Young At Heart

*I got this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.*
I enjoyed Damaged, but I LOVED Healed. This was a mesmerizing, unpredictable and absolutely delicious story to read! Not to mention HOT!
This book is not exactly a sequel, but more in the lines of a parallel story that happens shortly after the events in Damaged. Audrey and Stone are in it, but as minor secondary characters. It focusses on Elijah (featured in Damaged) and Valentine (a whole new character), as they share dual points of view.
I already thought Becca Vincenza was a master creator when it came to building characters and crafting them to be believable, even though they are supernatural; and endearing, even though they are flawed. But she really surpassed herself here. And that is because she built her characters in a way that completely supported this fast paced story and gave it an exquisite balance.
Elijah, at one point of the book, said “She was warm where I was cold; she was light, where I was dark.”, when talking about Valentine and himself. And that is exactly what worked well here. Their energies worked like a yin/yang type of thing, where his harsh sense of reality, and his aggressive demeanor were balanced out by her lightness of spirit and unrelenting faith. It was truly beautiful to see their reactions towards one another and how they grew because of each other. Much like in Audrey and Stone's relationship, they had a redeeming effect on each other. And that is exactly what I believe true love should be: two flawed people in an imperfect relationship who ultimately are better for being together. Lovely!
And did I mention it was HOT?!? Well, it really was, more so than Damaged, for me. Yum!
But the romance wasn't the only good part of it. I also loved Amani, and all the other parts of the plot that had little to do with their love. I could really see how amazing it is this world that Vincenza has created. I could definitely see many books such as these first two - separate stories in the same world that make sense for the ultimate plot of the series - coming out. More than that, I eagerly expect it!
In summation, this book is a well crafted, well written romantic adventure. I would highly recommend it to any adult that is interested in a steamy, fast paced paranormal romance. I can't wait for the next one!

I was given this book in exchange for my honest review.
Full disclosure: I am an adult who loves YA and NA books, and, although that usually isn't a problem, it might have been here. About half way into the book I realized this was not the book for me. I continued reading it, of course, to be able to review it. And I know many people who reviewed it have enjoyed it, so maybe it really was just me. But anyway, these are my thoughts:
The premiss is really interesting, and although I have read about werecats in other books, they were always secondary characters. It seemed to be an interesting story about how a girl develops in her teens to become a woman. But it disappointed me. The first chapters, up until chapter 17, seemed like a prologue. They told the story about how she first turned into a werecat - which could have been very interesting. But it was over explained, like the author was relating what happened and not telling a story I could feel a part of.
After that it got a little better, addressing some important issues such as rape, pedophilia, teenage drug abuse, and others. Missy was a strong character, but not believable for me. She was just too perfect, unflawed - except when she was doing some very bad things to bad guys, vigilante style, that caught me by surprise. The adult characters, in comparison, were either naive or purely evil (such as those very bad guys I talked about before). The whole thing felt monotone to me. The situations Missy handled in the beginning of the book were also strangely handled for me, as no adults were trusted, and no sexual abusers were reported. I realize it is a sensitive issue, and it's great that an YA novel is putting it out there, but I felt there should have been some encouragement to talk to trusted adults about it.
Missy continued all through the book to be a flawless heroin, who could do no wrong, saved everybody, and everyone loved and trusted. If you love unflawed heroins, this book is for you. She is beautiful, fun, generous, smart and considerate. But It just didn't seem real to me.

I received a copy from this book in exchange for my honest review.

I had big problems with the beginning of this book. I felt really sad up until about the middle, just because I thought it had such great potential. But then it started to get better - much better. And that is why I gave it the avarage rating. This is what I liked and disliked about it:

Disliked:
- It really needs editing. Some sentences are awkwardly put and there are some gramatical mistakes. But all that is comprehensible, since this book was independently published. What really bothered me was how confusing and (contradictinly) over explained this book was in the beggining. Some parts I had to read many times over just to understand what was going on, while in other parts I was bored by Wikepedia-like explanations of the different kinds of supernaturals. Those were the parts where the author almost lost me.
- The forshadowing was pretty obvious and convinient. There were other little things that seemed to be like that - moments used to serve a purpose - instead of belivable parts of this story. Their time in the woods or Nixie's bond to Audrey, for instance, were a little hard to accept.
- Another thing that really bothered me in the beggining was the "instalove". I really hate this word, and I'm sorry to use it, but it is the best description of Stone's reaction to Audrey. This book was told from alternating first person perspectives (Stone's and Audrey's) and at some points it seemed like they were magically guessing what the other felt or what the other was thinking. That is easily explained with Audrey's power, but not comming from Stone. This does get somewhat explained towards the end of the book, but it doesn't make it up for me. It felt forced, and it's a shame, because there is so much beauty in their love, in the way they connect... (I talk more about the good parts later)
- The way Stone was acting all possesive and so much like Audrey's father also bothered me a lot in the beginning. But this part really was made up for later, and it ended up feeling like a very smart move from Vincenza.

Liked:
- The love between Audrey and Stone. It's beautiful how they are flawed people, and strive to be better for each other and for themselves (like Stone strugling to be less posessive, not because Audrey asked, but because he knows it's best). It is gorgeous how they love each other's "deformities" (as most people would see them). It gave the story a lovely redeeming quality. It's exquisite how they make each other better, want to be with each other all the time, but still strive to be their own person, independently. As their bond grew, the book got better and better, and it was hard to put it down by the end.
- The steamy love scenes. This book is not for a younger audience, and (as an adult who loves YA and NA) I apreciated. I'm hoping for more of it on the next books, though.
- Audrey and Stone, as well as the other characters, were deep and well crafted. I liked Nixie, Elijah, Xavier and even Drake. Nobody was perfect, and nobody was so evil you couldn't relate. They made this jambalaya of paranormal creatures seem beliavable, which is a feat! Really great job from Vincenza on this front.
- It is a good story with an interesting premiss. And I have to admit it has a "je ne sais quoi" as it gets on, and you just need to know where it's going. By the end, it gripped me!

So, I will definitely read the other books in this series, and I would recommend it for people who love paranormal romances, as long as you can cope with a week beginning.

I got this book in exchange for my honest review.

I was very excited to read this book, because it sounded like my kind of story. And I was absolutely right. Aerenden: The Child Returns is a wonderful story, full of magic and adventure, that captured me from the beginning. I would rate it as a solid 4.8 stars. And here is why:

- I love the premiss of a world parallel to ours where magic is used instead of technology. And the world building was intricate and complex, living up to that great premiss. The plot was also very well constructed. We got to know Aerenden slowly, while still enjoying a well paced story and a lot of adventures.

- The pace is another thing I really enjoyed. I wouldn't call this book "fast paced", because the author takes her time introducing the world of Aerenden and building the relationship between the main characters and between Meagan and the world itself (since she is new to it). But it's not a slow book either. Plenty happens in a well set speed. There is mystery, but not so much you get a feeling things aren't developing. I appreciated the care Kisten Taber took with it. So many Young Adult novels nowadays seem rushed and seem to compromise world and character development in order to set a fast pace.

- The characters are very complex and well elaborated. I love Meagan and Nick, the main characters, but I also love all the secondary characters, such as Cal, Vivian and May. They are often flawed, but remain strong and relatable. You can tell right away this won't be that type of book where there are clear good guys and bad guys, and where the good guys are saints and the bad guys are devils. Of course we know who our heroes are, but things aren't always black and white, which make things much more interesting.

- And finally, Meagan and Nick's relationship was delicious to read. This is definitely not insta-love. Their relationship is built on friendship, trust and care - like relationships should be. It's nice to see a real kind of connection in a book. There were plenty of butterflies-in-your-stomach and isn't-it-hot-in-here-? kind of moments (which should always be, and are definitely part of real relationships), but they weren't forced or out of the blue. I loved that!

The week I read this was a very busy one, but it was great to know that this book was waiting for me at the end of the day. I felt real joy every time I opened it, and I would recommend it to any fans of High Fantasy.

I got this book from the author through Goodreads in exchange for my honest review.

I would give this, the last book in the Atancia Duology, 4.5 stars! For me this second book grew immensely from the first. Don't get me wrong, I liked Atancia. But For Atancia reached the next level for me. The story thoroughly captivated me, making it impossible to put it down. And here's why:

- All the good things from Atancia were still good. I still really like Atty, our main character, as she continues to be very relatable, intelligent and kind. The mistakes she makes are, for the most part, understandable and congruent with the plot. But it was Matt I really fell in love with in this book. I already liked him in the first book, but reading from his POV (there are alternating POVs in this book, between him and Atancia) got me hooked. Ok, so what if he is desperately in love with her and can't stop gushing about it? I liked all the romance and the butterflies it brought me.
- The other characters, for the most part, are also well thought and well developed. I loved the new characters, such as Ritter and Helia. They were complex and added beautifully to the story.
- The premiss is still very interesting, and it was very well elaborated in this finale. There were beautiful depictions of places all around the world, and I thought all the traveling provided great pace and interest to the story. There was mystery, drama and fun, all thoughout the book. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time!
- If Atancia, the fist book, didn't quite engross me, this one absolutely did! All the romance and mystery captured me and made this book delicious to read.

So, I would absolutely recommend this duology to anyone who likes urban fantasies, and is looking for a light romance with a little twist and great mystery.

I got this book from the author through Goodreads in exchange for my honest review.

Atancia is a great story about a fantastic supernatural world hidden in our very own. I usually don't care for urban fantasies, but it worked in this scenario. However, for some reason, I wasn't engrossed by it. Let me try to explain:


Pros:
- I really like Atancia (Atty). She is very relatable, intelligent and kind; and I think her misgivings just make me like her more. She is not the strong and powerful kind of heroin, but she struggles to be the best she can despite her (almost pathological) shyness. She (mostly) makes smart choices and trusts her instincts, and there were no moments where I rolled my eyes in despair over how cliche or egotistical the teenager was. She is honest about her feelings and level headed, and that is very refreshing.
- I also love that she has such a positive parent figure in Nana, because that is very rare in YA. The other characters, for the most part, are also likable and well developed.
- The premiss is really interesting, and the mystery around Atancia's background got me interested throughout the whole story, making me pick it up every chance I got. This was a very easy book to read and there were no major plot errors or unnerving twists. There were wonderful depictions of Australia, but not so much I was diverted from the fantasy.

Cons:
- There was only one, but it's an important one for me: I could't really FEEL the story, and I think that has to do with how it was told. This book is written in Atancia's POV, as if she is relating a past story. So it made me feel like a friend was telling me something that has taken place in her life - as in: I was interested, but not excited. I didn't feel like I was there, but like I was hearing about it from afar. She explained every feeling, every conversation, and even every uneventful detail that happened between the eventful ones. And that made scenes that should have been thrilling seem lukewarm. It hurt the pace of the story and it prevented me from putting my heart into it. And it all just tied up so very neatly in a bow. Her mother's clues, things with Ben, other things later that I don't want to spoil... It's not bad, but it just didn't make my heart pound.

That being said, I will read the next book if I have the chance. It is a nice, light read, that got me very interested in how it ends.

This is a sweet little short story. Even though it's just 12 pages long, its poetic tones and dazzling descriptive narrative captured me. And I loved Ariane, the main character! The one thing that didn't sit right with me was the ending. It might be me, but the ending confused me. But still, I loved reading it. Thank you Claudette for the give away!

I was really hoping City of Heavenly Fire would redeem City of Lost Souls and City of Fallen Angels for me, but it didn't. And it wasn't a completely horrible book either (which is what most reviews I was reading made it sound like). There were moments - especially at the beginning - where it was really irritating, but all in all it was an "OK" book (which is what three stars mean, even though I meant to give it 2.5). So here are some pros and cons to illustrate how I felt about the book:

Pro: It's good for a series to end with a lot of questions answered. Cassandra Clare brought stories and characters back from The Infernal Devices, from the Bane Chronicles, and wrapped them all up in a nice Mortal Instruments bow. She even introduced her next series The Dark Artifices. And, unlike many people, I really enjoyed the parts about Emma and Jules.
Con: It felt really forced, sometimes, that everything would fall exactly into place like that - all the pathways neatly colliding. And all the Emma and Jules parts were obviously meant as characters introductions, and were sometimes left in the air.

Pro: Cassandra Clare's books are action packed and often funny. It's a light read and that is how I treat it. She is a good writer, but she is good at writing superficial things - at least that is my point of view.
Con: the stories lacked depth. They were dealing with the end of the world, life and death situations, but I felt nothing for them. Not pity, not dread, not sorrow. And that is not what I'm looking for in a book.

From now on I'm afraid there are only cons:
Con: The main characters are - and there is no better word for it - stupid! I like Clary and Jace, but if you think about it, they have always been immature. I thought, since this is the last one of their stories, that they would grow up a little. But apparently not. They make one bad decision after the other, never learning. At times they are completely reckless, disregarding how much it will hurt the people they love and how much it will be pointless for them to put themselves in danger. At other times they are complete cowards, giving into the bad guys against all reason. In fact, they are all, the main characters, absolutely selfish and arrogant.

Con: And that is the other problem: too much arrogance all around. I am all for the younger generation being proactive and changing things, but they NEVER listen to their elders, and their elders, in turn, never listen to them. It is such a horrible portrait of what a young person AND what an adult should be. It's a book full of bad examples that I hope young people don't take to heart.

Con: Feeble love stories. Their love stories (especially Clary and Jace's, but all of theirs) are another thing I wish I didn't hate, but I do. This is a tip for all young girls who read this: True love should NOT be this difficult, or this selfish. They each claim the other is the center of their world, but they make selfish reckless decisions all the time. And the sad thing is Cassandra Clare KNOWS how to write beautiful love stories, because she wrote The Infernal Devices, which has one of the sweetest most selfless love stories in the YA genre.

I could go on with the cons here, but it would be overdoing it. So, in summation, I hate that I hate this book, because I love the premiss and the Shadowhunter World so much. I wouldn't say this book is a must read, nor would I go as far as say that the people that followed the Mortal Instruments Saga so far shouldn't read it. But, if you are just starting to read the Mortal Instruments, do yourself a favor and read it only until the third book: City of Glass. It is a much better ending than this.

By now I have read almost the entire Sookie Stackhouse series, and though not all of them are 5 star materials, this one definitely was for me at the time. I had seen the first season os True Blood, and was in a bit of a Twilight-craze at the time. And the main reason I loved it was that it had very little to do with Twilight, and was so much more fun then the series, which means that it exceeded my expectations. It is light, fun, trashy, all in good ways to me. There was drama, but not the oh-my-God-I-will-die-if-I-don't-read-this kind of drama, and more the I-really-don't-wanna-put-this-down-because-I'm-having-so-much-fun kind. Exactly what I needed!

Now, that's better!! I know that's not a very eloquent remark, but after a Feast for Crows, that is all I have to say. Can't wait for the next one.

When I first started to read this series I thought I would lose interest with so many points of view and plots happening at the same time, or at least be a little lost. I was absolutely wrong, and that is one of the great reasons I idolize George R.R. Martin - I truly can't understand how he does that so well. So I grew used to that - no, more than that, I began to look forward to it. So realizing that I would only be partially satisfied in that front in this book was a little bit of a disappointment - hence the four stars instead of the usual five. It was hard not to hear from some of my favorites - like John, Arya and especially Daenerys. Don't get me wrong, the book is still wonderful and I did enjoy getting to know new characters and rediscovering others. But still, I'm not sure this set up was ideal.

I keep thinking "no, he can't have many more cohesive ideas, he has to mess up eventually!", but he can, and he doesn't. You would think that with so many characters eventually the story lines would get lost, but he truly keeps bringing things back and about, making you go "Ahh, I remember that hook from long ago, didn'tthink he was going anywhere with it". But he does, he always does. Just like he never allows you to think about one character from a single point of view. He is a master - period.

I have read all the books from this franchise so far, so bare in mind that this is a review in a book that I finished reading a long time ago. That being said, I think that only adds to how much I love the mature, instigating, and always surprising writing styles of George Martin. I am amazed at how his imagination takes us to the most incredible, dark places you would never go otherwise. Its dark and light, pure and lascivious, funny and heart-breaking, and full of all those great contradictions that work so well in a good story.