2013 Books (1) : Final books in a series I just can’t wait to read

I should be studying for my Philosophy exam tomorrow, but I needed a break. I thought, “What’s better to take my mind off my studies than to think about all the books I’m excited for 2013?” Yet, there seems to be so many that I find it hard to decide which book to choose. I’ll be posting a few posts before the end of the year, each with a different theme. This first post is all about series coming to an end. Here is my top ten “Final books in a series I just can’t wait to read”

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

(March 19th)

Requiem by Lauren Oliver

(March 5th)

Boundless by Cynthia Hand

(January 22nd)

Shades of Earth by Beth Revies

(January 15th)

The Rising by Kelley Armstrong

(April 9th)

Chosen at Nightfall by C.C. Hunter

(April 30th)

The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

(No official cover yet...)

A Touch Menacing by Leah Clifford

(March 5th)

Enders by Lissa Price

(July 4th)

For the tenth one, I’m a little cheating. I still haven’t started this series, but I’ve heard only good things about it. I’m waiting for the final book to come out to start it though, since I won’t have to wait in between.

Mirrored Shard by Caitlin Kittredge

(February 12th)

 Which of these books are you excited to read? Any series I should read? Any books I have forgotten that should have been there in your opinion?

Review: Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor

Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor

Daughter of Smoke & Bone #2

Release Date: November 6th, 2012

Number of Pages: 528

Publisher: Little Brown, Books For Young Readers

Source: Bought

GR - Amazon - BD

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a world free of bloodshed and war. This is not that world. Art student and monster's apprentice Karou finally has the answers she has always sought. She knows who she is—and what she is. But with this knowledge comes another truth she would give anything to undo: She loved the enemy and he betrayed her, and a world suffered for it. In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Karou must decide how far she'll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, secrets and impossible choices, Days of Blood & Starlight finds Karou and Akiva on opposing sides as an age-old war stirs back to life. While Karou and her allies build a monstrous army in a land of dust and starlight, Akiva wages a different sort of battle: a battle for redemption. For hope. But can any hope be salvaged from the ashes of their broken dream?

Wow. There was something utterly amazing about this book. I fell in love with Laini Taylor’s world in Daughter of Smoke and Bone, and I could not wait to fall right back in it. I do have to admit that the first part of the book was a little slow, and I had some trouble falling back into the story. Yet, which could have been helped if I had reread the first book. For once, I was happy that it took me so long to finish this book, because I simply didn’t want this book to end. Even when I was finally done with it, I couldn’t stop thinking about the story, and wondering what will happen next.

I was excited to see not only Karou’s story, but follow her friend Zuzana, see what was going on with Akiva, and many other characters. This gave such a better understanding of the world, and of what was happening at the time. I loved seeing how Karou changed through all the events of Daughter of Smoke and Bone. She became rougher, since she lost about everything by the end of the first book. And Akiva really came to life as a character in this sequel. We just learned so much about him, and we see the truth behind his past action, and I just couldn’t stop myself from falling for him.

One of the great parts of the novel is the writing, which is simply phenomenal. It brings everything to life so easily and makes the world so vivid and believable. I was simply caught by the prose used by Laini Taylor. For the second book in a series, Days of Blood and Starlight is packed with action and there is a story line that is for this book, which I think is important in a sequel. The ending leaves us wanting more, but we do get an ending for this book.

Overall, this book is simply amazing. If you still haven’t read Daughter of Smoke and Bones, you really need to sink you teeth into this series. If you have, the sequel is simply amazing and should be pushed higher on your TBR pile. I’m already dying to read the next book. Amazing series.

About the Author:

(From Amazon)

Laini Taylor is the author of the National Book Award Finalist Lips Touch: Three Times, as well as the novels Blackbringer and Silksinger. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband, illustrator Jim Di Bartolo, and their daughter.

Her Website

Her Twitter

Review: Reached by Ally Condie

Reached by Ally Condie

Matched #3

Release Date: November 13^th, 2012

Number of Pages: 512

Publisher: Dutton Children’s Book

Source: Bought

GR – Amazon - BD

After leaving Society and desperately searching for the Rising—and each other—Cassia and Ky have found what they were looking for, but at the cost of losing each other yet again: Cassia has been assigned to work for the Rising from within Society, while Ky has been stationed outside its borders. But nothing is as predicted, and all too soon the veil lifts and things shift once again. In this gripping conclusion to the #1 New York Times-bestselling Matched trilogy, Cassia will reconcile the difficulties of challenging a life too confining, seeking a freedom she never dreamed possible, and honoring a love she cannot live without. 

The bittersweet feeling of finishing a series you loved. One thing readers who love Xander will be happy about is that we get a lot more of him in this book than we did in Crossed. That made me happy, since I really really like him. In Reached, we get the conclusion to the series that we needed, even though it won’t make everyone happy, mostly because there’s a love triangle and not everyone wants the same characters to end up together.

Without giving too much away about what will happen in the final book of the series, I have to say that I was happy with where the characters ended going, and that each ending felt satisfying on some level. I won’t tell you if Cassia ended up with which character between Ky and Xander, though I do think it was kind of clear from the beginning. Despite one character being ‘rejected’ by Cassia, I do think he got a fair ending, not like some other book you might have read in past (*cough* Bloodrose *cough*). There is a growth in the characters that is believable and understandable, which is something I really wanted from this last book. This was Ally Condie’s last chance to make us understand the choices of her characters, and I have to say she did a really great job.

I think Reached will satisfy the fan of the series, and most reader will probably read it. Of course, some will get mad, some will be disappointed in the outcome of the love triangle, I think that’s a given.  Still, Ally Condie’s writing was simply captivating, and I couldn’t stop reading until I had read the last page. I cannot wait to read more from Ally Condie, to discover the new worlds she will create for us, because the world she created in the Matched Trilogy was simply amazing.

About the Author:

(From Goodreads)

Ally Condie is a former high school English teacher who lives with her husband, three sons and one daughter outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. She loves reading, running, eating, and listening to her husband play guitar.

Her Website

Her Twitter

Review: Undeadly by Michele Vail

Undeadly by Michele Vail

The Reaper Diaries #1

Release Date: November 20^th, 2012

Number of Pages: 272

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Source: NetGalley

GR – Amazon - BD

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...

Okay, I seriously hate doing this kind of review, but Undeadly just did not work for me. It felt really messy, and annoyingly so. There were too many things that stopped me form really getting in the story, and the first thing that really got on my nerves from the beginning was the narrator’s voice. Without that part, I think I could have enjoyed the novel. The thing is, she sounded like the kind of people I just can’t stand. That’s not good.

Sadly, the characters didn’t really impress me either. Like the characters, they sounded wrong. The main character, Molly, seemed really innocent (not in the good way), or to say it plainly, stupid. That got on my nerves form page one, and it never stopped. That doesn’t start well. After that, the other characters sounded strange way to often for me to really like them. Even her diaries entries sounded bad. The characters simply made me cringed way to often in this novel to really enjoy it. And I cannot not talk about Rick, a character whose addition I didn’t completely understand.

Now, I do have to say the premise of the book, and the world the story was set in had a lot of potential. I liked the idea of the necromancy, the gods, the powers and everything else related to the story. Yet, I’m not sure how it all fitted in the world. Being a necromancer seems really normal. I would have liked a little more back-story, to really understand the world completely.

Overall, I have to say that this novel ended being disappointing. The summary sounded simply amazing, yet the novel didn’t. This book might please many readers, but I’m definitely not one of them. Sadly, I won’t be picking up the sequel. A novel full of potential that sadly didn’t satisfy me.

About the Author:

(from Goodreads) 

Michele Vail writes young adult paranormal fiction about zombies and reapers.

She likes reading, dogs, cats, board games, ghost-hunting shows, and Halloween. She believes in magic, in the impossible, and in the restorative powers of chocolate.

Michele lives happily-ever-after with her Viking and their family.

Her Website

Her Twitter

Review: The Liar Society by Lisa and Laura Roecker

The Liar Society by Lisa and Laura Roecker

The Liar Society #1

Release Date: March 1^st, 2011

Number of Pages: 368

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Source: Bought

GR - Amazon - BD

Since when do the dead send emails? Kate Lowry's best friend Grace died a year ago. So when she gets an email from her, Kate's more than a little confused. To: KateLowry@pemberlybrown.eduFrom: GraceLee@pemberlybrown.eduSubject: (no subject)Kate,
I'm here... sort of.Find Cameron. He knows.I shouldn't be writing.Don't tell. They'll hurt you. Now Kate has no choice but to prove once and for all that Grace's death was more than just a tragic accident. She teams up with a couple of knights-in-(not-so)-shining armor-the dangerously hot bad boy, Liam, and her lovestruck neighbor, Seth. But at their elite private school, there are secrets so big people will do anything to protect them-even if it means getting rid of anyone trying to solve a murder...

The Liar Society was really the perfect book to get me out of my reading funk. There is about everything you can look for in a high school mystery book: Drama, secrets, boys and ‘mean girls’. This book will get you hooked form the first few pages, making you wonder about the mystery buried in this private school.

One of the troubles I often have with these kinds of book is often the main character. Here, Laura and Lisa Roecker really created a character that I absolutely adore. If Kate has one thing, I think it’s guts. And determination. Kate really impressed me with her personality, and her ability to get the help she might need (there is nothing more annoy to me than a character that never needs help and get everything done on her own.  We all need help once in a while.)

Okay, I did got a little annoy at her for something appearing like she was manipulating Seth into doing what she wanted him to do (I really like Seth!). On the other side, I think Seth is intelligent enough to know when he is being used…. One other character that I really liked was Liam, who has the bad boy with a good heart appearance perfected. Still, this trio really worked perfectly with the novel, and the dynamic between those three was just so much fun.

Lisa and Laura really kept me guessing until the end, throwing us into different directions every few chapters. Another interesting point to the book is the uses of the flashback, which really help us, get our own idea of Grace. It was nice to see her a little, since you can be sure that her best friend’s opinion of her would be biased, especially after her death. You want to remember the good side, not the bad usually.

Despite its sequel, this book doesn’t give you the feeling of being incomplete. It is hinted that there is more to come, but the main story of The Liar Society is completed within this novel, which is always a good thing. No mean cliffhanger here! 

About the Authors

from the authors' website

Lisa and Laura Roecker are sisters-turned-writing-partners with a passion for good books, pop culture and Bravo programming. Not necessarily in that order. Lisa has always been a phenomenal liar and Laura loves to write angsty poetry, so writing for young adults seemed like a natural fit. The sisters live in Cleveland, Ohio in separate residences. Their husbands wouldn't agree to a duplex.

Review: The Twisted Tragedy of Miss Natalie Stewart by Leanna Renee Hieber @SourcebooksFire

The Twisted Tragedy of Miss Natalie Stewart by Leanna Renee Hieber

Magic Most Foul #2

Release Date: November 1^st, 2012

Number of Pages: 336

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Source: ARC from BEA

GD - Amazon - BD

For Natalie Stewart, a normal life has never seemed so far away. Her only solace, Lord Jonathan Denbury, is wanted for murder. To clear his name, Denbury must return to England and assume the role of his demon doppelganger. But Natalie begins to doubt his true motives, especially as a new gentleman begins whispering in her ear. Natalie and Denbury may be able to visit each other in their dreams, but they can't escape the darkening shadows. Amid spontaneous explosions, friends turned enemies and dangerous secrets revealed, there's still a demon who has Natalie's scent, and someone is trying to resurrect the ultimate evil.

I’m a little torn with this book. I liked it, but not to the extant I was expecting. Now, I did really enjoy book one, Darker Still. My main problem with this novel is that nothing really stood out with the story to me. I simply didn’t like the main mystery of the novel, with the idea of soul being attached to object, and the kind of Frankenstein aspect of the novel, which is really sad. It is really sad to me, because there were so many things that I did like. Yet, if the main component of the novel is missing for me, the novel won’t really work.

Now, what I absolutely love with this series is the setting. There is something captivating and dreamy about the world it is set in, even if there are demons and spirits in that said world. Doesn’t matter. I love that time period and especially when they are set in England.

Another I did love, but felt like there wasn’t enough (there is never enough) was of Jonathon and Natalie. I like those two together, and I just can’t get enough. I do have to say there were great addition to the group of characters, Rachel and Nathaniel. Natalie’s’ friend Rachel really made me wish I could hear her thoughts, because she seems to have such an interesting story. Then there’s Nathaniel Veil, whose charm just make you want to read more about him. Both additions really added a little something that helped make up for the disappointing story.

Now, I do think many will enjoy the novel, I did to a certain extend. Yet, I have to say that it wasn’t as good as the first book. I was also a little surprised not to get more from this novel, since the summary seemed to be leading me toward a novel full of the kind of action I do love.

Overall, fan of this era will probably enjoy the settings, but I do have to say that the novel didn’t meet my expectations. Would I read a third book from this series? I probably would. Would I recommend this book to everyone I meet? Probably not. Fans of Darker Still should still give it a shot.

About the Author

Taken from Goodreads

An author, actress and playwright, Leanna grew up in rural Ohio, graduated with a BFA in Theatre, a focus in the Victorian Era and a scholarship to study in London. She adapted 19th Century literature for the stage and her one-act plays have been produced around the country. Her novella "Dark Nest" won the 2009 Prism Award for excellence in Futuristic, Fantasy, or Paranormal Romance. The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker, first in the "Strangely Beautiful" saga of Gothic Victorian Fantasy novels (Barnes & Noble Bestseller) won two 2010 Prism Awards (Best Fantasy, Best First Book) and was optioned for musical theatre adaptation currently in development. DARKER STILL: A Novel of Magic Most Foul, begins a Gothic paranormal saga set in 1880 New York City, named an INDIE NEXT title; a recommended buy by the American Book Association, a Scholastic book fairs "Highly Recommended" title and is a finalist in the 2012 Daphne du Maurier awards for excellence in Mystery/Romantic Suspense.

Leanna is a proud member of member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, and the International Thriller Writers. She is a proud co-founder of Lady Jane's Salon Reading Series in New York City. A member of Actors Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA, Leanna works often in television and film. She is playing the role of Deputy Kellion in Auror's Tale web-series. When not writing or on set, she loves a good Goth club, adventuring about her adopted hometown of New York City, where she resides with her real-life hero and their beloved rescued lab rabbit.

To find more about the author

Her website

Her twitter

Review: Black City by Elizabeth Richards

Black City by Elizabeth Richards

Black City #1

Release Date: November 13^th, 2012

Number of Pages: 384

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons BYR

Source: ARC form BEA
- GR - Amazon - BD - 

A dark and tender post-apocalyptic love story set in the aftermath of a bloody war. In a city where humans and Darklings are now separated by a high wall and tensions between the two races still simmer after a terrible war, sixteen-year-olds Ash Fisher, a half-blood Darkling, and Natalie Buchanan, a human and the daughter of the Emissary, meet and do the unthinkable—they fall in love. Bonded by a mysterious connection that causes Ash’s long-dormant heart to beat, Ash and Natalie first deny and then struggle to fight their forbidden feelings for each other, knowing if they’re caught, they’ll be executed—but their feelings are too strong. When Ash and Natalie then find themselves at the center of a deadly conspiracy that threatens to pull the humans and Darklings back into war, they must make hard choices that could result in both their deaths.

I don’t even know where to start with this book. There are book that will simply hook you in from page one, and for me, this one was one of those. I mean, Black City was simply addicting and an amazing read. There were so many things in that book that I loved, and they really overshadowed anything that could have disappointed me. Don’t ask me about the bad side of this book, because if there were any, I totally missed them.

The novel is dark, and I personally found many aspects to remind me of Nazi Germany (aspects! Don’t throw rocks at me, please), and being to history geek that I am, it really made me get lost in the story in a different way that I would have if I hadn’t made those connections. I liked how well to world was created to me, and I really found interesting how the characters perceptive of that said world felt right to me (and not as in THIS IS HOW I WOULD HAVE TOTALLY REACTED. It was more this is what I would expect form someone like her to react, from her position in society vs. Ash’s one.)

There is a romance, that’s for sure, but it fell into the background for me. The world was really what got me hooked. Yes, there is some kind of vampires (here called Darklings), but that aspect of the characters wasn’t what was the most important for the story to work out. I felt like it was more about them being a minority than some dark creatures.

When it comes down to the characters, I don’t have to say that there is a love that may start a little too fast, but there were so many other things that made me root for Ash and Natalie. Maybe it’s that we can’t stop rooting for what seems like impossible love? Maybe it’s because they both teach one and another, since they don’t know as much as they think they do about the other’s kind.

Overall, Black City kept me awake for hours, unable to put it down until I had read every words of the story. It was an addicting dystopian novel that will leave you hanging for more. Phoenix is already at the top of my To-Be-Read list for 2013. June can’t come soon enough.

About The Author

From the author's website

Elizabeth Richards is an award-winning journalist, who spent her early career reviewing videogames before making the bold (or crazy) move into travel writing, despite suffering from terrible travel sickness.
In her spare time, she ran a successful lifestyle website aimed at teenage girls, where she got to interview many of her favourite bands, go to gigs and basically blag loads of free swag all in the name of ‘research’.
Elizabeth lives in Buckinghamshire, England, with her husband. Black City is her debut novel.

Find her on Twitter: @theredpenofdoom