Goodreads 462 pages, YA Contemporary Romance Pushing the Limits #2 My rating: 4 stars Synopsis Ryan lowers his lips to my ear. "Dance with me, Beth."
"No." I whisper the reply. I hate him and I hate myself for wanting him to touch me again....
"I dare you..."
If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does....
Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.
But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all.... My 2 cents First off, I have to say that I LOVED Pushing the Limits. I was excited to read this one, but I was expecting that it probably wouldn't be as good for me, as I just loved Noah and Echo! I was right, it wasn't as good, but it was still awesome, and I loved the read!
This is a dual POV story between Ryan and Beth. Beth was Noah's good friend in Pushing the Limits. Ryan is a whole new character. Beth tries to help her mom and ends up with a baseball bat trying to hit the disgusting boyfriend, Trent. She covers for her mom, and her mom officially loses custody, and Beth's long lost uncle, Scott, takes her to his mansion in another town. Scott is a very famous and rich retired pro baseball player for the Yankees.
As you would imagine, Beth hates this whole thing, but Scott threatens Beth if she doesn't change her ways he will send her mom to jail. He has a ton of rules, and poor Beth ends up at a surburban school, the same one she went to when she was little. There she meets Ryan, star baseball player. He has been given a dare to get Beth's phone number and take her out on a date. And Ryan doesn't like losing!
Since this story has a character driven plot, let's look at the characters in the book.
The Characters
Beth
Positives: She is very feisty, spunky and spontaneous, and really knows how to stick up for herself. A true individual.
Negatives: She can be a real biotch, and she has misguided loyalties to her druggie mother. She also has major trust issues, and doesn't want to make new friends.
Ryan
Positives: Hot, built, athletic, a real gentleman to the ladies, and a sense of loyalty to his family and friends.
Negatives: Needs to stand up to his parents, and cut Beth some slack.
Lacy One of the best characters in the story. One of Ryan's true friends, she's as perfect as it gets.
Chris Ryan's best friend, and he annoyed me constantly. He can't understand why Ryan is into Beth, and he only seems to care about baseball. Luckily, Lacy straightens him out a lot.
Isaiah Oh, poor Isaiah. He is still desperately in love with Beth, but it ain't happening. Their friendship gets really rocky in this story. I can't wait for his HEA!
Scott Scott was a jerk a lot, until the very end when he actually starts trying to listen to Beth. I get that he's trying to straighten her out, but asking her to cut off all her style and friends is really harsh.
Gwen The true evil girl in this story. I wanted to pull all her hair out!
Noah Not in this story as much, and same with Echo. But he does help Beth several times, and is the same gorgeous guy as always!
This one was full of drama, just like Pushing the Limits, and lots of angst ridden romance as well! I loved the ending, and was so proud of all the characters growth by the end! This one is a great contemporary romance! FYI, there is not any graphic sex, but there is a lot of foul langauage.
In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren. Us bloggers feature any new books we've received in the past week, either bought, borrowed, or received for review.
Goodreads 296 pages, YA Contemporary Standalone My rating: 3.5 stars Synopsis Astrid Jones desperately wants to confide in someone, but her mother's pushiness and her father's lack of interest tell her they're the last people she can trust. Instead, Astrid spends hours lying on the backyard picnic table watching airplanes fly overhead. She doesn't know the passengers inside, but they're the only people who won't judge her when she asks them her most personal questions . . . like what it means that she's falling in love with a girl.
As her secret relationship becomes more intense and her friends demand answers, Astrid has nowhere left to turn. She can't share the truth with anyone except the people at thirty thousand feet, and they don't even know she's there. But little does Astrid know just how much even the tiniest connection will affect these strangers' lives--and her own--for the better.
In this truly original portrayal of a girl struggling to break free of society's definitions, Printz Honor author A.S. King asks readers to question everything--and offers hope to those who will never stop seeking real love. My 2 cents Astrid is pretty sure she is gay. But not a 100% sure, although she knows her best friend, Kristin is gay. Kristin hides it by having a "boyfriend" named Justin (who is also gay) and they double date all the time with another couple, that are there actual partners. Astrid is misunderstood by a very dominating mother, a father who spends most of his time smoking pot in secret, and a younger sister that hates her.
Her favorite thing to do is to lay on her picnic table and watch the planes go by, and then send up her love to them because she doesn't want to really love anyone in her life. And this is where the story got kind of weird for me. She's sending out her love, and then we jump to a passenger in an actual plane and what their thoughts are. It was a little all over the place,and I just couldn't figure out how it relates to Astrid.
The parts of the story where we get to see her in her own life are the most interesting. Astrid goes to a high school EXACTLY like mine was, so even though I'm not gay myself, I could really relate to her. The high school scenes were actually the most in depth in the book. If the author has just omitted those strange scenes with the passengers, I would have enjoyed the story even more!
Goodreads 519 pages, YA Zombies, Dystopian Benny Imara #2 My Rating: 4.5 stars Synopsis Six months have passed since the terrifying battle with Charlie Pink-eye and the Motor City Hammer in the zombie-infested mountains of the Rot & Ruin. It’s also six months since Benny Imura and Nix Riley saw something in the air that changed their lives. Now, after months of rigorous training with Benny’s zombie-hunter brother Tom, Benny and Nix are ready to leave their home forever and search for a better future. Lilah the Lost Girl and Benny’s best friend Lou Chong are going with them. Sounds easy. Sounds wonderful. Except that everything that can go wrong does. Before they can even leave there is a shocking zombie attack in town. But as soon as they step into the Rot & Ruin they are pursued by the living dead, wild animals, insane murderers and the horrors of Gameland –where teenagers are forced to fight for their lives in the zombie pits. Worst of all…could the evil Charlie Pink-eye still be alive?
In the great Rot & Ruin everything wants to kill you. Everything…and not everyone in Benny’s small band of travelers will make it out alive. My 2 cents I am so happy to tell you that I love the sequel better than the first book! Dust and Decay is all about Tom taking Benny, Nix, Lilah, and Chong out to the Ruin to find out what the jet was they find in the first book.
But Tom hasn't been outside of town for months now, and things have changed for the worse in the Ruin. The group is separated and each battling their own demons. Gameland is still alive and well, and there's word that White Bear has taken over, and become more ruthless.
The book is full of action. A lot of it is pretty gory, like the first book. What I loved was we actually learn a lot more about the characters, and get to see them at their best and worst. What annoyed me was how DUMB the boys were in this story! Morgie, Chong, and Benny all do stupid boy things, and I just wanted to smack them in the heads!
Tom is amazing as ever, from beginning to end. We also get to meet a whole new cast of bounty hunters, most of them friends of Tom. The ending was amazing, with some really good kick butt moments, but also very, very sad. Things are set up nicely for the third book!
Goodreads 404 pages, YA Fantasy Throne of Glass #1 My Rating: 5 stars Synopsis After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom.
Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.
Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another.
Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined. My 2 cents I love a good fantasy read, and Throne of Glass did not disappoint! This series also has 4 short story eBook prequels. I did read the first one, and I also really liked it. They give a lot background information on Celaena, and I really need to read the other three. I would recommend reading them before you read this book.
Calaena is the best assassin in the land. She has found herself in the hands of the Crown Prince Adarlan, Dorian, and the Captain of the Royal Guard, Chaol. She is competing with 23 other men for the title of King's Champion. If she wins this competition, she will be the King's hired assassin for 4 years, and then she will earn her freedom.
The best thing about the story was Calaena herself. Calaena has had a rough life, and she is one tough cookie. She's afraid of almost nothing, and is as beautiful as she is deadly. It doesn't take long before she's attracted the attentions of the Prince. Chaol doesn't trust her at all, and thinks she is very manipulative, but even he starts to develop feelings for her. Calaena is pretty clueless to all this. She is focused only on winning.
The story has everything I'd want in a fantasy. A warring world, an evil king, swords and ancient magic, conspiracies, and plenty of duel and battles. The cast of characters are fabulous, and I think were the best part. Besides our top three players, we have the evil king before mentioned, an evil Duke, a strange princess the befriends Calaena, and 23 other champions that range between cunning and sadistic. There is so much depth to everything in this story, and I was easily able to lose myself in it while reading. I can't wait to read the sequel!
Goodreads 458 pages, YA Paranormal (zombies), Dystopian Benny Imara #1 My rating: 4 stars Synopsis In the zombie-infested, post-apocalyptic America where Benny Imura lives, every teenager must find a job by the time they turn fifteen or get their rations cut in half. Benny doesn't want to apprentice as a zombie hunter with his boring older brother Tom, but he has no choice. He expects a tedious job whacking zoms for cash, but what he gets is a vocation that will teach him what it means to be human. My 2 cents Rot and Ruin is a completely fresh new zombie series. It takes zombies in a post apocalyptic setting and creates a smart new dystopian novel. The world building in this book is incredible, and I was sucked in immediately.
The main focus of the story is Benny and his older brother Tom's relationship. Tom saved Benny from "First Night" when he was just a baby and has cared for him ever since. Benny thinks his brother is a coward since he ran away with Benny and left their parents to die. He doesn't believe his brother could be a good "Bounty Hunter."
But Benny must find a job and after several miserable attempts, his only choice is to train with his brother. Tom takes Benny out to the Ruin, and from there, Benny's life is never the same.
This book is not for the faint of heart. Its extremely violent and gory, as you would expect any zombie book to be. But what I really loved was how real it all felt, and how human the author made the zombies feel. The characters were also really well done. I'm so excited to read the rest of the series!
Goodreads 237 pages, YA Sci-Fi, Suspense Mind Games #1 My rating: 4 stars Synopsis Fia was born with flawless instincts. Her first impulse, her gut feeling, is always exactly right. Her sister, Annie, is blind to the world around her—except when her mind is gripped by strange visions of the future.
Trapped in a school that uses girls with extraordinary powers as tools for corporate espionage, Annie and Fia are forced to choose over and over between using their abilities in twisted, unthinkable ways…or risking each other’s lives by refusing to obey.
In a stunning departure from her New York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy, Kiersten White delivers a slick, edgy, heartstoppingly intense psychological thriller about two sisters determined to protect each other—no matter the cost. My 2 cents This was a pretty quick, intense read! I really loved the mystery and intrigue of it. The story goes back and forth between what is happening in the present day, and flashbacks of how the girls got to where they are now. The POV switches between Fia, the talented girl who has perfect instincts, and Annie, her blind older sister who sees visions.
They are wrapped up in the clutches of a school that trains girls with paranormal abilities. Fia is their most talented student, and they use her for all kinds of shady deeds. She must comply for Annie's sake. They keep Annie locked up and threaten her life if Fia does not cooperate.
It takes awhile to make sense of everything, but it really keeps the suspense of the story going. The title is perfect for this book, because that's what the story is--one big mind game! I had no idea how things would play out, and who the bad guys and good guys really were!
My favorite part of the story was Fia. She was a very intense, complex, and smart girl! Her sister, Annie, really annoyed me. I couldn't believe how stupid she was. And why the heck she just didn't trust Fia in the first place?
The ending was a shocker, and again, more mind games were involved! There will be a sequel to this story, and I can't wait to find out what Fia does next!
