Book Review: Finale

Goodreads summary:

Will love conquer all?

Nora and Patch thought their troubles were behind them. Hank is gone and they should be able to put his ugly vendetta to rest. But in Hank's absence, Nora has become the unwitting head of the Nephilim and must finish what Hank began. Which ultimately means destroying the fallen angels - destroying Patch.

Nora will never let that happen, so she and Patch make a plan: lead everyone to believe they have broken up, and work the system from the inside. Nora will convince the Nephilim that they are making a mistake in fighting the fallen angels, and Patch will find out everything he can from the opposing side. They will end this war before it can even begin.

But the best-laid plans often go awry. Nora is put through the paces in her new role and finds herself drawn to an addictive power she never anticipated.

As the battle lines are drawn, Nora and Patch must confront the differences that have always been between them and either choose to ignore them or let them destroy the love they have always fought for.

My review:

Honestly, I'm just glad this series is over with.  I disliked the first book, but I thought the second and third were a little better, so I was hoping maybe I'd end up liking the final one.  I just didn't care much for it at all.

The Hush, Hush series has improved, I admit.  But Nora's character is still annoying.  In Finale, she's a lot tougher and goes through lots of training.  She's definitely not as whiny as she was in the first book, which is good.  However, she's still really naive and clueless, and she made, in my opinion, some stupid decisions, so overall I don't like her.

I still don't like Patch.  I know, you can go ahead and yell at me.  Everyone else seems to love him.  I just find nothing attractive about him.  At least in Finale, he's not as aggressive and mean as he was in the first book.  He's nice and protective of Nora in this one, but nonetheless, I found him to be a bland character.

Fortunately, there was not much romance in this book.  I was majorly relieved by this - I felt like in the earlier books, there was too much of Nora whining about Patch not paying attention to her, and not enough action.  Well, in Finale, there's more action and plot development, which I appreciated.

However, Patch and Nora's relationship just makes me mad.  On page 59, Nora says, "I'd lost Patch once before, and not to be melodramatic, but death was preferable."  That's just...I can't even.  That's an unhealthy relationship. 

Okay, so onto the actual plot.  I liked it except that the book was so long.  I mean, it was 450 pages, and I definitely think it could've been shortened.  Some parts were kind of boring.  But mostly, the plot was entertaining.  I thought that the betrayal of a certain character was a good twist; I didn't see it coming.  And the ending is very satisfying - although, poor Vee!  I've never liked Vee that much, but I was so sad for what she goes through.

My feelings about the Hush, Hush series are very mixed.  I'm not a fan of this series - I simply can't stand the characters - but I think Becca Fitzpatrick is a decent writer, so I will probably give her future books a try.  And while I personally don't like this series, I think that the diehard fans of Hush, Hush will find Finale to be a great conclusion to the series.

My rating:  5 out of 10 (2.5 stars)

~ The Bookworm

I'm baaack!

This is the last day of NaNoWriMo, and I managed to complete the 50,000 word goal this morning!  My novel is now finished and it's 133 pages and 50,517 words long. :) So excited!  Writing a novel in a month was a crazy but super fun experience!

Anyway, I just wanted to give everyone an idea of the posts and book reviews I'll be adding soon.  I'm going to start doing In My Mailbox, Top Ten Tuesday, and Waiting on Wednesday posts again weekly, and tomorrow, I'll be posting my monthly Top 5 Books post.

Also, you can expect reviews for these books in the next week or two: Through the Ever Night, Time Between Us, Storm, Finale, Stormdancer, and False Memory.  Those are a handful of the books I've read this month that I really want to review. :)

~ The Bookworm

NaNoWriMo Update

So it's halfway through NaNoWriMo now.  Only two more weeks of me staying up late in the night, writing madly to reach each day's word goal.  Then I can read and blog to my heart's content. *happy sigh*

Seriously, NaNoWriMo is crazily fun, and I'm enjoying writing a novel in a month even though it's super stressful.  I have almost 25,000 words so far, so I should hopefully be able to reach 50,000 by the end of the month.  Of course, this probably means no more blog updates till December.  I have a bunch of book reviews I'm dying to write, but I'm so busy with my novel - so they'll have to wait a couple more weeks.

Hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving!  I look forward to posting regularly once again once November is over. :-)

~ The Bookworm

My Top 5 Books of October 2012

Each month, I post a list of the books I've read and what my top five favorite books of the month were.  Here's the books I read in October!

- Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross
- Secret Letters by Leah Scheier
- Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi
- Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst
- Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep
- Kiss of Frost by Jennifer Estep
- Waiting for You by Susane Colasanti
- The List by Siobhan Vivian
- Breathe by Sarah Crossan
- Daimon by Jennifer L. Armentrout
- Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout
- The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
- Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
- Auracle by Gina Rosati
- The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
- Enchanted by Alethea Kontis
- Switched by Amanda Hocking
- Struck by Jennifer Bosworth
- Valkyrie Rising by Ingrid Paulson
- Taken at Dusk by C. C. Hunter
- Macbeth by William Shakespeare
- Hidden by Sophie Jordan
- Dangerous Boy by Mandy Hubbard
- Roar and Liv by Veronica Rossi
- Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi (I was actually rereading this one!)
- Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi

I read a lot of books during October that I like to refer to as "meh."  They were neither good nor bad, just okay-ish.  Fortunately, there were a few books that I really loved, so here's my top five!

1. Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout.  If you spend enough time on my blog, you'll discover that I adore JLA's books.  Half-Blood is pure awesomeness!  It was a thrill ride of a novel and I thought the Greek mythology aspect was utter genius.  And Alex and Aiden?  If there was an award for two characters who need to be a couple, they would totally win it!  Can't wait to read more about them in the rest of the series!

2. Valkyrie Rising by Ingrid Paulson.  Another mythology book.  This story is guaranteed to put a smile on your face with the hilarious Tucker Halloway and the sweet yet feisty heroine, Ellie.  (And Loki is in it!  Yes, THE Loki, god of mischief.)  Just read this book, okay?!  It's epic!

3. Auracle by Gina Rosati.  What a fun read!  The premise is so unique and refreshing and I couldn't wait to turn the page and find out what would happen next.  This was an exhilarating, exciting, and unputdownable book!  Not to mention the great cast of characters.

4. Enchanted by Alethea Kontis.  Aww, I just love fairytale retellings.  And this book is just as enchanting as the title suggests. :) Sweet and magical, this is one spellbinding story that fantasy lovers won't want to miss out on!

5. Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi.  I was lucky enough to win an ARC of this through a contest on the author's blog, and I absolutely adored it.  Fans of the first book will not be disappointed!  This sequel is heartbreaking, action-packed, and flat-out amazing.  I'll be writing a review eventually!

Honorable mention goes to Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi.  I admit that I didn't find Warner that attractive in Shatter Me, but I kind of sort of fell for him in Destroy Me.  Reading this novella from his POV and finding out so much more about his character and background is just heartbreaking.  I can't wait for Unravel Me to come out!

So those are my latest reads/recommendations.  What new books have you discovered recently?  Please leave a comment and mention some books you've just read and loved, or tell me if you've read any of the books on my list!

*Just wanted to remind my followers that I probably won't be posting till next week!  NaNoWriMo is going great so far but it's keeping me busy!

~ The Bookworm

Important Update About NaNoWriMo and My Blog - Please Read!

Just wanted to let everyone know that I am participating in NaNoWriMo this year.  If you don't know what it is, here's the quick explanation: NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month.  It's a challenge to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November.  Check out the link above if you'd like more info!

Anyway, since I'll be pretty busy writing a novel for the next month, I probably won't have much time for blogging. ;) So if you see a lack of posts from me - don't worry!  I will continue blogging regularly once November is over.  I'm going to try to do a couple In My Mailbox or Waiting on Wednesday posts, and perhaps a couple book reviews, but that might be it for November updates from me.

So that's all!  Just wanted everyone to know why I won't be around much next month.  And good luck to any fellow NaNo participants out there! :)

~ The Bookworm

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Favorite Kick-Butt Heroines

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Broke and Bookish.  Each week a new list topic is posted and book bloggers fill in their choices.  This week's topic is "Top Ten Favorite Kick-Butt Heroines."

My Top Ten Favorite Kick-Butt Heroines:

1. Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games.  Duh, of course she's number one.  You can't find a heroine much tougher and better than Katniss. :)

2. Tris from Divergent.  I seriously adore Tris.  She's a fantastic heroine and I loved seeing her character transform into someone powerful and strong.

3. Alex from the Covenant series.  Alex is sooo awesome!  She never backs down and I love how she's so brave and stands up for what she believes in.  And I love her snark and sarcasm. :D

4. Elisa from The Girl of Fire and Thorns.  Elisa has got to be one of my favorite YA characters ever.  The journey she takes is just so heartwrenching and she goes through so much.  She's amazing!

5. Katy from the Lux series.  I just love Katy.  What makes her character so cool is that she's a normal person - in fact, she's a book blogger, like lots of us, hehe!  But as the series progresses, she learns to fight and protect herself.  She's a great character who's easy to relate to!

6. Clara from Unearthly.  Oh, I love Clara!  She's sweet, hilarious, and such a fun character, but what I love best about her is that she's not afraid to do what's right.  She learns to use her powers and becomes an amazing heroine.

7. Gabi from the River of Time series.  Gabi is probably one of my favorite heroines ever.  She's just your average teenage girl - unless she travels back in time to Italy and gets thrown into the middle of lots of fights and battles.  I love how she had to learn to fight to stay alive!     

8. Lena from Delirium.  Okay, Lena was a great character in Delirium, but I felt like she really grew up in the sequel Pandemonium.  I love the way she kept fighting even when there wasn't hope.

9. Ismae from Grave Mercy.  She's a nun assassin, you guys.  That's pretty cool.  Seriously, she's sly, smart, tough, and clever, yet so easy to relate to.  Ismae is a fascinating character!  And let's be honest, I think we all wish we could be nun assasins like her. ;)

10. Evie from Paranormalcy.  Oh, Evie is so fun!  She's got the greatest sense of humor, but boy, she knows how to fight.  I love how awesome she is.  You can't help cheering for her!

A few other honorable mentions (because I have many favorite heroines and not enough room to list them all!) are Alina from Shadow and Bone, Ellie from Valkyrie Rising, Max from the Maxiumum Ride series, and Nikki from Everneath.

Like any of the heroines I've listed?  Tell me in the comments and/or leave links to your Top Ten post!  Thanks for stopping by, everyone!

~ The Bookworm

Book Review: Dangerous Boy

Goodreads summary:

A modern-day retelling of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with a chilling twist

Harper has never been worried about falling in love, something she is skeptical even exists. But everything changes when Logan moves to town, and to Harper's shock, the two tumble into an intense romance. It's everything she never thought she wanted.

Then she meets Logan's twin brother, Caleb, who was expelled from his last school. True, he's a bad boy, but Harper can't shake the feeling that there's something deeply sinister about him--something dangerous. When Logan starts pulling away, Harper is convinced that Caleb's shadowy past is the wedge being driven between them. But by the time she uncovers the truth, it may be too late.

The author of Prada & Prejudice, You Wish, and Ripple delivers a modern-day retelling of a famously gothic tale, full of suspense, lies, and romance.

My review:

Normally, this isn't the type of book that would catch my eye.  I haven't even ever read The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which this book is a modern retelling of.  But I'd enjoyed Mandy Hubbard's books Ripple and Prada & Prejudice, so I thought I might like this one.  Unfortunately, I felt quite let-down.

Oh, the main character.  I could not connect with Harper at all.  She ignores the obvious - the fact that Logan is, as the title suggests, a dangerous boy - and keeps forgiving him whenever he puts her in danger or gets angry at her.  She repeatedly puts herself in harm's way, and doesn't listen when her friends say she should go to the police.  I just wanted to yell at the poor girl and shake some sense into her.

And the story?  Completely predictable.  I easily figured out what was happening and just wanted the story to hurry up and finish.  I kept guessing what would happen.  The only good thing in Hubbard's writing is that it was pretty creepy at times.  But the suspense factor would have so much better if the story hadn't been predictable.

There were a couple other things in the writing that bothered me.  They're not major problems, but they got on my nerves.  First: "'You really okay?" Allie says, her voice low.  "That was really scary."' (pg. 161.)  Why does the author use the word "really" twice in that paragraph?  It doesn't make sense to have two of the same words so close together.  A similar instance occured earlier in the story, when the author used the phrase "fair enough" twice within a few pages.  Again, these aren't huge issues, but they stuck out to me.

Also, I have to mention one last quote.  "As far as I know, he has no friends in Enumclaw.  How would he make them when he's homeschooled?" (pg. 180.)  *sigh* Why does everyone assume that homeschoolers have no social life?  This is the farthest thing from the truth.  It really annoys me how homeschoolers are always represented in such a sterotypical way in most books. 

I feel bad because this review has been so negative.  But I think there are other readers who will probably enjoy the creepy atmosphere of this book and end up liking it.  Sadly, it just wasn't for me.  However, I'm still interested to see what Mandy Hubbard writes in the future.

My rating:  4 out of 10 (2 stars)

~ The Bookworm