Book Review - We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

 We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

The basis of the book:

A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart. 

Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.

(Borrowed from Goodreads.com)

My thoughts of the book:

Skip this book. I fell into the hype and wanted to experience for myself. I had such high, high hopes for this book. Sadly this turned out to be my first DNF of the year. The story had such promise but was poorly executed. It felt like a story of rich people and rich people problems. I got halfway through when I realized that I simply didn't care what happened. Not one bit. For those who loved this book and sing its praises, yay for you. This book just wasn't meant for everyone, mainly me. 

I give this book 1 star out of 5.

Book Review - The One by Kiera Cass

The One by Kiera Cass

The basis of the book:

The Selection changed America Singer's life in ways she never could have imagined. Since she entered the competition to become the next princess of Illéa, America has struggled with her feelings for her first love, Aspen--and her growing attraction to Prince Maxon. Now she's made her choice . . . and she's prepared to fight for the future she wants.

Excerpt from Goodreads

 My thoughts on the book:

So. Many. FEELS! Will Prince Maxon choose America or will she ruin her chances by being too head-strong? She wants to stay true to herself but will it cost her everything?? And will she finally let go of Aspen?! So many questions that were finally answered!

Aspen... *sigh* I felt she hung on to that a lot longer than she should have. Aspen dumped her in book one, magically appeared at the palace as a guard, and made sure he was still in her life. I wish America wouldn't have lead him on as long as she did and he would have taken the hint sooner. That constant story line made me roll my eyes a little. I know, it added a depth to the story but it seemed too much. America had enough going on without him adding to the trouble.

Maxon... I was pulling for him to just be happy. Poor guy was tormented by his father, had the nation judging his every move, and women fighting to be the princess because they wanted the crown - not him. That sounds like a rough upbringing, not glamorous at all. 

America... She certainly was head-strong and stubborn. She had the best of intentions but didn't always think too clearly or think things through. (Uh... Diary, anyone?) 

I felt the last few chapters might have been rushed because it seems everything was suddenly over. Meaning Maxon made his decision and then a wedding was happening. What happened to the rebels? What happened to Maxon's plans to eliminate he castes? It left me with some unanswered questions, but only a couple. Overall I really liked the book and would probably read the series again in the future. 

I give this book 4 stars out of 5; the overall series 4 out of 5 stars. I would suggest this book/series to anyone and everyone. 

Book mail this week

I am not one for a lot of book mail throughout the week as I usually try to buy in stores (I am a little impatient sometimes), but this week I received to book mail!

Extraction by Stephanie Diaz

And she personalized it for me! My first and hopefully not my last.

I also received a book I won on Goodreads. 

Second Star by Alyssa Sheinmel

Anyone who has been on that site and tried to win something from the Giveaways section knows it can be difficult. I have only won 4 books, received 3. Thanks a lot, Goodreads.

What books did you get this week, or plan to get?

Book Review - The Elite by Kiera Cass

The Elite by Kiera Cass

The basis of this book:

Amanda Singer has made it to the next level of The Selection process and one step closer to possibly being a princess, she is now part of the top four, The Elite. America is having a difficult time opening up because her heart is still with Aspen, her ex-boyfriend from back home, who also happens to be a guard at the palace. Things at the palace aren't always fun and games as the contestants are starting to turn on one another, the castes are worse than ever with people still suffering, the king starts to show just how much he dislikes America, and the palace is almost always under attack from rebels. America is still her strong, stubborn self which causes her to always be on the edge of being sent home. Will she make it to the end and become Prince Maxon's bride?

My overall take of this book:

I really liked this book. I was cheering for America to make it to the Elite round of the contest and calm down a little bit. At times it seems she was just too stubborn or reacted differently to be the one who stood out. I was hoping that for just once she would slow down and do what she is told. I am all for being true to yourself and being individual but it almost seemed too much. 

The flow of the story went very well. I didn't find myself bored or asking when it would be over. I believed how well the characters interacted with each other and the emotions that flowed between America and Maxon. I wasn't left feeling as if there were questions that wouldn't be answered in the third book.What did bother me a little bit was how much America was hanging on to her relationship with Aspen. Why wouldn't she let that go? Why was she always trying to hang on to that when it wasn't the best thing for either? I wanted her to stop leading him on, bottom line. She leads him on a lot and that can become irritating. 

I gave this book 3.5 starts out of 5. Again, I liked how it flowed, the character development, and how it felt like a somewhat light-hearted story. 

Book Review - The Selection by Kiera Cass

The Selection - by Kiera Cass

Basis of the book:

America Singer wants a normal life and to marry her boyfriend, Aspen. Sadly that isn't how things work, nor is it that easy. Everyone is classified by a number, that number determines their jobs, pay, house, family size, EVERYTHING. Aspen is a lower caste (ranking) than America so that makes everything difficult and very secretive. It is certainly not wise for a female to marry down a class, she must set her sites higher. 

Prince Maxon wants to find love but has a hard time doing so because of who he is and the state of the nation. That is where The Selection comes in. America is hesitant because she doesn't want to try for the affection of the Prince when she has Aspen, but does anyways since she was pushed to sign up by Aspen and her mom. That is when America's world is turned upside down. She starts to see things with a fresh pair of eyes and an open mind, wondering if she could in fact be princess one day. Living life as a higher class means she takes nothing for granted when others do. Plus, is she willing to risk her heart to someone new?

How does it work? Think of Cinderella when the Prince sends out letters to all eligible ladies in the land. Girls between a certain age are encouraged to enter by filling out a form and having their picture taken. A committee selects 35 random girls to participate for the Prince's hand in marriage. Now think of The Bachelor, where all girls are battling to win Maxon's affections, and the crown. Things get down right cut throat at times.

My overall thoughts:

Doesn't that cover look like a great party? I want to go to that party! I would find another pose but regardless, looks like a great time! But after I started this book I realized that I probably don't want to be at this party.... Ever.

I was hesitant about the Selection book/series. Maybe it is the look of the girl sniffing her armpit (what is that pose about??) or that fact that most critics compared this to The Hunger Games (stop doing that!), but in the end I was HOOKED.  I couldn't get enough of this book. Will her heart stay with Aspen? Could she possibly love Maxon and become princess? This was NOT the sappy love story I feared it would be (Matched series, anyone?). I truly wanted to find out what would happen. I was one of the better reads I have found this year and so happy I picked up the series (yes, I wait until the entire series comes out before reading/buying...). 

I give this book 3.5 stars out of 5, it is such an enjoyable read. Can't wait to see what happens in the America/Aspen/Maxon love triangle!

Book Reveiw - Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick

FINALLY. The last book in the Hush, Hush saga.

The overall of this book:

Nora has finally discovered who she is and now has a to fulfill a vow to her dead father, The Black Hand. She is now in command and must lead his army of Nephilim into battle against the fallen angels (and win), but if she fails she and her mother will die. (No pressure, right?) Along the way Nora has rely on Patch a lot for guidance but is torn between wanting to fight for freedom for her people or doing what is right.Nora wants to do what is right but she also wants to be with Patch, how can she do that when he's the enemy?

My overall take of this book:

I couldn't wait for this story to be over. I felt it went on a book longer than it should have. I didn't feel there needed to be four books, it could have all been told in three. I still didn't feel a great connection between Nora and Patch, like a *real* connection/attraction to their relationship. I wasn't pulling for them to be together. I think Patch would have been better somewhere else but the heart wants what the heart wants, right? I didn't feel their relationship was a focus during this story, if really felt like a second, third, or fourth story line. It was more of her time with Vee, her best friend (whom I do not like at all).

I felt there were a lot of gaps in the story, holes big enough to drive a truck through. Some of the "main characters" showed up for a few pages and then disappeared for chapters at a time. Maybe they were just fillers to keep the story moving but the story didn't move very well. Nobody seems to care that Nora is never in school, not even her Mom. I didn't find that believable. At one point Nora had a job and only worked for one night then never again. Uh... huh? Also, in the first book the author made a huge deal about Nora being on iron pills but then never mentions them again through the last three books. C'mon... what good reader wouldn't notice something like that?

Honestly I was bored with this one. I was super excited to read this series because of the covers. *SIGH* Yes, I am one of those people that judges a book but the cover and I fell hard for this one. (Just look at that cover! It screams, "READ ME!") I'm here to tell you - DON'T. Pass on this one. You might be drawn to the battle of Heaven vs. Hell or Angels vs. Evil but you won't finish this feeling satisfied.

I give this book 2 out of 5 stars, and the overall series 2.5 stars. I will not be reading this one again and currently fighting the urge to sell the series to Half Price Books.

Book Review - Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick

Look at that cover... Just take a moment to take it in. Why? Because he cover is far better than the actual book and yet has NOTHING to do with it.

Silence is the third book in the Hush, Hush saga and was released in 2011. Regardless, it does still read like a current story. This book really is better than the first two and part of it makes you want more - more of Nora & Patch, more of this bizarre world, just more.

In Silence, Nora has just been returned from being kidnapped and suffering memory loss. It is a bit frustrating at times because she seems to make things far more difficult than they should be. Yes, short term memory loss is tough, but she just seems to make it harder for no reason. She struggles to remember Jev/Patch too much. She almost makes it too painful and unbelievable. It seems she just tries too hard, if that makes sense.

And don't get me started on her inner-monologuing. UGH. Enough of that already. I am starting to realize that it is just part of the author's writing style but it is still annoying.

Nora still has her never-there-for-her Mom, BFF Vee (still don't really like her), Scott, Marcie, and Marcie's dad to "help her" through her memory loss. Yes, these characters play a big part in the overall story (not her Mom...) but they don't seem to develop as characters as the story goes on. They don't seem to grow with the experiences or with life in general. I don't feel I connected with them.

Thankfully this is a quick read and was over before you know it. It does make you want to read the 4th book immediately to find out what happens but only to find out what happens. I don't feel the premise of the story remains focused on Nora and Patch, it feels it has shifted to Nora and her possible future. I thought this was supposed to be a YA romance? Not feeling a lot of that as the book went on. I was disappointed to say the least.

On a scale of 1 to 5, I give this 3.

Stay tuned for a quick review on Finale, the last book in the saga.