Review: Perfect Lies (Mind Games, #2)

Author: Kiersten White
Series: Mind Games, #2
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release: Feb 18th 2014
Source: Borrowed
Pages: 230 (hardcover)
( Amazon | Goodreads )

Annie and Fia are ready to fight back.

The sisters have been manipulated and controlled by the Keane Foundation for years, trapped in a never ending battle for survival. Now they have found allies who can help them truly escape. After faking her own death, Annie has joined a group that is plotting to destroy the Foundation. And Fia is working with James Keane to bring his father down from the inside.

But Annie's visions of the future can't show her who to trust in the present. And though James is Fia's first love, Fia knows he's hiding something. The sisters can rely only on each other - but that may not be enough to save them.

The first thing you should know is that I absolutely loved MIND GAMES. And then here comes the second thing, I hated PERFECT LIES. Ha.

Never has a sequel disappointed me as much as PERFECT LIES did. When I read MIND GAMES, I was thoroughly intrigued by White's slightly peculiar writing style and the premise of evil organizations controlling teenage girls who have psychic abilities. Most of all, I adored the dual sister protagonists - Fia and Annie. The only issue I had then was that the worldbuilding was rather weak. But hey, that's what a sequel is for right? More in-depth plot/character developments, more dramatic confrontations, and more mind-boggling conspiracies. The answer is NO! 

Review: The Lost Boys (The Lost Boys, #1)

Author: Lilian Carmine
Series: The Lost Boys, #1
Publisher: Ebury Press (Random House UK)
Release: Oct 24th 2013
Source: Netgalley
Pages: 512 (ebook)
( Amazon | Goodreads )

An intensely addictive romance novel about girls, ghosts, and forbidden love, ideal for fans of Stephenie Meyer

Fate has brought them together. But will it also keep them apart? Having moved to a strange town, 17-year-old Joey Gray is feeling a little lost, until she meets a cute, mysterious boy near her new home. But there’s a very good reason why Tristan Halloway is always to be found roaming in the local graveyard. Perfect for fans of Stephenie Meyer and Lauren Kate, The Lost Boys is a magical, romantic tale of girl meets ghost.

I was never a fan of Stephenie Meyer despite her overwhelming fame brought on by the Twilight series. Thus, the tagline in the blurb did more damage than good when it comes to drawing my attention. But one can hardly ever walk away from a ghost story that easy, even though now I wish I had done just that.

ARC Review: Fates (Fates, #1)

Author: Lanie Bross
Series: Fates, #1
Publisher: Delacorte Press (Random House)
Release: Feb 11th 2014
Source: Netgalley
Pages: 336 (ebook)
( Amazon | Goodreads )

Perfect for fans of Jennifer Armentrout, Julie Kagawa, Rachel Vincent, and Sarah J. Maas, and for girls who love all things pretty, romantic and inspirational.

One moment. One foolish desire. One mistake. And Corinthe lost everything.

She fell from her tranquil life in Pyralis Terra and found herself exiled to the human world. Her punishment? To make sure people's fates unfold according to plan. Now, years later, Corinthe has one last assignment: kill Lucas Kaller. His death will be her ticket home.

But for the first time, Corinthe feels a tingle of doubt. It begins as a lump in her throat, then grows toward her heart, and suddenly she feels like she is falling all over again--this time for a boy she knows she can never have. Because it is written: one of them must live, and one of them must die. In a universe where every moment, every second, every fate has already been decided, where does love fit in?

"Different and imaginative."--Kirkus Reviews

It is never easy for me to turn down a pretty cover, despite the fact that this irrational urge has brought me more than a few disappointments. Well, that number may have to go up another notch today. To be fair, I don’t dislike Fates as much as some of the other ones, but that is hardly a compliment at all. While parts of the story remained quite entertaining to read, as a whole, there were way too many problems for me to fully enjoy it. 

Mini ARC Review: Under the Wide and Starry Sky

Author: Nancy Horan
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Ballantine Books (Random House)
Release: Jan 21st 2014
Source: NetGalley
Pages: 496 (ebook)
( Amazon | Goodreads )

At the age of thirty-five, Fanny van de Grift Osbourne leaves her philandering husband in San Francisco and sets sail for Belgium to study art, with her three children and a nanny in tow. Not long after her arrival, however, tragedy strikes, and Fanny and her brood repair to a quiet artists' colony in France where she can recuperate. There she meets Robert Louis Stevenson, ten years her junior, who is instantly smitten with the earthy, independent and opinionated belle Americaine.

A woman ahead of her time, Fanny does not immediately take to the young lawyer who longs to devote his life to literature, and who would eventually write such classics as Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In time, though, she succumbs to Stevenson's charms. The two begin a fierce love affair, marked by intense joy and harrowing darkness, which spans decades as they travel the world for the sake of his health. Eventually they settled in Samoa, where Robert Louis Stevenson is buried underneath the epitaph:

Under the wide and starry sky, 

Dig the grave and let me lie.

Glad did I live and gladly die,

And I laid me down with a will.

This be the verse you grave for me:

Here he lies where he longed to be;

Home is the sailor, home from sea,

And the hunter home from the hill. 

(Requiem, Robert Louis Stevenson)

Though most of the books I read are YA fantasies, occasionally I do try out some other genres as well, for the purpose of broadening my perspective. Under the Wide and Starry Sky is precisely the case of such experiment. While I appreciate the interesting story and Nancy Horan's excellent writing, this is simply not the kind of books for me. I struggled quite a bit trying to rate it and the 2 stars you see here reflect nothing except personal taste.

Review: Mistress of the Wind

Author: Michelle Diener
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Season Publishing (self published work)
Release: Dec 23rd 2013
Source: NetGalley
Pages: 350 (ebook)
( Amazon | Goodreads )

Bjorn needs to find a very special woman . . .

The fate of his people, and his own life, depends on it. But when he does find her, she is nothing like he imagined, and may just harbor more secrets than he does himself.

Astrid has never taken well to commands. No matter who issues them . . .

She's clashed her whole life with her father, and now her lover, the mysterious man who comes to her bedroom in darkness and disappears to guard his mountain by day as a bear, is finding it out the hard way. And when he's taken by his enemies, no one is prepared for Astrid's response.

It is never wise to anger the mistress of the wind . . .

This novel is a retelling of the fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon.

If you are a frequent reader of this blog, you know I'm a huge fan of fairy tale retellings. I love the fresh voice and delightfulness that come with each new add-ons and spin-offs. So when I finally got my hands on Mistress of the Wind, I was nothing less than thrilled. Unfortunately, after a fairly promising start, Mistress of the Wind fell terribly short to all my expectations.

Review: Rouge (Rouge, #1)

Author: Isabella Modra
Series: Rouge, #1
Publisher: Smashwords (self published work)
Release: August 20th 2013
Source: Author for review
Pages: 297 (ebook)
( Amazon | Goodreads )

“You have a fire inside of you.”

Hunter Harrison is no superhero. She doesn't wear a cape, or a lycra suit, or prance around dark alleyways looking for punk-ass kids to torment. But Hunter has a power; the power to control fire. And it is one nasty flame brewing in her soul.

In the midst of her senior year, uncovering the truth about her parent's death and how she came to inherit such abilities, and falling in love with a nerdy activist from her school, Hunter finds herself in a battle with a supernatural flame that reacts to her every emotion. Anger, fear, even passion arouse the flame within and Hunter fights to keep her identity secret whilst also protecting those she loves.

But being a hero is easier said than done, especially when tragedy strikes and Hunter is forced to make a choice; let the fire take control and seek revenge for her loss, or walk away. But mercy is a bitch, especially when there’s a fire boiling inside her hotter than the darkest pits of hell.

When I first saw Rouge on Goodreads, I was immediately drawn to it by the cover. The floating fire along with the darkness surrounding it fired up my interest almost instantly. Needless to say, I was excited to pick it up. Unfortunately, Rouge is one of those books which have exquisite exteriors but fail to deliver anything memorable as far as stories and characters go. I guess it is true that you can never judge a book by its cover.