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This book was utterly brilliant and grotesquely delicious. A. G. Howard took the enchanting Wonderland we grew up with and turned it into a beautiful yet disturbing land that goes beyond your wildest dreams (and nightmares). Alyssa goes on a series of quests that take us back to the most memorable moments of her ancestors original journey, which may not have been as pretty as Carrol depicted it.The writing was wonderful. It enveloped me into the twisted world, with amazing descriptions and strong characters. There would be passages I would just want to read over and over again, which happens very rarely for me.One element that had me kind of confused for the majority of the book was the love triangle. In my opinion, it was very obvious early on that Alice would fall for Jeb, the boy next door who’s always been her best friend, so where she started having feelings towards Morpheus, the sexy creeper from Wonderland, I wasn’t very happy. But in the end I was satisfied with how all three ended up.For those of you who think you know Wonderland, you’ve never seen Wonderland like this. It truly does capture the “grotesque madness” in a whole new light, which will leave your mind racing.Minor Sexual Content: Several Passionate Kisses. Talk of certain characters sleeping together (which never actually happens).

This book was dramatically different from what I thought it would be. All I knew was man-eating water horses. This led me to expect a fast paced, action packed book. I was met with the complete opposite. The plot was very, very slow; the whole book spent describing the events leading up to the Races. It was fascinating, but almost painfully slow, like walking through mud (which I recall there being several passages describing).The setting was extremely confusing to me. Initially, I thought the story took place in a fantasy world, but then came cars and American tourists. But the island where the story takes place is completely fictional, and surrounded by mythological sea creatures. And there are no more than a small handful of hints as to what point in time the story takes place. It seemed to me that it took place sometime in the past, but it easily could've taken place in the distant future. I can appreciate that the author was trying to leave the reader room for forming their own thoughts, but some of us didn't appreciate the vagueness.One element which I definitely did enjoy was the character development. They were very clearly the largest focus of the novel. The reader got to know them each on a personal level, understanding their strengths and weaknesses. Puck was very different, but in a good way. She would irritate me at times, but I loved her nevertheless. Her character arc was very clear, while others were more subtle. In many ways she started out very childlike, and had to grow up very quickly over the course of the story.Before going into this I couldn't understand why it had won the Printz Honor, but afterwards it was so clear. It has such strong themes of love, courage, equality, and trust. It held some complex ideas, and delivered them with grace and clarity. While I could go on and on talking about all the goods and not-so-goods of the book, I think the best thing to do is try it out for yourself, and form your own opinions. Honestly, I really don’t like the cover, though it fits the tone of the book very well. I’m just not a fan of brick red or horse silhouettes, but I think for what it is, it’s wonderful. It’s clean and professional, and matches the story inside, and that’s what counts. Moderate Violence: (Multiple people are injured or killed by these horses, and the descriptions are still running through my mind (they’re not pleasant). As far as sexual content, very, very mild!)

Ally Condie, what have you done to me? I was having a perfectly normal day and you had to go ruin it by writing the perfect book! Full (and very long) review to come...

So amazingly beautiful! Even better this time!Full re-review to come...***Cassia has always been looking forward to her Match banquet, but never expected to be Matched with Xander, her best friend. But when she plugs her micro card into her home port, she isn’t prepared for what she sees. Instead of the face of Xander looking at her, it’s the face of Ky Markham.Although Cassia knows that she’s meant to be with Xander, she can’t help but wonder why it would show Ky’s face, when an official says his name was never put in the Matching pool to begin with. She can’t stop thinking about Ky, and begins spending time with him when they hike together. Ky knows many secrets about the Society, being from one of the Outer Provinces and being an Aberration.In a Society that limits your choices, Cassia is left with many hard choices to make. Should she choose Ky or Xander? Should she trust the Society, that isn’t as perfect as it seems?WOW! Matched is AMAZING! Everything about it is perfect! Where do I start?The Society! I think this may have finished the work that the Hunger Games started with pulling me into Dystopia. I loved the Society because it scared me, which made the book feel more personal. It scared me because I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if someone was controlling my every move! I don’t want to have to risk my life to keep a little secret. I would HATE having to lose my freedom of choice and creativity! Those are some of the best things about life! This gave me a lot of sympathy for the characters, few of which knew what they were missing!All the characters were great! If I had to pick a favorite, I’d have to say Cassia’s grandfather. He put up somewhat of a silent struggle against the Society. He kept an illegal poem for all those years, and he chose to die forever, instead of having the possibility of coming back.Ky and Xander were both wonderful characters, and I honestly can’t tell who Cassia will pick. Xander is kind of the safe choice. They’ve always known each other, and he’s just like any other citizen. He’s so kind and smart, and seems to truly love Cassia. On the other hand, Ky is more of the dangerous type. He has lots of secrets about his past, and he has become a marked man through no fault of his own. He is an outcast, and has learned how to live that way.I’d personally choose Xander, but I can see why many would choose Ky.The writing itself was lovely. It added to the sense of perfection in the Society. It was very vivid; I could imagine everything very clearly.Once I was finished, I was hungry for more. I felt that it left off at a horrible spot. Once it reached the climax, it was over! I can’t wait for Crossed! I’m glad I read this so close to the release of Crossed, or I’d be going crazy!

Ally Condie has done it again (no surprise). While this book is slower paced, it's even more beautiful than Matched! Full re-review to come...***This book was really slow paced, but it fit the story well. I just wish it hadn't been so slow paced so I would've finished it faster. I fell in love with the whole new cast of characters, and I fell into a whole new kind of love with the old characters. All their relationships with one another were complex and realistic. The setting was stunning. I could picture everything so clearly in my mind. Every detail added another brush stroke to the picture I was painting in my mind. Of course the writing was perfect. Ally Condie is a writing genius. I cannot praise her enough. Her writing is so lovely that I can't get enough of it! Hand me book 3 please!

I think Alex Flinn is amazing. Even though none of her books have earned the coveted 5-star rating on this blog, I love them for their ingenuity. She takes such a familiar story, and completely reinvents it. And unlike most fairy tale retellings, she plops her characters down into the real world and gives them real-life situations the deal with.And the best part of this is having Kendra meddle in their lives. Kendra is one of my favorite YA characters. She’s spunky, plus she’s a witch. She has a wicked attitude, but she’s still a teenage girl (just one who’s been alive for hundreds of years). Though the majority of this book isn’t narrated by Kendra, when she pops in the leave her piece of mind, it ever so memorable.I’m not sure exactly what I thought of Emma. At times she could be really irritating, but then I would step back and take a look at the big picture, and understand better where she was coming from, making her more tolerable. One thing I did enjoy was seeing Emma play the role of the ugly stepsister, and our Cinderella being cast as the villain.Once again Alex Flinn manages to deliver a highly enjoyable modern fairytale with a whole new twist. (And props to Alex for throwing Into the Woods in there!)

This was a bittersweet conclusion to such a fantastic trilogy. It made me laugh and cry (but mostly laugh) incessantly. Loose ends are tied up and readers are left with a smile on their face, and maybe a tear or two in their eyes.The romance was so sweet. Evie and Lend were so cute together (or, um, not together, ‘cause of the whole curse), more so than in the first two books. Their relationship was super cheesy, but you could tell that they were committed, no matter how much Reth and Jack would get in the way.Evie’s development throughout the entire series is especially evident in this book. She’s become a lot more mature, but she’s still managed to retain her snarky attitude. When faced with impossible decisions she’s able to keep calm and sort everything out.I found myself getting frustrated with the story at some times, but it got smoothed out later on. This was a clever and wonderful end to Kiersten White’s amazing series.

This was a wonderful close to a beautiful series of fairy tales. Jessica Day George is one of my favorite authors, and has never failed to impress me with her magic!Princess of the Silver Woods, while my least favorite of the series, still managed to win me over and earn a solid 5-star rating. It took elements of familiar tales and subtly tied them into the plot. It was interesting seeing how in each book, the fairy tale elements are approached differently. In Princess of the Midnight Ball, we see the curse of the 12 Dancing Princesses from an inside viewpoint, while in Princess of Glass we’re seeing the story unfold from the outside. Now, in Princess of the Silver Woods, it’s not as direct of a retelling, so you need to search deeper to see the underlying fairy tale.The characters, both old and new, were very memorable. The sisters relationships were very sweet. They each had their own struggles, but together they were strong enough to overcome their problems. Family relationships are practically nonexistent in YA, so it was nice to see such a strong family unit.Out of all of Jessica’s books, these are the ones I recommend the most! They are absolutely magical, with brand new takes on familiar tales. They are excellently written, with a little sprinkle of mystery and romance that will make your hearts melt.

This was a hilarious follow-up to Paranormalcy, the paranormal romance that’s way better than a bunch of stinky vampires. This time Evie is back and better than ever! She finally has a “normal” life (well, as normal as you can get with a vampire roommate, invisible boyfriend, and paranormal infested workplace), but it turns out normal isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.Evie is one of those characters that you can’t help but love. She’s stubborn and irritating, but really witty and charming, and isn’t afraid to kick some serious butt. And she has this great narrative voice, sparkling with sarcasm and glitter.But this book also has it’s serious moments, and those are by far the best parts. There’s danger hiding around every corner, and the stakes keep getting higher.Oh, and let’s not forget about the romance with Lend going on! They are hopelessly devoted, and while they have their bumps in the road, it looks like they’ll be stuck together forever.A wonderful sequel to Paranormalcy, Supernaturally is something you don’t want to miss!

This is a hard review to write. I’m really not sure what I thought of Butter. It was just way too different from anything I’m used to, so I don’t have any books to compare it to.But I felt I could relate on some level to the storyline, as someone who is overweight and knows several morbidly obese people. I recognized Butter’s behaviors as things that I’d seen in other people and even in myself. Though I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone planning on eating themselves to death.I found Butter was hard to connect with, especially in the beginning, because he’d already given up. He’d reached the point that he really didn’t care that he was already slowly eating himself to death, and wasn’t going to try to change anything. But the further we got into the book, the more we were able to see about Butter, both inside and out. And by the end I actually found myself almost liking him.I really liked seeing how Butter used his music. Whenever he was bored or having a tough time, he would either turn to food or his saxophone. I’ve felt that so many times. If I’m having a crappy day, I’ll either break out my stash of Snickers, or go play my favorite show tunes on the piano. I liked seeing how his music affected him throughout the novel.The writing was excellent. It reflected the overall attitude of the book, and Butter’s emotions. It felt raw and real, and handled such a difficult subject with ease. And, though this may not be a good thing, Butter’s completely morbid, twisted thoughts seemed almost logical!This book definitely isn’t for everyone, especially those who have a tough time talking about obesity, but it will find a way to keep it’s audiences captive under it’s flaky, warm, and very buttery spell.Language: Heavy (Multiple s*** d*** f*** g** b****** etc… )Sensuality: Moderate (Seeing as how Butter is 423 pounds, he doesn’t get very far with any girls, but there’s plenty of talk about that kind of stuff. Touching a girl’s breasts is on Butter’s bucket list. )Violence: Moderate (Lots of bullying. Butter jumps off a cliff. And eating yourself to death is kind of self inflicted violence. )Recommended age: 16+

Have you ever read a book and thought "There's no way the sequel can measure up"? I know I have! It was called Cinder. Cinder was filled with memorable characters, a unique setting, a thrilling plot, outstanding writing, and a cliffhanger ending like no other. Easily the best book I've ever read. That is, until Scarlet.Scarlet had all that awesome stuff, but it also had the magic that came from introducing a completely new plot to the already remaining plot from the first book. A new set of characters and their problems becoming entwined in those of the first books characters, and as you continue reading you begin to make connections between the two and by the end you're positive you've solved everything. And then you're wrong and completely in awe of Marissa Meyer for being such a genius.I love the new setting. While the cast of Cinder (for the most part) remains in New Beijing, Scarlet resides in the French countryside, and travels throughout France as the story progresses. As someone who's experienced the magic and charm of France, it was great to revisit it with some of my favorite characters.The new characters were amazing. Scarlet was even more of a kick-butt heroine that Cinder ever was. She was feisty and occasionally stubborn, but she was strong and clever. And Wolf. I could never quite figure out which side he was on, and even now I'm not quite sure I remember which side he was on by the end because the climax was so exciting I kept turning pages faster than I could probably absorb all the information. Anyway... Wolf was obviously a complex character, and he had both great tension and chemistry with Scarlet.If you haven't had the pleasure of experiencing Cinder yet, you should get on that! Or if you have read Cinder, whether or not you fell in love with it, I strongly recommend you pre-order Scarlet, because I have a feeling you won't be disappointed.Very Mild Sexual Content: (A couple kisses and some awkward flirting)

Um… I completely forgot when I was scheduled to post for the blog tour, and then I checked and saw it was the 18th and realized it had long since passed. So hopefully no one will be heartbroken that this review is coming almost a week late, because it was worth the wait!I loved this book! I’m not usually a big fan of contemporary, especially when it’s about something as scary and real as cancer. But this book was wonderful. It felt so real. It wasn’t cheesy or overwhelming or anything else it easily could’ve turned into. It was just a simple. balance, realistic story about an amazingly strong girl.I can’t even begin to imagine how impossibly difficult Mia’s life was. I’ve had to deal with lots of hardships, but never anything as scary as cancer. It destroyed her life. But what destroyed it even more than the leukemia was the fact that she chose to keep it hidden from everyone.I loved both Ryan and Gyver so much in different ways. Ryan starts out as the perfect trophy boyfriend, but once her learns about her cancer, his true colors show and he becomes so hopelessly devoted to Mia. And Gyver. He had been in the friend-zone for so long, it was hard to tell where exactly he fit in Mia’s life. But I’m happy to say that I’m satisfied with how both boys ended up.I kind of wish Mia’s superstitions had played a larger role in the plot. They were definitely there near the end, but not as much in the beginning. There would be brief mentions of 4 leaf clovers or a magic 8 ball, but I think I would’ve appreciated them later on if they’d played a larger part earlier.I was very satisfied with Send Me a Sign. Tiffany Schmidt is an extremely talented author who wrote a beautifully touching first novel. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!Language: Moderate (Multiple s*** d*** f*** g** b******)Sensuality: Moderate (Ryan keeps talking about how he wants to sleep with Mia. Ryan and Mia almost sleep together before being interrupted by Gyver. Chris thinks Mia is pregnant)Violence: Mild (I don’t recall much violence at all)Recommended age: 15+

A nice, simple retelling of Cinderella. This book had lots of influence from the earlier versions of Cinderella, and I liked seeing that resurface. I also really liked how the step family was actually not that bad (well, except for Anastasia). The plot was incredibly predictable, but alright as far as plots go. Full review to come...

As I started this book the first thought that came to mind was "this seems like a Janette Rallison kind of book". It had the same quirky, magical humorous that I love. Luckily it was present throughout, which made for a highly enjoyable read.I had mixed feelings about Delaney. She started out as this tough, stubborn tom-boy, but by the end her personality had done a 180 (for the better, but still), and I had to do a double take and make sure it was the same Delaney from the beginning. I’m kind of a goody two-shoes kind of person, but I was growing to like the stubborn, irritating Delaney. I guess becoming a fairy godmother changes a person.I enjoyed seeing Delaney practice her fairy-godmother skills on her friends, especially the match-making parts. And seeing the science behind the magic was interesting.And now I feel like this is a really pathetic review, but I read it a full 3 months ago, so I can’t recall much more… Fun book! Mild language and sexual content: (Multiple instances of swearing, Crude humor, match-making (which is more hilarious than sexy), and one main character is revealed to be homosexual near the end, which isn’t bad, but something to look out for)

Eve and Adam, while highly enjoyable, was far from perfect. I know for most people it was either a hit or miss. For me it’s floating somewhere in between.The writing just wasn’t that great, something I’d expected. I hadn’t read anything before from either author, but I just felt that the fact that it was a collaboration was going to lead to some problems. Their never seemed to be a clear narrative voice, and that bothered me. Luckily, the writing still managed to flow smoothly and was very easy to read.The characters we’re very original. They seemed kind of bland and predictable. Eve was the smart, sassy girl who hates her mom, Aislin was the dumb girl who wastes money and dates jerks, and Solo was the hot boy who just happens to stumble into the plot. And yet I sort of liked them! But my favorite character is almost definitely Eve’s mom, the “Terror”—she was just plain evil!I did actually like the plot. It was predictable, but fun and full of action. There were some twists and turns that I didn’t even catch in time and by the time I was finished my head was spinning! So if you don’t mind predictable characters and love some action, Eve and Adam is one to check out!

I think I kind of love this book. It wasn’t at all what I was expecting. I was thinking it would be just an average high fantasy quest kind of book, with a little bit of cheesy message thrown in at the end. Let’s just say I was very wrong. This was a powerful, thought-provoking high fantasy quest with an intricate, magical plot, and a beautiful not cheesy massage woven throughout the whole storyline.The plot, while starting off slowly, begins to grow into something full of excitement and suspense. The pacing is perfectly balanced. It’s never rushed, but there’s always a subtle hint of urgency behind it. It was practically impossible to put down! The writing was rich and powerful. The narrator’s voice was very present and set the tone for the whole book. It was descriptive, without being overly detailed. It flowed smoothly and clearly, making for a fully engrossing story.Usually I don’t like any religious elements in my books because they come across as forced, unrealistic, and overly-preachy. But this was different. It felt real and personal to Elisa. The history and culture in the story was heavily influenced by God, but it felt…natural, not weird. I loved seeing how Elisa’s faith played a role in her overall character, especially with her connection to the Godstone, and being the Chosen One.Elisa was such a striking main character, who goes through an amazing metamorphosis over the course of this novel. She begins as an troubled overweight princess who has a heavy duty put on her shoulders. She is weak and insecure; not the kind of heroine you’d look up to. But when her circumstances drastically change, she’s pushed beyond her boundaries into territory she never knew she could cross, growing her into a stronger, more confident woman with every step taken, and every page turned.This is a book anyone could easily fall in love with. It has a marvelous setting, real characters, and excellent prose, which all together create an unforgettable story.