Afterwords

REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR BOOK 1

After the shocking and devastating end to Destiny Binds, I really wasn't sure what's going to happen with this book. Am I going to like it, after having my heart broken and gutted out with at ending of first? But then, I couldn't not read it, you know? I mean, I had to know what happens next!

“Tony Stark over Bruce Wayne, but Batman trumps Iron Man.” 

--First paragraph of Time Mends

As it was, I found TIME MENDS to be a wonderful continuation to the first in the series. I was genuinely impressed with how much I enjoyed the characters, the plot and the writing style. 

I kept being surprised at how Blackwell created something profoundly different from nowadays YA books out there. I can't really explain how it was that different, only that that's the way I felt. Good different, which is something remarkable in my opinion. 

TIME MENDS centers mostly around Scout coming to terms with 

Which works wonderfully well, as, you know, I was dealing with his death as well. She's grieving, in a completely human way which made her seem as blood and flesh as you and me. And on top of all her worries, she has to suffer from great pains over her own injury, which makes her lock herself in her room, shut herself from the world and alienate almost everyone who were once close to her - not that I blame her one bit for it. 

And that injury? Lets just say it leads to a change. A capital C kind of Change. And with that Change all hell breaks loose. Now she has to deal with her loved one's death, being different, trying to save her best friend, and a pack of the mightiest Weres out there wanting her dead. Yeah, great year for Scout...

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On Dublin Street is a book I was wry of trying. It has many, many 5 star reviews (such as this one), so I was super afraid it will disappoint. But, oh boy it didn't. It really didn't. I enjoyed every bit of the ride, and I'm looking forward to reading more of Young's stories in the future!

It was super surprising to find out this is Young's first attempt at adult (or New Adult, based on the definition of my New Adult Challenge) from a long set of Young Adults. It was written amazingly well, with gripping plot, wonderful characters and a romance well built, well written and well executed. She should've tried this sooner, is all I'm going to say :) 

The voice of the story is our main character, Jocelyn, also known as just Joss. Joss has... issues, to put mildly. Issues that resulted mostly of her family's untimely death. And those issues married other issues and had little issue-children. And all her issues could've made her annoying... if she wasn't working on them. But she doesn't just sit around, Joss is trying to change the way things are, seeking out help, and due to that, I never found her annoying, even when she was doing things that made my heart ache. In fact, I respected her more for it. Not once did I think ....

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There are two things which make a book: characters and plot. As far as characters go, the two main in this book annoyed the heck out of me me.

The story is told from Layken's POV, and I can't say I was in love with it as the character pissed me off. 
All of her wallowing, thinking he's a jerk, dragging things, blaming her mother, not talking, etc made me want to strangle her... as you can see, I've many complaints about her.
I also think she's got good points; I loved her relationship with Kel, her brother. I loved thatshe could take care of herself, and I loved her conversations with people.

As for Will, I liked him a lot more. First, he's a poet. A talented one, too. Then, he's mature, heputs himself last for his family's sake, he's kind, an awesome kisser, and he really accepts everything there is about Layken. 
However, at a point he pissed me off too; always saying he's sorry to her, or slipping and then promising it won't happen again.... Dude, make up your mind! 

The characters I actually liked best are Kel and Clauder, Layken and Will's younger brothers. Those were a couple of awesome kids! Simply loved the both of them to death. Especailly Kel, whom we've gotten to see a lot more of as this book was told from Layken's POV. 

As for the relationship between Lake and Will... 

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What a wonderful start to a series. Probably one of the better shifter books I’ve read, though a little heartbreaking. I will admit – I cried for a bit there.

The main character, who tells the story, is Harper “Scout” Donovan. She is an awesome character, in my opinion. She was funny and sarcastic, smart and logical, honest, strong and loving. It also seems she’s not from the girls who think they’re not pretty while they are. She’s truly weird looking, but she definitely catches the eye. I quite honestly don’t get why she doesn’t have many friends; she is plain awesome. Too bad not everyone see her as such.

Alex is the new guy in town. He was so sweet, charismatic, nice, caring and loving. Also, I mustn’t forget beautiful, hot, with a set of killer dimples. He is kind of the perfect guy, and I loved him, the way he behaved and acted around Scout. She's pretty much the center of his world, andwho doesn't want her guy to treat her as such?

Jase is Scout’s step brother, whom she has been together with since they were tiny babies, and he isinfinitely awesome. I loved the relationship between him and Scout, their banter and their devotion to one another. How they’re thought of as “twins” even though blood-wise, they have no relations. I envy their relationship.

Talley is Scout’s best friend, and she’s another very awesome character. She is the kind of person who sees the best in everyone, and who knows Scout and her family like she knows herself.

Charlie is Jase’s best friend and cousin, and...

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This was a great start to what’s sure to become a unique fantasy YA series. I wasn’t expecting Phoenix Angel to be what it was, but in a good way. It really surprised me. There is definitely something fresh and new about this book.

Fate is a curious concept. I cannot recall when I first recognized mine: the knowledge that no matter how far I run, how much I learn, or how much power I attain, inevitably my destiny is realized. The magic will always consume me in the end. Flight seems my only option, the only way to slow my future's progress. I have escaped fate's snare through battle, agony and--oddly--time. But only temporarily. I can almost feel it stalking me. --
First paragraph of Phoenix Angel. 

The story starts with a Prologue from an unknown point of view. It’s very mysterious and intriguing, making you wonder what’s going on from the very first page. Same goes with the story itself; it keeps you guessing, wondering what’s going on, what’s going to happen. Personally, I find that to be a very good thing.

And it’s not a “perfect” story. Shit happens in this book, and sometimes the heroes are powerless to do anything about it. It’s real.

The story’s divides to two parts; in the first part we’ve got Maggie and Kyle’s story, while on the second part we’ve got Lily and Carter's. I can’t really tell you who the main character is. Mostly because I myself don’t know. It's confusing, but in a good way.

The characters are all very flawed.

Maggie is sarcastic, relationship-phobic due to a bad relationship (and by that I mean she swore off boys for the rest of her life), kind of cranky, hates the entire school (aside for her best friend), and scares everyone off. She’s closed and trusts no one.
While sometimes she did stuff that...

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if you don’t want to have your heart broken and shattered to million pieces, your eyes swollen with tears and your throat choking down in sadness, do not read this book. But other than that, this is a great book.

I knew a person who lost a family member to cancer, after a long battle. He was my best friend. He stopped being my best friend after that; he changed, became someone I didn’t know, someone I couldn’t remain near, or I was in serious danger of breaking apart and losing my mind, maybe even hurting myself. 

So, I may not know how it feels to lose someone directly to cancer (and I pray every day I never will), but I do know how it feels to lose someone to cancer, because I lost him. That’s why, this book scared me. Scared me shitless (forgive my language).

I wasn’t sure I was ready to read it, to read of cancer, to live it through the book and to lose people through the book, because in a book about cancer, you can’t expect everyone to be fine and happy. You know whatever Happily-Ever-After you’ll get—if you get it—will not be perfect. It will not be forever, because even if the character doesn’t die in the time span of the book, she’ll die after. And at least for me, who get sucked into books, that matters.

But when I found it on a shelf in a bookstore, I decided to get it, as so many friends of mine read and loved it, and I simply had to know what all the hype is about. I even started it the very same day, before I could chicken out.

This book was filled with good surprises and bad surprises; Most of the book wasunbelievably funny, which is about the last thing I expected. I thought more along the lines of “sad and depressing” (and there was plenty of that, but even more hilarious moments).

And the characters were stunning.

And the heartbreak came from an unexpected direction, and the ending did nothing to help that.

But, let’s rewind a little bit and start again…

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THE EDGE OF NEVER has been such a pleasant surprise! If you recall, I was not enthusiastic about Redmerski's writing in The Mayfair Moon, her debut novel. But this time, I thought it was fantastic! You can see how her writing got better with each book she wrote, I guess :-)
Anyway, I loved this book. I loved the characters, the relationship, the plot-line... It was great!

NATALIE HAS BEEN TWIRLING that same lock of hair for the past ten minutes and it’s starting to drive me nuts. I shake my head and pull my iced latte toward me, strategically placing my lips on the straw. Natalie sits across from me with her elbows propped on the little round table, chin in one hand.

 

 --first paragraph of The Edge of Never

This book had what I call a "slow start". It took me about 20%--right until Andrew showed up--to really get into it. But once I did, I was unconditionally drawn into the book and couldn't pull out until the inevitable: the book ended. *sniff sniff*

Camryn is the female main character of the story, and she tells about 65% of it. I liked her character; I love how she loved completely and unconditionally, her spirit that longed to roam, and that she wasn't afraid to tell her friend the truth - even if said friend reacted stupidly. Besides, I'm thankful to that friend. It made Cam meet Andrew, didn't it? :D

Andrew is such an amazing person!! OMG, I absolutely loved him!!! He was so sweet and charismatic and caring and plain sexy! I really enjoyed reading the parts from his POV, and wish they were longer. 

As for the two of them together...

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This book was a total surprise to me, for many reasons. But bottom line, before I get into all the details, I simply loved it. It was a good surprise. 
You'll forgive the rather shallow review, I hope, as I can't organize most of my thoughts about the book.

I’ll begin with this – when I started this book, I was sure for some reason it was completely contemporary, so I was completely taken by surprise when I realized it was supernatural. Hodkin describes her book as a: “Psychological thriller with a supernatural twist.” As a fantasy lover, I didn’t mind that at all.

My name is not Mara Dyer, but my lawyer told me I had to chose something. A pseudonym. A nom de plume, for all of us studying for the SATs. I know that having a fake name is strange, but trust me—it’s the most normal thing about my life right now. Even telling you this much probably isn’t smart. But without my big mouth, no one would know a seventeen-years-old who likes Death Cab for Cutie was responsible for the murders. No one would know that somewhere out there is a B student with a body count. And it’s important that you know, so you’re not next.

Rachel’s birthday was the beginning. This is what I remember.

--The opening of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

I simply loved this beginning, because it left so much room to speculate. You were wondering so much before the story even started – what murders? Why does she have a lawyer? And “a kid who loves death cab…” each time a person who loves Death Cab came by, I started wondering “is it him?”. Wonderful opening! You can't help but feel completely intriguing right?

This book deals with mixing reality and fiction; what’s real? What’s not?
A topic, I, personally...

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I really enjoyed reading CRUSH. It was a fast, fun read with two main characters with chemistry to spare, a bit of creepiness and a nice twist to the all known hot-bad-boy-falls-for-the-goody-two-shoe.
The story is told from two POVs; Hunter and Cami's.

Cami is... well, she's kind of me, (which means she was very easy to relate to) only she's hot. You probably have no idea what I mean; Cami is that girl in class who always listens and takes notes, who never talks back to a teacher or cut class or party or do drugs or any of those things. She's a goody-two-shoe, only she's beautiful and she isn't even aware of it.
I liked her and her attitude - she couldn't care less what others thought of her friends, as long as sheliked what she was seeing.

Hunter had just moved into town, and he's everything Cami knows she doesn't want; he hangs with the "bad crowd" - wild parties and drugs and everything. But he's also sweet, caring, funny andsmart, and for some "odd" reason seems to like her, a lot. 

And of course, they can't help the attraction between them.

Clay is Cami's best friend. He's a total geek, though something in him changes while reading the book. He becomes more muscular, starts to dress more fashionably. Quite honestly, I didn't like him from the start. With a character like Hunter it's hard to like the pushy best-friend.

As far as romances go, theirs was...

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Yet another wonderfully written book from J.D Robb, aka Nora Roberts. As all of her In Death series there is a wonderful mix of action, suspense and romance. 
This time, the investigation centers around Wicca and Witchcraft elements, giving the entire book a supernatural feeling that is bound to appeal to those, like me, who greatly enjoy fantasy, but also enough science and "reality" so it doesn't repel those who don't enjoy fantasy. It's fantastically balanced.

As always, we've got Eve investigating. I love watching how with each case, Eve trusts Roarke more and becomes more accepting to the notion of using him in her investigations. This time, she openly makes use of his abilities as she can't use her department's, and I love comparing with Eve of book 1, who'd never agree to that without a fight, or even Eve from book 4, who would've still grumbled about it. Eve just keeps evolving!

That's not to say I don't get annoyed with her. 80% through the book I was screaming at her that she's being stupid (which she totally was, btw!) and that she should listen to what her heart tells her. She. Just. Wouldn't. Listen.

Roarke is as wonderful as ever, and we keep learning new stuffs about him. For example, he believes in...

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ACROSS THE UNIVERSE has been sitting on my shelf for ages - I have a paperback from the first edition, bought brand new. That should give you some idea as to how long it set there. 
I really wanted to love this book. Wanted to see in it what everyone else have. Alas...

It's not that this is a bad book. The ideas behind this book are so intriguing and fascinating. But... yes. Here it is. The BUT.

I did not get into the book, and by that I mean it was super easy to put it down and super hard to force myself to pick it up again, until the last 20% of the book. Before those 20% I was planning on giving this book no more than 2 stars, and I was super sad about it. 

THE CHARACTERS

In the end, I can honestly say that I didn't really like Amy or Elder. There were moments I liked one but disliked the other, then they switched, and honestly I have no idea how I feel toward the two in the end.
In some place, I felt they were flat. I never connected to them on an emotional level. 

this is amy

My first impressions of Amy was of a little immature girl. 
Her responses to things seemed a bit childish to me, but I didappreciate her spirits - the one that says she's not going to let them intimidate her into hiding in her room or anything.
On the other hand, spirit or not, she...

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A SHIMMER OF ANGELS has been, somewhat surprisingly, a good read. I loved the world it presented, and I think Basso managed to give a fresh breath to the well-done theme of angels and to create a world that was both familiar and unique. I'm not the biggest fan of Angel books, as I haven't found one that has blown my mind yet, but this one came damn close! 
The book also managed to get some very unexpected reactions out of me (all good), which I'll expand on in this review.

The book starts with Rayna, three months after her release from the hospital (where she spent three years, in and out), and with the "end" of her "remission" - after three full months of being 'sane', she's seeing them again - the wings. It was a really good start, as it introduced her, some of her personality traits and her behavior, in a way I found interesting, informative--but not dull. 

The characters of the book were all very good.  

Rayna is the main female character, and the story is told from her point of view. She was a character I had much sympathy toward; frightened out of her mind of getting back to the bin, frightened out of her mind of the angels she sees, frightened out of her mind to find out they aren't hallucinations. And through all the fright, she somehow manages to come out as strong, moving forward and acting even with the fear. I had much respect toward that, and I believe we'll be able to see her grow a lot throughout the next books; seeing her slowly get rid of her many fears and becoming the strong person you can tell she is. 
Rayna is also loving, compassionate and kind, which I loved.

I think somewhere among everyone telling her she's crazy, Ray really became so. Not in the crazy way they talk about, but...

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Kelly Oram definitely knows how to write a book - SERIAL HOTTIE was just such a fun book to read, with such unusual characters; mainly, stalkers. But not the creepy kind. Well, a little bit creepy, but mostly just really amusing, sweet and fun. 
The characters in the story are, as mentioned before, pretty unique.

Ellie is the main character and the voice of the story. She's strong and throughout the book discovers herself as both a girl and a tomboy, learning to accept both parts in her, to realize there's no shame in wearing girly cloths. She's also feisty and takes crap from no-one, which I loved. 
But... she was also SUPER frustrating! Toward the end I was screaming at her for her stupidity!
"Listen to your guts and STOP BEATING ON YOUR BOYFRIEND FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!"
I cried out-loud. She didn't listen :< 

Angela is Ellie's older sister. I had a love/hate relationship with her. 
I hated her because: at first, she refused to listen to the fact Ellie was truly scared of Seth, and later because she kept trying to set them apart.
But she was doing it all from a good place, all because she cares, so I couldn't really hate her, you know?

Seth is Ellie's new neighbor, and he's a really creepy (but also really sweet) stalker. But all those are a...

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Heaven, Texas is the second book in a series of standalones centering around the players of the football team The Chicago Stars. 
This second book in the series did not disappoint. It featured great, human characters, an engaging plot and a great relationship.

I was very surprised by this book because unlike the first in the series, it had no football in it. Now, how's that possible? Easy - Bobby Tom was forced into an early retirement due to a severe knee injury. I did not see that one coming. 

Speaking of Bobby Tom... the guy's the main reason I didn't give this book 5 stars. Now, let me explain. I loved him - I really did. He was sweet, and charming, and kind of cocky but not in a really bad way. 
But 80% through I got really angry with him - the guy was so slow with his feelings that I waned to punch him, and the things he thought about Gracie until he realized he loved her pissed me off. He compared her to the sex-trophies he usually dates and found her lacking. WTH, dude? You should be ashamed! ARG, I really wanted to strangle him at this point. He has such a messed up view on life! 

Gracie is one of those characters I can't help but feel super connected with. My heart literally...

Let's start with saying this: UNMAKING HUNTER KENNEDY without a doubt one of the cutest books I've ever read (to this point). I am still grinning. And that sappy ending *giggle giggle* love it!

Hunter Kennedy is a famous pop star. The kind girls get all incoherent around; textbook good looks, abs to die for, eyes to dive in... perfect. But Hunter doesn't feel perfect. He feels depressed... which leads to all kind of stuff that lend him in Colorado, spending his time under the disguise of Dustin McHugh. 
I simply adored Hunter/Dustin's character. He wasn't mean, jerky or full of it at all. Even when he spoke of stuff that made others consider him "being full of it", he explained quite nicely how that really wasn't what he meant at all.
He was just sweet, nice and funny, and I loved him. The guy deserves sooooo many hugs!

Vere Roth is a cute, geeky girl. She is pretty much a reject in her school because she has what I call super-blush-attacks, and she get's so embarrassed by them she can't talk or breath properly when they happen. 
She was sweet, shy, full of excitement about everything in life - ice cream, heart-shaped rocks, water... She approaches everything with...

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