Fire and Flood By: Victoria Scott

Synopsis from Barnes and Noble.com:

Time is slipping away. . . .

Tella Holloway is losing it. Her brother is sick, and when a dozen doctors can’t determine what’s wrong, her parents decide to move to the middle of nowhere for the fresh air. She’s lost her friends, her parents are driving her crazy, her brother is dying–and she’s helpless to change anything.

Until she receives mysterious instructions on how to become a Contender in the Brimstone Bleed. It’s an epic race across jungle, desert, ocean, and mountain that could win her the prize she desperately desires: the Cure for her brother’s illness. But all the Contenders are after the Cure for people they love, and there’s no guarantee that Tella (or any of them) will survive the race.

The jungle is terrifying, the clock is ticking, and Tella knows she can’t trust the allies she makes. And one big question emerges: Why have so many fallen sick in the first place?

I had seen this book a few times on the internet and I decided to give it a try because it hadn’t sounded like anything I had read before. I am so so happy to say that I thought this book was amazing! To start, I fell in love with the main character. Tella was very relatable and she often made me laugh out loud from her thoughts or comments. I loved the way that the book was set up with the book sectioned for each stage of the race. The plot was very fast paced and unique. It grabs your attention right away and it seems impossible to put down until you get to the last page. The book was very simple and wasn’t hard to follow or confusing at all. There was a tinge of romance in it that gave the story a little bit of everything. I try to think of things in this book that I didn’t like and I come up with nothing! Fire and Flood was amazing and I can’t wait to see what Ms. Scott writes next! I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars.

Scarlet By: Marissa Meyer (The Lunar Chronicles #2)

Synopsis from Barnes and Noble.com:

Cinder is back and trying to break out of prison—even though she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive if she does—in this second installment from Marissa Meyer.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother, or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana.

This is the second book in the very popular Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. When I read Cinder (the first book) I had high expectations from all the amazing reviews ,but the book fell a little short in my opinion. But that did not make it a bad book by any means. I still enjoyed it quite a bit and I was really looking forward to picking up the second book which is basically a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood in a way. I am very happy to say that this book was even better than Cinder! Where Cinder was more focused on setting the plot and introducing everyone to the world and the story, Scarlet dug even deeper and really caught your attention. To start, I loved how characters from the first book overlapped in the second book while still introducing new characters. All of the characters were very likeable, especially the newest main character, Scarlet. The plot was amazing also. There was the perfect mix of action, adventure, romance, and edge of your seat twists. This book was truly awesome and I am very excited to get to the third book in the series called ‘Cress’. I gave this book a 5 out of 5 stars!

The Faerie Ring By: Kiki Hamilton

Synopsis from Barnes and Noble.com:

The year is 1871, and Tiki has been making a home for herself and her family of orphans in a deserted hideaway adjoining Charing Cross Station in central London. Their only means of survival is by picking pockets. One December night, Tiki steals a ring, and sets off a chain of events that could lead to all-out war with the Fey. For the ring belongs to Queen Victoria, and it binds the rulers of England and the realm of Faerie to peace. With the ring missing, a rebel group of faeries hopes to break the treaty with dark magic and blood—Tiki’s blood.

Unbeknownst to Tiki, she is being watched—and protected—by Rieker, a fellow thief who suspects she is involved in the disappearance of the ring. Rieker has secrets of his own, and Tiki is not all that she appears to be. Her very existence haunts Prince Leopold, the Queen’s son, who is driven to know more about the mysterious mark that encircles her wrist.

Prince, pauper, and thief—all must work together to secure the treaty…

I have had this book for a while and I thought that I should finally give it a try. I hadn’t heard a lot about the book and it seemed a bit under the radar, so I gave it a try. I am really sorry to say that I really didn’t like this book much at all. It took me forever to read because nothing in the plot ever really took hold of your attention and kept it. It was very boring! There were no big twists or turns. Although the characters were only mildly likeable, they were bland because the author really doesn’t give the reader the chance to get to know them. Therefore I didn’t feel like there was any way that I could really connect with any of them. And finally, the main thing that really annoyed me with this book was the repetitiveness. It felt like all information that the characters found out had to be repeated over and over again, whether to the reader themselves or to other characters that didn’t know the information. I’m really sad to say that I only gave this book a 1 out of 5 stars. 😦

The One By: Kiera Cass (The Selection Series #3)

Synopsis from Barnes and Noble.com:

The time has come for one winner to be crowned.

When she was chosen to compete in the Selection, America never dreamed she would find herself anywhere close to the crown—or to Prince Maxon’s heart. But as the end of the competition approaches, and the threats outside the palace walls grow more vicious, America realizes just how much she stands to lose—and how hard she’ll have to fight for the future she wants.

The second book in this series (The Elite) was a little frustrating but I still was really looking forward to how the series would be wrapped up in this third and final book. I had not expected much going into this book and I have to say I wasn’t ‘wowed’ or anything, it was just ok. America was still pretty frustrating in parts of this book but I am happy to say that at the very end she did pull herself together after she realized her mistakes. I still loved all the other characters and loved how you really got to know some of the new characters that were introduced in this book even though they weren’t ‘main’ characters. Also, the plot was a bit predicting at times but it didn’t really take away from the story. As for how the author wrapped up the series- I did feel relatively content with the ending and how all loose ties were wrapped up. Overall, I gave this book a 4 out of 5 stars.