Chaos Unleashed by Barry Hoffman

Summary Provided by Goodreads:

ONE GIRL MUST LEARN THAT BEING TRUE TO YOURSELF IS ONE OF LIFE S GREATEST HONORS.

Nothing is as it seems in a world where the living mingle with the dead and dreams can turn into frightening reality. Chaos is beginning to spread across the land and Dara is all that stands between the salvation of her beautiful homeland and its total destruction.

Together, with friends from past journeys and new allies who may not be what they seem, Dara must build an army to confront Chaos. But as she and her army prepare for the final battle, Dara realizes that the only person she
can really count on is herself . . .

My Thoughts:
Chaos Unleashed is an action pact book, with a fast-paced plot, and awesome characters. The heroin, and main protagonist, Dara, was my favorite. At only 17 years old, she is someone that young girls can look up too. She is smart, strong, loyal and brave. She demands respect, speaks her mind, and will not allow someone to keep her down.

In the third installment in The Shamra Chronicles, Dara travels to Stone Mountain, where her people, the Shamra, originated from. She meets a new group of Shamra that she never knew existed, ones that she herself directly descends from. She feels at home, for the first time in her life. But for Dara, life can not stay peaceful, and she must go and fight Chaos, a monster who hasn’t caused trouble in the past two hundred years.

Dara, along with the people she grew up, the family she originates from, and old and new friends, decides that they will fight Chaos and his army, and learn everything they can to be able to win. At the same time, there are many changes occurring in Dara’s life that make her question her past and her future.

The best part of this book for me was how fast-paced the plot was. Something is always happening and there was never a dull moment. Sometimes I notice in books a scene will just go on and on, just because the authors feel like they should. But Hoffman has a way with words that doesn’t feel forced or rushed. Because of this, the plot kept my attention the entire time.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for an adventure. I think it would be especially perfect for middle school kids, and what is great is even though the main character is a young women, I think boys and girls alike would enjoy her story.

I read Chaos Unleashed without reading the first two books in the series, Curse of the Shamra and Shamra Divided, but I never found myself confused because everything was explained. I cared about Dara and her story, and will definitely be reading the first two books!

But I Love Him by Amanda Grace

Summary Provided by Goodreads:

Tonight was so much worse than anything before it. Tonight he didn't stop after the first slap.

At the beginning of senior year, Ann was a smiling, straight-A student and track star with friends and a future. Then she met a haunted young man named Connor. Only she can heal his emotional scars; only he could make her feel so loved — and needed. Ann can't recall the pivotal moment it all changed, when she surrendered everything to be with him, but by graduation, her life has become a dangerous high wire act. Just one mistake could trigger Connor's rage, a senseless storm of cruel words and violence damaging everything — and everyone — in its path.

This evocative slideshow of flashbacks reveals a heartbreaking story of love gone terribly wrong.


My Thoughts:
But I Love Him is a beautifully written story about a young woman named Ann, and her abusive relationship with Conner. Many girls do not think they could ever be sucked into something like this. They say they would leave before it ever got that bad. Amanda Grace shows us that it isn’t always that easy to leave. But I Love Him is told in reverse chronological order and I loved that the author decided to tell us this story in that way. I really got to see where Ann’s “voice” changed. As we read about earlier in the relationship, we see Ann as a happy, energetic, friendly, young girl. When the book starts (a year being in an abusive relationship), Ann is submissive, lonely, and emotionally drained. She doesn’t know how her life turned out the way it did.

Reading this book was very hard. I felt Ann’s pain and I wanted to help her. I felt powerless. Just like her friends and family felt. Knowing people who have gone through this makes it that much harder to read. But it is an important story that needs to be told.

Ann was in love with Conner and never saw the warning signs until it were too late. She wanted to help Conner heal from the emotional and physical abuse he suffered at the hands of his dad. She thought if she could just help him move on from his pain, then he wouldn’t be so angry, and things would be ok. They would finally be able to be happy.

This book shows us that the abuser is, in many cases, is also a victim. Conner needs a lot of professional help to deal with the scars he carries. This is not an excuse though. Many people suffer a lot worse, and never grow up to hurt another person. Either way, I still felt for Conner. I understood why Ann wanted to help him. He didn’t deserve the life he was dealt.

But I Love Him is a heart breaking novel that shows the codependency of an abusive relationship. I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in those kinds of dynamics. This is not a light read, but it is a story worth reading.

In My Mailbox (10)

In My Mailbox (IMM) is a weekly meme created by The Story Siren to share with everyone the books they bought, borrowed, or received for review. 

For Review

From Simon & Schuster GalleyGrab

 Wrapped by Jennifer Bradbury

He's So Not Worth It by Kieran Scott

The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder

 The Curse of the Shamra by Barry Hoffman (Book 1 of The Shamra Chronicles) 

Shamra Divided by Barry Hoffman (Book 2 of The Shamra Chronicles) 

Chaos Unleashed by Barry Hoffman (Book 3 of The Shamra Chronicles)

Purchased

 

Abandon by Meg Cabot

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Moonglass by Jessi Kirby

The Vampire Diaries-Stefan's Diaries 3: The Craving

Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris

Hope everyone else had an awesome book week!

Give Up the Ghost by Megan Crewe

Summary Provided by Goodreads:

Cass McKenna much prefers ghosts over “breathers.” Ghosts are uncomplicated and dependable, and they know the dirt on everybody…and Cass loves dirt. She’s on a mission to expose the dirty secrets of the poseurs in her school.

But when the vice president of the student council discovers her secret, Cass’s whole scheme hangs in the balance. Tim wants her to help him contact his recently deceased mother, and Cass reluctantly agrees.

As Cass becomes increasingly entwined in Tim’s life, she’s surprised to realize he’s not so bad—and he needs help more desperately than anyone else suspects. Maybe it’s time to give the living another chance….

My Thoughts:
Give Up the Ghost is a quick read if you are looking for something simple. I didn’t think Give Up the Ghost had a lot of depth to it, but I still enjoyed it. Cass has been able to see and talk to ghosts ever since her sister died four years ago. After her best friend turned on her in Middle School her only friends have been ghosts. That is who she feels most comfortable with. When popular boy, Tim figures out she has some sort of supernatural ability he begs her to contact his mom, who died three months ago. Cass agrees, and all of a sudden in back in the world of the living. She finds herself caring for Tim, and wanting to help him in more ways then just finding his mom.

Cass bothered me a little bit. I understand why she did the things she did, and I found a lot of them to be hilarious, but at the same time I thought she was way to mean to Tim and I didn’t think it was called for. I did enjoy her friendly ghost friend, Norris. He was funny and I wish I had a ghost friend like him.

The ending gave me hope for the characters, which is always a good thing!

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Summary Provided by Goodreads:

Amy Curry thinks her life sucks. Her mom decides to move from California to Connecticut to start anew--just in time for Amy's senior year. Her dad recently died in a car accident. So Amy embarks on a road trip to escape from it all, driving cross-country from the home she's always known toward her new life. Joining Amy on the road trip is Roger, the son of Amy's mother's old friend. Amy hasn't seen him in years, and she is less than thrilled to be driving across the country with a guy she barely knows. So she's surprised to find that she is developing a crush on him. At the same time, she's coming to terms with her father's death and how to put her own life back together after the accident. Told in traditional narrative as well as scraps from the road -- diner napkins, motel receipts, postcards--this is the story of one girl's journey to find herself.

My Thoughts:
Let me start by saying that I have been reading some pretty awesome books lately! Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour is another read that I can say is one of my favorites! Even though this book has a serious undertone due to Amy dealing with her dad’s death, it’s still hilarious and fun and an all-around great time!  There were many times I was laughing out loud right along with the characters.

Amy and Roger were fantastic characters! They were believable and interesting. Both thought that this road trip was just going to get them from Point A (California) to Point B (East Coast-Amy is on her way to CT, Roger is going to PA). But instead, this trip helped them in so many more ways then they thought. Their epic detour takes them to different parts of America, with each place helping to heal them. Secondary characters, such as Lucien, who is the most adorable southern gentleman, were equally awesome and added a lot to the story.

The book also features scraps from the road. Receipts, postcards, music playlists (Roger has great taste in music and Amy loves Broadway musicals), Roger’s doodles, and a “Where I’ve Been” journal really added to the story. I felt like I was traveling the country right along with them. 

Amy & Rogers Epic Detour can be devoured in one sitting and a highly recommend it! I think it has a little something for everyone. The ending had me grinning like an idiot and I would have seriously looked like a fool if I was out in public when I finished it.

Die For Me by Amy Plum

Summary Provided by Goodreads:

My life had always been blissfully, wonderfully normal. But it only took one moment to change everything.

Suddenly, my sister, Georgia, and I were orphans. We put our lives into storage and moved to Paris to live with my grandparents. And I knew my shattered heart, my shattered life, would never feel normal again. Then I met Vincent.

Mysterious, sexy, and unnervingly charming, Vincent Delacroix appeared out of nowhere and swept me off my feet. Just like that, I was in danger of losing my heart all over again. But I was ready to let it happen.

Of course, nothing is ever that easy. Because Vincent is no normal human. He has a terrifying destiny, one that puts his life at risk every day. He also has enemies . . . immortal, murderous enemies who are determined to destroy him and all of his kind.

While I'm fighting to piece together the remnants of my life, can I risk putting my heart—as well as my life and my family's—in jeopardy for a chance at love?

My Thoughts:
Ok, so the synopsis does absolutely nothing to show how amazing Die For Me is. As soon as I read the last line of the novel, I wanted to read the entire book again! Die For Me is an original work and I can not wait for the second installment in the Revenants series!

When Kate loses her parents, she and her sister decide to move in with their grandparents, who happen to live in Paris (love books that are set in France!). Kate feels lonely and lost and spends all of her time alone, until she meets Vincent. Vincent, who appears to be 19 is handsome, smart, and kind. He sounds like the perfect guy except for the fact that he died in the 1940’s. Vincent is a revenant. This means that after he died he came back to life to save others from dying, and he will do this for the rest of eternity.  

The plot was awesome! I was captivated from page one and Die For Me just kept getting better and better. I loved the romance between Kate and Vincent. They actually went on dates! Who goes on dates anymore? I loved it. The two of them were adorable together, and I was rooting for them the whole time. Vincent has the perfect gentleman charm that leaves Kate, and the reader breathless. Even though he isn’t exactly a human, I felt that there romance was so real and believable!

Vincent has an interesting group of friends, who are also revenants. I loved each and every one of them, especially Charlotte and Jules. They all had interesting histories. Back stories are my favorite parts of stories, and Amy Plum did not disappoint with any of them!

I thought Plum did a fantastic job with explaining the mythology of the revenants. I would think that it would be hard to explain, but she was able to do it flawlessly.

Overall, Die For Me is an amazing read and I am anxiously awaiting the second book in the series!

Die For Me will be released on May 10, 2011.

The Girl in the Steel Corest by Kady Cross

Summary Provided by Goodreads:

In 1897 England, sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne has no one…except the "thing" inside her.

When a young lord tries to take advantage of Finley, she fights back. And wins. But no normal Victorian girl has a darker side that makes her capable of knocking out a full-grown man with one punch….

Only Griffin King sees the magical darkness inside her that says she's special, says she's one of them. The orphaned duke takes her in from the gaslit streets against the wishes of his band of misfits: Emily, who has her own special abilities and an unrequited love for Sam, who is part robot; and Jasper, an American cowboy with a shadowy secret.

Griffin's investigating a criminal called The Machinist, the mastermind behind several recent crimes by automatons. Finley thinks she can help—and finally be a part of something, finally fit in.

But The Machinist wants to tear Griff's little company of strays apart, and it isn't long before trust is tested on all sides. At least Finley knows whose side she's on—even if it seems no one believes her.

My Thoughts:
When I started The Girl in the Steel Corset I really had no idea where the story was going to take me. I loved the title and thought it sounded really interesting, so I was willing to give it a shot. I finished this book within two days, and I absolutely loved it!

The story is set in an alternate steampunk 1897 England and is about a girl named, Finley Jayne, a servant girl with a nasty thing living inside of her. Whenever danger approaches, Finley is filled with so much anger that it is very easy for her to kill. This has kept her from getting close to anyone, until she meets Griffin King and his group of friends, Sam, Emily, and Jasper. For the first time in Finley’s life she feels like she belongs somewhere. She isn’t afraid to be herself. At the same time, she learns things about her past that will also change her. Finley was a great protagonist! I love the way she bonded with her new group of misfits. Not everyone was accepting at first, but I think it all turned out for the best.

I think my favorite part of the story were the characters. Every character is an integral part to the story. I especially loved Griffin! How can you not, he’s a gorgeous Duke who is down to earth and sweet! He protects his friends no matter what the cost is. I love a hero like that! I was swooning for him, and I think you will too. The women in this novel are just as, if not more kick-ass as the men, and I loved how the men accepted them like one of their own!

I loved how Kady Cross was able to incorporate the past with steampunk. While reading the book, you never forgot that the time period was actually the late 1800’s, but at the same time there are people walking around who are half robots, and there are automations either serving people or hurting them, depending on how they are programmed. It was all very historically sci-fi (does that even make sense? Well Kady Cross, totally makes that possible!).  

The Girl in the Steel Corset has a fast-pace plot which kept me interested until the end. It was very hard to put this book down because I needed to know what happened!

Kady Cross has also written a prequel novella, The Strange Case of Finley Jayne that can be downloaded for free on your nook (here) and your kindle (here)!

The Girl in the Steel Corset comes out on May 24^th, 2011 by Harlequin Teen. This is a series that is not to be missed.