Cinderella: Ninja Warrior by Maureen McGowan

There are a lot of things to love about this book. First of all, the title. How can you NOT love that title? That's what attracted me to this book, and was happy to see that the story was as good as the title.

When I first picked this book to read, I wanted something quick and easy - something I wouldn't think much about during my exam week. WRONG. I got so into it, I handed in my math test early so I could read more. Oops!
When I first opened the book, I was about to skip to the first chapter when I noticed a page before it that said "How This Book Works." And I thought, "Uhm, does it not work like a normal book?" Turns out, no, it doesn't. This book is one of those "Choose the adventure" type books, where once you reach a checkpoint in the book, you choose what Cinderella should do, then go to the page that follows that result. I was genuinely surprised, and dove right in. There are eight combinations of choices that you can go through, though I'm not sure if they all lead to the same ending, since I only did one (so far).

Okay, now to talk about the actual story line. When I was a kid, I always thought Cinderella was one of the ditzier princesses. Why didn't she try to stick up for herself? I half-expected this Cinderella to be the same, but I was wrong, yet again. This story has a lot of elements from the fairytale, such as the godmother(father) but with a twist. For example, instead of the stepmother merely being a b*tch to Cinderella, here she's a PSYCHO, who physically traps Cinderella within the house with black magic and doesn't let her out. And instead of Cinderella being "blah" and singing to mice, she trains herself in martial arts with the one book she owns and her cat, Max. One thing I found really interesting, was when Cinderella snuck out not to go to the ball, but to enter a magic competition, since she inherited some of her mother's magical abilities. The winner of the competition is guaranteed a dance with Prince Tiberius, but Cinderella is only interested in the other prize: lessons from the royal wizard.

During her training for the competition, her stepmother takes her into the village for the first time in ten years. There, Cinderella befriends a "messenger boy". As it described him, I thought "Oh that's cool! She doesn't fall in love with the prince, but a servant. Now that's a twist!" That is, until he said his name was Ty. I'm sorry, but this is the one area where Cinderella gets a little clueless. This isn't much of a spoiler, but come on! Tiberius. Ty. Tiberius. Ty. He's the freaking prince, and he dropped SO MANY hints!!! Though I did like the two of them together, and the moment where she finds out he's a prince (with the outcome I chose, of course) was pretty sweet.

This book rates about 4 out of 5 on my scale, maybe even 4.5, considering how creative it is. I can't wait for to read the sequel - Sleeping Beauty: Vampire Slayer. How cool is that?!
Until my next review, au revior!
Love, Julia  :)

Obsidian (Lux #1)

BLURB: Starting over sucks. 

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I’d pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring…. until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up. 

And then he opened his mouth. 

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something…unexpected happens. 

The hot alien living next door marks me. 

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon’s touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I’m getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades. 

If I don’t kill him first, that is.
Ok so today I just read Obsidian the first of the Lux Series and I totally loved it! Jennifer Artamount (I believe that's how you spell it) really outdid herself with this amazing new YA sci-fi read.

We have Katy (AKA Kat), a smart, sassy, and snarky senior who just moved to rural West Virginia. Her first friend Dee is great! Dee's twin brother, not so much. Enter hot (so incredibly hot...), rude, pain in the a** Daeman Black. On top of the jerk persona he carries around so well, Daeman also carries around a huge secret. He and Dee are aliens. Yup, legit aliens from a planet called Lux that was destroyed years back. Many Luxens like Daeman and Dee migrated to Earth and now live there.

When Kat is almost killed in a car accident Daeman saves her and ends up marking her with his alien magic! Now a danger to the Luxens and herself Katy must stay close to the Black twins. This means tons of personal time with infuriating, yet attractive Daeman. How will it all play out? And will the Arum (AKA Dark Evil Losers That Every Book Has) get their revenge?

Read it! Magic, sci-fi, super hot aliens, and twisted romance, this book has it all! I give it a 5 outa 5 stars! Enjoy!

Madison ... And sorry for such a long wait! Been busy lately! :D

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever & Thanksgiving

So people of the world, or just america, Thanksgiving is only a few days away! Can't wait! SO MUCH FOOD!! And my crazy mom bought a fire pit to roast marshmallows ( don't even think its legal for our neighborhood.)

Anyway, a trip down middle school memory lane! Diary of a Wimpy Kid book 6 came out a few days ago and I just read it! I started book one when I was in 7th grade probably and even now as a high school student I still love it!


In this book poor Greg gets stuck in his house for a few days due to a snow storm. On top of that, Greg thinks the police are after him! LOL! Read it!!

-MADISON :D

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

 Clockwork Angel is meant to be a side series to the Mortal Instrument series (also by Cassandra Clare), kind of like a prologue. In my opinion, it's a hundred times better, funnier, and more romantic than City of Bones, and this series can stand on it's own. It deserves 10 stars out of five! This takes place in London, about a hundred or so years before the story in City of Bones. Completely different set of characters, minus a few select ageless ones, but it still has the same elements with the Shadowhunters, vamps, warlocks - the whole enchilada of magic.This story opens with the protagonist Tessa, a bookworm who is in search of her older brother, Nate. She goes to London under instructions from her brother, and stays with two horrible women called the Dark Sisters. The Sisters torture Tessa and keep pressing for her to come in contact with her "powers", and with the pressure Tessa discovers a unique talent she has - when she comes in contact with a possession of someone, she can morph her body to look like that person. 

When Tessa hears rumors of her having an arranged marriage to someone called the Magister, in comes crashing Will Herondale. Tessa's knight... hero... bane of her existence. Three words to describe Will: secretive, sarcastic, and HOT! Enough said. 

Sorry! Getting off topic there... Will takes Tessa to the London Institution and there she meets the best cast of characters since Harry Potter, if not better (and for an HP fan like me, that's saying something). There's Charlotte, a strong woman who isn't afraid to speak her mind, her husband Henry, a destructive inventor who's got a kind heart, Jessamine, the classic blond brat, and Jem, the sweetest, corniest, most amazing guy (next to Will). I love the brotherly relationship between Will and Jem - two tortured souls who can confide in each other without judgement. Jem is the only person Will ever allows to see through to his inner darkness (besides Tessa), and in return Will is incredibly protective of Jem and worries about Jem's health. Despite the touching relationship, these two could also raise hell if given the chance. My most favorite line in this book: Jem - "Remember when you tried feeding the mallards meat pies to see if you could raise an army of cannibal ducks?" Will - "And they ate them too, bloodthirsty little beasts." 

Under the noses of the Shadowhunters of England, dark power is rising. Downworlders are causing havoc, screeching about the Magister and how great he is. As the gang at the Institute start to pile together clues, things start to point to the vampires. With allies in right places (including a certain warlock whom I love, and who is now apparently bisexual, not just gay?!), Tessa learns that there may be more connections to the unknown location of her brother, and her powers, than she thought. 

Just what is Tessa? Can Will ever show a crack through his wall of emotions? Will Jem's secret illness be his downfall? Will one of Henry's inventions EVER work right? Read Clockwork Angel to find out!

(Side note: REALLY sorry I haven't been posting lately! I've been super swamped and that's going to change right now! If ever I fail to do my weekly post, I will accept the most horrible punishment... I will let Madison tell me book spoilers! Gah, even the thought of it makes me shudder.)

Later, gaters!

Love, Julia

Forgive My Fins by Terry Lynn Childs

In Forgive My Fins, Terra Lynn Childs weaves a story full of love (even if the characters won't except it at first)... and Mermaids! Main character Lily, heir to the throne of the under water kingdom Thanissia(?) has been living on land in Florida for the past 3 years, since her father, King Whelp of the Mermaids and Mermen, revealed that Lily's mother was actually a human. Now currently staying with her Aunt Rachel and being repeatedly stalked and tortured by her bad-boy next door neighbor Quince Fletcher, Lilly has a problem (besides trying not to kill Quince). See, she's been pining after Brody Bennet, a human. The thing is Lily isn't sure if the feeling is mutual, which is bad because she basically wants to use her once in a lifetime Mermaid (permanant) bond on Brody, but in order to do that she needs to kiss him. When Brody and his long time girlfriend Courtney break up, Lily knows it time to make her move, regardless of the warnings of a not-so-horrible-anymore Quince. When Brody rejects Lily's offer to the school dance, Quince jumps in and offers to help Lily score Brody. Unsure as to Quince's real motives Lily agrees to his help. But when the plan is put into action everything is ruined when Quince tricks Lily into kissing him! Well that just sucks, because now they're bonded. After explaining everything to Quince, Lily decides to head down to her Dad and have him remove the bond. So she and Quince take off, but Lily can't help but notice that Quince doesn't seem as thrilled about getting rid of the bond as she is. Pushing it to the back of her mind Lily asks her dad for a separation, and is completely shocked when her father denies it. He tells Lily than she and Quince must stay bonded for a full week and then if they truly cannot stand to stay bonded he will grant the separation. Within the week both Quince and Lilly must complete 3 challenges, and they both passed. By this point Lily has developed feelings for Quince and decides to go through with the separation anyway because she doesn't want to destroy or hinder Quince's life because of the bond, despite his protests that he loves Lily and would never want to leave her. It's not until after Brody discovers her secret (and acts really stupid about it), and the bond is gone, that Lily figures out she loves Quince too. So with the encouraging words from best friend Perri, Lily heads back to the surface, back to Quince. In the end of this first book they continue to date. There is no bond b/c Quince is now immune due to the official separation. Read this book! Its seriously good!!!


-MADISON!!!!

Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

An amazing debut to a promising new series! I absolutely loved it! Megan and Adam were adorable together and all the trials they must overcome to be together just make their relationship that much more interesting and believable (if you're a fantasy lover of course, because I don't know if hosting an element in your body, battling evil villains, and trying to fulfill a prophecy are super believable for a run of the mill normal romance). But I digress. Leigh weaves an intricate tale of love with enough action and conflict to keep the story moving in a great direction. 

Megan, an American high school student, moves to Ireland with her father for his job. It's here that she meets Adam DeRis, her soul mate basically. At first Adam is standoffish and avoids Megan, but finally after a boating accident where Megan is knocked unconscious, she and Adam begin to understand that they are destined to be together. 

From the start Meg has figured there was something up with the DeRis family. When she finally finds out, the surprise ends up being bigger than expected. She and the 3 DeRis children all have one of the four elements living inside their bodies. Together they must complete an ancient prophecy in order to balance the four elements of the world. Megan and Adam know its what they must do, but if in the process they may lose each other, will either have the heart to go through with it? 

With great characters, lots of romance, fantasy elements up the wahoo, and crazy bad guys, Carrier of the Mark is a must read. My only regret/ sadness lies with the fact that book 2 isn't scheduled to come out until 2013. SO FAR AWAY! Anyway I recommend it! 5 out of 5 stars! :D


-MADISON 

Drake Chronicles by Alexandra Harvey

         So I don't know how many of you out there have read any or all of the Drake Chronicle books out there, but they are too die for! The newest and 4th just came out a few weeks ago and I've just read it now...Pretty good! I have to say it's not my favorite one, that would be #3 with Hunter and Quinn, or the Lucy/ Nick part of book 1.
         Due to my happiness at the series continuation I am putting up my book 1, Hearts at Stake, review I wrote forever and a half ago for Goodreads.com. (Go Lucy! Favorite character!) I figure it'll make sense to those who haven't read the series yet.



Blurb: The Blakes are rather different to your usual neighbours. They are vampires and some of the members of the family date back to the twelfth century. One of the children, Solange, is the only born female vampire known and, as such, she poses a direct threat to the vampire queen. Her best friend Lucy is human, and when Solange is kidnapped Lucy and Solange's brother, Nicholas, set out to save her. Lucy soon discovers that she would like to be more than just friends with Nicholas. But how does one go about dating a vampire? Meanwhile, Solange finds an unlikely ally in Kieran, a vampire slayer on the hunt for his father's killer.


I really loved this book... in fact I loved the whole series out so far! I was dying for anything to read when I came across My Love Lies Bleeding and I can say that I wasn't dissapointed at any point of the story. This 1st book follows the two stories of best friends Solange and Lucy in alternating first POV. Solange Drake is one of the resident vamps of the story, and get this: She's falling in love with a Vampire Hunter named Kieren! Can someone say match made in Heaven... or Hell? Anyway Solange is said to be the next Vampire Queen according to a 500 year old prophecy. Not only that, but she has to deal with her 7 older brothers who are ultra protective (to an obsessive point) and also a psychotic vampire who's name I forget, but he's crazy. Enter BFF Lucy, the human, but really she's grown up around/with the Drake family for her past 16 years, so she's practically one of them. In Lucy's story she tries to balance helping Solange's problems as well as a completely complicated and confusing possible romance with Nicolas, one of the Drake brothers. Somehow these 2 girls with a crazy friendship manage to battle the Hel Blar vamps (read to find out more), a crazy egotistical fake vampire Queen, and still make time for boys. It's a great read and I recommend the series to everyone! 6 outa 5 stars!

Book 1: Lucy and Nicolas, Solange and Kieren

  Book 2: Isabeau and Logan 

    Book 3: Hunter and Quinn

                                

Book 4: Supposedly Christabel and Connor, with lots of Lucy chapters, tons of Solange problems, Hunter and her mad fighting skills, and poor Kieren who got the short end of the stick in this novel (hopefully he'll be okay come book 5)

  

-MADISON :D

Until I Die by Amy Plum

COVER RELEASE:

Amy Plum, author of the Revenants series, just released the UK cover for book 2 of the series. Love it!

-MADISON

Iron Knight by Julia Kagawa

     To all you book lovers out there, you know this feeling: When you finally finish a series; one that you've been reading since the day book 1 came out; one that you feel like you grew with the characters. That's how I feel now that I've finished the 4th and final book of the Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa, The Iron Knight. 

 

"My name—my True Name—is Ashallayn'darkmyr Tallyn.

I am the last remaining son of Mab, Queen of the Unseelie Court. And I am dead to her.

My fall began, as many stories do, with a girl…"

Ash, Winter Prince, ruthless killer, a nightmare of many, fell in love with Meghan Chase, a half human, half faery, Iron Fey and Meghan fell right back for Ash. Now that she has become the Iron Queen, Ash has been forbidden from coming into her kingdom due to Meg's attempts to save him. But the thing is Ash loves Meghan... and Ash is stubborn. So with the help of the funny, extreme prankster, Court Jester Puck, the self serving and intelligent Cait Sidhe Grimmalkin, a lost love and Seer, Ari, and the Big Bad Wolf (no joke), Ash must complete the Quest of all quests. Only by going to the End of the World will he be able to spend eternity with Meghan. Only by gaining a soul will their love ever last. Only by becoming Human will Ash be able to have a life worth living. 

Into the lands of the forgotten Fey, past all enemies, his and Puck's alike, through the End of the World, Ash must complete 3 trials. Three things he must pass in order to be with Meghan. Will he make it? In the world of the Nevernever where you best friend is you biggest enemy, where everyone's true self is cloaked in glamor, where the simplest task can be the hardest to do, Ash must prevail. 

But hey, It's not all bad! Friendships are reforged, adventures are had, stories are written, and Ash and Meghan make it through. Puck is hilarious as usual. And the best part: A survival guide and Q&A with Julie and some surprise guests are both to be found in the back of the book.

Even though its over, I'll be ok because I know that come 2012 there will be a SECOND IRON FEY TRILOGY!!!! This one is too star Ethan (Meghan's little brother). It takes place a few years after Meg, Ash, and Puck's story, but I can't wait!

Well goodbye for now to one of my ultimate favorite series ever! :D (100 outa 10 stars... and this wasn't even my fav of the books. Book 1, The Iron King, will always hold my heart as #1)

-MADISON!

Vespers Rising by Rick Riordan, Peter Lerangis, Gordon Korman, Jude Watson

About 2 years ago a new series filled with adventure, action, mystery, a clue hunt, and one of the most INSANE families you will ever get to read about, was written and read by all. This series was called the 39 Clues by various authors such as the well know Rick Riordan and many others. A few months ago the series seemed to have been wrapped up with our amazing main characters (Amy and Dan Cahill) able to finally settle down, but it turns out the adventure was only just beginning. Now late this year (2011) there has been a new sequel series written: The Cahills vs The Vespers. The book I'm about to review is the transition book between the first series and this new second one and it's called Vespers Rising.


"The Cahills thought they were the most powerful family the world had ever known. They thought they were the only ones who knew about Gideon Cahill and his Clues. The Cahills were wrong.

Powerful enemies — the Vespers — have been waiting in the shadows. Now it’s their time to rise and the world will never be the same. In Vespers Rising, a brand new 39 Clues novel, bestselling authors Rick Riordan, Peter Lerangis, Gordon Korman and Jude Watson take on the hidden history of the Cahills and the Vespers, and the last, terrible legacy Grace Cahill leaves for Amy and Dan."

My Review:

FIRST STORY-GIDEON'S:
I'd have to say my favorite story was Gideon's for a few reasons. First off I just happened to like Gideon's character. He cared for his people even when Lord Vesper wouldn't, he loved his family dearly, and he created the serums that were the basis for the 39 Clues first 10 books. I felt soooo bad for him and everyone when he was killed, but I knew it would happen sooner rather than later due to the fact that he took the lethal serum and in the other books it says Gideon died before he could make a complete, working, safe serum. What/who I mostly loved about this first story was Luke! For like the whole 39 Clue's 1st 10 books all I was thinking was, "What a cruel bastard he had to be in order to have the Lucien's be the way they are!" I mostly blame Ian, Natalie, and of course Isabel for this. What I actually found out was that Luke was basically too smart for his own good and therefore rejected by most people outside his family. And then on top of that, the family he did love (even though he didn't show it well) rejected his love and help when their father was killed. So he was forced through circumstances to run off on his own and become a cruel, social climbing, manipulative nutcase (who still had some soft spots for his son). I also enjoyed learning a little bit more about the other 3 kids. (Go Ekats!/Katherine!)

SECOND STORY-MADELINE'S
Ok, so my friend Julia said this was the BEST of the stories, so naturally I was expecting something super amazing, to be able to surpass Gideon's. To tell the truth I was kinda disappointed. I mean it was good, don't get me wrong, it's just nothing really worked out at all for Maddy and I just didn't really get into it as much. Plus Luke basically sucked for most of it. And also there's this poem for Madeline, "Maddy Babbit, scared as a rabbit" that i could not get outa my head! The thing I loved most about this story, and this may sound weird, was the sayings Olivia (the mom) would always tell Maddy when she did something like her siblings: A Jot of Jane, a Cut of Katherine, a Touch of Tomas, and a Lick of Luke (my fav one). In this one Olivia finally dies, in an explosion. So Maddy's forced to run off and she goes looking for Luke which I though was kinda dumb. I mean I know I have a soft spot for Luke now after reading Gideon's story, but come on, I'm not stupid. There's a reason the Luciens are the most feared and ruthless of the groups, its b/c their leader became and stayed that way when he was forced to leave. If I were Madeline, I would have gone after Jane, much safer... Maybe Kate. I feel like Jane would be the most understanding of the 4, and I'm just all for Kate because I'm an Ekat. (BTW Kate=Katherine). Anyway Maddy tracks down Luke and long story short, he doesn't believe Maddy about her being his long lost sister, then he steals her ring, and is going to kill her. Thankfully she escapes. What a loser Luke is here! (Still love him though... and He's really good with his kid.)

THIRD STORY-GRACE'S
Ok truthfully I barely read this one. Grace never really interested me, even in the 39 Clues. From what I understand though, in this story she's like 13 and hanging out with her favorite beloved baby brother Fiske and the all of a sudden she's off to Africa and manages to land a plane safely all by herself. Ya sucky description, I know. (least fav story).

FOURTH STORY-AMY/DAN/SOMEWHAT FISKE'S
Ok to start off this review of this story, all I have to say is POOR FISKE! I mean Amy and Dan are super used to all this crazy stuff constantly, and I mean I guess Fiske is kinda used to it too, but you know he's getting up there in age... Anyway Amy and Dan's story was fine I guess, but not as great as one of the full books. Love Dan though, his comments always make me laugh soooo much! And Nellie of course. I was sad she wasn't really in it much at all. I do love though how the author managed to have them almost be killed/mortally wounded like 4 or 5 times in the span of 20 or 30 pages. Such creativity! :) I'm super excited for another couple full books with one of my fav brother-sister teams! I SOOOOOO hope the Holts come back! I LOVE THEM They were definitely my favorite team! And of course Ian and Natalie need to come back, so that either Amy or Dan or anyone for that matter (im not picky) can give Ian one seriously well aimed kick or punch where it really counts! :)

And my rambling comes to an end... 

I give it a 4 outa 5 stars as a whole, and I seriously recommend everyone reads the 39 Clues and The Cahills vs the Vespers! ENJOY!

PS: This may not make a ton of sense to people who haven't read the first 10 books, but if you think my rambling review above is even remotely interesting then I implore you to check out those books!

Until next time,

-Madison

 (books 1 and 2 of the new Vespers series)

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

So probably everyone has heard of the Percy Jackson series, right? All about the Greek gods and how they're all the chiz-nit. (They made a movie of it a few months back, though the producers bombed it so bad it wasn't even funny.) Well, The Red Pyramid is by the same guy, Rick Riordan, and it had has the same ideas, only with Egyptian gods instead.

"Since their mother's death, Carter and Sadie have become near strangers. While Sadie has lived with her grandparents in London, her brother has traveled the world with their father, the brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Julius Kane.

One night, Dr. Kane brings the siblings together for a 'research experiment' at the British Museum, where he hopes to set things right for his family. Instead, he unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes him to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives.

Soon, Sadie and Carter discover that the gods of Egypt are waking, and the worst of them —Set— has his sights on the Kanes. To stop him, the siblings embark on a dangerous journey across the globe - a quest that brings them ever closer to the truth about their family and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs."


As you can see from this blurb (which can be found on the back of the book), the main characters are Carter and Sadie Kane. Brother and sister, who hardly see each other in their lives apart. I find it funny whenever they comment on how much they're not alike, since Sadie (age 13) is white with brightly streaked hair and a British accent, and Carter (age 14) is black with an American accent. The two of them meet up in England with their father, and they're taken to the museum with an Egyptology exhibit. When there, the three of them unleash the Egyptian gods into the modern world. Talk about family bonding... You know, most families just stick with mini-golf or going to the movies, or whatever normal families do!
Now WEIRD stuff is happening to the Kane siblings. Their uncle Amos, who they barely know, takes them to the United States for safety. Seeing Amos's home, Carter and Sadie probably wonder whether they're in more danger here or not, what with magic objects that spring out of the library, an albino crocodile swimming around, and a basketball-playing baboon named Khufu that only eats things that end in 'O'. (Cheerios, oreos, doritos, flamingoes, and the like). Oh, and did I mention that Sadie's fluffy little kitten turned into one of the fiercest, most kick-butt awesome goddesses you will ever meet? No? Well, there you go! Bast, the cat goddess, is most definitely my favorite character in this.
The Kane siblings learn that when they released the gods, part of Isis and Horus had been absorbed into Sadie and Carter. So now they can talk to them in their heads. It's like schizophrenia, but it's all good. With their father's location unknown, the two of them have set out through the world and try to stop Set, the baddest dude of a god out there. Along the way they meet more gods, like Thoth, who is crazy and is determined to discover the true meanings to barbecue sauce and orangutans , and Carter and Sadie find out that there is more to their family history than what they've been told...

In my opinion, and don't shoot me, I think I like this better than Riordan's Olympian series. *BANG!* Okay, didn't I just say do NOT shoot? Who did that? (Sighs) Anyways, I think that the Kane Chronicles' Red Pyramid is funnier, well put-together, and I love the Egyptian mythology incorporated into the modern world of New York. The characters are all cool, but Carter makes kind of a sucky protagonist. He's just so meek and nerdy, and normally I don't have problems with people like that (*ahem* considering that's me to a 'T'), but it just irked me somehow. I loved the Sadie chapters, and I loved trying to imagine the dialogue in her British accent.
Well, for my first review, I'd say I deserve a pat on the back! Let me know what you guys think in the comments, and I'll be back next week!
Catch ya later!
 - Julia

Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton

So everyone, this is my first book review on Julia's and my new blog!

This first book I plan on reviewing is one I read a few months ago while I was home sick for the day. It was actually recommended to me by Amazon.com after I had read the Maximum Ride series for like the 5th time. Now, even though "Darkness Becomes Her" isn't much like Maximum Ride at all plot wise, I still really enjoyed it.

This great start to the new "Gods and Monsters" series stars Ari, a 17-year old kick butt foster kid heroine who is in search of her father.  When Ari was just a baby she was given up by her mother and just recently with the help of her foster parents she learns of her mother's whereabouts. Turns out though when Ari arrives at the insane asylum, where her mom had been living, she finds out that her mother had already died. The only thing left at the asylum for her is a box full of letters. To make a bad day worse, after leaving the asylum, Ari is attacked by a crazed, sword wielding guy who tries to kill her, but thankfully Ari wins... and get this instead of dying when Ari stabs him, our mystery man just up and vanishes into thin air. After the close encounter, still reeling, Ari takes a look at the letters in the box and discovers a secret. There is a curse in Ari's family. A curse that killed her mother years before, as well as her grandmother and so on so forth. Now Ari's only hope is to travel into New 2, her birth place, and find out who her father is. New 2 is probably the coolest and most interesting element of the story; a city created from the ruins of New Orleans after it was demolished by Hurricane Katrina. Rumors say that everyone who lives there today has supernatural powers of some sort. Vampires, witches, seers, shape shifters, even Gods. Upon her arrival into New 2 Ari meets Crank, who agrees to give Ari a ride and a place to stay. Although weary Ari decides to accept the help from Crank and her group of friends living in the dilapidated house where Ari is currently staying. According to her mother's letters Ari needs to find her father who is still alive and can be found in New 2. Thankfully Ari is making some new friends who are willing to help. Sebastian (17 years old), the oldest of the group with mind persuasion abilities as well as being an empath, is actually also a child of one of the 9 families that bought and control New 2, the Novum. Ari is immediately drawn to him when Crank introduces them. While their initial relationship is qucikly established at the beginning of the book, this new couple certainly has a lot of obstacles they must over come if they are ever to stay together for good.  Also the group consists of Crank the non gifted one who can fix anything (3rd oldest), who originally helped Ari, Henri of unknown powers (2nd oldest), Dub, the one with the gift of fire, and Violet. Violet, the youngest has many secrets. No one knows where she came from or who her family is, and especially what her sharp fangs are for.

So with Ari's curse and impending death leering over her she must find her father and try to stay out of the eyes of the Novum. With the help of her new friends Ari has hope, but I leave you with this: gods will arise, monsters will wreak havoc, and in the end the loves and lives Ari cherishes the most may not be able to withstand the battle.

I definitley give this book a 5 out of 5 stars! The characters were well developed and the plot line kept me hanging at every corner. I really recommend it! Book 2 of the Gods and Monsters series, "A Beautiful Evil", comes out next February 2012. I can't wait and I really hope you read and enjoy book one!

Adios Amigos,
-Madison :)

Intro to our review blogging!

Hey there, yola, konnichiwa, hola, bonjour, howdy, and any other hello you can think of!
This is the first ever post on our blog, and we hope that you enjoy this! (Seriously, be happy. Or else Madison will get upset and you don't wanna see that.)
This is the story of two teenage girls who practically have no lives. Both of them enjoy reading (and in Julia's case, writing) and they set out on an adventure to spread the word of the greatest books out there! Though, the adventure was short lived since all we had to do was click a few buttons to set up this blog, despite Madison's technical difficulties being entertaining to watch.




So, in short, we are Madison and Julia, and we read. A LOT. Like, so much that you can't even imagine how many pages we go through a week. Our main genres are fantasy, paranormal romance, sci-fi, and a few generic fictions thrown in. Each of us will post a review of what books we are obsessing over at the moment. (Or try to, anyways, when we're not having anime marathons.) We aren't limiting our reviews to one day a week, so don't panic if you don't see anything immediately.

And also, Julia has been trying her hand at writing her own novels, and she has recently completed her first book! So every now and again, she'll be putting quotes and such on this site from her novels. Let her know what you guys think of them, saying whether they sound amazing, or you want to gouge your eyes out from such horrid writing. (Though please try not to go to such extremes)

We'll be putting our first reviews up pretty soon, and if you like them, you can comment, share, laugh until you cry, or ship yourself to us in a box because you can't bear to be away from us for so long. (On second thought, that last one might be a bit difficult to explain to our parents... So don't.)

Thanks, and see you guys later!
Love, Madison the assassin
and Julia the giraffe.