false 110 675 285 true 5655691 read 3 true 3569544 currently-reading 387 true 3569543 to-read 230 false 4358668 own 1 false 3776825 first-reads http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78490892 Reality Check (Hardcover) by Jen Calonita
bookshelves: to-read
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78490863 Queen of Secrets (Hardcover) by Jenny Meyerhoff
bookshelves: to-read
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78490735 Shadowland (The Immortals, #3) by Alyson Noel
bookshelves: to-read
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/58969423 to: Witch & Wizard (Hardcover) by James Patterson
bookshelves: own
Eh. This book wasn't all that great. I had expected more from James Patterson because I absolutely adored his previous series, Maximum Ride. Unfortunately, Witch & Wizard was a step down.

The one thing that really irked me was the fact that the writing style of Witch & Wizard seemed geared towards MG and Children instead of the YA audience which was something I had assumed. The writing seemed simple and straightfoward. There weren't a lot of details and the whole book lacked sophistication.

The main characters, Wisty and Whit, were so 2D that it wasn't even funny. There was absolutely no real depth to their personality and everything they did was extremely predictable.

Oh, and another thing I disliked was the way the story was formatted. I didn't mind the short chapters because a lot of books are written in that way, however, I disliked how there was no pattern as to whose perspective the chapter was in. For example, there would be a few continuous chapters from Whit's perspective and then one random chapter of wisty's perspective and back again. There wasn't a clear pattern for this and after a while, I got confused as to whose perspective I'm reading in because after a few chapters of the same person, I tend to assume it'll be that person for the next chapter but no, it just changes randomly.

I do agree that there's a nonending action but even the action seemed extremely childish. It just didn't seem like something I would really care about. The whole "The One Who Is [insert something here:]" seemed stupid and childish. The whole thing really had no point.

Overall, Witch & Wizard isn't a hard read or anything but I don't suggest reading this book just because now you'll look at James Patterson in disbelief - how can a guy who wrote the Maximum Ride series write such a pointless, childish book? Much less, a series.
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75272593 to: The Fortunes of Indigo Skye (Hardcover) by Deb Caletti
bookshelves: own
The Fortunes of Indigo Skye was a very unique novel with a highly moral plot. This book was actually my first Caletti book so it took a while for me to get use to her writing style and her overall flow of the characters and the plot.

I honestly enjoyed the plot but the way it was set up just somehow didn't match and made things become less enjoyabe than it really could have been. The one thing that really bothered me was the slowness of the plot. Things just dragged out to no end and after a while, you get lost.

The characters weren't really introduced well. I had trouble understanding them especially Indigo, the protagonist. She just wasn't someone who stood out to me. In fact, I thought the secondary characters in the cafe where she had worked had way more personality than she did.

And Trevor, her boyfriend, had so many issues. I found him rather quite annoying especially when he just started to assume that the money Indigo got was his as well. I couldn't see why Indigo found him so attractive. To me, he just seemed like a loser. Okay, that was harsh but still.

Overall, The Fortunes of Indigo Skye was an okay book. It was slightly predictable but had enough questions to allow you to continue reading it. The characters was the only main thing that irked me to no end.
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/57797435 to: Love Under Cover: A Novel (Paperback) by Jessica Brody
bookshelves: own
I didn't read the first book in this series so at first, I was wondering if that would somehow disrupt my way of reading. Forutnately, however, though the two books are related, you definitely don't need to read the first novel to understand this one.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book especially with the idea of being a fidelity inspector. It was lots of fun to read how Jennifer and her co-workers would "seduce" men or women to make sure that they are loyal to their spouse. Though it was unsettling to see how many failed marriages there were and how surprised Jennifer was whenever she hears a rare result that the man/woman was actually loyal to their spouse, I thought this was a fun read.

The ending was somehow predictable but I enjoyed how Jessica brought it to an end. And it was a happy ending, obviously, so all is good. :)

The characters weren't as in-depth as characters I usually read usually are. However, I don't think they were supposed to be that in-depth anyway.

I was able to relate Jennifer with her cynical view on marriages because I, too, am quite cynical about it. Even though my parents have always been together, I know how other families are like and have no confidence nor assurance that marriages will somehow last. Marriages have way too many difficulties and obstacles for me.

Overall, Love Under Cover was a unique book about undercover fidelity inspectors. I highly recommend this novel even though it's not a YA but an Adult book.

]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/59254668 to: Girl in the Arena (Hardcover) by Lise Haines
bookshelves: own
When you first read the plot summary of Girl In the Arena, you imagine an awesome action-packed story. Instead, you find a novel that emphasizes morality and the action way too slow. I actually really excited to read this book when I got it because gladiators? That's obviously an interesting topic but somehow, the whole story/plot/characters didn't add up to my expectations.

Lyn was a character that wasn't given much information on so it was kind of hard to relate to her. I found her as someone who was just out there and ended up not caring much for her at all.

Uber, on the other hand, was someone I found quite interesting. I would have wanted more info on him since you only see him two or three times throughout the entire story. And the relationship with him and Lyn could definitely have been emphasized more. I felt like it was too rushed and it just wasn't enough for it to be believable.

Oh, and the writing style was highly confusing. First of all, for all the quotes, there were absolutely no quotation marks or punctuation marks or anything to mark the fact that someone was saying something. It just made things all the more confusing.

Overall, Girl in the Arena wasn't worth it for me. There was very little action and the most important action was in the last 20-30 pages. The ending was too rushed when all the rising action was too slow. I personally don't recommend this book.
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/52322536 to: Front and Center (Hardcover) by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
bookshelves: own
So, I was like, super excited to get this book and couldn't wait to devour it. Maybe I overestimated this but, honestly, I couldn't see what was so great about the last book of the trilogy. I still think that Dairy Queen, the first novel, was probably written the best and had the best story/plot.

DJ was a character with extreme character flaws and there were definitely times when I found her so infuriating and slow that I wanted to slap her, hard. However, the way she approached everything with such an open-mindedness redeemed her to some degree.

And Brian Nelson is definitely a guy that I want to hit as well. I felt violent in this novel, if you couldn't tell. Haha. But yea, I really didn't like how he seemed to keep changing and just when you feel like you understand him, he changes again and you're just like, what is going on here? He definitely matured and changed in a good way but still, I was still kind of annoyed with him. There was a definite chemistry between DJ and Brian but the process between the two for this book seemed majorly slow and I kind of grew tired waiting for them.

As the final conclusion for this series, I was kind of disappointed by the lack of everything. The romance wasn't as prominent was it was in the the first book. The main plot wasn't as interesting as the first. The only thing that really saved this book was the fact that everyone seemed to mature and grow in a better way. They all seemed to finally understand what they wanted in life and tried to go about in doing it.

Overall, Front and Center was an okay ending for this trilogy. Even though it wasn't that great, the first book was amazing so I still suggest you guys to check this series out.
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74749737 to: Isis (Hardcover) by Douglas Clegg
bookshelves: own
Based on the summary alone, I thought Isis was going to be an amazing book. Sadly, I was wrong. Okay, it wasn't horrible or anything but I had expected some few hundred pages of reading directed to the young adult audience. However, the whole writing style and everything was directed to the middle grade people and it was an incredibly short novel. I mean, there was even pictures. I haven't read a book with pictures for the longest time.

The plot itself was fine but I kind of wished that something more happened. It seemed like things went by too quickly for me to register and before I realize it, the book is done, finished. I liked the whole idea of "communicating" with the dead and having the ability to raise them from the dead but, like I said, everything happened too fast and I really didn't have much time to digest exactly what was going on before I got to the last page and went like: huh?

Iris was an interesting protagonist. I felt like she was a sweet little girl but there were definitely times when I felt like she was mad as in, crazy in the head. And the whole sisterly brotherly love she had with her brother, Harvey, seemed really eerie and wrong like...it was MORE than just a simple sibling love. After he died, she was like: I can't live without him, omg, my heart is gone, blah blah blah. It was kind of strange really. I mean, I would be sad if my sisters died or something but I definitely wouldn't go overboard with my depression. If it was her lover, then, yea, okay but he's her brother. There's no need to be that intense.

Overall though, Isis was an incredibly short read so if you just want to sit down for an hour or so, just read this book then.
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/52322218 to: The Guidance (Ghost Huntress, Book 2) by Kate Harmon/Marley Gibson
bookshelves: own
The second book of Ghost Huntress is...very interesting. I personally found it to be so pointless that it was ridiculous. I mean, the plot itself was fineee but the whole book itself seems like it was written by a kid.

There didn't seem be any flow between the different subplots: the catfights betewen Courtney and Kendall, Kendal's relationship with Jason, Kendall with her ghost hunting, and Kendall's relationship with her three best friends. I felt like things were really scattered and it seemed like there wasn't any real focus. Like, the main issue is supposed to be Kendall and her ghost hunting but with all the subplots, it seemed like the main plot was pushed back.

Another thing was the slowness of the book in general. There were random bits of the supposedly "sinister ghost" but nothing really started until the second half of the novel. I grew restless waiting for it to come and had to put off the book numerous times until I finally decided that I should finish it once and for all.

The characters seemed very 2D. There was no real depth in any of the characters and I felt like they were just there - with little or no purpose in life.

The "romance" between Kendall and Jason seemed almost nonexistent. I mean, it was there but nothing seemed to happen between the two. No spark, no excitement, etc.

Overall, the second book of Ghost Huntress wasn't that great and you could definitely live without it.
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