Notice !

Hey everyone!
Happy end of may- beginning of june to you all!
As you must know, this time of the year is extremely busy for us students.
Yes, the moment we all dread... Exam month.
It is for this reason that I am posting this; as you must have noticed I have been in-active for a couple weeks (sorry!) due to studying and such, an I'm afraid that I will continue to be in-active for the next couple weeks- until the end of June. I will still post a couple of book review when
I can and the angel craze contest will still be running as usual, I just won't be on all the updating the blog like before.
Sorry everyone & Good luck to all the other students out there studying for their exams !

xoxo rola

NightWorld V.1 REVIEW

Includes:
Book 1 - Secret Vampire
Book 2 - Daughters of Darkness
Book 3 - Spellbinder

Vampires, werewolves, witches, shapeshifters -- they live among us without our knowledge. Night World is their secret society, a secret society with very strict rules. And falling in love breaks all the laws of the Night World.
In Secret Vampire, Poppy thought the summer would last forever. Then she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Now Poppy's only hope for survival is James, her friend and secret love. A vampire in the Night World, James can make Poppy immortal. But first they both must risk everything to go against the laws of Night World.
Fugitives from Night World, three vampire sisters leave their isolated home to live among humans in Daughters of Darkness. Their brother, Ash, is sent to bring the girls back, but he falls in love with their beautiful friend.
Two witch cousins fight over their high school crush. It's a battle between black magic and white magic in Spellbinder.

                                      
                                                   4 Smokin' Kisses
                    
L.J. Smith is a phenomenal author. I absoloutly love the lady- She's a mastermind! I've read all of her novels (except vampire diaries... a little reluctant to read those), and i've loved them all. The nightworld series is a great series. I read them a long time ago, but decided to do a review anyways :)now, considering these novels were first released in 1996 and are still extremely popular today tells you something. I just wish L.J. Smith was a little more active these days... the last NW book was due to be released in 1998 but hasn't been released yet... and it's 2012 :s

anyways, in the first 3 books of NW ( secret vampire, daughters of darkness & spell binder ) we are first introduced to the concept of the nightworld: The nightworld is a secret society that lives in harmony with the humans in the human world. However, the nightworld has very strict laws- Vampires, Werewolves, Witches & Shapeshifters musn't reveal  their true identity to humans or, the biggest tabboo, fall in love with one. That breaks all the laws of the nightworld.

now naturally, the nightworld series is about beings from the NW who fall in love with humans and break the laws. the great thing about these novels is the fact that each book ( secret vampire, daughters of darkness & spell binder ) focuses on a different character. However, some of the novels continrue from the one before, or feature a character from the story before, but they become the main peson in that book. does that make sense? so, in secret vampire, we are introduced to Ash, but we only see his story in daughters of darkness. & then, some characters make tiny appereances again in each of the novels- till they all the characters come back in the ninth book, witchlight. Its quite interesting and the stories are all very well written. alot of description is used- and used well- i must say, so one always feels like theyre in the novels themselves.

The only reason I didnt give these novels 5 stars is because after reading so many novels over the years, the plot in NW is quite bleak. it only focuses on someone from the NW & a human falling in love, the laws/ consequnces of the NW & this group called circle daybreak looking for the four who have the power to stop the NW from attempting to take over the human world. dont get me wrong, the novels are WAY better than i make them sound, it's just that the story line isn't broad. it doesnt have extra details that focus on other things, so that would be a star off in my opinion- maybe more if the NW story wasn't so good!

either way it's a great series & recommended !

happy readings!

Angel Craze giveaway!

On a fallen angel craze ? theyre the new vampires in the YA world! enter to win your choice of
one of the following novels

 





and this angel wing necklace !



Good luck everyone , contest ends june 15 ! :)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Grave Mercy REVIEW

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?


          
                                                   4 Smokin' Kisses!
                     
This novel was defenitly not what I expected, lets start off with that. I thought this novel was going to be about a girl who is an assasssin that goes on missions and kicks some men-ass and then falls in love.
wrong.
this novel is a historical-fantasy-action-romance set in the 15th century; year 1485. Ismae, the turnip farmers daughter, is unwanted in her village and family. they say she has been "touched by death" ever since her mother took poison to expel unwanted baby Ismae from her womb; but instead of death, resulted in the baby being born with a long red scar running down her back from her shoulder to her waist. This mark made her feared in her village- a being whom is touched by death isnt someone townsfolk would like to mingle with.
and so, after countlessly being abused by her father & unwanted husband, Guillo, and being constantly picked on by the townsfolk, Ismae is sent to the covent of St. Mortain, the Saint of death. There she is trained as an assassin and is to be one of mortains handmaidens of death- and the story goes from there.
personally, I quite enjoyed this story. but it all depends on your taste in novels. To enjoy His Fair Assassin one must be interested in history. A good chunk of this novel revolves around the affairs of Brittany and their on-going misagreements and warfare with France. It revolves around the Dutchess of Brittany who is trying to save her empire from the French. She is to wed a duke who will be able to provide men with arms to fight against the french alongside her own army; but falls into many problems while finding a worthy husband. This scenario takes up about 3/4 of the novel.... so if it's not something youre into, than I am afraid this novel isn't for you. However, if you do enjoy these old time tales like myself, then this novel will surely exceed your expectations. Ismae is a deadly lady, that knows more ways to kill a man than possible. It's a pleasure reading from her POV, she is a strong-willed character and her slowly flourishing love for Duval is interesting & believable. The Brittany-France affairs aren't boring as one would expect and I really ended up loving the dutchess- she's so cute!

Personally I love novels that are based in the 14-1500's - and this tale defenitly didn't disappoint !
I mean common, Kick-ass assassin nuns trained in untimely ways to kill men, 15th century weapons and poison- hot nobel men (Duval) , saints of death, love, war and so on ? yes please!
Especially when Duval gets protective over Ismae, it's the cutest thing ever. I absoloutly loved him.
Duval & Ismae fall in love... but it takes about 60% of the novel for them to even acknowledge eachother, so it's great to watch their love grow slowly as the affairs at court intensify.

The writting style is superior and the description doesn't disappoint! The author was able to successfuly create an old-time atmosphere and have tons of characters play vital roles throughout, without losing meaning & making the novel boring. each character developed, which is tough to do when you constantly have 20+ important characters in a novel... but LaFevers did it! - and she was successful. I could easily point out how each character developed... but that would take a while so I'll leave you to figure that out ;)

this novel is lengthy, and i defenitly feel that a good portion could have been cut out and the novel would have still been great, but the read was worth it.
overall, the novel earned its 4 hardworked stars and i'm quite excited for the second novel in the series to come out... I hear its about Sybella ! Cannot wait to hear her story ! Although I'll miss Ismae and Duval :(

Happy readings everyone!

The fault in our stars REVIEW

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now.

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind




                                      
                                                    4 Smokin' Kisses

                     
After reading many endless reviews and hearing the eternal hype for this novel, i finally had the pleasure of read it when one of my good friends and I decided to do a favorite novel exchange; her copy of "The Fault in our Stars" for my copy of "Beautiful Creatures". And I must admit, it was really good. I finished it in one night, so that speaks for something- I can see what the hype is about. This novel defenitly tugs the heart strings, and leaves you with a bitter taste in your mouth- or maybe a salty one if you've been crying.

Both Hazel Grace and Augustus Waters are pleasurable characters to read about. this novel is actually intelligent. the way the text is put together and superior vocab is used, gives the novel an edge that other novels dont. and suprisingly, it doesnt get annoying.

Hazel is Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer & Augustus is in remission from his cancer. their story isn't what readers would call "pity cancer kid love", its this sophisticated, flourishing, delicate thing that's untouchable. the way they finish each others sentances & complete each others thoughts... its quite beautiful in the uncheesiest way possible.
I wasnt to fond of isaac, he was kind of annoying. he didnt have a huge role in the novel so either way he didnt affect the wonderful story line one bit.
OH THE STORY LINE ! what a lovely one it is indeed. i first thought it sounded stupid; two cancer patients searching for their favorite author and fall in love while on that journey? retarded.
but no. i must say the "dont knock it till ya try it" aspect works perfectly here. the plot is perfect & original which makes this novel all the more lovable.
defenitly recommended for anyone tired of YA or in the mood to fill a bucket full of tears. either way it's a great read !

Happy reading!

Perfect Chemistry Review

A fresh, urban twist on the classic tale of star-crossed lovers.

When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created 'perfect' life is about to unravel before her eyes. She's forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she's worked so hard for: her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect.

Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But soon Alex realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more.

In a passionate story about looking beneath the surface, Simone Elkeles breaks through the stereotypes and barriers that threaten to keep Brittany and Alex apart


                                
                                               4 Smokin' Kisses
                

 Wow. this novel was defenitly a pleasent suprise! going into this, I really didn't know what to expect. I mean, its clearly a romance (which I love), but I bought into the hype a bit too quickly & really didn't want to regret it! & thank god I dont! despite to cliche "Cheerleader meets bad-boy" theme, this novel exceeded my expectations!

To begin with, the plot was quite fascinating. the mexican mafia life was built on really well, and enough detail was given so that the reader could truly picture the difficulty of the situation the character was going through. And even beyond this, Alex's personality fit the sitation extremely well; I had a vivid picture of what was going on the whole time!
The one most important thing I would say gave this novel 3/4 of its stars was the fact that Brittany & Alex didn't undergo the typical "Love at first site" aspect of what seems to be every YA novel on the market.
Brittany & Alex actually HATE each other in the beggining; and Brittany makes this very clear. But (for the sake of a spoiler free review) a little bit of this happened here, alex did this over there, brittany was stupid over here... we end up with a truly amazing romance novel, accompanied by amazing writting, description & everything else I love in a novel !
The fact that Brittany doesnt easily let go of her cheerleader life for Alex tells us that Elkeles was able to think more realistically when creating this story; no popular high school girl would do this for "love at first sight". seriously, thank god this novel had none of that.
I defenitly recommend this to anyone who is tired of the usual YA cliche! its defenitly original and refreshing !

review for the next novel in the series Laws of Attraction to come!

Happy reading!

Beautiful Creatures Review

There were no surprises in Gatlin County.
We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.
At least, that's what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.
Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.
In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything


                 ++++++
                     BEST BOOK OF LIFE !!! OVER 5 STARS !
      
Just to start off, I would like to say that this indeed is my favorite novel (Hence the exceeding amounts of  +'s after the rating.....)
Actually, it's much more than that. I first picked up this novel after numerous encounters with it at the bookstore. I didnt mean to search for it, it came looking for me: Literly. everywhere i'd turn i'd see this beautiful cover, but i always ignored it. Until one beautiful, beautiful, BEAUTIFUL day, when i decided to purchase it & give it a chance.
& It changed my life.
This novel has stayed with me ever since reading it many months ago, & this series is probably what I base most of my other book reviews on: do they live up to the excellence of Beautiful Creatures?
Little tiny details from this novel are constantly a part of my mind in my everyday life; such as Lemons & Rosemary, which every time I see brings me back to this series. the last page of the third book in the series, Beautiful Chaos, is the lock-screensavor on my beloved iphone (I kid you not), & I just adore it more than possible.

Why? Here's a walk through:

Characters:
Both Lena & Ethan have stayed me ever since the Caster Chronicles. Everytime i read a YA novel, I just cant help but compare the heroins back to Lena & Ethan. It's become a not-so-good habit because not a single couple/heroin romance can outshine what Lena & Ethan bring to the table. never, never, never- which ends up affecting my rating for other YA novels... it shouldnt. I have come to accept that not all characters (unfortunatly) can be like them.

Ethan is your typical male character. however, what isn't so typical is that this novel is told from HIS perspective. we get to watch & feel a male fall in love- not vice-versa. It's a lacking perspective in the YA world, so it's nice to have something different & GOOD.
Ethan is popular at school, but is sensitive at heart. He has dated one of The most popular girls at school, yet goes home and reads Catcher & The Rye. He attends the cheerleader popular parties, yet thinks about his mothers death & goes through her belongings with the family friend-librarian in his free time.He has his own secret world that his peers dont know about- & that is Ethan Wate.
many reviewers have complained that males do not act like this, so Ethan fails to be realistic. I disagree. I think that Ethans personality portrays more than what is on the surface. Because this is told from his perspective, we are able to get a more vivid look into his mind and realize that he is in fact searching for more in life than popularity and naked girls. He is the outline of what every guy should be. Ethan is intelligent & his soft personality is hidden from his peers, replaced by a more relaxed- b-boy personality. This shows the exact nature of (intelligent, yet retarded) males. too afraid to be their real selves & trying to assimilate into the highschool popular group. It fits the novel perfectly & it's a pleasure to read from Ethans perspective.

Lena isn't ypur typical female heroin what-so-ever. she is described as a beautiful, semi-gothic girl with black curly hair and tattered converse sneakers that she wore even with dresses. she is a girly girl beneath what she portrays and loves poetry. I absoloutly love how she isnt the typical "hot cheerleader" in this novel- she isn't popular or amazing. she is exactly opposite of thata actually. she easily becomes the most hated person in the school; the girl that the cheerleaders pick on. yet her originality remains, and her true colours are shown to ethan. readers find out ALOT about Lena even though this novel is told first person from Ethans Perspective. Usually, the second main character isn't described as well as the one who's perspective the story is being told from. Feelings are usually minimal and other little details are left out. however, we find out every thing about Lena and every little bit of her emotions is clearly portrayed. its shown so well that I hurt when she does. my heart actually clenches and my stomach drops and knots and everything else a stomach does when it's nervous. Lena easily became my favorite character, & everything that she felt, I felt. I loved her so much.

Amma, Link, Sarafine, Macon, Ridley and all the other sub/support characters are phenomenal & SO much detail is put into them. Stohl and Garcia defenitly took the time & effort to put in some true work behind ALL their characters, not only ethan & lena. The story becomes so much more meaningful when everything in the novel is alive, including all the characters.

Plot:
The Plot in the Caster Chronicles isn't a simple one. It's extremely complex (the reason why each book is roughly 600 pages long).
The plot has long history behind it, and it's actually an interesting one too! This depth gives the story life & it helps create the feeling that you're not just reading to watch Lena & Ethan fall in love, & screw everything else. No. There are guidelines, and the story winds on & on, showing you more secrets every time you think you have successfully predicted the ending.
Unlike most YA novels, when the novel is focused on a romance between the two heroins, the plot and support characters seem to hold little significance and lack depth, as the author feels the need to concentrate most of the novel on the relationship between the two main characters. However, in beautiful creatures Garcia & Stohl are able to Successfully create a complex, bold Plot that matches the intensity of the relationship between the two main characters, Ethan & Lena.
We watch both Ethan & Lena grow.
Ethan discovers that there is more to little gatlin then what meets the eye. He realizes his popularity holds little significance once he holds something dear. He discovers that escaping gatlin isn't all that he wants, not when there is Lena. & that he would sacrifice anything to be with Lena; even the things he has built a stone wall around to protect.
Lena discovers that her fate isn't determined by her future, but by her present. she realizes that not everything matters; actually very little does & sometimes the love for one person is enough. she finds a light for her darkness that she never thought could be illuminated. She finds Ethan when her life was about to collapse.
All of that is clearly portrayed whilst upholding the significance of the Casters and the secrets that surround it. The support/sub characters are amazing and actually play a HUGE role in the novel. The relationship between Lena & Ethan does not Out shine this phenomenal Plot, not vice-versa- we are able to get an outstanding outcome in both aspects.
The detals are overwhelming and beautiful. the writting style is phenomenal. what more can i say?

The thing that makes me love this novel so much is the amounts of description in it. I can CLEARLY picture both Ethan & Lena in my head. they are constantly described, and alot of emphases is put into devolping each character in the novels image and personality.

“She was wearing a purple T-shirt, with a skinny black dress over it that made you remember how much of a girl she was, and trashed black boots that made you forget.” 

Little pieces of description like this are what makes this novel so phenomenal. Little details like the way Lena smelled where even given "And that familiar smell; Lemons and Rosemary".
Never once was i left wondering what a charatcer looked like or how they felt. these little pieces of descriptions that authors always seem to forget, are so often used in Beautiful Creatures , that it makes it feel so real.

All in all, if i haven't convinced you why you should drop everything you're doing right this second and go purchase this novel RIGHT NOW, than i have no clue what will. The overwhelming emotions i felt towards this novel were unbelievable & this will forever be my favorite series.
The 4th & final novel will be released in october 2012 called Beautiful Redepmtion, and I' terrified for the ending ever since Beautiful Chaos left me in pieces.

They are currently making beautiful creatures into a movie, which is set to be released February 2013.
Personally, I am terrified.
As from what I have seen, Lena has brown hair and brown eyes, rather than Black hair and Green eyes. And Ethan looks like a farm boy with curly hair when his hair is supposed to be long enough to reach his eyes. ..... I have no clue about how i should feel about this, so i guess we shall all wait & see.

Happy readings everyone!

The Knife Of Never Letting Go Review

 Prentisstown isn't like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise. Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog, Manchee -- whose thoughts Todd can hear too, whether he wants to or not -- stumble upon an area of complete silence. They find that in a town where privacy is impossible, something terrible has been hidden -- a secret so awful that Todd and Manchee must run for their lives.

But how do you escape when your pursuers can hear your every thought?







                                        

 

 

Something about the way this novel begins bothers me. Not quite sure what it is; maybe it's the way the author presents Todd, or the way the situation is first displayed- but there is an extremely childish feeling to the novel at first. Considering that Tod is 12, going into this novel I felt like I was reading a middle-grade book. However, as the story progressses that definitly changes.

This novel revolves aroundd the idea that thoughts are no longer secrets. People dont keep secrets, because everyone can hear your thoughts, and the thoughts of your dog and the thoughts of the cow across the street. Women have been wiped out, due to the same desiese that caused all men's thoughts to be heard. In Prentisstown, when a boy turns 13 he becomes a man. But to become a man means you must complete a task... one that changes you forever. Todd is the last boy in town, but he doesn't get the chance to turn into a man before he has to run for his life. He runs into a girl, the only girl he's ever seen, and together they run from a secret that's bigger then them both.

This story is so different, and once you get through a portion of the novel, it's such an amazing story. once half way through and past all the childish nonsense in the beginning, it's hard to put down. Todd and Viola start off on rough grounds and on eachother necks the whole time- which gets slightly annoying while they're on the run. But it's easy to spy their love flourishing. It's so innocent ( they're still kids! ) But so cute. As the story unravels and Todd realizes who he's running from, Todd and Viola can only depend on each other for survival.
Todd undergoes major emotional/attitude changes. He goes from a kid that's running because he's been told to, to a man that protects his loved ones & fights for what he believes in.
I love books that have characters like this. It makes the story more interesting and believable.

The ending absoloutly tore my heart out. I couldn't help but cry. The way Todd and Viola progressed through out for such an ending... Makes it impossible not to hop out of your bed (even at 3 am) and pick up the next installment, The Ask & The Answer!

Happy reading!