Review: Croak

Croak by Gina Damico

Synopsis (From Goodreads): Fed up with her wild behavior, sixteen-year-old Lex's parents ship her off to upstate New York to live with her Uncle Mort for the summer, hoping that a few months of dirty farm work will whip her back into shape.

But Uncle Mort's true occupation is much dirtier than shoveling manure. He's a Grim Reaper. And he's going to teach Lex the family business.

She quickly assimilates into the peculiar world of Croak, a town populated by reapers who deliver souls from this life to the next. But Lex can't stop her desire for justice - or is it vengeance? - whenever she encounters a murder victim, craving to stop the attackers before they can strike again.

Will she ditch Croak and go rogue with her reaper skills?

I have to admit Croak has been sitting on my bookshelf for way too long and I'm not sorry that I finally brought myself to pick it up. Lex is the perfect character to follow through this twisted story of grim reapers with her snarky attitude and her disregard for authority. After her parents take drastic actions to try and change Lex's wild and delinquent behaviour by sending her to work on the farm with her Uncle Mort, Lex finally finds a place where she feels she belongs. First, her uncle isn't a farmer, he's a Grim Reaper and Lex is about to join him in the family business, finally putting her violent rages to some use. She quickly makes Croak a home, finding friends and a purpose in her life, the two things she was missing at home, but every time she comes to a violent death she just wants to make the person responsible pay. Will she break the one most important rule Croak has and bring justice to the victim or can she just let the killers get away?

I love macabre stories and the idea of a town full of Grim Reapers instantly drew my attention towards Damico's Croak, and I wasn't disappointed. The world of Croak has been delved into in great detail that she has set up a whole society of Grim Reapers which made it fascinating to read about and then there are there characters. Each character has their own backstory, and for characters who deal with death on a day-to-day basis it added a lot of personality and flaws which I loved. Lex, the main character, is rude, snarky and is likely to hit someone in the face just for speaking to her (yes, she does that several times), but it is this attitude and Damico's humorous writing style that still made Lex a likeable and funny character. Then there's the hot and goofy housemate, Driggs, who's not afraid to hit a girl

With plenty of page-turning twists and dark humour, it made it a fun read. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who loves grim reapers and dark fantasy.

Source: Audible

2013 TBR Pile Reading Challenge: #5 of 21
2013 Audio Book Challenge: #4 of 25

Review: Mind Games

Mind Games by Kiersten White

Synopsis (From Goodreads): Fia was born with flawless instincts. Her first impulse, her gut feeling, is always exactly right. Her sister, Annie, is blind to the world around her—except when her mind is gripped by strange visions of the future. 

Trapped in a school that uses girls with extraordinary powers as tools for corporate espionage, Annie and Fia are forced to choose over and over between using their abilities in twisted, unthinkable ways…or risking each other’s lives by refusing to obey. 

In a stunning departure from her New York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy, Kiersten White delivers a slick, edgy, heartstoppingly intense psychological thriller about two sisters determined to protect each other—no matter the cost.

Ever since Fia and Annie lost their parents and were taken to a special school that promised to help Annie with her blindness, Fia has felt trapped. She has been forced to do unimaginable things or risk the life of her sister, Annie. Both girls are special. Annie, even though she is blind, she is capable of seeing future events, especially when her sister, Fia is involved. But Fia is the one the school has their eyes on. Fia has flawless instincts. Her first impulse, gut feeling, is always right, and that definitely helps in the field of espionage. When Fia is unable to take out a target she has been sent after has she doomed her sister's life or will she be able to find a way for the two of them to escape?

I loved Kiersten White's first series, Paranormalcy, and as soon as I heard about Mind Games I knew I had to read it. I was not disappointed. Mind Games is a psychological thriller that kind of reminds me of Minority Report for teenagers, with plenty of twists and turns that had me wanting to find out what's going to happen next.

Fia is definitely a complex character. She's been through a lot. She's just a teenager who has been forced to commit so many atrocities while still being a protective sister. Annie was a more grounded character, who tried to protect her sister and made mistakes along the way. It was interesting seeing the story from her perspective.  James made things interesting. It's unknown what he was really after in the story. Was he really interested in Fia? Was he working for his father or did he have his own agenda?

The one thing that I felt became grating, but I know they were necessary to tell both Fia and Annie's complete story, were the flashbacks. They came at the most inappropriate times, at times, because they snapped the story out of the action. It was interesting to learn about the girls past, but when the action was building I just wanted the story to keep flowing.

Overall, Mind Games was a thrilling read that will keep readers guessing until the end. I would recommend this for any fan of Kiersten White or Spy Thrillers. I look forward to seeing where Fia's story goes next.

Source: audible

2012 Audio Book Challenge: #3 of 25

Review: Level 2

Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans

Synopsis (From Goodreads): Three levels. Two loves. One choice. Debut novelist, Lenore Appelhans has written a thrilling otherworldly young adult novel about a place that exists between our world (Level 1) and what comes after life (Level 2).

'I pause to look around the hive - all the podlike chambers are lit up as the drones shoot up on memories ... I've wanted to get out of here before, but now the tight quarters start to choke me. There has to be more to death than this.' 

 Felicia Ward is dead. Trapped in a stark white afterlife limbo, she spends endless days replaying memories, of her family, friends, boyfriend ... and of the guy who broke her heart. The guy who has just broken into Level 2 to find her. Felicia learns that a rebellion is brewing, and it seems she is the key. 

Suspended between heaven and earth, she must make a choice. Between two worlds, two lives and two loves.

Felicia is trapped in limbo, an afterlife between heaven and hell, with nothing to do but replay memories of her family, friends, boyfriend and the boy she doesn't want to remember, Julian. When that very boy breaks into Level 2 to find her Felicia learns that a rebellion is brewing and she might be the key to either its success or its failure. Now Felicia has to decide whether she can trust Julian enough to follow him, but also she has to find enough strength to replay those memories she has tried to avoid... not only the one of her death, but one far worse.

I didn't know much about Level 2 besides it was an afterlife story when I first picked it up, although the cover is what made me want to read this, and Lenore Appelans has created an original debut that gives a different take on what happens after death before one has a chance to move on. Appelhans presented a unique way to tell Felicia's story through all the flashbacks and memories she was viewing, which kept me engaged and wondering what was going to come next, and no they are not in linear order so it made it quite unexpected in places.

All of the characters were interesting and had personalities of their own. Felicia is a strong character and it was interesting to find out about her personality and her traumas through her flashbacks. Neil was so sweet and charming, it wasn't hard to fall in love with him, and Julian, well he acted like a douche at times, but at other times it felt like he really cared for Felicia. All the characters, together with the twists and turns of the story, made this an exciting adventure into the afterlife and I look forward to reading more of Felicia's story (Level 3).

Source: audible
2013 Debut Author Challenge: #2 of 12

2012 Audio Book Challenge: #2 of 25

Review: Altered

Altered by Jennifer Rush

Synopsis (From Goodreads): When you can’t trust yourself, who can you believe? 

 Everything about Anna’s life is a secret. Her father works for the Branch at the helm of its latest project: monitoring and administering treatments to the four genetically altered boys in the lab below their farmhouse. There’s Nick, Cas, Trev . . . and Sam, who’s stolen Anna’s heart. When the Branch decides it’s time to take the boys, Sam stages an escape, killing the agents sent to retrieve them. 

 Anna is torn between following Sam or staying behind in the safety of her everyday life. But her father pushes her to flee, making Sam promise to keep her away from the Branch, at all costs. There’s just one problem. Sam and the boys don’t remember anything before living in the lab—not even their true identities. 

 Now on the run, Anna soon discovers that she and Sam are connected in more ways than either of them expected. And if they’re both going to survive, they must piece together the clues of their past before the Branch catches up to them and steals it all away.

Jennifer Rush has created an action-packed debut with a bit of sci-fi thrown in with mystery and romance, all tossed in to make a thrilling read. Anna's father works for a secret branch of the government, monitoring the treatments of four boys (Nick, Cas, Trev and Sam) who are being kept below their farmhouse. When the branch decides to take the boys, Sam decides it's time to escape.

Anna is caught between the dilemma of following Sam or staying behind with her old life, but her father makes Sam promise to take Anna with them and keep her away from the branch. Now outside, there's only one problem. The boys don't remember anything about living outside the branch and now they have to piece together fragments of memory from their old life to find out the truth about who they are before the branch catches up with them all.

Altered has everything that a good action story should have. Right from the start, there's the lies, deceit and the mystery, not to mention the tortured hot guys who just want to get their memories back. That's not all, it also has a heroine that's not afraid to put in a few punches too and break a few rules if necessary. I'm sure Anna could take on any of those boys if she ever needed to.

Each of the characters have their own distinct personality which was fantastic to see, and as the story progressed the reader learned more about each of the characters. The one thing that was great about this novel was the evolution of the emotions and feelings of Anna and Sam, it was great to see how they evolved and grow naturally and their emotions did not feel forced.

At times I did feel some of the characters did some stupid things, and didn't question how the branch found them so easily at times, but other than that it was a fast and enjoyable read and I look forward to seeing where the second book takes this group.

Source: audio book
2013 Debut Author Challenge: #1 of 12

2012 Audio Book Challenge: #1 of 25

2013 Reading Challenges

Last year I managed to succeed in my reading goal mainly due to the reading challenges I challenged myself in, and I found plenty of good challenges out there. This year, I've decided to take up the challenge again. Here are the challenges I'm going to be tackling throughout the year:

The challenge is to read 12 debut authors in the year, and at the moment my list is as follows:

1. Revolution 19 by Gregg Rosenblum
2. Broken by A.E. Rought
3. Insomnia by J.R. Johansson
4. The Cadet of Tildor by Alex Lidell
5. Pantomime by Laura Lam
6. My Sister's Reaper by Dorothy Dreyer
7. Altered by Jennifer Rush
8. The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett
9. Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans
10. Echo by Alicia Wright Brewster
11. The Sweet Revenge of Celia Door by  Karen Finneyfrock
12. Lawless by Jeffrey Salane

This challenge is to read 10 sophomores (second in the series or second novel published in 2013). Some of the books I plan to read include:

1. Pretty Sly by Elisa Ludwig
2. Fragments by Dan Wells
3. The Elite by Kiera Cass
4. Vortex by Julie Cross
5. Everbound by Brodi Ashton

The challenge is to read books from my TBR list (and I have a LOT of books waiting to be read). This year I'm aiming for the level Sweet Kiss (21-30 books). Some of those books I plan to read include:

1. Torment by Lauren Kate
2. Specials by Scott Westerfield
3. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
4. Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick
5. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
6. The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot
7. The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting
8. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
9. I'd Tell you I'd Love you but then I'd have to Kill you by Ally Carter
10. Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins

This challenge is all about reading audio books (which I absolutely love and devour), so I'm going all out and selecting the goal of Married (25+ audio books). Some of those books I've already got on my list to listen to include:

1. Altered by Jennifer Rush
2. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
3. Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink
4. Endlessly by Kiersten White
5. Revived by Cat Patrick

Last year I definitely outdid myself, reading 10 more books than the previous year, reading a total of 70. This year my goal is 75, so I'm aiming for the goal Getting my Heart Rate up (1-5 books more).

Yay!!! So, that's my reading goals for this year. What reading challenges, if any, are you going to be participating in?