Books Read Update 3: Tiny Review & Rating

Hey again, this post is round three of books read update with my tiny reviews & ratings which will finally be the last of all the books I've read since I stopped posting regularly many months ago. This post is dedicated to those books I've read with some brief adjectives and/or thoughts of mine on each book and my rating. Without further ado these are more of the books that I've read the past several months and recently:

Beastly by Alex Flinn (Audiobook)

5 stars: an a-maz-ing fantasy, loved the Beauty and the Beast twist, unlikely lovable characters, perfect 'fairytale' ending

 Across the Universe by Beth Revis (ARC)

5 stars: loved loved loved it, dystopian story, many unexpected twists, cute romance between two very different people, can not wait for the sequel, highly recommend read!

The Mermaid's Mirror by L.K. Madigan (Netgalley eBook)

5 stars: surprisingly unique, very entertaining mermaid story, cute characters, slow at times, loved the romance between the main character and an unexpected male under the sea, kind of a sad but happy ending

The Dark Divine by Bree Despain (eBook)

4 stars: beautiful cover, intriguing mythology, many unexpected turn of events, great characters, heart pumping ending

Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols (Paperback)

5 stars: oh my I just love Jennifer's books, this one did not disappoint at all, such lovable characters, fell in love with the forbidden and steamy romance

A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn (Paperback)

4 stars: charming modern twist on the Snow White fairytale, fast-paced read, predictable but still satisfying ending, endearing characters and story

The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran (Paperback)

5 stars: wonderful sequel to Nefertiti, I just adore all of Michelle's historical fiction books, love reading plots based in ancient Egyptian times, words can't describe how much I fell for the story and characters, I wish I lived back then!

Ballads of Suburbia by Stephanie Kuehnert (Paperback)

5 stars: wow just wow, a crazy impactful story about life/love/loss after experiencing a life of hardcore drugs and partying, loved reading the ballads throughout, such fascinating and unique characters and story, I so highly recommend reading this one!

Eye Candy by Tera Lynn Childs (Kindle eBook)

4 stars: very cute, light romantic read, fast-paced, hilarious and likable characters, love triangle that will ultimately end in you deciding which man is the 'one' for the main character

Wings by Aprilynne Pike (Kindle eBook)

4 stars: interesting twist on faeries, fun quick read, cute and enjoyable characters, ending that made me want to read the sequel right away, I also really love the cover!

Bitter End Review

Title: Bitter End

Author: Jennifer Brown

Number of Pages: 368

Genre: YA Contemporary Drama

 Publisher: Little, Brown

Publication Date: May 10, 2011

My Edition: ARC Paperback

Reading Level: YA, Ages 14+

Received From: HipScouts

Author's Website: jenniferbrownya.com

Summary from Amazon: 

When Alex falls for the charming new boy at school, Cole -- a handsome, funny, sports star who adores her -- she can't believe she's finally found her soul mate . . . someone who truly loves and understands her.

At first, Alex is blissfully happy. Sure, Cole seems a little jealous of her relationship with her close friend Zack, but what guy would want his girlfriend spending all her time with another boy? As the months pass, though, Alex can no longer ignore Cole's small put-downs, pinches, or increasingly violent threats.

As Alex struggles to come to terms with the sweet boyfriend she fell in love with and the boyfriend whose "love" she no longer recognizes, she is forced to choose -- between her "true love" and herself.

Review: 

Whoa, Bitter End was such an emotional, raw story that had my attention until the very dramatic end. I could very easily relate to the main character Alex, and it certainly made me realize how easy it is to be taken advantage of and mistreated by a boyfriend. If I would ever be in a situation like Alex's, I feel like I would most likely be able to handle myself better in that situation right from the beginning. I hope to never have to experience the hardships Alex went through (abusive/manipulative boyfriend, dead mother, and a father who's too depressed to care). I felt her character was a very well developed and was a strong female lead with some minor flaws that made her even more interesting to read about. 

Despite the dour setting and topic, the novel was still very enjoyable to read about. At times, it was a little hard since the violent actions of Alex's boyfriend were so astonishing violent and mean. Her boyfriend seemed nice and perfect at first, but when he snaps and changes, the novel instantly changes from happy and fun to scary and angry. I would definitely recommend that all teenage girls read this novel since this situation can happen to the best of us. I'm really looking forward to reading Jennifer Brown's first book since this one was so impactful and great. This May 10th, I would absolutely recommend picking up a copy when it comes out!

Rating:

Books Read Update 2: Tiny Review & Rating

Once again it's been soooo long since my last post which was a books read update with a tiny review and rating of the books. I'm sorry for such a long absence, but I've have been reading some and a lot of pretty amazing ones at that! This is another post dedicated to those books I've read since the last post with some brief adjectives and thoughts of mine on each book and my rating. These are the books that I've read since the last post:

The Maze Runner by James Dashner (Paperback)

5 stars: Dystopian Sci-Fi, creepy and scary (in a good way), gripping plot, 

unique and interesting characters, can't wait to read the 2nd book!

Ruined: How to Ruin Books 1, 2, & 3 by Simone Elkeles (Paperback)

4.5 stars: lovable characters with some really irritating ones too, romantic and fun stories, great sequels (except the 2nd one was a little boring at times), interesting Israeli culture added in, perfect ending, altogether exciting and hard to put down (read all 3 books in a day...yes they were just that good and hard to put down!)

The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, & June
by Robin Benway (Hardback)

4 stars: supernatural drama, great female characters, loved the alternate chapters from each sister's point-of-view, can't wait to Robin's next book!

So Much Closer by Susane Colasanti (ARC)

3 stars: nice romantic story, a tad cliche but good nonetheless, funny and interesting characters, cute ending

Leaving Paradise and Return to Paradise
by Simone Elkeles (Paperbacks)

5 stars: AMAZING, powerful, I just adore all of Simone's books!, read both books in a little over a day, loved loved loved the characters, very emotional pasts that made the story so interesting

Scandal and Vanished: Private Books 11 & 12
by Simone Elkeles (Paperbacks)

4 stars: surprising as always, shocking turn of events all throughout, great additions to the series, huge cliffhanger at the end of both, can't wait for the newest book to come out!

Nefertiti by Michelle Moran (Paperback)

5 stars: a fantastic historical fiction story about the reign of Nefertiti from the view of her sister, loved the Egyptian culture/history/romance, overall so amazing, enduring and lovable characters, sad ending however, I just love anything by Michelle Moran!

Books Read Update 1: Tiny Review & Rating

In the two almost three months since I've reviewed a book on the blog, I've read 12 others since then and some pretty great ones too! This post is dedicated to those books with some brief adjectives and thoughts of mine on each book and my rating. Without further ado the books and ebooks I've read lately:

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (Hardback)

5 stars: amazing, sad moments, tad slow at times, 
same loved characters, great end to the series

Heartless: Pretty Little Liars Book 7 by Sara Shepard (Paperback)

4 stars: addicting, fun, shocking, many twists and turns

The Ex Games by Jennifer Echols (eBook)

4 stars: cute, fast read, funny, lovable characters

Major Crush by Jennifer Echols (eBook)

4 stars: adorable, emotional romantic read, 
fast paced, perfect ending

The Lightning Thief: Percy Jackson and the Olympians Book 1 
by Rick Riordan (Paperback)

5 stars: epic adventure, kick ass characters, fun to read, 
great first book of the series, I'm hooked!

 Fixing Deliah by Sarah Ockler (ARC)

5 stars: another amazing book by Ockler, powerful, 
strong female characters, lovable friends, sweet romance

 The Lipstick Laws by Amy Holder (Netgalley eBook)

4 stars: fun high school story, sweet revenge, 
funny characters, entertaining plot

The Lying Game by Sarah Shepard (Netgalley eBook)

5 stars: overall amazing start to a new series by Shepard, crazy storyline, 
twins separated from birth, very shocking characters and events

Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder (Paperback)

5 stars: fantastic dystopian story, hard not to love characters, 
fast read, can't wait to read the sequel!

Wanted: Pretty Little Liars Book 8 by Sara Shepard (Hardback)

5 stars: best book of the series, all is finally revealed, 
truly shocking turn of events, loved the crazy, hilarious ending!

Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles (Hardback)

5 stars: loved loved loved it, read it in a night, sweetest story and ending, 

extremely lovable characters including Alex from the first book, I seriously 

love the Fuentes brothers, can't wait for the next brother's falling in love story!

Waiting for You by Susane Colasanti (Hardback)

4 stars: another great story by Colasanti, interesting and great characters, 

story of love and friendship for a girl dealing with depression, perfect ending

And that is it for the books I've read in the last couple months.

Blog and Life Update... Finally!

Hey everyone... it has been so long since I've blogged, but I have been reading! Since school has started, I just haven't been in the mood to blog, but I had the urge tonight. I've updated the header again with my wintery snowflake header and went with a blue background for some change from all the purple. Some good life news is I've been accepted to my first choice college to major in English Literary Studies! I am very excited and happy to go there next fall : ) Swim season is starting soon in a little over a week, so I wouldn't be posting very frequently but hopefully at least once a week. I still have hundreds of books I need to catch up on and am craving to do so. In that case, I'll probably spend most of my weekend doing some well-earned reading time!

I'm also very sorry to the authors and publishers who sent me books for review months ago, and I haven't read or reviewed them yet. I truly hope to catch up on them soon. Shortly, I will be posting the books I've read lately with tiny mini reviews of them and my rating for each. Oh and on a side note: I am in love with reading books on my Kindle and Netgally is my best friend for ebooks.

Thanks for sticking with me despite my recent inactivity!