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Tiana Smith
Some of my many talents include making a mean box of Mac & Cheese, drawing stick figures, designing cute blog templates, and finding Waldo. I read and write MG and YA & I have a soft spot for love stories.
The Crown of Embers
That feeling where you read a book that is sooooo good but the ending is a total CLIFFHANGER and the next book doesn't come out for months. Curse you Rae Carson!Gah. I just want to read the next one now. I liked this one so much better than the first. I think it helped that there was only one real love interest (Gotta love Hector!) I did feel like the ending was just a tad rushed - that some characters didn't act in ways that made complete sense because the author needed them to act that way (the Inveirnos, or however you spell that...). It also didn't make sense to me why she kept thinking she wouldn't be able to marry Hector, I mean, there didn't seem to be enough obstacles in that regard. He's rich, powerful, on her side, and sure her council wants her to marry another lord, but she's queen! She should be able to tell them off. Also, I probably wouldn't recommend this book to younger teens, since there's a lot of stuff that they'd need to be mature to handle.But! I was just so intrigued the entire book. I wanted to know what was going to happen. Can't wait for the final one in a couple of months.
I love Jenni James's Jane Austen diaries, and this was my first foray into her Faerie Tale Collection. I'll admit that I didn't like it as much. Maybe it's because her writing style and voice do really well with contemporary stories, but I just felt that this one was a bit rushed. There weren't many explanations, some things didn't make sense, and it just didn't feel as cohesive as the other books of hers that I've read. With that said, I'll probably give this collection another try and hope that the others are better.
 - Jenni James)
Half-Moon Investigations
Cute read. It was fun to see a traditional private eye voice tailored to a middle grade story. I also liked that I could actually solve the mystery - I hate reading mysteries where the key element is withheld until the last minute, or when the detail is so obscure that only geniuses with a crazy memory would know something so trivial.
The One and Only Ivan
So heartwarming and yet sad at the same time. Even the happy moments made me a little sad, but in a good way. It was interesting to see the world through a gorilla's eyes - though I think the gorilla became more and more human-like as the book progressed. I felt a little bad for pretty much all of the characters involved - human and animal alike. I'm glad there was a happier ending, and I suppose given the circumstances, it was the happiest it could be. After all, it wouldn't make much sense to put a gorilla who was raised in captivity back into the wild. I don't want to make it sound like this book was a downer, since it wasn't. It was just ... poignant. Warning to those of you who are considering reading this aloud to kids - there is a death about half way through that might be a little traumatizing to younger children.
Palace of Stone (Princess Academy)
I always love how real Shannon Hale's characters are. No one is completely good or evil, people make mistakes and people do things for their own reasons that they believe to be just. I also like how she builds the conflict so that things seem to be completely doomed and yet, somehow it always works out well in the end. I loved learning about a culture, people and emotions that seem so honest. Hale definitely has a knack for making you care about events and characters in her books. It's been a looooong time since I've read the first book in this series, and yet I was able to pick up everything just fine. I'd recommend this to pretty much everyone and anyone!
Proper Gauge (Wool, #2)
I didn't like this one nearly as much as the first one and now I'm not sure if I'm going to keep reading the series or not. I didn't feel as connected to the characters, I felt like the build up was lacking, and once again, Hugh Howey has killed off a character that I was just beginning to appreciate. The suspense and mystery that surrounded the first installment were much more subdued in this part, and while I'm curious to know what IT is really up to, I just don't want to take that long to find out. I might give the third one a chance since I liked the first one so much, but maybe I need a break from it.
Wool (Wool, #1)
I'm not sure what I was expecting, but that wasn't it! LOL. Hmmmm. I knew it would leave things unanswered (as it is so short and I knew there were more installments) but I didn't want it to have *quite* as much of a cliffhanger as that. Brilliant writing though. I was thoroughly intrigued and I thought the pacing of the reveals was done really well. Not a lot of actual action happens in this installment, since there's a lot of internal stuff, but it doesn't feel slow. I'm interested to see where this goes.
Storybound
There was a lot I liked about this book. I liked the little comments about how books are typically done (backstory, villains, heroes, etc.) and seeing how these characters acted out common story ideas. I thought the writing was clever and I loved the world that Marissa Burt created. It's similar to Inkheart with it's tongue in cheek portrayal of the written word (kind of like the author making light fun of her own profession). One thing I thought got a little tired was that Una and Peter often only figure stuff out by overhearing someone. They must have heard about 5 conversations and I thought there could have been more original ways for them to progress the plot. Also, I thought it was strange that Peter was the main guy for most of the book, and then Indy is the one that's present for the finale stuff while Peter takes a back seat. Kind of off-putting. I'll definitely be picking up the next one though, especially since this isn't really a complete book on it's own - more of a Part One, if you will.
Dangerous Voices
Very intriguing read. You can get it for free from the author's website. I was able to download it for Kindle for free, but now it seems like that might no longer be available ...? Anyway, I love the world building that Rae Carson does, even in such a short story. It makes me wish that this were a full length novel and I knew everything that was going on in that world and Errik's life. The writing is beautiful and rich, much like her [b:The Girl of Fire and Thorns|10429092|The Girl of Fire and Thorns (Fire and Thorns, #1)|Rae Carson|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1323448113s/10429092.jpg|13282366] books.
Maelyn (The Nine Princesses Novellas): 1
Cute read. I felt like it was maybe a little rushed at times, but I often feel that way with novellas. It was also a little predictable, but since it's meant for younger readers, I'll easily forgive that. The writing was clean, and I love reading an Indie book that has actually been proofread. All in all, fun, cute and I'd probably pick up the next ones.
Your Happily Ever After
Love the message of this book. It was originally a talk, so you can get it online for free - I got the Kindle version of the book for free too, since I'm not really keen on paying 15 bucks for a talk ...
Perfect Scoundrels (Heist Society Novels)
I love Ally Carter's books. Each one is sure to have the right mix of action, suspense and just enough romance. I felt like this one was a little more ... scattered than some of her others. It was also a little bit more emotionally charged (rather than it being about the tricks and turns of the heist, it focused a little more on the danger involved and the stakes for each of the main characters), which is probably in part due to the fact that this heist *is* more personal and effects Kat and Hale on a closer level. Maybe it's because I've read so many of Ally Carter's books, but I also felt like I could predict things a little easier with this one. I wasn't as surprised at events and there were several things that I "called" before they happened. That said, it's still super fun to see all the action unfold. I love seeing Kat and Hale together and am excited for there to be more books in this series.
Me, Just Different (The Reinvention of Skylar Hoyt)
The first half of the book wasn't all that intriguing for me, but the second half made up for it. While I didn't like the main character at first, I found that I did genuinely care about her problems and wanted to make sure she had a happy ending. The thing that I thought was handled really well was that it all seemed very realistic. The problems Skylar faces don't just go away with a wave of a magic wand. Some serious stuff hits the fan, and yet, the resolution at the end is believable. Not everything is resolved (there are more books in the series, after all), but I was left thinking that things would work out.
The Audition (Seraphina, #0.5)
I liked seeing the characters interact in this prequel. I felt like I got to know the princess better, and you can see the fun side of her that is dampened by her stately side more in Seraphina.
 - Rachel Hartman)
Seraphina
I loved the uniqueness of the dragons - they had their own culture and behaviors that were entirely separate from humans. They weren't just humans with lizard skins. I also liked seeing the build up of all the various elements that were pulled together. There were a few threads of the story that were obviously left open, so I'm glad to see there is a sequel coming in 2014. Like some reviewers mentioned, the book is a little slow at times, but I never felt like it was boring. It's just a different pace than many of the contemporary books being published today. If you read a lot of fantasy (especially fantasy that was published previously to the last ten years) then you probably won't notice anything with the pacing. I liked Lucien and their relationship - I'll be interested to see where that goes in the next book since I did want more resolution on that note.
For Darkness Shows the Stars
I was kind of amazed at how much I loved this book. It's not enough sci-fi to scare me away, and the build up between the two main characters was executed brilliantly. (Also, the letters from their childhood that are interspersed throughout the book? Adorbs!) There's a lot of back story to get through in the beginning, but it's not heavy-handed and it really helps you understand their world and history since everything has such a unique setting. I think the thing I loved the most was how well Diana Peterfreund did with the foreshadowing. There are some revelations that happen near the latter part of the novel that are set up so well. I didn't see some things coming, even though once they were revealed, it all made perfect sense and was understandable. I did feel like I wanted a *little* more resolution in the end, since it seemed to wrap up pretty quickly, but even so, it was a satisfying ending. I loved seeing all the parallels to Jane Austen's Persuasion, and seeing how the author really made the story her own. If you're a fan of young adult, or love stories, then I'd recommend this one. Don't be afraid of the label sci-fi if that's not your regular reading, since I didn't really feel like this one warranted that label too much.
