Living for the Books

Honestly, going into this book I wasn't expecting much. The blurb sounded intriguing enough for me to want to pick the book up, but the story didn't reel me in like I wanted it to. In fact, the beginning basically turned me away from the book, but I kept going anyway and ended up enjoying the ending more than the beginning.

The beginning was a little ruff, to put it mildly. Kitty is assigned to Denver, which means she will be far away from her boyfriend Benjy, so guess what she does. If you guessed goes to Denver, you are wrong. If you guessed that she decides to become a prostitute for a couple months because she thinks that's totally ok since one of her friends is a prostitute and hasn't gotten hurt yet, then congratulations you're spot on. Who actually does that? Oh right, Kitty. At first I thought that Nina would talk her out of it, but apparently Kitty is really set on being a prostitute. Another thing that really bothered me was that Benjy was mostly concerned that other people would be sleeping with Kitty and that he wouldn't be her first. She has to convince him that none of them matter with some sappy words and he doesn't really think much about her safety or that it's illegal so she could get arrested for it. It all was a little too weird for me.

The rest of the book was basically a typical dystopian. There's an evil dictator, a rebellion, and a girl from a lower ranking class that becomes part of the rebellion. I thought there would be more about the rebellion and the politics since most of the blurb talks about how she has to put an end to the rebellion that she believes in. Unfortunately, it was more about her becoming Lila and how the Hart family is twisted. I understand that it was necessary to make Daxton a dictator, otherwise there would be no story, but I thought it was a bit excessive to make him a people hunter too, like he wasn't already enough of an awful person.

The book began with Kitty already having Benjy as a boyfriend and on rare occasions this works, however this was not that occasion. Their relationship felt very forced and fake because there was no build up to it. The only thing they have going for them is that they've known each other their entire lives and Benjy tried to help her learn how to read. The main reason they didn't work for me was because Benjy was a very flat character. There was nothing about him that made me want him and Kitty together. I didn't care what happened to him and it was difficult to understand why Kitty cared. I'm pretty sure there's a love triangle (or maybe a square) and if there is I definitely like Knox better than Benjy.

Overall, Pawn wasn't horrible because it kept me reading until the very end and was fast paced. The writing was kind of elementary (I'm not really sure how to describe it) but it just lacked description beyond the size and color of things. I'm not saying that I want pages and pages of description, but just a tiny bit more would have made the book just a little better.

The Forever Song was easily the book I was most looking forward to reading in 2014. From the very beginning, this series has not disappointed and even though I had a few issues with two of the characters, I still ended up loving the book.

It is very hard to chose, but the thing I liked best about this book is the detail and just the overall style of the writing. Many young adult books would gloss over the gore and horror that comes with vampires, but not this book. Kagawa isn't afraid to go into the gory details without the book being entirely about the violence and bloodshed. The descriptions of the fight scenes made me feel like I was right there with Allison.

I also love this author's version of vampires. There are so many different versions out there, some better than others, but this one is definitely one of my favorites, if not my all time favorite. I love how even though the vampires are exceptionally strong and powerful, they are still able to be weakened and don't heal immediately. The rabids and bleeders are also fantastic monsters because they are creepy and something that I haven't seen before. Sarren is also extremely creepy and insane, which just added to the overall darkness of the book. He is one of those villains that I love to hate mostly because he's so good at being a murderous psychopath.

The characters are very believable and while I had a few issues with Allison, I still ended up liking her character. In the beginning of the book, Allison is mourning a death and I understand that it is painful, but the constant repetition of why she is behaving like a monster is a little too much for my taste. Thankfully it didn't last for long because she finally realized that becoming a monster is not the path she wants to go down. There was still the issue about her priorities, but I'll get to that later.

My absolute favorite character is definitely Jackal. His sarcasm and snark are perfect editions to the book. This book isn't exactly uplifting, so Jackal provided the much needed comic relief and his character development was something that made me love him even more. He is also not afraid to tell Allison like it is and I love him for it.

Kanin is another character that I really liked, but for some reason I wasn't very upset about how his story ended, possibly because I guessed what would happen to him. Even though I figured out what would happen to Kanin about half way through the book, it didn't take away from the ending because I feel that it was the only way for his story to finish believably.

I liked Allison and Zeke's relationship before this book, but for most of the book I wanted it to be a little less about Zeke and a little more about saving the world from the psychotic vampire. Both of them needed to worry less about each other and more about the end of the world. Once that happened, I was able to enjoy the little scenes with Zeke and Allison more.

While this book is very dark, it still has a few sweet moments. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a good vampire series.

I feel like every time I read one of Laini Taylor's books I come away breathless. The writing is absolutely stunning and most definitely one of the best qualities of the book. I bet if I picked up some of her writing, I would be able to tell right away that it's hers.

It would have been helpful to reread the previous books because during the beginning I was feeling a bit lost, but after a little bit of reading it all started to come back to me and if it didn't, a brief reminder was given that didn't seem stuck in there to remind the reader of something. It fit perfectly with the story because there's just so much to all the characters and everything that there's no wonder I forgot all the little details.

The depth of all the characters is something that I simply adore. Even the characters that aren't as important as Karou and Akiva have their own story and seem three-dimensional instead of characters set up to just move the plot forward. Laini Taylor always perfectly describes emotions so that not only did I know what the character was feeling, but I could imagine how it would feel. It makes the angels and chimaera more relatable because even though they aren't human they experience the same emotions.

I remember having an issue with Karou and Akiva's relationship in the last book (or the lack of relationship) but in this book I didn't mind the fact that they didn't kiss until more than halfway through the book because the timing was perfect when it happened. Although both Karou and Akiva never stopped thinking about one another, and sometimes the tension between those two got to be almost a little too much, I was ok with that because they are fighting a war after all.

My one complaint (and also the reason I rated it four stars not five) is that the introduction of a very key character this late in the series felt strange. There are already so many characters in the story and adding Eliza to the mix created a whole new part of the story. A little more than halfway through the book one of the conflicts is resolved and yet there is still at least two hundred more pages left. The conflict that played out in the last part of the book just didn't work for me like the rest of the book did. It seemed strange to have all this stuff about the Stelians there and having an almost immediate solution to it. It didn't fit with how everything else had been such a struggle for Karou and everyone else.

This series is one that I will remember for a long time and will probably end up recommending to anyone that will listen.

I can't even begin to describe how much I enjoyed this book. It was everything I wanted and more. From the beginning of the series I was a tiny bit worried about the addition of so many different points of view, but it ended up really working for the series.

The characters are absolutely brilliant. I love how Cinder isn't brave all the time and that she has vulnerabilities and doubts but she doesn't constantly whine about them. Characters that have legitimate fears and feelings always seem more real to me and character quality is a huge factor into how much I enjoy a book. Cinder may be the best mechanic out there, but she doesn't excel at everything else quite as easily. She has to work towards being able to use her Lunar powers and I really enjoyed seeing them develop. Her sassy comments also make me love her even more. 

The new addition to the growing cast of characters is Cress. She's probably my favorite character from this series because out of all of them she seems the most realistic. Cress is awkward and naive from years of being alone on her satellite. The way she handles the situation that she's thrust into is believable, not only because she is slightly awkward around people but she also did not get much exercise in the satellite. How she looks at the world is so precious and the massive crush she has on Thorne is adorable.

I don't remember there being many interactions between Cinder and Kai in Scarlet if there were any at all, but in Cress there's definitely a little bit more. Obviously, there are much more pressing matters on both of their minds but their moment was so sweet and it fit in so perfectly. I really hope that there's more Scarlet and Wolf in the next book because I love them and there was not much going on between them once the book got started, for reasons I will not mention. As I said before Cress's crush on Thorne is the cutest thing and I loved how their relationship developed as the book went on.

My only complaint about this series is that I still find it a tad bit predictable but I've come to expect that from this series so it didn't ruin the book as much as it probably would have, if I was reading a different book or series. 

Cress is another breathtaking installment in The Lunar Chronicles. Hopefully the wait for Winter won't be too long.

Lately I haven't been having the best luck with series. I remember loving Splintered but for some reason this book just didn't live up to my expectations and I feel like I'm the only one. It was actually quite slow and a bit boring.

Even in the first book, I did not like Jeb and I think that's the main reason why I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. I wrongly assumed that since Morpheus is on the cover, the book would mainly be focused on him. Instead it was mainly about Alyssa and Jeb's relationship. To me Alyssa seems a little too obsessed with Jeb, especially by the end when their relationship is kind of rocky and to be honest I don't think there's anything special about Jeb. Their relationship is very sappy and Alyssa is overly dramatic when it comes to Jeb.

Alyssa also refuses to accept that she's a part of Wonderland, which basically causes all the problems in this book and also means that this book takes place in the human world, not Wonderland. All the character development from the first book is gone and all she cares about is Jeb. What does she do when Wonderland is seeping into the human world? She thinks about Jeb and she ignores all her problems because she thinks that since she chooses to live in the human world it doesn't concern her.

The only redeeming quality of this book are the Wonderland characters. However I was not a fan of Morpheus pretending to be human and going to school with Alyssa. Was that really necessary? He can talk to Alyssa whenever he wants and he decides to attend her school. And then there's the fact that Alyssa believes that he's completely evil, but sometimes he's a good person that she finds attractive. Yes he lied to her, but it is later explained why he lied and that he's actually a good person, yet Alyssa still doesn't give him the benefit of the doubt. But Jeb could do whatever he wanted and she would still think he's this fabulous person.

I was pretty excited about learning a little bit more about Morpheus and his past. I just wish the book hadn't focused mainly on Alyssa and Jeb and that it had more Wonderland in it.

I was very nervous about starting this book. I had seen a few people rate it really low and call it a disappointment, so I tried not to get my hopes up that the final installment in this series would live up to my expectations. While Evertrue may not have been as enthralling as the previous two, it is still an enjoyable read.

It took awhile for the story to get going because the beginning was mainly Jack and Nikki reassuring each other that everything would be ok and that they love each other. After most of that was over, I could barely put the book down. Mainly because Cole was a huge part of the book. I wasn't a fan of what happened to him near the beginning of the book, but I still enjoyed his character. The mythology and the plot were definitely the best parts of the book but I don't want to talk too much about the plot because that would spoil the book.

I don't remember ever having a problem with Jack and Nikki's relationship, but I couldn't stand how cheesy it all was. There were numerous mentions of them having each others hearts and how they wouldn't be able to live without each other. Nikki also excessively mentioned Jack's biceps. I had to put the book down a few times when she mentioned his biceps because I couldn't take the story seriously. I get that Jack is now very muscular because of the Tunnels, but I don't need to be reminded of his biceps every time he has to do something involving his strength. In fact I could care less about Jack and his jealousy because honestly there's nothing truly likable about the character, but there's also nothing to really hate.

The one problem I had with Nikki is that her emotions change so rapidly. I never completely sure what she was actually feeling. Sometimes she would think that Cole wasn't so bad and then other times she would hate him. Sometimes she would think about sacrificing herself and then she would decide against it, over and over again. At first it wasn't so bad but it continued to happen and it just got old. Despite this problem, I still liked Nikki because she made sure that Jack didn't make her decisions for her and she cared about the people around her.

As I said before I was disappointed about what happened to Cole near the beginning of the book because it felt almost like it was just an easy way for Nikki to realize that she still liked Cole. Thankfully what happened to him wasn't permanent, otherwise I doubt the ending would have been as emotional as it was. One of the good things that did come out of it was that Cole was pretty funny, even though he wasn't trying to be.

The ending was very bittersweet and it felt like the best way to end the series because in the end it was their choices that led to it, not someone forcing another character to do it. This series had it's ups and downs, but it's still worth reading.

*A few possible spoilers ahead

First off have you seen that cover? Gorgeous. No wonder why I picked this book up in the first place. It also got quite a lot of love when it first came out so I had to read it. Did I read the same book as everyone else because I feel like I'm in the minority here when I say that this book and I didn't get along.

It all started when I realized that there was nothing mildly redeemable about the characters. There was no substance to any of the side characters, especially Luke and Sunshine. The main character is weird and not in the good way and to top it all off the love interest is a creep. The book was packed to the brim with instances of Violet blurting out the most random things and it almost never made sense, but none of the characters except for Luke seemed to notice that she didn't know how to hold a conversation and that she brought up irrelevant topics.

There was also absolutely no reason for Luke to be that nasty to his sister. I get it, siblings fight, but there wasn't a reason for Luke to hate on Violet. I kept waiting for some sort of childhood flashback to explain his hatred but there wasn't any. It was just there for the author's convenience and to show that the characters developed by the end. The same issue was present with Sunshine. She was written as a self-absorbed, bitchy girl but it's not like this added to the story, in fact it detracted from it because most of the time I just wanted to her go away.

The romance made me cringe. Their relationship developed unnaturally fast and I felt like I had no reason to root for them. The way River talked to Violet was very strange. If a guy started talking to me like that I would avoid that relationship at all costs. Occasionally Violet would start thinking logically about how dangerous River was, but then she would decide she didn't care because she felt in her heart that she should keep giving him chances and that he doesn't mean to kill people, even though he tells her that he does not think killing is morally wrong and that some people deserve to die. He also can't seem to stop lying and Violet is aware that everything that comes out of his mouth is a lie, yet she still chooses to believe what he says. If that's not alarming then I don't know what is.

The entire book felt like a jumble of literary and movie references that did very little to advance the plot. It also seemed like the author tried to mash too many gothic or horror story ideas into one book. The whole thing with Jack and the kids in the cemetery was very strange and it felt out of place. The villain of the story didn't even make much of an appearance until the end of the book. I saw a few people talking about how great the twist was at the end of the book, but I knew what the twist was since the mention of siblings and Texas.

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea was a major disappointment because it had so much potential, but it was executed poorly.

Just One Year is certainly not a book for someone looking for contemporary fluff. It may not have been as engaging as the first book, but it packs the same, if not more, emotional punch.

At first, it was slightly disappointing to read that this book did not pick up right where Just One Day left off. Instead it's Willem's year long journey to find the mysterious Lulu, who he knows next to nothing about, yet he fell in love with her that day in Paris. Surprisingly, I never had a problem with the relationship between Willem and Lulu (Allyson). My major problem with this book was that it was very difficult to get into. The beginning was slow and almost uninteresting because I wasn't emotionally invested in Willem until about halfway through the book. That's when I started to really enjoy it.

There's so much more to Willem and his past than I initially thought. I loved how both Allyson and Willem's lives were changed by just meeting each other accidentally. In a day both of them managed to start to change the other in good ways. At times it was hard to keep track of all the names of the people Willem knew, but by the end it grew easier to remember who the major players in his life were. I really enjoyed all the scenes of Willem acting, especially when he played Orlando.

The only complains that I had were that it was very slow paced and it ended rather abruptly. I believe it ends at the same place that Just One Day does, but I'm not entirely sure. Other than that, the book was very good. Gayle Forman's writing is fantastic and all of her books have the most realistic characters.

It seems like so many series have been coming to an end recently. And those endings have so far been heartbreaking. If you thought the ending of Prodigy was sad, wait until you read Champion.

I will never get tired of reading about protagonists like June. She's fierce and able to hold her own in a world ravaged by a tyrannical government and war. Yet, she isn't completely fearless and that's what makes her human. Without some weakness it would be impossible to connect with her. June still fears Commander Jameson no matter how much she tries to convince herself that she doesn't and she isn't a coldblooded killer. Day is another example of a character that I love. He's strong, but he isn't invincible. In the first book, it seemed that he could do almost anything, but since Prodigy that has changed. His character development was very well done. He went from a boy that would do anything to see the Republic fall to a someone that wanted to protect the Republic.

June and Day's relationship in this book is strained after the end of Prodigy. It's clear that both of them love each other, but it took them awhile for them to get past the eight months of separation that they put themselves through. It was a little frustrating, but it wouldn't have been realistic if everything went back to the way it was before. It's also very clear that Anden is in love with June, but their relationship isn't annoying, probably because I knew exactly how June and Day feel.

The beginning of the book isn't slow, but it isn't as exciting as the rest of the book. Once the story got going, it is basically nonstop action. It was interesting to get to learn more about how the Republic's political system works and a little about the rest of the world.

Champion is for anyone looking for a thrilling conclusion to an action packed series. It's always sad to see characters go, especially after such a heartbreaking ending, but at the same time the ending was pretty satisfying.

Initially, I was disappointed by Allegiant. It didn't have the same feel that the other books had and I ended up having to put it down for awhile because I wasn't sure if I wanted to find out how it ends. If you're feeling the same way, then keep reading because the ending was by far the best part of the book.

The beginning to about midway through the book was basically Tris and Tobias kissing at the end of every chapter. Normally I wouldn't have a problem with that, but after awhile it just got old and I wanted something more exciting to happen. I was glad that they worked out most of their problems, but the whole thing with Nita was a tad annoying. Tobias was completely convinced that Tris was jealous of him spending time with Nita because she was pretty. While Tris wanted to convince him that there was something going on. To be honest, the way both of them went about solving that problem was wrong. Tris should not expect Tobias to blindly follow whatever she says. That's just ridiculous. And Tobias shouldn't automatically think that Tris is jealous of Nita just because he would probably be jealous if the positions were reversed. Thankfully they got past that problem, otherwise it would be like the lying in Insurgent all over again.

The dual point of view took awhile to get used to and I understand now that the ending probably wouldn't have been as good if the book hadn't started with Tobias and Tris's point of views. It was hard to tell the difference between the perspectives and I found myself flipping back to the beginning of the chapter to see which point of view it was. They both sounded like Tris to me. There were a few clues that told me that it was Tobias, but his chapters didn't stand out from Tris's and I think that's the first thing that disappointed me.

The ending was heartbreaking and powerful. I realized a little more than halfway through the book what the ending would be, but it still hit me hard. I was fighting back tears as I read so that I could see the pages. Allegiant was weaker than the first two books in the beginning, but it definitely has the best ending.

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This is the book I've been waiting for. Time travel is such an interesting thing and I love reading about how different people imagine it working. The reason I was so excited about this book was because I knew it had time travel, but it was also the reason I was a bit worried about it. Time travel can be a bit confusing even if there is an explanation for it.

The book switched between Em and Marina's POV. Em's world is a future destroyed by the invention of the time machine aka Cassandra and Marina is from the present. It was obvious to me from the beginning how the two characters were connected, especially when Em refused to say the doctor's name and the name of Marina's friend was revealed, but I'm not going to say any more about that. At some points it was difficult to tell the difference between Em and Marina's POV especially at the end, mostly because there were so many characters from the future and the past mixing together. Aside from that, I really enjoyed both of the girl's stories. Em's was a bit more intriguing because her story contains more action than Marina's and in the beginning Marina is very shallow and kind of boring. All Marina ever thinks about in the beginning is how much she loves James, but as the story progressed I warmed up to her because there was more to her than I originally thought.

There is a very complicated love story woven into this book and I'm tempted to call it a love triangle, but that's not exactly correct (and if I tried to explain the love triangle I would end up spoiling some parts so I'm going to stay away from calling it that). The story starts out with Marina already in love with James (her best friend). Normally this would make their relationship less appealing, but the flashbacks to times Marina was with James and the obvious fact that she knew him better than most people allowed me to go along with their relationship. Em and Finn's relationship seemed like that at first, but its clear after awhile that they don't suffer from insta love and that their relationship developed over time. I ended up preferring Em and Finn over Marina and James mainly because Finn is so adorable and sometimes James seemed to be toying with Marina's emotions.

The explanation for time travel was quick so it didn't feel like the author was info dumping and it wasn't overly complicated. The explanation was reminiscent of the one given in the TV show Doctor Who and I don't want to ruin the explanation for anyone because I think it was brilliantly executed so I'm not going to say any more about it.

All Our Yesterdays is definitely one of my favorite books now and I'm going to be looking for more books by this author in the future.

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It feels like forever since I last read something that was part of the Iron Fey world and to be honest, I was a bit worried about that. Tastes change all the time and I was afraid that maybe I wouldn't enjoy the series as much anymore, but thankfully all my fears were for nothing. It seems like the Iron Fey and Call of the Forgotten will always have a special place in my heart. Any fans of the first series will love the spin off because it means more time in the Nevernever and a few appearances from old characters!

I especially loved how Ethan developed over the course of this book. The difference between him now and the Ethan at the start of the series is very obvious. He's no longer an asshole that pushes everyone away, instead he accepts that the fey are a part of his life and for the most part he opens up to Kenzie. It's clear that it's hard for him to let Kenzie into that world that he lost his sister to because he's afraid of losing Kenzi too, but he makes an effort to let her in after he realizes that Kenzie is hard to get rid of and that he doesn't want to lose her.

Ethan and Kenzie's relationship in this book wasn't the main focus, but it was still pretty prominent. I think their relationship is adorable because Ethan tries so hard to be a good boyfriend and I think that's the cutest thing. I especially liked that Kenzie helped remind him that not everything about the fey is bad and that his judgement is normally pretty good. She's one of the only optimistic characters in this book and she has no reason to be, but I won't go into that because I don't want to spoiler anything for people that haven't read the first book.

I think my favorite character in this series is probably Keirran. He's just so complex and it's hard to tell which side he's on. I'm not a huge fan of him and Annwyl because there wasn't a build up to their relationship. The series started with them already in love, which makes it harder for me to root for them. It was also really nice to have a few of the old characters back, especially Puck. I didn't even know how much I missed him until he came back. I practically squealed whenever Ash appeared.

Overall The Iron Prince was a very intriguing book. I can't believe the ending because it was so unexpected and it's a cliffhanger. The wait for the next book is going to be a long one.

*I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

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It's been awhile since a book kept me glued to my seat with constant action and suspense. Going into this book, I thought it would be too similar to other dystopian books that I've read. Some parts of the book felt very familiar, but for the most part Countdown was fairly unique.

The biggest problem I had with the book were the main characters. Kira was all over the place. One moment she's this tough girl on the streets that trusts no one, and then the next she's a gullible girl that flees more than she fights. Almost all of the characters in the book lied to her, but she still ended up trusting them in the end because deep down she believes they're a good person. She also decides to trust a convicted murderer because she believes he's not all that bad even though he admitted to killing people. Kira's entire family was murdered so you would think she would never trust someone that confessed to being a murderer but no she ended up befriending him. Her reason for trusting Rogan later in the book once his secrets are mostly revealed makes more sense but before that I thought that she needed some serious help.

I also had a love-hate relationship with Rogan. There was no reason for him to tell Kira that he murdered someone but not give her all the details. It was clear from the very beginning that he was hiding something and that Kira wasn't getting the full story.

I really enjoyed the fast paced and action packed game that Kira and Rogan were in, but after awhile, almost dying every level and saving themselves at the last second got old. It wasn't as intense when the countdown was almost over, but for some reason I couldn't stop reading. The levels were very interesting and I really liked the use of technology, like the implants.

Kira and Rogan's relationship seemed rushed and they almost instantly started to like each other. Kira kept saying how handsome he was for a murderer and . Once I got past insta love and Rogan's past I tolerated their relationship. They made a good team and in the end I ended up really liking them as a couple.

The ending was a little out there, but I think it worked. Garet's talk about the future was actually pretty terrifying because it got me thinking about the cybermen from Doctor Who. Countdown was never boring but it almost felt like there was too much going on at once for it to be anything more than a quick, fun read.

*I received this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

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Antigoddess is perfect for fans of Greek mythology. A bit of knowledge about the Gods and Goddesses is ideal, but not necessary. Kendare Blake does a fantastic job of explaining who the Gods were without info dumping.

The mythology part of the book was definitely the best part. The way that Athena and the other Gods acted seemed spot on. I especially loved how each God was dying in a different way unique to who they were. The personalities of the Gods and how they die shows that the author truly understood Greek mythology.

There were two main characters and it flipped between their point of views. Athena was definitely my favorite of the two, mainly because she could stand up for herself. Cassandra wasn't entirely helpless though. She was a prophetess originally from Troy who was reincarnated. She's also the key to the Gods' deaths. I also really enjoyed reading about Odysseus and I have a feeling that he will be more important in the next book.

I would have liked more of an explanation for why the Gods are dying. Was it just because no one worshiped them anymore or something else? The fact that some of the Gods are taking sides doesn't seem very logical. If they all want the same thing, then why wouldn't they work together? It also wasn't very clear why Hera, Poseidon, and Aphrodite were eating other creatures. It didn't seem to help them because they were still dying and eventually they would have run out of things to eat.

Other than those questions I had, the plot was enjoyable. It had the perfect pacing and I was never bored. In fact, it was incredibly difficult to put the book down. I wanted to find out if Cassandra really could save the Gods and what kind of weapon she was. There was a bit of romance, but no love triangle or insta love. Apollo and Cassandra were already together when the book started and their relationship didn't seem forced. I did think Apollo was a bit overbearing at times. It was like he thought that Cassandra couldn't take care of herself and that bothered me because she isn't as helpless as he thought. I enjoyed the relationship between Odysseus and Athena more than Cassandra and Apollo's. There was a hint of forbidden love because Athena is supposed to be the virgin Goddess but that didn't bother me too much. It was clear that Athena and Odysseus cared for each other and I liked how they didn't need to kiss or anything like that to make that clear.

Overall Antigoddess was an enjoyable read, but it felt like it was missing the piece that would have made it something special.

*I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

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After seeing such high ratings for this book and hearing everyone rave about how fantastic this series is, I caved and borrowed the book from the library. It seems that all the hype surrounding this book made my expectations too high.

I don't consider myself an expert on angels and demons, but I've watched Supernatural and read enough books to get the gist. Every author seems to handle the whole angel, nephilim, demon, and fallen angel thing differently. Unearthly is definitely one of the best angel books I've read in a long time, but not the best. I enjoyed the part about the purpose for the angel-bloods or nephilim and I really liked how the Black Wings radiated sadness due to their fall. The mythology and lore part of the book was amazing, but I think the book fell a bit flat with a few of the characters.

I fully expected to love Clara. I'd heard that she was just plain awesome, but I must have been reading a different book from everyone else because most of the time I wasn't a fan of Clara. It was strange how she practically stalked Christian. Yes I understand that it was for her purpose, but her knowing so much about him without actually knowing him didn't sit right with me. Then there's the fact that she's immediately enemies with Christian's girlfriend. Kay wasn't exactly nice to Clara, but she wasn't really nasty either. Clara basically hated her because she was dating Christian. I also didn't like how Angela kept encouraging Clara to go after Christian and she kept saying that it was her destiny.

I wasn't a big fan of Christian, mainly due to the incident a prom and how he's way too prefect. Clara's friends describe him as a god and perfect in every way. I can't stand perfect characters. I love characters that have flaws and develop as the the story progresses. Which is probably why I love Tucker. Tucker may have been a bit rude to Clara in the beginning, but I ended up liking him much more by the end. He's just a normal guy and he's extremely sweet. The story didn't get interesting until Tucker came along.

This book wasn't amazing, but it also wasn't horrible. I will most likely end up reading the next book, mainly because I want to know what happens to Tucker and why Christian was Clara's purpose.

Last year I fell in love with The Raven Boys and it's been one those books that hasn't left me since, so my expectations for The Dream Thieves were extremely high. So high that I was a little worried that I would be disappointed. But I had no reason to worry because Maggie Stiefvater is the author of this fabulous series.

One of the best things about this series has to be the characters. Every character has a story to tell and I just love that. The raven boys, specifically Ronan, are my favorite characters. Mainly because there is so much depth and thought put into these characters. I love their relationships with each other and how even though they are all so different and from different backgrounds, they are like brothers. I was very excited that Ronan and his ability was the main focus of this book.

All the characters have grown since the start of this series, but none more than Adam. He isn't my favorite, but I still love him. His determination to be independent and to make something of himself is inspiring. Out of all the characters, Adam seems to have had the most difficult childhood, but he doesn't complain and he doesn't want Ronan, Gansey, or Blue's pity.

The concept of taking things out of dreams was completely new to me. The dream objects that Ronan brings back are pretty amazing and it makes me really wish that I could do something like that. I also enjoyed the mystery surrounding Cabeswater.

I know that many people were disappointed by the lack of romance in the last book, but I was not one of those people. It's refreshing to read a Young Adult book that doesn't focus on the romance. There's a little bit of romance in this book and it nearly made me cry.

Every twist in this book kept me on the edge of my seat. The only reason I put the book down was because I didn't want it to be over too quickly.

*I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review