Divergent by Veronica Roth

"Beatrice "Tris" Prior has reached the fateful age of sixteen, the stage at which teenagers in Veronica Roth's dystopian Chicago must select which of five factions to join for life. Each faction represents a virtue: Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite. To the surprise of herself and her selfless Abnegation family, she chooses Dauntless, the path of courage. Her choice exposes her to the demanding, violent initiation rites of this group, but it also threatens to expose a personal secret that could place in mortal danger. Veronica Roth's young adult Divergent trilogy launches with a captivating adventure about love and loyalty playing out under most extreme circumstances."-GoodReads.

Hardcover, 496 pages

Published May 3rd 2011 by HarperCollins Children (Katherine Tegen Books)

Wow. Divergent was an INCREDIBLE story. So much so that when I was done reading it I wanted to start it all over again. There have been only two other books that I have wanted to do that with. 

The characters, the plot, the world...everything was amazing.

I read the first page and a half one Sunday morning on my way to church. Not the best time to start this book, because I was hooked. I was so intrigued by what happened on that first page that I had to know more, I had to know why, and I had to know soon. It was a bit difficult to put the book down and go inside. 

The illustrations that Veronica Roth paints with her words are just so vivid and make her story come to life. 

Oh, and Veronica, thank you soooo much for writing such a great lead female. Tris was perfect. Unlike so many main girl characters who whine about everything, act weak, and depend on guys to do everything for them, Tris knew she had to become strong in order to survive, so she did. Not without difficulties, and not totally alone, but she didn't think everyone else should be fighting her battles. I don't think I have ever felt so connected to a character as I did to Tris. Finally a girl that I got to actually think "hey that's what I would do!"

And also Veronica, thank you from the bottom of my heart for creating Four. Strong, mysterious, a born leader...ah-maz-ing! Seriously...can I have him? Cause I want him, real bad.

The secondary characters brought so much life into this story, as well. There are a lot of them so it took me a little bit to remember everyone, but they all add something to the story and make it feel just that much more real.


Not only does this book have great characters, but it has an awesome plot set in dystopian Chicago, which was really neat. For the most part we are in only one of the factions (which one I will not say), which works for this story, but I am hoping in the next book we get to go out into the world that Tris lives in and explore it more (and by the way Divergent ended I'm pretty sure that will be happening).

Divergent is most definitely one of my favorite books now. Just writing this I am craving a re-read, to be able to get back into the characters heads and sucked back into their world. I cannot wait until my to be read pile is down a little bit so I can dive back into this one.

If you haven't read this one yet I would like to know why not? Go to the store, buy it, go home, and read it. Now. Do nothing else until it is finished. That's an order...or peer pressure. Which ever will actually make you read it.

And don't forget to add Insurgent (Divegent book #2) to your reading list. The expected publication date is May of 2012. I cannot wait!

Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

"This debut, the first novel in a trilogy, is achingly romantic, terrifying, and filled with blistering action. 

When seventeen-year-old Ellie starts seeing reapers - monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell - she finds herself on the front lines of a supernatural war between archangels and the Fallen and faced with the possible destruction of her soul.

A mysterious boy named Will reveals she is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior, the only one capable of wielding swords of angelfire to fight the reapers, and he is an immortal sworn to protect her in battle. Now that Ellie's powers have been awakened, a powerful reaper called Bastian has come forward to challenge her. He has employed a fierce assassin to eliminate her - an assassin who has already killed her once.

While balancing her dwindling social life and reaper-hunting duties, she and Will discover Bastian is searching for a dormant creature believed to be a true soul reaper. Bastian plans to use this weapon to ignite the End of Days and to destroy Ellie's soul, ending her rebirth cycle forever. Now, she must face an army of Bastian's most frightening reapers, prevent the soul reaper from consuming her soul, and uncover the secrets of her past lives - including truths that may be too frightening to remember."-GoodReads.

Hardcover, 453 pages

Published February 15th 2011 by HarperCollins / Katherine Tegen Books

I had been putting off reading this one for a little while because of that scary ol' hype monster. I literally do not think I have seen one bad review for this book, so I was just not sure if it really was what everyone was saying or if people were just bandwagoning it.
I finally caved, obviously, and read it. After finishing it, putting it down, and thinking about it for a little bit, I have decided that I did really like it. 


I'm not a big Ellie fan. She would have been more enjoyable if she hadn't complained so much. Or acted like such a brat sometimes. Girls like that annoy me. Though she did end up having some cool moments, I stuck around for Will. I liked him. A lot. You know what I loved most about him? His love for root beer floats. I love them too. So anyone who likes them is cool in my book. So he was awesome because of that, and his undying dedication to Ellie. No matter what happened he was right by her side ready to do whatever she asked him to do.

My biggest problem with the book was Ellie's mom. I mean, really, she has to be the most unrealistic mother EVER. "No alcohol at your party," *later catches Ellie drinking* "Oh Ellie, we know we can't actually stop you from drinking, so I guess I would prefer you do it in the house then out other places." *Mother forbids Ellie to see a certain guy then later finds out Ellie really likes said guy, a lot* "Oh Ellie, I know we can't actually stop you from seeing this guy, so just be careful with him, okay?"
*FACEPALM* Seriously Mom? She is your daughter, living under your roof, you can tell her not to do things and she is supposed to listen to you...that's called 'being the parent'. I wanted to throw the book multiple times because of things like this...but decided against that since I was reading the book on my Kindle...

Other than the few things that I did not care for, I do have to say, Courtney Moulton does know how to write a super action packed book though. It was page after page of heart-pounding action. And it was appropriate, not over done at all.


If you love action-adventure, fantasy, and forbidden romance, give Angelfire a try. And don't forget to keep your eyes open for the release of Wings of the Wicked (Angelfire #2) which is supposed to be released sometime next year, and then Hymn to the Fallen (Angelfire #3) which is scheduled to be released in 2013.

I received this book free of charge from the publisher or author in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, altered my opinion of the story or my review.

Stolen by Lucy Christopher

" Sixteen year old Gemma is kidnapped from Bangkok airport and taken to the Australian Outback. This wild and desolate landscape becomes almost a character in the book, so vividly is it described. Ty, her captor, is no stereotype. He is young, fit and completely gorgeous. This new life in the wilderness has been years in the planning. He loves only her, wants only her. Under the hot glare of the Australian sun, cut off from the world outside, can the force of his love make Gemma love him back? The story takes the form of a letter, written by Gemma to Ty, reflecting on those strange and disturbing months in the outback. Months when the lines between love and obsession, and love and dependency, blur until they don't exist - almost."-GoodReads.

Hardcover, 299 pages

Published May 1st 2010 by The Chicken House (first published May 4th 2009)

When I first saw Stolen on GoodReads I knew I had to read it. I have an unhealthy 
love for psychological books. And an even more unhealthy love for Stockholm 
Syndrome stories. Just in case you are not familiar with Stockholm Syndrome, let me
explain it a little bit. Basically it is when "hostages express empathy and have positive 
feelings towards their captors; sometimes to the point of defending them. These feelings are 
generally considered irrational in light of the danger or risk endured by the victims, who 
essentially mistake a lack of abuse from their captors as an act of kindness."-Wikipedia

That is Stolen in a nutshell. At first Gemma hates Ty, but the longer they are together
and the more stories Ty tells Gemma about watching her grow up from a distance,
she starts to wonder if he is really all that bad. Maybe, he did actually save her by
taking her away from the life she lived before. Before she was with Ty, she was
ignored by her parents and basically just going through the motions, but now
she is the center of Ty's world. The only thing he cares about is her. But are her
feelings for him true? Or just the result him being the only person she has talked to
for months?

Don't pick up this book thinking it is going to be some kind of adventure and that
there is going to be tons of action.
It is much more subtle than that. There is some action, like when Gemma tries to escape
but mostly it is about Gemma and Ty at his home in the middle of nowhere, why he wants
her, and her internal battle of trying to escape of staying there with him.
I absolutely love that Stolen is written in the form of a letter. At first I wasn't too sure
about that but it really makes this book stand out.


The ending really took me by surprise. I was expecting something completely different to 
happen. When I read the last page, closed the book and set it down, I actually said "Wow."
It was pretty mind blowing. So if you like books that deal with psychological issues and
has some tough decisions in it, this would be the book for you. It does get a bit graphic
in a few scenes with Ty and how wild he is from being on his own for so long, but I 
would recommend giving this one a shot. It was fantastic.


Also, I would love to know if you know of any books like this one that you would recommend
me reading as I have had a bit of a hard time searching for them. I already have Forbidden by
Tabitha Suzuma on my list to read, so let me know if you of any more!

Once Upon A Read-A-Thon Wrap Up!

It's already over?? Awh, man. How could 3 days have gone by so fast?!

This read-a-thon was just so much fun. Especially the mini challenges...except they kept distracting me from reading haha.

Read:

Divergent by Veronica Roth

A Beautiful Dark by Jocelyn Davies

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

(3 of the 5 books I wanted to read)

Mini Challenges Participated In:

The Musings Of Almybnenr

YA Bliss

IB Book Blogging

I didn't get to read as much as I thought as I was going to be able to, but that's because I didn't really get to do any reading yesterday. Prior to finding out that I had signed up for the readathon my mom planned to take me to the ladies shopping day day at our local antique stores. So we were there most the day (which was a blast). But I still got a pretty good amount of reading done, and I was a lot closer to my goal then I have ever been. 

Can't wait til the next readathon!

Once Upon A Read-A-Thon Mini Challenge #2

This mini challenge is hosted by: YA Bliss.
Her challenge is to name our top 3 love triangles.

On her blog post she put that she thinks what makes a really good love triangle is when you really just cannot decide between both characters. That it is not just an obvious decision for the person having to do the choosing. I completely agree with this, though that is not usually how my mind works. Even if it is not an obvious choice who she (I use she because girl deciding between 2 guys is the only kind of love triangle I have read) should pick, I pick one guy and stick with him. I am very dedicated to the team I choose to be on. It is a very VERY rare thing for me to change sides. So since I am that way, what makes it a good love triangle for me is even if I have picked a guy to root for, I question it sometimes and see why the girl is having such a hard time deciding.

This took me a little while to think up three. I love books that have love triangles so I have read so many books with love triangles it's hard to narrow it down to three. I know, I know, so many people are sick of them, but I just can't help it. I like drama in my books.

But the second I read the challenge, I know who my first favorite love triangle would be.

Dimitri, Rose, and Adrian from the Vampire Academy series. The second that we meet Dimitri in Vampire Academy I was hooked. He had my literary heart.
Then came Adrian. He took me by total surprise. Richelle Mead actually almost got me to switch to Team Adrian...but then I decided against it. I just loved Dimitri wayyyy too much.

The next one I thought of was: Luc, Franny, and Gabe from Personal Demons. You would think that Luc being a demon and Gabe being all angelic it would be an easy choice right? Wrong. Luc is smoldering (no pun intended...okay...maybe a little one was) and Gabe is just all kinds of perfect. I went back and forth with this one for a little bit, but finally decided I like Gabe best. I guess I'm just an angel kind of girl.

And the last one I decided on is:

Jack, Alice, and Peter from My Blood Approves. Though I wanted to crawl into this story and steal Peter for myself the second he was introduced...I can definitely see the pickle that Alice is in when trying to decide between these two great guys. Jack is fun and adventurous while Peter is soulful and has emerald green eyes that you could lose yourself in forever.
Oh the decisions.

So those are my three.
Honorable mentions go to:
Peeta, Katniss, and Gale from Hunger Games.
Ren, Calla, and Shay from Nightshade.
Tucker, Clara, and Christian from Unearthly.

Who are your three favorite love triangles?

Once Upon A Read-A-Thon Update #1

So we're nearing the end of the first day and I do have to say, I am really proud of how much reading I got done. I am so very close to being done with Divergent by Veronica Roth and am pretty sure that will get done tonight. That will be an almost 500 page book in one day. I cannot remember the last time I have read a book that big in one day. And even though I am not done with it yet and things could change for the worst in the last parts, I am LOVING it so far. It captured me so much earlier that I when I thought only about 30 minutes had gone by, 3 hours had actually gone by. Whoa.

Not to sure what I will be starting next. Probably an ebook since I will be going to the gym in the morning and it is quite difficult to read a real book there.

But  I am most definitely having a really good time so far!
If you are participating in the readathon, how are things going for you? I'd love to know :)

Once Upon A Read-A-Thon Mini Challenge #1

This mini challenge is hosted by IB Book Blogging

Question 1: What is your favorite type of myth?

I have always really really loved Egyptian & Greek mythology. Romani (gypsy) and Irish mythology are close to me though because it's part of my heritage.
Can I just say all of them? That would probably be easiest ;)

Question 2: What is your favorite book with some kind of mythology in it?

Chronicles of Narnia, most definitely. It is such a mash-up of so many different types of mythologies, but they all work so well together. I always have and always will loves those books.