The Darkest Part Of The Forest - Book Review

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

Published January 13th 2015 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers 

Children can have a cruel, absolute sense of justice. Children can kill a monster and feel quite proud of themselves. A girl can look at her brother and believe they’re destined to be a knight and a bard who battle evil. She can believe she’s found the thing she’s been made for.

Hazel lives with her brother, Ben, in the strange town of Fairfold where humans and fae exist side by side. The faeries’ seemingly harmless magic attracts tourists, but Hazel knows how dangerous they can be, and she knows how to stop them. Or she did, once.

At the center of it all, there is a glass coffin in the woods. It rests right on the ground and in it sleeps a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives. Hazel and Ben were both in love with him as children. The boy has slept there for generations, never waking.

Until one day, he does… (Goodreads)

My Rating 

My Thoughts

This was my very first Holly Black book. I had heard great things of her writing and I can say I was not disappointed. I was worried that this book would leave me wanting more. I do not read many fantasy stand alone novels. I don't think I even know of many actually... Usually a good fantasy novel comes with at least two more books in the series if not way more. 

This book was so satisfying. I flew right through this book. I enjoyed the world. Holly Black did an awesome job of building a world quickly but in a way that didn't feel rushed. I never felt like I was drowning in world building information. She made the woods in this town really come alive in my head. I could literally imagine it in great detail. That really got me hooked right away.

Next the characters were great! I loved Hazel. I loved her bravery and her awkward kissing addiction. Ben, her brother, is also great because he is also brave even though he is completely terrified. I love how he always did what was necessary despite his fear or lack of preparation or capabilities.

The Darkest Part Of The Forest was action packed and full of emotional twists and turns. I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially the ending. I loved the finale of this novel. It ended in such a beautiful way and was completely satisfying. 

I highly recommend this book. I plan to read more Holly Black ASAP! and by ASAP I mean as soon as that darn TBR shelf of mine shrinks substantially. :p

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The Longest Ride - Book Review

The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks

Published September 17th 2013 by Grand Central Publishing 

Ira Levinson is in trouble. At ninety-one years old, in poor health and alone in the world, he finds himself stranded on an isolated embankment after a car crash. Suffering multiple injuries, he struggles to retain consciousness until a blurry image materializes and comes into focus beside him: his beloved wife Ruth, who passed away nine years ago. Urging him to hang on, she forces him to remain alert by recounting the stories of their lifetime together – how they met, the precious paintings they collected together, the dark days of WWII and its effect on them and their families. Ira knows that Ruth can’t possibly be in the car with him, but he clings to her words and his memories, reliving the sorrows and everyday joys that defined their marriage.

A few miles away, at a local rodeo, a Wake Forest College senior’s life is about to change. Recovering from a recent break-up, Sophia Danko meets a young cowboy named Luke, who bears little resemblance to the privileged frat boys she has encountered at school. Through Luke, Sophia is introduced to a world in which the stakes of survival and success, ruin and reward -- even life and death – loom large in everyday life. As she and Luke fall in love, Sophia finds herself imagining a future far removed from her plans -- a future that Luke has the power to rewrite . . . if the secret he’s keeping doesn’t destroy it first.

Ira and Ruth. Sophia and Luke. Two couples who have little in common, and who are separated by years and experience. Yet their lives will converge with unexpected poignancy, reminding us all that even the most difficult decisions can yield extraordinary journeys: beyond despair, beyond death, to the farthest reaches of the human heart. (goodreads)

My Rating

5/5

My Thoughts

I jumped on the "Nicholas Sparks has a new movie coming out?!" bandwagon and picked up The Longest Ride. I was in the mood for a lovey dovey romantic contemporary book and man did this book deliver?! 

I really enjoyed this book. I fell in love with both of the couples and their love stories. I loved reading about Ira and Ruth's vintage love. I loved how they weathered different storms life and the war through at them. Even though it is heart breaking I loved how Ira coped after the passing of his wife. It is so sad but so beautiful that they had created a love that strong. I cried multiple times throughout this book.  I was emotionally invested to say the least. I also enjoyed Sofia and Luke's blossoming love. I loved the rodeo aspect. As a huge Garth Brooks fan I am always fascinated by rodeo cowboys and the bizarre lives they live with their dedication to the rodeo. 

I was worried the book would drag on but it diffidently did not. The book is told from multiple perspectives so that kept me in. While I did guess the ending about half way through I could figure out how it would happen until the bit. Guessing how it would end didn't ruin it for me at all because it was how I would have wanted it to come to a conclusion. 

Overall it was a very satisfying read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would recommend this to anyone who is pumped to see the movie, loves Nicholas Sparks or The Notebook, or just wants a great contemporary romance. 

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In The After Light - Book Review

A Love Worth Living For | In the After Light by Alexandra Bracken Review - Third and final book in The Darkest Minds Trilogy

In the Afterlight by Alexandra Bracken

Published October 28th 2014 by Disney-Hyperion

(goodreads, my The Book Depository affiliate link)

WARNING! THIS IS A SEQUEL SO SPOILERS TO THE DARKEST MINDS (BOOK 1) AND NEVER FADE (BOOK 2) WILL FOLLOW...THAT'S HOW SEQUELS WORK. IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE FIRST BOOK THEN CHECK OUT MY REVIEW HERE AND GO READ IT. IF YOU HAVE READ ONE BUT NOT TWO THEN READ MY REVIEW HERE AND THEN GO READ IT. THEN COME BACK. THERE ARE NO SPOILERS FOR IN THE AFTERLIGHT IN THIS REVIEW)

Ruby can't look back. Fractured by an unbearable loss, she and the kids who survived the government's attack on Los Angeles travel north to regroup. With them is a prisoner: Clancy Gray, son of the president, and one of the few people Ruby has encountered with abilities like hers. Only Ruby has any power over him, and just one slip could lead to Clancy wreaking havoc on their minds. 

They are armed only with a volatile secret: proof of a government conspiracy to cover up the real cause of IAAN, the disease that has killed most of America's children and left Ruby and others like her with powers the government will kill to keep contained. But internal strife may destroy their only chance to free the "rehabilitation camps" housing thousands of other Psi kids.

Meanwhile, reunited with Liam, the boy she would-and did-sacrifice everything for to keep alive, Ruby must face the painful repercussions of having tampered with his memories of her. She turns to Cole, his older brother, to provide the intense training she knows she will need to take down Gray and the government. But Cole has demons of his own, and one fatal mistake may be the spark that sets the world on fire.

My Rating

5/5 (surprise surprise.)

My Thoughts

I NEED someone to talk to about this book and the close of this series. It's enough to make me consider joining the 

booktube community. I loved this series up to this book and In The After Light defiantly didn't disappoint me. It is so full of heart gripping action and plot twists you can't not be on the edge of your seat the whole time.

The end to Never Fade and the loss everyone suffered literally ripped my heart out. Then I read the novella Sparks Rise and that ripped my heart out. I forgot to mention to you guys that I read the novella that came before Never Fade, In Time, and that was heart breaking. I was really worried that the ending to the series would be crushing and unsatisfying. While there was some serious heartbreak (not a spoiler...it's Alexandra Bracken. She seems to be an amazing expert at punching you in the feels. You should expect it.), the series came to a very fulfilling and satisfying ending.

This was one of those books and series that I literally put off finishing because I was just so invested and attached emotionally to these characters. I haven't felt like this after finishing a series since Allegiant came out. The Darkest Minds Trilogy will defiantly be included in my favorite all time series. If you haven't read them I diffidently suggest you pick them up and dive in!

If you haven't read my review of the first book, The Darkest Minds, you can read that here.

And if you want to purchase the book you can use my affiliate link to The Book Depository here.

Have you read them? What did you think? Have and suggestions for me to read next? Leave them in the comments below.

As always thanks for stopping by guys! Make sure to follow me on goodreads so you can keep up with all of my reading adventure and we can share! Follow me here.

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Never Fade - Book Review

A Love Worth Living For | Never Fade book two of The Darkest Minds Trilogy by Alexandra Bracken Book Review

Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken

Published October 15th 2013 by Disney-Hyperion (

goodreads

, 

my The Book Depository affiliate link

)

WARNING! THIS IS A SEQUEL SO SPOILERS TO THE DARKEST MINDS (BOOK 1) WILL FOLLOW...THAT'S HOW SEQUELS WORK. IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE FIRST BOOK THEN CHECK OUT MY REVIEW

HERE

AND GO READ IT. THEN COME BACK. THERE ARE NO SPOILERS FOR NEVER FADE IN THIS REVIEW)

Ruby never asked for the abilities that almost cost her her life. Now she must call upon them on a daily basis, leading dangerous missions to bring down a corrupt government and breaking into the minds of her enemies. Other kids in the Children’s League call Ruby “Leader”, but she knows what she really is: a monster. 

When Ruby is entrusted with an explosive secret, she must embark on her most dangerous mission yet: leaving the Children’s League behind. Crucial information about the disease that killed most of America’s children—and turned Ruby and the others who lived into feared and hated outcasts—has survived every attempt to destroy it. But the truth is only saved in one place: a flashdrive in the hands of Liam Stewart, the boy Ruby once believed was her future—and who now wouldn’t recognize her. 

As Ruby sets out across a desperate, lawless country to find Liam—and answers about the catastrophe that has ripped both her life and America apart—she is torn between old friends and the promise she made to serve the League. Ruby will do anything to protect the people she loves. But what if winning the war means losing herself?

My Rating

5/5

My Thoughts

Alexandra has done it again! This may be one of my top favorite dystopian series.

So in this book Ruby has settled into her new role as member of the Children's League. She is the leader of a group of Psi kids which are kind of our main little group for this book. I was a little upset that the last book basically ended with the scattering of group of kids that Ruby and I loved so much. I was quickly put to ease with the addition of Vida whom I freaking love, (I just want to hug her even though she would 

probably kick the crap out of me for trying) and Jude whom is just a sweet heart. I fell in love with his annoying self almost instantly. 

As expected the League has a lot of corruption in it. Goals and motives have changed for several agents. At the same time ground breaking advancements are being made in the IAAN and Psi research. Of course Liam grabs the wrong jacket and walks away with top secret IAAN research information. Never Fade follows Ruby and her team as they track down that information.

I loved the pacing of this book. It was action packed and wonderful. I was excited the whole time I was reading it. Like I said I fell in love with the new additions and overall the story was very satisfying. I was that with the way the first book ended I wouldn't feel the satisfaction I felt after reading this but I was wrong.

Oh and of course it wouldn't be an Alexandra Bracken book if it didn't sneak up on you from time to time and punch you square in the feels. But also in Alexandra Bracken fashion, she has created amazing characters who rock at providing comedic relief just in time to maybe save some of your mascara from being washed away by you many tears.

READ THE DARKEST MINDS! IT'S GOLD! (:

This review is also posted on my goodreads where I update and comment on the books I read as I read them. You should follow me over there! 

Click here for my goodreads!(:

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A Love Worth Living For | Never Fade book two of The Darkest Minds Trilogy by Alexandra Bracken Book Review

The Darkest Minds - Book Review

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

Published December 18th 2012 by Disney Hyperion (

goodreads

,

my The Book Depository affiliate link

)

When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she’s on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.

When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living. (official synopsis)

My Rating

5/5!

My Thoughts

I know I am late to hop on this bandwagon but nevertheless I am here so scoot over! I LOVE this book! I am upset that it has been sitting on my to be read shelf for months and I didn't pick it up until now! I have owned Darkest Minds and also Never Fade for awhile. I ordered After Light as well as the two novellas halfway through this book because I knew I was hooked.

So the book follows Ruby. Ruby is living in a world where all the kids just start dying. So as a 9 year old child she is witnessing her class mates and neighborhood kids dropping like flies. Soon something like 92% of the United State's children are dead and the few kids that remain have these strange abilities that start to freak out all the adults, parents and the government. The government starts these terrible camps for the kids and the parents are so freaked out they start shipping them off with a false hope that the government will fix them. Soon the government starts snatching and hunting the kids that managed to dodge getting sent.

Ruby spends six years in one of the biggest and worse camps until one day she is broken out. The books is about her being on the run and the friends she makes and starts traveling with as they hunt for a mysterious safe haven called East River that's supposedly run by the elusive "Slip Kid." Of course there's a boy, Liam, and they fall in love and all that but it's not an annoying romance at all. It's a little abrupt but I wasn't bothered by it at all.

The book is so fast paced. It's great. You really dive in to the world right away. Alexandra Bracken's writing style is amazing. She building an engaging world without just dumping tons of information on you. There is never a dull moment in this book.

The world is awful and sad and pathetic and so many other negative words. You want to shake all the leaders and tell them to leave those babies alone! You also really get into the heads of these kids who are being hunted for abilities they didn't ask for and sometimes can't control. The hatred you see in some of these people is crazy. There are these bounties set for kids that are on the run. They are hunted by government appointed officers as well as regular people that have been driven by fear, ignorance and the destroyed economy to go after these children and trade them in for blood money.

The Characters are awesome and hilarious. I laughed so much at the banter between these characters.

Ruby is just amazing. She has that quality that I love in characters where she is clearly damaged by her circumstances but she still has this strength emanating out of her. She loves ferociously. She'll defend those she cares about unto death. The friends she makes are also captivating. I fell in love with this little group.

I think this book is amazing and highly suggest you give it a read!

Have you read the Darkest Minds? What about the other books in the series? Tell me what you think in the comments below (no spoilers pleeeeeease!?). Also leave me some book suggestions!!

This review is also posted on my goodreads where I update and comment on the books I read as I read them. You should follow me over there!

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Dorothy Must Die - Book Review

Dorothy Must Die By Danielle Paige

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige | A Love Worth Living For Book Review

Published April 1st 2014 by HarperCollins

Goodreads

I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't ask to be some kind of hero.

But when your whole life gets swept up by a tornado - taking you with it - you have no choice but to go along, you know?

Sure, I've read the books. I've seen the movies. I know the song about the rainbow and the happy little bluebirds. But I never expected Oz to look like this. To be a place where Good Witches can't be trusted, Wicked Witches may just be the good guys, and winged monkeys can be executed for acts of rebellion. There's still a yellow brick road - but even that's crumbling.

What happened? Dorothy.

They say she found a way to come back to Oz. They say she seized power and the power went to her head. And now no one is safe.

My name is Amy Gumm - and I'm the other girl from Kansas.

I've been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked.

I've been trained to fight.

And I have a mission.

My Rating

5/5!

My Review

Dorothy is crazy?! Who saw that coming?

I loved this book! If you haven’t read it yet…what are you waiting for?! I was skeptical at first too because I love the Wizard of Oz and I didn’t want someone messing up a good thing. But this title though? I had to read it and I am glad I did.

The book follows Amy Gumm, a high school outcast with a drug addicted mother from a trailer pack in a dusty city in Kansas. One day there is a tornado warning and the next thing you know Amy wakes up in Oz with her mother’s pet rat named star. We get to see and experience Oz with its munchkin, monkeys and witches all over again. Only NOTHING is the same.

The pace of this book was great! I never found myself bored or felt it was dragging. There is a lot of world building but it’s freaking Oz so I just loved every page of that. Amy Gumm is a great main character. You can really get behind her and root for her. Plus, she is freaking hilarious.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loved Oz before and anyone who didn’t but likes magic filled humorous fairy tale like stories.

Dorothy Must Die is the first book in what I think will be a trilogy. This next book of the series, The Wicked Will Rise, is expected to be published March 31

st

, 2015.

This Review is also published on my GoodReads where I also comment as I read. You should follow me there! ->

my goodreads!!

Have you read Dorothy Must Die? What did you think of it?! Let’s discuss in the comments below! Also leave any book suggestions you may have!

A Love Worth Living For

The Kiss of Deception - Book Review

The Kiss of Deception by Mary E Pearson

Published July 8th 2014 by Henry Holt   

goodreads

A princess must find her place in a reborn world.

She flees on her wedding day.

She steals ancient documents from the Chancellor's secret collection.

She is pursued by bounty hunters sent by her own father.

She is Princess Lia, seventeen, First Daughter of the House of Morrighan.

The Kingdom of Morrighan is steeped in tradition and the stories of a bygone world, but some traditions Lia can't abide. Like having to marry someone she's never met to secure a political alliance.

Fed up and ready for a new life, Lia flees to a distant village on the morning of her wedding. She settles in among the common folk, intrigued when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deceptions swirl and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—secrets that may unravel her world—even as she feels herself falling in love

My Rating

3.75

What I Thought

The book is told in duel perspectives. We read from Lia mostly, but we also read from the point of view of Rafe and Kaden. One of the guys is the prince who got stood up and the other is an assassin that is there to kill her. It’s unclear who is who until the last third of the book.

So now let me just tell you that I LOVED the last third! The last portion of the book draws you in and makes you fall in love with Lia. I flew through this part of the book. I was literally sitting on my couch in my pj’s letting out shouts of encouragement for Lia. She is a strong character who simply wants to be free to live her own life but she also deeply cares for those she loves and would do anything, including risk her life for them. What is not to love about a main character like that?! By the end I found myself routing for her to succeed and eagerly anticipating the second book.

Overall I liked the writing style and loved the plot. I think the book started strong but there is a lot of character and world development in the beginning and middle portions that can slow you down. However the last part of the book is wonderful and seems to be the tone the rest of the series will take.

The next book,

The Heart of Betrayal

, is expected to come out July 7

th

of this year!

This review is also posted on my Goodreads Page! I comment as I read! Follow me! - 

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How about you? Have you read The Kiss of Deception? What did you think of pace? Lets discuss in the comments below!