Review: A Need So Beautiful by Suzanne Young

Pub. Date: June 21st 2011
Publisher: Balzer&Bray
Pages: 267
Readership: Young adult
Genres: paranormal, angels
Rating: ★★★★★ 

We all want to be remembered. Charlotte's destiny is to be Forgotten... 

Charlotte’s best friend thinks Charlotte might be psychic. Her boyfriend thinks she’s cheating on him. But Charlotte knows what’s really wrong: She is one of the Forgotten, a kind of angel on earth, who feels the Need—a powerful, uncontrollable draw to help someone, usually a stranger. 

But Charlotte never wanted this responsibility. What she wants is to help her best friend, whose life is spiraling out of control. She wants to lie in her boyfriend's arms forever. But as the Need grows stronger, it begins to take a dangerous toll on Charlotte. And who she was, is, and will become--her mark on this earth, her very existence--is in jeopardy of disappearing completely. 

Charlotte will be forced to choose: Should she embrace her fate as a Forgotten, a fate that promises to rip her from the lives of those she loves forever? Or is she willing to fight against her destiny--no matter how dark the consequences

I'm not sure what book people read when they say it was meh, or they say that there was insta-love. It takes a special kind of book to make me feel like my heart was ripped out of my chest and sent through a paper shredder and still make me come away loving it.

A Need So Beautiful made me cry from probably the last 70 pages on. Let's start with what I liked about the novel, shall we?

The whole premise, the whole idea of the novel is a new spin on the Angel lore - if that's even what this is, it's hard to say for certain. The idea of The Forgotten. A messenger of the light, if you will, whose destiny is to help people she's compelled to - her Need - and to bring light to their lives until she fades away. Until everyone she's ever known, ever loved, ever met, forgets she even exists. Her existence will literally be erased once she's gone.

I really loved that Young skipped the whole boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, boy and girl skip off into the sunset idea. We come into the book with an already established relationship between Charlotte and Harlin. I loved that. I was so glad to see how much they loved each other, the plans they had for their future and we even got to see their first kiss. But then they just went and broke my heart. I also loved the supporting characters, even if we didn't see much of them. I loved little Alex and the insite we got into him, if brief. Mercy and Sarah. Young did a fantastic job of making me care for the little guys.

As great as the writing is, I'm not sure when these characters suddenly took a vice grip to my heart. One second I'm reading along, liking everyone just fine, and the next I'm halfway through the book and the tears are just rolling down my cheeks. Literally. I had to put the book down a few times to catch my breath and clear my blurry vision so I could actually continue on. A book hasn't made me cry this much since I read Never Let Me Go.

A Need so Beautiful made me think what I would do if I was in Charlotte's shoes. It made me wonder what would happen if I was a Forgotten. Would I accept my fate? Would I accept that my parents, all of my friends, anyone I've ever known would simply forget I existed? Go on like I never was at all? People - I - ponder that on a normal level. People toy with the idea of how long their memory will last after death. Who will remember you until they die? With who will you become just a fleeting memory? A whisper? Was I ever really anything to begin with? It's tough to think of that, but this book is all of that on a whole other level.

People need to read this book. It's beautiful and I'm sure the sequel, A Want so Wicked will be just as heartbreaking, if not more.

Review&Tour Stop: Oppression by Jessica Therrien

Pub. Date: February 28th 2012
Publisher: ZOVA
Pages: 346
Readership: Young adult
Genres: fantasy, greek mythology
Source: Jessica Therrien!
Rating: ★★★★.5

Elyse knows what it means to keep a secret. She's been keeping secrets her whole life. Two, actually. First, that she ages five times slower than the average person, so that while she looks eighteen years old, she's closer to eighty. Second, that her blood has a mysterious power to heal. For Elyse, these things don't make her special. They make life dangerous. After the death of her parents, she's been careful to keep her secret as closely guarded as possible. Now, only one other person in the world knows about her age and ability. Or so she thinks. Elyse is not the only one keeping secrets. There are others like her all over the world, descendants of the very people the Greeks considered gods. She is one of them, and they have been waiting for her for a long time. Among so many of her kind, she should not be very remarkable--except for the prophecy. Some believe she will put an end to traditions, safeguarded by violence, which have oppressed her people for centuries. Others are determined to keep her from doing just that. But for Elyse, the game is just beginning--and she's not entirely willing to play by their rules. 

I first stumbled upon Oppression on Goodreads and I thought hallelujah! More Greek mythology on the YA scene! I've had an infatuation with it since I was a kid. I bought all the books (well ok, borrowed from the library) on the Gods and Goddesses that I could find. Remember those kids books? The ones with the big, pretty pictures and blurbs of text? I loved learning about the different Gods and Goddesses and what they did. Artemis and Nyx were my favorites. I knew I had to get my hands on this book.

Immediately, I connected with Elyse. Sometimes I had to go girl, are you me? I've always felt a like a loner, an outsider, and yeah I had my first kiss pretty late down the line too. Elyse led a sheltered life, she only had one friend growing up but she's a feisty one. She has spunk coming out of her pores. She stands up for what she believes in. She's my kind of girl. Then there's William. W o w. The boy is adorable, first of all. We all need a guy like William. He's kind and he's caring. He's the guy every girl deserves to have. He loves Elyse so much all he wants to do is protect her. While Elyse fell for William rather fast, and things became serious fast too, I think it fit. I'm a believer in love at first sight and William knew who she was long ago. He was waiting for her and I think Elyse connected with that. Their relationship took off from there. It was fate. Literally! He's a good guy with a good heart. Dang it I want my own William!

And what a great supporting cast! I felt like I was hanging out with people I knew while I was reading their shenanigans. They bickered and they fought but they made up only to bicker again. They're a very endearing bunch. Then there's Anna, who I was rooting for the whole way through. My heart broken when we found out... something (no spoilers!) so I'm glad of the outcome.

Then there's the rich mythology Therrien created. The world of Oppression is phenomenal. There's the slow aging, the fact that the Gods and Goddesses weren't really Gods or Goddesses at all, but "Descendants". Each has powers that they get from their bloodlines. For example, if someone is the descendant of Aphrodite, they have the power of persuasion; to make someone do anything they want. Jump off a bridge, fall in love with them, shoot someone in the face. I wish there had been more powers and bloodlines to learn about but I'm sure they're coming in book two. Honestly, I wish I was a Descendant. How cool it would be, right?

Oppression is the perfect blend of action, romance, fate, and general awesomeness. Everyone should pick up a copy! Links below. (The e-copy is only 99cents!)

BUY THE BOOK: / (kindle)
FIND JESSICA: her blog! / twitter!

Review: The Iron King (The Iron Fey #1) by Julie Kagawa

Pub. Date: February 1st 2010
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 363
Readership: Young adult
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal
Rating: ★★★★ 

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined. 

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan’s life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.
When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she’s known is about to change. 

But she could never have guessed the truth – that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she’ll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

This sat on my to-read shelf for a long time, at home. Finally, after wanting a change from the dystopians I was reading, I picked it up, and boy I wish I read it sooner. This book is nothing short of fabulous.

I took my time reading this because, even though there are tree more in the series to read, I didn’t want it to end. I’d put it down for a day or two to read something else then pick it up again but by page 200 I couldn’t do that anymore. I just could not put this book down. Kagawa created such an original, fantastical world that just blew my mind. Nevernever felt very Alice in Wonderlandy meets The Enchanted Forest to me.

Add to the enchanting, intricate world the characters. There’s Meghan, our heroine, a loyal to a fault seventeen year old whose life turns upside down when her brother gets kidnapped. Meghan has a good heart and literally stops at nothing to get her brother back, forging deals and contracts along the way. She never cares if harm will come to her, as long as she gets her brother back safe. There’s Puck aka Robin Goodfellow (yep, from A Midsummer Night’s Dream) the fun, carefree Trickster who turns out to be much more than that. There’s Ash, the Ice Prince with a cold heart that warms by the end of the book. But I think above all of them, Grimalkin is my favorite character. Grim the talking cat who takes no shit. Grim the mischievous cat. If Kagawa wrote an entire series devoted to him, I would read it and reread it forever. I just love him so, so much.

But the best part of the book is the world. It takes a grand imagination to create this intricate world and the creatures in it. Kagawa has a dedication to detail that is fabulous. There the Winter Realm, Tir Na Nog, the Summer Court then the steam punk-esque Iron Fey realm. Then the wyldwood. All of them have such interesting and unique creatures in it it’s a wonder anyone could think up so many different things and bring them to life so spectacularly. (But I think the packrats of the Iron Fey are my favorite out of them all. What cute little buggers!)

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. While there were little things that bothered me – Meghan’s a-ha moment when Ash finally said her name wasn’t actually the first time, people standing who would be sitting in the next line then standing again the one after that – little things like that. However, that didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the book. I can’t wait to start the next installment.

Review: Legend by Marie Lu

Pub. Date: November 29th 2011
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Pages: 305
Readership: Young adult
Genres: Dystopia, Science-Fiction
Rating: ★★★★

The United States is gone, along with its flooded coasts. North America’s two warring nations, the western Republic and the eastern Colonies, have reached a breaking point. In the midst of this broken continent and dark new world are two teenagers who will go down in history…. 

Born into the slums of Los Angeles, fifteen-year old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. A mysterious boy with no recorded image or fingerprints. A boy who should no longer exist. A boy who watches over his family until one evening, when the plague patrols mark his family’s door with an X—the sign of plague infection. A death sentence for any family too poor to afford the antidote. Desperate, Day has no choice; he must steal it. 

Born to an elite family in Los Angeles’ wealthy Ruby sector, fifteen-year old June is the Republic’s most promising prodigy. A superintelligent girl destined for great things in the country’s highest military circles. Obedient, passionate, and committed to her country—until the day her brother Metias is murdered while on patrol during a break-in at the plague hospital. 

Only one person could be responsible. Day. And now it’s June’s mission to hunt him down. The truth they’ll uncover will become legend.

I wanted to read this book from the second I read the synopsis on GoodReads. It sounded like it had everything I wanted in a dystopia so I was surprised to find it took me a while to get into. For whatever reason, the story just couldn’t catch my interest until after about 100 pages. But I will say, after that, I was hooked and found it hard to put down.

The story is told from two different people’s POVs and the story wouldn’t have worked if that were the case. You see the Republic, the war, and everything else from two very different – yet very similar, we realize – people. If it was only told from Day’s POV, or only from June’s, I think I wouldn’t have enjoyed the book as much as I did. With Day, you see someone who was born into slums, who grew up with little and who became a vigilante of sorts. With June, you get to see the life of a prodigy, born into luxury who will be an agent for her Republic. Then it all comes together perfectly.

If you’ve read The Hunger Games, Divergent, Shatter Me or any other traditional dystopian novel, you will definitely like Legend. It has all the classic characteristic: a sense of a utopia, but with obvious flaws if you look beneath the surface. What happens after the Trials? What of those who fail? Is it really true that they go to labour camps? There is a sense of very little questioning of the Government, until Day comes along.

Overall I was left feeling satisfied. There are still questions and things left unanswered but the wait until book 2 won’t be excruciating because it didn’t end on a cliffhanger.

Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Pub. Date: November 15th 2011
Publisher: Harper
Pages: 338
Readership: Young adult
Genres: Dystopia, Science-Fiction
Rating: ★★★★★
Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days. 

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color. 

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war— and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now. 

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

Originally this got my attention because I thought oh, her touch can kill! How Rouge! For weeks it sat on my shelf but after finishing another book I was wondering, what the hell can I read next? Shatter Me was really shiny and let’s face it, I’m a kid so I grabbed off of my shelf and dove right in.

I was hooked immediately. The writing style is what got me. It’s first person but it’s like being inside of Juliette’s fractured mind. It seems like you’re reading a diary, almost. Now, I said almost. While Juliette has a notebook, that’s not what we’re reading. It’s talked about a lot in the beginning, then some after the middle, but it’s not what we’re reading. These are her uttermost thoughts and at times they’re fractured, fast, jumbled, or clear. Also, the use of strike throughs is fabulous. You get to know Juliette even more. You areinside of her mind. I’ve never read a book that used this strike through technique. It’s new, it’s fresh and it is so, so wonderful.

YA dystopia is a genre on fire. It’s everywhere now with The Hunger Games, Divergent, Gone, etc, but this book, ladies and gents, is so so great it kind of puts them all to shame. Yes, even THG. To me, anyway. Shatter Me has elements of The Hunger Games but also of XMen. You begin to realize there are superheroes in a world gone mad. In a country where the government (The Reestablishment) is a bucket of corrupted lies. Where the citizens are cold and broken. But in all dystopias, there is hope.

As in all dystopias, in most YAs, there is a romance. Of course there’s a romance. But I find Juliette and Adam so refreshing, so different from most of the ones out there now. I didn’t find myself rolling my eyes every so often at them as I find with even ships I love. Adam needs Juliette as much as she needs him. It’s a perfectly crafted romance that made me have to put the book down and go find someone – or Twitter – to gush about. Because damn, it gave me all of the feelings and then some. That hasn’t happened in a while, YA ship book wise.

The plot is wonderful. Not too slow and not too fast. It’s just the right pacing that leaves you staying up till 4 in the morning wondering where the last four hours of your life have gone. There are twists, turns, action and romance, all structured superbly. Then there’s the characters. You will fall for each one in their own way, mark my words. Even Sector leader, Waren. Is he a monster? Is he human? Is he misunderstood? Or is he insane? I’m still not sure.

There is no cliffhanger with this book. There is a wonderful ending that will lead right into the sequel set to come out in Feb. 2013. That wait is going to be torture, let me tell you. But I’m sure I will re-read this book many times over between then.

Review: Hollowed (Unearthly #2) by Cynthia Hand

Pub. Date: January 17th 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 403
Readership: Young adult
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal
Rating: ★★★★
For months part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the raging forest fire from her visions and rescue the alluring and mysterious Christian Prescott from the blaze. But nothing could prepare her for the fateful decisions she would be forced to make that day, or the startling revelation that her purpose—the task she was put on earth to accomplish—is not as straightforward as she thought.
Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend, Tucker, Clara struggles to make sense of what she was supposed to do the day of the fire. And, as she is drawn further into the world of part angels and the growing conflict between White Wings and Black Wings, Clara learns of the terrifying new reality that she must face: Someone close to her will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.

It’s a bittersweet feeling, when a new book in a series you love is released. On one hand, you cannot wait to get your hands on it and devour it. On the other hand, you don’t want it to end because you’ll be left with a sense of nothingness as you wait the year or more for the next installment. This is exactly how I feel with Hallowed. How I feel right this second as I type this review. (According to GoodReads there will be a third, so.)

I will keep this spoiler free, fyi, so if it’s a little ambiguous in parts that is on purpose because I don’t want to ruin the book for anyone.

Let me start off by saying I was weary of how this would go. Sometimes, sequels never quite measure up to what the first book was, even if the series is a lengthy one. That is especially true for the YA paranormal romance genre. Boy, was I blown away. Ms. Hand – not that you’re reading this – let me give you a round of applause, a standing O and maybe a big hug. Actually I’d like to shake you a bit as well for giving me all the feels and making me cry like a baby at 3:30 in the morning. But I digress.

Hallowed, as I said, gave me all the feels. One second I was smiling from ear to ear at how adorable and realistic Clara and Tucker’s young romance was then I was aching and sad at all the weight Clara has on her shoulders – the looming death of someone she loves very much. It’s hard being a 17 year old girl with the weight of all her problems plus the knowledge of a loved one dying. It broke my heart for her.

I wasn’t entirely sure how the Christian/Clara/Tucker triangle was going to unfold. I honestly adore both boys, and both relationships Clara has with each individual. I have never been so torn between two relationships in a book in my life. The love Tucker and Clara have for each other is so real and raw and strong that it’s hard not to root for them. But then there’s Christian; an angel-blood and definitely part of Clara’s purpose that it’s hard not to root for him too. But in the end, I can say while a little sad for one of the parties, I am content with the outcome. Clara for sure made the right choice in my mind.

In Hallowed you also get to meet many more angel-bloods, many more characters to fall in love with. And boy did I ever. There’s Billy – Clara’s mothers old friend from way back, and countless others; an entire congregation!

Hallowed is full of twists, turns and moments that make you go whaaaaaat? Be warned – it’s also filled with lots of heartache. Like I said, I was crying at 3:30 in the morning! I was crying until I read the last page of the book and closed it. If I’m being totally honest – I was crying after that. There is only one bad thing I can say about this book: why did it end!? I need more. I truly hope there is a third. I’m not quite ready to let go of Clara just yet. Bravo, Ms. Hand, you’ve done it again.

Review: Isle of Night (The Watchers #1) by Veronica Wolff

Pub. Date: September 6th 2011
Publisher: New American Library
Pages: 302
Readership: Young adult
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Vampires
Rating: ★★★★ 

When Annelise meets dark and seductive Ronan, he promises her a new life-if she has the courage to chance the unknown. Now, she’s whisked away to a mysterious island and pitted against other female recruits to become a Watcher-girls who are partnered with vampires and assist them in their missions. To survive and become a Watcher, Annelise has to beat out every other girl, but she’s determined to do so, because to fail doesn’t mean dishonor-it means death.

I know, I know, vampires are over-done, yada yada, blah blah blah. But I can’t escape them. What can I say? I’m a sucker for them. I’ve loved vampire books, stories, etc since I was a kid, back when Buffy was cool. I noticed this book on GoodReads a while back and marked it as to-buy till I could find my copy. Fast forward a few months and I finally had it in my hands. Once in, I immediately fell in love with Annelise. Clever, witty, and a brain to boot. She’s strong. You see that as the series goes on, constantly having to overcome another obstacle when she’s already have a rougher than rough life. But then again, you wouldn’t find yourself on the Isle if you hadn’t.

What I like is this book isn’t driven on a romance, or a love triangle. While yes, there are hot guys in this – Ronan for one – Annelise is driven to survive and get the hell off of the island. Isle of Night is kind of Vampire Academy meets The Hunger Games. Only the fittest of the girls will become Watchers, only five. This is a world where only men can become vampires, but women, girls like Annelise, become Watchers. The elite of the elite, the strongest, most ruthless. I’m not sure I could survive a place like the Isle. I’ve got my wits but I’m definitely not the strongest person out there.Isle of Night is not slow, either. When one problem “ends” another begins. There’s never a lull, never a moment where you want to put it down and keep turning the page to find out more abou thte Isle, the mysterious vampires, which girls are the next to go since they drop like flies in the book. I’m pleased to have a fresh vampire story to sink my teeth into. I cannot wait for the next installment.

Review: The Pledge by Kimberly Derting

Pub. Date: November 15th 2011
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Pages: 323
Readership: Young adult
Genres: Dystopia
Rating: ★★★★
In the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. The smallest transgression, like looking a member of a higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always been able to understand the languages of all classes, and she’s spent her life trying to hide her secret. The only place she can really be free is the drug-fueled underground clubs where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. It’s there that she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy named Max who speaks a language she’s never heard before … and her secret is almost exposed.Charlie is intensely attracted to Max, even though she can’t be sure where his real loyalties lie. As the emergency drills give way to real crisis and the violence escalates, it becomes clear that Charlie is the key to something much bigger: her country’s only chance for freedom from the terrible power of a deadly regime.

I kind of stumbled upon The Pledge. I’ve read Derting’s book The Body Finder and I had no idea she even had another series until I stumbled upon it while I was browsing Amazon for something else entirely. I had no idea it was so newly released, either. But I bought it because I’m a sucker for a dystopian.

As I said, I’ve read a LOT of dystopian YAs. I’m a sucker for the ever expanding genre. I liked the idea of all the different queendoms, and Ludania being the focus of the book, obviously, and Queen Sabara’s cruel rule. The book was also different in the sense that it changed POVs from Charlie’s first person to Max’s, Xander’s or The Queen’s third person POV every once in a while and that made me get a rounded feel for everything that was going on.

I thought the relationship between Max and Charlie was a little rushed at first, but it was later explained why, so it ceased to bother me. There are a lot of great twists and turns in the book. It is never too slow or dragging. I honestly couldn’t put it down for a good while because I had to know what happened next. Were they safe? What the hell was going on?

All in all this is a promising new dystopian YA series about life, love and change. I think I like the genre, the book, so much because I can’t help but wonder what if even after I put it down, even after I finish it. What if i ends like this? What if, ten, one hundred, two hundred years down the line life is like this? The oppression, the classes, the languages, the medieval hangings in the middle of city-square… It could happen. All of it.