Review: Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2) by Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2) by Suzanne Collins

Details: Hardcover, 391 pages
Published: September 1st 2009 by Scholastic Press
Source: I bought it.
My Rating: 5/5
Buy It: The Book Depository

Summary: Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark won the annual competition described in Hunger Games, but the aftermath leaves these victors with no sense of triumph. Instead, they have become the poster boys for a rebellion that they never planned to lead. That new, unwanted status puts them in the bull's-eye for merciless revenge by The Capitol

My Review: What can I say about Catching Fire other than wow! I put off reading The Hunger Games because of all the hype. After I finally read it, and loved it, I told myself I would put off reading Catching Fire because I wanted these books to last as long as possible. It wasn't easy but I managed to keep it on my shelf for a month or so.

I finally caved and read it and I loved it just as much as the first book. I may have even enjoyed it more. I want to dive right into Mockingjay. I want, no, I need more.

Collins really knows how to create amazing stories and develop incredible characters. I need to read Mockingjay right now. I can't wait any longer. I have to know how it all ends.

Review: Far from Xanadu by Julie Anne Peters

Far from Xanadu by Julie Anne Peters

Details: Paperback, 288 pages
Published: April 1st 2007 by Little, Brown Young Readers
Source: I won it.
My Rating: 5/5
Buy It: Amazon

Summary: Every day in Coalton is pretty much the same. Mike pumps iron in the morning, drives her truck to school, plays softball in the afternoon, and fixes the neighbors' plumbing at night. But when an exotic new girl, Xanadu, arrives in the small Kansas town, Mike's world is turned upside down. Xanadu is everything Mike is not--cool, complicated, sexy, and...straight. This heartbreaking yet ultimately hopeful novel will speak to anyone who has ever fallen in love with someone just out of reach.


My Review: Julie Anne Peters is probably my favorite author, so needless to say when I found out I won a book of my choice, I picked this one.

Every book I've read by her is even better than the one before it. This one is no different. I devoured it. I just couldn't get enough and in the end, as always with Peters books, I wanted more.

I have fallen for a lot of straight girls in my life and I know how hard it is. Especially when they do the kind of things that Xanadu does. It's torture and never ends well. So I know exactly how Mike feels and what she goes through. I have related to characters before, but never like this.

The writing, as usual, is incredible. It is so easy to read, it just flows and pulls you right in. It's kind of like watching a movie. The characters and the plot are believable and real and I just couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I needed to know what was going to happen next.

If you've never read anything by Julie Anne Peters, what are you waiting for? They are some of the best books I've ever read. I need to get more of her books and soon.

Please, I am begging you, pick this book up. You will not regret it. In fact, pick up all of her books. You will love them.

Far From Xanadu now has a new title, Pretend You Love Me, and a new cover. I may have to buy it just for the hell of it.

Buy It: The Book Depository

Review: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles #1) by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Details: Hardcover, 563 pages
Published: December 1st 2009 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Source: I bought it.
My Rating: 5/5
Buy It: The Book Depository

Summary: Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

My Review: This was another one of those books that I was worried about reading because of all the hype. Just like I was with The Hunger Games. Once again, I am super happy I picked this book up.

I honestly don't think I can say one bad thing about Beautiful Creatures. It is the perfect book. Everything about it is incredible. I love the characters, the plot, the writing, not to mention the cover is gorgeous. I have absolutely no complaints.

I will be recommending this book to everyone I know and if you haven't read it yet, you must. It is one of the best books I have ever read. I can't wait to start reading Beautiful Darkness. And you can count on me buying Beautiful Chaos when it comes out.

Review: The Salbine Sisters by Sarah Ettritch

The Salbine Sisters by Sarah Ettritch

Details: Paperback, 288 pages
Published: October 4th 2010 by Norn Publishing
Source: I got it for review.
My Rating: 5/5
Buy It: The Book Depository

Summary: She gave up everything to become a Salbine Sister, member of a religious order of powerful female mages. But when Maddy nearly dies while trying to draw forth elemental fire, she learns that Salbine has withdrawn from her the gifts every sister works to master. Feeling trapped in an order to which she no longer has any right to belong and believing herself unworthy of the love of Lillian, one of the most powerful mages in the sisterhood, Maddy begs the abbess to let her travel to another monastery to research her condition.

On her journey, Maddy's faith in both herself and Salbine are tested to their limits. When she attempts to draw fire and fails horribly, frightened townsfolk throw Maddy into prison. Fearing that the abbess will never learn her fate and rescue her, Maddy resigns herself to a short and brutal life.

The only bright spot in Maddy's existence is Emmey, the pickpocket with whom she shares a cell. Through her and the steadfast love of Lillian, Maddy learns that Salbine's purpose is not always the same for everyone, and that love and compassion are more valuable than magic.

My Review: The Salbine Sisters is an incredible read. I honestly don't even know where to begin. This is one of the best book I've read so far this year. It is beautifully written, with amazing characters and a fantastic plot. I wish it never had to end. I just couldn't get enough and when I got to the last page I was so sad that there was no more.

I love this book so much and I recommend it to everyone. You have to pick this one up. Please get it. It is a must read. You will love it. I know I will be re-reading this one in the future. Probably more than once.

Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1) by Suzanne Collins
Details: Hardcover, 374 pages
Published: October 1st 2008 by Scholastic, Inc.
Source: I bought it.
My Rating: 5/5
Buy It: The Book Depository

Summary: In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

My Review: Where do I begin? I've read only three books this year so far that have pulled me in completely and this is one of them. While reading The Hunger Games I forgot all about sleep and eating. I couldn't put it down. I read right through it, dying to know what was going to happen next.

There were so many times I picked The Hunger Games up in the store just to put it back because of all the hype. It's the same reason it sat on my self for months before I finally decided to give it a try.

The hype for other books ruined them for me so I was more than a little worried going into this one. I am so glad I didn't pass it up. I think the last time I read a book with a plot this good, characters this interesting and with writing this incredible was when I read Harry Potter for the first time. I have never compared anything to Harry Potter before because I had never read anything as perfect as that series until now.

If the other two books are as amazing as the first, I know I will be re-reading all three over and over again for many years.

Review: American Vampire by Jennifer Armintrout

American Vampire by Jennifer Armintrout

Deatils: Mass Market Paperback, 400 pages
Published: February 22nd 2011 by Mira
Source: I got it for my birthday.
My Rating: 5/5
Buy It: The Book Depository

Summary: HE'S THE GOOD KIND OF VAMPIRE. SORT OF.
Buried in the Heartland is a town that no one enters or leaves. Graf McDonald somehow becomes its first visitor in more than five years…and he was only looking for a good party. Unfortunately, Penance, Ohio, is not that place. And after having been isolated for so long, they do not like strangers at all.

Jessa's the only one to even remotely trust him, and she's desperate for the kind of protection that only a vampire like Graf can provide. Supplies are low, the locals are ornery for a sacrifice and there's a monster more powerful than Graf lurking in the woods. New men are hard to come by in this lonesome town, and this handsome stranger might be Jessa's only hope for salvation.

Even if she has to die first…

My Review: Graf McDonald is a vampire. He is also stuck in a small town with people who haven't been able to leave or have seen anyone new in five years, and they don't like strangers. To make matters worse, there is a monster more powerful than he is somewhere in the woods.

When he first arrives in Penance, Ohio he meets Jessa. Graf saves her life and she takes him in before she knows what he is. Though they argue a lot, Jessa is the only one in the town that trusts him.

I could not put this book down. It's been a very long time since I've been pulled into a story this much. If I did put the book down it wasn't for long because it was all I could think about. I had to pick it back up and keep reading. I needed to know what was going to happen next.

The plot is fast-paced. The Writing is incredible and the characters are very real. Jennifer made being stuck in a small town with a vampire and a monster believable. I will definitely be reading more by her.

Review: Valiant by Holly Black

Valiant (The Modern Faerie Tales #2) by Holly Black

Details: Paperback, 336 pages

Published: September 5th 2005 by SIMON & SCHUSTER CHI

Source: I bought it.
My rating: 5/5

Summary: When seventeen-year-old Valerie runs away to New York City, she's trying to escape a life that has utterly betrayed her. Sporting a new identity, she takes up with a gang of squatters who live in the city's labyrinthine subway system.

But there's something eerily beguiling about Val's new friends. And when one talks Val into tracking down the lair of a mysterious creature with whom they are all involved, Val finds herself torn between her newfound affection for an honorable monster and her fear of what her new friends are becoming.

My Review: Val comes home to a very big surprise, and not the good kind. Deciding to get away from it all she runs off to New York City. While there she meets some kids her age and they start hanging out. This leads her into some new and interesting situations.

Valiant is such a fast, fun, intense and compelling read. Once I started it, I couldn't put it down. I don't have one single complaint with this book other then I wish it was longer.

Holly Black is a fantastic writer. You get pulled right into the story and feel like you are right there with the characters, experiencing it all with them.

I will definitely be reading this one again.