Book Review: Confessions of an Angry Girl by Louise Rozett

Title: Confessions of an Angry Girl (Confessions #1)
Author: Louise Rozett
Release Date: August 28th 2012
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Source: Received from the publisher via NetGalley

Rose Zarelli, self-proclaimed word geek and angry girl, has some confessions to make…

1. I'm livid all the time. Why? My dad died. My mom barely talks. My brother abandoned us. I think I'm allowed to be irate, don't you?

2. I make people furious regularly. Want an example? I kissed Jamie Forta, a badass guy who might be dating a cheerleader. She is now enraged and out for blood. Mine.

3. High school might as well be Mars. My best friend has been replaced by an alien, and I see red all the time. (Mars is red and "seeing red" means being angry—get it?)

Here are some other vocab words that describe my life: Inadequate. Insufferable. Intolerable.

(Don't know what they mean? Look them up yourself.)

(Sorry. That was rude.)

My Thoughts

I have to admit I've been putting off reading this book for a while, I just kept looking at it and thinking more teenage angst, really?
Well, I started reading it in bed, and just couldn't put it down...finally finishing at 1am - what a fantastic read!

I was instantly attracted to Rose. The girl has some issues, but she's not a bad kid. The last few months have been hell for her and she just hasn't had an outlet for her feelings, hence the angry girl status.

Filled with great characters that weren't over-the-top, over exaggerated versions of teenagers that some authors have. This teenage girl was more true-to-life, dealing with actual teenage issues like raging hormones, school bullies, and inexplicable crushes. (I know what I'm talking about, my house is usually full of teenage girls, especially on weekends!!)

Did I find Rose to be a pain in the ass at times? Yes
Was I annoyed by her behaviour, the way she sometimes acts? Yes

Hello, she's a teenager - teenagers are just not right in the head!!
(again, I have first hand knowledge of this fact!)

The well scripted story and flawless writing made Confessions of an Angry Girl an easy and very enjoyable book to read - I can't wait to read Confessions of an Almost Girlfriend (bk #2) next year.

4 out of 5 stars ;]

Book Review: The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Lost Prince (The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten #1)
Author: Julie Kagawa
Release Date: October 23rd 2012
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Source: Received from the publisher via NetGalley

Don’t look at Them. Never let Them know you can see Them.

That is Ethan Chase’s unbreakable rule. Until the fey he avoids at all costs—including his reputation—begin to disappear, and Ethan is attacked. Now he must change the rules to protect his family. To save a girl he never thought he’d dare to fall for.
Ethan thought he had protected himself from his older sister’s world—the land of Faery. His previous time in the Iron Realm left him with nothing but fear and disgust for the world Meghan Chase has made her home, a land of myth and talking cats, of magic and seductive enemies. But when destiny comes for Ethan, there is no escape from a danger long, long forgotten.

My Thoughts

Well, I cant say I'm impressed at all.
Was the story good? - it was okay but it was all just a little too familiar and predictable. Yes there were different characters, different fey, but after it's all said and done; it's the same scenario, the same formula, the same fight as the Iron Fey series.

Sigh...I feel like I'm going to repeat myself, in fact, I think I will...
There were no surprises, no twists and turns, nothing to make me gasp and squeal with shock, sorrow, happiness...it was all very...meh.

Yep, that's exactly what I said about The Iron Knight (Iron Fey #4), and I wasn't terribly fussed with the entire series, which means I probably won't bother reading anymore of Ethan's books. I will say however, that I think the author writes a much better male voice than she does a female, even if Ethan is an annoying little snot.

The writing is okay, the characters are okay, perhaps a little shallow, but okay, the storyline is okay - it was all okay, nothing flash, nothing to WOW about.

Lovers of the original Iron Fey series will no doubt love this book, but as far as I'm concerned, The Lost Prince is a only worth a read when there's nothing else to do.

3 out of 5 stars :]

Book Review: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden #1)

Author: Julie Kagawa

Publisher: Harlequin TEEN
Release Date: April 24, 2012
Source: Received from the publisher via Netgalley

MY VAMPIRE CREATOR TOLD ME THIS:

"Sometime in your life, Allison Sekemoto, you will kill a human being. The question is not if it will happen, but when. Do you understand?"

I didn't then, not really.

I DO NOW. 

 

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die… or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn’t easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for. 

My Thoughts

For me, The Immortal Rules started off slowly. 

I wasn't sure if I liked Allie, I didn't really feel anything for her, and I found myself eye rolling a bit with the background story.

Its been 60 years since the plague and yet there is still food to be found in abandoned stores and houses...really? are you sure? if everyone is so starving and destitute don't you think that after 60 years it would of all been picked over years ago?
That seriously did not make sense to me, but maybe I'm just being overly picky.

Anyway, after 50 pages I was considering turfing it on the DNF pile, but I persevered...and around about page 195, I thought 'Okay, now we're on to something'

Even though I may not have always enjoyed her storytelling, I can't deny that Julie Kagawa writes beautifully.

Her words are descriptive and flow easily through the mind creating some great mental pictures, and I loved her vicious, more traditionally styled vampires and rabids.
And Allie grew on me, probably more than I care to admit.
Her struggle to adapt to being a vampire yet still aching to cling on to her humanity struck a chord, it felt real and believable. She showed great strength and tenacity.
And then she meets the mysterious Zeke and his motley crew of survivors with all their quirks and beliefs.

But then towards the end I started eye rolling again.

Eden's only a day or so's ride away from Jackal and his vampire city and he never stumbled upon it? really? after years of searching for Jeb and Zeke it was never discovered by anyone? after all these years? and then the only voice of suspicion, the 'thorn' in Allie's side gets killed right near the end, just as they approach Eden...
Am I the only one finding too many threads conveniently tying themselves together in a nice tidy bow?

All in all, I enjoyed the fresh take on vampires, the zombie like rabids, and the idea of an Eden waiting in the wastelands.
But I just felt it was all too safe, the ending too predictable.

A 3.5 Star read for me ;]