No. 14 for 2014

Title: Private L.A.
Author: James Patterson and Mark Sullivan
Rating: 4/5
Book: 14/50
Pages: 425 pgs
Total Pages: 5,567/15,000 pages
Library Book?: Yes
No. of Library Books read: 13/18
Version: Book
Next up: Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

I really enjoyed this book. It was a solid book with a great plot and the characters that I have enjoyed in previous books. Where Patterson has been failing in his <i>Alex Cross</i> series, he makes up in his other books (perhaps it’s because he actually has to write the <i>Alex Cross</i> series as he doesn’t have second author.)

The only thing I found is this book seemed a little too unrealistic in parts but overall, it was a great read and I couldn’t put it down.

About the Book:

Thom and Jennifer Harlow are the perfect couple, with three perfect children. They maybe two of the biggest mega movie stars in the world, but they’re also great parents, philanthropists and just all-around good people.When they disappear without a word from their ranch, facts are hard to find. They live behind such a high wall of security and image control that even world-renowned Private Investigator Jack Morgan can’t get to the truth. But as Jack keeps probing, secrets sprout thick and fast–and the world’s golden couple may emerge as hiding behind a world of desperation and deception that the wildest reality show couldn’t begin to unveil. Murder is only the opening scene.

No. 13 for 2014

Title: Emerald Green
Author: Kerstin Gier
Rating: 3/5
Book: 13/50
Pages: 447 pgs
Total Pages: 5,142/15,000 pages
Library Book?: Yes
No. of Library Books read: 12/18
Version: Book
Next up: Private L.A. by James Patterson and Mark Sullivan

I really loved Ruby Red and I enjoyed Sapphire Blue but Emerald Green left me wanting something more from it. Perhaps it’s because I marathoned the series. Maybe I would have enjoyed Emerald Green more had I taken a break from the series.

I really enjoyed the relationship between Gwen and Gideon but there were parts that felt almost forced. The plot moved along at a nice pace but there seemed to be too much going on that was all conveniently wrapped up in the last 50 pages or so.

However, I would still recommend this series to anyone who enjoys a good quirky fantasy novel. I’m definitely glad that I checked this series out.

About the Book:

Gwen has a destiny to fulfill, but no one will tell her what it is.

She’s only recently learned that she is the Ruby, the final member of the time-traveling Circle of Twelve, and since then nothing has been going right. She suspects the founder of the Circle, Count Saint-German, is up to something nefarious, but nobody will believe her. And she’s just learned that her charming time-traveling partner, Gideon, has probably been using her all along.

No. 12 for 2014

Title: Sapphire Blue
Author: Kerstin Gier
Rating: 4/5
Book: 12/50
Pages: 354 pgs
Total Pages: 4,695/15,000 pages
Library Book?: Yes
No. of Library Books read: 11/18
Version: Book
Next up: Emerald Green by Kerstin Gier

A terrific follow up to Ruby Red, however, I didn’t quite enjoy this one as much as I did the first book in the series.

Definitely still grabbed and kept my interest and I was eagerly turning pages to see what happened next but there was just something that this book lacked that the first one had.

I really loved the addition of Xemerius (a ghost demon gargoyle)to the cast. I look forward to hopefully learning more about his story in Emerald Green.

About the Book:

Gwen’s life has been a rollercoaster since she discovered she was the Ruby, the final member of the secret time-traveling Circle of Twelve. In between searching through history for the other time-travelers and asking for a bit of their blood (gross!), she’s been trying to figure out what all the mysteries and prophecies surrounding the Circle really mean.

At least Gwen has plenty of help. Her best friend Lesley follows every lead diligently on the Internet. James the ghost teaches Gwen how to fit in at an eighteenth century party. And Xemerius, the gargoyle demon who has been following Gwen since he caught her kissing Gideon in a church, offers advice on everything. Oh, yes. And of course there is Gideon, the Diamond. One minute he’s very warm indeed; the next he’s freezing cold. Gwen’s not sure what’s going on there, but she’s pretty much destined to find out.

No. 11 for 2014

Title: Ruby Red
Author: Kerstin Gier
Rating: 5/5
Book: 11/50
Pages: 322 pgs
Total Pages: 4,341/15,000 pages
Library Book?: Yes
No. of Library Books read: 10/18
Version: Book
Next up: Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I’m not usually one to pick up a book about time traveling but after seeing Ruby Red listed on many of my favourite booktuber’s TBR/Wrap up’s, I decided to give the series a try and am I glad that I did.

The plot keeps moving very fast and the characters are very relatable and likeable. I liked that while our main character had grown up with the idea of time traveling, she knew nothing about it and once she was thrown into time traveling, she wasn’t automatically an expert at it and was frustrated, nervous and excited about it.

And Gideon….I really like Gideon and I can’t wait to see how his story unfolds.

About the Book:

Although I had never seen him before, I recognized him immediately. I’d have known his voice anywhere. This was the guy I’d seen on my last journey back in time.

Or more precisely, the one who’d kissed my doppelganger while I was hiding behind the curtain in disbelief.

Sixteen-year-old Gwen lives with her extended – and rather eccentric – family in an exclusive London neighborhood. In spite of her ancestors’ peculiar history, she’s had a relatively normal life so far. The time-traveling gene that runs like a secret thread through the female half of the family is supposed to have skipped over Gwen, so she hasn’t been introduced to “the mysteries,” and can spend her time hanging out with her best friend, Lesly. It comes as an unwelcome surprise when she starts taking sudden, uncontrolled leaps into the past.

She’s totally unprepared for time travel, not to mention all that comes with it: fancy clothes, archaic manners, a mysterious secret society, and Gideon, her time-traveling counterpart. He’s obnoxious, a know-it-all, and possibly the best-looking guy she’s seen in any centrury . . . .

No. 10 for 2014

Title: The Evolution of Mara Dyer
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Rating: 4/5
Book: 10/50
Pages: 527 pgs
Total Pages: 4,019/15,000 pages
Library Book?: Yes
No. of Library Books read: 9/18
Version: Book
Next up: Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

OMG THE CLIFFHANGER!!!!!! I. NEED. BOOK. THREE. NOW!!!

That being said, while I really enjoyed this book, I didn’t find it as creepy as the first book but I can’t wait for book three. I need to know what happens next. I’m also glad that I have some time to recover before book three due to my heart being ripped out and shattered into a million pieces by Hodkin.

Read these books. Seriously!

About the Book:

Mara Dyer once believed she could run from her past.

She can’t.

She used to think her problems were all in her head.

They aren’t.

She couldn’t imagine that after everything she’s been through, the boy she loves would still be keeping secrets.

She’s wrong.

No. 9 for 2014

Title: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Rating: 5/5
Book: 9/50
Pages: 452 pgs
Total Pages: 3,492/15,000 pages
Library Book?: Yes
No. of Library Books read: 8/18
Version: Book
Next up: The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

What a deliciously creepy book! I loved this book. It keeps you guessing, it haunts you and it’s mixed up with some well done romance. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone. I am definitely looking forward to reading the second book in the trilogy!

About the Book:

Mara Dyer doesn’t think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.

There is.

She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love.

She’s wrong.

No. 8 for 2014

Title: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown
Author: Holly Black
Rating: 2/5
Book: 8/50
Pages: 419 pgs
Total Pages: 3,040/15,000 pages
Library Book?: Yes
No. of Library Books read: 7/18
Version: Book
Next up: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Despite the great reviews this book had, I wasn’t blown away by it. There were some good and interesting aspects of the book but a lot of it was drawn out to me. Had I not already have been halfway through the book, it would have become a “did not finish” book but I figured I was too far invested to give up on it.

I will not likely be reading any subsequent books if this book turns into a series.

About the Book:

Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown’s gates, you can never leave.

One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself.