Nightmare Dilemma by Mindee Arnett

Pages: 384

Genre: Paranormal/Fantasy

Series: Arkwell Academy #2 

Publisher: Tor Teen

Release Date: Mar 4, 2014

Dusty Everhart might be able to predict the future through the dreams of her crush, Eli Booker, but that doesn’t make her life even remotely easy. When one of her mermaid friends is viciously assaulted and left for dead, and the school’s jokester, Lance Rathbone, is accused of the crime, Dusty’s as shocked as everybody else. Lance needs Dusty to prove his innocence by finding the real attacker, but that’s easier asked than done. Eli’s dreams are no help, more nightmares than prophecies. 
To make matters worse, Dusty’s ex-boyfriend has just been acquitted of conspiracy and is now back at school, reminding Dusty of why she fell for him in the first place. The Magi Senate needs Dusty to get close to him, to discover his real motives. But this order infuriates Eli, who has started his own campaign for Dusty’s heart.
As Dusty takes on both cases, she begins to suspect they’re connected to something bigger. And there’s something very wrong with Eli’s dreams, signs that point to a darker plot than they could have ever imagined.

I have to admit, I loved The Nightmare Dilemma a lot more than The Nightmare Affair and I was absolutely thrilled to get an early copy!
Writing a review of this is actually going to be pretty hard, so expect this review to be short guys! All you really need to know, though, is that I absolutely loved it.

Dusty is a fun character and there was absolutely no limit to her snark and she's just as smart alack-y as in The Nightmare Affair. She's a lovable character who brings some comic relief to the story and I absolutely adored her loyalty to her friends and how determined she was to protect the people she loved.
All the side characters were just as amazing and all their personalities were developed more. Selene, while I felt like she didn't get much face time, still had her awesome siren rebellion going on and Lance, while he was still a bit of a jerk, was a bit less hostile and I liked him a lot more. (Also? Him with Selene would be absolutely adorable.)

The romance again took a back seat to the plot and I really loved it this time, though there were romantic moments that made me absolutely squeal. Paul is back and while I was a bit worried about a love triangle, it's clear that's not really a problem. The surprise complication between Eli and Dusty, however, was a bit shocking, though I felt like it was a bit cliche, though it definitely made for some intriguing romantic tension!

And speaking of intrigue, that's what this book was filled with. The mystery had me on my toes and, unlike in book one, I was at a complete loss as to what was going to happen. There were twists I didn't expect and everything from powerful, corrupt people, to betrayals, to sinister cults were mixed in with the mystery and I was completely hooked in.

The Arkwell Academy series is a cute paranormal series with dark twists and The Nightmare Dilemma, thankfully, doesn't suffer from Sequel Syndrome at all! It was a magnificent read that grabbed my attention and made me fall in love with the characters all over!

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Toxic Heart by Theo Lawrence

Pages: 368

Genre: Dystopian/Fantasy

Series: Mystic City #2

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Release Date: Apr 8, 2014

A city in flames. A trust betrayed. A perfect love destroyed.Has Aria lost Hunter, her one true love?
Ever since rebellion broke out in Mystic City, pitting the ruling elite against the magic-wielding mystics, Aria has barely seen her boyfriend. Not surprising, since Hunter is the leader of the mystic uprising, and he'll do whatever it takes to win freedom for his people—even if that means using Aria.But Aria is no one's pawn. She believes she can bring the two warring sides together, save the city, and win back the Hunter she fell in love with. Before she can play peacemaker, though, Aria will need to find the missing heart of a dead mystic. The heart gives untold powers to whoever possesses it, but finding it means seeking out a fierce enemy whose deepest desire is for Aria to be gone—forever.

**Spoiler in Paragraph 3!
I was in love with Mystic City in 2012, so I was super excited to finally get an ARC of Toxic Heart! I dived into it almost immediately and I was both pleased and a little more than a little disappointed.
Almost immediately I fell back in love with the series and I was caught up in the story again, and I remembered every little thing that happened in Mystic City--something that's a little impressive for me! But after that initial applause, things died down.

Here's what I loved: Seeing Aria and Hunter and our whole gang of members, along with some new characters who I absolutely loved. Err, mostly loved. There were a wide range of characters and while they weren't fully developed, they each had their own little quirks that made them unique to the story.
Aria was definitely the same as before, but I felt like her flaws were a bit more pronounced in Toxic City, namely her pettiness and her naivete. How could she expect everyone to suddenly come to peace when she knew full well that her brother and Thomas wouldn't go for it?
While I did feel for her (what with Hunter ignoring her, using her, acting cold towards her) she wanted Hunter to drop everything, the lives of all the people who depended on him, to work on their relationship. I get it--she wanted him to love her (after all, she sacrificed just as much as he did, if not more), but I felt like it was just unreasonable to want him to ignore everything else. But he was douchey for most of the book.

Hunter actually didn't make much an appearance in Toxic Heart, which leads me to my next topic: the romance. The romance, while it wasn't the main conflict of the story, was, at the very least, one of the biggest two. And that...irritated me. Because a random love triangle popped out of the nowhere, and the story's ending (that had to do with the romance) seemed way too rushed and way too random. There was nothing really leading up to this decision. **Especially since, throughout the entire book, Aria really just seemed to whine about not being with Hunter...and then she goes off and leaves him the moment she gets mystic powers? WTF? She seemed to be using him a lot more than him using her at that part. **

The plot was definitely action packed, but I felt like most of the story seemed to do with Aria's relationships with both Hunter and other mystics, especially Turk, which I didn't enjoy. I wanted more fight scenes, more action, more showing of how this war would destroy both sides either way. This "fierce enemy" mentioned in the synopsis didn't really even show up until a good bit of the way in, something I was sorely disappointed in.

I do, however, love the fact that both the reader and Aria would start to doubt the rebel's causes, especially once things started to get bloody and people started to get a little too desperate. I always enjoy those books where you're not quite sure who's side you're on and who's really the "good guy" or if there's one at all.

The worldbuilding seemed a bit weaker than I remember it, but Lawrence still does a fabulous job with the writing style and the imagery, giving us a clear and perfect picture of the disaster and heartbroken ruins. I did still have a few questions about the worldbuilding, but they didn't bother me as much as questions usually do!

Toxic Heart, while suffering a bit from Sequel Syndrome, is still a fascinating read that had me up until 1 AM reading about a Romeo and Juliet who weren't that star crossed and were driven apart by a war that ripped both from their families.

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Steadfast by Claudia Gray

Pages: 384

Genre: Fantasy

Series: Spellcaster #2

Publisher: HarperTeen

Release Date: Mar 4, 2014

Nadia, Mateo, and Verlaine have saved Captive's Sound from the dark Sorceress Elizabeth...or so they thought. Despite their best efforts, a crack opened and a new, greater evil seeped through. With Mateo as her Steadfast, Nadia's magic is magnified and she is more powerful than ever. But there is still so much she doesn't know about the craft, leaving her open and vulnerable to a darker magic...which has begun to call Nadia's name.

I got this unsolicited, and I was a bit anxious going into it. I wasn't the biggest fan of Spellcaster, but I hadn't hated it, so I honestly didn't know how I'd feel about Steadfast (even if the cover was pretty!) Thankfully, I actually loved this one, though maybe not as much as I could've or wanted to.

The biggest problem I had with this story was the POV issue. We saw the story through the point of view of almost every single character that had some kind of role in the story. Sometimes they'd have a whole chapter, sometimes only five paragraphs, and it got really annoying really quickly. Not only was it confusing, but it took away part of the mystery and allure Steadfast could've had and I'm pretty sure I had the same problem with Spellcaster.

I'm not saying there weren't any twists--because God knows there were a ton, but there just weren't any sudden moments of doubt for our characters, any hesitation in trusting the characters. For example, Asa, a character who's quickly introduced and quickly revealed to be more than human, was always not-evil. Yeah, he worked for the "One Beneath" but it was evident that he would fall in love with a certain character, and predictable that he would sacrifice something for her. And we were told that he hated Elizabeth too, so we never doubted his motives.

But the read was still pretty awesome because even though the mystery was taken away, Elizabeth's point of view bits were absolutely sinister and made it pretty clear she was psycho and completely devoted to the devil. She was crazy and a perfect antagonist who sent shivers down my spine and was so deluded but so powerful--a pretty scary combination if I do say so myself.

Verlaine's situation was emphasized and it was absolutely heartbreaking to see how terrible and horrible it would be to be unloved, when, by all accounts, she should be. It made me love her and she started turning into a more major character than just the sidekick, something I definitely enjoyed seeing!

Steadfast was a pretty fantastic sequel, and better than the first one in my opinion, though I definitely had a few issues with it. It was a decent read though, and if you loved Spellcaster, you're guaranteed to love this one!

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Pretty Sly by Elisa Ludwig

Pages: 368

Genre: Suspense/Contemporary

Series: Pretty Crooked #2

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Release Date: March 18, 2014

Willa Fox was told to stay out of trouble. In fact, it was an order from a very serious juvenile court judge.However, that was before Willa found her house ransacked and a mysterious email from her mother telling Willa she had to leave Paradise Valley for a while and not to come looking for her. Willa knows her mom’s in danger and that no one at school will miss her after her recent sticky-fingered stunts with the Glitterati. So with the help of her pal Tre and with her degenerate crush Aidan as her wingman, Willa violates her probation and hits the California highway in search of her mom.But when Willa and Aidan’s journey turns dangerously criminal and they wind up being the focus of a national manhunt, they realize it’s sometimes easier to escape the law than the truth—and that everything Willa thought she knew about her mom, and her life, was wrong.

(I read this as the early early ARC that had the old cover, so I'm unsure whether it was significantly changed or not!)

I loved reading Pretty Crooked last year--it was sweet, it was cute, and it had an undercurrent of sinister happenings that undoubtedly perked my interest. In Pretty Sly, we explore those happenings and we discover that things are a lot more complicated than we thought and a lot more dangerous.

Pretty Sly starts off right where Pretty Crooked ended and things go crazy from there. Suddenly Aidan and Willa are on the run from cops in four states and, surprisingly have a fan club. And that's one of the things I really loved about this! Even though it isn't shown halfway throughout the book, the fact that they had a Facebook page and a Kickstarter and all these crazy things made me LOL so many times! It was another one of the cute elements that managed to sneak itself into the more dangerous plot and that's one of the things about it. Even though Pretty Sly should, by all means, be a thriller, it somehow ended up being as cute and hilarious as the first! And that's not a bad thing at all!
There were so many other things that made me laugh and giggle and I just loved it all. They were just little things like Willa leaving little notes behind and getting a free slice of cake or something and, even though technically they were so absolutely unrealistic, it just made the book so cute I couldn't help but fall in love with it!

Willa went through quite a bit of character development, though I'll admit--she did get on my nerves once in a while. She honestly didn't seem to have a plan and didn't seem to always understand how much the others were risking for her. But she was an amazing character who was hilarious and snarky and pretty much made my day! (We'd totally be BFFs.)

Aidan, oh Aidan. I never will know what runs through that boy's mind--but I'm sure it'd make me swoon and drop dead at his feet. He's sweet and cocky, charming and he knows it. I loved him so much and he's by far my most favorite character. He's a swoony love interest that was so sweet towards Willa and was unbelievably protective. He did make a few stupid decisions sometimes, though, but then again, who doesn't? (Or am I being blindsided by my love for him. Darn, not again.)

The plot was quick paced and I absolutely loved it, being whisked from one place to another quickly and never having a dull moment. It's an intense ride that you can't help but be sucked into and with all the twists, it's a ride you have to pay attention to! I couldn't predict anything and their next step was always surprising. I was anxious throughout the book, so sure that they'd be captured and locked up the next chapter in.

Pretty Sly is a thrilling sequel that absolutely must be read! I'm in love with the fluffy, yet enthralling and suspenseful feeling that Elisa Ludwig manages to capture and can absolutely not wake for book three! I need more Aidan! And Sly Fox. But mostly Aidan.

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Burn Bright by Bethany Frenette

Pages: 304
Genre: Supernatural
Series: Dark Star #2
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Release Date: Feb 25, 2014

Audrey Whitticomb saved her entire city.Well, kind of. The superhero Morning Star (who just happens to be Audrey's mom) might have played a small part, and her sidekick, Leon—Audrey's sort-of boyfriend, who is gorgeous... and frustrating—maybe helped, too.But after two peaceful months, there is a vicious new threat in Minneapolis. Her name is Susannah, and she's a Harrower, a demon hell-bent on destroying people like Morning Star, Leon, and Audrey—the Kin. Like others before her, she seeks the Remnant, a Kin girl who has the power to unleash the inhabitants of the Beneath. But to what end?Audrey already has a ton on her plate: dealing with her best friend Tink's boy drama, helping her other best friend Gideon figure out his nightmares, and exploring the highs and lows of "dating" Leon. But when she develops a powerful new ability, Audrey seizes on the chance to fight, despite her mother's protests and Leon's pleas.As Audrey gets closer to figuring out Susannah's motives and tracking down the Remnant, she'll uncover more than she bargained for. The terrible truth is staring Audrey in the face. But knowing the truth and accepting it are very different things.

So, if you follow me on Twitter, you know that I've been dying for a book where the main character isn't the prophetic savior or bringer of doom. I mean, they're fun, but so typical nowadays. But this series definitely doesn't follow that road! While Dark Star was a fun read, it didn't really make an impression, but Burn Bright? It definitely did. I adored it and just loved reading it!

I was a bit fuzzy on what happened in Dark Star, but Burn Bright craftily weaves in the storyline from book one into this sequel. Soon enough I was traveling with Audrey on her wild adventures (and getting almost killed too. Well, that's not good) and getting into the Harrower-version of a catfight.

Yeah. It was fun!

The plot is unbelievably action-packed, filled with so many fights, new powers, new problems, and twists that just made me gape at the pages. I mean, seriously? It twisted my head around, and the twists were just so...wow. 

And there was Audrey. Oh Audrey...Audrey, Audrey, Audrey. She was one stubborn character and I loved her all the more for it! While she did irritate me sometimes for keeping some very important things secret, she won me over with her obvious loyalty for her friends and anyone she loved. She was so headstrong and I just loved her determination and her snark! I also loved her best friend type of relationship with her mom--it was so sweet.

Leon was just an adorable character who I loved! Sure, he was uptight sometimes, but Audrey loosened him up when he need to stop being so stiff, and they were just such a cute couple. I loved their steady romance and their relationship was so fun! At first I didn't like him, but he grew on me. Sort of like moss. (I'm pretty sure it was that way in Dark Star too! It just says more that Leon was able to get into my good graces--again. *wink*)

This is pretty much the best sequel you could ask for! It doesn't disappoint and I just loved it! It was so amazing and I was pretty much gushing about it the days that followed after I finished! Also, you guys. Have you seen the gorgeous covers?

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Perfect Lies by Kiersten White

Pages: 232

Genre: Action thriller

Series: Mind Games #2

Publisher: Harper Teen

Release Date: Feb 18, 2014

Annie and Fia are ready to fight back.
The sisters have been manipulated and controlled by the Keane Foundation for years, trapped in a never ending battle for survival. Now they have found allies who can help them truly escape. After faking her own death, Annie has joined a group that is plotting to destroy the Foundation. And Fia is working with James Keane to bring his father down from the inside.
But Annie's visions of the future can't show her who to trust in the present. And though James is Fia's first love, Fia knows he's hiding something. The sisters can rely only on each other - but that may not be enough to save them.

After reading Mind Games, I was bordering on desperate to read the sequel--with an ending like that, who wouldn't be? So when I was approved for it on Edelweiss (screw my eBook ban) I pretty much dropped everything and READ.
And oh my God. Perfect Lies was amazing. While it did have a bit of Sequel Syndrome, it nevertheless had that perfect Kiersten snark and style that made me fall in love with the story and our characters all over again!

And so, let's start this off with our lovely sisters will we?
Fia's story absolutely broke my heart at times, her voice so completely bitter and raw. Kiersten White does a brilliant job making Fia sound a bit crazy, a bit murderous, dangerous, and desperate, while still making us love her. Fia's a broken character that touched my heart, though I did sometimes want to slap her for being so dependent on James, who I started to...well, not trust. At all. But her brokenness and her inability to trust anyone made me hurt for her. (On another note, despite it all, Fia managed to maintain her wicked and dry humor, but for some reason that just made me hurt more.)
Like Fia seemed to be the main character the book was centered around, I felt like Annie was the star of the show in Perfect Lies. We learn more about our blind Seer and I sympathized with her so much, her ache for her sister, her longing to be stronger, and her wish for a future that wasn't so bleak. All Annie seemed to want was for her and Fia to make it out alive...whatever "it" was.

Their relationship, while we didn't get to see much of them together, was absolutely beautiful. They did whatever they could, destroyed whoever was in their way, just to protect each other and it's one of the best things about the book--the way White can flawlessly create a sister bond between these two characters. Without even letting them be together for more than a few pages!

For the romance, let's talk about Fia and James for a bit. I really really really (like, really) loved their relationship at first, how they acted around each other, but the more we got into the story...well, the less I trusted him. I wasn't so sure of his motives anymore, or his dedication to Fia. Where did his loyalties lie? Who would he die for? I don't think we ever did find out. 
Like I said, Alice takes the spotlight, and that means she finally finds a romance too! I really loved who she ended up with, even if it was a bit rushed, but their romance was so sweet in one of those hate/love ways.

The plot was just as amazing as Mind Games. It's completely thrilling and unbelievably shocking and, with Annie and Fia, I honestly had no clue what the hell would happen next! It's a roller coaster of twists and turns that I never saw coming and that left me hanging for more! I feel like the ending is absolutely perfect, but honestly--I so wish there was a book three!

There's really no end to how amazing Kiersten White's books can be! I've loved every single one so far, and I can't wait for her next one! Perfect Lies is a perfect companion to Mind Games, and I recommend the series to anyone who's loved her stuff before! (But I do recommend reading these two books back to back because of Reasons.)

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Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi

Pages: 400

Genre: Dystopian/Post-apocalyptic

Series: Under the Never Sky #3

Publisher: Harper Teen

Release Date: Jan 28, 2014

Their love and their leadership have been tested. Now it's time for Perry and Aria to unite the Dwellers and the Outsiders in one last desperate attempt to bring balance to their world.
The race to the Still Blue has reached a stalemate. Aria and Perry are determined to find this last safe-haven from the Aether storms before Sable and Hess do-and they are just as determined to stay together.
Meanwhile, time is running out to rescue Cinder, who was abducted by Hess and Sable for his unique abilities. And when Roar returns to camp, he is so furious with Perry that he won't even look at him, and Perry begins to feel like they have already lost.
Out of options, Perry and Aria assemble a team to mount an impossible rescue mission-because Cinder isn't just the key to unlocking the Still Blue and their only hope for survival, he's also their friend. And in a dying world, the bonds between people are what matter most.

M'kay, this is a pretty hard review to write, as all sequels are for me, but oh gosh. This just...

I was torn between being excited for this book and absolutely wary. The wrap up of a series has to be absolutely perfect for me, or it just sort of ruins the rest of the books for me and with Under the Never Sky being one of my favorite series...well.
But honestly, I had nothing to worry about. I absolutely loved Into the Still Blue and I just...I loved the wrap up of this trilogy! Aaahhh!

Seeing all the characters together after all the chapters they were separated in was heartwarming and wonderful, but that feeling doesn't last long. Book three was the most action packed of the series, and throughout the story our characters are either hurt, lost, or betrayed, and it was just heartbreaking. All the open plot holes are finally wrapped up with a neat little bow and I honestly think Veronica Rossi did an absolute fantastic job with it! Even with two books with as many twists as characters, Into the Still Blue still managed to shock me with a new and surprising turn that I should've expected but just didn't.
The only thing I do wish was that the ending had been a little less rushed. Almost done with only about 20-40 pages left, I was worried how the ending would play out, and while I found it satisfying, it was...sudden.

I honestly don't think I need to say anything about our wonderful cast of characters, except that a new major player is added, and that Roar's attitude was heartbreaking in the least.
Speaking of Roar, his and Aria's friendship was...beautiful. They depended on each other to keep each other sane and they had a special sort of bond that I loved, especially since it wasn't romantic in any way, shape or form. They had a familial air around each other and their light teasing provided a bit of comic relief when needed.
Perry and Aria's romance wasn't that focused on, but their stolen moments in between the ongoing war was sweet and just made me fall all over again with the both of them!

Into the Still Blue is an amazing wrap up of a brilliant series, and I have to say, I had a few heart attacks throughout the story. Definitely a way to end the series with a bang!

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Evertrue by Brodi Ashton

Pages: 336

Genre: Paranormal

Series: Everneath #3

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Release Date: Jan 21, 2014

Now that Nikki has rescued Jack, all she wants is to be with him and graduate high school. But Cole tricked Nikki into feeding off him, and she’s begun the process of turning into an Everliving herself... which means she must feed on a Forfeit soon — or die.Terrified for her survival, Nikki and Jack begin a desperate attempt to reverse the process using any means possible. Even Cole, who they expected to fight them at every turn, has become an unlikely ally — but how long can it last? Nikki needs to feed on Cole to survive, Cole needs Nikki to gain the throne in the Everneath, Jack needs Nikki because she is everything to him — and together, they must travel back to the Underworld to undo Nikki’s fate and make her mortal once more. But Cole isn’t the only one with plans for Nikki: the Queen has not forgotten Nikki’s treachery, and she wants her destroyed for good. Will Nikki be forced to spend eternity in the Underworld, or does she have what it takes to bring down the Everneath once and for all?

My thoughts are sort of incoherent right now so please excuse my jumble of a review.

So honestly I'd forgotten just how much I loved this series until now. Oh sure, Everneath was brilliant, and Everbound was pretty good, but after a year you sort of forget the emotional crippling pain. Brodi Ashton brought it all back.
I will hazard to say that Evertrue is probably the best book in the entire trilogy, and I don't say that lightly. Because OH GOD THE END.

Here comes the explosion:
Because guys, I just can't deal with this. I actually spent an hour in English clutching my head and repeating "I can't deal" over and over. The end of Evertrue is traumatizing and oh God someone help me survive. The ending was a shock to my little fangirl heart. Or maybe it wasn't and I was just really hoping it wouldn't happen. Either way, I teared up, had a book hangover, and was pretty much dead after the read. It is truly and utterly heartbreaking. (Literally.)

Let's just all, for the moment, talk about how much I just adore Cole. No matter what terrible thing he does, I'll always love him more than Jack because he does love her, in his own way, and he never stops loving her even though he knows she hates him. I always did have a weakness for literary bad boys!
So on that note, I should tell you that something...happens to Cole a quarter into the book, something that sort of...changes him. And I just missed the old Cole who was unbelievably flawed, but completely cocky and sweet, though admittedly arrogant and a bit douchey. And that was really the only thing I didn't absolutely love about it.

Plot wise, this book is damn near perfect. Fast paced and action packed, I couldn't help but get caught up in the events. While there weren't that many twists, the ones there were were absolutely shocking. Go big or go home right?
There was a point, when there was only 45 pages left, where I wondered how Ashton would wrap up the plot and romance, and everything else, so quickly, but she manages it without making it seemed to rush, which definitely impressed me.

So many things happen, so many sacrifices made, and I just found my heart being ripped open reportedly until I could've been stuck in the Everneath and wouldn't have noticed. Evertrue beautifully wraps up the trilogy in a perfect, but desperate way that made me want to cry.

Correction: it did make me cry.

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Her Dark Curiosity by Megan Shepherd

Pages: 368

Genre: Gothic Literature/Sci-fi

Series: Madman's Daughter #2

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Release Date: Jan 28, 2014

Months have passed since Juliet Moreau returned to civilization after escaping her father's island—and the secrets she left behind. Now, back in London once more, she is rebuilding the life she once knew and trying to forget Dr. Moreau’s horrific legacy—though someone, or something, hasn’t forgotten her.As people close to Juliet fall victim one by one to a murderer who leaves a macabre calling card of three clawlike slashes, Juliet fears one of her father’s creations may have also escaped the island. She is determined to find the killer before Scotland Yard does, though it means awakening sides of herself she had thought long banished, and facing loves from her past she never expected to see again.As Juliet strives to stop a killer while searching for a serum to cure her own worsening illness, she finds herself once more in the midst of a world of scandal and danger. Her heart torn in two, past bubbling to the surface, life threatened by an obsessive killer—Juliet will be lucky to escape alive.

After the rather terrible (read: heartbreaking) ending in The Madman's Daughter, I was unbelievably anxious to read Her Dark Curiosity so I was ecstatic when I managed to get my grubby hands on an ARC! And then I started reading. And I was a bit disappointed.

My main issue was Juliet herself. She seemed absolutely ridiculous throughout the story and seemed...well, mad. And I suppose that may have been the point, but I just felt like it made her an annoying character rather than an interesting one. She kept repeating over and over and over that she wasn't like her father, would never be like her father, and then immediately turn and do something that's so obviously cruel and terrible, just like her father. (Spoiler at the end of the review) That and she made some obviously-not-right choices that made me twitch in agitation.

More than that, the romance. Unfortunately, our love triangle isn't completely finished (or, it is in the way that Juliet has chosen who she loved. But that doesn't stop a certain someone from pursuing her or her from kissing and other activities with said someone.) I hated how Juliet just seemed to go back and forth, despite her claim of love for Montgomery, and how she justified Edward's actions. Sure, he didn't deserve to die, but she didn't seem to think that much about the harm he's done besides one or two pages.

But despite all that, Her Dark Curiosity was a fascinating read, most especially because of Shepherd's talent with atmosphere and Gothic lit. And a 1800-1900s London? It's the perfect place to set a story of madness, murder, and mayhem! The drizzly ghostly city was creepy with everything that was going on and you have to hand it to Shepherd--she's a genius with her words, if not her characters.

The plot was absolutely spectacular with twists sprinkled throughout the story (the first less than 70 pages in!) and I found myself gaping at the book sometimes, just eager to discover what would happen next. And, like always, Megan Shepherd manages to leave us with a cliffhanger and clamoring for the third book, even if our character isn't how we hoped!

Gothic literature is one of my favorite kinds of stories, and the dark and haunting setting and atmosphere was beyond impressive and I had chills throughout most of the book, especially with murderers and secret, dark science cults.

***SPOILER: She freaking creates her own "creature" and unleashes it on her enemies, scientists, and murders every one of them in cold blood. Then hunts down the survivor and kills him. And she thinks that's justified?

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Severed Tower by J. Barton Mitchell

Goodreads Blurb

Holt, Mira, and Max have fled Midnight City with Zoey after watching her repel an entire Assembly army. Zoey's powers are unlocked, but who and what she is remains a mystery. All she knows is that she must reach the Severed Tower, an infamous location in the middle of the world's most dangerous landscape: The Strange Lands, a place where the laws of physics have completely broken down. But the closer they get to the Tower, the more precarious things become. The Assembly has pursued Zoey into the Strange Lands. Among them is a new group, their walkers and machines strangely bereft of any color, stripped to bare metal, and whose agenda seems to differ from the rest. To make matters worse, the group hunting Holt are here, too, led by a dangerous and beautiful pirate named Ravan. So is Mira's first love, Benjamin Aubertine, whose singular ambition to reach the Tower threatens to get them all killed.

Then there's the Strange Lands themselves. They have inexplicably begun to grow, spreading outwards, becoming more powerful. Somehow, it all seems tied to Zoey herself, and the closer she gets to the Tower, the weaker she becomes.

It's been a while since I read Midnight City, but I remember being so absolutely in love with the story and the characters! And guys, after reading the sequel, I can not recommend this series enough to sci-fi and dystopian/apocalyptic fans.

Yeah yeah, moan all you want about how alien invasion books are becoming typical and the norm for YA. This series, the worldbuilding, the plot, its all so original! I can't get over it at all.
So something that wasn't quite in the last book is that this series is seriously sci-fi. You don't see as much as you usually would in the first half of the book, but towards the end, the sci-fi makes a definite appearance. I'm still unsure exactly what happened, but I'm pretty sure Mitchell managed to weave together parallel universes, dark matter, and a whole bunch of other things I can't think about. (ALSO. There was totally a Doctor Who moment in this.)

I'm so in love with our wide range of characters too. They were all quirky, flawed, and absolutely badass, in their own ways. We're introduced to so many new characters, Ravan, Avril, Ben, Gideon, and the White Helex and Menagerie crews. Surprisingly, it wasn't that hard to remember all of them and their roles, and I couldn't help but love all these new characters as much as I loved Holt, Mira, and Zoey. Because they were unbelievably unpredictable and unbelievably scarred in some way. They were all brave, in different ways, and it's just impossible not to be touched by some of their sacrifices.
Also the White Helix? I love them. Is creepy, but is cool.

Surprisingly, even with a ton of POV's and in third person, I didn't mind it. Which, guys, that's an Anomaly (Pun intended.)

The plot was as unexpected as the characters. Because holy crap. I didn't expect any of that at all. Explosions are more than a few and with all the Anomalies and Artifacts, things are sure to be...mind blowing (My punny side has revealed itself.) The ending especially! I just couldn't believe it and I can honestly say that it's one of the better endings I've ever read.

Ah the romance. Honestly, there's not too much to write because the romance honestly didn't show itself, despite there being to exes brought back into the picture. Like I'd hoped, romance was kept to a bare minimum, though you could clearly see Holt and Mira's, Mira and Ben's, and Holt and Raven's dynamics. All three pairings made brilliant teams and, to be frank, I think I was more in love with Ben than Holt. For me, I feel like Ben sacrificed the most for Mira, despite his misgivings.

A sequel to die for (Oh hey, hello pun), The Severed Tower surpasses the first, which already blew my socks off! I'll definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a good sci-fi and a story where our narrator's not the only player in a game we don't understand. Yet.

Pages: 400

Genre: Post Apocaylptic

Series: Conquered Earth #2

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books

Release Date: November 19, 2013
Rating: 4.5 Stars

Unhinged by A.G. Howard

Pages: 384

Genre: High Fantasy/Gothic

Series: Splintered #2

Publisher: Amulet 

Release Date: Jan 7, 2014

Alyssa Gardner has been down the rabbit hole and faced the bandersnatch. She saved the life of Jeb, the guy she loves, and escaped the machinations of the disturbingly seductive Morpheus and the vindictive Queen Red. Now all she has to do is graduate high school and make it through prom so she can attend the prestigious art school in London she's always dreamed of.
That would be easier without her mother, freshly released from an asylum, acting overly protective and suspicious. And it would be much simpler if the mysterious Morpheus didn’t show up for school one day to tempt her with another dangerous quest in the dark, challenging Wonderland—where she (partly) belongs.
As prom and graduation creep closer, Alyssa juggles Morpheus’s unsettling presence in her real world with trying to tell Jeb the truth about a past he’s forgotten. Glimpses of Wonderland start to bleed through her art and into her world in very disturbing ways, and Morpheus warns that Queen Red won’t be far behind.
If Alyssa stays in the human realm, she could endanger Jeb, her parents, and everyone she loves. But if she steps through the rabbit hole again, she'll face a deadly battle that could cost more than just her head. 

After naming Splintered my favorite book of 2012, is it surprising that I've been dying for Unhinged ever since I heard it was a duology (and now a trilogy! Eep!)? No. No it isn't. So when I managed to get my hands on an early ARC, I was beyond thrilled. Because...MORPHEUS!

And Unhinged did not disappoint at all. Because with a guy like Morpheus on the cover, who can't love this book?
So I guess we should talk about love interests, since I've mentioned Morpheus a few times already. Of course I'm Team Moth so I'm both giddy and heartbroken at how Unhinged turned out. Morpheus definitely shows up in his old self again and I both wanted to strangle him (with all the love in the world of course) and cuddle him until Sisters One and Two pried me away from him. He's as arrogant as always, with that manipulative personality that's pure Netherling, and a sexy smirk that just makes you swoon. While he did have his weak points, he proved himself time and time again throughout the book. (And went to unbelievably great lengths for Alyssa. Alyssa, if you don't want him, can I?)
And...yes. Jeb's here too. Not that I like to admit it. I will admit, though, that he was...sweet...and kind...but he didn't really seem to pop up as much as Morpheus thanks to a mysterious art collector by the name of Ivy Raven. So his and Alyssa's relationship? A bit on the rocks...until the end.
The love triangle is sort of my favorite, since we're actually not quite sure who she'll end up with. It's really rare when that happens, but Howard manages to pull it off brilliantly. Like everything else of course!

Alyssa, our heroine, is definitely different from so many other typical YA heroines. She has her flaws (like not listening to Morpheus and not wanting to save her own kingdom--but both are decently understandable!), but she's kickass, fierce, and loyal to the end. The fact that we see her grow more into her Netherling nature made me love her all the more (because like Morpheus says--he and Wonderland are a package deal!) and when she unleashed her powers was definitely when I loved her most! Also--her gothic style. Love!

The worldbuilding. There must be some Wonderland blood in A.G. Howard for her to create such amazing creatures (read: creepy creatures) that still manage to tie in with the story. I seriously loved how she would use nonsensical words from Alice in Wonderland and twist them into magnificent and horrible creatures that roamed Wonderland. And we didn't even really visit the world! We see glimpses of the Wonderland that enraptured us in Splintered, but instead of bringing us to Wonderland...well, she sort of brings Wonderland to us.
We're introduced to a whole slew of new creatures that absolutely terrified me (I've never been afraid of wood until now) like "mome raths", toys and creatures back from AnyElsewhere (Exactly what is AnyElsewhere you ask? Read the book and discover the creepy.), and a stalkery clown doll. Literally. It follows her everywhere with a creepy blood red smile on its lips.

The plot. Oh my God. There are no ends to the twists and turns and the absolutely horrifying, heart breaking, gut wrenching things that happen to everyone around Alyssa. Unhinged is fast paced and it's a race against, not time (because there's never enough of that anyways) but a Queen hell bent on revenge. What can be more action packed?
And the ending. No. I can't. My mind can not comprehend it at all. Just...you'll see.

What's truly the best thing about this series is how the worldbuilding is so uniquely magnificent and so hauntingly gothic, you can't help but fall in love with it (or the guys.) The worldbuilding just hooks you in, the characters enrapture you, and then you just fall in love with the entire thing.
My two words to sum up the review? Read it. 

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Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

Goodreads Blurb

After a year of hard labor in the Salt Mines of Endovier, eighteen-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien has won the king's contest to become the new royal assassin. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown – a secret she hides from even her most intimate confidantes.
Keeping up the deadly charade—while pretending to do the king's bidding—will test her in frightening new ways, especially when she's given a task that could jeopardize everything she's come to care for. And there are far more dangerous forces gathering on the horizon -- forces that threaten to destroy her entire world, and will surely force Celaena to make a choice. 
Where do the assassin’s loyalties lie, and who is she most willing to fight for?

There are no words for how much I loved this sequel. In fact, I honestly hadn't planned on writing a review at all...and then I finished it. All. The. Feels.

First of all, Celaena has become my favorite heroine ever. She's complex in a way I've never seen and I love her so absolutely much. Cold, arrogant, and completely badass, she's the kind of heroine we don't run into often. But then there's her softer side, the one that loves books and clothes, and is always in desperate need for a sweet.
And yet, she's always on the edge, waiting for something to tip her over. And, well, when it did, my heart hurt for her. This was the Celaena everyone else had heard about, the ruthless one that crept in the shadows. Was it wrong that I sort of loved this version of her too though?

Much to my chagrin, there's...there's no love triangle in this. Which, I guess, is a good thing, except I was on the wrong side of it. Dorian didn't really pop up as much as I wanted, and I will always be on his side.
Chaol and Celaena's relationship was sweet and it was deeply explored in Crown of Midnight (a little too much perhaps?) and I loved how they were both independent but had a small weakness when it came to each other.
We learn a lot more about Chaol than before and it turns out it's not only Celaena who's deciding where her loyalties lie. Chaol's been loyal to his kingdom for years, but Celaena makes him ask questions he doesn't really know the answers to.

As for the plot, there are no words for how much I loved it. While the main focus seemed to be the romance, there were still so many creepy happenings, more riddles, more clues, and, well, more blood. There were some twists that shocked me to the core, and others that made me giggle hysterically. The giant twist was predictable to me though, but I still sort of loved it. And it explained so much about Celaena. Although, you know, it's making me practically dying for book three.

There are honestly no words for how much I loved Crown of Midnight and it absolutely killed me every time I had to close the book for classes. (School, getting in the way of bookish needs since 1234) It's a brilliant sequel, enthralling from the first page. Maas is practically magical in the way she tells Celaena's story and you can't help but fall in love with all our characters and the world all over again.
I'll just be here, rocking in my corner, waiting for book three.

Pages: 432

Genre: High Fantasy

Series: Throne of Glass #2

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's

Release Date: Aug 27, 2013

Rating: 10/5 stars

Death and the Girl He Loves by Darynda Jones

Pages: 272

Genre: Paranormal

Series: Darklight #3

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Release Date: Oct 8, 2013

The fate of the world is not something a girl wants on her shoulders, and that is especially true for Lorelei McAlister. Unfortunately for her, that is exactly where the world’s fate has decided to take up residence. Lorelei has seen firsthand the horrors that lie beneath our everyday world. And those horrors are getting her friends killed. Because of this, she agrees to leave the sanctity of her hometown and is sent to a different world entirely. A boarding school. But even here she is being watched. Someone knows what she is. What she carries inside her soul. And on top of that she’s seeing visions. This is nothing new for Lorelei. But these visions are something more: death, destruction, and the end of the world. Lorelei must face the fact that there are people who want her dead, and no matter where she goes, no matter how far she runs, the lives of her friends and family are in mortal peril. Lucky for her, her friends and family include the handsome Angel of Death, a fiercely protective half-angel, and a ragtag group of loyal supporters who aren’t afraid to get a little dirty in the name of fighting pure evil.

First of all I want to say...guess who's quoted in this book? THAT'S RIGHT. MOI. But of course that doesn't affect my opinions on this book! (But I will say that this series is definitely one to read if you're looking for a paranormal romance that's not so typical.)

The beginning is actually a bit slow, since we get a full recap of everything that happened in the last two books--which was great since I actually needed a recap! I did feel like, to anyone who remembered all the happenings in the prequels, would find it completely redundant--even I felt like it was a bit over explained. 

After our initial info-dump though, things definitely started to speed up--and rather quickly! Already there's a threat on Lorelei's life, spicing things up, but that's not even the main conflict. Soon Lorelei is back in New Mexico and ready (or not so ready). I wasn't the biggest fan of Lorelei in this book, though the other elements did make up for most of it. Lore seemed to shrink back from her fate, something that, while understandable, just doesn't work in YA books. She just kept saying she couldn't do it, she didn't believe in herself, no matter that everyone else did. 
But the other characters? Oh, it was wonderful seeing our old gang with all their gorgeous personalities. And they haven't changed a bit. It was fun seeing these characters I haven't read about in what seems like forever and I can't believe I forgot how much I loved them! They're all so quirky and you really can't help but fall in love with them again. 

The plot is rather brilliant, especially for the closing of a trilogy. Somehow, I feel like barely anything happened, when so much did--it just passed by in a blur! Darynda Jones really has a unique type of writing that just leaves you immersed in the story. While a lot of important events occur throughout the plot, Jones still manages to keep her signature snark in all her characters, making me laugh out loud (at the most inappropriate times too!)
And the ending! At first I wasn't the biggest fan of it, but as I reread it...it really is perfect for the book, and a beautiful conclusion to the story! 

I can't really say much on romance sinc ethat wasn't really the main issue this time around, either! But yes, Jared shows up. And yes, he's as adorable as ever. And yes. Their ending is just as amazing as the story's. (Also? I totally ship Cameron and Brooke)

An honest to God gorgeous conclusion to the trilogy, Death and the Girl He Loves blew me away. I definitely recommend this series to anyone who wants to take a break from all the contemporary and dystopian and read a bit of paranormal romance again! 

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Time After Time by Tamara Ireland Stone

Goodreads Blurb

Calling Anna and Bennett’s romance long distance is an understatement: she’s from 1995 Chicago and he’s a time traveler from 2012 San Francisco. The two of them never should have met, but they did. They fell in love, even though they knew they shouldn't. And they found a way to stay together, against all odds. 
It’s not a perfect arrangement, though, with Bennett unable to stay in the past for more than brief visits, skipping out on big chunks of his present in order to be with Anna in hers. They each are confident that they’ll find a way to make things work...until Bennett witnesses a single event he never should have seen (and certainly never expected to). Will the decisions he makes from that point on cement a future he doesn't want?

Oh Anna and Bennett, our time torn couple. How I love your sweet and adorable and heart rendering romance.

I love Time After Time so much more than Time Between Us (although you have to love Anna's POV!). I have no idea why, but I just did and their romance makes me want to cuddle them both, then live in a hole because I will never have as sweet a relationship as them.

Then again, I'll never have one as complicated either, so there's that.

Obviously the romance is the focus point of the book, and it's complexity. Bennett's been breaking a few of his rules and he may have seen something that makes reality crash down. And when it does, and what he did...my heart sort of (read: really) broke apart. Time After Time is one of those books that leads you on, makes you think everything is fine and dandy, before it gives you a blow to the chest that absolutely kills you. There were so many times I worried over the question "What if he can't go back again?" and there was just a lump in my throat. That's how much I loved the couple.

They were both so cute together and they understood each other so well too. Anna rarely got angry over the fact that Bennett couldn't always be there. She accepted it and fought for him, loving him for being him. And Bennett just...well, he loved Anna and it was as simple as that. It's that typical-not-so-typical teenage romance you have to love.

Stone does a wonderful job with character building and we can definitely relate to a few of our characters. Anna, Bennett, Brooke, even Justin with his crush. They're each complex characters and seeing how each of them have changed, even subtly, was great! We meet Brooke as a person for the first time instead of just a missing sister, and I loved how she interacted with her parents and Bennett, even Anna. She was a fabulous sister, and now I totally want to steal her!

Time After Time is a brilliant sequel that, while has a sci-fi element, has that contemporary feel to it that brings out a nostalgic side of you. It'll make you love the characters more than you did before and break your heart a few times before delivering the perfect ending.

Pages: 368

Genre: Contemporary/Romance

Series: Time Between Us #2

Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Release Date: Oct 8, 2013

Rating: 4.5

Revelations by J.A. Souders

Goodreads Blurb

Six weeks ago, Evelyn Winters was locked away in Elysium, a city hidden miles beneath the sea, brainwashed into submission. With the help of Gavin, she fought free of her captors and the fog in her own mind. He took her back with him to the Surface, a world she's never known. Now she will begin a new life. 
But her past is closer than she thinks...

Revelations was one of my more anticipated books of 2013, since I loved Renegade so much! And with the ending of Renegade? Hell yes I wanted to get my hands on this.

Diving right into the review, I found that while I did miss the world of Elysium, Mother always chasing at our characters' heels, Revelations was intriguing and chilling in it's own way--just in a different way than Renegade's. We're introduced to the Surface which we now know for sure is a futuristic world and seeing Souders perform her worldbuilding magic here too was stunning. There are certain bits of Renegade and Revelations you can see sort of reflect each other and it was unbelievably fun figuring it out as you went along.

The number one thing I loved about Revelations was how bits and pieces of Renegade, of Elysium, would sneak into Evie's brain. She would say something that we could recognize immediately or she would do something that she'd done before. I always did love amnesia stories--but knowing everything our character's forgotten? I never realized how much the anticipation can kill you! You just keep hoping, waiting, for her to remember everything. And does she?

Evie is a rather fascinating character, even with her memories gone. In some ways, she's more innocent before, without her memories of bloodshed and escape, but we can clearly see the wear on tear on her with not remembering anything. (At times, I just wanted to shove Renegade in her hands and tell her to read anything--but of course I couldn't do that.) Evie is still a fabulous character though. While she could be called a damsel in distress character, her personality just drew her as a strong and independent character--not quite the DID after all.

We are introduced to a new character--Asher. I'll admit, I was completely worried about a love triangle at first. After all, two hot guys? And Evie's traveling with both of them while having a ton of alone time with Asher? Oh yes, I was wary. But REST ASSURED. There's no love triangle here--instead we get a brother like figure who would do anything for Evie--just not quite the same way as Gavin.
Speaking of Gavin, we would get little bits and pieces from his POV and it was rather fascinating putting it all together. His relationship with Evie was absolutely adorable and you could see how fiercely they loved each other, and how desperate Gavin was to keep Evie safe.

The plot was absolutely thrilling. I was always anxious to find out what would happen next and there are some undeniably creepy things that go on. It turns out the world of Elysium hasn't changed much--and Mother? She's still as psychotic as ever, and still the perfect villain. We learn more about Evie's past, and just a bit more about Mother. And the ending? Oh God.
J.A. Souders writes a heart pounding plot in Revelations, making it almost as action packed as Renegade while also introducing us to the new addition to Evie and Gavin's little duo.

Not suffering from Sequel Syndrome at all, Revelations is a brilliant book to continue the series! I'm dying to read the third one and anxious to find out what's next for our characters in their world. A seriously amazing series, I can't stop recommending this to everyone!

Pages: 352

Genre: Sci-fi

Series: Renegade #2

Publisher: Tor Teen

Release Date: Nov 5, 2013
Rating: 4.5 stars