Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken

Title: Never Fade (The Darkest Minds #2)

Author: Alexandra Bracken

Release Date: October 15 2013

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Format: Hardcover

Page Number: 507

Source: Own 

Synopsis (Goodreads): Ruby never asked for the abilities that almost cost her her life. Now she must call upon them on a daily basis, leading dangerous missions to bring down a corrupt government and breaking into the minds of her enemies. Other kids in the Children’s League call Ruby “Leader”, but she knows what she really is: a monster. 

When Ruby is entrusted with an explosive secret, she must embark on her most dangerous mission yet: leaving the Children’s League behind. Crucial information about the disease that killed most of America’s children—and turned Ruby and the others who lived into feared and hated outcasts—has survived every attempt to destroy it. But the truth is only saved in one place: a flashdrive in the hands of Liam Stewart, the boy Ruby once believed was her future—and who now wouldn’t recognize her. 

As Ruby sets out across a desperate, lawless country to find Liam—and answers about the catastrophe that has ripped both her life and America apart—she is torn between old friends and the promise she made to serve the League. Ruby will do anything to protect the people she loves. But what if winning the war means losing herself?

My Review

I absolutely loved The Darkest Minds which I read last year, and so I was absolutely ecstatic to read Never Fade, and Alexandra Bracken did not disappoint. Everything about this book was absolutely amazing. 

I loved jumping back into the world of The Darkest Minds and seeing what happened to all the characters. After the first book ended I really wanted to know what happened to them and I was relieved that we got to see most of them again. 

Ruby really grew into an incredibly strong character through the course of these two books. She really learned how to use her powers and has come to terms that she's not a monster anymore. She would do anything to help people she loves, and I loved seeing her growth. It was also really interesting to see how much Chubs and Liam have changed from the first book. Chubs has really changed as a person and, well, we all know what happened to Liam. I also really loved the addition of new characters to add spark to the story. 

I loved that Never Fade was a continuation of The Darkest Minds, as well as having a story all its own. Ruby has to go on a quest so to speak, to find Liam and retrieve a flashdrive that contains important information. The plot of Never Fade was never boring and it was always fast paced with so much going on and I can't even describe the wonder that it was!

Rating: 5/5 stars

This book was just as good, if not better than The Darkest Minds and you should definitely read it!

Waiting on Wednesday (23)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine. It showcases upcoming titles that we are currently awaiting.

This weeks selection is...
Panic
by Lauren Oliver
Release Date: March 4th, 2014

Synopsis: Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a dead-end town of 12,000 people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do.

Heather never thought she would compete in Panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors, where the stakes are high and the payoff is even higher. She’d never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought.

Dodge has never been afraid of Panic. His secret will fuel him, and get him all the way through the game, he’s sure of it. But what he doesn't know is that he’s not the only one with a secret. Everyone has something to play for.

For Heather and Dodge, the game will bring new alliances, unexpected revelations, and the possibility of first love for each of them—and the knowledge that sometimes the very things we fear are those we need the most.

Waiting on Wednesday (22)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine. It showcases upcoming titles that we are currently awaiting.

This weeks selection is...
Dreams of Gods and Monsters (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #3)
by Laini Taylor
Release Date: April 8th, 2014

Synopsis: By way of a staggering deception, Karou has taken control of the chimaera rebellion and is intent on steering its course away from dead-end vengeance. The future rests on her, if there can even be a future for the chimaera in war-ravaged Eretz.

Common enemy, common cause.

When Jael's brutal seraph army trespasses into the human world, the unthinkable becomes essential, and Karou and Akiva must ally their enemy armies against the threat. It is a twisted version of their long-ago dream, and they begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people.

And, perhaps, for themselves. Toward a new way of living, and maybe even love.

But there are bigger threats than Jael in the offing. A vicious queen is hunting Akiva, and, in the skies of Eretz ... something is happening. Massive stains are spreading like bruises from horizon to horizon; the great winged stormhunters are gathering as if summoned, ceaselessly circling, and a deep sense of wrong pervades the world.

What power can bruise the sky?

From the streets of Rome to the caves of the Kirin and beyond, humans, chimaera and seraphim will fight, strive, love, and die in an epic theater that transcends good and evil, right and wrong, friend and enemy.

At the very barriers of space and time, what do gods and monsters dream of? And does anything else matter?

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Title: Fangirl

Author: Rainbow Rowell

Release Date: September 10th, 2013

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Format: Hardcover

Page Number: 448

Source: Own

 

Synopsis (Goodreads): Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan, but for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.
Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?
 

 My Thoughts

Fangirl caused a roar in the booktube and blogging communities, and after reading it I understand why. This book is a delightful story of growing up and changing, even if you don't really want to.

 

First of all, I want to adress that this book is us. And by us, I mean the Internet dwellers, the fanfiction writers, and anyone else who spends their days behind computer screens like me. Fanfiction please a major role in this book, and the main character Cath, writes fanfiction about a series very similar to our own Harry Potter. I loved this unique aspect and I though Rainbow Rowell did a great job carrying it through.

 

The main character, Cath, bothered me a bit. Cath starts off the book as a socially awkward freshman in college who doesn't want to do anything new. This annoyed me because she had so many opportunities to go out and do things to meet other people, but she waited until the end of the book to make any progress. However, she does make development as she goes from being a kid to growing into an adult through the course of this book. The side character were almost better than Cath in my opinion, especially Regan, who made me laugh like a crazy person with her witty dialogue, and the romance isn't bad either.

 

Speaking of dialogue, Rainbow Rowell has an incredible writing style, and she definitely didn't disappoint me in this book. She gives such realistic and witty dialogue to her characters that I believed that I was reading something that my friends said. There are now tons of sticky notes marking some of my favorite passages in this book. She also gave a really nice interpretation (in my opinion) of college life, since I haven't attended college yet. However, I felt that Rainbow could have delivered a little more on the plot, because I thought it was a little slow in some spots.

 

Rating: 4/5 worms

This book is a delightful treat for anyone who loves contemporary or is addicted to the Internet like me!

 

 

Anatomy of a Single Girl by Daria Snadowsky

Title: Anatomy of a Single Girl

Author: Daria Snadowsky

Release Date: January 8, 2013

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Format: Hardcover

Page Number: 227

Source: Author (Thanks Daria)

 

Synopsis (Goodreads): With Judy Blume-like honesty and insight, this sequel to Anatomy of a Boyfriend is about life after first love--romance, sex, friendship, family, and the ups and downs of life as a single girl.

After everything that happened—my first boyfriend, my first time, my first breakup—jumping back into the dating game seemed like the least healthy thing I could do. It’s not that I didn’t want to fall in love again, since that’s about the best feeling ever. But as a busy college premed still raw from heartbreak, which is the worst feeling ever, I figured I’d lie low for a while. Of course, as soon as I stopped looking for someone, an impossibly amazing—and devastatingly cute—guy came along, and I learned that having a new boyfriend is the quickest way to recover from losing your old one.

The moment we got together, all my preconceptions about romance and sex were turned upside down. I discovered physical and emotional firsts I never knew existed. I learned to let go of my past by living in the present. It was thrilling. It was hot. It was just what the doctor ordered.

But I couldn’t avoid my future forever.

 

My Review

I enjoyed Anatomy of a Single Girl even more than Anatomy of a Boyfriend. It was really interesting to read about Dom's second boyfriend, and seeing her story continue.  

 

Dom definitely grew up in this book. She had a year more experience and a first love under her belt at the the beginning of this book. Whenever she was contemplating her relationship, she didn't go through all the complicating things like she did in the last book. I admired that she was weary to go into a new relationship, but she took the plunge and went for it,  and I was proud of her.

 

The overall plot was similar to Anatomy of a Boyfriend, but I thought it was still really good. Enought about it was diferent that kept me reading, and I was interested in Dom and her new boy. The stuff that Dom and Guy did was also more grown up, though I wished they would have gone on more dates.

 

They characters were still really good and I liked the development that Amy and Dom went through. You could see them growing as characters from the beginning of the book to the end, even if the book was short. Amy and Dom also developed in their friendship, which I thought was great.

 

Rating: 4/5 worms

Overall, Anatomy of a Single Girl is a great new adult book and I really enjoyed it!

 

 

Anatomy of a Boyfriend by Daria Snadowsky

Title: Anatomy of a Boyfriend

Author: Daria Snadowsky

Release Date: January 9, 2007

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Format: Paperback

Page Number: 272

Source: Author (Thanks Daria!)

Synopsis(Goodreads): Before this all happened, the closest I'd ever come to getting physical with a guy was playing the board game Operation. Okay, so maybe that sounds pathetic, but it's not like there were any guys at my high school who I cared to share more than three words with, let alone my body.

Then I met Wes, a track star senior from across town. Maybe it was his soulful blue eyes, or maybe my hormones just started raging. Either way, I was hooked. And after a while, he was too. I couldn't believe how intense my feelings became, or the fact that I was seeing—and touching—parts of the body I'd only read about in my Gray's Anatomy textbook. You could say Wes and I experienced a lot of firsts together that spring. It was scary. It was fun. It was love.

And then came the fall.
 

My Review

Anatomy of a Boyfriend is a very interesting and intriguing story of first love and all the ups and downs that come with it.

I thought that Anatomy of a Boyfriend had a really nice romance. After reading so much YA with instalove, I was truly sick of it. This book was such a change of pace and it was really quite refreshing. I thought it was very interesting to read about Dominique’s first love, and all the heartbreak and love that came with it. The romance felt real, and not cheesy.

Dominique was a pretty good character. Reading about her experiences with first love gave me insight about what it’s like to fall in love. She was kind of obsessive toward her boyfriend, which was a little weird. Wes was a good character too, and I ended up hating him along with Dominique at the end of the book. Out of all the characters, my favorite was definitely Amy. She was such a good friend to Dominique that I couldn’t help loving her. I thought that all the characters were really good in this book.

My favorite part of this whole book was when Dominique went off to college. I’ve been watching a lot of “Grey’s Anatomy” lately, and I thought it was a great touch that Dominique was going to premed. I thought that was such a great addition to the book. The plot was pretty good too, but it really picked up when the characters went off to college.

Rating: 4/5 worms

 

I don't know...

Well, I'm back. It's been quite a while (try a couple of months). I don't really know what happened. One day I was blogging and the next I wasn't, and I don't really know what to do. I've spent most of my time on my YouTube site and I've neglected my blog but I really don't know what to do about it. I was thinking I could just post all my videos here, or just write reviews, but I'm not sure. I would love to get all of you imput down below.