REVIEW: The Elite by Kiera Cass

THE ELITE (The Selection # 2)

Author: Kiera Cass

Pages: 323

Publisher: HarperTeen

Release Date: 23 April 2013

ISBN: 0062059963

Rating: *3 stars*

Thirty-five girls came to the palace to compete in the Selection. All but six have been sent home. And only one will get to marry Prince Maxon and be crowned princess of Illea. America still isn’t sure where her heart lies. When she’s with Maxon, she’s swept up in their new and breathless romance, and can’t dream of being with anyone else. But whenever she sees Aspen standing guard around the palace, and is overcome with memories of the life they planned to share...

The Selection = Awesome, The Elite…

I absolutely loved reading The Selection. The whole find-the-princess bachelor thing was really interesting, and I liked America and Maxon enough to care what happened to them in the next book. I thought their relationship was adorable. I also liked how America wasn't falling all over Maxon the moment she met him. However, after reading The Elite I no longer care about either America or Maxon. In fact, I can’t stand either of them.  

The romance, the confusion, the indecisiveness…

All I can say is for the love of god make up your mind, America! I can't go through a whole other book of "I love Maxon. No wait, I love Aspen! No wait Maxon! Don’t leave me." It gets really annoying after awhile. I also disliked how she thought it was completely okay for her to cheat all she wanted and had the audacity to blow up when [insert love interest] did it! And I am so tired of Maxon making excuses for what he did. Being a prince doesn't excuse you from being a complete jerk! It is still wrong.

The book as a whole, but mostly the ending…

Throughout the entirety of The Elite barely nothing major happened or if it did it wasn't that much of a big deal. I am still confused about the whole rebel thing and their random appearances to stir up conflict in the novel. The characters and their actions were completely inconsistent. The ending left everything right back to where the characters were in the beginning of the novel. I couldn't help but think to myself after reading the whole book “what was the point of all this?”. If you skipped this The Elite and went straight to book # 3 you would not be missing out on anything. There were some fun moments in this book but the more I read the more I started to dislike the characters. I can’t think of even one character I like enough to continue reading this series.  Sadly, I think my journey into the world of the Selection officially ends here.

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REVIEW: The Elite by Kiera Cass

Book Haul Sunday! + Blog Update

Book Haul Sunday features books I have borrowed, bought, received for review and etc. 

Comment or link below and tell me what books you received this week!

Taken by Erin Bowmen [Add to goodreads]

Source: Edelweiss | HarperTeen

Format: e-ARC

Mind Games by Kiersten White [Add to goodreads]

Source: Edelweiss | HarperTeen

Format: e-ARC

Special thanks to HarperTeen for my review copies! 

Blog Update

So I've been trying to get back into the swing of things with blogging. I've been pre-making and planning all my future posts so the days when I'm busy they can automatically post themselves (I'm in LOVE with the "scheduled" option on blogger! It's been so convenient for me.) So yeah, plenty of content coming your way these coming weeks. Hope you're all having an amazing weekend! Stay awesomesauce and try not to catch the flu this season. :)

Book Haul Sunday! + Blog Update

BOOK TRAILER: Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair. . . .

Fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily doesn't believe in love stories or happy endings. Then she meets the alluring teenage Peter Pan in the forbidden woods of Neverland and immediately falls under his spell.

Peter is unlike anyone she's ever known. Impetuous and brave, he both scares and enthralls her. As the leader of the Lost Boys, the most fearsome of Neverland's inhabitants, Peter is an unthinkable match for Tiger Lily. Soon, she is risking everything—her family, her future—to be with him. When she is faced with marriage to a terrible man in her own tribe, she must choose between the life she's always known and running away to an uncertain future with Peter...
(click here to read the full summary)

Here is the official book trailer for TIGER LILY by Jodi Lynn Anderson:

 ~ Tiger Lily comes out JULY 3RD by HarperCollins ~

BOOK TRAILER: Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

REVIEW: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Title: Insurgent (Divergent #2)
Author: Veronica Roth
Genre: Dystopian
Pages: 525
Publisher: Harper Teen
Release Date: May 1st, 2012
ISBN: 0373210515
Buy Links: B&N | Amazon | The Book Depository

One choice can transform you--or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves--and herself--while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Why I loved Divergent...

I think it’s best to start off this review with some of my thoughts on Divergent. Refreshingly different. Downright exhilarating. It was the most memorable novel I read that year amongst the hundred or so books I was also reading at the time. Reading Insurgent brought back my ardent feelings for Divergent but left me feeling a somewhat…dry in the aftermath. I realize that this is a sophomore novel and that most of the time they end up becoming filler spaces for the third book, but I was not expecting it to happen with Divergent. I guess I was expecting a little bit more…? That lack of that extra “something” is my reason for this being a 4 star.

Girl power at it's finest = Trice

Trice is the same firecracker she was in the first book. An impulsive risk-taker with her adrenaline where her brain should be half of the time. I enjoyed every bit of her risk-taking moments even though they were discouraged in the book. I know Trice is not supposed to be too impulsive, but after awhile I got tired of seeing female protagonists in YA novels being left out of fights for their protection. It’s way too common and I’m sick of it. If there’s an important battle/fight going on Trice is in it. I’m glad I do not have to read through some angst-filled monologue of how the protagonist wishes she was strong enough to go. Good for you Trice!

REVIEW: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Review: DESTINED by Aprilynne Pike

D E S T I N E D 
Author: Aprilynne Pike

Publisher: Harper Teen

Pages: 320

Release Date: May 1^st 2012

Source: Publisher

Where to buy: Amazon | The Book Depository

Laurel now knows the truth: Yuki is a rare Winter faerie, the most powerful—and deadly—of all, and she is working with Klea to conquer and destroy Avalon. With Tamani, David, and Chelsea by her side, Laurel prepares for a fight she never thought she would have to face.

Filled with heart-pounding action, sweeping romance, and higher stakes at every turn, Destined is the series conclusion that readers have been clamoring for—with a twist that will leave them breathless.

I thought I’d start off this review by saying that I loved the three previous books WINGS, SPELLS, and ILLUSIONS because of how well all three managed to pull off 3^rd POV while still focusing on the characters enough so that you never felt distanced from them.  Although I felt like a lot of the things that happened in the book were slightly predictable, DESTINED was a great end to a series I loved and I’m so sad to see it end.

Tamani. Gosh, I loved Tamani. His thoughts and personality light up the pages of the book. His situation with Laurel picks up right where ILLUSIONS left off. And let me say, those two are absolutely adorable together. David wasn’t as present in this book until more toward the end, but he played a huge role in saving Avalon and I enjoyed the parts of the book where he finally got his shining moment.

I do really wish that this book ended with a bigger bang rather than the way it did. There were a few poignant instances in which DESTINED pulls a Deathly Hollows over on us, but I felt like I knew it was going to happen way before I was supposed to.  I loved that we all finally get to learn all about the evil villainous Klea in this book. She’s a cold hearted murderer and I have absolutely no sympathy for what happened to her. At all. I was actually kind of shocked by how reluctant they were to do away with her after all the horrible things that she did throughout the course of the book.  

As a fair warning if you want a truly happy ending then don’t read the epilogue.  But if you’re more into the bittersweet type endings (like me) you’ll read on and find out what happens to all the characters. I’ve been following this series for years, and now that it’s the last book it’s like saying goodbye to an old friend. I highly recommend this last installment to all those who loved the WINGS series.

 / 5 stars

It's great, but not as AMAZING as I thought it would be.

Review: DESTINED by Aprilynne Pike