Released

Released
Megan Duncan
260 pages
Publisher: the author
Source: Books With Bite Book Tours
★★★☆☆

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

Abby and Carter's parents have been killed by the Demons.  After radio transmissions about a safe haven in New Mexico stop, they set out with their friend Max to find the place.  Along the way the pick up another survivor and are soon on their way to the Army compound in New Mexico.

Savannah from Books With Bite made this book sound so kick-butt that I was excited to sign up for the book tour and give it a read.  Unfortunately, I didn't like it quite as much as Savannah.

Here's why: I felt like there could have been a lot more backstory and fleshing out.  The book was extremely short, there wasn't more than a couple paragraphs of backstory and there wasn't much character development, either.  In addition to that, everything seemed to easy for the teens as they set out on their journey.

I didn't hate the book, though.  For one, Abby was a great protagonist.  Instead of being a nervous teenage girl about the end of the world, she picked up her rifle, swore at the demons, and aimed to kill.  You don't get much more strong and independent than that.  Despite her strong characteristics, I also loved her ability to be soft, to have a romance with Max and to save Taya's life.

And, as usual, the book was sprinkled with some minor spelling and grammar errors, like "your" instead of "you're," or "too" instead of "two."  These are things that really irritate me when I read a book.  Thankfully, it wasn't the worst I've experienced and the story itself redeemed this book a little in my eyes, particularly the last chapter.  If you're a huge fan of dystopian/end-of-the-world/zombies or something are coming to kill us all kind of books, you'll probably like Released.  It's only 99¢ for Kindle and Nook right now and at that price, it's definitely worth a read.

Anna and the French Kiss

Anna and the French Kiss
Stephanie Perkins
367 pages
Publisher: Dutton
Source: library
★★★★★∞

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

I finally got my hands on Anna!  This book had hype... and do books usually live up to the hype for me?  Not usually.  Did this one?

Yes, yes, OMG YES!  I loved every single minute of this book and I didn't want it to end.  Anna is a senior in high school when her parents send her to boarding school in France because "it will be good" for her.  She's terrified at first to even leave campus, but she makes new friends easily.  She's drawn to Etienne, a handsome young American with an English accent, but he has a girlfriend.

This book was food for my teenage girl soul.  I felt like I identified with Anna so well, that I've lived a bit of what she lived through (though sadly not as romantically) and I knew her emotions were what my emotions would have been if I'd had her life.

The characters, the plot, the setting - everything was gorgeous and well written.  Anna and the French Kiss was romantic, sexy, page turning, and exciting.  I cannot rave about this book enough.

Seriously, I know I sound like a teenage girl from the valley in this review, but you need to read this book.  If you were ever a teenage girl, you need to read this book!

PS:  Is it just me or does the Anna in the book not match the book on the cover?
PPS: I never, ever pre-order books but I'm seriously considering pre-ordering Lola and the Boy Next Door, the companion book to Anna due out the end of September.

Shadowland

Shadowland
Alyson Noël
339 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Source: PaperBackSwap.com
★★★★☆

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

I don't know what it is about this series, but every book pulls me in!  Shadowland is the third book in The Immortals series.  When I finally got my copy last week it had been awhile since I'd read the first two books, Evermore and Blue Moon, so I couldn't quite remember the plot.  But after just a couple chapters I was back on track and completely absorbed into this third installment.

Due to the poison in the last novel, Blue Moon, Ever and Damen can't touch or their immortal souls will die, causing them to spend eternity in a dark place called Shadowland.  Ever is determined to find an anecdote to cure them of their poison.  Meanwhile real life happens - Ever is forced to find a summer job, though luckily she finds one that can help her in her quest, and it's there that she meets Jude, an attractive young man who will test her love with Damen.

Wooo, love triangle!  Albeit not as exciting as others, this was a love triangle done right - not forced from the beginning of the series, but something that occurred organically and believably.  The interesting plot thickened a little in Shadowland, the character were just as good as ever, and on the whole I enjoyed it.

Still, I felt like this book was more of a bridge between the second and fourth books and as such there wasn't a lot of action or new developments.  Regardless of that, I was drawn in and read it very fast.  I'm loving this series more now than when I started it!

One for the Money

One for the Money
Janet Evanovich
320 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's
Source: Borders, at their first liquidation sale
★★★★☆

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

One for the Money was published in 1994 and I can remember my mother reading the series when I was child.  Recently I'd decided I wanted to read One for the Money to see what all the fuss was - the Stephanie Plum series is wildly popular, after all (see neat-o NYT graph here.)  I ended up really enjoying the book.

Stephanie is out on her luck when she loses her job and sells most of her possession to get along.  Desperate to get money, she joins her cousin's bail bond business as a bounty hunter and begins her first case - hunting down Joe Morelli, whom she knows intimately from her past.

Despite a few descriptions of rape and murder, I actually found this book to be cute and sweet.  I think that is due strictly to the character of Stephanie.  She's so endearing, she was fun to read about.  I loved her relationship with her family and the character of her grandmother led some much needed humor into the storyline.

I couldn't decide while I was reading whether or not to give the book three or four stars.  Three and a half seemed appropriate, but I don't do half stars.  By the end, however, I was pulled in so much that I decided to go with four stars.  This was a mystery unlike any other I've read.  I tend to prefer cozy mysteries, but One for the Money seemed more like a cross between a cozy and a general mystery.  I enjoyed it and if you haven't read anything in this series yet, I suggest giving it a look.

Wanderlust

Wanderlust
Danielle Steel
506 pages
Publisher: Dell
Source: Paperbackswap.com
★★★☆☆

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

This was my first Danielle Steel, which I picked up because I'm doing a challenge and I need to read a bestseller from the year I was born.  There wasn't much to choose from that sounded good from 1986, so thus... Wanderlust.  Some people have called this Steel's best novel.

Audrey Driscoll grew up privileged under the care of her grandfather and caring for her younger sister.  The book opens as her sister gets married and Audrey can no longer fight her urge to travel.  She travels to Europe, falls in love, and had adventures, all while World War II is starting in Europe.

What I liked about this book was that it went beyond other romance novels.  The characters were more plentiful.  The main romance interests had lives outside of each other.  The book took place during World War II and Steel used a lot of that in the plot, much more than other romance novelists might have deemed necessary, but it was nice to read chapters about real life between the romance, if you know what I mean.  Basically, this book was just so much more than a typical mass market romance one might pick up today in a book store, and for that I was grateful.  I also liked that the plot moved at a good clip and there wasn't much wallowing.

This book is definitely worth a look if you're into romances.

Entwined

Entwined
Heather Dixon
472 pages
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Source: library
★★★★☆

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

Azalea and her eleven (!) sisters are devastated after the untimely death of their mother.  As their family goes into the one year mourning period, the girls whose greatest joy in life is to dance, cannot.  That is, until they find a magic portal in the fireplace in their bedroom to a place where they can dance, every night, under the watchful eye of the Keeper.  But the Keeper isn't as nice as they all think he is.

Entwined was part fairy tale, part historical fiction, and all parts enchanting.  I absolutely loved this book!  The story was simply lovely, enhanced by the characters of the sisters who are in various stages of growing up.  But despite their age differences, they all got along great - it was interesting to read about.  What I enjoyed the most were the descriptions of the dancing, which were very detailed.  The dances sounded beautiful.  I can't help but wonder if they're all real; I'd like to look them up and see them in person.

The book had no adult themes at all, just a little kissing, so Entwined would be suitable for the youngest of YA readers, but that won't keep it from being enjoyable to adults!  I definitely recommend it.

Moral Disorder

Moral Disorder
Margaret Atwood
225 pages
Publisher: Anchor Books
Source: PaperBackSwap
★★★☆☆

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

I had to read a book by a Canadian author for the book challenge I'm working on, so naturally my first thought was Margaret Atwood.  I loved her book The Handmaid's Tale when I read it in high school and since I love short stories, I was glad to give Moral Disorder a go.  The book follows a woman at different points in her life through different short stories.

I was a little disappointed by the book.  I didn't feel like these were short stories so much as just chapters taking place at different points in the main character's life.  When I finished I didn't feel like some of the stories could be read independently of each other.  I was also confused that some of the sections were told in the first person, but some in the third person.  It took me a bit to realize they were the same person.

But I did enjoy the main character.  She was well-written and I really enjoyed reading about the relationship between her and her sister.  I enjoyed the stories that took place when Nell was young.  The stories that took place when she was 33 and older were a bit boring to me, but maybe I'm just not old enough to appreciate them.

Three stars.