bandherbooks's Reviews (3.65k)

Diana and Matthew have time-walked back to the present, hoping Diana has learned enough about her witch powers to find and solve the secrets of elusive text, Ashmole 782.


Chock full of history and science that is blended expertly with the fantastic, The Book of Life is everything you could hope for in a series finale. Matthew and Diana's quest will stop your heart, challenge your mind, and leave you feeling fully satisfied when some shocking revelations are finally made clear.

**Reviewed from an ARC received from www.netgalley.com. Thank you!

Full review to come later.

Ezra thought he had it all until a car accident smashed his knee and ended his varsity tennis career. His status as his high school's golden boy now done, Ezra finds himself drawn into a new world of geeks and misfits, a world that may actually help him start living his life instead of just existing in it. It doesn't hurt that new girl Cassidy is there to spark him into questioning his former life. But, will their budding relationship leave him just as broken as that car accident?

This book was a wonderful stand-alone contemporary. Very fresh, surprising, and never cliche. Ezra's struggle to find a place and himself at first irked me. Oh the poor rich boy can't play tennis anymore, but I soon fell in love with him as he awkwardly and sweetly found his way.

I especially loved the supporting cast of friends Ezra re-discovered, especially awesome Toby, the severed-head catching crazy guy. Love him. Not to mention the sixteen year old standard poodle who has Great Gatsby-esque inner dialogue. Too cute.

As for the romance aspect, there was the proper amount of sexy-time that felt authentically showed the male POV (as far as I know) but still tasteful enough to keep it YA. I also was totally shocked at the ending, almost a classic "Looking for Alaska" moment there. Wow. However it made me feel though, it was totally the right way to go. Bravo!

Fun cozy mystery set in late 1800's Egypt. Characters and setting (EGYPT! ARCHAEOLOGY!) are definitely the stars, as the mystery itself wasn't too mysterious in this first book.

Sweet, thought-provoking East Coast island romance. At first I thought this was too similar to a Sarah Dessen story I recently read, but then it took many surprising turns that kept me on my toes.

Haunting and poignant tale of WWI, but a bit removed from action for my tastes. A lot of thinking and writing, not a lot of doing. Then that ending. Sniffles.

**Actual Rating - 4.5 stars

Katie is a hot-shot chef at the highly successful restaurant Seconds (which she also helped open), but wants more, especially her very own restaurant. After a bad kitchen accident sends one of the young waitresses of Seconds to the hospital, Katie finds a cryptic notebook and a magic mushroom that promises to fix mistakes (if you follow the rules). Little does greedy Katie know that she will soon find herself in a classic reality altering debacle. Can changing the past really brighten your future? Probably not.

LOVED the artwork and coloring in this graphic novel. Katie is a short, feisty, and awesomely coiffed leading lady. I love that she is kind of a jerk, and her snarky humor really works for me. I only downgraded this a bit because the ending was just a bit too neat for me. Highly recommend.

I think Emily Carroll can see into people's nightmares, or if these are her own I feel profoundly bad for her. These short creepy tales left me feeling anxious and unsettled (as well written horror should), and the artwork, while gorgeous, will haunt me (especially the art in "The Nesting Place").

I loved the use of primary colors interspersed with start whites and blacks, and while the stories were all separate the color palette and sense of time moving forward tied them together beautifully. The first tale felt medieval, and the last like you were in the 1900s.

This graphic novel is a feast for the eyes and the senses, from the wonderfully textured cover, the glossy pages, and the saturated colors. I almost felt pervy as I kept stroking the cover and pages, but I guess that goes with the whole creepy feel.

Bravo.

I was mostly interested in reading The Vanishing Season because of its setting (Door County, WI), but ultimately this book really couldn't decide what it wanted to be. There was a ghost, a serial killer, and dead girls, but they all played such a minor and almost non-consequential role to real meat of this tale, the relationship between Liam, Maggie, and Pauline. I think this book should have focused on being a contemporary romance and it really would have sung.

Pauline is the girl you want to hate. She's beyond beautiful, wild, and NICE. She wants to be your friend, genuinely, even when she realizes you want the boy who has been in love with her for her entire life, because she isn't sure she even wants him. Maggie recognizes Pauline's sincere honesty and niceness, even as she's jealous and makes a go with Liam when Pauline has to leave town. And when Pauline returns, can Maggie and Liam make it?

Again, great romance, terrible mystery (and unnecessary mystery).

I read this based on a recommended reading list of New Adult titles to better acquaint myself with this developing genre...and it failed for me on many fronts. I gave it 2 stars because I did read through but I don't understand why this was included on a "must read" list. I don't connect well with "insta-love" stories and I'm also not a fan of older man with money allows young (poor) girl to strive for her dreams (with his money). Basically, not really for me.