Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger

Goodreads Blurb

Twelve-year-old Sophie Foster has a secret. She’s a Telepath—someone who hears the thoughts of everyone around her. It’s a talent she’s never known how to explain.
Everything changes the day she meets Fitz, a mysterious boy who appears out of nowhere and also reads minds. She discovers there’s a place she does belong, and that staying with her family will place her in grave danger. In the blink of an eye, Sophie is forced to leave behind everything and start a new life in a place that is vastly different from anything she has ever known.
Sophie has new rules to learn and new skills to master, and not everyone is thrilled that she has come “home.” There are secrets buried deep in Sophie’s memory—secrets about who she really is and why she was hidden among humans—that other people desperately want. Would even kill for.
In this page-turning debut, Shannon Messenger creates a riveting story where one girl must figure out why she is the key to her brand-new world, before the wrong person finds the answer first.

Oh my gosh. There are no words for how much I absolutely adore Keeper of the Lost Cities. It was an amazing debut and one of my favorite books by far--impressive, considering I rarely read Middle Grade in the first place! And honestly, if you crossed out Sophie's age, I could almost peg this as YA (except, of course, the cussing and stuff. So, umm, no worries there. I'm rambling. ON WITH THE REVIEW)

My friends can confirm that I was squealing so much while reading! There were plenty of hilarious parts (which I just had to read over and over and over, by the way) and I was beside myself with joy! From the blurb, Keeper of the Lost Cities, admittedly, sounded a bit typical, but OH, it was far from it! Talk about originality! I loved the world that Messenger created! It was well thought out, vivid, and detailed to the core! Not to mention the fascinating animals! (Seriously, guys. Can I have an imp?) I would've killed to see some artwork for this book! I especially loved Sophie's time at Foxfire because, while it did sometimes seem typical high school (or, umm, middle school? Migh School?), the classes and happenings were beyond fun. I loved discovering everything about Foxfire (Glowing fungus!) Academy and loved the classes and how Sophie handled them! 

I loved the plot! Somehow I managed to blow through all 500 pages of this in a day and still have free time on my hands. I really don't know how. What I do know is that the plot was definitely one of my favorite parts! While it's not action packed, we get to see Sophie adjust to the school, her new life, and deal with being the odd one out. Which, trust me guys, was even better than action-packed. It was just so fun seeing the world through her eyes! And we still had our action scenes that almost gave me a heart attack! Also, conspiracies, rebellions, social standings, and more. What more could a girl want in her plot?

Characters? Oh they were absolutely wonderful. They were well developed and they each had their own personalities! And I could definitely connect with Sophie. (Okay, so that may have something to do with us being near-same age.) I actually cried at a certain part in the book that was heartbreaking for Sophie and I pretty much squealed whenever she did. Whatever she did, I pretty much had the same reaction! And I just loved that as a reader! She was a strong character and I loved her for the sacrifices she was willing to make so that others weren't hurt. She was such a determined character who would really do anything she thought was right and would help people.

Our secondary and supporting characters were amazing as well! Grady, Edaline, Aldine, Dex, Keefe, Fitz, Biana, all of them! (Oh, and I fun learning their names too!) They were fun characters who supported Sophie and I loved all their personalities to the core. Especially Keefe, who's our resident bad boy! Fitz was a bit oblivious though, but it was endearing!

Relationships were a big part of the book, and the biggest one was definitely my favorite. Sophie and Grady and Edaline. I loved their familial bond and I loved how they were all there for each other. They had a sweet family relationship going and I loved them so much for caring about Sophie like their own daughter. 

Oh. And then, the crushes. I'm not really sure if Keefe had any crush on Sophie or anything, but I had to laugh at how oblivious Sophie was to a certain friend's crush and how Fitz was oblivious to her crush. I sort of wanted to push it, until I remembered this was an MG I was reading. Sorry! 

Keeper of the Lost Cities, I can safely say, was one of my favorite reads of the year! I can't wait for book 2 so I can fall even more in love with the characters and the world. Honestly? I have to recommend it for any fans of Harry Potter. So, umm, basically? All of you reading this right now should go grab a copy. Seriously.

Pages: 496

Genre: Fantasy/Middle Grade

Series: Keeper of the Lost Cities #1

Publisher: Aladdin

Release Date: Oct 2, 2012

Rating: 10/5 stars

Phoenix by Elizabeth Richards

Goodreads Blurb

Weeks after his crucifixion and rebirth as Phoenix, Ash Fisher believes his troubles are far behind him. He and Natalie are engaged and life seems good. But his happiness is short-lived when he receives a threatening visit from Purian Rose, who gives Ash an ultimatum: vote in favor of Rose’s Law permanently relegating Darklings to the wrong side of the wall or Natalie will be killed.
The decision seems obvious to Ash; he must save Natalie. But when Ash learns about The Tenth, a new and deadly concentration camp where the Darklings would be sent, the choice doesn’t seem so simple. Unable to ignore his conscience, Ash votes against Rose’s Law, signing Natalie’s death warrant and putting a troubled nation back into the throes of bloody battle.

First, I must squeal for one paragraph. I am sorry.

OMG. THIS WAS SO....ACK!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE I GOT AN ARC OF THIS. AND HOW GOOD THIS IS. WOW. THE WAY THIS WAS...ACK. BE STILL, MY HEART. THIS IS SO AMAZING.

That was like 1% of it, but I thought I'd better get on with the review, yeah?

Okay, I absolutely have to acknowledge the romance in this. The action and the rebellion were amazing of course, but the romance! Ash and Natalie and Elijah...and Giselle, but she appears and disappears quickly. (Thank God!) My heart broke so many times for Ash and Natalie. There's a giant twist that just changes everything between all of them, and I swear my heart dropped all the way through the Earth and made a beeline for China. I just...can't imagine. Natalie and Ash are so devoted to each other, every few pages I had to stop and smack a friend on the arm (whoever was closest to me. They can prove it.) and squeal! It was just so amazing, the way you could clearly see how in love they were. It's like a less messed up Romeo and Juliet! And Elijah. Elijah. How could you?!

Like I said, the action was definitely amazing itself. What Black City lacked, Phoenix definitely made up for it! There was definitely a lot more moving around than in Black City and there was definitely a lot more danger--and that's saying something! With President Rose a looming threat and both Sentry, Lupines, and citizens looking for them, Ash and Natalie were definitely in a fix. And yet, they somehow managed to survive it...until a giant betrayal I could never have expected!

Bringing me to another thing. There were a lot of betrayals I couldn't imagine, but with their lives' on the line, I guess some people forget to be selfless! But the first betrayal was a bit predictable. The second? Well. I think I may have died on the spot!
Phoenix was a book that while, at first was a bit slow, but quickly went uphill after the first few chapters or so! It's pacing was brilliant and I absolutely adored it!

Definitely not experiencing Sequel Syndrome or anything like that, Phoenix definitely surpassed my expectations and definitely beat Black City in the long run! Anyone who loved Black City will definitely adore this! Just like it's first book though, it's definitely one of those dystopias that the word dystopia perfectly describes!

Pages: 368
Genre: Dystopia/Romance
Series: Black City #2
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Release Date: June 4, 2013
Rating: 5 stars

Teen Book Con Recap (and Giveaway!)

OMG SATURDAY WAS AMAZING. SO this will be very long and very detailed. (Pics at the end)

and

I

have

a

giveaway

for you

at

the

end

You walk into the place and this is pretty much the first thing you see. A humongous line and...walls. I'm so descriptive. You basically wandered around for an hour, buying books, exploring, etc. At 10, all of us Teen Book Con-ers went to the auditorium where we saw the authors go on stage. AND A.G. HOWARDS PASSED RIGHT BY MY SEAT but I was way too shy to say hello. I then took stalker photos.

Chris Crutcher then took the stage and gave the Keynote speech. And it. Was. Hilarious. Here are my two favorite parts:
"My dad told me to save my allowance for bail money" (something like that)
The book that got him reading was To Kill a Mockingbird and he felt as though the main character was talking to him only (then he saw over 6 million copies sold and obviously it was cheating on him. But of course he didn't care.)

AND THEN IT WAS TIME FOR THE FIRST PANEL. The first panel I went to was Take Me Away which had A.G. Howard, Shannon Messenger, Lenore Appelhans, Tera Lynn Childs, Stacey Kade, and Sophie Jordan! They were a HILARIOUS group! They talked plotting, titles, covers, and gave writing tips. My favorite came from Lenore! "If all else fails, blow things up." They also admitted that authors were evil. THANK YOU. I asked "If you have a love triangle, and you HAD to choose, who would you pick?" but by then time ran out. But NEXT ANITA, YOU SHALL PICK MOTH. Oh, also. Two main questions an author should ask him/herself. What if? and What's the worst that can happen right now to my character?

Lunch. I was lonely, awkward, and probably looked like a creeper. Oh, don't mind me, I'll just go into all the rooms and come out the same time as you.

Yeah.

So anyways. Next panel? Addicted to Love! With Jennifer E. Smith, Tamara Ireland Stone, Justina Chen, Stacey Jay, and Mary Lindsey, they definitely named the panel accordingly! What did we find out? That MAry Lindsey was locked in a locker (by her own doing) in a game of hide and seek. They talked about characters and the relationships between their characters and gave more writing tips! Read as much as you can, observe people (in a non-stalker-kind-of-stalkery way!), and be inspired by everything, good and bad.

And then? Making the Best of it with Chris Crutcher, Jen Calonita, Kay Honeyman, Amy McNamara, Lauren Morrill, and Francisco X. Stork. The first question was actually pretty funny. For Stork, "Was it hard writing from a girl's POV?" Cue awkward silence for about 1 seconds! He then said that writing from an autism boy's head was easier. Girls are so complicated, aren't we? WE TALKED INSPIRATIONS! And then the "What if" question popped up! Amy Mcnamara says that she writes contemporary to "teach herself." and Kay Honeyman says that "Books are a good place to confront dangerous, but real things that can potentially happen" (or something like that). Chris Crutcher said "Write what you can imagine, and how far you can take yourself out there" and "A story is a great place to find a witness" or someone who shares your thoughts and experiences, etc.

And then. My favorite panel. Of. All. Times. They (Dan Krokos, Bethany Frenette, Claudia Gray, Leigh Bardugo, Jessica Brody, and Lisa McMann) were BEYOND hilarious. Seriously. I was laughing pretty much the ENTIRE time. Dan Krokos was definitely the MOST HILARIOUS. And I loved Jessica Brody's joke in the intro! "The first book is Unremembered, the second is Unforgotten, and the third is Untitled because it's Unwritten." LOVED. SO MUCH. I was laughing so much, I forgot to take notes. Whoops! But we've determined that Bethany is in love with ducks. Very in love.

ENDING SPEECH. I FORGOT EVERYTHING. Sharon Draper basically just read to us, really.

And then. The signings. LOVED seeing all the wonderful authors! And I may have nudged them and told them who I was! Amy Mcnamara, Lenore Appelhans, Shannon Messenger, and Anita remembered me! SO YAY! (After I, you know, gave them a nudge)

I also took pictures. And stole (not really) some swag.
This is everything I got


















And this, is everything you can get















(The rolled up thing is a poster of Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes! On the back is the cover for th sequel, Rebel Spring. All are signed except the stickers [I think]

Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Staler Photo #1

Stalker Photo #2

Stalker Photo #3

Keynote speech

There was also this. DRESS UP THE FAMOUS CHARACTERS

4/6 of the authors on Take Me Away (Panel #1 for me)

All authors except Anita.

Addicted to Love panel!

Making the Best of it panel

Power of Memory panel! HILARITY ALL AROUND

A signing line. There were many. MANY. And
Anita had pretty much the longest line
(throughout the entire signing!)

A book buying stack.

ANOTHER BOOK BUYING STACK

Me and Claudia Gray

Me and Lauren Morrill

Me and Stacey Kade

Me and Bethany Frenette

Me and Leigh Bardugo (ACK!)

Me and Lisa McMann

Me and Lauren Morrill

Me and Claudia Gray

Me and Tera Lynn Childs

Me and Lenore Appelhans!

OMG YOU GUYS. IT'S ME
AND ANITA/A.G. HOWARD

Me and Michelle Rowan

Me and Amy McNamara

Me and Shannon Messen-
ger! EEEEP!

Me and Tamara Ireland Stone

Me and Jennifer E. Smith

Me and Mary Lindsey (!!)

Me an Dan Krokos

Me and Sophie Jordan

Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans

 Goodreads Blurb

Three levels. Two loves. One choice. Debut novelist, Lenore Appelhans has written a thrilling otherworldly young adult novel about a place that exists between our world (Level 1) and what comes after life (Level 2).
'I pause to look around the hive - all the podlike chambers are lit up as the drones shoot up on memories ... I've wanted to get out of here before, but now the tight quarters start to choke me. There has to be more to death than this.'
Felicia Ward is dead. Trapped in a stark white afterlife limbo, she spends endless days replaying memories, of her family, friends, boyfriend ... and of the guy who broke her heart. The guy who has just broken into Level 2 to find her.
Felicia learns that a rebellion is brewing, and it seems she is the key. Suspended between heaven and earth, she must make a choice. Between two worlds, two lives and two loves.

Why hello you interestingly beautiful book.

The thing about Level 2 that surprised me was that it was balanced somewhat between fantasy and sci-fi, mythology and religion. It was...impressive, yet odd at the same time. It seemed sci-fi because of the "hives" and the gases, the reason why these rebels had had "powers", and all that, but at the same time it was fantasy because, well, angels. That is all I'm saying because you'll just have to read and find out for yourself! The religious/mythology thing is because the gases? They're from the rivers of Hades which is only mentioned in Greek Mythology--the Lethe, Acheron, and some others I can't remember, while most of the memories we see with Felicia take place in a church and we contemplate if there really is a Level 3 (i.e. heaven) or...down there. So honestly? This book is almost a contradiction in itself!

Speaking of contradictions, Julian and Neil. Oh. My. Gosh. I'm not sure if I should dislike both of them, or love both of them! I mean, they were both pretty adorable love interests (Forever Team Julian. Seriously. I seem to always be pulled toward the bad boys!), but...well Julian? Oh, he's a liar. I really wanted to kick his ass sometimes and the one time he decided to be honest was when I didn't want him to (near the end, with...hmm. I can't say.), but that made me love him more if anything! I just can't believe how Julian had played Autumn and I hurt for her, I really did. 

Neil, on the other hand, was perfect. Too perfect. A guy like that doesn't exist! I discovered no faults whatsoever and he always greeted everything with a smile and said the perfect things and he was just...flawless. And I really do hate when a girl thinks she's not good enough for a guy. If a guy thinks that way, then obviously he's not worth you. Oh my, did that just sound like one of those lines in a booklet?

And, I just want to say, there isn't really a love triangle at all! So anyone who was shying away from this book because of that, no fear! But I can't say why though, in case of spoilers!

I loved the memory flashbacks. Period. They were engaging and I loved how important they were to everyone in Level 2, not only because of credits. When reading them, I couldn't set the book down because I absolutely needed to know why this particular memory(ies) was important and why it was included. This is also how we mainly get a feel for Neil's character. 

I loved getting more in depth with the characters, and I think the way Lenore Appelhans wrote Level 2 gives us more...feeling for Felicia's character. I can't explain it, but I felt like I understood Felicia more than I have other characters. Not to say she wasn't annoying a few times, she was! But I think that's more my fault than the book's--for some reason I've been having trouble with characters lately...

The plot was sometimes overridden by the memories and it was a bit slow in the beginning, but it was still an enticing read that I almost read in one sitting (two, only because I realized it was midnight and I had school!) and couldn't get enough of! It was fast paced after a certain point and the ending!

Oh. My. Gosh. PLOT TWIST. I did not expect that...though I realize now I really should've!

Pages:288

Genre: Sci fi/Fantasy

Series: Level 2#1

Publisher: Simon and Schuster BFYR

Release Date: Jan 15, 2013

Rating: 3.5--->4 stars

Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone

Goodreads Blurb

Anna and Bennett were never supposed to meet: she lives in 1995 Chicago and he lives in 2012 San Francisco. But Bennett has the unique ability to travel through time and space, which brings him into Anna’s life, and with him a new world of adventure and possibility.
As their relationship deepens, the two face the reality that time may knock Bennett back to where he belongs, even as a devastating crisis throws everything they believe into question. Against a ticking clock, Anna and Bennett are forced to ask themselves how far they can push the bounds of fate, what consequences they can bear in order to stay together, and whether their love can stand the test of time.

(I've written half this review at 2 A.M., so sorry if it's random/out of order!)

Hmmm...I can't quite say I loved this, but I definitely liked it better than okay! I've always been a fan of time-traveling, the things that it can alter, the rules you'll have to follow if you don't want to accidently erase your existence. It's just...fascinating. But then, I've always been a bit of a science nerd!

So bad news first: I expected something...more when reading this, I think. It just wasn't quite what I was expecting (first of all, it was in Anna's POV! I was expecting Bennett's! But this was an awesome surprise. As cool as it is reading from a guy's POV, I prefer a girl's!) and there was some time traveling stuff that this book was missing...I don't know what I expected--more danger? Action? Something? 

I loved the prologue. Like, loved. It was just so mysterious and you immediately want to know what's in the letter, what happened, what went wrong. It just captured your attention and made you already fall in love with the story.
Actually, that description fits the whole story as well. The story was captivating and enchanting and I loved discovering more about Anna and Bennett's relationship and watching (or rather, reading) it grow. Because, ultimately, Time Between Us is a love story. There aren't any bad guys, any evil force. And it's about time I've read something like this again! 

Romantically, I really did lovelovelove this book. IOf course, we know it isn't insta-love; fate literally brought them together and they gradually fell in love. I can't say I absolutely loved the romance since I hated how Anna treated Bennett, but if Anna was less pushy? I'd definitely love the romance! As it was, I'd have to say I liked Time Between Us. I didn't love it, but it was still pretty good! Of course, the romance took center stage so that's pretty much how I felt about the rest of the book to, I think!

And then character-wise, Anna was just too pushy at one point and she was pretty much a hypocrite. And I, personally, am not a fan of those! Although, this was an ARC--maybe it got resolved?
But Bennett? He was just so sweet and caring and I loved reading about him! I would've liked a tad more development in his character, but besides that, loved.
My absolute favorite character, though, was without a doubt, Emma. She was just so fun and perky and she actually reminded me of a few of my best friends! Boy crazy, loves fashion, and always there? YES.

Since the romance took center stage in Time Between Us, I'm not sure what else to talk about...or whether that's just my night owl brain speaking...

Anyways, if you're looking for an action-filled read, look elsewhere! But if you're looking for a nice, adorably sweet romance? THIS is your book! It was an amazing book that stunned me with it's emotions and the feelings it made me feel and I have no doubt it'll do the same to you! If you're tired of those typical Paranormal and Fantasy books, those sci-fi and dystopias? TIME BETWEEN US better be your next pick! 

Pages: 384
Series: Stand alone
Genre: Sci-fi/Romance
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Release Date: October 9, 2012
Rating: 3.5--->4 stars