The Giver/ If I Stay

Name: The Giver
Author: Lois Lowry
Rating: 4/5

Description:
A major theme of this book is accepting differences and overcoming the obstacles created by these differences. This novel is set in a society that values conformity and makes every attempt to eliminate individuality. I included this novel in the text set, so that readers can begin comparing a society that struggles with accepting differences to one that strives to do away with them all together..

My Review: This was the first time reading this book, and I got to tell you its brilliant, I wanted... no craved more at the end.... what a cliffhanger there. I'm planning to read the rest of the series soon!




Name: If I Stay
Author: Gayle Forman
Rating: 5/5

Description:
In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen year- old Mia Hall has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck... A sophisticated, layered, and heartachingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make—and the ultimate choice Mia commands.This book will bring tears to your eyes at one point and laughter at another.

My Review:
This book was amazing, so much storytelling as the author flings you into the past to talk about Mia's family, I found myself crying like a little baby thru the book. This story is about the strength of love from family and friends. I'll be reading the next book to see what happens to Mia, Adam and the rest of them!

Confessions of a Wild Child

Title: Confessions of a Wild Child
Author: Jackie Collins
Rating:  5/5

Description:
Who is Lucky Saint? She's a fifteen year old wild child who discovered her mother's murdered body floating in the family swimming pool when she was only five years old. In Confessions of a Wild Child you will follow Lucky as she navigates her teen years - boys, drugs, family dramas, and many adventures from Greek islands to Vegas penthouses. You will meet the Santangelo family. Gino Santangelo, Lucky's father, a powerful man with a dubious past, who owns hotels in Vegas and struggles to control his willful and stubborn daughter. And Dario, Lucky's gay teenage brother who is too scared to reveal his sexual preference to his father. In Confessions of a Wild Child you will discover how Lucky strikes a path to become the powerful and charismatic woman she is today. Super-heroine of seven books and three mini-series, Lucky Santangelo is Jackie Collins' most popular and beloved heroine.

My Review: This is my first Jackie book, and I got to say if the rest of the Santangelo series is like this I will be reading it soon and enjoying it. I loved it and it was an easy read :)

Pawn

Title: Pawn
Author: Aimee Carter
Rating: 4/5

Description:
YOU CAN BE A VII. IF YOU GIVE UP EVERYTHING.   For Kitty Doe, it seems like an easy choice. She can either spend her life as a III in misery, looked down upon by the higher ranks and forced to leave the people she loves, or she can become a VII and join the most powerful family in the country.  If she says yes, Kitty will be Masked-surgically transformed into Lila Hart, the Prime Minister's niece, who died under mysterious circumstances. As a member of the Hart family, she will be famous. She will be adored. And for the first time, she will matter.  There's only one catch. She must also stop the rebellion that Lila secretly fostered, the same one that got her killed...and one Kitty believes in. Faced with threats, conspiracies and a life that's not her own, she must decide which path to choose-and learn how to become more than a pawn in a twisted game she's only beginning to understand.

Questions will be answered at the end of this month- beginning of next month!

Questions at the back of the book/instead of a review :P :

1. Do you believe that your life's work should be determined by a test you take when your 17?

2. What kind of job do you think would be assigned if you took that test now? When you were 25?

3. If your life was limited by restrictions- your job, the area where you live, having only one child and going to Elsewhere when you turn 60- do you believe you would be eager to achieve and succeed in life?

4. Kitty's dyslexia limits her future. Do you think children and teens today who have dyslexia are also under unfair burdens? Do you know people with dyslexia, and how do they cope? How do their families and teachers react?

5. What would you give up to get out of the life that was predicted for you?

6. Do you believe that life in a meritocracy is "fairer" than one where your family or a lucky break benefits you? What happens if someone plays with the system?

7. One of the reasons why this America became a meritocracy was overpopulation. Do you think that the strain of overpopulation might lead us in this direction unless changes are made? What can be done to create a better future?

8. Instead of an elected official, this America has a prime minister, and the role is inherited. How does the idea of one family in power match with the meritocracy in this country?

9. Kitty gives up her own name and not-so-bright future to take on another girl's name and family. Would you be willing to give up your own life to live someone else's?

10. Even in an ordered society, there are those who find a way to rebel. Do you think Tabs was right to encourage Kitty to follow in her footsteps?

11. Almost everyone- except for Benjy - is keeping secrets in this book. Are you good at keeping secrets? How would you live lying to everyone around you?

Killer Frost

Name: Killer Frost
Author: Jennifer Estep
Rating: 4/5

Description:
I’ve battled the Reapers of Chaos before — and survived. But this time I have a Bad, Bad Feeling it’s going to be a fight to the death…most likely mine. Yeah, I’ve got my psychometry magic, my talking sword, Vic, and even the most dangerous Spartan on campus at my side in Logan freaking Quinn, but I’m no match for Loki, the evil Norse god of chaos. I may be Nike’s Champion, but at heart, I’m still just Gwen Frost, that weird Gypsy girl everyone at school loves to gossip about. Then someone I love is put in more danger than ever before, and something inside me snaps. This time, Loki and his Reapers are going down for good … or I am.

My Short and Straight to the Point Review:
I loved the book, but noticed that she repeats info from the other books, like how characters look and assorted events. But that didn't stop me from loving the book. And reading it all last night... all 290 something pages done in less than 4 hours. *hugz book*

The Chase

[Netgalley Review]
Title: The Heist & The Chase
Author: by Janet Evanovich & Lee Goldberg
Rating: 1/5

Description: (the chase)
Internationally renowned thief and con artist Nicolas Fox is famous for running elaborate and daring scams. His greatest con of all: convincing the FBI to team him up with the only person who has ever caught him, and the only woman to ever capture his attention, Special Agent Kate O’Hare. Together they’ll go undercover to swindle and catch the world’s most wanted—and untouchable—criminals.

Their newest target is Carter Grove, a former White House chief of staff and the ruthless leader of a private security agency. Grove has stolen a rare Chinese artifact from the Smithsonian, a crime that will torpedo U.S. relations with China if it ever becomes public. Nick and Kate must work under the radar—and against the clock—to devise a plan to steal the piece back. Confronting Grove’s elite assassins, Nick and Kate rely on the skills of their ragtag crew, including a flamboyant actor, a Geek Squad techie, and a band of AARP-card-carrying mercenaries led by none other than Kate’s dad.

A daring heist and a deadly chase lead Nick and Kate from Washington, D.C., to Shanghai, from the highlands of Scotland to the underbelly of Montreal. But it’ll take more than death threats, trained henchmen, sleepless nights, and the fate of a dynasty’s priceless heirloom to outsmart Fox and O’Hare.

My Review:
I couldn't get into the first book enough to even give this one a shot... maybe i'll try to reread the first one again later.

Through the Ever Night

Name: Through the Ever Night
Author: Veronica Rossi
Rating:  /5

Description:
It's been months since Aria last saw Perry. Months since Perry was named Blood Lord of the Tides, and Aria was charged with an impossible mission. Now, finally, they are about to be reunited. But their reunion is far from perfect. The Tides don't take kindly to Aria, a former Dweller. And with the worsening Aether storms threatening the tribe's precarious existence, Aria begins to fear that leaving Perry behind might be the only way to save them both.

Threatened by false friends, hidden enemies, and powerful temptations, Aria and Perry wonder, can their love survive through the ever night?

In this second book in her spellbinding Under the Never Sky trilogy, Veronica Rossi combines fantasy and dystopian elements to create a captivating love story as perilous as it is unforgettable.

My Review:  Soon to Come

Under the Never Sky

Name: Under the Never Sky
Author: Veronica Rossi
Rating:  5/5

Description:
Since she's been on the outside, she'd survived an Aether storm, she'd had a knife held to her throat, and she'd seen men murdered.
THIS WAS WORSE

Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland--known as The Death Shop--are slim. If the cannibals don't get her, the violent energy stones will. She's been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He's wild--a savage--and her only hope of staying alive.

A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile--everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria's help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.
In her enthralling debut, Veronica Rossi sends readers on an unforgettable adventure set in a world that's harsh but often beautiful.

My Review: I loved everything about this book, from the story to the characters. And I will be reading the rest of this series. Rossi created a new world where there are Dwellers (people who live in false worlds like vr and pods) and the outsiders which survive and work the land. This first book shows that survival is very hard on this world and you can die very easy.  Two thumbs up!

The Darkest Hour (movie)

Name: The Darkest Hour
Movie Review

Rating: 3/5

Description:
Arriving amidst a mysterious lightning storm, young Internet entrepreneurs Sean and Ben land in the vibrant Russian capital to pursue their business dreams. Travelers Natalie and Anne, stranded in Moscow by an unscheduled stopover en route to Nepal, make the best of it by seeking adventure in one of the nightlife capitals of the world. The two pairs of best friends meet amid the glitz and glamour of the Zvezda Nightclub, the hot spot for the international and the beautiful in Moscow, but the club is quickly transformed to a scene of terror when aliens invade and everything goes dark.

My Review:
I hate movies that really have no ending, there are a lot of them. I thought that the story had a good start... but lack of anything but we have to get home. That was all this movie was- not really an action movie but who knows what I watched. :) Certain moments kept me watching and then others I thought I was floating away. Oh well. We will see what my next movie review will be. So long...

100 Books in a Year Challenge 2014

Joining this challenge like I did last year! :)
http://www.bookchickcity.com/2013/12/100-books-in-a-year-2014-details-sign-up.html

The Iron Traitor

Title: The Iron Traitor
By: Julie Kagawa
Rating: 5/5

Description:

IN THE REAL WORLD, WHEN YOU VANISH INTO THIN AIR FOR A WEEK, PEOPLE TEND TO NOTICE

After his unexpected journey into the lands of the fey, Ethan Chase just wants to get back to normal. Well, as "normal" as you can be when you see faeries every day of your life. Suddenly the former loner with the bad reputation has someone to try for-his girlfriend, Kenzie. Never mind that he's forbidden to see her again.

But when your name is Ethan Chase and your sister is one of the most powerful faeries in the Nevernever, "normal" simply isn't to be. For Ethan's nephew, Keirran, is missing, and may be on the verge of doing something unthinkable in the name of saving his own love. Something that will fracture the human and faery worlds forever, and give rise to the dangerous fey known as the Forgotten. As Ethan's and Keirran's fates entwine and Keirran slips further into darkness, Ethan's next choice may decide the fate of them all.

My Review: Soon to Come!

Viral Nation

Title: Viral Nation
Author: Shaunta Grimes
Rating: 5/5
NETGALLEY REVIEW

Description: After a virus claimed nearly the entire global population, the world changed. The United States splintered into fifty walled cities where the surviving citizens clustered to start over. The Company, which ended the plague by bringing a life-saving vaccine back from the future, controls everything. They ration the scant food and supplies through a lottery system, mandate daily doses of virus suppressant, and even monitor future timelines to stop crimes before they can be committed.   Brilliant but autistic, sixteen-year-old Clover Donovan has always dreamed of studying at the Waverly-Stead Academy. Her brother and caretaker, West, has done everything in his power to make her dream a reality. But Clover’s refusal to part with her beloved service dog denies her entry into the school. Instead, she is drafted into the Time Mariners, a team of Company operatives who travel through time to gather news about the future.   When one of Clover’s missions reveals that West’s life is in danger, the Donovans are shattered. To change West’s fate, they’ll have to take on the mysterious Company. But as its secrets are revealed, they realize that the Company’s rule may not be as benevolent as it seems. In saving her brother, Clover will face a more powerful force than she ever imagined… and will team up with a band of fellow misfits and outsiders to incite a revolution that will change their destinies forever.
My Review: Even with how long it took me to read this... the story was actually really good. I can't wait for the next book in this series. Interesting idea and concept and 'real' characters. Clover is so real with her problems and how they used them. This story is about an outbreak that kills off a lot of people but with a bit of time travel in it too. Awesome story!

The Trap

Title: The Trap
Author: Andrew Fukuda
Rating: 4/5

Description: The final installment in the terrifying dystopian vampire series.
My Review: The ending left me like daybreakers (movie) did. Empty. I was enjoying it till the end and then I was like WTF? I was loving the characters and then things left me feeling like a void... or numb- no emotion at all. :( I would have given it a 5 but that ending!

Bastion

Title: Bastion
Author: Mercedes Lackey
Rating: 5/5

Description: Mags returns to the Collegium, but there are mixed feelings--his included--about him actually remaining there. No one doubts that he is and should be a Herald, but he is afraid that his mere presence is going to incite more danger right in the heart of Valdemar. The heads of the Collegia are afraid that coming back to his known haunt is going to give him less protection than if he went into hiding. Everyone decides that going elsewhere is the solution for now. So since he is going elsewhere--why not return to the place he was found in the first place and look for clues? And those who are closest to him, and might provide secondary targets, are going along. With Herald Jadrek, Herald Kylan (the Weaponsmaster's chosen successor), and his friends Bear, Lena, and Amily, they head for the Bastion, the hidden spot in the hills that had once been the headquarters of a powerful band of raiders that had held him and his parents prisoner. But what they find is not what anyone expected.

My Review: This was by far the best book of this series, a lot of questions were answered about Mags past and parents. And also he got more to chew about in the end. I can't wait to see what happens with Mags and his friends next if there is another book... Forever a Mags Fan!