Celestine is a smart girl with good grades, she follows all the rules, is very logical in her thinking and never interferes with the system until after a series of events that shake her life, then soon after she makes a mistake that could result with her being marked as flawed because in the system there isn´t second chances.
Flawed is a dystopian novel that takes place in a world where the morally defective citizens are branded with the letter F. The story is slow-paced but it get's interesting as the plot progress and it has a good ending....more
2.5 stars Tell the Wind and Fire is a retelling loosely based on the classic Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.
Personally I do like to read retelli2.5 stars Tell the Wind and Fire is a retelling loosely based on the classic Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.
Personally I do like to read retellings, even if I have not read the original (as in this case) and sometimes I´m lucky enough to read a good book and other times simply I don´t connect with the story or the characters as in this case, even if the story or idea is good.
This book tells the story of Lucie Manette, a 17-year-old girl, she lives in a world where some people have white or light magic and others have black or dark magic; And those with light magic are the ones with the power, the ones that rule, the rich and those who occupy all important government posts, while people with dark magic live in walled cities, live in poverty, darkness and can only exit their city with an special permission from the light magic government. And Lucie was born in Dark New York, but two years before the beginning of the story she manages to escape and now she and her father live in Light New York. Lucie lives a very public life due to her "escape" of the dark city, for which she´s known as the Golden thread in the dark, as well as being the girlfriend of Ethan Stryker, son of one of the most powerful men in Light New York.
At the start of the book the lives of Ethan and Lucie intersect with Carwyn, a young dark city boy, he help them for unknown reasons but due ton him being a dark magician, they do not trust him but Lucie decides to do something nice for him, something that gets out of control and that could put her life in danger if it becomes known, so Lucie decides to keep quiet.
The story does not focus on the romance, as Ethan and Lucie had been dating for years and are completely in love with each other, and she could do almost anything to save him and he for her, but as their love is already established, I did not get to feel their closeness, especially since both keep secrets from each other, powerful secrets that could change everything.
And in the background of the plot a revolution is brewing and somehow this is indirectly linked to Lucie. This could destroy everything she had struggled to achieve, since her main objective is to survive. Lucie during the course of the book tries to save herself, her father, Ethan, her family friends and even Carwyn, so the next quote gives an idea her ultimate goal.
Ethan of the Light city, Carwyn of the Dark, and me, who was born with a foot in each. This is the tale of who I was able to save.
Tell the Wind and Fire is a retelling that takes place in a dystopian world with magical elements, it has a good start, but after a while it slow its pace and it´s a bit boring, it couldn´t catch my attention, but I forced myself to finish reading it and towards the end it improves a little and it has a sad and abrupt end and I didn´t connect with the main characters. I didn´t enjoy the book....more
I really try to like this book because it´s written by A.S. King author of Everybody See the Ants and although it´s a weird book, I did enjoyed it, buI really try to like this book because it´s written by A.S. King author of Everybody See the Ants and although it´s a weird book, I did enjoyed it, but I came pretty close to not finish reading I Crawl Through It, but I decided not to give up and read it to the end, but it just did not liked it.
First of all it´s a very strange, surreal book with unreliable characters (in other books I´ve enjoyed this type of character) and quite frustrating. This was definitely not a book for me, but maybe other people will like it.
The lives of four teenagers who cope day to day in different ways (and some of them have PTSD) is intertwined in the story of Stanzi who feels she´s divided in two, likes to dissect frogs, and wears a lab coat at all times, with constantly absent parents and she´s hopelessly in love with her friend Gustav. Gustav spends his free time building a red helicopter which is invisible, no one can see it except Stanzi (but she can only see it on Tuesdays). China is a girl that due to something that happened long ago has swallowed herself and loves to write poems. And Lansdale is a compulsive liar and that due to this fact her hair grows every time she tells a lie (like Pinocchio).
I started reading Crawl Through It with great expectations but it may be that surrealistic novels are not for me or at least this one failed to capture my attention, it´s extremely weird and bizarre. This book wasn't for me, but I will try to read other A.S. King´s books....more
Menagerie is a fantasy novel that takes place in a world similar to ours, or at least the United States has the same states but other countries are diMenagerie is a fantasy novel that takes place in a world similar to ours, or at least the United States has the same states but other countries are different, and this world is inhabited by humans and cryptids (they´re different types of supernatural such as minotaurs, centaurs, mermaids, werewolves, oracles, fairies, etc.) and years before the beginning of the story both races lived in harmony and the supernatural were citizens, but on a fateful day known to all as "the reaping" where many humans children were killed, due to this event the government decided to act against the cryptids and they lose their rights, so that today only the cryptids can be found in menagerie, or in private collections, and all of them are deprived of their freedom.
Delilah Marlow grew all her life thinking she was human, but on her twenty five birthday everything changes when she visits the menagerie with her boyfriend and friends, but when she sees the cruelty with which the cryptids treated, something awakens in her that makes her true self manifest, a creature that no one seems to recognize its origin and Delilah is arrested, stripped of her rights and sold as an unknown cryptid to the same menagerie where her creature manifested. there she will be displayed and treated like all the other "beasts". And there she´ll have to rely on Gallagher her handler and together try to discover what kind of creature she´s, besides being the only human in which she can rely.
Overall, Menagerie is a very original, dark, raw, full of fantasy book and it hooked me once I got the thread to the story (it took me a while to understand the world in which it develops), with good characters, some I liked and others I hated, definitely very entertaining. For those who like romance on their book, I have to inform that this first book of the series doesn´t have romance, because it focuses more on Delilah´s story and her journey....more
The first thing that draw me to this book was to be one of the main characters is Alexander the Great, but what I did not know was that besides being The first thing that draw me to this book was to be one of the main characters is Alexander the Great, but what I did not know was that besides being a book of historical fiction, it also has elements of fantasy.
Legacy of Kings is a book with 7 different point of views, which are: Alexander - Prince of Macedonia, Hephaestion - best friend of Alexander, Queen Olimpia - mother of Alexander, Cynane - half-sister of Alexander, Zofia - Princess of Persia and Alexander´s fiancee, Katerina - an orphan that travels to Pella for revenge and Jacob - Katerina´s best friend; with so many different perspectives it took me a while to get used to the jumps between them, but once I got used to them, I really enjoyed it a lot.
In the author´s note it says that she tried to make it as historically accurate as it could be, and many of the references of that era are represented as close as possible to how it was at that time, but Katerina, Jacob and Zofia are fictional characters, plus the author add magical elements, prophecies and other mythical characters, which made it even more interesting. The story takes place in 340 BC.
Alexander is a 16 year old young man, he´s the prince of Macedonia, he just return from his studies with Aristotle and was appointed Regent of Macedonia while his father, along with most of his army travel to another city, meanwhile Alexander attempts during his regency to demonstrate to his father, King Philip that he´s worthy and can rule their country in the future.
Meanwhile Katerina also has 16 years old, she travels to the capital to seek revenge, but there she meets Alexander, he helps her and the two forge a bond of strong friendship that make Jacob (Katerina´s best friend and he´s in love with her) and Hephaestion (best friend Alexander) jealous and as Alexander begins to spend time with her, it cause trouble with their respective friends (is not romantic jealousy from one of them), coupled with the manipulation by Cynane (half-sister of Alexander ) she wants to cause problems on the friendship between Alexander and Hephaestion. Perhaps as it may sound a very tangled tale, but for this very reason I think there are so many different POV´s to make sense to this complex plot.
Of all the characters my least favorite was Zofia (Alexander´s fiance), mainly because all her story takes place in Persia and she doesn´t interact with any of the other main characters.
Legacy of Kings is a very good first book in a series, especially since Alexander's character is very interesting, as it was true that at the age of 16 years old he had his first battle and I also like how his friendship with Hephaestion was represented, because even though they have their differences, they´re still loyal to each other. The story is captivating and fascinating, with fantastic and mythical elements that make this historical-fantasy novel different from other books I've read lately. I can not wait to read its sequel - Empire of Dust....more
Passenger is the first book I´ve read written by Alexandra Bracken and I liked it very much, because it is a fiction book about time travele4.25 stars
Passenger is the first book I´ve read written by Alexandra Bracken and I liked it very much, because it is a fiction book about time travelers, a theme that I love. The first chapters are slow due that are introducing the two main characters and their lives.
The book is told from the points of views of Etta Spencer and Nicholas Carter. Etta is a violin prodigy that without knowing how travels back in time to the year 1776, aboard a ship and there her life intersects with that of Nicholas, a pirate (a legal pirate - at least that's what he says) and from there they embark on a great adventure through various time periods and around the world in search of an object that is hidden because it could jeopardize the future of many people and Etta must find it and deliver it to the villain of the story,- before a certain date, otherwise Etta would endanger the life of a loved one.
Etta is a seventeen-year-old girl that lives in present day New York, she´s focused on her upcoming debut as a concert soloist, at the beginning we met a shy girl, that suffers from stage fright, but with the help of her instructor and breathing exercises, hopes to make her big debut, .... something that does not come to pass because of her unexpected journey into the past. But once in the past, Etta finds strength and self assurance to face the obstacles and tests that are in the way, and she isn´t a damsel in need of rescue.
Nicholas is a nineteen-year-old man, he had a difficult childhood, having been born a slave, but now he´s a free man, that works as a legal pirate and whose dream is to be the captain of his own ship. But when his path crosses with Etta´s, his life takes a new turn, because he´s her companion in her journey through time, as a protector and also for his own reasons.
There is romance in the story, but not instant love because despite their initial attraction, they aren´t vowing eternal love to each other from the beggining. Also both keep secrets and are not completely honest with each other, but time together strengthen their friendship and start to trust in each other.
What I liked most of the story is the time travel, so once Etta and Nicholas start their journey, the story hook me and I could not put it down and it has a huge cliffhanger. I can´t wait to read its sequel - Wayfarer. which will be published until next year. I highly recommended this book for those who enjoy time travel and historical fiction....more
Since I read the blurb of A Million Miles Away, I was intrigued and I also wanted to know how Peter could confuse his girlfriend with her twin sister Since I read the blurb of A Million Miles Away, I was intrigued and I also wanted to know how Peter could confuse his girlfriend with her twin sister and I liked that it was plausible in this case.
Kelsey is a senior on high school, one of the popular girls, co-captain of the dance group at school and has a handsome college boyfriend, she has a twin sister Michelle with which she often gets mistaken for. Michelle is also a senior, but she's more bohemian, she´s an artist, likes to paint and has a group of eclectic friends and has boyfriend - Peter, they´ve been dating for the last three months, but he doesn´t live in the same city and is about to be deploy to Afghanistan.
And it´s in the day that Peter is about to leave that he meets Kelsey, they strike up a conversation where she realizes that he´s in love with Michelle and ends up liking him (as the boyfriend of her sister), but that´s all their interaction before his deployment. soon after Michelle dies in a car accident, an event that devastates her family, Kelsey's parents start attending a support group without Kelsey (something that seems odd), so Kelsey is floating around in grief, meanwhile her parents are locked in their grief, her friends treat her with caution and her boyfriend wants to keep things normal, he expect to Kelsey to move on, Kelsey gradually starts to live again, only this time without her twin sister.
But one day through skype she receives a call from Peter and her initial intention is to inform him of Michelle´s death, but when he mistakes her, an calls her Michelle and he tells her that just seeing her encourages him and help him amid his situation in Afghanistan, she decided not to tell at the moment and wait for another time to tell him, but every time they talk or through his letters to Michelle there is something that prevents her to tell him the truth, plus she gradually begins to expect this time with Peter, so the lies keep piling up.
I really enjoyed reading A Million Miles Away, it´s a book worth reading, it's a poignant and heartbreaking, romantic (with long distance romance), but there were many times when I wanted to shake Kelsey, because she was still lying and the problem was growing. I do recommend it....more
Spinning Starlight is the retelling of The Wild Swans a classic that although I have not read I did saw the anime as a child and is a story that I likSpinning Starlight is the retelling of The Wild Swans a classic that although I have not read I did saw the anime as a child and is a story that I liked very much, because it isn´t a romance story, but a story about the love that a girl has for her siblings about how much she´s capable to sacrifice to save her brothers.
Liddi Jantzen is the heir of the most powerful technology company in the seven planets, accustomed to live surrounded by cameras all her life, to have her every day scrutinized by the media and living in the shadow of her eight incredible intelligent older brothers, they´re technological geniuses and at a very young age they have introduced technological innovations that have changed the various fields where their inventions had been applied and Liddi at her sixteen years old still haven´t achieved any of the greatness of her brothers and that frustrates her.
At the beginning of the plot Liddi learns that her brothers disappeared without a trace, and to then discover that they were kidnapped by someone she trusted, and later that person to control Liddi implant a device in her throat to prevent her from talking and obstructing their plans, because if she were to say a word that would send a signal to a device that would kill her brothers. So Liddi escape to another planet with the intention of finding some way to help her brothers, but she inadvertently ends on an unknown planet and once there she meets Tiav, which becomes an ally.
Liddi lives in a future where the writing is already obsolete, there are no books and everything is controlled by voice and video, which makes credible (in a way) that she can not communicate easily with others once she can not speak, but I got a little desperate when Tiav is trying to teach her to "write". Another thing that was really getting on my nerves was Liddi´s egocentricity, and that on several occasions when she is doing something that she would not normally do, she does a monologue on which she is imagining what the reporters would say about her "Liddi Jantzen did this .... Liddi Jantzen does the other .. " which after a while it was getting on my nerves.
In Spinning Starlight the romance takes a back seat and the main plot is Liddi doing everything possible to rescue her brothers, despite the consequences, and through retrospective scenes at the end of each chapter we get to see the strong bond that Liddi has with her older brothers.
Overall, is a fast-paced story and a good retelling of a classic that has not been exploited much, but it didn´t captived me, the world-building was vague and I skimmed over the scientific explanations because I did not understand much of it and I wasn´t as invested in the characters as I would want it to be....more
What draw me to read Undertow were the Alphas, I was intrigued by them, I wanted to know what they were actually, what were their intentions and why dWhat draw me to read Undertow were the Alphas, I was intrigued by them, I wanted to know what they were actually, what were their intentions and why did they rise to the surface. And while the story is not original (sea creatures that rise to the surface), the plot kept my attention and I enjoyed reading it.
Undertow is told from the point of view of Lyric Walker a 17-year-old girl that lives in the "zone" at Coney Island with her father, a police officer and her mother, a housewife. The "zone", is militarized, surrounded by a fence of barbed wire and armed guards. And this is because three years before the Alphas came from the sea and the government decided to contain them within the area along with humans who for various reasons were trapped there. What has caused unrest among the humans that live in the area and several humans have died because they have been linked in some way (been friendly) with Alphas.
And now Lyric´high school will be part of a pilot program where teens Alphas will try to integrate in a human school, which is not well accepted by humans and they don´t accept peacefully this new infliction. So now high school will be even worse for Lyric.
Within this chaos Lyric is forced to start an acquaintance with Fathom, the Alpha Prince, which gradually turns into a romance (which in my opinion it lack more development or it would be good to leave it at just friendship).
Overall, I enjoyed reading Undertow, it´s an entertaining science fiction novel with action (toward the end) and is different from other books I've read about sea creatures. And I liked that is about the fear of the unknown, discrimination, family and friendship. I´m looking forward to read its sequel....more
I´ve read the first three books in the series Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry and I enjoyed them, some more than others, so of course I could not I´ve read the first three books in the series Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry and I enjoyed them, some more than others, so of course I could not wait to read the Nowhere But Here, the first book in the new series Thunder Road, which apparently will consists of 4 books..
Nowhere But Here is told from the point of view of Emily and Oz, alternating between them. Emily is a girl, that has lived a sheltered life without running any risks and is happy to live in her comfort zone, she lives in Florida with her mother and her adoptive father to whom she loves and looks after like a hero and once a year, she gets to see her biological father, whom is a motorcyclist who belongs to a club called the Reign of Terror, she doesn´t know much about him or his family, she keeps him at arm's length and she´s happy to keep it that way.
Meanwhile Oz is an 18 year old guy from Kentucky that since he can remember, his dream is to belong to the club Reign of Terror like his father and work for the security company owned by one of the club members. And his dream is getting closer, because one of the stipulations is to finish high school (he just graduated), so his future looks just as he dreamed, or at least that is until his path crosses with Emily´s and his life gets complicated.
Emily and Oz meet because due to a misunderstanding, Emily travels to Kentucky in the summer and very reluctantly ends up staying a few weeks with Eli, her biological father and one of the most respected members of the club Reign of Terror. I liked that the romance is not instant-love, because when they initially meet, they don´t like each other, but end up spending some time together and they get to know each other, which leads them to act on their attraction.
The truth is that I don´t know a lot about motorcycle clubs (just what I´ve seen on TV), so I do not know if the book is realistic or not, its problems and if the part about how the motorcycle club is managed by its member is like that, because it was quite sexist.
Nowhere But Here is a book of 496 pages so I didn´t read it in a day or two, but it´s very entertaining, with a slow budding and tame romance, if I compare it with Pushing the Limits, besides it has less drama and angst, but I liked how at the beginning the main characters can´t stand each other, but Oz cannot stop flirting Oz at any time. Now I´m looking forward to read the next instalment, that apparently will be Razor´s story....more
As I´ve mentioned in my last reviews of this series, Jessica does not rest at all, because this book begins right where the previous ends, this is theAs I´ve mentioned in my last reviews of this series, Jessica does not rest at all, because this book begins right where the previous ends, this is the fifth book in the series and for Jessica it has been only a few months since she had her first change and becoming the first female werewolf of an all male race. And in just a few months she has managed to amass a great supernatural power that for a few powerful supernatural had take years or centuries to reach such power and that is why all the supernaturals (vampires, witches, sorcerers, demons, gods, etc) want to somehow get her power, so this new adventure is no exception, as she is drawn to the swamps of Florida to help her father but once there she learns the real reason of why it was necessary for her to go to that place.
I feel the plot and is getting a bit repetitive, because in the first part of the book someone wants to steal Jessica´s power, something that has happened in last books, it just change the threat and how they try to achieve the stealing of power. The good thing about this book was that such threat was not a threat throughout all the book, because the problem is solved at the 60% (approx.) of the book and then she has to face another threat and at least this person doesn´t want her power, she just wants kill her for something that Jessica did while she was in the underworld, so it´s simple and pure revenge.
So far in all the books Daniel Walker had been the funny guy, he´s a werewolf friend of Jessica, he eases the tension on the dangerous situations and he´s one of my favorite characters in the series. And regarding the action in Pure Blooded, it has a very good action scenes due to Jessica facing various threats, with the help of some of her friends.
About the romance between Jessica and her mate Rourke, due that they´re constantly under attack, their romance is not moving forward beyond that are a fated mates and they can be together as a couple for brief moments when the situation allows it (which is to be expected in an urban fantasy book). But a plus in this book was that another destined-couple than on the previous books were sort of flirting finally become a real couple, and there is also a hint of another possible fated couple for subsequent books.
And something very interesting is that we get to learn a bit more of the origin of werewolves.
Jessica McClain series is a very good option for those that like reading urban fantasy for adults as it has a lot of action that does not stop and the threats rain from all sides and it has a strong female character, ready to kick butt when situation allows it. The ending was open, but without a cliffhanger, in fact I feel I missed some pages because I was reading its on my kindle and it finished at 92%, but I really enjoy it!.I'm looking forward to the next book....more
Shadow Scale bring us back to Goredd, the city where Seraphina lives, which is preparing for war against the dragons who want to break the tr4.5 stars
Shadow Scale bring us back to Goredd, the city where Seraphina lives, which is preparing for war against the dragons who want to break the treaty with humans, so the Queen Glissenda decide to try to bring together all the half-dragons in order to see if they can help in the war, because is suspected that most of them have unique powers that could be useful in combat against dragons. And because Seraphina is a half-dragon and also has a link with others like her, through visions, she´s sent on a mission in order to collect them and bring them to Goredd, so she must look for them in the other Kingdoms, and during her journey she finds allies and friends, but also finds people who see the half-dragons as aberrations, so that her mission will not be easy. On this journey, her constant companion is Abdo a 12-year-old half-dragon boy that can see the "light" emanating from his race.
During her trip Seraphina start having problems with a half-dragon that can influence and take over the mind of the other half-dragons, with whom Seraphina had had a confrontation before when she was a little girl and at that time she could successfully ban her from her mind . But now it seems she has become mentally stronger and has her own agenda in the war that is about to happen between humans and dragons.
I loved this book, the only thing I had issue was the romance, which although it isn´t the main part of the plot, at least for me it was important, because Seraphina and Lucian are great together and they had not enough interaction during the book (this is my opinion), but the few interactions they had were great and loved them.
And for the epilogue, I can only say that it was bittersweet with a touch of hope. I liked it although it saddened me. And I would greatly appreciate if in the future the author decides to write a short story or novella.
Overall, Shadow Scale is an amazing book, the plot is fascinating and unforgettable, it´s beautifully written, has its fair share of action, interesting twists and turns in the plot and lost of intrigue ... there were times when Seraphina could not trust anyone. I loved it! It makes me sad to know that this is the conclusion of Seraphina´s story. I highly recommend this duology for fans of epic fantasy books....more
I´ve read and enjoyed a lot the Elemental series by Brigid Kemmerer, so I started reading Thicker Than Water with very high expectations and although I´ve read and enjoyed a lot the Elemental series by Brigid Kemmerer, so I started reading Thicker Than Water with very high expectations and although it was not what I expected, I must admit that is an okay book.
Thicker Than Water is a book YA murder mystery with romance. The main plot is about the murder of Thomas's mother, she died violently in bed and only Thomas and his mother were in the house at the time and there wasn´t a sign of forced entry into the house, so due to this Thomas is the main suspect.
Thomas's mother had recently married to a police detective and a few weeks of being married and moved to a new town, she was murdered, so the funeral is full of policemen and their families that don´t like Thomas due of being a suspect. At the funeral he meets Charlotte, which has three overprotective police brothers, along with her father whom is also a policeman, so from the beginning the whole family are against Charlotte befriending Thomas, so they prohibit to speak to him, but she ignores them and strikes up a friendship/romance with him and in the course of their friendship/romance both begin to investigate possible clues of another similar murder that could help them discover what really happened that night.
The book reads most of the time as a contemporary novel, but it has a twist with supernatural elements. The plot is slow and sometimes it feels that is dragging, but in the end I did enjoy it, but it has flaws and the ending was somewhat open for my liking....more
I had high expectations when I started reading this book, because I liked that the love interest was a Kpop singer and I´ll be sincere I was 3.5 stars
I had high expectations when I started reading this book, because I liked that the love interest was a Kpop singer and I´ll be sincere I was really expecting something like Anna and the French Kiss (one can dream, right?) due to the synopsis, but unfortunately the book did not meet my expectations, but it´s not a bad book, it was okay, is just that I expected more.
Grace the main character, is a Country music "princess", because her father owns one of the most famous and powerful record companies of that genre and her older brother is a famous country singer, so she´s accustomed to harassment by paparazzi, people who approach her for her connections or to be famous by association. But something happens in her life that make her flee Nashville and seek refuge in the boarding school for rich kids on an island in South Korea. Once there she quickly becomes friends with her roommate Sophie, whom is Korean, but spent her childhood in the United States so she speaks both languages perfectly, unlike Grace who only speaks English.
And it´s through Sophie that Grace meets Jason, her twin brother and a famous K-pop singer, which is also in the same boarding, and at first they don´t like each other, but because both hang out with Sophie they spend some time together.
Jason is the lead singer and leader of a famous Kpop group, he´s a jerk and rude at first, unlike his bandmates Tae Hwa and Yoon Jae. Tae Hwa does not speak English, so we don´t get to know him very well because he doesn´t interact with Grace, but Yoon Jae is fluent English and he become friend with Grace, I think of the trio, Yoon Jae was my favorite. Jason is a divo at the beginning of the story, but as he gets to know Grace and lose the attitude, his character improves, but he has its moments where he returns to being a jerk, making this a very slow romance.
Overall, I enjoyed reading Hello, I Love You, especially when Grace goes sightseeing and gets to know a little more of South Korea. The main plot is the romance between Grace and Jason, but there is a subplot about what happened in Nashville that made Grace move to another country, which for me at least was predictable because I had already guessed very early in the story, the big reveal....more
Tonight the Streets Are Ours is a coming of age contemporary novel about the growth and self discovery of the main character.
Like all stories
3.5 stars
Tonight the Streets Are Ours is a coming of age contemporary novel about the growth and self discovery of the main character.
Like all stories, the one you're about to read is a love story. If it wasn't, what would be the point?
And it´s a love story but just not the typical one.
Arden is a seventeen-year-old girl that has always puts the welfare of others before herself, regardless of the consequences she always puts the needs of others before hers, and Lindsey her best friend since she was a little girl, is the one that constantly benefits from this.
But one day that Arden is with low morale she searches Internet on why nobody loves me as much as I love them? and that search leads her to find the blog/journal of Peter, a young man living in New York and in one of his entries he ask himself exactly the same question and this leads Arden to follow his blog and start reading from the beginning, the everyday life of Peter and his romance with the beautiful Bianca, as some of the things he does to gain the attention of Bianca. Meanwhile Arden dreams/wishes that her romance with her boyfriend Chris was like theirs. Arden follows the blog for several months and the day she has a disagreement with her boyfriend Chris, on Peter´s blog she reads that Bianca broke up with him, which prompts Arden on a spur of the moment to do a road trip along with Lindsey to New York with the intention to find Peter.
And it is on that night in New York, so different from what she is used to, Arden makes decisions and do things that she normally would not do and ends up discovering another side of the people around her and herself,
The beginning of Tonight the Streets Are Ours is slow paced, as we get to know Arden first, her friends, her boyfriend, family and that she´s not completely happy as she seems, but is not until her trip to New York that the plot begins take pace and managed to captivate my attention, it´s a little different than I expected, but I did liked it....more
The Veil is the first book of the new urban fantasy (UF/PNR) series from the author of the Chicagoland Vampires series, which I´ve read and l3.5 stars
The Veil is the first book of the new urban fantasy (UF/PNR) series from the author of the Chicagoland Vampires series, which I´ve read and liked so far (I´ve read until book 3), so I had high hopes for this new book and I liked it but didn´t loved it. It´s a good beginning of a series, as we´re introduce to the world where our main character lives.
The story takes place in New Orleans, seven years after the discovery and rupture of "the veil" that existed between this world and the "Beyond"; and once the veil was broken all kind of paranormal creatures or "Paras" tried to take over this world and human went to war against these creatures and they were at war for over one year, until somehow the "veil" was closed and humans won the war and the "Paras" that remained in this world were caught and contained inside a prison called "Devil's Isle", there all the Paras, wraiths and sensitives (humans that somehow absorb magic from the "veil" and develop paranormal powers) live.
Claire is a 24 years old woman, that survived the war, she lives alone and manages the antique shop that has been in her family for a long time, and now in the post-war she also sells food, candles, batteries and other items necessary to survive in the Zone (as it´s called New Orleans and surrounding towns), but she keeps the secret of being a "sensitive", a power by which if discovered she will be sent to Devil's Isle, that´s why Claire hides her ability of her best friends.
Liam is a bounty hunter that´s dedicated to capture sensitives, wraiths and paras and deliver them at Devil's Isle for its proper management; which makes a person that Claire should be kept as far away as possible, but they end up working together.
I liked the world in which takes place this book, it´s a dark dystopian New Orleans where after the war and the Paras were captured, there are still some threats such as sensitives, which are feared and misunderstood by humans, they´re food shortages and electricity problems.
As is to be expected in urban fantasy, there is no romance between Claire and Liam although there is sexual tension because it´s obvious the attraction between them, I can´t wait for the romance in subsequent books in the series.
Overall, The Veil is a good first book in a series, is not great, but does its job by introducing and establishing the world and characters of the story. There isnt´a lot of action as I was expecting, but there are certain moments of suspense and has a good ending. I definitely plan to continue with the series and see what will happen between Claire and Liam....more
I really liked the idea of this book, about a main character that has a really creepy paranormal gift...I´m in!.
Maddie is a young girl and all her lifI really liked the idea of this book, about a main character that has a really creepy paranormal gift...I´m in!.
Maddie is a young girl and all her life she had been able to see the date on which a person is going to die, so that´s why her mother has recently decided to profit from her "gift" and charge for telling their death date to clients. And everything is going well until she tells a client the date of death of her son, which is within a week, so the client gets upset and she has an argument with Maddie because she´s trying to convince her that what she´s saying is the truth .. .that her son will die soon; so when a week later her son disappears, Maddie becomes the prime suspect.
There are a couple of pretty irksome FBI agents, they´re almost certain that Maddie is responsible for the boy's death and are constantly harassing her. So when someone else dies in a similar way to the boy and said victim is someone Maddie knows, she´s in a bigger problem.
Maddie is a good character and I really I liked her best friend Stubby, because he believes in her gift, is a really good friend and wholeheartedly supports her. But for those that like romance in the books, there wasn’t any romance in it.
Overall, When is a good YA thriller, where you´re never sure who is the killer, because at some point of the story I had my doubts of several characters and it also has some interesting plot twists. It has a good ending with the loose ends all tied up. I really enjoyed it!...more
All the Rage is a name that aptly describes what made me feel this book because it deals with the emotional consequences and repercussions of4.5 stars
All the Rage is a name that aptly describes what made me feel this book because it deals with the emotional consequences and repercussions of the sexual abuse of a girl, this is a powerful, raw and sad story.
The story begins with Romy attending her senior year without friends and being a victim of bullying by her classmates and old friends, because in the previous school year she was sexually abused by the golden boy, the son of Sheriff, he belongs to a powerful family and is the older brother of one of the most popular kids at her grade, so after she was raped, nobody believed in her and all of her friends turned their backs on her. So now, she goes to school trying to go unnoticed and she only wants to finish hers senior year without further problems, so she seeks refuge at her part-time job as a waitress in a restaurant in a nearby town, where nobody know her and where she can interact with other people, without been a target. And her life goes on like that until one day, a classmate disappears from a party and Romy must decide what to do with what she knew in her last conversation with her.
This book made me feel helplessness, anger, sadness, especially when no one believes in Romy, no one! .... And what made me more sad is how her parents react to the news and see how the sheriff's turns her in to a persona non-grata and how she isn´t safe of bullying in her town. Also as Romy sees herself as a dead girl.
There are some good secondary characters as well as villains and some who don´t know which side to take, but the main plot is Romy´s life after her sexual assault and how it changes again when Penny disappears and the mystery surrounding the events that happened the day she disappeared. It also has a bit of romance, but the story does not focus on it.
All the Rage is a raw, brutal, real and emotional contemporary novel. I highly recommended it. I´ll definitely read other books written by Courtney Summers....more
This book is touted for fans of Jason Bourne and although I haven´t read the novels, I´ve seen the movies and The Hit do have similarities in action, This book is touted for fans of Jason Bourne and although I haven´t read the novels, I´ve seen the movies and The Hit do have similarities in action, fighting, persecution and infiltration, but the plot is somewhat different.
Boy Nobody is a young killer that when he was twelve years old was "recruited" by a government company called The Program, which trained him and programed him to carry out missions where he must infiltrate a school, befriend or approach the son/daughter of his mission to thereby achieve to be closer to his mark and remove him/her in a clean way that does not seem as a murder, then the Boy Nobody disappears and is moved to his new mission and start again at a new school. When the book begins he´s sixteen years old and gets a new mission to infiltrate and befriend the daughter of a powerful politician, but there is something different about this mission, since his handlers to whom he calls Dad and Mom (this is to avoid suspicion if someone listen to their phone calls), give him only five days to end his mark and for the first time since he´s been on the Program, he´s questioning the whys of things, which can be very dangerous for him.
The story is told from the point of view of Boy Nobody whom in his latest mission is known as Benjamin (not his real name) and through memories we get to see how he ended up in the program and how his handlers only give him the mission, time limit and new identity; and as in his training he was conditioned to follow orders without question and only knows that he´s a soldier and his job is to eliminate traitors. From the beginning we see him analyzing the surrounding area, looking for potential threats, and thinking how his peers expect him to react to different situations, etc. but we see him as an apathetic boy that just follows orders, until something changes with him and he becomes more human ... which could cause problems with the Program.
I really enjoyed reading The Hit, and throughout the book I was questioning all the characters with which Benjamin interacts because nobody seems innocent and all of them seems to have a double agenda; but nevertheless I end up liking Ben and worrying about his welfare. And the ending! I did´n saw it coming, it has a very good plot twist .... and I hope to read soon the next book in the series....more
I have mixed feelings about this book, because honestly I don´t know what rating to give it, since one of the main characters is annoying bec3.5 stars
I have mixed feelings about this book, because honestly I don´t know what rating to give it, since one of the main characters is annoying because she spends angry with the world and retaliates with whichever she can, but on the other hand Mia just learned that she has cancer, which could upset to anybody.
The story begins with Zac, a leukemia patient who has just received a bone marrow transplant, which is why he´s confined in a hospital room, isolated for about 40 days and his only visitor are his mother, doctors and nurses, so when he finds out that his neighboring in the next room is a girl of his own age, Zac begins to communicate with her through knocks on the wall between the two rooms, messages sent through nurses, until they finally communicate over social network, but during their stay at the hospital they never know each other face to face, just glances of each other through the window in Zac´s door. But somehow months after leaving the hospital both keep thinking of each other for different reasons, and their lives crossed paths again, but this second meeting Mia is still remains depressed, so Zac does what he can to help her.
The plot is divided into three parts, the first part fully told by Zac, the second part is told from Zac and Mia POVs and the last part is told entirely by Mia. I liked Zac´s chapters, because he´s a very positive guy, despite being aware of the mortality percentages of his illness and is aware of the probability of going into remission, but despite all this almost never looks listless, discouraged or angry. While on her part Mia, a cancer with a high probability of success, she´s angry about the consequences her treatment (understandable), so she´s angry, depressed and cruel to others for the most part.
Lately I've read several books about cancer patients, but few of them were developed in the hospital, which made it a little different from the others.
Zac and Mia is a book about two young teenagers facing cancer that after many setbacks they become friends and support each other. Besides that we also see the presence of the family of both, but my favorite was the interaction of Zac with his mother, she´s portrayed as a strong woman and that is always present through her son´s treatment, we see her positive and supporting in the recovery of Zac. Overall it´s a good contemporary novel about friendship, family and with a message of hope....more