The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong

Sixteen-year-old Maya is just an ordinary teen in an ordinary town. Sure, she doesn't know much about her background - the only thing she really has to cling to is an odd paw-print birthmark on her hip - but she never really put much thought into who her parents were or how she ended up with her adopted parents in this tiny medical-research community on Vancouver Island.

Until now.

Strange things have been happening in this claustrophobic town - from the mountain lions that have been approaching Maya to her best friend's hidden talent for "feeling" out people and situations, to the sexy new bad boy who makes Maya feel . . . . different. Combine that with a few unexplained deaths and a mystery involving Maya's biological parents and it's easy to suspect that this town might have more than its share of skeletons in its closet. 

So I picked this book up because I'm a fan of Kelley's Darkest Power series, if you've read those you know that they are kind of a supernatural thriller with some romance thrown in, and they're a tad bit dark, by dark I mean scary and not very happy go lucky, less laughs more thrills. So that is what I was kind of expecting from this book.

I really enjoyed Maya as the main character, I loved her interactions with her parents and the confidence she had in herself. I also liked the way she approached Rafe (the sexy bad boy) she wasn't taking his bull, even if she did find him a little bit really sexy. That said I did like Rafe, he seemed nice and I did believe that he cared for Maya, however I would have to say that if Armstrong decided to create a love triangle between Maya, Rafe and Daniel (Maya's best friend) I would have to side with Daniel.  Daniel was nice and loyal, and I loved him!


The plot line of this book seemed predictable at first, but the end had me going "ummm what just happened?" I loved loved loved the shape-shifter thing, it's a paranormal aspect that I've always found intriguing but I feel like is never brought up outside of werewolves. I also liked how this book had serious parts but still had parts that made me laugh, quite hard in fact. As I said before Armstrong's Darkest Powers series was lacking in the laughs so the fact that this book had a lighter aspect was a surprise.


This book left me longing for the next book, and intrigued by the beautiful cover! The earring! The dark hair! The red lips! Give me more Maya, Daniel, and Rafe please!

Love, Inc. by Yvonne Collins and Sandy Rideout

Zahra, Kali, and Syd would never have met if their parents' marriages hadn't fallen apart. But when the three girls collide in group counseling, they discover they have something else in common: they've each been triple-timed by the same nefarious charmer, Eric, aka Rico, aka Rick. Talk about eye-opening therapy.
Cheerful, diplomatic Zahra is devastated. Rico had been her rock and sole confidant. How could she have missed the signs? Folksy, flirtatious Kali feels almost as bad. She and Rick had only been on a few dates, but they'd felt so promising. Hardened vintage-vixen Syd is beyond tears. She and Eric had real history... Or so she'd thought. Now all three girls have one mission: to show that cheater the folly of his ways.
Project Payback is such a success, the girls soon have clients lining up for their consulting services. Is your boyfriend acting shady? Dying to know if your crush is into you? Need match-making expertise? Look no further than Love, Inc.



So I saw this book a few months ago on another blog and thought it sounded great and of course promptly forgot about it, then a few weeks ago I saw it on my to-read list and picked it up from the library, and I'm so happy I did!


Within the first few pages of this book I could tell that I was going to like it mainly because I instantly liked Zahra. Zahra is someone that I could see myself being friends with, she's sweet and funny, and a little bit snarky when it comes to her family. In fact her interactions with her family were some of my favorite parts of the book since it was so unexpected, you think you're going to read a silly break-up story but BAM you get a little struggling-with-my-heritage thrown in. Anyways, back to the characters...... I didn't really like Kali and Syd at first but they grew on me, kind of like they grew on Zahra. I loved them for their unique personalities,and their problems, I actually teared up a few times when we got to see Syd's interactions with her family, and her reaction to the break-up with "Rico".


The storyline of this book was just fantastic, at first I was surprised at the length, since it seemed relatively long for a YA contemporary novel, but I actually thought it was the perfect length! In fact I wanted more! I guess you could say I kind of predicted the end, but I was still pleasantly surprised at the way it turned out, and I definitely laughed out loud at a few of the situations Zahra got herself into.


So if you enjoy love stories, revenge stories, stories about friendship, or stories about a girl struggling with her broken family, then this is definitely a book to consider picking up!

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a weekly MeMe hosted by The Story Siren where bloggers share what they got to read this week.

From the Library:

The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa

I actually had this book a couple of months ago but I never got around to reading it. I remember liking the first one and I've been hearing amazing things about this series for awhile so i decided to check it out again.

The Forbidden Sea by Sheila A. Nielson

 I've wanted to read this one for awhile, and I love the cover!

Perchance to Dream by Lisa Mantchey

I read the first book in this series a few weeks ago and I enjoyed it, so I'm excited to dive into the sequel!

Queen of the Dead by Stacey Kade

I loved the first book! So I'm super excited to read this one!!

The Liar Society by Lisa & Laura Roecker

I'm really really excited to read this one, the story sounds so fun! And basically if the story takes place in a boarding school, you know it's gonna be awesome.

What did you get in your mailbox this week?

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Beatrice "Tris" Prior has reached the fateful age of sixteen, the stage at which teenagers in Veronica Roth's dystopian Chicago must select which of five factions to join for life. Each faction represents a virtue: Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite. To the surprise of herself and her selfless Abnegation family, she chooses Dauntless, the path of courage. Her choice exposes her to the demanding, violent initiation rites of this group, but it also threatens to expose a personal secret that could place in mortal danger. Veronica Roth's young adult Divergent trilogy launches with a captivating adventure about love and loyalty playing out under most extreme circumstances.

Oh my fabulous! This book is the new Hunger Games, and yes, I just said that.


I loved every aspect of this book. I literally sat down thinking I would read a few pages before I went about my day (I had things to do) and instead I ended up reading the entire book! I canceled plans to read this book, I could not put it down!

The characters were fabulous! Tris, our main character, was awesome. She was kicking butt and taking names, and I loved every minute of it!  I loved the way she interacted with those around her, I got so attached to all of the characters, especially Four! If you combined Gale from The Hunger Games and Dmitri from Vampire Academy, they would make Four......... can you say awesome?


One of my favorite things about this book was the different factions. I found thiem fascinating, and I wanted to learn more about all of the ones we didn't hear much about, especially Amity and Candor. The world of Divergent was fascinating in general, it was so interesting and I wanted to learn more about it! Another thing I loved were the action sequences, it's really great to read a heart-pounding action scene every once and awhile!


This 2011 Debut lived up to all of the great reviews! Read this one today!!!

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly MeMe hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine where bloggers share the books they're waiting on this week!

This week I'm waiting on Don't Expect Magic by Kathy McCullough

Delaney Collins doesn't believe in fairy tales. And why should she? Her mom is dead, her best friend is across the country, and she's stuck in California with "Dr. Hank," her famous life-coach father—a man she barely knows. Happily ever after? Yeah, right.

Then Dr. Hank tells her an outrageous secret: he's a fairy godmother—an f.g.—and he can prove it. And by the way? The f.g. gene is hereditary. Meaning there's a good chance that New Jersey tough girl Delaney is someone's fairy godmother.

But what happens when a fairy godmother needs a wish of her own?

This book sounds so fun, and I love the cover! I feel like a lot of fairy godmother books have been popping up lately...... but I actually really like this YA trend!

Release Date: November 8th, 2011

What are you waiting on this week? 

Top Ten Tuesday (1)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly MeMe hosted by The Broke and the Bookish where bloggers make a top ten list according to different questions asked each week. This weeks is "Top Ten Books I Loved, But Never Reviewed." Here goes....

1. The Luxe Series by Anna Godbersen: One of my favorite YA series of all time, love triangles! Fancy dresses! Old time New York!

2. The Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan: I love love love these books! They have something for everyone, and how awesome is Annabeth?

3.My Most Excellent Year by Steve Klueger: I did a brief overview of this book for another MeMe a couple of weeks ago, so obviously I love it! One of the best coming of age stories out there!

4. The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini: Simply amazing. The best honest to god fantasy out there today (in my personal opinion).

5. The Harry Potter Series: Do I really need to explain this?

6. The Bra's and Broomsticks series by Sarah Mlynowski: These books are so fun! They always make me laugh and Rachel is one of my favorite Main Characters in YA!

7. The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins: Again, do I really need to explain this one?

8.The Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer: O.K. maybe liking these books makes me lame but come on, they are good! The movies are terrible (Kristen Stewarts acting is laughable) but I honestly did love the books.

9. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine: Oh man. I've read this book almost every year since fourth grade and it never gets old. I love you Char!

10. Anything by Meg Cabot: No Meg Cabot does not have a book called anything, I mean Meg Cabot's books in general. She is amazing! I know thats kind of cheating..... but hey, it's my blog! :) My personal favorite Cabot series include The Mediator, 1-800- where- r - u, and the Airhead series.

I know that there are many, many more that I cannot list, but these are definitely some of the highlights! What's your Top Ten?

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

BROOKLYN: Andi Alpers is on the edge. She’s angry at her father for leaving, angry at her mother for not being able to cope, and heartbroken by the loss of her younger brother, Truman. Rage and grief are destroying her. And she’s about to be expelled from Brooklyn Heights’ most prestigious private school when her father intervenes. Now Andi must accompany him to Paris for winter break.

PARIS: Alexandrine Paradis lived over two centuries ago. She dreamed of making her mark on the Paris stage, but a fateful encounter with a doomed prince of France cast her in a tragic role she didn’t want—and couldn’t escape.

Two girls, two centuries apart. One never knowing the other. But when Andi finds Alexandrine’s diary, she recognizes something in her words and is moved to the point of obsession. There’s comfort and distraction for Andi in the journal’s antique pages—until, on a midnight journey through the catacombs of Paris, Alexandrine’s words transcend paper and time, and the past becomes suddenly, terrifyingly present.

Jennifer Donnelly, author of the award-winning novel A Northern Light, artfully weaves two girls’ stories into one unforgettable account of life, loss, and enduring love. Revolution spans centuries and vividly depicts the eternal struggles of the human heart.

This was one of those books that I just happened to see on the shelves and the key on the binding caught my eye, so I didn't really know what to expect. Let's just say I was very pleasantly surprised.

When I first started reading this book I didn't think I was going to like Andi, I mean what is there to like about a self-deprecating druggie, right? Wrong. Her attitude did piss me off at first but once we learned the reason behind it all I felt was pity. She was just so sad! I loved the way she interacted with other people, she was bitchy at times but you could definitely tell she felt bad about some of the things she said and did. But although I did love reading about Andi I would have to say the excerpts from Alexandrine's diary were definitely my favorite part. I loved the historic aspect that we got from the French Revolution and Donnelly combined the past and the present flawlessly! I never questioned what relevance Alexandrine had to the story at all!


This was definitely an emotional read for me, I thought that the author portrayed Andi and Alexandrines emotions beautifully, none of it made me want to roll my eyes or say "really?". This is a great book for anyone who loves historical fiction or books about loss. I can't wait to read more of Donnellys books!