The Lost Girl by Sangu Madanna

Goodreads Blurb

Eva's life is not her own. She is a creation, an abomination--an echo. She was made by the Weavers as a copy of someone else, expected to replace a girl named Amarra, her "other," if she ever died. Eva spends every day studying that girl from far away, learning what Amarra does, what she eats, what it's like to kiss her boyfriend, Ray. So when Amarra is killed in a car crash, Eva should be ready.
But sixteen years of studying never prepared her for this.
Now she must abandon everything and everyone she's ever known--the guardians who raised her, the boy she's forbidden to love--to move to India and convince the world that Amarra is still alive.
What Eva finds is a grief-stricken family; parents unsure how to handle this echo they thought they wanted; and Ray, who knew every detail, every contour of Amarra. And when Eva is unexpectedly dealt a fatal blow that will change her existence forever, she is forced to choose: Stay and live out her years as a copy or leave and risk it all for the freedom to be an original. To be Eva.

The Lost Girl was, in all intents and purposes, a great read that definitely made an impression. But did I absolutely love it like I did others? No, not quite.But it was an amazing book that I did enjoy and, maybe did love the second half!

The Lost Girl was actually pretty slow for me in the first half and I honestly almost put it down.But I decided to push on and continue it and SO glad I did! After we meet Ray things really get to pick up. Because Ray, out of all people, was the closest one to Amarra, and he would be the first one who would be able to figure out that Eva isn't Amarra. That Eva is an echo. And *SPOILER!* he does. That's when things really picked up and I was almost desperate to find out how it ended. There were so many ways this book could go, and I loved the way it did!

Eva did annoy me for a single moment when she was leaving England and she ran to hug Sean. It was sweet! But I couldn't help a little trickle of irritation sneak in.That one thing could get her killed! WHAT WAS SHE THINKING?! But after that one anger moment, I loved her. She was trying to stay alive, but to survive as well. And despite what everyone said, she was human. Just because she wasn't born like a regular one doesn't mean she wasn't one. She had her flaws--she was stubborn and strong willed and she could be cruel if it meant surviving. But she wanted to live and I think that was the biggest tip off and I wanted to smack a lot of secondary characters for thinking of her like an empty machine or something.

The romance actually surprised me and that is one of possibly the hardest things to do in YA fiction nowadays without a solid love triangle. And no, this was not  a solid love triangle. I was thinking "Oh, she'll end up with Sean." then "No no, she'll end up falling in love with Ray and then he'll find out she's not the real Amarra and break her heart, then he'll fall in love with the real Eva then..." and then "Nah, maybe it IS Sean..." And who she did end up with satisfied me because the other guy was a complete butthole to her. 

The plot was, like I said, slow in the beginning but later picked up at a speed I enjoyed and had me flipping rapidly through the pages. I had no idea what would happen next because Eva was just completely unpredictable! And when we get a closer look at the Weavers, I also realized just how...different they each were. Matthew was actually my favorite character, secondary and otherwise. He was hilarious to read about and, have no doubts, was actually at least the smallest bit human to make us love him. 

I was thinking, though, how many open strands there are for a stand alone book. I have so many questions unanswered but it doesn't seem like we'll be getting a sequel!

The Lost Girl was really a great read that will make you wonder yourself--What really makes us human and what makes us not? The Lost Girl is just the kind of book you need to read if you just need a fun story that really does make you wonder these things. Quick paced and wonderful, it will captivate you!

Pages: 432

Series: Stand alone

Genre: Sci-fi

Publisher: Balzer+Bray

Release Date: August 28, 2012

Rating: 4 stars

Book Haul + Weekly Recap

OMG AWESOME WEEK. But either Harper lied to me about sending me The Elite or it got lost. I *HOPE* it's the second one. BUT STILL. SQUEE.

Bought

For Review

Borrowed

Isn't this so exciting? SQUEE IT'S SO EXCITING. Books shown in the first picture-
The Archived by Victoria Schwab
Poison by Bridget Zinn
My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick
Send Me a Sign by Tiffany Schmidt
The Rules of Disappearing by Ashley Eltson
Everbound by Brodi Ashton
Slated by Teri Terry 
Shadowlands by Kate Brian
The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen
OMG! I LOVE YOU AMAZON. It shipped 3 days early!!! I AM SO PSYCHED FOR ALL OF THESE. Except Send Me a Sign. WHICH I READ AND LOVED. Shadowlands sounds TERRIFYING and Slated just sounds AMAZING. The Archived has so many amazing things said about it and EVERBOUND IS EVERBOUND.
MY FIRST HYPERION BOOKS ARE THESE TWO AWESOME ONES! Reading The Rules of Disappearing and LOVING IT! Poison has been on my wishlist for sooooo long!
I may have borrowed this from a friend who stole this from her younger brother. LOVED this!


Weekly Recap
Just for Fun
Notes From Ghost Town by Kate Ellison
Waiting on Wednesday
Uses for Boys by Erica Lorraine Scheidt

Sorry!

WELL, it seems I've been way too busy lately to blog or even answer these few questions for the Venom Readalong! I WILL DO NEXT WEEK'S ONE THOUGH. I SWEAR.

! I don't even KNOW why! Things are normal so why I suddenly have less time is BEYOND me.

Well, okay. So I may have decided that I should take a shot at writing even if my English teacher gave me a failing score on my short story. BUT I HAD THIS BRILLIANT IDEA.

But no worries, blogging always comes first since it's one thing I don't fail at!

Uses for Boys by Erica Lorraine Scheidt

Goodreads Blurb

Anna remembers a time before boys, when she was little and everything made sense. When she and her mom were a family, just the two of them against the world. But now her mom is gone most of the time, chasing the next marriage, bringing home the next stepfather. Anna is left on her own—until she discovers that she can make boys her family. From Desmond to Joey, Todd to Sam, Anna learns that if you give boys what they want, you can get what you need. But the price is high—the other kids make fun of her; the girls call her a slut. Anna's new friend, Toy, seems to have found a way around the loneliness, but Toy has her own secrets that even Anna can't know.
Then comes Sam. When Anna actually meets a boy who is more than just useful, whose family eats dinner together, laughs, and tells stories, the truth about love becomes clear. And she finally learns how it feels to have something to lose—and something to offer. 

I went into this having no expectations whatsoever, so imagine my shock when it turned out to be an amazing novel that I ended up loving!

My only complaint was that this...was...graphic. Incredibly so at times. And for a YA book...that was just, a bit too much. Other than that, I don't really have any other negative feelings besides that at times it was slow.

In the beginning, you see how Anna was slowly broken down, without even knowing it. She didn't know what was different, what was wrong, not consciously at least. She was...a complicated character that while I couldn't really connect with her, I could understand her. And she really...she really was broken and she couldn't see it. It just...hurt in a way that can't be explained, but I sympathized with her, deeply so. She wasn't solving her problems in any way by doing what she did, and honestly that was a little annoying, but it was her way to cope. She just didn't learn any different.

The writing in this was completely beautiful and it was just stunning. The way this story unfolds is definitely like poetry (but no, it's not in those weird literal poetry form paragraphs!) and I just fell in love with the story. It was emotional in a way that it doesn't make you cry, but it makes you think about your place in your family and in society itself.

Sam, honestly, wasn't very important until 5/6 into the book, near the end. So what we read is really Anna's path towards the person she's wanted to be and the family she's always wanted. Sam was just there to push her on her way, and that wasn't necessary till the end. So no, this isn't really a love story at all, is it?

Honestly, if you're looking for a light fluff, this seriously isn't the book for you. This is a brutally honest book that will make you not only look at the world differently, but yourself. I think I'd recommend this for fans of 13 Reasons Why and even for those who didn't really love it (like I did...)

Pages: 240

Genre: Contemporary/Mature YA

Series: Stand alone

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Release Date: January 15, 2013

Rating: 3.5-->4 stars

Waiting on Wednesday

Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins

Anna Whitt, the daughter of a guardian angel and a demon, promised herself she’d never do the work of her father—polluting souls. She’d been naive to make such a vow. She’d been naive about a lot of things. 

Haunted by demon whisperers, Anna does whatever she can to survive, even if it means embracing her dark side and earning an unwanted reputation as her school’s party girl. Her life has never looked more bleak. And all the while there’s Kaidan Rowe, son of the Duke of Lust, plaguing her heart and mind.

When an unexpected lost message from the angels surfaces, Anna finds herself traveling the globe with Kopano, son of Wrath, in an attempt to gain support of fellow Nephilim and give them hope for the first time. It soon becomes clear that whatever freedoms Anna and the rest of the Neph are hoping to win will not be gained without a fight. Until then, Anna and Kaidan must put aside the issues between them, overcome the steamiest of temptations yet, and face the ultimate question: is loving someone worth risking their life?

Sweet Evil was one of my Fictious Freakouts so it's about time that this made an appearance on my WoW! But even if it wasn't, the fact that there's more Kaidan makes me squee! I can't wait for this! Also--Kopano? What is it with Anna and her going on road trips with some hot Neph? ;) But I really can't wait for this and I'm desperately hoping it won't be a sequel syndrome book! If it is I will be sorely disappointed...but I'm 80% sure it won't be! Can't wait! April can't come soon enough!

Notes From Ghost Town by Kate Ellison

Goodreads Blurb

They say first love never dies...
From critically acclaimed author Kate Ellison comes a heartbreaking mystery of mental illness, unspoken love, and murder. When sixteen-year-old artist Olivia Tithe is visited by the ghost of her first love, Lucas Stern, it's only through scattered images and notes left behind that she can unravel the mystery of his death. 
There's a catch: Olivia has gone colorblind, and there's a good chance she's losing her mind completely--just like her mother did. How else to explain seeing (and falling in love all over again with) someone who isn't really there?
With the murder trial looming just nine days away, Olivia must follow her heart to the truth, no matter how painful. It's the only way she can save herself.

This book was...interesting. I have so many conflicted feelings about this! On one hand it was amazing, with absolutely gorgeous writing, a likeable love interest, with a decent plot, but on the other hand it was predictable and didn't focus on the mystery as much as I would've liked. Not to mention that her colorblindness doesn't seem to be a key role or anything and while I was hoping for one of those character-you-can't-trust stories, I didn't get it.

The writing was simply stunning! There were so many gorgeous examples, but I decided to choose this one since I think it's my favorite of all (and it's actually the first paragraph too.)
"Think about a moment, a little centimeter of time you'd happily exist in forever, if time could be laid out along the spine of a ruler. Maybe it haunts you in that blue inch of half consciousness just before you're fully awake."
Instantly I fell in love and I think that's when my hopes went soaring. The writing flowed well and I found myself falling deeper and deeper into the lull of these words. If I had an audio version, I bet I'd be listening to it forever!

As a mystery, this book was disappointing, but as a contemporary and realistic fiction, this book had it all. I loved (this will sound mean) how her life just fell apart all at once, and showing how delicate family and friend bonds can be. I loved how Olivia dealt with these problems, truthfully, and I just loved the book as a whole. It shows how a seemingly great, if not perfect, life can spiral so quickly out of control and how it's best to let go.

As for the romance, is there a love triangle? Not really. Because Stern is...dead. And Olivia knows that. So while she does still have feelings for him, I got the vibe that she knew she couldn't really do anything about them besides telling her that she really did love him. Then there's Austin who, while I did love him, was a stereotypical character--hot, rich, a bit of a player, smug, and interested? I think we've seen that. But I have to admit, I find them a lot better than sweet innocent guys. I don't know, I'm weird like that! But the romance is sweet and it has a bit of a twist!

As for the mystery part, it wasn't really a mystery since it was predictable, sadly. Right when we met the culprit, my mind was jogging, thinking, "He/she's going to be important...". so while it was an enjoyable read, it didn't necessarily have me at the edge of my seat. If it wasn't as obvious, I'm sure I would've completely adored this book! But with the ARC, I just couldn't love it as much as I wanted.

By the end, I had a thousand questions left unanswered, but...I liked it. The reason for Olivia's colorblindness was never explained, but the way this conflict was resolved symbolized something, though I can't tell you just yet! Something that irritated me, though was that *SPOILER* Almost everything becomes a Happy-Ever-After and I was disappointed by that. It sort of ruined the ending, and as evil as it seems, I honestly think some things should've been left as a tragedy rather than a miracle.

Pages: 336
Genre: Mystery/Paranormal
Series: Stand alone
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Release Date: February 12
Rating: 3.5--->3 stars