Death (Deck of Lies #3) - Jade Varden

Description

All In
I never wanted to get in this deep, but I did go looking for the truth before I was prepared to handle it. But how do you close the lid on Pandora’s box? You can’t unlearn something, or forget a dark secret once it’s been revealed.
I have no choice but to do my part to bury the truth again -- this time, someplace no one will ever be able to find it. But that’s the problem with lies. Once you start pulling threads, everything unravels.
No one is who they seem to be…not even me.

My Opinion

I started this book straight after I finished The Tower and even though I finished it yesterday it was too late to write this review. After the cruel cliff hanger I was left on in the second book I bought this book straight away and once again I wasn't able to put the series down. I love the detail Jade Varden writes in, the family history has obviously been thought about a lot and it is easy to follow. I'm not going to say too much about the storyline other than, Rain once again finds her life being turned upside down and herself being put in difficult situations, as the unpredictability of the book is what makes it so great.

The book link nicely with the second (The Tower) and it didn't take long to be enthralled in the story once more. Even though by the end of The Tower I knew who did what, Jade Varden once again surprised me by turning the story on its head again and continuing it in a way I'm sure no one will predict.

Overall I love this series and was sad that I finished the book so quickly as now I have to wait until the final chapter Judgement is released late this year!

Genre: YA, Mystery, Romance

The Tower (Deck of Lies #2) - Jade Varden

Description

Death brings some families closer, but it’s ripped mine apart. I wanted to convince the police that they had the wrong suspect...but I never expected them to start suspecting me. Now, I have no choice but to keep searching for the truth, even if all my relationships fall to pieces around me.
Someone is trying to make me look guilty. I never thought my mission to prove my own innocence would lead me to more family secrets. I thought I had already discovered the truth about myself. But every answer raises more questions, and everything I think I know is about to change...again.
I have to find the truth, no matter how much it hurts -- before I get charged with murder.

My Opinion

This review was meant to be posted yesterday but after I finished this book I just had to read the third in the series, so never got around to it.

The Tower easily equalled and maybe bettered the first book (Justice) in this series. It kept me in constant suspense throughout the story and once again it was virtually impossible to predict who did what. Even though the book revolves around the death of Laurel Riordan the main focus is Rain's family background and what I found out what not what I expected. I love the twists and turns in this book and it keeps you guessing and wanting to know more. Once again Jade Warden leaves you on a horrible cliff hanger that had me going straight to Amazon to by the next in the series which I read as soon as I finished The Tower.

This series is great and I would recommend it to everyone! The murder mystery keeps you in suspense and the love interests keeps you hooked. The book is written extremely well, with a fast pace, and I don't know how Jade Varden has managed to come up with such a complicated back story that I actually understand for once. I'm going to go read Death (Deck of Lies #3) now!

Genre: YA, Mystery, Romance

Hope's Daughter – Melanie Cusick-Jones

Description

Life should be simple for Cassie.
For the small population of Earth survivors who live on the Space Station Hope everything they do is planned and scheduled, down to the cyclical food menus, their roles in the station, even how many children they have.
Despite rigid controls directing her life, Cassie feels more out of synch than ever and worries she won’t find a place for herself within the station community. Perhaps that’s because she’s hearing things inside her head that can’t possibly be real. Or maybe it’s the regular elopements of her peers, heading off to a romantic future in the Married Quarter of the space station, whilst she’s never even been attracted to a boy – no matter how hard her best friend Ami pushes them at her. Then there are the odd questions her work placement partner Balik keeps raising. His questions are just as troubling for her as his distracting smiles and eyes that seem to see inside her.
As Cassie draws closer to Balik she finds that everything else in her life begins to shift. He tells her things that call into question the system they live within. She can't believe he is right, but at the same time she finds it hard to deny the sincerity of his ideas. Could there be a connection between Cassie’s problems and Balik’s questions? The truth will drag them both to a terrifying and deadly conclusion beyond anything they could have imagined.

My Opinion

Not usually being a person interested by the Sci-fi/dystopia genres I was unsure as to what I was getting myself into when I agreed to read and review this book. However I was pleasantly surprised and thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

For me the book started off a bit slow and I was a bit apprehensive, due to the sci-fi nature of it being set of the space ship Hope, as I assumed it was going to be filled with technical and complex wording that would confuse me. This was not the case though, even though the start didn't really engage me much, I continued reading and the story slowly developed into something I couldn't put down. Cassie is a strong heroine lead and Balik is as equally strong but you can sympathise and relate to them easily, which helps to lose you in the novel. I loved the romance in the story and I could feel myself smiling at points in the book as the images felt so real.

Once the main body of the story got going, Hope's Daughter was hard to put down and I found the plot totally unpredictable, which I love in a book, and I really didn't see the ending coming. The only slightly negative thing I have to say about this book was the chapter length, though that is probably personal as I hate stopping in the middle of a chapter and sometimes they just seemed to go on forever. That however is a minor issue that is made up with how engrossing the storyline is.

Over all I would recommend this book to everyone, even if this book usually isn't their genre as it is a great read and I can't wait to read the next instalment in Outlanders.

Genre: YA, Sci-fi, Dystopia, Romance

Fated (The Soul Seekers #1) - Alyson Noel

Description

Strange things are happening to Daire Santos. Crows mock her, glowing people stalk her, time stops without warning, and a beautiful boy with unearthly blue eyes haunts all her dreams. Fearing for her daughter’s sanity, Daire’s mother sends her to live with the grandmother she’s never met. A woman who recognizes the visions for what they truly are—the call to her destiny as a Soul Seeker—one who can navigate the worlds between the living and dead.
There on the dusty plains of Enchantment, New Mexico, Daire sets out to harness her mystical powers. But it’s when she meets Dace, the boy from her dreams, that her whole world is shaken to its core. Now Daire is forced to discover if Dace is the one guy she's meant to be with...or if he’s allied with the enemy she's destined to destroy.

My Opinion

It is very rare occasion for me to get to the end of a book and not know what I thought about it, but this seems to be one of them. I finished Fated not long ago and I really have no idea what to make of it. I have read Alyson Noel's previous series The Immortals and I really enjoyed them so I guess I had high expectations for this new series as well.

The book started off at a slow pace and it sort of confused me, especially with Daire's visions coming in and out of the picture and because of this I didn't think I was going to finish the book. Also writing to do with spirit animals and ancient magic tends not to interest me for long so the book had another thing going against it. Surprisingly though I kept reading and slowly found myself being immersed in the story. It wasn't like other books I've read in this genre and thankfully the reliant on magic was toned down but also made more modern with the teen character life styles.

I will continue to read this series but for me it took too long for anything to actually happen and by the time I was so engrossed I didn't want to stop reading I only had about thirty pages left. However I look forward to finding out what happens between Dace and Daire in the next book  Echo.

Rapture (Fallen #4) – Lauren Kate

Description

The sky is dark with wings . . .
And time is running out for Luce and Daniel.
In order to stop Lucifer from erasing the past, they must find the place where the Fall began. Only Luce can break the curse, and it is her choice alone that will decide all of their fates.
But as Dark Forces gather, great sacrifices will have to be made in this final, epic struggle . . .
In the fight for Luce, and for Love, who will win?
The astonishing conclusion to the FALLEN series. Heaven can't wait any longer

My Opinion

I finally got around to finishing this book while enjoying the unusually hot weather, however I was a little disappointed once I had finished it. I would have expected more from the finale to a series but the story just seemed to fizzle out towards the end and the big mystery that kept Luce and Daniel apart was solved so simply and obviously.

I loved the whole idea of this series and thought that the first three books were great, and to a point so was this one. It started off extremely exciting and I couldn't put the book down, the fast pace, tension and suspense as to what the final outcome would be, keeping me enthralled. I kept trying to predict how the fallen angels would stop a second fall but my guesses were way off the mark due to the simplicity of the actual solution. I envisioned a huge battle or some actual action and as I kept waiting for something to kick off I had already started to wane as it became evident it was not likely any more. I found myself reading Rapture only to complete the series and find out how Luce and Daniel's romance played out, which once again was seriously downplayed and abruptly halted. For an ending to a series, this book left me with a lot of unanswered questions and a lot to be desired for. I would have loved for the final romance between Luce and Daniel to have been developed more but I guess I will have to finish the story for myself and create my own ending.

Overall the series was pretty good but the ending lacked finality and did not answer everything I wished it would have.

Justice (Deck of Lies, #1) - Jade Varden

Description

A House of Cards...

When you build an entire life on a foundation of lies, it only takes one truth for the whole thing to come crashing down. I never invited the truth in. I never went searching for it. I never had any reason to suspect that the two people I loved most were dishonest with me every second of every day.
I made one bad decision, and in a single day my entire world changed. If I'm ever going to discover the truth about myself and my parents, I have to trace all the lies back to their source. I have to try to find the truth that they're hiding.
The more I discover about myself, and my past, the more I realize that lies really are better than the truth. But now that I know the lies are all around me, I can't stop until I've discovered them all. I'll pull each lie away, one by one, and examine it to see what's underneath…until this house of cards crumbles into dust at my feet.
I just hope I can survive the crash.

My Opinion

 I must admit that when I first received a request for this book I was hesitant to accept; I wasn't exactly keen on the cover and from the description it didn't sound like a book I would usually pick up. However I am so glad I did accept, the book kept a good pace throughout and included lots of twists to keep me engrossed and in suspense of what was going to happen in Rain's life. As I started reading I presumed it would be another book like Girl Missing by Sophie Mckennzie but the story soon developed into it's own, with it's own voice and it was obvious this was not the usual girl-kidnapped-and-thrown-back-into-a-new-family-life book. 

 

I loved the element of using the upper classes to contrast with Rain's character, it made her easier to relate to and sympathise with during the situations she found herself in. Also with the slight love interests throughout it made the story even more exciting as it gave me something else to anticipate and question; with some of my ideas turning out right, and others not, which was great as it meant the book was unpredictable. 

 

Overall I found that I was not able to stop myself reading on, I told myself one more chapter and ended up reading six instead. The book leaves you on a cliff hanger and even though I have my suspicions about who did what, I am not as certain as I usually am when I read mystery books. I would recommend this book to anyone and can't wait to read 'The Tower' (the next in the series).

Genre: YA, Mystery/Romance

Dreamless (Starcrossed #2) - Josephine Angelini

DescriptionCan true love be forgotten?
As the only Scion who can descend into the Underworld, Helen Hamilton has been given a nearly impossible task. By night she wanders through Hades, trying to stop the endless cycle of revenge that has cursed her family. By day she struggles to overcome the fatigue that is rapidly eroding her sanity. Without Lucas by her side, Helen is not sure she has the strength to go on.
Just as Helen is pushed to her breaking point, a mysterious new Scion comes to her rescue. Funny and brave, Orion shields her from the dangers of the Underworld. But time is running out—a ruthless foe plots against them, and the Furies’ cry for blood is growing louder.
As the ancient Greek world collides with the mortal one, Helen’s sheltered life on Nantucket descends into chaos. But the hardest task of all will be forgetting Lucas Delos.

My Opinion

I hated the way the first book ended, it was too sad and I wanted Dreamless to be released straight away so I could find out what would happen to Helen and Lucas next and whether or not the problems would be resolved, even though I had my suspicions.

I was surprised as to how the book started and it confused me slightly at how the writing jumped in and out of the underworld from Helen's point of view. This caused me to re read the end of Starcrossed but I couldn't seem to find the answer so I decided to just read on and hope that it all became clear, and thankfully it did. I love the characters in this series, it's a nice change to have non-vampire character that are still supernatural and the love triangle that develops adds a new twist to the story. Although there is less focus on the relationship between Lucas and Helen, Josephine Angelini has balanced it well with the focus on Helen's mission and I couldn't put the book down despite my need to sleep. I didn't think Dreamless was as good as Starcrossed but the series as a whole is definitely worth a read.

Genre: YA, Romance, Paranormal, Supernatural, Fantasy, Mythology

Before I Wake (Soul Screamers #6) - Rachel Vincent

Description

I died on a Thursday-killed by a monster intent on stealing my soul. The good news? He didn't get it. The bad news? Turns out not even death will get you out of high school...  Covering up her own murder was one thing, but faking life is much harder than Kaylee Cavanaugh expected. After weeks spent "recovering," she's back in school, fighting to stay visible to the human world, struggling to fit in with her friends and planning time alone with her new reaper boyfriend. But to earn her keep in the human world, Kaylee must reclaim stolen souls, and when her first assignment brings her face-to-face with an old foe, she knows the game has changed. Her immortal status won't keep her safe. And this time Kaylee isn't just gambling with her own life....

My Opinion

Wow! I don't know how Rachel Vincent has continually bettered or equalled the previous books in the Souls Screamers series but she has managed it easily. I waited eagerly for the release of this book since I finished If I Die a few hours after it was released.

I wasn't sure if Rachel Vincent would be able to keep the storyline going over so many books but when I picked up Before I Wake, I was not disappointed. Before I Wake keeps you hooked throughout the book and I found it impossible to put down once I started. I loved the relationship between Kaylee and Tod and the way Rachel Vincent described all of the emotions made the storyline believable, touching and exciting; it was like I was experiencing the character's emotions too. It is sad to see such a brilliant series coming to an end and for anyone who hasn't heard or read the books in the Souls Screamers series, you are missing out!

Genre: YA, Paranormal, Fantasy, Romance