Review: Deceived by Stephanie Nelson

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't read Craved by Stephanie Nelson, you may want to hold off on reading this review.

The vampire drug, brew, nearly ruined Gwen Sparks’ life. Just when things started to get back to normal between her and Aiden, she is summoned by the North American Witches Council to their central city of Moon. A war is imminent between vampires and witches, and Gwen’s experiences with brew are being used to fuel the fire. She is about to discover just how powerful she is with the help of the ruggedly handsome Angel of Death and just how far some people will go to get what they want. Gwen is going to learn exactly what it means to be Deceived.

Ian is back and making the worlds most frightening appearance, but what is he really up to? With the war "brewing" (haha, get it?) over vampires addicted to witches blood, everyone seems a bit tense. And while all Gwen wants is to be left alone to watch over her magic shop, she finds herself smack dab in the middle. When Dorian, the Angel of Death steps in to help tone her connection with death, will Gwen be able to keep her hands to herself? After all, she's still with Aiden, the sexy vampire a bit on the dark side.

I cannot express how much I loved this book. As you know from my review of Craved, I was a bit torn up over what to to rate it. I swayed from a 3 to a 4, finally deciding on a 4 due to how things built up and exploded in the end. Just as I was hoping, Stephanie takes everything Craved was and expanded.

I loved how we specifically found the title throughout the book. The explanations of different people being deceived, the secrets that lie behind the shadows and how the people we thought we could trust, may not be so trustworthy after all. This definitely helped to keep the theme throughout the book.

I also should note that there is a bit of sex and sexual violence in Deceived. Everything was completely tactful and went along well with the storyline.

Overall, this book was a fantastic read with everything you look for: action, romance, awkward tensions and connections to the spirit world. I cannot wait for Taming the Wolf.

My Rating for this book:

 Stephanie Nelson is a writer from Illinois. Inspired by Stephanie Myers' Twilight series, she realized how possible it was to fall in love with a book. So began the inspiration to create her own stories. When she isn't writing, she loves to play around on Facebook, watch movies, reading and being around her family. She considers herself to be "a very down to earth girl who just happens to be living her dream." To hear more about Stephanie visit her website at http://www.stephanienelson.com/ . 

To see an excerpt of Deceived, click here.

 

Deceived by Stephanie Nelson Excerpt

I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this book! So to prove to you just how awesome it was, I asked Stephanie for an excerpt. If this doesn't convince you to go out and by this book right now, I'm not sure what will. Oh! And check out my review too. :)

When I came around the corner, soft purple light glowed from the ball room. Couples slow danced to a peaceful symphony. It had to be close to two in the morning, but the Midnight Magical was still in full swing. My feet hesitated on the steps as I watched my fellow witches and warlocks enjoying themselves. None of them seemed too upset about Holly’s plans and had gone about their business as if they wouldn’t be going to battle in a week.
“You should not envy them.” A male voice spoke behind me. I peeked over my shoulder to see Dorian Hade standing close to me.
“I don’t,” I protested. It was a lie of course, I envied how easy their lives were and how they could express their love without repercussions.
“They are simple witches, Gwen. You hold a power they could never possess, and when I’m done teaching you, you’ll be the one who’s envied.” Dorian walked so that he was facing me. I studied his eyes. Dark cloud-like grayness rolled within them and reminded me of a coming storm. There was only gray, no pupil to break up the churning gloominess. Long chocolate locks brushed his shoulders. His t-shirt clung tautly to his body and the black leather coat fit like a glove. There was something very bad boyish about him.
I realized I was staring entirely too long when my eyes fell to his lips and saw the smirk on them. Blood rushed to my cheeks and warmed my face. “I don’t want to be envied. All I want is to be left alone.” I said with frustration and then headed up to my bedroom.
“Gwen?” Dorian called from the bottom of the steps. I turned around and stared at his mischievous smirk with annoyance, “What?”
“Sweet Dreams.” He winked and then walked away.

Mainstream Monday: LOTS of Cassandra Clare news!!

Happy Mainstream Monday!!  Today is all about Cassandra Clare.  I’ve got two big things to tell you all about and one small that you all probably already know. 

We’ll start with the small.  It is less than two months until City of Lost Souls comes out!  I don’t know about all of you guys but I’ve been counting down since I read City of Fallen Angels.

Secondly, Cassadra Clare has signed a book agreement with Margeret K. McElderry books to publish her third shadow hunter’s series, set to come out in 2015.  The story picks up in L.A. after the events of The Mortal Insturments are over where we’ll follow shadow hunter Emma Carstairs, “most skilled shadow hunter since Jace Wayland”, and her shadowhunter friends.  This time around there will be no new, nonshadowhunters discovering the shadow world.  We’ll also get a glimpse of what the surving TMI characters are doing in their 20s. I’m really happy that after The Mortal Insturments and Infernal Devices there will be another series of shadow hunter book for me to emerse myself into because frankly, they are my favorite fantasy world to dive into and I’d have to reread TMI and ID over and over to satisfy that need.  

Lastly, as you may know, the City of Bones movie was put on hold for a bit due to the original director leaving the project.  Since then the movie rights have been moved from Screen Gem to Constantin and things are starting to move forward again. Marlene King, writer for abc family’s hit series Pretty Little Liars, is still the writer City of Bones and Lilly Collins is still playing the part of Clary Fray, which I’m excited about because I think she is so stinkin’ cute! Not only is she still one board but she gets a say so in who will be playing Jace and Simon.  Jamie Campbell Bower was originally supposed to play Jace and from my understanding, while Lily has already valched for him it’s not for certain.  Lastly, they are in the process of hiring a casting director and start shooting August 15 of this year!! I am soo PUMPED!  I’ll keep you guys updated on all of the details.

Note: all information for this posted was from Cassandra Clares own blog.

Review: Vampires Revolution by Thomas Winship

"It is the morning of Princess Cassandra’s sixteenth birthday. Everyone’s attention is focused on the heir to the vampire throne. World leaders, the rich and famous, and VIPs from every corner of the globe have gathered in the nation’s capital to celebrate the momentous event...

The vampire and human leaders are killed. Cassandra is missing. Daniel is the acting king. Desperate to find the princess, Daniel and his friends fight their way across the besieged city. With the hopes of the free world resting on the shoulders of four vampire teenagers, væmpires unleash their secret weapons: a new breed of væmpire that is far deadlier than any ever seen before.

What can four teens do against an enemy that can shape-shift, fly, and walk through walls?"

It’s finally happened. The vaempires, an evolved vampire with an extra thumb, beating heart, with more powers, strength, and speed, and that feed on vampires, have finally rebelled. But they don’t just want more power or freedoms or a synthetic vampire blood to feed on like the vampires have, they want to take over, kill all of the humans, and enslave the vampires. Of all days to do so it’s Cassie’s sweet sixteen. Daniel is just thankful that Cassie isn’t anywhere near the city during all of this has he begins to fight his way to the royal grounds. But she’s not. Cassie makes it back to her home to find that everyone there, including her parents and Daniel’s parents have been not only killed but mutilated. With Cassie missing, Daniel becomes the active king. His first order of business will be to set out to find Cassie before it’s too late. Vaempire: Revolution is an interesting new take on the ever so popular vampires filled with action, love, and friendship that manage to rise up despite the turmoil.

My rating for this book:

One of the things I really enjoyed about this particular vampire story was that it could be look at in more than one way.  As someone that has been immersed in biology classes for the first few years of college, I saw it not only from an imaginary stand point but I scientific stand point.  As we all know, rather it’s in your beliefs or not, a main part of biology is evolution so I have had to read about the theory so many times I could talk about it in my sleep.  But it also makes a really good idea for a fantasy story as well I had just never thought about it that way until now.  Vampires could be considered more advanced humans.  They become the number one predator.  Then, vaempires become more advanced vampires.

I also found this vampire story much more relatable than say the Twilight series or The Vampire Diaries books.  We live in a world today where quite frankly way could be upon us at any given time.  While war is something that we do not live on a daily basis, it’s not as farfetched as sparkling vampires.  By adding real life aspects to this story I found it to be much more relatable than some of the other vampire books out there.

I also really liked the fact that we got to see the view points of both Daniel and Cassie and the fact that it was vampires’ meets dystopian, which isn’t something that you find every day.  Plus the ending was killer!  I cannot wait to find out what happens in the next installment.

Review: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

“Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she's made it out of the bloody arena alive, she's still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what's worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss's family, not her friends, not the people of District 12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment of Suzanne Collins's groundbreaking The Hunger Games trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about books of the year.”

The third and final installment of The Hunger Games trilogy picks up immediately where its predecessor, Catching Fire, ends. Katniss has managed to make it through the Hunger Games for a second time by once again outwitting the Capitol and its Gamemakers. And they’re not any happier about it than they were the first time around. But before they get the chance to punish her, Katniss is scooped up by members of the resistance movement in Panem. She soon finds out that those behind the resistance are the citizens of District 13 – the district that the Capitol claimed to have destroyed 75 years earlier. More secrets are revealed and soon Katniss becomes the face of the rebellion against the Capitol. Can she become the leader that the districts so desperately need to break the Capitol’s hold on them? Mockingjay keeps your interest from beginning to end, just as both of the other books in the trilogy.

I rate this book: 

As with the other two books, I completely devoured Mockingjay and was genuinely sad to see it end. The ending was something that I didn’t really see coming (I won’t spoil it for you guys), but that was also something that I really enjoyed about the book. Suzanne Collins has a way of keeping her readers guessing about what will happen next, especially in this series of books. And that sense of surprise is something that I find refreshing, since I seldom see it in a lot of the books that I read. When reading these books, I also developed a sort of friendship with the characters. So, when I came to the end of the book, I felt like I was saying goodbye to some good friends. However, I still definitely recommend Mockingjay to any and everyone. It’s an amazing read and tied the series together really well. If you’ve already read the first two books, then you absolutely must pick up Mockingjay – and if you haven’t read The Hunger Games trilogy at all, then you are definitely missing out.

Suzanne Collins has had a successful and prolific career writing for children's television. She has worked on the staffs of several Nickelodeon shows, including the Emmy-nominated hit Clarissa Explains It All and The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. Collins made her mark in children's literature with the New York Times bestselling five-book series for middle-grade readers The Underland Chronicles, which has received numerous accolades in both the United States and abroad. In the award-winning The Hunger Games trilogy, Collins continues to explore the effects of war and violence on those coming of age. Collins lives with her family in Connecticut.

Review: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

SPOILER ALERT!

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.

Katniss survived the games and is back in district 12.  But it’s not what it used to be.  Her family has been moved to a new home.  Gale is now old enough to work in the mines to take care of his family and doesn’t have as much time for hunting with Katniss and since Katniss confessed that her “love” for Peeta was all an act for the games to help them survive he hasn’t been around.  There is also rumor of rebellion that has brought capital troops to the districts.  President Snow is angry and he wants revenge, which means that Katniss and Peeta are going back into the games.  Catching Fire is the action packed sequel to The Hunger Games. 
 

I Rate this Book a:

What I didn’t care for about the book is that they were going back into the games.  After all of that working and fighting and surviving it was frustrating for me, as a reader, to watch them go back. 

One of my favorite parts about the book was that we got to go see the different districts when Katniss and Peeta went on the tour as champions.  It made them seem more real and give an insight into the other tributes, such as Rue’s, lives.  When Katniss and Peeta went to the other districts you also saw how completely divided the country actually was.  When you read about it, you really see why they have never really been able to rise up against the capitol for so long.

My other favorite part, in one word, or should I say name, Finnick.  In Catching Fire and Mockingjay Finnick completely takes over my heart as my favorite non-main character.  When they first introduce him I wasn’t sure about this guy.  But as you get further into the plot you find that he is a deep and loving man that will do anything in his power to protect the women he loves, who isn’t quite right, from those who could hurt her, even cooperate and go back in the games.  Forget Team Peeta or Team Gale. 

Suzanne Collins is the author of the best selling series The Hunger Games, which is now being made into a major motion picture.

Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

“In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games," a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed.”

In a world where all 12 districts are ruled by the controlling and ever-oppressive government known as the Capitol, children are forced to fight to the death until one person remains in the annual Hunger Games for the amusement of the Capitol’s citizens. Katniss Everdeen becomes the next female tribute from District 12 for the 74th annual Hunger Games when she volunteers to take the place of her younger sister, Prim. Afterward, she and her fellow tribute, Peeta Mellark, are whisked off to the Capitol, where they are primped and prepped for the televised appearances that precede the Game itself. All too soon, the two teens are thrust into the arena determined to make it back home to District 12 and the families that they left behind – all while the entire world watches their every move. The Hunger Games is a book that immediately grabs your interest and doesn’t let go until the very last page. Readers will laugh, cry, and fight along with Katniss and Peeta as they attempt to show the Capitol that they are people, not merely pawns to be used in their Games for the sole entertainment of the privileged of Panem.

I rate this book:

I started reading this book because of a good friend’s persistent recommendation and I’d already been hearing about it because of the movie that comes out later this week. Regardless, I picked it up and I don’t regret doing so for one second. I absolutely loved this book. From the plot to the characters, everything about The Hunger Games is incredibly brilliant. With this book, Suzanne Collins has managed to create a world filled with people and events that readers can easily relate to, fall in love with, and follow along throughout the entire story. That’s what I loved about this book – the characters are so real that you feel like you are actually living out the story of The Hunger Games with them. I was hooked from the first few pages and literally could not put this book down – I even finished it in one day! If you like action, suspense, and an incredible storyline, then you should definitely pick up The Hunger Games. I promise you won’t be sorry that you did. The Hunger Games will leave you wanting more – which is a good thing, since it’s the first book in a trilogy.

Suzanne Collins has had a successful and prolific career writing for children's television. She has worked on the staffs of several Nickelodeon shows, including the Emmy-nominated hit Clarissa Explains It All and The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. Collins made her mark in children's literature with the New York Times bestselling five-book series for middle-grade readers The Underland Chronicles, which has received numerous accolades in both the United States and abroad. In the award-winning The Hunger Games trilogy, Collins continues to explore the effects of war and violence on those coming of age. Collins lives with her family in Connecticut.