Don't Even Think About It

Title: Don't Even Think About It
Author: Sarah Mlynowski
Rating: 3.75 stars
Pages: 336
We weren't always like this. We used to be average New York City high school sophomores. Until our homeroom went for flu shots. We were prepared for some side effects. Maybe a headache. Maybe a sore arm. We definitely didn't expect to get telepathic powers. But suddenly we could hear what everyone was thinking. Our friends. Our parents. Our crushes. Now we all know that Tess is in love with her best friend, Teddy. That Mackenzie cheated on Cooper. That, um, Nurse Carmichael used to be a stripper.

Since we've kept our freakish skill a secret, we can sit next to the class brainiac and ace our tests. We can dump our boyfriends right before they dump us. We know what our friends really think of our jeans, our breath, our new bangs. We always know what's coming. Some of us will thrive. Some of us will crack. None of us will ever be the same.
So stop obsessing about your ex. We're always listening.

I received this book as an early copy on Net Galley, and went in not expecting to like it very much. However, I found it funny and light and it helped me get through a rough patch that I've been in for a while now. Still, this book was kind of hard to rate, because there were some plot holes as well as unanswered questions that I will not go into to keep this review free of spoilers.
But I found myself laughing and connecting with some of the characters, mostly Olivia, and was concerned about what would happen to them with their powers and their relationship with the other kids that were changed by the flu shot. Mackenzie was probably the one that I had the most trouble caring for, but in the end I did start to. I like how with these powers, they used them in realistic teenager ways and had the most normal reactions they could be expected to have. I also really liked the ending and while I think that it is a standalone I am hoping for another book just to see what happens and where their lives go from where the book left off.
Overall, I suggest that you check this book out if you have the chance.

Dare You To

Author: Katie McGarry
# of Pages: 456
Format: E-book
Rating: 5/5 stars!
If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does....

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all....

When I picked this book up on my tablet, I must admit that I was wary. I love contemporary, but sometimes the author makes me want to gag with the insta-love and such things. However, I was quickly sucked into the story before I knew what was happening.
I loved the idea that Beth was the one with the dark past instead of Ryan. When it is done well, (like for example, the third book in this series) I don't mind. But especially with the paranormal books I have been reading recently, I get tired of the mysterious boy that is an ass to the girl but she falls in love with him instantly anyway. However, I didn't find myself getting annoyed with Beth, both because we got to see from her point of view and that she was trying and her life was crappier than most of the self-obsessed teenage boys, and secondly I related to her, not in the way that something that awful happened to me, but I connected with her snark and sarcasm, really making me laugh with other people in the room with me.
In the beginning of the book, I was annoyed with Ryan, but only for like, a chapter and a half, redeeming himself plenty throughout the story. The thing that annoyed me was that he was taking phone numbers because of a bet. I liked how snaky Beth was back to him, and how he was so confused and determined after.
Once I got further into the story, I found myself getting angrier and pissed at Beth's family that had allowed her to be hurt so badly and the damage they themselves inflicted. Ryan was a great support system, and I love him for that. He tried not to push her, and you could tell that he cared for her. Didn't hurt that he seemed good looking too :)
I cannot obsess how much I loved this book, besides the fact that a read it in a couple of hours. Now, I am a pretty fast reader, but I think this book is over 400 pages if I am correct, so that is almost double than the time it would usually take me to finish a book like this.
So please, check it out!! It is so worth it, I promise.

Defy by Sara B. Larson

Title: Defy
Author: Sara B. Larson
Format: e-book provided by Net Galley
Release Date: 1/7/14
Pages: 336 pages
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Additional Information: First book in a series with at least one sequel
A lush and gorgeously written debut, packed with action, intrigue, and a thrilling love triangle.

Alexa Hollen is a fighter. Forced to disguise herself as a boy and serve in the king's army, Alex uses her quick wit and fierce sword-fighting skills to earn a spot on the elite prince's guard. But when a powerful sorcerer sneaks into the palace in the dead of night, even Alex, who is virtually unbeatable, can't prevent him from abducting her, her fellow guard and friend Rylan, and Prince Damian, taking them through the treacherous wilds of the jungle and deep into enemy territory.

The longer Alex is held captive with both Rylan and the prince, the more she realizes that she is not the only one who has been keeping dangerous secrets. And suddenly, after her own secret is revealed, Alex finds herself confronted with two men vying for her heart: the safe and steady Rylan, who has always cared for her, and the dark, intriguing Damian. With hidden foes lurking around every corner, is Alex strong enough to save herself and the kingdom she's sworn to protect?

This book had such great potential. I mean, who does not love the premise of a girl disguised as a boy who is a bad ass fighter with magic involved? 

However, this book was a huge disappointment for me. I highlighted many, many parts of this book that I just found myself gagging at. Alexa was...slutty. She only seemed to care about Damian and Rylan's abs.  That got tiring to me very quickly. Also, we have a case where the girl thinks that she is ugly, although everyone one around her thinks that she is the most beautiful thing to have passed them since they were born. This was the author's attempt to make her main character seem humble, however it just did not work for me. Also, I HATE LOVE TRIANGLES. Alexa seemed to want to drag Rylan along just for shits and giggles, excuse the swearing. To me, it was a very poorly executed love triangle, which also had a case of insta-love. 

PLEASE.

JUST.

STOP.

IT.

Please?

Insta-love has got to be one of my biggest pet peeves. I know that Alexa has worked with Rylan forever and that she works for the prince, but they were suppose to think that you are a boy, my dear, and staring and drooling and blushing certainly does not help you.

I know that I should get into more details, but I am so annoyed right now that I cannot even get a full detailed review out. Sorry. 

Impostor

Title: Impostor
Author: Susanne Winnacker
Format: e-book provided by Net Galley
Release Date: for this edition, 1/7/14
Pages: Around 320
Rating: 3 stars out of five
Additional Information: First book in a series, already published under a different cover in hardcover by Razorbill, this edition will be published by Hodder Children's Books

Summary (taken from Goodreads)
Tessa is a Variant with extraordinary abilities. She could be a hero, but all she wants to do is fall in love ...

Tessa is a Variant, able to absorb the DNA of anyone she touches and mimic their appearance. Shunned by her family, she's spent the last two years with the Forces with Extraordinary Abilities, a secret branch of the FBI. There she trains with other Variants, such as long-term crush Alec, who each have their own extraordinary ability.

When a serial killer rocks a small town in Oregon, Tessa is given a mission: she must impersonate Madison, a local teen, to find the killer before he strikes again. Tessa hates everything about being an impostor - the stress, the danger, the deceit - but loves playing the role of a normal girl. As Madison, she finds friends, romance, and the kind of loving family she'd do anything to keep.

Amid action, suspense, and a ticking clock, this super-human comes to a very human conclusion: even a girl who can look like anyone struggles the most with being herself.
Tessa is a Variant with extraordinary abilities. She could be a hero, but all she wants to do is fall in love ...


I had been interested in this book since the first time I had heard of it, when it was published by Razorbill back in May. However, I had too many books higher on my TBR pile and never ended up getting to it, so when I saw it on Net Galley, I figured it would be my chance to finally read it. They accepted by request, and I am glad that I got a free copy of this book.
This probably would have been a four star rating if it was not for the beginning. We have our main character Tessa, who can shift into different people (like from the Infernal Devises trilogy, but that Tessa's powers were stronger) and who was helplessly in love with her friend Alec (a character from The Mortal Instruments, noticing a theme?), who had a girlfriend, Kate.
I do not understand why Tess and her friend Holly hate her so much. So what, she is dating Alec? She is referred to as the "bitch" several times, and yet Tessa gets offended when Kate says one mean thing to her. Also, when she first starts this mission, she whines and sulks, which I can understand to a point, but she also finds a way to draw everything back to herself, which I found annoying.
Okay. Once we got further into the story and Tessa got over herself, I found myself starting to like it. Sure, it was easy enough for me to guess all the big surprises in this book, but I thought that the plot was interesting and some of the struggles Tessa had with her ability and the fact that she is lying to a dead girl's family was interesting. I also liked the relationship she adopted with some of the people Madison knew in her life.
Overall, I am not extremely excited for the sequel, but I would read it given the opportunity.  I am not a big fan of the main character being this different and super valuable she just does not know it kind of thing, but there are cases where it is played out beautifully, and I would like to see how that turns out in the next book. If you are considering reading it, I recommend at least making it to the second half of the book before deciding to put it down.

Into The Still Blue

Title: Into The Still Blue
Author: Veronica Rossi
Format: ARC (uncorrected proof)
Pages: 389
Release Date: January 28th, 2014
Rating: 4/4.5 stars out of 5
Additional Information: Last book in the Under The Never Sky Trilogy

Summary: (taken from Goodreads.com) Spoilers for the first two books in the trilogy.
The earth-shattering conclusion to Veronica Rossi's "masterpiece" Under the Never Sky trilogy and sequel to the New York Times bestselling Through the Ever Night (Examiner.com).

Their love and their leadership have been tested. Now it's time for Perry and Aria to unite the Dwellers and the Outsiders in one last desperate attempt to bring balance to their world.

The race to the Still Blue has reached a stalemate. Aria and Perry are determined to find this last safe-haven from the Aether storms before Sable and Hess do-and they are just as determined to stay together.

Meanwhile, time is running out to rescue Cinder, who was abducted by Hess and Sable for his unique abilities. And when Roar returns to camp, he is so furious with Perry that he won't even look at him, and Perry begins to feel like they have already lost.

Out of options, Perry and Aria assemble a team to mount an impossible rescue mission-because Cinder isn't just the key to unlocking the Still Blue and their only hope for survival, he's also their friend. And in a dying world, the bonds between people are what matter most.

In this final book in her stunning Under the Never Sky trilogy, Veronica Rossi raises the stakes to their absolute limit and brings her epic love story to an unforgettable close.

Quotes: (note that since this is an uncorrected proof, these are subject to change.)
"Aria lurched upright, the echo of gunshots ringing in her ears."
"'Perry?" "Right here. I'm going to get you out of here.'"
"'I promise you," he whispered. "We'll both get there, and I'll find you." He would do it. If he survived."'


I enjoyed the first two books in this series, but this was most likely my favorite out of the three. It had everything that fans of Aria and Perry loved from the other books. Even though this is the end of a dystopian trilogy, Ms. Rossi did not feel the need to have a heartbreaking and/or bad ending, and I appreciated that greatly. The ending was not overly happy, either. I liked the way this trilogy ended.
There was a good amount of action in this book, and some twists and turns that made you wonder whether or not some of the bad guys are actually bad guys. It was not super unpredictable where you had absolutely no idea  what was happening but still managed to surprise me in a few places, and I know it will surprise people after this books comes out. 
Another thing I loved about this book and this trilogy as a whole is that the author had the option to make a love triangle with Aria Perry and Roar but didn't, keeping Roar and Aria's relationship at  a friend status. This sort of thing is becoming very, very rare in the young adult world. It is mostly seen in middle grade books or books at an even lower age level than that. They were so close, and Aria trusted her life in her friend's hands as well as Perry's.
The third thing I liked about this book is Cinder. (spoilers in this for the second book) I enjoyed how neither Aria nor Perry was their only hope from escaping the Aether. I find myself becoming bored with the main character being one of a kind and the hope for all humanity. It was nice to see a secondary character have that role, and it was just another thing that made this book differ from all the other YA books out there.
Also, I loved seeing the growth of these characters. Almost all of them changed in some way. Aria grew closer to Outsiders, which she used to loathe, and the opposite happened for Perry. They became stronger people because of their situation and because they had each other when things got really bad in the world that they live in. Even the younger characters knew how to live in these conditions. In this book, new characters were introduced and they also had some growth to them, and I admire how Ms. Rossi managed to do that without it seeming unrealistic.
Overall, I enjoyed these books very much. Unlike a lot of series these days, I felt that each book got better and better and encourage you to pick this book up when it comes out, even if say you thought the first book was okay or the second was good but not great. This one is better.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

You wake up with no memory of the last few days.
Your friends were killed in an accident that you miraculously survived.
Your family has to move to another state to escape the fallout.
You meet a mysterious boy who seems to know more about you than you do.
You start seeing things that can't possibly be there.
You are afraid you are losing your mind.
Can you keep it together?
Mara Dyer is about to find out.

This book is the first in a trilogy.

OH MY GOODNESS. This book was simple amazing. It was so creepy, intense, depressing, funny, romantic, and so much more. Mara wakes up in the hospital after an old building has collapsed on her and her friends. Mara was the only one that survived, and her family moves to Florida to help her get over her grief. But soon, she starts to see her dead friends everywhere she goes and imagining things that are not actually happening. She meets Noah Shaw, a boy who has slept around, and feels drawn to him. But is she really going crazy?

I loved this book. This book spans over months (I think!) and while Mara's romance with Noah at first seemed like it would be another case of insta-love, it really wasn't. It would have been so easy fro Michelle Hodkin to make it that way, and I give her credit for not giving in. There were so many twists and turns in the story line, and it kept me on edge. It is not a horror story exactly, but there are some pretty heavy things in this book, but they are well passed with the happy, sexy, and funny moments. Overall just a wonderful story, and cannot wait to get my hands on the other books.

Sorry

Hey! I know that I've been a sucky blogger lately, and I just wanted to give you a quick update on what has happened.
So the book I finished recently is The Maze Runner by James Dashner, and expect a review soon. Still reading DOBAS, plus Dear Teen Me.

Anyway, also wanted to say that Midnight Frost, book 5 in the Mythos Academy series, comes out tomorrow! I am so pumped for this book! Be excited!

Have to go, but I hope to be back soon!