Shadow And Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Release Date: June 5, 2012
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 368
Summary: Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.
Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.
Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart.
My Thoughts: The Shadow Fold? Oh crap. It’s scary!
We are introduced to Alina who is a mapmaker, and not a very good one. She’s been a orphan a long time and its just been her and her best friend Mal. They have been friends since they were just kids and have always looked out for each other. Both of them are members in the second army.
One day Mal is hurt and Alina goes to protect him unleashing a mysterious power. She didn’t even know she had it! Things get hectic and she is taken away by the Darkling to train as a Grisha. He thinks she is going to be their savior.
Alina doesn’t fit in. She isn’t meant to be a Grisha in her mind. She wants to go home to Mal, that is all she cares about.
Alina doesn’t know what to do. She figures out there is more to the Darkling’s plan than she could have ever imagined and she doesn’t like it. She must stop it.
With the help of Mal, she goes on a journey and things get pretty intense and wild.
I won’t say much else, I don’t want to ruin this one for you. I don’t know why I waited so long to read it! It did take me about 50 pages to really get sucked in though. At first, I had trouble understanding some of it, but once I got into it, I didn’t want to stop reading! It was a wonderful story with wonderful characters.
Overall: I loved it! I loved Alina and Mal together. I loved the Grisha's. I loved how everything was described. And the story kicked butt! A must read!
The ending was crazy! I can’t wait to read the next book! I didn’t know that was going to happen and it was crazy that it did! Wow.
Cover: It’s mysterious. But because its not that colorful I may not have picked it up at a bookstore. It’s cool but not that colorful.
What I’d Give It:
Hysteria by Megan Miranda
Release Date: February 5, 2013
Publisher: Walker Childrens
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 336
Summary: Mallory's life is falling apart. Her boyfriend was stabbed. He bled to death in her kitchen. Mallory was the one who stabbed him. But she can't remember what happened that night. She only remembers the fear ...When Mallory's parents send her away to a boarding school, she thinks she can escape the gossip and the threats. But someone, or something, has followed her. There's the hand that touches her shoulder when she's drifting off to sleep. A voice whispering her name. And everyone knows what happened. So when a pupil is found dead, Mallory's name is on their lips. Her past can be forgotten but it's never gone. Can Mallory live with that?
My Thoughts: I really enjoyed Fracture so I was thrilled to get to read this! We are introduced to Mallory who is your average girl. She has a best friend and a family. She goes to school, has a cute lab partner she likes, and everything is good. Until he rejects her and she ends up with his brother.
His brother isn't all she thought he was, and one night she ends up stabbing him. Eek, right? Yes, indeed. It was self defense, or so she claims. She has a hard time remembering what happened. Now everyone talks about her in her town, everybody knows what she did, so her parents ship her off to a boarding school.
Except she already knows a few people at this school and she meets a lot more, who don’t particularly like her. She doesn't make the best first impression.
However, she does stick with it, and ignore everyone's stares. Until another tragedy happens, and she is blamed for it.
This one was kinda creepy. I wasn't sure what to think of it at first. But, I did get sucked into the story and want to know what was going to happen next. I needed to know what really happened to Jason. I needed the details!
And of course potential love interests, even though only one really stuck in my mind. Oh sweet cute interesting Reid, how I adored you.
I got to say it. The plot was pretty awesome, BUT Reid is what did it for me. I wanted all the scenes to involve him even though they couldn't. Loved him.
I really enjoyed Hysteria, and I’ll read whatever this author writes next.
Overall: Really enjoyed it! I didn't love love it, but I loved certain aspects of it, and I did enjoy it a lot! Would I recommend it? Yes! I won’t say much else, please read it yourself. You’ll find yourself rooting for Mallory!
Cover: Like it. It’s definitely creepy and would get me to give it a second look.
What I’d Give It:
This Is So Not Happening by Kieran Scott
Release Date: May 1, 2012
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 320
Summary: After their long summer apart, Ally and Jake were hoping for a drama free senior year. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like things will work out that way...again. — It turns out that Chloe is pregnant and says that Jake is the father. Hammond is pissed at his best friend, but mostly can't believe that Ally would stay with Jake. But Ally is tired of being apart from Jake and is willing to make it work. But that is easier said than done when Jake starts blowing Ally off to go to doctor's appointments with Chloe and Ally joins the school play and meets a new cute guy.
But as graduation approaches, things get more complicated as new secrets come out and Ally realizes maybe Jake isn't the guy she thought he was. After everything they've been through can Ally and Jake get out of Orchard Hill with their relationship intact?
My Thoughts: These books are always so crazy, yet so good. After that ending in the last one, I about peed my pants!
We are back with Jake and Ally and things are even crazier for them. They just got some pretty awkward and messy news and neither one is really sure how to deal with it. What are they going to do? Are they going to stay together or not?
This one is full of drama just like the others. I also love all the side characters once again. I love their friends, I love the setting, I love all the details we get! I also love how it switches back and forth.
The plot of this one, well I didn't like it as much as the first two. I think because this story has been done a few times and it just wasn't as thrilling as I thought it was going to be, or maybe because some time had passed from when I read the last book.
I did like the side stories though, such as Ally’s mom getting married, and Ally deciding what college she was going to attend.
I am glad I read this and it was a great finish to the series. I’m happy and delighted with the way it ended.
Overall: Happy with the way this one went. I’m a little sad to see the series end since I really enjoyed it from start to finish. A great set of characters! If you haven’t read this series yet, please pick it up soon!
Cover: Love it! I love these covers! And this one is so cute! They are always so bright and I could see this scene really happening.
What I’d Give It:
The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd
Release Date: January 29, 2012
Publisher: Balzer And Bray
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 432
Summary: London, 1894. Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father’s gruesome experiments. But when she learns her father is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations were true.
Juliet is accompanied by the doctor’s handsome young assistant and an enigmatic castaway, who both attract Juliet for very different reasons. They travel to the island only to discover the depths of her father’s madness: he has created animals that have been vivisected to resemble, speak, and behave as humans. Worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island’s inhabitants. Juliet knows she must end her father’s dangerous experiments and escape the island, even though her horror is mixed with her own scientific curiosity. As the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father’s genius—and madness—in her own blood.
My Thoughts: I did not know what to expect going into this one. Since its historical, I was unsure, as I don’t read that many historical books.
We are introduced to Juliet who is basically an orphan. Her mother died recently, and her father died when she was younger, and now she’s left all alone. Her father was a famous doctor, but a scandal went down to make him less popular, a monster, etc. Juliet doesn't like to tell people he’s her father.
Juliet has a job cleaning. It’s either that or work the streets. Juliet does her job quietly most of the time. She keeps to herself and lives day to day.
Until one day, when she stumbles upon a document she knows is her father's. While on her journey to find out how they got it, she finds her family’s former servant who has secrets of his own. She is then thrown into a madness she never knew she could become a part of.
She finds out her father may be alive, and wants to be taken to him. She gets to know a few guys along the way, an old friend, and a new guy. I couldn't figure out who I liked more. Montgomery or Edward. Both had their own perks and downfalls.
Juliet was a very likable person. She was funny, stubborn, and a great heroine. She goes to the island, and gets to know the truth behind everything. It isn't what she thought it would be like that's for sure. And, the ending, whoa. Did not see that coming!
The Madman’s Daughter was interesting! I actually really enjoyed it a lot. Even though it was historical I couldn't really tell.
This book was pretty darn good and I loved the romance aspects! And all the creatures, wow! It was neat finding out more about them.
I hope you will add this to your 2013 debut list!
Overall: Whoa, what an adventure. From the moments on the ship to the moments on the island, I was very intrigued. I found myself picking this book up in the middle of the night to just finish a few more chapters! Lovely story.
Cover: Like it! It does have that historical feel to it though but I still like it.
What I'd Give It:
The Reece Malcolm List by Amy Spalding
Release Date: February 5, 2013
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 352
Summary: Things I know about Reece Malcolm:
1. She graduated from New York University.
2. She lives in or near Los Angeles.
3. Since her first novel was released, she’s been on the New York Times bestseller list every week.
4. She likes strong coffee and bourbon.
5. She’s my mother.
Devan knows very little about Reece Malcolm, until the day her father dies and she’s shipped off to live with the mother she’s never met. All she has is a list of notebook entries that doesn’t add up to much.
L.A. offers a whole new world to Devan—a performing arts school allows her to pursue her passion for show choir and musicals, a new circle of friends helps to draw her out of her shell, and an intriguing boy opens up possibilities for her first love.
But then the Reece Malcolm list gets a surprising new entry. Now that Devan is so close to having it all, can she handle the possibility of losing everything?
My Thoughts: This debut was so freaking cute! Seriously!
We are introduced to Devan whose father died and she was forced to move from the midwest to California. What a change! A drastic crazy change! She is moving in with her mother who she has never met. And on top of that, her mother is a famous bestselling author named Reece Malcolm. Devan doesn’t know what to think because she’s never had any interaction with her and she knows pretty much nothing about her.
Devan is also really into musicals. Her mother enrolled her into a musical arts school right away. Devan has never really fit into the popular crowd. She’s always been good at musicals but she is geeky and always had a few friends and just kind of kept to herself. She finds herself fitting into quite the group of friends at her new school. I loved them all. They had such different personalities and I loved getting to know each one of them. My favorite was probably Sai.
There were a few love interests in this one, and I loved getting to know the boys and trying to figure out who was a better fit for Devan. I could see her attraction to both boys though. Different but each cute in their own way.
I loved how this novel focused so much on family, relationships, and the theater. I loved seeing how Devan had to juggle it all and try to figure out how to have a relationship with her mother and her mothers boyfriend. It was a lot of fun. She was getting to know her new family while getting to know her real self.
I also loved her list of facts about Reece Malcolm! So freaking cute and awesome!
I loved the plot of this one, Devan's realistic and funny voice, and all the characters!
Overall: I recommend it! If you are a fan of musicals, romance novels, family drama, or young adult books in general you’ll probably enjoy this one. I did! This novel is delightful and made me giddy.
Cover: Like it! Love how she’s just laying back and chillen! Very cute cover.
What I’d Give It:
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