The One (The Only One, #1)

by Belle Ami

Check it out on Goodreads!

*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review*

For those of you who have read my previous reviews, you know it takes a lot for me to like to hate a book.  I am usually very good at knowing if I will like a book just by its description.  However, this book it my exception (which is probably why I am writing this review in such an unorthodox way).  Warning: this book contains half-ass sex scenes (no pun intended), horrid writing skills, and just plain boredom. 

Here are the short summary of my grades:

Cover ~ C (meh. pretty average)

Plot ~ B

I seems interesting enough but the description cannot warn you of the boring parts (see the Writing grade below)

Adelia is "dealing" with her parents death (or is it murder?).  She meets Miles and he helps take away the pain of losing them.  Click on the picture for a link to Goodread and learn more about this book (if you brave souls believe you can do it).

Characters~ F (lacked depth and were not relatable)

Adelia is not a relatable main character whatsoever. She did not even shed a tear about her parents' death! That is not normal!

I found Miles (the lead male character) to be creepy. Let me set the scene: Miles and Adelia meet at a dinner party where he clearly wants to get in her pants.  But Adelia, for reasons unknown finds him attractive and sweet. Whatever girl you are crazy.  About a week goes by and Miles shows up at her house and just walks in.  They go on a date where them attempt seduction and sexy talk.  He takes her home. She invites him to stay because apparently it is ridiculous for him (who she has only seen him twice in her life) to stay the night in her guest house.  She says "I trust him." BULLSHIT girl you walked right into this one.  She can't stop thinking about him and then at 5am she wakes up to him licking her pussy!! Like what the fuck?! Then the proceed to have marathon sex for the next 24 hours....

Karolin is Miles' twin sister.  She's got an evil plan that we only get glimpses of.  I had an uneasy feeling that this book was heading in the brother-sister incest direction and had to stop (do not take my word for it because I did not finish but I had to follow my gut feeling.  I never want to go there lol.)

Writing~ F

The book started somewhat interesting with the actual crash and seeing the event occur first hand as a reader.  What bugged me the most about this book was the constant changing POV.  It just got confusing, especially because in my version of the book, the chapters were not labeled until chapter 6 randomly showed up.  

The book would be much better if told from Adelia's point of view (in first person that is).  I find it more awkward when reading about the sex scenes in third person (it is just a bad idea because most readers want to feel they are a person in the book).  I felt like the pervert watching through the window.... 

The dialogue between characters were horrible.  Miles and Adelia's attempts at seduction were not sexy at all.  The way the author wrote the book made it unclear at times who was talking and how the characters were feeling.

The book rambles on about pointless topics such as how Adelia's parents met and their entire freaking life story for pages and pages.  Also the discussions about her equestrian training and competition were boring. These kinds of topics did not add to the book.  There was too much detail in the least important areas of the book and not nearly enough details in the most important parts.  I HATE not finishing books and rarely do so, but at 26% I HAD. TO. STOP.

Overall Rating ~ 1 Sad Star

Check out my Book Reviews tab from more interesting and time worthy books!

The Iron King

by Julie Kagawa

Check it out on Goodreads!

Type: Book One of The Iron Fey

POV: First person; Meghan

Rating: 4/5 stars

Cover ~ B

I am usually not a huge fan of using models on book covers. I like to create the face in my imagination without the help of the publishers, thank you very much. I know it is never right to judge a book by its cover, but come on, we all do it! The cover a book is what first draws your attention. My rant aside, I actually liked this cover! The girl is how I pictured Meghan (now if this is the cover's influence, we will never know), but I also loved the effect of the swirls around her. It is the perfect representation of the fey forest in the book!

Plot ~ A

Meghan Chase has always felt like something was missing from her life, and not just because her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six years old. Now, ten years later, her mother has moved on and started a new family. Meghan doesn't feel complete. She was never popular and only has her best friend, Robbie. But even though she has known Robbie for ten years does she really know him at all?

On her sixteenth birthday, Meghan starts to see things that should not be possible and Robbie seems to be even more protective than usual and less of his trickster self. When her 4 year old brother complains about a man in his closet or under his bed, could he be telling the truth? Her eyes have opened to a completely new world: The Nevernever, a faery world in which she is a half-faery Summer Princess. She must venture to this new world in order to save her brother, who has been taken by a fey. But being the the daughter of the most powerful faery king is dangerous and the exact reason why the world has been hidden from her. She is now a pawn in a deadly war against the Unseelie Winter Queen Mab.

But when Meghan comes across a strange type of faery magic that could destroy the whole Nevernever, she must make a deal with the enemy, the dark and mysterious Prince Ash of the Unseelie Winter Court. But a deal with a faery may come back to bite her, because a faery contract is unbreakable.

Characters ~ B

Meghan Chase is a 16 year old farm girl. She will do anything to save her brother. In the beginning, she is very naive when it come to the faery world. She carelessly throws around promises and deals which can be dangerous in the faery world. Her character matures throughout the series, but not so much in this book.

Puck (aka Robbie) is the infamous Robin Goodfellow from folklore. He is known for his trickery.

Ash is the youngest Prince of Winter/the Unseelie Court. He is arguably Queen Mab's favorite son. He has a history with Puck, both good and bad.

Grimalkin is a fey cat. He is has many fey who owe him favors. You never know if he is there to help Meghan because he likes her or to benefit himself.

*In my opinion, the characters get so much better. This is why I gave this section a B, because the character become more interesting in the next book.

Writing ~ A

I have been searching high and low for a good Fae book (granted it is Fey not Fae in this series, but no difference). I needed to fill the void left by Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass, book 3) and quench my thirst for Sarah J Maas' newest dark Fae series A Court of Thorns and Roses. Now I just need to tear myself away from this series to do my homework. Ahhh, the struggles of a college book nerd.... I loved this book because it took the idea of the Fey world, and mixed it with modern topics (which is probably why it is so appealing to readers). The world building in this book is awesome! I love that it is not just about fey creatures, but there are gremlins, goblins, ogres, phoukas, a chimera, and basically any other creature from folklore! The story had consistent action, and had me engaged for the entire journey.  If you read this and give it at least 3/5 stars, continue with the series! I loved the second book even more than the first, and the the third (which I am in the process of reading 2/14/2015) is looking even better!

Overall Rating ~ 4 stars

Just a side note: the grades I give my categories do not necessarily effect the overall rating. If I hate the cover, but love the book, I will still give a 5 star rating if it is deserved. Although, I typically save 5 star ratings for particularly outstanding books.

For the First Kiss from the male character's POV click here!

My tags: fae, darkling, love-triangle, mythology, urban fantasy, YA, first-in-series, romance, adventure, destiny

Throne of Glass

by Sarah J Maas

"I will end you."

"Does my hair look okay?"

*Originally called Queen of Glass*

Type: Book One of Throne of Glass

POV: Multi-third person; Celaena, Chaol & Dorian

Rating: 4/5 stars

Cover ~ A+

An A+ for cover #1. As for cover #2, let's just say good recovery with the second publication.... (as always, click on the covers to go to Goodreads for more book info)
Never judge a book by its cover! I first saw the right cover and kept pushing this book further down my to-read shelf! Big mistake. HUGE. (lol at my Pretty Women reference)

Plot ~ A

Celaena Sardothien is the most notorious assassin in Adarlan and she has done the impossible: she has survived one year in the salt mines of Endovier. After enduring a lifetimes worth of brutal work and punishments within the course of one year, she is dragged before the Crowned Prince who has a tantalizing offer for her. Celaena is offered freedom on one condition: she must act as Prince Dorian's champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves, assassins, and warriors from across the Empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she will serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom. She must endure tough training, suffer through life at court, and avoid the prince who is starting to show much more interest in her. But when a contestant turns up dead, followed by another soon after, is anyone is the royal castle safe? Can Celaena find the killer before she becomes the next victim? As the assassin investigates, she uncovers a destiny that may be a link to her past....

Characters ~ B

Celaena (Sell-laynah) Sardothien (Sar-doth-ee-en) is an 18-years old (loved that she was older/closer to my age-- it seems like nowadays most female characters are 16 which frustrates me to no end....) and has become the most feared assassin in Adarlan. She is a badass, with a soft side. There is more to her than meets the eye. She has a dark and secretive past that she tries to avoid and even completely ignore.

"My name is Celaena Sardothien. But it makes no difference if my name's Celaena or Lillian or Bitch, because I'd still beat you, no matter what you call me."

Prince Dorian seems down to earth, but I just could not like the guy. He just seems too needy and I am just not attracted to him. He is looking for approval from his father which is why he found the best assassin in Adarlan to win his father's contest.

Chaol Westfall is the Captain of the Guard who is in charge of Celaena's training and seems to understand Celaena best. He seems really dark in this book, he likes to hide in the shadows, which I found intriguing.
(I am team Chaol, by the way, though it does not look good for my team in this book...)

Writing ~ B

I have currently read the first three books of this series and am anxiously waiting for the fourth to release on September 1st 2015! This book is so much more than meets the eye! Being the first book in the series, I think this was mainly focused on introducing the reader to the new world. I can say, with all honesty, the series gets SO much better as you read. I mean the third book: WOW! After reading this book, I became a huge fan of Sarah Maas' work. She has a brilliant imagination and I love her world building. I think it is safe to say that I will buy anything she publishes in the future. Back to TOG: it was a excellent first book to the series. At times I wished there was more bloodshed and less to do with the court life, but it was not too frilly or girly. If you gave it at least a 3/5 stars, I would most definitely recommend proceeding to the next book. There is a lot of things in this book that do not make sense unless you continue reading. You find out why Celaena is who she is, and each character grows significantly. It seems like the plot will completely flip back when you think back to this book, it will make perfect sense. Maas drops plenty of crumbs in this book to lead to the answers in the next ones. Love, love, love this series.

Rating: 4 Stars

My tags: love-triangle, assassins, badass-female-character, fae, high fantasy, first-in-series, YA, romance, action

Angelfall

by Susan Ee

Check it out on Goodreads!

Type: Book One of Penryn and the End of Days

POV: First person; Penryn

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Cover- A+

I liked this cover! Once you read into the first few chapters I think it can be more appreciated. It is so visual and perfect in how it represents the wings and splattered blood on the cement. The colors are gorgeous!

Plot- A+

First was the World Before. This is the World After. Six weeks ago the angels descended onto Earth and started the apocalypse. Angels have taken over. Human gangs run the streets, wrecking havoc. Food is hard to come by. Billions of people have died.
Penryn was one of the (un)fortunate survivors, along with her sister, Paige, and her mother. They are constantly on the move, trying to avoid contact with the gangs, and most of all, the mysteriously terrifying angels seen only on television.
While they are the move, an angel falls from the sky. Followed by five others, and a battle takes place in the middle of the street right in front of Penryn and her family. Paige is taken. And Penryn will do absolutely anything to get her baby sister back. Even if it means working with the enemy. But what do angels need a human child for? And why are they even on Earth?

Characters- A

Penryn is a kickass 17 year old girl, who will do absolutely anything to protect her family. Since her father left, she has been in charge of her dysfunctional family, trying to survive in the World After. Penryn is head-strong, sassy, unwilling to give up, and not at all afraid to slap an angel.

Raffe is the angel attacked. Agrees to help Penryn because there is something else in it for him (read the book!). He is a sarcastic badass, which is what I absolutely LOVE in the male character. But most of all he is a hero. Not some tag along for the heroine.

Paige is 7 years old, paralyzed and wheelchair bound. She is a vegetarian which I found ridiculous in an apocalypse because they is barely any food as is! But this come to be important later in the book.

Mom (I don't recall her being named) is a paranoid schizophrenic. The things she says and does will have you feeling surprised, weirded out, and even laughing (I found her to be a sort of comic relief character). It was really surprising how much she can fend for herself, even in her state of mind.

Writing- A

There is constant action in this book, which made it really hard to put down. Raffe remains mysteriously until near the end of the book, where you learn almost everything about him. You will be left speechless at some parts because it is unpredictable, some parts even being horrific (which I secretly enjoyed)! I thought the writing was geared towards an older young adult audience because it was mature and had some grotesque and horrific scenes. All in all, this story is amazing, and I would not be surprised if it became a movie soon.

Overall Rating: 4.5 stars!

I would have given it a 5 but I have a strong feeling the next book will be even better! So I am just going to save that 5 for a little later!

Recommended for: Fans of the tv show Supernatural. I think fans of the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare would really enjoy these books too.

Book Three set to Release on May 12th 2015!!

Check it out on Goodreads!

Here is the recently revealed cover!! This May is full of awesome releases. Just a few more months until we can read them!

Ever Darkening

by Janeal Falor

Check it out on Goodreads!

*I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Cover- B

I like the cover, but I am struggling to see the relevance of the image. I might have read it too fast and missed an explanation (I briefly remember , but it still got my attention before I started the book.

Plot A+

I was not expecting such an epic fantasy tale! 

In a classic tale of good versus evil, Kaylyn has trained her entire life to eliminate the evil Malryx of the world. But when she finally accomplishes all she has set out to do, Kaylyn has no purpose left in a  world without evil. Then, the skies get darker, and a stranger arrives and reports strange happenings occurring in his village. Kalyn is eager to help and secretly happy she has a purpose again. Once Kaylyn and her comrades reach the village, Kaylyn soon realize that the new darkness may have been released because of her. This quest will challenge Kaylyn's leadership, friendship, and self in every possible way. This book has so many twists, there is no way you will be able to guess the ending!

Characters- B

First of all, I really liked the naming of all the characters in this book. I always like when the author creates her own names, because it helps with the world building. Kalyn might just be one of my favorite characters ever! She is a smart leader, a fierce friend, and an even better warrior. Kalyn has two very close friends: Marsa, who Kaylyn has become to know as her sister (and kind of got on my nerves); and Jorrin, who is a loyal friend. The trio have been friends since they were young. Kaylyn made a promise to Marsa to help her win Jorrin's affections when they were young, and breaking a promise in this world could mean turning evil.

Writing- A+

When I was reading about this book on Goodreads, a lot of reviewers were saying it was a badly written love story. Honestly, the main focus was not even romance (even the nature of the kiss was't intended to be romantic)! I would say this story is one of friendship, self-sacrifice, and a small portion of romance (not being an overwhelming factor, but enough that it is pleasant to the storyline).

The story building in this book was beautiful. There is such a distinct difference between the places bound by darkness and those still good. Magic was never mentioned, because it is considered more than magic, it is power. The power is derived from good or evil. Zophasken is the power that is from the good Zophas. But when a Zophas turns evil or commits a horrid sin, he or she turns into a Malryx.

Overall Rating: 3.5 stars