Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

I really, really wanted to like Beauty Queen but I just couldn't get into it. I had to push myself to finish it.

This book is absolutely absurd. The storyline is undeveloped, the characters are flat and stereotypical. The plot has a lot of potential but the satire genre doesn't quite work for this author. Perhaps it's because I have come to expect more from her and this particular book just falls short.

There wasn't one character I liked and the plot just spirals out of control.

Check this book out from the library if you must --- or borrow it. Don't waste your hard earned bucks.

So much goes on -- -- that I can't quite sum it up. Plane crash --- survivors come together --- they "colonize" --- pirates crash on the island --- a corporation wants to kill them --- crazy island creatures --- blah blah blah....

The only thing, I liked about this book was the cover!

Grade: D

Hourglass by Myra McEntire

Hourglass is a fun, fun, book. It has ghosts, mysteries and a new twist on time travel. It is fascinating.

The character's are realistic --- the plot is intriguing and interesting.

It is hard to believe that this is McEntire's, debut novel. She captures the past, present and future beautifully and manages to keep it all straight so the reader won't be confused.

I loved the writing and you will too.

I can't write too much more without giving the entire book away. You just have to go out and read it.

Grade: A

Overview [B&N]
One hour to rewrite the past . . .

For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn’t there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents’ death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She’s tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.
So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson’s willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may change her past.
Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he’s around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened?

Full of atmosphere, mystery, and romance, Hourglass merges the very best of the paranormal and science-fiction genres in a seductive, remarkable young adult debut.

The House on Tradd Street by Karen White

Karen White, writes a compelling ghost story full of wonderful characters. She throws in some romance and historical details.

The story is enjoyable and easy to read. Give this sweet book and try.

Grade: B

Overview [B&N]
A brilliant, chilling series debut, featuring a Charleston real estate agent who loves old houses—and the secret histories inside them.
Practical Melanie Middleton hates to admit she can see ghosts. But she's going to have to accept it. An old man she recently met has died, leaving her his historic Tradd Street home, complete with housekeeper, dog—and a family of ghosts anxious to tell her their secrets.
Enter Jack Trenholm, a gorgeous writer obsessed with unsolved mysteries. He has reason to believe that diamonds from the Confederate Treasury are hidden in the house. So he turns the charm on with Melanie, only to discover he's the smitten one...
It turns out Jack's search has caught the attention of a malevolent ghost. Now, Jack and Melanie must unravel a mystery of passion, heartbreak—and even murder.

Into the Forest: A Novel by Jean Hegland

Into the Forest is interesting --- it is a good but not great. One could call it a mildly feminist, post apocalyptic world read.

It explores the relationship between two sisters, who are left to survive in a world that is void of many of the resources we take for granted on a daily basis, such as electricity and human contact.

The book starts off strong, full of interesting characters, great premise and excellent story telling, then it slowly fades off and becomes hokey.

Grade: C

Overview: [B&N]
Set in the near-future, Into the Forest is a powerfully imagined novel that focuses on the relationship between two teenage sisters living alone in their Northern California forest home.
Over 30 miles from the nearest town, and several miles away from their nearest neighbor, Nell and Eva struggle to survive as society begins to decay and collapse around them. No single event precedes society's fall. There is talk of a war overseas and upheaval in Congress, but it still comes as a shock when the electricity runs out and gas is nowhere to be found. The sisters consume the resources left in the house, waiting for the power to return. Their arrival into adulthood, however, forces them to reexamine their place in the world and their relationship to the land and each other

Pretty Little Liars #9: Twisted by Sara Shepard

Twisted --- is a great addition to the Pretty Little Liars, series. Shepard uses this book to reveal a darker side of the PLL. She is also adding 4, count them, 4 more books to the series!!!

There is more drama and darker secrets. Expect twists and turns, it seems as though everyone has a secret. This might be the best book in the series, yet.

There are new characters, broken friendships, rekindled friendships and lies, lies lies.

Grade: A

Overview: [B&N]

It’s been a year since the torturous notes from A stopped and the mystery of Alison DiLaurentis’s disappearance was finally put to rest. Now seniors in high school, Aria, Spencer, Hanna, and Emily are older, but they’re not any wiser. The pretty little liars have more secrets than ever—twisted secrets that could destroy the perfect lives they’ve worked so hard to rebuild.
Aria’s jealous of her boyfriend’s new exchange student. Spencer’s getting a little too cozy with her soon-to-be-stepbrother. Hanna’s one scandalous photo away from ruining her dad’s Senate campaign. And Emily will do anything to get a swim scholarship.
Worst of all: Last spring break in Jamaica, they did something unforgivable. The girls are desperate to forget that fateful night, but they should know better than anyone that all secrets wash ashore . . . eventually.

2030: The Real Story of What Happens to America by Albert Brooks

2030 starts of great, in fact it is rather engaging that is until you reach them end --- then it all just falls apart.

This dystopian novel takes place in the not too distant future. It has a large array of character's and Brooks does an excellent job of making them distinct. The "voice" of the US takes place mainly on the west and east coast, very little to no input come from the rest of the US.

The US is facing huge financial issues, old people are a financial drain on the system, the young carry the financial burden, a 9.o earthquake has leveled, Los Angeles and cancer is cured . The book is predictable and semi-believable.

Grade: C

Overview: [B&N]

Is this what’s in store?
June 12, 2030 started out like any other day in memory—and by then, memories were long. Since cancer had been cured fifteen years before, America’s population was aging rapidly. That sounds like good news, but consider this: millions of baby boomers, with a big natural predator picked off, were sucking dry benefits and resources that were never meant to hold them into their eighties and beyond. Young people around the country simmered with resentment toward “the olds” and anger at the treadmill they could never get off of just to maintain their parents’ entitlement programs.
But on that June 12th, everything changed: a massive earthquake devastated Los Angeles, and the government, always teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, was unable to respond.
The fallout from the earthquake sets in motion a sweeping novel of ideas that pits national hope for the future against assurances from the past and is peopled by a memorable cast of refugees and billionaires, presidents and revolutionaries, all struggling to find their way.

Never Knowing by Chevy Stevens

Steven's writes another phenomenal book. Never Knowing is exciting, fast paced and gripping. You will be left on the edge of your seat! It is intense and unpredictable. Steven's has a way of making you think one thing and having something else occur.

The character's are real and flawed. The storyline is absolutely believable. Sara is adopted and on her quest to find out who her biological parents. When she finds out who they are ---- she finds out that sometimes it's best to never know....

As, Sara's story unravels, she finds herself involved in a complicated, frightening and life alerting relationship with her biological father. I can't write to much more without giving the story away!

You must read this book and if you haven't read Still Missing by Stevens, get it now.

Grade: A

Overview [B&N]
All her life, Sara Gallagher has wondered about her birth parents. As an adopted child with two sisters who were born naturally to her parents, Sara did not have an ideal home life. The question of why she was given up for adoption has always haunted her. Finally, she is ready to take steps and to find closure.
But some questions are better left unanswered.
After months of research, Sara locates her birth mother — only to be met with horror and rejection. Then she discovers the devastating truth: Her mother was the only victim ever to escape a killer who has been hunting women every summer for decades. But Sara soon realizes the only thing worse than finding out about her father is him finding out about her.
What if murder is in your blood?
Never Knowing is a complex and compelling portrayal of one woman’s quest to understand herself, her origins, and her family. That is, if she can survive....

Passion by Lauren Kate

Passion is the third installment in the Fallen series by Lauren Kate. In this particular book, Luce goes back in time and revisited her past lives in an attempt to find a way to break the curse that keeps her and Daniel apart.

Passion's is more of a "filler" book for the series. I have mixed feelings on this book because I love the Luce -- Daniel, love story but I don't need to read about them falling in love over and over and over again. It became boring and tedious.

Not many questions are answered --- and you're left wishing that Kate, had just made this the last one in the series and written something more exciting.

I don't feel as though this book, added much, so I feel that it is probably safe to skip this book and wait for the final book, Rapture to come out.

Grade: D

Overview [B&N]
Luce would die for Daniel.
And she has. Over and over again. Throughout time, Luce and Daniel have found each other, only to be painfully torn apart: Luce dead, Daniel left broken and alone. But perhaps it doesn’t need to be that way. . . .
Luce is certain that something—or someone—in a past life can help her in her present one. So she begins the most important journey of this lifetime . . . going back eternities to witness firsthand her romances with Daniel . . . and finally unlock the key to making their love last.
Cam and the legions of angels and Outcasts are desperate to catch Luce, but none are as frantic as Daniel. He chases Luce through their shared pasts, terrified of what might happen if she rewrites history.
Because their romance for the ages could go up in flames . . . forever.

Ashes by Ilsa Bick

Ashes --- is quite difficult to review because the first half is enjoyable and the second half is horrible.

A cataclysmic event occurs, changing life on earth. Birds fall out of the sky, some animals go crazy, people drop dead and some people "change". Alex a 17 teen year old girl is out camping in the wilderness and after an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) blows out electronics and causes changes around the globe, she notices changes in herself that she can't quite explain.

Her sense of taste and smell come back, something that had gone away due to her inoperable brain tumor and the senses are heightened, she can smell fear and death, way before anyone can.

--- Alex and an eight year old girl attempt to make their way back to civilization to find out what is going on. They meet obstacles along the way and Tom a young military man.

They run into zombies and find that society is in chaos ---- A few things happen along the way and suddenly Alex is in a town called Rule and the book falls apart.

The path of the story changes and everything you enjoy about the book ceases to exist. The lack of realism increases and you find yourself trudging through the rest of the story anxiously awaiting the end so that you can move on to another book.

The storyline isn't very realistic, the character's aren't likable and there are some unnecessary gruesome scenes.

I really wanted to enjoy this book but the second half is so bad I can't recommend it.

Grade: D