A Want So Wicked by Suzanne Young

This is the second book in the A Need So Beautiful series by Suzanne Young.

My review of #1: A Need So Beautiful.

Elise woke up in the middle of the desert, not knowing who she was. The memories came back to her, that she is 17, moved from Colorado to Arizona, is a pastor's daughter, and has an older sister Lucy.

But something is different than it was the day before. Now Elise gets this tingling feeling and has an urge to help people in need. She knows their history, she can see what is bothering them, and she knows the right solution to make everything better for these strangers.

She doesn't get these feelings all of the time, but she can help the people in close proximity who need her.

Since Elise is a pastor's daughter, she hasn't really dated that much. Not necessarily because of being a part of the church, but because no boy has really interested her that much to go out on a date with them.

But moving to Arizona seems to have changed that. Not only does she have one boy out for her attention, but she's strangely attracted to another newcomer to Arizona.

Now that she's working at the Mexican restaurant in town, Abe is around a lot since he also works there. And she is attracted to him, but whenever he gets close to him, something repulsive comes to the surface.

On the other hand, whenever Harlin is near, electricity shoots through Elise, making her want to touch and kiss Harlin even though she doesn't know a thing about it.

Not to add anything else to her problems, her sister is being elusive and secretive, something she has never done with Elise.

And the visions. Whenever Elise gives into the Need, a vision of another girl flashes through her mind. A girl who had the same hard choice that Elise is having. But it's more than that. It feels like Elise might have known her, might have been the person in these visions.

Shadows are starting to follow Elise, and they want her Need. Her light. Can Elise find out what is happening to her and save herself, plus the ones that she cares about? Will she be able to stop the Shadows from using up her life essence? Read A Want So Wicked by Suzanne Young to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
This book was heartbreakingly beautiful. Even though we were never introduced to Elise in the first novel of this series, it didn't matter. The reader gets sucked into her story and feels what she feels.

There were some parts where I called it before it was revealed as to what was going to happen, but I didn't care because there was always a twist to it that I didn't foresee.

And I was so excited to see Harlin again! I really enjoyed his character in the first novel and was happy to read about him so more, even if he wasn't the main guy lead in this novel.

Elise is a strong willed character who thinks about others, not just herself. She wants to do good and will sacrifice just about anything to help. I'm not sure if it's because her father is a pastor or if it's because her mother died when she was young, but that is the kid of person Elise is.

I really, really liked this series. I'm not sure if it's complete - Young left it open for more to come, I think. Or it could be a concluded series because the ending had a "this could be wrapped up" feeling.

But either way, I think Suzanne Young did an amazing job with these two novels. She has some other novels published which I may have to read because I love her writing so much, and another series that is coming out soon!

I would definitely recommend this to other readers. I just love how different it is from other novels published and I think others would enjoy this hopeful, heartbreaking, selfless series that Young has created. And I think that others would feel the same way after reading the series.

A Need So Beautiful by Suzanne Young

This is the first book in the A Need So Beautiful series by Suzanne Young.

When Charlotte was younger, she would get a Need once a year, where she will get this urge or sensation to go to a certain place, find a certain person, know that person's history, present, and future, and figure out what she needs to do to fix a problem that will happen.

Now that she is 16, she's getting the Need more than once a day. And it's definitely hurting her relationship with her boyfriend Harlin and her friendship with Sarah. Until she fulfills the Need, it will send sharp pains throughout her body, making it look like she kind of has asthma.

So she's been doing what the Need tells her to. But now, she has a gold patch on her shoulder where the pain usually starts. And it won't go away. Her skin has peeled away to leave only gold.

Desperate, she goes to the clinic where she works and has the doctor, Monroe, look at it because she doesn't know who else to go to.

Turns out, Monroe knows a lot more than he let on during the last 10 years! Charlotte is one of the Forgotten, a person who helps people in need and gives them hope in their life, rather than the shadows and darkness that will overtake them if Charlotte doesn't help them with their problems.

But the bad part is that Charlotte is starting to wear away. After she helps so many people, she will burst into a brilliant gold light and disappear. She is the Forgotten because everyone in her life will forget it, as if she didn't exist. Including her foster mother Mercy and her foster brother Alex, who she's known for years.

Then, Charlotte meets Onika, who used to be like Charlotte. Except she beat the Forgotten and was able to stay on Earth with her loved ones. Now Charlotte has a decision to make: fulfill her destiny and help strangers in need or fight against the Need and stay with Harlin, Mercy and Sarah. She needs to make a decision quickly, because time is running out.

What will Charlotte decide? Read A Need So Beautiful by Suzanne Young to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
Very uniquely done! I labeled this with Angels because I wasn't sure what else I could label it with, but it's not really angels. Charlotte just helps a lot of people regain the light and hope, which is an angelic thing to do, so I thought it would fit alright.

I really enjoyed this story. I haven't read anything like it and it kept me guessing.

I was also really intrigued that there wasn't a love triangle in this story! Finally! And Charlotte and Harlin have already been dating for about a year, so while they didn't have the first love attraction new relationships have, they definitely still had sparks for one another.

This was a bittersweet novel. Charlotte had two hard decisions to make, neither looking good for her but one she had to make in the end.

Charlotte was a great female lead. She wasn't whinny, she wasn't bad a$$, she was just a girl who wanted to be normal but found herself in a supernatural situation that she had to figure out, mostly by herself.

The ending was a surprise - I wasn't expecting it and that was nice for me since I've been able to guess what was going to happen in the last few YA novels I've read.

I definitely liked this book and I think others would really enjoy it as well. It has an angelic aspect to it, but it is like nothing I've ever read before, so I think others should read it to experience this new concept that Young created in her novel.

There is another novel following this, and I'm about to delve into it right now to see what else is going to happen in this series!

Dreaming Awake by Gwen Hayes

This is the second book in the Falling Under series by Gwen Hayes.

My review of #1: Falling Under.

After Theia's trip back to her normal life after being abducted into Under, she finds herself a little out of place. Because Mara did a blood ritual with her and gave Theia her demon blood, Theia now finds herself having odd cravings and is trying really hard not to suck the souls out of her classmates.

But things are going semi-sorta good with her and Hayden. Granted, they both have some demon inside of them so they have the same urges - can understand one another better.

Also, after leaving her life for awhile, she comes back to having everyone assume she ran away from home. Her father hasn't said more than five words to her since her arrival, pretending that nothing wrong had happened instead of yelling at her or grounding her.

Something strange is happening at Theia's high school though. All of the sneetches (popular students) are looking a little down. It looks like they haven't slept in awhile, are having rough nights, and have shallow looking physique.

Theia thinks that Hayden is not able to control his Lure and is draining their souls a little bit at a time. Instead of confronting him about it, she just ignores it is happening.

Also, Theia's urges are getting harder and harder to control. She finds herself slipping, and at night she feels more comfortable in Under than with her friends and Hayden.

When Mara, Hayden's mother and the queen of Under, comes into Theia's human life and pays a lot of attention to her father, Theia must figure out what to do. Should she ignore her demon side and let Mara do whatever she wants or should she fight back using the very thing Mara gave her? Read Dreaming Awake by Gwen Hayes to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
It has been a very long time since I read the first book in this series, so it took a few pages to remember what had happened at the end of the first novel.

After I figured that out, though, I started to enjoy this novel. I didn't enjoy the reason why Theia and Hayden split in the middle, because I never like it when an obvious couple breaks up for no good reason, but other than that I really enjoyed where the story line went.

I also think there was a little bit of character development for Theia. There were times she went back into her shy self, but for the most part she definitely grew into a woman instead of a girl and she went after what she wanted instead of the people around her.

As far as I know, this is the end of the series? Just the two books. I think that there could be a great story to follow if Hayes wanted to keep going with Theia and Hayden, but it was a good ending for the two book series!

I would recommend this to anyone who wants to read about supernatural creatures - in this case demons or succubi's - and a main female who has found herself changed completely from the person that she used to be.

I'm really glad that I was able to finally get this book and finish the series! Really enjoyed it and I think others would as well :)

Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

This is the first novel in The Sweet Trilogy series by Wendy Higgins.

Weird. Unusual. Abnormal. That is what everyone thinks about Anna. She's klutzy and stares off into space. But nobody knows that Anna is very different.

She can see auras, colors around everybody that change depending on their moods and feelings. Anna doesn't want to see them, so she stares off trying to give everyone their privacy. She can also feel their feelings, when they are strong enough.

Other abilities she has is to hear a mile a way, see the smallest details, taste the tiny portion in a dish, and feel every touch of thread in her clothes. Anna keeps all of these heightened senses on the down-low, trying to be a normal girl.

So far it was going alright. Until she saw an unusual aura of a drummer in a popular band. He didn't have colors showing his feelings, but a red circle in the middle of his chest.

When confronted by him, Anna finds out about who she really is. She's Nephilim - a child of a fallen angel. Her father is the Duke of  Substance Abuse, which explains Anna inexplicable draw to spirits and drugs. She doesn't want them, but her body craves them.

Anna is not quite like the other Nephilim, though. Each son or daughter has a duty to provide chaos in the world. Anna has never done that, because she has the ability to get rid of chaos. Her mother was a guardian angel. Her father a fallen angel. Two opposite angels bore a child, giving Anna the choice to do what she feels is right.

But when the Duke of Lust and his son, the drummer, Kaidan, find out about Anna, she is expected to take her place as the Daughter of the Duke of Substance Abuse.

And her infatuation with Kaidan is forbidden in the Nephilim world. They cannot be together, no matter how attracted and curious they are about each other.

Learning the ways of the Nephilim is going to be hard for angelic and demonic Anna. Can she convince the Dukes of Lucifer that she is on their side, or will her angelic heritage get in the way? Will Anna and Kaidan be able to stay apart, knowing it's better than being together and getting killed? Read Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
The title of this novel is very accurate. And I loved every bit of this novel! I couldn't put it down and wanted more scenes with Anna and Kaidan together, though I had to be patient. Even with the small amount of scenes, it was definitely worth being patient for!

I wasn't sure how I would feel about this novel since the topic of angels and demons has been very popular in YA literature.

This was definitely different, though, and left me wanting more!

The idea behind having dukes of the seven deadly sins was really great. It shows that the children of the fallen angels are forced to work for them depending on what deadly sin they represent. Poor Kaidan had to have lust as his sin and corrupt girls to have sexual interactions before marriage, sinning their souls.

Anna has the sin of substance abuse, and even though Anna has stayed away from drinking alcohol and doing drugs, she needs to tempt humans to do either of them to corrupt their souls.

I absolutely loved Anna. She is troubled by both sides of herself and always has an inner battle going inside - especially when she is around liquor and drugs.

And the chemistry between Anna and Kaidan was phenomenal! I could feel myself blushing while reading the scenes they had together - that's how good it was.

The only bad thing about this book is that it's the first of a trilogy and I DON'T HAVE THE SECOND ONE!!! It doesn't come out until 2013 sometime - I don't have the exact date yet. It's on my "to-read" list and I will be getting it right away when it releases.

To anyone who wants a different version of fallen angels and wants some steamy scenes between the guy and girl, read this ASAP. It will leave you wanting more, but it is an amazing read!

Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr

The Carnival of Souls - The City where daimons exist and the place that was created by witches, only to ban them from the grounds when daimons became more powerful.

Mallory lives with her father (adoptive, not biological) who is a witch. Mallory is not a witch herself, but she knows about witches and daimons. She has been taught her whole life to hate daimons and kill them when she sees them.

In 17 years, she's never dated a boy before. It was all about learning to fight, staying in shape, perfecting her shooting range.

Then Kaleb comes into the picture. This is the first time a boy has caught her attention.

So, naturally, it would mean that he's a daimon, the species she learned to hate.

Kaleb lives in the Carnival of Souls. He's in the Marchosias's Competition, a fight to the death. This competition will allow the winner to go up in status, in class, and allow the winners to rule with Marchosias - the ruler of The City.

Aya is another competitor - the only female in history to go into the Marchosias's Competition and now she's one of the top contenders. But she went into this competition with an agenda in mind: win and not have to breed. She has a secret that she can't allow anyone in The City to find out.

When Marchosias changes the rules about the winner of the competition, it changes everything. The ruler, if male, will marry his living daughter when she turns 18 and be a part of the elite blood family - Marchosias's family. If female, she will marry Marchosias himself and produce another heir to his blood line.

And his daughter? None other than Mallory, who doesn't know she is a daimon.

Now Aya is trying to find another solution since she forbids to ever have children. And Kaleb, who is already falling for Mallory, needs to get out of a job he took to kill Mallory.

Things are about to get interesting for everyone in The City and in Mallory's world. Read Carnival of Souls to find out how it will end!

My Thoughts/Reflections
I love Melissa Marr. I loved her Wicked Lovely series, which I've reviewed on this blog, and she has created another amazing world full of daimon's and witches.

There are so many characters in this book that at first it was a little overwhelming - but now I couldn't imagine this novel without every single one of them.

Of course, I didn't mention all of them in my overview above. Adam is Mallory's "father" (the witch) and Evelyn is Adam's older sister, who is also one of the most powerful witches in the world and can be a little bit...intimidating.

Kaleb is probably my favorite character. He is extremely devoted to his family, which is just him and Zevi, another daimon is who also a cur like Kaleb. A cur is a person who can shift into a stray dog - they get razor sharp teeth and talons and their humanity disappears when they are in this form.

There was so much information in this novel that I'm not sure my review and overview does it justice, but I do want to say that I think everyone should read this!

The narrators of this novel alternate, through MANY characters. Here are the ones I remember: Kaleb, Mallory, Adam, Aya, Zevi, Evelyn, and more that I've probably missed.

So this novel should be read by everyone, no matter what gender or age. The cover is even gender friendly as there is no romantic scene to chase the guys away from picking this book up.

I can't wait for the next book in this series, though I don't know the name of the novel or even when it comes out (this is a very new novel that was just release, so I'm just being impatient).

I do know that I will be putting the next novel on my "To-read" list and sit on the edge of my seat until I get it!

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Karou is a unique 17 year old girl. She lives in Prague, she's an art student who is extremely talented when drawing, and she has blue hair.

Her hair comes out of her head that color, or it did after she made a wish, and her drawings? Some are drawings of monsters who she claims are real, but none of her friends believe her.

In fact, they are real. Brimstone, Issa, Twiga, and Yasri. They are who raised Karou since she was an infant, and are the inspiration for her drawing.

What Karou doesn't realize is that they are not from Earth. They have another world where there are numerous chimera's. The only reason they are on Earth is because they are raising Karou away from that world to give her a chance to stay out of the Chimera War.

Now she is running "errands" for Brimstone. She doesn't ask, well too much, and he will never tell her what the errands are for, she just goes where she is supposed to when she is told.

But around the world, there is a mysterious dark hand print that is popping up on doors.

Akiva is one of those people who are placing the hand print on these doors. He is the mortal enemy of the chimeras. And he is very close to winning the war for good.

When Akiva sees Karou and is fighting against her, he finds that he is distracted by her. As a seraph, a war angel, he has no emotions, so being distracted by Karou puzzled him. Then, with the demon eyes tattooed on Karou's hands, she was able to escape.

But that didn't keep Akiva from wondering about her and going out to find her to figure out the mystery that is Karou.

Only one other person got under Akiva's skin like that, but Karou couldn't be that girl since she died.

Or could she?

To find out the mystery that is Karou and how the Chimera War progresses, read Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor!

My Thoughts/Reflections
This was a great book! At first I wasn't sure where it was going, but the way Taylor wrote and created a new world for the reader kept me enthralled and wanting to know more about the characters and about the other world.

Karou is a unique character with blue hair, tattoos, and an amazing talent of drawing. All of her classmates in her art classes want to look at her sketch book to see the amazing characters and landscapes she makes. She has over 90 binders of drawings, so it's not homework to her but a way of living.

Akiva is a tortured soul who only has one goal in life. But when he stumbles upon Karou, he starts to stray from that goal to learn more about this appealing person.

The attraction between these two characters was phenomenal. I wanted them to meet more and more.

Then Taylor threw in some more twists and turns that kept the reader wanting more.

I think I liked it so much because it was different than the other novels coming out today. I don't know much about chimera or seraphs, so I wasn't expecting anything particular when reading this novel.

This is the first of a series, and the second novel, Days of Blood and Starlight, comes out November 6, 2012, so just a few more months of waiting! I'll definitely be ordering this from the library as soon as I can!

I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone who wants a unique, urban fantasy with a forbidden love, survival, and another world aspect. It was a fast read for me and I definitely wasn't bored throughout the novel.

Illuminate by Aimee Agresti

This is the first novel in the Gilded Wings series by Aimee Agresti.

Haven has fought hard her whole life to do everything perfectly. It's not like she wants to be the best, but she wants to appreciate everything that she has.

When she was 5, she was found on the side of a road with cuts and scars. One of the nurses at the hospital she was taken to took her in and raised her as her own, giving Haven a chance to live a normal life.

So when Haven was given the chance to intern at a new, prestigious hotel, Haven jumped at the chance to get more experience to hopefully gain her entry into one of the colleges she wants to attend after high school.

It also helped that there would be two other students from her high school there. Her best friend Dante and another smart student, who is somewhat shy, Lance.

The owner of the hotel, Aurelia, is a very young, successful business woman that Haven could learn something new from her. And Aurelia's second in command, Lucian, is very yummy to look at, so the job could definitely be worse.

But things are not as they seem at the Lexington Hotel. Something odd is going on with the staff. They are acting like zombies, living in a shell with no emotional attachments or excitement. Lance, Haven, and Dante are the only ones that think for themselves, with the exception of Lucian and Aurelia.

Then things start to get odd. Haven is given a book, with no text inside. But after a few days, an entry was written inside from someone other than Haven. The person writes that she needs to train, run, build strength, gather resources like food, light, rope, etc.

When Haven doesn't follow the directions the first time, she finds out that the book is right. Whoever is writing to her has Haven's best interest at heart and now she is listening to everything that is being written in there.

Haven can't trust anyone at Lexington Hotel, but finds consolidation in Lance when Dante is sucked into the ways of the hotel staff.

Can Haven figure out what is going on and stop the evilness at Lexington Hotel? Can she get Dante away from the ways of the hotel? Read Illuminate by Aimee Agresti to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
Seems the theme for angels is spiraling in the last few years for YA fiction! This is the first novel I've read of Aimee Agresti and it definitely has a different twist to the angel story that other's that I've read before.

The story was good. I liked where the author was trying to go with it. I just found myself lost through some pages. And other times I thought that the story dragged on and on.

Granted, there was a lot of information in this story, which is why it's 500+ pages, but I think it could have been shorter.

Also, the whole book talking to Haven? I could not stop thinking about Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I'm a huge HP fan and every time there was a scene where Haven was reading from the book I kept flashing back to HP.

I thought the writing was really good, but there was just something about the novel overall where it just didn't make it to my top pile of favorite books. I also found myself taking more breaks through the book to check my email or go get snacks I didn't need, whereas if I was absorbed in this book, I couldn't pry it from my hands for any reason.

I am intrigued to see where the author will take the next novel(s). If I notice the release date and an curious by the blurb, I may pick up the second novel, but I won't go out of my way to get it on release day.

For anyone who likes mystery, stories about angels and demons, and about a girl who learns more about her troubled past, I would recommend this book to you. If you want a fast paced excitement thriller, I'm not sure if this book will be the one you're looking for.

The second novel, Infatuate (sounds like a great title! Intriguing!), comes out in March 2013.

Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

This is the second book in the Unearthly series.

I've reviewed the first book at this link: Unearthly.

After Clara failed her purpose that all angels have at the end of Unearthly, she doesn't really know what to do anymore.

She is dating a human boy named Tucker, is friends with another angel-blood Christian, and gets a strange vibe from her mom every so often after their encounter with the Black Wings.

When Clara starts to have dreams, she realizes that they are visions of the future, and might be another purpose for her since she failed the first one.

What bothers Clara is that she can't see Tucker in these dreams. But Christian is there and that makes her worried, especially because the Black Wings are coming back to get Clara and her mother.

Life is going as well as can be expected until Clara's friend Angela discovers that angels can only live til the age of 120... And someone very close to Clara just turned 120 a few weeks ago.

Now with the looming doom of losing a lost one and her conflicted feelings between Christian and Tucker, Clara is unsure what to do. Add to the fact that the Black Wing knows more about her history than Clara and is still coming after Clara and her mother, Clara is ready for a time-out.

And that's not even touching on the subject of where to go to college in the fall...

Who will Clara choose? Who is going to die that is close to Clara? And what is the mysterious secret that her mother has kept from her all of these years? Read Hallowed by Cynthia Hand to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
It's really great to be back into this series again, if only for a short time allowed in a single book.

I've always had a special place in my heart for one of the male characters (Tucker/Christian). I'm not going to say who because I want to express my love for the ending of this novel, and if I say who Clara choose, I'll ruin it for everyone else!

Clara definitely grew more into a mature adult during this novel. After what happened when she moved to Wyoming and the events that followed, she realized that not everything is set in stone and not everything is fair in life.

With losing a loved one, Clara realized that angels don't get to live forever and they need to live their life to the fullest. But that didn't make losing someone any easier.

Now I'm sorry that I took so long to read this novel! But even sadder? I have to wait until January 2013 for the third novel... Guess I'll just have to reread the first two novels in preparation :)

I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone in love with angel stories and a triangle love story. I would highly urge you to read the first novel, Unearthly, though, in order to understand this novel.

Falling Under by Gwen Hayes

Theia has a very controlled life. Her father has a decent job, travels sometimes, and also has his secretary buy all of Theia's clothes for her.

She doesn't get to wear what she wants, is always told to be perfect and sit up straight, and has a set schedule as to when she does homework, eat, and play the violin...

Because Thiea's mother died during child-birth, Theia figures that her father hates her for killing his one true love. So she usually does what he wants without question to try and make up for that.

However, there are some guilty pleasures that Theia still does, like reading non-educational books at night with a flashlight so her father doesn't know about it.

During one night, Theia saw a man, falling from the sky, and he was on fire. She ran out to see if she was hallucination, maybe by reading too many novels.

The next morning, she chalked it up to a dream. When she had another dream about a beautiful, mysterious boy, Theia thinks she has an uncontrollable imagination. That was proven wrong, though, when her mystery boy (named Hayden) shows up at school the next day.

The boy Theia interacts with in her dreams and the one she sees at school are so different that Theia is unsure if they are the same person.

But Hayden has a dark, dangerous secret. He's not who he seems to be, and Theia would be wise to stay away from him.

With the uncontrollable urge to be around Hayden, and the attraction Theia and Hayden have for one another, staying away from each other isn't an option. Will Hayden's dark past come to haunt them both? Read Falling Under by Gwen Hayes to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
Wow. Dark, dangerous, mysterious. Those three words describe the novel as a whole, and Hayden.

I absolutely loved this novel! If I wouldn't have started reading it so late at night, I probably would have finished it in one sitting.

I felt so bad for Theia after reading about her life at home with her father. I would never want to be restricted that much by my parents, even though I know there are teenagers out there who live through that.

If I had been Theia, I probably would have grew up as a rebellious child, but she was a good daughter and did as she was told.

All bets were off, though, when Hayden dropped into her life. After that, she started to become rebellious and doing what she wanted to do rather than what her father wanted.

This started off as a contemporary novel, but definitely ended as a supernatural story. It was the best of both genres.

I would recommend this to anyone wanting a forbidden love story, a story about a dark past, or a mythical atmosphere.

Also, this is the first of a two book series (that I know of). I will be trying to get the next book to see what happens to Hayden and Theia hopefully soon!

Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick

Beautiful, amazing cover. Love it!

Aaaahhh!!!!!! Nora and Patch just can't catch a break! Okay... on to the review:

Right in the beginning of Silence the reader finds out that Nora was found in a cemetery with no memory of how she got there, what day it was, or... anything! We come to find out that Nora has been missing for 3 months and has lost her memory of the last 5 months - the time where Hush Hush began. So, really, Nora has no idea who Patch is! And no one is talking about him! It's as if he never existed, except Nora keeps having visions of the color black.

Throughout this novel, we follow Nora while she starts to slowly.... very slowly... remember what has happened in the last 5 months and what has happened in the fallen angel world.

It was a great novel, don't get me wrong. I just want Patch and Nora to have about 50 pages in a novel that are NORMAL. Where they can be happy, joyous, TOGETHER, and not have something keep them apart from one another.

Eventually Nora got her memories back and found Patch, creating some scenes into the story that I was happy with. But with this ending, I can tell that Nora and Patch's relationship are in for a rough ride when Fitzpatrick writes her next novel in the series. I'm just hoping that with the situation of Nora and Patch that they will be working together rather than trying to avoid the other one to protect one another. We've had enough of that, now we want to see them as a couple!


Overall, love this book and the character/plot advancements. The author definitely left room to continue the story and make it great with the concepts already stirring between all of the key characters. I'm not sure when the next book comes out, but go read these 3 very quick reads before that happens!

Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick

In this second book of the Hush Hush series, Fitzpatrick leads the readers into Nora and Patch's life after a startling cliff hanger. At first, everything seems to be going well for Nora and Patch. They are dating and have had no life or death moments for 2 months. Seems simple right? Of course not.

When Nora professes her love to Patch, things start to go downhill very quickly. Patch starts to avoid being with Nora and instead is seen hanging out with her arch nemesis Marcie. Because of that, Nora tells Patch that they are over with - that she doesn't want to be or see him again.

Then, Nora slowly starts to find out what really happened to her father a year ago, and what that means for her in the present time. In other words: she's back in the life or death situation.

I was conflicted about this novel. I LOVED Hush Hush. Love it. And I was expecting amazingness from this book... But Nora just seemed a bit whinny. Granted, if I had to go through what Patch put her through, I would be royally ticked off. But at the same time, what Fitzpatrick tried to make as Nora going off on her own and sticking to her morals about the way Patch treated her just didn't quite make it there and actually made Nora... an annoying girl that guys try to stay away from.

When Nora found out the whole story of why Patch did what he did, she understood right away and the drama was gone. She just waited 300 pages to finally stop complaining long enough to hear what Patch had to say...

I think as a strong willed female character, Nora did exactly what she was supposed to. As a girlfriend in a relationship where trust is involved, she definitely failed. I'm hoping that the situation where the cliffhanger in Crescendo leaves the reader will be resolved in the 3rd book, along with some character building where Nora is concerned.

Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

I'm going to do a quick overview of Hush Hush, one of my all time favorite young adult novels written by Becca Fitzpatrick. I've read this book about 5 times and now I'm reading the 3rd book that just came out Silence, but I wanted to give you an idea of the setting and subject of this series when I review the 2nd and 3rd books.

Hush Hush is about a girl, Nora, who is a junior in high school and lives a normal life. At least, it was normal before she started getting attention from the transfer student in her science class, Patch. Then things started to get a little interesting and dangerous (not particularly in a good way either).

See, Patch is a fallen angel. He lost his wings years ago and now he's set his eyes on Nora to get those wings back. This isn't the lovey-dovey attention either. Instead, Nora is part of a blood line that will inadvertently help Patch get the goal he's set out to get. I'm not going to tell you how she's supposed to help him - you can go read it for yourself to find out :-)

Along the way of getting Nora to do what Patch wants, though, comes trouble for Patch. See, he's a pretty elusive guy who wants everyone to think that he's a "tough, bad" guy. Then he starts to admire Nora.... And then he starts to feel attracted to her. Also, keep in mind that while Patch has one perception of himself, he's really good looking and mysterious to others, making him very easy to be attracted to her...

And boy do those scenes do justice for the Chemistry they have (and let me just say that science?! Enough of Twilight scenes... thank goodness this has nothing to do with vampires!)

Okay, I think that's the amount I'm going into for Hush Hush. It's an amazing book and I'm rereading the second book Crescendo for the newest installment, so keep an eye out for a new post soon!

Passion

Lauren Kate does a great job with this new installment of her series Fallen. Luce and Daniel have fallen in love with each other for over 5,000 years. Everytime they meet, though, Luce dies a tragic death by fire whenever her and Daniel kiss, creating the next incarceration of Luce's soul into her next life. We found out in the first novel, Fallen that the Luce in our time somehow didn't die when she kissed Daniel.

In this new novel, Luce wants to know why. Why are Daniel and Luce cursed to never loving one another? Why is this time different than the last 5,000 years? And why does Daniel keep continuing this horrible cycle where he has to watch one Luce die after another with no hope of living his life with her?

This was written so well! I was hooked from the very beginning when Luce jumps into an Announcer, a shadow that will take the person wherever they want to go. This whole book, Luce is jumping from one time period to another trying to answer all of her questions. She goes 4,000 years back in time, from places like Ancient Egypt, China, Mesoamerica, Prussia, and many more! (I would love to see this as a movie and how they incorporate the scenes at these amazing locations!)

Through these encounters with her past selves, her past souls, Luce finally sees what really happens between her and Daniel. She fully appreciates Daniel's choices, and she realizes what she wants for her and the Daniel during her time (2009). Now she wants to go back and tell Daniel everything she experienced, but she may have overstepped too much during her journey...

A great read, I highly recommend it. However, YOU MUST READ THE FIRST TWO NOVELS BEFOREHAND!!! If you don't, you'll never figure out what is going on when they think about the times Luce and Daniel have during the present time. There is one more novel, the conclusion, to this series, Rapture, that will be released Spring 2012!!! Read the first 3 books during this winter and spring season to be ready for the epic conclusion to this series! 

City of Fallen Angels

Sigh. I really, really wanted to like this book. I was iffy at first because I liked the way City of Glass ended and didn't want to ruin the amazing ending that we were left with. And I have to say, this book was amazing because of the plot line, the further character development I learned about all of the characters, and being able to see Simon in action with his new... tattoo shall we say (in case any of you readers don't know what happened to Simon in City of Glass).

However, I have to admit, I really dislike the ending. I can't complain too much - there are 2 more books coming out in the series. This is not the overall ending to a great story. I just wish that I had the next 2 books right now so I wouldn't be left with this ending!

Also, I was shocked because I was under the impression that this was about Simon. Granted, I learned a lot more about Simon's character than I did from the previous book, but it was definitely evened out between the characters. (Not that I'm complaining, I love reading about Jace and Clary!)

Overall, it was worth the wait to finally read this book! (Because, let's face it, all of Cassandra Clare's fans have probably read this book 2 or 3 times since it's been released). Even though I complained about some aspects of the book, it doesn't change the fact that Cassandra Clare once again wrote a beautifully installment to her series and it can only get better, right?

By the way, I loved finding clues throughout the novel that will probably become more detailed in the new Infernal Devices novels when they are released!

Unearthly (No spoilers!)

Have you read Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick? Or any other Fallen Angel book, such as Fallen by Lauren Kate? I just read Unearthly by Cynthia Hand and I could not put it down! I really loved the book, but I think what I liked the most about it was that the main character wasn't the human giving the story, but the angel (or part angel as it is in this story). This gave it a distinct uniqueness that was able to set it apart from Hush, Hush or Fallen.

Clara is a quarter angel so she has certain "powers" that angels have - not as strong, but still there to make her different from humans. She has golden hair that shines as bright as the sun when she's in glory (connecting with God), she has wings and can fly, and she is stronger, faster, and smarter than humans. It's tough being part angel because she can't be her true self around her friends; she always has to hold back on activities and make sure she doesn't stand out from everyone else, only sometimes she slips up and forgets, causing a lot of weird looks every once in awhile from her friends.

Because Clara is part angel, she also has a purpose - one thing that she has to do as the purpose of her angel life. She starts to get visions about a mysterious boy in a forest fire, so after doing some extensive research, Clara finds the location of the place (Wyoming) and once her angel family moves there, she finds the mysterious boy (Christian). After that, she just has to wait until fire season to save him. Easy, right? Nope.

Clara meets new people, dyes her amazingly gold hair orange (an attempt at red, but the hair just wouldn't cooperate), and she starts to act like a normal girl, not a part angel girl. Soon, she starts to forget that she even had a purpose for being in Wyoming...

I really loved this book and I wish I didn't have to wait until 2012 for the second book in this series. Just another book to add to my "To read in the future" list with all of the other series books!