Review: Heist Society

Title: Heist Society
Author: Ally Carter
Series: Heist Society #1
Published: February 9th 2010
Rating: 4

When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her on a trip to the Louvre…to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria…to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own—scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving “the life” for a normal life proves harder than she’d expected.

Soon, Kat's friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring Kat back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has a good reason: a powerful mobster has been robbed of his priceless art collection and wants to retrieve it. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat's father isn't just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat’s dad needs her help.

For Kat, there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it's a spectacularly impossible job? She's got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family's history--and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way.

Fun. Flirty. Adventurous. Mysterious. Those four words come to mind when I think about Heist Society. This was my first time reading a Ally Carter book and she certainly didn't disappoint! 

Katarina Bishop is the kind of girl I think we all wanted to be at one stage or another. A life filled with exciting missions, constantly traveling to exotic countries, seeing things your regular teenage self could only dream of experiencing at such a young age. Yes, I think we could all agree that Kat has lived a very adrenaline rushed life. A life for some reason that Kat wants to leave behind, but you don't just walk away from the business Kat runs in, it eventually comes back to bite you, and bite it did! 

Kat's dad is in grave danger when Arturo Taccone a very dangerous man known for his "evil ways" thinks that Kat's dad stole his precious paintings and if Kat doesn't find those paintings in two weeks.. lets just say Arturo Taccone will live up to his reputation for his "evil ways".  Kat's gorgeous  partner  in crime W. W. Hale the Fifth joins her in her high stakes mission to pull of this biggest heist yet! Along with Gabrielle, Nick, Simon and the Bagshaw brothers Kat has her wacky team in effect.  These teenage thieves have to complete alot in a short period of time. With twists and revelations at every possible corner it's going to be hard to accomplish this heist, even for this strong unit.

I adored every character I met while reading Heist Society! I thought the collection of different personalities was a breath of fresh air. Each character brought something different to the table, whether it be super intelligence to crazy antics or a sassy attitude that could bring some celebrities to shame, Heist Society never bores.    

Heist Society is a lighthearted fast paced read. It's an enjoying mystery that'll make you laugh along the way. I highly recommend Heist Society, it's a must-read! A great start to the series, I cannot wait to read Uncommon Criminals and Perfect Scoundrels! 

-Taylor X

Review: Opal

Title: Opal
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Series: Lux #3
Published: December 11th 2012
Rating: 5

No one is like Daemon Black.

When he set out to prove his feelings for me, he wasn’t fooling around. Doubting him isn’t something I’ll do again, and now that we’ve made it through the rough patches, well... There’s a lot of spontaneous combustion going on.

But even he can’t protect his family from the danger of trying to free those they love.

After everything, I’m no longer the same Katy. I’m different... And I’m not sure what that will mean in the end. When each step we take in discovering the truth puts us in the path of the secret organization responsible for torturing and testing hybrids, the more I realize there is no end to what I’m capable of. The death of someone close still lingers, help comes from the most unlikely source, and friends will become the deadliest of enemies, but we won’t turn back. Even if the outcome will shatter our worlds forever.

Together we’re stronger... and they know it.

Opal is by far my favorite book in the Lux series so far! Jennifer L. Armentrout never ceases to amaze me with her compulsively lovable writing style. 

After the tragic ending of Onyx we get to see in full effect the aftermath of Adam's death and how that  disastrous event had a huge consequence on the dynamic of the groups we were use to seeing in Obsidian and Onyx.  Katy's and Dee's friendship is basically non-existent, Dee still holds a great deal of anger towards Katy, that at times annoyed me because Katy didn't kill Adam, right? I understood why Dee was angry I just felt it wasn't just at some periods. Dee now hangs out with Ash and Andrew, quite the contrast to the previous novels. Changes like that were seen throughout Opal. 

It was incredible to finally see Katy and Daemon in a relationship. Katy and Daemon take any moment they can together with the craziness surrounding them, they grew extremely close and there love for on another was very obvious. This YA couple I'am hands down jealous of, the intimacy both emotional and physical was a combination of sexy and adorable something that is really had to get right but Jennifer L. Armentrout knows the perfect balance. Katy and Daemon still have their heated conversations and Daemon's jerk side may appear now and then but it was nice to see not everything had changed.  

The infamous Blake returns bringing along with him trouble. In big fat capital letters! I've come to the conclusion that I don't like Blake and I never will. It always appeared that he was hiding something, always working an angle, and always generally being a creep. Watching Katy sleeping Exhibit A of the creepiness of Blake Saunders. STAY AWAY! The only thing that bugged me about Katy in Opal was that Blake continued to do weird things and she didn't tell Daemon! Girl that's what your boyfriend is meant for, you tell him when stuff like that goes down!  

And now onto the supposedly dead runaway Dawson! Dawson is not the same alien Daemon and Dee were use to. His quite and rarely speaks, his past torments him and the only thing he wants is to get his girlfriend Beth back to safety. This issue is the constant struggle in the novel and makes some of the characters push themselves and do things out of their normal to reach this goal. 

One of the things I admired most about Opal was the cliffhanger! I know, strange right? But it was heart-breaking, glass shattering and tear jerking kind of ending that I liked. These kinds of endings make you feel something. It was a cruel ending, just when you think that everything is going to plan for the characters... something shocking happens and the falling pieces of confusion are swept away and you see crystal clear who their real enemies are. 

Overall I have alot of feels for Opal. I just want Origin now! I need it now, okay? I have to know what happens next! And I'm sure when you read Opal you will feel the same way! Another spectacular read from Jennifer L. Armentrout, this author knows how to make my feels weep! 

-Taylor X

TBR Mania!

Hey guys! 

Today I'm going to be showcasing the books that I currently own and haven't yet managed to get around to reading yet! 

Ashes (Ashes Trilogy #1) By Ilsa J.Bick

The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden #1) By Julia Kagawa

Partials (Partial Sequence #1) By Dan Wells

Prized (Birthmarked #2) By Caragh M. O'Brien

A Witch in Winter (Winter Trilogy #1) By Ruth Warburton

Evernight (Evernight #1) By Claudia Gray

The Diviners (The Diviners #1) By Libba Bray

Ballad (Books of Faerie #2) By Maggie Stiefvater

Endlessly (Paranormalcy #3) By Kiersten White

Supernaturally (Paranormalcy #2) By Kiersten White

Rift (NightShade Prequel #1) By Andrea Cremer 

Everbound (Everneath #2) By Brodi Ashton 

Wicked Lovely (Wicked Lovely #1) By Melissa Marr

So what's in your TRB pile? Let me know! :)

Review: Onyx

Title: Onyx
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Series: Lux #2
Published: August 14th 2012
Rating: 5

Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…

Thanks to his alien mojo, Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro connection. So I’ve sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we’ve got bigger problems.

Something worse than the Arum has come to town…

The Department of Defense are here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we're linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And there's this new boy in school who’s got a secret of his own. He knows what’s happened to me and he can help, but to do so, I have to lie to Daemon and stay away from him. Like that's possible. Against all common sense, I'm falling for Daemon. Hard.

But then everything changes…

I've seen someone who shouldn't be alive. And I have to tell Daemon, even though I know he’s never going to stop searching until he gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me?

No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies…

Onyx was a fantastic sequel, it had all the elements of Obsidian had plus more! It really blew me away how HOT Onyx was, if you thought Obsidian was toe curling then you haven't seen anything yet compared to this beautifully crafted sequel! I have this sneaking suspicion that Jennifer L. Armentrout has a deadly goal. A goal that is to make each book even sexier than the last-  it's seriously like she's teasing us- I don't even know if I'll be prepared for Opal.

In Onyx we see Daemon putting his heart out on the line, time and time again trying to convince Katy that what he feels for her is genuine and not some freaky byproduct of this mysterious connection they have, which Katy is deluding herself into believing is the reason why Daemon now has feelings for her. While dealing with her complicated relationship with Daemon Katy frighteningly discovers that she has abilities, powers much like the Luxen and very unstable. Katy isn't an alien but she's not fully human either anymore... the big question is what is she now? 

Katy  is desperately seeking something normal in this otherworldly reality she's stumbled into and finds this in Blake Saunders. Blake's the new guy to school. He's also the guy who likes to surf and blog about it, wears old vintage t-shirt that Katy cannot seem to stop loving and has a killer California smile that makes all the girls sigh. *Loudspeaker* Incoming competition for Daemon Black here; Team Blake to aisle four and Team Daemon please make your way to the register.  I know I know a love triangle? I'm sadly to say yes. However it's not your traditional one and I wouldn't worry too much over it. Daemon is adamant that Blake is no good and cannot be trusted, but Blake's just your average human right? How much trouble can he really cause? A WHOLE TONNE OF MOTHER MONKEY CHAOS.  Blake is a huge pain in the ass for Daemon and holds secrets that could potentially be the death of them all. Is Blake good or bad? That is the million dollar question that I won't be answering *evil laughs*

Furthermore the DOD are out to play and are investigating the area which the Arum was killed, we learn startling information about them and their true motives are revealed that'll make your jaw drop. Everything that Daemon and his family have known is turned upside down and put though the spinner. These shocking truths will change everything. Also highlighting information about Dawson - Daemon and Dee's dead brother- has come to light and this twist is a big game changer that leaves all the characters wondering what really happened to Dawson and his girlfriend Beth.

Throughout all of this mess Katy stays  strong and is always stepping up to the plate to protect Daemon and his family, no matter the cost, even if that means putting herself at risk and going against Daemon's wishes. I really felt that Katy really grew into herself, becoming more confident and leaving that old shy Katy in the past. Also we finally get to see a softer side to Daemon in contrast  to his brash behavior in public. It was heart warming to see him open himself up to Katy and letting her see that vulnerable side to him. I have to say my favourite moment between these two was when Daemon helped Katy film her "What's In My Mailbox" for her blog. I found it insanely adorable and made me wishing I could live next door to a hot alien that'll help me with my blog *sighs* only in my dreams.

I can guarantee that you'll love Onyx and won't disappoint in any areas! You can be certain to see some more pen prodding and invitations to work off some more *trace residue* I look forward to reading Opal as the ending of Onyx was littered was gasping moments and heart-wrenching outcomes.

-Taylor X

Waiting on Wednesday #1

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.  This week's pre-publication, "can't wait to read" is.....

Unbreakable (Unraveling #2) by Elizabeth Norris

Release date: April 23rd 2013 

Four months after Ben disappeared through the portal to his home universe, Janelle believes she’ll never see him again. Her world is still devastated, but life is finally starting to resume some kind of normalcy. Until Interverse Agent Taylor Barclay shows up. Somebody from an alternate universe is running a human trafficking ring, kidnapping people and selling them on different Earths—and Ben is the prime suspect. Now his family has been imprisoned and will be executed if Ben doesn’t turn himself over within five days.

And when Janelle learns that someone she cares about—someone from her own world—has become one of the missing, she knows that she has to help Barclay, regardless of the danger. Now Janelle has five days to track down the real culprit. Five days to locate the missing people before they’re lost forever. Five days to reunite with the boy who stole her heart. But as the clues begin to add up, Janelle realizes that she’s in way over her head—and that she may not have known Ben as well as she thought. Can she uncover the truth before everyone she cares about is killed?

What's your to die for read this week? Let me know!

Review: Obsidian

Title: Obsidian
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Series: Lux #1
Published: May 8th 2012
Rating: 5

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.

Oh My God. For the people who have read Obsidian I think we all know what I mean by that. This is the first Jennifer L. Armentrout book I have read and I'm wondering why I haven't picked up on her books earlier because, hot damn, Obsidian was freaking kickass and high levels of swoon-worthy moments. This book was sizzling with sexual-tension that left me completely breathless and looking over my shoulder incase anyone saw what I was reading!

The protagonist Katy is down right hilarious and very witty, she'll have you laughing from the get go. Katy also happens to be an awesome girl who has a YA blog, Jennifer l. Armentrout nailed the blogger portrayal, I felt as if it was me getting a package of books squealing with delight or the computer breaking right along with my heart. Katy is a very lovable and relatable  character, I think she may have made it to my top 5 favorite heroine characters! Oh and when there's Katy there's Daemon Black her- extremely attractive,  drool worthy, stop what your doing even if that's heart surgery to stare at his chest-   neighbour not too far behind and a huge pain in the butt for Katy.  These two really took sexual-tension to a whole new level, even when their at each others throats about to go in for the kill the, just, I don't know, WOW. That's really all I can say. I crave that I could find a chemistry as hot as Katy and Daemon have. Infact I think we should all pray for something like that because, really, who doesn't want something as hot and sexy as that, I literally think I'm still wiping away the steam those two created, like sweet mother, they even blew up light bulbs when they kiss! Hottest couple alert here!

As I'm sure I've mentioned Daemon is one hot alien that I definitely wouldn't mind getting up close and personal with. I swear in every moment we had we him in it I had trouble pulling together coherent thoughts and wiping the drool off my face. There done. I will not say anymore concerning the outrageous attractiveness of Daemon Black because I think you all get the picture by now.

The storyline of Obsidian is extremely gripping, with Katy realizing that the Blacks are not quite what they appear to be. Furthermore Katy forms a close friendship with Daemon's sister Dee, which is the bases of why Daemon is so hostile and harsh to Katy, because having humans around is a huge risk and causes alot of safety problems.  It was highly entertaining to see Daemon fall for Katy as his conflicting beliefs were at war. Should he push Katy away and make her hate him? Or cave to his feelings? That was the constant struggle throughout the novel and the reason why we see many hot and cold scenes between Katy and Daemon.  Daemon does have good reasons for pushing Katy away as there's the lurking threat of the Government ready to wipe the Luxen (that's what the aliens are called) out or the dangerous Arum-another alien race made up of shadows that wish to absorb the Luxen's ablilties and kill them. I quite like the fresh take on aliens, it's very different from the Hollywood version of smiley green creatures with antennas that we all know.

Now please promise me if you haven't read Obsidian yet after you've read this review go out and buy this book! It's a must-read, it should be on the top of your TBR list because Obsidian is a mesmerizing read! It's a stop what your doing, put away that homework, forget to clean that room and don't even bother picking up that phone because Obsidian is extraordinary and will capture your attention within the first sentence. I highly recommend this if that isn't obvious! 

-Taylor X

Review: Breaking Point

Title: Breaking Point
Author: Kristen Simmons
Series: Article 5 #2
Published: February 12th 2013
Rating: 4.5

After faking their deaths to escape from prison, Ember Miller and Chase Jennings have only one goal: to lay low until the Federal Bureau of Reformation forgets they ever existed.

Near-celebrities now for the increasingly sensationalized tales of their struggles with the government, Ember and Chase are recognized and taken in by the Resistance—an underground organization working to systematically take down the government. At headquarters, all eyes are on the sniper, an anonymous assassin taking out FBR soldiers one by one. Rumors are flying about the sniper’s true identity, and Ember and Chase welcome the diversion….

Until the government posts its most-wanted list, and their number one suspect is Ember herself.

Orders are shoot to kill, and soldiers are cleared to fire on suspicion alone. Suddenly Ember can’t even step onto the street without fear of being recognized, and “laying low” is a joke. Even members of the Resistance are starting to look at her sideways.

With Chase urging her to run, Ember must decide: Go into hiding…or fight back?

Once again Kristen Simmons managed to deliver nonstop action-packed novel that left me utterly frustrated at times then a complete one eighty in other parts that made my heart ache and made me careless puddle of feels on the ground. Like really, Kristen Simmons must be some kind of goddess of making my feels feel  like a freaking  roller-coaster because, one minute everything would be find and dandy, my feels would feel safe and protected, then BAM next minute I'm seating at the edge of my seat quickly scanning through this nail biting intense scene that my feels definitely can't handle and are bound to com-bust with anxiety at any second. That there my friends sums up my whole view of Breaking Point.

Ember was an absolute delight as always - wait..no..that's not right..I must be thinking of some other cheerful character in some other book I've read because Ember Miller cheerful? *scoff* Yeah not likely. In Breaking Point we see that Ember is still heavily grieving over the execution of her mother and may be prone to occasionally take that anger out on poor Chase. Not that Ember doesn't have any right not to be upset and let that emotion out sometimes, I just wished she did it in more a productively way. Yelling at Chase is not going to bring her mother back and I think Ember finally realizes that towards the end of the novel, thank God. I really wanted to throttle her sometimes, I got so damn frustrated when she would unnecessarily hurt Chase but, then again I think this is the first time I've seen in a YA book where they've dealt with death how reality would and I think for me I wasn't use to the characters having such struggles with the death of a loved one. 

Nevertheless Ember and Chase's relationship was put through quite the test - one I personally believed they past- we see many conflicts and outbursts (mainly Ember) that was hard to read at times because of such the raw emotion the characters were feeling, it was like I was invading their privacy and I shouldn't be seeing such a personal moment. But like always these struggles they were put through made them closer then ever, and I believe the third book we'll get to see more steamy and romantic moments between the two- something that I'm all for, I wish they'd just jump each-others bones already. 

 Breaking Point is set a month after we last saw Ember and Chase in Article 5,they are now amongst  the resistance, people who fight against the FBR. I was not a fan of the resistance for numerous of reasons, first being that I plainly just disliked their personalities- I found them quite rude and outrageous at times- and secondly being when a mysterious sniper was shooting off FBR soldiers they all felt the need to celebrate? They felt the need to celebrate someones death? Someones murder? The resistance never once questioned or wondered if those soldiers who were shot were like them? Forced into something they didn't want to do? Look I know most of the FBR soldiers were jerks and probably deserved to get shoot but, I bet their were others who were just like Chase. People pushed into the FBR with no choice about it. Sorry for the rant but that really bugged me. 

The plot line of Breaking Point was the rescue of Rebecca. Now I'm not going to say much more on that because I don't want to spoil you. but what I will say though that there are plenty revelations, twists turns, high-stakes, surprised reappearances and jaw dropping moments filled during the duration of the novel to get to the point of where the characters need to be to rescue and find Rebecca. 

Now I'm going to leave it at that and let you be the judge. Go read Breaking Point because I thought it was down right kickass and deep levels of badassery.

-Taylor X

Review: Paranormalcy

Title: Paranoramlcy
Author: Kiersten White
Series: Paranoramlcy #1
Published: 30th September 2010
Rating: 4

Evie's always thought of herself as normal. Sure her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she's falling for a shapeshifter and she's the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours, but still. Normal.

Only now paranormals are dying and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She begins to suspect there is a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths, and even worse, that she is at the center of a dark prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.


Honestly where do I start? I've been meaning to read Paranormalcy for ages now and I'm glad I bumped it up on my TBR pile because it was utterly hilariously lighthearted  read that literally had me laughing out loud! 

Evie was mysteriously found at the age of 3 wandering around naked in a forest, since then she's been through the dreadful system of foster-care. Until one day, little 8 year old Evie has the unfortunate delight of an encounter with a vampire and can see through the veil of his glamour to his true corpse like form.  Evie now sixteen works with the International Paranormal Containment Agency, bagging and tagging all paranormal's that threaten the exposure of the supernatural to the human world. 

Evie's a pretty cool character, one that'll make you laugh your stomach into fits with her adorable and naive outlook on life. I think this is the first book I've ever read that's aimed in the YA genre that actually got it right. While most books these days are about growing teens that have aspects of an Adult book, Paranormalcy you'll see is for Young Adults and straight away within the first paragraph you will notice the difference between other YA books you might have read.  Evie's personality reflects throughout the duration of the novel and sets that tone of immaturity and hopeful thinking that young ones get caught up in. 

One constant trouble throughout Paranormalcy was the faeries! There's one particular fey called Reth that cause all kinds of trouble for Evie and her friends. Reth constantly advances towards Evie wanting to fill her up with some magical fire like liquid! I think that certainly comes under the 'all kinds of trouble' sign. Evie tries her hardest to avoid Reth but that is easier said then done as faeries are manipulative and cheeky. Then there's the gorgeous Lend who happens to be a shapeshifter and the troublesome person who  broke into the IPCA just around the time paranormals started dropping dead. 

With a dangerous mysterious creature on the loose Evie is forced on a high stakes mission with life altering decisions to find out who this killer is and why herself just may be connected to it in some twisted way. Paranormalcy was fun and hilarious, it was a breath of fresh air from your regular YA books!

-Taylor X