Review: Elixir (Covenant #3.5) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: Elixir (Covenant #3.5)

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Published by: Spencer Hill Press

Released: 2012

Summary: Immediately following the events of Deity, Alex and Aiden find themselves in a real pickle. With the awakening of Seth, Alex has been bonded to him. Through this bond, Alex has turned into a monster. Aiden has her secreted away in a safe house and is desperately trying to break the bond. Aiden will do anything to save Alex, even if it means turning against the gods. 

My Thoughts: This was a nice, refreshing little novella. I liked getting some insight into what was happening directly after the events in Diety. Even though it was relatively calm action wise, there was a lot of craziness going on in this book.

I really enjoyed getting a story from Aiden's POV. He's a good, stable character and it is nice to have a break from Alex and her drama. I do think Aiden is a little too hard on himself though.

This was a nice addition to the series. It was a nice little extra to include. I'm interested to read the 4th book now to see where the story goes.

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3/5

A nice extra to the series

Reading Right Now! (#25)

What I'm Reading Right Now! is two books! So exciting, I know. I usually just try to stick to reading one book at a time, because I don't feel like I'm that great at multi-tasking. I'm trying to take the approach of reading so many chapters per book and then switching to the other one and reading some chapters from there. So, I guess I should go ahead and tell you what I'm reading. What I'm Reading Right Now! is Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins The 100 by Kass Morgan. I'm reading The 100 with my friend Ke-sha from theforsaken707 on youtube. I have been bothering Ke-sha to watch The 100 CW show, because it is awesome and I love it so much!!! She said she had to read the book first, so if that's what it takes to get her to watch the awesomeness of the show, I will do it. Plus, I'm having withdrawal symptoms because The 100 is currently off air after it's second season finale and it makes me sad that I have to wait months and months for Season 3. I don't know if I can take it.

                                   Title: Sweet Peril (Sweet Evil #2) by Wendy Higgins

                                                                                      Title: The 100 by Kass Morgan

So, for those of you that don't know, The 100 by Kass Morgan is a science fiction/post apocalyptic novel, maybe with even a little bit of dystopian mixed in. The Earth has been destroyed because of various wars and becomes unlivable with a multitude of nuclear bombs being dropped. Various nations get together with the intent of escaping Earth to live in space. They want to keep humanity alive. I believe they've been in space for almost 400 years and the space station has become unsustainable. Resources and air supply are running out, which means they must come up with a new way to survive. Because of these limited resources, crime on the Arc is not taken lightly. People are tried and quickly executed for their crimes. But then an idea is hatched, take 100 juvenile delinquents awaiting trial on their 18th birthdays, and send them to Earth. If they survive on Earth, then everybody can come down. If they die on Earth, then it's time to think of another idea. We are with The 100 as they travel down to Earth and find out that they can live there, but surviving might be another story.

I absolutely love the CW TV show, so of course I'm super excited to be reading the book. Now the book and TV show do have differences. Some characters that exist in the book don't exist on the show, and some characters that exist on the show don't exist in the book. I've heard that the book is not as good as the TV show, but I'm liking it so far. I went into it not expecting an exact replica of the TV show and I think that might have helped. I'm only about 17% through the book, but I am enjoying it.

Now the other book I'm reading, Sweet Peril, is the second book in the Sweet Evil Trilogy. I really enjoyed the first book and I'm really enjoying this one as well. This story is about Anna, the daughter of an angel and a demon. She has been given a task to kind of save the world and of course she wants to find love with the sexy Nephilim Kaidan. I'm about 58% through this one and am liking it. It's just a fun, fast, enjoyable series.

So that's what I'm Reading Right Now! Sorry for the super long post, but I was just in a talkative mood about books and The 100. The 100 is awesome and everybody needs to watch the show, and then ship Bellarke! What are you Reading Right Now?

Review: The Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles Book One) by Mary E. Pearson

Title: The Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles Book One)

Author: Mary E. Pearson

Published by: Henry Holt and Company, LLC

Released: 2014

Summary: The realm of Morrighan is steeped in tradition, tradition that Princess Lia hates. Being Princess and First Daughter, Lia feels like her life is not her own. That fact is made even more apparent when a marriage contract is set up for her with a prince she's never met. Fed up with a life that offers no choices, Lia flees on her wedding day. Determined to make a new life for herself and be able to choose her own love, Lia travels to Terravin and starts working in an inn. Little does she know that the jilted prince and an assassin are on her trail, determined to find her. The jilted prince wants to bring her back, while the assassin has been sent to kill her. Can Lia find happiness and what does her destiny hold?

My Thoughts: So, so good! Fantastic book and I enjoyed every single page. It offered something different than what I was initially expecting. I loved the medieval, fantasy aspect to it and all the magic that was in this world Lia lived in. Such a good book with so many things happening in it.

I will say that I read this book kind of slowly, but it wasn't because of the book, but more because of me. This book was just really good and drew me in to this journey that Lia embarks on. I liked Lia as a character. She wasn't whiny or annoying and she really seemed to grow throughout the story. Being involved in her story was fun.

The world was really interesting too. I wanted to know more about these Ancients that lived there before and what happened to them. I almost expected a twist, like people of today's time were the Ancients, but that didn't happen. I just really liked the feeling of the world.

Probably one of my favorite parts of the book was the mystery surrounding the Prince and the Assassin. I really enjoyed how the author kept me guessing and never really sure until a pivotal point in the story. I tried to figure out who was the Prince and who was the Assassin, Kaden or Rafe, on my own, but in the end I was totally wrong in my guesses. I'm also torn on which boy to root for because they are both so interesting. As of right now, I would say Rafe, but Kaden is following in a very close second and I feel that there is more to learn about him too.  It's a tough, tough choice.

And Oh that ending, I've got to know what happens next. What is Lia going to do about pretty much everything.

All in all, I thought this was a fantastic book. It offered a mythical, magical world, a strong female protagonist, enough secrets from everybody to keep me thoroughly curious and on the edge of my seat, and two boys to root for. A great book and a fabulous start to a new series. Can't wait to get my hands on the next one.

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4.5/5

Fantastical!

Reading Right Now! (#24)

Title: Apollyon (Covenant #4)

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Right now I'm on page 248 of 343 which makes me 72% of the way through.

So what I'm Reading Right Now! is the same thing I was reading last week... wwaaahhh *sad face*.

I don't know what it is about these books and this series, but I just feel like it takes me forever to finish the books. I think what it comes down to, I just don't love this series so much. Alex annoys me. I wish I loved it as much as everyone else does, but I just don't.

So I'm slowly making my way through this book and I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. In this one Alex and the gang have to figure out how to save the world and take Seth and Lucian down. For me, there is just a lot of boring downtime in this book and really series as a whole. And I don't like Alex, really at all. I don't think she's that funny, I don't think she's that skilled, and I sometimes question her decision making abilities. Sorry to go all debby downer ranty, but that's the only way I can really explain why I'm not a super fan of this series. Will I still finish the series? Absolutely, cause I'm not a quitter, but I think it will just earn a place as a mediocre series for me.

So to add a little bit of excitement to this post, I thought I would include what I'm going to read next after finishing Apollyon, and that will be these two books!

 

I'm planning to read The 100 by Kass Morgan and Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins. I'm reading The 100 with my friend Ke-sha. I have been bugging her to watch the CW TV show because it is freaking awesome and I love it. She won't watch the show until she reads the book. I've been wanting to read the books anyway mostly because of my love for the show. I've heard that the books are different from the show but Bellarke happens in the book! I am one of those crazy Bellarke shippers that wants Bellarke to happen in the show, so if I can get a little bit of the feels in the book, it will hold me over until it happens on the show. Then I'm going to read Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins and just continue on with the Sweet Evil trilogy. I'm planning to try and multitask by reading these two books at the same time.

So yeah, that's what I'm Reading Right Now! and planning to read later. Tell me what you are reading because I would love to know.

Top 5 Wednesday: Top 5 Bookish Habits

This week's Top 5 Wednesday is a fun one. I do have some bookish habits that could be considered odd or normal, depending on what kind of person reads this post. So here are some of my bookish habits.

1. This one is probably not that crazy, but I bring a book with me everywhere. It doesn't matter where I go, I'll have a book with me. It's almost like a comfort/safety thing. I don't feel right without a book in close reaching distance. I will bring books with me in the car, in restaurants, even in church. Although I don't read the book in church. I don't bring books into retail establishments though, I don't want them to think I'm stealing books or anything. And also, I have a big purse and shoving a book in their makes it look bulky, which could make me look suspicious. My reasoning for bringing a book with me everywhere is just in case I get bored and then I'll have a book to read. Also I just need a book there or I won't feel complete.

2. Not only do I bring one book with me, I usually bring 3. This one might sound a little weird. It probably is a little weird, but I do it anyway. My reasoning for bringing 3 books with me at a time is as follows: I could finish the first book and need another book to read, that's where the second book comes in. The third book comes into play just in case I finish the first book, start the second and realize I don't like it. In that case, I now have a third book, so I will never go bookless.

3. My third bookish habit is a little different. One day while in my library, I noticed they had these PBS kid's book charts they were giving away. Every time you finished a book, you were supposed to mark it on this chart and show just how much of a super reader you were. I took a bunch of those charts. Now each time I finish a book, I color in one of those little boxes to show I've finished a book. I also separate the chart by month using different colors to help keep track of my reading progress. It helps keep track of how many books I read per month and year.
Another bookish habit that kind of goes along with this one is that I also have a notebook where I write down every book (title and author) that I have finished separated by year and month. I started this in 2012, just so I could keep track of all the books I have read.

4. This bookish habit isn't so weird for people firmly in the book world, but for everyday readers it's a little strange. This habit comes from having a book blog mostly. After I finish my current read, I have to write a review for it before I start another book. I have to do it right after because if I wait too long, I'll forget details about the book. And since I have a book blog, I need reviews for it, so it just all kind of goes together. But I do get made fun of sometimes by family members, because they know when I've finished a book what I'll be doing right after.

5. My last bookish habit is that I have to buy all the books in a series before I start said series. This is really only for books that I buy, not so much for books I check out from the library. I think what it is is, that when I start a series I want to have all the books there so I don't have to wait for the next one. I feel like I just want to really marathon a series. I also don't feel like my bookshelf/collection is complete if I have uncompleted series sitting on it.

So those are my Top 5 Bookish Habits. What are your weirdest bookish habits? Let me know cause I'm always curious. Join in the Top 5 Wednesday fun yourself!! Here's a list of all the Top 5 Wednesday-ers!

Review: Death Note Volume 4: Love by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Title: Death Note Volume 4: Love

Story by: Tsugumi Ohba

Art by: Takeshi Obata

Published by: VIZ Media, LLC

Released originally: 2003

Summary: Another exciting episode in the Light vs. L saga. With the appearance of a second Kira, both Light and L are scrambling. Light needs to find this new Kira and figure out a way to control him. L figures it's only a matter of time before the two Kiras meet and somebody slips up. L's suspicion of Light as Kira is on red alert, but he's got nothing concrete to go on. Will Light be able to get out of this one? And who is the second Kira who is giving Light such a headache? The game of wits continues in this fourth, fun installment.

My Thoughts: Another great addition to the Death Note series. I really had fun reading this one and was intrigued to see how it would all play out. There was a lot of humor in this one too, which I really enjoyed. Even more surprising is that Light managed to make it through a whole book without killing anyone!

The battle of wits between Light and L is just very fun to watch, and I feel like a relationship is slowly forming, one of dangerous respect maybe? I don't really want Light to kill L, although I guess I'm okay with L capturing Light. Just seeing them battle it out with their minds and always be one step ahead of each other is fun to watch.

This second Kira business is really interesting too. This mystery person brings a lot of humor to the book.

My favorite parts were all the humorous scenes included. It was just nice and funny having to see Light sweat it out and worry that his cover was going to be blown.

A great installment to the Death Note series. I highly enjoyed it and plan on getting the rest of the books. I can't wait to see how it continues and eventually ends.

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4/5

Fun! 

Reading Right Now! (#23)

Title: Apollyon (Covenant #4)

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

I'm on page 71 of 343 which makes me about 21% through the book according to the goodreads.com

What I'm Reading Right Now! for this week is the 4th book in the Covenant series, Apollyon, by Jennifer L. Armentrout. As a sort of disclaimer, I've never been in love with this series. I had heard such good things about Jennifer L. Armentrout and her books from friends, blogs, and booktube that I just had to start one of her series. I decided to start with one of her early series, and I've just never felt that instant booklove that so many of my friends have felt. I think this will always be just an average series for me. That being said, I'm not very far into Apollyon, but I'm crossing my fingers that this might be my favorite one in the series so far.  In this book, Alex has connected with Seth and become the Apollyon, but unfortunately that means she wants to kill all her friends who are keeping her separated from Seth. The gods are ready to kill Alex just so she won't join Seth and give him the power to become a god killer. Alex is being kept in a safe house and those that love and care for her and trying hard to get her to break the bond with Seth, so she can be the old Alex they love and remember.

At the very beginning of this book, I wanted to mute Alex permanently. She was just so mean to all those that care about her. I guess I just expected Alex to be more like a zombie, mindless and not knowing who she really was while connected to Seth, but she seemed aware of what she was doing and just being really mean anyway. And this whole My Seth stuff just made me want to gag. Luckily, the book is getting better since Alex has broke the connection with Seth. I'm hoping that this one is my favorite of the series. So I'm hoping for the best in this one. And once I finish, I definitely plan on finishing the series because I just feel like I need to finish all the series. I don't think The Covenant series will ever be my favorite of favorites, mostly because I don't really like the character of Alex. 

Okay I have rambled enough. That is what I'm Reading Right Now! Hope you're enjoying whatever it is you are reading.

Top 5 Wednesday: Top 5 Books That Made You Think

I don't know why I always have such a hard time thinking up books for these topics. This Top 5 Wednesday topic was the Top 5 Books That Made Me Think. I had a hard time deciding what books to use for this post. I think part of the reason I had a hard time is that I read for pleasure, not necessarily to really do any sort of deep thinking. Not to say that I don't think while reading, but just that I tend to pick out books that I'm going to enjoy rather than books that will make me question everything. So this list is a little all over the place. Some books were picked on a serious thinking basis, while others were picked with a more fun vibe in mind. So here's the Top 5 Books That Made Me Think.

  

 

1. I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga: This one was picked more in fun. This book genuinely scared me. I made the mistake of reading it at night and then being scared to go to sleep. I would be laying in my bed, hearing all these creaks and thumps, and was petrified. Think Neville Longbottom, stiff as a board with eyes wide open. I was that pathetic. This book made me question my safety just for the sheer amount of creepy. I didn't think I'd ever sleep again after reading this book. I'm almost too scared to continue on with the rest of the series. I mean I will read the rest of the series, but I'm scared.

2. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline: Now this one was a pure adventure quest story, so the question could be asked, how in the world does this book make you think? I definitely enjoyed the quest/adventure aspect of this book, don't get me wrong. What made me think about this book was aspects regarding the future of the world. What I mean by that is, that since everyone is so invested in this virtual reality world and these virtual reality games, how is the world going to survive. It seems people in this book are abandoning real life in favor of a virtual one. This topic was also covered in The Reality Bug by D.J. MacHale, maybe even with more thought and seriousness in that one than in Ready Player One. Society can only survive with people working and providing for it, and the people in this book don't want to work, they just want to be lost in a virtual life. I was even a little disappointed in Ready Player One's ending because it didn't even really contemplate or try to answer those questions. This one definitely made me think and conclude that life can't be all fun and games. You can't lose yourself in a virtual world because the real world is calling and needs you to live in it and provide for it. Food and energy doesn't just appear by magic, it takes work, and it needs people to do that work. I don't know if that made a whole lot of sense, but that's what I got from this book.

3. The Declaration by Gemma Malley: This book offered up such an interesting world and predicament that I couldn't help but think about it. For those that don't know, this series plays with the aspect of never dying and the consequences that can hold. A drug was created that gives people the ability to live forever, but in order to live forever some things have to be given up. With no one dying, resources such as food and space are stretching thin. When people decide to take the drug, they give up the right to have children. Children are unwanted in this world, in fact they are illegal. Children are taken from their parents and put in surplus halls, because they only thing they can be good for is to serve the legal citizens. It just brought up a really interesting thought. There is a reason why the circle of life exists. If everyone has the ability to live forever, the world will eventually run out of space and resources. It's just interesting to consider what would have to be given up in order to achieve something like this. I don't really hear much about this series on booktube and I want that to change. It's an underrated gem that more people need to read.

4. The First Days Rhiannon Frater: This one was another fun one. I love this book and love this series. I still need to read the last one though. Zombie books are my thing. I love reading them. Part of the reason I love them is for the pure enjoyment of them. But another part of me considers what I would do in such a situation. In all honesty, if a zombie apocalypse happened, I'd probably be part of the flesh eating horde. But, if I did manage to survive, who would I become? What kind of decisions would I have to make in order to keep surviving? There is something about post apocalyptic worlds that just fascinate me. A desolate, empty world and it's up to the survivors to build it up again. Also, this book is awesome and everyone should go read it!

5. 1984 by George Orwell: This is probably one of the few books that I read for school that I actually ended up really enjoying. That doesn't happen very often with required reading.  The interesting thing to consider about this book is when it was written and how it "imagines" a scary future. What this book actually did was predict the future in a way. Some of the things explored in this book are happening now. The idea of an overreaching government, being monitored all the time, and maybe even losing some of the freedoms that we've always taken for granted. That is probably why this book is required reading in most schools. It's a very interesting, and at times scary read that I very much enjoyed.

So that's my Top 5 Wednesday for this week. What books made you think and why? Do we have any books in common? Let me know in the comments below. Even though this topic was hard, I did have  fun with it. I did major in English in college, so maybe some of that critical thinking came into play... haha. You should join in the Top 5 Wednesday fun too. Every Wednesday there is always a fun topic to consider. Check out all the other Top 5 Wednesday-ers.

Review: Sweet Evil (Sweet Evil Book 1) by Wendy Higgins

Title: Sweet Evil (Sweet Evil Book 1)

Author: Wendy Higgins

Published by: HarperTEEN

Released: 2012

Summary: Anna Whitt has always been the good girl. She respects her adoptive mother, gets good grades in school, and resists temptation. Some temptations are harder for her to resist than others. Then Anna meets a bad boy, a boy she can't get out of her mind. Kaidan Rowe is all the things she should stay away from, but she just can't. Then Anna finds out she and Kaidan have more in common then she realized. Anna discovers that she is the offspring of a demon and an angel, the only one of her kind. Should she embrace her angelic side or fall to her demon side? It's up to Anna to ultimately decide.

My Thoughts: There are some books that you just read the first page and know you are going to enjoy it, Sweet Evil was one of those books for me. I just really enjoyed reading the story, Higgins writing style pulled me in and kept me entertained to the last page. I enjoyed this world she built of demons being all around and tempting us. Anna and Kaidan were just fun characters to read about.

I will say that for it being such a chunk of a book, it really didn't have all that much going on inside of it. Not that I didn't enjoy the story, because I did, but in the grand scheme of things nothing really happened in it. The jumps in time also threw me a little. But that is only my minor opinions.

I really enjoyed this book and plan on picking up the others in the series soon. It was just fun reading.

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4/5

Give into temptation and pick up this book!

Top 5 Wednesday: Top 5 Books You'd Save in a Fire

This Top 5 Wednesday is all about the Books I'd Save in a Fire. This topic is kind of hard. In a perfect world, I would want to save all my books. I'd want an ever expanding bag like Hermione had in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows so I could save all my books. Actually, that bag would come in pretty hand for my book storage problem. I could buy as many books as I wanted and store them in that bag without running out of space. That would be awesome. Anyway, back to the topic at hand, I would want to save ALL my books!! I kind of ended up cheating in the end and picked whole series that I would want to save, but I don't feel guilty. Most of my favorite books are part of series and they are all special to me and would need to be saved in the group form. I couldn't just save the first book and forget about the rest. So here's the books and series that I would try and save if disaster struck.

The whole Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling: Yes I would have to save the whole series on this one because how could I not save all the books? I'd have too. I think I would try to save the hardback copies first just because it took me awhile to get all the books in hardcover and I feel like I could buy the paperbacks again. Although I would love to save both sets. My reasons for saving Harry Potter should be fairly obvious. I love the series. It's one I plan on reading over and over again. Also I think Harry Potter is destined to become a classic series and I want to keep the series forever. I can't not save Harry Potter.

The whole Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer: This is another whole series saver. I feel no shame in saying I love these books and plan on rereading them whenever the fancy strikes. This series really started my love for YA literature as well as paranormal romance. I mean, I've always loved reading, but after reading Twilight, I really started reading more YA books. And Edward was my first book boy crush. It's just good memories with this series and I would need to save it.

The Host by Stephenie Meyer: I really enjoyed this book when I read it and plan on rereading it again so I would want to save it.

The Gone Series by Michael Grant: Yes another whole series because I love it!! Seriously this series is one of my favorites and I would want to save them so I could share my love for them with future readers. And of course keep them in my personal collection.

Vicious by V.E. Schwab: I actually don't own this book in physical format yet, but I plan to. And if there was a fire and I owned it, I would save it. I love this book. It is awesome and I would want to not only have it in my collection, but would also like to introduce other readers to it.

So those are the Top 5 Books I Would Save in a Fire. What books would you save? Would you cheat and include whole series too? If you want to join in the Top 5 Wednesday fun, you totally should. It's a fun post to include on your blog or booktube schedule and the topics are always really fun to consider. Go check out all the other Top 5 Wednesday-ers through this link.

Review: The Treatment (The Program #2) by Suzanne Young

Title: The Treatment (The Program #2)

Author: Suzanne Young

Published by: Simon Pulse

Released: April 2014

Summary: Sloane and James are on the run from the Program. With their names and faces plastered all over the media, they must find someplace to hide. When they run into a group of rebels, they decide to join them and try to bring down the Program. Sloane also has the Treatment in her possession, a pill that could bring back all her memories. With only one pill, should she take it herself or give it to someone else? Is the Treatment even worth taking? Sloane must decide what  she must do to end the Program once and for all.

My Thoughts: This book and I just never really connected. I don't know if that was all on me, or the book. I read the first book, The Program early in 2014 and really enjoyed it, so I was excited to read the sequel. I was also excited to read The Treatment, because one of my goals in 2015 is to finish more series. I believe The Treatment and The Program are a duology, so by finishing it, I have finished one series for the year Yay!

I had a few problems really getting into this book. The first one could have been my fault, because it's been awhile since I read the first book, but in this one I felt like I was dropped into the middle of an ongoing story. Now I know that it is an ongoing story, a sequel, but usually sequels give  a little bit of a refresher before diving right in. This one didn't do that, so I felt very confused for awhile, trying to remember who everyone was and what was happening. For those wanting to start this series, I would recommend reading the books back to back, one after the other to get the full effect of everything.

My second problem was this whole being part of the rebels thing. Now I have no problem with rebel groups, when they actually do rebel type things. The rebels that Sloane and James join don't really do anything to take down the Program. I would actually classify them as a start up rebel group, because the only real rebel thing they actually do is recruitment. And I don't know if two people really make a rebel group. I know there are more rebels, but we never really interact with them. I don't know, I just wanted rebels that actually did stuff instead of running and hiding in safe houses. Also, I don't know how Dallas managed to acquire all of these contacts.

I also wasn't a fan of the love triangle. I don't hate Realm, but I don't like him trying to wedge into Sloane and James' thing. Sloane and James are meant to be together and they don't need an extra person to make their love story more romantic.

My last minor issue was, that what caused the suicide epidemic was never really explained. The book would act like it was gonna give the big explanation, the big cause, and then it never would. I had a hard time buying into a suicide epidemic anyway, so I wanted some type of definite answer to it.

Overall, this book and I just never really got along. I was confused through parts of it and frustrated at other times. I didn't hate it, but I never really loved it either. I will say that it did offer a nice, romantic, love conquers all kind of story. I would just recommend marathoning the whole series to get the full enjoyment out of it.

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3/5

This book and I just never connected.