Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Book One of the Lunar Chronicles

Marissa Meyer's admits on her website (FAQ section, www.marissameyer.com) that the idea for this story was born when she entered a writing contest.  What a fun way to start!

This book was purchased for me by a great little reader I had the pleasure of teaching.  This science fiction book is set in the future and follows Cinder, a cyborg.  I love the way Marissa brings this story to life and yet shocks me with the twists.  I loved the independent and strong main character.  I love the wickedly evil antagonist.  I was heartbroken for some of the twists and invested in the ending of the story.

I will avidly search for the rest of this series, which promises to be further adaptations of fairy tales you thought you knew.

4 smiles

Passion (and Rapture) by Lauren Kate

First and foremost I'd like to point out that the mistake has been fixed!  In my review of the 2nd book in the Fallen series, Torment, I somehow reversed the author's name.  As I said, it's been fixed.  Sorry to Lauren (should you happen to stumble upon this review).  I sincerely hope you weren't offended!

This review will encompass both Passion (book 3) and Rapture (book 4) which I read one right after the other.

Fallen is a series about two star-crossed lovers, Lucinda and Daniel.  In Torment we learned more about their curse and Daniel's background.  In Passion we were able to explore more of Lucinda and it was inspired.  There was a time travel element in this one which I enjoyed more than I thought I would.  Lauren Kate did her research and it shows.  I learned to love Daniel, I grew my respect for Lucinda, and I started to believe in their history.

Immediately I ran to the library and checked out Rapture (oddly Rapture is labeled as horror by my local library where the rest were labeled as mysteries or romance).  The series finale did not disappoint at all.  The religious element, which was needed the second you found out Daniel was an angel, was tastefully done.  I loved the moment when Luce fully unlocks the truth of her past all the way to my soul.  I was fully connected to these characters, which is a great compliment.

My only issue was that I wanted more of Cam.  I felt myself physically hurting to know what happened to him.  THEN I went on Ms. Kate's website and learned something amazing...she's writing Cam's story!  Expect me to look for and review Unforgiven soon!

4 smiles for the books that rounded out this series, they were the best ones in it!

Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult

I'm a serious Jodi Picoult fan.  I stalk her on Facebook (I can't help it...she's just so REAL on her page).  I devour everything she writes and I quickly recommend all of it to friends, relatives, and total strangers who look like they could use a good book. Picoult gets under your skin.  Her writing completely messes with your head in a way that is refreshing.  You simply cannot be stupid or hold tight to your previous convictions about grey areas of life when you read Picoult's work.

That being said, this one went in a direction I didn't love. True to her style, this one brought up something dark and sinister and took it for a deep analysis.  She brings you into the minds and lives of your characters and they come alive.  My only problem was with how Cassie (our protagonist) handles her situation (actively trying not to ruin the twist here, forgive me for being cryptic).  I wanted Cassie's inner strengths to translate to her exterior.  I wanted her bravery to show outwardly.  Arguably this mirrors real life, but I still felt disappointed.

Nevertheless, 4 smiles for this one.  Regardless of your opinion on the ending...you will have strong feelings and strong opinions.  That, after all, is what Jodi does best.

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

This is the debut novel from the author of Gone Girl, which I previously rated 5 smiles and a wink.

Camille, the leading lady of this dark tale, has issues she slowly is forced to confront as she travels back home to write a story about missing girls in her hometown.  The story is twisted, scary, and I loved it.  As with Gone Girl, I was constantly impressed with the language and plot choices made by Miss. Flynn.  The characters were positively real, even the twisted ones!

I did figure out the who-done-it aspect a bit early and spent some time waiting for Camille to catch up with it, but it didn't ruin the book at all!  It does keep me from giving a wink to this book of twists since it kept me from being surprised.

4 hearty smiles

Hope to Die by James Patterson

The 22nd exciting novel in the Alex Cross series (my all time favorite)

"In situations where the sane flee from danger, law enforcement officers sprint to engage it..."

Alex Cross books always deliver on action, but this one makes the others feel like a walk in the park.  My heart raced, my fingers tried in vain to keep up with the pace I devoured the words, and my throat constricted to hold back tears.  This book is a masterpiece, reminding all who doubted (NEVER me) that Patterson deserves every accolade and award he has received.  Other authors should read this one and take notes.

5 large smiles
1 tear (whoa, emotions)

House of Hades by Rick Riordan

Heroes of Olympus, Book 4

It's not a secret that I adore Rick Riordan and his main character extraordinaire, Percy Jackson.  This book, the long awaited sequel to Mark of Athena (which ended on a cliffhanger so disheartening even the author knew to apologize in his dedication) brings back all of our favorite demigods.

This book allows loyal fans to bear witness to the maturing of many beloved characters.  Leo just reads like a calmer guy, Percy seems more at peace, Piper is stronger, and some long awaited answers about Nico finally arrive.

The book doesn't have the satisfying ending of a final installment (I know that's because it's clearly not the last) but it also doesn't have the action of the earlier books.  It read like the falling action of a story...which was a bit disappointing.  I'm still a HUGE fan of the series and I've already put the next book on my wish list...but this one is only 3 smiles.

Four by Veronica Roth

Divergent was an amazing series (see my earlier review).  This new book, following Tobias (my favorite) will not disappoint fans.  You'll get more of his story, some favorite scenes from Divergent from Tobias' viewpoint, and get yourself right back into their world for awhile.  As a stand-alone book it would be highly frustrating, because it's not intended to be the complete tale.  But for those of us who read the series and craved a little more, this is the missing piece.

Fittingly, 4 smiles.