A Touch Mortal

TITLE: A Touch Mortal

AUTHOR: Leah Clifford

PUBLISHER: Greenwillow Books

RELEASE DATE:  February 22, 2011

PAGES: 417

MY RATING: 2.5/5

INSIDE COVER BLURB: Eden didn't expect Az.

Not his saunter down the beach toward her. Not his unbelievable pick-up line. Not the instant, undeniable connection. And not his wings.

Yeah.

So long, happily-ever-after.

Now trapped between life and death, cursed to spread chaos with her every tough, Eden could be the key in the the eternal struggle between heaven and hell. All because she gave her heart to one of the Fallen, an angel cast out of heaven.

She may lose everything she ever had. She may be betrayed by those she loves most. But Eden will not be a pawn in anyone else's game. Her heart is her own.

And that's only the beginning of the end.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: I really wanted to like this book. And it almost had me. But there was just some things about it that I don't believe were up to par all the way. First of all, I was very confused in the beginning of the book. I didn't understand what all of the characters were and exactly what they could do. I'm still not really sure about that. Also, I feel like the plot was a little lacking. I didn't understand what the plot was supposed to be about really. It didn't seem like there was a direction. I was left with some questions such as where is the story line going? What are they hiding from? What is the goal of any of the groups in the story. I just didn't understand what I was supposed to get out of the book. Now, all of that being said, I really enjoyed the last couple of chapters. They were very exciting and it seemed like a small plot took place. I don't want to get too much into the story because I don't want to give anything away, but some characters were trying to save another character and it gave the book a little bit of somewhere to go. In other words, at the end of the book, there was a conflict and a resolution.

The book was left in a way that makes me believe there will be a sequel, and I am interesting in reading that, to see if the author uses what happened at the end of the story to create another book that has a little more depth to it and a more prominent direction.

CHARACTERS: I enjoyed all of the characters in this book. They all had their own personalities and it seemed like they were well rounded.

COVER: Great cover. I love the dark feel of it and the tagline on it fits the story perfectly (She's been betrayed by life, by love, and by death.

*I received a copy of this book from the Amazon Vine program for review.

Bumped by Megan McCafferty (ARC)

TITLE: Bumped

AUTHOR: Megan McCafferty

PUBLISHER: Balzer + Bray

RELEASE DATE: April 25, 2011

PAGES: 336

MY RATING: 3/5

BACK COVER BLURB: When a virus makes everyone over the age of eighteen infertile, would-be parents must pay teen girls to conceive and give birth to their children, making teens the most prized members of society.

Sixteen-year old identical twins Melody and Harmony were separated at birth and had never met until the day Harmony shows up on Melody's doorstep. Until now, the twins have followed completely opposite paths. Melody has scored an enviable conception contract with a couple called the Jaydens. While they search for the perfect partner for Melody to bump with, she is fighting her attraction to her best friend, Zen, who is way too short for the job.

Harmony has spent her whole life in religious Goodside, preparing to be a wife and mother. She believes her calling is to convince Melody that pregging for profit is a sin. But Harmony has secrets of her own that she is running from.

When Melody is finally matched with the world-famous, genetically flawless Jondoe, both girls' lives are changed forever. A case of mistaken identity takes them on a journey neither could have imagined, one that makes Melody and Harmony realize they have so much more than just DNA in common.

From New York Times bestselling author of Megan McCafferty comes a strikingly original look at friendship, love, and sisterhood--in a future that is eerily believable.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: The book was okay. Not my favorite, but I did not have any trouble getting through the whole thing. When I first started reading the books I had to get used to the lingo. The book is written in the future and includes terms such as "bumping" and "MiNet". There was never really an explanation of the terms so I had to figure out their meanings on my own.

CHARACTERS: I really like the character of Melody. She is very easy to relate to. She has inhibitions about "bumping" with a boy and she seems uneasy about the whole process. Harmony, on the other hand, was not an enjoyable character for me, especially at first. She was very preachy and pushed her thoughts onto everyone a little too much. She did grow throughout the story, but I still was not fond of her personality. My favorite character in the book was Zen. He was very caring throughout the whole book and is the kind of guy that you root for all the way up to the ending.

COVER: Love the cover. Very simple and cute!

*I received a copy of this book from Amazon Vine.

Book Vending Machine

Hey guys! I saw this today when I was browsing the web and I had to share it. It's so awesome! A book vending machine! I'd be worried that the books would get damaged dropping from the top shelf, but maybe there's an arm or something that pulls them down. Check out more at the website here: http://theharperstudio.com/2009/08/a-book-vending-machine/

Populazzi by Elise Allen (ARC)

TITLE: Populazzi

AUTHOR: Elise Allen

PUBLISHER: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

RELEASE DATE: 8/1/2011

PAGES: 400

MY RATING: 3/5

GOODREADS SUMMARY: Cara has always dreamed of being a Populazzi, one of the popular crowd. But it’s not until she changes schools that she gets a shot at it, thanks to her best friend Claudia’s crazy plan. The idea is simple: The rungs of The Ladder are relationships. First get a boyfriend who's ranked low, then climb up through more boyfriends until you're not just one of the Populazzi, but the Supreme Populazzi. Yet what starts off as a fairy tale turns into a somewhat dark comedy of errors. Just when Cara reaches the top, her life hits rock bottom. She wonders why she wanted to be popular in the first place—and if there’s any way to live happily ever after now.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: This was a cute fun read. We've all gone through high school so we all know what it's like wanting to be liked by other people and to have lots of friends. The book made me want to keep reading to see whether or not Cara would fit in with the crowd she desperately wanted attention from.

CHARACTERS: I liked the main character, Cara. There were some parts of the book where she wasn't the greatest most selfless person, but she is in high school and she is worried about fitting in with the popular crowd, which is something that I think is pretty common. The two characters that I did not like at all were Cara's mother and Cara's stepfather. I feel that they were way too harsh on her and it was completely out of line the way that they treated her. We all make mistakes, but the way that Karl (Cara's stepfather) handled the punishment was totally unacceptable. My favorite character was Archer. He was just all around a great guy.

COVER: The cover is cute. I love all of the bright colors and the girl on it looks the way I would imagine Cara to look.

*I recieved a copy of this book from netgalley.

This Girl is Different By JJ Johnson (ARC)

TITLE: This Girl is Different

AUTHOR: JJ Johnson

PUBLISHER: Peachtree Publishers

RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2011

PAGES: 288

MY RATING: 3.5/5

GOODREADS SUMMARY: This girl is different… That’s what Evie has always told herself—and it’s true. Home-schooled by her counter culture mom, she’s decided to see what high school is like for the first time—for her senior year. And what a year it is.

As it turns out, it’s not just Evie who’s Different. Lots of people are. Many of her assumptions about others are turned on their heads as she makes friends with kids her own age for the first time, discovers what’s good and what’s bad about high school, and learns lessons about power and its abuse—both by the administration and by Evie herself.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: This was a good book. I have recently started watching the show Gossip Girl, and this book reminded me of it what with the whole online gossip blog. This book was a good example of standing up for what you believe in, but also figuring out the right way to do that without hurting people along the way. Overall, a great story with a good lesson.

CHARACTERS: I liked all of the characters in this book. While they got into some petty arguments, they were all honest with each other for the most part.

COVER: 3/5 This was an okay cover. I'm not sure if it would catch my attention on a shelf next to a bunch of other books, but it definitely ties into the story line.

*I received a copy of this book from netgalley.