June 2016 Wrap Up

This was one of those months where I started a lot of books but only finished a couple.

I Am Malala - memoir

The Women's Murder Club series book 15 - mystery, crime, thriller

Both of these were exactly what I expected them to be, which was insanely wonderful to read.

The Secret Circle: The Initiation and The Captive Part I ~ L.J. Smith

The circle's power has lured her home

Forced to move from sunny California to gloomy New England, Cassie longs for her old life. Even so, she feels a strange kinship to a terrifying group of teens who seem to rule her school. Initiated into the coven of witches that's controlled New Salem for hundreds of years, she's drawn into the Secret Circle, a thrill that's both intoxicating and deadly. But when she falls for the mysterious and intriguing Adam, Cassie must choose whether to resist temptation or risk dark forces to get what she wants—even if it means that one wrong move could ultimately destroy her.

Book Review:

For those of you who do not know, I go through phases when it comes to my interests. When I decided to pick up this series, I had just finished binge-watching the CW series loosely based off of the books. Now, don't get me wrong, I really did like the one season that there is of the show, but I hated who ended up with who. That is what led me to the books. I am hoping that the people I want to end up together, will. Plus, as the show was unfinished, I feel like I am missing out on an incredible world. 

LJ Smith's writing is intriguing. I wouldn't say it is my favorite style of writing but there are elements to it that pull me in here and there. At the beginning of the book, practically for all of The Initiation I wasn't sure if I was going to like it or not, but I ended up being quite fond of it; but, I still do not believe that this is going to be one of those series that I finish quickly. 

One of the reasons that it took me a while to get into was Cassie... I'm not sure what to think of her. She is not a very strong female lead, which is something that I look for in books like these. For me, as I had watched the show, it was a bit upsetting to find out that book Cassie isn't strong because show Cassie is so very strong. Her character, in the book, was just very unsure of herself, her friendships, and her powers. Now I understand the latter two because they are so new to her, but the fact that she is so unsure of who she is and depends so much on how others treat her is very unsettling. I hope that as the series progresses she becomes a stronger character. 

The only other reason that I can identify for not  being particular gripped by the story was how many characters there are. Now, many of the characters are minor and not really important, but it is still quite confusing. Personally, I like stories where the author focuses on a select few. In my opinion, the maximum should be six main characters. In this story, there are probably 4 that pop out as main characters but then there are about 6 that are minor characters, often mentioned with little explanation. That frustrates me to no end. 

Pages: 416                                                                                                                            Rate: 2.5/5

Favorite Quote:

"Listen to me," he said, and to her dismay he stepped closer. "When I first met you," he said, "I had no idea you were one of us. How could I? But I knew that you were different than that phony friend of yours. Not just another pretty girl, but somebody special." 

Emancipated ~ M.G. Reyes

The good girl, the bad boy, the diva, the hustler, the rock star, and the nerd. Six teens legally liberated from parental control for six different reasons, all with one thing in common: something to hide. 

Now they’re sharing a house in Venice Beach, acting like a family, and living their lies. No parents. No limits. No alibis. One witnessed a crime, another might be a murderer—and one’s been spying on them all.

As they cling to a fantasy of freedom and slowly let down their guards, the past creeps up on them. And when one of them gets arrested, everyone’s carefully constructed facade comes crumbling down. 

In this steamy, drama-filled series, relationships are tested and secrets revealed as lies threaten to destroy their perfect setup.

Book Review:

I wanted to read this book because it was a premise that I had never really seen before. I was interested in knowing all of the different reasons behind each of the individual characters' emancipations. I am still really curious about one of the characters, Maya,and I hope to learn more as I continue with the series.. She is the mystery of this entire series. We never really learn the truth behind her family, her emancipation, and other things I can not discuss without giving away spoilers. 

I really loved how different the characters were. I love how there were such a variety of backgrounds and how each of their relationships are different and strong at the same time. I feel so bad for John Michael after everything that he has experienced throughout his life but at the same time, I'm not really sure how I feel about what he did. I also really hope that Lucy is able to discover what actually happened and that Grace's father is acquitted.

Someone read this book and tell me what you think! I can't wait to finish this series! 

Orleans ~ Sherri L. Smith

First came the storms.

Then came the Fever.

And the Wall.

  

After a string of devastating hurricanes and a severe outbreak of Delta Fever, the Gulf Coast has been quarantined. Years later, residents of the Outer States are under the assumption that life in the Delta is all but extinct…but in reality, a new primitive society has been born.  

Fen de la Guerre is living with the O-Positive blood tribe in the Delta when they are ambushed. Left with her tribe leader’s newborn, Fen is determined to get the baby to a better life over the wall before her blood becomes tainted. Fen meets Daniel, a scientist from the Outer States who has snuck into the Delta illegally. Brought together by chance, kept together by danger, Fen and Daniel navigate the wasteland of Orleans.  In the end, they are each other’s last hope for survival.

Book Review:

As many of you know, I have been trying to expand my repertoire when it comes to literature recently. I have been reading many more genres and authors lately. This novel is a mix of Sci-Fi and Dystopian. One of the reasons that I picked it up was because it was set in my favorite city in the entire world!!! I want to live in the French Quarter of New Orleans one day!!!!

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The setting was very unique as it was set in this post-apocalyptic time period type of thing. New Orleans was the only place affected by a blood disease and they were then walled off from every where else. This follows a teenage girl, Fen de la Guerre, who was just a little girl when the disease took over the city. She has lost everyone that she loves and now has to take care of a new born baby girl whose mother was a surrrogate mother to her before dying in childbirth. Besides just keeping the two of them alive, she also has to try and get this little girl out of the walled city before the disease enters her bloodstream. 

Fen encounters Daniel, an outsider, who thinks that he is very close to a cure for the disease. He has snuck into the city to find the scientists who entered the city before it was walled off. Most of those scientists have died at this point but he has hope that if any have survived they can help them. 

The ending was really upsetting. It wasn't bad nor sad, but it just didn't end in a way that I had expected nor wanted. It was still really good though.

Pages: 324                                                                                                                              Rate: 3.5/5

June 2016 TBR

As I said in my May Wrap Up, I don't foresee the summer being great for reading. I am graduating high school on June 24th; therefore, I have a lot of school related activities going on. I am going to NYC for the first time to see two separate Broadway shows with my best friend I am also beginning my first job of the summer. I will be working three jobs at one point this summer. I do plan on reading but it is going to be a slow paced thing for me. I will no longer be able to read a book a week, or as I did this past weekend, in a day.

The Women's Murder Club book 15

This is my most beloved series by James Patterson and my most beloved mystery/crime series of all time!! I thought that it was ending after the 14th novel but as I was walking through Walmart today I happened to glance down the pitiful book aisle and immediately saw it. I bought it without a second thought!!

The Secret Circle book 2

This was on my TBR last month but I never got to it as I chose to read Emancipated by M.G. Reyes instead. Hopefully, I will get around to it this month.