Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Look at me, I am on a roll with 3 posts in one month? More posts than I have done all year! Maybe because it's the summer and I have less to do so that means MORE READING! This is what I've felt like so far this summer:

Okay, maybe I can't quit! But it's a better hobby than some other things! Okay now onto Cinder:

Cinder is about a girl living in a futuristic world, where Cinder is a cyborg living with her stepmother and two step sisters as their maid. Sound familiar? Yep, a futuristic Cinderella. The cool thing about this series is that Ms. Meyer took different fairy tales and rewrote them and incorporated more futuristic things as well as real life problems that fairy tale characters don't often face. Cinder is being used as a maid and fixer-upper around the house by her stepmother and stepsisters, during a time where the "plague" is taking over New Beijing. Cinder meets Prince Kai one day when he comes to get his android fixed. Soon after, she starts her adventure trying to find the cure and this mysterious "princess selene" who can stop the Lunar Queen Levana from taking over Earth. 

The thing that I liked the most about this book is how ferocious Cinder is.  She is a great leading lady and really fights for her family and those that she loves, including her android Iko.  Queen Levana is also one of the best villians that Ms. Meyer could have made for this novel.  She is vain, obsessed with power (and herself) and willing to risk it all to make sure that Princess Selene is never seen or heard from again. This is witnessed in the stories of her burning down Princess Selene's nursery when she was just a small child. While as soon as Princess Selene was mentioned, I knew how that part was going to turn out, the story was not as predictable as I thought it would be.  The plot moves along nicely, and doesn't get slow at any points.  One thing about all of the Lunar Chronicles is that Ms. Meyer does a wonderful job leaving you wanting more and more for the next book. It was excruciating to have to wait a whole year for Scarlet to come out after reading Cinder. 

Great book! Go out and buy it at Barnes & Noble or Amazon. 

(Copyright Marissa Meyer, 2014)

Quick Review:

Title: Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1)

Author: Marissa Meyer

Pages: 390 (hardcover)

Recommended for: Young adults, both boys and girls because it has some action in it as well!

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Like many of the books I read, I got sucked into this book hard core. I could not put it down. I was also WEEPING at the end. Full on, ugly cry. So attractive, right?  After reading it, I went to talk to my mom about it, because my mom and I read the same books and then discuss them together. As I was talking to her, I almost started crying again because it was just so good and sad at the same time! What is wrong with me?!

Anyways, I would highly recommend this book. And as a plus... the movie is coming out on Friday (June 6th). I am very excited, and I am pretty sure that my mom and I are going to see it on Thursday! We are such nerds. I am ecstatic to see how the movie turns out, however, I never like the movies as much as the books. But hey, that's how life goes, right?

The Fault in Our Stars is about a girl named Hazel who has cancer. Her mother forces her to go to a cancer support group, where she has a friend named Augustus. Side note-- how cool of a name is Augustus?! Okay, so they meet and Augustus is pretending to be this bad boy and of course Hazel is interested (aren't we all!) and so they hang out, after "Gus" practically forces her to come out with him. The story takes us on the ride that is Gus and Hazel's epic romance. While the way that Hazel and Gus talk to each other is not the way that "normal" teenagers talk to each other or discuss things with each other, these teenagers are not "normal" teenagers. Although, at some points I did feel that John Green was trying to slide in a few of those "one-liners" that teenagers will be tattooing on their bodies in a moment of epic, passionate, romance, it was still a good book. And some of those one-liners really got me.  I found this meme online and think that it accurately describes this book:

So accurate, am I right?

Another thing about this book that I really enjoyed was the cast of characters chosen for the movie.  Although at first, I was not a big Shailene Woodley fan, she is really growing on me as she develops her acting skills and career more. I realize that I am no expert on anything really, but I really think she has developed so much to become good at her job! I also really like the fact that she seems down to earth and humble, much like Jennifer Lawrence (who I read she hates to be compared to..Sorry Shailene!)  One weird thing about the casting is that in Divergent, Shailene's character's brother (Ansel Elgort) is now Augustus for The Fault in Our Stars movie.  Minor details, but it's a little weird.. 

Back to the book.. SO GOOD! Go out and read it now! 

(Copyright John Green, 2014)

Buy it at Barnes & Noble or Amazon.

Quick Review: 

Title: The Fault in Our Stars

Author: John Green

Pages: 313 (hardcover)
Recommended for: EVERYONE!

The One (Selection #3) by Kiera Cass

Okay, so let me start this off by saying that I read this book in about a day. One. Single. Day.  I have been waiting so long for this book to come out and I was so excited when it did! I had pre-ordered it months in advance (much to the dismay of my boyfriend who thought I was crazy.. sorry not sorry), and was so excited when I got the email from Barnes & Noble that it had shipped.  Not only did I pre-order the book, but I pre-ordered a copy that Kiera Cass had signed herself.  How awesome is that? I was so excited!

Anyways, onto what I actually thought of the book itself.. If you have not read the first two books, I would highly recommend you do that first! You can read what I have to say on the first two here.

Of course, I'm going to start off with, I was SOOOO happy that they did finally end up together.  I really liked that Kiera Cass took her time getting them fully together and then threw in a little rift between Maxon and America at the very end to get you to think, dang maybe they won't end up together? I really enjoyed how she even made me like Celeste and feel bad when (SPOILER) she gets killed in the end. Another thing that I liked about the book was that America stayed true to her roots until the very end.  She fought for Aspen as a friend, and she stayed humble throughout the whole experience, not letting it change her for the worse.

Even though, overall I was happy with the ending, I feel that Ms. Cass could have done a little more with the rebel piece. The Southern rebels are mentioned, and attack the palace a few times, but they never really come into play after two appearances.  The Northern Rebels are the only ones that we grow to know and it's only their explanation of the Southern rebels that we get.  I really enjoyed that Maxon and American were sneaking around trying to help the Northern Rebels and change the way that the country is run.  I also liked that we got to know more about Maxon and the way he worked, but the book wrapped up a little too quickly.   Overall, it's a great, quick read and I really enjoyed it! It's not your typical fairy tale story about a girl coming into the royal family and falling in love with a prince, it runs deeper than that.

In case you get confused on who all of the Selected girls are, Kiera Cass has included a list on her website! Find it here. She has also announced a new novella called "The Queen" which will take us back to Queen Amberley's selection time. Read about it on Ms. Cass's website here.

Want to own it? Here it is on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

(Copyright, Kiera Cass 2014)

Quick Review:
Title: The One (Selection Book 3)
Author: Kiera Cass
Pages: 217 (ebook)
Recommended for: Young adult girls

City of Glass (Mortal Instruments Book #3)

City of Glass is the fourth book in the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare.  I'm telling you, although these books are for young adults (I still consider myself a young adult, I'm only 22) they really suck me in! I couldn't put them down!

City of Glass picks up where City of Ashes leaves off, much like City of Ashes did with City of Bones.   I love that in these books, certain things do get tied up at the end, but there is always that burning question or problem that still is left unanswered or unsolved for the next book to pick up. That's the sign of a great author, someone who really won't let you put their series down and keeps you coming back for more and more.  Oh and of course, as I'm sure you know.. Don't continue reading if you haven't read City of Ashes, or if you're okay with spoiler alerts read on! 

This book is great. I didn't know what to expect once Simon became a vampire, but I really like that he is semi-normal and can walk in the sun, every since he fed off Jace. Clary is now still trying to save her mother's life and to do so, she has to travel to the City of Glass, the home of all Shadowhunters.  Clary enters the city without permission (which is against the law) and is met by worse and worse news.  Jace doesn't want her in the City and Simon was thrown in prison by the Inquisitor because they are skeptical of a vampire that can walk in the sun (uh yeah, I'd be too!). Clary must find the friend of her mother's to help save her mother's life before it is too late.  Valentine is on his way to destroy all Shadowhunters and allow demons to rule the world.  Clary must convince Shadowhunters to fight along side of their eternal enemies, werewolves, vampires and fairies to help stop Valentine and the demons he is planning to bring into the world. Luckily, Clary finds out she has a magical power that can aid the "good" side in the fight and she has to decide how she can use it to help.  

Definitely a must read! Find it on Amazon here and Barnes & Noble here. 

© Margaret K. McElderry Books, Cassandra Clare

Quick Review:
Title: City of Glass (Mortal Instruments Book #3)
Author: Cassandra Clare
Pages: 576 (paperback)
Recommended: Young adult girls, 14-17 (or 22!)

City of Ashes (Mortal Instruments #2)

City of Ashes is the second book in the Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare. Don't read this post before you've read City of Bones, unless of course you're okay with Spoiler Alerts!


City of Ashes picks up right where City of Bones left off.  Clary's mom is still in a magic-induced coma, she still knows about the Shadowhunters and knows even more now about demons, werewolves and fairies than she ever wanted to know. Clary is torn between leaving this new Shadowhunter world behind and returning to her normal life with her best friend Simon, or becoming a full fledged Shadowhunter with the help of Jace, the guy she just found out is her brother but she still just can't seem to shake him from her mind.  Clary needs to help her mother get better and get out of her magic induced coma, and the only way to do so is to track down her evil father Valentine.  All of the sudden, downworlder children are dying everywhere and being drained of their blood. Clary sets out to see if Valentine is behind this, and if he is, why does he need their blood? After realizing that the mortal instruments have been stolen and that Valentine is in fact behind all of these murders, Clary needs the help of Jace to take down their father. However, Jace was raised by Valentine and has personal connections and fond memories of Valentine, while all Clary knows about her father is that he left her mother and never came back for them.  

I liked the sequel because it was just as good, if not better than the first book.  While the first book seemed to have a lot of loose ends, the second book ties up some of them and creates it's own loose ends leaving you wanting the third book immediately.  Luckily, I started these books after they were all out and didn't have to wait for the next one to come out after finishing the previous books. We all know it's the worst when you have to wait extra time for the sequel to be released.  

Take away from this post: Keep reading the Mortal Instruments Series... You won't regret it.

                                             © Margaret K. McElderry Books, Cassandra Clare


Quick Review: 
Title: City of Ashes (Mortal Instruments Book #2)
Author: Cassandra Clare
Pages: 464 (Paperback)
Recommended: For young adult girls, 14-17 years old.

City of Bones (Mortal Instruments Book #1)

So it's been awhile since I posted, but I'm going to keep posting, even if nobody is reading, but for myself so I can keep track of my books I've read and what I thought about them.. 

So.. City of Bones.. Here we go...

I started reading City of Bones and when I was half way through I saw a preview for the movie that was coming out. So naturally I started picturing Lilly Collins as Clary.  Now she is actually close to what I originally pictured for Clary, but the guy who plays Jace? Not at ALL what I pictured Jace to look like. But that's besides the point. Especially because I haven't seen the movie yet, and don't want to until I finish the whole series and it comes out on Redbox so I can only rent it for $1.  I know I'm probably going to hate it since it will most likely be nothing like the book.. (Why do they always do that?)

So.. City of Bones.. This was a great book. Starts off with Clary seeing this beautiful people (Jace and Isabelle) go into a club and disappear. They all have strange tattoos and Clary's friend Simon, can't see the people with the tattoos.  Clary follows the people and gets herself into trouble and then ends up back at the Institute, where Jace and Isabelle are living. Clary feels herself drawn to Jace because he is so beautiful, but he acts snobbish and stuck up.  It's a typical story of girl meets boy, girl has a crush on boy, boy has crush on girl but acts like a jerk. A story most teenage girls can relate to. Then come the demons... Clary is introduced to the "Shadowhunter" world.  A dangerous world full of demons and angels and murders that disappear in an instant. Clary must enter this world to help save her mother who is attacked and taken by demons.  It's up to Clary to learn how to be a Shadowhunter from Jace and the Lightwoods to save her mother from whatever force has taken her.  

This is a great book. It's riveting and really captures your attention from the very beginning. It doesn't take long for the book to get rolling and I really enjoyed it.  

Here is the book on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble..

© Margaret K. McElderry Books, Cassandra Clare

Quick Review:

Title: City of Bones (Mortal Instruments #1)
Author: Cassandra Clare

Pages: 512 (paperback)

Recommended for: Young adult girls 14-17 years old

The Selection by Kiera Cass

            The first book that I have decided to talk about is The Selection by Kiera Cass.  I read this book a little while ago and it was fantastic. It's set in future United States after China has tried to take over and failed. The public is divided into Castes, with the wealthiest people deemed as "Ones" and the poorest people "eights." There is a King and Queen and the Selection is set up to find the future Princess of the kingdom.  It gives thirty-five girls the chance of a lifetime. They are given the opportunity to enter the world of glittering gowns and sparkly jewels to fight for the heart of the handsome Prince Maxon. Okay so I know what you're thinking, this sounds so much like the Bachelor. Well, it is kinda. But with much higher stakes. The rules are much stricter for the girls and they are forced into "Princess training" for when one of them is chosen. Enter America Singer, the protagonist of the story. She does not want to be swept up into this fancy world. America has already decided to spend the rest of her life with Aspen, but their love is secret because he is a whole caste below her.  She is picked in the Selection (surprise!) and is forced  to compete for a crown she doesn't really want. Of course, like any book she goes into the competition hating the Prince and then gradually finds out he may not be all bad. But does she want to give up the future she's been imagining with Aspen? Dun dun dun... What happens next? 

Copyright © 2012, Kiera Cass.

Well.. you have to read it to find out! It's a quick read, meant for young adults. The hardcover edition is only 327 pages, which is nothing. A very quick read and definitely worth it! 

Want to get it? Here it is on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
Quick Review:
Title: The Selection
Author: Kiera Cass
Pages: 327 (hardcover)
Recommended for: Young adult girls