Waterfell by Amalie Howard

Goodreads Blurb

Nerissa Marin hides among teens in her human form, waiting for the day she can claim her birthright—the undersea kingdom stolen from her the day her father was murdered. Blending in is her best weapon—until her father's betrayer confronts Nerissa and challenges her to a battle to the death on Nerissa's upcoming birthday—the day she comes of age. 
Amid danger and the heartbreak of her missing mother, falling for a human boy is the last thing Nerissa should do. But Lo Seavon breaches her defenses and somehow becomes the only person she can count on to help her desperate search for her mother, a prisoner of Nerissa's mortal enemy. Is Lo the linchpin that might win Nerissa back her crown? Or will this mortal boy become the weakness that destroys her?

Going into this, I wasn't quite sure how I'd feel about it. The reviews I saw were mixed and my friends ranged from hating it to loving it completely. And I'm a mermaid girl, so I was definitely curious.
Before going in though, I was worried and already grimacing a bit. Lo Seavon. Lo SEAvon. And Nerissa Marin. Like Marine?

Oh this would be good. (I just wasn't sure if I'd meant that sarcastically or not when I'd though it.)

So first things first, I was actually a bit...confused by this book. There were a lot of contradicting plot lines that might have had to do with my copy being an ARC, but I digress. More than that, the actions and twists of the book were so...sudden. There was nothing leading up to it, no tension built or anything. The twists just jumped at you from the book and not in a particularly stunning way.

Nerissa...Nerissa wasn't my favorite character in the world of YA. She was whiny and, like Seipo brought up (and promptly apologized for) selfish. She did things however she wanted, pretty much regardless of the consequences and the toll it would take on those around her. She didn't seem to realize what people were sacrificing for her and she was...so naive. She believed that she was strong enough with very little training. She believed that she could take on the one person who managed to kill her powerful father. And she never thought once to suspect the people around her even though there were so many hints about it.
Bringing me to that little bit of information. Nerissa was also behind and oblivious. I figured things out three to ten chapters before her and I found it ridiculous that she herself pointed out things that should've tipped her off, but didn't. And now I wander into the plot discussion.

The pacing was actually quite fun and I loved the action bits, but the entire story was really quite predictable. While there were a few things that surprised me, the largest twist was something I'd seen coming a mile away and was actually pretty cliche and sort of made me want to bang my head on the wall.

And while the plot was pretty decent, the story focused mainly on the romance--insta love. Their relationship was so "electric" and insta lovey I cringed a few times as Nerissa described Lo's eyes as "matching the depths of the ocean" for the hundredth time and couldn't help but laugh every time she tried to deny her feelings for Lo. Which I honestly didn't understand. She didn't have plans to go back to her world, why would admitting she had a crush on him hurt her in any way? It was really ridiculous how much she tried to fight it despite her getting jealous and snapping at him when he talked to another girl for even ten seconds.

What is sort of fascinating, but weird, is that our characters...are not mermaids. No, they're alien water dragon-like creatures who resemble the Loch Ness monster, I'm assuming.That part was actually intriguing, and I do wish we focused more on the other aspects of the story besides Nerissa falling in love with Lo.

Pages: 360

Genre: Paranormal/Fantasy

Series: The Aquarathi #1

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Release Date: Oct 29, 2013

Rating: 2 stars

September Girls by Bennett Madison

Goodreads Blurb

When Sam's dad whisks him and his brother off to a remote beach town for the summer, he's all for it-- at first. Sam soon realizes, though, that this place is anything but ordinary. Time seems to slow down around here, and everywhere he looks, there are beautiful blond girls. Girls who seem inexplicably drawn  to him. 
Then Sam meets DeeDee, one of the Girls, and she's different from the others. Just as he starts to fall for her, she pulls away, leaving him more confused than ever. He knows that if he's going to get her back, he'll have to uncover the secret of this beach and the girls who live here.

Oh, it's case of the deceiving cover again. I mean, the cover was absolutely gorgeous and the synopsis was definitely intriguing! But the actual story was, I found, very different from what I expected. 

So the first thing was the writing. It was a bit awkward sometimes and the cussing was...extreme. Every few sentences and almost every paragraph had a cuss word and it got super old super fast. The way it was written was also a bit awkward and while there was an air of mystery surrounding the story, it was also a bit obvious and a bit boring.

Also, *spoiler* the way to break the curse was also pretty messed up.

The plot also left a lot to be desired for. It didn't have any twists whatsoever and was actually pretty boring most of the time. It was nice to read, I guess. But what really disappointed me was that we never found out exactly what the girls were, and their parents...didn't make a whole lot of sense. We never went in depth with their situation, and since the book really sort of revolved around that, the story lacked. Also, very repetitive and there were a ton of things just suddenly popped out at you that made no sense whatsoever.

I was also a bit confused as to how DeeDee was really that different. The only reason she was "different" was because she'd rather read than party, but for all he knew, she was the only one he stumbled in on. It was coincidence after coincidence and it got super frustrating seeing DeeDee actually act like all the other Girls. 

Sam was also pretty shallow--and oh my gosh the number of times I wanted to punch him are innumerable. 

What I did like? The switching POVs. We got few glimpses into the supernatural world through this other POV which I can't reveal, and those were, by far, my favorite chapters. I did like Kristle though, despite her faults, and found her a strangely refreshing blunt kind of character, even if I did want to strangle her sometimes. (No, all the time)

Characters. Flat, obnoxious, disgusting, sex-crazed, etc.

The book sort of not really redeemed itself in the fact that it had a sort of impact on me and hit me as one of those raw kind of books. Maybe not beautiful, and maybe not gritty, but somewhere in-between. It's one of those books that you can sort of understand, not on a fictional level, but in the message the author was trying to send. But oh, it was so not worth the read. 

But, ermm, if I may offer a sort of snarky version of this review? (I restrained. I'm sorry. But)

Okay, I really wanted to punch all the characters so many times for being idiotic, drug addicts, and so demeaning, especially the guys. It made me want to throw a brick at something, preferably something glass. So the way it was written was sometime pretty, and it did give a raw message, but still. The characters? The plot? Eh. Also, hello? Can we please get some closure? I possibly hate this, and sort of like it because of the rawness. I think. My feelings are mixed. So mixed. But seriously. Lots of drinking, mostly sex, lots of objectifying, and a lot a lot a lot of anti-feminism/females-are-only-good-for-certain-ahem-things.

Pages: 256

Genre: Supernatural

Series: Stand alone

Publisher: HarperTeen

Release Date: May 21, 2013

Rating: Uh. No.

Lullaby by Amanda Hocking

Goodreads Blurb

Harper only wanted a safe, normal life. But when her younger sister Gemma runs off with a dangerous clique of beautiful girls, Penn, Thea, and Lexi, everything changes. Vowing to get her sister back no matter what the cost, Harper must face dangers unlike any she's ever experienced. Fortunately, she has Daniel by her side, a gorgeous guy who's devoted to helping her find her sister—and who's immune to the girls' dark powers. 
While Harper searches for her sister, Gemma struggles to adjust to her new life. Gemma's powers are growing by the day, and the longer she lives with her new "sisters," the harder it is to resist entering their magical world. It's a realm both dark and beautiful, and where she's plagued by strange hungers and unspeakable needs. Just as she's drifting far away from her old life, Harper and Daniel find her...but no one can deny how much she's changed. All she wants is to return to her family and the mortal world, but how can she do that when she's become something else entirely—and will they still love her once they learn the truth?

So I decided instead of writing another badly written review in my short amount of time, I'd write another joint review except less...messy than before. All white writing will be Eileen and all neon blue will be me! I basically replied to Eileen's review and she replied, then I did, etc.

Lullaby wasn't what I expected it to be. The plot that I expected was there, but I didn't expect to be that blown away by the story. I'm not that big a fan of mermaid books, I've found, but I really loved this one.

Trust me, it wasn't what I expected either. :P Same for the plot (boring for me)...and I'm a giant fan! Have you READ Of Poseidon or Monstrous Beauty? But that's probably why I didn't like this one. Compared to other mermaid books, this was kind of disappointing...not to say it was bad!

I read Of Poseidon and also really loved it! That was probably one of the exceptions, but I haven’t read many intense mermaid books so maybe that’s what I was really drawn to it.

Right?! It was amazing. :) And hmmm...maybe. I've read about mermaids since I was little and knew about their bloodthirsty legends since I was like, 6. So I guess it just depends on whether or not you've read about them or not! 

The only mermaid book I ever read when I was six was The Little Mermaid. HA.

 | Dang...I was a messed up kid.

Lullaby begins right where Wake left off, and Harper is stopping at nothing to find her sister, Gemma. From missing posters to blogs to calls to anything you could think of, Harper's got her hands full. She preoccupies herself so completely with finding Gemma that she has to sacrifice things that she really wants to do. The loyalty I found from Harper was so admirable and it really enforced that family dynamic that was present in Wake. Harper would do literally anything to keep Gemma safe and sound, even if it meant risking her own life in order to do so, which I thought was not only extremely noble but it reminds you of how much siblings can love each other.

I'll admit that her loyalty was pretty sweet, but I was so annoyed because Harper was like...ugh. I hated how she didn't think about anything else and while that could be thought as sweet, I just felt as if she didn't care about anything else and…I just can't put this right! But I wanted to smack her. Of course, this may have something to do with me not wanting her to find Gemma.

I can see where you’re coming from, but if you’re kid sibling disappeared, you knew that she had run away, and you knew that who she was staying with was pure evil, would you be like, “Oh hey, I have a lead on my sister! No, it can wait, I’m going to go get a smoothie”? Personally, if my younger brother disappeared in that fashion I probably wouldn’t have been as calm.

True, but I'm more talking about her own life. I liked how Daniel put it. You have to move on. Not saying give up, but I felt like she should've concentrated, just a LITTLE more, on her own life. To me, she sort of felt like a Gemma-finding robot sometimes. 

Image: “I must find Gemma. Gemma is my leader.” *robotic moving arms*

Once again, Daniel didn't fail to make me laugh. He was obviously extremely devoted to Harper and trying everyday to help and take care of her, while convincing her that he wasn't the "loser" he was when Harper first ran into Daniel, which, let me say, was an equally hilarious and mortifying situation. Lullaby's secondary characters were probably my favorite part out of the entire novel. Harper's best friend Marcy was snarky but caring underneath her constant remarks, and one of the sirens Thea was supportive and helped Gemma through her phase as she was transitioning into a blood-thirsty siren.

Another reason I didn't like Harper. She was so annoying when it came to Daniel! He just wanted to be there and help and she just...she was like "deny deny deny." And SO TRUE! The secondary characters, in my opinion, were so much better than the main ones.

Okay, I agree. Harper kind of irked me at times with the “I’m trying to keep you safe, don’t talk to me anymore” speech, but it was kind of endearing how she tried to make sure nobody else got involved, although for Daniel it was kind of too late for that.

See? And I guess, though I felt it was more of an "I don't want people to think I'm crazy" kind of thing sometimes, you know?

Gemma herself also had a heart of gold. She always tried to do the right thing and she rarely ever let her hunger win and get the best of her. She was imperfectly perfect, in a way that made my heart ache for her but at the same time I was cheering her on, because Gemma had some fight in her. She was persistent, aggressive, and loved Harper just as much as Harper loved Gemma. Everything Gemma did was for Harper and to make sure she stayed safe, as well as the rest of her family and other people she loved.

I LOVED GEMMA. Erase my last comment! I agree with all of that! I loved seeing how Gemma would transform into her siren abilities and I think that was my favorite part. But I think she did it partly for herself. Trying to avoid the hunger, but making the best of it? She seemed to enjoy some of her powers. SOME of them.

RIGHT? I think she was such a refreshing character and when she was turning into a full-fledged siren it was absolutely fascinating to read!

YES! I loved her transformation so I was so disappointed when she was found. Honestly, this may sound evil, but I kept waiting for Penn to come and get her back. The ending? Not my favorite. (P.S. WHAT WAS GEMMA THINKING? It was sweet, but not very...smart. We must talk about my questions later.)

Yeah it wasn’t really smart of her. Kind of impulsive, but also a little sacrificial and I was like, “Aw, sad feelings.”

Yeah....but I sort of focused on the not smart/impulsive. I was in a bad mood at that scene. 

While I wouldn't recommend this to people who don't like mermaid books, to people who have had a fairly good track record with them, check this one out. The unique spin on the classic siren tale, making it more gruesome than most people remember, will hook you, and then the characters and the hilarious dialogue will take over after. Not only will you fall in love with Gemma and Harper, you will leave Lullaby feeling equal love for every secondary character: Alex, Daniel, Thea, etc.

Complete opposite here. I wouldn't recommend it for people who love reading about mermaids since it sort of fell flat for me. On the other hand people who aren't used to mermaids? This would be the perfect introduction to them! I loved the spin on it definitely, but I would've liked to see more to it. More siren parts, less Harper searching parts.

Hmm possibly. I could see someone who wants to ease into the mermaid genre to start with this one, seeing as it is kind of more of the characterization and less of sirens.

Yeps! I'd definitely recommend it for someone who wants to save best for last!

From heartwarming characters to a unique plot, Lullaby will touch you in its "tail" (Get it? No?) about family, love, and loyalty. Any mermaid fan or Amanda Hocking fan will love this story.

#Punny. ;P

Why thank you!

Renegade by J.A. Souders

Goodreads Blurb

Since the age of three, sixteen-year-old Evelyn Winters has been trained to be Daughter of the People in the underwater utopia known as Elysium. Selected from hundreds of children for her ideal genes, all her life she’s thought that everything was perfect; her world. Her people. The Law.
But when Gavin Hunter, a Surface Dweller, accidentally stumbles into their secluded little world, she’s forced to come to a startling realization: everything she knows is a lie. Her memories have been altered. Her mind and body aren’t under her own control. And the person she knows as Mother is a monster.
Together with Gavin she plans her escape, only to learn that her own mind is a ticking time bomb... and Mother has one last secret that will destroy them all.e was so efficient

Totally not what I was expecting. And I say that in the best way possible.
The cover is a lie. I mean that with all the love in the world
That synopsis doesn't give you a real hint at what's to come. Hopefully, you'll be forewarned.

So here's what I meant by those (I hope) slightly ominous words--Renegade really wasn't what I was expecting. And it was so much better than expected. The world was so...cruel and morbid, for lack of better words. There was an overall appearance of perfection, and it really sounded it in the beginning. Even if I knew that it was fake.
I just didn't realize how much of a lie it would be! And that cover? It really is beautiful, but it makes Renegade seem more innocent than it actually is. Her bleeding hand? That's kind of the only hint you can find to just how dark this "utopia" was. 
And my my, what a dark world it was.
There was so much death, so many secrets, and so much brainwashing that you're just...strangely thrilled. You're wincing and cringing, but you just can't stop reading!

As for characters, I loved Evie. She was so efficient and smart and she was...strong. She got shot and what did she do? She kept her calm and knew exactly what to do. And you just had to admire that side of her. Sure, in the beginning, she's heavily (And I mean heavily) brainwashed, but she breaks through it and honestly? That was pretty willful of her. No matter what Mother or the Enforcers (basically, assassins) did, they couldn't keep her down for long and she'd always figure out another plan. A resourceful, efficient character who doesn't really depend on anyone for anything? At all? I can't quite think of another character like her. Except maybe Adelice...
But we're talking Renegade characters today. And Evie was a really, really great one, I promise.

Gavin was Gavin was Gavin.I have a lot of...mixed feelings about him. Don't get me wrong, I loved him. Honestly, it's rare when I don't love a love interest. I guess I was expecting Gavin to be...well either a) sweeter and more innocent than he seemed or b) uber dangerous but unresistable. But Gavin was a balance between both, really. But there was...something missing. And I still loved him. He was just...Gavin.

Mother was like, the perfect villain. She was perfectly evil, but there was something underneath that hinted at a plausible explanation for her madness. What did she mean when she said "Everyone leaves me"? Oh, the burning questions. But Mother was utterly, completely, without a doubt, evil. And it was just fascinating how Souders could pull off a character who seems both sincere and insincere at times. I'm not kidding.

Plot-wise, Renegade had it completely covered. It was fast paced and I don't think there were actually any filler chapters at all. Every single word, sentence, page, it advanced the plot whether romantically or goal-wise. It was definitely one of those books where each chapter pretty much has a cliffhanger and you can barely stop reading! For pretty much all the book (excluding the first...5 chapters?) Evie and Gavin are on an escape mission--something that surprised me for some reason. I'm actually not quite sure what I was expecting for the plot!

I've already gone over the worldbuilding, but I jsut wanted to say that the Sci-fi parts were ingenious. There were explanations for everything and there were absolutely no holes in the world building. How did this function? There was an answer. Why does a citizen do that? There was an answer. Why would someone risk there life for someone they always considered an enemy? There was...a sort of answer. Which leads us to...

Romance. The romance was the one thing I was really feeling annoyed by. It was pretty insta-love, but I guess that being on the run and a guy seeing the closest thing to perfection will do that. But even though I knew it was excusable, it didn't mean that it didn't annoy me. Y'all really know how much I despise insta-love, or anything close to it. On the other hand, I did like Evie a lot, so honestly, I just wanted her to actually be happy.  Even if only the author can control that!

A creepily stunning debut novel, J.A. Souders has pulled off a unique blend of and underwater utopia with science, all the while capturing the reader's attention in  a heartbeat. With a villain who seems real, a world so different it'll stun you, and one of the most resourceful characters I've seen in a while, Renegade will definitely be finding it's home on a lot of "favorites" shelves in whatever country it's sold! It was just that good!

Pages: 352
Series: The Elysium Chronicles #1
Genre: Utopia/Dystopia/Romance
Publisher: Tor Teen
Release Date: 11/13/12
Rating: 5 stars