Review: Immortal City by Scott Speer

Title: Immortal City

Author: Scott Speer

Reviewed by: Cassie

Summary (from Goodreads)

Jackson Godspeed is the hottest young Angel in a city filled with them.

He's days away from becoming a full Guardian, and people around the world are already competing for the chance to be watched over by him. Everyone's obsessed with the Angels and the lucky people they protect - everyone except for Madison Montgomery.

Maddy's the one girl in Angel City who doesn't breathlessly follow the Angels on TV and gossip blogs. When she meets Jackson, she doesn't recognize him. But Jackson is instantly captivated by her, and against all odds the two fall in love. 

Maddy is swiftly caught up in Jackson's scene, a world of glamour, paparazzi- and murder. A serial killer is on the loose, leaving dead Angels' wings for the police to find on the Walk of Fame. Even the Guardians are powerless to protect themselves in the face of this threat and this time it's up to Maddy to save Jackson.

Okay y'all, I gotta admit... I was really, really pleasantly surprised with this. I thought I was going to get a really stupid, rah-rah-angels book, let's do a fake romance!, kinda thing, but nope! I was actually really happy with this. In fact, (totally awesome) I really thought for a while the author was a woman, the writing was so well-written from the girl's POV.  Now, it's not to say guys can't write a female POV, it's just that usually you can tell or the girl is way to cruel, ya know? This one, it's pretty darn good.

Yeah, so I was really happy.

Maddy is a pretty cool chick- yeah, a lot of her reactions are totally realistic. However, some of her was a little overdone. Like, her indifference to everything? Yeah, I'm sure she was slightly interested by it. SLIGHTLY. I am one of the most indifferent girls out there 

(just ask anyone in my classes, they'll probably say I have Kristen Stewart Syndrome)

and I still have a MILD interest in girly shit. Just an FYI to all guys who think indifferent girls don't, and Scott Speer.

Other than that, I really liked this. It was really smooth, kept the pages turning, and actually quite refreshing.

Now, big plus- even though I didn't find the romantic interest appealing, I still liked it. That says something about it, okay?

It was a nice little read, and I'm really looking forward to the next book!

Thanks for stopping by! We'd love to read your opinions, so post a comment!

Cassie

Review: Undeadly by Michele Vail

Title: Undeadly

Author: Michele Vail

Reviewed by: Cassie

Summary (from Goodreads.com)

The day I turned 16, my boyfriend-to-be died. I brought him back to life. Then things got a little weird...

Molly Bartolucci wants to blend in, date hottie Rick and keep her zombie-raising abilities on the down-low. Then the god Anubis chooses her to become a reaper--and she accidentally undoes the work of another reaper, Rath. Within days, she's shipped off to the Nekyia Academy, an elite boarding school that trains the best necromancers in the world. And her personal reaping tutor? Rath.

Life at Nekyia has its plusses. Molly has her own personal ghoul, for one. Rick follows her there out of the blue, for another...except, there's something a little off about him. When students at the academy start to die and Rath disappears, Molly starts to wonder if anything is as it seems. Only one thing is certain-- Molly's got an undeadly knack for finding trouble...

Guh, this one was a flop for me. I had a LOT of high hopes for this, and had waited a really, really long time. Like, I would check almost every day to see if it was on the way, and then squealed when I found it was.

And, while it may be just me, I think you may very well find this enjoyable. No doubt about it that it's a very unique and original twist on two elements, but I feel as if it was the writing that made me not like it.

The writing made me have headaches, see. It was very stop-and-go, insert-personal-thought, try-to-be-witty sort of writing. Molly, the main character, was decent at times, and I got sucked into the story. But then she would go off with some of her 'witty' thoughts, as if speaking to the reader, and I would get really disoriented and annoyed. If you're cool with these things (and no, she's not like Sophie from Hex Hall at all) then go ahead. I fully endorse you try this.

Secondly, the plot was pretty convoluted. What exactly was I reading about? Was it the problem at her school? Her quickly-approaching destiny? Her relationship issues? I really had no idea what the climax was, (okay I did but I thought it was so stupid) and I was getting a headache.

And lastly, the characters. Okay, so she likes to hang out with 'freaks' or outcasts. That's cool- no really, it is. I totally understand it. But see, I didn't even understand why she didn't try to hang out with 'normal' kids. All of these normal kids were surrounding her, but she totally ignored them, to hang out with outcasts that didn't have any endearing qualities to them. Oh, except one of them. Her name was Barbie.

And lastly, the romance was bang-my-head-against-the-wall-worthy. I really didn't understand either of them ('hot' trainer or cliche highschool football star... totally original) or the appeal, so I just... meh. You know in Half-Blood and Vampire Academy, the instructors were totally sexy and like, lemme get my paws on you types of guys? Rath was just there. And Rick, the football guy, was totally blah.

Now, I still think you should try it out if you don't care about the heroine's voice, because her voice portrayed this all in the wrong light. If you just read for the story, go for it. I like to get the feel of characters, and I didn't like it for this book.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cassie

(we're still gonna be really busy these next few months, FYI)

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Review: The Waiting Sky by Lara Zielin

Title: The Waiting Sky

Author: Lara Zielin

Reviewed by: Cassie

Note- So sorry we've been gone a while! Rafia and I have been loaded with schoolwork this past week, among other stuff! We're probably going to be busy for these upcoming weeks/months-possibly until summer- just a heads up!

Summary (from Goodreads.com)

One summer chasing tornadoes could finally change Jane's life for the better

Seventeen-year-old Jane McAllister can't quite admit her mother's alcoholism is spiraling dangerously out of control until she drives drunk, nearly killing them and Jane's best friend.

Jane has only one place to turn: her older brother Ethan, who left the problems at home years ago for college. A summer with him and his tornado-chasing buddies may just provide the time and space Jane needs to figure out her life and whether is still includes her mother. But she struggles with her anger at Ethan for leaving home and feels guilty--is she also abandoning her mom just when she needs Jane most? The carefree trip turned journey of self-discovery quickly becomes more than Jane bargained for, especially when the devilishly handsome Max steps into the picture.

Pros:

-Jane's story is extremely well-written and her emotions are very real

-Max is amazing, pretty much

-Her best friend is super awesome

-The story is thrilling, with emotional highs and lows, and heartwarming

Cons:

-Jane is a bit stubborn, maddeningly so at times, when it comes to admitting her mom has a problem

-She's reluctant to accept help

-It's a bit melodramatic

-I wanted more Victor

Overall, it's a sweet read. Usually I don't go for contemporary, so if I'm giving it a positive review, it's probably good!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cassie

Review: What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang

Title: What's Left of Me

Author: Kat Zhang

Reviewed by: Cassie

Summary (from Goodreads.com)

I should not exist. But I do.

Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else--two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren't they settling? Why isn't one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn't...

For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she's still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable-hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with others. And yet... for the chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.

Have you ever been to an ice cream shop, and you didn't know what to choose because there were so many tantalizing flavors whispering your name? (Of course you have.) And then you choose one, one that looks really good and the name is practically demanding you choose it, right here, right now? And then you have the spoon of ice cream in your mouth, and instead of going mmmmm you sit there confused and wonder why it looked so good but tasted so blah?

Well, that's like what happened to me with this book. I read so many glowing reviews, and I thought this must be pretty darn amazing for that to happen. But then I cracked it open, and I just couldn't get into What's Left of Me.

The premise is extremely promising; I couldn't get these sentences out of my head. A girl trapped in a body, experiencing things she can't control and might not want. A horrible nightmare. And if you liked The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna a lot, this sort of had the same vibe. Except it wasn't as emotional.

I feel like this was sort of a warmer-upper for the future books, where a rebellion may or may not happen in the name of hybrids, but I'm just not interested enough to find out.

The characters were mediocre; not bad, not good. The plot was also mediocre; there wasn't much action. The idea was amazing, and hopefully Kat Zhang will pound action into her next book. Because if Eva had a little more spunk in her, a little sass, then I would have probably found myself unable to put down the book. Unfortunately, Eva isn't spunky and none of the characters are, so I found them boring. If you don't care about sassy characters, I'm sure you'll find this book intriguing and probably like this. This just wasn't my cup of tea, so I found it boring. :(

Thanks for stopping by!

Cassie