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

Review: Beautiful Chaos

Title: Beautiful Chaos
Author: Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Series: The Caster Chronicles #3
Published: October 18th 2011
Rating: 5

Cursed lovers Ethan and Lena have returned to their home town, which is now ravaged by swarms of locusts, record-breaking heat, and devastating storms. What - or who - will need to be sacrificed to save Gatlin?

For Ethan, the chaos is a frightening but welcome distraction. He's being haunted in his dreams again, but this time it isn't by Lena - and whatever is haunting him is following him out of his dreams and into his everyday life. Even worse, Ethan is gradually losing pieces of himself - forgetting names, phone numbers, even memories. He doesn't know why, and most days he's too afraid to ask.

Sometimes there isn't just one answer or one choice. Sometimes there's no going back. And this time there won't be a happy ending.

Beautiful Chaos was one hell of a ride. There are so many things that I could say and explain why this book was my favorite so far in the Caster Chronicles; maybe it was Link- the comedic guy who tries so hard or to Lena not being as annoying as she was in the previous book, it could of even been the damn sisters- Ethan's Aunts- who are constantly saying widely inappropriate and always complaining about some small detail. There's a myriad of reasons why that I could list all day but I think the one person who touched me throughout the duration of the novel was Ethan. 

Gatlin is in utter Chaos, with vexes on the loose bringing destruction in their wake and Abraham on the prowl looking for the location of the infamous John Breed, there's only so much a town and person can handle. Ethan is desperately  on the hunt to find this mysterious "The One Who Is Two" who is supposedly meant to save the mortal and caster world after Lena claimed her self both Light and Dark, which consequently broke The Order of Things bringing travesty and promise of destruction to both worlds.   

We finally get to learn some background on Sarafine! Lena and Ethan have visions of when Sarafine was claimed for Dark and her family shunned her leaving her utterly alone and depressed. At this stage she was still herself and was far more the murderous woman we know her by. We see the struggles of which Sarafine went through, forcing herself to stay in the Light to not give in to the Darkness within her. I couldn't help but feel for that past Sarafine- the one who desperately wanted to Light, the one who tried as hard as she could, but in then as we all know Sarafine gave into the Darkness and was lost from all Light.

John Breed also appears in Beautiful Chaos. I have mixed feelings about him, one side of me feels pity for him with what he went through as I child bringing brought up in such a monstrous way. The other side of me though hates his arrogant personality and rule breaker attitude. There are some moments in the book where I felt he really redeemed himself and I was proud of him for that but, I just can't keep that picture out of my mind where he had his hands all over Lena at that dance club, and not to mention turning Link into a Incubus!

Now to the sole reason why I loved Beautiful Chaos so much..Ethan! Just, I don't know *sighs* I felt for him so much throughout the novel. With his town in wrecks and getting burned every time he touched his girlfriend, to  him forgetting things his known his whole life Ethan never once gave up.  Through all that crap surrounding to him, the determination and fierce courage Ethan showed to seek the way and find the answers to save everyone's life even if that meant risking his own? I'm in awe of him and Kami Garcia and Margret Stohl for creating such a strong character, someone who had weakness and was only mortal, but a mortal who could pushes asides those aspects and do what was necessary, I'm in love with Ethan Wate no matter what anyone says. 

And also no need to worry about Ethan and Lena's relationship, their rock solid and it's going to take alot more then Liv and John to get in the middle of them.  

One thing I can promise you about Beautiful Chaos is that there won't be a happy ending this time. The last 20 pages will surely leave you in tears, I can remember the feeling of my heart breaking when I realized what was going to happen and even writing about it right now brings back all those emotions of heart-ache and sadness, but for me, I think that's what made the book, that it brought out such a huge reaction that I wasn't expecting! I highly recommend you read this nail biting installment because I don't want you to miss out on such an extraordinary read, it may be a bit hard at first but when your into the kick of it you'll never look back. I have high hopes for Beautiful Redemption and can't wait to find out what happens next after Kami Garcia and Margret Stohl left us with a cliff-hanger like that!

-Taylor X

Waiting on Wednesday

Hey guys!

This week I'm waiting for...

Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3) by Cassandra Clare

Release Date: March 19th 2013

If the only way to save the world was to destroy what you loved most, would you do it?

The clock is ticking. Everyone must choose.

Passion. Power. Secrets. Enchantment.

Danger closes in around the Shadow-hunters in the final installment of the bestselling Infernal Devices trilogy.

OMG. Put your hands up if you cannot wait for Clockwork Princess!! I expect to see all hands raised as this book is absolutely kickass and if your one of those sorry people who haven't then.. well I have deep sympathies for you, as you have no idea how AMAZING this series is! Will. Like do I have to say anymore? Like seriously, if you haven't read it stop reading this right now and go buy Clockwork Angel and then you'll know like the rest of us how excited we all for Clockwork Princess! I really hope Will gets a happy end, that's all I pray for! 

-Taylor X 

Review: The Innocents

Title: The Innocents
Author: Lili Peloquin
Series: The Innocents #1
Published: October 16th 2012
Rating: 3.5

Nothing ever came between sisters Alice and Charlie.
Friends didn't.
Boys couldn't.
Their family falling apart never would.
Until they got to Serenity Point.

In a town built on secrets and lies, it's going to be hard to stay innocent.
They're sucked into a strange and seductive world—a world they can't help but hate, and can't help but love. A world that threatens to tear them apart, just when they need each other the most. 

The Innocents was not exactly how I thought it would be, when I first heard about it and read the summary I thought 'Okay, this sounds like a really cool, super mysterious book' and I couldn't wait to read it. I know some people compared it to the likes of Pretty Little Liars and Gossip Girl and I can definitely see the similarities after reading it. It had the drama, secrets, lies, betrayal, love, twists and revelations all elements which make a fantastic teen drama but somehow it all was predictable. I knew about from the second chapter what huge secret would eventually explode! 

The two protagonists of the novel were Alice and Charlie; sister's who were super close would tell each other everything right up to the day they drove through Serenity Point, where things take a turn for the worst for the sisters. Forcing them both to take side and stick to it, unfortunately  for them, it seems like their on opposite islands now. I found I liked Alice more then I liked Charlie. Alice is the kind of character I felt you could relate to more and actually give a damn when things got bad for her. Where else when something disastrous happened to Charlie I really couldn't of cared less. Charlie has alot of potential and I see huge amounts of character development in the future for her. As scene in The Innocents drinking, partying, drugs and boys were mainly the focus of Charlie's brain. I think that's why I liked Alice more. Alice who reads, likes to have some solidarity time and never bends to anybody else's will, is much more likely heroine character.

The plot of The Innocents surrounds Alice and Charlie's mother marrying the wealthy Richard Flood, the guy who's wife and daughter died mysteriously in the past year and the startling resemblance  Alice holds to his past daughter- Camilla- the golden girl with the darkest of secrets and also the girl who drove her self of a bridge committing suicide shocking Serenity Point into a hush of the unspoken Camilla Flood.

The Innocents isn't a must read. It's a fond read but not something that had me excited or feeling attached to the characters which is something really important in a novel, but hey, if you like either Pretty Little Liars or Gossip Girl I'd say give it a go. It's not all bad, just needs some improvement in some areas and hopefully the sequel This Side of Jealousy will succeed to capture my bookworm-heart. 

-Taylor X