The Girl Who Fell--Reviewed by Sarah Roberts

                                       “Darkness doesn't have fingers that twist into my flesh."

We all want the guy that we fall in love with to be perfect, or at least perfect for us. We hate when we don't see the warning signs that our friends see, or at least when we do see them it could be too late. Well that is unfortunately the case for Zephyr Doyle.

 Zephyr Doyle is focused on two things. First is leading her field hockey team to the state championship. Second, is getting into Boston College, her dream school.

But love decides it wants to intervene in the form of Alec. He's cute , he's charming, and most important he doesn't judge Zephyr. He understands all her weaknesses and even shares them. Soon their relationship becomes bigger than Zephyr, something she can't control, something she doesn't really want to control. 

Zephyr believes it has to be love. Love is powerful and....terrifying?

But love should not make you abandon your friends or your dreams. And it shouldn't make you feel guilty or ashamed. 

So when Zephyr final sees the person Alec really is she decides to take control back.

Only problem is it might be too late.

I absolutely loved this book!!! It made my emotions change so many times. The characters were well developed, and the plot line was superb. I loved how it seemed like this story could happen in real life. I love the whole story and was hooked by the first word. The plot of this story will grab you and leave you wanting more after each chapter. During each chapter of this book, you will be able see each character develop and grow. Zephyr will definitely develop throughout this story. S.M. Parker did an outstanding job of making the storyline feel realistic and even added points of advice that will help each reader through relationships that are similar to Zephyr and Alec's. I would highly recommend "The Girl who Fell" to each and everyone of my friends and family members. It is a must read.



Lady Midnight~ Reviewed by Hailey Hinrichs

 

 

"But our love was stronger by far than the love, Of those who were older than we- Of many far wiser than we- And neither the Angels in the Heavens above Nor the demons down under the sea Can ever dissever my soul from the soul Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.."

           

            It's been five years ears since the Dark War that took the lives of thousands of Shadowhunters. Order has been restored and Shadowhunters are forbidden from helping any of the Fair Folk. After Mark was taken by the Fair Folk and his parents were killed, he was left to watch over his brothers and sister and the weight of the whole New York Institute was left on his shoulders. Emma was left trying to find out who killed her parents because she refuses to believe that it was Sebastian due to the markings on their bodies. She begins to give up hope. At least until Mark appear at their door with other Fair Folk.

            The Fae believe they can help track who killed Emma's parents since they have found even more bodies with the strange markings. If Emma and Julian help them, they have a chance to have Mark back and find the people who killed Emma's parents.

            As Emma searches for her parent's killer, she's left wondering what Julian has been keeping from her. As her parabatai, they have a special bond. A parabatai is your best friend and your partner in battle, but they can never fall in love. But why not? Can she stand to know the truth? Even more importantly, can she stand to actually find the person who killed her parents?

            I fell in love with this book so I gave it 5 stars! I LOVE Cassandra Clare's writing more than anything and I think this new trilogy is going to be amazing, just like the Infernal Devices and Mortal Instruments series that she also wrote. I loved the characters, like I usually do. Each character is unique. My favorite part of these series is Clare has made each family different. For example, my favorite characters throughout each series are any of the Herondales. They're brave and sarcastic and hilarious. Each character has their own personality that you really will not forget. I'm someone who likes romance but to a certain extent. I hate when that's ALL the book is about when it's really supposed to be about something bigger than that. A BIG thing I love about these characters is that their independent and they're mature which is the type of characters you really need in a book like this. Also, the plot to this book is phenomenal. I don't know how Cassandra Clare can keep making more and more series off these characters, but she does an amazing job at it.

            I would highly recommend reading The Mortal Instruments series before this book because you learn about every character in this book in the 6th book of the series. A lot of reading... But I promise Cassandra Clare's writing won't let you down. Also, there is prequel series called the Infernal Devices series that is about these characters ancestors. Not necessary to have to read before this book, but it gives you background information to better understand two characters Jem and Tessa that show up in this book.

            I would HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy and adventure! This is an amazing start to what will be an undoubtedly amazing trilogy!



Into the Dim~ Reviewed by Hailey Hinrichs

"I scrambled for something- anything- to hold on to. But there was nothing. I was nothing. A microbe. A grain of sand on a beach surrounded by a dry ocean."

            Hope Walton has always been different then her adoptive father's family and their very southern life style, and so was her mother. Together they had faced 16 years together with each other trying to live in a world far different from themselves. But when Hope's mother was said to have died in a tragic earthquake, Hope is left completely broken and is left alone is this family of people far different from herself. When she is invited to go see her mother's family in Scotland, she takes the chance to try to learn about her mother. But what she finds is far from what she thought was even possible.

            When she arrives in Scotland, she learns from her aunt that her mother was part of a secret society of time-travelers and tat she is far from dead. After trying to find an opal necklace in the year 1154, she found herself stuck there. Hope then must join the Viators, a group of people known to her mother that is working to find her. But they only have 72 hours, and after entering through the Dim, Hope finds herself in a time of harsh politics and violence. Trying to find her way through a completely different time and working to not interfere with anything that can change time, Hope begins to wonder is she'll ever be able to find her mother.

            I really enjoyed this book so I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. Time travel is different from what I've read in a while and it actually was a nice change! I loved the strong female characters in this book. It was especially interesting to see them back in the 12th century, since women were really just objects then and even rape sometimes wasn't even a crime. It was interesting seeing these strong women try to handle situations back then and not just backing down like most women did to avoid any abuse. Also, I loved that this quickly went into the action. I hate having to read through chapters and chapters of background information that I really don't care about. Luckily this book just gives you the details you need, then heads right into the action. I really liked this book and I would recommend this book to anyone who might be interesting in time-travel or just something different!



Wandering Star-- Reviewed by Sarah Roberts

When tragic things happen to us, we wish to be left alone. To be allowed to live quietly where we finally achieve peace. This is all that Rho Grace desperately wants.

Orphaned, disgraced, and stripped of her guardian title, Rho Grace just simply wants to live a quiet life. She wants to live as a worker in the Cancrian refugee camp on House Capricorn.

This, however, does not happen.

News about the group Marad has spread. Marad is a group of unstable Risers that plan to overturn the harmony in the Galaxy. Marad could strike any of the Houses at any given moment.

Then, an unwelcomed nightmare appears to Rho in the shape of Ochus. He bears a cryptic message the leave Rho with no choice but to stand up and fight.

Rho must now embark on a journey filled with high-stakes. She must travel through an all-new set of different Houses, where she discovers that there is much more to not only the Galaxy, but herself than she could ever imagine.

Just when Rho has come to terms with the tragic loss of Mathias, the stars deliver their most shocking surprise yet.

I really thought this book was out of this world! I enjoyed how the characters developed from the last book. I also enjoyed the same but new plot line. The author really made me feel every characters feelings/emotions. I also thought the shocking point (read this to find out the secret) was expected, but at the same point thrilling. Though a little slow in the beginning, this book had me begging for more. I would definitely recommend this story to my friends. A great read that I believe everyone would definitely enjoy!

First Book in series

Zodiac by: Romina Russell

Review for this book is on this blog

Date book was reviewed: February 22, 2016

Glass Sword-- Reviewed by Sarah Roberts

“If I am a sword, I am a sword made of glass, and I feel myself beginning to shatter.”  

Being different is always difficult for people. It brings new exciting people and worlds into our lives, but it also brings betrayal and danger. Mare Barrow knows this better than anyone.

Mare Barrows blood red-which stands as a symbol for commoners- but her Silver ability, the ability to control lightening, has turned Mare into a weapon that the royal court wants to control.

The crown declares Mare an impossibility, or a fake, but as Mare tries to escape the evil clutches of Maven, the prince-friend- who betrayed her, she discovers some concerning news. Mare isn't the only one of her kind.

Mare is pursued by Maven, now a twisted king, she sets out to find and recruit the other Red-and-Silver fighters to join in the fight against Maven.

Mare soon finds herself on a deadly path, she's at risk of becoming exactly the kind of monster she is trying to defeat.

Will Mare break under the weight of the many lives that are at cost of the rebellion? Or have betrayal and darkness harden her heart forever?

I thought this book was electrifying! (haha pun). Mare was still the strong independent woman she was in the beginning of the series. Though this is the second book, I especially loved that the way the author carried over the qualities of each character that made the first book so enjoyable. Maven was still the vindictive king that he became toward the end of the first book. All in all I loved the story line and thought that tis story was almost as good as the second.

First Book in series

Red Queen by: Victoria Aveyard

Review of this book is on this blog

Date it was reviewed: December 3, 2015

Atlantia~ Reviewed by Hailey Hinrichs

 

 

 

           All Rio has dreamed of is a the life outside of underground city of Atlantia. She's always had her sister at least by her side but when her sister makes an unexpected choice, she's left by herself, alone and trying to continue to silence her siren voice. When she feels she has nothing left to lose, she makes a plan that leads her to question her mother's death and her own destiny.  It also leads her to question the people who govern the Divide between the sea and land. As she continues through the story, she learns that she must know the past of her people in order to find how to help the people of Atlantia.

 

            I liked this book so I gave it a 3 out of 5 stars. I was worried about whether I would like this book or not because I didn't enjoy the other series Matched that Ally Condie also wrote. This book was good though. Honestly I thought this book was actually going to be about mermaids but I liked the idea of having a city under water where humans could live. I also liked that this wasn't a book I wanted to just speed through. Ally Condie does have very good writing and I like her style. The thing that really made me only like this book was there was a lot of slow parts. That's also something that made me not like the Matched series as much as well. But all in all, I did like this book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy.