Allegiant has been one of the most anticipated books of 2013! With the movie coming out soon, and Insurgent ending the way it did, Allegiant was on many wish lists of book bloggers and every day readers alike! I know a friend of my even had a count down on her phone, reminding her how many days were left until it released and was available in stores.

If you’ve stopped by and checked out my review of Insurgent than you might already know that I wasn’t too happy about it. The story was good, and so was the ending *MIND WAS BLOWN*, but I hated that Tris wasn’t the same Tris I met in Divergent.

Tris builds up her strength and courage throughout the entire first book, but for some reason all that is completely gone in the second. She was even too afraid to pick up a gun! The kick-butt chick I became to know and love just wasn’t in Insurgent.

So I completely adored Divergent, was a little bummed about Insurgent, but was still planning on reading Allegiant, with a small hope that Tris was back to normal.

I’ve already reviewed Allegiant on my blog, Turning Pages. And I feel that the best way to review such a popular and controversial book would be through points. Also I think it will more spoiler free this way for anyone who hasn’t gotten the chance to read it yet.

Tris and Four:

I was excited to see Tris was back to herself again, and she wasn’t afraid to pick up a gun! With this start to Allegiant I was excited to see how the rest of it would go… but it that didn’t last all too long. I was glad that Tris was through that weird phase, but now, Four was going through his own.

When he is first introduced, he’s this tough, hard guy, with tattoos. He seems to know what he’s doing, and being part of Dauntless, he seemed afraid of nothing. But during Allegiant, Four spent a lot of time either fearing his father, or following someone else’s lead (Tris or Nita).

Their Relationship:

I liked that Roth included a real relationship in this book, where a couple is going through its ups and downs, like in the real world. But Tris and Four had so many ups and downs it was emotionally exhausting. I felt that they would argue about small dumb things, but then make up by making out.

One argument the couple had was when Tris was telling Four that she doesn’t trust Nita. She never really gave a reason, besides jealousy. This argument seemed like one between five year olds, where Tris would yell, scream and stop her foot with no real reasoning.

Later in the book, when we find out what Nita is, Tris rubs it in Four’s face. Again like a five year old would. Tris almost makes it seem like she’s always right, and Four should just do what she says, all the time.

Liked it, but it was just a little too much.

Other Characters:

They had so much potential, but we didn’t get too see much of them. They were on the back burner most of the story.

The Ending:

This was my favourite part! You won’t believe what happens! I know I didn’t. I had no clue!! Best ending yet!!

So overall, I can say that Divergent was my favorite, then Allegiant, and then Insurgent. Allegiant comes into second because of the ending. I know a lot of people loved it, and I know a lot of people can agree with me. So feel free to leave a comment below with your thoughts!

If you can’t stand twisted fairy tale re-tellings, read no further, this is not the book for you.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first two books in the Demon Trappers Daughter series, so I didn’t quite know what to expect from this offering from Jana Oliver. I needn’t have been concerned. It rocks.

 From goodreads.com

“For Briar Rose, life is anything but a fairy tale. She’s stuck in a small town in deepest Georgia with parents who won’t let her out of their sight, a bunch of small-minded, gossiping neighbours and an evil ex who’s spreading nasty rumours about what she may or may not have done in the back of his car. She’s tired of it all, so when, on her sixteenth birthday, her parents tell her that she is cursed and will go to sleep for a hundred years when the clock strikes midnight, she’s actually kind of glad to leave it all behind. She says her goodbyes, lies down, and closes her eyes . . . And then she wakes up. Cold, alone and in the middle of the darkest, most twisted fairy tale she could ever have dreamed of. Now Briar must fight her way out of the story that has been created for her, but she can’t do it alone. She never believed in handsome princes, but now she’s met one her only chance is to put her life in his hands, or there will be no happy ever after and no waking up.”

This retelling of Sleeping Beauty is complete with evil mechanical creatures, the obligatory sleeping princess, and guys on horseback. However Briar is a Rose, not a shrinking violet. THANK GOODNESS!

I am finding that authors who allow their female lead characters to work with their male counterparts, rather than belittling them, seem more authentic, more relatable, and far stronger than their ball-busting sisters. Briar shares the glory with not only her best friend, Reena, but her three leading guys.

Some reviews compare this book to Beautiful Creatures, by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. To that I say, ‘Did we read the same books?’ There is re enactment in both books, and they’re set in the south. That’s about where the similarities end.

Dialogue is humorous, and the action is easy to picture. Romance is peppered throughout because it is a fairy tale after all. Pacing is steady and there is no sagging middle.

 A sweet escape for the first few weeks of the new term. Check it out.

http://www.janaoliver.com/  

Paperback, 470 pages

Published September 12th 2013 by Macmillan Children’s Books

ISBN

1447241096 (ISBN13: 9781447241096)

Eleanor & Park has been everywhere, and everyone seems to be raving about how AMAZING the story and its characters are! So as soon as I picked this one up, I knew I would push it to the top of my TBR pile, and start ASAP!

And I’m pretty happy that I did!

The cover looks awesome and the synopsis sounds fantastic! But I wouldn’t consider Eleanor & Park to be “starcrossed” lovers, well maybe. Eleanor never really left the house except for when she went to school, and she didn’t have a phone she could use. (Would you consider that “starcrossed”?)

It’s been almost a year since Eleanor was kicked out by her abusive and drunk step dad, Richie but Eleanor’s mom has finally talked him into letting Eleanor move back home. She now shares a room with her four younger siblings, and takes baths right after school, to avoid Richie and the lack of a bathroom door.

For the five siblings, it isn’t weird to wake up in the middle of night to shouting, crying or bedsprings. But when this happens, Eleanor and all the kids huddle together, doing their best to stay quiet.

While Eleanor is dealing with issues at home, Park’s life is a bit more normal. He spends his days going to school, reading comic books, listening to music and learning karate. But lately there’s been a bit of tension between Park and his dad. His dad always seems to be disappointed in him, and comparing him to his brother when it comes to karate and learning to drive a manual car.

Eleanor and Park meet on their way to school. They can’t even stand to look or talk to one another and are unaware of how  they will come to share much more than just a school bus bench…

I had such high expectations for this book BECAUSE of all the great things people were saying! I LOVED Eleanor & Park, but there were just a few small things that did bother me. But I’ll get into that in a little bit.

Eleanor was such a down to earth character, which I do appreciate, especially after reading books with super heroes, vampires or gods. She was an average girl, not an extremely pretty girl who turns every guys’ heads when she walks past them. She was REAL.

When Eleanor opened up to Park, I was so proud. It seemed throughout the story that no one has ever shown Eleanor true love, not romantic love, but family love; care. I would have never assumed that Eleanor had it in her when she’s never really witnessed “love”. I commend her for being so strong, after all the crap she’s been through with Richie, her mom and her real dad.

Park was also such a sweet character. He seemed to genuinely care so much for Eleanor and looked past  her struggles and issues. He accepted her in a way nobody in her entire life had. I loved Park for that! … I only wish there were more guys like Park out there!

Now for the small things that did bother me:

1. Eleanor and Beauty: I don’t think I can count how many times Eleanor has called herself ugly or fat. I understand that everyone has their own insecurities but how many times are you going to tell the guy that you like, and the only person that’s every truly cared for you, that you think you’re fat until he agrees with you?

2. Their Relationship: I though Eleanor and Park were imperfectly perfect for each other. I enjoyed reading about the two of them, their love and even their bumps in the road. But I felt that the beginning of their relationship seemed a little rushed.

Even with these small things, I really liked Eleanor & Park! The characters were fantastic, and the ending was…WOW! Rowell tore out my heart towards the end, but luckily put it back together in the last page or two! If you haven’t gotten the chance to pick this one, I recommend to do so… right now!

I posted on Facebook not long after starting this book, that it was making my fear of crowds simmer to the surface. I work really hard to get past that phobia, so this is a testament to the quality of imagery and strong storytelling by Kelley in her new series.

Olivia has her life turned inside out when the truth of her parentage comes to light, after the death of the man she thought was her father. She goes from her high society lifestyle to being reduced to the child of parents who were convicted of 8 serial murders.

She falls from grace, well, gracefully, and does what we’re cheering for her to do… take on the world and stand on her own two feet.

Armstrong has a real knack for making strong female characters but not at the expense of having strong male characters. Her girls can save themselves and take on the unsavoury element without castrating and belittling her hero. Olivia is no different, and Gabriel is the perfect mix of creeper and hunky behemoth.

There is plenty of superstition woven through the book. The plot thickens quicker than corn flour slurry, and, there are no lumpy bits either.

I love the eerie setting of Cainsville, and the townsfolk are goose-bump worthy weirdos.

I’m not usually one to seek out a book I know is going to give me the creeps, but I will certainly be looking for book two, Visions, which is due out in August 2014. There is more fun to be had in Cainsville… Bring it on!

http://www.kelleyarmstrong.com/  

Hardcover, 486 pages

Published August 20th 2013 by Sphere

ISBN13

9781847445117

I absolutely adore the cover of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, as well as the covers of the other two books in the trilogy! While I don’t own the third one just yet, I’m dying to see how the set will look sitting on my white bookshelf!

This book was released about two years ago, and I feel horrible for taking so long to finally get to it! I remember when it first hit stores and I was so pumped to pick up a copy, but just never did for some reason.

But I’ve read it, and now I’m reviewing it. And I plan to read the second book soon, so that counts for something, right?

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, follows a girl named Mara Dyer (you guessed correct!), who is dealing and overcoming a tragic event that has recently happened to her, but that she doesn’t quite remember.

Mara (we don’t actually know if this is her real name or not) is suffering from losing her two best friends as well as her boyfriend in this traumatic event. After having visions and nightmares of that night over and over again, Mara and her family are questioning her sanity. Instead of going through the process of mental illness treatment, Mara’s family decides to move and start a new life somewhere new.

But even with the new house, new school and all the other new people and things surrounding her, she’s stilling having trouble and horrific flashbacks.

The reader knows just as much as Mara does; nothing. With the flashbacks, the visions and some of her memories, we discover, right alongside Mara, about that night and what caused all of it.

After being in the dark for so long, Mara finally meets her light and his name is Noah. He’s this beautiful boy, who Mara can’t help but drool over (and neither can I!), and who doesn’t mind flashing his fancy car, and his money. But he does seem to care about Mara a lot and helps her through some of her hardest times.

The sweetest thing that stuck to me about Noah, was when he help Mara save a beaten dog from its abusive owner. He gave Mara and the dog a ride to get it medical attention. Turns out his mom was the veterinarian… so it’s not like he had to pay the massive vet bill.

Throughout the story Mara wasn’t sure why she was the sole surviver after that night, and why she’s having this visions now, but with the help of her brother, and Noah, she’s (we’re) sure to find out!

This book claimed to be paranormal, but I couldn’t really see too much of that. I know that Mara had flashbacks and visions every once in a while throughout this story, but I just didn’t get a creepy paranormal vibe from it. However, the paranormal aspect wasn’t the MAIN reason I read this book, so I wasn’t too disappointed by that or anything.

Instead The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer focused more on rediscovery and even some romance and I loved it. It wasn’t what I was expecting, but I truly enjoyed it. But I can see where others might be a little upset about that. They were informed of one thing, but received something different.

I thought Mara was down to earth, and dealt with this loss, her visions and her entire life, better than I would ever be able to. I enjoyed her relationship with Noah, and I’m pumped to see how the second book goes for me!