Mini Review: This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers

This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers

Details: Paperback, 323 pages
Published: June 19th 2012 by St. Martin's Griffin
Source: I got it for review.
Buy it: The Book Depository

Summary: It’s the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won’t stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self. To Sloane Price, that doesn’t sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed and since then, she’s failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up. As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she’s forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live. But as the days crawl by, the motivations for survival change in startling ways and soon the group’s fate is determined less and less by what’s happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life—and death—inside. When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?

Review: I had never read anything by Courtney Summers before, but I'd been wanting to for awhile. I also love zombies so this was a great book for me to start with.

I thought it was a good story and was well written. However, I didn't really like any of the characters. I'm not sure why that is. I just didn't care for them for some reason. I guess it's just that I didn't connect with any of them. Other than that, I enjoyed This Is Not A Test, and I will be reading more by Courtney Summers in the future.


My Rating:

Mini Review: Tick Tock by Dean Koontz

Tick Tock by Dean Koontz

Details: Hardcover, 335 pages
Published: January 1st 1996 by Ballantine Books
Source: My mom bought it for me.
Buy it: AbeBooks

Summary: Tommy Phan is a successful detective novelist, living the American Dream in southern California. One evening he comes home to find a small rag doll on his doorstep. It's a simple doll, covered entirely in white cloth, with crossed black stitches for the eyes and mouth, and another pair forming an X over the heart. Curious, he brings it inside. That night, Tommy hears an odd popping sound and looks up to see the stitches breaking over the doll's heart. And in minutes the fabric of Tommy Phan's reality will be torn apart. Something terrifying emerges from the pristine white cloth, something that will follow Tommy wherever he goes. Something that he can't destroy. It wants Tommy's life and he doesn't know why. He has only one ally, a beautiful, strangely intuitive waitress he meets by chance—or by a design far beyond his comprehension. He has too many questions, no answers, and very little time. Because the vicious and demonically clever doll has left this warning on Tommy's computer screen: The deadline is dawn.

Review: Amazing! This book has everything you could possibly want. It has incredible characters, an interesting plot, creepy moments, funny moments, action, and on top of all that, it's well written.

This was my first Dean Koontz book. I had been wanting to read something by him for a long time but just never got around to it until I picked up this book. I don't think I've ever laughed so much while reading a book. Del is by far my favourite fictional character. I love her so much.

This may have been my first Koontz book, but it wont be my last. You need to read this one.


My Rating:

Review: Ashen Winter by Mike Mullin

Ashen Winter (Ashfall #2) by Mike Mullin

Details: Hardcover, 576 pages
Published: October 16th 2012 by Tanglewood Press
Source: I got it for review.
Buy it: The Book Depository

Summary: It’s been over six months since the eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano. Alex and Darla have been staying with Alex’s relatives, trying to cope with the new reality of the primitive world so vividly portrayed in Ashfall, the first book in this series. It’s also been six months of waiting for Alex’s parents to return from Iowa. Alex and Darla decide they can wait no longer and must retrace their journey into Iowa to find and bring back Alex’s parents to the tenuous safety of Illinois. But the landscape they cross is even more perilous than before, with life-and-death battles for food and power between the remaining communities. When the unthinkable happens, Alex must find new reserves of strength and determination to survive.

Review: Mike Mullin is a genius. Ashfall was the best book I read in 2011 and I couldn't wait for Ashen Winter. So needless to say I was super excited when I got the chance to read it last year.

Going into it I was a little worried I would be disappointed since I loved the first book so much, but in the end I had nothing to worry about. Ashen Winter is amazing. The writing, the plot, and the characters were all just as incredible in this one as they were in the first book. However there were a couple of times that I found it predictable but I was still happy. The predictability didn't take anything away from the story. Ashen Winter had me smiling and laughing out loud at times, and other times I wanted to scream and pull my hair out.

If you haven't read Ashfall, than go pick it up and get Ashen Winter while you are at it because these books are the best.

My Rating:

Review: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Details: Paperback, 470 pages
Published: October 25th 2011 by HarperCollins (first published March 2nd 2010)
Source: I bought it
Buy it: The Book Depository

Summary: What if you only had one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?

Samantha Kingston has it all: looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it turns out to be her last.

The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. Living the last day of her life seven times during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death--and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing

Review: I wasn't exactly sure how I would feel about this book when I picked it up. Everyone says that it's such an amazing book and that they love it. I've also heard that the main character, Sam, is horrible. That she is easy to hate. So going into this book I had high hopes but at the same time I was a little scared. I had a hard time in school. I was made fun of and beat up everyday. So I was worried that if the main character was as bad as everyone says she is that it would somewhat ruin the story for me. Sam actually wasn't as bad as I was expecting her to be. Her best friend is actually a lot worse.

I liked Before I Fall but I didn't love it like most people seem to. Not that I didn't think it was well written, because it is, it's just the story got a little repetitive at times and seemed to drag on. I liked the concept and that Sam started changing but at the beginning of every chapter I seemed to roll my eyes because it was like I was getting nowhere in the book even though I was. It's weird that you can like something and dislike it at the same time. Even get annoyed with it.

Would I recommend Before I Fall? Yes, but not to everyone. The person I recommend books to the most, my Mom, probably wouldn't like this book. However, if you are interested in this book, you should give it a read. Most people seem to love and I enjoyed it.

Will I read more by Lauren Oliver? Definitely. I need to get my hands on Delirium.

My Rating:

Review: Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Wither (The Chemical Garden #1) by Lauren DeStefano

Details: Hardcover, 358 pages
Published: March 22nd 2011 by Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Source: I bought it.
Buy it: The Book Depository

Summary: By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. She can thank modern science for this genetic time bomb. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males with a lifespan of 25 years, and females with a lifespan of 20 years. Geneticists are seeking a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children. When Rhine is kidnapped and sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can’t bring herself to hate him as much as she’d like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband’s strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement. Her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next, and Rhine is desperate to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive. Will Rhine be able to escape--before her time runs out?

Together with one of Linden's servants, Gabriel, Rhine attempts to escape just before her seventeenth birthday. But in a world that continues to spiral into anarchy, is there any hope for freedom?

Review: I had pretty high expectations for this book and I can't tell if I feel like I've been let down or not. I really liked Wither a lot but not as much as I thought I would.

Wither is such an interesting and unique story and has great characters. I really liked the main character, Rhine, but I think Jenna was my favourite. I connected with her the most for some reason. Wither is also well written. It's easy to read and just pulls you right in for the first page.

I'm not exactly sure why I'm giving this book only four bats instead of five. I just didn't love it and I can't figure out why that is. I can't think of one thing I didn't like about it but it just didn't make me feel like screaming I love this book and telling everyone that they need to read it right away.

I will definitely be reading book two, Fever as soon as possible. I will also be recommending this book to everyone I know. I just wont be telling the to drop everything to read it. If you haven't read it yet, you should. It is a great book. I think maybe the problem was I heard people raving about it and had higher hopes for it than I thought I did.

My Rating: 

Review: Stay by Deb Caletti

Stay by Deb Caletti


Details: Hardcover, 313 pages
Published: April 5th 2011 by Simon Pulse
Source: I bought it.
Buy it: The Book Depository

Summary: Clara's relationship with Christian is intense from the start, and like nothing she’s ever experienced before. But what starts as devotion quickly becomes obsession, and it's almost too late before Clara realizes how far gone Christian is—and what he's willing to do to make her stay.

Now Clara has left the city—and Christian—behind. No one back home has any idea where she is, but she still struggles to shake off her fear. She knows Christian won't let her go that easily, and that no matter how far she runs, it may not be far enough....

Review: This is the first Deb Caletti book I've ever read. I've been wanting to pick up one of her books for a long time and I finally got around to doing it. I am super glad I did.

I enjoyed Stay more than I thought I would. I thought it was a great story with interesting characters and was very well written. However, I found it slow at some parts and at one point near the end the main character, Clara, does something that just made me shake my head.

Overall, I though it was a good book and I think it's worth a read. I will definitely be reading more by this author in the future.

My Rating: 

Mini Review: Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Born Wicked (The Cahill Witch Chronicles #1) by Jessica Spotswood

Details: Hardcover, 330 pages
Published: February 7th 2012 by Putnam Juvenile
Source: I think I bought it.
Buy it: The Book Depository

Summary: Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they’re witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave.

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word... especially after she finds her mother’s diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family’s destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.

If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren’t safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other.

Review: I'm not sure how I feel about this book. I enjoyed it and want to read the next book, but at the same time it just didn't pull me in. I'm not sure why that is. It has a good plot and is well written, so I'm thinking that it must have been the characters. I just didn't find them that interesting.

Hopefully the next book, Star Cursed, will be better.

My Rating:

Review: Ash by Malinda Lo

Ash by Malinda Lo


Details: Paperback, 272 pages
Published: October 5th 2010 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Source: I bought it.
Buy it: The Book Depository

Summary: Cinderella retold

In the wake of her father's death, Ash is left at the mercy of her cruel stepmother. Consumed with grief, her only joy comes by the light of the dying hearth fire, rereading the fairy tales her mother once told her. In her dreams, someday the fairies will steal her away, as they are said to do. When she meets the dark and dangerous fairy Sidhean, she believes that her wish may be granted.

The day that Ash meets Kaisa, the King's Huntress, her heart begins to change. Instead of chasing fairies, Ash learns to hunt with Kaisa. Though their friendship is as delicate as a new bloom, it reawakens Ash's capacity for love-and her desire to live. But Sidhean has already claimed Ash for his own, and she must make a choice between fairy tale dreams and true love.

Entrancing, empowering, and romantic, Ash is about the connection between life and love, and solitude and death, where transformation can come from even the deepest grief.

Review: I wanted this book so much and when I finally got it I was beyond excited. I'm not sure why, but for some reason it ended up sitting on my shelf for over a year before I finally got around to reading it.

All I can say is that I am so glad I bought this book and have now read it because it is amazing.

I've been in a bit of a reading slump lately, but as soon as I started reading Ash I was hooked. I couldn't put it down and read it in one sitting. I just had to know how it was going to end.

Malinda Lo's writing is beautiful. Sort of magical. It's hard to explain. I felt like a little kid while reading Ash. I don't think any other book I've read has made me feel like that, except for maybe Harry Potter.

I absolutely love all of the characters, especially Ash and Kaisa. Just everything about this book is perfect. I will definitely be buying Huntress, Adaptation, and anything else Lo writes. She is now one of my favourite authors.

If you haven't read Ash yet, what are you waiting for? It's a must read!

My Rating:

Review: The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory

The Red Queen (The Cousins' War #2) by Philippa Gregory


Details: Hardcover, 382 pages
Published: August 3rd 2010 by Touchstone
Source: Either I bought it for myself or my mom got it for me.
Buy it: The Book Depository

Summary: The second book in Philippa's stunning new trilogy, The Cousins War, brings to life the story of Margaret Beaufort, a shadowy and mysterious character in the first book of the series - The White Queen - but who now takes centre stage in the bitter struggle of The War of the Roses. The Red Queen tells the story of the child-bride of Edmund Tudor, who, although widowed in her early teens, uses her determination of character and wily plotting to infiltrate the house of York under the guise of loyal friend and servant, undermine the support for Richard III and ultimately ensure that her only son, Henry Tudor, triumphs as King of England. Through collaboration with the dowager Queen Elizabeth Woodville, Margaret agrees a betrothal between Henry and Elizabeth's daughter, thereby uniting the families and resolving the Cousins War once and for all by founding of the Tudor dynasty.

Review: I absolutely love Philippa Gregory and will read every single one of her books. I haven't read one that I haven't enjoyed and The Read Queen is no exception.

However, it is probably my least favourite out of all of the books I've read by her. I was also surprised that I liked The White Queen more than The Red Queen, which is odd. Most people seem to prefer the second book more.

When I started The Red Queen, I really liked Margaret Beaufort, but as I got further into the book, and she got older, I began to dislike her more and more. At one point I actually called her a monster and put the book down for awhile.

In the end, I really did enjoy The Red Queen, but not as much as The White Queen. I can't wait to get my hands on the third book, The Lady of the Rivers. This is such a great series, which is no surprise. I mean it is Philippa Gregory.

My Rating:

Review: The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

Details: Hardcover, 343 pages
Published: September 21st 2010 by Razorbill/Penguin Group
Source: I either bought it for myself or I got it for Christmas last year. I can't remember.
Buy it: The Book Depository

Summary: Mackie Doyle is not one of us. Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, he comes from a world of tunnels and black murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess. He is a Replacement, left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood, and consecrated ground, Mackie is fighting to survive in the human world.

Mackie would give anything to live among us, to practice on his bass or spend time with his crush, Tate. But when Tate's baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem. He must face the dark creatures of the Slag Heaps and find his rightful place, in our world, or theirs.

Review: What can I say about this book? I have this habit about getting really excited about these kinds of books and going out and buying them even though I know deep down that they're just not my cup or tea. I always enjoy them, like it did this one, but I don't think I've ever loved one enough to give it five bats. Which is such a shame since all the ones I've read are very good.

The Replacement is no exception. It is very good and has everything you could want in a book. It has great characters, an interesting plot, and on top of that, it's well written. So why only three bats? I honestly can't tell you. I can't find anything wrong with this story. It must be because I'm not the biggest fan of fae books.

Do I think others will enjoy The Replacements? Yes, I do. Even if you are like me, I still think it's a good read. Go out and get it, or pick it up off your shelf and give it a try. Odds are you will like it.

My Rating: 

Review: Far from Xanadu by Julie Anne Peters

Far from Xanadu by Julie Anne Peters

Details: Paperback, 288 pages
Published: April 1st 2007 by Little, Brown Young Readers
Source: I won it.
Buy It: The Book Depository

Summary: Every day in Coalton is pretty much the same. Mike pumps iron in the morning, drives her truck to school, plays softball in the afternoon, and fixes the neighbors' plumbing at night. But when an exotic new girl, Xanadu, arrives in the small Kansas town, Mike's world is turned upside down. Xanadu is everything Mike is not--cool, complicated, sexy, and...straight. This heartbreaking yet ultimately hopeful novel will speak to anyone who has ever fallen in love with someone just out of reach.

My Review: Julie Anne Peters is probably my favorite author, so needless to say when I found out I won a book of my choice, I picked this one.

Every book I've read by her is even better than the one before it. This one is no different. I devoured it. I just couldn't get enough and in the end, as always with Peters books, I wanted more.

I have fallen for a lot of straight girls in my life and I know how hard it is. Especially when they do the kind of things that Xanadu does. It's torture and never ends well. So I know exactly how Mike feels and what she goes through. I have related to characters before, but never like this.

The writing, as usual, is incredible. It is so easy to read, it just flows and pulls you right in. It's kind of like watching a movie. The characters and the plot are believable and real and I just couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I needed to know what was going to happen next.

If you've never read anything by Julie Anne Peters, what are you waiting for? They are some of the best books I've ever read. I need to get more of her books and soon.

Please, I am begging you, pick this book up. You will not regret it. In fact, pick up all of her books. You will love them.

Far From Xanadu now has a new title, Pretend You Love Me, and a new cover. I may have to buy it just for the hell of it.

My Rating: