Review: Ingenue by Jillian Larkin

Hardcover: Ingénue
Author: Jillian Larkin

Pages: 368
Publisher: Delacorte Books For Young Readers

Release Date: August 9, 2011
Genre: Young Adult/Historical Fiction/Romance
Rating:  ♥♥♥♥♥

Bobbed hair. Short skirts. Cool jazz. Dark speakeasy. Anything goes. Meet the flappers, Gloria, Clara, Lorraine . . . and the rich young boys who love and loathe them. {Goodreads}

The one thing I really like about Jillian Larkin, is her ability to create such intricate and well thought out plot lines. Vixen absolutely threw me for a huge loop at the end and the suspsense and thrill continues in Ingenue.  

Gloria and Jerome are facing strife in their love. All that glitter and jazz may be starting to fizzle out. Clara who was such the voice of reason in the last book really disappointed me, but I get it, but damn. I hate liars and sadly Clara starts down the path of un-truth and growing apart from Marcus. To pursue her dream as a journalist. Lorraine. She is knee deep in jazzy trouble. She has promised Carlito she will serve up Gloria and Jerome. And she actually believes him when he promises to not hurt them, just shake them up a bit.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the history, the character development and the suspsense. I cannot wait for Diva.

♥♥♥♥

Book Review: The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

Hardcover: The Girl in the Steel Corset
Author: Kady Cross

Pages: 480
Publisher: Harlequin

Release Date: May 24, 2011
Genre: Young Adult/Steampunk
Rating:  ♥♥♥♥♥

In 1897 England, sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne has no one except the "thing" inside her. 

When a young lord tries to take advantage of Finley, she fights back. And wins. But no normal Victorian girl has a darker side that makes her capable of knocking out a full-grown man with one punch... 

Only Griffin King sees the magical darkness inside her that says she's special, says she's one of them. The orphaned duke takes her in from the gaslit streets against the wishes of his band of misfits. Emily, who has her own special abilities and an unrequited love for Sam, who is part robot; and Jasper, an American cowboy with a shadowy secret. 

Griffin's investigating a criminal called The Machinist, the mastermind behind several recent crimes by automatons. Finley thinks she can help-and finally be a part of something, finally fit in. 

But The Machinist wants to tear Griff's little company of strays apart, and it isn't long before trust is tested on all sides. At least Finley knows whose side she's on, even if it seems no one believes her. {goodreads}

This book has it all. Steampunk. Check. Victorian Set England. Check. Crafty storyline. Check. Handsome Hero. Check. Bad ass Heroine. Check. And a cast of great supporting detail. Check

I think I read this in two days. Lol. So awesome. Finley Jane is one torn girl. She knows that as long as she doesn’t get provoked or scared her “other half” will stay in check. Unfortunately, for Finely. She is attacked but in her attempt to flee she intercepted by the most unlikely but fortunate man, Griffin King.  He takes in Finley and immediately realizes there is more to this pint-sized beauty than meets his lovely eyes.

Kady Cross really created a steam-riffic, lol, world with this book. I am looking forward to book two, The Girl in the Clockwork Collar.

♥♥♥♥

Book Review: Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Paperback: Beauty Queens
Author: Libba Bray

Pages: 400
Publisher: Scholastic Press

Release Date: May 24, 2011
Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary, Comedy
Rating:  ♥♥♥♥♥

The fifty contestants in the Miss Teen Dream pageant thought this was going to be a fun trip to the beach, where they could parade in their state-appropriate costumes and compete in front of the cameras. But sadly, their airplane had another idea crashing on a desert island and leaving the survivors stranded with little food, little water, and practically no eyeliner. 

What's a beauty queen to do? Continue to practice for the talent portion of the program--or wrestle snakes to the ground? Get a perfect tan--or learn to run wild? And what should happen when the sexy pirates show up? 

Welcome to the heart of non-exfoliated darkness. Your tour guide? None other than Libba Bray, the hilarious, sensational, Printz Award-winning author of A Great and Terrible Beauty and Going Bovine. The result is a novel that will make you laugh, make you think, and make you never see beauty the same way again. {Goodreads}

Libba Bray. You. Crack.Me. Up. Simple. J Beauty Queens had it all. Flaming batons, sequin accessories to hormonal pills. Yep. I would actually enjoy if this were made into a movie or heck, even a mini-series on HBO, lol.

Just imagine being stranded on a freaky, Lost-like island without any adults and only your friendly completion in the Miss Teen Beauty Pageant. You better believe that cha0s does ensue. I really appreciate the spotlight each girl revived I this book. We really do get to see the other side of the mirror of these girls who at first glance are shallow and very predictable. 

I want to say that everyone got what they needed out of this book. Acceptance, love, friendship and definitely a sense of worth. It was beautiful. I recommend this book YA and adults alike. I think it’s always a good reminder that we work better as a team than individually when we are trying to survive and that everyone needs friends. Very funny.

♥♥♥♥

Book Review: Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

Paperback: The Goddess Test
Author: Aimee Carter

Pages: 304
Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Release Date: April 19th, 2011
Genre: Young Adult/Paranormal Romance
Rating:  ♥♥♥♥

It's always been just Kate and her mom—and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall.

Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld—and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.

Kate is sure he's crazy—until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess. {Goodreads}

First off let me say I thoroughly enjoyed this book. But with that said, I did have some issues with the plot set up and some of characters were a little contrived…at least in the beginning when the stage is being set. If you can get past the rough start I think you’ll start to see the potential for a charming romantically read with a dash of adventure mixed in.

I liked Kate. She is kind and a true friend. The relationship with her dying mother was written beautifully. I believe I may have even cried at one point. Amy wove a nicely packaged story in a mere three-hundred pages but I think the reader will need to consciously choose to ignore signs of a forced plot. Once you decide to accept these gaps in story, you will begin to be enchanted by the lush world Aimee Carter has created. When we are introduced Kate’s conditions to become Henry’s possible wife I thought we’d witness some kick ass scenes, but most of the test Kate has to endure are done without her knowledge. There is a few plots twist; I pretty much was able to determine how the story would play out.

I think book two, Goddess Interrupted, will prove to be more action packed with a growing romance between Henry and Kate.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I recommend it anyone who enjoys mythology, romance and books you can read pretty much read in one sitting. Perfect summer read.

♥♥♥♥

Review: Sleepers by Megg Jensen

Epub: Sleepers(The Swarm #1)

Author: Megg Jensen

Publisher: DarkSide Publishing (July 20, 2011)

Genre: YA/ High Adventure Fantasy

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

From Goodreads:

An adoptee raised in a foreign land, sixteen-year-old Lianne was content with her life as handmaiden to the queen, until a spell cast on her at birth activated. Now she's filled with uncontrollable rage and access to magic she thought had been bled from her people years ago. Even her years of secret training in elite hand-to-hand combat and meditation can’t calm the fires raging inside her. 

Her heart is torn between two boys, the one she’s always loved and the one who always ignored her. But when the kingdom threatens to tear itself apart due to rumors surrounding the queen’s alleged affair, who will Lianne protect and who will she destroy? 

I was really excited to read and review Sleepers. First off, the cover is so striking. I know they say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but in the case of this book, the story is just as fantastic as the gorgeous cover. Lianne won me over very early in the book. I immediately loved her as the best-friend to the Queen who is beautiful as she is kind; her romance with swoon-worthy Kellan and the fact that she can take down any man in hand to hand combat. She is my kind a gal. I was really surprised at the connection I made with these characters in such a short time. The book is under 300 pages and yet it’s plenty of time for you to grow to care about Lianne and the people she loves.

Even though the story is on the shorter side the reader is taken on a journey that does not disappoint. Lianne has always felt a certain amount of safety even thought her adoptive family definitely took lessons from Cinderella’s step-mother and wretched step-sisters on how to treat ones family. She has a best friend and confidant in an unlikely person, Queen Mags. I like that we see an honest and flawed side of Lianne best friend. She isn’t perfect but she and Lianne find a balance in their friendship since they both technically stuck and not able to do what they want in life. Lianne’s real freedom lies with Kellan, her newly acquired boyfriend. She has been training with him and his adoptive father since she was a little girl. The real drama begins on Lianne’s 16^th birthday. Kellan tells her everything will change. Oh boy. It sure does. Lianne wakes up with an anger that is boiling and swirling inside of her. This is where things start to get really interesting, and when Bryden gains my favor. Even though a tragic accident happened to Bryden when he was younger he dismissed the limits of his legs and began honing other skill sets. While Lianne and Kellan fought and trained he read and studied, swam and learned how to be invisible (not physically, though I’d like to see that) Even though the beginning of the story was good, the action and drama doesn’t really set in until the middle of the story. Megg Jensen created a plot with plenty of twist and turns, characters whose loyalty you wouldn’t think to question and once the magic is “unleashed”, watch out. Trouble is coming from all fronts.

Sleepers, was action packed and had just the right amount of romance. The characters are likeable and I really can’t wait to see what happens in book 2.  Thank you Meg for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. It’s one that I will happy recommend to others. I only request that you don’t make me wait too much longer for book two… I need to know where this is going to go. J

Possible pairing: Graceling Kristin Cashore, Brightly Woven by Alexandra Backen

Review: Supernaturally by Kiersten White

Paperback: Supernaturally
Author: Kiersten White

Pages: 352
Publisher: HarperTeen  

Release Date: July 26th, 2011
Genre: Young Adult/Paranormal Romance
Rating:  ♥♥♥♥

Evie finally has the normal life she’s always longed for. But she’s shocked to discover that being ordinary can be . . . kind of boring. Just when Evie starts to long for her days at the International Paranormal Containment Agency, she’s given a chance to work for them again. Desperate for a break from all the normalcy, she agrees.
But as one disastrous mission leads to another, Evie starts to wonder if she made the right choice. And when Evie’s faerie ex-boyfriend Reth appears with devastating revelations about her past, she discovers that there’s a battle brewing between the faerie courts that could throw the whole supernatural world into chaos. The prize in question? Evie herself.
So much for normal.

Two-is words… Bleepin-tastic J But the journey to the fantastic was a little weighed down by Evie being kind of an obnoxious teenager, but the ending more than made up for her behavior. The first few chapters I found myself laughing out loud. I forgot how much I missed Evie’s sense of humor and use of bleep for cuss words. We’re back in Supernaturally, and Evie has managed to adjust to her life as a normal teenager… who are we kidding? She is still fascinated with her locker. Evie is doing her best at fitting in but, Evie isn’t normal and things start to get really strange in Supernaturally. IPCA has come back into the picture, things have been getting out of control and they could really use someone with Evie’s particular talents. Lend is of course against this from the beginning but Evie feels she can finally do some good.  One condition for Evie is there is no bleepin way will she work with a single fairy. But see, this has been all worked out. Jack (who isn’t quite normal and not fairy) can navigate the paths quite well but he is down-right mischievous and seems to always pop up at the most unfortunate times, like the girls locker room before gym. Oops. Evie and Jack begin their adventures with some troubles, shocking. J Evie continues to find herself in situations of mortal peril and she is forced to use her soul sucking skill to escape. I started getting irritated with Evie near the middle of the book. I was bored with her. I know. I hate to hate but I didn’t like where our spunky Evie was headed for. BUT, we have a bleepin BUT here, she really came through in the end and does some major kick-ass stuff. Some heavy whipped cream gets spilled all over Evie, okay that sounded a lot more dirty than I meant. Rephrase. Some heavy shiz goes down and our girl shows that she insn’t some ditzy-girl but she has some balls and isn’t afraid to open a can of glitter and pink whoop-ass.
I was worried for a while that I was going to just skim and read the ending but Kiersten White brought me back into the story with some twist and shocking revelations. I am definitely pumped for some bleepin fun in Endlessly.

♥♥♥♥

Review: Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken

Paperback: Brightly Woven
Author: Alexandra Bracken

Pages: 368
Publisher: EgmontUSA  

Release Date: June 28^st, 2011(reprint edition)
Genre: Young Adult/High Adventure/Fantasy
Rating:  ♥♥♥♥

Sydelle Mirabil is living proof that, with a single drop of rain, a life can be changed forever. Tucked away in the farthest reaches of the kingdom, her dusty village has suffered under the weight of a strangely persistent drought. That is, of course, until a wizard wanders into town and brings the rain with him. 

In return for this gift, Wayland North is offered any reward he desires—and no one is more surprised than Sydelle when, without any explanation, he chooses her. Taken from her home, Sydelle hardly needs encouragement to find reasons to dislike North. He drinks too much and bathes too little, and if that isn’t enough to drive her to madness, North rarely even uses the magic he takes such pride in possessing. Yet, it’s not long before she realizes there’s something strange about the wizard, who is as fiercely protective of her as he is secretive about a curse that turns his limbs a sinister shade of black and leaves him breathless with agony. Unfortunately, there is never a chance for her to seek answers. 

Along with the strangely powerful quakes and storms that trace their path across the kingdom, other wizards begin to take an inexplicable interest in her as well, resulting in a series of deadly duels. Against a backdrop of war and uncertainty, Sydelle is faced with the growing awareness that these events aren’t as random as she had believed—that no curse, not even that of Wayland North, is quite as terrible as the one she herself may carry.

(Goodreads.com)

A fantastical story of magic, romance, adventure and weaving! I am truly smitten with this stunning cover art. The contrast of Sydelle’s alabaster skin and her vibrant red locks most definitely captures the visual I imagined while reading this book.

Sydelle lives with her family in an isolated mountain-esque village that has been experiencing a drought for ten years. With one rain storm her entire existence is transformed from drab village dweller to the assistant of a powerful and rogue wizard, Wayland North. North literally whisk’s Sydelle away from impending doom in her village. The good king is dead and war encroaches on the free lands. Together North and Sydelle must venture to the capital with hopes of presenting the truth behind the King’s assassination. Sydelle is aware that North is keeping something from her and when more than one wizard attempts to claim Syd as their own, North stops at nothing to protect her from danger. 

I enjoyed Brightly Woven. Bracken did a solid job of creating a lyrical narration and Wayland North is one hot mess of a wizard. Brightly Woven is a wonderful break out novel of traditional fantasy reads. Sydelle and North are wonderfully rendered characters; they’re honest, funny and charming. The magic was enchanting and I really loved the weaving element. 

I hope Bracken gets to writing; I am ready for another fantastical adventure.

♥♥♥♥

Possible Pairings:

Graceling and Fire by Kristin Cashore

Alana: The First Adventure (Song of the Lioness)  by Tamora Pierce