Offred is a handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, which was once a part of America. As a handmaid, her job consists of going outside once a day to shop for food for the home of her Commander, his wife, and the two Marthas, who are the women who clean and cook for the Commander and his wife. When she does this chore she must wait for another handmaid as they are only allowed to walk in groups of two, and they walk to town where the signs are pictures now instead of words. Women are no longer allowed to read. Offred and her handmaid companions pay for their food by way of tokens, because money is no longer valid in Gilead and women are no longer allowed to have money or make money of their own.

As Offred and her walking companion go home they walk by The Wall, a place were they see the dead bodies of religious priests, people caught engaging in love affairs, and dissents. When Offred returns home she rests until the next days journey to town. Offred and the other handmaids are not allowed to drink, smoke, consume caffeine, or engage in excessive extracurricular activities, because it is thought those would effect their health. They are also not allowed to commit suicide and so their rooms have no glass in them or anything that could be turned into a blade. Baths and toliet times are also regulated.

The handmaids are to undergo health screenings once a month to see if they are pregnant and to make sure they are healthy. The doctors sometimes make offers of sex to the women out of pity. Why? Because the handmaids have an important function in Gilead. They are the fertile few who will help reverse the declining birth rates that effect Gilead. They are to participate in a ceremony each month in which the handmaids lie on their backs between the legs of their Commander's wife while the Commander tries to impregnate his handmaid. This is the reason the handmaids are highly valued, they have viable ovaries and are Gilead's only hope for children. If a handmaid gets pregnant and gives birth, there is a chance the child could be deformed or imperfect. This happens fairly often. If a handmaid is able to give birth they will never risk being sent to The Colonies, a place where people are either forced to clear away the radioactive waste or forced to farm for Gilead.

Offred remembers the time before when she went to college and had a job. She made money on her own, had unlimited access to knowledge and was allowed to smoke, drink, and consume caffeine. She remembers her husband, Luke, and their daughter. She remembers making love with Luke and giving her daughter baths. She especially remembers the day her daughter was taken from her and Luke disappeared. The life she had before is gone now and all she is left with are the memories.

The book, especially at the beginning, mainly focuses on Offred's thoughts and memories. At times it is hard to discern between what is present and what is past. It is also hard to tell what is true and what is made up in her mind, as at times she admits she doesn't remember what happened and what she made up in her mind. As discovered in the end, Offred used fake names throughout the book and didn't speak her own name. The book is presented as a memoir and in the end you leave the book not knowing much more than what you knew going into the book. Offred is a vague, unreliable protagonist and is very scattered at times in her writing.

I loved how Offred presented her story as a back and forth narrative between the present and the past and her hope for the future, but I had issues as her as a protagonist. She did something that not a lot of protagonists in modern books do: she gave up. She didn't fight back or try to escape. She accepted her position and only mildly disobeyed, and even that disobedience was at the insistence of the Commander and/or his wife. The book was also depressing and offered little hope for a good outcome, as I believe Offred died at the end of the novel. This book would definitely not be something I would recommend reading in one sitting. I tried and ended up so depressed I had to stop reading.

Besides those issues, I wholeheartedly believe this book is something that needs to be read, especially in today's time. No matter your views on the future of America, the important aspect of this book is what could happen if people's rights were taken away, something that could happen at any moment either today or 100 years in the future. It's important to read books like these in order to be remembered that our rights can be taken away as easily as they were given to us and that's something all people should be weary of.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was in no way influenced by this arrangement.

The book is set in present time. We are not alone in the world. There are people who are called Soul Guardians who live on an earth-like planet, seemingly just behind a veil that we as humans cannot see. Soul Guardians were once humans, but after some reincarnations the souls have moved on from Earth to this new land. They are born and live as a human will, except they have incredible abilities. Each person on this world possesses an unique ability whether it be healing or talking to animals. Their gifts help them discover a profession they are best suited for and they work like humans do; however, at night they use their other ability to help humans out. They all answer the call of humans' struggling souls on Earth and give them strength, guidance, reassurance, etc. This is not the case for Lilly Flights though. She used live on this peaceful world doing her duties until one night she is pulled to an intriguing green-eyed boy named Jay. Their connection is different than any other she has encountered as a Soul Guardian, she feels Jay is a familiar to her in some way. Besides that, other strange things happen in Lilly's life. She starts having realistic flashbacks of her past life, which are causing strange new feelings and emotions. Her world is also plagued by the strange appearances of many different animals and the strange deaths of some too.

This book is an adult fantasy romance story. The story changes POV between the three main characters, Lilly, Jay, and Christian. This story has a completely new concept which I don't believe has ever been wrote about before, because these characters (except Jay) are not angels, they're human-like beings that are born, live, and die as we do. The beginning of the story took me by complete surprise. I was thrust into the action very quickly. While I wouldn't normally like this in a story, I did like how the author wrote the beginning scene. The scene begins with Lilly feeling a ton of emotions and feeling like she was drowning, which the author makes the reader feel as well because of how sudden the action occurs. You can tell from the very beginning how the author seems to have a strength for setting up stories and descriptions of the environment and the characters. The story felt very natural and nothing felt rushed. The story also seemed to develop on it's own. The transitions into new areas or when characters or things were discussed in the story, it was very fluid. The dialogue was also on point. There were a few little hiccups where I had to go back and reread it in order to imagine which character was speaking, but for the most part the dialogue went very smooth. The only slight criticism I have is that I'm not one for love triangles. While this is normally a thorn in my side when I read books with love triangles, it didn't bother me that much in this story. I really don't have any other complaints.

I completely devoured this book in one day, which is something I only do when I'm extremely interested in a story. I can count the number of books I've done this with on two hands. This book had everything I loved in a story and things I didn't know I loved: mystery, romance, and fantasy. I was left with more questions than I had going into the story: why are the animals dying and appearing in this world? Do children have the same abilities as adult Soul Guardians? When do the children's powers come in? and a bunch of other questions I will not post in this review due to spoilers. Overall, this book was freaking amazing. This author is an amazingly sweet woman as well. Please give this book a read because this series has the power to become the next Mortal Instruments in my opinion.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was in no way influenced by this arrangement.

Ari is an eighteen year old young woman living on an Greek island who has one constant thought running through her brain: "Today is not the day I die". She's a stunt woman and has been training hard for her first movie shoot that is taking place right in her hometown. Wes is a twenty-one year old British actor. He started acting when he was young, skyrocketed to fame very quickly, and is used to getting whatever he wants in the world. He's on the Grecian island to film a Pride and Prejudice adaptation. When Ari has a near fatal accident a day before filming is set to start, she has to face the inevitable reality that will forever intertwine Ari and Wes forever.

The book is a YA romantic parody of the classic Pride and Prejudice. I quite enjoyed that not only was the book a parody of the famous classic, but the movie the two mains were to be filming was a Pride and Prejudice parody as well. I could more accurately describe the book as a mix of Pride and Prejudice, The Fault in Our Stars, a dash of If I Stay/Where She Went, and sprinkling of Hamlet. The book was very well crafted and this normally non-romantic girl read over 300 pages of this book in one night. If that doesn't describe how much I enjoyed the book, I don't know what will. The characters are well written for the most part and the dialogue and actions between them was natural, again for the most part. The author did an excellent job of setting up the story and describing each scene so perfectly I felt I was watching a movie instead of reading a book. While I did greatly enjoy the book I did have a few critiques about it. I felt really uneasy with Ari a lot of time. She was super annoying with her wishy-washy personality and I kind of expected this stunt girl to be a bit tougher and bolder. While my opinion of her relaxed towards the middle of the novel I generally felt angered towards her through a lot of the novel. I think that's more of a personality difference between me and the character. I also felt that the characters fell in love way too quickly with one another. I believe that the story at the beginning could have been stretched a bit further. Also, at the beginning of my journey with this novel, I hated Wes. I realize he was the Darcy character, but in my one (yes, sorry classic lovers, I've only read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies before this other P&P parody) other P&P book I also hated Darcy. Both of those opinions later changed as the story went on, so this is more of a general warning to other readers: you will hate Wes in the beginning and then fall in love with him hard and fast much like Ari did. I also felt that this novel could have ended earlier. I felt the ending was dragged out and there were four or five perfect ending points that were prolonged for Ari to return to the character she once was. I felt Ari's story arc could have been completed earlier.

Overall I greatly enjoyed the novel. The novel does an excellent job of sucker punching you in the face with feels and making you rethink life itself. Trust me, once you read this epic romance, you'll be saying to yourself "today is not the day I die" and wishing for a hot pirate to come save you.

Rating: 5/5

Genre: YA Contemporary

Recommended Age: 16+

Favorite Quote: "That along with love comes other four-letter words. Like hate, obviously. And loss. And gain. And most importantly, grow."

Sammie Davis, not the entertainer, used to have a good life. She considers herself an average girl, but she lived in a middle-class home with her mother, father, and her dog Moxie. Then, her life hit a rough patch. Her parents decide to go through a trial separation. Sammie soon finds herself whisked away to New York City in a cramped Manhattan apartment while her father is enjoying freedom in California. Not only has her whole life been shaken and she has started getting anxiety from the whole ordeal, she doesn't like how she physically looks, she's never had a boyfriend, and her gorgeous best friend uses her as a therapist. As Sammie's summer drags on, she struggles to deal with the separation and dealing with her mother who is, for lack of a better word, irresponsible. This is the story about how Sammie learns to deal with this rocky patch in her life and how she comes to understand that along with love come other four-letter words: hate, loss, gain... and grow.

When I first stumbled across this book I was about 15. I found it at a local used bookstore and I bought it because I thought the title was pretty cool. Since I have the strangest system for choosing books, this book sat on my shelf for... well until yesterday. I was sure I was going to DNF this book before I even started it because I looked at it and thought the book was too young for me now. I pushed myself to start it though and I'm so glad I did. This book is a little like Judy Blume's controversial book "Forever". It's a coming of age book that is honest about sex and growing up. While the main character does not have sex, it is discussed in passing between her and her friend Kitty, who is not a virgin anymore. The book also offers a very realistic take on how a teenage girl deals with the events like Sammie has to go through. A lot of times the response is to bottle up the emotions and explode later on. The author crafted beautiful characters and a beautiful story. You come to care for every character in the story, even the characters you will hate.

My only complaint about the book is that it was a fast read and the story leaves many unanswered questions... but the story is about life and in life we will always have unanswered questions. The book also may not be suitable for many younger audiences based on the content and based on parent's differing opinions about what should be and shouldn't be available to teenagers. I find the book to be a must-read for any teen and any adult (as the lessons taught in this book are ones we need to be reminded of time and time again throughout our life). However, if you're a minor, then have your parents review this book before getting in trouble please. My recommended age was based off of my own personal experience of being gifted Forever at 16 years old.

Rating: 4.5/5

Genre: Fantasy

Recommended Age: 13+

Favorite Quote: "A Forest's life is beyond what the normal, everyday eye can see. In fact, the regular goings-on of a particularly enchanted Forest are completely lost on a typical humans perception. But the energies of these Forests can be felt by all who stumble into them, whether by mistake or for a purpose."

I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was in no way influenced by this arrangement.

The Forest has a system. There are higher spirits and under spirits. The higher spirits bring love and peace to the forest whereas the under spirits bring destruction and loss. When a higher spirit falls from grace and becomes corrupted by an under spirit and the Yew, the highest spirit, is placed into a deep sleep, the corruption of the Forest begins. This change is sensed by all in the Forest, but King Alston, ruler of the Nymph Kingdom, refuses to take action. The future of the Forest Kingdoms falls to Narena, her younger brother Nyxen, their warrior friend Kellen, and a sage salamander named Hawthorne, all of whom must venture through the darkest part of the Forest to reach Lapris Mountain where the Yew sleeps. They must find a way to wake the Yew and defeat the corruption... Or die trying.

Ever since I was little I had read stories about fairies and enchanted Forests, but never about the nymphs. This story takes place from the perspective of nymphs and starts at the downfall of the Forest, which made this story very unique... And I loved every second of it. The corruption and destruction of the Forest has been occuring for years at the time the story begins and it's up to a special group of nymphs to restore balance to the Forest. And I'm not sure if the author intended it, but the book mentions how blind the nymphs were to the obvious downfall of the Forest because their ruler refused to acknowledge what the other kingdoms could see. I felt that this tidbit gave the book a dystopian vibe in a way, which I loved. I also loved the way the characters interacted with each other and how the story makes you think about the current state of our own forests because we are contributing to the forests destruction as much as the fallen higher spirit was.

The only (selfish) complaint I have about the book was that I felt the story was too short. I wanted more back story on all of the characters and the events that were going on and at times I wanted the story to slow down a bit so it could focus on the interaction between the characters and surroundings. I was sad to finish this short book (it's only 169 pages long). I feel the author could easily expand the story and I hope to read more about Narena, Nyxen, Kellen, and the others in the next book (please say there is another book coming out T. Damon?). This book was truly magical and I loved every second of it. Definitely one I will reread in the future.