The Rising – Kelly Armstrong

The Rising
By Kelly Armstrong
Darkness Rising – Book 3
Available April 2013

Description:
Things are getting desperate for Maya and her friends. Hunted by the powerful St. Clouds and now a rival Cabal as well, they’re quickly running out of places to hide. And with the whole world thinking they died in a helicopter crash, it’s not like they can just go to the authorities for help.

All they have is the name and number of someone who might be able to give them a few answers. Answers to why they’re so valuable, and why their supernatural powers are getting more and more out of control.

But Maya is unprepared for the truths that await her. And now, like it or not, she’ll have to face down some demons from her past if she ever hopes to move on with her life. Because Maya can’t keep running forever.

Old secrets are revealed and unexpected characters make a surprising return in this stunning conclusion to Kelley Armstrong’s New York Times bestselling Darkness Rising trilogy.

This Blonde’s review:
I really enjoyed this series and was looking forward to seeing what was going to happen next. And I have to say that this book didn’t really explode. It kind of fizzled. That’s not to say that it didn’t have some great parts to it, or that I was unhappy with the ending. But something about it just felt flat to me.

There is the love triangle, the long lost family members, the misunderstood family members, the friends who do whatever it takes, and new friends. This book really does have a lot of everything. And while Maya thinks she can’t have her happy ending, she really can. And maybe that’s part of the problem. Everything went down so easily once they really got down to it. No one really fought Maya on anything, even the ones who were supposed to disagree with her the most.

I don’t really know what else to say about this one without giving everything away. If you’ve already been caught up in Maya’s story then you’ll want to read this book to find out what happens. But don’t expect anything like a crashing helicopter or anything. This really does feel more like it is just wrapping up what happened in the other two into the neatest bow.

I enjoyed this one, but it really left me wanting more. Even with that, I enjoyed this series and would recommend it to those who enjoy the idea of teenagers discovering they have abilities they never knew existed.

 

Flawed – Kate Avelynn

Flawed
By Kate Avelynn
Available 22 January 2013

Description:
Sarah O’Brien is alive because of the pact she and her brother made twelve years ago — James will protect her from their violent father if she promises to never leave him. For years, she’s watched James destroy his life to save hers. If all he asks for in return is her affection, she’ll give it freely.

Until, with a tiny kiss and a broken mind, he asks for more than she can give.

Sam Donavon has been James’ best friend — and the boy Sarah’s had a crush on — for as long as she can remember. As their forbidden relationship deepens, Sarah knows she’s in trouble. Quiet, serious Sam has decided he’s going to save her. Neither of them realizes James is far more unstable than her father ever was, or that he’s not about to let Sarah forget her half of the pact…

This Blonde’s Review:
Flawed is so easy to get caught up in. We don’t want to see what’s coming, but can’t put the book down because we have to know.

Sarah lives her life on the edges trying to stay under the radar. Her father is a violent drunk so she spends most of her time trying to stay out of his way and not set him off. Her brother is the only bright spot in her life, he’s the one who will do anything to save her. The least she can do is always be there for him. Even if that means staying away from Sam, his best friend and her crush. When Sam starts to show interest in her and Sarah starts to step out of the shadows things start to change. When James goes too far and tries to take her relationship to a new and forbidden level.

When tragedy strikes everything changes. As the men in Sarah’s life race towards confrontations that will change Sarah’s life forever we can only hope there won’t be any more tragedies.

I really liked this book! I got caught up in it and hated having to put it down. I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty but I had to know. We see what is inside a family that is dysfunctional in as many was as can be. This book could be difficult for some since it includes alcoholism, drug abuse, violence, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and other forms of emotional manipulation. Sarah’s life is a wreck and we can’t help but watch and hope that Sam will help her escape all of it instead of pushing towards more trouble. Sarah is stronger than she realizes and the men in her life will test her beyond what she should ever have to endure.

Sarah’s strength is the best part of this book. If you enjoy watching a character discover how strong she really is then you’ll want to read this story. It might break your heart a bit, but you’ll be glad you read it.

 

The Trouble With Flirting – Claire LaZebnik

The Trouble With Flirting
By Claire LaZebnik
Available February 2013

Description:
Franny’s supposed to be working this summer, not flirting. But you can’t blame her when guys like Alex and Harry are around. . . .

Franny Pearson never dreamed she’d be attending the prestigious Mansfield Summer Theater Program. And she’s not, exactly. She’s working for her aunt, the resident costume designer. But sewing her fingers to the bone does give her an opportunity to spend time with her crush, Alex Braverman. If only he were as taken with the girl hemming his trousers as he is with his new leading lady.

When Harry Cartwright, a notorious flirt, shows more than a friendly interest in Franny, she figures it can’t hurt to have a little fun. But as their breezy romance grows more complicated, can Franny keep pretending that Harry is just a carefree fling? And why is Alex suddenly giving her those deep, meaningful looks? In this charming tale of mixed messages and romantic near-misses, one thing is clear: Flirting might be more trouble than Franny ever expected.

This Blonde’s Review:
Franny is going to spend her summer working instead of acting in the theater program. When she discovers a friend from home and finds out that her brother, Alex, is there as well. The same brother Franny has had a crush on forever. This is a sign she should take advantage of being there and allowed to spend meals and breaks with the others. She gets to know everyone there including the gorgeous Harry.

Harry is the kind of guy who knows how irresistible he is and flirts with anyone in range. Franny isn’t going to take a guy like that seriously but before long allows herself to be talked into a date with Harry. She finds herself enjoying it more than she thought she would, even though she doesn’t believe he treat it as a serious date. Life gets more complicated for Franny when Harry seems to be taking things more seriously than she is and Alex starts to flirt with her. What’s a girl to do when she suddenly has two attractive guys after her? Especially when the one she really wants is taken and won’t make a choice?

I had a hard time getting into this one. I like Franny, but I didn’t really connect with her. The reason she had for her crush starting was cute, but I didn’t really see why she’d stay interested for so long. Alex didn’t seem like such a great catch to me, even through her adoring eyes. I did like Harry though. He acted like he’s God’s Gift but something about him made him seem like someone I’d like to know. I’m sure I’d have been more like Franny and not taken him seriously, but he was probably one of my favorite parts of this book.

Seeing the romances build around Franny was adorable and cringe=worthy all at once. She made so many clear mistakes and misread so many situations, yet in the way of books we can be happy to know that it all works out for the best for Franny.

If you’d enjoy watching a girl who has never flirted learn the fun and the trouble with flirting, then you’ll want to read this one.

 

Crash – Lisa McMann

Crash
By: Lisa McMann
Visions – Book 1
Available January 2013

Description: If what you see is what you get, Jules is in serious trouble. The suspenseful first of four books from the New York Times bestselling author of the Wake trilogy.

Jules lives with her family above their restaurant, which means she smells like pizza most of the time and drives their double-meatball-shaped food truck to school. It’s not a recipe for popularity, but she can handle that. What she can’t handle is the recurring vision that haunts her.

Over and over, Jules sees a careening truck hit a building and explode…and nine body bags in the snow. The vision is everywhere—on billboards, television screens, windows—and she’s the only one who sees it. And the more she sees it, the more she sees.

The vision is giving her clues, and soon Jules knows what she has to do. Because now she can see the face in one of the body bags, and it’s someone she knows. Someone she has been in love with for as long as she can remember.

This Blonde’s Review:
When I saw another series by Lisa McMann I knew I had to read it.since I really enjoyed Wake. While this is a decent story, it wasn’t quite to the same level and was mildly disappointing.

The story is about a girl who has a vision that repeats itself over & over. It shows up on billboards, tv shows, just about anywhere she looks could potentially show her the vision. It’s a crash that leaves 9 people dead. When she decides to figure it out she realizes who one of the people is someone she cares about.

I didn’t feel we had much chance to know Jules. She’s our main character but we were just reading these things she’s thinking without getting a feel for who she is. She tells us about her family to have an idea of who they are and she tells us about a boy she likes. No clue why she’s so devoted to him when he won’t talk to her, she just is.

While I don’t expect highly in depth stories for everything I read you’ll have a hard time catching my interest with a pair I can’t care about. I was much more interested in the siblings.

The story is an interesting concept. She’s not someone with visions, she is someone who has One vision. It’s the same over and over until she does something to change it. It’s not one I’ve seen and I’d be interested to she if she gives the characters more depth in the second book after the interesting angle she throws us at the end to draw us into book 2.

If you enjoy the idea if a normal girl having visions & setting out to save some lives then you may enjoy this one. If you prefer more depth you may want to wait & we can see if she gives us more in book two before you get started on this series.

 

Alice in Zombieland – Gena Showalter

Alice In Zombieland
By Gena Showalter

Description:
She won’t rest until she’s sent every walking corpse back to its grave. Forever.

Had anyone told Alice Bell that her entire life would change course between one heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. From blissful to tragic, innocent to ruined? Please. But that’s all it took. One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone.

Her father was right. The monsters are real….

To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Ali isn’t careful, those secrets might just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies….

I wish I could go back and do a thousand things differently. I’d tell my sister no. I’d never beg my mother to talk to my dad. I’d zip my lips and swallow those hateful words. Or, barring all of that, I’d hug my sister, my mom and my dad one last time. I’d tell them I love them. I wish… Yeah, I wish

This Blonde’s Review
I never realized how much I didn’t like Alice until I read Alice in Zombieland. The original Alice always struck me as spoiled, uninterested in anyone but herself, and rather unlikeable. I liked the adventure perhaps, but not Alice. Our Alice is nothing like that.

Ali grew up with a drunken father she knows is crazy. He’s so distracted by the monsters he sees that he can’t seem to care about anyone else. His desire to protect them outweighs his ability to be there for them. Ali’s mother makes excuses for him so is little help in their daughter’s attempts to have a real life. For Ali’s birthday she talks her parents into something they’ve never agreed to before & that changes everything.

In a blink Ali loses everything that matters to her. She didn’t bounce back like nothing is wrong, because no one really could. But she isn’t going to give up forever. Soon she’ll fight. Because now she knows her dad wasn’t crazy.

She moves to a new house to live with her grandparents, had to go to a new school, make new friends. Ali gets lucky by making the best type of friend (who I loved) early. Life gets complicated as soon a she makes eye contact with the most dangerous guy in school. Because we can’t have a story without a love interest and our Alice can’t have a study boy. Especially as she gets herself into more scrapes and shows us how tough she really is.

I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about this I’m since I’m not fully into the zombie trend. Ali won me over though. She’s obviously had a hard time and can’t even think of certain things at first. Despite that she’s stronger than she seems. She will avenge her family, even when life takes a turn for the unexpected. I can’t help but respect a girl who will fight for what she believes, even if it’s easier to retreat.

If you enjoy strong characters who wrong let their baggage defeat them, dangerous boys who are more than they seem, & zombies that aren’t your typical zombies then you’ll love this one.