This book is so unique. It's a mermaid story and a dystopian all in one. Plus there are really cool powers involved. This book has it all, but it never seems like too much. The story all fits together really nicely. I read this book in one sitting- I was that absorbed in the book.

Mira was pretty cool. I thought she handled everything so well. If I were that noticeably different than all the people in my community, it would be hard. It probably helped having a friend like Niren though. He is the definition of loyalty, and we all know how much I love my loyal characters! He was so sweet, and cute when he was trying to get Mira's attention.

I would have liked a little more character development on some of the secondary characters. There were probably close to 10 main players in the book, but only Mira and Niren were really fleshed out. The others were a little flat at times. They were likable though and they played pretty good roles in the story, I just would have liked to get to know them a little better.

The story really picks up when Mira goes into the mainland in search of something. She gets a dose of harsh reality of what the world is really like, and of course, being the kick butt heroine that she is, she just has to try and save the day. The Mers has tons of action and plot twists to keep you on the edge of your seat. And then when some powers start to show up in the book, it gets super cool! I really enjoyed the story. I can't wait to see what is going to happen next!

Hooked is such a believable and real book. Nothing is sugar coated, nothing is too far of a stretch. It is all real life, and that is what I enjoyed most about it. I am not a huge fan of teenage pregnancy so I wasn't sure how much I was going to love Hooked, but Catherine Greenman does not try to glamorize pregnancy. But what she does accomplish is paint a very accurate picture of the situation and how it affects everyone. Hooked is the story of not just Thea and Will, but of their whole families.

Thea is a likable enough character. I went into the story ready to dislike Thea. I know that is awful, but I imagined her to just be one of those people that thinks pregnancy would never happen, so they don't take any kind of precaution against it. But that was not Thea at all. She was so strong, and moral and darn it, she even crocheted! She was adorable and I ended up really liking her.

Will was just kind of meh, for me. I was kind of indifferent to him, even before Thea got pregnant. I couldn't really see the appeal of him at all. And then after Ian was born, Will just started going downhill in my eyes. I am still undecided on my final verdict as far as he goes.

The real selling point for Hooked is the writing. It's so wonderfully written, that you just can't help but want to read more and more. Catherine does a great job describing everything, and she is awesome at developing her characters subtly. She doesn't just come right out and say every thought on every characters minds, she plays around with their body language and subtle cues to help get at what their feelings are, and I loved that so much! I think that is the mark of great writing, and Catherine has it down.

Hooked also has a really satisfying ending. Not everything is wrapped up, but hey that is real life. Things can't always be neatly wrapped up at the end of the day. Thea and Will and Ians journey is still ongoing, but I the ending of Hooked was just perfect. Any fan of contemporary and realistic fiction will really enjoy Hooked.

I really really loved this book! I was so excited while I was reading it because I kept liking it more and more. I have been in a so so reading slump. Lots of 2 and 3 star books that I either didn't enjoy or liked but didn't love. It kind of puts you in a weird mood. I want to be excited about the books that I read, and Vala: Agendas did that for me! Once I picked it up I could not put it down. I actually had dinner plans and had to stop reading around 1/4 way through the book, and all through dinner I was just thinking about what was going to happen next. I think I may have even eaten a little faster.

Cheyenne is a cool character, I love that she interacts with plants. There are so many freaking secrets in this book, I don't even know where to start. It seems like everyone has not one, but multiple secrets- it is hard to keep them all straight. I am dying to know about the secrets surrounding Denver the most! We don't even know what he is! I know it must be driving Cheyenne crazy but she handles it all really well. Probably better than I would be. I know I would be demanding answers. (I hate not knowing things)

Denver is the mysterious, bad boy type and normally that is not my thing, but there is just something about him. I like that Cheyenne acknowledged that he was a bad boy and she normally did not go for that, but she couldn't help herself sometimes when Denver is involved. I am dying to know more about his backstory and I hope it is a real focus in the second book.

The twins Anj and Des are pretty cool, but when Cheyenne's dad said she didn't trust the seer, I was so intrigued. I did not doubt either of them for a second. I am so interested to see if anything is going to happen with them. They seem really genuine, so I would be really sad if that is not the case- but I guess we will find out soon enough.

I really liked that there are still more than a few unanswered questions at the end of the book. It is giving me something to look forward to for the next book. I think Vala Agendas sets up the story really well for an awesome series! I can't wait for the next book to come out. I'm really excited for it! Lot's of great things are to come!

This is an intense book! In a good way. A lot is going on, and there is a lot to catch your interest. First there is Airel and you have no idea what is happening to her for most of the book. Then there is a killer, possibly two, a stalker, a guy, and a whole lotta mystery. Mix in a secondary story that goes back thousands of years and you have one heck of a book.

One of the first things I noticed about this book is that it's a good bit longer than most of the books I have been reading lately. It's about 425 pages, and most of the books I have been reading in the past few months have been right around the 300 page mark or shorter. So it was nice to mix in a longer book. You can really get a lot more detail in those extra 100 pages. And a lot of unanswered questions. I both loved, and hated the amount of unanswered questions in this book. The mystery surrounding Airel was awesome and I loved reading along, trying to find out what was going on, but so much was left up in the air for so long that I started to get frustrated at how little had been revealed to the readers, even up to the half way point of the book. After you get about half way done, you start to get some answers but 220 pages is a long time to wait.

I loved Airel. I thought she was the cutest little thing. She is smart and strong and you just can't help but root for her. I liked Michael too, even though I felt like their romance was a bit cheesy at parts. It wasn't exactly insta love, but it was not too far off. Still, there is just something about the two of them that I responded positively to.

I will admit that there were a few points in the book where I was confused. There are multiple new "guys" introduced and a few times I got them mixed up. Once I got the hang of how the story was shifting back and forth between the different people and places and fell into a better reading pattern and really started enjoying the story. The story of Airel is really great, and a worth while read. I thought they focused a little too much on the past, but maybe that is just because I don't love long battle scenes. The story is well written and very well developed, and other than a few confusing moments I really really liked it! I can't wait to see what is going to happen next in book 2, Michael. The ending of this book certainly shocked me, so I am really interested to see were we go from here.