The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

Hey everybody!  Cassia here!  Here's another review, but Max and I did it together.  We did it in the spirit of March. ;)

The Lucky One  by Nicholas Sparks

US Marine Logan Thibault isn’t lucky. In fact, he’s anything but. But when he finds an unclaimed picture in the sand on his third tour in Iraq, suddenly, his luck turns around. He’s winning poker games, and most of all, surviving deadly contact that some of his friends don’t.  When he’s back home in Colorado, however, he just can’t settle. He can’t figure out a way to get the picture-and the woman in it-out of his mind. So he does the only thing he thinks he can: he’s going to go find her, and thank her for the luck.                                                                                                                                                                                                     

As predicted, Thibault runs into some problems. First, he doesn’t know where to find her, how to get there, and mainly, who she even is. His next problem is a little bigger. How does he explain himself without sounding like a lunatic?                                                                                                                      

His biggest problem is one he definitely didn’t expect. What happens if they fall in love?   

This is a girl book.  You know, romance, kissing, blah blah blah.  But, if you’re a romantic like I am, you’ll love it!  (Hint: Boys, don’t read it.)  I knew this book was a movie, so I don’t know about that, but if it’s ¼ as good as the book, it’s amazing!  A lot of good books usually have at least one character with A Past.  In this book, it’s Thibault.  It is not pronounce thigh-bolt.  It’s French, so it’s pronounced t-bow.  I made the same mistake, but--thank you, Mr. Sparks!--a character corrects another character about it’s pronunciation in the first chapter.  Now, when I say A Past, I mean some huge secret that the reader knows and that character knows, but no other character knows it.  Sparks intricately weaves in Thibault’s Past into the book with flashbacks, and sometimes teasing the reader to keep them reading, and makes it blend well with the plot.  Filled to the covers with heartbreaking romance, drama, and luck, Sparks wraps it all up at the end with a finale that will have readers sobbing.
We give it four stars!
Goodbye for now,
Cassia

Clockwork Princess Release!

Finally!

Today is the day that Clockwork Princess came out, the last in the Infernal Devices Series. I finally get to know if Tessa ends up with Will or Jem. I am personally rooting for Will. I just can't wait to see how this all ties into the Mortal Instruments. Sadly, we still have to want until March 2014 to read City of Heavenly Fire, the last one in the Mortal Instruments.
For those of you who can't get to a bookstore today, here is a blurb from the book jacket:
"THE INFERNAL DEVICES WILL NEVER STOP COMING.

"A net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. Mortmain plans to use his Infernal Devices, an army of pitiless automatons, to destroy the Shadowhunters. He needs only one last item to complete his plan: he needs Tessa Gray.

"Charlotte Branwell, head of the London Institute, is desperate to find Mortmain before he strikes. But when Mortmain abducts Tessa, the boys who lay equal claim to her heart, Jem and Will, will do anything to save her. For though Tessa and Jem are now engaged, Will is as much in love with her as ever.

"As those who love Tessa rally to rescue her from Mortmain’s clutches, Tessa realizes that the only person who can save her is herself. But can a single girl, even one who can command the power of angels, face down an entire army?

"Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment, and the tangled threads of love and loss intertwine as the Shadowhunters are pushed to the very brink of destruction in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy."


                                                                          -Tessa

Gilt by Katherine Longshore

Gilt



Author: Katherine Longshore
Release Date: May 15, 2012
Pages: 398
Review by: Tessa

       WARNING: This is a historical fiction book. You might want to Google King Henry VIII before you read this book.       Kitty and her best friend, Catherine Howard, live with the nuns, but that doesn't mean they are innocent. Every night, Catherine, other known as Cat, has "company". Kitty never tells anyone, because she is "loyal until death." It is not a surprise when Cat is called into court, but no one can believe it when she brings Kitty. The English Court is teeming with betrayal, love, and danger. The stakes get even higher when Cat becomes queen. She cannot let anything go wrong, or the price is worse than death.

Die For Me by Amy Plum

Hey everybody!  Cassia here!  Here's another review!  I wrote the summary in first person, and it's only the first paragraph of my review.  Just wanted to say that so you don't get confused!

Die For Me by Amy Plum

I’m in Paris.  I want to go out more, but I can’t.  Everything reminds me of my parents.  Then there’s Vincent.  He is polite, and attractive, and I think he might have saved my life.  He won’t let me see his family or his parents, though.  Who is he, and just what is he hiding?


You might have heard me say this before: there are girl books, and then there are boy books.  This is a flat-out girl book.  I mean, all you have to know is the setting: Paris, France.  The City of Lights and Love.  Oh, and this book is fantasy.  It might not seem like it, but lets just say it’s about revenants.  And I’m going to let you read the book and find out what they are.  (Pssst!  Yeah, you!  It has to do with the title!)  It’s not bad, don’t worry.  Also, this is one of those books that is a cross-genre, and if you took a test on it and there was only one blank for the genre, you would try to write really small to get both genres on it.  It’s a fantasy-romance.  Maybe more romance than fantasy, actually.

The protagonist in this book is Kate.  She might just be one of my favorite female characters.  I’ve found that--in the books I read, at least--if the protagonist is female, they’re usually likable.  (If I don’t like the protagonist, though, I wouldn’t read it.  I mean, you have to deal with them for the whole book!)  Kate is very likable.  When Plum writes, Kate’s grieving is very real, especially if you’ve grieved in the same way.  And, with every romance, there is a boy.  In this case, it’s Vincent (ahh I love that name!).  There isn’t a whole lot I can say about him, because I don’t want to spoil it, but I did like him a lot.  When you read the book, you’ll know why.

In the first book of the Revenants series, Plum writes with a sense of reality that is present throughout the book, and also explores sacrifice and healing.
Five stars!
Goodbye for now,
Cassia

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Hi everybody!  Cassia here!  So how is everyone today?  I hope you're feeling great!  Ahhh I can't wait for Clockwork Princess!!!  Who will she end up with???  In a lot of my reviews, I often refer to the author by their last name.  It really feels awkward to me, but it's grammatically correct, and I'm one of those people that every single little thing has to be right. I also write the titles in italics, and that is also grammatically correct.  I think it either has to be italicized or underlined, but it doesn't have to be both.  Here's another review!

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

When Nora Grey meets her mysterious new biology partner Patch Cipriano, she knows something isn’t right about him.  He aggravates her, and at the same time, she’s attracted to him, but she’ll never admit it.  There is absolutely no record of his past, and that makes her suspicious.  She tries asking him, even asking his friends, but...who is Patch Cipriano?


Again, this is one of those books that I do not want to spoil, hence the short summary.  Wanna hear a story?  So, I was browsing all the YA books at Target, and I come across this book in paperback for FIVE DOLLARS!!!!!  I couldn’t believe it!  I’d heard it was good, so I was not going to let it just sit there and taunt me.  I brought it home, and the first line made me burst out laughing (oh, sorry, the first line of the first chapter, not the prologue): “I walked into biology and my jaw fell open.  Mysteriously adhered to the chalkboard was a Barbie doll, with Ken at her side.”  That may not be funny to you, but the next sentence is, but I’m not going to post it here.

So, fallen angels.  If you don’t like fantasy, you should still read this book!  However, I would not recommend this book to any boy.  It’s a girl book.  Back to the genre: it is full fantasy, but if you read this book for no other reason, read it for Patch.  My one friend didn’t want to read it, but she ended up finishing the whole series just because of Patch.  Patch is...umm...  Okay, let’s do this: imagine the boy of your dreams, then, if it’s not already there, add Mr. Deep, Dark, and Dangerous.  That’s Patch.  I really liked Nora.  She’s sarcastic, curious, and has a backbone, even if it doesn’t seem like it at first.  Sometimes I wanted to slap her, but that happens with almost every character at least once.  I also wouldn’t recommend this to a younger audience, simply because of some content, and snarky comments made by Patch.

In Fitzpatrick’s debut novel, she creates a world that readers will want to get lost in, and even if they don’t, they’ll get sucked in anyway.  The plot twists and turns with a beautifully crafted romance, and ends with a dramatic finale.
Five stars!
Goodbye for now,
Cassia

Maximum Ride: School's Out--Forever by James Patterson

School's Out-Forever by James Patterson
Review by: Max (aka the coolest book reviewer to ever have lived)

Okay, everyone. This book is the second in a series! It might not be the brightest move to read this book first, or even read this review before you read the first book, which I reviewed here: Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment.

Now, onto the review!

School's Out--Forever picks up right where The Angel Experiment left off. The Flock is headed towards Washington D.C, but someone (cough cough, Fang) gets a little boo-boo, so they have to take him to the hospital, or, he'll, like, die. Here, the government finds them. At first, the Flock is all freaked out. They don't trust anyone! But eventually, they come to an agreement with Anne, one of the FBI agents; the Flock will be provided with a home, food, education and such as long as Anne can 'examine them at a distance.'
Sounds perfect, right?
Wrong.
Turns out, someone is secretly working for the School, Max has a clone, and nothing is ever as it seems.

A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn

A Kiss in Time


Picture courtesy of Goodreads

Author: Alex Flinn
Release Date: April 28, 2009
Pages: 371Review by: Tessa

       Talia is the princess of her kingdom, destined to reign as queen, and she just made the biggest mistake of her life. Ever since she was born, Talia was warned to never touch a spindle. She wasn't told why or what would happen if she did. Right before her birthday, she touches a spindle. Why? Because some creepy old lady told her to. Now, her entire kingdom is put in a deep sleep until the curse in broken.
       Jack is on vacation in Europe trying to avoid old museums and his nosy parents. He skips his tour group, and stumbles upon a comatose kingdom. He explores the place, and everyone is asleep! When he finds an unconscious beauty, he just has to kiss her.
       I think you know where this is going, but don't knock it until you try it. After the kiss, Talia wakes up. Jack is now stuck with her. They have to save the kingdom from modernization and escape both of their angry fathers. Not an easy task.

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Hey everybody!  Cassia here!  We just hit 1,000 page views!!!  Thank you all so much for reading our posts and sometimes putting up with our forgetfulness with our features!  I know I missed Favorites Friday this week, and I'll post it next week, sorry!  About the button...we're going to change it, so check back often for the new one!  Here's another review for you all:

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Blue lives in a family of psychics.  But she’s not one.  Even though she can’t look into people’s futures by reading Tarot cards, she does make her family’s powers more...powerful when she’s around.

On St. Mark’s Eve, she sees a spirit.  She’s not supposed to, and it can only mean one thing: he’s her true love, or she killed him.  In Blue’s case, it could be both.  Can Blue protect this boy she’s never known from herself?

So, you all know how Maggie Stiefvater is one of my favorite authors, and how much I loved Shiver.  This book was no exception.  There isn’t really a set ‘fantasy creature’ in this book.  Some books are about faeries, others werewolves, and still others are about vampires.  It’s more of spirits, psychics, and ley lines.  Yes, ley lines.  If my research is correct, I think they’re actually real.  In the way they’re used in this book, though, I don’t think so.  It was very fascinating.

This is also one of those books that even though a lot happens, it still feels like nothing happens.  It wasn’t boring at all, it just felt like I was being teased with the plot, and I absolutely loved it!  Oh, and if you know Latin--or at least roots from Latin--you’ll love this book.  It doesn’t come until later, though.  I also love Stiefvater’s characters.  In this book, the protagonist is Blue.  She’s smart, clever, but also secretive, even from her own family.  You also have Gansey.  He is very passionate, enthusiastic, and also smart and clever, but he often offends people without knowing it, which amused me a lot.   A good word that would describe this book in my opinion is mystic.

Once again, Stiefvater will captivate readers with legends, magic, and just enough romance to get you to read the next book.
Five stars!
Goodbye for now,
Cassia
P. S. By the way, the next book is called The Dream Thieves, and it’s due to come out on September 17th, 2013.  Here’s the cover: