Category Archives: Young Adult

Review: Volition by Shawn Kirsten Maravel

25 November, 2012 3:36 pm , 1 Comment ,

Volition
(Volition, #1)
By: Shawn Kirsten Maravel
Publisher: Self-published
Published: June 28, 2011
Genre: YA
Rating:
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Charlotte Rush would be the first to admit that her life is no rollercoaster ride. Her days are laced with ordinary and at times boring monotony. But with a heart that finds itself frequently broken she’s happy to say that she’s content.

When her friends convince her to spend the night out at a club to let loose and maybe even find a guy, she finally admits that her life might be missing something.

No sooner does she let go of her inhibitions does she find herself waking up in a dark hotel room in the presence of Joel, a man who carries mystery in his eyes and familiarity in his smile. Against reason Charlotte decides to trust him based solely on one thing. Somehow, she is sure that she knows him.

In a race against time to find answers and to solve the crime committed against her Charlotte finds herself falling for him. However, with nothing but mystery surrounding him she can’t even be sure that he’s the hero at all. While knowing all of the right things to say he still manages to tell her nothing. As a battle is waged over the innocence of her cryptic stranger, Charlotte discovers that much greater danger awaits her. And the mysteries behind who and what Joel is will lead Charlotte to discover that heaven and earth are not so far apart.

 

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Posted in: YA Fantasy

Review: Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

5 November, 2012 6:00 pm , 1 Comment ,

Obsidian
(Lux, #1)
By: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publisher: Entangled
Published: May 8, 2012
Genre: YA
Rating:
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Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I’d pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring…. until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something…unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon’s touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I’m getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don’t kill him first, that is.

 

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Posted in: YA Fantasy

Review: Rockoholic by C.J. Skuse

3 November, 2012 9:56 pm , 2 Comments ,

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Posted in: YA Contemporary

Review: Blood Promise by Richelle Mead

20 October, 2012 4:15 pm , 1 Comment ,

Blood Promise 
(Vampire Academy, #4)
By: Richelle Mead
Publisher: Razorbill
Published: Aug 25, 2009
Genre: YA
Rating:
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Rose Hathaway’s life will never be the same.

The recent attack on St. Vladimir’s Academy devastated the entire Moroi world. Many are dead. And, for the few victims carried off by Strigoi, their fates are even worse. A rare tattoo now adorns Rose’s neck, a mark that says she’s killed far too many Strigoi to count. But only one victim matters . . . Dimitri Belikov. Rose must now choose one of two very different paths: honoring her life’s vow to protect Lissa—her best friend and the last surviving Dragomir princess—or, dropping out of the Academy to strike out on her own and hunt down the man she loves. She’ll have to go to the ends of the earth to find Dimitri and keep the promise he begged her to make. But the question is, when the time comes, will he want to be saved?

Now, with everything at stake—and worlds away from St. Vladimir’s and her unguarded, vulnerable, and newly rebellious best friend—can Rose find the strength to destroy Dimitri? Or, will she sacrifice herself for a chance at eternal love?

 

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Posted in: YA Urban Fantasy

Review: Velveteen by Daniel Marks

10 October, 2012 5:00 am , Leave a Comment ,

 

Velveteen
(Velveteen, #1)
By: Daniel Marks
Publisher: Delecorte Books
Published: Oct. 9, 2012
Genre: YA
Rating:
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Velveteen Monroe is dead. At 16, she was kidnapped and murdered by a madman named Bonesaw. But that’s not the problem.

The problem is she landed in purgatory. And while it’s not a fiery inferno, it’s certainly no heaven. It’s gray, ashen, and crumbling more and more by the day, and everyone has a job to do. Which doesn’t leave Velveteen much time to do anything about what’s really on her mind.

Bonesaw.

Velveteen aches to deliver the bloody punishment her killer deserves. And she’s figured out just how to do it. She’ll haunt him for the rest of his days.

It’ll be brutal… and awesome.

But crossing the divide between the living and the dead has devastating consequences. Velveteen’s obsessive haunting cracks the foundations of purgatory and jeopardizes her very soul. A risk she’s willing to take—except fate has just given her reason to stick around: an unreasonably hot and completely off-limits coworker.

Velveteen can’t help herself when it comes to breaking rules… or getting revenge. And she just might be angry enough to take everyone down with her.

 

 

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Posted in: YA Fantasy, Young Adult

Review: The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong

7 October, 2012 3:11 pm , Leave a Comment ,

 

The Awakening
(Darkest Powers, #2)
By: Kelley Armstrong
Publisher: Harper Collins
Published: April 28, 2009
Genre: YA
Rating:
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If you had met me a few weeks ago, you probably would have described me as an average teenage girl — someone normal. Now my life has changed forever and I’m as far away from normal as it gets. I’m a living science experiment — not only can I see ghosts, but I was genetically altered by a sinister organization call the Edison Group. What does that mean? For starters. I’m a teenage necromancer whose powers are out of control: I raise the dead without even trying. Trust me, that is not a power you want to have. Ever.

Now I’m running for my life with three of my supernatural friends – a charming sorcerer, a cynical werewolf, and a disgruntled witch – and we have to find someone who can help us before the Edison Group finds us first. Or die trying.

 

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Posted in: YA Urban Fantasy

Review: Shadows by Jennifer L. Armentrout

1 October, 2012 5:52 am , 4 Comments ,

Shadows
(Lux, # 0.5)
By: Jennifer Armentrout
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Published: Feb. 21, 2012
Genre: YA
Rating:
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The last thing Dawson Black expected was Bethany Williams. As a Luxen, an alien life form on Earth, human girls are…well, fun. But since the Luxen have to keep their true identities a secret, falling for one would be insane.
Dangerous. Tempting. Undeniable.

Bethany can’t deny the immediate connection between her and Dawson. And even though boys aren’t a complication she wants, she can’t stay away from him. Still, whenever they lock eyes, she’s drawn in.

Captivated. Lured. Loved.

Dawson is keeping a secret that will change her existence…and put her life in jeopardy. But even he can’t stop risking everything for one human girl. Or from a fate that is as unavoidable as love itself.

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Posted in: YA Urban Fantasy

Review: Bumped by Megan McCafferty

19 September, 2012 5:00 pm , 1 Comment ,

Bumped
(Bumped, #1)
By: Megan McCafferty
Publisher: HaperCollins
Published: April 26, 2011
Genre: YA
Rating:
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When a virus makes everyone over the age of eighteen infertile, would-be parents pay teen girls to conceive and give birth to their children, making teens the most prized members of society. Girls sport fake baby bumps and the school cafeteria stocks folic-acid-infused food.
Sixteen-year-old identical twins Melody and Harmony were separated at birth and have never met until the day Harmony shows up on Melody’s doorstep. Up to now, the twins have followed completely opposite paths. Melody has scored an enviable conception contract with a couple called the Jaydens. While they are searching for the perfect partner for Melody to bump with, she is fighting her attraction to her best friend, Zen, who is way too short for the job.

Harmony has spent her whole life in Goodside, a religious community, preparing to be a wife and mother. She believes her calling is to convince Melody that pregging for profit is a sin. But Harmony has secrets of her own that she is running from.

When Melody is finally matched with the world-famous, genetically flawless Jondoe, both girls’ lives are changed forever. A case of mistaken identity takes them on a journey neither could have ever imagined, one that makes Melody and Harmony realize they have so much more than just DNA in common.

 

1thoughts
I liked the concept of the book. The fact that at the age of 18 you will be sterile, so when you are a teen you are studded out to surrogates to procreate for the highest bidder. It makes me wonder where on earth these authors come up with this stuff.

The lingo took a little bit to get used to but you sort of get the hang of it after a while. I didn’t really get used to all of the Jesus talk though. The Hallelujah’s and the “oh my grace” was a bit much but with her being a heavily religious person I can totally see that.
It took me a LONG time to get used to the MiNet. I really did think that people in the future have eye problems. It wasn’t until closer to the end that I realized that all the wink left, wink right, blink, blink, butterfly kisses, was actually them looking onto the MiNet and communicating with other people.

I wish the book wasn’t so predictable though. You know what is going to happen from the start but for some reason you read the book anyways. Don’t get me wrong, it was a good book but I really do wish that it had some curve balls to it.

 

1favepart
Ram is visibility upset that his wife has gone missing the day after their wedding.
Melody shoots Zen (her friend) a panicked “Now what?” look.
Zen brings his arms together in a circle and pantomimes a way overdue pregg.
“WHAT?” I mouth.
Zen now strokes his bodacious invisible bump.
“Why are you pretending to be pregg?”
Ram opens his eyes to see this.
“I’m pretending to hug,” Zen wails in exasperation. “This man needs a hug.”
When I don’t go for it, he starts ripping his hair out. “GIVE HIM A HUG.”

 

Posted in: YA Sci-fi

Review: Defy the Stars by Stephanie Parent

7 September, 2012 2:48 pm , 1 Comment ,

Defy the Stars
By: Stephanie Parent
Publisher: Self-published
Published: Aug 1, 2012
Genre: YA
Rating:
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Julia Cape: A dedicated classical piano student just trying to get through her last semester of high school while waiting to hear from music conservatories.
Reed MacAllister: A slacker more likely to be found by the stoners’ tree than in class.

Julia and Reed might have graduated high school without ever speaking to each other…until, during a class discussion of Romeo and Juliet, Julia scoffs at the play’s theme of love at first sight, and Reed responds by arguing that feelings don’t always have to make sense. Julia tries to shake off Reed’s comment and forget about this boy who hangs with the stoner crowd—and who happens to have breathtaking blue eyes—but fate seems to bring the two together again and again. After they share an impulsive, passionate kiss, neither one can deny the chemistry between them. Yet as Julia gets closer to Reed, she also finds herself drawn into his dark world of drugs and violence. Then a horrific tragedy forces Julia’s and Reed’s families even farther apart…and Julia must decide whether she’s willing to give up everything for love.

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Posted in: YA Romance

Review: Sovereign Hope by Frankie Rose

30 August, 2012 4:00 pm , Leave a Comment ,

 

Sovereign Hope
(The Hope Series, #1)
By: Frankie Rose
Publisher: Self-published
Published: July 1, 2012
Genre: YA
Rating:
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Everyone has a soul

Some are just worth more than others

Farley Hope was seventeen when her mother disappeared. In the last six months not much has changed, except that her eighteenth birthday came and went and still no sign of Moira. Her life is just as complicated as it always was. Since her father died in a car crash before she was even born, she’s officially parentless, and to top it all off she’s still suffering from the hallucinations. Mind-splitting, vivid hallucinations- the kind prone to induce night terrors and leave you whimpering under your covers like a baby.

The last thing on her mind is boys. Farley is on break from St. Judes’ when she meets Daniel. It’s not some casual run in at a party, or even a blind date with friends, though. Daniel is the guy following her in his 1970′s Dodge Charger; the guy standing at her window in the LA lunch hour traffic, trying to persuade her to leave everything behind and follow him. And he’s hot as all hell.

The moment Farley lays eyes on Daniel, everything changes. He is cold and withdrawn, but there are cracks in his harsh veneer- cracks that betray the secrets he is trying so hard to hide. Farley is drawn into a world that will shake apart everything she thought she ever knew. There are truths out there that she must learn: that a person’s soul is their only real currency, and there are people who would do anything to take hers; that loving someone can hurt so much more than hating them; but, most importantly, when your future is predestined, there is little you can do to change it.

Farley Hope is prophesied.

Her coming has been awaited for hundreds of years.

She is destined to end the tyranny of the Soul Reavers.

To do so she must die.

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Posted in: YA Fantasy