Legend

Title: Legend

Author: Marie Lu

Series: Legend, Book 1

Number of Pages: 305

Date Read: 4/26/16 

Genre: Dystopian, Science Fiction, Fantasy 

This is a re-read for me and I stand by my review I wrote a few years ago when I read it. I'll link it here: Review of Legend by Marie Lu

My Sister Rosa

Title: My Sister Rosa

Author: Justine Larbalestier

Series: Standalone

Number of Pages: 398

Date Read: 4/23/16 

Genre: Psychological Thriller, Contemporary, Psychology, Mystery 

Synopsis (Found on Goodreads.com):

What if the most terrifying person you'd ever met was your ten-year old sister? A spine-chilling psychological thriller from one of Australia's finest YA authors. 

'I promise,' said Rosa. 'I won't kill and I won't make anyone else kill.'

I can't see the loophole. Since the guinea pig there's been nothing. Months now without Rosa killing as much as a mosquito.

As far as I know.

Che Taylor has four items on his list: 1. He wants to spar, not just train in the boxing gym. 2. He wants a girlfriend. 3. He wants to go home. 4. He wants to keep Rosa under control.

Che's little sister Rosa is smart, talented, pretty, and so good at deception that Che's convinced she must be a psychopath. She hasn't hurt anyone yet, but he's certain it's just a matter of time. And when their parents move them to New York City, Che longs to return to Sydney and his three best friends. But his first duty is to his sister Rosa, who is playing increasingly complex and disturbing games. Can he protect Rosa from the world - and the world from Rosa?

My Review: 

This book took me wayyy to long to finish. Parts of it was good but for the most part it was pretty dull.

The premise of this book is that the main character Che, moves with his family to NYC as part of a business deal for Che's parents. Che doesn't want to go. Every time Che is moved with his parents he has a list of 4 things to do. Fourth is to go home. Third is to be able to spar not just train in boxing. Second is to get a girlfriend. And the first most important thing is to keep his ten year old sister Rosa under control. Because Rosa is a psychopath. 

The premise of this book sounds so interesting that I immediately bought the book off book depository because this is an Australian book and it doesn't come out in the US until November. And I waited over a month to get it delivered because the shipping of the book took forever. Needless to say I should of waited for it to come out in the US. 

Now I'm not saying the book is bad or anything. It was ok. But it wasn't really what I was expecting and I wasn't expecting it to be so boring. The book is basically Che's narration of his daily life in NYC, which is boring. The most interesting parts were about Rosa and the things she does. Che goes on and on about boxing and he spends the majority of time at the gym. He also talks so much about the girl he likes, Sojourner and sex. I don't care about Che masturbating or his wet dreams (which is said in the book...gross) or his gushing over this girl. I got this book because I wanted to read about his psycho sister not hear his dialogue of his life. I mean Che's not a bad character but he's just so boring. I did feel bad for him because he has to deal with his sister terrorizing him but really I wanted to know more about his being terrorized than about his girl crush. Meh.

Rosa is pure evil. She has no empathy and is able to pretend to be a normal girl. She gave me the creeps. I hated her but I was interested in what she said and what she did. It was interesting seeing how she manipulated the people around her. But she wasn't as evil or bad as the synopsis and Che made her out to be. Most of the scenes with Rosa was her talking to Che about her lack of feelings, how smart she was and how she manipulated others. It was like the book told you how bad Rosa was instead of showing it. The synopsis says Rose is "playing increasingly complex and disturbing games" but I didn't really see this in the book. There are two instances when terrible things happen but the reader is left guessing if Rosa was really behind those incidents. I thought Rosa was going to be killing animals or trying to kill people or something drastic like that because that's what the book leads to you believe and I wanted it to be delivered. But it wasn't and I was disappointed. 

Rating:B

Mercy

Title: Mercy

Author: Caroline B. Cooney

Series: Standalone

Number of Pages: 233

Date Read: 2/20/16 

Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis (Found on Goodreads.com):

Deerfield, Massachusetts 1704

Mercy Carter's world has never been safe. Death is always near - from the weather, the French and the Kahnawake Indians. It is a brutal life - but it's all Mercy knows.

One frozen night, Mercy wakes to the sound of screaming and the smell of burning in the air. The Indians have come. And Mercy's worst nightmares are about to come true.

But she isn't killed. Mercy is captured - and, along with many of her friends and family, she is dragged on a 300-mile trail into the unknown. Freezing, starving and exhausted, some of them don't make it. And Mercy must find a hidden strength if she is to face the new life that lies in wait. But is this slavery - or a kind of freedom? 

My Review: 

No Review at this time

Rating:B

Mary: Unleashed

Title: Mary: Unleashed

Author: Hillary Monahan

Series: Bloody Mary, Book 2

Number of Pages: 245

Date Read: 10/16/15

Genre: Horror, Ghost, Paranormal 

Synopsis (Found on Goodreads.com)

Mary in the mirror.
Mary in the glass.
Mary in the water.

Mary lurks in the emptiness, in the darkness . . . in the reflection. That is, until Jess unleashes her into the world. Now Mary Worth is out and her haunting is deadlier than ever.

No one is safe.

Shauna, Kitty, and Jess must band together to unearth the truth about Mary's death to put her soul to rest for good. Their search leads them back to where it all began-to Solomon's Folly, a place as dangerous as the ghost who died there a century and a half ago. Quick sand, hidden traps and a phantom fog are the least of their worries. To stop Mary, they need to follow a dark string of clues and piece together a gruesome mystery that spans generations.

But time is running out.

As chilling facts come to light, Mary inches ever closer to her prey. Can Jess, Shauna, and Kitty break Mary's curse before it's too late? Or will history repeat itself until there is no one left to call her name . . . ? 

My Review:

. Not as scary as the first one but still creeped me out

. This book is about finding out about Mary's life and where her body is

. Takes place a few weeks after the first book

. New characters are Dell and Cody who I love. 

. Still don't like Jess. She's still selfish and only thinks of herself.

. The reason why Mary rose is seriously messed up.

. Lots more letters written by different people like Constance, Elizabeth Hawthorne, Constance's husband. 

Rating: A

Mary: The Summoning

Title: Mary: The Summoning

Author: Hillary Monahan

Series: Bloody Mary, Book 1

Number of Pages: 248

Date Read: 10/12/15

Genre: Horror, Ghost, Paranormal

Synopsis (Found on Goodreads.com)

There is a right way and a wrong way to summon her. 

Jess had done the research. Success requires precision: a dark room, a mirror, a candle, salt, and four teenage girls. Each of them--Jess, Shauna, Kitty, and Anna--must link hands, follow the rules . . . and never let go. 

A thrilling fear spins around the room the first time Jess calls her name: "Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary. BLOODY MARY." A ripple of terror follows when a shadowy silhouette emerges through the fog, a specter trapped behind the mirror. 

Once is not enough, though--at least not for Jess. Mary is called again. And again. But when their summoning circle is broken, Bloody Mary slips through the glass with a taste for revenge on her lips. As the girls struggle to escape Mary's wrath, loyalties are questioned, friendships are torn apart, and lives are forever altered.

A haunting trail of clues leads Shauna on a desperate search to uncover the legacy of Mary Worth. What she finds will change everything, but will it be enough to stop Mary--and Jess--before it's too late? 

My Review:

So this book scared the crap outta me. Besides it being creepy and scary, I read the book mostly at night right before I went to sleep. So that part was my fault. 

Basically the story is about four friends who summon Bloody Mary and she breaks out of the mirror to terrorize them. Mary picks one girl in particular, Shauna, to haunt and attack. The story is about the girls trying to find a way to de-haunt Shauna and to stop Mary.

Shauna is the main character of the book. She is the one chosen by Mary to be haunted because Mary tasted her blood. Shauna is a happy popular girl in the beginning of the book and then, as to be expected, she becomes depressed, scared and desperate when Mary haunts her. She wants to keep everyone safe because Mary will go after Shauna's loved ones to get to Shauna. Shauna becomes very jumpy, paranoid and sick. I really liked her as a character because she tries to protect the people she loves and even when she finds out she can pass the haunting on to someone else, she refuses saying that she would never wish Mary on anyone. She is determined to find a way to stop Mary before anyone dies. 

I would never be able to be as strong as Shauna was. Mary would appear in anything shiny; glass, windows, mirrors, metal, chrome, plates. Just think about how much shiny surfaces there are in your home. How can all those things be avoided unless you go live in a cave in the mountains? I couldn't even believe how someone would survive the haunting. Literally everything is shiny like computer screens, cell phones, car windows, doorknobs. Mary could literally pop up anywhere and everywhere. No where was safe. Its insane. I'd probably just want to kill myself instead of being scared and wary all the time. I really give props to Shauna for dealing with it all. 

Jessica is one of Shauna's group of friends. Jess was the one who had the idea to summon Mary. She learned the "right" way to summon Mary from her aunt and kept notes on how to do it. Jess was the one who kept on pushing the girls to summon Mary more than once. She was the reason things got out of control during the summoning and Mary got out. She didn't listen to the other girls when they told her to end the summoning. She kept on trying to talk to Mary. Jess was also very secretive about the summoning and held information back from the group until it suited her to tell them bits of the info a little at a time. Jess was very sneaky, is a bully and doesn't really care about anyone but herself. She put her friends lives in danger and was willing to let some other girl get haunted without a trace of guilt in her. I hated her and I felt like she deserved to be haunted by Mary instead of Shauna.

Anna and Kitty were the other girls in Shauna's group of friends. Anna is a tough girl who doesn't put up with Jess' s**t and tells her off when she has had enough. She is very strong and continues to help Shauna. Kitty is the weakest of the group but she still has Shauna's back. Kitty is very sensitive and allows Jess to walk all over her. She did likes confrontation and just follows everyone. She gets extremely scared during the summoning and cries a lot. Despite that I still liked her and Anna. 

Mary was freaky. Her description is so scary. She is decaying, had black veins all over her and is skeletal, even her face. She scurries places instead of walking and she is always wet. There's always water and muck associated with her. She is super strong and will kill anyone. She chooses one person out of the group that calls her to haunt and will stay with that person for years until the haunting gets passed to someone else. Its sad because Mary was a normal 17 year old, living during the civil war era. The book contains 3 letters written by Mary (Mary Worth) to her sister (these are not real letters, just letters the author made up for the story). Mary seemed to be a nice girl and her problems started when a new pastor came to her parish. Now, Mary is a freaky ghost that scared the crap outta me. 

The story has a lot of action and a lot of Mary attacks. She was actually in the book as a character, attacking and haunting Shauna. The book was gory as well and there was a lot of blood. Mary would pop up anywhere and attack. The story was fast paced as well and I enjoyed the tidbits of information that were given to the reader about Mary Worth. I am hoping that there will be even more information about Mary (this book's version of Mary anyway) in the next book because I want to know what happened to her to change her into this hideous murdering ghost. 

Rating: A+

Midnight Pearls

Title: Midnight Pearls

Author: Debbie Viguie

Series: Once Upon A Time

Number of Pages: 198

Date Read: 7/20/15

Genre: Fairytale Retelling

Synopsis (Found on Goodreads.com)

In a quiet fishing village seventeen years ago, one lone fisherman rescued a child from the sea. He and his wife raised the girl, Pearl, as their own daughter, never allowing themselves to wonder long about where she came from -- or notice her silver hair, usually pale skin, and wide, dark blue eyes.

Pearl grows from a mysterious child into an unusual young woman, not always welcomed in the village. As all the other girls her age find husbands, she has only one friend to ease her loneliness. One very special, secret companion: Prince James.

But their friendship is shaken when trouble erupts in the kingdom -- a conspiracy against the royal family combines with an evil enchantment from beneath the sea. Now, just when Pearl and James need each other most, bewitching magic and hints about Pearl's past threaten to tear them apart...forever.

My Review:

This was a really good, interesting and different retelling of the little mermaid. Its basically has the same events as the original tale but instead there are two princesses and two princes. It was really cool how the story was split up into between all the characters with each taking some aspect of the story. 

Pearl is the main character of the story. She is found in the ocean at the age of four during a storm by the fisherman Finneas. Finneas took her from the ocean and brought her home to his wife. They raised Pearl as their own child. They knew she was different but they didn't want to know where she was from or if she was human. They just loved her as their child. Fast forward and by the 2nd chapter Pearl is 17 years old and different from everyone in the village. She has silver blond hair, large eyes and pale pale skin. Pearl has one friend, Prince James. Her parents don't know about their relationship. They had been meeting on the beach by Pearls home every week since they were seven and they are best friends. Marriage proposals for both Pearl and James as well as a plot against the king's life are included in the plot. 

Pearl is a very sweet girl. She feels that she is different but she doesn't know how. Her parents don't talk to her about how they found her or speculate on what she is. She feels a call to the ocean but remembers being told by someone that if she goes in the ocean she will die. She does not want to get married and wants to keep her cozy life with her parents by the beach. I liked her a lot. 

There are three other characters in the book as well, Prince James, Kale and Faye. I know what you're thinking, Pearl and James fall in love and get married...WRONG! I'm not going to say anything but there are many twists in the romances and marriages in this book. Kale and Faye are merpeople and they are royalty in the merworld. Pearl is too but she doesn't know it. I liked Kale and Faye well enough but they came on kind of strong and they also came out of nowhere. I thought it was only gonna be Pearl and James in the book but then these two show up. There was so much "love" in this book. But the storyline was good. 

I loved how each of these characters took on parts of the story. I'm not going to go into who took what part of the tale but all parts of the original were in it including the sea witch and the deal she makes. I also though it was very interesting and creative in the way the mermaids acted on land. Its like humans in water. We can't breathe underwater and in this book merpeople can't breathe out of water. Just like real fish. I thought that was cool and different. 

All in all a good retelling that I enjoyed alot. 

Rating: A+

The Last Good Day of the Year

Title: The Last Good Day of the Year

Author: Jessica Warman

Standalone

Number of Pages: 276

Date Read: 7/5/15

Genre: Realistic Fiction, Thriller, Contemporary, Mystery, Drama

Synopsis (Found on Goodreads.com)

A new powerful thriller from the globally-embraced author ofBetween.

Ten years ago, in the early hours of New Year’s Day, seven-year-old Samantha and her next door neighbor, Remy, watched as a man broke into Sam’s home and took her younger sister, Turtle, from her sleeping bag. Remy and Sam, too afraid to intervene at the time, later identified the man as Sam’s sister Gretchen’s much older ex-boyfriend, Steven, who was sent to prison for Turtle’s murder.

Now, Sam’s shattered family is returning to her childhood home in an effort to heal. As long-buried memories begin to surface, Sam wonders if she and Remy accurately registered everything they saw. The more they re-examine the events of that fateful night, the more questions they discover about what really happened to Turtle.

My Review:

I'm not really sure how to even write about this book. I do have to say it was good and I liked it. This book is like a drama, lots of information without any real action in it but I still enjoyed it nonetheless. 

The book is about Samamtha's sister's kidnapping. The girl's name is Tabitha, also called Turtle. The book takes place ten years after Turtle's kidnapping, in the summer of 1996. The story shifts from the night/month of the kidnapping which occurred on January 1, 1986 and the present which is 1996. There are also some excerpts from a book that was written by an author about the kidnapping. Basically the story is about how Samantha's family has dealt with everything since Turtle disappeared. Her body was never found (in the beginning of the book) so its still up in the air as to if she's still alive or not. Sam and her best friend Remy were present when the kidnapping occurred and they said it was a guy named Steven who kidnapped Turtle. Ten years later, Sam is not so sure that Steven was the main who took Turtle. After Turtle was taken, Sam's family moved away for ten years but they had to come back to their old house when her dad lost his job. 

I liked Sam. She had a good head on her shoulders; she didn't smoke, do drugs, drink or have sex with just anyone (she never had sex so far). I also felt bad for her because her entire life was centered on her sister's disappearance. Her family was destroyed after that. Her older sister who was 17 at the time Turtle was taken left for college and was distance every since. Her mom was on all sorts of medical drugs and her father was depressed all the time. It must have been hard growing up for her. She is also very quiet and is called a goody goody by her older sister. She comes out of her shell a bit when she reconnected with her old best friend Remy and even though it's not clear, it seems like she started a relationship with him (in my opinion anyway). 

I liked Remy as well. He grew into a bit of a bad boy, smoking weed and drinking but he took Sam flawlessly back into his life. I didn't like Gretchen, Sam's other sister, as much. In the present time (1996) she is 27 and married but her marriage is on the outs as of now. I dunno, shes just weird and doesn't seem to have her s**t together at all. 

Anyway we get a lot of detail about the kidnapping and what happened. I felt like the ending was so abrupt. A lot of information was thrown to the reader and took more than half the book to build up and then the ending just came like a snap of the fingers. The last 4 chapters or so (which were only 3-4 pages each) went by so fast and with so much new information and then all of a sudden everything is solved. To me it was rushed, shortened and left the reader with so many more questions. 

Aside from the ending, the book was a good read.

Rating: B

Lying Out Loud

Title: Lying Out Loud

Author: Kody Keplinger

Series: The Duff, Book 2

Number of Pages: 294

Date Read:6/27/15

Genre: Romance, Realistic Fiction, Love

Synopsis (Found on Goodreads.com)

Sonny Ardmore is an excellent liar. She lies about her dad being in prison. She lies about her mom kicking her out. And she lies about sneaking into her best friend's house every night because she has nowhere else to go.

Amy Rush might be the only person Sonny shares everything with— secrets, clothes, even a nemesis named Ryder Cross.

Ryder's the new kid at Hamilton High and everything Sonny and Amy can't stand—a prep-school snob. But Ryder has a weakness: Amy. So when Ryder emails Amy asking her out, the friends see it as a prank opportunity not to be missed.

But without meaning to, Sonny ends up talking to Ryder all night online. And to her horror, she realizes that she might actually like him. Only there's one small catch: he thinks he's been talking to Amy. So Sonny comes up with an elaborate scheme to help Ryder realize that she's the girl he's really wanted all along. Can Sonny lie her way to the truth, or will all her lies end up costing her both Ryder and Amy? 

My Review:

I do have to say that I am disappointed with this book. I thought it was going to be great since it's set in "The DUFF"'s world and I was so excited about it also because "The Duff" is one of my favorite books. Sadly to say I was let down. 

This book takes place about 4 years or so after "The DUFF".

There is just nothing really special about this book. Amy Rush, who is Wesley's sister, is in the book but only as a secondary character and we don't really see any of her other than when she is with the main character Sonny. And usually its just talking that happens. So the summary of the book is that Sonny is a huge liar, has a messed up home life and so ends up living with Amy. Theres a new guy at school named Ryder who is viewed as a snob, who Sonny hates. Ryder has a huge crush on Amy who is not interested. The girls play an email prank on him which goes wrong and Sonny wants to apologize. She im's Ryder and talks to him all night but he thinks he talking to Amy because Sonny didn't realize she was on Amy's account. Long story short, she continues to talk to Ryder using Amy's IM and phone, and concots a plan to win over Ryder with Amy's help. Of course things don't go a planned and s*** hits the fan. 

I don't like Sonny. She was just annoying. She literally lies about everything and to everyone. Yes she has had a crappy home life but that's no excuse. She is always comparing herself to Amy who like Wesley, is gorgeous. Sonny is very selfish. Instead of telling Ryder the truth about the mistake when they spoke online, she continues to lie and then comes up with a stupid plan to get Ryder to stop liking Amy and like her instead. So she's ok with starting a new relationship built on lies and manipulation, instead of just being honest. She is also selfish because she drags Amy into it, who wants nothing to do with the situation and just wants Sonny to tell Ryder the truth about what happened. Amy goes along because she loves Sonny (as best friends) and Sonny just walks all over her. Even when shit hits the fan, Sonny still lies to Amy and Ryder. Plus Sonny is kind of whiny. I don't know I just didn't like her at all. I also just couldn't care at all about her problems, the romance and if she got the guy. Oh and there was no sex which was surprising and disappointing taking in to consideration how much of it was in "The Duff".

Ryder was eh. I could take him or leave him. I didn't really care about him but he could be a jerk and a snob. She is very idealistic about the people in his life and as Sonny puts it, he puts people on pedestals but when they mess up he turns on them and cuts them out of his life. He sees things in black and white with no balance for the middle ground. He was ok around Sonny later in the book when they start seeing each other but I felt like the reader doesn't really get to know Ryder like we got to know Wesley in "The Duff". 

I really liked Amy. She is sweet and very shy. She doesn't stand up for herself and lets Sonny walk all over her and use her. She is such a nice person, kind, caring and respectful even to people she doesn't like. She doesn't deserve to be treated the way Amy treats her. 

So why did I give this book 3 stars? Because of Wesley and Bianca who appear in the book for a brief few chapters. They are both almost 21 and have been at college together in New York and are still together. YAY for them!!!!!!! I LOVE them together! The just weren't in the book as much as I liked or for as long as I liked. Wesley still dotes on Bianca like in the end of "The Duff" and Bianca is still her sassy self. I loved it. 

I hope that the author makes another book featuring Wesley and Bianca because I just love them so much and I rather read about them any day. Or maybe a book could be written with Amy as the main character. I'd like to get to know about her more too. 

Rating:

C

Lead

Title: Lead

Author: Kylie Scott

Series: Stage Dive, Book 3

Number of Pages: 305

Date Read: 5/23/15

Genre: Romance, Love, Erotic, New Adult, Contemporary

Synopsis (Found on Goodreads.com)

As the lead singer of Stage Dive, Jimmy is used to getting whatever he wants, whenever he wants it, whether it's booze, drugs, or women. However, when a PR disaster serves as a wake-up call about his life and lands him in rehab, he finds himself with Lena, a new assistant to keep him out of trouble.

Lena's not willing to take any crap from the sexy rocker and is determined to keep their relationship completely professional, despite their sizzling chemistry. But when Jimmy pushes her too far and Lena leaves, he realizes that he may just have lost the best thing that ever happened to him.

My Review:

I really enjoyed this book. Its my second favorite out of the series after, Lick. 

This book is about Jimmy, the lead singer for the band Stage Dive and his romance with Lena, his assistant. 

I like Jimmy a lot. He was a huge douche in the first book but he has completely changed. Since the first book he has gone into rehab and has come out clean. He needs a live in sobriety companion/assistant to be with him and make sure he doesn't fall into back into bad habits. Lena is his third or fourth companion. Jimmy is really a nice sweet guy who hides those characteristics with attitude, anger and sarcasm. At first he is kind of a jerk but as the story goes on we get to his his softer, loving side with Lena. Jimmy and his brother David (stage dive's guitarist) had a hard childhood with a lousy drunk mom, so Jimmy is not very trusting to anyone and believes he can't love anyone and that no one will love him. While this book is in Lena's pov the reader also gets to see Jimmy's struggles and how he, with help, overcomes them and changes into a better man. 

I like Lena too. She had big boobs (like me- yay booby club!), a big ass (sadly not like me), she's not super skinny and has meat on her, she loves food and loves to read. She has glasses and dark brown hair. She tries to maintain a very professional relationship with Jimmy as well as she can and once she realizes her feelings for him she tries to resign because she realizes that her feelings will get in the way of her doing her job. Which of course Jimmy will have none of that but at least she is a very responsible woman. She is caring, loving and she can match Jimmy with her attitude anytime. She's sassy and I like that. She is a little too sex-crazed/starved for my liking, always talking about how her lady parts react around Jimmy (not to him but to the reader) and things like that. But still, I like her. She genuinely cares about Jimmy and all of his issues. 

Their romance was sweet. They both had feelings for each other before they began having sex but Jimmy wasn't aware of his feelings. Its not like they were sex buddings who fell in love. Both had feelings but only Lena knew about hers. It was nice seeing how sweet, loving and thoughtful Jimmy was with Lena in comparison to how he was with his band mates and their girlfriends. 

Well I'm ready to go on to the last book, Deep, which is the playboy bassist, Ben's story. 

Rating:

A+