Wings (Laurel Series #1) by Aprilynne Pike

Blurb about the book:
    

     Laurel was mesmerized, staring at the pale things with wide eyes. They were terrifyingly beautiful—too beautiful for words. Laurel turned to the mirror again, her eyes on the hovering petals that floated beside her head. They looked almost like wings. In this extraordinary tale of magic and intrigue, romance and danger, everything you thought you knew about faeries will be changed forever.

 
My POV:
 

     The concept of the book was phenomenal!  There were so many things that I've never read in a story before.  Now for the cons.  This book gets off to a very slow start, there's tons of back-story dumped in awkward places throughout and back to back chapters full of nothing but dialogue.  All in all, I see some definite potential, and I'm excited to see what the next few books hold.  

 
My Score:

     Liked it but could use some work.  ♥♥♥ (3 hearts)

Balefire: A Chalice of Wind - A Circle of Ashes - A Feather of Stone - A Necklace of Water by Cate Tiernan

Blurb about this book:

     Seventeen-year-old Thais Allard never knew about her sister-or her legacy-until her father died. Now Thais has been sent to live in New Orleans, where she meets her identical twin, Clio Martin, and learns that they both possess powerful magick flowing in their blood.

     It's not an easy discovery for either sister. While Thais struggles to unlock the magick within her, fiery Clio must learn to share the spotlight with her new-found twin. Together, they are capable of greater magick than they realize - and there are those who will stop at nothing to ensure that they don't live to reach their full potential.

My POV:

     I was consistently annoyed with this book.  The first couple of chapter's are her trying to introduce 13 different characters.  That in itself was messy enough to make me almost put the book down and walk away; but, I kept going anyway, vowing to finish.  It was a struggle, but towards the middle of the book, I was getting into it more, finally starting to learn more about Thais and Clio, who have very different, yet very strong likeable personalities.  Then you get down to the last chapter or so and you get hit with a very abrupt, forced and seriously incomplete ending.  There are so many loose ends that don't get tied up that you're left wondering "why me?"  Although I didn't enjoy any of those parts, I still liked learning about magic and darkness in this world.  I recommend this as a last resort read.

My Score:

     My score for this is ♥♥ (2 hearts). 

Giving Scores

     Out of the several books I've already review, I think most of the scoring has been 4 out of 5 stars.  This is because I didn't find them 100 percent amazing but I didn't think there was very much to improve on.  Sort of contradictory I suppose.  However, don't let this discourage you from reading the opinions or for that matter just getting a brief idea of what the book is like.  These are my personal thoughts about them and I would love to get additional feedback.  So if you've read one of these books and you agree and/or disagree with me, please send me a message or comment and let me know what's up.  

     Also, keep in mind that while there aren't any negative book reviews yet, there will be.  I have read plenty of books that I thought were terrible doozies that I just haven't gotten to yet, so stay tuned!

Shimmer (Riley Bloom Series #2) by Alyson Noel

Blurb about this book:

     Having solved the matter of the Radiant Boy, Riley, Buttercup, and Bodhi are enjoying a well-deserved vacation. When Riley comes across a vicious black dog, against Bodhi’s advice, she decides to cross him over. While following the dog, she runs into a young ghost named Rebecca. Despite Rebecca’s sweet appearance, Riley soon learns she’s not at all what she seems. As the daughter of a former plantation owner, she is furious about being murdered during a slave revolt in 1733. Mired in her own anger, Rebecca is lashing out by keeping the ghosts who died along with her trapped in their worst memories. Can Riley help Rebecca forgive and forget without losing herself to her own nightmarish memories?

My POV:

     Riley's newly discovered talents are put to the test when she meets Rebecca as she tries to find a way to free the trapped souls, and help Rebecca let go of a horrible event in her past.

     Alyson Noel has many hidden talents and being able to perceive a world through a 12 yr old's eyes and write about themes such as slavery, and the horrid things that happened during that unpleasant time in our history, while always keeping a glimmer of hope on the horizon is absolutely amazing.

My Score:

     An amazing follow up to Radiance.  I give this book ♥♥♥♥ (4 hearts).

Radiance (Riley Bloom Series #1) by Alyson Noel

Blurb about this book:

     Riley has crossed the bridge into the afterlife and has picked up life where she left off when she was alive, living with her parents and dog in a nice house in a nice neighborhood. When she's summoned before The Council, she learns that the afterlife isn't just an eternity of leisure. She's been assigned a job, Soul Catcher, and a teacher, Bodhi, a possibly cute, seemingly nerdy boy who s definitely hiding something. They return to earth together for Riley's first assignment, a Radiant Boy who's been haunting a castle in England for centuries. Many Soul Catchers have tried to get him to cross the bridge and failed. But all of that was before he met Riley...

My POV:

     This is Riley's story.  It's about her learning her place and purpose in the after- life.  She is spunky, a bit bratty, and finds herself in the end a bit wiser than she thought she could become.  I like the idea that she has her own story but would have enjoyed it a bit more if she at least had some form of contact with Ever, her sister from the Immortal's series.

My Score:

     Althogether good book with it being only 178 pages long.  I give this book ♥♥♥♥ (4 hearts).

Wisdom (My Blood Approves Series #4) by Amanda Hocking

Blurb about the book:

     For her eighteenth birthday, Alice Bonham takes a vacation to Australia only to have her trip cut short by an unexpected murder.  Alice tries to understand what happened and resigns herself to revenge while at the same time dealing with her own personal reeling emotions of regret at some of the choices she's made, especially the more permanent ones.

My POV:

    This book has just as much romance, action, mystery, thrills, twists and turns at the first 3. Almost everything about this book was enjoyable (except of course the typos).  Amanda brings out more of the character's you have yet to get a good view on, such as Bobby, her brother's boyfriend.  As opposed to the other books, most of the storyline takes place outside of the house which is a nice reprieve.

My Score:

     Can't wait for the next book to come out.  I highly recommend this series!  ♥♥♥♥ (4 hearts)

Flutter (My Blood Approves Series #3) by Amanda Hocking

Blurb about the book:

     Being undead doesn't make life any easier for Alice Bonham.  Her younger brother's love life is heating up, while hers is... more complicated.  Mae is falling apart, her best friend Jane is addicted to vampire bites, and if Alice doesn't get her bloodlust under control, someone will end up dead.  Alice volunteers for a rescue mission with Ezra, but going up against a pack of rabid vampires (lycans) might be too much, even for him.

My POV:

     This series had sucked me right in!  I love Alice's character.  The farther into the series you go, the more strong & independent she becomes!  Ending was very good and well written (sans the typos), and that to me is what added excitment to the series.

My Score:

     Fantastical!  ♥♥♥♥ (4 hearts)

Fate (My Blood Approves Series #2) by Amanda Hocking

Blurb about the book:

     Alice Bonham thinks she's found a balance in her life between the supernatural and real life Milo, her brother.  Jack keeps her at arm's length to keep her safe and his brother Peter, well, she's not sure where he's at.  When tragedy happens, Alice finds herself struggling with a terrible choice.

My POV:

     This series just get's better and better!  I recommend this to any that enjoy's a good vampire romance! Alice does get a little annoying with the Jack and Peter love triangle (pick one already, sheesh), but I think that's part of what keeps me wanting to read more.

My Score:

     Amanda Hocking is amazing!  ♥♥♥♥ (4 hearts)

My Blood Approves (My Blood Approves Series #1) by Amanda Hocking

Blurb about the book:

     Alice Bonham's life feels crazy after she meets Jack, who is different from anyone she has ever met.  Then she meets his brother, Peter.  Even though he can't stand the sight of her, she's drawn to him.  Falling for two guys isn't even the worst of her problems.  Jack and Peter are vampires, and Alice finds herself caught between love and her own blood

My POV:

     The story starts out just a bit slow but then the story takes off and really sucks you in!  I wish that Alice had figured things out a little bit faster (it was obvious they were vampires), though I still enjoyed the process of getting to know the characters. 

My Score:

     Good start to another fantastic series!  ♥♥♥♥ (4 stars)

Ascend (Trylle Triology #3) by Amanda Hocking

Blurb about the book:

     The final book in the Trylle Trilogy.  With a war looming on the horizon, Wendy’s fate seems sealed, but everything she sacrificed might be in vain if she can’t save the ones she loves.

     Her whole life has been leading up to this, and it’s all coming to an end.

My POV:

     It seemed a bit slow in plot progression at first but it redeemed itself.  The storyline is fantastic and I loved her depth as a character which has changed dramatically since the first book.  Her willingness to sacrifice her happiness for the greater good of the Kingdom is amazing.

My score:

     What a great ending to a triology!  I would give this book ♥♥♥♥ (4 hearts).