REVIEW: As I Wake

Title:  As I Wake
Author: Elizabeth Scott 
Genre:  YA, Dystopian, Sci-Fi
Publisher: Dutton Books (imprint of Penguin)
Format:  Hardcover
# of pages:  269
Source:  library
Links: goodreads

Summary:
(from goodreads)
Ava is welcomed home from the hospital by a doting mother, lively friends, and a crush finally beginning to show interest. There's only one problem: Ava can't remember any of them - and can't shake the eerie feeling that she's not who they say she is.

Ava struggles to break through her amnesiac haze as she goes through the motions of high-school life, but the memories that surface take place in a very different world, where Ava and familiar-faced friends are under constant scrutiny and no one can be trusted. Ava doesn't know what to make of these visions, or of the boy who is at the center of them all, until he reappears in her life and offers answers . . . but only in exchange for her trust.

Review:
I randomly picked As I Wake up at the library the last time I was there.  Something drew me to it, but I'm not sure exactly what.  The cover is definitely intriguing, so it might have been that.  Anyway, it's written differently than most books are.  It can get repetitive, and the way the sentences and paragraphs are structured can make for stilted reading, but that didn't really bother me.  I know it bothered a lot of people to the point that they could no longer enjoy the book, but I felt like it was part of creating the character's voice.  After all, you are hearing from Ava's point of view, so you only know what Ava knows.  And at the beginning, Ava knows nothing.

This whole book is about Ava learning about who she is and what happened to her.  She's trying to piece together what happened because she feels that she doesn't belong in this world that she's in.  And she just so happens to be right.  As the book progresses, we begin to learn little by little that she's from a parallel universe, but it isn't until the very end that we learn who was responsible for her and Morgan being found out and thus for her being sent to this other universe.  I thought this was a very intriguing plot, what with traveling through parallel universes and time travel, and I did not guess the person who tattled about her and Morgan to Clementine.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book, but I was left with questions at the end and I don't think there's a sequel, so that kind of sucks.  Elizabeth Scott created these alternate universes and rules for traveling between them, but the end left me confused because it didn't follow one of the rules she had set out.  But I may be missing something, so who knows.

Rating:
Plot:
Characters:
Ending:
Overall:

REVIEW: Sweet Venom

Title: Sweet Venom
Author: Tera Lynn Childs
Series: Medusa Girls
Genre: YA, Paranormal
Publisher: Katharine Tegen Books (HarperCollins)
Format: Hardback
# of pages: 345
Source: Library
Challenge: n/a
Links: goodreads

Summary:
(from Goodreads)
Grace just moved to San Francisco and is excited to start over at a new school. The change is full of fresh possibilities, but it’s also a tiny bit scary. It gets scarier when a minotaur walks in the door. And even more shocking when a girl who looks just like her shows up to fight the monster.

Gretchen is tired of monsters pulling her out into the wee hours, especially on a school night, but what can she do? Sending the minotaur back to his bleak home is just another notch on her combat belt. She never expected to run into this girl who could be her double, though.

Greer has her life pretty well put together, thank you very much. But that all tilts sideways when two girls who look eerily like her appear on her doorstep and claim they're triplets, supernatural descendants of some hideous creature from Greek myth, destined to spend their lives hunting monsters.

These three teenage descendants of Medusa, the once-beautiful gorgon maligned by myth, must reunite and embrace their fates in this unique paranormal world where monsters lurk in plain sight.

Review:
School has been keeping me busy!  When I did have time to read, I've been reading this book and it was so hard to put it down when I needed to!

Sweet Venom started out a bit slow for me, but after Gretchen and Grace met, it started to move a lot quicker and the story got more interesting.  I have been interested in Greek mythology since 7th grade, I think, which is why this caught my attention.  Another reason this caught my attention is the different view on Medusa than the norm.  Though I really like Greek mythology, I haven't read many modern novels based on Greek mythology, so I don't really have anything to compare to.  But in my opinion, this is a very unique plot, especially with the aspect that Medusa was good and Athena was jealous of her.

The plot was interesting, but I think it was the characters that really made the book great for me.  Gretchen is a badass girl who has issues with touchy-feely stuff until she meets Grace and Nick, who she really doesn't want to like.  Grace is a shy, nice, happy girl who cares a lot about others, and she's the one I relate to most.  Then there's the last triplet that we meet, Greer.  She seems very stuck up, but that was how she was raised, and she eventually redeems herself.  I'm glad the main characters are different and have their own personalities, but are still able to come together and work well with each other.  I also liked being able to hear from each of their points of view.

And then there are the side characters!  Grace's brother, Thane, and her counselor, Ms. West, as well as Gretchen's classmate, Nick, are SO mysterious.  They just add so much to the story with their mysteriousness!  I'm pretty sure Nick knows Gretchen's secret...but I just don't know how he knows.  I suppose that's what the sequel is for.  Also, we never did find out who Medusa's sister is in modern day form, so that's another thing to look forward to in the sequel.  So many questions (that I will list below and will contain spoilers, so don't scroll all the way if you haven't read Sweet Venom yet and don't want it spoiled)!!

Gah~!  At the end of this book, I was left with wanting to know more!  There are just too many questions running through my head.  Tera Lynn Childs has definitely hooked me!  I can't wait for the next book!

Rating:
Plot:
Characters:
Ending:
Overall:

!! SPOILER ALERT !!


Questions I Hope Are Answered in Book 2:
- Where did Thane go?
- Does Nick know what Gretchen does?
- How did Nick get Gretchen's number?
- Was Nick the one who called to warn Gretchen to get out?
- Who captured Ursula?
- Who put the bounty on the huntresses' heads, for that matter?
- Is Grace right about Ms. West being Sthenno?
- What does Milo know, if anything?

Like I said, so many questions!  Can't wait for Sweet Shadows to come out later this year!

Library Loot (01)

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. 

Sorry for not posting in a while! There's just something about the month of May that makes me a bit lazy. It's like an awkward time, where school's about to end and you've got projects piling up that need to be done and studying for finals starts, but all you can think about is that summer is almost here. Also, the weather doesn't help, because it's getting warmer, making me think of summer even more. Oh, those lazy summer days~ I cannot wait! I need a break. And I want to get really working on my TBR pile!

Anyway, for this past week, I only have books I checked out from the library so I thought I'd do my first ever Library Loot!

What's your loot this week?

In My Mailbox (05)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren.  I haven't done one of these in a while, but I have accumulated quite a few books over the past 2 weeks, so I thought I'd post what I've gotten. ^^

From the Library:

From Netgalley:

I've been on a romance kick lately and am excited to read all of these!  What's your haul this week? :]

REVIEW: Lola and the Boy Next Door

Title: Lola and the Boy Next Door
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Series: has 2 companion novels
Genre: YA Romance
Publisher: Dutton Books (member of the Penguin Group)
Format: Hardcover
# of pages: 338
Source: Library
Challenge: RRRC Treasure Hunt (Quarterly Challenge)
Summary:
(from Goodreads)

Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit -- more sparkly, more fun, more wild -- the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.

When Cricket -- a gifted inventor -- steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

Review:
I loved Stephanie Perkins' first book (and reviewed it not too long ago), so I was a little hesitant about reading this next one.  I didn't want to be let down.  But I sucked it up and borrowed it from the library, and I'm so glad I did!  Because I loved it just as much as I loved Anna and the French Kiss!

I really like Stephanie Perkins' writing style.  Her first person point-of-view really lets you connect to the character and puts you in their world.  It's a fun and easy read, with me finishing this book in a day.  I just couldn't put it down!

Lola, our narrator, is happily living her life with her 2 dads, Andy and Nathan, and her rocker boyfriend, Max.  That is, until her past comes back in the form of the Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket.  They were her neighbors up until 2 years ago, but now they're back and Cricket Bell is acting like they never moved away.  Lola is confused, to say the least.  Soon she must decide between her boyfriend, who she thought was "The One," and the Boy Next Door.

The story draws you in, but the characters are what makes the story.  You want to know what happens to them, and you want everything to turn out alright and for them to have a happily ever after.  All the characters are really likable in this book (well, except Max, who turns out to be a jerk).  I find that I can relate to them, even though we have different personalities.  And once again, Perkins has created characters who, if I met them in real life, I'd want to be their friend.  Characters like Lola, who is quirky and funny, with a unique sense of style.  She makes her own clothes, and I totally wish I could be like her.  (She can be self-centered at times, but that's a fact of life.  She's a teenage girl, after all.)  And Cricket Bell who is an inventor of sorts, and also very cute, from what I imagine through Perkins' words.  He is described as 6 foot 4 inches, with dark hair and intense blue eyes.  I wish I had a boy like Cricket living next door, when I was growing up, lol.

Besides the main characters, there are several side characters, and they are all delightful.  Anna and Étienne make a reappearance in this book and are Lola's example of what a happy couple should look like.  (I am still a big fan of this couple, and am still in love with Étienne, though now I am also in love with Cricket, haha!)  Lola's dads, Andy and Nathan, are hilarious at times and great father figures throughout.  Also, Lola's best friend Lindsey is pretty kick-ass.

The setting was also great, and reading about Lola's escapades through San Francisco brought me back to my trip there last year.  It was my first time there, and I really liked it and had hoped to go back.  After reading this, I really hope to go back now, haha!

There is so much to like about this book, from the writing style to the characters.  This book is great in my opinion, and I would highly recommend it!

However, there is one thing I wish it had.  Even though I really like the first person point-of-view because it really works with her stories, I wish we could have read a little bit from the guy's point-of-view.  I especially want to know what Cricket is thinking, while he's away from Lola...

And finally, the last thing I like about the book is the first thing you see before reading: the cover!  I like pretty/cute cover, but get a little annoyed when it has no elements from/nothing to do with the story.  Like having a blonde model on the cover of a book with no blonde characters.  What is that?!  But that's not a problem here!  The models on the cover have the appropriate hair color.  In fact, "Lola" has rocking hair, and I wish I had that hair.  The cover is cute, and after reading the story, all I think when I see it is, 'That is so Lola and Cricket,' all the way down to the rubber bands around Cricket's wrist and the drawing on his hand.

Rating:
Plot - ★★★★★
Characters - ★★★★★
Ending - ★★★★★
Overall - ★★★★★

REVIEW: Anna and the French Kiss

Title: Anna and the French Kiss
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Series: has 2 companion novels
Genre: YA Romance
Publisher: Speak (part of the Penguin Group)
Format: Paperback
# of pages: 372
Source: Library
Summary:
(from inside flap)

Anna is happy in Atlanta. She has a loyal best friend and a crush on her coworker at the movie theater, who is just starting to return her affection.  So she's not too pleased when her father decides to send her to a boarding school in Paris for her senior year.  But despite not speaking a word of French, Anna meets some cool new friends, including the handsome  Étienne St. Clair, who quickly becomes her best friend.  Unfortunately, he's taken-and Anna might be, too.  Will a year of romantic near misses end with the French kiss she's been waiting for?

Review:
It's been a long while since I've read a good YA novel.  Good thing I found this one!  I had actually wanted to read this when it came out, and was appearing on everyone's blogs, but I never got around to snagging a copy for my own.  But my last trip to the library, I was browsing the racks in the YA section, and there it was.  So I snagged it and just finished reading it today.  Let me just say up front: it was excellent!

Anna and the French Kiss is about a girl named Anna who is sent to an American boarding school in Paris for her Senior year because her father thinks it's a good idea.  She's not overly fond of her father, and she hates the idea of attending school in Paris.  But it's too late, because her parents have made up their minds and have left her there to fend for herself.  Eventually though, everything changes, and Anna no longer hates Paris.  She has made new friends, even a new best friend, the handsome Étienne St. Clair.  There's betrayal and drama in Anna's life, of course.  There has to be some strife to make the story interesting, right?  But I did kind of see the betrayal coming, ever since that first phone call.  By the end of the novel, Anna is sad to be leaving Paris, but happy to be on her way to college.

Whenever I read stories about boarding school, it makes me wish I was able to attend one.  And with this one being in Paris, I wish I could've gone to a school like that even more!  Anna got to explore Paris everyday while she was there.  The descriptions of everything was lovely, and I could really picture the setting, as she explored the city around her.  But of course, boarding school is probably not as fun as these novels make it out to be.

Anyway, Stephanie Perkins writes the voice of a teenage girl really well!  I was able to relate to Anna, who became quite real to me, with everything that she felt for her friends, family, and the guys in her life.  If I met her in real life, I would totally be her friend.  Also, she's a great narrator.  However, she does have flaws, as do her close friends.  But that just makes this even more real to me.  And even though they have flaws, I must say that I totally love all the characters that were a part of Anna's circle of friends in Paris.  Especially Étienne.  I could just imagine him, speaking in his British accent. *swoon*  He's really very handsome the way I picture him, haha.  The author is totally right!  American girls LOVE hot boys with British accents.  Well, at least the American girls that I know (self included).  It just multiplies their sexy points by a million! lol.

I definitely recommend this book!  It was a cute, fun, quick, and easy read, that's also quite realistic.  It had me chuckling quite a bit.  I really like the author's writing style, and can't wait to read more of her work!  I think the fact that I want to read more from this author can speak for how good this book was! :)

(SPOILER ALERT! kind of?)
I know there's a companion piece to this that out already, Lola and the Boy Next Door, and another companion piece coming out next year, Isla and the Happily Ever After.  I definitely can't wait to get my hands on both, so that I can find out how Anna and Étienne are doing.  I've read a review of Lola and the Boy Next Door and know that Anna and Étienne make some cameos.  I want to know how college life is treating them and how their relationship is going.  I was really rooting for them the whole way through Anna and the French Kiss!

And some little tidbits, that didn't affect my enjoyment of reading this book...I really like the uneven pages.  I love books that are printed like this.  Also, the cover is nice, but I wish they had shown the male model's face. I think that might be on purpose, so that the reader will create their own visual of Étienne.  But then, why did they show the male model on the cover of her other book?  Hmm...curious...

Rating:
Plot - ★★★★★
Characters - ★★★★★
Ending - ★★★★★
Overall - ★★★★★

REVIEW: Ten Things I Love About You

Title: Ten Things I Love About You
Author: Julia Quinn
Series: The Bevelstoke Series
Genre: Historical Romance
Publisher: Avon Books
Format: Paperback
# of pages: 375
Source: Library
Challenge: 2012 Julia Quinn Challenge
Summary:
(from back of book)

Ten Things You Should Know About This Book

1. Sebastian Grey is a devilishly handsome rogue with a secret.

2. Annabel Winslow's family voted her The Winslow Most Likely to Speak Her Mind and The Winslow Most Likely to Fall Asleep in Church.

3. Sebastian's uncle is the Earl of Newbury, and if he dies without siring an heir, Sebastian inherits everything.

4. Lord Newbury detests Sebastian and will stop at nothing to prevent this from happening.

5. Lord Newbury has decided that Annabel is the answer to all of his problems.

6. Annabel does not want to marry Lord Newbury, especially when she finds out he once romanced her grandmother.

7 is shocking, 8 is delicious, and 9 is downright wicked, all of which lead the way to

10. Happily. Ever. After. 

Review:
Ten Things I Love About You starts off with Lord of Newbury eyeing our heroine, Annabel Winslow, as his new bride. Of course, Annabel doesn't want to be...and who would? Lord Newbury is old and fat and not at all handsome. But she must! Because it's her duty...and though she doesn't like it, she's almost certain she will end up marrying him, for the sake of her siblings. But then, she meets Sebastian Grey, our very likable hero. He is a big contrast to the fat, ugly Lord Newbury, and Annabel is certain to fall in love with him. And so the story goes. Throw in a little secret and some meddling side characters, and you've got this novel!

The characters were likable enough, though I wasn't as engaged in this love story as I usually am with Quinn's other characters. I didn't connect with them, I guess. I was interested in Lady Louisa's story more so than the main characters', and do hope that Julia Quinn decides to write a novel for her as well as Edward. The plot was so-so...the twist was not much of a twist, after all.  Also, I find Sebastian's secret quite interesting, but I'm surprised no one has ever guessed it...

As you can probably tell, this is not my favorite Julia Quinn novel by any means. I actually couldn't really get into the story until about halfway in, and then I felt like I couldn't put it down. But still, it was enjoyable to read and several times while reading, I found my lips quirking up into a smile as I laughed to myself.  I would definitely recommend this. It is a feel good novel with a happy ending, and I love reading those! Plus, Julia Quinn is one of my favorite authors. :)

Rating:
Plot - ★★★
Characters - ★★★★
Ending - ★★★★★
Overall - ★★★★