Blonde Ops by Charlotte Bennardo and Natalie Zaman

I received Blonde Ops when I went to Teen Author Carnival. It wouldn't have been something I would have picked up because of A) the cover and B) the title. Maybe I would have picked it up if I had just been able to read the summary without seeing the title or cover. But besides that I really liked this book. Bec, the main character, is definitely my kind of girl. A kind of punk she is at the mercy of her mother as she is sent away to be the ward of a woman who runs a fashion magazine. And where might this place she is sent away to be? Well Rome of course! Torn between two guys, running around doing errands for the magazine, and trying to uncover what happened to the woman, Parker, who's care she was in.

I enjoyed the mystery and setting of this story, along with the character Bec. She is one of those characters that you are endeared by and rooting for until the very end. Especially when the odds are stacked against her. This girl is seriously resilient and a kick ass girl, she doesn't just lay down and take what's going on without a fight. She travels around Rome in hopes of thwarting a plot against the First Lady while also trying to find out who tried to kill Parker.

I give this book a four out of five for having kick ass characters, a very beautiful and amazing setting, keeping my interest, and a mystery that kept me reading until the very end!

Chasing Before by Lenore Appelhans

I had gotten this ARC while at Teen Author Carnival, finally I'm getting to review it. Chasing Before picks up where the Memory of After (also known as Level 2) left off. We are reunited with Felicia and Nate as they navigate Level Three, where they meet old friends and enemies. But the Morati's reach still holds as odd explosions happen all over Level Three, claiming the lives of some in Level Three. And as Felicia tries to find her place among those in Level Three she finds herself faced with the realization that she's not safe here. Felicia must once again trust those that might not have her best interests in mind as she navigates this new world, with the threat of losing Nate once again. But something else is wrong, it seems that some of her memories are missing. Particularly the ones that pertain to her death. Who will she trust, and who will she not?

This book had so many curve palls it kept me very interested. Especially when it came to the new relationships and characters that were in this story. Felicia's navigation of this new world was very interesting especially with how she kept Nate out of the loop. I give this book a four out of five for the interesting curve balls, the growth that was shown in Felicia, and for the very cool new cast of characters we got to meet.

Oceanborn by Amalie Howard

This book was sent to me at my request from the publisher, which I am truly grateful for. I love this series and I especially love books by Amalie because she always delivers a book that entertains. This second book in the Aquarathi series had so many twists in it, new characters, and even new betrayals. Our favorite girl Nerissa, newly crowned Queen but not yet having her peoples full faith, has to once again leave her homeland to help Lo who has become sick. She finds that not only is Lo sick but he has no memory of her or of what he is. Now in a race against the clock she must find a cure, but something sinister lurks behind what's wrong with Lo. She must side with an enemy who only wants the best for Lo, and together they will save him from whatever sickness has plagued him.

But behind this there is something else lurking in the waters, ready to strike. But you'll just have to read the book to find out what THAT is!! This book was a total roller coaster of awesomeness. I give it a four out of five for character development, story development, and of course because it brings back together a cast of characters that I love.

The Merciless by Danielle Vega

Normally I don't like and or won't read books like this but I was so intrigued by the fact that it's a hardback book with no dust cover and such a vague cover that I just had to get it. The story was creepy, which I expected it to be. The girls in this story were so three dimensional which made me want to read about them. There's definitely something about good religious girls doing horrible things that makes for a good story. And that's what this story was about, religious girls doing horrible things to somebody different than them. My favorite characters in this story were Sofia and Brooklyn, because they were outsiders to the inner circle of three girls that run the school in this story. Riley is one of the inner three, the leader, and she is totally evil. But really she's like any other teen girl who's a roaring witch with a capitol b. Riley manipulated the other girls in this book into doing her bidding which was entertaining in how she did it. She used religion against these girls to make them do terrible things to Brooklyn.

I give this book a four out of five for having well developed characters, a great story line, and for honesty scaring the pants off of me! Books that showcase what people are actually capable of really scare me but yet intrigue me at the same time. Human nature is a very interesting thing, as well as human capacity for violence. This book showcases that.

Night Pleasures by Sherrilyn Kenyon

I've been reading Sherrilyn's books recently ever since I stumbled upon the Chronicles of Nick about a year ago. Night Pleasures is the first "official" book in the Dark-Hunters series which follows those characters we love from Nick's series in all of their glory, and even some characters we've not yet heard of. The first book in this series is called Fantasy Lover but I have yet to get my hands on that one, unfortunately.

Night Pleasures is all about our main man Kyrian and Nick even makes an appearance!! Kyrian unfortunately gets chained to this girl named Amanda who is from a wiccan family, Tabitha's family. Yep that's right! Amanda is twin sister to Tabitha which is why she gets linked to Kyrian, because of mistaken identity. Now Amanda is dragged into the one world that she didn't want to be in.

This book brought what we love about the Chronicles of Nick and turned it into something fans young and old (more on the more mature side than anything since this is an adult novel) can love. With Kyrian fighting not only demons but his own past this made for one heck of a book. This book has many dark aspects to it and some history which I love, especially since it delves into Greek myth and history which holds a special place in my heart. Over-all I give it a four out of five stars for keeping my interest and having such a cool story line with a great cast of characters. Amanda isn't just some damsel in distress which is great, but is a bit whiny in my opinion. That was probably my only problem with this story. Of course Kyrian never disappoints in this novel and if you love him you'll love this book.

What's Been Going On...

From the middle of July until September I had been getting ready to leave for college. Because of this I was still reading but not as much as I normally do, and also I was unable to write blog posts. This sucks because I've had three books (ARCs) that went unposted about. I'm going to post my reviews for 5 books in the next hour or so. Yay!