Starcrossed Review

Starcrossed (Starcrossed #1)

By Josephine Angelini

Published May 31st, 2011 by HarperTeen

487 pages

4 stars - Intriguing book!

How do you defy destiny?

Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is—no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it's getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she's haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood . . . and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they're destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history.

As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together—and trying to tear them apart.

I wasn't sure if I was going to like Starcrossed when I first picked it up but once again I was pleasantly surprised. The book just had some sort of mystical feeling to it. 

Starcrossed has to do with demigods and everything that has to do with Greek Mythology. I feel like some might think of it as some modern day Romeo and Juliet but it really has it's differences. It's intriguing, especially the history of the demigods and the Fates. There are twists and turns, suspense and romance. I also enjoyed most of the characters in this book. Helen was a pretty good main character and I enjoyed watching her grow into her true self and figure out her powers. I really loved reading about Lucas and his family, there were a few humorous times between all of them, but you could really tell the love that was there. 

Basically Starcrossed is a book that, I think, is worth your time. I am very much looking forward to being able to read the rest of the series and finding out what happens to all my favorite characters. The ending is definitely infuriating at parts and makes you dislike a few characters. Either way I felt that Starcrossed was a great start to what I hope is a great series. So check this out for yourself, especially if your into Greek Mythology. 

Need Review

Need (Need #1)

By Carrie Jones

Published December 23rd, 2008 by Bloomsbury

306 pages

3.5 stars - Interesting!

Pain shoots through my head. Fireworks. Explosions. All inside my brain. The white world goes dark and I know what's about to happen.

Zara White suspects there's a freaky guy semi-stalking her. She's also obsessed with phobias. And it's true, she hasn't exactly been herself since her stepfather died. But exiling her to shivery Maine to live with her grandmother? That seems a bit extreme. The move is supposed to help her stay sane...but Zara's pretty sure her mom just can't deal with her right now.

She couldn't be more wrong. Turns out the semi-stalker is not a figment of Zara's overactive imagination. In fact, he's still following her, leaving behind an eerie trail of gold dust. There's something not right - not human - in this sleepy Maine town, and all signs point to Zara.

In this creepy, compelling breakout novel, Carrie Jones delivers romance, suspense, and a creature you never thought you'd have to fear.

Need is quite an interesting read and is pretty different from what I've read recently. I think one of the things that I found most interesting was the constant listing of phobias. You'd think it be annoying and I guess it could be for some people but I truly liked learning about all those phobias that I didn't even know were real. 

So I guess that Need could kind of be compared to the book Wicked Lovely but instead of faeries they have something else. I won't say just so I don't spoil anything but I will say that the sleepy Maine town is residence to more than just humans. The stories of what the town holds were pretty interesting and there was some humor, romance and suspense. At some points I felt like it was a little slow but nonetheless Need was a pretty good first book to the series. 

Zara was a pretty nice character to read about and I liked how she grew through out the book despite everything that she had gone through. I loved her friends and the main love interest, they were funny and lovable  :) I'd like to learn more about the "creatures" that inhabited Zara's town and I thought it was neat how they had different kind of "weres". I'll let you read the book to figure out what I mean by that. Anyways Need was a quick and entertaining read and intrigued me enough to read the next one. But find out for yourself and pick up the book.

Vanessa

Glimpse Review

Glimpse (Zellie Wells #1)

By Stacey Wallace Benefiel

Published May 9th, 2010 by Write Free

262 pages

3.5 stars - Pretty great!

Zellie Wells has a devastating crush on Avery Adams, the son of her mom’s high school sweetheart. At her sixteenth birthday party, held in the basement of her dad’s church, she finally finds the courage to talk to him. Turns out, the devastating crush is mutual.

As Avery takes her hand and leads her out onto the makeshift dance floor, Zellie is overwhelmed by her first vision of his death; shocking because not only are they both covered in his blood, but they’re old, like thirty-five, and she is pregnant.

Afraid to tell anyone about the vision, (she’d just be labeled a freaky black magic witch, right?) Zellie keeps the knowledge of Avery’s future to herself and tries to act like any other teenager in love. When they get caught on their way to a secret rendezvous by her mom and his dad, they are forbidden to see each other.

Convinced that their parents are freaking out unnecessarily, Avery and Zellie vow to be together no matter what. They continue their relationship in secret until Zellie learns that their parents are just trying to prevent her and Avery from suffering like they did. The visions are hereditary, they’re dangerous, and if they stay together the visions will come true.

Now Zellie must choose between severing all ties with Avery, like her mom did to prevent his father’s death, and finding a way to change Avery’s future.

So this book in free for the Kindle on Amazon and it has been so every time I type in free books this book shows up. And every time I saw this book I always figured that it wouldn't be that great to read. But I was wrong because when I finally started reading it I realized that it wasn't that bad. 

Glimpse is a different kind of book and different from what I've read so far. Zellie has just started having visions about her family and friends and of course Avery, a boy that she has a major crush on. And it turns out that these visions are hereditary and are of things that no one wants to come true. But the vision that is important for Zellie to try and prevent from coming true is the one that she has of Avery right after they realize that they both like each other. Now their relationship is forbidden by her mom and his dad. Zellie has to figure out a way to keep things from going downhill and fast.

I think the reason that this book intrigued me so much was because it started off with characters that were as real as you and me. Zellie is like any normal 16 year old and so is Avery. Her family is real and some of the problems they face are normal as well. But then Zellie learns that she is anything but normal and she has these powers that no one else has. She grows up throughout this book even though its only the first one. And by the way it's a pretty good first book as well. Though sometimes it did seem a bit slow but then there were times when there was suspense and drama. There were shocking moments and moments that made me mad. But overall I did enjoy this book. I enjoyed the relationship between Zellie and Avery and Zellie and her sister and best friend. Some characters I didn't enjoy as much. Glimpse is a different kind of book and it's interesting. I can't wait to read the second one because I have a feeling that we will learn even more about Zellie's powers and all the other people that have them as well. So check this one out and don't wait like I did!

Vanessa

The Elite Review

The Elite (The Selection #2)

By Kiera Cass

Published April 23rd, 2013 by Harper Teen

323 pages

4 stars - Good Sequel!

The hotly-anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestseller The Selection.

Thirty-five girls came to the palace to compete in the Selection. All but six have been sent home. And only one will get to marry Prince Maxon and be crowned princess of Illea.

America still isn’t sure where her heart lies. When she’s with Maxon, she’s swept up in their new and breathless romance, and can’t dream of being with anyone else. But whenever she sees Aspen standing guard around the palace, and is overcome with memories of the life they planned to share. With the group narrowed down to the Elite, the other girls are even more determined to win Maxon over—and time is running out for America to decide.


Just when America is sure she’s made her choice, a devastating loss makes her question everything again. And while she’s struggling to imagine her future, the violent rebels that are determined to overthrow the monarchy are growing stronger and their plans could destroy her chance at any kind of happy ending.

After reading The Selection I was excitedly looking forward to reading the sequel. The Elite wasn't a bad sequel though I've seen that some people have thought is was kind of slow. Honestly I thought it was a pretty great sequel that gave us more information about The Selection and the palace and the kingdom's rules. 

America is still in the running for Prince Maxon's heart and while it's obvious that Maxon has feelings for her America isn't as sure about her feelings. And while Maxon has the Elite to choose from America has Aspen and Maxon to choose from. Throughout the book America tries to figure out who her heart belongs too and at times I guess at times it could be annoying because I wanted her to already figure it out and choose someone. Maxon at the same time is trying to figure out who to keep and who to let go and maybe wondering if he should totally give his heart to America. America is also becoming stronger and realizing what she could do for the country.

Anyways I guess some could say that not too much happened during The Elite but I liked how America's character grew. She's been learning about the history of Illea and she's realizing that there could be a plus to becoming princess. She could help out the country and her people in the lower castes. So this book is full of drama, love, confusion, suspense and figuring out who one really is. All in all this was a good sequel and kept me wanting to read on and figure out what will happen to Maxon and America and Illea. So check this out for yourself!

Vanessa