{ Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl }

Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

October 18, 2011 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Format: Hard Cover

Source: My Book Shelf

From GoodReads:

Ethan Wate thought he was getting used to the strange, impossible events happening in Gatlin, his small Southern town. But now that Ethan and Lena have returned home, strange and impossible have taken on new meanings. Swarms of locusts, record-breaking heat, and devastating storms ravage Gatlin as Ethan and Lena struggle to understand the impact of Lena's Claiming. Even Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals is affected - and their abilities begin to dangerously misfire. As time passes, one question becomes clear: What - or who - will need to be sacrificed to save Gatlin?For Ethan, the chaos is a frightening but welcome distraction. He's being haunted in his dreams again, but this time it isn't by Lena - and whatever is haunting him is following him out of his dreams and into his everyday life. Even worse, Ethan is gradually losing pieces of himself - forgetting names, phone numbers, even memories. He doesn't know why, and most days he's too afraid to ask. Sometimes there isn't just one answer or one choice. Sometimes there's no going back. And this time there won't be a happy ending.

My Review:

I am sad to say that Beautiful Chaos was a big disappointment for me. I had such high hopes as Beautiful Darkness was such a great book! It was fun, exciting, funny, thrilling and just a big adventure. It was filled with great, great characters that I just adored. Beautiful Chaos? Was none of those things. This book was WAY too long and filled with nothing. Most of the characters that I adored from the beginning of this series, were lifeless and just dull. I don't really know what happened. The authors just threw a bunch of stuff in a hat and made a book out of it.

What?!!! It was a book about nothing. There was this huge build up for something amazing, something critical, something other worldly. Then it just ended. I will admit the last 50 pages or so, did have my attention. But then the end? What? It was just like Lena says throughout this series, 'not with a bang, but a whimper.' And that is exactly how this series ended for me.I guess, I can say that John would have been the only character that showed some depth. But, he was only in the book for a short period of time. I truly missed Boo Radley and Lucille Ball. They were mentioned a few times, but they were sadly, sadly missed. As was Ridley. I have always thought that Rid is one of THE best female characters I have read. Again, I am not sure what the authors had in mind? I just did not get it.

In the end, if you have been a fan of this series, I guess I would say read it to see how it all ends. If you have not read this series yet? Read the first two and then make up your own ending...it would probably be more enjoyable than the real thing.

Rating: 2.5 stars

{ The Eye of the Crystal Ball by T P Boje }

The Eye of the Crystal Ball by T P Boje

June 23, 2011 by T P Boje

Source: from author for review

Format: Ebook

From Goodreads:

When Sara was newborn her parents left her at the doorstep at Mr. and Mrs. Schneider's house.

When Sara was ten she discovered she was telekinetic. She began to move stuff around when she got angry just by her will alone.

When Sara was twelve her real parents came for her and took her with them to live like the Gypsy that she was - or Romani as they like to call themselves. They told her she was goin to fulfill a prophesy. That is was once said that out of the Romani people the greatest sorceress who had ever lived would be born.

When Sara was thirteen she had a baby brother and when she was fourteen he got very sick with a strange illness.

To save her baby brother Sara sets off on a quest to find his cure - well knowing that it will cost her dearly.

Soon Sara finds herself going through the Singing Cave, crossing Wild Witches Valley, talking to a ten foot giant snail, rescuing the Beads of Souls from the Hell-hounds, escaping a spell in Vamilla, the Forest of Vanity, visiting the King at the City of Lights before she finally reaches the Black Castle where she is told the Eye of the Crystal Ball can tell her how to cure her brother's strange illness.

But nothing is free in this world - and as Sara soon will know - everything has a price.

My Review:

The Eye of the Crystal Ball is an epic fantasy filled with adventure, wonderful creatures and some great life lessons. Aside from a one sentence reference to a rape, at the hands of a snake-wizard, this is a story suited to all fantasy readers ages 10 and up. If you are a lover of fantastical creatures, this book is sure to satisfy. Within the 22 chapters you will meet a werewolf boy, sorceress, witches, a speed talking giant snail, a griffin, a black dragon, a bogwoman, elves, Will-o'-the-wisps, a handfull of creatures turned into various weird creatures at the hands of the evil Sensisaron, pegasis and of course a unicorn.

However, aside from the adventure and characters, The Eye of the Crystal Ball left me feeling very conflicted. To be perfectly honest, this book on a whole is in need of an editing overhaul. I am not a writer or an editor, but when a book is filled with this many spelling/grammatical errors and a few inconsistances within the story? It is just too distracting. I know that the author has had her books translated into various languages for publication, and it is quite possible that that is where the issue stems from. But from a personal stand point, this was too much of a distraction for me.

In the end, editing issues aside, the story at it's core and the characters are definitely a wonderful fantasy for young readers. I just hope that the next book in this series is given the editing overhaul that it deserves.

Rating: 2.5 stars

{ Soul Identity by Dennis Batchelder }

Soul Identity by Dennis Batchelder

April 11, 2009 by Smashwords Inc

Source: Free ebook from Kobobooks.com

Format: ebook

From Goodreads:

What if you could bank your money for your next life? Smart-aleck and computer security expert Scott Waverly is skeptical of his new clients claim that they have been tracking souls for almost twenty-six hundred years. Is it a freaky cult, or a sophisticated con job? As Scott saves Soul Identity from an insider attack, he discovers the importance of the bridges connecting peoples lives.

My review:

After I first purchased my ereader, I decided to see what kind of free books were out there. I found this one at the kobo bookstore and thought it sounded like a good one. There really is not much to say about this one. While the story line was something different, the execution fell short. I felt there should have been some major editing done to this book. I am not a writer, publisher or editor, but I am a reader and this one just felt very choppy. The beginning of the book had a good flow and I did feel connected with the main character Scott Waverly, but then after a few chapters it just gradually fell apart. I found most of the action scenes were rushed and it was over before it really began. The romance between the main character Scott and Val was very forced and I felt it was just there for a token romance.

In the end, it was not a terrible read, just not all that great either. If you are looking for something light to pass the time, perhaps give this one a read.

Rating: 2.5 stars

{ Wither by Lauren DeStefano }

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

March 22, 2011 by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Source: Ebook

From GoodReads:

Obviously, something went terribly wrong. Genetic mutations have festered, reducing human longevity to twenty-five years, even less for most women. To prevent extinction, young girls are kidnapped, mated in polygamous marriages with men eager to procreate. Sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery, a recent victim of this breeding farm mentality, has vowed to break loose from its fetters; but finding allies and a safe way out is a challenge she can only hope she will survive.

Review:

After reading that blurb off of Goodreads again...well, I am not sure why I have read this. It is not something I would normally pick up. However, there has been so much hype on this one, I caved and decided to give it a read. I will start off by saying that I will not get into the 'morality' issue of this one. Everyone has their own belief system and own morals in which they live by. I will say though, that I am not sure that I would recommend this book for younger teens. I just feel the subject matter is not really appropriate for the younger YA reader. That aside...

The overall storyline is different. However, this book has been put out there as a YA Dystopian series. I kind of have issues with that. While there are certainly Dystopian elements to it, I would definitely not class this a true Dystopian. The majority of the story takes place within the walls of

The House Governor's mansion. Yes, there are elements within the compound that are futuristic, but we never really get a feel for how the world outside the compound exists. There are glimpses, but I never felt fully introduced to the world on a whole.

Our main character Rhine, is a 16 yr old girl who has been kidnapped and separated from her twin brother Rowan. She is one of three girls chosen to be one of the next sister wives of the House Governor, Linden. I really enjoyed getting to know Rhine and her sister wives. Rhine is forced into this marriage along with 13 yr old Cecily and 18 yr old Jenna. Both Rhine and Jenna know that what has happened to them is so very wrong, while Cecily is very young and has been easily tainted into thinking that this is the best thing to happen to her. The things that have happened to each of these girls before and during their 'captivity' is truly heartbreaking. I know many reviewers have had issues with Cecily being too whiny. But I think you have to realize that this is a 13 year-old girl. She has been married and now expected to have a child for this man...well actually many children. It is a very delicate situation to say the least. And that would be why I find it hard to review this one. I did enjoy the characters on a whole and also the developing friendship/love between Rhine and Gabriel. I guess just the overall feel and heart of this story is just something I am having a hard time relating to and believing. There are just too many holes in this world for me to really connect with it.

This is the first book in a series, but I honestly do not know that I will be waiting for the second installment. Would I recommend it? Only if you want to see for yourself what all the hype is about.

Rating: 2.5/3 stars

{ Torment by Lauren Kate }

Torment by Lauren Kate

September 2010 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

From Goodreads:

Hell on Earth. That's what it's like for Luce to be apart from her fallen angel boyfriend, Daniel. It took them an eternity to find one another, but now he has told her he must go away. Just long enough to hunt down the Outcasts - immortals who want to kill Luce. Daniel hides Luce at Shoreline, on the rocky California coast with unusually gifted students - Nephilim, the offspring of fallen angels and humans.

At Shoreline, Luce learns what the Shadows are, and how she can use them as windows to her previous lives. Yet the more Luce learns, the more she suspects that Daniel hasn't told her everything. He's hiding something - something dangerous. What if Daniels version of the past isn't actually true? What if Luce is really meant to be with someone else? The second novel in the addictive FALLEN series...where love never dies.

Review: *Note: May contain small spoilers *

Lets start with some positives. First off, I love the cover. A beautiful cover with a true feel for the title. I like the idea, the foundation of this story at it's core. A true love story. Yet, a story of how we sometimes let love swallow us whole. Forgetting who we are.

The setting for this second installment was beautiful. The extreme opposite from the first book. Shoreline, Luce's new 'school' is very cool. However, I did not find it all that believable. The whole idea of 'normal' kids together with the Nephilim kids is almost laughable. Are you telling me none of the 'normal' kids even once get a glimpse of a set of wings or anything else remotely odd? However, I guess I can over look it.

What I can not over look, however, is these two main characters. Luce and Daniel both are excruciatingly annoying. Honestly, I just wanted to shake them both and maybe a good smack to the head for good measure. I don't remember the last time I had so little attachment to a main character. I honestly could care less what happens to these two. The whole - hot one minute cold the next thing between these two was extremely drawn out and annoying. I understand where Lauren Kate, the author, was going with it, but it was just not played out well.

What was played well however, were most of the secondary characters. Shelby and Miles are new additions to the story and very likable. Miles was a great 'guy next door' and I found myself rooting for him more and more. Using his 'special' talent to save Luce in the final battle scene was a highlight. Shelby was a great character. Sarcastic, no nonsense kinda girl. Love her!

It all comes down to this. Would I recommend this book? I suppose. If you read Fallen and enjoyed it, then yes. If not, then no, probably not. I will probably read Passion, the third installment when it comes out this year. Why? To see if Lauren Kate can finally make me love Luce and Daniel.

Rating: 2 1/2 stars