PANIC by Lauren Oliver

It’s a town where not much happens, where few people have jobs and even fewer people have the ability to get out of Carp. Boredom, drugs and drinking rule not just the adult world, but the adolescent world as well. That was what started it, the boredom and wanting to get out of the town, that is was fueled Panic. Panic was simple, in theory at least. Everyday for the entirety of everyone's senior year they had to give a dollar, and then whoever won Panic would get the money, usually around 50,000 dollars. That was more that enough to get out of Carp and never look back. The day after graduation, any graduating senior who wished to declare their entrance into the games would go to the top of the cliffs near the lake and jump. That, would be the easiest part of Panic. From there, every activity would get harder and harder, scarier and scarier. Every year, people died and ended up in the hospital, but the hope and possibilities that the money of winning Panic offered was more than enough to entice even the most chicken of 18 year olds to try. This year, the stakes were higher, and the money pot was greater with nearly 67,000 dollars going to this years winner. Heather had no real interest in the game, she thought it was stupid, but after her two best friends announce that they are getting out of Carp, heading to college and the possibility of a modeling career ahead of them, not to mention her boyfriend cheating on her in front of the entire Panic party kickoff, Heather jumps of the cliffs without thinking, hoping to escape her mundane future of waitressing in Carp. But things in the game of Panic are never as they seem. Her best friends start to lie and betray her in order to get ahead, the strange and mysterious Dodge is suddenly hanging around and "helping" when things get crazy, and someone is squealing to the cops about the game. People are being arrested, thrown in jail, hospitalized, and after one crazy and terrifying event... dead. Heather knows she should just withdraw, but her anger is fueling her more than she ever could have imagined, and she’s starting to think she just might win it, if she doesn’t end up dead. ''

Under My Skin (Skinned #1)

I honestly sort of forgot about this book, I think I read it at the beginning of January and never really took the time to write or even thing about it. What does that tell you about the book? A bit boring actually. To much cheesy romance, predictable plot lines, and over done vampires, werwolves and other mythical creatures. Just the main characters name is pretentious. Eryn, with a y?! No offense to real life Eryns, but really? Trying to make the characters seem more mystic by adding "Ys" where they don't belong is so aggravating.
Now the story, Eryn lost both of her parents a few months ago under unusual circumstances. Her mother was a hybrid wolf and her father was a mystical hunter. After their deaths, the council sent her to live in a small town with her grandfather, only the small town is full of mystical beings. Even without realizing it Eryn is drawn to the goth girl and her egocentric, "weirdo" crowd. Turns out they are fairies, hunters, witches and wolves. But the real problem in town, the vampires. And unluckily for Eryn, the leader's son is obsessed with her. Two sides of the paranormal are tearing the town apart, and Eryn is stuck in the middle. What side will she choose, especially since both sides are keeping secrets and nothing is as black and white as Eryn first thought it was.
If you like books like Twilight, Immortals, or any of the paranormal romances that have gained popularity the last few years then you will like this. But for me, I prefer a little more action and paranormal rather than the romance.

Lying Game #1

I was a huge fan of the Lying Game TV show, and when it was cancelled (ABC Family always seems to cancel the best shows without a conclusion to them), I decided that that best thing for me to do was to get the entire series and read them, that way I could at least have some idea of what the writers of the show were using as their basis for plots. As of yet, I have only read the first novel, and it was decent. Obviously written for a middle school (or less) reader, but that doesn’t make the story any less intriguing.

Emma couldn’t believe it when her foster brother showed her a YouTube video of her doing unspeakable things, and after the viewing her foster family kicker her out. Freaked about the look alike, Emma went online to find the girl, what she found was more than a look alike, she found a twin sister, separated from birth. Excited beyond all reason Emma heads to Arizona to meet her sister, only her sister never shows. Everyone in town is calling her Sutton, her sister’s name. Emma keeps waiting for her sister to pop up and yell surprise, only she never does. That’s when Emma starts to get strange notes and emails, telling her to keep her mouth shut or they’ll kill her to.

Emma is scared, and trying to fit into the mold that her parents and friends expect of wealthy, well-to-do Sutton. She can’t tell anyone what is really happening, but one person realizes she isn’t Sutton. A boy from the wrong side of the tracks, who Sutton had a secret relationship with, knows that Emma isn’t who she ways she is. Emma enlists his help is trying to figure out what happened to her sister, but at what cost?

I loved the show, and at least as of book one, it seems to somewhat follow the shows first episodes of season one. The only thing that I don’t like about this book series so far *****SPOILER: is that Sutton appears to actually be dead, and is seeing through Emma’s eyes and provides a somewhat annoying commentary throughout the book.*****

I will defiantly continue this series, when I have more time. Some week when I have nothing to do and can plow through a novel a day.

Endless Knight: The Arcana Chronicles

While I am not a huge fan of romance, especially the paranormal kind, I can get past it in this series because it is so good! I find myself looking at least once a week to see when the third novel is going to be published. While the first novel in the Arcana Chronicles was great, this sequel Endless Knight is even better.

Evie has accepted her powers and her fate, despite her feelings for the mortal Jack, she starts using her powers to keep herself and her current allies alive. Jack is scared and starts to see her only as a monster, that is until she is kidnapped by Death, aka Eric. While in his stronghold Evie learns more about not just her powers, but her previous selves, and her relationship with Death. He is not all he’s cracked up to be, rather a good guy. And Jackson, he isn’t the good guy that Evie thought he was.

Alliances are shifting, relationships are changing, and everyone that Evie thought was on her side have been lying to her since the beginning. I hate that the ending is a cliffhanger, but I love this series. I think the whole Tarot card exchange is amazing, and I love how complex and muti-layered the characters are.

Insanity (An Alice in Wonderland Retelling) by Cameron Jace

Keeping with the last posts theme of Alice in Wonderland retellings, Insanity by Cameron Jace is another semi-well rated novel on goodreads.com. I have very mixed feelings on the novel, when I first read it I gave it 2-stars, but its one of those novels that makes you think. I have found myself thinking about and ever talking about this book with friends.

            Alice Wonders is in a mental institution, she doesn’t remember anything before a few weeks ago. Apparently though she is responsible for the death on all her classmates, the final act that pushed her family and the courts to send her to Radcliffe Lunatic Asylum. Alice has been talking crazy for years though, ever since her sister lost her one afternoon when she was seven. Everyone thinks that Alice is crazy, but Alice knows that she isn’t. And there are others in the institution, others who believe her, who know the truth. Monsters of Wonderland are in the city, Lewis Carroll’s novels, while fanciful, are how he dealt with his encounters with the monsters, and a way to play down what he and a little girl actually had to do all those years ago to trap them in Wonderland.

            Now, people are being killed and Alice and the patient dubbed “Professor Caterpillar” are the only ones who believe (and know) that it is the Cheshire Cat, which means if one monster has escaped Carroll’s enchantments, more will follow. And the Cheshire Cat cannot be working alone, after all, he has never worked alone. Alice and the Professor have to find a way to get out of the asylum and stop Cheshire, but getting out isn’t the problem, its walking the fine line between crazy and wonderland.

            In retrospect, I actually liked this novel a lot more now than I did when I first read it, the ending was amazing! I mean, the last two pages, were awe inspiring. It makes me want to not only read the sequel when it comes out, but read some of Cameron Jace’s other fairytale retellings.

Allegiant by Veronica Roth

            When great series go bad, that is the only way to describe Allegiants by Veronica Roth. I knew

that I wasn’t going to like a lot of it, the end was spoiled for me thanks to some inconsiderate people on Tumblr the day after it was released, but I had hoped that the rest of the novel would make up for it. It didn’t, not even a little bit.

            The novel picks up a few days after Insurgent left off, Tris is in prison for siding with the factions against Evelyn and the rest of the Rebels. Luckily for her, Four has his mother’s ear and is able to get Tris released without an execution. But they don’t want to stay in the city, now that they have heard the message from outside the walls Tris wants to complete the mission the founders of the city started, and she isn’t the only one.

            Two group in the city have risen up against Evelyn, Tris’ group that wants to leave, and the Allegiant, those that wish to return the city to the factions and their previous way of life. Together both groups work together to get Tris, Four and a group of others out of the city. In a last minute effort, Four even rescues Tris’ brother from public execution and takes Caleb out of the city with them.

            The book didn’t start of strong, and once they get out of the city the entire think goes down faster than an inexperienced skier on a double black diamond. Turns out that there are cities all over the world just like there’s, being watched and monitored by government agencies. Even during riots and killings, the government just watched and waited seeing what the people in their walled cities would do.

            Different plans are made, both from the government and rebels within the agency, those still in the city, and those that escaped the city; and not all of them are on the same page. Betrayal and murder runs through the government, as well as those once considered friends who left the city.

            I don’t want to betray the ending of the book, on the off chance someone has yet to read it and have it spoiled by Tumblr or Pintrest, but it was lame. The entire book was boring and ill written. The characters that we have grown to love over the first two books regressed to points even before Divergent began. Everyone is selfish and lying, the entire book I just wanted to yell at the characters for every single decision that they made. Not a single choice Tris, Four, or any of the city members made was in line with who they were in the first books.

            I hated ever word that I read in this novel, and was so glad when it was over. I know that some people thought that the ending was beautiful and heroic, but Tris’ decisions during the book did not logically lead up to it. Roth spent the first two books writing and explaining and intricate world, and then just threw it all away, nothing made sense, and it felt like she was just hurrying explanations along or giving subpar answers to get to the next horribly written chapter. I would recommend people NOT read this book, I wish I had just stopped at the second book, because that slight cliffhanger was a better ending than the actual one.