Wake (Dream Catcher #1) by Lisa McMann

Wake

Author: Lisa McMann

Publication: March 4th 2008 by Simon Pulse (first published 2008)

Goodreads Review:

Ever since she was eight years old, high school student Janie Hannagan has been uncontrollably drawn into other people's dreams, but it is not until she befriends an elderly nursing home patient and becomes involved with an enigmatic fellow-student that she discovers her true power.

My Review: So sorry for being MEGA late with my blog but I was out of state for all of last week and too busy having fun with my family to update :P

But I digress, At first, this book really irritated me because it's set up diary style with the entries as times of the day then it was in third person. Throughout the first half of the book it seemed mechanic "Janie woke up" "Janie did this" "Janie saw that" "The girls are mean to Janie". Lame everyday-ish ordinary stuff no real story line development. Then the entries got longer and actually morphed into a real story, that wasn't half-bad. For some reason though, I don't feel a great need to read the next one but I will and see how it develops anyways.

The Reckoning (Darkest Powers #3) by Kelley Armstrong

WARNING!!! Spoilers for the previous two books and all that jazz.

The Reckoning (Darkest Powers #3)

Author: Kelley Armstrong

Publication: April 6th 2010 by Orbit (first published March 19th 2010)

Goodreads Summary:

Only two weeks ago, life was all too predictable. But that was before I saw my first ghost. Now, along with my supernatural friends Tori, Derek, and Simon, I’m on the run from the Edison Group, which genetically altered us as part of their sinister experiment. We’re hiding in a safe house that might not be as safe as it seems. We’ll be gone soon anyway, back to rescue those we’d left behind and to take out the Edison Group . . . or so we hope.



My Review:

Yeah sorry I missed my appointed update time but I just forgot, with all the plans to go on Vacation and all. The Reckoning was almost as good as its predecessors, but there were some key things that bothered me about it. First of all there wasn't as much excitement and adventure like the other books, probably because they're mostly stuck in one spot and lacking motivation of immediate danger. And another thing is, it's like Armstrong wanted to make more books at first but later decided to just close it all at one time leaving plot holes everywhere. I heard this is the last one so that doesn't make me too happy. One plot hole that particularly annoyed me (warning just in case you might feel I spoiled something) was she introduced a character and a problem for like a paragraph and it just suddenly disappeared; that really bugged me. So with all that happening I think I would give it a 3.5/5 but my mother read the same book and loved it so for her sake I'll bump it up to a 4.5 because it did end in pretty much the way I wanted it to. So an extra point for emotional happiness (pfft who needs logic when you can have the happy emotion? Stupid Spock!) but I digress This book is still good and I do recommend it for anyone who likes the previous novels.

The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong

WARNING!!! Spoiler Alert! This post will give away secrets from the first book: The Summoning be advised!!

The Awakening

Author: Kelley Armstrong

Publication: May 1st 2009 by HarperCollins

Goodreads Summary:

If you had met me a few weeks ago, you probably would have described me as an average teenage girl—someone normal. Now my life has changed forever and I'm as far away from normal as it gets. A living science experiment—not only can I see ghosts, but I was genetically altered by a sinister organization called the Edison Group. What does that mean? For starters, I'm a teenage necromancer whose powers are out of control; I raise the dead without even trying. Trust me, that is not a power you want to have. Ever.

Now I'm running for my life with three of my supernatural friends—a charming sorcerer, a cynical werewolf, and a disgruntled witch—and we have to find someone who can help us before the Edison Group finds us first. Or die trying.

My Review:

The summary doesn't really do the book much justice but anywho! This book was absolutely fabulous!! and the series gets better and better as it goes along, alas, the next book is the last and I haven't bought it yet. But darn it I will! I just don't really know when lol. I most definitely give this book a 5/5 like it's predecessor because not only is Kelley Armstrong brilliant in her writing, she makes her books original and engaging. I can't wait to read the next one! YAY!

The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

The Summoning

Author: Kelley Armstrong

Publication: July 1st 2008 by HarperTeen

Goodreads Summary:

After years of frequent moves following her mother’s death, Chloe Saunders’s life is finally settling down. She is attending art school, pursuing her dreams of becoming a director, making friends, meeting boys. Her biggest concern is that she’s not developing as fast as her friends are. But when puberty does hit, it brings more than hormone surges. Chloe starts seeing ghosts–everywhere, demanding her attention. After she suffers a breakdown, her devoted aunt Lauren gets her into a highly recommended group home.

At first, Lyle House seems a pretty okay place, except for Chloe’s small problem of fearing she might be facing a lifetime of mental illness. But as she gradually gets to know the other kids at the home–charming Simon and his ominous, unsmiling brother Derek, obnoxious Tori, and Rae, who has a “thing” for fire–Chloe begins to realize that there is something that binds them all together, and it isn’t your usual “problem kid” behaviour. And together they discover that Lyle House is not your usual group home either…

My Review:

You know, I've passed this book many, many times and I was always like: "Eh I don't know" and skipped over it with out a backwards glance. I found it again the other day and decided to give it another shot and boy am I glad I did. I guess the reason I didn't pick it up was because of the cover and the main character is a 15 year old girl. By the cover I was thinking, for some reason, it was going to be a period piece about witches. I don't know why but I just did. And I thought the character was a little young so I thought it was aimed for earlier teens. ANYWAYS!!! I ended up buying the second one by mistake, and buying the first later. As soon as I read through the first, I instantly started the second and breezed them in two days. Not that they were short or anything (the first one alone is nearly 400 pages), they were just THAT good! I think on goodreads, I gave it a 4/5 but I think I'll reconsider and give it a 5/5 just cause I haven't read many of this kind and it was awesomely original. The closest related book I can think of is The Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton. But her series it heavily based on sex. Not that there isn't any romance in these (I'm for Derek's team btw), it's just not a HUGE part of it (and not very explicit, few cuss word here and there no biggie). And believe me I like the break from all the ~insert suggestive hand signals here~. Anyways good book, I recommend and I'll post the second book review, The Awakening, some other time.

Hawksong by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

Hawksong

Author: Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

Publication: September 28th 2004 by Laurel Leaf (first published 2003)

Goodreads Summary:
In a land that has been at war so long that no one remembers the reason for fighting, the shapeshifters who rule the two factions agree to marry in the hope of bringing peace, despite deep-seated fear and distrust of each other.

My Review: I probably could not describe the depth of my love for this book when I first got a hold of it in Middle School. Man I read it so many times I could probably recite it. It's not so much for adults as for younger teens but it is still pretty amazing! I'll have to give it a 5/5 for being my favorite book many years ago (yeah I'm bias so what?)