Tempted by P.C. and Kristin Cast

     Tempted, the next in the House of Night series, stays very true to the title that claims it (if you’ve been reading the books then you will get my terribly awesome pun). There are a lot of different things going on in this book, and there are a few times when you really didn’t know how to feel about Stevie Rae,  or some of the other characters (not Erik though, for the most part he plays his biggest d-bag role yet…another terrible pun if you’ve been reading). It feels like a lot more happened in this book than the others. The main theme in this book seems to be temptations, and which ones are worth fighting for and those that desperately need to be fought against. There seems to be a lot dealing with and telling/not telling of the truth as well. One of the things in this book that I really liked was Heath and Stark actually getting along, and acting like the parts they are meant to play in Zoey’s life.

     Rating this book is a little difficult for me. It was a really good read (I started and finished this book today, on top of working), but I’m not sure exactly that it warrants the full four I’m considering giving it. While there were a lot of good points, and no actual negative things that come to mind just now, I feel like something was missing. Plus, eff you ending, you’re hurting my heart. I’m not going to tell you the ending other than I knew it was coming and wanted to put reading it. I still remember the first I read it and I hated it then too. I think, overall, I can safely give this book a 3.8. While I was not pleased with how this one ends, the book was still a good read. I don’t recommend reading this book out of order, but get your butt through the others and get to reading this one!

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Hunted by P.C. and Kristin Cast

     Book five, Hunted, takes place after the group flees the school (after a freaking god erupts from the earth) and heads to the tunnels. We get Heath back in this book (which is a glorious thing) and we get to see some friendships start to really form that we never expected (side note: Erik is a d-bag, and I’m pretty sure this isn’t a spoiler at this point). I feel like I was really in it with this book. More so than the others so far, this one really picks up the pace. While there were some parts that I wanted to gloss over because it seemed a bit repetitive (if you’re starting this series on book five you deserve to be lost; the rest of us don’t need a catch up play-by-play), I kept on because sometimes even the smallest details can be important. Repetitiveness aside, this book still managed to keep me on my toes.

     I’m giving this book a four. I’m not sure if I just liked the fact that is wasn’t a cliffhanger ending, or that there wasn’t as much high school drama in this one, but overall I think it was well done. I really like the extremely blatant good vs evil theme, as well as the difficulty in fighting to overcome that evil in this book. While there are a few things in the books I actively dislike (goddess what is with Zoey having a thing with so many guys at once?!), the good, and the interesting, and the exciting parts (SO MANY CATS!!) definitely outweigh those and keep me coming back for more (and apparently more and more and more, because I have no idea how many books are left). This one had a bit of everything and everyone in it. It’s going to be interesting to see how they’ll continue to keep this series alive. While I know a little bit about what is to come, it’s been a few years since I have delved into this series, and, for once, I’m not sure what is going to happen at the very end.

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Betrayed, Chosen, and Untamed by P.C. and Kristin Cast

     Today I am going to give my reviews for the next three books in the House of Night Series by P.C. and Kristin Cast (books 2, 3, and 4). Book 2, Betrayed, was definitely a really solid follow up book to the first. The first book in the series was the get to know you book, and this one was the get to know the bad guy book (as well as the let’s take control book, and the Zoey is kind of a ho book). There is still a good deal of introducing characters, but more so than that, there is some shit that goes down that you are just not expecting to happen. This was definitely a cliff hanger ending book. I’m giving this book a four. It was a really good read, and really took you a little bit further into what the story is going to be about. This one doesn’t really give you the whole picture though, it hints at what is to come. Amazon US Amazon UK

     The next book in the series, Chosen, was when shit really starting hitting the fan (excuse the expression) between most of the characters. For the most part, this book was just drama, drama, drama. Zoey is still in the midst of a tryst, and her friends are not liking the secrets she’s been hiding (or the fact that she’s keeping secrets from them at all). This book gets a three from me. There was a good amount of character development in this story, but for the most part there was just a lot of bickering between friends, bickering between lovers, and more drama. Amazon US Amazon UK

     Book four, Untamed, has been my favorite so far. Stuff finally starts happening in this book that you have been waiting for (since the first book basically). The ending (a good chunk of the ending actually) was very gripping. I know I was supposed to be going to sleep when I finished it, but it left me wired in that post book with (ANOTHER!!) cliffhanger ending feeling. This book is 4.5 worthy. The characters come out of their shells a lot more, and you get a much better sense of who the characters really are. There is a lot more action in this book than in the last three, and a lot of things that set the stage for the rest of the book continue to come out in this one. While all of these books have been setting you up for what’s probably coming (even I don’t know yet for sure), this one really gets you into the thick of things. Amazon US Amazon UK

Marked by P.C. and Kristin Cast

     Marked, book one of about a million, was as tremendously pleasing as the first time I have read it. This is only the third time I have started this series, only to be sucked in and wanting more when I finally reach the end and then having to wait forever for the next book to come out. NO MORE! I’m sure come the end of my reading and reviewing of this series I will be a lot more upset about it finally ending, but at the moment I am hoping for the end to not be a cliffhanger leaving me impatient and needing more. I will not be reviewing each book singularly (this being an exception). I plan to review them in groups of two or three as I go along, as in this instance, I may review one if it stands out a great deal as one that needs to be reviewed alone. To get into the thick of things with this one, I can say this isn’t your average Twilight fan fiction or a cheap imitation. I don’t remember which came out first, or even which series I read first, but this one is a great deal different (so don’t let the vampire correlation scare you away if that’s what you’re thinking). This book starts with Zoey being “marked” and thrown into a new school, where she’ll learn to be a vampire. The catch is that she’s already one step ahead of everyone else; the crescent moon marked on her face is not an outline like every other young fledging’s, but a full blown colored in one. She’s got average worries, quite a few more not so average ones she has to face, and in the end, good and evil, and light and dark aren’t exactly what they seem.

     I give this book a four. I may be getting to old for young adult novels (HA! Never going to happen), but this one is just a little bit more than the average young adult book. It has romance, and the confusion it brings with it, a lot of instances where you should learn to trust your gut, a whole lot of loyalty, and even more of standing up for what is right. It sounds like a pretty good mix already right? Add in vampires, evil hags, and some poetry and you’ve got gold. The inner dialogue of Zoey is ridiculous, and I love every second of it. I can almost guarantee that if you aren’t saying ah hell (even to yourself) at the end of this book, you can bet your butt you’ll be saying it by the end of the next one. The writing was very good, especially as it was co-written by mother and daughter. If you like vampire stories, if you like a little sci-fi, if you like good vs evil, and cliff hangers at the end of a book (EVERY EFFING ONE), then start this series. Be smart about it, though, like I am, and start it while you’re on vacation (your family doesn’t really NEED all of that undivided attention, you can fake it.)

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Lovers and Dreamers (Trilogy) by Nora Roberts

     Lovers and Dreamers is a true enough title for this trilogy. It may be one of the many trilogies Nora Robert’s has written, but not many can measure up in terms of perfection. All three stories take you into the lives of three young women who had held what they thought were their dreams, and then had them  stolen away from them, only to rise from the ashes of their broken dreams (such a cliché, but absolutely perfect) and find new ones. The only character to not change what her dream was, but to realize it in a new person, was Laura, in the last story. I put off finishing the last in the series for as long as I could (I even opted to clean the bathroom to put it off), because I just wasn’t ready for the conclusion of their stories. Even having read this trilogy many times over (the picture above is my actual copy that I bought brand new), and knowing what happens, I still didn’t want to stop reading. I was fruitlessly hoping for there to be pages magically added to the ending, making it go on forever.

     This trilogy is getting a 5. I wouldn’t have read it so many times if it didn’t deserve it. My usual telling’s of the writing being done well, and the dialogue sharp, still stands true in these books. There are parts of dialogue in these stories, and certain actions the characters perform, that I know are coming and actively look forward too. I laugh giddily and then share the stories with my fiancé (he doesn’t get them, he wasn’t there). This trilogy is memorable because it’s not so farfetched that it is some fantastical fictional story, but the perfect hints of humor, hurt, pain, love, and a strong bond of friendship that lasts for lifetimes.

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The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks

     The best of me was a really good book. And writing that was really hard. It was definitely a beautiful story, I just hated how it ended. I suppose I wont give all the details away, but I can tell you that, in a way, it all kind of wrapped around nicely in the end. I also want to mention that while I may have hated the ending with a fiery passion, that doesn't mean that it was bad (look at me being an adult). This novel had a lot going on in it. You got to see things from a few different character's viewpoints, and that definitely made it a more interesting read. One of the parts I really liked about this book (and probably shouldn't have) is how the author can make you wish for something that you would normally be morally opposed to. It's amazing to see the way we feel about morals and relationships when looking at them from different perspectives, and Sparks is amazing at giving us these different perspectives and putting the character's into the situations he puts them into. Time and time again I feel like Spark's tries to teach us to not judge relationships that we aren't apart of, because you never really know what is happening inside of them.

     This book is getting a four from me. I really, really, really hated the ending. I understood why he did it, and I know things can't always work the want I want them to in the real world, but I still hated it. With that being said, my personal preference is to live in a constant state of denial where everything has a happily ever after ending (clearly I am a realist). I can't stress enough to you though that this book really was fantastic. I know it seems like I am criticizing some of it pretty harshly, and while I kind of am, it is not in the way I normally would. The writing, as always with Sparks, is amazing. The characters are very well developed. Even though you hate Abee because he is a piece of crap, you still kind of wish he could change and be not such a giant piece of crap. Things like that made this book amazing. So even though I hated the ending (I'm not sure if you can tell, but I seriously hated the ending), I can definitely see myself as being one of the few that feels this way.  

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When it Rains by Lisa De Jong

When it rains, or more appropriately named I’m going to make you cry a whole bunch. I know it has been a while since I’ve reviewed a book, but this book made it difficult. This story has quite a few heavy hitting feels (maybe too many). It shows you a girl’s journey through healing, loving, trusting, and a whole lot of hurting.

I’ve been hurt.

I’ve been saved.

And I’ve found hope.

I thought that my story was written that night, but now I know it was only a new beginning. Until one secret turns my world upside down…

Again.

I have to give this book a three. It just didn’t do it for me. The writing was good, and the characters were okay, but the story was too much. There was something about it that didn’t feel genuine (yes I know this is fiction, but you know what I mean). There wasn’t anything that was done especially poorly. I cried a whole lot while reading it, but I think it was just too much.