4.5 stars

Prodigy was an impressive second book in the Legend series. The whole world was really opened up and explored in this addition. The first book, I feel like, was more character based, we got to know June and Day and their background stories, what them tick, etc. We also got a feel for some of the flaws in the totalitarian government that ruled over them. In Prodigy that whole system was blown wide open for us. We got to see the whole picture, where it originated, why it was the way it was, and the added bonus of an even bigger picture.

This book picked up right where Legend left off. Day and June were together and had just escaped from the government and the execution of Day's older brother. There was some definite unspoken tension between the two. Which ultimately does come to a head throughout the story. I loved the interactions between these two! They clearly had strong feelings for each other, but amidst all the crazy stuff they had going on in the present and the terrible things that had happened in the previous book, there was a lot of trepidation and unease between the two when it came to where they stood with each other, especially romantically. There was a little bit of that romance here, but I really appreciate that it wasn't the epicenter of the story. They still were trying to figure out if they could fully even trust the other, not to mention all the other people they were surrounded by.

After June and Day join the Patriots, they get caught up in their scheme to over throw the Republic with them. We get to meet back up with Tess, and Kaede, who are both working with the Patriots. While I wasn't impressed with Kaede in the first book, and really through much of this one, she surprised me maybe more than anyone by the end of this book. I appreciate that Tess was a girl growing up quickly, but I really found how jealous and focused on Day and June's relationship she was really off putting here. There was so much more important stuff going on that it only did the opposite of show me she was growing up, it made me think she was still very childish. But then again, she is a child. I guess it was hard to keep that fact at the fore front of your mind when you have all the other characters that are essentially children as well, but they definitely don't carry on as such.

We also got to meet some new characters in Prodigy. I for one liked Anden right away, even though I wasn't necessarily convinced that he was what he was claiming to be either. This whole book was centered around that though. You spent the entire time not sure who to trust, whether it be the Republic, the Patriots, the Colonies, or each individual character. There were double agents, secret cabals, backstabbers, liars, sneaks, and no one really knew had noble intentions and who did not. I loved this aspect of the story, it kept you on your toes and completely engulfed from beginning to end.

And oh what an ending that was. I can't say I saw that coming. It kind of floored me. You are an evil genius Marie Lu, EVIL GENUIS! I can't even begin to imagine what the hell is going to happen in the next book, Champion. Seriously, I have no clue how things are going to work out, or even if they will. This author is clearly not afraid to take risks and devastate her readers when she wants to. I will forgive her though, because it was brilliant. I love a good surprise twist, and the series seems to be riddled with them. I can't wait to see how things play out.

Not quite sure how I am feeling after reading, Stolen. Maybe like I could be possibly suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. Yeah. Confused for sure. My final thoughts are probably as perplexing as Gemma's were by the end. She really said it best herself...

"I know Ty did the wrong thing," I interrupted quietly. And I know that, didn't I? But it was almost as if a part of me didn't want to believe her. A part of me understood why you'd done it, too. And it's hard to hate someone once you understand them. I felt so mixed up."

The way this book was written, as Gemma's letter to Ty (her captor, was very unique. It was nothing more and nothing less than a walk through of what she felt day by day of her confinement with Ty. The author did a great job, I thought, putting you in Gemma's shoes this way. I found myself having conflicting feelings about Ty pretty much as Lucy did.

Stolen was also beautifully written. The way she described the threateningly marvelous Australian outback, could have been a love story in itself. I loved the different ways that the setting was repeatedly integrated into the characters themselves. One of my favorite examples of this was the following....

"You told me once of the plants that lie dormant through the drought, that wait, half-dead, deep in the earth. The plants that wait for the rain. You said they'd wait for years, if they had to; that they'd almost kill themselves before they grew again. But as soon as those first drops of water fall, those plants begin to stretch and spread their roots. They travel up through the soil and sand to reach the surface. There's a chance for them again. One day they'll let you out of that dry, empty cell. You'll return to the Separates, and you'll feel the rain once more. And you'll grow straight, this time, toward this sunlight. I know you will."

I will admit that there are very long drawn out parts of the description of this desolate setting. It did seem like overkill a little, but then again what the hell else out there was there for her to do but take in her surroundings.

Ty had such a difficult life, it was hard not to sympathize with him. But you still couldn't excuse his actions. That's where the confusion sets in. While you could kind of understand his thinking, you still couldn't justify his actions with Gemma.

I would have liked to see how Gemma fared later on after her return home. If she still felt about Ty, and her abduction as she did upon her initial return home. It would have been interesting to see both her and Ty later down the road and see if anything had changed. Either way this was definitely a good look into the physiological effects of being abducted and a deeper look into Stockholm Syndrome.

Whoa. I don't think I was prepared for how dark this book was. I admittedly went into this one blind though. My news feed on pretty much every social media site I am on was bombarded with people praising this book left and right. So I was excited to get this one, and didn't want to ruin it with reading all about it from other people. I'm glad I didn't, because I was surprised by what I got. I honestly thought this was a NA book, but after reading it I don't think that's how I would classify it at all. This was a non-stop emotional rollercoaster, shrouded in mystery.

Everything about this story and it's characters drew you in, caged you up, and then slowly unraveled, leaving you helpless but to keep guessing at what was going to happen next, all the while setting the tone as helpless. I have to give credit to an author that can write a character like Senna, she wasn't a likeable person, yet through learning more and more about her and her plight, you still couldn't help but to feel for her and ultimately hope that things get better in her life.
"It's a painful thing to look inside of yourself and see the whys and the hows of your clockwork. You are a lot uglier than you think, plenty more selfish than you are ever likely to admit."

I also have to say how good the mystery behind the whole abduction was as well. I had at least 3 people that I was thinking was behind this throughout the story. Each time I thought I was sure that it was one person, I would be lead in another direction that put someone else in the hot seat. I never stopped guessing, and being wrong, until the very end.

The setting was perfect for this story. This silent, desolate prison. I really liked how thought out this was. It's like this cabin, and everything about it, in it, and around it was the personification of Senna. I thought it was absolutely genius and such a cool element to the story.
"That's what it's like to be a prisoner of anything. You want your freedom until you get it, then you feel bare without your chains."

I was shocked repeatedly throughout this book, truly from beginning up until the very end. I am thoroughly impressed with this author and look forward to reading more from her in the future.

I am really liking this series. I think fans of Kate Daniels books would definitely dig these. Charley is maybe one of the biggest smartass characters I have read, and I of course, LOVE IT! She constantly has me cracking up throughout every chapter. When she dubbed her captors "Evil Riggs and Evil Murtaugh" I laughed for awhile. Who doesn't like a good Lethal Weapon reference?! And the ironic Tshirt and bumper sticker titles for each chapter are equally as entertaining for me.

Second Grave on the Left was just as great as it's predecessor. My only real complaint was that I was hoping to have had more Reyes! He made a few appearances, but not as many as I would have liked and unfortunately not with the same sexy tone that was riddled throughout the first book. But we did get to find out more about him as a person and a supernatural entity, which was nice. The more I find out about him, only raises more questions, and I can't seem to get enough. Maybe I should join his fan club ;)

I'm starting to truly understand that there really is never a dull day in Charley Davidson's world. While she was trying to find Reyes's corporeal body, she was also attempting to find Cookie's missing friend Mimi, which turned out to land Charley in someone's crosshairs yet again. There was also the added mystery of the dead guy that resided in Cookie's car, and some pretty revealing family drama with the Davidson's. So there was a lot going on. But with ample amounts of caffeine, gusto, and snark, Charley powered through it all. I do enjoy the multiple mysteries going on, but I also would have been happy to have maybe one or two less, to have a little more of something else in it's place. Maybe some more Reyes and Charley romance! Just sayin.

We also get to see Charley uncover a little more of what she can do as the Grim Reaper, which as it turns out is pretty nifty! I think we have only just scratched the surface though, and it will probably just get more interesting from here. I really liked this book and can't wait to see what catastrophes await Charley in the following book.

Review to come...

Champion was the final instalment in the Legend series, which is fitting because this book was pretty legendary. This series had been building up to so many things, and it truly delivered in this book. Everything we had been waiting for finally came. It was non stop action from beginning to end. And that ending was absolutely perfect. I mean, there were tears in my eyes through that last chapter. Everything about it fit this whole story so well. Even the last few lines were amazing, they left you feeling hopeful for the future. After everything else in this series I felt like that was all I could really ask for.

Wow. That was moving. It was most certainly difficult to read at certain parts, namely through the abuse that these 4 young boys endured, especially if you consider that this is supposed to be based of real events that happened to the author and his friends. I guess there was some controversy with that, some people claiming that this was not based on true events, but I'm not here to speak of that one way or another. Either way I think this was a powerful, emotional journey, and I am glad to have read it.

I loved how this book was split up into three separate parts, the beginning which gave you a look at who these boys were, their individual home lives, and the neighborhood they came from, which was almost a living breathing character in itself. Then the middle was the time they spent inside Wilkinson Home for Boys, where the horrific events that changed their lives forever took place. After that came years later with all the boys having turned into men, and you got to see the how changed these people truly are after the events that took place in that year they spent in the Hell that was Wilkinson. And you also got to see a glorious plan of vigilante justice unravel.

There were so many elements that made this story as incredible to me as it was. I really enjoyed how their hometown, Hell's Kitchen, was portrayed in this story. You were completely immersed in this place with the characters, which truly felt like it was a world of it's own, separate from the rest of us, with it's own way of living and rules to live by. It was comparable to reading a good fantasy novel, with amazing world building, and I was very impressed by it. I also loved these characters, I feel in love with these goofy, mischievous boys after just a few chapters. And reading about their suffering broke me. It was so crushing hearing the atrocities they lived through, and it brought out my own desperate want for vengeance. It's a pretty solid accomplishment for an author to blur the lines of right and wrong for the readers, and those lines were obliterated in certain aspects in this novel. I rooted for their thirst of blood from the men that had taken so much from them. I ended this book honestly thinking that those monstrous guards at the Wilkinson Home for Boys deserved so much worse than they actually got, and that's something because I'm a pretty peaceful person.

It was such an emotional journey, alternating between filling my heart up with love for some of these characters, and hate for others. This story definitely made you question a lot of things though, can vengeance make a difference? Does it even partially fill the hole that was carved in you in the first place? When is the time to take things into your own hands, is it your right to dole out your own form of justice? Can one event change the entire course of your life? What about one poor decision?

The relationships in this book were beautifully portrayed. They were enduring of so much. Too much. I also loved Father Bobby, and even King Benny. And then there were the more quite characters, like the English teacher in Wilkinson who gave Shakes the copy of The Count of Monte Cristo, or Marlboro man, the guard who saved them at least one indignity, that made such an impact, even though their actions and appearance in the book in general were so small. You couldn't help but hold onto those small good things. They were a ray of sunshine on the bleakest of days. They gave you a sliver of hope that some people are good, they care.


The ending was rather bittersweet to me. I wanted so much more for these people than they ultimately got. I would definitely recommend this novel, to EVERYONE! Seriously, you should read this, it's an incredible story. Now I'm kind of dying to see the movie, Robert DeNiro, Brad Pitt, Kevin Bacon and Dustin Hoffman, that's an all-star cast for sure! And now I'll leave you with a few of my favorite quotes...

"I'm beggin' you," he said, his voice breaking, "Try to forgive me. Please. Try."
"Learn to live with it," I told him, getting up from the table.
"I can't," he said. "Not anymore."
"Then die with it," I said. looking at him hard. "Just like the rest of us."

"It doesn't take very long to know how tough a person you are or how strong you can be. I knew from my first day at Wilkinson that I was neither tough nor strong. It takes only a moment for the fear to find its way, to seep through the carefully constructed armor. Once it does, it finds a permanent place. It is true for a hardened criminal as it is for a young boy."

"Do me a favor, would ya, Ness?" Davenport said, putting the gun in his pocket.
"What?"
"I ever make it onto your shit list, give me a call," he said. "Give me a chance to apologize."

While the theme of Cursed definitely felt similar to some things we've seen before, Armentrout certainly put her own spin on it, and even referenced at least the main one I was thinking it was similar to....X-men! I liked the creeptastic idea of this ramshackle "family" of gifted kids all being rescued/recruited by this Cromwell guy. I think that Ember had good reason for reserving her trust for Cromwell and most of his people, I can see there being even more secrets and animosity there in the future. Hayden seemed like an interesting guy, and I liked how he was with Ember, when he wasn't completely stalking her from the shadows....that part was just a little off putting for me. His gift was pretty interesting, I'm not sure I even get what all he can do. And the end of the book left a lot open for the possibility of exploring everyone's gifts a lot more, and unraveling the mystery that Ember and her family, the Facility and even Cromwell and his freakish family.

I don't know how I'm feeling after reading this book. I like certain elements of this series, but others bother me, like really bother me. The characters always seem so over the top. Like every sentence they say probably doesn't have to be as riddled with profanity. I have a wicked mouth, I can swear as comfortably and as frequently as any trucker, but even I was like enough already, tone it down! I also wish that Sophie would have been a little stronger than she was. It's like every time she even pretended at having a back bone she looked at all Ruger's drool worthy bits and completely lost any semblance of a thought.

I did really like how great Ruger was with his nephew, Noah. Even though he could be a real prick sometimes, he was always there for Noah and Sophie too. He clearly cared for both deeply, even though it took him a long time to finally admit it, with Sophie anyway. I always really melt for the guys that step up and be such a big part of kid's lives. He was really trying to step in and be a strong male influence in Noah's life and that was admirable.

The Reaper drama, as per usual, was 5 alarm. They always seem to have a bunch of crazy stuff happening all at once, never a dull day in that club. I will definitely be checking out the next book, because it's Em's book and I actually really like Em. I have some higher expectations for her book. I hope that it can bring some different elements to this series, I'd really like to see the female lead have a little more spine, and I think Em could be the one to bring that.

LOVED this so much. I love the way Samantha Young writes romance. This may even take the cake as my favorite book in this series. A best friend romance done right is absolutely amazing to me, and my friends I don't know that there is any kind of romance that Young doesn't do right.

Both Nate and Olivia were great. I liked how awkward Olivia was. She was adorably shy, especially with men. Her early interactions with the opposite sex were pretty comical. Olivia was inexperienced and naïve when it came to men, but she was sweet, funny, and a little weird, in the best way possible. Somewhere along the way Olivia lost her muchness, and with the help of her good friend Nate, she was going to get the confidence she had been so desperately lacking. It started out seemingly innocent enough, but as you can imagine....it got pretty steamy pretty quick. Nate, *Sigh*. He was so great. Nate had his issues, don't get me wrong, but he was a fantastic friend, and he light those pages on fire when he got going. The friendship they had was sweet and beautiful and it only got even more amazing when they took things to the VERY HOT next level.

I, as always, was glad to see more of the other incredible characters from this series. I seriously can't get enough of them! It's nice to see all of them moving forward in such great ways. I love that even though they may not be the stars of the show as we keep going, they are still there and progressing in each new addition. Samantha Young has made her way into my buy instantly list of authors. I have thoroughly enjoyed all the books of hers that I have read so far. On Dublin Street has been so much fun to read, I can't wait to see what's coming next! If you haven't started it yet, I highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys things that are awesome!