This Inheritance Sucks

Expected Publication: February 26th, 2013

The Goddess Inheritance (The Goddess Test # 3)

By: Aimee Carter

Harlequin Teen

ISBN-13: 9780373210671

Love or life.
Henry or their child.
The end of her family or the end of the world.
Kate must choose.

During nine months of captivity, Kate Winters has survived a jealous goddess, a vengeful Titan and a pregnancy she never asked for. Now the Queen of the Gods wants her unborn child, and Kate can't stop her--until Cronus offers a deal.

In exchange for her loyalty and devotion, the King of the Titans will spare humanity and let Kate keep her child. Yet even if Kate agrees, he'll destroy Henry, her mother and the rest of the council. And if she refuses, Cronus will tear the world apart until every last god and mortal is dead.

With the fate of everyone she loves resting on her shoulders, Kate must do the impossible: find a way to defeat the most powerful being in existence, even if it costs her everything.

Even if it costs her eternity.

Review

     Kate Winters has spent nine months as the hostage of Calliope (a.k.a Hera) and Cronus, while they wait for her baby to be born.  Now, the Queen of the Gods is going to take her son away from her - unless she accepts a bargain with Cronus to belong to him.  He says that he'll spare the human race and let Kate hang onto her son, Milo.  But all the other gods and goddesses are going to be destroyed no matter what Kate decides.  Is there a way for her to save Henry and the others, keep her son and defeat Cronus and Calliope for good?  Or will the entire world be destroyed in the crossfire of a final showdown between the Gods and the Titan who fathered them?  This was the last book in a series that started out great and got mediocre in my opinion.  So I was hoping that it would get better and that Carter would give me a good enough ending, with a decent resolution to all of the problems.  The book picks up when Kate is about to give birth to Milo, leaving out the entire nine months that passed beforehand which disappointed me.  The betrayal of Ava (Aphrodite), who gave Kate over to Calliope under false pretenses has caused some major friction among the Gods and Kate doesn't know that Walter (Zeus) set up the whole thing.  Kate spends the entire book trying to martyr herself, so she can 'save' everyone else.  She refuses to listen to anyone else, or even consider a plan that would endanger Henry, her Mother or her son in any way.  Kate is always crying, upset and making half-assed attempts at decisions.  There was almost no interaction with Henry, which didn't make her character any more sympathetic to me as a reader.  I felt like the pacing was extremely slow with short bursts of action and a really rushed, poorly written ending.  I still want to know what happens to James and the others now that Calliope is gone and Cronus is in Tartarus again.  Maybe she'll do a side series that will make up for the insipid nature of this ending.  Overall, a mediocre ending to a pretty good series.  I would recommend that fans of the other books read it, if only to see how it all ends.   

VERDICT:  2.75/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via Edelweiss. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is February 26th, 2013.*

"It" Is a Million Times Better Than You

Expected Publication:  February 5th, 2013

Me, Him, Them and It

By: Caela Carter

Bloomsbury

ISBN-13: 9781599909585

When Evelyn decided to piss off her parents with a bad reputation, she wasn't planning to ruin her valedictorian status. She also wasn't planning to fall for Todd-the guy she was just using for sex. And she definitely wasn't planning on getting pregnant. When Todd turns his back on her, Evelyn's not sure where to go. Can a distant mother, a cheating father, an angry best friend, and a (thankfully) loving aunt with adopted daughters of her own help Evelyn make the heart-wrenching decisions that follow?With the popularity of Juno, Teen Mom, and The Secret Life of the American Teenager, this novel has a built-in audience. Gripping, heartfelt, and responsible, Me, Him, Them, and It is not to be missed.

Review

*SPOILER ALERT!!!*

     Evelyn was really a good girl, just playing at being bad to get back at her parents.  But the only one she ended up hurting was herself, when unprotected sex landed her at Planned Parenthood - trying to decide between abortion, adoption and parenting as a junior in high school.  With her parents being supportive, although still messed up and fighting, Evelyn goes to live with her Aunt, her partner and their adopted daughters in Chicago for the duration of her pregnancy.  But can she face up to the reality of the situation in time to make a decision that will affect her for the rest of her life?  And will it be the right one?  I was expecting this to be like every other teen pregnancy book that I've ever read.  It definitely was something different, but not always in a good way.  It was super realistic, and Evelyn's lack of common sense in her scheme of getting back at her parents rang true to me.  But she came off completely unsympathetic for the most part, refusing to acknowledge the fact that she was even pregnant and not meeting the adoptive parents before signing the papers - then regretting it afterwards.  Evelyn was a brat for the majority of the book, using her somewhat boyfriend Todd for sex and to up her bad girl image, than being pissed when he's less than thrilled about her being pregnant.  Then when she gives the baby up she freaks out, because she's regretting it, after nine months of referring to the baby as it and blaming him for her screw-ups!  Overall, I can appreciate the fact that Evelyn was a dumb kid and DID make the right choice.  But I hated her bratty ass, all the way to the end of the book.  For as smart as she supposedly was, she reminded me a lot of those dumb girls on 16 & Pregnant.  Not a book I would read again and I don't think I'd recommend it to anyone.  But I do admire the fact that the author got me to read it through to the end.

VERDICT:  2/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is February 5th, 2013.*

Cleopatra, American Style

Expected Publication:  January 8th, 2013

Cleopatra Ascending (Shadow's Edge # 2)

By: Maureen Lipinski

Flux

ISBN-13: 9780738731933

Sweet Sixteen = You're a Queen

Despite living with a shaman, a witch, and a muse for sisters, Rhea Spencer feels like a normal teenager-even if she is the reincarnation of Cleopatra. But all that changes on Rhea's sixteenth birthday, when her visions of the Egyptian queen start unraveling a very different version of history, and Declan, a hot representative of the secret Order of Antony, shows up on the doorstep to keep her from being kidnapped. Together, Rhea and Declan travel to Egypt to stop the Octavians, a dark cabal trying to tap into Rhea's growing powers. The cabal seeks to access the magic deep below the desert sands, a potentially devastating force that only Rhea can protect.

Review

     Rhea Spencer had lived around the supernatural her whole life without any major problems.  Her Mom is a psychic, and her sisters are a shaman, a witch and a muse.  Oh yeah, and Rhea also just happens to be the reincarnation of Cleopatra!  But on her sixteenth birthday, Rhea starts having visions of her life as the Egyptian queen and than the Order of Antony shows up to 'protect' her from another, darker order - the Octavians.  The Octavians want to kidnap Rhea and use her to unleash an army of the undead and take over the world.  Forced to leave behind her family and her boyfriend Slade (who was just made King of the Dark Creatuirs), Rhea and Declan (a member of Antony) travel to Egypt to take back the Book of the Dead and stop the Octavians for good.  Will they be able to save the world or will everything be lost for good to an ancient evil?  This book intrigued me from the start, seeing as I have always loved ancient Egyptian mythology and history.  The idea of an American teenager being the reincarnation of Cleopatra was amusing.  I liked Rhea's sarcastic, yet fairly happy existence.  The dynamic of her family was a good change from all of the splintered ones I see in YA fic on a constant basis.  I got the feeling while reading this book that I had missed something, from all the references to her sister Leah's role with the Dark Creatuirs, and I was right.  I had read this without knowing it was number two in a series.  I hate it when that happens, but for the most part it didn't affect my experience too much in this case.  It was more of an annoyance than anything else.  Rhea's romance with Slade, who is a different species, kind of squicked me out.  And the whole Romeo & Juliet thing they have going on gets old really quick.  Especially when Rhea is constantly and immaturely pining over him, whining about how much she misses him.  Yuck, I hate gushy teen romance in YA books.  Resolution came a little too quickly for my taste and I felt like the way the conflict ended was sloppy and lazy.  Overall an interesting attempt, but not my favorite mythology rendering and I wouldn't recommend it to any of my friends.

VERDICT:  3/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is January 8th, 2013.*

Just a Girl In a Frozen World

Published:  December 11th, 2012

Greta and the Goblin King (Mylena Chronicles # 1)

By: Chloe Jacobs

Entangled Teen

ISBN-13: 9781620610022

While trying to save her brother from a witch’s fire four years ago, Greta was thrown in herself, falling through a portal to Mylena, a dangerous world where humans are the enemy and every ogre, ghoul, and goblin has a dark side that comes out with the eclipse. 

To survive, Greta has hidden her humanity and taken the job of bounty hunter—and she’s good at what she does. So good, she’s caught the attention of Mylena’s young goblin king, the darkly enticing Isaac, who invades her dreams and undermines her will to escape. 

But Greta’s not the only one looking to get out of Mylena. An ancient evil knows she’s the key to opening the portal, and with the next eclipse mere days away, every bloodthirsty creature in the realm is after her—including Isaac. If Greta fails, she and the lost boys of Mylena will die. If she succeeds, no world will be safe from what follows her back...

Review

     Greta has been living in Mylena for the past four years, working as a bounty hunter and trying to fit in with the locals.  But she never will, because Greta is forced to hide the fact that she is human due to the complete and total hatred of her race by all the people of Mylena.  But she has drawn the attention Isaac, the young Goblin King, who is determined to have Greta for his own and invades her dreams every night using his powers.  When Greta's identity is exposed and her mentor murdered, she is forced to go on the run from other bounty hunters looking to collect the price on her head.  Also, she just may be the key to opening an escape portal for the bloodthirsty Agramon, the demon who destroyed Mylena the last time he was loose.  Banding together with a hidden group of human boys, Greta is determined to rescue those of her race and send them home again.  But can she stay alive long enough to accomplish it?  This was different from anything that I had read before, with main supernatural characters being goblins, sprites and other beings instead of the requisite vampires/werewolves.  That alone made me want to read it.  But adding in the elements of romance and adventure definitely helped.  I enjoyed the characterization of Greta, as a strong female heroine who has rolled with the punches and done what was necessary to survive.  The whole romance with Isaac just didn't appeal to me though.  The fact that he was pretty much stalking her in her dreams (*cough*FreddyKrueger*cough*)  was creepy to me and not a basis for romance.  Not to mention that he expresses serious distaste for her entire species and makes a point of being willing to overlook that she happens to be human.  And he spends the whole entire book lying about why she's being hunted and whether he knew about Agramon's human slaves.   The interactions with the Lost Boys (a.k.a the other humans) were sweet but realistic.  Jacob, the littlest one was meant to be cute but basically annoyed me and took time away from the main plot.  Wyatt was definitely a major contender for Greta's romantic interest, but as usual the stupid supernatural stalker won that battle.  I was surprised at the ending, but felt that it wasn't a good enough cliffhanger to keep me going as a reader.  Overall, a disappointment and mostly mediocre book that I had hoped would be great.

VERDICT:  2.5/5  Stars

* I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book was published December 11th, 2012.*

What's Behind Door Number Three?

Expected Publication:  February 12th, 2013
Pivot Point (Pivot Point # 1) 
By: Kasie West
HarperTeen
ISBN-13:  9780062117373

Knowing the outcome doesn’t always make a choice easier . . .

Addison Coleman’s life is one big “What if?” As a Searcher, whenever Addie is faced with a choice, she can look into the future and see both outcomes. It’s the ultimate insurance plan against disaster. Or so she thought. When Addie’s parents ambush her with the news of their divorce, she has to pick who she wants to live with—her father, who is leaving the paranormal compound to live among the “Norms,” or her mother, who is staying in the life Addie has always known. Addie loves her life just as it is, so her answer should be easy. One Search six weeks into the future proves it’s not.

In one potential future, Addie is adjusting to life outside the Compound as the new girl in a Norm high school where she meets Trevor, a cute, sensitive artist who understands her. In the other path, Addie is being pursued by the hottest guy in school—but she never wanted to be a quarterback’s girlfriend. When Addie’s father is asked to consult on a murder in the Compound, she’s unwittingly drawn into a dangerous game that threatens everything she holds dear. With love and loss in both lives, it all comes down to which reality she’s willing to live through . . . and who she can’t live without.

Review

     Addie has a serious decision to make - whether or not to leave the Compound she's lived in her entire life to live with her Dad or to stay there with her Mom.  On the outside things would be completely different with the Norms, people without special abilities like Addie, her friends and family have at their fingertips.  So Addie does what she always has, she uses her ability to search both potential outcomes to decide what to choose.   But when things get dangerous and it looks like Addie's only choice is what way she prefers to be unhappy, what will she choose?  And can her choice mean the difference between life or death, hate or love?  This was an extremely interesting book.  I loved the fact that Addie could search into the future and DECIDE which choice to make based on the outcomes.  Usually in fiction, if a characters has a time travel/alternate dimension related ability, they can't use it to make their future different in any way.  Addie is able to bypass that stifling rule and do things her own way.  The relationships she has with her parents and best friend, Laila,  are very well developed and highly realistic. I loved the snarky comments and the rebel hair-streaking in the reality where she chooses her Mom.  The romances with Duke and Trevor, respectively, were both carried off perfectly.  Only at the end do you realize that one of them has been playing Addie  and using her for their own purposes.  There is also a side story with the paranormally inclined teens using their powers to hurt other athletes, striking out competition.  Honestly, I didn't find it completely necessary but it did help tie the two realities together nicely and bring things full circle.  The ending was something that disappointed me but also made me happy.  Addie did what was right and missed out on her happy ending.  But it seemed like she might find her way back to it at the end.  Overall, a fun and well-written mystery/romance that I would recommend to fans of time travel and alternate realities.  I will definitely be reading the next one in the series! :)

VERDICT:  4/5  Stars

*I received this book as part of Around the World ARC Tours, run by the lovely Princess Bookie. No favors or money were exchanged for this review. It will be available for purchase on February 12th, 2013.*

My Top Tens of 2012

     So, I don't know about you guys but 2012 was a year that introduced me to a lot of great new things!  I have been blogging for over a year now and this year's challenge on Goodreads was to read 380 books - which was a lot more than 2011's challenge of 225!  At some points I wasn't sure that I would make it, but although it was a close call I got there and actually went one book over! :)  While it was a good year for reading, I feel like my choice of top ten favorites wasn't as tough as last year's.  There are, as usual, some mainstream and some a little more obscure.  Just in case you guys are interested in finding out more on these books, I'll add a Goodreads link for each of them.  I have also decided to give my Top Ten T.V. Shows and Movies of the year as well this time.  I hope my fellow bloggers and readers can each find something new to explore on these lists.  Here comes my heavy task of making a list and checking it twice, only to be left with my definite favorites:

My Top Ten Books of 2012

10.   Paris In Love by Eloisa James (Goodreads)

9.  Aristotle and Dante Discover The Secrets of The Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz (Goodreads)

8.  Pushing Limits by Katie McGarry (Goodreads) 

7.  The Sweetest Spell by Suzanne Selfors (Goodreads)

6. Origin by Jessica Khoury (Goodreads)

5.  Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin #1) by R.L. LaFevers (Goodreads)

4.  Something Like Normal by Trish Doller  (Goodreads)

3.  Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone (Goodreads)

2.  The Crown of Embers (Fire and Thorns #2) by Rae Carson (Goodreads)

1.  Amber House by Kelly Moore & Tucker Reed & Larkin Reed (Goodreads)

Top 10 Books That Didn't Quite Make the List (Not In Any Particular Order)

1.  Keeping the Castle by Patricia Kindl (Goodreads)

2.  Shadowfell (Shadowfell #1) by Juliet Marillier (Goodreads)

3.  Flutter by Gina Linko (Goodreads)

4.  Beta by Rachel Cohn (Goodreads)

5.  A Wrinkle In Time: The Graphic Novel by Hope Larson (Goodreads)

6.  Romeo Redeemed (Juliet Immortal #2) by Stacey Jay (Goodreads)

7.  Jane by Robin Maxwell (Goodreads)

8.  How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr (Goodreads)

9.  Dragonswood by Janet Lee Carey (Goodreads)

10.  Dust Girl (The American Fairy #1) by Sarah Zettel (Goodreads)

My Top 10 T.V. Shows of 2012

1.  Once Upon a Time

2.  Downton Abbey

3.  Vampire Diaries

4.  Hart of Dixie

5.  Don't Trust the B**** In Apt. 23

6.  Boardwalk Empire

7.  Merlin

8.  2 Broke Girls

9.  Neverland (SyFy Miniseries)

10.  Shameless

My Top 10 Movies of 2012

1.  Moonrise Kingdom

2.  Mirror, Mirror

3.  Brave

4.  Peace, Love & Misunderstanding

5.  John Carter

6.  The Avengers

7.  The Hunger Games  

8.  Salmon Fishing In the Yemen

9.  Cabin In The Woods

10.  Pitch Perfect

     There they are, the diamonds of 2012 that are at the top of the bunch.  Y'all should definitely take a look at some of the ones you might not have read, they are all great books, even if they're not as extremely well known as some to be published this year.  What books made your lists?  Also, these movies and T.V. shows are well worth your time too.  If anything sounds interesting, you should definitely give it a shot.  I hope you had as great of a year as I did, and let's have fun exploring 2013 together! :)

I Want a Restraining Order

Expected Publication: January 29th, 2013

Nobody But Us

By: Kristin Halbrook

HarperTeen

ISBN-13: 9780062121264

Bonnie and Clyde meets IF I STAY in this addictively heart-wrenching story of two desperate teenagers on the run from their pasts.

They’re young. They’re in love. They’re on the run.

Zoe wants to save Will as much as Will wants to save Zoe. When Will turns eighteen, they decide to run away together. But they never expected their escape to be so fraught with danger....

When the whole world is after you, sometimes it seems like you can’t run fast enough.

Nobody But Us, told in alternating perspectives from Will and Zoe, is an unflinching novel, in turns heartbreaking and hopeful, about survival, choices, and love...and how having love doesn’t always mean that you get a happy ending. Described as “beautiful, heartbreaking, and exhilarating” by Kody Keplinger, author of The DUFF, Nobody But Us will prove irresistible to fans of Nina Lacour, Jenny Han, and Sara Zarr.

 

Review

     Will and Zoe run away together, hoping that they can outrun everything bad in their lives - her abusive Father, his lack of family or chances in life and the obvious fact that they're too young to be able to survive without any support.  She is educated and naieve and he is an emotional train-wreck, with so many issues that he is constantly fighting the world.  And when things get dangerous, and the FBI comes chasing after them will Zoe and Will be able to have their happy ending?  Or will their story be just another teenage tragedy?  I went into this wanting to fall in love with it.  But alas, it wasn't meant to be.  AT ALL.  This book is nothing like If I Stay, which leads me to believe that the person who wrote this blurb didn't even read the damn book!  I love a good romance, with tensions and obstacles as much as the next person.  But poor abused Zoe had absolutely no self-respect and chose to run away with a guy whose answer to every problem is to beat someone up and who blames HER when she is sexually harrassed while they're traveling.  That is so unromantic it makes me gag.  Also, several times in the book Will makes her afraid that he's going to hit her.  Zoe just basically goes from an abusive Father, to a very unhealthy and bordering on absuive relationship with Will.  Yeah, I get that Will's had a shitty upbringing and plenty of his own problems but y'all, that's NO EFFING EXCUSE!!!  Nothing makes abuse and violence okay!  The way the book ended was super unsatisfying, because even though they are split apart from each other, Zoe is basically still thinking that Will is her soulmate and the only guy for her.  This book glorified abusive and unhealthy relationships and it was disgusting to me as a reader.  Yes the relationship is intense, but in this case that's a bad thing.  Also, did they really think Zoe could enroll in high school with just a fake I.D.?  And when Will kills someone they STILL think they can get out of the situation okay.  Overall a badly written novel that I hated and would not recommend to my dog as a chew toy.  I might recommend it to my hillbilly neighbors' bonfire though...

VERDICT:  0/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via Edelweiss. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is January 29th, 2013.*