Review of Ruby Red By Kerstin Gier

In Kerstin Gier’s first novel in the Precious Gems Trilogy, Gwen’s life is suddenly turned upside down when she realizes she has the legendary time traveling gene that was supposed to belong to her cousin. Completely lost and without training, she struggles through her first travels before she fully understands the issue. Once she finds out she is the Ruby, the last of the time travelers, she is suddenly kept away from the world and her life is seemingly ruined.

This was one of those books that I enjoyed reading solely because of the plot. I didn’t find the characters relate-able, but the storyline and plot was unique and perfectly written. The characters did develop though. I got into it more closer to the end because that’s when the story began to speed up. Several questions were left unanswered, like Gwen’s ability to see ghosts that no one else seems to have, so I have no choice but to read the second book as soon as I can.

Review of Under the Never Sky By Veronica Rossi

In Veronica Rossi’s novel, Under the Never Sky, Aria is exiled from her home and left to wander the outskirts of the utopia she has always known. As she searches for her lost mother, she meets Peregrine, a Scire gifted in the art of sight and smell. She must decide if she can trust him, and he must decide the same, if they want to save those they love.

This book had the potential to be REALLY good. It had a nice plot, a wonderful character set up, and a unique setting. The farther I got into this book, the more boring it got, and I almost didn’t finish it. The love between the main characters seemed fake and the ending was iffy. I probably won’t waste my time with the second and third book unless I am told by someone that they aren’t nearly as boring.

Review of The House of Hades By Rick Riordan

In the fourth installment to the Heroes of Olympus series, Percy and Annabeth are stuck in Tartarus, searching for the Doors of Death. While they come in contact with an old character, Jason and the other questing Demigods head to The House of Hades where they will take their next step in stopping Gaia from rising.

Even though it’s been a year since I’ve read Mark of Athena, I feel like I’ve waited longer for House of Hades. I can easily say it was well worth the wait to be able to enjoy this stunning book. I enjoyed that wide array of viewpoints instead of the normal three or four. It was also nice to see some older characters, both good and bad, from past books stretching all the way back to The Lightening Thief. There was some strong character development in almost every main character that was very enjoyable and made the characters seem more realistic.

Review of Tangled Tides

In Karen Amanda Hooper’s novel, Tangled Tides, Yara is stolen form her home right before a hurricane. When she wakes up, she has been changed into a mermaid, a realization that sickens her. As she learns her purpose as a mermaid and the reason why Tregyan changed her in the first place, she begins to settle into her new life. It isn’t until she realizes what she must truly do that everything goes wrong.

Being a huge fan of mermaid books, I was excited to read this. I almost put it down after the first 20 pages. Everything jumped around too much, the writing switched tenses, and the introduction was too fast. I felt that Yara’s horror of becoming a mermaid turned into acceptance much too quickly to be remotely realistic. The author continued to throw things at the reader that didn’t make sense and made the plotline more complex. I did begin to enjoy the book after a little over halfway through. I had gotten used to the jumping around between point of views and the author had decided on a single tense to write the story in. The characters actually began to develop. I did enjoy the ending, though I’m still trying to decide whether or not to read the sequel.

Review of Wake By Amanda Hocking

In the first Watersong novel by Amanda Hocking, Gemma’s life is all she could ever ask for. She has the star spot on the swim team, an understanding father, and she’s begun to develop a relationship with the boy next door. Everything changes when three new girls arrive in town, a bit too early for tourist season. Local boys begin to disappear and all signs point to the terrifying trio. Fright heightens as they begin to set their sights on Gemma, never leaving her along. Then it happens, they make her one of them one lonely night by the campfire.

After enjoying this author’s first Trylle book, I decided to try out Watersong, a series about one of my favorite paranormal creatures. What I expected was a simple little mermaid story. What I was greeted with was an intricately spun tale with Greek ties and emotionally powerful characters that kept me reading for hours on end. The storyline was unique, a different take on mermaids that I had never imagined. The characters were interesting and the setting was realistic.

Review of Understand the Unknown By K.A. Applegate

In the tenth book of the stunning Everworld series written by K.A. Applegate, David and his friends find themselves in Neptune’s kingdom. How will they get back to Olympus in order to defeat Ka Anor? Secrets are hidden under the sea that are meant to be found.

Over the years, Everworld has become a series I read the next book of whenever it feels right or I need it for a certain challenge. It’s been months since I have read the ninth book and I don’t remember much of it. I remember the basic plot of the series and a couple deceased characters along the way. I did enjoy Understand the Unknown because it finally clued us in to what needed to happen before they could return to the real world. With the introduction of Brigid, a lot of things once hidden have become clear to the reader.

Review of Ready Player One By Earnest Cline

In Ernest Cline’s debut novel, Ready Player One, the first key has been found in a five year long race to find the hidden Easter Egg of OASIS. That key is found by Perzival, an OASIS avatar controlled by a boy named Wade who has been searching for the key since the contest was announced. His life is suddenly turned upside down as deals are offered to him in exchange for the final gate. With death threats, friendships, and dangers suddenly being thrown at him, Wade is at a lost. The only thing he knows for sure is that he must find the egg before it’s too late.

Like many books I have recently read, I didn’t expect to like Ready Player One that much. Honestly, the idea of a book centered around 80’s pop culture and video games didn’t seem that appealing to me. During the first few chapters, I feared that I was going to be right, that this really wasn’t going to be a book for me. After getting through the first third, past the copper key and gate, I actually began to enjoy the story line that was being presented to me. The characters felt real and the author did a wonderful job of creating a futuristic world that actually seemed possible.

Review of Virals By Kathy Reichs

In Kathy Reichs’ first Virals book for young adults, Tory and her three friends come in contact with a strain of parvovirus infectious to humans. As they deal with the effect this has on their lives, they discover a forty year old murdercase.

I enjoyed this book until the last few chapters. The ending felt horribly unrealistic while the rest of the book was at least somewhat realistic. I thought the characters were well written and the story was very promising. Tori got on my nerves a bit. I felt that the main characters’ brains worked more like computers than normal human brains, and it didn’t help me relate to the story as much. The parvovirus part of the story was interesting and I think they should have left out the murder mystery for a much better story about teens learning to deal with strange “powers.”

Review of The Madness Underneath

In the second book in the Shades of London series, Rory is recovering from her mental and physical injuries induced by the Ripper copycat ghost. With him gone, she may begin to live a normal life. When her therapist recommends she go back to Wexford, she is stoked and soon leaves Bristol. As she tries to adjust back to her new life at Wexford, murders are committed. Rory suspects a ghost is to blame.

I enjoyed the first book more simply because of the plot. I felt this one didn’t have as much excitement or adventure. The characters were still good, and I loved the introduction of Jane. I wasn’t too happy with the ending event of the book, but I hope to see the characters in later book(s). I did feel that this book wasn’t as well written and I found it hard to grasp the main plot until farther towards the end.

Review of The Immortal Rules By Julie Kagawa

In Julie Kagawa’s first book in the Blood of Eden series, Alison dies in a brutal way. She watches her friends die then is attacked herself by viscous rabids. When a vampire, one of the most hated creatures, offers her a way out of death, Allison accepts it, becoming what she hates most. As he trains her, secrets arise and it is eventually time for him to leave her on her own. As she struggles with the Hunger inside her she finds a small group of humans that kindly welcome her in, not knowing what she is. It isn’t long before it is time to feed again but it could risk her secret, something she badly wants kept.

I haven’t read many vampire books since Twilight came out. I was sickened by them. I picked this up, completely unaware it was a vampire book, and I ended up loving it. I loved the characters. The setting was unique, a dystopia ran by vampires. The plot line was interesting enough to kepp me focused on the book. I’m excited to read the second book in this series so questions can finally be answered. I do think the author wrapped it up pretty well in a way where it wouldn’t be too bad for people who read the book when it first came out.