Copperhead by Tina Connolly

Goodreads Blurb

Helen Huntingdon is beautiful—so beautiful she has to wear an iron mask.

Six months ago her sister Jane uncovered a fey plot to take over the city. Too late for Helen, who opted for fey beauty in her face—and now has to cover her face with iron so she won’t be taken over, her personality erased by the bodiless fey.

Not that Helen would mind that some days. Stuck in a marriage with the wealthy and controlling Alistair, she lives at the edges of her life, secretly helping Jane remove the dangerous fey beauty from the wealthy society women who paid for it. But when the chancy procedure turns deadly, Jane goes missing—and is implicated in a murder.

Meanwhile, Alistair’s influential clique Copperhead—whose emblem is the poisonous copperhead hydra—is out to restore humans to their “rightful” place, even to the point of destroying the dwarvven who have always been allies.

Helen is determined to find her missing sister, as well as continue the good fight against the fey. But when that pits her against her own husband—and when she meets an enigmatic young revolutionary—she’s pushed to discover how far she’ll bend society’s rules to do what’s right. It may be more than her beauty at stake. It may be her honor...and her heart.

I loved reading Ironskin last year, so I was pretty excited to start in on Copperhead. But, while it was a pretty good read, I just didn't feel it and it fell flat.
The concept of Copperhead, while fascinating, was disappointing, although I can't pinpoint the exact reason why. I'm not exactly the biggest fan of steampunk and, with more tech than Ironskin, it's possible that that's the reason. But it could also be that there were so many little things that just made me feel...awkward.

While Helen was a fierce character (and I loved that she knew where her loyalties lay) it just irritated me that there didn't seem to be much difference otherwise between Jane's POV and Helen's, as far as I could remember. Jane was also written out as a bit of a boor compared to her own novel, and that was another little thing that went up against the book.
Then again, Helen was a pretty badass character, so I'm trying to figure out if it balanced out or not.

The romance in the story was...hmm. There was honestly no need for it whatsoever and it was completely rushed. They only met each other a handful of times and yet, nearing the end, they were young and in love. Very very rushed, especially considering the fact that they don't really talk/meet until halfway through the book.
Besides driving the plot on, but I really really felt like the story would've gone on a lot smoother without the romance (So honestly, it didn't even drive the plot on that much, so I'm not quite sure...why it was there? Except perhaps, to make the story more YA.)

I really do love the worldbuilding and all the secrets behind Copperhead was absolutely fascinating. The plot was completely unpredictable and I was shocked more than a few times. I have to hand it to Connolly for writing a thrilling plot that had me at the edge of my seat in the second half. It was a bit hard to get into at first, but after a while, I started to love it more! (Although some of the stuff I highlighted before did still irritate me.)
My last complaint is that the ending seemed too rushed, but it was creative nonetheless!


Pages: 304

Genre: Steampunk/Fantasy

Series: Ironskin #2

Publisher: Tor Teen

Release Date: Oct 1, 2013
Rating: 2 Stars

Tandem by Anna Jarzab

Goodreads Blurb

Everything repeats.You. Your best friend. Every person you know.Many worlds. Many lives--infinite possibilities.Welcome to the multiverse.Sixteen-year-old Sasha Lawson has only ever known one small, ordinary life. When she was young, she loved her grandfather's stories of parallel worlds inhabited by girls who looked like her but led totally different lives. Sasha never believed such worlds were real--until now, when she finds herself thrust into one against her will.To prevent imminent war, Sasha must slip into the life of an alternate version of herself, a princess who has vanished on the eve of her arranged marriage. If Sasha succeeds in fooling everyone, she will be returned home; if she fails, she'll be trapped in another girl's life forever. As time runs out, Sasha finds herself torn between two worlds, two lives, and two young men vying for her love--one who knows her secret, and one who thinks she's someone she's not.

Tandem was....weird. Or, well, I had a lot of mixed feelings about it at least. There were so so so many terrible things about it, but somehow the overall read...well, it was decent.

Ever since I'd heard of the book, I'd been absolutely dying for it. I'm such a sucker for parallel worlds. SO when I actually read it...well, it was disappointing to say the least. There were so many plot holes and a ton of contradicting or ridiculous things. But the second half was actually pretty good, despite all it's problems, and I couldn't help but get pulled into the thickening plot!

The first thing that irritated me was...well, the writing. After a while I got used to it, but it still irritated me in the beginning. We were info dumped in the beginning and after that, we just get a whole bunch of needless information and it started to grate on my nerves before I got used to it.

The second? Insta love. Our main character says that her crush on Grant (the love interest's double.) faded away, but suddenly he talks to her once and she's all fluttery and crushing again and I found that sort of ridiculous. And was it not suspicious to her that he asked her out within ten minutes of talking to her?
And then on their first date, Sasha claims to be in love with him, falling hard, and suddenly having deep talks. On their first date--only the second time they've talked. Yeah, wasn't the biggest fan.

The story was actually pretty typical and cliche and I can't say I was the biggest fan of it. Still on the romance, I found it really annoying how despite everything, Sasha just fell in love with Thomas almost instantly. Sure, she seemed angry, but there was still a "pull" that I really wanted to cut. That, along with the fact that I'm pretty sure there's a love triangle in this...well. Wait. More than one? Julianna. Callum. Grant (the real one.). Thomas. Sasha...what.

And Sasha herself was just...ugh. She was supposed to be stubborn, strong, but instead she just came off as annoying and naive. When she should've been relatable and understanding, she was oblivious and ignorant. I wanted to choke her. That is all.

But despite all those complaints, there's just something about Tandem that I loved. I don't know what it is. Maybe it's the setting, the worldbuilding (which, while a bit shabby, still pretty perfect.), but there's a certain quality about the story that makes me love it more than I usually would. I suppose that after the first half, all these things got better or I got used to them, but either way, Tandem was still a pretty decent read.

Which is so weird.

But yeah.

Pages: 428

Genre: Sci-fi/Romance

Series: Many Worlds Trilogy #1

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Release Date: Oct 8, 2013
Rating: 3 Stars

Waiting on Wednesday

Unhinged by A.G. Howard

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.

Yes I have read this. Yes I'm still posting this. YES IT IS TRULY AMAZING. But since it's not released yet and it's THE CREEPIEST THING EVER. I thought why not just leave it up right?

PRE-READ

Oh my God. This is WAYYYYY overdue! I hate my scheduling sometimes lol! BUT EEP. I LOVE THE COVER FIRST OF ALL SINCE IT'S THE BETTER OF THE SPLINTERED GUYS, MORPHEUS. AND OMG I LOVED SPLINTERED! So much that I named it my 2012 Favorite! SO much love for this series and I can NOT wait for Unhinged! The cover, first of all, is going to match PERFECTLY with Splintered, thank God, and the two characters on the covers are so completely perfect for each other! I can NOT WAIT to head back into Wonderland and see all our old friends again! >:) IT'S TIME TO GET MAD.

Also, we all know she's TOTALLY going to end up with Morph. TOTALLY.

Cutting Room Floor by Dawn Klehr

Goodreads Blurb

Behind-the-scenes secrets could turn deadly for Desmond and Riley
Life in the Heights has never been easy for seventeen-year-old Riley Frost, but when she's publicly dumped and outed at the same time, she becomes an immediate social outcast at her high school. So Riley swears off romance and throws herself into solving the shocking murder of her favorite teacher, Ms. Dunn.
Riley turns to her best friend, budding filmmaker Desmond Brandt, for help. What she doesn't know is that Dez has been secretly directing her life, blackmailing her friends, and hoping his manipulations will make her love him. When his schemes go too far, Dez's web of lies threatens to destroy both of their lives.

Cutting Room Floor sounding amazing and thrilling, but I ended up having a lot of rather conflicted feelings about it.

I loved that Riley seemed confused about herself and her wants, something that teens go through, and in the process also making her a rather relatable character. She was still trying to find herself and know who she was and that made her feel real, but beyond her confusion, Riley really wasn't an...ideal character.
She decided to accuse and avoid her supposed best friend (besides Dez) based on a random video and, despite all her friend's evidence against Dez, always ridiculed and laughed against any accusations against him. She never tried to ask why someone broke up with her either, something I found a) unrealistic or b) stupid. It irritated me that she was so susceptible to Dez's lies and never really thought that hey, maybe there was something Dez was hiding.

Dez was an interesting character. His mind was complex and twisted--definitely a well written character! I could never really trust his POV because of his obsession with Rye and how he viewed anyone even remotely close to her. While I didn't understand his actions (actually, some of them disgusted me) he honestly seemed to think it was for Rye. I guess he really did love her, but the fact that he basically isolated her annoyed me. He did at least know it was wrong, but I felt like that took away from his twisted mind which would've honestly made things a lot more interesting. Instead it made him seem like a sort of pathetic stalker, but I did sympathize with him.

The way Klehr wrote the book was also amazing. At the beginning of every other chapter (i.e. Dez's POV) we would be introduced to the chapter like a script and it fit the book so well! It made the reading experience so much better and how it didn't overdo the details too much.

The mystery was definitely interesting, but it was overshadowed by the blackmailing Dez had going on. A few of our questions are still left unanswered by the end, but I can't deny that it was a thrilling read! While the mystery wasn't that quick paced, the drama made everything the more enthralling and I loved it. I didn't really expect the ending, though, so points for twists!

Fast paced and a quick read, Cutting Room Floor was a great read although I did have a few issues with it! If you like mystery thrillers, you may like this one, but I think it's more for the psychological thriller fans out there!

Pages: 336

Genre: Thriller/Mystery

Series: Standalone

Publisher: Flux

Release Date: Oct 8

Rating: 3.5

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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Just For Fun

OKAY FOLKS. Not typically the kind of post I usually put up here, but I (SURPRISE. No seriously, it was a massive surprise) had a freaking EMPTY SPACE for this date. And since I've been wanting to post something about NaNo, I decided why not?

SO THIS IS MY FIRST NANO. Ever. I've seen it around but I never thought I'd like writing because, you know, I suck at writing. But then NaNo came around and I was like "Screw it" and signed up. 

And I am falling behind.

By like, a lot. SO YEAH. 

But it's actually really fun because...well I was going to say I got to write a story that's in my head forever, but that's not true. I was going to, but the Beauty and the Beast retelling just wasn't doing it for me. So I wrote my contemporary. Then started my psychological/paranormal (Still thinking which one) thriller. So yeah. 

Crap. I was going to leave it at this, but this post is way to short. 

Umm, anyone want to see the beginnings of my stories then? (I'm way too fond of opening paragraphs!) 

All My Goodbyes

Dying hurt, but it was what came after that hurt the most.

It was more than just not being a live anymore. It was seeing people suffering with the guilt. It was seeing people move on so easily. It was seeing everyone try to get past their sorrow. It was everything that came after the word “died.”

I suppose what they said was true.

Being left behind is more painful than death.

But watching those left behind hurts so much more.

Red Queen Killer

                The first time I killed, my mom bought me a doll. I was eight.

The second time I killed, my dad gave me the knife. I was ten.

                The third time I killed, my brother tried to stop me. No one could find him after. I was thirteen.

                The fourth time I killed, it was a double kill and my parents were dead. I was fourteen.

                After that it was just me and my doll doing what my parents had taught me.

                Never show mercy, he said as he sharpened his blade. They’ll beg for their lives, claim that they were innocent, that they never hurt anyone. But when God carves their name out on our hands, we know that they’ll kill and hurt thousands. Better to cut one life short than a thousand more. Ignore the plea in their eyes, the shine of tears. You say more lives than the one you cut.

                Patience is a virtue, she said, twirling her knife and stabbing at the air. Killing for Him is an art. Don’t be some mystery faced killer. It may take months to get close to the target and you can hate him as much as you want. But be patient and get close to him. Do whatever it takes to bring him down. It’ll pay out in the end.

                Do what He says, they said, sitting in front of me. When you’ve learned all you can, names will be carved on your hand. It will hurt and you will bleed, but you will be able to make out the name. And you will hunt down, and you will manipulate, and you will kill that person. You’ll be guided, of course. But in the end, you must do the killing.

                And so I did. 

How's YOUR NaNo going?