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alishmariet's reviews
121 reviews
Love Bites by Ellen Schreiber
5.0
Perfect book for teenage girls in LOVE with vampires! I love this series and enjoy every word of it! I hated how the ending is a cliff hanger but I know another book is coming out so I'm waiting patiently...kind of. I recommend anyone who loves vampires to read this story. Each book is amazing and filled with romance and mystery. I loved Sebsatian to death and wished there was a little more romance for Alexander and Raven but there is enough to satisfy me. I loved this book and I can't wait for more!
Evermore by Alyson Noël
3.0
Plot: The plot was different from what I ususally read. I can't say a lot without givng away spoilers, but it is definitely not what you think. I thought it was one thing, but it something else, which caused me to be confused for a second because I thought Damen was lying. Also, for me, the plot and climax were not...deep enough. It seemed like half of the book was spent trying to figure out just what was up with Damen and what he was. Then the last quarter of the book is spent trying to solve this issue that I knew something was going on, but it was just a blimp on my radar. I think that most of the surprises and twists in the book were flung in there. It seemed like Noël didn't want Ever to be harmed, so she pulled stuff out so thatEver wasn't hurt, so there was no true action that conspired. There was probably two quick fights that didn't last, but nothing that made you jump out of your skin. The ending was good though, I liked how it ended on a good note but it seemed as though it could have just been finished with the first book. All of the problems were resolved, so it seems like it could have just ended. I'm ready for the rest of the series, but I was just confused on how it will move on.
Characters: Ever-I loved Ever. She was a good realistic character. She was someone you could relate to and get how she acted. There were times that I got fustrated with her though because she always blamed herself for everything that happened in the past. Ever was blaming herself so much that it was affecting her relationships. She was, however, a good main character that I did love all in all and you could kind of see why she acted the way she did.
Damen-Damen was...Damen. He was extraodinarily beautiful, which I kind of guessed at the beginning because there was not one person who didn't think otherwise. Damen was amazing though; he was always honest to Ever, but just had problems of his own which made him even more likable.
Haven and Miles-They both give this book some life. With all of the "heated" romance and "drama", they definitely give some "umph" to the book. I loved Miles, he always had me giggling and making me wish I had a friend like him. Haven was...different for a best friend. She seemed against Ever from the very beginning. I grew to hate her, even though she did bring a different view of a "best friend", she reminded me of Jessica Stanley and Angela from Twilight.
Cover: The cover was beautiful. I loved the deep purple background with the tulips being the main focus. It definitely showed the main topic of the books, which was Ever's and Damen's love. (If you read the book, you'll understand.) I did like the lettering as well for the book's title, it seemed to have a fictional glow that kind of reminded me of Ever's powers.
Overall Rating: I give this book a 2 out of 4. I liked the characters and the romance when you could really feel it, but it reminded me too much of Twilight. I've read the intense gazing, bed sleeping, absent adults, impossible ways to get out of school before. It was a good read and I will admit that I was engrossed in the book and I will continue with the series to see how it pans out, but it was not the best paranormal YA books I've read.
Characters: Ever-I loved Ever. She was a good realistic character. She was someone you could relate to and get how she acted. There were times that I got fustrated with her though because she always blamed herself for everything that happened in the past. Ever was blaming herself so much that it was affecting her relationships. She was, however, a good main character that I did love all in all and you could kind of see why she acted the way she did.
Damen-Damen was...Damen. He was extraodinarily beautiful, which I kind of guessed at the beginning because there was not one person who didn't think otherwise. Damen was amazing though; he was always honest to Ever, but just had problems of his own which made him even more likable.
Haven and Miles-They both give this book some life. With all of the "heated" romance and "drama", they definitely give some "umph" to the book. I loved Miles, he always had me giggling and making me wish I had a friend like him. Haven was...different for a best friend. She seemed against Ever from the very beginning. I grew to hate her, even though she did bring a different view of a "best friend", she reminded me of Jessica Stanley and Angela from Twilight.
Cover: The cover was beautiful. I loved the deep purple background with the tulips being the main focus. It definitely showed the main topic of the books, which was Ever's and Damen's love. (If you read the book, you'll understand.) I did like the lettering as well for the book's title, it seemed to have a fictional glow that kind of reminded me of Ever's powers.
Overall Rating: I give this book a 2 out of 4. I liked the characters and the romance when you could really feel it, but it reminded me too much of Twilight. I've read the intense gazing, bed sleeping, absent adults, impossible ways to get out of school before. It was a good read and I will admit that I was engrossed in the book and I will continue with the series to see how it pans out, but it was not the best paranormal YA books I've read.
The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong
5.0
Review
Plot: I've been loving the Darkest Powers series so far and The Reckoning was like the cherry on top for the series. I loved how this series wrapped up the questions and mysteries that some of us have had throughout. I loved the constant twists and turns that truly surprised me. Allies are enemies and real allies are nowhere in sight. I did like the romance underlies. You knew they were there and so did the other characters, but there were other things they had to deal with first. The ending was something that I was pleased with, but I wanted more! I wanted to see how everything panned out from there and what would happen to Chloe, Derek, Simon, and Tori. There is also one secret that is revealed to the readers that is not revealed to two certain characters that I wish was brought up.
Characters: Chloe-As always, I love Chloe. She is a great character to describe as a character who develops throughout the series. In The Summoning, everyone thinks that Chloe is childlike girl and in The Reckoning, she actually stnds up for herself. Everyone that thought her as innocent and harmless, retract their thoughts when they see her again.
Derek-Did I mention I love Derek? Well, I'll say it. I LOVE DEREK! He is sweet to Chloe, but stern with her when she does something he doesn't agree with. I will say I agree with Chloe that he does jump on her every move, but as The Reckoning progresses, you see why he acts the way he does.
Simon and Tori-I loved them. Tori seems like she is warming up to Chloe and they are slowly becoming better friends. She does start to stick up for Chloe and not chastise her as much. Simon is very lovable, like always. I do love how he starts coming into his own and doesn't need Derek to stand up for him anymore. He does need Derek to put him in check at times because of his diabetes, but you do see a new Simon in this book.
Cover: The cover is very beautiful. I loved how each of the covers were of Chloe and her necklace. I did like how the other two did show when the necklace changed colors in the book, but The Reckoning's covr confused me. I didn't know if I wasn't paying attention when they said it or if it wasn't in there, but I didn't see anything about the necklace changing colors. However, the cover is very beautiful.
Overall Rating: I give this book a four out of four. I loved the main issues that were at hand, but also the budding romance that is finally happening. The characters were amazing and each one developed in their own way.
Plot: I've been loving the Darkest Powers series so far and The Reckoning was like the cherry on top for the series. I loved how this series wrapped up the questions and mysteries that some of us have had throughout. I loved the constant twists and turns that truly surprised me. Allies are enemies and real allies are nowhere in sight. I did like the romance underlies. You knew they were there and so did the other characters, but there were other things they had to deal with first. The ending was something that I was pleased with, but I wanted more! I wanted to see how everything panned out from there and what would happen to Chloe, Derek, Simon, and Tori. There is also one secret that is revealed to the readers that is not revealed to two certain characters that I wish was brought up.
Characters: Chloe-As always, I love Chloe. She is a great character to describe as a character who develops throughout the series. In The Summoning, everyone thinks that Chloe is childlike girl and in The Reckoning, she actually stnds up for herself. Everyone that thought her as innocent and harmless, retract their thoughts when they see her again.
Derek-Did I mention I love Derek? Well, I'll say it. I LOVE DEREK! He is sweet to Chloe, but stern with her when she does something he doesn't agree with. I will say I agree with Chloe that he does jump on her every move, but as The Reckoning progresses, you see why he acts the way he does.
Simon and Tori-I loved them. Tori seems like she is warming up to Chloe and they are slowly becoming better friends. She does start to stick up for Chloe and not chastise her as much. Simon is very lovable, like always. I do love how he starts coming into his own and doesn't need Derek to stand up for him anymore. He does need Derek to put him in check at times because of his diabetes, but you do see a new Simon in this book.
Cover: The cover is very beautiful. I loved how each of the covers were of Chloe and her necklace. I did like how the other two did show when the necklace changed colors in the book, but The Reckoning's covr confused me. I didn't know if I wasn't paying attention when they said it or if it wasn't in there, but I didn't see anything about the necklace changing colors. However, the cover is very beautiful.
Overall Rating: I give this book a four out of four. I loved the main issues that were at hand, but also the budding romance that is finally happening. The characters were amazing and each one developed in their own way.
Blue Moon by Alyson Noël
3.0
Plot: I finished the second book in the Immortal series and I have to say that I am like many other readers of this series and say that this was not as good as the first. I felt like this plot was made up to prolong the series. I was glad to see more of Damen, but I wanted to see more of Ever developing her powers. It seemed like she already knew her powers, even though throughout Blue Moon, she says she was always distracting Damen from her lessons. Also, I thought it was cliché that Ever thought the new guy was suspicious, but no one else thinks so. It was kind of expected and it made the plot dry and unoriginal. And, in the synopsis, when it talks about Damen's tortured past, there was one point where I could see that he was in anguish over, but it wasn't what I was thinking. (Spoilers coming up, pass over them and go to the rest of the review, if you don't want to see.)
****SPOILERS****
Okay, so there's the guy, Roman, he appears out of nowhere! Like, one day everything's peachy and the next, this guy shows up! Of course, he's the bad guy and of course he's an Immortal too. No surprise there, which made the book even more dry. I will say that he never gives up, which did make the book more interesting.
When Damen gets sick, it is very...jaw dropping. It made the book more interesting. I could not believe some of the things Damen thought and said about Ever. It seemed like he was a completely different person, including when he changed his special room from a vintage state to a rec room. I loved Damen in this one because it was such different personalities, you can see how genuine and romantic the real Damen is. (P.S. If you didn't already guess, Roman is behind Damen getting sick.)
Lastly, Damen's tortured past is that he saw his parents murdered. That made me empathize with Damen and see kind of why he didn't want to look at the past. Also, it was a kind of twist to see that Roman was one of the Immortals Damen had turned. However, it was ruined when it came out of nowhere like a lot of surprises in the book.
**************************
Characters: Ever-She is a good character, I have to admit, because she isn't perfect. She has her flaws like thinking there's always something up with new people and that she still grieves over her family. I do like her decisions she makes in Blue Moon, you think that maybe it's all about Damen, but it still isn't to her. She loves everyone around her, but Damen's the one who helps her get through the tough times.
Damen-Damen is very...different in this book. If you didn't read the spoilers, you'll have to see for yourself. It was a nice twist that I did like in here. I wasn't expecting him to act the way he did in most of the book.
Roman-Evil. That is the first thing I have to say. A good evil though, he does not give up and I love that. It's non-stop problems. When one things resolved, another pops up. There is just one question I have to ask him: how did he do it? You'll see what I mean when you read the book, but it is never revealed exactly how he did it.
Cover: I love the cover for this book as well! It's of Ever holding, what seems to me, like Summerland. I love the contrast of the yellow to the dark hues of blue. To me, it's like Ever's starting to gain control on how to use Summerland. Plus, it is where she gets most of her answers in Blue Moon.
Overall Rating: I give this book a 3 out of 4. It wasn't as good as Evermore in terms of romance, which you know I always look for, but it was good for some drama. Alyson did do better on gradualing making the drama get to the climax and not springing it up on us. I will be reading the next book which is Shadowland (Immortals #3) to see how this series turns out.
****SPOILERS****
Okay, so there's the guy, Roman, he appears out of nowhere! Like, one day everything's peachy and the next, this guy shows up! Of course, he's the bad guy and of course he's an Immortal too. No surprise there, which made the book even more dry. I will say that he never gives up, which did make the book more interesting.
When Damen gets sick, it is very...jaw dropping. It made the book more interesting. I could not believe some of the things Damen thought and said about Ever. It seemed like he was a completely different person, including when he changed his special room from a vintage state to a rec room. I loved Damen in this one because it was such different personalities, you can see how genuine and romantic the real Damen is. (P.S. If you didn't already guess, Roman is behind Damen getting sick.)
Lastly, Damen's tortured past is that he saw his parents murdered. That made me empathize with Damen and see kind of why he didn't want to look at the past. Also, it was a kind of twist to see that Roman was one of the Immortals Damen had turned. However, it was ruined when it came out of nowhere like a lot of surprises in the book.
**************************
Characters: Ever-She is a good character, I have to admit, because she isn't perfect. She has her flaws like thinking there's always something up with new people and that she still grieves over her family. I do like her decisions she makes in Blue Moon, you think that maybe it's all about Damen, but it still isn't to her. She loves everyone around her, but Damen's the one who helps her get through the tough times.
Damen-Damen is very...different in this book. If you didn't read the spoilers, you'll have to see for yourself. It was a nice twist that I did like in here. I wasn't expecting him to act the way he did in most of the book.
Roman-Evil. That is the first thing I have to say. A good evil though, he does not give up and I love that. It's non-stop problems. When one things resolved, another pops up. There is just one question I have to ask him: how did he do it? You'll see what I mean when you read the book, but it is never revealed exactly how he did it.
Cover: I love the cover for this book as well! It's of Ever holding, what seems to me, like Summerland. I love the contrast of the yellow to the dark hues of blue. To me, it's like Ever's starting to gain control on how to use Summerland. Plus, it is where she gets most of her answers in Blue Moon.
Overall Rating: I give this book a 3 out of 4. It wasn't as good as Evermore in terms of romance, which you know I always look for, but it was good for some drama. Alyson did do better on gradualing making the drama get to the climax and not springing it up on us. I will be reading the next book which is Shadowland (Immortals #3) to see how this series turns out.
Betrayal by Gillian Shields
5.0
Plot: This is the sequel to Immortal and I was excited to finally get my hands on Betrayal. I was a bit confused when I started to read it. I haven't read Immortal in almost a year and Betrayal took some time to recount what happened. Evie would just say that she couldn't believe what happened and how horrible she felt for what she had done and I'm staring at the book trying to remember what happened in Immortal. I did, however, love the concept of the book. It was a nice take to see the heroin trying to save her love. I was getting really into the book. Some points, I was actually fighting tears because the book was getting to me. The ending was something I was NOT expecting and I have to say that I loved the way it was written, but not how it was written. Shields did a beautiful job at the end, but I hated how it ended. I won't say how it ends because it would give away everything, but I had a total love-hate relationship with the ending.
Characters: Evie-I have always loved Evie, she was such a great heroin. I loved how she was sure on her powers and helping Sebastian, but questioned herself when she wasn't able to accomplish something. She was determined to cure Sebastian and she wouldn't stop he was. When Evie was questioning her life at the moment and a life she could have was very refreshing. It was nice to know that she was in love with Sebastian, but wanted to have a normal life as well.
Sebastian-Shields was amazing when it came to Sebastian. Sebastian was still in the book and the plot line with his writing to Evie. You could see the pain Sebastian was going through with struggling to keep his humanity. He was a bit dramatic at times, but it just showed you how tormented he was. I was praying for the next chapter to have Sebsatian or one of his letters because I loved him so much. I can honestly see why Evie called him her first and only love. (One of the reasons I was close to crying.)
Cover: I loved the two covered to the Immortal series. The first one represented Evie's powers for the element of Water and the Tailsman. Betrayal was a nice cover to go along with the book. It had fire which represented Agnes' element of Fire and short of showed the fire of betrayal that some of the characters felt in their heart.
Overall Rating: I give this book four out of four. Even though the ending peeved me off, I still loved Shields' writing and how elegantly the story flowed. My only precaution with this book is try to read the books closely together. They are both great to read, but it was hard to get back on the series when it has been so long.
Peace and Fangs,
Alisha
Characters: Evie-I have always loved Evie, she was such a great heroin. I loved how she was sure on her powers and helping Sebastian, but questioned herself when she wasn't able to accomplish something. She was determined to cure Sebastian and she wouldn't stop he was. When Evie was questioning her life at the moment and a life she could have was very refreshing. It was nice to know that she was in love with Sebastian, but wanted to have a normal life as well.
Sebastian-Shields was amazing when it came to Sebastian. Sebastian was still in the book and the plot line with his writing to Evie. You could see the pain Sebastian was going through with struggling to keep his humanity. He was a bit dramatic at times, but it just showed you how tormented he was. I was praying for the next chapter to have Sebsatian or one of his letters because I loved him so much. I can honestly see why Evie called him her first and only love. (One of the reasons I was close to crying.)
Cover: I loved the two covered to the Immortal series. The first one represented Evie's powers for the element of Water and the Tailsman. Betrayal was a nice cover to go along with the book. It had fire which represented Agnes' element of Fire and short of showed the fire of betrayal that some of the characters felt in their heart.
Overall Rating: I give this book four out of four. Even though the ending peeved me off, I still loved Shields' writing and how elegantly the story flowed. My only precaution with this book is try to read the books closely together. They are both great to read, but it was hard to get back on the series when it has been so long.
Peace and Fangs,
Alisha