Book Review #4: Poison Princess by Kresley Cole

 
She could save the world –or destroy it.

Sixteen year old Evangeline“Evie” Greene leads a charmed life, until she begins experiencing horrifying hallucinations. When an apocalyptic event decimates her Louisiana hometown, Evie realizes her hallucinations were actually visions of the future – and they’re still happening. Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she must turn to her wrong-side-of-the-bayou classmate: Jack Deveaux.

But she can’t do either alone.

With his mile-long rap sheet, wicked grin, and bad attitude, Jack is like no boy Evie has ever known. Even though he once scorned her and everything she represented, he agrees to protect Evie on her quest. She knows she can’t totally depend on Jack. If he ever cast that wicked grin her way, could she possibly resist him?

Who can Evie trust?

As Jack and Evie race to find the source of her visions, they meet others who have gotten the same call. An ancient prophesy is being played out, and Evie is not the only one with special powers. A group of twenty-two teens has been chosen to reenact the ultimate battle between good and evil. But it’s not always clear who is on which side…

Evangeline Greene is starting off a new school year with a summer of secrets to follow. She’s our typical popular girl, minus the B****y attitude, with the star football player as her boyfriend, a best friend with a rocking bod, and the golden blonde hair and perfect body to go with. Oh and add to that the fact she is a cheerleader! Her mother is a single parent, but hey, who needs a dad when you have one of the biggest mansions in town with enough money to make Paris Hilton look homeless? In order words, Evie is living the life…or so we thought.

 

The summer before school opened Evie was locked up in a mental institute, CLC, for teenagers and it will ruin her reputation if anyone finds out. But how can people not ask of her whereabouts when she disappeared for three months with no calls and texts?
 

Before she went to CLC, Evie had a series of gruesome nightmares about the apocalypse. Those dreams were so bad that it took doctors and specialists three months to “cure’ her of the “illness.” Have the nightmares stopped like the doctors hoped? Does the medication they put her on work? No, the nightmares haven’t stopped and the pills definitely do not work.

 

As everyone knows, with a new school year comes a new student. Jack Deveaux is one of the teenagers from the Cajun reservation who had to transfer to Evie’s school and she instantly despises him. Why you ask? Because Jack is dangerous, drinks all the time, and insults she and her friends in Cajun French; Evie speaks French fluently. Despite that, she can’t help but feel a little attraction towards him. Come on, who wouldn’t be attracted to a tall and muscular guy with dark hair, stormy grey eyes and stares at you 24/7?

 

Right before Evie’s dreams start to become reality she begins to get visions from a boy, Matthew, who warns her that the end is coming and she isn’t ready to face Death. Matthew sends her visions of other kids who are like her with special abilities, but Evie would rather believe she’s crazy than face the truth: the apocalypse is coming and she isn’t ready to face her enemies. Matthew also sends Evie visions of an evil witch with red hair and green eyes who looks so much like Evie. In the visions the witch kills without second thought and ruins everything that is alive. It turns out that every character in the visions – including Evie – is a card from the major Arcana in a deck of Tarot cards and Evie, like the witch in her visions, is the Empress.

 

When the Flash, the beginning of the End, came Evie lost everyone she knew. So you can imagine her shock when Jack one day shows up at her mansion demanding the truth from her. She kept a journal of drawings from her nightmares; Jack saw the drawings and noticed that every one of her drawings came true and, being a sucker for mysteries, he had to find out how she knew about the Flash. But Evie hadn’t figured out all of the mysteries to her visions and she figured the only person who could help her would be her grandmother. She promised to tell Jack the whole truth if he took her to North Carolina where her grandmother lived.

 

The world is a dangerous place since the Flash. There were only a few people who survived it. In order to get to North Carolina, Evie and Jack had to fight their way through numerous Bagman, zombie like creatures, attacks. They had to evade getting captured by Slavers and prevent Evie, being one of the few females left, from getting kidnapped by horny guys. Through all the ups and downs of their quest, Evie and Jack slowly fall for each other but not every romantic tale ends well.

 

Of all the YA books I have ever read, this one kept me on my toes the most. I knew from the start that Evie would fall for Jack but what I didn’t expect was his refusal to believe that she felt anything but hatred towards him. Sure, there were moments before and after the Flash when Evie looked at him like he was scum – that’s only because he acted as such. The only other time that Jack irked me was when they met Selena. She and Jack had everything in common; the fact she was gorgeous and rich really didn’t improve Evie’s feelings towards her. Evie knew that Selena was one of the major Arcana, what she couldn’t figure out was whether or not Selena knew. There were moments when it seemed like Selena knew about the cards but they were quick to pass.

 

I couldn’t see Selena as anything more than a lying B***h. The only reason she tolerated Evie was to get closer to Jack and when that didn’t work, she made him believe that Evie was in love with Matthew. When they rescued Matthew, Evie found out that he was autistic and didn’t tell the others – this was why she was so protective over him.

I enjoyed Evie; she is definitely on my Heroine list. She was stubborn, protective, and humorous; I like that in my heroines. I had to agree with Jack when he told her that the odds of her grandmother being alive were very slim, however, Evie had a feeling her grandmother was alive so they went on. She and Jack argued on all the time and I expected them to spontaneously start kissing in the middle of every argument but that never happened. Her ability to believe and keep going forward when the world seemed to be against her incredibly amazed me. There are so many other things that occur in this book but sadly I can’t tell without spoiling the surprise.

 

Kresley Cole joined my list of Favorite Authors when I read this book; it was that good. Every character irked me at some point but you get that in every book. I wish she’d given us more to hope for with Evie and Jacks happily ever after, but isn’t that what sequels are for? Poison Princess is one of my favorite books of 2012 and that’s saying a lot considering the fact that I am such a picky reader. The book had everything I look for in books: action, romance, drama, and a Bad*** hero. Hopefully, the second one comes out in the next year; I really am a sucker for mysteries myself. Poison Princess is a good read to start with if you’re looking for something that will keep you anxious and wanting more.

 

Here are the ratings on a scale from one to five:

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As always< 3, GLBBB

Book Review #3: Black City by Elizabeth Richards

A dark and tender post-apocalyptic love story set in the aftermath of a bloody war.

In a city where humans and Darklings are now separated by a high wall and tensions between the two races still simmer after a terrible war, sixteen-year-olds Ash Fisher, a half-blood Darkling, and Natalie Buchanan, a human and the daughter of the Emissary, meet and do the unthinkable—they fall in love. Bonded by a mysterious connection that causes Ash’s long-dormant heart to beat, Ash and Natalie first deny and then struggle to fight their forbidden feelings for each other, knowing if they’re caught, they’ll be executed—but their feelings are too strong.

When Ash and Natalie then find themselves at the center of a deadly conspiracy that threatens to pull the humans and Darklings back into war, they must make hard choices that could result in both their deaths.

Natalie Buchanan and Ash Fisher live in Black City where humans and Darklings are separated by a great wall. Darklings are vampire like beings who are a little stronger than humans, pale with dark hair and eyes, drink human blood, and have a venomous substance in their fangs, Haze, that is addictive to humans. Natalie is the Emissary’s daughter and she is forced to attend school with children of a lower class. Ash is half human; therefore, when the Darklings were moved on the other side of the wall, he was allowed to stay with his human parent. When Natalie and Ash first meet it is loathe at first sight. Ash, being half-human and half-darkling, doesn’t have a heart beat but whenever Natalie is around his heart flutters. Natalie on the other hand, feels sparks whenever she and Ash accidentally touch. Due to the gruesome way a Wrath, Darklings invested with a disease that makes them blood crazed and deadly, killed her father, Natalie hates Darklings and Ash even more because of his uncompassionate personality. Ash hates Natalie simply because she is the Emissary’s daughter and the Emissary was responsible for separating him and his family. It is only when Natalie and Ash are forced into dangerous situations that she is able to see pass the fact he is half-darkling and is really caring. They both slowly fall for each other but their feelings are a danger to both of them for it is law that humans and Darklings cannot be intimately involved; the breaking of this rule is punishable by death. Ash and Natalie must break this law because they are Blood Mates which is why Ash suddenly has a heartbeat. Together both of them uncover the Government’s dark secrets while staying under the radar.

Natalie was really entertaining. She had a logical way of thinking that I admired. Unlike most heroines, she is filled with grief over her father’s death and pain for her sister’s current state of mind. I liked the way she put aside her dislikes of Darklings and stood up for them in their time of need. In a way, Natalie was a bit naïve. She lived with the same people just about her entire life and never once expected that they were more than they seemed and she was told almost every big secret and discovery. I like my heroines intuitive and perceptive.

Ash is supposed to be incredibly beautiful but I couldn’t picture him as anything north of beautiful but a thin guy with pretty features. His dad wasn’t working and the money he got from dealing Haze was barely enough to buy blood; that being said, there’s no way he could have been muscular and smexy. I enjoyed reading from Ash’s perspective better than Natalie’s, although, there were moments when I wanted to juice his head. I thought he was a little bit of a coward; his friend Beet was fighting to get the wall down so Darklings could be integrated with the humans but Ash never tried to join the cause when his Darkling family was on the other side and he wanted to see them more than anything – I don’t know about you guys but that’s a sign of cowardice. It wasn’t until the end when he finally stood up for what he believed in.

Of course there has to be something that sets the hero and heroine back in almost every YA book. In this one it is the fact that Natalie has the heart of a twin-blod (half darkling and half human), named Evangeline, which explains why she and Ash are Blood Mates. Natalie was born with a heart problem and had to get a heart transplant; her mother kidnapped a twin-blood child and took the girl’s heart; therefore, if Natalie hadn’t gotten her heart, Evangeline and Ash would have been Blood Mates. Ash gets really confused when Evangeline asks him to choose between she and Natalie; how do you choose between someone who makes your heart beat, even though that heart belongs to another, and the person you’re meant to be with? You’ll have to read and find out.

There were many other characters that I liked: Beet and Day – though Day got on my nerves a couple of times. Some characters like Sebastian and Evangeline I absolutely could not stand. When Natalie found out the kind of person Sebastian really was, I was not surprised. No one character bugged me as much as Evangeline. Her introduction was just a BIG surprise. When Ash started to have feelings for her my head almost blew off. The girl was sneakier than Valentine Morgenstern.

Black City was just Ah-Mazing overall and I will definitely keep my eye out for the second one. The government structure was a lot like Hunger Games. The President’s name in Black City was Purian Rose, he and President Coriolanus Snow were very similar (that just made me like the book even better). So anyone looking for a Good Read should definitely look into Black City. I’m looking forward to reading more from Ash and Natalie.

 

Here are the ratings on a scale from one to five:

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As always <3, GLBBB

Book Review # 2: The Selection by Kiera Cass

 

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of the gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare, It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself and realizes that the life she's aays dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.


America Singer lives in a country by the name of Illéa. In Illéa, every family is categorized by numbers from one to eight: one being the Royal Family and eight being people with little on their back. The Princesses are married off and the Princes must marry through The Selection. Every time a Prince is of the marriage age, thirty girls are picked from cities in Illéa to compete against each other in winning the Prince’s, Maxon, heart. Whoever Prince Maxon chooses becomes the Princess and future Queen. America is already in love with Aspen and doesn’t want to enter The Selection when she gets an invitation in the mail, but she does after much persuasion from her mother and Aspen. Girls with numbers lower than Fours have never been entered into The Selection before and America, being a Five, is absolutely flabbergasted when the unexpected happens: she is chosen. When she and the other contestants move into the Castle to compete, the last thing on America’s mind is winning. She plans to do everything possible to get back home to Aspen but starts to doubt what she really wants when Prince Maxon is introduced to her. Through attacks on the Castle by Northerners and Southerners America nurses a broken heart and befriends Prince Maxon. Will she fall for him or go back to Aspen when the time comes?

Aspen is America’s boyfriend of two years and her reason for joining The Selection. America and Aspen are in love and plan to get married but that fact he is a Six and she a Five is a MAJOR problem. America doesn’t think her mother will ever let her marry someone below her caste. Aspen, on the other hand, is reluctant to marry America because he believes that a man should be able to provide for a family and being a Six, he is very poor. His pride is very big and it is the reason behind both him and America’s heartbreak.

I really didn’t like Aspen’s character. He loved America but his pride was bigger than his love for her or he wouldn’t have broken up with her. I hated that he was constantly reminding her of how much he hated that she was giving him food. If he truly loved her, he would have only seen her love for him in her actions. Whenever America mentioned him, I just about screamed my frustration. I kept hoping she’d GET OVER HIM!!!!

Prince Maxon, on the other hand, saw America for who she truly was. He understood her heartbreak and didn’t judge her for her actions. Maxon liked her even though he knew she was in love with another. From the moment he was introduced I hoped he and America would instantly click but that was only one-sided. America was so focused on her heartbreak that she didn’t realize that she had an even better guy practically wrapped around her finger. In a way, I felt sorry for Maxon. He might be in love with this girl who he thinks is just amazing and she’s wrapped up in thoughts of another guy who doesn't deserves her.

The Selection was overall a good read, but I wouldn’t put it on my Amazing
bookshelf. The characters were very entertaining; however, some of them – Celeste – got on my nerves. The book definitely needed more romance and action. In my opinion, had Kiera Cass given King Clarkson and Queen Amber more dialogue and some alone time with America, her feelings for him would have evolved. Would I recommend this book? Definitely. In fact, I plan on reading the sequel, The Elite.

Here are the ratings, on a scale from 1 to 10, this book got:

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Leave us a comment telling us what you thought of the
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As always <3, GLBBB

Book Review #1: Breaking Dawn

Well in light of the latest Twilight movie, Breaking Dawn: Part 2, we decided to write a review for those who need a refresher, want to get into the series, or just want to read one more thing about Twilight.

Review (Spoiler Free)

The book starts out with preparation for Bella and Edward's wedding; though that is not all the action in the book. The book jumps from the usual, Bella's point of view to Jacob's after quite a cliff hanger. Who saw that one coming? Anway, through Jacob's eyes we see more into the pack than ever before and really feel Jacob's dedication to Bella. It is odd that in one of the most ineresting times in the book, it isn't from the point of view we would want. Although I would have preferred Bella or Edward's point of view, Jacob gives us a valuable insight into the pack ways and more of the Cullens' personalities that we didn't have before. After a climactic end to the second part of the book, we return to Bella's new point of view. Her life has drastically changed in the past few months and the change in her is obvious. When things begin to settle into a pattern for Bella's new life, an old character returns and brings in the Volturi. We were introduced to many many new characters as the tension builds to a climactic meeting. Overall, the book was full of love, action, and suspense. We see the character's we have loved from the previous books from a different perspective that outlines their personalities. From cliffhanger to cliffhanger, you will be enthralled with the action and romance in this book.

On a scale of 1-5, the following are the ratings we give this book.
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As always <3, GLBBB

Books, Boys, and Comebacks

Hello, it's been a while since this blog was active, but not to worry. It is now summer, therefore, time is on hand. This summer, plans have been made to update the blog and to keep it updated. Please feel free to leave as many comments as you want. It's good to be back.

As always <3, GLBBB