The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas

Book: The Assassin's Blade (Throne of Glass #0.5)
Author: Sarah J. Maas
# of Pages: 362 (ebook)
Challenge: 2014 Ebook Challenge
Rating: 5 stars

Goodreads Summary:
Celaena Sardothien is her kingdom’s most feared assassin. Though she works for the powerful and ruthless Assassin’s Guild, Celaena yields to no one and trusts only her fellow killer for hire, Sam.

When Celaena's scheming master, Arobynn Hamel, dispatches her on missions that take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, she finds herself acting independently of his wishes—and questioning her own allegiance. Along the way, she makes friends and enemies alike, and discovers that she feels far more for Sam than just friendship. But by defying Arobynn’s orders, Celaena risks unimaginable punishment, and with Sam by her side, he is in danger, too. They will have to risk it all if they hope to escape Arobynn’s clutches—and if they fail, they’ll lose not just a chance at freedom, but their lives . . .

A prequel to Throne of Glass, this collection of five novellas offers readers a deeper look into the history of this cunning assassin and her enthralling—and deadly—world.

Included in this volume:
The Assassin and the Pirate Lord
The Assassin and the Healer
The Assassin and the Desert
The Assassin and the Underworld
The Assassin and the Empire

My Thoughts:

This has to be the best prequel I've ever read!

The Assassin's Blade introduces us to Celaena, her life as an assassin, and the world in which she lives.

Filled with action, suspense, betrayal, a little romance, and great writing, I had a hard time putting this down. It was awesome and I loved every moment of it.

Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

Book: Unravel Me (Shatter Me #2)
Author: Tahereh Mafi
# of Pages: 333 (ebook)
Challenge: 2014 TBR Pile Reading Challenge, 2014 Ebook Challenge, 2014 Dystopia Reading Challenge
Rating: 5 stars

Goodreads Summary:
tick
tick
tick
tick
tick
it's almost
time for war.

Juliette has escaped to Omega Point. It is a place for people like her—people with gifts—and it is also the headquarters of the rebel resistance.

She's finally free from The Reestablishment, free from their plan to use her as a weapon, and free to love Adam. But Juliette will never be free from her lethal touch.

Or from Warner, who wants Juliette more than she ever thought possible.

In this exhilarating sequel to Shatter Me, Juliette has to make life-changing decisions between what she wants and what she thinks is right. Decisions that might involve choosing between her heart—and Adam's life.(les

My Thoughts:

This book was incredible!

It did take me a few chapters to get into the book, but after that I could not put it down. Once again Tahereh Mafi's writing was amazing and addictive.

Juliette is training to harness her powers. And while her character does grow stronger, there were a few times when she said or did things that got on my nerves.

While I did like Adam in Shatter Me, I could not stand him in this book. He annoyed me so much! As for Warner, I absolutely loved him. And Kenji. He's such an awesome character. He's funny and smart and a great friend to Juliette. 

Unravel Me was full of action and suspense and I really enjoyed it.

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Book: Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1)
Author: Tahereh Mafi
# of Pages: 248 (ebook)
Challenge: 2014 TBR Pile Reading Challenge, 2014 Ebook Challenge, 2014 Dystopia Reading Challenge
Rating: 4.5 stars

Goodreads Summary:
Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

My Thoughts:

Why? Why? WHY did I wait so long to read this book?! It was absolutely amazing!

The thing that made this book for me was the writing. Tahereh Mafi's writing is beautiful. It's vivd and poetic and addictive. I envy her talent.

I loved Juliette. She's smart, brave, and manages to maintain a sense of positivity despite all the hell she's been through. Her touch is deadly. She wants to prove to the world that she isn't a monster, but The Reestablishment is determined to use her as a weapon.

Adam is kind and supportive and does everything within his power to help Juliette. Warner is manipulative and controlling and also a bit creepy. Though I have a feeling there's more to him than meets the eye.

I would have liked to see a bit more action. But, other than that, I loved this book and can't wait to read the rest of the series.

Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Book: Don't Look Back
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
# of Pages: 276 (ebook)
Challenge: 2014 Ebook Challenge
Rating: 3.5 stars

Goodreads Summary:
Samantha is a stranger in her own life. Until the night she disappeared with her best friend, Cassie, everyone said Sam had it all-popularity, wealth, and a dream boyfriend.

Sam has resurfaced, but she has no recollection of who she was or what happened to her that night. As she tries to piece together her life from before, she realizes it's one she no longer wants any part of. The old Sam took "mean girl" to a whole new level, and it's clear she and Cassie were more like best enemies. Sam is pretty sure that losing her memories is like winning the lottery. She's getting a second chance at being a better daughter, sister, and friend, and she's falling hard for Carson Ortiz, a boy who has always looked out for her-even if the old Sam treated him like trash.

But Cassie is still missing, and the facts about what happened to her that night isn't just buried deep inside of Sam's memory-someone else knows, someone who wants to make sure Sam stays quiet. All Sam wants is the truth, and if she can unlock her clouded memories of that fateful night, she can finally move on. But what if not remembering is the only thing keeping Sam alive?

My Thoughts:

While I did like Don't Look Back a lot more than Obsidian, I just did not end up liking it as much as I hoped I would. 

I was instantly sold when i read the synopsis for this book, and couldn't wait to dive into it. 

I thought Samantha was a good, likable protagonist. I felt bad for her with the stress and struggle she had to go through after losing her memory and the disappearance of her best friend. I did like that she was willing to redeem herself of her previous ways. I also liked her brother, Scott, and his girlfriend, Julie. They were both very supportive of Samantha. I just wish that they had more appearances throughout the book. Carson was kind and patient with Samantha despite the way she had treated him before she lost her memory.

As for Samantha's friends, I couldn't stand them. And her boyfriend, Del? Ugh! He was such an asshole. I just didn't see how Sam could have put up with them before or after she lost her memory.

The thing that disappointed me the most about this book was the mystery or lack thereof. The storyline was pretty predictable and it was obvious who the evil doer was. And the reasoning behind the evil doer's actions wasn't even that believable.

Though Don't Look Back did have some high points and I really wanted to love it, I found it to be somewhat underwhelming.

Splintered by A.G. Howard

Book: Splinted (Splintered #1)
Author: A.G. Howard
# of Pages: 297 (ebook)
Challenge: 2014 Ebook Challenge
Rating: 3 stars

Goodreads Summary:
This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.
When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

My Thoughts:

I was very excited about this book, but in the end I ended up having mixed feelings about it..

A.G. Howard's writing was amazing. I was hooked within a couple pages. Her depiction of Wonderland was vivid and intriguing. Though I do have to say that the pacing was a bit slow at times.

At first I thought Alyssa was a different but cool protagonist. But, when she came face to face with Morpheus, she sort of becomes a different person. She develops a semi insta-love for him and that's after reading ninety or so pages about how much she wants to be with Jeb. And although she does prove herself to be clever, she does make some reckless decisions.

Of the two love interests, I prefer Jeb. He is sweet, smart, and an awesome friend to Alyssa. It was easy to see why she liked him so much. I'm probably in the minority when I say this, but I hated Morpheus from his very first appearance in the story. He was a greedy, manipulative jerk. There were several instances when I really would have loved to punch him in the face.

The big twist in this story was an interesting surprise. I thought it added a witty uniqueness to this retelling. And even though there are a few unanswered questions, I really liked the ending.

Overall, Splintered was an okay read for me. I liked getting to see Wonderland from a different perspective, but Morpheus and the love triangle were a letdown.

Ask Again Later by Liz Czukas

Book: Ask Again Later
Author: Liz Czukas
# of Pages: 188 (ebook)
Challenge: 2014 Ebook Challenge
Rating: 4 stars

Goodreads Summary:
Despite what her name might suggest, Heart has zero interest in complicated romance. So when her brilliant plan to go to prom with a group of friends is disrupted by two surprise invites, Heart knows there's only one drama-free solution: flip a coin.

Heads: The jock. He might spend all night staring at his ex or throw up in the limo, but how bad can her brother's best friend really be?

Tails: The theater geek...with a secret. What could be better than a guy who shares all Heart's interests--even if he wants to share all his feelings?

Heart's simple coin flip has somehow given her the chance to live out both dates. But where her prom night ends up might be the most surprising thing of all...

My Thoughts

I did not even know about this book until I saw it on another blog. The synopsis sounded pretty interesting, so I decided to give it a chance.

Heart is a member of the drama club, hates her name, and has a some really good friends. She also has two potential dates to the prom.

I really liked how this book was set up so that we could see both scenarios played out. In both situations, some awkward, surprising, and unpleasant things happen to Heart. The one thing that is the same in both is that her friends are there for her when she needed them. But, my favorite part was how the book ended.

There were a couple of times during the story when I forgot which date Heart was supposed to be with, but for the most part, it was easy to keep track. I did like Heart's friends, but other than Cassidy and Chase, I had a hard time telling the rest apart from each other. I wanted to know more about them, how long they had been friends, what plays they had been in together. Since they played a big role in the story, I would have thought more details would have been revealed about them.

Overall, Ask Again Later is a cute, fun, quick read. And I look forward to reading more of Czukas's works.