Graphic Novel Review: Locke & Key Volumes 1 and 2

 Title:

Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft

Locke & Key: Head Games

Author: Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez

Source: Library

Goodreads Summary (Volume 1):

Locke & Key tells of Keyhouse, an unlikely New England mansion, with fantastic doors that transform all who dare to walk through them. Home to a hate-filled and relentless creature that will not rest until it forces open the most terrible door of them all...

This is a graphic novel you will most certainly want to pick up if you haven’t yet. Locke & Key has everything I look for in a good story, including a lot of character development, an incredibly intricate plot line, and discussion on dark issues. Sadly, I haven’t heard as many people talking about Locke & Key as there should be.

The main plot, without me revealing too much, is that this family ends up in an old house after tragedy strikes. Key house has a lot of secrets and closed doors that the mom and three kids have to figure out, but like most other stories, the adults are a bit oblivious to the happenings and that leaves it all up to the kids. I don’t want to say much more, but be sure that there are so many small, important details to keep track of and it’s fun trying to figure out what’s actually going on (even if I’m wrong most of the time).

Let me start with the story line. I am now convinced that Joe Hill is a master at creating worlds if Locke & Key has anything to say about it. The depth of this world amazes me after every reveal. You can tell he has put a lot of thought into the story and has taken his time to develop it into what he wants. This world has so many intricacies and I’ve only read up to the second volume, there’s 4 more to go!

The characters are equally my favorite part of the story, but the “villain” has to be my favorite one. There is just so much more to him that gets revealed throughout the story and I keep finding myself wanting more of him. He’s so evil but at the same time I’m conflicted with my feelings because of his backstory. The rest of the characters are just as dimensional. They have a lot of drama and in volume 2 we kind of get to see more about what the kids think and how they truly perceive their world. I think it was necessary for the development of the characters because now I actually care about them more.

The issues covered in this graphic novel are definitely darker. I would recommend this to a more mature reader. If you’re on the younger side I would wait to pick this up, but pick it up once you’re ready! I will be continuing on in the series and I might actually have to invest in my own copies since I checked these out from the library. I need these beauties on my shelf.

Overall Rating:

★★★★/5 stars

Christmas Novella Mini Review + Playlist: Mistletoe and Mr. Right by Lyla Payne

Title: Mistletoe and Mr. Right

Author: Lyla Payne

Publisher: Bloomsbury Spark

Source: Netgalley

Goodreads Summary: 

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring…but lust refused to settle in for a long winter's nap.She might be all nestled, snug in her bed, by why, oh why, do visions of the wrong guy dance in her head?
Jessica, (not Jessie), figures that nothing could be better than a trip to the Emerald Isle for Christmas break. So she takes a flying leap and follows her boyfriend home for the holidays, not only sure that he will finally agree they're destined for each other, but also that Ireland will provide the perfect backdrop to the beginning of their happily-ever-after. 
But it turns out his family--and his gorgeous ex-girlfriend--don't feel the same way, and even the family goat seems to be conspiring against her well-laid plans. The only person making the trip worthwhile is the very last one she should be thinking about, but Grady, the local farmhand, has a way of showing up when Jessica needs him most...and least.
USA Today bestselling author Lyla Payne wraps up the perfect holiday novella, ties it with a ribbon of romance, and tops it with a light dusting of snow. Perfect to curl up with under the tree. Just add hot cocoa! 

I can tell you one thing straightaway, Mistletoe and Mr. Right put me in the best holiday mood. It has everything from romance to humor, family dynamics and just the right amount of necessary drama. Not to mention the cute guys as well.

The main character, Jessica, decides to surprise her boyfriend OF ONLY FOUR MONTHS by flying to Ireland to meet his family for Christmas. When I first read the synopsis of the story, I don't know why, but in my head I thought the boyfriend knew and it was only a surprise for his family. Ummm...no. The boyfriend has no idea. That alone is a recipe for disaster. 

What happens throughout the story will leave you laughing, gasping, and occasionally getting that glazed over look you get when something makes you swoon (*cough* Grady *cough*). Jessica is a very controlling character, but as the story progresses we get to see why. Her embarrassing moments are so cringeworthy, but also hilarious because how many people can get themselves into the situations she manages to get herself into?

I don't want to say much about the romance because you kind of figure it early on, but it's nice to see it unravel and take form as you read. What I can say is that I loved how everything developed. There were some moments where I thought I had it all figured out, and then others where I didn't know what would happen next.

As I mentioned before, the family involvement was one of my favorite things. I love stories where the family is very present and this one definitely fell into that category. I especially liked the relationship between Jessica's boyfriend and his little sister. That's when his softer, goofier side came out, and that's the side I swooned over. 

Although it may seem like a light and fluffy story, there are also a lot of deeper issues discussed within the novella. Overall this is the perfect first Christmas story of the season. I'm so glad I decided to pick this one up next. It's short and sweet with great characters that are also complex. This is the type of story that you can snuggle up in front of the fireplace for a few hours with. It left me wanting more of the characters and I wouldn't mind having another novella in the future.

Playlist:

Okay, so this playlist isn't really a playlist, it's more of just one song, but you might as well call it a playlist since you'll probably have it on replay after the first listen.

Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran was the perfect song to be listening to while I read this novella. Both the song and the novella make me feel all warm and good inside. Thinking Out Loud is a song I would listen to on a cold day (like today) and Ed Sheeran would probably manage to warm me up. It's just a soulful song and a soulful story. Plus, the lyrics talk about falling in love in mysterious ways and that's kind of a very present theme in the Mistletoe and Mr. Right as well.

 

Rating:

★★★★.5/5 stars

Review: Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Title: Under the Never Sky 

Author: Veronica Rossi 

Publisher: Harper Collins 

Source: e-book  

Goodreads Summary: 

Since she'd been on the outside, she'd survived an Aether storm, she'd had a knife held to her throat, and she'd seen men murdered.
This was worse.
Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland--known as The Death Shop--are slim. If the cannibals don't get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She's been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He's wild--a savage--and her only hope of staying alive. 
A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile--everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria's help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.

The first few chapters of Under the Never Sky were so hard to get through, not because I wasn't interested in the characters, but because nothing was truly happening. It was slow and steady for the first 70ish pages (I read an ebook so the page numbers are different), but once the two main characters, Aria and Perry, finally meet up the fun really starts. And by fun I mean the torturous trek these two have to endure. It was filled with action, friendship, and a little romance.

My favorite relationship in the book was actually not even a romantic one. I thought Roar, Perry's best friend, and Aria had the perfect friendship and I can't wait to see how it grows and changes in the following books.

The actual romance was great as well. The way it develops is how I would want my own romance to develop. It's slow and you actually see it grow from animosity to friendship and understanding and finally, to love. There is so much more to these characters than their love. They understand each other because they both developed as characters together. I have to say that Perry's character development is one of my favorites of all time. You can really appreciate it. The book is written in dual points of view so you're actually in Perry's head while his life is getting flipped upside down. It gives you an understanding and you can literally see him change before your eyes.

I want to touch on the world a little because it's so original. This world that Veronica Rossi creates is nothing I've ever read before. I can honestly say that it is unique in every way. From the aether storms, to the different supernatural abilities everything is unique. I like how Perry's world and Aria's are so unalike and the fact that I got to experience them from both of their perspectives was really helpful in understanding. The fractioning between the real world and the realms was beyond me though. I'm sure I would have felt like a fish out of water if I had to do that in our world.

Conclusion:
The last few chapters brought out so much emotion. There wasn't a slow moment with everything going on. I didn't even have time to catch my breath before the last two chapters completely destroyed me. This book was not at all what I was expecting and that's a good thing. There was so much to the world and I highly recommend giving this one a chance if you haven't read it yet (I'm probably the last person in the world to read it). I already bought the short story and have the sequel on my nightstand. It's time to marathon this series.

Rating: 

★ ★ ★ ★ ★  / 5 stars!!!

Review: Partials by Dan Wells

Title: Partials
Author: Dan Wells
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Source: Purchased
Goodreads Summary:

For fans of The Hunger Games, Battlestar Galactica, and Blade Runner comes the first book in the Partials Sequence, a fast-paced, action-packed, and riveting sci-fi teen series, by acclaimed author Dan Wells.Humanity is all but extinguished after a war with Partials—engineered organic beings identical to humans—has decimated the population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island. But sixteen-year-old Kira is determined to find a solution. As she tries desperately to save what is left of her race, she discovers that that the survival of both humans and Partials rests in her attempts to answer questions about the war's origin that she never knew to ask.Playing on our curiosity of and fascination with the complete collapse of civilization, Partials is, at its heart, a story of survival, one that explores the individual narratives and complex relationships of those left behind, both humans and Partials alike—and of the way in which the concept of what is right and wrong in this world is greatly dependent on one's own point of view.

This story takes place in a future where children don't live past the first few weeks of birth. There was this virus that took everyone out and only a group of people survived. So the whole book is based on the need to find a cure for the virus that's still killing the babies in order to ensure that the population doesn't die off. That synopsis was what made me want to pick up Partials in the first place because disease is something that can happen in real life and it was terrifying/fascinating to read about this future. While I enjoyed the characters, the story was too slow paced for me. I read this one as a buddy read with Juhina from Maji Bookshelf and Adeeb, but it was clear from the start that it was going to be a struggle for me to get through.

The one thing that really bothered me about this story was the overload of medical terminology. I know I might be in the minority on this, but I thought Dan Wells gave too much information that I didn't really care about. The descriptions of the experiments held by the main character were so in depth that I found myself zoning out. That said, I've heard from other readers and people that are interested in medicine and biology say that they really enjoyed that aspect of the story, so it all depends.

Aside from that, I thought the characters were realistic. Even some characters that I couldn't stand at the beginning showed character development as the novel progressed. A perfect example of this is Marcus, the main character Kira's boyfriend. He was immature, annoying and just all around not amusing, but towards the end of the novel I began to develop a soft spot for him. I got very invested in the characters, so much so that there were moments where things happened to them and I just felt like screaming for a full minute. I had to stop and send Juhina a message before I exploded with anger over what was happening to my beloved characters.

The format of the book itself was sort of unique. I liked how it was set up into three different parts. It felt like it was three separate stories because Dan Wells split them up so nicely. They all kind of have their own small storyline within the overarching storyline in the entire novel. I remember saying that this would make a great movie because of all the twists and turns, but maybe a TV show would be even better.

Overall, I enjoyed Partials but it won't be obtaining a space on my favorites shelf. Maybe if they had cut out a hundred pages or so. I'm still excited to see what comes next for the characters and where the story goes in Fragments.

Rating: 

★ ★ ★ ★  / 5 stars

Creeptastic Reads Review: Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix

Title: Horrorstör

Author: Grady Hendrix
Publisher: Quirk Books
Source: Publisher

Goodreads Summary:

Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio. Every morning, employees arrive to find broken Kjerring bookshelves, shattered Glans water goblets, and smashed Liripip wardrobes. Sales are down, security cameras reveal nothing, and store managers are panicking.
To unravel the mystery, three employees volunteer to work a nine-hour dusk-till-dawn shift. In the dead of the night, they’ll patrol the empty showroom floor, investigate strange sights and sounds, and encounter horrors that defy the imagination.
A traditional haunted house story in a thoroughly contemporary setting, Horrorstör comes packaged in the form of a glossy mail order catalog, complete with product illustrations, a home delivery order form, and a map of Orsk’s labyrinthine showroom. It’s “a treat for fans of The Evil Dead or Zombieland, complete with affordable solutions for better living.”—Kirkus Reviews.

The one thing I can tell you for certain about Horrorstor is that it's an experience in and of itself. The manufacturing of the book is so unique. It’s shaped like an Ikea catalog, of course the name is changed to Orsk, and even the pages within look like blueprints. The font is blue, there are pictures of  the items they sell, and each chapter even starts with a description of one of the products. If not for the story, I would recommend this book just for the experience of reading it. Plus, it looks fantastic on my shelf or just laying out on the coffee table. It's definitely a great conversation starter.

Horrorstor revolves around this normal furniture store where weird things start happening, and three employees who get assigned to stay the night so they can find out what’s going on when the lights go off and the doors close. That’s basically all you need to know. They think it’s an intruder at first, but it’s so much more than that! The mystery behind what’s really going on is unique, and the only complaint I would have is that I wish it would have been better explained in the end. I wanted to know the whole background story with all the scary details.

The characters Grady Hendrix created were completely realistic. Amy is a young college dropout simply trying to make a living by working at this store. She has roommates hassling her for rent money, a crappy car, and is just plain struggling. As a college student myself, this is very relatable. I can’t say that I’ve experienced that level of struggle, but I’m surrounded by struggling college kids on the daily. I had roommates so I know the problems that arise from that and to me, anyone who has been a college kid will be able to relate very strongly with her. And even if you’re not, I think you’ll appreciate these characters. I’ve been reading some very flawed characters lately and I’m really liking it. I don’t need my characters to be perfect, in fact, I prefer it when they aren’t. The other characters are kind of obscured by Amy, but you still get some of their background, especially Ruth Anne (whom I loved). Two of the other characters, Matt and Trinity, were very interesting and I wish I could have gotten more of their back story as well.

The writing hooks you in from the first page and keeps you glued to the pages. The last 30 pages I was literally at the edge of my seat, and let me tell you that I don’t use the word literally very loosely. If you would have walked through the doors of my house you would have found me sitting on the edge of my couch, shaking my legs, and with a disgusted (in a good way) look on my face. And along with the creepy dark parts, you get these sprinkles, or should I say - bursts of humor. I loved the quirkiness and wittiness Grady Hendrix brought to the characters. I also really enjoyed their progression and growth throughout the novel. It's always great to see character development, especially in a "horror" book.

To summarize my thoughts, I absolutely loved this book. It was my favorite "Creeptastic Reads" book of the month and probably my favorite read of October. Truly, the only thing I can say was that I wanted more when I turned that last page. I was happy with the ending, but that epilogue pulled me right back in and now I definitely wouldn't mind another book. I'll be picking up future Grady Hendrix novels without a doubt.

Rating:

★★★★.5/5 stars

Creep factor:

The horror isn’t too strong, but it was enough to make me shiver at some parts.

Creeptastic Reads Review: Very Bad Things by Susan McBride

Title: Very Bad Things

Author: Susan McBride
Publisher: Delacorte Press

ReSource: Author

Goodreads Summary:

Katie never thought she'd be the girl with the popular boyfriend. She also never thought he would cheat on her-but the proof is in the photo that people at their boarding school can't stop talking about. Mark swears he doesn't remember anything. But Rose, the girl in the photo, is missing, and Mark is in big trouble. Because it looks like Rose isn't just gone…she's dead.Maybe Mark was stupid, but that doesn't mean he's a killer.Katie needs to find out what really happened, and her digging turns up more than she bargained for, not just about Mark but about someone she loves like a sister: Tessa, her best friend. At Whitney Prep, it's easy to keep secrets…especially the cold-blooded kind.

Amongst all the underwhelming mysteries I've read lately, Very Bad Things was a pleasant surprise!

The story starts off with our main character, Katie, in the library dozing off. Suddenly she feels like she’s being watched, and when she turns around she finds this single rose. To give a bit of background, Katie has recently been having these very realistic nightmares where she gets the overwhelming sensation that she’s being watched and always wakes up to the smell of roses. How creepy is that?

While the book itself is pretty short, the story did take a while to unravel parts of the mystery. Not that that's a huge complaint because it’s slow and juicy and every piece of information is a vital one. Pull out your notepads because you’re going to want to be taking notes while you read. The characters each have their certain weird factor that keeps you doubting them until the end and the multiple POVs add to this. Different points of views can be tricky because the voices can melt together, but Susan McBride did an excellent job distinguishing her character's voices. There is no "good" character or "bad" character. Each one had their questionable moments and I think that's realistic. As a reader, I got frustrated with some, laughed along with others, and felt all the feels near the end. Obviously they weren’t the most detailed characters since Very Bad Things is just under 250 pages, but they were just the right amount of developed for such a short story. 

The blurb on the back of the book was kind of the reason I picked this one up prematurely. I wasn’t planning on reading Very Bad Things but that blurb called out to me, so of course I’m going to include a snippet so everyone else gets as hooked as I was by it.

Katie set the package on the floor and pried off the twine. There was no note, just something rolled up in yellowed paper. Something that smelled rank enough to make her hold her breath as she began to unwrap it. Toward the end, the paper unrolled all by itself and dumped the contents between her feet. Plop. "Oh, my God," she whispered when she saw what it was.

Doesn’t that make you want to pick this up? If not, then maybe the fact that the mystery was so different from what’s typically out there, will. As I’ve mentioned in other reviews, I’m pretty good at guessing the twist before the big reveal. To be honest, I did have my suspicions in Very Bad Things, but it’s such a different take on young adult mystery that I doubted myself until halfway through the book when things started coming together. That was the final deciding factor between 3 and 4 stars. I obviously don’t want to give anything away, but let’s just say that the psychology major within was very interested in what was going on. The fact that this book took something I read so often, and churned out something refreshing, made it a pleasure to read. It was just the right amount of eerie, at the right pace, with the right mystery elements. I wouldn’t say you’ll be sleeping with the light on after reading it, but you’ll be thinking about the characters in Very Bad Things (some more than others) for days after putting it down.

Rating:

★★★★/5 stars

Creep factor:

Nothing too scary, but definitely some creepy scenes. I suggest this to mystery fans that can't deal with too much gore or horror. Perfect for this time of year.

2/5

Creeptastic Reads: Party Games by R.L. Stine

Her friends warn her not to go to Brendan Fear's birthday party at his family's estate on mysterious Fear Island. But Rachel Martin has a crush on Brendan and is excited to be invited. Brendan has a lot of party games planned. But one game no one planned intrudes on his party—the game of murder. As the guests start dying one by one, Rachel realizes to her horror that she and the other teenagers are trapped on the tiny island with someone who may want to kill them all. How to escape this deadly game? Rachel doesn't know whom she can trust. She should have realized that nothing is as it seems… on Fear Island.R.L. Stine makes his triumphant return to Shadyside, a town of nightmares, shadows, and genuine terror, and to the bestselling series that began his career writing horror for the juvenile market, in the new Fear Street book Party Games.

I'll give you three reasons why I was anticipating this book:

1. It's R.L. Stine! Goosebumps were basically my childhood

2. It's a slasher mystery where the characters are stuck on an island, so of course it reminded me of one of my favorites, Ten by Gretchen McNeil

3. That cover is perfect for a creepy mystery

Sadly, Party Games didn't live up to my expectations. A bunch of teenagers getting picked off one by one by someone who is imitating party games? Yes, please. What I expected was lots of gore, twists, clues that would keep me guessing just enough to keep me up through the night, characters that I was rooting for, and characters that I hated/suspected. That's what I want out of a slasher mystery. That is not what we get in Party Games.

Maybe R.L. Stine's writing was always as cheesy as it was in this book and I just didn't notice it before, because to be honest it was pretty unbearable. I read this in a day only so that the torture would end. The sentences were either awkward, or too short. Also, R.L. Stine was constantly repeating things every few sentences the way you'd repeat things to younger children so that they understand. I don't know if he wrote this for a younger audience, but the writing didn't feel geared towards young adults.

Then there were the characters, which I could care less about. As a reader, I didn't feel attached to any of them and I was just waiting for them to get killed off. They weren't developed enough for me to care.

Also, the "twists" were underwhelming. They didn't make much sense to me, and although twists are supposed to be unexpected (that's what makes them fun), the twists in Party Games came out of NOWHERE. One of them was so predictable that I discarded it the moment I started the book, only to have it happen. I couldn't believe what I was reading. The twists completely changed the feel of the book and the story became something else entirely. I don't know if this makes much sense, but that's what I felt as the twists began unraveling. Another thing, there wasn't enough gore for me. I wanted action, but got hardly any and was highly disappointed in the death scenes.

I wouldn't suggest this to mystery fans like myself. Unless you're looking for something to take up time and not something of a higher quality. If you're looking for something around the same feel (but a million times better) I suggest Ten by Gretchen McNeil.

Rating:

★ ★/5 stars

Creep Factor:

There were some spooky scenes, but nothing out of this world. You might be weirded out but I can guarantee this one won't keep you up at night double guessing any shadows.

1/5

Audiobook Review: Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Title: Hush Hush

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Source: Library

Goodreads Summary:

A SACRED OATH
A FALLEN ANGEL
A FORBIDDEN LOVE

Romance was not part of Nora Grey's plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how hard her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch comes along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Patch draws Nora to him against her better judgment.

But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is and seems to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For she is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost Nora her life.

I read this book a few years ago but wanted a refresher so I decided to pick up the audiobook. That way, I can continue on with the series and hopefully finish it this year. Let me tell you that at first I didn't want to make time to listen to this (or any) audiobook, but when I finally did, I really enjoyed it. I was pleasantly surprised. If you're like me, and aren't the biggest fan of audiobooks, I suggest that you do what I did and follow along with your physical copy while you listen.

Although I did like the book I found that I didn't enjoy it as much as I remembered having enjoyed it the first time. Patch used to be my ultimate book boyfriend. I used to live for him, but now I can see why some people would say he's abusive. He only makes time for Nora when he wants to and things only get done when he feels like it. Patch does not simply ask to go on a date. Oh no, he demands it. I really don't remember him being like this the first time I read Hush, Hush. I think I was blinded by Patch's emotional back story (which still made me feel the feels) and the fact that he does refrain himself from doing some horrible things. I'm definitely not excusing his behavior though. Now I can see where the other side of the argument is coming from. I just overall liked Patch's sense of cockiness and confidence despite some major flaws.

One thing I couldn't get over though was Nora's "best friend" Vee. Please, if I had a supposed best friend like her I would be in so much trouble. Nora is the responsible one, where Vee doesn't think twice about anything. She doesn't give two hoots about what Nora thinks and constantly disregards her warnings when it comes to guys. Even when Nora tells her that one of those guys got rough and abusive with her and threatened her, she just says, "well he was drunk and he's been through a tough time, so it's okay" (I'm paraphrasing but you get the gist). I do have to say that when Nora truly needed her, Vee was there, but man she could learn a thing or two about friendship.

Plot wise, the story is captivating and engrossing. The background to Patch's story and learning about the angels and fallen angels is mainly what kept me turning the pages (or listening to the CDs). Plus the mystery element entangled in there adds to all of the excitement.

Audiobook Rating:

Enjoyable (don't regret the reread)

Quick Bullet Review: Hysteria by Megan Miranda

Title: Hysteria

Author: Megan Miranda
Publisher: Walker Childrens
Release Date: February 5th, 2013
Source: Library
Goodreads Summary:
Mallory killed her boyfriend, Brian. She can't remember the details of that night but everyone knows it was self-defense, so she isn't charged. But Mallory still feels Brian's presence in her life. Is it all in her head? Or is it something more? In desperate need of a fresh start, Mallory is sent to Monroe, a fancy prep school where no one knows her . . . or anything about her past.But the feeling follows her, as do her secrets. Then, one of her new classmates turns up dead. As suspicion falls on Mallory, she must find a way to remember the details of both deadly nights so she can prove her innocence-to herself and others. 

This is a difficult review because I really didn't enjoy this book at all, but I like Megan Miranda's writing. So. Torn. Therefore, instead of writing out a long review I thought I would give you a couple bullet points as to why this book wasn't for me.

• The whole book was confusing, and not in a good, "WOO! I don't know what's happening in this awesome mystery but I can't wait to keep reading", way. At. All.
• I didn't have any suspects or suspicions that were concrete enough. Everything was just assumptions.
• The same things kept happening over and over again with no real "aha!" moments.
• The only thing that kept me reading was the fact that I NEEDED to know what was really happening.
• When the final mystery was unraveled and everything was revealed it was anti climatic and I just sat there thinking, "how did I waste all this time reading this just for it to end this way?"
• Events in the book weren't connected at all and it just seemed like the main girl was the unluckiest girl alive.
• None of the characters stood out to me. I can barely remember the main character at all.

Even though I read this last year, I can still remember the disappointment I felt when I closed the book. I definitely wouldn't recommend this one to fellow mystery lovers. It had so much potential to be a great mystery...and then just fell flat. Really, with a summary like that one I would pick up any book, unfortunately this one wasn't a hit. If you're still looking for a Megan Miranda book I suggest Fractured. It's an emotional ride with a hint of paranormal and I really did enjoy that one.

Rating:

★ ★ .5 stars

Mini Review: Sean Griswold's Head by Lindsey Leavitt

Title: Sean Griswold's Head

Author: Lindsey Leavitt
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Release Date: March 1st, 2011
Source: e-book

Goodreads Summary:

According to her guidance counselor, fifteen-year-old Payton Gritas needs a focus object-an item to concentrate her emotions on. It's supposed to be something inanimate, but Payton decides to use the thing she stares at during class: Sean Griswold's head. They've been linked since third grade (Griswold-Gritas-it's an alphabetical order thing), but she's never really known him.
The focus object is intended to help Payton deal with her father's newly diagnosed multiple sclerosis. And it's working. With the help of her boy-crazy best friend Jac, Payton starts stalking-er, focusing on-Sean Griswold . . . all of him! He's cute, he shares her Seinfeld obsession (nobody else gets it!) and he may have a secret or two of his own. 
In this sweet story of first love, Lindsey Leavitt seamlessly balances heartfelt family moments, spot-on sarcastic humor, and a budding young romance.

If you're looking for a cute contemporary to lighten your mood, but want one that still has substance, this is it. I read this after having just finished The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken and let me tell you, that book is INTENSE. So I really needed something to pull me out of that dark, dark world.

Sean Griswold is just the boy with the big head that sits in front of Payton, that is, until Payton makes him her Focus Object. I loved the set up for this book because at first, Sean really is just a head that blocks the board, but as the book develops, new layers of Sean are slowly revealed one by one and you learn about them as Payton does. Payton though is a different story. I had to constantly remind myself that she was only fifteen because some of her decisions were extremely childish in my opinion. She isolated herself from everyone when she needed them most and when I personally would have clung to the important relationships in my life.

That's the only reason why it lost a star, but aside from that it was a great novel. In my opinion, Lindsey Leavitt did a fantastic job intertwining the seriousness of multiple sclerosis with the sweetness of first love. This is my second Linsey Leavitt book and I will continue to read everything she writes in the future.

Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★

Blog Tour Review: Biggest Flirts by Jennifer Echols (Fav Quotes + Giveaway)

Stop by the rest of the tour!

Series: The Superlatives #1

Release date: May 20th 2014

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Pre-order: AMAZON

Source: ARC for Review

Tia and Will’s lives get flipped upside down when they’re voted Yearbook’s Biggest Flirts in this sassy novel from the author of Endless Summer and The One That I Want.
Tia just wants to have fun. She’s worked hard to earn her reputation as the life of the party, and she’s ready for a carefree senior year of hanging out with friends and hooking up with cute boys. And her first order of business? New guy Will. She can’t get enough of his Midwestern accent and laidback swagger. 
As the sparks start to fly, Will wants to get serious. Tia’s seen how caring too much has left her sisters heartbroken, and she isn’t interested in commitment. But pushing Will away drives him into the arms of another girl. Tia tells herself it’s no big deal…until the yearbook elections are announced. Getting voted Biggest Flirts with Will is, well, awkward. They may just be friends, but their chemistry is beginning to jeopardize Will’s new relationship—and causing Tia to reconsider her true feelings. What started as a lighthearted fling is about to get very complicated…

What did I know about this book before I picked it up? I knew it was about two people who loved to flirt...as the title suggests. That was the extent of my knowledge, and let me tell you, going into it semi blind was great.

The book takes place in Florida, and I live in Florida so I could actually relate to a lot of the things they brought up, especially the HORRID HUMID WEATHER. Ehem. Moving on, Tia is this girl who loves hooking up with guys, but at the same time is super cautious about them because of family issues you soon discover. Very early on in the book you realize that she's also scared of responsibility, and although she won't truly admit it, it's because she doesn't want to lead people in the wrong direction. Her decisions are hers and hers alone, she doesn't want anyone depending on her. That combination makes her a crazy party goer with low grades. That is, until the other "Biggest Flirt" comes along. Will. Both Will and Tia's characters have flaws, and that usually adds to the characters (in my opinion) but there were a few things I really disliked about Will. The main thing being that no matter what happens and what role he plays in the flirting, he always manages to put all the blame on Tia. Flirting is a two way street. Let me sound like an old woman for a second and say, "It takes two to tango". But their characters do develop and they start acting more mature and responsible.

One thing I disliked about the book was the pacing. It felt like it was happening in the span of a week or so, and then I would turn a page and it would say everything leading up to that had happened in 2-3 days. It threw me off and I had a hard time keeping up with that but all in all it was a minor detail.

That didn't take away from this being a cute and fun summer book. I would say this was the perfect book to start off my summer reading. It was exactly what I needed, and wanted in so many ways. Will and Tia's flirting, the best friends, the friend with benefits, the bitchy "cheerleader" (in this case majorette), all came together and created a light, fun story. I recommend it if you're not looking for anything with deep issues or profound romances. Plus, that cover is just too perfect!

Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★/5

Favorite Quotes:

"You were wrong about me," I insisted. "You were right the first time. I'm random. When I succeed, that's the mistake."
"You make a lot of mistakes."

"You wouldn't think that if you'd known me for more than a week. The people around here have known me forever."
"I just got here," Will said, "and that's exactly why I can see you so clearly."

"I told will to go ahead while I talked to her. I hoped he understood that I was really asking him to wait to change his shirt until I arrived at his truck, but I wasn't sure that message got across."

"But you and me, together, we would be the death of each other. I'd be like, 'I know a guy who has some crack. Go with?' And you'd be like, 'Sure!' Someone has to be the voice of reason in a relationship, Tia, and our voice of reason has had a tracheotomy."

"This is the Home of the Pelicans," he reminded me. "Shooting the bird is a sign of solidarity."

"I hope you have a good night," I called as he headed for the stairs. Descending into the darkness, he called back over his shoulder, "I hope you don't fall in love."

"And I wouldn't change my life for her. I've learned that from you. I'm not changing for somebody else, because that person could disappear. The only person to change for is yourself."

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jennifer Echols was born in Atlanta and grew up in a small town on a beautiful lake in Alabama—a setting that has inspired many of her books. She has written nine romantic novels for young adults, including the comedy MAJOR CRUSH, which won the National Readers’ Choice Award, and the drama GOING TOO FAR, which was a finalist in the RITA, the National Readers’ Choice Award, and the Book Buyer’s Best, and was nominated by the American Library Association as a Best Book for Young Adults. Simon & Schuster will debut her adult romance novels in 2013, with many more teen novels scheduled for the next few years. She lives in Birmingham with her husband and her son. 

www.jennifer-echols.com | http://twitter.com/jenniferechols

PERSEFoNE Blog Tour: Series Review

DON’T TURN AROUND (PERSEFoNE #1)

Sixteen-year-old Noa has been a victim of the system ever since her parents died. Now living off the grid and trusting no one, she uses her hacking skills to stay anonymous and alone. But when she wakes up on a table in a warehouse with an IV in her arm and no memory of how she got there, Noa starts to wish she had someone on her side.

Enter Peter Gregory. A rich kid and the leader of a hacker alliance, Peter needs people with Noa’s talents on his team. Especially after a shady corporation threatens his life in no uncertain terms. But what Noa and Peter don’t realize is that Noa holds the key to a terrible secret, and there are those who’d stop at nothing to silence her for good.

Don’t Turn Around: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | iTunes

DON’T LOOK NOW (PERSEFoNE #2)

Noa Torsen is on the run. Having outsmarted the sinister corporation Pike & Dolan, Noa and her friend Zeke now move stealthily across the country, protecting runaways before they become test subjects for P&D's horrific experiments. Noa knows all too well what that feels like: Whatever they did to her has left her exhausted and scared.

Back in Boston, Peter anxiously follows Noa's movements from his computer, using his hacker skills to feed her the information she needs to stay alive. But he's desperate to do something more, especially when he learns what P&D has done to his ex-girlfriend Amanda.

Then, in an explosive confrontation, Noa and her team are trapped in the one place they thought was safe. It will take everything Noa and Peter have to bring down the corporation before it gets them first. And with no one to trust and enemies hiding at every turn, they may be the only people alive who can.

This stunning second book in the critically acclaimed Don't Turn Around trilogy raises the stakes to their absolute limit and will leave readers begging for the exciting conclusion, Don't Let Go.

Don’t Look Now: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | iTunes

Today I thought that since I received both books in this series for review, I'd combine them and do a series review. Going into the first book I really had no idea what to expect. I'd read the synopsis so long ago and had been confused by it so I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into. That being said, I had no trouble becoming engaged in the story since the book dives right into the middle of the action

Noa wakes up in a sort of hospital room with no idea how she got there. The only thing she knows is that she was somehow kidnapped on her way out of her apartment and that she's being followed by terrifying people. Sure, the beginning was a bit abrupt, but you pick everything up quickly and find yourself rooting for the main characters to survive. Which leads me to the second main character, Peter. He's a rich, spoiled high school kid with girlfriend problems, but there's so much more to his character. Don't Turn Around is told in dual points of view and I found myself more interested in Peter's story. It just grasped me and I think his character was more relatable.

The plot is a never-ending sequence of action scenes. There's never a dull moment and that kept me reading well past the time I had designated myself for reading. I go to college and work so I only have certain hours to read during the day but I found myself putting other things off for reading Noa and Peter's story. Each chapter just made me want to find out what was going to happen next.

At the end of this book I wanted more of the characters (not a surprise there since I always want to dive right into sequels) so I was excited to have Don't Look Now waiting for me. If you haven't read Don't Turn Around this might be the place to stop reading. Go pick up a copy because this is a thrilling, action packed read that will have you wanting more.

***

Don't Turn Around doesn't end in a huge cliffhanger, but it's the type of story where you want to know what's next for the characters you've grown to care about. One thing that I really liked about this sequel was that Michelle Gagnon does a fantastic in recapping the second book. I think it's so well done that even if for some reason you stumbled into Don't Look Now, without having read the first book (which I'm not recommending), you'd still understand what's going on in the story. I read these back to back so I didn't need much of a recap but if there's one thing I hate about reading, it's forgetting what happens in previous books. With Don't Look Now you don't have to worry about that.

Noa and Peter have been through hell and back with this evil corporation and in Don't Look Now, we get introduced to all the other kids they've met along the way. That means that we don't only get the story from Noa and Peter's POVs but also Teo, a kid Noa saved from being experimented on and Amanda, Peter's ex girlfriend. I was so happy to read more about Amanda. I didn't particularly like her in the first book but her story becomes more interesting as the series continues and I felt so many emotions reading her parts. I've always said, multiple POVs can be tricky and disastrous, but when done right, can be oh so helpful to the story and Michelle does it right. I was never confused as to whose perspective was which.

Noa becomes more of a leader in this book because she has to guide the team of kids that are helping her find the other kids being experimented on. I love seeing her growth, even when she doubts herself Noa always stands strong and I admire that in a character. Her beliefs never waver depending on who she's around.

Another thing I liked is that the plot doesn't revolve around romance. Yeah, there is romance and I love it but the main thing is staying alive. It makes it more realistic. I know if I had a bunch of scary men chasing me, the last thing on my mind would be who I'm going to kiss. But that said, I do love the relationships in the story, whether it's simply a friendship, or something more. Plus, Noa's as emotionally awkward as I am, so that's a win in the relating department.

In comparison to the whirlwind Don't Turn Around was, this second one is a bit slower. It's more about building a team and finding ways to change the program, but I very much enjoyed the development. I'm really looking forward to the third and final book in this series, coming out this year!

Series Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★

***

Check out the rest of the tour! See what these awesome blogs thought about this series and check out some interviews with the author.

TOUR SCHEDULE

Monday, February 3rd - Chapter by Chapter

Wednesday, February 5th - Fantasy Book Addict

Friday, February 7th -  A Bookish Escape

Monday, February 10th - Ex Libris

Wednesday, February 12th - The Book Monsters

Friday, February 14th - YA Bookmark

Monday, February 17th - In the Best Worlds

Wednesday, February 19th - Adventures of a Book Junkie 

Friday, February 21st - The Real Bookshelves of Room 918

ABOUT MICHELLE GAGNON

Michelle Gagnon is the international bestselling author of thrillers for teens and adults. Described as “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for teens,” her YA technothriller DON’T TURN AROUND was recently nominated for a Thriller Award by the International Thriller Writer’s Association, and was selected as one of the best teen books of the year by Entertainment Weekly Magazine, Kirkus, Voya, and the Young Adult Library Services Association. Book 2 in the PERSEFONE trilogy, DON’T LOOK NOW, is on sale now. She splits her time between San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr | Pinterest | Goodreads

GIVEAWAY

Signed editions of both books!

***Any contestant that uses dummy or contest only accounts to enter will be disqualified.

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