Title:Naked Heat Author: Richard Castle Year Published: 2010
Synopsis: Nikki Heat and Jameson Rook are together again in Richard Castle's thrilling follow-up to his New York Times bestseller, Heat Wave.
When New York's most vicious gossip columnist, Cassidy Towne, is found dead, Heat uncovers a gallery of high profile suspects, all with compelling motives for killing the most feared muckraker in Manhattan.
Heat's murder investigation is complicated by her surprise reunion with superstar magazine journalist Jameson Rook. In the wake of their recent breakup, Nikki would rather not deal with their raw emotional baggage. But the handsome, wise-cracking Pulitzer Prize-winning writer's personal involvement in the case forces her to team up with Rook anyway. The residue of their unresolved romantic conflict and crackling sexual tension fills the air as Heat and Rook embark on a search for a killer among celebrities and mobsters, singers and hookers, pro athletes and shamed politicians.
This new, explosive case brings on the heat in the glittery world of secrets, cover-ups, and scandals.
Why?: I read the first book in the Nikki Heat series, and loved it. And, since I love Castle, I wanted to read this book as well!
Expectations: I expect this book to be a good follow-up to Heat Wave, while staying true to the idea of a writer following a detective in New York City and helping her solve a crime. The characters will hopefully still be very similar to the characters in the TV show. While there will definitely be some intriguing crime, I also expect to laugh at Rook's antics and Heat's reactions to them.
Judging a book by its cover: The cover has a woman laying down with a gun. I expect this is Nikki, and that things will be very heated. Maybe Nikki has to don a promiscuous disguise? Or maybe she becomes stripped down emotionally? I'm excited to find out what's in store!
Title:The Gathering Author: Kelley Armstrong Year Published: 2011
Synopsis: Maya lives in a small medical-research town on Vancouver Island. How small? You can’t find it on the map. It has less than two-hundred people, and her school has only sixty-eight students—for every grade from kindergarten to twelve.
Now, strange things are happening in this claustrophobic town, and Maya's determined to get to the bottom of them. First, the captain of the swim team drowns mysteriously in the middle of a calm lake. A year later, mountain lions start appearing around Maya's home, and they won’t go away. Her best friend, Daniel, starts getting negative vibes from certain people and things. It doesn't help that the new bad boy in town, Rafe, has a dangerous secret—and he's interested in one special part of Maya's anatomy: Her paw-print birthmark.
Why?: I won the sequel, The Calling, in a HarperTeen tweetstakes. So, naturally, I bought this book so I could understand what was going on in the book I won.
Expectations: I expect an interesting story revolving around Maya's birthmark. Does it mean anything? Or is she just a normal girl with a weird shaped birthmark? Maybe she can speak to big cats since the mountain lions keep showing up.
Judging a book by its cover: The cover has just a girl on the cover. It's mostly blue, and I think that adds a bit of mystery to it. If I saw this in a bookstore, I would probably pick it up.
Having never read anything by Amber Argyle, I wasn't really expecting too much from this book. Don't get me wrong - I was excited to start it just from the synopsis. I love books that present new ways that nature and the elements are controlled, and I was not disappointed here. There may be a few spoilers ahead, so proceed with caution.
I really enjoyed the way that Brusenna grew and matured and changed over the course of the novel. At first, I felt bad for her and definitely wanted to jump into her world and punch all of the people in the market for being mean to her simply because she was a witch. Then, she kind of turned into a brat when her mom had to leave, buy I think it was an understandable and realistic reaction for a girl her age. By the end of Witch Song though, I found myself very much liking the girl Senna had become.
I'm glad that Argyle didn't spend too much time going over the details of Senna's stay at Haven. I think there was just enough detail to get through that time in her life, but not too much that the reader is left bored and stuck in a rut. Actually, I felt that most of the book was like that.
I have a love/hate relationship with authors killing off characters that are clearly very important to the protagonist - I hate that it has to happen but I love when it's done well and the protagonist grows from the experience. Here, I think it was done very well. I was a little disappointed with how it was dealt with and then seemingly forgotten though. Senna's reaction was very believeable, but I have a hard time believeing that everyone else would be as insensitive as they came off, even if it was a logical way to be.
The story progressed well, and most characters were well developed. Having a major antagonist and several minor ones added to the urgency of Senna's quest, and I really enjoyed reading about how the witch hunters were foiled time and time again. Although there were a few parts that were iffy for me, I really enjoyed this book and am very excited for the sequel, Witch Born, to come out soon. I would give this book a 4/5, and would recommend it to YA readers looking for a tale with magic, nature, romance, and adventure.
First of all, I apologize for how late this review is. I finished Under the Never Sky way back in June, but just haven't been able to sit down and review it. Until now!
When I first started reading this book, I felt like things were going very slowly. Sure, the book begins with Aria and her friends/acquaintances breaking the rules and entering a forbidden area. But from there, even though some exciting things happen and some not so exciting things that are necessary for the rest of the book to make sense happen, it takes a while to get going. That's not to say I wasn't completely entranced from the beginning - I couldn't put it down!
Then, when the action and adventure and even the romance begin to pick up, I was hooked even more. Aria and Perry go through so much, and both learn things about the world of the other that they seem like totally different people by the end. I loved being able to experience the story from both of their viewpoints, and I think it really helped give the reader a more thorough understanding of what the world is like.
The tech world that Aria knows is fascinating to me. I think it would be so cool to have Realms to visit whenever you want, and be able to experience them almost as if you were there "in the Real." What would it be like to live in two places at once? And besides that, to live for centuries. Would life get boring? Or would it be new every day because of all the Realms?
Then there's Perry's world. A world where Aether can destroy you and everything you love. Where people have resorted to living in tribes, because it's easier to move around and survive that way. And, not only do you have to worry about Aether storms, but you also have to worry about illnesses that can't be cured by your limited resources, cannibalistic tribes coming after you if you wrong them, lack of food, and so many other things. I would not want to live in that, but that just makes me admire Perry so much more.
I hope that Aria tells Perry who she is working for in Through the Ever Night. I don't want their newly developed relationship to have to endure that deception. And I really hope the Still Blue exists and they find it.
I would give this book a 4.5/5 and I highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of YA dystopian novels with a hint of romance. Especially to fans of books like The Maze Runner trilogy and the Across the Universe trilogy.
I really liked "Shadow and Bone" by Leigh Bardugo. Ravka is a very interesting world with a unique, but Russian influenced, feel. It is inhabited by Grisha, who each have special abilities. Some control the elements. Others can heal people or stop their hearts. Their leader is The Darkling.
Bardugo did a good job of making the characters feel real. There were many grey characters and characters with unknown agendas. The minor characters were well rounded.
The artwork both on the cover and within the book is beautiful. I really like the map. It sets the mood for the novel. The Unsea's volcra illustrations are creepy, but they give a good image to the reader.
I am looking forward to the next book in The Grisha Trilogy, Seige and Storm. I want to see more of The Apparat, David, and Baghra.
I give this novel a 5/5. If you like Young Adult Fantasy, this is a must read!
Title: Tiger Lily Author: Jodi Lynn Anderson Year Published: 2012
Synopsis: 15 year old Tiger Lily, proud and fierce, wild and misunderstood, doesn't believe in love stories or happy endings. Then she meets the teenage Peter Pan in the forbidden woods of Neverland, and immediately falls under his spell. Peter is unlike anyone she's ever known. Impetuous and brave, big-hearted but hard to reach, he both scares and enthralls her. As the leader of the Lost Boys, the most fearsome of Neverland's inhabitants, Peter is an unthinkable match for Tiger Lily.
Soon, she is risking everything - her family, her future - to be with the haunted, hunted, courageous boy who loves her. When - as a punishment for her rebellious ways - she is faced with marriage to a terrible man in her own tribe, she must choose between the life she's always known and running away to an uncertain future with Peter.
With enemies threatening to tear them apart, the lovers seem doomed. But it's the arrival of Wendy Darling, an English girl who's everything Tiger Lily is not, that leads Tiger Lily to discover that the most dangerous enemies can live inside even the most loyal and loving heart.
Why?: This was Ashley's pick for July and I am very excited to read this. I am somewhat familiar with the Peter Pan story, but I have never read the original book. I've seen movie and stage adaptations. I love retellings of familiar stories, especially from minor characters' perspectives.
Expectations: I expect this to be a story full of magic and make believe, but with a harsher touch than the Disney animated movie. I am looking forward to getting to know the character of Tiger Lily.
Judging a book by its cover: I like the cover. The colors are very warm. It appears to be a fairy with a flower-like dress. Maybe its Tinker Bell?
Title: The Fault in Our Stars Author: John Green Year Published: 2012
I really like John Green's writing. This is the first of his novels I have read, but he is a co-author of Will Grayson, Will Grayson and I thoroughly enjoyed it. John Green's writing feels very realistic and is chocked full of fun references and quirky thoughts. The characters in The Fault in Our Stars are all very real. Most of the characters have cancer and the ways they deal with it are unique and interesting.
This novel is definitely a sad cancer book, but Green's writing connected me so well with the characters. The novel without an ending within the book that connects the main characters really adds to the story. The novelist in the Netherlands was one of my favorite characters. There are so many thought provoking topics brought up in this book.
I suggest this book to EVERYONE. I will definitely be purchasing more of John Green's novels. If you are not subscribed to Vlog Brothers on youtube, do it NOW!
