Were My Allegiant Perdictions Right? *SPOILERS*

Back in May, I wrote a long list of what I thought would happen in Allegiant. Now, I decided it was time to see how many of them I got right. If you have not read Allegiant yet, stay away from this post because it has MAJOR spoilers. Take a look at the list and see what I have to say now that I've read this book. You'll be surprised of how good of a guesser I actually am. What about you? Did you guess anything correctly?

They are definitely going to go outside the fence. If they go out of it at the first of the book, I predict that they will either find another and better civilization of people, or that Tris will meet another boy on the other side and Tobias will have to fight for her. (Just because the author will love to bug us/love triangles are popular/so there are complications in the relationship.) Enough with the romance, though! I definitely think that their next conundrum (love that word) will be the horrors that wait for them on the other side of the fence, and also the shocking secrets about their society.

Wow, I was definitely right about this one. Except for the love triangle part, although I guess Nita could count because Tobias thought she was pretty and Tris was jealous of her. They did go outside the fence! This one was kind of obvious because if they didn't go outside the fence, the book would not really have a point. There was another civilization, but I'm not sure it was better than the faction systems.

 There has to be a fight! I know most girls are like, I am a lover, not a fighter, but I am a fighter and a not-so-big of a lover. And plus, every series except for Twilight, of course, I hated the Breaking Dawn ending, has an EPIC fight at the end. I hope nobody that I really love dies or gets hurt, though. I do know that good always wins, but that doesn't mean that the journey to get there is always easy. Please let there be a long, descriptive fight and a lot of obstacles!

Erm... there was a lot of action parts, although I'm not sure if there was an actual "fight." I mean, there was, but it wasn't described too much and it didn't last for very long. What do you guys think? Was there the great fight  I was expecting?

I have this feeling in my gut that someone is going to betray everyone else, and I bet that it is actually going to be Susan. WHY SUSAN, WHY? Think about it.... she is the nice, beautiful girl that is Tris's friend. Why would she be a traitor? Mwhhahhaha that is the best part because I, my friend, am no ordinary girl. And so I am thinking outside of the box, and yes, crossing the line.  Susan is the perfect traitor. Nobody sane would suspect her, but she left for Amity in Insurgent and never came back. Plus, she is big time in love with Caleb.

This was one part that really bugged me. Susan was not even MENTIONED in Allegiant. Did something happen to her in Insurgent that I forgot about, or did Roth just totally forget about her? Yeah, so I was totally wrong about this one.

Caleb. Boy do I have a lot of predictions about him. First of all, not expecting the huge bomb that he was a freaking traitor. I see a lot of 'em but  I did not see that one coming. I hate the rule of their society "Faction before blood." Families are the strongest bond of love there can ever be, especially with parents like Tris's where they loved her so much. I can not believe he betrayed his own sister that he used to love for some Erudite scum. Ugh. Okay, enough ranting about the past in Insurgent and more on the predictions. There are really only three main ways that he could go. The first one is he stays a evil traitor to his family. Tris must be heartbroken because we all know how much she loved her brother. He could be the nefarious villain in the finale to my favorite series. And if he is the villain, at least he is a smart one. I know that if he is the bad guy, that is going to be a tense quarrel between brother and sister. The second one, which would be my third choice out of the three to happen is that he redeems himself at the end by sacrificing himself for one great big cause. At least then he can be a good guy again and he helped save the world. The third option, my second favorite after the first option is that he was possessed that entire time by some evil Erudite injection but they find some way to cure it and he becomes good again. And yes, also ends up with Susan.

Caleb was a pretty important part of this book, but I didn't feel like he was a nefarious villain or a superhero. He was the guilty brother that felt bad for betraying his sister. Sure, he tried to redeem himself in the end, but he didn't even succeed in that. My overall opinion of him? I think he is a lame character. Sorry. He just didn't have as much character development in Allegiant as I hoped he would. I still don't know his true motives for betraying Tris.

I definitely think some things will be revealed about Tris's parents in Allegiant. Her mom has always been one of the most secretive and alluring characters in the Divergent trilogy. I definitely want to find out a whole bunch more about her. Why is she so interesting, you say? Well, for starters she was Dauntless before she transferred to Abnegation, of all places. That is definitely an interesting switch. From fearless and brave and strong to humble and selfless? That is a really big jump, and I think it is quite interesting that Tris went from Abnegation to Dauntless and her mom went from Dauntless to Abnegation. That just shows that Dauntless is in Tris's blood and bravery maybe is just an act of selflessness, like Tobias said. Also, she was a big part of the data that Tris found at the end of Insurgent, and a big part of whatever is on the outside of the fence. I don't think her father was a very big part of the book, or at least not as big as a part as Tris's mom, but we will have to see, I guess.

Boom! I was totally on with this prediction! We found out A LOT about her mom. A lot of ninja, whoa, totally awesome things about her. She was a very important part in this book, I thought. Tris felt more connected to her mother than she ever could have. This sentence was also spot on, (I think) "I don't think her father was a very big part of the book, or at least not as big as a part as Tris's mom, but we will have to see, I guess." I was so glad when Tris realized in Allegiant that her parents chose each other, ( like Tris and Tobias chose each other) and they loved each other.

Veronica Roth has always been good at dropping what I call the W-bombs.... whoa bombs. She actually surprises me and leaves major cliffhangers much more often than regular books. I think that in Allegiant, we are going to find out a lot of secrets about the characters and the society/world outside of them, although I have said that already. I really hope that we learn why those with Divergence are immune to the stimulations. I think it is because they cannot be brainwashed by society into one value of life, and therefore cannot be brainwashed into something created by society. So, basically, I think all the ties are going to come together and there will be a lot of W-bombs.

I really hope that the ending will surprise me. Like The False Prince by Jennifer Neilson kind of surprise ending. So many books are SOOOOOOOOOOOOO easy to predict when it comes to the ending. So I hope that something happens in the end that makes me throw the book against the wall, pick it up again, and read the passage over and over again. I hope it is gut-wrenching and cruel of Roth and I hope that I will hate it at first, but most of all, I hope that I will never see it coming, You must think I'm crazy, but I hate books that I can guess the ending and be spot on.

I definitely, never in a million years, would have guessed the ending. It was very cruel of Roth, and it tore my heart out and made me cry. *MAJOR SPOILERS***** I still can't believe that she killed Tris. I have said this more than once: Tris was my all time favorite heroine. WHAT THE HECK? I am still devastated over her death. I suggest reading the below from Veronica Roth. It explains why she wrote the ending why she did. I'm still angry, but I understand more about it now.

"ALLEGIANT SPOILERS BELOW
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

In my college creative writing program, we had a rule: during workshop, when your story is being critiqued, you aren’t allowed to say anything. This is to give your peers the freedom to interpret your work and point out the flaws in it without you shouting them down; it’s also because your defense doesn’t actually mean anything, though you might think it does. If your explanations and intentions are not clear to the reader, buried inside the text, that isn’t the reader’s fault, it’s the author’s.

Responding to readers' comments about the Divergent books has always felt the same way to me, like it would just be me shouting other people down when I should be letting them speak freely, and as badly as some criticism hurts (and it does, because I’m only human, after all), I never, ever want that.

So that’s not what I’m trying to do here. A lot of people have been asking me why Tris died at the end of Allegiant, and what I do want to do here is answer that question as well as I can. But if you’re concerned about my voice imposing itself over your own, please stop reading this post-- that's the last thing I want. I don’t want to tell you how to read these books or even to tell you there’s one right way to read them. I just want to offer you some insight into how I personally found my way to this ending, if you’re interested in hearing it.
Before I get into it, I'm going to say a few things, though:

1. You are allowed—encouraged!— to continue to feel however you want to feel, or think however you want to think, about the ending, no matter what this blog post says. I’m the author, yes, but this book is yours as well as mine now, and our voices are equal in this conversation.

2. Just because I try to do something with my writing doesn’t necessarily mean that I do it well, so there is also room to say “Okay, I understand what you’re saying, but I don’t think that what you were trying to do worked.”

I’ve said before that this ending was always a part of the plan, but one thing I want to make clear is that I didn’t choose it to shock anyone, or to upset anyone, or because I’m ruthless with my characters—no, no, no. I may have been ruthless with other characters, in the past, but not with her, never with her. And I wasn’t thinking about any readers when I wrote this book; I was thinking about the story, because trying to meet the expectations of so many readers would be paralyzing. There’s no way to please everyone, because that mythical book with the ending that every single person wants can’t exist—you want different things, each one of you. The only thing I can do, in light of that fact, is write an honest story as best I can.

What happened to Tris’s parents at the end of Divergent was in some ways the catalyst for the rest of the series. Before that point, Tris had rejected her parents’ values and beliefs in a very tangible way by choosing Dauntless. She struggled throughout Divergent to reconcile two identities: her Abnegation identity, which Four points out to her, and her Dauntless identity. It’s just before her mother gives up her life that Tris figures out how those identities fit together, combining selflessness and bravery and love for her family and love for her faction all together under one umbrella: Divergent. It’s a moment of triumph followed by a moment of total devastation, when Natalie dies so that Tris can escape. And then Andrew follows soon after.

Tris’s parents’ deaths were revelatory moments, both for Tris and for me. For Tris, they seemed to awaken her to the power of self-sacrifice out of love; she later handed over the gun to Four rather than kill him, essentially giving her life rather than taking his. She said something in that moment about the power of self-sacrifice, but her actions don’t quite apply that power in the best way—letting herself get killed, at that time, was maybe noble from a romantic perspective, but wouldn’t have saved the Dauntless from being simulation-controlled zombies, and wouldn’t have saved Tobias from his own simulation.

For me, Tris’s parents’ deaths made me realize that though Tris had tangibly abandoned her parents’ faction, she was never quite able to separate herself from them, never quite wanted to; that the true struggle of her character, the one she had never been able to let go of, was to figure out how to honor her parents while still maintaining her distinct identity. That was her struggle in Divergent in a more subtle way, but it was also her struggle in a far more obvious way in Insurgent.

Tris spent Insurgent warring with grief and guilt in light of her parents’ deaths and of her hasty actions in shooting Will to save her own life (which is the opposite of what she does for Tobias, further showing that Tris hadn’t quite figured out how to be selfless at that point). The “selfless” acts she thought she was performing in Insurgent—charging upstairs during the Erudite-Dauntless attack unarmed, spying on Max’s conversation with Jack Kang without a weapon, and then handing herself over at Erudite headquarters even when she’s asked not to—were more self-destructive than anything. She rationalized those self-destructive acts by calling them selfless, but when she was about to be executed, she realized that her parents didn’t give their lives for her just so that she could die when it wasn’t necessary. She realized that she wanted to live.

She emerged from that near-execution with new maturity: she valued her own life, she wanted to solve problems without resorting to violence, she sought truth over destruction. That Tris had not quite figured out what selflessness was to her, but she had discovered what it wasn’t: self-annihilation.

That was how Tris was at the beginning of Allegiant. She was no longer risking her life for no reason. She was still struggling with her beliefs about selflessness—but this time, she was wondering whether Caleb, when he volunteered to go on the one-way mission to the Weapons Lab, was motivated by love or guilt. She struggled with whether it was ethical to let Caleb’s sacrifice happen throughout the rest of the book. And while she was struggling with his decision, she was also struggling with her own identity; her constant questioning about what selflessness is was inextricably linked to her sense of self, as it had been for the past two books. This struggle finally came to a head when she and Caleb were running toward the Weapons Lab, and she said this: “He is a part of me, always will be, and I am a part of him, too. I don’t belong to Abnegation, or Dauntless, or even the Divergent. I don’t belong to the Bureau or the experiment or the fringe. I belong to the people I love, and they belong to me—they, and the love and loyalty I give them, form my identity far more than any word or group ever could.” (455)

After that, Tris entered the same role her parents played when they died for her. She loved and gave her life for Caleb even after he betrayed her, the same way her parents loved and gave their lives for her after she left them for Dauntless.

But this time, unlike in Insurgent, the act wasn’t self-destructive. Tris’s peculiar relationship to the serums was that she was able to overcome them (like the Dauntless fear simulations and the Candor truth serum) unless on some level she wanted them to work (like with the Amity peace serum). So when she passed through the death serum outside the Weapons Lab and it didn’t kill her, that suggested she wasn’t seeking her own destruction. She was truly acting out of love for Caleb.

At the end, she had a conversation with David where she told him her beliefs about sacrifice, that it should come from love, strength, and necessity. That was a Tris who knew what she believed about selflessness. Who knew who she was. Who knew what she wanted to do. In each book she tried to emulate her parents’ sacrifice, and in each book she didn’t seem to understand what that sacrifice really was, until Allegiant. And it’s only in Allegiant, when she had a strong sense of identity, when she had a keen understanding of what she (and her parents) believed about selflessness, that her journey was over.

I thought about reaching out with my authorial hand and snatching her from that awful situation. I thought about it and I agonized over it. But to me, that felt dishonest and emotionally manipulative. This was the end she had chosen, and I felt she had earned an ending that was as powerful as she was.

In Insurgent, before she’s “executed,” she screams into nothingness, “I’m not done yet!”

In Allegiant, she asks her mother, “Am I done yet?”

And her mother says, “Yes. My dear child, you’ve done so well.”

I understand being upset about the loss of a character you care about, and I’m so glad you care about her, because I do, too. I am proud of the way this ending mirrors those of the other books, of the way it reflects the realistic (given the dystopian, dangerous setting) losses of those books, the way it shows what Tris is truly made of, and the way it concludes her hard-earned transformation. I think her love for her brother is beautiful, powerful.

I have heard a wide range of reactions to the book, and I accept and respect all of those reactions as valid. But my personal feelings about the ending haven’t changed. I will miss her, that Tris voice in my head. But I’m so, so proud of her strength."


For all the girls out there reading this list, I know what you are saying, what the boys out there are begging me not to say. "Please, Sarah, please." Okay, okay, I will say it: There is definitely going to be some mushy gushy lovey dovey stuff. Like kissing, and romantic things that will be said etc. etc. I really hope I get a new romantic quote because the last one was from the Forgotten Locket that I read ages ago. It goes something like this:
"I won't catch you if you fall because I won't need to. You were always meant to fly."
Well anyway, anyone who hopes that this is not going to happen, all the kissing and hugging scenes, it is going to happen. This is partly a romance book and in a romance you don't just do nothing.

Yes, there was a lot of romance between Tris and Tobias. I enjoyed MOST of it. I didn't get a new favorite romantic quote. What about you? Any romantic lines that you particularly liked? I'd love to hear them. :)

I know there are going to be relationship problems between Tobias and Tris. There has to be. Tobias is not the romantic all the time guy like Edward Cullen. No. He is a bad boy who is learning to be fearless and loving a girl in the process. Everyone has been saying they hated Insurgent because there were so many romantic complications. My reply to that on Goodreads was:
"I mean geez everyone I knows complains about the complications with the relationships and the character development. News flash: This is a book about real life, people.

And yeah, it is a romance, but that's not the whole point of it. Part of it is a crumbling society trying to find bravery.

As for the relationship complications, I loved them. It kept me hooked, and I always feel like romances in books nowdays  are too perfect. This one was great because in real life, you are never not going to fight with the one that you love. It was much more real, and they actually have LOVE, not some mushy teenage hormones."

I really hope Veronica Roth keeps it that way but also gives us some romance that we want.

Yes, this one was also correct. There were plenty relationship complications, including the fact that TRIS DIED!!! I don't care what Roth wrote. I wrote an Epilogue where Tobias dies of old age and sees Tris again in heaven. Their kind of love doesn't just last for their mortality. I do believe in an afterlife, because I'm LDS. (You can see more about my religion at www.lds.org) Ugh. Just ugh.

I hope to see Tris overcome some of her fears..... and her depression over loosing her parents. I felt so sad for her when she lost them, and I really hope that Tobias will stop being a jerk about telling her to stop being so depressed. I mean, geez. Plus, she really should get over some of her fears and maybe Tobias will stop being afraid of loosing her and just love her instead. (In case y'all don't remember, his fear of his father was replaced by loosing Tris. I know that they can't become fearless, but I hope they will become brave.

Um, there wasn't really any eliminating of their fears, but they did become brave.

Let me know what you thought about Allegiant in the comments below. Did you guess anything correctly?

My Christmas List

Make My Christmas List!

 

All I want for Christmas is a lot of books, a lot of books, a lot of books. All I want for Christmas is a lot of books, a lot of books, a lot of books. Yes, you guessed it, dearest readers!!!

 

 

Which means that YOU get to create my Christmas List. Comment below some awesome books (that you do not see on my Book Reviews Page) that you think I would love. If you could add a synopsis or tell me some stuff about it, that would be great also. So get commenting and tell me some great books!

Allegiant

Allegiant

When her body first hit the net, all I registered was a gray blur. I pulled her across it and her hand was small, but warm, and then she stood before me, short and thin and plain and in all ways unremarkable- except that she had jumped first. The Stiff had jumped first.
Even I didn't jump first.
Her eyes were so stern, so insistent.
Beautiful.

I'm still...... I'm still in shock. I can't. I just can't.

I'm going to do this book review different than any of the other book reviews I've ever written. This was the last book in my favorite series, and it deserves to be important, beautiful. I'm not going to tell you that this will be spoiler free, because it probably won't be. I won't tell you who dies, even though there are many deaths, some that will impact you more than others. I'm only going to include my review of this book... and if you have read the first two, please read this. I won't spoil any major plot points or give away the very unexpected ending. Let me tell you something about this ending. When I was looking through the spoiler-free Allegiant reviews, everyone was saying the same thing, the ending was heartbreaking.

Dear readers, it was.
Something I can tell you about me? I have never shed a single tear while reading a book. I held it in after reading Where the Red Fern Grows, bit my lip to keep it from trembling when I finished the Fault in Our Stars. This ending, I could not take. My eyesight grew blurry, until finally, five small tears dripped onto the final page. Despite this, I was smiling through my tears.



Did I like the ending? Heck no. It sucked. It broke my heart about a million freaking times right in a row. Should you still read this book? Yes, you still need to finish the series, and you must know what happens. The big question that everyone asks: Do they go outside the fence? The answer, really, won't spoil much because it is kind of obvious, and introduced early in the book. Yes, yes, they do. And what they find beyond it-it's life changing.

I don't belong to Abnegation, or Dauntless, or even to Divergent. I belong to the people I love, and they belong to me-they, and the love and loyalty I give them, form my identity far more than any word or group ever could.

This review is currently over... because I can't even... I can't. I will post a longer and less... infuriatingly confusing review after I have at least some time to process this.

IT'S HERE

Allegiant is here! In case you didn't see the midnight reading of the first chapter- click on the video above!!!!!!!
AHHH I AM FREAKING OUT!!!! asdfghjkl; asdfghjkl; AHH AHAHAHA AHHAHAHAHAH! I'm going to the store in a matter of hours to buy my copy of Allegiant! A bigger fangirling post will be posted later today, along with pics of me holding ALLEGIANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Comment Wars #1

Comment Wars Monday

Mondays are my least favorite day of the whole week. So, to make them more fun, I've started a new meme called Comment Wars. Answer the question in purple in your comments. Whoever has the best answer or the longest answer gets to choose the question for the Comment Wars next Monday!

As all of you know, I love the Divergent series. And if you look at the countdown in my sidebar, you will see that there is little over FIVE hours left until Allegiant is released!!! I have never been so excited for a book release in my life. So, in honor of Allegiant being released, my fellow Initiates, the Comment War question is:

What are the top ten things you want or don't want to happen in Allegiant? Which characters do you think will not make it to the end of the series?

So what are you waiting for? Get typing in those comments! This contest is over 24 hours from now. Have fun! ( I will post my answers TOMORROW before I go to the store to pick up my copy! YIPEEEEEEEE!)
Love,
Sarah

The House of Hades

Book Title: House of Hades
Author: Rick Riordan
Number of Pages: 597
Genres: Mythology, Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction, Action-Adventure
Books like it: The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter,  Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan.
My favorite quote:

“Maybe love was no match for ice...but Piper had used it to wake a metal dragon. Mortals did superhuman feats in the name of love all the time. Mothers lifted cars to save their children. And Piper was more than just a mortal. She was a demigod. A hero.”

Brief Synopsis from Goodreads:

At the conclusion of The Mark of Athena, Annabeth and Percy tumble into a pit leading straight to the Underworld. The other five demigods have to put aside their grief and follow Percy’s instructions to find the mortal side of the Doors of Death. If they can fight their way through the Gaea’s forces, and Percy and Annabeth can survive the House of Hades, then the Seven will be able to seal the Doors both sides and prevent the giants from raising Gaea. But, Leo wonders, if the Doors are sealed, how will Percy and Annabeth be able to escape?

They have no choice. If the demigods don’t succeed, Gaea’s armies will never die. They have no time. In about a month, the Romans will march on Camp Half-Blood. The stakes are higher than ever in this adventure that dives into the depths of Tartarus.

My Summary:
 
(I love this.... so much.)
Oh my gosh. I had my worries about this book.... because, well you know Rick Riordan. He isn't always the type of author that gives us what we want. But this book was awesome! I was so worried we would not hear anything from Percy and Annabeth, who fell into Tartarus at the end of The Mark of Athena. However, their POVs made up more than half the book. The only down side was, my favorite new HoO series character, Piper, only had two whole chapters in the entire book from her POV. One REALLY big plus is my favorite mythology character from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series came back!
I won't tell you who it is, though. That's just mean.
Another plus to add in the introductory paragraph of this review. While we're at it, anyway. This had the best dedication page possibly ever.

“To my wonderful readers:
Sorry about that last cliff-hanger.
Well, no, not really. HAHAHAHA.
But seriously, I love you guys.”

Next up: The actual summary, full of a whole bunch of quotes! Stay tuned. Again, *MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD* for those who have not read the Mark of Athena.

The House of Hades starts off right where the (quite literal) cliffhanger of The Mark of Athena left off. Jason, Leo, Piper, Hazel, Frank, and Nico must open the Doors of Death on the mortal side, while Percy and Annabeth fight fate in the depths of Tartarus to reach the Doors of Death there. They will have to survive the poisonous atmosphere, drink fire to stay alive, and face all the enemies they killed in the past. Will they make it to the Doors in time to stop Gaea from awakening? Can they stay alive, despite all the trials they will face?

Annabeth pressed her lips to Percy’s ear. “I love you.”
She wasn’t sure he could hear her—but if they died, she wanted those to be her last words.

In the fourth installment to the intense Heroes of Olympus series, you will encounter shocking twists, heart-pounding action scenes, secrets that you could have never guessed, and more about the characters than you could ever imagine. This adventure will keep you turning its pages until a shocking end.
 Leo:
You are welcome for that vague introduction. Let us move on to the characters and other adventures they will be having that are very minor spoiler ish. First off, Leo. Poor little mechanic with no love life, despite his awesome fire power and sense of humor. He will encounter some unfriendly thieves where he.... well, let's say they might cause him to loose his pants. He also has a few chapters with the before mentioned character from the Percy Jackson series. {Those chapters might have been one of my favorite parts in the book...}

"Oh, I'm sorry!" {Leo} said. "I just fell out of the sky. I constructed a helicopter in midair, burst into flames halfway down, crash landed, and barely survived. But by all means.... Let's talk about your dining table!"
Here is a quote from him, and a snippet from the scene where he misplaces his *ahem* pants.

Misplaces Pants....

Akmon pulled a ratchet wrench from the tool belt and spun it like a noisemaker. “Oh, very nice! I’m definitely keeping this! Thanks, Blue Bottom!”
Blue Bottom?
Leo glanced down. His pants had slipped around his ankles again, revealing his blue undershorts. “That’s it!” he shouted. “My stuff. Now. Or I’ll show you how funny a flaming dwarf is.”
His hands caught fire.

Funny Leo Quote:

“Stupid rock gods!” Leo yelled from the helm. “That’s the third time I’ve had to replace that mast! You think they grow on trees?”
Nico frowned. “Masts are from trees.”
“That’s not the point!”

Piper:
Moving on from Leo.... let's see. How about Piper? My favorite quote from this book was actually from her. (Look above to see.) She became a brave little bugger, a hero, and not just the daughter of the goddess of love and beauty. (By the way, Jason and Nico have a nasty little run in with Cupid, the god of love. For someone who is supposed to be loveable, he is an absolute jerk.) It is kind of hard to talk about her because she didn't have a very big part in this book. Only two chapters, and in the chapters with the other characters POV, she was not mentioned very much. When she was mentioned though, she was an awesome heroine.

Jason:

Man, I wasn't sure about Jason in The Lost Hero. He seemed full of secrets and untrustworthy. I am so in love with him now! He kicks butt in this book, dear readers. He is noble and heroic, and always jumping in to save the day. He is a great leader, with some self-sacrifices thrown in here and there. I thought I would never say this.... but he is almost as amazing as Percy. He goes on many missions, including one with Nico to confront Cupid and find a scepter, and another with Leo to get back some things that were stolen from them. It seems like the poor guy never gets his rest. He's going to save the world from Gaea, I know it! I just feel like he tries so hard to be friendly to others, but he is just...too awkward. He's not really a people person.... oh well.

Percy and Annabeth:
I have to do them together, because, well, they are not meant to be separated. Tartarus is not
an easy place to get through, trust me. There is a poisonous atmosphere that makes their throats feel like fire and covers their skin in blisters. They encounter many of their old enemies, none of which are particularly happy to see them, including Kelli, the vampire like creature that was posing as a cheerleader, and also some very naughty creatures called the arai. When they kill one, it curses them by inflicting them with the same pain they killed a particular monster with. That might sound a little confusing, but I know for sure it is not at all pleasant.

[Annabeth's] voice caught on the word friend. Percy was a lot more than that. Even boyfriend really didn't cover it. They'd been through so much together, at this point Percy was part of her--a sometimes annoying part, sure, but definitely a part she could not live without.

Let's just close on them by saying they do have a huge part in this book, you will look forward to reading their chapters, and there is never a single dull moment with them. Tartarus is out to get them, and it wants them dead.

Frank:
Dude, this guy is not the wimpy Roman/Chinese guy I thought he was. I mean, sure, he can turn into animals, and that alone is just cool. I just always thought for a son of Mars/Ares (whichever) he was kind of a big wimp. He puts on his big boy pants in this book, ladies and gentlemen and other creatures. He has some awesome action scenes where he singlehandedly saves the day. One of them involves lots of cows, and the other involves a lot of ghosts. He grows taller and buffer and I'm actually kind of jealous of Hazel now.



(While we are going along with the Captain America theme.....)

Hazel:
In my opinion, this story is definitely Hazel's. She is the most awesome back-from the dead thirteen year old I know. Well, she's the only back-from the dead thirteen year old I know. She gets a visit from Hecate, the goddess of crossroads. Hecate convinces her that she needs to learn to control the Mist in order to defeat a goddess that only Hazel can defeat herself. Her ability to pull gems out of the ground comes in handy more than once. I can't really tell you much about her without spoiling big story points. She has that big of part in the story.

Nico:
Yes, I know Nico is not one of the seven, and he does not have a POV in this story. However, he grows throughout this book and we learn why he is so closed off and always feels like he doesn't feel like he belongs. Also, a BIG secret about him comes out when he is on the quest with Jason to get the scepter from Cupid. I think you will like his character development in this book.

In conclusion: I know this has been a very long and probably confusing review and I congratulate you for making it through. This book was amazing and Riordan stepped up his game. And yes, I will give you some relief: the ending is not as bad as the Mark of Athena. This time it is not a (quite literal) cliffhanger.
Cautions for Parents: NA

Review: 4.5 stars

First Review of Allegiant

Okay, yes, I know I have not posted in a LONG LONG LONG time. I apologize for that- but I'm pretty sure all you Divergent lovers will forgive me because I have some great news-
THE FIRST EVER REVIEW OF ALLEGIANT!!!!
Sadly, I did not write this. I am not that awesome. Veronica Roth stated there would be no ARCs of Allegiant because she wanted all of her fans to experience it together. And despite the fact that there was an Allegiant Leak a few weeks ago, she has tried to keep true to her word. However, EW posted the first ever review a few days ago- and it is shocking. I was hoping something like this wouldn't happen.
Word of advice- don't cry after reading this. It makes your eyes red and blotchy.
Minor spoilers, a new quote, and other stuff. This makes me less excited to read Allegiant and more nervous. If you can wait until Tuesday, don't read this. If you HAVE TO KNOW, then go right ahead. Don't say I didn't warn you, because, well, I did.

In case you can't read the pic above:

"Veronica Roth is no George R.R. Martin — but in the final installment of her Divergent trilogy, she shows a similar merciless streak. Barely six chapters in, Roth brutally offs a character who's been around since the first book. The message: In this dystopian universe, nobody is safe.
Of course, Roth is merely following in the footsteps of giants like J.K. Rowling and Suzanne Collins, both of whom wrapped their own sagas after racking up the body counts. Their influence can be felt throughout Allegiant, as can that of The Truman Show, M. Night Shyamalan's The Village, and every superhero story centered on a Christ figure. (So, every superhero story.) And the plot, which finds Roth's characters venturing beyond their city's walls only to discover a new network of conspiracies, is straight out of the sci-fi handbook, clumsy racism allegory and all.
None of this will matter to Roth's fans, who thrill to the heart-pounding immediacy of her writing and swoon over Tobias, the damaged dreamboat who co-narrates Allegiant with his true love, Tris. If you've already been sucked into Roth's world, you'll appreciate the book's twisty plot — which provides needed context for the series' prefabricated society — and its chastely torrid Tris/Tobias love scenes (''I am like the blade, and he is like the whetstone''). Others may not get what the fuss is about until they reach the novel's shocking ending. Perhaps Roth is more dauntless than her role models after all. B+"

What do you all think of this review? Others have commented, including fans that received a copy due to the Allegiant Leak, saying the ending was terrible. This sort of makes me uneasy for Tuesday. Can't get your hands on a copy right away? Never fear- I will post a short review on Thursday or Wednesday, and an even longer one on Friday.

Also, Rick Riordan fans- I will be posting my review of House of Hades next!

Stupid Moment!

I am so stupid sometimes. Monique at Mo Books nominated me for the Liebster Award a long time ago, and I never saw the comment until today, when she reminded me about it. So, here are the answers to her questions. Thanks a million, Monique, and sorry for the delay. :)

1. What are you currently reading?
Currently I'm reading House of Hades by Rick Riordan, The Originals by Cat Patrick, The Runaway King by Jennifer Neilsen, and The Maze Runner by James Dashner. (I kind of read a lot of books at the same time.)
 2. What is your favorite book(s) of all time?
Definitely Divergent by Veronica Roth. I love the unique style of writing that she has, all of her characters, and hands down the plot is AMAZINGLY FANTABULOUS. There are now eight days left until Allegiant is released, and asdfjkl; I cannot handle waiting. 
I have no more words to describe how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this series.
 3. How did you come up with your blogs name?
My favorite song (during that time) was Enchanted by Taylor Swift, so I called it Enchanted By A Book, and it kind of stuck. You should definitely check out the song sometime. I still love it.
 4. Who are your top 3 book boyfriends?
1st- Four/Tobias Eaton- Divergent by Veronica Roth
2nd- Prince Maxon- The Selection by Kiera Cass
 3rd- William Herondale- The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare
 5. Do you have a favorite book quote?
“Peter would probably throw a party if I stopped breathing.'
'Well,' he says, 'I would only go if there was cake.”-Divergent, Veronica Roth.   
 6. Do you have any of your own personal memes on your blog?
Not currently. I would have some, but I don't have a cute picture thingy to go with it. ;)
 7. If you could meet any author, past or present, who would it be?
Hands down Veronica Roth. I love her books so much and would do anything to meet her. It would be an absolute dream come true. I would probably freeze up and not be able to say anything but "You-you're Ver-veroni-Veronica Ro-rot-roth" over and over, and she would keep saying, "Yes, Sarah, yes I am."
 8.  Have any bookish pet peeves?
Oh my gosh, I hate it when my books have a rip in the cover, or are slightly bent, or have a ripped page, or a chocolate stain, or anything else that makes my books imperfect.
 9. What are your favorite genres?
Anything fictional- I've kind of gone with the popular genre right now and I love dystopia. Other than that genre, I love sci-fi, action packed books that remind me of superhero movies.
 10. If you could be a character from any book, travel to any world, who would you be? Where would you go? And (again from any book) who would you bring with you?
That is a really hard question. I don't think I would be able to pick, because there are always conflicts in a story that I wouldn't want to deal with. I'm not really a heroic sort of gal.  :)

First Blog Award

Wow, so I was nominated for my FIRST BLOG AWARD! This is huge, guys! I would like to say a HUGE thank you to Rose at Desert Rose Reviews. Her blog is amazing. You should definitely follow her! So, what is this award? It is called the Liebster Award.

Basically, it is just an award for new and/or fun blogs. I was so excited to receive this award! For those bloggers that I nominate, here are the rules:

- Link back the blogger that tagged you.

- Answer the questions of the one who tagged you.

- Nominate ten other blogs/bloggers.

- Ask ten questions for the bloggers you nominate.

- Let your nominees know of their awards and tag backs.

 

My Answers

1. What inspired you to create your blog?

 

I love reading and writing and doing things on the Internet. So, of course, I thought, why not just combine ALL three? Yes, I know, absolutely brilliant. :)

 2. How long have you been blogging?

Before I had this blog, I had another blog called Good Young Adult Books. It's gone now, but I did that blog for about two years and have done this one for about one.

 3. What is your favorite book genre?

Wow, that's a tough one. I suppose it is mostly sci-fi action books, mainly dystopia. I like books who offer new ideas instead of completely copying other authors.

4. Do you have a favorite book?  If so, what is it?

Oh sparkles. That's like asking a mother to pick her favorite child. I love SO many books, including The Selection by Kiera Cass, After the Fear by Rosanne Rivers, and The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, but I would have to say my favorite book is definitely Divergent by Veronica Roth. I just love how she describes her action scenes, and how the romance between Four and Tris is not a typical "boy is so romantic, girl gushes over him" sort of thing.

5. Do you have a favorite author?  If so, who?

I don't really have a favorite author. I really like Rick Riordan and Gail Carson Levine.

 

6. Do you have a favorite book character?  If so, who/what?

I really love Tris from Divergent by Veronica Roth. Unlike Bella Swan (no offense to Twilight lovers) Tris has backbone and ambitions. She fights for what's right, makes good choices, and is selfless, brave, and daring. She has fears, but does her best to overcome them. She is kind to others, but also worries for her own safety. She isn't worried about being pretty or fitting in, and she isn't afraid to voice her thoughts. I also love her relationship with Four (like I said in question 4) because she isn't worried about what he thinks about her all the time, and the imperfectness of their relationship makes it more real. She is just an amazing character.

 

7. Do you remember the book that sparked your love of books?  If so, what book was it?

Wow, that's hard. I think it was Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling. I was fascinated by the fantasy and magic in it, because I really do not like nonfiction that much. I wondered if other books were that fascinating, and so I kept reading, and by fifth grade I was reading at a college level. :) Not to brag or anything, though.

8. What is your favorite film adaptation of a book?

Ooh, great question. I really liked the Hobbit, because that is the only movie in the whole world (in my opinion) that is better than the book. I thought (Hobbit lovers don't hate me, please!) that the Hobbit had SUCH good action parts, and the author didn't write them very well or prolong them for as long as I wanted. The movie, however, was AWESOME! If you haven't seen it, I definitely recommend watching it.

 

9. Hardcover, paperback or eBook?

Oh, I do know this answer, without an absolute doubt!!!!! I love hardbacks. For some reason, the nicer, harder cover makes me feel better than a flimsy paperback. I would much rather have a hardback than a paperback, for no really logical reason. (Of course it's the most expensive out of the three.) I have a Kindle, but I like having physical copies more because it is so much easier to go back to my favorite parts of the book. Also, I can loan physical copies to people.

10. What are 3 things you enjoy doing, besides reading or blogging?

1. Listening to music/singing. I will admit that I do not have the prettiest voice in the entire world. I'm more of a "jam out into a spoon or hairbrush" type of person. I bother the neighbors quite often. I probably listen to music 98% of the time. In fact, right now I am listening to Fine by Me by Andy Grammer. I love country music and pop music. My favorite artists are Taylor Swift (more of her older songs), Luke Bryan, Randy Houser, Maroon 5, and Owl City. And a heck of a lot more.

2. Watching movies. Most people know that I am SO in love with action movies. Name a movie that isn't Rated R (I'm a Mormon) that you think fits into the action movie catergory and I have probably seen it. My favorite movie is Iron Man 3. I've also seen Avengers, all the Batman movies, old and new; all the Iron Mans, Xmen, and Mission Impossibles, Thor, The Hobbit, Green Lantern, Superman, and the Amazing Spiderman, as well as the old Spiderman movies. That was probably a run-on sentence, sorry. Well, just to name a few. My only other favorite kind of movies are MUSICALS! (Mama Mia, Hairspray, Westside Story, Singing In the Rain, Meet Me In Saint Louis, Newsies, etc.) I don't really like chick-flicks, but I do love Pride and Prejudice and Titanic.

3. Watching sports and playing (most of them.) My favorite sport is football. :)

Blogs I Nominated:

 

And So The Book Begins

A Sunny Spot Blog

Lii's Adventures in Bookland

Scott Reads It

The Bookstop

The Queen of Teen Fiction

Clean Teen Fiction

21st Century Once Upon A Time

 Young Adult Book Haven
Feed Me Books Now
 

 

 

My Questions for those awesome bloggers:

1. Have you ever heard a song that you thought described a book perfectly? If so, what book was it and what was the song?

 

2. If you could have any power or ability from a book character, what would the power or ability be and which character is that from?

 

3. Why, in your opinion, are books so much better than movies?

 

4. What is your favorite dessert or candy?

 

5. What is the closest casting choice (in a book to film) to how you imagined that character?

 

6. What is the most unique book you have ever read?

 

7. What is the coolest character name you have ever encountered in a book?

 

8. What is your all-time favorite book quote and what book was it from?

 

9. What is a scene from a book that you wish the author would have done completely different? How would you have written that scene?

 

10. What is the craziest dream or nightmare that you've had? (Try to describe the crazy details.)

 

 

 



Geek Girl

Book Title: Geek Girl
Author: Holly Smale
Number of Pages: 378
Genres: Humor, YA Fiction, Romance
Books like it: The Summer I Became A Nerd by Leah Rae Miller

My favorite quote: “Nobody hopped into a wardrobe to find Narnia; they hopped in, thinking it was just a wardrobe. They didn't climb up the Faraway Tree, knowing it was a Faraway Tree; they thought it was just a really big tree. Harry Potter thought he was a normal boy; Mary Poppins was supposed to be a regular nanny. It's the first and only rule. Magic comes when you're not looking for it.”

Brief Synopsis from Goodreads:
Harriet Manners knows a lot of things.

She knows that a cat has 32 muscles in each ear, a "jiffy" lasts 1/100th of a second, and the average person laughs 15 times per day. What she isn't quite so sure about is why nobody at school seems to like her very much. So when she's spotted by a top model agent, Harriet grabs the chance to reinvent herself. Even if it means stealing her Best Friend's dream, incurring the wrath of her arch enemy Alexa, and repeatedly humiliating herself in front of the impossibly handsome supermodel Nick. Even if it means lying to the people she loves.

As Harriet veers from one couture disaster to the next with the help of her overly enthusiastic father and her uber-geeky stalker, Toby, she begins to realise that the world of fashion doesn't seem to like her any more than the real world did.

And as her old life starts to fall apart, the question is: will Harriet be able to transform herself before she ruins everything?

My Review:

 

This book is by Holly Smale, one of the authors on our Author Tour in January! She is a wonderful author, with a touch of humor and cute message about self-discovery. The first time I heard about this book was from Sunny at A Super Sunny Spot. I usually only read books about, you know, zombies, the world ending, etc. etc. So when I picked up this book, I wasn't sure what I would think about it.
Read the entire thing in one day.

That's how great it was! Not even kidding. This book maybe, to some people, isn't inspirational, but to me it really was. It was about a geek who didn't have any friends and wasn't okay with herself, so she tried to change. The truth was that she was an amazing person and she didn't need to change- not one bit.

Sorry, that just totally reminded me of that quote from Taylor Swift. I loved the message of being yourself and not changing to fit in.

I am Harriet Manners, and I am a geek.

So, anyway. What the heck is this story about anyway? Harriet Manners is a geek. She knows the most random (yet interesting) facts. The only downside of this is that she is totally NOT popular. Except for her best friend Nat and her super geeky stalker Toby, she has no friends. In fact, they all think she is a geek. Someone even writes GEEK in big letters on her book bag, which, may I point out, is very rude. In short, Harriet is not the coolest gal in school.

When her opportunity comes to change that, she takes it.
Harriet is offered Nat's dream job: to become a model. A top modeling agency spots Harriet on a fashion fieldtrip, and thinks she is interesting and new. This job includes trips to foreign countries, wearing pretty dresses, and becoming famous. It is like nothing Harriet has ever experienced.

She accepts.
(May I point out this was an amazing choice?!?!?!?)




Why hello, geeky girl. You're beautiful. I'm Nick, a gorgeous male model. Would you like to drool over me some more?
Nick is a gorgeous model who has an interest in Harriet.... but that is not the point of this story. Anyway.

“Our stories are driven by who we are and what we do, not by the events that happen to us."

Ahem... where was I? Gorgeous male models? Erm, no. Sorry. Back to the story. So Harriet heads to Russia and does her first photo shoot. It goes fairly well, until she does something completely different and unexpected that makes national news. Which is great, (not really) because now her friend Nat knows a) Harriet stole her dream and b) Harriet lied to her. Not a great thing to do to your best (and only) friend. Harriet's life starts to fall apart, and she realizes it is a better life than she thought.
Sometimes you don't know what you have until you loose it.  

"....stop caring what people who don’t matter think of you. Be who you are and let everybody else be who they are. Differences are a good thing. It would be a terribly boring world if we were all the same.”

(Harriet's amazing quote. One of my favorites.)

Harriet will discover she is more than she thought- and maybe being a geek isn't so bad after all. And there is more to her than being a geek.

Here is some humor to end it:

“My name," I tell Wilbur in the most dignified voice I can find, "Was inspired by Harriet Quimby, the first female American pilot and the first woman ever to cross the Channel in an aeroplane. My mother chose it to represent freedom and bravery and independence, and she gave it to me just before she died."

There's a short pause while Wilbur looks appropriately moved. Then Dad says, "Who told you that?"
"Annabel did."
"Well, it's not true at all. You were named after Harriet the tortoise, the second longest living tortoise in the world."

There's a silence while I stare at Dad and Annabel puts her head in her hands so abruptly that the pen starts to leak into her collar. "Richard," she moans quietly.
"A tortoise?" I repeat in dismay. "I'm named after a tortoise? What the heck is a tortoise supposed to represent?"
"Longevity?”  
......

“Tortoises are incredible creatures," Dad says earnestly. "What they lack in elegance and beauty they more than make up for in the ability to curl up and defend themselves from predators."
"What, like me?”  

Also, there is a hilarious character named Wilbur who calls Harriet about a million different funny names. He reminds me of Frank from Father of the Bride. That's all I'm going to say about him and you can read more about him- when you read the book.

Review: 4.5 stars

Unremembered

Book Title: Unremembered
Author: Jessica Brody
Number of Pages: 307
Genres: Mystery, Suspense, YA-Fiction, Romance  
Books like it: Origin by Jessica Khoury

My favorite quote:

“Forgetting who you are is so much more complicated than simply forgetting your name. It's also forgetting your dreams. Your aspirations. What makes you happy. What you pray you'll never have to live without. It's meeting yourself for the first time, and not being sure of your first impression.”

Brief Synopsis from Goodreads:

When Freedom Airlines flight 121 went down over the Pacific Ocean, no one ever expected to find survivors. Which is why the sixteen-year-old girl discovered floating among the wreckage—alive—is making headlines across the globe.

Even more strange is that her body is miraculously unharmed and she has no memories of boarding the plane. She has no memories of her life before the crash. She has no memories period. No one knows how she survived. No one knows why she wasn’t on the passenger manifest. And no one can explain why her DNA and fingerprints can’t be found in a single database in the world.

Crippled by a world she doesn’t know, plagued by abilities she doesn’t understand, and haunted by a looming threat she can’t remember, Seraphina struggles to piece together her forgotten past and discover who she really is. But with every clue only comes more questions. And she’s running out of time to answer them.

Her only hope is a strangely alluring boy who claims to know her from before the crash. Who claims they were in love. But can she really trust him? And will he be able to protect her from the people who have been making her forget?

From popular young adult author Jessica Brody comes a compelling and suspenseful new sci-fi series, set in a world where science knows no boundaries, memories are manipulated, and true love can never be forgotten.

My Summary:
Unremembered is about a girl who miraculously survives a plane crash. However, all her memories are wiped and she can remember nothing about her past. Everyone is flabbergasted by the fact that she survived, because she is the only survivor. The other thing that adds to the mystery is there is no record of her boarding the plane.
And no one in the world seems to know her.

“…[voids] can be as short as the blink of an eye, or they can be infinite. Consuming your entire existence in a flash of meaningless white. Leaving you with nothing. No memories. No names. No faces.”

Except for a boy who calls himself Zander. He claims that he knows this girl, and tells her that her name is Sera. He tells her she is different, and that they are in love and she needs to trust him. In fact, he insists that she never boarded the plane in the first place.
She knows this sounds crazy.
She knows she shouldn't believe him.
But there are some things she can't explain. How she can do a math problem no human being has ever solved in less than a minute. Why she knocks off her foster parent's car door with no effort.
She is different.
And she knows nothing about herself, or her past.
But maybe her past is better being unremembered.

“Trust your heart. It's the only thing that will never lie to you.”  

A strange romantic mystery with twists and turns that will keep you perplexed, Unremembered is definitely a book that you need to read next.

I LOVED THIS BOOK! Seriously. It was amazing. The ending was so unexpected, I never in a million years could have guessed it. You might be super confused at first, but I promise you will understand everything and it will make perfect sense. Also, the romance is kind of nice.*Giggles.*
Of course, it is possible I had too much sugar this morning.......


If  this review makes absolutely no sense to you, I apologize. Maybe you should just take my word for it and read the book.

Review: 4.5 stars

Stung

Book Title: Stung
Author: Bethany Wiggins
Number of Pages: 304
Genres: Romance, Dystopian, Thriller, Fairytale-Retellings
Books like it: Cinder by Marissa Meyer, The Ward by Jordana Frankel

My favorite quote:

“I will not die without fighting for a life I am not yet done living.”

Brief Synopsis from Goodreads: There is no cure for being stung.

Fiona doesn’t remember going to sleep. But when she opens her eyes, she discovers her entire world has been altered—her house is abandoned and broken, and the entire neighborhood is barren and dead. Even stranger is the tattoo on her right hand—a black oval with five marks on either side—that she doesn’t remember getting but somehow knows she must cover at any cost. She’s right.

Those bearing the tattoo have turned into mindless, violent beasts that roam the streets and sewers, preying upon the unbranded while a select few live protected inside a fortress-like wall, their lives devoted to rebuilding society and killing all who bear the mark.

Now Fiona has awakened branded, alone—and on the wrong side of the wall.

My Summary:

I mostly picked up this book because of the title and the cover. I thought it seemed interesting enough when I read the summary on the back cover, so checked it out at the library and read it. 

Here's the bottom line: A really creative twist on Sleeping Beauty with an interesting dystopian plot and action scenes; but a super cheesy romance. 

This book takes place in the future, where bees have gone completely extinct. It has a huge impact on society. With no bees to pollenate fruits and vegetables, they, along cows and horses, slowly dwindle off, until most of the food in the world can no longer be found.   In a desperate effort to save the human race, scientists create a new species of genetically engineered bees. However, this new species of bees makes the catastrophe so much worse. 

The bees start stinging humans, and in their venom is a flu that is deadly and unexpected. As the flu infects more and more people, the scientists make a last effort to save humanity. They create a vaccine to fight the flu. It seems to be working, until something strange starts happening. Those who have been given the vaccine are turning into crazed, violent animals with no thoughts about anything except killing those who are not crazed. The more vaccine they have been given, the crazier they are. 

Fiona or "Fo" wakes up, her world broken and different. The last thing she remembers is blowing out the candles of her thirteenth birthday party. Four years have passed, and a tattoo she doesn't remember getting is branded on her arm. 

Soon, she discovers she is a Level Ten, the most dangerous and crazed of all the infected. Everyone expects her to go crazy and kill them all, but she stays completely calm and very human like. This blows the minds of everyone around her, but she isn't safe. Some very dangerous people want her for a reason she doesn't know. On the run, hunted by everyone-can she stay alive?
 

  Doesn't this sound like an amazing book? Yes? It would be if it wasn't *THE CHEESIEST ROMANCE* I have ever read. Yes. No doubt the cheesiest. I came across this line in the middle of the book, after, A FEW PAGES BEFORE- he had her in shackles and was kicking her and being a totally meanie-

“I would rather die a thousand times at your hands than see you captured. Even if you eat my heart. Because you already own it.”



WHAT THE??!?!?!
Is anyone else bothered by this? Seriously? Because if someone was calling me names and had been my childhood bully, on top of everything, I would totally not like him. Even if he was hot.
Ladies and gentlemen.... we have another one of those female characters that is so into a guy after their two day romance that she "has no purpose living with out him." Come on, girl. You realized you liked this guy, like what, two hours ago? Maybe kissed him once or twice? How about the fact that you are THE LAST HOPE FOR HUMANITY?!? Get over this guy! He's no Mr. Darcy or Four or Zachary Goode, that's for sure. More like a new version of Robert Pattison without the fangs or the glittery skin.
Deep breaths, Sarah. You told yourself you would get over that movie.

*Sobs* This book just had such a good plot. Why did you ruin it, Bowen? Why????
I am so done.
Goodbye.

Review: 2.5 stars (For the plot. The romance gets ZERO points.)

Reading Next: Reboot by Amy Tintera

The One Cover Release

Now, normally I love action scenes, blowing up cars, girls kicking butt.... that kind of stuff. But the one girly series I really like is the Selection.
So I was wandering around on her blog yesterday, and I SAW THE COVER FOR THE ONE!!!
It was like slow motion.
What...
The.....
Oh my cheese and crackers it's here!! It's finally here!  YIPEE!
So gorgeous. Take a look.

I absolutely love the dress. Does anyone think it's a coincidence that the dresses in the series are red, white, and blue, and her name is America? Because I don't. Oh yeah, and below are the covers for the Selection Stories and The Guard.

Have a wonderful day!