Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin #1) by Robin LaFevers

Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin #1)  by Robin LaFevers

Release Date: April 3, 2012

Publisher: HMH Books For Young Readers

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages: 560

Summary:Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

My Thoughts:  Why, oh Why Did I wait so long to start this series? I really enjoyed Grave Mercy!

We are introduced to Ismae who is living at a convent now. Its not just any convent though. Its where women are trained to fight and kill men, whatever means possible.

Ismae knows this is her calling. She doesn’t see herself becoming a lady, one who marries and has children; playing the part of a housewife. She knows she’s meant for more than that.

Ismae gets some important missions and the first few go smoothly but then a mysterious man appears.  I loved Duval! He made the story much more interesting and gave me a romantic interest to look forward too.

Ismae is badass. She’s tough and she knows when she has a mission, she must complete it. But she also has a heart. She tries to see things as they are and not to make mistakes by hurting the wrong person even if she is supposed too.

I loved the plot of this one. Even though it is kind of historical, I never really felt like it was. It was beautiful and thrilling and action filled.  I don’t want to say much about this one. A lot of people have already read it and for those who haven’t, I highly suggest it!

Overall: Loved the characters and the plot. Loved how things played out. I thought this was such a good novel and even though its really long, I finished it within a few days. It sucked me right in! Can’t wait to read the next one in the series!

Cover: Like it! If I saw it in the store, I’d definitely pick it up! You can tell you shouldn't mess with this girl!

What I’d Give It:

The Swift Boys And Me by Kody Keplinger

The Swift Boys And Me by Kody Keplinger

Release Date: May 27, 2014

Publisher: Scholastic

Age Group: Middle Grade

Pages: 272

Summary:  Nola Sutton has been best friends and neighbors with the Swift boys for practically her whole life. There’s the youngest, Kevin, who never stops talking; the oldest, Brian, who’s always kind and calm; and then there’s Canaan, the ringleader and Nola’s best-best friend. Nola can’t imagine her life without the Swift boys — they’ll always be like this, always be friends.

But then everything changes overnight.

When the Swifts’ daddy leaves without even saying good-bye, it completely destroys the boys, and all Nola can do is watch. Kevin stops talking and Brian is never around. Even Canaan is drifting away from Nola — hanging out with the neighborhood bullies instead of her.

Nola just wants things to go back to the way they were — the way they’ve always been. She tries to pull the boys back to her, only the harder she pulls, the further away they seem. But it’s not just the Swifts whose family is changing, so is Nola’s, and she needs her best friends now more than ever. Can Nola and the Swift boys survive this summer with their friendships intact, or has everything fallen apart for good?

Nola’s struggle to save her friends, her unwavering hope, and her belief in the power of friendship make Kody Keplinger’s middle-grade debut a poignant story of loss and redemption.

My Thoughts: Whoa, I raced right through this one. I do not read much middle grade but if its Kody Keplinger, I’m going to read it! HA!

We are introduced to Nola who lives with her mom and her mom’s boyfriend visits quite a bit, so he is there a lot too. She lives next door to the Swift Boys. There a few of them. Plus their parents of course.

Nola is the closest to the boy her own age, Canaan. They have been best friends since they were real little and even though they aren’t even teenagers yet, they have been best friends forever in their eyes.

One day Nola sees their father leave. That sets things in motion and things go crazy for The Swift Boys. They get sad, they get mad, they don’t understand or know where their father went. So, Nola gets it in her head to find out. All the boys are acting differently now and Nola can’t stand it. She ends up hanging out with some of the other neighbor kids in the meantime.

Nola also gets to spend more time with her grandma. In her spare time she completes neighborhood jobs that Canaan was supposed to help with so they can save up money to go to the Circus. Canaan isn’t around much because he’s pretty much got new friends, a way to rebel I suppose.

Even though this is middle grade, I really liked it. I thought it was cute and I was sucked right into the story. I really loved Nola and I just had to know what happened to her next.

Overall:  Cute, realistic novel! If you don’t read much middle grade, you should definitely read this one! You won’t regret it! Heartfelt story with funny and sad moments! I really enjoyed this one! I'd probably give this 4.5 for a middle grade book!

Cover:  Its adorable!!!  Love how she is looking over the fence at them! This cover is really cute!

What I’d Give It:

The Taking (The Taking #1) by Kimberly Derting

The Taking (The Taking #1) by Kimberly Derting

Release Date: April 29, 2014

Publisher: HarperTeen

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages: 368

Summary: A flash of white light . . . and then . . . nothing.

When sixteen-year-old Kyra Agnew wakes up behind a Dumpster at the Gas ’n’ Sip, she has no memory of how she got there. With a terrible headache and a major case of déjà vu, she heads home only to discover that five years have passed . . . yet she hasn’t aged a day.

Everything else about Kyra’s old life is different. Her parents are divorced, her boyfriend, Austin, is in college and dating her best friend, and her dad has changed from an uptight neat-freak to a drunken conspiracy theorist who blames her five-year disappearance on little green men.

Confused and lost, Kyra isn’t sure how to move forward unless she uncovers the truth. With Austin gone, she turns to Tyler, Austin’s annoying kid brother, who is now seventeen and who she has a sudden undeniable attraction to. As Tyler and Kyra retrace her steps from the fateful night of her disappearance, they discover strange phenomena that no one can explain, and they begin to wonder if Kyra’s father is not as crazy as he seems. There are others like her who have been taken . . . and returned. Kyra races to find an explanation and reclaim the life she once had, but what if the life she wants back is not her own?

My Thoughts: I really liked Derting’s other series! So I was excited to read her newest book, The Taking!

We are introduced to Kyra who is a cheerleader, has the perfect family, nicest boyfriend, and a cool best friend. Her life is pretty good.

Until she goes missing and then comes back a few years later. People have moved on without her. Yet, Kyra looks the same age and feels the same age. She also has no memory of where she has been. I was in for an rude awakening with this story! I thought for sure maybe she had been kidnapped and just returned and it was so traumatizing she just blocked out her memories. Boy was I wrong!

As soon as she’s home, she realizes her family isn’t so great anymore. Things are not the same. Her boyfriend has also went away to college and lived the life they were supposed too together. She moves back into her old house and her boyfriends family is still across the street. Boy, has his little brother gotten hot.  His name was Tyler and I really liked him a lot. I can tell he had a huge crush on Kyra when he was just a kid. But now he’s older and ready to make his move.

I liked the things Tyler did. He was there for Kyra and I loved them sneaking out of the house to the park and the way he would draw on her sidewalk. Very very sweet.

I also liked the angle this story took. It was weird the way she got taken and how things went down. I was surprised about that. I don’t want to tell you the main thing but I never really saw it coming. Didn't realize this was so scifi I guess.

It all made sense eventually and things came together.

I really liked the characters in this one and the plot. I thought it was unique and I was happy to meet Simon and everyone else. I liked their stories and hearing how things happened.

And of course, things happen that are sad as well. And than the ending, now I want to know what happens! I can’t wait to read the next one! I have to know if things work out or not.

Overall:  Liked it. It was a bit weird at times but I still enjoyed it and am glad how things happened. I’m glad to know her dad had some logic to him as well. I’m also glad that Kyra did listen and take into consideration what had happened, at least after a while. I still really liked Tyler!

Cover: Like it! Its kind of spooky but also love the blue!

What I’d Give It:

Sweet Evil (Sweet #1) by Wendy Higgins

Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

Release Date: May 1, 2012

Publisher: HarperTeen

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages: 464

Summary: Embrace the Forbidden

What if there were teens whose lives literally depended on being bad influences?

This is the reality for sons and daughters of fallen angels.

Tenderhearted Southern girl Anna Whitt was born with the sixth sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She's aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but it isn't until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage and her willpower is put to the test. He's the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna.

Forced to face her destiny, will Anna embrace her halo or her horns?

My Thoughts:  I have heard so many good things about this series so I finally decided to give it a try.

We are introduced to Anna who is adopted. She goes to school, hangs out with her friends, and tries to be a normal teenager. Anna has some strange gifts but she tries not to use them and just be as normal as possible.

One day Anna is hanging out with her best friend when she meets a guy named Kaidan. Kaidan is pretty hot. He’s in a band, is good looking, and a good guy even if he comes off as an arrogant jerk sometimes.

As Anna and Kaidan get to know each other, they find out a lot about each other. I also liked Kaidan’s friends. They were each so unique and had their own way of doing things.

I loved the road trip Anna and Kaidan had to go on. I loved seeing that side of him. Well, at least the beginning of the road trip anyway.

I liked how things went down and it kept the story interesting. I liked both Anna and Kaidan and I’m excited to read the next one. This just kind of opens things up a bit and we don’t really see that much happening.

Overall: I really enjoyed it and I can’t wait to see where the story goes. I hope Anna and Kaidan find each other again!

Cover:  Love it! I can see both of them looking like that and I loved the colors.

What I’d Give It:

The Things You Kiss Goodbye by Leslie Connor

The Things You Kiss Goodbye by Leslie Connor

Release Date: June 24, 2014

Publisher: Katherine Tegen

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages: 368  

Summary:Bettina Vasilis can hardly believe it when basketball star Brady Cullen asks her out, and she just about faints when her strict father actually approves of him.

But when school starts up again, Brady changes. What happened to the sweet boy she fell in love with? Then she meets a smoldering guy in his twenties, and this “cowboy” is everything Brady is not—gentle, caring, and interested in getting to know the real Bettina.

Bettina knows that breaking up with Brady would mean giving up her freedom—and that it would be inappropriate for anything to happen between her and Cowboy. Still, she can’t help that she longs for the scent of his auto shop whenever she’s anywhere else.

When tragedy strikes, Bettina must tell her family the truth—and kiss goodbye the things she thought she knew about herself and the men in her life.

Leslie Connor has written a lyrical, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful story about family, romance, and the immense power of love.

My Thoughts:  I actually enjoyed this one even though it was a little bit awkward.

We are introduced to Bettina who goes to school, has a boyfriend, joins the cheer-leading squad and spends time at home with her family. Her family is somewhat strict.

She also meets a boy named Cowboy. No, he is not her boyfriend. He’s a guy down at a mechanic shop she eventually runs into. I really liked Cowboy. I liked the way he acted and talked to Bettina. But he was older. Quite a bit older. Old enough to go to jail.

At first, I couldn’t really tell how much older he was. Just a few years? 10 years older? I really didn’t know. So, as I read I liked him a lot. I think it helped that her boyfriend didn’t treat her very well so seeing how Cowboy treated her made me happy.

Just as Bettina is figuring out her true feelings something major happens and it just threw me for a loop. It broke my heart. I don’t even know what to say. Yes, I teared up a little bit.

I really enjoyed The Things You Kiss Goodbye and I’m glad I finally read it.

Overall: I pretty much devoured this one before bed one night. I stayed up really late just so I could finish it! I highly recommend this one if you like contemps!

Cover:  Like it, I think it looks cool. And it fits so well since we can see her long braid. Cute!

What I’d Give It: