Book Review: The Goddess Hunt - Aimee Carter

The Goddess Hunt - Aimee Carter

A vacation in Greece sounds like the perfect way for Kate Winters to spend her first sabbatical away from the Underworld...until she gets caught up in an immortal feud going back millennia.  Castor and Pollux have been on the run from Zeus and Hades' wrath for centuries, hiding from the gods who hunt them.  The last person they trust is Kate, the new Queen of the Underworld.  Nevertheless, she is determined to help their cause.  But when it comes to dealing with immortals, Kate still has a lot to learn...

3/5 stars (liked it)

It was a short story about Kate and James during her six months away from Henry.  In that time she meets Castor and Pollux as well as finds out who her husband really is.  I loved seeing the love between Henry and Kate even though they are not physically together in this story.  Also love the different points of view.

Book Review: The Secret Lives of Dresses - Erin McKean

The Secret Lives of Dresses - Erin McKean

Dora has always taken the path of least resistance.  She went to the college that offered her a scholarship, is majoring in "vagueness studies," and wears whatever shows the least dirt.  She falls into a job at the college coffee shop, and a crush on her flirty boss, Gary.

Just when she's about to test Gary's feelings, Mimi, the grandmother who raised her, suffers a stroke.  Dora rushes back home to Forsyth, NC, and finds herself running her grandmother's vintage clothing store.  The store has always been a fixture in Dora's life; though she grew up more of a jeans-and-sweatshirt kind of girl, before she even knew how to write, Mimi taught her that a vintage 1920s dress could lift a woman's spirit.

While working there, Dora befriends Mimi's adorable contractor, Conrad.  Is he after Dora, or is working from a different blueprint?  And why did Mimi start writing down--and giving away--stories of the dresses in her shop?

When Mimi dies, Dora can't get out of town fast enough and cedes control of the store to her money-hungry aunt who wants to turn it into a t-shirt shop for tourists.  But ultimately, she returns to Forsyth, willing to battle whatever may stand in the way of her staying there.  Dora can trade her boring clothes for vintage glamour, but can she trade her boring life for one she actually wants?\

3/5 stars (liked it)

I thought it was a cute story about a girl, Dora who has never known what she wants in life or who she really is.    Dora's parents died when she was very young and she was raised by her grandmother Mimi.  Her grandmother has always tried to get her to wear the vintage clothes and even goes as far as making a closet for Dora full of vintage clothes.   When Mimi gets a stroke, Dora decides to go back to Forsyth.  Leaving behind a guy she has had a great crush on, she meets a new man who she could fall for.  All the while running her grandmother's store and dealing with an annoying and pushy aunt who is trying to change Mimi's store.  I like how you saw Dora grow throughout the book and all the lovable characters in the book.

Book Review: Four: A Divergent Story Collection - Veronica Roth

Four: A Divergent Story Collection - Veronica Roth

Two years before Beatrice Prior made her choice, the sixteen-year-old son of Abnegation's faction leader did the same.  Tobias's transfer to Dauntless is a chance to begin again.  Here, he will not be called the name his parents gave him.  Here, he will let fear turn him into a cowering child.

Newly christened "Four," he discovers during his initiation that he will succeed in Dauntless.  Initiation is only the beginning, though; Four must claim his place in the Dauntless hierarchy.  His decisions will affect future initiates as well as uncover secrets that could threaten his own future--and the future of the entire faction system.

Two years later, Four is poised to take action, but the course is still unclear.  The first new initiate who jumps into the net might change all that.  With her, the way to righting their world might become clear.  With her, it might become possible to be Tobias once again.

4/5 stars (really liked it)
I loved seeing what Four (Tobias) was like when he was in Abnegation and when he first got to Dauntless.  Also loved the stories that included Tris and how his feelings for her developed.  I would love to see what life is like for Four after the series ended.

Book Review: Notes to Self - Avery Sawyer

Notes to Self - Avery Sawyer

Two climbed up.  Two fell down.

One woke up.

Robin Saunders is a high school sophomore with an awesome best friend, a hard-working single mom, and a complicated relationship with a sweet guy named Reno.  She's coasting along, trying to get through yet another tedious year of high school, when Em suggest something daring.  They live in Florida--tourist central--and Emily wants to sneak into a theme park after midnight and see what they're made of.

When things get out of control, Robin wakes up in a hospital bed and Emily doesn't wake up at all.  Just getting dressed becomes an ordeal as Robin tries to heal and piece together the details of that terrible night.  Racing to remember everything in the hopes of saving Emily, Robin writes a series of notes to herself to discover the truth.

3/5 stars (liked it)

It is sad that it takes a bad head injury for Robin to become a better person.  With the head injury she forgets things and uses notes to remind herself how to do things, such as showering or where she needs to be.  Her mother seems like a great hard working person that wants to provide a good life for Robin despite not having her father around and a mother in school.  Also Robin has a friend, Reno who she has ignored for a while and suddenly he's the only friend she has.  Everyone at school blames her for Emily being in a coma.  So Robin resolves to try to remember what happened exactly.  I like that this book doesn't have a super happy ending, it just kind of ends as if life continues.

Book Review: Remembrance - Michelle Madow

 Remembrance - Michelle Madow

Lizzie Davenport has been reincarnated from Regency Era, England...but she doesn't know it yet.

Then Drew Carmichael transfers into Lizzie's high school, and she feels a connection to him, almost like she knows him.  She can't stop thinking about him, but whenever she tries talking to him about the mysteries behind her feelings, he makes it clear that he wants nothing to do with her.  Reaching him is even more difficult because she has a boyfriend, Jeremy, who has started to become full of himself after being elected co-captain of the varsity soccer team, and he flirtatious best friend Chelsea starts dating Drew soon after his arrival.  So why can't she get him out of her mind?

Even though Lizzie knows she should let go of her fascination with Drew, fighting fate isn't going to be easy.

3/5 stars (liked it)

For a book based on a song it was actually pretty good.  Jeremy was very much a jerk and I'm surprised Lizzie put up with him for as long as she did.  Even if Drew would not have come in the picture she should have broken up with him.  I enjoyed how Lizzie uncovered her past slowly and was reluctant to accept the idea of reincarnation.  Overall a good book and I will definitely check out the other books in the series.

Book Review: World of Trouble - Ben H. Winters

World of Trouble - Ben H. Winters

Critically acclaimed author Ben H. Winters delivers this explosive final installment in the Edgar Award winning Last Policeman series.  With the doomsday asteroid looming, Detective Hank Palace has found sanctuary in the woods of New England, secure in a well-stocked safe house with other onetime members of the Concord police force.  But with time ticking away before the asteroid makes landfall, Hank's safety is only relative, and his only relative--his sister Nico--isn't safe.  Soon, it's clear that there's more than one earth-shattering revelation on the horizon, and it's up to Hank to solve the puzzle before time runs out...for everyone.

4/5 stars (really liked it)

By far my favorite book in the series.  I think this was a great conclusion to the book series and I'm a little sad that there really won't be a possibility of more.  Although I would love to read a book about Hank Palace when he joined the police force before an asteroid was headed to earth.  I love how Hank never gave up on being a good person and finding out where his sister ended up.  I also like how we met some new characters who were interesting.  I especially love the dog and Hank's description of him.  The ending of the book was my favorite and I'm glad the author ended the book where he did.

Book Review: Reborn - C.C. Hunter

Reborn - C.C. Hunter

For Della Tsang, Shadow Falls isn't just a camp: it's home.  As a vampire who's just starting to come into her powers. it's the one place she can finally be herself.  But when a new evil threatens everyone she cares about, Della is determined to do everything she can to save them...even if it means teaming up with the one boy who can break her heart.  In Reborn, return once again to C.C. Hunter's Shadow Falls, a camp where supernatural teens learn to harness their powers and discover the magic of friendship and love.

4/5 stars (really liked it)

I loved the Shadow Falls series with the chameleon Kylie and her story ended and I was so glad to hear there would be a spin-off series.  And Della has got to be one of my favorite characters at Shadow Falls, next to Burnett who I really want to learn more about.  Della is a small girl with a who is tougher than she looks and very fiesty.  There is a new vampire at camp named Chase and he seems familiar to Della.  Also Della is trying to find out more about her family even though her father never talks to her and her whole family is so disappointed in her.  This book had my interest to the end and especially the end.  Can't wait to read the next book.