Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor

Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor

Release Date: September 27, 2011
Publisher: Little Brown
Age Group: Young Adult
Shelfability: Covet
Pages: 420
Format: Advance Reader Copy
Source: BEA
Interest: Story
Challenge: None
Buy the Book:Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Buy the Ebook: Kindle | Nook

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious “errands”; she speaks many languages–not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When one of the strangers–beautiful, haunted Akiva–fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

Before I get started, let me just say: I LOVED THIS. Love, love, love this book. One of my favorites of 2011. Before you get started on the review, know that it will never do this book the justice that it deserves. Just go buy the book.

Laini Taylor is a story teller. A master story teller. She’s not a writer she’s an artist. Painting a world only she could create with words. Forming characters that seem as real as the person standing in front of you in line, close enough to touch. I was emotionally invested in this book. In this world and with it’s characters. Even though it was about as “out there” as you can get, I totally believed it was real. I never wanted it to end.

Now that is EPIC.

I finished Daughter of Smoke and Bone and found myself in a daze. It was like waking up from a dream.

I don’t want to divulge too much of the story. As a reader I think it’s more exciting going into a story blind! I didn’t know much about the story when I picked it up, actually I didn’t really know what it was about at all. I think that perhaps that was why I was so taken with this novel. I was expecting a tinge of mystery, but this book was so much more than I could have every imagined.

You, as the reader, know what Karou knows. It isn’t much. We don’t know who she is or where she came from. We don’t know if she’s human or if she’s something more. And we don’t know why a glance from Akiva sets her skin on fire. Believe me, you will have an epic adventure figuring it all out. And good luck with that figuring out part, perhaps you’ll be better at it than me!

Daughter of Smoke of Bone was an epic adventure through worlds that only Taylor could create. I can’t wait to go back.

Dark Parties by Sara Grant

Dark Parties by Sara Grant

Release Date: August 3, 2011
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Age Group: Young Readers
Pages: 320
Format: Advance Reader Copy
Source: Publisher
Interest: Debut
Challenge: 2011 Debut Author Challenge
Buy the Book: Amazon

In a world shrouded in fear and lies, how can you shed light on the truth?

Sixteen-year-old Neva lives in Homeland, an isolated country separated from the rest of the world by the Protectosphere. The government insists there’s nothing beyond its borders, but as Homeland’s resources dwindle, people, girls mainly, have started to go missing. If there’s no way out of the Protectosphere, where are they going? Suspecting the government is lying about everything, Neva and her friends stage a Dark Party in the hope of uncovering the truth and finding the freedom they dream about.

I was pleasantly surprised by Dark Parties. For some reason I thought that it was a thriller type.. and honestly I wasn’t really all that interested in reading it. And then, I discovered that Dark Parties was a bit of a dystopian novel! Well hello there piqued interest.

The world that Grant created was intense. The Protectosphere aspect was just down-right crazy. The state that the world eventually comes to was scary, yet it was absolutely believable. I’m not sure I would have the guys to do what Neva does and question everything that she’s always know, what she’s always been told, what her family lives by. She was an incredibly strong character, I admired her. I like Neva but I really never felt connected to her…. something was missing, a depth to her character. It was fun to read about her, but I’m not sure I was really ever concerned about what would ultimately happen to her.

The overall plot was great… there were so many things that happened that I didn’t see coming. One of the main plot twist, seemed to be so blatant to me, that I was frustrated with Neva for not figuring it out before it smacked her right in the face. Missing people… especially young girls…. dwindling population…? Come on Neva!

The snowflake references were brilliant! Neva’s name… her identity mark, the significance of the snowflake (diversity)… awesome! And the ending.. WOW. It’s sort of an open ending, but it has some closure. It’s one of those times where you as the reader can take it where you want it go!

Forgotten by Cat Patrick

Forgotten by Cat Patrick

Release Date: June 7, 2011
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 288
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
Interest: Debut Author
Challenge: 2011 Debut Author Challenge
Buy the Book: Amazon

Each night when 16 year-old London Lane goes to sleep, her whole world disappears. In the morning, all that’s left is a note telling her about a day she can’t remember. The whole scenario doesn’t exactly make high school or dating that hot guy whose name she can’t seem to recall any easier. But when London starts experiencing disturbing visions she can’t make sense of, she realizes it’s time to learn a little more about the past she keeps forgetting-before it destroys her future.

Part psychological drama, part romance, and part mystery, this thought-provoking novel will inspire readers to consider the what-if’s in their own lives and recognize the power they have to control their destinies.

The premise of this novel is what grabbed me. A girl that falls asleep and wakes up not remembering the day before. I have days I’d rather forget but other’s that I’ll cherish forever… having that taken away from you… I had to see what this story was all about.

This is one of those times where I picked up a book to read a few chapters and didn’t put it down until the last page was read. The story was addicting and the characters were unforgettable! London and Luke….. wow.

I loved their relationship… rocky, imperfect… honest. And Luke was just a normal, sweet guy, one that a girl would actually want to be interested in!

I wasn’t anticipating the mysterious aspect of the novel. I had a feeling that London’s condition was caused by something, but I had no idea what, and it what was finally revealed wasn’t what I was expecting at all. The last paragraph of the summary is spot on: drama, romance and mystery! This book has a little bit of everything!

Be prepared to give yourself some time to read this one, because once you start, you are going to have a hard time stopping!

Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Release Date: October 12, 2010
Publisher: Little Brown
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 512
Source: BEA
Interest: Series
Challenge: None
Buy the Book: Amazon

Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena’s family of powerful supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen.

Sometimes life-ending.

Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan’s eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there’s no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town’s tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems.

Oh, how I’ve missed you Gatlin. The one thing that really stands out to me about this series… isn’t the incredible cast of characters or the engrossing story…. it’s the setting. I LOVE GATLIN. I want to live there…. eat Amma’s pies, ride in Link’s Beater to the Dar-ee Keen, waft in the scent of lemon trees at Ravenwood. There is something truly addicting about Gatlin… and I often find it hard to withdrawal from the world within the pages.

Beautiful Darkness is one word is intense. So much more happens to our beloved, Ethan and Lena. Beautiful Creatures was just the tip of the iceberg…. All that Caster information is well below the surface and I have a suspicion that Beautiful Darkness didn’t even reveal it all.

The plot was a little slow at times for me…. I knew we were getting to something huge, but it just felt like it took forever to get there! Although, it was totally worth all the suspense that had built up in those five hundred some pages. Loved the new characters in this novel! Liv and John…. and I loved how Link and Ridley took some of the focus too! I am very interested to see what these new characters have in store for us in the next two books!

These are beautifully written novels and I truly admire Kami and Margie’s talent! You ladies rock my world. This novel was great on its own… but I think it sets up something epic for book three.

The Duff by Kody Keplinger

The Duff by Kody Keplinger

Release Date: September 7, 2010
Publisher: Little Brown/Poppy
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 288
Source: BEA
Interest: Debut Author
Challenge: 2010 Debut Author Challenge
Buy the Book: Amazon|Barnes & Noble

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn’t think she’s the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She’s also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her “Duffy,” she throws her Coke in his face.

But things aren’t so great at home right now. Desperate for a distraction, Bianca ends up kissing Wesley. And likes it. Eager for escape, she throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with Wesley.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out that Wesley isn’t such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she’s falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

I’d have to say that normally I’d hate a character like Bianca…. the girl is a hater. But I couldn’t help but feel a kinship with her sarcastic and smart-ass attitude. In the end, I loved Bianca. I’m sure some readers will hate her. With Bianca, I think readers are either going to love her or hate her…. I don’t think there will be too much in between.

Once of my favorite things about this novel beyond Bianca was her friends Casey and Jess and their friendship. It was so refreshing to see a group of girls that are supportive and honest with each other! Their friendship wasn’t perfect, but I don’t think a perfect friendship exists… these girls though, they had a good thing. And it was awesome to read about.

Wesley, the misunderstood bad boy womanizer, was the perfect counterpoint to Bianca’s cynical nature. Those two were sizzling…. I loved their constant banter. Cracked me up.

The Duff is so fast paced… don’t be surprised if you pick it up and don’t put it down until your reading the last page, I know that I didn’t. Kody has written a fantastic debut and I CAN’T WAIT to see more from her.

I loved the issues that Kody tackled head on… she didn’t shove anything under the rug, she kept it authentic… which wasn’t a surprise since she’s fresh out of high school herself! LOVED!

Two word description: contemporary and SEXY!