Beyond the Standline by Linda L. Zern

**I was given ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.**

Publication Date: August 5, 2015
Publisher: LinWood House Publishing
Pages: 324

Seventeen-year-old Tessla and her teenage sisters, Ally and ZeeZee, live by one rule: don’t venture beyond the perimeter of the family ranch. Years ago, solar flares burned the power grid to ashes, plunging the country into mayhem and instability, but as long as the girls stay behind the line of their grandfather’s property, they remain protected from savagery. 

But when the call of the unknown proves too alluring for rebellious Ally to resist, Tessla must enlist mysterious Richmond Parrish to help rescue Ally from the trouble she’s walked into. 

The Florida coast is overrun with warring tribes and pirates, and orphaned children-turned-soldiers roam the land. 

The quest to find Ally leads Tess and Richmond into the epicenter of this barbaric new world, but even if they find her, now that they’ve left the safety of life at the S-Line Ranch, will they really be able to go back?

Beyond the Strandline is a thrilling story about the struggle to stay human in an inhumane world, the importance of emergency preparedness, the illusion of safety, and the power of love to redeem even the most desperate.

My Thoughts:
When it comes to indie authors I am VERY selective in whom I choose to read from. Simply because in my experience they are generally poorly written and full of content I am uncomfortable with. HOWEVER, with that said, I read another book by this author called Mooncalf that was amazing. So when I was contacted to read this book I hopped to the chance.

This book is unlike her other work that I read, you could see the progression in her writing. It's a YA story with everything you could possibly want in a book. Swoon worthy romance, action that is non-stop and keeps you at the edge of your seat, as well built post apocalyptic world that is relatable, plus it gets a person to think and put one-self in these situations and you find yourself questioning ,"would I do that if I were in this situation?" seriously!

This books grabs you from the get-go, you're immediately hook and leaves you wanting more. DANG IT it's going to be a trilogy which mean I'm going to have to wait for book 2! grrrr.

Tess was a great character- relatable in every way, she is a typical
teenage girl with spunk that was at times annoying but hey she's had a hard life and lives in this time so, can you blame her?

I really like Parrish- I LOVE male characters that are kinda dark and brooding, I liked his audacity and his character that leaves a bit of mystery as to why he is the way he is.

I REALLY liked the romance, because for the love of all that is holy it is NOT insta-love! WHOOT! I like the chemistry between Tess and Parrish which totally kept me interested in the rest of the story. TEAM PARRISH!

I absolutely loved the whole idea of this story and the fact that it's completely believable. As in, the fact that this could actually happen. There were no sci-fi/dystopian aspects to this, no machines that could read people, no fantastic guns that shoot lasers. No, this was complete and utter survival that is realistic which is refreshing, yet the story itself was fascinating.

Overall: I would recommend this story to anyone of all ages who is in need of a good story which great romance that leaves you wanting more.

Sexual Content: mild (talk of rape-not graphic, mild kissing)
Violence: moderate (disturbing scenes of death-not too graphic)
Language: mild
Drugs/Alcohol: mild/none

The Almost Girl by Amalie Howard

Seventeen-year-old Riven is as tough as they come. Coming from a world ravaged by a devastating android war, she has to be. There’s no room for softness, no room for emotion, no room for mistakes. A Legion General, she is the right hand of the young Prince of Neospes, a parallel universe to Earth. In Neospes, she has everything: rank, responsibility and respect. But when Prince Cale sends her away to find his long-lost brother, Caden, who has been spirited back to modern day Earth, Riven finds herself in uncharted territory.

Thrown out of her comfort zone but with the mindset of a soldier, Riven has to learn how to be a girl in a realm that is the opposite of what she knows. Riven isn’t prepared for the beauty of a world that is unlike her own in so many ways. Nor is she prepared to feel something more than indifference for the very target she seeks. Caden is nothing like Cale, but he makes something in her come alive, igniting a spark deep down that goes against every cell in her body. For the first time in her life, Riven isn’t sure about her purpose, about her calling. Torn between duty and desire, she must decide whether Caden is simply a target or whether he is something more.

My Thoughts:
Didn't finish.

I started the book because my 14-year-old niece said it was really good. "My new favorite book," she said. So I was excited. And it was going well in the beginning. I was curious about what was going to happen, about the world, about the characters. But then I got about half way through... and couldn't read anymore. Here's why:

Howard tells us how brave and smart and talented and competent Riven is all the time. I mean, she's a frickin' general in her home world, right? She can beat up anyone and is the strongest, most feared, strategic fighter ever to come out of Neospes. Neospes, mind you, where everyone is trained to fight starting at the age of 2 (has Howard ever met a 2-year-old, btw?) and they learn warfare and combat and all manners of ways to kill people. So when she passes out in the first chapter and, like, five times afterward, and gets beat up and crashes her motorcycle and gets seriously injured and is rescued by the untrained love-interest at least ten times throughout the course of the half of the book that I read, I don't actually believe that Riven is smart or talented or competent or brave or any of that. It makes me think she's actually really bad at her job and only became general because her father is such a prominent figure in Neospes. And why would anyone appoint a 14-year-old general of an army? Ever? At all?

Ok, so we've established that while Howard tells us Riven is a uniquely amazing character, we actually find out that Riven sucks. Then there are the other characters. Most of whom die before we get halfway through the book, so they're probably not worth mentioning. The love interest, Caden, who is also Riven's target for reasons that still hadn't been revealed halfway through the book (which was annoying) but were generally made to sound bad for Caden, has a girlfriend when he meets Riven. And totally disses his own girlfriend and cheats on her with Riven. But we're not supposed to care about the questionable way in which this relationship began because Caden's girlfriend was your classic high school mean girl. So she's not worth caring about.

And I can't even figure out why Caden likes Riven at all. Not once is she nice to him. Ever. Riven gives him mean stares all the time and tells him how superior she is and that she doesn't want friends and doesn't like anyone. But Caden keeps trying to kiss her anyway. And when he succeeds it's this super-passionate moment when he has her trapped even though she told him flat-out that she wasn't interested and then she tried to beat him up. Unsuccessfully, because, you know, she's such a badass. So... Caden is pretty much the date-rapist type. That's what I got out of that.

I started out really curious about the world of Neospes. There's some vague Terminator-type of mechanical war that turned machines against humans and there was some kind of crazy warfare that causes Neospes to live in a bubble and the air is bad and water is scarce and there are crazy animals that are half-machine and they make themselves that way... but nothing was explained. This far into a book something should have been explained. I was getting tired of waiting for the reveals that should have come a little sooner. And been more interesting than the few reveals I did get to. And the twists felt contrived. The emotions were way too drama-y. And stupid. And I think you should just skip this book altogether.

But maybe you'll be like my 14-year-old niece who loved it. Who knows.

Sexual Content: Moderate
Language: Moderate
Violence: Moderate
Drugs/Alcohol: Mild, if any

Tracked by Jenny Martin

On corporately controlled Castra, rally racing is a high-stakes game that seventeen-year-old Phoebe Van Zant knows all too well. Phee’s legendary racer father disappeared mysteriously, but that hasn't stopped her from speeding headlong into trouble. When she and her best friend, Bear, attract the attention of Charles Benroyal, they are blackmailed into racing for Benroyal Corp, a company that represents everything Phee detests. Worse, Phee risks losing Bear as she falls for Cash, her charming new teammate. But when she discovers that Benroyal is controlling more than a corporation, Phee realizes she has a much bigger role in Castra’s future than she could ever have imagined. It's up to Phee to take Benroyal down. But even with the help of her team, can a street-rat destroy an empire?




My Thoughts:
It took me a long time to get into this book. The beginning didn't hook me, Phee seemed a bit too reckless and immature for my taste and the love triangle was annoying. Really annoying. Lots of waffling emotions and deep introspective thought analyses. ugh. And did anyone else just feel bad for the loser of the love triangle? I mean, like, throughout the entire book? I felt like the poor guy was just shuffled to the side all the time. He lacked any depth at all since, really, we only saw him when/how Phee dictated he would be around.

Once the story evolved into a political/corporate story with intrigue and spying and stuff, it got really interesting. The plot was very well thought-out in that respect and I enjoyed all the plotting and planning. It was smart. 

But it didn't overshadow the lackluster writing and borrowed concepts. I mean, this entire novel was basically Speed Racer with a girl main character. I can't think of a single major difference. I'm really trying to think of major difference. Maybe the love triangle could be thought of as the major difference but I wish that hadn't been in there at all. Why do YA authors feel like they must put love triangles in YA books? This book actually would have been BETTER if the poor, shunted third member of the love triangle had been a different character entirely; Why wasn't he a brother? Or the strictly platonic best friend? Or gay? Or any number of things that would have prohibited any notion of a love triangle? It pulled me from the story and I was more annoyed than anything. Actually, I felt more sympathy for him than for Phee. Phee annoyed. I definitely see the potential for more angsty pining and love-triangle drama in the second book since this book ended the cliffhanger way it did. But I'm still annoyed. 

Another positive in this book was the racing. And it wasn't even so much the racing itself as much as it was the way Martin portrayed Phee while racing. I loved being in her head for those moments; The way her adrenaline was written, her inherent need to race, the calm before the race and all that. So well done. Loved those moments.

Phee was likeable enough as a character. I guess. But I didn't like her as much as I could have. I would have appreciated more humor; This book was Very Serious. I would appreciated less introspective whining; So much unnecessary drama. I would have appreciated smarter actions on her part, a little bit of subtlety, maybe. She was so very in-your-face blunt and easy-to-read. The worst possible spy. The worst possible secret-keeper. But I guess that was just her character. Wasn't a huge fan.

By all means, if you're into post-apocalyptic stories with a Speed Racer/Fast and Furious spin (maybe even some Mad Max minus any violence whatsoever), obtain and read this book. You may like it much more than I do. But I wouldn't recommend you own it until you read it first and decide for yourself.

Sexual Content: Moderate
Language: Mild (it's all irritating new-world slang cursing. So no real curse words. Just annoying rusting made-up foul language--Actually in a way I appreciate the non-use of bad words but the fake cursing annoys me. If you're gonna say it, just say it)
Violence: Mild (if any)
Drugs/Alcohol: Moderate (though it is generally frowned-upon by the characters in the book)

The Knife of Never Letting Go (Chaos Walking #1) by Patrick Ness

Prentisstown isn't like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise. Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog, Manchee -- whose thoughts Todd can hear too, whether he wants to or not -- stumble upon an area of complete silence. They find that in a town where privacy is impossible, something terrible has been hidden -- a secret so awful that Todd and Manchee must run for their lives.

But how do you escape when your pursuers can hear your every thought?

My Thoughts:
I was hooked from page one. It was a fast-paced could-not-put-down, urgent, layered, intelligent, easy-to-read-yet-complex story that I would recommend to anyone and everyone. So good. It was kind of all its own but if I had to compare it to anything else it would be the intensity of Hunger Games, the quality of writing of Shatter Me (but not the subsequent books in the series), and the world-building of the Across the Universe series. This book was really nothing like any of those books and, all-around, better than them, but if you want a comparison of some sort, that's a decent place to start.

The world-building started immediately and the way we learned about this strange place, as a reader, was completely natural. There was no info-dumping. No pause in the book for a backstory moment. It all flowed so flawlessly and effortlessly that I felt like I could have just landed in this world myself. And the world was so detailed and well-thought-out. And interesting. I wanted to learn about it. I wanted to learn why everyone was the way they were. I wanted to know the history of this place. It was just so well done.

The characters and the way people spoke were fascinating. Everyone had depth. Everyone had inner conflict and layered backstory and just inherent interest. I was so interested in everyone. Our main character, Todd, and his talking dog, Manchee; They were so likable. Todd was a regular, nice kid asked to do crazy difficult stuff, make insane choices. And he just did the best he could. He was sweet and kind in spite of being raised in a bizarrely mean place. And Manchee was just a good, loyal dog. I loved the portrayal of Manchee and his simple thoughts.

Some of my favorite moments were with the villain characters. Todd's depictions of them (because we were in Todd's POV the whole book) were just perfect. Ness just got inside those characters and portrayed them so well, with so much depth that I couldn't help but be fascinated by the evil people. Seriously, so well done.

The writing itself was amazing. Thoughts felt like real thoughts. Dialogue felt natural. Reactions and events were completely believable in this foreign world. Ness has a way of making you feel on-the-edge-of-your-seat that I've rarely seen in a book. It's incredible. I loved the different dialects people spoke in and the phonetic spelling; It added so much to this world. The twists and turns this plot took were sometimes expected but always worth reading. So much happened to these people in such a short amount of time that I was kind of exhausted after finishing the book but also super amped to read the next one because there is an Insane Cliffhanger! I mean--Worst/Best Cliffhanger Ever! I'm simultaneously annoyed and excited about the ending. But I will definitely read the next one. And probably the whole series. And anything else Patrick Ness writes.

It was just that good.

Sexual Content: Mild
Language: Moderate
Violence: Heavy
Drugs/Alcohol: Mild

End of Days by Susan Ee (Penryn & the End of Days #3)

Published: May 12, 2015
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Pages: 435

After a daring escape from the angels, Penryn and Raffe are on the run. They’re both desperate to find a doctor who can reverse the twisted changes inflicted by the angels on Raffe and Penryn’s sister. As they set off in search of answers, a startling revelation about Raffe’s past unleashes dark forces that threaten them all.

When the angels release an apocalyptic nightmare onto humans, both sides are set on a path toward war. As unlikely alliances form and strategies shift, who will emerge victorious? Forced to pick sides in the fight for control of the earthly realm, Raffe and Penryn must choose: Their own kind, or each other?

My Thoughts:
Holy cow what happened Susan Ee.... What I LOVED about the first two books, failed for me in this last one that I have waited 2 YEARS for! GAH!

The ending was typical and cliché I knew that is what would happen. Which wasn't completely disappointing but I'm satisfied enough with that ending.

The story itself was fabulous and totally Susan Ee and maintained the awesomeness from the first two books.

Penryn continued to kick butt and all the awesome, freakishly weird, creepy, cool characters from the other books are brought back, and it all ended with a bang.

What disappointed me? THE ROMANCE! What I loved about the first two books was that it didn't overwhelm the story! Penryn wasn't some hormonal, horney girl who didn't lose focus of what was really going on in hopes of rolling in the hay with Raffe! what the heck! what happened?! I seriously felt like it became a romance book instead of a cool post apolozclyptal story.

Granted, the action was great, and I kinda hoping that Susan Ee will do something with this world now that it has been utterly destroyed. I'd like to see if she could carry on with a story of rebuilding or something maybe not with Raffe and Penryn but you know.

Anyway overall the actual story line was great the action-spot on. The romance...sadly didn't fit with the other two books. Oh well, I am not giving up on you Susan Ee!

Sexual Content: heavy (kissing, petting, panting, tension)
Language: mild/moderate (I can't remember)
Violence: heavy (murders, killing, battle scenes)
Drugs/Alcohol: mild/none

*Due to content in THIS book I would stamp this Obtain for those sensitive to that type of content*

Rook by Sharon Cameron + GIVEAWAY

Publication: April 28, 2015
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Pages: 464

History has a way of repeating itself. In the Sunken City that was once Paris, all who oppose the new revolution are being put to the blade. Except for those who disappear from their prison cells, a red-tipped rook feather left in their place. Is the mysterious Red Rook a savior of the innocent or a criminal?

Meanwhile, across the sea in the Commonwealth, Sophia Bellamy’s arranged marriage to the wealthy René Hasard is the last chance to save her family from ruin. But when the search for the Red Rook comes straight to her doorstep, Sophia discovers that her fiancé is not all he seems. Which is only fair, because neither is she. 

As the Red Rook grows bolder and the stakes grow higher, Sophia and René find themselves locked in a tantalizing game of cat and mouse.

My Thoughts:
Can I just go ahead and just rant and rave about how awesome this book was?! Well, it was amazing! I couldn't put it down! I was so impressed with how Sharon Cameron redid her own version of The Scarlet Pimpernel (which is a favorite of mine book and the 1982 Jane Seymoure movie adaptation). It was BRILLIANT, she took apart characters and created different/new characters with individual aspects that were in specific characters from the original telling.

I enjoyed how this story takes place MANY years from now where the world went through a technology-earth destruction that killed many people as they relied so much on technology that they didnt know how to survive without it. So technology has been outlawed and those that fund, use, or any way get access to technology are put to death. This society has decided to revert back to the 17th century style of living. With big hair, lots of makeup and ridiculous outfits.

We have Sophia who is our main character and she is a completely fun, I had a blast reading her adventures and character development. She's normal too, with all the feelings and emotions  of any normal girl. Yet with a bit more adventure than the average girl she is just cool.

I completely enjoyed the brother/sister relationship between Sophia and her brother Tom. I loved reading their interactions and what they were willing to do for each other.

The action was crazy and had me biting my nails and sitting at the edge of my seat holding the book 2 inches from my face because I had to know what was going to happen next.

LeBlanc our villain was INSANE, literally INSANE, his logic, way of thinking the world should be and the sickness in his own mind was fascinating! I was creeped out and disgusted by him which made him completely fun to read about. Creepy creepy man....

I was floored with the twist and turns of this story. I kept second guessing myself with pointing the fingers to every character who I thought was the "bad guy" and when all was reveled...whoa. didn't see it coming.

I actually didn't mind the romance in this. There is a bit of a love triangle that wasn't bad to read at all! Plus the romance didn't overwhelm the story. It was a nice undertone which kept you interesting which I prefer!

Overall the author did a GREAT job of writing her own version of this story and I thought she was brilliant!

Sexual Content: mild
Violence: moderate (PG-13 not too graphic)
Language: none
Drugs/Alcohol: mild

Meet the Author:

Sharon has been a classical piano teach, genealogist, chair of a non-profit local theater group, coordinator of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Midsouth Conference. Sharon has been awarded the 2009 Sue Alexander Most Promising New Work Award for her debut novel The Dark Unwinding. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee with her family and loves to shoot her longbow and search for secret passages while traveling the world.

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The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave #1) by Rick Yancey

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker.

Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

My Thoughts:
I finished this a few days ago and have been letting it marinate. There's a lot I could say.

For one, this was about an alien apocalypse. Nothing new. Honestly, I kept comparing these aliens to The Host, mixed in with some good ol' War of the Worlds. Throw in some lonely survival plotlines and major army training and we've got ourselves a book with no originality at all. But Yancey made it good. Here's what worked:

Conflict. Yes, the aliens killing everyone was a major problem, but the really interesting conflict was the <i>inner</i> conflict. The book was divided into sections and each section was from the POV of a different character. We got inside a few different characters' heads and in each brain there was major conflict. It was fascinating. There would be whole paragraphs of contrasts: "I can't trust him. I have to trust him. I shouldn't stay with him. I need his help." Stuff like that, it was all over the place. So simple, yet so profound! When you have conflict like that (and everyone has something like this) it's exactly this easy and exactly this difficult. Two completely contrasting thoughts that will drive a person crazy thinking about them.

Twists. Throughout the book you get major hints about what's going down, who's on what side and how things are going to play out... but all the hints contrast. It's really hard to tell which hint will end up being the right one, which plot the book will follow. I mean, near the end it gets easier to figure out but while you're in it it's confusing. Well done. There were a couple things I didn't see coming. Love that.

Desperation. There's a lot of emotion in this book. And with all the crazy stuff going on people do a lot of things out of desperation. Seen from that perspective things like, oh I don't know, weird romances seem believable. As does other stuff, like wanting to be a part of an army. And such.

Sarcasm/Hyperbole. Perfect amount of dark humor. The humor in this book was the exact right type for this serious book; Dark, sarcastic, skeptical. If that doesn't make sense, go read it. There was no goofy foil character, nothing you could count on for reliable comic relief. But the narration had a lot of funny moments, in that sad, sarcastic kind of way.

So, overall, I liked this book and will definitely finish out the series. All that stuff up there equals good book. There were a few things that didn't work: I couldn't tell whose head we were in when the narration switched, with the exception of the little brother. Everyone else sounded the same. And there were a lot of repeated ideas and phrasing. I get that Yancey was trying to show similarities between everyone's plights or whatever but it was a bit much for me. Anyway, that's my only real beef. Go read it. You'll thank me.

Sexual Content: Mild
Language: Mild-Moderate (honestly don't remember so it couldn't have been too bad)
Violence: Heavy
Drugs/Alcohol: Mild

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Publication Date: Feb. 10, 2015
Publisher: Orion
Pages: 320

The poverty stricken Reds are commoners, living under the rule of the Silvers, elite warriors with god-like powers.

To Mare Barrow, a 17-year-old Red girl from The Stilts, it looks like nothing will ever change.

Mare finds herself working in the Silver Palace, at the centre of
those she hates the most. She quickly discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy Silver control.

But power is a dangerous game. And in this world divided by blood, who will win?

My Thoughts: 
Holy Moly! I LOOOOOOVED this book! seriously! LOVED! Don't let the cover scare you cause the cover is creepier than the book but so PERFECT for the story. I will own this book!

It's a dystopian of sorts, where there are two types of people, Reds-which are the poor lower people with no powers and are meant to live in squalor and serve the other type of people Silvers-power people who are strong and rich and live on the backs of Reds. 

This story we follow Mare a poor Red girl with no talents in order to find work to help feed her family. Her brothers have been shipped off to war and Mare knows that is what's next for her. When Mare accidentally tries to pick pocket a noble he lets her go instead of having her punished. Next thing Mare knows she has landed a job at the palace to where she serves the very people she hates. When an accident nearly kills her in front of all the Silver nobility including the King & Queen, Mare finds out that she is something else entirely, something special. Though she is a Red she also has powers. 

Due to this accident and a discovery of a Red having power, Mare finds herself in the middle of a very dangerous game, where anyone will betray anyone. During all this there is a group of people who are trying to set off a revolution, people who are tired of slaving for the Silver's to be treated less than animals. People who are fighting back. Mare finds herself in the mist of it all. 

I loved Mare she was easy to connect with, she was likable and you kept cheering her on! She had flaws, made mistakes, but wanted overall to do what was right, whatever it took to protect her loved ones from harm. 

I enjoyed everyone's powers and the houses and name and colors that went with each power this was super fun to read about.

There is a love triangle but it wasn't overwhelming it wasn't raging hormones, it was gentle soft and it kept you guessing. It was just the right amount of overall romance. 

The book is harsh, romantic, action packed, fast paced, with twists and turns that it literally kept me up all night so I could finish it. LOVED it.

Sexual Content: mild (some kissing)
Language: mild (1 or 2 B words, 2 Hells) 
Violence: moderate (magical torture-no graphic, death, murder all not graphic)
Drugs/Alcohol: mild

Meet The Author

After growing up in small town Massachusetts, Victoria attended the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. She graduated with a BFA in Screenwriting, which is exactly the degree being sought after in a recession.

She tries her best to combine her love of history, explosions, and butt-kicking heroines in her writing. Her hobbies include the impossible task of predicting what happens next in A Song of Ice and Fire, road trips, and burning through Netflix.

Under the Never Sky series by Veronica Rossi

At first I liked this series. I found all the dystopian stuff really fun. Aria's world inside the safety of a sterile dome was really interesting. Everyone was attached these sci-fi synthetic eyes that pretty much acted as virtual reality screens hooked up to the internet. They were able to visit "Realms", which were like internet sites, and interact with other people in a completely virtual setting. These people were the ultimate gamers. I could totally see technology going this way one day. And it kind of makes me sad.

Anyway, something bad happens to Aria and her mother, so Aria is forced to leave the relative safety of her dome and go out into the outer wasteland, where she meets Perry and other outsiders. And we find out that the outsiders live like they're medieval or something. No modern technology whatsoever and some weird supernaturaly things going on. Some people had super-human hearing or smell or sight or could even read minds. The dome people just had brain damage. Go figure.

I liked the world Rossi created. All the sci-fi stuff made fictional sense. I bought it. The story at times almost had a fantasy element to it, with all the traipsing around in the woods and survival story stuff. There was a whole bunch of futuristic technology, a couple of different dystopian societies, a pretty serious apocalyptic theme and a bit of romance. There's a lot going on here. It had a lot of potential.

But then there were the characters. I didn't feel that any of them were very well-rounded. Not all of them were flat, exactly, but none of them were really three dimensional, either.

The main problems I had with series were to do with the relationship. Aria and Perry went from hating each other to loving each other way too quickly. I mean, it was abrupt and maybe a bit awkward. Because they really hated each other. And then they were completely in love. And I lost the connection somewhere in there. But then they were hot and cold all the time. It was kind of like Rossi couldn't figure out how to create a movable plot or conflict without the lovers fighting or deciding to leave each other. Over and over again.

In the beginning Roar provided a lot of comic relief but then he just got depressing. Understandably so, but yikes. I didn't really like the way his storyline played out. It was sad. And felt unnecessary.

Once I arrived at the final book I was kind of over the whole thing. It was whiney, contrived, dumb and even a bit ridiculous. I did read the whole thing but, really, I don't think I should have. The third book usually redeems a series but this one just... didn't. It got worse. The end was just so unbelievable, and yet, predictable. I thought up a few different endings that would have given the story more poetic justice and have been less cheesy. Rossi should have planned the ending out a lot better. 

Sexual Content: Moderate (knowledge that characters had sex)
Language: Moderate (although it may have all been weird sci-fi slang)
Violence: Heavy
Drugs/Alcohol: Moderate

Under the Never Sky

3/5 Acorns

Through the Ever Night

2/5 Acorns

Into the Still Blue

1/5 Acorns

Overall:

The Body Electric by Beth Revis

The future world is at peace.

Ella Shepherd has dedicated her life to using her unique gift—the ability to enter people’s dreams and memories using technology developed by her mother—to help others relive their happy memories.

But not all is at it seems.

Ella starts seeing impossible things—images of her dead father, warnings of who she cannot trust. Her government recruits her to spy on a rebel group, using her ability to experience—and influence—the memories of traitors. But the leader of the rebels claims they used to be in love—even though Ella’s never met him before in her life. Which can only mean one thing…

Someone’s altered her memory.

Ella’s gift is enough to overthrow a corrupt government or crush a growing rebel group. She is the key to stopping a war she didn’t even know was happening. But if someone else has been inside Ella’s head, she cannot trust her own memories, thoughts, or feelings.

So who can she trust? 

My Thoughts

This was yet another book I read without reading the synopsis and...oh man...this book, was bloody brilliant! Period, end of story, Brilliant.

Where do I begin, this story is so unique and should have everybody reading it! It's an adventure with a very huge warning of big government and loss of freedom. It's a vivid dystopian

If you're a fan of Beth Revis's trilogy Across the Universe  which is set in space about a spaceship named Godspeed. Well this is the story of what is going on in the future years after Godspeed left earth. I remember the ship bringing mentioned 1 or 2 times in the book which I thought was just so great!

Ella lives with her dying mother, her father died in a terrorist attack which left her devastated and alone, she has only one friend who is currently in the military. What I like about her is, she is so human, the grief she feels for a loved one, she has insecurities, her heart and mind are troubled, she seeks to find the truth. She was a great complex character and I was able to connect with her as a reader. I loved her.

Ella has the ability and technology to enter into peoples minds as they relive memories. When the government seeks her help in going into someone memories to seek out a terrorist, she is met with obstacles. The obstacles and a mysterious Jack who enters her life and warns her about friends and family-aren't what they appear to be, Ella seeks to find out the truth about her and her life.

Jack was just soooo CUTE! I loved him! He was sweet, and good, and a great male character. Just loved him. It's because of him and that helps set in motion everything that happens in the story.
What is so great about Beth Revis's writing for this story was the fact that Jack was less in the book then you'd think he would need to be. But how he has such a huge impact on the overall story, at first I kept thinking, "what about this Jack fellow?" "what does he have to do with all this?" Revis used him in a cool way to have him barely there-at first-and then he REALLY is in the story. I just thought it was brilliant!

I would recommend this book to anyone because it was adventurous, thought-provoking, clean and just fun.

Sexual Content: mild (knowledge that 2 characters had sex once, some kissing)
Language: mild
Violence: moderate (PG)
Drugs/Alcohol: mild/none

October UP COMING Books to Anticipate!

Here are a list of books that I personally am looking forward to this coming October!

Lark Ascending (Skylark #3)
By: Meagan Spooner
Publication Date: October 1, 2014

Lark thought returning home to face her city was the hardest thing she'd ever do. She was wrong.

No longer the girl who ran for her life, Lark's ready for the Institute. She never dreamed she'd find a rebellion, a Renewable, and those she used to love embroiled in the fight of their lives. She's mastered her magic, but she still doesn't know if she can master the darkness stirring inside her. 

Nothing is simple anymore, and finding her place in this war—and discovering the terrible secrets behind her ruined world—might cost her everything she has left.

Endgame
By: James Frey
Publication Date: October 7, 2014

Twelve thousand years ago, they came. They descended from the sky amid smoke and fire, and created humanity and gave us rules to live by. They needed gold and they built our earliest civilizations to mine it for them. When they had what they needed, they left. But before they left, they told us someday they would come back, and when they did, a game would be played. A game that would determine our future.

This is Endgame.

For ten thousand years the lines have existed in secret. The 12 original lines of humanity. Each had to have a Player prepared at all times. They have trained generation after generation after generation. In weapons, languages, history, tactics, disguise assassination. Together the players are everything: strong, kind, ruthless, loyal, smart, stupid, ugly, lustful, mean, fickle, beautiful, calculating, lazy, exuberant, weak. They are good and evil. Like you. Like all.

This is Endgame.

When the game starts, the players will have to find three keys. The keys are somewhere on earth. The only rule of their Endgame is that there are no rules. Whoever finds the keys first wins the game. Endgame: The Calling is about the hunt for the first key. And just as it tells the story of the hunt for a hidden key, written into the book is a puzzle. It invites readers to play their own Endgame and to try to solve the puzzle. Whoever does will open a case filled with gold. Alongside the puzzle will be a revolutionary mobile game built by Google’s Niantic Labs that will allow you to play a real-world version of Endgame where you can join one of the lines and do battle with people around you.
Will exuberance beat strength? Stupidity top kindness? Laziness thwart beauty? Will the winner be good or evil? There is only one way to find out.

Play.
Survive.
Solve.
People of Earth.
Endgame has begun

Lailah
By: Nikkie Kelly
Publication Date: October 7, 2014

The girl knows she’s different. She doesn’t age. She has no family. She has visions of a past life, but no clear clues as to what she is, or where she comes from. But there is a face in her dreams – a light that breaks through the darkness. She knows his name is Gabriel.

On her way home from work, the girl encounters an injured stranger whose name is Jonah. Soon, she will understand that Jonah belongs to a generation of Vampires that serve even darker forces. Jonah and the few like him, are fighting with help from an unlikely ally – a rogue Angel, named Gabriel.

In the crossfire between good and evil, love and hate, and life and death, the girl learns her name: Lailah. But when the lines between black and white begin to blur, where in the spectrum will she find her place? And with whom?

Gabriel and Jonah both want to protect her. But Lailah will have to fight her own battle to find out who she truly is.

Black Ice
By: Becca Fitzpatrick
Publication Date: October 7, 2014

Sometimes danger is hard to see... until it’s too late. 

Britt Pfeiffer has trained to backpack the Teton Range, but she isn't prepared when her ex-boyfriend, who still haunts her every thought, wants to join her. Before Britt can explore her feelings for Calvin, an unexpected blizzard forces her to seek shelter in a remote cabin, accepting the hospitality of its two very handsome occupants—but these men are fugitives, and they take her hostage. 

In exchange for her life, Britt agrees to guide the men off the mountain. As they set off, Britt knows she must stay alive long enough for Calvin to find her. The task is made even more complicated when Britt finds chilling evidence of a series of murders that have taken place there... and in uncovering this, she may become the killer’s next target. 

But nothing is as it seems in the mountains, and everyone is keeping secrets, including Mason, one of her kidnappers. His kindness is confusing Britt. Is he an enemy? Or an ally? 

BLACK ICE is New York Times bestselling author Becca Fitzpatrick’s riveting romantic thriller set against the treacherous backdrop of the mountains of Wyoming. Falling in love should never be this dangerous…

Exquisite Captive
By: Heather Demetrios
Publication Date: October 7, 2014

Forced to obey her master.
Compelled to help her enemy.
Determined to free herself. 

Nalia is a jinni of tremendous ancient power, the only survivor of a coup that killed nearly everyone she loved. Stuffed into a bottle and sold by a slave trader, she’s now in hiding on the dark caravan, the lucrative jinni slave trade between Arjinna and Earth, where jinn are forced to grant wishes and obey their human masters’ every command. She’d give almost anything to be free of the golden shackles that bind her to Malek, her handsome, cruel master, and his lavish Hollywood lifestyle.

Enter Raif, the enigmatic leader of Arjinna’s revolution and Nalia’s sworn enemy. He promises to free Nalia from her master so that she can return to her ravaged homeland and free her imprisoned brother—all for an unbearably high price. Nalia’s not sure she can trust him, but Raif’s her only hope of escape. With her enemies on the hunt, Earth has become more perilous than ever for Nalia. There’s just one catch: for Raif’s unbinding magic to work, Nalia must gain possession of her bottle…and convince the dangerously persuasive Malek that she truly loves him. Battling a dark past and harboring a terrible secret, Nalia soon realizes her freedom may come at a price too terrible to pay: but how far is she willing to go for it?

Inspired by Arabian Nights, EXQUISITE CAPTIVE brings to life a deliciously seductive world where a wish can be a curse and shadows are sometimes safer than the light.

The Fall
By: Bethany Griffin
Publication Date: October 7, 2014

Madeline Usher is doomed.

She has spent her life fighting fate, and she thought she was succeeding. Until she woke up in a coffin.

Ushers die young. Ushers are cursed. Ushers can never leave their house, a house that haunts and is haunted, a house that almost seems to have a mind of its own. Madeline’s life—revealed through short bursts of memory—has hinged around her desperate plan to escape, to save herself and her brother. Her only chance lies in destroying the house.

In the end, can Madeline keep her own sanity and bring the house down?The Fall is a literary psychological thriller, reimagining Edgar Allan Poe’s classic The Fall of the House of Usher.

The Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus #5)
By: Rick Riordan
Publication Date: October 7, 2014

Though the Greek and Roman crewmembers of the Argo II have made progress in their many quests, they still seem no closer to defeating the earth mother, Gaea. Her giants have risen—all of them—and they're stronger than ever. They must be stopped before the Feast of Spes, when Gaea plans to have two demigods sacrificed in Athens. She needs their blood—the blood of Olympus—in order to wake.

The demigods are having more frequent visions of a terrible battle at Camp Half-Blood. The Roman legion from Camp Jupiter, led by Octavian, is almost within striking distance. Though it is tempting to take the Athena Parthenos to Athens to use as a secret weapon, the friends know that the huge statue belongs back on Long Island, where it "might" be able to stop a war between the two camps.

The Athena Parthenos will go west; the Argo II will go east. The gods, still suffering from multiple personality disorder, are useless. How can a handful of young demigods hope to persevere against Gaea's army of powerful giants? As dangerous as it is to head to Athens, they have no other option. They have sacrificed too much already. And if Gaea wakes, it is game over.

The Invisible (Brokenhearted #2)
By: Amelia Kahaney
Publication Date: October 7, 2014

In the riveting sequel to the reimagined superhero story The Brokenhearted, Anthem Fleet takes on a powerful new villain and makes some startling discoveries about her family and her past that will forever change her.

Taking up where The Brokenhearted ended, the sequel finds Anthem Fleet attempting to return to a normal life after an experimental surgery that left her with a bionic hummingbird heart and a terrifying new strength. But she can’t shake her suspicions about her father’s connection to the Syndicate and she can’t ignore the cries of help in the crime-ridden city of Bedlam. She finds new promise in her relationship with Ford, but after his lifesaving surgery, the Ford Anthem knew slips away. 

When a mysterious new group called “The Invisible” starts attacking the privileged North Siders, Anthem has to step up and be the New Hope that Bedlam needs, or Bedlam will fall…once and for all. 

Publishers Weekly called The Brokenhearted an “atmospheric, adventure-laced debut” with “graceful world-building, strong characterizations, and an enveloping plot.”

Silverblind (Ironskin #3)
By: Tina Connolly
Publication Date: October 7, 2014

The final book in this series will jump forward 18 years and feature Dorie, Jane's young charge from Ironskin.

18 years later . . .
Dorie Rochart has been hiding her fey side for a long time. Now, finished with University, she plans to study magical creatures and plants in the wild, bringing long-forgotten cures to those in need. But when no one will hire a girl to fight basilisks, she releases her shapechanging fey powers--to disguise herself as a boy.

While hunting for wyvern eggs, she saves a young scientist who's about to get steamed by a silvertail-- and finds her childhood friend Tam Grimsby, to whom she hasn't spoken in seven years. Not since she traded him to the fey. She can't bear to tell him who she really is, but every day grows harder as he comes to trust her.

The wyverns are being hunted to extinction for the powerful compounds in their eggs. The fey are dying out as humans grow in power. Now Tam and Dorie will have to decide which side they will fight for. And if they end up on opposite sides, can their returning friendship survive?

Whatever Life Throws At You
By: Julie Cross
Publication Date: October 7, 2014

Life loves a good curveball…

Seventeen-year-old Annie Lucas's life is completely upended the moment her dad returns to the major leagues as the new pitching coach for the Kansas City Royals. Now she's living in Missouri (too cold), attending an all-girls school (no boys), and navigating the strange world of professional sports. But Annie has dreams of her own—most of which involve placing first at every track meet…and one starring the Royals' super-hot rookie pitcher.

But nineteen-year-old Jason Brody is completely, utterly, and totally off-limits. Besides, her dad would kill them both several times over. Not to mention Brody has something of a past, and his fan club is filled with C-cupped models, not smart-mouthed high school “brats” who can run the pants off every player on the team. Annie has enough on her plate without taking their friendship to the next level. The last thing she should be doing is falling in love.

But baseball isn't just a game. It's life. And sometimes, it can break your heart…

Queen of Someday
By: Sherry D. Ficklin
Publication Date: October 7, 2014

ONE GIRL WILL BRING AN EMPIRE TO ITS KNEES...

Before she can become the greatest empress in history, fifteen-year-old Sophie will have to survive her social-climbing mother’s quest to put her on the throne of Russia—at any cost.

Imperial Court holds dangers like nothing Sophie has ever faced before. In the heart of St. Petersburg, surviving means navigating the political, romantic, and religious demands of the bitter Empress Elizabeth and her handsome, but sadistic nephew, Peter. Determined to save her impoverished family—and herself—Sophie vows to do whatever is necessary to thrive in her new surroundings. But an attempt on her life and an unexpected attraction threatens to derail her plans.

Alone in a new and dangerous world, learning who to trust and who to charm may mean the difference between becoming queen and being sent home in shame to marry her lecherous uncle. With traitors and murderers lurking around every corner, her very life hangs in the balance. Betrothed to one man but falling in love with another, Sophie will need to decide how much she’s willing to sacrifice in order to become the empress she is destined to be.

In a battle for the soul of a nation, will love or destiny reign supreme?

Stray
By: Elissa Sussman
Publication Date: October 7, 2014

“I am grateful for my father, who keeps me good and sweet. I am grateful for my mother, who keeps her own heart guarded and safe. I am grateful for my adviser, who keeps me protected. I am grateful for the Path, which keeps me pure. Ever after.”

Princess Aislynn has long dreamed about attending her Introduction Ball, about dancing with the handsome suitors her adviser has chosen for her, about meeting her true love and starting her happily ever after.

When the night of the ball finally arrives and Nerine Academy is awash with roses and royalty, Aislynn wants nothing more than to dance the night away, dutifully following the Path that has been laid out for her. She does not intend to stray.

But try as she might, Aislynn has never quite managed to control the magic that burns within her-magic brought on by wicked, terrible desires that threaten the Path she has vowed to take.

After all, it is wrong to want what you do not need. Isn’t it?

STRAY is the first in a collection of intertwined stories, all set in a world where magic is a curse that only women bear and society is dictated by a strict doctrine called The Path. A cross between The Handmaid’s Tale and Wicked, with a dash of Grimm and Disney thrown in.

This Night So Dark (Starbound #1.5)

By: Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner
Publication Date: October 7, 2014

Don’t miss the breathtaking short story that connects the first two novels in the Starbound trilogy, These Broken Stars and This Shattered World. 

Tarver still has nightmares about the night, six months before the Icarus crash, when he rescued a group of civilian researchers being held hostage by brutal mercenaries. Now Tarver and Lilac must reconcile his memories of that fateful night with the truth that they uncovered on a mysterious planet after the Icarus crashed. 

Includes a bonus preview chapter from This Shattered World!

Unraveled (Crewel World #3)

By: Gennifer Aldin
Publication Date: October 7, 2014

Autonomous. Independent. Dangerous. They tried to control her. Now she’ll destroy them.

Things have changed behind the walls of the Coventry and new threats lurk in its twisted corridors. When Adelice returns to Arras, she quickly learns that something rotten has taken hold of the world and Cormac Patton needs her to help him reestablish order. However, peace comes at a terrible price. As the Guild manipulates the citizens of Arras, Adelice discovers that she’s not alone, and she must let go of her past to fight for mankind’s future. She will have to choose between an unimaginable alliance and a deadly war that could destroy everyone she loves.

The Young Elites

By: Marie Lu
Publication Date: October 7, 2014

I am tired of being used, hurt, and cast aside.

Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites.

Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He believes the Young Elites to be dangerous and vengeful, but it’s Teren who may possess the darkest secret of all.

Enzo Valenciano is a member of the Dagger Society. This secret sect of Young Elites seeks out others like them before the Inquisition Axis can. But when the Daggers find Adelina, they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen.

Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn’t belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her.

It is my turn to use. My turn to hurt.

The Accidental Highwayman 
By: Ben Tripp
Publication Date: October 14, 2014

The Accidental Highwayman is the first swashbuckling adventure for young adults by talented author and illustrator, Ben Tripp. This thrilling tale of dark magic and true love is the perfect story for fans of William Goldman’s The Princess Bride.

In eighteenth-century England, young Christopher “Kit” Bristol is the unwitting servant of notorious highwayman Whistling Jack. One dark night, Kit finds his master bleeding from a mortal wound, dons the man’s riding cloak to seek help, and changes the course of his life forever. Mistaken for Whistling Jack and on the run from redcoats, Kit is catapulted into a world of magic and wonders he thought the stuff of fairy tales.

Bound by magical law, Kit takes up his master’s quest to rescue a rebellious fairy princess from an arranged marriage to King George III of England. But his task is not an easy one, for Kit must contend with the feisty Princess Morgana, gobling attacks, and a magical map that portends his destiny: as a hanged man upon the gallows….

Fans of classic fairy-tale fantasies such as Stardust by Neil Gaiman and will find much to love in this irresistible YA debut by Ben Tripp, the son of one of America’s most beloved illustrators, Wallace Tripp (Amelia Bedelia). Following in his father’s footsteps, Ben has woven illustrations throughout the story.

“Delightful and charming. A swashbuckling adventure in the vein of Robert Louis Stevenson.” —#1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson.

Chasing Power
By: Sarah Beth Durst
Publication Date: October 14, 2014

Lies, secrets, and magic — three things that define Kayla's life.

Sixteen-year-old Kayla plans to spend her summer hanging out on the beach in Santa Barbara and stealing whatever she wants, whenever she wants it. Born with the ability to move things with her mind — things like credit cards, diamond rings, and buttons on cash registers — she has become a master shoplifter. She steals to build up a safety net, enough money for her and her mom to be able to flee if her dad finds them again. Well, that, and the thrill of using her secret talents.

But her summer plans change when she's caught stealing by a boy named Daniel — a boy who needs her help and is willing to blackmail her to get it. Daniel has a talent of his own. He can teleport, appearing anywhere in the world in an instant, but he lies as easily as he travels. Together, they embark on a quest to find and steal an ancient incantation, written on three indestructible stones and hidden millennia ago, all to rescue Daniel's kidnapped mother. But Kayla has no idea that this rescue mission will lead back to her own family — and to betrayals that she may not be able to forgive... or survive.

The Cure For Dreaming
By: Cat Winters
Publication Date: October 14, 2014

Olivia Mead is a headstrong, independent girl—a suffragist—in an age that prefers its girls to be docile. It’s 1900 in Oregon, and Olivia’s father, concerned that she’s headed for trouble, convinces a stage mesmerist to try to hypnotize the rebellion out of her. But the hypnotist, an intriguing young man named Henri Reverie, gives her a terrible gift instead: she’s able to see people’s true natures, manifesting as visions of darkness and goodness, while also unable to speak her true thoughts out loud. These supernatural challenges only make Olivia more determined to speak her mind, and so she’s drawn into a dangerous relationship with the hypnotist and his mysterious motives, all while secretly fighting for the rights of women. Winters breathes new life into history once again with an atmospheric, vividly real story, including archival photos and art from the period throughout.

The Fire Artist
By: Daisy Whitney
Publication Date: October 14, 2014

A forbidden romance literally heats up in this new fantasy from acclaimed author Daisy Whitney.

Aria is an elemental artist—she creates fire from her hands. But her power is not natural. She steals it from lightning. It’s dangerous and illegal in her world. When she’s recruited to perform, she seizes the chance to get away from her family. But her power is fading too fast to keep stealing from the sky. She has no choice but to turn to a Granter—a modern day genie. She gets one wish at an extremely high price. Aria’s willing to take a chance, but then she falls in love with the Granter . . . and he wants his freedom. Aria must decide what she’s willing to bargain and how much her own heart, body, and soul are worth.

In a world where the sport of elemental powers is the most popular form of entertainment, readers will be swept away by a romance with stakes higher than life and death.

Snow Like Ashes

By: Sara Raasch
Publication Date: October 14, 2014

Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since.

Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power again.

So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, and serving her kingdom just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own.

Stitching Snow
By: R.C. Lewis
Publication Date: October 14, 2014

Princess Snow is missing.

Her home planet is filled with violence and corruption at the hands of King Matthias and his wife as they attempt to punish her captors. The king will stop at nothing to get his beloved daughter back—but that’s assuming she wants to return at all.

Essie has grown used to being cold. Temperatures on the planet Thanda are always sub-zero, and she fills her days with coding and repairs for the seven loyal drones that run the local mines.

When a mysterious young man named Dane crash-lands near her home, Essie agrees to help the pilot repair his ship. But soon she realizes that Dane’s arrival was far from accidental, and she’s pulled into the heart of a war she’s risked everything to avoid. With the galaxy’s future—and her own—in jeopardy, Essie must choose who to trust in a fiery fight for survival.

Sublime
By: Christina Lauren
Publication Date: October 14, 2014

True love may mean certain death in a ghostly affair of risk and passion from New York Times bestselling duo Christina Lauren, authors ofBeautiful Bastard. Tahereh Mafi, New York Times bestselling author ofShatter Me calls Sublime “a beautiful, haunting read".

When Lucy walks out of a frozen forest, wearing only a silk dress and sandals, she isn’t sure how she got there. But when she sees Colin, she knows for sure that she’s here for him.

Colin has never been captivated by a girl the way he is by Lucy. With each passing day their lives intertwine, and even as Lucy begins to remember more of her life—and her death—neither of them is willing to give up what they have, no matter how impossible it is. And when Colin finds a way to physically be with Lucy, taking himself to the brink of death where his reality and Lucy’s overlap, the joy of being together for those brief stolen moments drowns out everything in the outside world. But some lines weren’t meant to be crossed…

Loop
By: Karen Akins
Publication Date: October 21, 2014

At a school where Quantum Paradox 101 is a required course and history field trips are literal, sixteen year-old time traveler Bree Bennis excels…at screwing up.

After Bree botches a solo midterm to the 21st century by accidentally taking a boy hostage (a teensy snafu), she stands to lose her scholarship. But when Bree sneaks back to talk the kid into keeping his yap shut, she doesn’t go back far enough. The boy, Finn, now three years older and hot as a solar flare, is convinced he’s in love with Bree, or rather, a future version of her that doesn’t think he’s a complete pain in the arse. To make matters worse, she inadvertently transports him back to the 23rd century with her. 

Once home, Bree discovers that a recent rash of accidents at her school are anything but accidental. Someone is attacking time travelers. As Bree and her temporal tagalong uncover seemingly unconnected clues—a broken bracelet, a missing data file, the art heist of the millennium—that lead to the person responsible, she alone has the knowledge to piece the puzzle together. Knowledge only one other person has. Her future self.

But when those closest to her become the next victims, Bree realizes the attacker is willing to do anything to stop her. In the past, present, or future. 

Blue Lily, Lily Blue (The Raven Cycle #3)
By: Maggie Stiefvater
Publication Date: October 21, 2014

The third installment in the mesmerizing series from the irrepressible, #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater.

There is danger in dreaming. But there is even more danger in waking up.

Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs.

The trick with found things though, is how easily they can be lost.

Friends can betray.
Mothers can disappear.
Visions can mislead.
Certainties can unravel.

Waterfall (Teardrop #2)
By: Lauren Kate
Publication Date: October 28, 2014

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Fallen books comes WATERFALL, a novel about love, betrayal, and epic consequences—a world-altering tale told by a girl whose tears have the power to raise the lost continent of Atlantis. This second novel in the Teardrop series is intensely romantic, with strong, hot main characters caught up in a thrilling fantastical love triangle. For readers who love Lauren Kate and the worlds of Alyson Noël, P. C. Cast, Maggie Stiefvater, and Veronica Rossi.

Eureka’s tears have flooded the earth, and now Atlantis is rising, bringing with it its evil king, Atlas. Eureka is the only one who can stop him, but first she must learn how to fight. She travels across the ocean with Cat, her family, and Ander, the gorgeous and mysterious Seedbearer who promises to help her find Solon, an enigmatic lost Seedbearer who knows how to defeat Atlas.

Once on land, Eureka is taunted by gossipwitches, a group of displaced Atlantean sorceresses, and ambushed by locals struggling to survive amid the destruction her tears have wrought. And she feels no closer to facing Atlas or saving the world when Solon lets slip that love is Ander’s weakness, and that any affection he feels toward her makes him age faster.

Trying to make sense of the dark world her sorrow has created, Eureka receives startling insight from an enchanted pond. Her bewildering reflection reveals a soul-crushing secret: if she’s strong enough, Eureka can draw on this knowledge to defeat Atlas—unless her broken heart is just what he needs to fuel his rising kingdom...

In Waterfall, Eureka has the chance to save the world. But she’ll have to give up everything—even love.

Beware the Wild
By: Natalie C. Parker
Publication Date: October 28, 2014

It's an oppressively hot and sticky morning in June when Sterling and her brother, Phin, have an argument that compels him to run into the town swamp -- the one that strikes fear in all the residents of Sticks, Louisiana. Phin doesn't return. Instead, a girl named Lenora May climbs out, and now Sterling is the only person in Sticks who remembers her brother ever existed.

Sterling needs to figure out what the swamp's done with her beloved brother and how Lenora May is connected to his disappearance -- and loner boy Heath Durham might be the only one who can help her. 

This debut novel is full of atmosphere, twists and turns, and a swoon-worthy romance.

Talon
By: Julie Kagawa
Publication Date: October 28, 2014

Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they're positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser.

Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George.

Soldier Garret Xavier Sebastian has a mission to seek and destroy all dragons, and Talon's newest recruits in particular. But he cannot kill unless he is certain he has found his prey: and nothing is certain about Ember Hill. Faced with Ember's bravery, confidence and all-too-human desires, Garret begins to question everything that the Order has ingrained in him: and what he might be willing to give up to find the truth about dragons.

Atlantia
By: Ally Condie
Publication Date: October 28, 2014

Can you hear Atlantia breathing?

For as long as she can remember, Rio has dreamt of the sand and sky Above—of life beyond her underwater city of Atlantia. But in a single moment, all her plans for the future are thwarted when her twin sister, Bay, makes an unexpected decision, stranding Rio Below. Alone, ripped away from the last person who knew Rio’s true self—and the powerful siren voice she has long hidden—she has nothing left to lose.

Guided by a dangerous and unlikely mentor, Rio formulates a plan that leads to increasingly treacherous questions about her mother’s death, her own destiny, and the complex system constructed to govern the divide between land and sea. Her life and her city depend on Rio to listen to the voices of the past and to speak long-hidden truths.

Earth & Sky
By: Megan Crewe
Publication Date: October 28, 2014

Seventeen-year-old Skylar has been haunted for as long as she can remember by fleeting yet powerful sensations that something is horribly wrong. But despite the panic attacks tormenting her, nothing ever happens, and Sky’s beginning to think she’s crazy. Then she meets a mysterious, otherworldly boy named Win and discovers the shocking truth her premonitions have tapped into: our world no longer belongs to us. For thousands of years, Earth has been at the mercy of alien scientists who care nothing for its inhabitants and are using us as the unwitting subjects of their time-manipulating experiments. Win belongs to a rebel faction seeking to put a stop to it, and he needs Skylar’s help--but with each shift in the past, the very fabric of reality is unraveling, and soon there may be no Earth left to save.

Catalyst (Insignia #3)
By: S.J. Kincaid
Publication Date: October 28, 2014

The explosive conclusion to the series reviewers have likened to Ender’s Game and “Hogwarts-in-Space”

This exhilarating, explosive, and heartrending conclusion to the Insignia trilogy brings Tom and his intelligent, passionate, and brave young friends stunning tests and dangerous confrontations and through to an impossible future they could never have predicted.

Tom Raines and his friends are eager to return to the Pentagonal Spire to continue training for the elite Intrasolar Forces, but they soon discover troubling changes: strict new regulations and the revelation that the Spire is under new military control. What begins as an irritating adjustment soon reveals a dangerous shift in reality. Those now in control are aligned with corporate sponsors and their ruthless agendas. And when the military academy begins welcoming new cadets with suspicious neural processors, the first step in a plan with horrifying worldwide ramifications, Tom is desperate to stop it, even if that means keeping secrets from his closest allies.

Then a mysterious figure, the other ghost in the machine, begins fighting against the corporations, but with methods even Tom finds shocking. And when the enemy comes for Tom, how much can Tom endure in the battle to save himself? He must decide if he can still fight when the odds of success seem to be sliding from his grip.

Eternal (Shadow Falls: After Dark #2)
By: C.C. Hunter
Publication Date: October 28, 2014

All her life, Della's secret powers have made her feel separated from her human family. Now, she's where she belongs, at Shadow Falls. With the help of her best friends Kylie and Miranda, she’ll try to prove herself in the paranormal world as an investigator—all the while trying to figure out her own heart. Should she chose Chase, a powerful vampire with whom she shares a special bond? Or Steve, the hot shapeshifter whose kisses make her weak in the knees? When a person with dark connection to her past shows up, it’ll help her decide which guy to choose–and make her question everything she knows about herself. 

From bestselling author C.C. Hunter comes Eternal—a must-read for fans of the Shadow Falls series—and the sequel to Reborn.

*Dates are subject to change*