Bree, Olivia, Kitty, and Margot have nothing in common—at least that’s what they’d like the students and administrators of their elite private school to think. The girls have different goals, different friends, and different lives, but they share one very big secret: They’re all members of Don’t Get Mad, a secret society that anonymously takes revenge on the school’s bullies, mean girls, and tyrannical teachers. When their latest target ends up dead with a blood-soaked “DGM” card in his hands, the girls realize that they’re not as anonymous as they thought—and that someone now wants revenge on them. Soon the clues are piling up, the police are closing in . . . and everyone has something to lose. Summary by Goodreads After interviewing Ten author Gretchen McNeil, I decided to read another of her books--this time, the first of the Don't Get Mad series, the second book of which comes out in a few months--I can't wait!
This book is dark and suspenseful, almost more so than Ten, in fact, because it's set in such a nonchalant setting instead of a stormy, dark island with no one around. I enjoyed that it was set in a Catholic school, though a bit cliche at times. I think the characters in this book are a little bit static, but overall pretty relatable and their emotions were conveyed nicely through Gretchen's writing style. Fabulous job :) As for plot, it actually moved a tad slowly in the middle, but really fast at the beginning and the end. There seemed to be a lot of unrelated subplots that occasionally distracted from the overall goal, which can get frustrating, but my suspicion is that these subplots tie in to later books--oh, and definitely don't read this if you don't like cliffhangers! Can't wait to see how this one is resolved. However, as far as this book goes, it's a solid eight out of ten! Read on for further commentary/some spoilers! Thanks for reading! -Mallory
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What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them…all at once? Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren’t love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she’s written. One for every boy she’s ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean’s love life goes from imaginary to out of control. Amazon Summary This was recommended to me by my fellow bibliomaniacs, and it does not disappoint. Lara Jean (love the name, by the way) is a very well-developed character that is very family-oriented but still becoming of a normal high school girl.
This sounds a bit like a gushy romance, but I can assure you that it is not--it is written from a very realistic point of view and the main characters are all very relatable. This book is cleverly and amazingly earmarked by its complexity and the emotional depth of the characters. Overall, I'd say around an 8/10 for this book. I am very much looking forward to the sequel, P.S. I Still Love You, coming out May 26th, 2015! Read on for spoilers! -Mallory We reviewed the The Winner's Curse which has the sequel The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski which we also reviewed!
The Winner's Curse summary from Goodreads: As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions. One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin. But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined. Alise has her own channel for acting! https://www.youtube.com/user/lilylixi In a society steeped in tradition, Princess Lia’s life follows a preordained course. As First Daughter, she is expected to have the revered gift of sight—but she doesn’t—and she knows her parents are perpetrating a sham when they arrange her marriage to secure an alliance with a neighboring kingdom—to a prince she has never met. On the morning of her wedding, Lia flees to a distant village. She settles into a new life, hopeful when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deception abounds, and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—even as she finds herself falling in love. The Kiss of Deception is the first book in Mary E. Pearson's Remnant Chronicles, published in 2014 by Henry Holt. Summary via Amazon So going into this novel, I had no idea what to expect. The summary had sounded very intriguing and I thought that I would give it a try--after all, I adore romances and royalty. I'm glad to say that I wasn't disappointed at all. In fact, I was pleasantly pleased and love the way the plot was set out. For me, it worked out to my advantage but for others (like my friends) it ended up confusing them.
Mary tells the story in a specific way-- we know there's an assassin out to kill Lia, and there's the stunted prince who's out to find Lia. We meet both these men at the same time, but are never told who is who, only their names and descriptions. I adored this part of the story line and although I had made a guess as to who was who and hoped I was right (I was), I almost changed my mind multiple times because of Mary's very, very specific wording. As for the characters, I really liked both of the male leads (until a certain point and I definitely had my favorite a quarter of the way into the book) and I actually really liked Lia. Normally, I would have considered her a coward for running away from her wedding--in the end, I couldn't think of her as one. It takes a certain kind of bravery to follow your own heart after all. Lia did end up having character development (oh thank you so much) and I loved her interaction with the boys. I couldn't end up hating her and her willingness to drop her princess status and work for something actually made me like her even more. She was so determined to do a good job, but still managed to stand up for herself like the princess she was. She was contradicting at times, but it worked for her. Once we hit the second half of the novel, things really start to get heated and pave the way for the second book. Overall, this was an enjoyable novel and I'm really looking forward to reading Heart of Betrayal, which comes out in July 2015. Some spoilers below the cut. Continue reading and then discuss with me what you thought about this book! -Talia :Each night at precisely 4:33 am, while sixteen-year-old London Lane is asleep, her memory of that day is erased. In the morning, all she can "remember" are events from her future. London is used to relying on reminder notes and a trusted friend to get through the day, but things get complicated when a new boy at school enters the picture. Luke Henry is not someone you'd easily forget, yet try as she might, London can't find him in her memories of things to come. When London starts experiencing disturbing flashbacks, or flash-forwards, as the case may be, she realizes it's time to learn about the past she keeps forgetting-before it destroys her future. Amazon Summary Okay, so I reviewed another of Cat Patrick's books, Just Like Fate, the other day and figured that this is now the only one I haven't yet read I might as well read it. I was NOT DISAPPOINTED again, because obviously Cat Patrick is amazing and my favorite author. She knows how to weave suspense into a story. I think London is awesome, and quite quick-witted. Luke and she are probably some of my favorite of Cat Patrick's couples, after Sean and Lizzie in The Originals. I honestly think that Cat Patrick's debut novel is one of her best because it's really bold. And I love how, in the back, it gives you the source of inspiration. I think that the romance in this story is very well written because even though it's evidently essential to the plot it is still not THE ONLY THING IN THE BOOK like it has been in other, similar books I've read. Overall, this book is a 9/10 for me! Read on for spoilers! -Mallory Book two of the dazzling Winner's Trilogy is a fight to the death as Kestrel risks betrayal of country for love. The engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria’s crown prince means one celebration after another. But to Kestrel it means living in a cage of her own making. As the wedding approaches, she aches to tell Arin the truth about her engagement…if she could only trust him. Yet can she even trust herself? For—unknown to Arin—Kestrel is becoming a skilled practitioner of deceit: an anonymous spy passing information to Herran, and close to uncovering a shocking secret. As Arin enlists dangerous allies in the struggle to keep his country’s freedom, he can’t fight the suspicion that Kestrel knows more than she shows. In the end, it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth. And when that happens, Kestrel and Arin learn just how much their crimes will cost them. Summary from Goodreads Didn't read the The Winner's Curse, the first book? Check out our video review of it here!
The first one of this series was amazing so thankfully this one was not disappointing. It brought in elements that weren't seen before in the first novel. The Winner's Curse had mainly taken place in the Valorian controlled Herranian territory up until we get a glimpse of the capital at the end when Kestrel speaks with the emperor and then returns to the Herranian peninsula. But in the Winner's Crime, Marie Rutkoski takes us all over her world as the characters travel. Kestrel herself mainly stays in the capital of Valoria with the emperor and the prince while Arin travels the realm visiting the "savage" eastern kingdom of Dacra, returns to Herran, and of course spends time in the capital with Kestrel. Some people think that the romance between the two was really heavy in the first book, so they'll be happy to hear that the romance in the sequel is much lighter. For the romantics out there, the struggles in Kestrel and Arin's relationship ARE REAL AND THEY HURT. We get to see the dynamics of their relationship change, for better or worse, and it's still realistic. Kestrel's not throwing away everything she has to be with Arin nor is he shirking his duties to steal away in a corner with her. They're still both trying to figure out where their loyalties lie and if their choices are going to harm more people than necessary. To be truthful, this book felt more like a filler book to me. The first one had its giant plot twist that made it a true story but this sequel was more of a development in the story than a crucial plot twist (not until the very end, that is). Rutkoski takes the time in the Winner's Crime to develop Arin and Kestrel's relationship and characters and build the plot and world around them by introducing new characters (killing them most of the time), building subplots and situations, and making readers and characters question themselves. For a sequel, The Winner's Crime was a thrilling read and leaves the reader waiting anxiously for the third one. Continue reading if you want to know more about this! In this stunning bridge book between Cress and Winter in the bestselling Lunar Chronicles, Queen Levana’s story is finally told. Mirror, mirror on the wall, Who is the fairest of them all? Pure evil has a name, hides behind a mask of deceit, and uses her "glamour" to gain power. But who is Queen Levana? Long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress in The Lunar Chronicles, Levana lived a very different story—a story that has never been told . . . until now. Summary via Amazon/Goodreads So Fairest was published by Feiwel and Friends in 2015 and is sort of a prequel/add on to the wonderful Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. This book delves into the past of our antagonist, Queen Levana, and we find out that maybe there is a plausible reason as to why she's certifiably insane.
I personally really enjoyed reading Fairest. It was a quick, short read, but it had plenty to add and definitely made me take another glance at Levana, if not changing the way I saw her (until I went back and reread the first three books again). I would only really suggest reading this book after you've read at least Cinder, but you can really read it any time. Marissa really does a fantastic job in adding more depth to her antagonist. A few spoilers and thoughts below the cut. Continue reading if you would like to discuss! -Talia Forgetting was only the beginning. When seventeen-year-old Sia wakes up on a park bench, she has no idea who or where she is. Yet after a week of being homeless, she’s reunited with her family. At school, she’s powerful and popular. At home, she’s wealthy beyond her dreams. But she quickly realizes her perfect life is a lie. Her family is falling apart and her friends are snobby, cruel and plastic. Worse still, she discovers she was the cruelest one. Mortified by her past, she embarks on a journey of redemption and falls for Kyle, the “geek” she once tormented. Yet all the time she wonders if, when her memories return, she’ll become the bully she was before…and if she’ll lose Kyle. Summary via Amazon I bought this book for a whopping ninety-nine cents, and so I didn't have...high expectations, to tell you the truth. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the characters, although lacking in exceptional depth, were very relatable and believable as the people they were chosen to represent. The romance plot in this book was very nice, but felt like an afterthought. The description stresses the romance's importance to the plot while it's not the most important element in reality, but overall it still serves its purpose. At times it seems a little unreasonably fake, like it's SO HARD to incorporate romance for this author that he just kind of... placed it there. It wasn't at all woven into the story like good romances are, but hey, it's not a romance book, right? Click Read More to see some spoilers and my opinions on some of the plot points! -Mallory |
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