Shatter Me By: Tahereh Mafi (Shatter Me series #1)

Synopsis from Barnes and Noble.com:
I have a curse.
I have a gift.

I’m a monster.
I’m more than human.

My touch is lethal.
My touch is power.

I am their weapon.
I will fight back.

No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal, but The Reestablishment has plans for her. Plans to use her as a weapon. But Juliette has plans of her own. After a lifetime without freedom, she’s finally discovering a strength to fight back for the very first time—and to find a future with the one boy she thought she’d lost forever.

I have been putting off reading this book even though everyone said it was amazing and a must read and all that jazz because it did seem like an interesting premis but not an AMAZING one. I was so wrong! This book fully deserves all the hype it has been getting. The author really has a gift with words that painted such a complex and beautiful yet sad picture of thestory about everything that is happening to Juliette and how strong of a character she is in every situation that she is thrown in. Juliette is now one of my favorite female protagonist characters. She was so strong and stayed strong no matter what happened to her. The story had so much action and so many different things that kept the reader turning pages faster and faster. I gave this book a fully deserving 5 out of 5 stars. Everyone needs to read this book! I promise that it will be worth it!

The Lightning Theif By: Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson and the Olpmpians Book #1)

Synopsis from Barnes and Noble.com:
“Once I got over the fact that my Latin teacher was a horse, we had a nice tour, though I was careful not to walk behind him.” For Percy, a wisecracking 12-year-old with ADHD, discovering his teacher is really a centaur is just another clue that the Greek gods are alive, well, and causing all kinds of mayhem in modern-day America. Accused of stealing Zeus’s master lightning bolt, Percy must prove his innocence while battling a Minotaur and a host of other celestial thugs.

I recently re- read this book 4 years since the last time I read it. I think that this book is amazing. The whole story keeps you interested and thinking about the large mystery throughout the story and what the main characters are going to do to solve it and battle for their lives in the process. There were tons of actions moments and the author used great description to portray the characters, scenes and settings to where the story was easy to imagine page by page. It’s a quick and easy read that practically feels like you are just watching a movie. I loved the main character Percy and how witty, strong and even cocky at points in the book which make him and the storyline even more likable. The ending had such a big surprise, it felt the author just wanted to leave the reader reeling and clambering for the second book, The Sea of Monsters. I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. I definitely recommend even if you are not middle grade aged.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard By: J.K. Rowling

Synopsis from Barnes and Noble.com:
Muggles grow up with Grimm’s fairy tales; wizarding children grow up with Tales of Beedle the Bard . The Bard’s book is a collection of five tales, bequeathed to Hermione Granger by Professor Dumbledore. The passing of the book into her hands was intended to be both “entertaining and instructive.” As in all good mysteries, information contained within its pages provided Hermione with clues essential to helping Harry in the series’ last installment. In particular, “The Tale of Three Brothers” describes how three magical items appeared after siblings cleverly cheat death. It is these items that play a pivotal role in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

I bought this book because it sounded like such a nice quick read and it was by J.K. Rowling so it had to be good! And it was! I loved each and every one of the five stories and they are ones that could be re- read over and over again without getting dull, just like our fairy tales. I liked how each of the stories was unique and I also enjoy the writing style/format throughout. The parts of the book with Dumbledore commenting and explaining deeper into the story was really interesting. But there was just one thing that I didn’t like about this book and that was how the majority of the book was comments and background from Dumbledore and only a small part of the book is actually the stories. I would have liked more of the small stories and less of the background explanations and comments. But I still really did enjoy this book and recommend it to any Harry Potter lover. I gave this book 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Awake At Dawn By: C. C. Hunter (Shadow Falls Series #2)

Synopsis for Barnes and Noble.com:
From the moment Kylie Galen arrived at Shadow Falls Camp, she’s had one burning question: What am I? Surrounded by vampires, werewolves, shape-shifters, fairies and witches, Kylie longs to figure out her own supernatural identity…and what her burgeoning powers mean. And now she’ll need them more than ever, because she’s being haunted by a new spirit who insists that someone Kylie knows—and loves—will die before the end of the summer. If only she only knew who she was supposed to save. And how…
But giving Kylie the most trouble is her aching heart. Gorgeous werewolf Lucas left camp with another girl, but he’s still visiting Kylie in her dreams. And Derek, a sexy half Fae who’s always been there for her when she needed him, is pushing to get more serious—and growing impatient, especially when Lucas returns. Kylie knows she needs to decide between the boys, and it’s tearing her up inside.
Yet romance will have to wait, because something from the dark side of the supernatural world is hiding in Shadow Falls. It’s about to threaten everything she holds dear…and bring her closer to her destiny.

I thought that I would have a go at the second book in this series. I was so disappointed! This book fell flat on it’s ‘face’ so many different times. Just like the first book there were tons of places where interesting action or at least interesting turns of events could be put and instead it felt like the whole story was just on replay the whole time. It felt like the author just felt like she had to keep repeating herself over and over which made the story really boring. Kylie annoyed me so much in this book because her personality felt so extinguished and weak compared to the first book. It felt like she kept thinking to much about simple decisions. The ending of the book yet again had some action and suspense. But this was ended quickly after not even 10 pages. It seems like there’s a pattern to the books from this series with always ending with an almost perfect ending and the problem getting solved way too easily. I have very little hopes for the third book in this series to be way better than the first two but, again, they are little. I gave this book a 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Born At Midnight By: C. C. Hunter (Shadow Falls series #1)

Synopsis from Barnes and Noble.com:
Welcome to Shadow Falls camp, nestled deep in the woods of a town called Fallen…
One night Kylie Galen finds herself at the wrong party, with the wrong people, and it changes her life forever. Her mother ships her off to Shadow Falls—a camp for troubled teens, and within hours of arriving, it becomes painfully clear that her fellow campers aren’t just “troubled.” Here at Shadow Falls, vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, witches and fairies train side by side—learning to harness their powers, control their magic and live in the normal world.
Kylie’s never felt normal, but surely she doesn’t belong here with a bunch of paranormal freaks either. Or does she? They insist Kylie is one of them, and that she was brought here for a reason. As if life wasn’t complicated enough, enter Derek and Lucas. Derek’s a half-fae who’s determined to be her boyfriend, and Lucas is a smokin’ hot werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past. Both Derek and Lucas couldn’t be more different, but they both have a powerful hold on her heart.
Even though Kylie feels deeply uncertain about everything, one thing is becoming painfully clear—Shadow Falls is exactly where she belongs…

I had been meaning to read this for such a long time. I didn’t really know what to expect and this book definitely gave me a surprise. It was greatly interesting and was really fun to read. I love Kylie and how real her reactions are to everything happening to her and not ‘fake.’ It was a great story and had an OK storyline, I thought there were some problems with this book. Each chapter ended in a great cliffhanger that kept you reading on to the next chapter then almost immediately the ‘cliffhanger’ would be something that wasn’t really that interesting at all. It didn’t give the book a professional feeling at all. The ending had some action but the action only lasted for about 10 pages then just stopped. The little bit of action was awesome and I thought that if the author did more with the storyline to make it more exciting, book would have been way more interesting and exciting. I gave this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars because the author had a great idea to the storyline and could have done so much more with it but didn’t, which made it fall a little flat.