Arena 1 by Morgan Rice REVIEW

My Thoughts:

I got this book for free off of Amazon with high expectations. 

When I started reading this book, I was a bit disappointed; since the beginning  really dragged on a lot, but then, as I got about halfway through the book, I realized that it was a sort of introduction, telling us readers a bit about the world the main character (Brooke Moore) lives in, which is far in the future.

While it got better later on, the feelings of one of the characters, the boy she leaves with to go after her sister (who was kidnapped by slavedrivers), seemed to have feelings for her, but it's never plainly said. Brooke seems to like the boy she meets who helps her escape from being captured, but nothing happens between them, which I enjoyed, because way too many books these days have a lot of unneeded romance. The end was satisfying, but the talk of how 'Arena 2' is somehow worse than Arena 1 was strange, because the same words were used to describe Arena 1 in the beginning: No one survives.

My Rating: 4 stars

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl REVIEW

Beautiful Creatures series: Book One

Summary:

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps, and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

My Thoughts:

This book was amazing, and I really enjoyed it a lot. 

It was a kind of slow read at first, but then as the story continued, the suspense got more suspenseful, which was really nice.

Ethan has few friends, and when he realizes that Lena is the girl from his dreams, he tries to become friends with her, which made almost the whole town turn against them, just because a lot of people hate Lena because of her uncle who doesn't come out of his house at all.

My Rating: 3.5 stars

The Mask by Taylor Stevens REVIEW

Summary:

The Mask finds Vanessa, chameleon and dangerous information hunter, still healing from a Somali hijacking gone wrong. She joins her lover, Miles Bradford, in Japan, and begins to relax into a tentative domesticity--until Bradford is suddenly arrested for murder. Searching for answers and fighting to stay alive, Munroe will soon discover how far she'll go to save Bradford--because she's a strategist and hunter with a predator's instincts, and the man she loves has just stabbed her in the back.

My Thoughts:

Apparently this is a book in a series??? At least it wasn't too confusing, because I never read the other books.
The storyline is kind of interesting. A girl going undercover to save her boyfriend (?) and it's in JAPAN. I really like Japan.
Anyway, I really liked the characters and their development, and the progressing storyline, although it was a little slow to read at first and then got a bit slow in the middle.
I would consider reading the other books by this author.

My Rating: 3 stars

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**I received this book from Blogging for Books for my honest review. Thank you!!!**

Fading Starlight by Kathryn Cushman REVIEW

Summary:

Lauren Summers is in hiding. Her fashion house internship was supposed to launch her career, but a red carpet accident has left her blackballed. The only job she can find comes with little pay, but at least it offers a free place to live--a rundown cottage in the shadow of a cliff-side mansion. Planning to living on savings until she figures out what's next, she's unprepared to be contacted by a reporter.

Kendall Joiner is researching Charlotte Montgomery, a former Hollywood ingenue who lives a reclusive life in the cliff-side mansion. Rumors have swirled for decades about Charlotte, and now Kendall wants to find the real story. In return, she may just have the key to getting Lauren back into the fashion world. Desperate to restore her dreams, Lauren's not sure she can turn down the offer--but as she and Miss Montgomery get to know more about each other, Lauren realizes nothing is quite as it seems.

My Thoughts:

This book was actually pretty good. I first thought that it would put tons of romance and ruin the story, but it didn't. There was some romance, but not a lot, which I really enjoyed.

The story is also intriguing--the accident that left her jobless was actually staged by the person who wore the dress just because she wanted to be more popular and noticed as a teenager, not a child. Kendall really missed out on that story, because she was too busy chasing after a story that had been proved false long ago.

My Rating: 3.5 stars

**I received this book from Bethany House Publishers for my honest review. Thank you!!!**

Titans by Victoria Scott REVIEW

Summary:

Ever since the Titans first appeared in her Detroit neighborhood, Astrid Sullivan's world has revolved around the mechanical horses. She and her best friend have spent countless hours watching them and their jockeys practice on the track. It's not just the thrill of the race. It's the engineering of the horses themselves and the way they're programmed to still seem so lifelike. The Titans are everything that fascinates Astrid, and nothing she'll ever touch.

She hates them a little, too. Her dad lost everything betting on the Titans. And the races are a reminder of the gap between the rich jockeys who can afford the expensive machines and the working class friends and neighbors of Astrid's who wager on them.

But when Astrid's offered a chance to enter an early model Titan in this year's derby, well, she decides to risk it all. Because for a girl from the wrong side of the tracks, it's more than a chance at fame or money. Betting on herself is the only way she can see to hang on to everyone in the world she cares about.

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book a lot. When I heard the title, I was like, Attack on Titan kind of Titans??? But it wasn't that. It was an amazingly written story about a girl who risks life and limb in hopes to bring her family back to the way it was and to have enough money to pay off the mortgage bills to keep their house.

My Rating: 5 stars

Unhooked by Lisa Maxwell REVIEW

Summary:

For as long as she can remember, Gwendolyn Allister has never had a place to call home--all because her mother believes that monsters are hunting them. Now those delusions have brought them to London, far from the life Gwen had finally started to build for herself. The only saving grace is her best friend, Olivia, who's coming with them for the summer.

But when Gwen and Olivia are kidnapped by shadowy creatures and taken to a world of flesh eating sea hags and dangerous Fey, Gwen realizes her mom might have been sane all along.

The world Gwen finds herself in is called Neverland, yet it's nothing like the stories. Here, good and evil lose their meaning and memories slip like water through her fingers. As Gwen struggles to remember where she came from and find a way home, she must choose between trusting the charming fairytale hero who says all the right things and the roguish young pirate who promises to keep her safe.

With time running out and her enemies closing in, Gwen is forced to face the truths she's been hiding from all along. But will she be able to save Neverland without losing herself?

My Thoughts:

This book was really, really interesting. In the beginning, Gwen is moving into a creepy old flat with her friend Olivia who is going to stay and help them move in. After she turns off the light of a lamp, figures come and kidnap her and Olivia. She finds that Pan is really the evil one and that he lies just because he wants to take her power--because her real mother was the queen. The queen turned out to be pretty evil too, so she died, I think. Gwen saved Neverland and herself but wasn't able to save Olivia.

My Rating: 4 stars

Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Gray REVIEW

**Sequel to A Thousand Pieces of You**

Summary:

Marguerite Caine has done the impossible, traveling to alternate dimensions with the Firebird--the brilliant invention of her parents, her boyfriend Paul, and their friend Theo. But she has also caught the attention of enemies willing to kidnap, blackmail, and even kill to use the Firebird for themselves.

When Paul's soul is splintered into four pieces--pieces that are trapped within Pauls in other dimensions--Marguerite will do anything and travel anywhere to save him. But the price of his safe return is steep. If she doesn't sabotage her parents in multiple universes, Paul will be lost forever.

Unwilling to sacrifice her family, Marguerite enlists the brilliant Theo to help. The two forge a plan to save Paul and the Firebird, but succeeding means outsmarting a genius and risking not only their lives but also the lives of their counterparts in every other dimension.

Their mission takes them to the most dangerous universes yet: a war-torn San Francisco, the criminal underworld of New York City, and a glittering Paris where another Marguerite hides a shocking secret. Each leap brings Marguerite closer to saving Paul--but her journey reveals dark truths that lead her to doubt the one constant she's found between worlds: their love for each other.

My Thoughts:

This book was really good. And I'm not just saying that.

You not only see the darker parts of Theo that he chooses to ignore, as well as the darker parts of Paul that he chose to run from.

Character development was really good in this one. You see who they could have been if they made different choices in life.

It even leaves with a cliffhanger. I can't wait for the next one!

My Rating: 4 stars