samantha_randolph's Reviews (1.59k)

Sunshine tells the story of a girl who isn't your typical teenager. To begin with, she's allergic to the sun, not exactly a normal allergy. She also has a very haunted past that nearly moved me to tears; it was so realistic. She meets a guy named Myles, and they slowly become friends, but but have some...issues the other doesn't know about.
It took me a few chapters to get warmed up to this book. At first, I didn't like Sunshine much (Sunshine is the main character's nickname). I thought she had an iceberg on her shoulder that really needed to come off. But as the story progressed, my eyes were really opened to her. I was shocked at the real depth of her character, as well as the characters around her. Certain parts of the book did vaguely, but only vaguely, remind me of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight, but Sunshine is nothing like Bella and Myles is nothing like Edward. While this book does have a great paranormal element, the refreshing and special part of this book was its concentration on real life and real issues. The character development was phenomenal. While I was unsure of Sunshine at first, she had me wanting to be one of friends by the end.
The pacing of this book isn't bad. It's not slow in the beginning, but it definitely does keep a steady growing pace throughout the story. There are some nice action scenes, mysteries to keep you on your toes, and a sweet romance that all make me want to read more of these characters.
I would recommend this to readers who like a YA story with paranormal elements and a solid plot with depth.

Morningside is the story of a woman in the 20s who accidentally gets turned into a vampire and her struggle to accept not only her change of life as a vampire, but also her life as an abnormal vampire.
After finishing this book, I have a lot of mixed thoughts on it. The writing is very well done, and since page 1, I felt deep in the story. However, while I love fast paced books, I felt this one was too fast paced. I had a little trouble keeping up in some parts, because the story shifted so quickly.
I enjoyed the suspense and mystery throughout, but I wish that the main male lead Liam hadn't been so much of a mystery. Yes, we do get a fabulous background story about half way through, but I still don't know his real feelings for the main character, Ava, if he has any.
I really hope this isn't a stand alone book, because if it is, I will be really let down by the ending. I feel like so much was left unsaid and questioned, and I don't understand so many things about Ava and what's going on with her.
This book did do a great job of making you feel engrossed in this story, and the beginning of it went very smoothly. The later parts of the plot just had me wanting a little more. I would recommend it to people who enjoy different takes on vampires, especially those who may be looking for something outside the YA realm (although the content is fine for probably 15 or 16 +).

The Blemished is the story of a girl named Mina who is Blemished: imperfect, not a standard beauty, and not worthy of reproduction. As a "Blem", it is her job to attend school to become a maid, a house worker, or some other low class occupation serving the Clones. The Clones are the beautiful, the literally cloned from people who had perfect features. While Mina may not like the system, she adheres to it in order to blend in, because she has a very big secret: she has telekinesis. When she gets angry, objects move involuntary around her. When she channels her anger, things can get dangerous. In the midst of hiding her secret, she makes a new friend, Angela, with a step brother, Daniel, she can't help feeling drawn towards. At least another Blemished's feelings are normal, the GEM (Clone) Sebastian should not be expressing the emotions towards her he is.
I absolutely loved this book. I loved the plot, the characters, the voice of the author, etc. I couldn't stop reading this, and I'm so glad I had the second book, The Vanished, because after this ending, you will be dying for more.
For anyone who loves the YA dystopia world or just loves fast paced stories with a unique idea, I definitely would recommend this book. As a little side note, the cover is great, too!

Between the Moon and Shine is the story of boy/girl twins who are staying with their grandmother for a while. While they are there, mysterious rumors float around about a list of people who disappeared. Some of these rumors even hint that the supernatural may be involved...
I thought this was a pretty good book. I liked the characters a lot, and I thought the use of pixies/fairies was very nice, and not what you see a lot. The book kept a nice pace. It wasn't too fast, but it wasn't slow either. It definitely picked up about halfway through the book.
What really kept this from being great to me was the ending. I won't say how it ends, but it felt extremely abrupt and unresolved. I know some authors like to leave room for interpretation, but I felt this ending was almost too open ended. It just didn't seem to go in a logical direction. If there is a sequel to this then that could change things, but I'm not sure what the sequel would exactly contain.
Overall, I did enjoy it. I loved the lead romance, and the major characters were very charming. It's definitely worth the read.

Dahlia tells the story of a young woman named, you guessed it, Dahlia. She has been through foster home after foster home, but now that she has been in her current one for 6 months, she is being to feel like things might be normal. That is, until she starts feeling watched all the time, and a strange young man with green eyes won't leave her alone.
I liked the spin on vampires and fallen angels in this story. I've read things sort of like it before, but it still had unique elements to make its own. It had a good pacing to it. It wasn't too fast or too slow. Like a lot of books, it picked up a lot after the first half.
What I didn't like so much were the characters. Dahlia seemed very predictable and not much of a fighter like you would expect. I thought her romantic relationship was unrealistic. The two characters barely knew each other. There just weren't any scenes where they really bonded normally. Also, at the beginning, it seemed like her foster brother was interested in her. In the first scene, he is checking her out very obviously. I was really surprised when it suddenly switched to them just having a normal foster brother-sister relationship.
I would give this 3 stars, overall.

Fallen Tears is sort of a side story/prequel to the 2nd book about one of the upcoming characters in the series, Rowan.
I liked this book more than the first I think. Rowan is very different from Dahlia in personality, though they both don't have their parents. This is a good sized novella and a very quick read. I liked seeing who this Rowan character is. She has a very tragic story, and you really start to feel for her and wish things had gone better.
What kept me from giving it more stars was Rowan's relationship with her sort of self-adopted "father". For so long, it makes it seem like they have a strong father-daughter type bond, but then it seemed to seriously go towards to something more like a romantic bond. I don't know; it just seemed an odd transition when the first bond was captured so well. When Rowan meets another guy who might be a potential love interest, I was surprised at how quickly she got attached to him. I'm not sure she is going to come across in the next Blood Crave book.
If you liked Dahlia, I would definitely recommend this book to you. It does a great job on the mysterious Rowan's background.

Dissever was an interesting read. I think I liked it. I think. The problem I had with this book was that I was very confused through really the whole book. I don't think the Akori were really explained. Even after finishing the story, I'm not really sure what they are, what they do, why Addy has human friends who know about everything, and what the Overseer actually is. It was all just a big ball of confusion for me.
Normally, I would give a 1 star to a book that I couldn't understand. However, the plot was so gripping and intense that I had to give it better than that. I enjoyed the plot so much, but it also added to my frustration with not understanding who these people are. If they had been better explained, I think I would have enjoyed the plot a lot more.
The characters...some were better than others. I loved Gage and liked Addy, but I didn't really grasp their relationship. In fact, they really didn't talk much about what was going on between them. I got the care they had for each other, but their random cuddle times just puzzled me. I know it was new for them, but I think if they were basically willing to die for the other, they should have had a "what is this, where is this going" talk at some point. Then her "friend" Tanner, while I liked him by himself, also confused me. Addy and Gage have something going on, but there are on and off hints that maybe Addy has feelings for Tanner. The relationships just weren't well displayed, though the characters their selves were very nice.
The writing was good. It was smooth and flowed nicely. It wasn't hard to get through, and it had a nice, semi-fast pace.
If things were explained better, this could definitely be a 4 or 5 star book, but I just can't shake this feeling of not actually knowing anything about this world.

I have mixed feelings about this book. Most aspects of it were either on the love it side or the did not like that at all side.
What I loved:
I loved, absolutely loved, the world created in this book. The fairy godmother realm and concept of how they operate was so original and fantastic. It was so great to learn more about it, and I think the author did a wonderful job of displaying the little facts about the world in a very subtle and interesting way. I think the world in this book was my absolute favorite part of this book.
The plot in this book flowed smoothly, though it was a longer length of plot, especially for one that is already going to be a series. But still, the transitions were well done and logical for the most part.
Things I did not like:
As far as personality goes, I did not like Agent Thunder's. I thought at the beginning, her sarcastic attitude was great and funny, but she gets extremely cruel in parts for no real reason. I don't mean in parts with the leprechaun, but in more "normal" situations when she was just plain mean, I kind of thought someone needed to just slap her and teach her common courtesy.
I feel like the sexuality in this book was way over done. Nearly every encounter with a male, it's either talking about how "sexy" Agent Thunder is or how "sexy" the male is. I had to skip over this after a while because it just kept coming, and it seemed very repetitive. I know the main characters are supposed to be older teenagers (17 and up), but it really pushes the boundaries for the young adult novel. It's not that there are erotica scenes necessarily, but the sexual situations are very extreme in the dialogue and descriptions and sensuality of it. I would not recommend it for under 16. If this is intended for more new adult/adult, then it's not pushing the boundary, but it's still emphasized way too much. I get they are attractive and are attracted to each other.
Minor things I didn't like, but still feel the need to point out are the use of "fairy dust" and "bloody". I thought it was cute at first when they kept saying it, but one of those words started being said almost, if not always, on every page.
Overall, I just have mixed feelings. If the world and plot in this book weren't so good, then I wouldn't like this book. However, they truly were exceptional, and I would really consider reading the sequel just to get more of that. However, the issues I didn't like, I really didn't like. So, I think I will settle for 3 stars on this.