Book Review: Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Synopsis (from Goodreads):  Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I'd pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring.... until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something...unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon's touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I'm getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don't kill him first, that is.

My Thoughts: I waited quite a while to read this series.  I honestly knew nothing about it except that it was written by one of my favorite authors.  I never read the synopsis or the reviews.  I'm glad I didn't because alien books aren't usually my thing so I don't know if I would have read it but imagine my surprise when I found out Daemon was an alien!  

Katy has just moved with her mom to West Virginia.  Her mom wants a new start after Katy's father has passed away.  Katy is perfectly happy to spend the summer at home, blogging about books (how cool is that??) and gardening but her mom wants her to meet people before school so she suggests that Katy meet the neighbors.  Katy goes to ask for directions to the store to appease her mother and meets Daemon, an incredibly hot yet extremely rude guy.  They do not get off to a good start.  However, his sister Dee is another story.  Dee and Katy hit it off right away and become close friends, much to Daemon's dismay.  

Katy is at her wit's end trying to understand Daemon's hot and cold attitude towards her.  She is forced to spend time with Daemon and can't decide if there is an attraction between them or not.  It is truly a love/hate relationship.  The Daemon saves Katy's life, not once but twice, and after the second time she is forced to spend even more time with him due to the fact that he has left a "trace" on her.  It is then that Katy discovers Daemon and Dee's secret and learns about the Luxen and the Arum.  

I love Katy, Dee, Carissa and Lesa.  They are fun and great friends.  I even loved Daemon.  How could you not love him, even at his worst.  But I could not stand Ash or Andrew.  They were just  nasty.  I did like their brother, Adam, though.  He seemed like he could be decent.  

The ending was very action packed.  I do have to say that I thought Katy was one of those dumb characters that just don't think.  Without giving too much away here....I get that she was trying to keep Dee safe but to me there seemed to be so many other options that would have been smarter.  So I was rolling my eyes at that part of the story a little bit.  

Other than that, I thought this was a fun read.  It was different for me to read about aliens so I found that refreshing.  I am interested to see how the next book compares.  

Book Review: White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Synopsis (from Goodreads):  One kiss could be the last.

Seventeen-year-old Layla just wants to be normal. But with a kiss that kills anything with a soul, she's anything but normal. Half demon, half gargoyle, Layla has abilities no one else possesses.

Raised among the Wardens—a race of gargoyles tasked with hunting demons and keeping humanity safe—Layla tries to fit in, but that means hiding her own dark side from those she loves the most. Especially Zayne, the swoon-worthy, incredibly gorgeous and completely off-limits Warden she's crushed on since forever.

Then she meets Roth—a tattooed, sinfully hot demon who claims to know all her secrets. Layla knows she should stay away, but she's not sure she wants to—especially when that whole no-kissing thing isn't an issue, considering Roth has no soul.

But when Layla discovers she's the reason for the violent demon uprising, trusting Roth could not only ruin her chances with Zayne…it could brand her a traitor to her family. Worse yet, it could become a one-way ticket to the end of the world.

My Thoughts:  Layla is part demon and part Warden.  A Warden is a gargoyle who hunts demons so you can see how this could be a slight problem.  However, she is taken in at a young age by Abbott, a Warden, and grows up in the clan and Layla definitely considers herself on the Warden's side.  She can see people's souls (or lack thereof) and "tags" demons for the Warden's to take out.  With the exception of some soul cravings here and there, Layla thinks this is working for her.  

Then Layla meets Roth.  Roth is an upper-level demon and oh, so hot!  He saves her from a demon right off the bat and then shows up at her school.  Once Layla meets Roth, she starts to question everything she has grown up thinking she knows.  Are demons really all evil?  Should they all be wiped out by the Wardens?  Are the Wardens all good?  

After Layla finds out the truth about who she is and what she can do, things start to get dangerous and a little exciting (who am I kidding??  Things get A LOT exciting).

I loved Layla immediately.  She is a very strong character and despite the things that she finds out about herself, she doesn't ever feel sorry for herself or have pity parties.  The revelation of who Layla's father was shocked me and I immediately felt for her but she moved on and didn't let it ruin her.  I also really loved how, even though there appears to be a love triangle at first, there really isn't.  Layla knows exactly what she wants and knows that the love she feels for Zayne and Roth are different.  

Zayne was a great guy.  He was a little over protective of Layla and that could get a little annoying.  I also was mad when he wouldn't answer his phone when Layla really needed him and his support.  I felt he put her off and was petty at times but he was a pretty decent guy.  

Roth...I am team Roth all the way, no doubt about it!  From the time he entered the story until the end, I was completely for Roth!  He's hot, he's bad (I mean, he's a demon...how much more bad can you get?) and he can be so sweet to Layla.  He can be totally sarcastic and I loved his sense of humor.  Plus, he has Bambi and Thumper (read the book and you'll find out who Bambi and Thumper are) and that was pretty awesome.  

This book was action packed from page one.  It was full of surprises and the end will make you want to cry or scream!  I hated putting the book down and stayed up late to read it.  I cannot wait to read the second book (comes out in October) and see what happens with Layla, Roth and Zayne.  This book is a definite must read for 2014!

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Popular Authors I've Never Read

 

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  This week's top ten is ten popular authors I've never read.  

Sarah Ockler 

 I own several of her books but haven't gotten around to reading her yet

     

Becca Fitzpatrick

I have the whole Hush, Hush series but again, they sit on my Nook and wait for me to get to them!

        

Meg Cabot

I have a bunch of her books too (do you see a trend here?) and my daughter loves the Princess Diaries series so I have to get going on these to see why.  I did love the movie though!

    

Lauren DeStefano

I have read such great reviews about her books and again, I have them all so just need to get to them!

   

Brenna Yovanoff

Her books look so creepy to me and I just bought Fiendish!  I can't wait to read some of them!

   

Cynthia Hand

Again, I have the whole Unearthly series but haven't read it yet.  I really need to get moving, huh?

   

Allie Condie

I bet you can't guess what I'm gonna say...yep, have the whole series but nope, haven't read them!

   

Rachel Vincent

I really want to read her Soul Screamers series.  It looks amazing!

 

Veronica Roth

I've recently bought the Divergent series and I am looking forward to getting it read.

 

Rachel Hawkins

She's another author that I am excited to read!  I love books about witches so this should be right up my alley!

 

I think what I have figured out from this post is that I need to get reading more of my TBR pile!

Teaser Tuesday: White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"Layla," Abbot called out, and I stopped at the door.  "Just one last thing."
My stomach tumbled.  "Okay."
Abbot smiled tightly.  "Where did you get the clothes you're wearing?" 
~page 214 of White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Take Control of Your TBR Pile March 2014 Challenge

 

The Take Control of Your TBR Pile Challenge is hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer.   I really need to get control of my TBR pile!  I have books that I bought as soon as they came out only to sit on my bookshelf for years.  So, as soon as I finish my current read (and ARC), I am definitely going to concentrate on my TBR pile for this month.

Here are a few of the books on my pile that I hope to get read:

 

 

 

Hopefully I will get through more than five books but this is where I am starting.  I will link my reviews on this page and keep you updated through the month!

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Book Review: Sixth Covenant (A.D. Chronicles) by Bodie & Brock Thoene

Synopsis (from Amazon):  Who in Bethlehem could guess that their tiny, obscure village, populated by shepherds, would become the hinge upon which all history turns . . . and the focus of a terrifying rampage? Sixth Covenant is the conclusion of the three-book Nativity story within the A.D. Chronicles series. Sixth Covenant chronicles Mary, Yosef, and baby Yeshua in the first months of his life in Bethlehem. From the shepherd's visit to the escape to Egypt to the Bethlehem babies who gave their life for Jesus, discover the most critical events in the history of the world.

My Thoughts:  I started reading Brock and Bodie Thoene's books when I was pregnant with my daughter and put on bed rest.  I started with the Zion Covenant series and have worked all the way to the A.D. Chronicles.  These books are amazing and quite addictive.  

In Sixth Covenant, Mary and Yosef have arrived in Bethlehem and Mary has just given birth to the Messiah, baby Yeshua in Rachel and Zadok's lambing cave.  Rachel, Zadak, Eliyahu and Havila make Mary and Yosef very comfortable and welcome and Mary and Yosef start to settle down a little with the baby.  

During this time, King Herod is getting more and more paranoid.  He is sure that there is a rebellion happening even though there is no evidence of one thus far.  That does not stop Herod, aka the Butcher King, from crucifying anyone he thinks is a traitor.  When a caravan of astronomers and princes and kings from several countries come looking for the baby Messiah, Herod becomes outraged.  When he realizes that the coming Messiah that he is looking for is a baby, he orders all males children ages 2 and under killed.

This story is straight out of the Bible.  If you know this story, nothing will be a surprise to you, except maybe the horror you feel at the end.  I knew what King Herod did.  I have read the story several times and always thought it was horrible but I never had any real emotions attached to the story until now.  Rachel and Zadok and Eliyahu and Havila both have baby boys.  You come to know these families and their babies and love them.  It was heart wrenching to read the end.  It also makes it worse since I am a mom to two beautiful boys.  I cannot begin to imagine what all those mothers felt when their children were taken from them so brutally.  

The rest of the book had some slow moments but I loved all the history and details in it.  I enjoy reading about Mary as a normal mother with the same feelings of love and joy while looking at her child and the same feelings of helplessness when her baby is hurting or crying.  I haven't ever really taken the time to think about what it must have been like for her.  

I am now anxiously awaiting for the seventh novel in the series to get here from my library.  I cannot wait to finish reading how Mary, Yosef and Yeshua make it to Egypt and I want to see how Zadok survives now.  

WWW Wednesdays: February 19, 2014

WWW Wednesdays is hosted by Miz B at Should be Reading.

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?


What I am currently reading: 




I'm reading The Body in the Woods by April Henry.  I'm not sure how I am liking it yet...it seems very unrealistic to me.  I'm spending the whole book saying "yeah right" or "that wouldn't happen like that."  It's a little frustrating.














What I recently finished:

I loved Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally!  It was a cute and a pretty fast and easy read.  I loved how the main character didn't let a little thing like being a girl keep her from her dreams!














What I will read next:  

I am going to read Sixth Covenant by Bodie and Brock Thoene next.  This is part of the A.D. Chronicles series.  I started the Zion Covenant series by these authors back in 2005 when I was pregnant and on bed rest with my daughter.  I loved the series and made my way through the next 3 series (this is like one big series divided into 4 or 5 miniseries, if that makes sense) and then I couldn't find this book.  I finally found it and I'm super excited to finish the A.D. Chronicles!

Teaser Tuesday: The Body in the Woods by April Henry

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week my teaser is from an ARC copy of The Body in the Woods by April Henry:

Her death had showed him the gift of life.  A gift which was within his power to give.
  Or to take away. ~Page 100 (of ebook) of A Body in the Woods by April Henry

Book Review: Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

Synopsis (from Goodreads):  ONE OF THE BOYS

What girl doesn't want to be surrounded by gorgeous jocks day in and day out? Jordan Woods isn't just surrounded by hot guys, though-she leads them as the captain and quarterback of her high school football team. They all see her as one of the guys and that's just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university.

But everything she's ever worked for is threatened when Ty Green moves to her school. Not only is he an amazing QB, but he's also amazingly hot. And for the first time, Jordan's feeling vulnerable. Can she keep her head in the game while her heart's on the line?

My Thoughts:  Let me say that the one thing I absolutely love about the Hundred Oaks series is that you don't have to read the books in order to enjoy them.  I read Things I Can't Forget about a year ago and didn't even realize it was part of a series.  Characters from previous books make appearances but it doesn't mean you are missing anything if you haven't read the first books. 

After I read (and LOVED) Things I Can't Forget, I bought the first two books in the series and once again, things got crazy and they got pushed to the side.  I'm involved in a TBR challenge so I finally picked this one up.  I read it in one night.  I loved everything about this book!

Jordan is a quarterback for her high school.  She's not just the quarterback for her high school though, she is one of the best high school quarterbacks in the state.  It's her senior year and she has big dreams of playing for Alabama.  She's worked hard and her team respects and supports her.  Unfortunately for Jordan, her father, who happens to be a pro NFL player, does not support her decision to play.  He never comes to see her games, never talks to her about her games or her dreams and certainly never watches film or tosses a ball around with her.  

Things get even more complicated with Ty Green shows up.  Ty is a new student at her school who just moved from Texas.  Ty is not only super hot but he was also a quarterback at his school....a really good quarterback.  Now Jordan has to worry about not letting Ty ruin her focus on the game and keeping her position safe along with getting into Alabama and trying to make her dad see that she is a good player.  Add to that mix a suddenly confusing relationship with her best friend (who happens to be a guy) and poor Jordan h as quite the mess on her hands.

I loved that Jordan played football and that her team really respected her.  It didn't matter that she was a girl and thought it was great that she did what she wanted to do.  She had dreams and she wasn't going to let the fact that she was a girl playing a "guy's game" to stop her.  She didn't worry about makeup, or getting her hair done or dating.  She just focused on her dream. 

She did lose focus once Ty came to town.  She liked Ty and Ty liked her too.  I think, because I am 35 and way out of the high school scene, some of Jordan's feelings and insecurities seemed silly to me.  She didn't want to date Ty because she didn't want people at school talking about her or her teammates to lose respect for her.  It was hard for me to remember that those things were super important in high school.  There were the "mean girls" who were cheerleaders that hurt Jordan in the past with their words and again, I forget how mean and catty young girls can be so it made me roll my eyes a little until I remembered how important it was that people liked you in high school.  But that was really my only issue with Jordan. 

Ty was a little weird for me.  He was your typical hot, popular jock but he seemed to have some serious control issues.  When you find out about his past, you understand a little but it seemed to me like he might be a little to controlling and that it went beyond his past.  So, I really didn't care for Ty at all.

Sam Henry has been Jordan's best friend since they were young.  I loved Henry.  He was always there for Jordan and wanted whatever made Jordan happy.  I got a little annoyed with his attitude in the middle and end of the book but he redeems himself.  

Jordan's father also redeems himself and you get to understand a little about why he acts the way he does.  He is a jerk the first part of the book though and you really just want to smack him upside the head!

Catching Jordan was a great book about working hard for your dreams and not letting anything hold you back.  It's about being strong and focused and always believing in yourself.  This is a book that will leave you smiling!

 

Book Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Synopsis (from Goodreads):  A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs.

It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.

 

My Thoughts:  I bought this book a week after it came out in stores.  I was so excited to read it but then I got a pile of ARCs to read, had to move out of my house so all my books got packed up and then stopped blogging for a couple months.  After we moved back into our house, I unpacked my books and found this one!  So, I finally had the chance to read it.

I wasn't really sure what to expect with this book.  I made sure I didn't read a lot of reviews and the ones I did read were glowing reviews.  This book started out a little slow for me and while it got better and held my interest more, it was never one of those books that I just couldn't put down.  I did LOVE the pictures in it.  They were creepy and added a special element to the story.

Jacob has heard stories of his grandfather's younger years all his life.  They are crazy stories about girls who can levitate and invisible boys and scary monsters.  Jacob grows up and realizes that his grandfather was sent to a home for children during World War II because he was escaping the Nazis.  Jacob decides his grandfather has made up all these crazy stories, despite the photographs that he has been shown.  

Now Jacob is in high school and his grandfather is getting older and suffering from what the family thinks is dementia.  When Jacob gets a rather disturbing call from his grandfather, he decides to go and check up on him.  Once he gets to his grandfather's house, what he finds will shatter his world.  

Jacob decides to take a trip to the island where his grandfather stayed and visit Miss Peregrine, the house mother.  After talking his father into taking him, he finds that Miss Peregrine's home is no longer in good condition and hasn't had anybody living in it for many years.  Things get a little strange after he follows a young girl into the bog and from there, Jacob needs to decide if he is going to go back to his ordinary, boring life or if he is going to take on this new adventure.

This book was really interesting to me because it was different from anything I've read.  We have time travel, strange and scary monsters, time travel and of course, the peculiar children.  However, getting Jacob to the island to discover all these things took almost half the book.  The first part was not nearly as good as the second part and I really think it could have been shortened and still be a really great book!

I loved Jacob and all the peculiar children.  Enoch was a little creepy for me but he did redeem himself in the end and I enjoyed reading about all the rest.  I would have liked a little more background on each child (you got a very brief background on a couple of them at the end but not much).  I liked Emma and Jacob's relationship despite Emma's past relationship info.  I just liked Emma in general.  She was determined and not afraid of anything.  

This book had some really great creepy moments and I loved the characters and the different elements in this story.  I think that it could have been a little shorter and it would have been great!  I'm so glad I finally got to read it and now I can jump into the sequel without having to wait!

Teaser Tuesdays: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 
My teaser this week is from Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.
"Hello?"  I whispered.  "Are you awake?"
He didn't move.  I put a hand on his arm and shook him gently.  His head lolled to one side. ~page 213 of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.  










I'm really late getting this up but I would still love to know what you are reading!