Immortal City by Scott Speer Review

Hey guys, Sammi here!

I read ANOTHER book in one day. More like 5 hours. And that book was:

Guys, I am on a good book roll right now. I LOVED this one! Instead of including the official synopsis, I have concocted one of my own. Here we go:

Maddy Montgomery lives in place obsessed with angels. Angel City is named after them, where angels are paid to protect the people who can afford to pay them. They are celebrities and have the ground they have walked on worshiped. Enter Jackson Godspeed, the hottest, dreamiest, and the soon to be youngest Guardian ever. The two meet, drama and romance ensues. And did I mention there seems to be a serial killer on the loose, killing angels? Oh, and Jackson just happens to be their next target.

So there you have it! This book is BRILLIANT. I've seen very mixed reviews on this book, some even as low as one star. I'm giving this book a solid 4.5. I've decided to include spoilers in this one, so the spoilers will be in blue.

To start with, I actually really liked Maddy. She was pretty badass in some scenes. I loved when she told off Vivian, and when she was driving that car to save Jacks. EEP.  The author tries to develop her as a shy girl, but she quickly loses that persona. Her romance with Jackson was pretty cute but also very whiplash-ish. How many times is she going to reject him? Her little 'condition' wasn't a big surprise to me. I was actually rooting for it to happen!

Now Jackson. OMG that boy. He was so cute at times and very uh, unannounced. Showing up in the library and her room? Kinda sweet but a bit creepy. He knew how to have fun, and he was very protective (pun intended)

One thing I found about the two was that I couldn't recall how they were described in appearance. All I remember is that Jackson was hot and Maddy had hair she only ever brushed. I actually didn't mind this, because I enjoy picturing them as I please.

I also really want to say one thing about Gwen. SHE IS US. She's a major fangirl, and knows everything the second it comes out. Loved her.

I found the world to be one of my favorite parts of the story. Angel City is a play on Los Angeles. There's lights, paparazzi, and shiny gold stars of fame. Angels are models and actors. The author gives us ordinary humans a peek into the glamours of the famous life.

The end of this book was awesome. As a lover of murder mysteries, I really enjoyed finding out who the murder was. HUGE PLOT TWIST.

One last thing, this book has some pretty gruesome bits. Blown off hands, chopped off wigs. Yuck. But they are very well written, so not to fear. 

This is it for the hidden spoiler part, I just have a few little spoils to discuss.

So if you have not read this book, Ta-Ta for now!

*SPOILERS*

I literally cringed when Ethan chopped Jackson's wing off. (cue gagging) I didn't think he would get it back, and then he'd have to be mortal. But I guess angels can do anything, because they put it back on. And when it looked like Maddy had died, AHH. But again ANGELS CAN DO ANYTHING. Like come back from watching your body from above. 

Anyways, thanks for reading!

Ta-Ta for now.

Alienated by Melissa Landers Review

Hey guys, Sammi here!

I read:

Boy, look at that cover! Since this is an ARC, I managed to get it from a family friend, my copy has a blue "THIS IS AN UNCORRECTED ADVANCE PROOF" (the shouting is implied) but I'm still drooling over the cover. 

Here is the synopsis: 

Two years ago, the aliens made contact. Now Cara Sweeney is going to be sharing a bathroom with one of them. 

Handpicked to host the first-ever L’eihr exchange student, Cara thinks her future is set. Not only does she get a free ride to her dream college, she’ll have inside information about the mysterious L’eihrs that every journalist would kill for. Cara’s blog following is about to skyrocket.

Still, Cara isn’t sure what to think when she meets Aelyx. Humans and L’eihrs have nearly identical DNA, but cold, infuriatingly brilliant Aelyx couldn’t seem more alien. She’s certain about one thing, though: no human boy is this good-looking.

But when Cara's classmates get swept up by anti-L'eihr paranoia, Midtown High School suddenly isn't safe anymore. Threatening notes appear in Cara's locker, and a police officer has to escort her and Aelyx to class. 

Cara finds support in the last person she expected. She realizes that Aelyx isn’t just her only friend; she's fallen hard for him. But Aelyx has been hiding the truth about the purpose of his exchange, and its potentially deadly consequences. Soon Cara will be in for the fight of her life—not just for herself and the boy she loves, but for the future of her planet.

Can I just say how much I'm loving these spacey type books. I also recently read the across the Across the Universe series. AMAZING. Anyways, this story was quite enjoyable. It was funny and super interesting. Aelyx was a superb character. He was one of those sweet, sorta ditsy characters, but with a strong, smart core. A fault I found was that his 'other-worldliness" sorta wore off very quick and abruptly.

I had very mixed feelings about Cara. Only because I feel the red headed protagonists are getting old. Or maybe I've just been reading too many stories with them in it. You know, you can have originality in a character with out giving them the most bold features. BUT she was a very kick butt character. She didn't take bull from anyone and was sharp as a tack.

The L'eihr (How does one pernounce this?) was SO interesting. The way they lived reminded me of monks. Cara's mother was so cute when she tried her best to replicate they way he lived. The politics in this book were so interesting! Though the riots was have seemed dramatic, I could totally picture them in real life. Scary. 

Overall I gave this book a 4 out of 5 stars. Whenever you can get your hands on this book, do it. Just do it. 

Ta-Ta for now!

Samantha's Review Of Cinder

Hey guys, Sammi here, AGAIN!

So as you may know, I made a post yesterday about entering the Mac Teen Books Giveaway for an ARC of Cress. The rules were that I was to lend a friend a copy of Cinder and have them read and review the book. So I lent my fellow booklover, friend, and name sharer my copy. And she sure surprised me! Not only did she read the book in one night, but she even had her review ready! I think she's trying to see if she can borrow Cress if I win it. She has no reason to worry, there's no way I wouldn't let her read it! (That is if I even win a copy! Fingers crossed!) So here is her review of Cinder:

I really liked Cinder! I felt it was fast paced and awesome. I loved how it was based off of Cinderella and how she loses her foot instead of her shoe. My favorite character was Iko. Iko was such a cute addition and a great friend for Cinder. It's cool how the author gave her a unique personality. My least favorite character was her older stepsister. She really made me mad. When she ruined the gloves Kai had given Cinder, I wished that she had gotten the plague. Speaking of the plague, poor Peony! She was so sweet and nice to Cinder and then she got sick. I also loved how it didn't take place in America like most books. Kai was a great character as well. What's a fairytale retelling without a Prince? And a perfect one at that. And the setting was perfect too! China was such a great idea! The only thing I didn't get was why they said the names weird, but after I googled it, it all made sense. That's awesome how the author stayed true to the culture. Also, can I mention how cool all her cyborg features were? Imagine having the internet in your brain! And also being able to store tools in her body parts. I would keep food in there, if I were her. Overall I gave this book 5 stars. I loved the charaters, the plot, and the setting. The book had a great plot twist and great writing. I can't wait to get my hands on Scarlet. ~ Sam

 

So there you have it! WE HAVE CREATED ANOTHER FAN. YAY! She just sent me a text asking for Scarlet in homeroom a little bit ago. I'll keep you updated on how much she loves that book. (I'm positive she will!)

 

Ta-Ta for now!

The Samanthas and Cinder and The Resurection Of This Blog

Hey guys, Sammi here!

So I've decided to use this blog for real now! And you want to know why? Because today I am entering in the @macteenbooks Gift of Cinder Cress Giveaway! So basically the rules are:

1.       Loan a friend a copy of Cinder.
2.       Write a blog post explaining why you gave that friend a copy of Cinder.
3.       Have your friend review Cinder on his/her blog OR on your blog.
4.       Share the review online using the #GiftOfCinder hashtag!
5.       Leave the links for your blog post, review of Cinder, and social share

They're giving away 20 copies of Cress. 20 copies. Like holy freaking luna. (Not all to one person, not that I don't wish though. Sigh.) So I've decided to lend my precious, battered copy of Cinder to my friend Samantha. Yes you read that right, another Samantha. There's actually four in my shop at school! Though I doubt we were all named after a character in Bewitched ;). Anyways, I actually just lent it to her a few hours ago, literally waking her up and begging her to do this for me. I may have used candy as a bribe. But it was needed to tear her away from Allegiant for the weekend. So in compliance for rule 2, here is my reasons for picking my friend Sam to lend Cinder to:

1}Sam is about as big of a booknerd as I am. We spend most of our bus rides seated next to each other, not speaking, hunched over our books. And when we're not reading, we're talking about the books we've read. (We crack our selves up with book puns and inside book jokes)
 
2}Sam is a fast reader! I get massive anxiety/ frustration when I lend my books out because chances are you'll A) never get it back B) have it returned looking like it just went through several stampedes escaping from the plague. But I trust Sam with all my books, because she feels the same way about her books!

3} She NEEDS to read these books! I have my copy of Scarlet ready for school Monday morning when she comes in demanding more! I was horrified when I found out she hadn't read them, because I just assumed she had. This just further evidence for my motto that assumptions get you killed. Just saying. Sam really likes Young Adult books that are sci fi-ish/ fantasy, as do I, (Obviously :D) So I'm positive that she'll love The Lunar Chronicles!

So those are my reasons for choosing to lend my copy of Cinder to my friend Samantha for this giveaway! I'm hoping to have her review by tomorrow, or by Monday. I'll just have to keep pestering her to read!

Ta-Ta for now!