Cress (Lunar Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer

Back Cover
In this third book in the Lunar Chronicles, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army.

Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl imprisoned on a satellite since childhood who's only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

When a daring rescue of Cress goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has.


 My Thoughts

Overall 
I really liked Cress a lot! I still prefer Scarlet best just because of the romance between her and Wolf but Cress is a great addition. I really love this series because in all the books the main character is about a brilliant, strong young woman. Cress is pure genius. She can hack computers as easily as she breathes or blinks. She's amazing! I really liked the character development that happened with Thorne in this book- Cress definitely brought out something good and worth-while in him. Cinder finally didn't get on my nerves as much as the last two books. I like her, I do. But she really needed to accept who she is and just kick some Lunar ass. 

Characters
So my main complaint about the characters this books is about Wolf. I was so in love with him in Scarlet. Cress just made him seem all forlorn and forgotten and rage lust. I get he's a wolf hybrid from the moon but come on! He's a force! He has to get himself out of this Saddy Sadsack place and go and kick some Lunar ass and get his woman back! I really hated how he was portrayed like the only way for him to go on is if Scarlet is with him. And yes, Scarlet is a great character and a strong young woman but no character needs to be so dependent on another that they are mindless. 
Cress- LOVE HER! I love her back story and how gentle she is. I also love how she sees the good in Thorne and never gives up on him.
Thorne finally becomes a character to me. His character development is tremendous and I actually like the dude. So yay! I really think he needed someone like Cress for him to mature and grow.
Cinder- finally accepts herself and takes matters into her own hands! Only took 3 books!


I highly recommend this entire series to anyone looking for something amazing to read. It's very fantastical but also has steampunk-esque elements. 

4 out of 5 stars!

Diary of a Teenage Fairy Godmother by Kathleen Baldwin

 Back Cover Summary:
A Fairy Godmother is not some pixie in a pink tutu. She’s a guardian and a warrior. Lilliana Skye is sent undercover to a Texas high school to save one of Cinderella’s troubled descendants, but everything goes wrong.

Jessica Harrison hates Lilliana. She doesn’t believe in fairytale magic or happily-ever-afters. Jess is tough, angry, and so intelligent it’s scary. If she ever did see a mythical fairy she would probably stomp it into oblivion with her army boots. Matters go from bad to worse when Jess’s older brother meets Lilliana and falls hard for the new girl. And Lilliana can’t keep her wayward heart in check. Jake is, well, just plain dangerous.

Falling in love with a human is forbidden, not to mention… deadly.

 My Thoughts:
Overall
I had been wanting to read this for a few months but decided to wait and see if I would get it for Christmas..and I did! I am happy I waited. It was an easy, quick read. I enjoyed it a lot but even for the $3, I'm glad it was a gift and I didn't purchase it. If the library had had a copy, I would've just borrowed it. That being said, it's a book that I could reread again. It's very appropriate for the YA group it's written for. It's a great modern take on a classic fairy tale.

The Characters:
I really didn't care for Jess, the descendant of Cinderella, one bit. I get that she had a lot of issues and was hurting from the loss of her older brother but she took the whole "I'm grieving" to a new level all on her own. She was a Bitch. I would have given up on her if I was her FG.
I thought Lilliana was brilliant. I thought she was funny but strong and clearly, beautiful. She's one of those girls that loves everyone because she doesn't know any better- talk about a bad case being sheltered. I did appreciate that she was obedient but then discovered that her guardian is bat shit crazy and she shouldn't be so obedient to her. I really felt her pain about not being with the one she love. 
Jake is a good guy- wears his emotions on his sleeve. I'm really glad that even thought he's hurting from the death of his brother he is able to let love into his life. I'm also glad that he stands up and tells Jess how it is. Geez, that girl...

Plot
I think the whole concept of the story is very unique. Taking a beloved fairy tale, like Cinderella, and weaving it into the modern day world is so awesome. I loved the fact that Lilliana had to help Jess become more open to love or she would become evil and destroy the world. I think the whole plot is very well thought out and believable in ways. I like to think that in some parts of the world, and for some people, magic truly does exist and help them. It's a nice and very cool thought!

I would recommend this to anyone but 6th grade and up or a higher reading 5th grader and up. I think adults can easily enjoy this fantastical tale just as much as young readers. Boy or girl. 

4 out of 5 stars!

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

This book has a very pretty cover, which is why I really wanted it. It's also a great read so it wasn't chosen in vain.

Summary
Incarnate introduces Ana a nosoul, someone who is new to the world and hasn't been reborn like everyone else. Everyone else is 5,000 years old or more, but not Ana. She is the first nosoul to ever be born. She has no friends, no one that loves her. Even her mother hates her. Then on her 18th birthday, she sets out for the city in hopes to find some answers. Along the way she runs into some trouble and is saved by Sam. Sam is the only person who has ever talked to her nicely or at all. He's the only person who hasn't shunned her and told her she was a nosoul. He calls her a new soul. Along the way, Ana and Sam's relationship blooms, forming into this love that Ana has never known. Ana also finds out Sam is the man from the past thousands of years whose music has inspired her to keep going and kept her sane all these years. Their passion for music and the arts fuels their love making their relationship deeper and more real.
Once Ana is allowed to enter the city, everything goes from bad to worse. She is put on curfew, made to check in, and get a proper education (something her mother slacked on). If it wasn't for Sam, Ana wouldn't be allowed to look into her father and also why she was born. There is always something that gets in her way. Will she find out why she was born? Why she replaced Ciana? Yes. She does. And man, it's not what you expect! Her father is the reason (Spoiler). He created a way to stop souls from being reborn.

My Thoughts:
I really liked this book. It took me a few days to read it because it does start out slow and Ana's pity party does get on your nerves which makes you want to get away from her for a bit. But if you can get passed her pity party of 'why me' then it's really a great story. The idea of people being reborn for thousands of years over and over again, it's interesting. The author really does a great job weaving this tale of being reborn and remembering your past lives. It's truly awesome! Ana is a good character, she's stronger than you realize at first and does eventually become the person Sam believes in. Sam is the person you would want to meet along any journey. He's passionate, artistic, and (in my head) handsome. He's what Ana needs in the book- someone to believe in her. Because he also needs someone to believe in him. Their relationship is very romantic and fast and just what you think of when you think of teenagers. Even though Sam is thousands of years of old, in this life, he's Ana's age.
Like I said, it's a great story and the details of this world are extraordinary. It's a great read and makes you think.

4 out of 5 stars!

Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins

This is another book that I picked up based on reviews by friends and Tumblr posts. I AM SO GLAD I DID!


Synopsis:
Harper Price has it all. Money, look, the perfect boyfriend. She's involved in almost every extracurricular activity at school except the newspaper. Her nemesis, David Stark, is on the newspaper and she likes to stay as far away from him as possible. That all changes the night of Homecoming when the 'janitor' gives her this creepy kiss- and she become super strong. She is now a Paladin. A protector of someone or something even if it costs her her life. Who is this person or thing she must protect? She soon finds out, it's David Stark. The one person she could care less about and now she's sworn to protect him. Protect him from what? This part of the story involves so much more detail. It's set  in Alabama so the southern humor and charm is all throughout this book.


My thoughts:
I loved this book! Being from the South I found this book so funny. The thought of Cotillion and all the proper manners for you elders and what not, I totally understood. Even if you don't understand the Southern ways, this book is so charming and funny that you'll enjoy it anyways. Harper is a fierce and smart girl who has a good head on her shoulders and embraces the Paladin powers. David seems like your average high school guy who also has a bad case of no fashion sense. The story is set at a good pace and is very action packed for something that you would think wouldn't really be. It's interesting also in that it tells this detailed outline of what Paladins are and relates it to history. It's a good book and an easy read. It'll make you laugh and you'll totally be all OMG! a couple places.

5 our of 5 stars! Read it.

Fable (Unfortunate Fairy Tales book 3) by Chanda Hahn

I've read the first 2 books in this series and forgot that I had bought this one on my Kindle a while ago. I finally went through my books and was excited to see it.

What's Happened:
In the first two book Mina finds out she is a descendant of the Grimm brothers. She has powers that enable her to live the fairy tales that the Grimm's wrote all those years ago. She is put into situations that put her life at risk and she is forced to use her Grimoire to save her life and/or the other's life. The Grimoire is a book that changes into what Mina needs at the moment- a sword, a bow and arrow, etc. The one thing that makes this tool even more interesting is that there's a cute boy attached to it- her guardian. Jared. He's her protector and helper. He is there to help her figure out what she's supposed to do and help her successfully complete the tales. There's also the bad guy, Teague- Jared's twin. Jared and Teague are both fae so they have some magic going on.
Mina is in high school so of course there are all those teenager-y things going on as well. She has a best friend and a crush. Who get entangled into one of the tales and Mina must save them.
This is a very vague description- just go read them.

Book 3- Where We Are:
We find Mina trying hard not to give in to any fairy tale quests. She has been ignoring Jared for the whole Summer and he has been doing the same. The book opens up with Mina's apartment bursting into flames and her brother, Charlie, dying (or so you think). After his funeral, Mina goes back to school and she has Jared back. He's a mess that he wasn't there for her and she's a lump of sadness for losing her brother. She blames herself since she was the one home with him and supposed to protect him.
Then appears Temple, a descendant of Rumplestilkstin. He has a bargain for Mina, steal the book from the Prince and give it to him and she can have her brother back! Boom! Charlie's alive. She has to do it, right? To save her brother. Jared tries to tell her not to and that he can't go back to the Fae world but she goes alone. She goes over to the Fae world alone with nothing and no one to protect her. She has a run in with a sea witch or two. She keeps a level head though and she eventually does win her brother back from Temple. Then Teague tells her to help him and she does (for some dumb reason) but before she realizes what's happening, she has joined the Prince with his twin, Jared, making them one again. She finds out that Jared was the good half of Teague that was separated from him for his own good and then they were bound to the books. What has Mina done?

My Feelings
I really like this series! Mina can be a tad whiny at times, but she's in high school and cursed. I would be like that too. She's a fierce girl though. She always ends up on top and helps those in need. Even before herself. She has a good heart and when she needs to she can kick some ass.
I like her and Jared together. I was so disappointed when we was joined back with Teague. I really hoped Mina and Jared would end up together (I love me some romance). Teague is pure evil- which is good since that's his main role in the books.
I'm not a fan of Mina's best friend Nan and the crush Brody. They are so forced- both their relationship in the book and as characters. I could do without them.
I love the background of the story though. Mina being a relative of the Grimm brothers and being cursed. The curse is the reason why she must play out the different fairy tales. It's a very interesting and creative take on the Grimm brothers. I really enjoy it and it's very interesting how Hahn depicts the fairy tales in a modern way for Mina.

I'm ready for the 4th book!
4.5 out of 5 stars!
 

UnEnchanted by Chanda Hahn

This book is one I've read recently and thought, "Oh it's free on Kindle why not try it out for looks." OMG. Who knew that I would LOVE it so much and buy the 2nd one and then find out that the 3rd one isn't even finished, there's no release date and the name is only potential. Argh! I hate when I find a good series and then BAM! nope you can't finish that series you have to wait a year or more for the next book.
So back to the review...
This book starts out slow, like snail slow. It's not until about halfway or so that you realize that this is a story that relates to the Grimm tales. Then and only then, it gets interesting. Mina is a girl who is unlucky or so she thinks. Her whole life she's been uprooted from her mother, Sara, when something happens out of the ordinary. When Mina saves a life, that of her crush and classmate, it's only then that Sara spills the family secret. Their name is not Grime but Grimm and they are cursed to live out each fairy tale in the real world. The fantasy of it all is so awesome. She has a guardian of sorts and a book that helps her 'eat' the bad guys. It's really a great take on the tales and makes you want to pick up the Grimm Fairy Tales and reread or read them for the first time. If you're into fantasy check out this book!

3.5 out of 5 stars!

Eighth Grade Bites (Chronicles of Vladimir Tod) By Heather Brewer

If you like vampire books and young adult fiction then read this book. It's the first in a series (goes to 12th grade) and is a great start for a YA series. I enjoyed the main character, Vlad, because he is very humorous and devoted to his friends and family. This book is about Vlad the vampire and how he lives his life among mortals. His parents are dead. He lives with his 'Aunt' who brings him blood from the hospital. His father was a vampire and his mother was human- he's the only species of his kind which makes him hunted. It's very interesting and a new take on vampires because of the way they explain the world of vampires and how it runs. Easy to read and since it's so short you won't have any trouble finishing it in a day or two.
4 out of 5 stars!

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

If you are a fan of fantasy then you will be under a spell with this book. While it took me a while to get into the groove of this book at first, once I got into the story I wanted more. A great book that will haunt you until you finish reading it. It is beautifully written and the characters pull at your heart strings. The young boy, Ethan, who is the main character is my favorite character and truly shines in his role of hero. The authors depict a story of unforbidden love and magic so well you think it could really happen in the small town you live in or live around. Give this book a chance and read it!
5 out of 5 stars!