Monday 29 October 2012

Sanctum by Sarah Fine

What happens when you commit suicide and die? where do you go? This book revolves around exactly that. When Lela's best friend Nadia commits suicide, she decides to go to the place that has haunted her for years - The suicide gates. After she dies, she follows Nadia there and tries to look for her. Along the way, she runs into the guards there and their captain Malachi who decides to help her.

Lela has had a very abusive life; she has lived with multiple foster parents and never had a nice loving family. She has been to detention centres and been treated unfairly her entire life. I really felt sorry for her and i also really admired her for her strength and ability to go on after all that she has been through. She is also very kickass and headstrong and so funny which made me love her tonnes
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Nadia is her best friend who is seemingly perfect - pretty, popular, clever. But underneath she is broken which leads her to commit suicide. She is missing for a at least half the book and when she does come back, she is in a very bad state. I was sorry for her and wished she would get better.

Malachi is the captain of the guards who on the surface is brutal and dangerous and deadly but on the inside he is so sweet and soft and loving. I knew from the first scene that i would fall in love with him and i did. There is so much more to him underneath the surface and his secrets that come out later really give you insight into his personality. The romance between them is a bit too fast but not in the way that would put you off. I really loved it and found it sweet and romantic. Their scenes together are sensual and make you melt.
The plot is about Mazakin which are horrible creatures that reside in their world and about finding Nadia. There is lots of action and plot twists that i loved. Their world itself is very intriguing. You can still die when you are already dead and how you can everything there but you wont be satisfied. I was also fascinated by the "judge". The book ends with one heck of a twist that will make the sequel very interesting to read. I thoroughly enjoyed this and highly recommend this.

Friday 26 October 2012

Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick

Wow!!! what a conclusion! This book was everything i wanted and soo much more. By far the best book of the series and i cherished every word of it. I don't really know where to start as there is so much i want to say yet am speechless at the same time. As cliched as it is, this book was a roller coaster ride; i found myself laughing at points and crying at others and feeling a whole range of emotions.

It picks up from when Nora sweared to lead Black hand's army and the war between the nephilim and fallen angels is reaching its climax. She is really torn; on one hand, she wants to help Patch and stay loyal to him, and on the other side she is sympathetic to the nephilim and wants to free them. I felt for her as its a really hard dilemma. She is also training with Dante and, then there is Pepper who has his own agenda and wants something with Patch. Their problems just keep piling up.

I have always liked Nora and this was no exception. She continues to grow more independent and stronger and starts looking after herself. Patch, oh Patch! "swoon" He is such a sweetheart. He is hot and funny and sexy, but he is sooo loving too. He cares for Nora so much and is always looking after her. They are going strong in this but as always they do have a couple hurdles along the way. The romance in this book is scorching hot and steamy and no one can possibly doubt their love for each other.

Scott is my second favourite character in this book (after Patch) so i loved reading his part but felt a lack of him in the first half of the book. He is sooo funny and his and Nora's relationship is so cute. I love their playful friendship and craved more of their scenes. Vee has been a roller coaster ride for me - i didnt like her, then i liked her, then i dint like her again - but i officially do now! Marcie is herslef but you see a different side to her as well. I almost liked her at some points. I was never a fan of Dante and found him really annoying, and felt he was too much in this. Detective Basso is also one of my absolute favourites! Unfortunately, he is hardly in this, but does serve a massive purpose in the story and we finally see his connection to all this. He deserves spin of!

The plot has lots going on with twists and turn and revelations and lots of different things that all link together. It has tons of action but tons of drama too. The final showdown is EPIC and all the loose strings are tied! Lots of deaths too and one of them made me cry a bucket :( The conclusion is great and i loved the ending. The last scene made me laugh.

Its a bittersweet feeling when you finish one of your all time fav series of books. I adore all these characters and will miss reading about them so much. Every fan of Hush hush series has got to read this.

Lastly, he's one of my fav quotes from the book:

“You dress to impress,” I said approvingly.
“No, Angel.” He leaned in, his teeth softly grazing my ear. “I undress to impress.”

The unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin


Such a good sequel! I had really been looking forward to it so i was ecstatic to finally have the chance. This book takes everything up a notch and i thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. I was anxious to find out how Jude was alive and discover the truth.

It picks up with Mara admitted into a mental hospital after she had a fit at the police station where she saw Jude. Everyone thinks she is crazy but she knows the truth - Jude is out there somewhere and he is after her. Soon, she starts experiencing horrifying things that are even more indication of Jude's return and that he wants something with her, but she doesn't have anyone to turn to except Noah.

I felt sorry for Mara in this because of everything she went through. Her life is miserable and i would go crazy feeling so helpless, but she is strong and survives. Noah does change in this book. He is still snarky and sexy but he is also more sweet in this and i loved how he constantly helped Mara through everything. You also get to find out more about his past and how he discovered his ability which gives you more insight into his character. The romance between them is building up and there are some really hot make out scenes that make you swoon.

Jude is back but sadly he doesn't return for over half the book. However, when he does, he is really evil. He has his own agenda and wants something from Mara. He also happens to have a mysterious ability that you find out at the end which makes this even more interesting.

I also really liked Daniel who is such a supportive brother but i want him to have more part in the plot. Jamie is back along with other crazy people from their crazy mental school. There is also Mara's doctor who i really didnt like.

The story is good but i wish more stuff happened. There were also these flashbacks from India which i found a bit confusing at first but they help you understand the story. There is also other stuff going on that isnt quite explained yet and i really want to know the answers. It ends on a cliffhanger which has me really excited for the next book :D

Mystic City by Theo Lawrence


I love reading dystopian books so i was looking forward to reading this. Its set in future Manhattan where there are two sorts of people - Mystics and non mystics. Mystics have special powers and energy that gives them all some kind of abilities, consequently they are treated as dangerous and discriminated against.

Aria is the daughter of the political leaders of the city - the Roses. She wakes up having no recollection of anything and is told that she lost her memories due to an overdose. Now, she is betrothed to her supposed lover Thomas who she doesn't recall at all. This creates quite a mess for Aria as she is supposed to marry him and yet she cant remember ever loving him. Then she stumbles onto Hunter who she feels a really strong connection to and soon falls for him.

Aria was ok. I didn't particularly like her or dislike her. She is headstrong and independent but just was kinda boring for me. Hunter was OK too. I actually quite liked him but he didn't make a very strong impression. The romance for me was a bit too quick. This is partly cuz i could guess from the start that it was actually hunter she had the affair with and not Thomas and they were already on love before she meets him. This was also annoying as it was made out to be some big reveal but was probably the most obvious thing ever.

Aria's family is full of bastards and i hated them all to pieces. They were all heartless and i felt sorry for her. Thomas was stupid and irritating and i never liked him. Other characters include Davida, Violet Brooks and Benedict who all have something going on too.

The plot was alright but not hooking. Its mostly about the romance and reminded me a bit of Romeo and Juliet. There is a lot of action in this at the end and the sequel will be interesting to read. Not the best out there but still good.