Servants of the Storm Review

Goodreads

TITLE: Servants of the Storm

AUTHOR: Delilah S. Dawson

PUBLISHER: Simon Pulse

PUBLICATION DATE: 8/5/2014

PAGES: 384

MY RATING:

**I received an ARC of this book from Amazon Vine for my honest review.**

BACK COVER SUMMARY: A year ago Hurricane Josephine swept through Savannah, Georgia, leaving behind nothing but death and destruction--and taking the life of Dovey's best friend, Carly. Since that night, Dovey has been in a medicated haze, numb to everything around her.

But recently she's started to believe she's seeing things that can't be real...including Carly at their favorite cafe. Determined to learn the truth, Dovey stops taking her pills. And the world that opens up to her is unlike anything she could have imagined.

As Dovey slips deeper into the shadowy corners of Savannah--where the dark and horrifying secrets lurk--she leans that the storm that destroyed her city and stole her friend was much more than a force of nature. And now the sinister beings truly responsible are out to finish what they started.

Dovey's running out of time and torn between two paths. Will she trust her childhood friend Baker, who can't see the threatening darkness but promises never to give up on Dovey or Carly? Or will she plot with the sexy stranger, Isaac, who offers all the answers--for a price? Soon Dovey starts to realize that the danger closing in might have little to do with Carly...and everything to do with Dovey herself.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: The first chapter hooked me into the story. The beginning of the book was very strange and mysterious and then it started to remind me of City of Bones with the mysterious boy and the night club with strange characters, as well as a few other similarities that I don't want to get into because of spoilers. But I definitely enjoyed this story. It did have a few moments where it started to drag a little bit for me, but overall I really enjoyed it and liked how it all came together. The ending was the perfect ending for a horror type book and I thought it was great.

CHARACTERS: There is a dreaded love triangle in this book which is annoying and I wish I never had to read about another one those again, but it is what it is. I really like Isaac. He's mysterious and protective, and just an all around fun guy.

COVER: 5/5. The cover of this book freaks me out so bad, but I love that because while I despise scary movies, I love scary books and the cover of this makes me think this book will be terrifying.

Bout of Books Scavenger Hunt

The Bout of Books Scavenger Hunt is one of the first challenges as part of the Bout of Books readathon. The challenge is hosted by The Book Monsters.  I posted all of my images on Instagram so feel free to go check them out there!

1. A book that begins with "B".

I chose Burn for Burn by Jenny Haan. I have not read this, but hope to get to it one day.

2. A book that has been made into a movie/tv show.

I chose A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I loved this book was I was younger and recently found this gorgeous edition at Barnes and Noble.

3. A series you love.

I chose Shugo Chara! by Peach-Pit. I have only read this first book in this manga series, but I love it so much. It is super cute and I'm also really excited to start watching the anime.

4. An anthology of poems or short stories.

I chose The Wizard of Oz the First Five Novels by L. Frank Baum. I'm moving and most of my books are packed in boxes right now so this was the closest I could get to finding a book that fit into this category.

5. A book on your TBR shelf.

I chose Precious Blood by Tonya Hurley. Look at the cover of this one!

Bout of Books Progress

Monday (8/18/2014):
Books Read From: Servants of the Storm
Pages Read: 183
Books Completed:
Challenges Completed: Bout of Books Scavenger Hunt

Tuesday (8/19/2014):
Books Read From: Servants of the Storm
Pages Read: 88
Books Completed:
Challenges Completed:

Wednesday (8/20/2014):
Books Read From: Servants of the Storm, Let's Get Lost
Pages Read: 145
Books Completed: Servants of the Storm
Challenges Completed:

Thursday (8/21/2014):
Books Read From: Let's Get Lost
Pages Read: 32
Books Completed:
Challenges Completed:

Friday (8/22/2014):
Books Read From: Let's Get Lost
Pages Read: 94
Books Completed:
Challenges Completed:

Saturday (8/23/2014):
Books Read From: Let's Get Lost
Pages Read: 68
Books Completed:
Challenges Completed:

Sunday (8/24/2014):
Books Read From: Let's Get Lost, A Little Princess
Pages Read: 94
Books Completed: Let's Get Lost
Challenges Completed:

Wrap-up:
Number of Books Completed: 2
Books Completed: Servants of the Storm, Let's Get Lost
Pages Read: 704

I also completed an audiobook that I had started a while ago (Glitter and Glue by Kelly Corrigan) and started another audiobook (My Story by Elizabeth Smart).

Four Review

Goodreads

TITLE: Four

AUTHOR: Veronica Roth

PUBLISHER: Katherine Tegen Books

PUBLICATION DATE: 7/8/2014

PAGES: 285

MY RATING: 

(3.75/5)

INSIDE COVER SUMMARY: Two years before Beatrice Prior made her choice, the sixteen-year-old son of Abnegation's faction leader did the same. Tobias's transfer to Dauntless is a chance to begin again. Here, he will not be called the name his parents gave him. Here, he will not let fear turn him into a cowering child.

Newly christened "Four," he discovers during initiation that he will succeed in Dauntless. Initiation is only the beginning, though; Four must claim his place in the Dauntless hierarchy. His decisions will affect future initiates as well as uncover secrets that could threaten his own future--and the future of the entire faction system. 

Two years later, Four is poised to take action, but the course is still unclear. The first new initiate who jumps into the net might change all that. With her, the way to righting their world might become clear. With her, it might become possible to be Tobias once again.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: This book was great. I loved seeing Four's perspective on things and getting a glimpse inside his head. I've never really understood when people claim to have "book boyfriends" but Four's character made me come really close to understanding the meaning of it, he is by far my favorite male love-interest that I've ever read about, and that was after having read just the Divergent series. This collection of stories made me love him even more. I loved getting the inside look at his life and how he turned into the Dauntless member we met in Divergent.

CHARACTERS: I've already pretty much covered this. I loved the character of Four and I'm glad to have more of an understand of what makes him the way he is.

COVER: 5/5. I love this cover so much! It is super shiny and eye catching. I love that it ties into the rest of the Divergent series.

WWW Wednesdays #1

Answer 3 questions.

*What are you reading?

*What did you recently finish reading?

*What do you think you'll read next?

1. What are you reading?

The Secret Hum of a Daisy by Tracy Holczer. This is an ARC I received for review.

Shugo Chara! Vol. 1 by Peach-Pit. I'm trying to get into reading manga. This is the second one I've ever read.

Every Day by David Levithan. I'm listening to this one on audio book.

2. What Did You Recently Finish Reading?

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner. This is the second book in the Maze Runner series. I'm working my way through the series before the movie comes out.

3. What Do You Think You'll Read Next?

Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid. Another ARC for review. I'm excited to read this especially since I am about to move across country and I'm driving!

Bout of Books is Coming!!

Bout of Books

I've been itching for another read-a-thon to participate in and I discovered that this one begins the day after my last day of work at my current job. I'm going to be moving across the country soon, so I'm taking some time off from work to get things packed up and ready to go, but first, I'll be taking the week of Aug. 18 - 24th off from everything except for reading!

Here's the official blurb from the Bout of Books Site:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 18th and runs through Sunday, August 24th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 11 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Check it out and sign up if you're interested!

Zac & Mia Review

Goodreads

TITLE: Zac & Mia

AUTHOR: A. J. Betts

PUBLISHER: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers

PUBLICATION DATE: 9/2/2014

PAGES: 304

MY RATING: 

**I received an ARC of this book from Amazon Vine and the publisher for my honest review.

BACK COVER SUMMARY: The last person Zac expects to meet in the hospital room next door is a girl like Mia--beautiful, angry, and feisty, with questionable taste in music. In the real world he could never be friends with a girl like her. But when a knock on the wall leads to a note, a friendship surprises them both. Does Mia need Zac? Does Zac need Mia? Maybe they both need each other, always.

Told in alternating perspectives over nine months, Zac and Mia follows the relationship of two ordinary teenagers enduring extraordinary circumstances, in this tough and tender young adult novel that's a lot about love...and a little about cancer.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: Something sucked me into this book the moment I started reading it. I didn't want to put it down and I ended up finishing it in less than 24 hours. At 304 pages, it's pretty short and the captivating writing makes it really easy to fly through.I really like the way the perspective was done with this story. The first part of the story is told through Zac's perspective, the second part of the story is told through the alternating perspectives of both Zac and Mia, and the third part of the story is told through Mia's perspective. This made it so that I was able to get to know Zac, then see how the two characters worked together, and then finally get to know Mia more in depth. 

**SPOILERS**

I was slightly disappointed in the ending. I wanted a more definitive ending that showed further into the future. I wanted to know exactly what happened to both Zac and Mia in terms of how their cancer was doing, as well as how the relationship between the two developed.

**END SPOILERS**

CHARACTERS: I loved the character development throughout this story. I loved getting to know both Zac and Mia on an individual level as well as seeing their interactions together. I feel like I know a lot about them and how they feel and deal with situations. I also feel like there was a lot of character growth throughout the story. Also, Zac's mother was one of my favorite characters. I could really tell that she cared about her son a lot and would do anything for him.

COVER: 3.5/5 The cover is nice. I like the simplicity of it.