The Dark Divine

TITLE: The Dark Divine

AUTHOR: Bree Despain

PAGES: 372

MY RATING: (4 out of 5)

INSIDE COVER BLURB: Grace Divine--daughter of the local pastor--always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared and her brother Jude came home covered in his own blood.

Now that Daniel's returned, Grace must choose between her growing attraction to him and her loyalty to her brother.

As Grace gets closer to Daniel, she learns the truth about that mysterious night and how to save the ones she loves, but it might cost her the one thing she cherishes most: her soul.

MY REVIEW:First of all, I absolutely love the cover of this book. I am obsessed with purple and I really like covers that are dark and fairly simple.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was suspenseful throughout the entire story. I was a little bit confused throughout the first part of the story as to what was going on, but that's what made the story good for me. I didn't have any major clues early on as to what was going to happen when I got further into the book. The ending of the book left the story open for a sequel, which I hope will be out soon because I cannot wait to see what happens next (assuming there's going to be a sequel).


I won this book in a giveaway at Fantastic Book Review and it was personally signed to me.

Book Review Wednesdays

Shiver

TITLE: Shiver

AUTHOR: Maggie Stiefvater

PUBLISHER: Scholastic Press

PAGES: 390

MY RATING: (4 out of 5)

INSIDE COVER BLURB: The Cold.

Grace has spent years watching the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf--her wolf--watches back. He feels deeply familiar to her, but she doesn't know why.

The Heat.

Sam has lived two lives. As a wolf, he keeps the silent company of the girl he loves. And then, for a short time each year, he is human, never daring to talk to Grace...until now.

The Shiver.

For Grace and Sam, love has always been kept at a distance. But once it's spoken, it cannot be denied. Sam must fight to stay human--and Grace must fight to keep him--even if it means taking on the scars of the past, the fragility of the present, and the impossibility of the future.

MY REVIEW: First of all, I love that the writing in this book is in blue ink instead of black, that's just awesome :). The book itself was a very good read. I liked how it was written from both of their sides so that you could see each of their views on what was happening. The story moved fairly quickly and kept me wondering if and when Sam would change into a wolf again. I think the only problem that I had with this book was how fast Sam and Grace seemed to fall in love. I know that they had watched each other for many years before Grace knew that it was Sam that was the wolf, but to me it seemed they moved rather quickly and there was no build up of their relationship.

I'm looking forward to the next book, Linger, and I wonder if it will have green ink in the pages as the cover is green :0

Book Review Wednesdays

Kissed by an Angel

TITLE: Kissed by An Angel

AUTHOR: Elizabeth Chandler

PAGES: Book 1-230, Book 2-225, Book 3-235

MY RATING: (5 out of 5)

BACK COVER BLURB: A love beyond life...a danger beyond that.

When her boyfriend, Tristan, died, Ivy thought she'd lost everything, even her faith in angels. But now she's discovered that he's her guardian angel--his presence so strong that she can feel the touch of his hand, the beat of his heart. Ivy needs Tristan now more than ever because he knows she's in terrible danger. Only Ivy's guardian angel can save her, now that his killer is after her.

But if Tristan rescues Ivy, his mission on earth will be finished, and he must leave her behind forever. Will saving Ivy mean losing her just when he's finally reached her again?

MY REVIEW: I absolutely loved this book. It's actually three books in one: Kissed by an Angel, The Power of Love, and Soulmates. I think that if I had picked up the first part of the story as a book all by itself, it wouldn't have been as good. The first book starts out building up the relationship between Ivy and Tristan, and because after reading the back of the book I knew that Tristan was going to die, I was kind of just waiting for that to happen. I guess I wish I hadn't read the back of the book because it did give a lot away. But either way, I still really enjoyed the book. I loved the relationship between Ivy and Tristan. You could tell it was pure and true. As I read the book I could feel the feelings of both Tristan and Ivy (the book is told from both of their perspectives, jumping back and forth). Great book overall.

http://cymlowell.blogspot.com/2010/03/book-review-party-wednesday-starts.html

Eye Contact

TITLE: Eye Contact

AUTHOR: Cammie McGovern

PAGES: 288

MY RATING: (4 out of 5)

INSIDE COVER BLURB: As children wage mock battles in the playground of Woodside Elementary School, two students, a little girl and boy, seem to vanish, last seen heading across the soccer field toward the woods behind the school. Hours pass and then only one of them, Adam, a nine-year-old boy with autism, is found alive, the sole witness to an incomprehensible killing. Barely verbal on the best of days, Adam has retreated into a silent world that Cara, his mother, knows only too well. With her community in shock and her son unable to help with the police investigation, Cara tries to decode the puzzling events.

When another child goes missing, Adam's mother realizes that only she can unlock her son's silence and interpret the changes in Adam's behavior not only to help him through the trauma, but also to help the police catch a killer. And as she moves closer to exposing the truth, her unsettling past begins to emerge from the shadows. In her desperate desire to protect her child from real life, has she made his world a more dangerous place?

A thrilling novel of psychological suspense and a gripping tale of a crime that strikes at the core of a small community, Cammie McGovern's heartrending novel is, above all, the powerful story of the tender and complex bond between a mother and her young son.

MY REVIEW: I had never heard of this book or this author before, but stumbled upon the book at a bookstore in the bargain bin, and I'm really glad that I found it. The book was suspenseful the whole way through. I found myself wondering throughout the whole book if anyone was ever going to be able to get Adam, who is autistic, to tell what happened that day in the woods. I would definitely recommend this one to everyone.

Book Review Wednesdays

Graceling

TITLE: Graceling

AUTHOR: Kristin Cashore

PAGES: 471

MY RATING: (2 out of 5)

BACK COVER BLURB: Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight--she's a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king's thug.

When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change.

She never expects to become Po's friend.

She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace--or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away...

MY REVIEW: I've seen so many great reviews of this book and how everyone loved it, but I just couldn't get into it. I really wanted to be able to like this book, and I hoped it would get better as I read further into it, but it didn't. I don't know, it was a very good idea for a story and Cashore's writing was fine, but the story line didn't do enough for me. It was very slow moving and it didn't seem like there was much going on in the story. I just think the story line could have been 'beefed up' a little more; adding in more action instead of just a long walk through the forest.

Anyone else have any opinions on this one?

Dizzy

TITLE: Dizzy

AUTHOR: Cathy Cassidy

PAGES: 247

MY RATING: (3 out of 5)


BACK COVER BLURB: It's Dizzy's birthday. Every year she looks forward to only one thing. Not a huge present. Not a fabulous party. Not even a cake. Just a letter, or a small homemade something. It isn't what comes every year, it's who it comes from. Dizzy hasn't seen her mother in eight years, and the only time she hears from her is on her birthday. It's the only thing she has ever been able to count on from her mother her whole life. But this year Dizzy's mom has a surprise for her. And Dizzy will never be the same....

MY REVIEW: This was a really cute book. It was very predictable, but it was still really good. It didn't take me very long to read it, as it's a pretty short book, but I enjoyed every minute of it. The character relationships are interesting and the whole book was just fun.