Series Review: THE SECRET CIRCLE by LJ Smith

Series title: The Secret Circle

Book titles: 

1. The Initiation

2. The Captive

3. The Power

Author: L.J. Smith

Summary: THE CIRCLE'S POWER HAS LURED HER HOME...

Forced to move from sunny California to gloomy New England, Cassie longs for her old life. Even so, she feels a strange kinship to a terrifying group of teens who seem to rule her school. Initiated into the coven of witches that's controlled New Salem for hundreds of years, she's drawn into the Secret Circle, a thrill that's both intoxicating and deadly. But when she falls for the mysterious and intriguing Adam, Cassie must choose whether to resist temptation or risk dark forces to get what she wants--even if it means that one wrong move could ultimately destroy her. 

Why I read it: This series was adapted into a TV show a few years ago by the CW, which is also home to The Vampire Diaries, another LJ Smith adaptation series. Unfortunately, the show didn't do as well as hoped, and it was cancelled after one season. Last year, I decided to watch that season on Netflix an absolutely fell in love with it. So when I realized that the season ended on a cliffhanger, I decided to read the books to find out what happens. 

Thoughts: The books are COMPLETELY different from the show. The changes pretty much happen from page one, so I still don't know what would have happened on the show. 

What a shame that is, because the story the show was telling was MUCH more compelling than the one LJ Smith told. And almost the entire main plot of these THREE books made it into the first season of the show. Which means that the show had SO MUCH POTENTIAL for the future. I am so sad it's over. 

I know that LJ Smith has a lot (A LOT) of fans, especially of her Vampire Diaries series. But I can't say that I love her as an author. At all. 

The plot is super contrived, which isn't always a bad thing. After all, the main premise is the same in the books and the show, and the show totally makes it work. First, we have the "special and she didn't know it" trope. Cassie is a witch, but she has never known about her heritage. Then we have the "love at first sight" AND the "true love/soulmates" trope. Cassie and Adam feel a strange connection to each other the very first time they meet, and the second time they see each other, Cassie tells him that she loves him. *eye roll*

Almost all of the characters are extremely one-dimensional, and play into stereotypes perfectly. We have Cassie, the Mary Sue. Then we have Adam, the perfect love interest. Diana, the purely good girl. Faye, the bad girl. And Nick, the bad boy with a heart of gold. Of all these characters, Nick is the one who intrigued me the most. He's the only one who shows any real growth, and he was totally swoonworthy to boot. 

The writing is so wooden. At the bottom of one page, two characters do the exact same thing, one line after another. Something about a smirk or a grin, but Smith uses the exact same phrase for both actions. And if I have to read another line about Faye's "honey-colored eyes" or Diana's "hair that is the color of moonlight," I may puke. 

Wow. This review is making it seem like I really hated the books. I promise, I didn't hate them. Yes, the three main aspects of a book that usually make me like it (plot, character and writing) are lacking, but I still almost liked them. It was a fun idea, even if the plot was predictable, and I had fun comparing it to the TV show. 

In the end, I'm glad I read the books. And if I hadn't loved the TV show so much, I might have liked the books a little better. 

Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5

Film Review: THE BOOK THIEF

Adapted from: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Starring: Sophie Nélisse, Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson, Roger Allam

Release date: October 3, 2013

DISCLAIMER: I have not yet read this book. But my mom just finished reading it and requested that we watch the movie. So I cannot compare the movie to the book. Yet. What I can do, is simply share a few of my thoughts on the movie alone. 

The Book Thief tells the story of a young girl, Liesl, who is adopted by a German couple during World War II. This being a WWII story, I immediately knew that it would be an emotional watch. 

I fell in love with the characters. Liesl is a tenacious little girl, terrified by the war and the unknown, and still brave in the face of every bad thing happening around her. Her developing relationships are really at the center of the book and her journey. Her new father is a kind, warm man who teaches her how to read, and her new mother is a stern, scowling woman with a hidden soft spot. Seeing how her relationships with both parents grow is one of the great joys in the story. 

Her relationship with Max is also engaging, and the snowball fight made me laugh with so much joy in the middle of so much heartbreak. 

It is hard for me to discuss this movie without too many spoilers, so I will simply say this. This is one of the rare instances in which I may be glad that I watched the movie before I read the book, because I'm positive I enjoyed this movie much more than my mom did. Since she had just finished the book, she couldn't help but compare every part to what she had just read, and I think it diminished the experience for her, if only a little bit. 

I, on the other hand, had very few real expectations for the movie other than to be entertained and to be pulled emotionally. And I was both. The end of the movie had me sobbing, both in sadness and in joy. It was definitely a rollercoaster, but I can't definitely say that this is one movie that will stick with me for years. And it has only made me that much more excited for when I finally get around to reading the book. 

Tell me: have YOU seen OR read The Book Thief? What did you think about either the movie or the book, or both? Let me know in the comments below! 

Waiting on Wednesday (7): FORGED

WoW is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine

Title: Forged (Taken #3)

Author: Erin Bowman

Release date: April 14, 2015

I won't put the summary here since it is the third book in a trilogy, but I am SO excited for the final installment in the Taken series! I read Taken early this spring, and Frozen this summer and just fell in love with the world and the characters and the intense plot. This is definitely a series that hasn't gotten enough love in my opinion, but I definitely recommend it to anyone who wants a fun, original dystopian! 

Tell me: what upcoming release are YOU waiting on this week? Let me know in the comments below! 

Book Birthdays! -- October 7th, 2014

It's Tuesday, and you know what that means, don't you? It's a happy book birthday to a few new awesome books!

*Note: when celebrating birthdays for books in a series other than Book 1, I will not list the summary, in the interest of avoiding spoilers. If you've read the first books in the series, or are just insanely curious, follow the book title link to the Goodreads page to read the summary there!

Standalones

Title: The Fall
Author: Bethany Griffin

Summary: Madeline Usher is doomed.

She has spent her life fighting fate, and she thought she was succeeding. Until she woke up in a coffin. 

Ushers die young. Ushers are cursed. Ushers can never leave their house, a house that haunts and is haunted, a house that almost seems to have a mind of its own. Madeline's life--revealed through short bursts of memory--has hinged around her desperate plan to escape, to save herself and her brother. Her only chance lies in destroying the house. 

In the end, can Madeline keep her own sanity and bring the house down? 

Buy here: Barnes and Noble | Amazon | Book Depository

Title: The Body Electric

Author: Beth Revis

(Actual release date: October 6th, 2014. Yesterday!) 

Summary: The future world is at peace. 

Ella Shepherd has dedicated her life to using her unique gift--the ability to enter people's dreams and memories using technology developed by her mother--to help others relieve their happy memories. 

But not all is as it seems. 

Ella starts seeing impossible things--images of her dead father, warning of who she cannot trust. Her government recruits her to spy on a revel group, using her ability to experience--and influence--the memories of traitors. But the leader of the rebels claims they used to be in love--even though Ella's never met him before in her life. Which can only mean one thing...

Someone's altered her memory. 

Ella's gift is enough to overthrow a corrupt government or crush a growing rebel group. She is the key to stopping a war she didn't even know was happening. But if someone else has been inside Ella's head, she cannot trust her own memories, thoughts, or feelings. 

So who can she trust? 

Buy here: Barnes and Noble | Amazon | Malaprops

Title: Whatever Life Throws at You

Author: Julie Cross

Summary: Life loves a good curveball...

Seventeen-year-old Annie Lucas's life is completely upended the moment her dad returns to the major leagues as the new pitching coach for the Kansas City Royals. Now she's living in Missouri (too cold), attending an all-girls school (no boys), and navigating the strange world of professional sports. But Annie has dreams of her own--most of which involve placing first at every track meet...and one starring the Royals' super-hot rookie pitcher. 

But nineteen-year-old Jason Brody is completely, utterly, and totally off-limits. Besides, her dad would kill them both several times over. Not to mention Brody has something of a past, and his fan club is filled with C-cupped models, not smart-mouthed high school "brats" who can run the pants off every player on the team. Annie has enough of her plate without taking their friendship to the next level. The last thing she should be doing is falling in love. 

But baseball isn't just a game. It's life. And sometimes, it can break your heart...

Buy here: Barnes and Noble | Amazon | Book Depository

Series Starters

Title: Lailah

Author: Nikki Kelly

Series: The Styclar Saga #1

Summary: The girl knows she different. She doesn't ago. She has no family. She has visions of a past life, but no clear clues as to what she is, or where she comes from. But there is a face in her dreams--a light that breaks through the darkness. She knows his name of Gabriel. 

On her way home from work, the girl encounters an injured stranger whose name is Jonah. Soon, she will understand that Jonah belongs to a generation of Vampires that serve even darker forces. Jonah and the few like him, are fighting with help from a unlikely ally--a rogue Angel, named Gabriel. 

In the crossfire between good and evil, love and hate, and life and death, the girl learns her name. Lailah. But when the lines between black and white begin to blur, where in the spectrum will she find her place? And with whom? 

Gabriel and Jonah both want to protect her. But Lailah will have to fight her own battle to find out who she truly is. 

Buy here: Barnes and Noble | Amazon | Book Depository

Title: Exquisite Captive

Author: Heather Demetrios

Series: Dark Caravan #1

Summary: Forced to obey her master. 

Compelled to help her enemy. 

Determined to free herself. 

Nalia is a jinni of tremendous ancient power, the only survivor of a coup that killed nearly everyone she loved. Stuffed into a bottle and sold by a slave trader, she's now in hiding on the dark caravan, the lucrative jinni slave trade between Arjinna and Earth, where jinn are forced to grant wishes and obey their human masters' every command. She'd give almost anything to be free of the golden shackles that bind her to Malek, her handsome, cruel master, and his lavish Hollywood lifestyle. 

Enter Raif, the enigmatic leader of Arjinna's revolution and Nalia's sworn enemy. He promises to free Nalia from her master so that she can return to her ravaged homeland and free her imprisoned brother--all for an unbearably high price. Nalia's not sure she can trust him, but Raif's her only hope of escape. With her enemies on the hunt, Earth has become more perilous than ever for Nalia. There's just one catch: for Raif's unbinding magic to work, Nalia must gain possession of her bottle...and convince the dangerously persuasive Malek that she truly loves him. Battling a dark past and harboring a terrible secret, Nalia soon realizes her freedom may come at a price too terrible to pay: but how far is she willing to go for it? 

Buy here: Barnes and Noble | Amazon | Book Depository

Series Continuers 

Title: The Invisible

Author: Amelia Kahaney

Series: Brokenhearted #2

Buy here: Barnes and Noble | Amazon | Book Depository

Series Enders

Title: The Blood of Olympus

Author: Rick Riordan

Series: The Heroes of Olympus #5

Buy here: Barnes and Noble | Amazon | Book Depository

Also released today is The Young Elites by Marie Lu! I posted a review for this book yesterday, so if you want to learn more, go check out the previous post!

The Body Electric is Beth Revis's self-published standalone that takes places on Earth while Amy and Elder are having their adventures on the Godspeed in her Across the Universe trilogy. I ordered my Limited Edition signed copy from Malaprops this summer (of which there were only 300), and those are sold out now. But you can still order a Special Edition copy from the above links. Do it! Support Beth in her self-publishing endeavor. 

If you didn't know it already, I live in the Kansas City area. And I think it's amazing that Julie Cross's book that heavily features the Royals is being released just after we've made it to the ALCS! (Blue October!) So I'll be very interested to see how KC comes across in Whatever Life Throws at You. 

Finally, don't kill me, but I STILL haven't started reading any of Rick Riordan's books. But I really want to! Hopefully I'll be getting the next paperback boxset of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series for Christmas, so next year I can FINALLY start. 

Tell me: what new release are YOU the most excited about? 

Review: THE YOUNG ELITES by Marie Lu

Title: The Young Elites

Author: Marie Lu

Series: The Young Elites #1

Summary: I am tired of being used, hurt, and cast aside. 

Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina's black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family's good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever's survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars--they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites. 

Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He believes the Young Elites to be dangerous and vengeful, but it's Terren who may possess the darkest secret of all. 

Enzo Vlenciano is a member of the Dagger Society. This secret sect of Young Elites seeks out others like them beefore the Inquisition Axis can. But when the Daggers find Adelina, they discover someone with powers like they've never seen. 

Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn't belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her. 

It is my turn to use. My turn to hurt. 

Why I read it: I absolutely adored Marie Lu's Legend trilogy. I marathoned all three at the end of February and into March, and just couldn't put them down. Champion made me cry. So I fell in love Marie Lu's writing and when I heard she had a new fantasy series beginning this year, I did a little happy dance and featured it on a Waiting on Wednesday post a couple months ago. Then I won an ARC copy from a blog giveaway and got the opportunity to read it before it comes out! 

Thoughts: I finished this last week and had to take a few days to really process my thoughts on this book. Usually I know my rating for a book immediately when I finish it, but I really needed to sort through my feelings on The Young Elites before I rated and reviewed it. 

That said, I think I loved it. 

Our main character, Adelina, is one of the most complicated characters I've ever read, especially as a main POV character. She has been through hell in her sixteen years, so her dark tendencies and sometimes morbid fantasies are often understandable. And though Adelina does terrible things in this book, she remains, if not relatable, at least empathetic the entire time. Marie Lu has explained The Young Elites as almost a villain origin story, and having read the book, I totally understand where she is coming from now. 

The other characters are similarly gray morally. Certain characters are easier to love than others, but they are all complex and intriguing. Enzo and Teren obviously play huge roles in the story, but other characters make just as much impact. Raffaele, for example, is such a mystery. He quickly became one of my favorite characters, but by the end of the novel, it's obvious that there is more to him than we have even seen yet. The other Daggers and Adelina's sister, Violetta, round out this marvelous cast. 

The writing, as expected, was beautiful. Lu takes inspiration from Renaissance-era Italy for her Adelina's country of Kennetra, and it makes for such a rich, beautiful setting, and the bits of fantasy woven in really stand out. The baliras were one of my favorite small details, because they sound SO COOL. 

There is only one thing that really bothered me about the book, and it's something small that doesn't diminish my affection for the book. Most of the book is written in first-person POV from Adelina's perspective. But every once in a while, we get a chapter from Enzo, Raffaele, or Teren's POV, but they are written in third-person so that Adelina can remain the only first-person POV. While I understand the choice, it is a bit distracting because if we are meant to be in Adelina's head the entire time, we shouldn't have access to these scenes and/or thoughts in the first place. And honestly, many of these scenes seemed extraneous anyway, with the information gleaned during these chapters being revealed to Adelina again later. I think it would have had more impact if we had learned this information along with Adelina later on, rather than knowing it before her. 

Other than that, I loved this book, and I think the series has the potential to get even better in the second and third books! 

This book releases TOMORROW, 10/7/14, so definitely go pick it up and give this new fantasy series a shot! 

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars 

Tell me: do YOU plan on picking up The Young Elites? And if you read the Legend trilogy, what did you think? Let me know in the comments below! 

Review: PROM by Laurie Halse Anderson

Title: Prom
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Summary: High school senior Ashley Hannigan doesn't care about prom, but she's the exception. It's pretty much the only good thing at her urban Philadelphia high school, and everyone plans to make the most of it--especially Ash's best friend, Natalia, who's the head of the committee. Then the faculty advisor is busted for taking the prom money, and Ash suddenly finds herself roped into putting together a gala dance out of absolutely nada. But she has help--from her large and loving (if exasperating!) family, from Nat's eccentric grandmother, from her fellow classmates. And in putting the prom together, Ash learns that she has choices about her life after high school. 

Why I read it: I really enjoyed Anderson's Speak, and I found this book at the Half Price Books clearance sale for a dollar, so I picked it up. Then I wanted to read one more book in August, and this was one of the shortest books I owned, so I knew I could finish it in just a couple of days.

Thoughts: It's cute. It is nowhere near the quality of Speak, but it was an enjoyable read.

In the beginning, I was caught off guard by the vocabulary of the main character and her speech patterns, which extended to the narration because we are in first-person POV. Ash lives in Philadelphia and does not live in the best neighborhood, but I wasn't expecting the slang and slight dialect that I encountered. I gradually got used to it, but I was a little off-put at first, sadly.

Once I got into it, however, it was a super quick, easy read. Everything is pretty straightforward and happens pretty much how you expect it to. There are no tricks here, no twists. It's kind of a Philadelphia-Cinderella story.

Some of the characters are fun. I love Natalia and her grandmother, who live next door to Ash. And Ash's family seems so real, with a father who takes on too many home projects and a mother who is semi-stuck in the 80's.

It's predictable. But I did end up rooting for Ashley in the end, and the book had a satisfying conclusion. In fact, the last sixty or so pages were my favorite part.

Prom is a fluffy, straightforward contemporary. So if you're looking for something super quick and light to read that won't stress you out at all, you may want to give it a try. But it's not something I would outright recommend to people. Only read it if you need a palate cleanse or a short, sweet book.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Tell me: have YOU read any of Laurie Halse Anderon's books? If you've read more than one, which was your favorite? 

Review: HEIR OF FIRE by Sarah J. Maas

*WARNING: HERE BE SPOILERS for books 1 and 2* 

Proceed at your own peril. 

Title: Heir of Fire
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Series: Throne of Glass #3
Summary: Lost and broken, Celaena Sardothien's only thought is to avenge the savage death of her dearest friend: as the King of Adarlan's Assassin, she is bound to serve this tyrant, but he will pay for what he did. Any hope Celaena has of destroying the king lies in answers to be found in Wendlyn. Sacrificing his future, Chaol, the Captain of the King's Guard, has sent Celaena there to protect her, but her darkest demons lay in that same place. If she can overcome them, she will be Adarlan's biggest threat--and his own toughest enemy. 

While Celaena learns of her true destiny, and the eyes of Erilea are on Wendlyn, a brutal and beastly force is preparing to take to the skies. Will Celaena find the strength not only to win her own battles, but to fight a war that could pit her loyalties to her own people against those she has grown to love? 

Why I read it: Are you kidding me? You're joking, right? IT'S A THRONE OF GLASS NOVEL. Of course, I'm going to read it. I HAVE TO KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING.

My thoughts: OH MY GOD. Seriously, it's really hard for me to put my feelings for this series into words. It is the sole reason I really got into YA epic fantasy. I've always loved dystopian, sci-fi, paranormal stories, but for some reason, I had never really read much high fantasy before Throne of Glass. And it was a total awakening.

Now remember, this review is going to be TOTALLY spoiler-y for the first two books in the series. There's really no other way. But I will not be spoiling HoF for you. Onward!

As usual, I just adored this book. Sarah J. Maas may not have the most lyrical of prose, but she weaves the most intriguing and emotionally complex stories I've ever read. Her characters are so well-developed, and the plot lines are complex and layered. I am never bored reading a Sarah J. Maas book.

We find Celaena in Wendlyn, where she is still grieving over Nehemia's death (and Chaol's role in it.) She journeys to meet with her Fae aunt Maeve, whom she believes has the answers to the problem of the wyrdkeys. Her journey in this book is all about finding herself again, and reconnecting to the Fae part of her that she has long suppressed since she was Aelin, a child and princess of Terrasen. And she has a new acquaintance to help her do it.

Rowan, a Fae warrior who is distant cousins with Celaena, is tasked with training Celaena. Rowan is all growls and bared teeth, and I absolutely love him. He matches Celaena like no one else, and the dynamic between them is a palpable chemistry, albeit not a romantic one. I SUPER appreciate the fact that Rowan is not presented as a new love interest for Celaena.

Back in Adarlan, we are also following two more plotlines. First, the story taking place in Rifthold is told by Chaol, Dorian and two new POV characters, Sorscha and Aedion. Sorscha is a young healer in the castle who is in love with Dorian, and Aedion is Aelin's cousin who is now a general in the King's army.

Sorscha was the one POV I really didn't care much for. Honestly, she never seemed that important to the plot and the few times we were in her head were not all that interesting. I'm hoping, with the events that happened at the end of the book, that we will see her significance more in the next book, but she is still one of my least favorite characters in the series.

Aedion, on the other hand, is deliciously complex. I can't say too much without giving things away, but suffice it to say that I loved his character development throughout the novel.

I obviously still love Chaol and Dorian. (And I still totally ship Chaolena. Just sayin'.) Chaol must decide where his true loyalties lie, and Dorian must come to terms with his understanding and control over his newfound magic.

And finally, we have the last storyline, and my absolute favorite new character. Manon Blackbeak is an Ironteeth Witch of the Blackbeak clan, and she is FABULOUS. The Ironteeth Witches are called to the Ferian Gap to train to become a new army for the King, by taking to the sky on wyverns. After Celaena, Manon may be my favorite character of the whole series. If you've read the book, you know exactly how fantastic she really is.

It's really hard to do reviews for middle books in series. But if you take anything away from this review, just know that this book is amazing. The series just gets better and better as it goes, and if it continues this way, then the sixth and last book may just be the death of me.


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars (if I could give it more, I would.)

Tell me: have YOU read Heir of Fire yet? If so, let me know in the comments below what your thoughts are and who your favorite new character is!