Tormet (Fallen #2)

Author: Lauren Kate
Goodreads Rating: 3.92
Length: 9.7 Hours
Format: Audiobook from Library

Hell on earth.
That's what it's like for Luce to be apart from her fallen angel boyfriend, Daniel.
It took them an eternity to find one another, but now he has told her he must go away. Just long enough to hunt down the Outcasts - immortals who want to kill Luce. Daniel hides Luce at Shoreline, a school on the rocky California coast with unusually gifted students: Nephilim, the offspring of fallen angels and humans.
At Shoreline, Luce learns what the Shadows are, and how she can use them as windows to her previous lives. Yet the more Luce learns, the more she suspects that Daniel hasn't told her everything. He's hiding something - something dangerous.
What if Daniel's version of the past isn't actually true? What if Luce is really meant to be with someone else?
The second novel in the addictive FALLEN series...where love never dies.

The Traveler

Author: John Twelve Hawkes
Goodreads Rating: 3.80
Discs: 13
Format: Audiobook

In London, Maya, a young woman trained to fight by her powerful father, uses the latest technology to elude detection when walking past the thousands of surveillance cameras that watch the city. In New York, a secret shadow organization uses a victim’s own GPS to hunt him down and kill him. In Los Angeles, Gabriel, a motorcycle messenger with a haunted past, takes pains to live "off the grid" — free of credit cards and government IDs. Welcome to the world of The Traveler — a world frighteningly like our own.In this compelling novel, Maya fights to save Gabriel, the only man who can stand against the forces that attempt to monitor and control society. From the back streets of Prague to the skyscrapers of Manhattan, The Traveler portrays an epic struggle between tyranny and freedom. Not since 1984 have readers witnessed a Big Brother so terrifying in its implications and in a story that so closely reflects our lives.

The Giver

Author: Lois Lowry
Goodreads Rating: 4.11
Pages: 180
Format: Library book

Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community. When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.

Movie/Book Comparison: The Lightning Thief

Author: Rick Riordan
Goodreads Rating: 4.13
My Rating: 4 Stars
Pages: 337
Reviewed by: Nicole

Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school... again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus' master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.
Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus' stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves. 

Becoming Marie Antoinette

Author: Juliet Grey
Goodreads Rating: 3.78
My Rating: 3 Stars
Pages: 435
Reviewed by: Nicole

This enthralling confection of a novel, the first in a new trilogy, follows the transformation of a coddled Austrian archduchess into the reckless, powerful, beautiful queen Marie Antoinette. Why must it be me? I wondered. When I am so clearly inadequate to my destiny?
Raised alongside her numerous brothers and sisters by the formidable empress of Austria, ten-year-old Maria Antonia knew that her idyllic existence would one day be sacrificed to her mother’s political ambitions. What she never anticipated was that the day in question would come so soon.
Before she can journey from sunlit picnics with her sisters in Vienna to the glitter, glamour, and gossip of Versailles, Antonia must changeeverything about herself in order to be accepted as dauphine of France and the wife of the awkward teenage boy who will one day be Louis XVI. Yet nothing can prepare her for the ingenuity and influence it will take to become queen.
Filled with smart history, treacherous rivalries, lavish clothes, and sparkling jewels, Becoming Marie Antoinette will utterly captivate fiction and history lovers alike.

Thirteen Reasons Why

Author: Jay Asher
Goodreads Rating: 4.06
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pages: 288
Reviewed by: Nicole

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers thirteen cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, his classmate and crush who committed suicide two weeks earlier.On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list.Through Hannah and Clay's dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers.

Eldest (Inheritance #2)

Author: Christopher Paolini
Goodreads Rating: 3.88
My Rating: 3 Stars
Pages: 679
Reviewed By: Nicole

Darkness falls ...Despair abounds ...Evil reigns ...Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have just saved the rebel state from destruction by the mighty forces of King Galbatorix, cruel ruler of the Empire. Now Eragon must travel to Ellesmera, land of the elves, for further training in magic and swordsmanship, the vital skills of the Dragon Rider.
It is the journey of a lifetime, filled with awe-inspiring new places and people, each day a fresh adventure. But chaos and betrayal plague him at every turn, and Eragon isn't sure whom he can trust. Meanwhile, his cousin Roran must fight a new battle back home in Carvahall - one that puts Eragon in even graver danger. Will the king's dark hand strangle all resistance? Eragon may not escape with even his life.

The Last Lecture

Author: Randy Pausch
Goodreads Rating: 4.19
My Rating: 4 Stars
Pages: 5 Disks
Reviewed By: Nicole

"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand."— Randy PauschA lot of professors give talks titled "The Last Lecture." Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them. And while they speak, audiences can't help but mull the same question: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy?When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave--"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"--wasn't about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because "time is all you have...and you may find one day that you have less than you think"). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was aboutliving.In this book, Randy Pausch has combined the humor, inspiration and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon and given it an indelible form. It is a book that will be shared for generations to come!!

Heat Rises (Nikki Heat #3)

Author: Richard Castle
Goodreads Rating: 3.85
My Rating: 3 Stars
Pages: 269
Reviewed by: Nicole

"Richard Castle proves as adept at writing thrillers as he is at solving crimes. HEAT rises to the occasion."-Dennis Lehane, bestselling author Fast-paced and full of intrigue, Heat Rises pairs the tough and sexy NYPD Homicide Detective Nikki Heat with hotshot reporter Jameson Rook in New York Times bestselling author Richard Castle's most thrilling mystery yet. 
The bizarre murder of a parish priest at a New York bondage club opens Nikki Heat's most thrilling and dangerous case so far, pitting her against New York's most vicious drug lord, an arrogant CIA contractor, and a shadowy death squad out to gun her down. And that is just the tip of an iceberg that leads to a dark conspiracy reaching all the way to the highest level of the NYPD. 
But when she gets too close to the truth, Nikki finds herself disgraced, stripped of her badge, and out on her own as a target for killers, with nobody she can trust. Except maybe the one man in her life who's not a cop: reporter Jameson Rook. 
In the midst of New York's coldest winter in a hundred years, there's one thing Nikki is determined to prove: Heat Rises. This ebook includes an alternate cover created by one of Richard Castle's biggest fans.

The End of Normal

Author: Stephanie Madoff Mack
Goodreads Rating: 3.61
My Rating: 4 Stars
Pages: 221
Reviewed by: Nicole

An explosive, heartbreaking memoir from the widow of Mark Madoff and daughter-in-law of Bernard Madoff, the first genuine inside story from a family member who has lived through -- and survived -- both the public crisis and her own deeply personal tragedy.

Vanish (Firelight #2)

Author: Sophie Jordan
Goodreads Rating: 4.06
My Rating: 4 Stars
Pages: 294
Reviewed by: Nicole

I got this book from the library for my mom, and wound up having to renew the book several times before I got around to reading it.

Goodreads Synopses:

An impossible romance.
Bitter rivalries.
Deadly choices.

To save the life of the boy she loves, Jacinda did the unthinkable: She betrayed the most closely-guarded secret of her kind. Now she must return to the protection of her pride knowing she might never see Will again—and worse, that because his mind has been shaded, Will’s memories of that fateful night and why she had to flee are gone.

Back home, Jacinda is greeted with hostility and must work to prove her loyalty for both her sake and her family’s. Among the few who will even talk to her are Cassian, the pride’s heir apparent who has always wanted her, and her sister, Tamra, who has been forever changed by a twist of fate. Jacinda knows that she should forget Will and move on—that if he managed to remember and keep his promise to find her, it would only endanger them both. Yet she clings to the hope that someday they will be together again. When the chance arrives to follow her heart, will she risk everything for love?

Firelight

Author: Sophie Jordan
Goodreads Rating: 3.99
My Rating: 4/5 stars
Pages: 323
Reviewed by: Nicole


I initially got this book for my mom to read during her week off with the intention of reading it afterward. My mom loves dragons, so this book was right up her alley when it came to her reading preferences. I got the chance to read it (it is a library book so I do have to return it). Another great trilogy, that luckily strays away from the usual dystopian theme.


Goodreads Synopses:


A hidden truth. 
Mortal enemies. 
Doomed love.

Marked as special at an early age, Jacinda knows her every move is watched. But she longs for freedom to make her own choices. When she breaks the most sacred tenet among her kind, she nearly pays with her life. Until a beautiful stranger saves her. A stranger who was sent to hunt those like her. For Jacinda is a draki—a descendant of dragons whose greatest defense is her secret ability to shift into human form.

Forced to flee into the mortal world with her family, Jacinda struggles to adapt to her new surroundings. The only bright light is Will. Gorgeous, elusive Will who stirs her inner draki to life. Although she is irresistibly drawn to him, Jacinda knows Will's dark secret: He and his family are hunters. She should avoid him at all costs. But her inner draki is slowly slipping away—if it dies she will be left as a human forever. She'll do anything to prevent that. Even if it means getting closer to her most dangerous enemy.

Mythical powers and breathtaking romance ignite in this story of a girl who defies all expectations and whose love crosses an ancient divide.

Fly into my review after the jump!

Captive Queen

Author: Alison Weir
Goodreads Rating: 3.43
My Rating: 3.25 Stars
Length: 20 Hours
Reviewed by: Nicole


Not my usual historical period, but I saw the cover of the audiobook one summer, and finally got around to picking it up from the library. This was a little out of my comfort zone as far as history goes, but I did find that it was easy enough to settle into this time period. I have listened to other works by Alison Weir and enjoyed them although so far this one has more sex than is comfortable to listen to.


Goodreads Synopses:


Nearing her thirtieth birthday, Eleanor has spent the past dozen frustrating years as consort to the pious King Louis VII of France. For all its political advantages, the marriage has brought Eleanor only increasing unhappiness—and daughters instead of the hoped-for male heir. But when the young and dynamic Henry of Anjou arrives at the French court, Eleanor sees a way out of her discontent. For even as their eyes meet for the first time, the seductive Eleanor and the virile Henry know that theirs is a passion that could ignite the world.

Returning to her duchy of Aquitaine after the annulment of her marriage to Louis, Eleanor immediately sends for Henry, the future King of England, to come and marry her. The union of this royal couple will create a vast empire that stretches from the Scottish border to the Pyrenees, and marks the beginning of the celebrated Plantagenet dynasty.

But Henry and Eleanor’s marriage, charged with physical heat, begins a fiery downward spiral marred by power struggles, betrayals, bitter rivalries, and a devil’s brood of young Plantagenets—including Richard the Lionheart and the future King John. Early on, Eleanor must endure Henry’s formidable mother, the Empress Matilda, as well as his infidelities, while in later years, Henry’s friendship with Thomas Becket will lead to a deadly rivalry. Eventually, as the couple’s rebellious sons grow impatient for power, the scene is set for a vicious and tragic conflict that will engulf both Eleanor and Henry.

Vivid in detail, epic in scope, Captive Queen is an astounding and brilliantly wrought historical novel that encompasses the building of an empire and the monumental story of a royal marriage.


Check out my review.

The Paris Wife

Author: Paula McLain
Goodreads rating: 3.72
My Rating: 4 Stars
Pages: 314
Reviewed by: Nicole


I've wanted to read this book since I last summer, but I'm not a huge fan of hardcover books, and so I didn't want to purchase it. I saw that I could get it on e-files this winter and so it was one of the first few books that I added to my list. I can't way I've ever read anything by Hemingway, but I couldn't wait to read it all the same.


Goodreads synopses:


A deeply evocative story of ambition and betrayal, The Paris Wifecaptures a remarkable period of time and a love affair between two unforgettable people: Ernest Hemingway and his wife Hadley.

Chicago, 1920: Hadley Richardson is a quiet twenty-eight-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness—until she meets Ernest Hemingway and her life changes forever. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group—the fabled “Lost Generation”—that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.

Though deeply in love, the Hemingways are ill-prepared for the hard-drinking and fast-living life of Jazz Age Paris, which hardly values traditional notions of family and monogamy. Surrounded by beautiful women and competing egos, Ernest struggles to find the voice that will earn him a place in history, pouring all the richness and intensity of his life with Hadley and their circle of friends into the novel that will become The Sun Also Rises. Hadley, meanwhile, strives to hold on to her sense of self as the demands of life with Ernest grow costly and her roles as wife, friend, and muse become more challenging. Despite their extraordinary bond, they eventually find themselves facing the ultimate crisis of their marriage—a deception that will lead to the unraveling of everything they’ve fought so hard for.

A heartbreaking portrayal of love and torn loyalty, The Paris Wife is all the more poignant because we know that, in the end, Hemingway wrote that he would rather have died than fallen in love with anyone but Hadley.


My review after the jump.

The Devil in the White City

Author: Erik Larson
Goodreads Rating: 3.92 Stars
My Rating: 2.5 Stars
Pages: 447
Reviewed by: Nicole 


I was drawn to this book because of the serial killer aspect, and I have to admit that I thought that the book was going to be mostly about the killer, Holmes, and his actions and victims. I was seriously mistaken though since the book talks all about the fair and the building the fair, and the events and people surrounding it. 


Goodreads Synopses:


Author Erik Larson imbues the incredible events surrounding the 1893 Chicago World's Fair with such drama that readers may find themselves checking the book's categorization to be sure that 'The Devil in the White City' is not, in fact, a highly imaginative novel. Larson tells the stories of two men: Daniel H. Burnham, the architect responsible for the fair's construction, and H.H. Holmes, a serial killer masquerading as a charming doctor.

Burnham's challenge was immense. In a short period of time, he was forced to overcome the death of his partner and numerous other obstacles to construct the famous "White City" around which the fair was built. His efforts to complete the project, and the fair's incredible success, are skillfully related along with entertaining appearances by such notables as Buffalo Bill Cody, Susan B. Anthony, and Thomas Edison.

The activities of the sinister Dr. Holmes, who is believed to be responsible for scores of murders around the time of the fair, are equally remarkable. He devised and erected the World's Fair Hotel, complete with crematorium and gas chamber, near the fairgrounds and used the event as well as his own charismatic personality to lure victims.


My review after the jump.

Before I Fall

Author: Lauren Oliver
Goodreads Rating: 4.01
My Rating: 3 Stars
Pages: 470
Reviewed by: Nicole


I was curious about this book so when I saw it at the library I decided to give it a go. In doing so, I bumped it ahead of all other books that have been patiently waiting on my reading list (all year I might add). This is the fourth time that I am reviewing one of her books, and it won't be the last since her latest release Pandemonium is among those sitting patiently in line.


Goodreads Synopses:

What if you only had one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?

Samantha Kingston has it all: looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it turns out to be her last.

The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. Living the last day of her life seven times during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death--and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

Check out my review:

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Author: Stieg Larsson
Goodreads Rating: 3.99
My Rating: 4 Stars
Length: 16 Hours (465 Pages)


I gave into the hype for this book, not because of the hype, but because my boyfriend, who (if you're new) hates books, said it was great. Because of this, I just had to try it. Since I had heard all bad things about the start of the book, I decided to try it in audio version. I knew that it was supposed to be graphic, but it wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be. That being said, I'm not sure if I'll watch the movie or not.


Goodreads Synopses:


Once you start The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, there's no turning back. This debut thriller--the first in a trilogy from the late Stieg Larsson--is a serious page-turner rivaling the best of Charlie Huston and Michael Connelly. Mikael Blomkvist, a once-respected financial journalist, watches his professional life rapidly crumble around him. Prospects appear bleak until an unexpected (and unsettling) offer to resurrect his name is extended by an old-school titan of Swedish industry. The catch--and there's always a catch--is that Blomkvist must first spend a year researching a mysterious disappearance that has remained unsolved for nearly four decades. With few other options, he accepts and enlists the help of investigator Lisbeth Salander, a misunderstood genius with a cache of authority issues. Little is as it seems in Larsson's novel, but there is at least one constant: you really don't want to mess with the girl with the dragon tattoo. 


Follow the jump to see my review. Warning: graphic details to follow.

Have a Little Faith

Author: Mitch Albom
Goodreads Rating: 4.09
My Rating: 4 Stars
Pages: 249


I found that I really enjoyed Mitch Albom's books after I read The Five People You Meet In Heaven, After that I just kept reading his books. I added this book to my Nook requests from the library, and I read it in a few days. I've been told that most of his books are tear-jerkers, and while I didn't find either of the books I previously read to make me want to cry (I haven't gotten to Tuesdays with Morrie), this one did make me tear up even though I was expecting the ending.


Goodreads synopses:


What if our beliefs were not what divided us, but what pulled us together? In "Have a Little Faith," Albom ("Tuesdays with Morrie") offers a beautifully written story of a remarkable eight-year journey between two worlds--two men, two faiths, two communities--that will inspire readers everywhere.


Click to check out my review.

Water for Elephants

Author: Sarah Gruen
Goodreads Rating: 4.06
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pages: 335


I saw all the movie previews for this book so in traditional me fashion, I wanted to read the book first. I got it from the library so it was a waiting game as to when I would get to read it. Now that I have its another book that I can't believe I waited so long to pick it up. Why must there be so many books in the world?


Goodreads Synopses:


An atmospheric, gritty, and compelling novel of star-crossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932, by the bestselling author of "Riding Lessons." "Gritty, sensual and charged with dark secrets involving love, murder and a majestic, mute heroine (Rosie the Elephant)."Q"Parade."


My review after the jump.

Distant Waves

Author: Suzanne Wyen
Goodreads Rating: 3.74
My Rating: 3.5 Stars
Pages: 319
Reviewed By: Nicole


I've already expressed my love of the Titanic on Tuesday with my post about the Lost Voices From the Titanic. Today's post is in memoriam of the sinking of the ship, and when it hit the iceberg. This is a Scholastic book so it is geared more for middle school readers or even a little younger. I will admit that I was mislead in this book, but like all Scholastic books, it managed to maintain the educational aspect.


Goodreads Synopses:


Science, spiritualism, history, and romance intertwine in Suzanne Weyn's newest novel. Four sisters and their mother make their way from a spiritualist town in New York to London, becoming acquainted with journalist W. T. Stead, scientist Nikola Tesla, and industrialist John Jacob Astor. When they all find themselves on the Titanic, one of Tesla's inventions dooms them...and one could save them.


My review after the jump.