Book #90: Serpent's Kiss

Title: Serpent's Kiss (Book #2 in Witches of East End series)

Author: Melissa de la Cruz

Date started reading: June 27, 2012
Date finished reading: July 1, 2012

Publish date: June 2012
ISBN: 978-1401323967
Number of pages: 336

Official summary: "Joanna and her daughters, bookish Ingrid and wild-child Freya, are just settling into the newfound peace that has been cast over their small, off-the map town of North Hampton. With the centuries-old restriction against practicing magic lifted, casting spells, mixing potions, and curing troubled souls has never felt so good for the three witches. That is, until everything gets turned upside down -- from Joanna's organized kitchen to Ingrid's previously nonexistent love life to Freya's once unshakeable faith in her sexy soul mate, Killian Gardiner. When Freya's twin brother, Freddie, suddenly returns, escaped from Limbo and professing innocence on a long-ago crime, Freya should be ecstatic. The golden boy can do no wrong. Or can he? Freddie blames no other than her fiancee Killian for his downfall, and enlists Freya's help to prove it. Now Freya doesn't know who to believe or trust. And for the first time in -- well, forever, really -- Ingrid is also busy in love. Matt Noble, the handsome and charming police detective, has won her heart. But can romance work between a virgin witch and a mortal who doesn't believe in magic? Things get even more complicated when it appears Ingrid is harboring the prime suspects in Matt's police investigation. To add to the chaos, a dead spirit is attempting to make contact with Joanna -- but does it mean to bring harm or help? Joanna asks her sort-of ex-husband Norman to help figure it out, only to accidentally invite him to a Thanksgiving dinner with a dapper gentleman she's recently begun dating. As the witches pull together to discover the serpent within their midst and the culprit behind Freddie's imprisonment, everything is thrown into peril. Will the discovery come too late to save those they love most?" (http://melissa-delacruz.com)

Official book trailer:

How I obtained the book: Checked out of library. (Why the hell does this book have a retail price of $23.99? That's insane)

My commentary:

• I wasn't totally in love with the first book in this series, but I thought it was okay. This one bothered me quite a bit, mainly because it kept jumping back and forth between the characters way too much. I don't mind each chapter focusing on one character, but when some chapters are only 2 or 3 pages long, it just jumps around way too much. Who does 2 page chapters anyway??? 
• Ultimately I'm very disappointed with this book. I think overall there were just way too many different storylines going on at once, and having four different perspectives (Joanna, Freya, Ingrid, and Freddie) was just too much. In the first book it just followed the three women and that was bad enough, but adding Freddie into it with this book just made things too crazy. Each of the four characters had love life issues on top of all the magical stuff going on. Joanna was in a love triangle and trying to track down a ghost. Freya has relationship issues, has to deal with Freddie's return, goes traveling through time, and is trying to prove her boyfriend isn't evil. Ingrid is trying to overcome her oldest-virgin-on-the-planet issues in order to date a man and has to deal with a group of pixies (yes, pixies) that are introduced in this book. Freddie is sleeping around with every college girl he can find until he falls in love with a mysterious girl over the internet, is trying to prove Freya's boyfriend is evil, and is trying to prove his own innocence. It was just all too much.
• Something occurred to me about half way through this book. This is a spin-off series from de la Cruz's "Blue Bloods" series, and the witches are supposed to live in the same fictitious world as the "Blue Bloods" vampires/fallen angels. In "Blue Bloods," it's basically implied that there is one God, Lucifier, and the other fallen angels that are typical in most stories. But in the "Witches of the East End" series, the witches are all former gods and goddesses who were banished to earth for eternity. I have no issue with the idea of gods and goddesses in paranormal books, but if you've already established a world and the rules of its world, you can't just go changing things up like this. If the author hadn't included some of the "Blue Bloods" characters in this series, and had Freya show up in a "Blue Bloods" book, there wouldn't be an issue at all. I think she should've just kept the two series separate if she wanted to go off in another direction. 
• Normally when I check a book out of the library, I end up buying it later on so I can have it on my bookshelf. I don't think this will end up being one I ever buy. I may even sell off the first book in the series. I'd say I won't read any books in this series in the future, but I'm sure I'll read them, but I won't be buying them unless the series gets drastically better somehow

Memorable quotes:

• "It was hard to imagine that someone who had lived so long had so little experience with romance, but Ingrid had always preferred reading about love to getting involved in messy dramas herself. Love stories never ended well."
• "True love was the very essence of magic." ~ Ingrid
• "Magical passageways were so much more useful than commuting." ~ Ingrid
• "I'm your Old Faithful. Here to spout wisdom and truth." ~ Hudson to Ingrid
• "Feelings, which aren't always rational, have their own life span and sometimes, for whatever reason, need to be lived out." ~ Joanna
• "I haven't become a crazy witch yet." ~ Joanna
• "This was the thing about the Beauchamp women, the common thread that ran through all of them, hubris: they were each stubborn in their own way and sometimes too confident for their own good."  
• "(Ingrid) was a girl, and (Matt) was a man, a grown-up, while she still lived, embarrassingly enough with her mother. She was immortal, but she was the child. ... She felt somewhat ridiculous, like a thirty-two-year-old teenager." 
• "If it weren't the goddess of love and beauty herself calling, I would have much rather snoozed." ~ Jean to Freya
• "Norman was not fond of conflict -- or he simply didn't like it when his ladies got prickly with one another."

Buy on Amazon.com: Serpent's Kiss: A Witches of East End Novel

Book #89: Gone

Title: Gone (book #3 in the Wake series)

Author: Lisa McMann

Date started reading: June 25, 2012
Date finished reading: June 26, 2012

Publish date: January 2011
ISBN: 978-1416979210
Number of pages: 240

Official summary: "Janie thought she knew what her future held. And she thought she'd made her peace with it. But she can't handle dragging Cabel down with her. She knows he will stay with her, despite what she sees in his dreams. He's amazing. And she's a train wreck. Janie sees only one way to give him the life he deserves -- she has to disappear. And it's going to kill them both. Then a stranger enters her life -- and everything unravels. The future Janie once faced now has an ominous twist, and her choices are more dire than she'd ever thought possible. She alone must decide between the lesser of two evils. And time is running out... " (http://lisamcmann.com)

Official series trailer:

How I obtained the book: Bought for $3.59 at local used book store. It's a publisher's remainder book instead of a used book

My commentary:

• This was the best book out of the trilogy. The entire series was really bittersweet. Even the happy endings make me want to cry a little. I'm glad that Janie was able to learn exactly what her options truly were concerning her dream catching. The affinity is both a curse and a gift for her and everyone in her life. 
• There's a theme of parent/child dynamics throughout the series. Cabel's dad was abusive and died in prison. His mother abandoned him. Janie's mother is an alcoholic, and she never knew her father. Janie's best friend's parents aren't totally stable either. Some of it was hard for me to deal with due to growing up in the same sort of toxic home. But it also helped me connect to the story more. I'm glad that Janie finally stands up to her mom in this book.
• Once again there was more sexual content in this book than I had expected, but there is one really funny part when Janie wants to give Cabel's penis a nickname, or get him to admit if he's ever nicknamed it.

Memorable quotes:

• "It's like she can't breathe anymore, no matter what she does. Like everything is closing in on her, crowding her. Threatening her." ~ Janie
• "The pressure is breathtaking. She's suffocating. Just wants to run. Hide. So she can just be." ~ Janie
• "Dreams don't take vacations when people do." ~ Janie
• "Some things are really just easier done alone." ~ Janie
• "Parents are nothing but trouble." ~ Janie
• "Maybe broken hearts can mend more easily than broken hands and eyes." ~ Janie
• "With the right person, sometimes kissing feels like healing." ~ Janie
• "It's all so complicated. It always is, with Janie."
• "There's just no happily ever after in Janie's book."

Buy on Amazon.com: Gone (Wake)

Book #88: Fade

Title: Fade (book #2 in the Wake series)

Author: Lisa McMann

Date started reading: June 23, 2012
Date finished reading: June 24, 2012

Publish date: January 2010
ISBN: 978-1416974482
Number of pages: 272

Official summary: "For Janie and Cabel, real life is getting tougher than the dreams. They're just trying to carve out a little (secret) time together, but no such luck. Disturbing things are happening at Fieldridge High, yet nobody's talking. When Janie taps into a classmate's violent nightmares, the case finally breaks open -- but nothing goes as planned. Not even close. Janie's in way over her head, and Cabel's shocking behavior has grave consequences for them both. Worse yet, Janie learns the truth about herself and her ability. And it's bleak. Seriously, brutally bleak. Not only is her fate as a Dream Catcher sealed, but what's to come is way darker than she'd even feared..." (http://lisamcmann.com)

Official series trailer:

How I obtained the book: Got through PaperBackSwap.com. (It's a free online book club, but I had to pay to mail a book to another member in order to get a credit to request this book)

My commentary:  Once again, I have the "odd but good" impression of this book. The book was a very fast read, but it sucked me in completely so it didn't seem like I was lacking for any storyline or anything else. There was more sexual content than I expected, but I guess when a "dream catcher" is used to help catch sexual predators, you gotta expect at least some sexual stuff. The ending was one of those extremely sad happy endings. I sometimes hate endings like that. I guess at least it wasn't all sad. There were good, happy parts to the ending, but there's also the knowledge of sad things to come, so it's all bittersweet. 

Memorable quotes:

• "Safe equals boring." ~ Janie
• "Carrie loves a good scandal." ~ Janie
• "Dreams happens in the strangest places." ~ Miss Stubin
• "There's something about a guy who admits he's a jerk that makes him forgivable." ~ Janie
• "Dreams are where you least expect them." ~ Miss Stubin
• "Endless speculation only leads to dead ends." ~ Captain

Buy on Amazon.com: Fade (Wake Series, Book 2)

Book #87: Wake

Title: Wake

Author: Lisa McMann

Date started reading: June 22, 2012
Date finished reading:  June 23, 2012

Publish date: December 2008
ISBN: 978-1416974475
Number of pages: 224

Official summary: "For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people's dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie's seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime. She can't tell anybody about what she does -- they'd never believe her, or worse, they'd think she's a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn't want and can't control. Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone. For the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else's twisted psyche. She is a participant...." (http://lisamcmann.com)

Official series trailer:

How I obtained the book: Got through PaperBackSwap.com. (It's a free online book club, but I had to pay to mail a book to another member in order to get a credit to request this book)

My commentary:  I'm struggling to find the words I want to use to explain this book. The best I can come up with is "odd but good." It has a unique feel. The story is interesting... a girl who gets sucked into other people's dreams. It's written in an almost stream of consciousness style, which gives it some uniqueness. It's not really separated into true chapters. There are sections, but no chapter numbers. Each section is divided into days/times. The way the book is set up makes the story go pretty fast-paced which kept me on my toes. I am glad I decided to give this series a chance.

Memorable quotes:

• "Nobody ever sleeps in the bathroom." ~ Janie
• "I get sucked into people's dreams. I can't help it. I can't stop it. It's driving me crazy." ~ Janie
• "Dreams are not memories, Janie. They're hopes and fears. Indications of other life stresses. I thought you of all people would know the difference." ~ Cabel
• "Time to stop crying, time to get her act together and do something. Time to move beyond the pity party. Before she loses her mind. Because there's no way on earth she's going to make it through college unless she grows some series ovaries and turns this train wreck around." ~ Janie

Buy on Amazon.com: Wake (Wake Series, Book 1)

Book #86: Stunning

Title: Stunning (Book #11 of the Pretty Little Liars series)

Author: Sara Shepard

Date started reading: June 21, 2012
Date finished reading:  June 21, 2012

Publish date: June 2012
ISBN: 9780062081896
Number of pages: 320

Official summary: "In Rosewood, Pennsylvania, four stunningly beautiful girls are haunted by a very ugly past. Spencer, Aria, Hanna, and Emily want nothing more than to forget Alison DiLaurentis, their former best friend who tried to ruin their lives. But someone refuses to let her memory die. A is still out there, lurking in the shadows and digging up the pretty little liars' newest secrets. Emily's reconnecting with an old flame, one baby step at a time. But is she headed toward true love or another bundle of heartache? Spencer's learning about the highs and lows of campus life on a trip to Princeton. Aria's seeing a whole new side to Noel's dad — and it could drive a wedge between her and Noel. And, for better or worse, Hanna's getting in touch with her inner A. Secret by secret, lie by lie, the girls get tangled in A's dangerous web. A knows about everything, from their tiniest transgressions to the awful incident in Jamaica. Soon A will have enough ammunition to pull the trigger and end the pretty little liars, once and for all." (http://prettylittleliars.alloyentertainment.com/)

How I obtained the book: Pre-ordered for $13.88 through Barnes & Noble

Memorable quotes:

• "In Rosewood, the only way to keep your secrets safe is to have none at all." 
• "Money isn't everything, you know." ~ Aria to Emily
• "(Hanna) knew what Their Ali would say if she were still alive: All's fair in love and pole dancing."
• "It's not fun to keep secrets. But sometimes you have to do it to protect yourself. And to protect people around you." ~ Meredith to Aria
• "I do love a good costume." ~ Mr. Kahn 
• "Reefer opened his closet doors and stepped away. Inside was a tall, clear plastic cabinet with at least thirty pullout drawers (full of pot). ... (Spencer had) figured Reefer would have his stash in a dirty sock under his bed, or rolled up in a bunch of Socialist newspapers. The organizer was pristinely clean. ... It was in alphabetical order. Spencer smiled inwardly. If she were a pot fiend, she'd probably organize her drug stash like this." 
• "In some cultures, distinguishing different brands of pot is much more refined than having a good palate for wines." ~ Reefer 
• "Popularity had turned Ali, Mona, and Hanna into remorseless bitches."  
• "(Emily) was so scared that any minute, the delicate house of cards that was her life would topple over." 
• "We're the Pretty Little Liars. People send us fake notes all the time, and this was all just a terrible coincidence." ~ Emily lying to police 
• "Secrets can eat you alive. They break down your soul. It's always better to have things out in the open." ~ Meredith to Aria 
• "Exposing a secret was only important when you felt threatened by someone -- when they made you feel insecure or had something you wanted or made you scared." ~ Hanna
• "The last thing this family needs is more scandal." ~ Spencer's mom 
• "Everything felt so screwed up and wrong; the perfect plan for her life had fallen to pieces." ~ Spencer
• "This wasn't a tragic story of a messed-up girl Emily could rescue -- it was a story about a psycho bitch who wanted to get Emily any way she could." 

My commentary:

• First thing I did, of course, when the book came in the mail was to look at the message from "A" inside the dust cover. I always love looking for it on the hardcovers. It's always like a little hidden secret just waiting to be discovered.

 

• I'm still totally amazed at all the crazy storylines that Sara Shepard comes up with. She seems so normal, but her brain works in a really twisted way. It has to be twisted to come up with this stuff. In this book alone, she adds in pole dancing, cross dressing, drug buying, a crazy woman who wants to steal a baby, and a mysterious murder. So crazy.
• The book closes with the usual note from "A" foreshadowing what will happen in the next book. I think the next one is also supposed to be the last, and it sounds like the girls are going on a cruise. If I were those girls, I wouldn't set foot on a cruise ship... 

Buy on Amazon.com: Pretty Little Liars #11: Stunning

Book #85: The Golden Lily

Title: The Golden Lily (Book #2 in the Bloodlines series)

Author: Richelle Mead

Date started reading: June 18, 2012
Date finished reading:  June 20, 2012

Publish date: June 2012
ISBN: 9781595143181
Number of pages: 400

Official summary: "Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets — and human lives. Sydney would love to go to college, but instead, she’s been sent into hiding at a posh boarding school in Palm Springs, California – tasked with protecting Moroi princess Jill Dragomir from assassins who want to throw the Moroi court into civil war. Formerly in disgrace, Sydney is now praised for her loyalty and obedience, and held up as the model of an exemplary Alchemist. But the closer she grows to Jill, Eddie, and especially Adrian, the more she finds herself questioning her age–old Alchemist beliefs, her idea of family, and the sense of what it means to truly belong. Her world becomes even more complicated when magical experiments show Sydney may hold the key to prevent becoming Strigoi — the fiercest vampires, the ones who don’t die. But it’s her fear of being just that — special, magical, powerful — that scares her more than anything. Equally daunting is her new romance with Brayden, a cute, brainy guy who seems to be her match in every way. Yet, as perfect as he seems, Sydney finds herself being drawn to someone else — someone forbidden to her. When a shocking secret threatens to tear the vampire world apart, Sydney’s loyalties are suddenly tested more than ever before. She wonders how she's supposed to strike a balance between the principles and dogmas she's been taught, and what her instincts are now telling her. Should she trust the Alchemists — or her heart?" (http://www.richellemead.com)

Official book trailer:

How I obtained the book: Pre-ordered for $14.60 through Barnes & Noble

My pre-reading commentary:

• It seems like I've been waiting forever for this book, even though technically it's only been since February when I read "Bloodlines." 
•  Two days after this book was released, the title of the third book in the series was revealed -- "The Indigo Spell." I don't like the sound of it and I don't like the logo. I think the coloring bugs me, but I suppose I'll live with it. At least the next book will be coming out in February and it's not a year or more away. It does really bug me that some editions of "The Golden Lily" came with the first chapter of "The Indigo Spell" included. Mine did not. It's not really fair that some people didn't get it. I had no clue that when I ordered the book from Barnes & Noble that I wouldn't be getting the same book as the people who bought it at Walmart.

My post-reading commentary:

• I really was never the biggest fan of Adrian in the "Vampire Academy" series, but he has become a very intriguing character in every way in this series. He's taken on his own larger-than-life-but-still-vulnerable personality. His character growth is the best and biggest by far of all the VA/Bloodlines characters that Richelle Mead has created.
• Sydney's food obsession is bordering on completely annoying. She's nearly anorexic, obsessing over every calorie she intakes and being jealous of other girls. I know that's common among teenagers so it's important to tackle that kind of issue, but I don't think Mead has done anything yet to say that Sydney's behaviors are unhealthy.
• Along with her food (or rather anti-food) issues, Sydney is obsessed with drinking coffee. She intakes more coffee than anything else. That's also a negative aspect of the series. It worries me that some readers may read the books and think it's ok to eat next-to-nothing but drink tons and tons of coffee. 
• I miss Rose. I think Rose being the main focus of the VA books was a much better idea than Sydney being the focus of this series. Rose is a much stronger, much more intriguing character than Sydney. Yes, Sydney has her charms and an interesting depth, but her attitude towards things bugs me so much. I want more books from Rose's perspective or at least that include her more than this series has so far. 
• I loved Dimitri from the first moment he appeared in the first VA book. This is the eighth book he's been included in. I didn't think it was possible, but his role in "The Golden Lily" made me love him even more. If only he existed in real life... ah, that would be total perfection. 
• I wasn't surprised that the vampire hunters mentioned in book #1 turned out to be real in this book. I think it was supposed to be a surprise, but it didn't shock me in one bit. I was also not surprised that there was more to Trey's story than just being a classmate/friend. He seemed a little off to me in the first book. Other people I've read reviews from were upset that Trey turned out to be not as great as he was first portrayed. 
• I do like Adrian and Sydney as a potential couple. Mead said before the first book came out that the romantic element of this series was going to "sneak up" on readers. I have no idea why she said that. It was obvious they were the pairing that was going to come about from the beginning of the first book. There were so many great "Sydrian" moments in this book. They bring out the best in each other. They challenge each other. If Sydney wasn't so stubborn and annoying, they would get together and be a good pair, but she hurt him a lot in the end of the book.
• Speaking of hurting Adrian... It almost seems like Mead loves to put Adrian through situations where he gets hurt. He fell in love with Rose who broke his heart. He's falling for Sydney and she hurt him. His parents are horrible to him. I feel bad for him. I don't blame the "Team Adrian" fans who want to punch Mead for making him hurt so bad. I'm totally "Team Dimitri" but even I support the other team's feelings on this matter.

Memorable quotes:

•  "When you spent most of your days living among vampires and half vampires, ferrying them to get blood, and keeping their existence secret from the rest of the world ... well, it kind of gave you a unique perspective on life. ... My life was a constant struggle to hold back my terror of the unexplainable and try desperately to find a way to explain it." ~ Sydney
• "I couldn't stand disorder." ~ Sydney
• "It made me question who the real monsters were." ~ Sydney about Keith and the Alchemists
• "You Alchemists pull your strings and think you control everything. You delude yourselves. You control nothing. You are nothing." ~ Liam
• "That's how (Dimitri) was, a lost remnant of chivalry in the modern world, ever-ready to help others." ~ Sydney
• "You worry as much as me. I didn't think that was possible." ~ Dimitri to Sydney
• "Rose always joked about your 'Zen Master Wisdom.' Am I getting a taste of it? If so, I can see why she was helpless against your charms." ~ Sydney
  "I think so. If you ask her, she'll claim it was the staking and decapitation. But I'm sure it was the Zen wisdom that won her in the end." ~ Dimitri
• "I'd spent the weekend caught up in the epic battle to save humanity, and now jean shorts?" ~ Sydney
• "My family had a cat back in Utah that I was pretty sure was more responsible than Angeline." ~ Sydney
• "I don't believe in soul mates. It's statistically unreasonable that there's only one ideal person for everyone in the world." ~ Sydney
• "If I was so amazing, then why was I always so unsure if I was doing the right thing?" ~ Sydney
• "Adrian's stamp on the apartment was like light chasing away the gruesome shadows of the past." ~ Sydney
• "I'm actually conducting a side experiment on how cigarettes and gin increase charisma. As you might guess, the results are looking very promising." ~ Adrian
• "Vampire magic always made my skin crawl. Vampires, creatures who needed blood, were bad enough. But being able to manipulate the world with magic? Even worse." ~ Sydney
• "Nothing's ever as harmless as it seems." ~ Sonya
• "Magic was not for humans to use. We had no right to manipulate the world like that." ~ Sydney
• "Maybe I couldn't reveal Alchemist secrets to my friends, but it was nice to know they at least knew my coffee preferences backwards and forwards." ~ Sydney
• "(Adrian) wasn't like anyone I knew. In fact, I was fairly certain there was no one in the entire world quite like Adrian Ivashkov." ~ Sydney
• "I'm already caught up in one epic battle of good versus evil. I don't need another." ~ Sydney to Ms. Terwilliger 
• "There was no 'me' in Alchemy." ~ Sydney
• "Leave it to Adrian to work up even the most easygoing people." ~ Sydney
• "Most people seem to think everything he does is magic." ~ Adrian about Dimitri
• "I find prostitutes vastly important." ~ Adrian
• "We all screw up. Everyone makes mistakes. ... You don't cut off people you love for mistakes like that." ~ Adrian to his father about his mother
• "Ah, those two. In a fight, they're lethal. Around each other, they melt." ~ Sonya about Rose and Dimitri
• "I'd seen (Dimitri) fight before, but it never got old. He was captivating. He never stopped moving. Every action was graceful and lethal. He was a dancer of death." ~ Sydney
• "You're always the voice of reason. Just try listening to yourself once in a while." ~ Adrian
• "Do you know what it's like to feel something's eating away at your mind? ... If you can't trust your own mind, what can you trust?" ~ Adrian
• "Let me ask you something. Which is scarier: walking into a den of crazy, murdering humans or being with safe -- though kind of wacky -- vampires and half vampires? I know the hang-up you Alchemists have with us, but is the loyalty to your own race so strong that, I don't know, that the people themselves don't matter?" ~ Adrian
  "I'd take the vampires. Loyalty to one's kind can only go so far." ~ Sydney
• "For the last month or so, everyone in my life had gone on and on about how responsible I was, how diligent, how exemplary. I'd been called a lot of things. But never, ever, had I been called irresponsible. And I kind of liked it." ~ Sydney
• "You're in an awfully good mood. Was there a sale at Khakis-R-Us?" ~ Adrian to Sydney
• "Not every breakup is a tragedy." ~ Adrian
• "Here's some tough love: you will never, ever have (Jill's) body. Ever. It's impossible. She's Moroi. You're human. That's biology. You have a great one, one that most humans would kill for -- and you'd look even better if you put on a little weight. Five pounds would be a good start. Hide the ribs. Get a bigger bra size." ~ Adrian to Sydney
• "I'm the king of unhealthy habits." ~ Adrian
• "You're not a victim. You're not a captive to that lily. You can be what you want. You can choose what you want." ~ Adrian to Sydney
• “No, you will listen. For once, you’re going to hear something that doesn’t fit into your neat, compartmentalized world of order and logic and reason. Because this isn’t reasonable. If you’re terrified, believe me - this scares the hell out of me, too. You asked about Rose? I tried to be a better person for her - but it was to impress her, to get her to want me. But when I’m around you, I want to be better because… well, because it feels right. Because I want to. You make me want to become something greater than myself. I want to excel. You inspire me in every act, every word, every glance. I look at you, and you’re like… like light made into flesh. I said it on Halloween and meant every word: you are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen walking this earth. And you don’t even know it. You have no clue how beautiful you are or how brightly you shine.” ~ Adrian to Sydney

Buy on Amazon.com: The Golden Lily: A Bloodlines Novel

Book #84: Rapture

Title: Rapture (The fourth & final book in the "Fallen" series)

Author: Lauren Kate

Date started reading: June 16, 2012
Date finished reading: June 18, 2012

Publish date: June 2012
ISBN: 9780385739184
Number of pages: 464

Official summary: "The sky is dark with wings. ... Like sand through an hourglass, time is running out for Luce and Daniel. To stop Lucifer from erasing the past, they must find the place where the angels fell to earth. Dark forces are after them, and Daniel doesn’t know if he can do this — live only to lose Luce again and again. Yet together they face an epic battle that will end with lifeless bodies ... and angel dust. Great sacrifices are made. Hearts are destroyed. And suddenly Luce knows what must happen. For she was meant to be with someone other than Daniel. The curse they’ve borne has always and only been about her — and the love she cast aside. The choice she makes now is the only one that truly matters. In the fight for Luce, who will win?" (http://www.randomhouse.com)

Official book trailers:

How I obtained the book: Pre-ordered for $12.94 through Barnes & Noble

My majorly spoiler-filled commentary:

• I'm really sad to see this book series end. Four books (plus one supplemental book) just wasn't enough for me. I want another book or two. Regardless, IF it had to end, "Rapture" was the perfect close.
• I totally figured out the truth about Luce being an angel about 1/3 of the way through the first book. In the last third of "Rapture," she finally remembers that she's an angel, and it was supposed to be the biggest revelation of the entire series, but yeah I already figured that's where it was going. Still I think it was amazing. Lauren Kate made Luce's quest to figure out her angel past absolutely beautiful and breath-taking.  
• I also figured out early on in the series that Lucifer had to have been in love with Luce in Heaven before the fall. I initially thought that was the case just because their names were similar, but then I realized that Lucifer most likely wanted to curse Daniel and Luce out of jealousy because Lucifer loved Luce but she loved Daniel instead.
• I did not expect God to be a female. I have no problem with that, but I hadn't really thought that it was going that way.
• The fact that Luce and Daniel were reborn as mortals on earth with no knowledge of their angel pasts at the end also came as a surprise. I wasn't sure what I thought would happen once they stopped the rapture and broke their curse, but that wasn't it. Of course, they found each other even as humans and instantly fell in love, which left things with a happy ending, but it was so bittersweet since they would never be able to meet their former angel friends again or remember who they had been.

Memorable quotes:

• "Without (Lucinda), nothing mattered. Without her love, nothing was possible." ~ Daniel
• "Every life, every love, every moment that every mortal and angelic soul had ever experienced would be balled up and discarded at Lucifer's reckless whim, like the universe was a board game and he was a whining child giving up when he began to lose." 
• "You're the chess piece that the forces of good and evil and everything in between are fighting over here." ~ Cam to Luce
• "Your weakness for her is stronger than your word." ~ Cam to Daniel
• "This is going to be a very long nine days." ~ Gabbe
• "All I ever wanted was to love you." ~ Daniel to Luce
• "(Luce's) past lives began to swirl together and hiccup like the panels of a kaleidoscope." 
• "Luce knew that she and Daniel would risk everything for their love." 
• "There is no darkness as dark as a great light corrupted." ~ Daniel
• "Cam's darkness is legendary, but it is only a sliver of his personality." ~ Daniel
• "If I ever truly lost you, I don't know what I would do. My whole world would dim." ~ Daniel to Luce
• "I never thought I'd say this, but I miss them. The Announcers were my link to my past." ~ Luce
• "It's an insult to be asked to choose, an insult for your creator to demand that you reduce the vastness of your love to the tiny, petty confines of a gesture during a Roll Call." ~ Daniel
• "Justice always makes a difference." ~ Zaban
• "I'm tired of being punished simply because I love you, Daniel. ... I'm not a pawn; I'm a person. And I've had enough." ~ Luce
• "You said a curse is only a curse if I allowed myself to be cursed by it." ~ Luce to Dee
• "Angels can die, Lucinda." ~ Daniel
• "Your heart turned black, Sophia. It was like a light went off. No one could turn the light back on." ~ Dee
• "I do so love to see an angel die." ~ Sophia
• "I never asked for a happy ending." ~ Cam
• "Grief can choke you." ~ Daniel
• "I'd like to say I'm on a natural high." ~ Cam
  "This hike would have ruined John Denver." ~ Roland
• "Heartbreak is its own form of amnesia." ~ Dee
• "It is impossible to apologize to a girl with such a conveniently selective memory." ~ Cam to Luce
• "I've seen enough death." ~ Luce
• "Had God created love to make pain feel even worse?" ~ Luce
• "Was she asleep? The sky did seem to be raining nightmares." ~ Luce
• "Our love transcends everything." ~ Daniel to Luce
• "Our love is endless. There can be nothing else." ~ Lucifer to Luce
• "Love is taking the adoration you feel for God and giving it to somebody actually here." ~ Lucifer
• "You taught me how to love, but I cannot love a soul so dark it eats up others' light." ~ Luce to Lucifer
• "Fear is the only way to greet the devil." ~ Lucifer
• "Those of us who understand eternity know what true love means. Love never dies." ~ Lucifer
• "You appreciate  eternity, but you don't appreciate how in a moment eternity can change." ~ Luce to Lucifer
• "Are you prepared to pay the ultimate sacrifice for your love?" ~ God
  "If I have Lucinda, and Lucinda has me, there is no such thing as sacrifice." ~ Daniel
• "Mortality is the most romantic story ever told. Just one chance to do everything you should. Then, magically, you move on." ~ Cam
• "What happens in pajamas stays in pajamas." ~ Luce

Buy on Amazon.com: Rapture (Fallen)

Book #83: The Time Traveler's Wife

Title: The Time Traveler's Wife

Author: Audrey Niffenegger

Date started reading: June 13, 2012
Date finished reading:  June 15, 2012

Publish date: May 2004
ISBN: 978-0156029438
Number of pages: 564

Official summary: "A dazzling novel in the most untraditional fashion, this is the remarkable story of Henry DeTamble, a dashing, adventuresome librarian who travels involuntarily through time, and Clare Abshire, an artist whose life takes a natural sequential course. Henry and Clare's passionate love affair endures across a sea of time and captures the two lovers in an impossibly romantic trap, and it is Audrey Niffenegger's cinematic storytelling that makes the novel's unconventional chronology so vibrantly triumphant." (The Time Traveler's Wife)

Movie trailer:

How I obtained the book: Bought for $2.17 at used book store. It's a publisher's remainder book, not an actual used book

Memorable quotes:

• "It's hard being left behind. ... It's hard to be the one who stays. ... I keep myself busy. Time goes faster that way. ... Everything seems simple until you think about it. Why is love intensified by absence?" ~ Clare
• "What use is it knowing the future if you can't at least protect us from humiliating little scenes?" ~ Henry to Henry
• "I am afraid of the future; it seems like a big box waiting to me." ~ Clare
• "Sometimes you tell me something and I feel like the future is already there, you know? Like my future has happened in the past and I can't do anything about it." ~ Clare to Henry
• "I feel like every time I blow my nose it's a historic event." ~ Clare 
• "The future is weird, and you can't go around behaving like you're invincible." ~ Henry
• "It's funny how memory erodes." ~ Henry
• "Think for a minute, darling: in fairy tales it's always the children who have the fine adventures. The mothers have to stay at home and wait for the children to fly in the window." ~ Grandma to Clare
• "I've noticed that Henry needs an incredible amount of physical activity all the time in order to be happy. It's like hanging out with a greyhound." ~ Clare
•  "I feel like Dorothy, when her house crash-landed in Oz and the world turned from black and white to color. We're not in Kansas anymore." ~ Clare on how it feels to finally know Henry in present-time
• "My whole life is one long deja vu." ~ Henry
• "Most people are glued to the present; you get to be there again and again." ~ Clare to Henry
• "(Time travel is) not always a curse, okay? Sometimes time travel is a great thing." ~ Henry

My commentary:

• This is yet another book I'm reading because I liked the movie. I don't usually like big epic romantic movies like this, but this one I did love. What is it with Rachel McAdams and these movies? Frankly, no matter how many romantic movies I watch her in, I'll always see her as Regina George from "Mean Girls."
• I really loved the parts where present day Henry goes back in time to teach his child self how to steal things without being caught once he time-travels somewhere and appears out-of-thin-air and naked.  
• The movie was a very good representation of the book, in my opinion. Normally I feel like movies or TV shows leave out or change too much from a book, but in this case, the movie is good. The little things that were left out in translation didn't have to be included for the movie to be good.
• I had some issues following the book. I'm not much for non-linear timelines in books, but of course, I expected it to be totally non-linear. There was no way it would be linear. I kept having to go back and seeing how old Henry and Clare are supposed to be in each scene. That part annoyed me, but I lived with it. Eventually though, the book got boring to me. It dragged on too long. I think some of it could've been cut out and it would've been fine.

Buy on Amazon.com: The Time Traveler's Wife

Book #82: Everneath

Title: Everneath

Author: Brodi Ashton

Date started reading: June 09, 2012
Date finished reading:  June 12, 2012

Publish date: January 2012
ISBN: 978-0062071132
Number of pages: 384

Official summary: "Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath. Now she’s returned — to her old life, her family, her boyfriend — before she’s banished back to the underworld... this time forever. She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can’t find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists. Nikki longs to spend these precious months forgetting the Everneath and trying to reconnect with her boyfriend, Jack, the person most devastated by her disappearance — and the one person she loves more than anything. But there’s just one problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who enticed her to the Everneath in the first place, has followed Nikki home. Cole wants to take over the throne in the underworld and is convinced Nikki is the key to making it happen. And he’ll do whatever it takes to bring her back, this time as his queen. As Nikki’s time on the Surface draws to a close and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she is forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole’s queen." (http://www.brodiashton.blogspot.com)

Official book trailer:

How I obtained the book: Checked out of library

Memorable quotes:

• "Your pain will always be my pain." ~ Cole to Clara
• "You've never been in love?" ~ Nikki
  "Easy to say. Harder to feel." ~ Jack
• "I knew nothing of heaven." ~ Nikki
• "I couldn't let myself make the easy choice. I had to make the right choice." ~ Nikki
• "I don't understand the things you would give up for mortal relationships." ~ Cole
• "You are the happiest sad person I've ever met." ~ Cole to Nikki
• "Dancing makes everything better." ~ Cole
• "It was obvious Cole was passionate about music, because he couldn't contain his euphoria. It was contagious." ~ Nikki
• "I guess nothing says 'I'm sorry' like a tea cozy." ~ Jack
• "Heroes are made by the paths they choose, not the powers they are graced with." ~ Mrs. Stone
• "(Jack's) humiliation is absolutely delicious." ~ Cole
• "There is no end to your evil." ~ Nikki
  "There is no evil. There is no good. There is only life, and the absence of life." ~ Cole
• "Boats never seem to be going very fast until you try to stop them." ~ Nikki
• "Time was doing strange things to me. Sometimes a week felt like a day, and sometimes a minute felt like an eternity. It was like a clock that was running out of power, winding down except when it received an occasional jolt, and a week was suddenly gone." ~ Nikki
• "Sometimes are hearts crack a little." ~ Cole
• "When it comes to you and Jack, there is no happy ending. To expect otherwise is delusional." ~ Cole
• "The ability to dream again was highly overrated." ~ Nikki
• "In the absence of proof, all that matters is perception." ~ Nikki's father
• "Friends don't eat friends' souls." ~ Jack 
• "Our girl is talking crazy, and I don't speak crazy." ~ Cole to Jack
• "People in love tend to make irresponsible decisions. Human relationships -- you know the things for which you would give up your chance at eternal life -- are fleeting." ~ Cole
• "Hate. Such a strong feeling. A next-door neighbor to love." ~ Cole
• "I was tired of hurting people. I was tired of hurting myself." ~ Nikki
• "Heroes don't exist. And if they did, I wouldn't be one of them." ~ Cole
• "I knew then the difference between what I had with Jack and the twisted thing I had with Cole. Jack was real. Cole was a drug, artificial and simulated. ... Jack was real. Tangible." ~ Nikki
• "Sorry, bro. Even with your biceps, we can't fight the force of nature." ~ Cole to Jack
• "Better to rule hell than serve it." ~ Jack

My commentary:

• I loved the overall story of this book, but part of me really hated how non-lineal the time was in the book. It kept jumping back in time when Nikki thinks back on the past. I don't know why it bothers me, but it does. 
• The concept of this book (Nikki getting sucked into what is basically the underworld then returning to her life for six months before getting stolen back to the underworld) is both a new and exciting concept and a retelling of a long-lived myth. It's pretty much the story I expected when I decided to read it, which, considering I had gotten my hopes up too high, is a good thing.
• I absolutely love the book's cover. It's one of those books that just call to me. Before reading it, I thought the cover was depicting the girl surrounded by smoke or clouds, but it quickly made sense that it was the "shadows" of the Everneath that were coming to claim her. After reading the book, the cover is even more awesome to me.
• I think that most readers would consider Cole to be the villain of the book, but I honestly think he's a good match for Nikki in a weird, totally messed up way. It's like "shipping" one of the fictional world's most unlikely couple.

Buy on Amazon.com: Everneath

Book #81: Hallowed

Title: Hallowed (book #2 of the Unearthly series)

Author: Cynthia Hand

Date started reading: June 06, 2012
Date finished reading:  June 08, 2012

Publish date: January 2012
ISBN: 978-0061996184
Number of pages: 416

Official summary: "For months part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the raging forest fire from her visions and rescue the alluring and mysterious Christian Prescott from the blaze. But nothing could prepare her for the fateful decisions she would be forced to make that day, or the startling revelation that her purpose — the task she was put on earth to accomplish — is not as straightforward as she thought. Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend, Tucker, Clara struggles to make sense of what she was supposed to do the day of the fire. And, as she is drawn further into the world of part angels and the growing conflict between White Wings and Black Wings, Clara learns of the terrifying new reality that she must face: Someone close to her will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning. " (http://www.cynthiahandbooks.com)

Official book trailers:





How I obtained the book: Bought for $4.24 at used book store

Memorable quotes:

• "I wonder if there's a return policy." ~ Clara about her gift of empathy
• "Patience is a virtue." ~ Angela
  "I'm not that virtuous." ~ Clara
• "I'm having an argument with myself. And I'm losing. So not a good sign." ~ Clara
• "Every moment I'm away from you, I die a little." ~ Clara to Tucker
• "Destiny can really put a damper on the appetite." ~ Clara
• "I laugh at the idea of Satan having an entourage, even though I know it's not funny." ~ Clara
• "I don't care if it screws up my purpose. I'm not going to let him die." ~ Clara about Tucker
• "Sometimes, Angela, you really are full of crap." ~ Clara's mom
• "I guess idiots love company." ~ Clara
• "You followed your heart. That's nothing to be ashamed of." ~ Christian to Clara
• "Nothing can ever truly separate you, not even death. Love binds you." ~ Clara's mom to Clara
• "If you hurt my brother, you're going to have to deal with me. I will bury you in horse manure." ~ Wendy to Clara
• "It's like somebody has hit the pause button on my life." ~ Clara
• "(Skiing is) my drug of choice." ~ Clara
• "That's the hardest part. The absence of certainty." ~ Christian
• "I feel like a bug waiting under God's enormous shoe, and all this dream is telling me, all it's leading me to, is to show up and stand there and wait to be crushed." ~ Clara
• "If (Samjeeza's) hate were the sun, it would burn us all to ash." ~ Clara
• "It's like there's an angel tabloid, and I've been on the front page." ~ Clara
• "It's like I'm a tiny boat adrift in an ocean of pity." ~ Clara
• "Before I moved here, I never got the whole love-triangle thing. You know, in movies or romance novels or whatnot, where there's one chick that all the guys are drooling over, even though you can't see anything particularly special about her. But oh, no, they both must have her. And she's like, oh dear, however will I choose? ... So unrealistic, I always thought. Joke's on me, I guess." ~ Clara
• "The secrets never end." ~ Clara
• "Her jealousy is like something slimy in my mind." ~ Clara about Angela
•  "For you, time is like a line drawn across a piece of paper, a succession of events. A to B to C, one moment following another. Where I come from, there are no lines. We are the paper." ~ Michael
• "I've felt lost in a sea of my own guilt, and it truly feels like I'm underwater. ... I try to breathe and I get a mouthful of guilt." ~ Clara
• "It's funny how when people change, you forget the way they used to be." ~ Clara
• "Girl, you have a knack for drawing trouble." ~ Billy to Clara
• "My life is a soap opera." ~ Clara
  "A really, really addictive soap opera." ~ Christian
• "Patience is not your strong suit." ~ Michael to Clara

My commentary:

•  I am still in awe that I found this book less than four months after its release as a hardcover for only $4.24. It was missing the dust jacket, so the book store sold it much less than it would've sold it for if it came with the jacket. Frankly the dust jackets just annoy me most of the time, so I don't mind it much.
• This series is so utterly amazing. I figured I'd like it, but I didn't expect to love it so much. It has a more traditional take on angels and nephil than the other angel-related books I've read lately, but the author tells the story in such an amazing way that it feels fresh and very addictive. 
• I find it funny that I've ended up reading so many books lately that mention stuff from the Bible, from John Milton's "Paradise Lost" and from "The Book of Enoch." I really loved "Paradise Lost" when I read it in high school. It was one of the few things I read back then for school that I can honestly say that I loved. I even read ended up reading "Paradise Regained" for fun. Reading these books makes me almost want to re-read "Paradise Lost" and "Paradise Regained" ... almost... 
• *Spoiler alert* In this book, I was very surprised to learn that Clara's father was archangel Michael. I wasn't surprised at the fact that her father was an angel, not a human, but I totally didn't expect it to be Michael. It was a shock to think that one of the highest angels would've been married to a half-angel/half-human woman and have children.

Buy on Amazon.com: Hallowed: An Unearthly Novel

Book #80: Unearthly

Title: Unearthly

Author: Cynthia Hand

Date started reading: June 03, 2012
Date finished reading:  June 05, 2012

Publish date: November 2011
ISBN: 978-0061996177
Number of pages: 464

Official summary: "Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy. Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place — and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side. As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make — between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?" (http://www.cynthiahandbooks.com)

Official book trailer:

How I obtained the book: Bought for $5.94 at used book store

Memorable quotes:

• "(My hair) takes the word unmanageable to a whole new level." ~ Clara
• "It's hard to make a lot of friends when the most popular girl in school is giving you the stink-eye." ~ Clara
• "I like risking my life. Keeps things in perspective." ~ Jeffrey
• "Women love soup. More than flowers. Trust me." ~ Christian
• "I think that all the stories about supernatural creatures, like vampires, werewolves, ghosts, mermaids, aliens, you name it, could all be angel related. Humans don't know what they're seeing, but it could all be angels taking on other forms." ~ Angela
• "As a regular girl, I'm not proving to be anything magnificent. And as an angel, I am simply abysmal." ~ Clara
• "She's like one part hip thirty-something, one part tranquil angelic being, and one part crotchety old lady." ~ Clara about her mom
• "You're like one part crazy teenager, one part angelic being, and one part private detective." ~ Clara to Angela
• "It's like I'm a prop in someone else's life." ~ Clara
• "I feel like Cinderella sitting in the middle of the road with a pumpkin and a couple of mice, while Prince Charming charges off to rescue some other chick." ~ Clara
• "One thing about Jackson Hole High, everybody is in everybody's business." ~ Tucker
• "Christian's like a god. And gods don't make good boyfriends." ~ Wendy
• "Flying in real life isn't a mathematical equation." ~ Clara
• "I want to put Tucker in a safe little box where I can predict what he wants, but he refuses to stay in it." ~ Clara
• "I have to admit that as distractions go, Tucker is top-notch." ~ Clara
• "Why are you always trying to hide how pretty you are?" ~ Tucker to Clara 
• "I think (Tucker) seriously believes that deflowering an angel could mean an eternity in fiery hell." ~ Clara
• "I'm not going to stand in the way of you and your destiny." ~ Tucker to Clara
• "We're young. We've got lots of time to fall in love." ~ Tucker to Clara 
• "People get dumped; it's a fact of life." ~ Clara 
• "Time is a funny thing. Sometimes it crawls endlessly on. Like French class. Or waiting for a fish to bite. And other times it speeds up, the days zooming by. ... And sometimes time really does stop." ~ Clara

My commentary:

• I have no clue how I got on this angel phase. It's been almost non-stop angel book reading for a while. I've temporarily switched gears from non-stop vampires to angels.
• There is a quote on the cover of this book from Richelle Mead, the author of Vampire Academy that says the book is "utterly captivating. One of the most addictive books I've read in a while." That explains it better than I probably can. 
• The thing I love the most about this book is that unlike many paranormal books I read, Clara already knows she's an angel from the start of the book. A lot of books go through this self-discovery process which takes up about half a book. This one jumps right into the angel storyline. It does flash back to when Clara first found out about being part angel, but it doesn't take over the book.

Buy on Amazon.com: Unearthly