Everneath

Last Spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath. Now she's returned - to her old life, her family, her boyfriend - before she is banished back to the underworld...this time forever. She has six months before the Everneath come to claim her, six months to for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these precious months forgetting the Everneath and trying to reconnect with her boyfriend, Jack, the only perons most devastated by her disappearance - the one person she loves more than anything. But there is just one problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who enticed her to the Everneath in the first place, had followed Nikki home. Cole wants to take over the throne in the underworld and is convinced that Nikki is the key to making it happen. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back, this time as his queen.

As Nikki's time on the Surface draws to a close and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she is forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's queen.

I LOVED this book! I have been reading a lot of books that deal with mythology lately and i have to say that this book was one of the best...if not the best! The story is a twist on the myth of Persephone. The story is so intriguing and different! I was sucked in from the very first page, and could hardly out it down!

The characters are amazing! "Becks" aka Nikki was amazing! My heart hurt for her when she returned to the Surface and couldn't feel the things she wanted to! I ached for her when she saw Jack the first time again! And Jack...WOW! The things he went through when Nikki was gone, what he goes through when she returns, and the sacrafice he makes for her...totally swoon worhty! And even though Cole is not a great guy...there is something about him that makes you want Nikki to choose him...just to see if what you are thinking is right!

I loved that this was set in my home state of Utah...and my university even got a shout out...GO AGGIES...I have even been to some of the places in the story! The ending will shatter you and yet leave you wanting more, more, MORE!

I can't wait for the next installment to see what happens!

I gave this book 5 apples!

Article 5

New York, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C., have all been abandoned.

The Bill of RIghts has been revoked and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

THere are no more police - instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior - instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested don't usually come back.

Seventeen year old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren't always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it's hard to forget that people weren't always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It's hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.

In the three years since the war ended, Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And what's worse, one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings...the only boy Ember has ever loved.

I cannot even begin to tell you how much I loved this book! It was sucn an intoxicating read! Scary too! Not in the "monsters and give you nightmares" way, but in the "this could seriously happen someday" way. There was so much intensity, and raw emotion in this book!

I loved the characters! Ember, who only wants to be with her mom and stay under the radar. Chase who loves Ember so much he risks everything for her. I did get a little frusterated with them at times. It is sooo obvious how much they care for each other and yet, they are both so stubborn and keep pushing each other away. There was a part where they finally reconciled and I was breathing a sigh of relief...only to have it yanked away moments later! AUGH!!

The world that Simmons throws us into is no place I would want to be! It is scary, cut throat and you wonder how anyone could have survived...and to continue to want too! The ending was perfect...just enough to wet your appetite for the next one!

I gave this book 5 apples!

Cinder

Sixteen year old Cinder is considered a technological mistake by most of society and a burden by her stepmother. Being cyborg does have it's benefits, though: Cinder's brain interface has given her an uncanny ability to fix things (robots, hovers, her own malfunctioning parts), making her the best mechanic in New Bejing. This reputation brings Prince Kai himself to her weekly marlet booth, needing her to repair a broken android before the annual ball. He jokingly calls it "a matter of national security," but Cinder suspects it's more serious than he's letting on.

Although eager to impress the prince, Cinder's intentions are derailed when her younger step-sister and only human friend, is infected with the fatal plague that's been devastating Earth for a decade. Blaming Cinder for her daughter's illness, Cinder's step-mother volunteers her body for plague research, an "honor" that no one has survived.

But it doesn't take long for the scientist todiscover something unusual about their new guinea pig. Something others would kill for.

I have never been a "sci-fi" reader and so when all my friends started reading and raving about this book I wasn't sure I would like it or not. Add in the fact that Cinder is a cyborg...for me that was an instant turn off. However...I LOVED this book! I love fairy tales and this rendition of Cinderella was so good! This may sound weird...but I think it made the story of Cinderella even better!

There were so many twists and turns in this book! Just when I thought it was going to slow down...something else would happen! One of the twists I figured out pretty early on...but I think that is how the author intended it.

The ending was so beyond what I could have imagined, and as always left me desperatly wanting more...NOW!

I gave this book 5 apples!!

Under the Never Sky

Since she'd been on the outside, she'd survived an Aether storm, she'd had a knife held to her throat, and she'd seen men murdered. This was worse.

Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland - known as the Death Shop - are slim. If the cannibals don't get her, the violent energy storms will. She's been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He's wild -a savage - and her only hope of staying alive.

A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile - everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria's help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.


I know I say this alot but...I LOVED this book! I read it in one sitting! There are lots of dystopian books out there with the same underlying theme and tone...survival. Under the Never SKy took this to the next level. What would you do if all your life you were told that to step outside would mean a death sentence? That your body won't be able to breath, there are savages and wild animals that will kill you if the Aether storms don't first. That's exactly what happens to Aria.

After a series of events that weren't even Aria's fault, she finds herself exiled from Reverie. Add to that she finds herself in the hands of a savage, who looks a little familiar, but is also blaming her for something she didn't do. All Aria wants to do is find out if her mother is safe, and she knows she is going to need help if she is to survive even for a little bit.

I loved Aria! At first she kind of bugged me with her whole attitude towards Perry and always calling him savage. He saved her life on numerous accounts and she was so rude...but I believe it had to start out that way so she could really see who Perry was. I loved that after all she went through she never complained. Watching her go from scared, weak and wondering when she was going to die, to strong and sure of herself was awesome!

Perry is a character that you can't help but like. As a Scire he can "scent" others emotions...I can't even begin to understand how hard that would be for him! A man of little words, his actions speak a lot louder and stronger! I loved watching him change his attitude towards Aria as well.

The supporting characters were amazing as well! Roar...you so can't help but love this man! Talon..a fighter who tries to be brave. Cinder...a boy who doesn't understand the power he holds only that it is deadly. And Liv...even though she was only mentioned...I can't wait to meet her in the next book! She is going to be a force to be reckoned with!

I loved the romance between Perry and Aria and how it started out slow, and then blossomed. It wasn't rushed...it wasn't forced...it was just perfect!

Many people said they felt the ending was predictable...I disagree! I thought there were parts that you could see coming, but there were some that left me totally awed! I can't wait for the next book! The last sentence of Under the Never Sky left me wanting it NOW!!

I borrowed this book from the library, but I will be buying it for my own library!

I gave this book 5 apples!

Scorpio Races

Some race to win.

Others race to survive.

It happens the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of thier water horses long enough to make it to the finish line.

Some riders live.

Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kenderick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

Puck Connelly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn't given her much of a choice. So she enters the competition - the first girl to ever do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

As I was starting this book I thought it was slow and akward, but I had so many friends who really liked it I didn't want to stop. Plus I really love Stiefvaters Shiver series...so I knew there was a good chance it would get better...boy was I right!

The characters in this book are amazing! Puck it the kind of girl I would love to be! Unafraid to stand up for what she believes in and so very brave! I can't imagine standing up for myself in the many ways that Puck did in this book. Not only that but she never gives up! When everyone told her to quit the race and what not...she stood her ground!

Sean is also an amazing character...who is hard to figure out! You know he has one love...Corr his water horse...but at first that is about all you can tell about him. I loved watching him change and finally give voice to his feelings for Puck! He was one of those "good guy" characters that even when/if he did something wrong, you wouldn't mind.

The romance in this story is slow and sweet, and it honestly made me physically ache! I waited and waited for that sweet kiss...and dang it took a long time, but it was so worth it! The relationship between Puck and Sean is so tender and based more on feelings of the heart than on looks. Puck's relationship with her brothers was another relationship I really enjoyed. There was lots of sibling rivalry, but lots of love as well!

I was really surprised by this book. I wasn't sure what to expect, but with the lore of kelpies, and other water horse type things I was enamored! This is a most definite must read!

I gave this book 4 apples!

Life Eternal

Renee Winters has changed. When she looks in the mirror, a beautiful girl woht an older, sadder face stares back. Her condition has doctors mystified, but Renee can never reveal the truth: she died last May and was brought back to life by the kiss of her undead soul mate, Dante Berlin.

Now her seperation from Dante becomes almost unbearable. His second life is close to an end, and each passing day means one fewer that she will spend with the boy who shares her soul.

Just when Renee has almost given up hope, she learns of the Nine Sisters - brillant scholars who, according to legend, found a way to cheat death. She can't shake the feeling that they are somehow connected to her dreams, strange visions that hint at a discovery so powerful, and so dangerous, that some will stop at nothing to protect it.

Renee thought she knew the truth about life and death. But there is a secret woven through history that holds the only hope for Dante and Renee. Unless they find answers soon, their time together is doomed to be cut short.


This book was good...I liked it...I didn't love it and here is why: I missed Dante! He was only in the book here and there! I thought it was great that he left Renee little messages in Latin where only she would think to look...but I missed him! Renee kind of got on my nerves! I get to the point where I can't stand whiny, no one likes me, I want my boyfriend characters so long. I know she was going through a rough time and Dante had to be in hiding...but still! And when your soul mate tells you to trust him...TRUST HIM!! How hard is that?!? GAH!! I admit that I loved her "visions"...I was so wrong about what and who they were about...it was an interesting twist to the story.

I loved the introduction of Noah to the story...every girl needs a Noah in her life. I just hope that what I think happened at the end...didn't! I also have to say I missed Gottfried Academy...it just wasn't the same at St.CLements. The story was good, but it seemed to drag on a little, with the exception of the end. Can you say KILLER CLIFFHANGER?!?! I don't know how we are supposed to wait to find out what happens...but guess we will!

I gave this book 3 apples!

Every Other Day

Every second day Kali D'Angelo is a normal sixteen year old girl. She goes to high school. She attends pep rallies (reluctantly). She's human.

And every other day...she's not.

Though she is not sure what she is on those days, Kali knows what she does - she hunts, traps, and kills demons, hellhounds, and other supernatural creatures that threaten her world. On those days, she is practically indestructible.

But when Kali notices a mark on a popular girl at school, she knows instantly that the girl is marked for death by one of those unwordly beings. And she knows she has only twenty-four hours to save her.

There is only one problem - it's the wrong twenty-four hours.

I loved Barnes' Raised by Wolves books, didn't really care for her Tatoo series, but none the less I was excited to read this book. Sadly I was not that impressed with this book. The story is good, the characters are great, but it just felt like there was something missing. I kind of felt like it was a cross between the Host, Sweet Venom, and a little of the MI series.

Kali is an extremely likable character, and she shows a lot of promise, but again something just felt off. There was a part of the book too that I didn't really see as necessary at all...in fact...it broke my heart!

I do want to see what happens next to Kali and Zev and the rest of the kids...and monsters...but I may not be in a huge hurry to read it!

I gave this book 3 apples!