Until I Die by Amy Plum

This is the second novel in the Revenants series by Amy Plum.

My review of #1: Die For Me.

Now that Kate has fought the numa and is part of Vincent's revenant pack, she's getting the revenant treatment and learning how to fight with weapons.

She also gets to spend more time with Vincent and is learning more and more about the history of revenants.

But she can tell that it's extremely hard on Vincent not to help humans and die for them. So now he's trying a new experiment to see if he can withstand the urge to die while Kate lives.

Kate doesn't like the way the experiment is treating Vincent, though, because he is becoming weaker and bruising up everywhere. She decides to try and find a different cure without letting Vincent know because he wouldn't want her out on her own just to help him.

There's also two new revenants in town and staying at the palace where Vincent lives: Violette and Arthur. Because Charlotte, one of Kate's closest girl friends besides her sister, left with her brother, Violette is starting to become another close friend to Kate.

Things start to get intense when the numa's are breaking into the houses of revenants and looking for something in particular.

Then the revenants find out that the numa knows who killed their previous leader, Lucien. Only no one can know that in less it was a member of Vincent's kinship at his revenant house.

Someone is betraying Kate, Vincent, and Vincent's family. Will they be able to figure out who that person is in time? And will they be able to stop them before they find what they are searching for in the different houses they are breaking into? Read Until I Die by Amy Plum to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
Hmm. I'm not sure how I feel about this sequel to If I Die. It didn't seem like there was a lot going on. Sure, Vincent and Kate both had their different agendas to help Vincent fight the urge to die, but it seemed very slow paced for me.

All of the action came at the end when the traitor was revealed and a fight broke out. But the time it took to get to that point seemed long and boring for me.

I still love Kate. She is a true fighter and has a pure, kind heart by trying to help Vincent even though he wouldn't want her to do it. And she is very smart and a little sneaky, which I have to admire in a character.

I wish that there was a little bit more plot, or at least so more steamy scenes between Vincent and Kate throughout the novel.

Even though I wasn't impressed with this sequel, I am looking forward to reading the third and final book in the series, If I Should Die in May 2013. Hopefully everything will become easier for the two characters and there will be more action and plot to follow as the story concludes.

I would recommend this to anyone who's read the first novel and wants to read more about these characters. I would suggest that you read the first book in the series before this one to clarify terms and what occurred first as this does follow right after the previous book.

Die For Me by Amy Plum

This is the first novel in the Revenants series by Amy Plum.

After Kate and Georgia's parents died in a car accident, they decided to move to Paris to live with their grandparents. Paris has always been a part of their lives since they visited their grandparents every summer, so it wasn't a huge change as far as the culture and language.

But Kate has been dead inside. The death of her parents was extremely hard on her and her sister.

So she was surprised when she got a glimmer of life back after seeing a French boy at a cafe shop.

Kate got to know Vincent a little bit more when they kept bumping into each other at cafe's and museums.

However, Vincent is not a normal boy. Not at all. Turns out he is a revenant - a dead man walking. Not really a zombie, not really a ghost, but someone who died in the 1940's and woke up in his body 3 days later.

When some people die in the place of another, they come back to life. Vincent died while protecting another, saving his life but sacrificing himself, so he was "chosen" to come back to life to save more people who are about to die.

There are more revenants in Paris that live with Vincent and they do the same thing that Vincent does.

Kate was not supposed to find out about Vincent and his family. But after seeing one of his friends die by a train and then was alive 3 weeks later, it was a little difficult to explain. And Kate also saw an obituary for Vincent from the late 40's - so she was getting some of the clues before she was let in on the secret.

But the revenants have an enemy - the numa's who basically do the opposite of what the revenants do. They get humans to commit murders so when they die, they can come back to life to keep murdering.

Kate met Vincent's mortal enemy - Lucien. And found out that her sister, Georgia, was an item with him. Can Kate convince Georgia to stay away from him without giving away Vincent's secret? And will Kate be able to stay in a relationship with Vincent knowing that he will die and come back to life every time he saves a human, with her history of death in her family? Read Die For Me by Amy Plum to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
This was a breath of fresh air!

I've never read a book quite like this before. Like I said, they aren't quite zombies and they aren't quite ghosts, even though they have similar abilities to both supernatural creatures.

Plus, if they were anything like zombies, I don't think Vincent would be nearly as gorgeous as he is described in this book ;-)

Kate is very brave. After the devastating way her parents died and how close she was to them, dating an undead guy who will die every time he saves a human from dying to give them another chance to live would be extremely hard to do.

But she has a physical and emotional attachment to Vincent, just like he does to her. It was harder for them to be apart than together, so an alternative plan had to be created.

I also really liked how well the author describe Paris! For the readers who have never been there, I sure felt like I was sitting at the cafe with Kate or at the nightclubs! It's also a change of scenery for me since I usually read stories based in the U.S.

I'm glad I finally got this book to read - it's been in my "To-Read" list on Goodreads for awhile. But, the plus side of waiting so long for it is that I have the second novel right next to me to pick up and read it right away :) Which is what I'm going to do after writing this post!

I would recommend this to anyone female who wants to read something different with a interesting plot line and a steamy romance! I think I read it in 2 sittings, in one day, so it's very easy to read and you will be left wanting more of the characters!

Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian

Mary Zane

When she was younger, Mary grew up on Jar Island. She and a fellow classmate, Reeve, would take the ferry to the main land for school. You wouldn’t exactly call it a friendship since Reeve tortured Mary about being overweight, but they grew friendly since they had to spend so much time together.

Until Reeve did something so unforgivable and humiliating toward Mary that she finally left Jar Island. But now she’s back. Different than before and wants to make Reeve pay for what he did to her when they were younger.

Lillia Cho

Lillia always loved coming to Jar Island for the summer vacations and spending time with her summer friends that she finally convinced her parents to live their year round. She’s the popular girl, cheerleader, and her family is wealthy.

But when Lillia finds out that one of her friends, Adam, was seeing her younger sister, Nadia, in secret, along with doing something so horrifying, Lillia decided she was done with guys. That guys needed to pay for how horrible they treat girls.

Kat DeBrassio

Kat is considered “white trash” at school. She lives in the poorer part of town and everyone thinks she does drugs because of her older brother. Many don’t remember that Kat used to be best friends with Lillia and Rennie, until Rennie ditched Kat when Lillia came to live at Jar Island year round.

Many also don’t know that Kat spent a lot of her summer vacation hanging out with Alex Lindly – one of the “popular boys” who don’t associate with Kat during the school year. School isn’t exactly the best of times for Kat, so when Reeve says one too many untruthful statements, Kat decides to get revenge. Reeve will be sorry she was so mean to Kat all of these years after she’s done with her.

Read Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian to find out how each girl gets their revenge!

My Thoughts/Reflections

When I heard that Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian were writing a book together, I was so excited! I love both of their novels and knew that they were going to create an amazing book together – which they did!

This was a great novel. Each character has a reason for getting revenge and their back story, or flash backs, were a great key idea for the reader to really get to know the characters and see why they are ready to seek revenge.

I think my favorite girl out of the trio is Kat. She’s down to earth and fights for what she wants. She’s the one who initially came up with the idea to get back at the ones who tortured each girl. And I think I can relate to her out of the three of them.

The nice thing about this book is there are three girls, so the reader should have someone they can relate to. There are different situations for each girl: one fighting her weight, one living in a high class society – both at home and at school, and one trying to get through senior year so she can leave a prejudice island full of people who know everything about everyone.

This is part of a series and the authors do leave us at a little cliffhanger, so I’m excited to read the next book Fire with Fire sometime in 2013 (no date that I know of yet)!

Also, I labeled this book as a contemporary, which for the most part it is, but at the very end I think the authors are cooking up something supernatural? Maybe? I’m excited to find out more in the continuing books!

I would recommend this to every female reader. There are so many situations and events that happen that I think any girl can relate to and it is so well written that I flew through the book really fast!

Cover Reveal - The Elite by Kiera Cass

Ohh!!! The  new cover and blurb has been revealed for the next book in The Selection series by Kiera Cass! (Yes, I know I'm late, but I'm still posting about it :P)

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, I reviewed the first novel in the series, The Selection here.

And now, drum roll, please!!!!!!!!

Ta Da! The Elite:

And the blurb:

Thirty-five girls came to the palace to compete in the Selection. All but six have been sent home. And only one will get to marry Prince Maxon and be crowned princess of Illea. 

America still isn't sure where her heart lies. When she's with Maxon, she's swept up in their new and breathless romance, and can't dream of being with anyone else. But whenever she sees Aspen standing guard around the palace, and is overcome with memories of the life they planned to share. With the group narrowed down to the Elite, the other girls are even more determined to win Maxon over - and time is running out for America to decide. 

Just when America is sure she's made her choice, a devastating loss makes her question everything again. And while she's struggling to imagine her future, the violent rebels that are determined to overthrow the monarchy are growing stronger and their plans could destroy her chance at any kind of happy ending. From Goodreads

It sounds amazing!! Can't wait for it to come out!! April 23, 2013 is the date set on Goodreads right now, so I will be anxiously waiting until then to find out what happens to America, Maxon, and Aspen! :D

Ten by Gretchen McNeil

It's a weekend to die for. The most popular girl has invited Meg and Minnie to her beach house for a weekend party that is exclusive for only certain people.

Meg doesn't want to go. Jennifer is not her friend and hasn't been nice to Meg since she came to school. But Minnie wants to go and Meg makes sure that she makes Minnie happy since she is not stable.

When the two get on the island, they find out that Jennifer hasn't shown up. Instead, it's a group of people that they do and don't know. By the end of the night, there are 10 of them, so they expect Jennifer to come the next morning.

But she doesn't show.

And one of the ten teens committed suicide by hanging herself.

Or that's what they think. One by one, one of the teens dies.

There is a killer on the island. Meg has found a diary that seems very eeriely close to what's happening in the house.

So is the killer an unknown person picking them off one by one? Or is it one of the 10 teens who are stuck in the house until Monday morning when the ferry comes back?

Meg is a watcher, a listener, so she is trying to figure out who is killing them and why. But will she figure it out in time for her to save her friends? Or will she find out too late? Read Ten by Gretchen McNeil to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
I loved this novel!!

I got sucked right away into the story and I just had to find out who the killer was. I also tried to figure out myself by the clues hinting throughout the novel to see if I could predict it.

Yeah, I really didn't figure it out until 1 page before the killer was revealed.

I also really liked Meg. She has the patience of a saint with having a friend like Minnie. Minnie is not stable, she needs to lean on Meg and Meg is like another mother for her. That's not a friendship that one should have in high school.

While reading this, I was on my seat. I didn't know what was going to happen next and I really wanted to find out. I was left guessing until the last chapter and I didn't want it to end!

This is the first time I've read a novel by Gretchen McNeil and now I want more! I will have to go and see what else she has written and read them to see if it's as good as Ten!

I've read some reviews that they didn't like it, but I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants a YA thriller/horror story. It's not perfect, but I really liked it and think others would too.

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

This is the first novel in The Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater.

Living with a family of psychics is interesting. For Blue, it's normal when random strangers come to her house to get their reading done, and hearing phrases that would normally make other people raise an eyebrow.

Also, ever since Blue was 6, her mother and her two friends Calla and Persephone have stated that she will kill her true love with a kiss. And it's not just Blue's friends and family who have said that - other psychics around the country have stated that same phrase.

So, it's safe to say that Blue has never had a boyfriend, nor really any guy friends for 10 years.

One night during their yearly visit to the graveyard where Blue's aunt hears the names of all the souls that will die within the year, Blue sees a boy.

Blue never sees a boy, or any other spirit on this night.

See, Blue isn't psychic like her mother. But she can make any psychics ability 10x stronger just by being in the same room.

So when Blue saw the boy, it meant one of two things. One, he was her true love. Or two, she was going to kill him.

After finding out his name, Gansey, Blue meets up with him in real life along with his 3 friends Noah, Adam, and Ronan.

Now Blue seems to be friends with not only one, but three guys when she has obviously sworn off boys for life.

But Gansey and his friends are looking for the ley line - the magical area where magic can be used if only the person knows what to sacrifice in order to possess the magic.

Gansey has been looking for this for over a year, and he's getting close now that he's met Blue and her eccentric family.

Will the secret of possessing the ley line magic get uncovered? And why did Blue see Gansey that night when she's having some feelings for Adam, his friend? Does this mean Gansey isn't her one true love? Read The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
I have been a devote fan of Maggie Stiefvater since she first wrote Shiver of The Wolves of Mercy Falls series (which I haven't wrote about!!! I will fix that!!) and her recent novel The Scorpio Races.

So of course I would love this new book by her!

It was a little different though. The narration switched between multiple characters so we got a lot of different viewpoints.

And honestly, if I wasn't a devoted Stiefvater fan, I'm not sure if I would have been as interested in this book as I was. I'm hoping that someone who hasn't read her novels before would still pick this up and like it, but it was very deep and delved really far into the story line before coming back out crystal clear (well, kinda).

Blue is a unique girl but she kind of has to be when growing up she never got any commands - just simple remarks that her mother made letting her decide what she wants to do.

And the Raven Boys - boy are there some deep, troubled things going on which each of these boys. I love all of them for different reasons, but I think Gansey was my favorite. Being a nerd who likes to do research is not always found in lead boy characters, so of course I fell for him!

There is a lot of content in this book and once the reader gets to the end, everything makes sense. Just stick it out!

I would recommend this anyone who wants to read about magic, friendship, society, and second chances. I am looking forward to the sequel, which won't come out until September 2013 so I have a while to wait, but I'll be picking it up when it gets released!

The Thing About the Truth by Lauren Barnholdt

After getting kicked out of the Concordia Prep school in town, Kelsey is forced to go to school at the public high school, Concordia Public.

Kelsey is not worried about going to public school, but she is worried about getting scholarships for college as she doesn't have the "prep" in her school name anymore.

So she decides that she is going to create a new school organization and run it to make her applications look more unique for when she applies to college.

Issac is always known as the senator's son. And he was recently kicked out of his old school for starting a fight, so Concordia Public is the last stop for him before being forced to go overseas to boarding school.

So he's going to try his best not to get kicked out anymore.

When he meets Kelsey on his first day of school (her's as well, though Issac doesn't know it), it was not a love at first sight relationship.

In fact, Kelsey was extremely rude to Issac and instead of brushing it off, Issac couldn't stop thinking about the girl in the school office.

When Issac decides to butt in on Kelsey's organization idea (which the principal approved after Issac wanted in, just because Issac's dad is the senator) they are forced to work together on this organization.

Face it Down Day is their new organization. They are going to get kids from Concordia Public and Concordia Prep to come together and discuss questions to open up and get to know each other from the two schools.

This is supposed to help the students realize that just because one is a "preppy" school and the other is the "poor" school, everyone is the same and are just kids trying to get through high school.

Instead, everything goes extremely wrong and now both Kelsey and Issac are facing the prospect of getting kicked out of another school...

Will things be able to smooth out so they aren't forced to leave Concordia Public? Will the relationship that has been building for Kelsey and Issac continue, or stop because of the Face it Down Day events? Read The Thing About the Truth to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
I'm a big fan of Lauren Barnholdt's books, but for some reason I didn't enjoy this novel as much as I thought I would...

The story line was great. Getting kicked out of school and finding someone who was also kicked out, only to be attracted to him/her and  knowing that you shouldn't? Amazing story.

And the way Barnholdt told it was through both perspectives: Kelsey and Issac. It was also told in alternative time areas. One that was "Before" the incident at Face it Down Day and the "Aftermath" of the event.

So the reader knew something had happened and just had to wait until the end of the novel to find out why.

But the ending was bland. We found out what happened and then all of a sudden the book was done.

Just. Done.

It seemed too perfect of a wrap up and there was no final answer about something (not gonna say, you'll have to read to find out! :P)

Also, I don't think I really liked Kelsey's character. She was a hypocrite and only did things when they helped her, not anyone else.

Oh! And one other thing! In the book, Kelsey has brown hair and Issac has blonde hair. The cover is not revealing the truth to the reader ;-)

For anyone who wants to read a novel about high school, this would be up your alley as it really revolves a lot around the different types of schools. For me, it was a little disappointing compared to the other Barnholdt books I've read previously.