ARC Review: The Secret Diamond Sisters by Michelle Madow

Pub. Date: February 25, 2014

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Paperback
382 pages

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Synopsis from Goodreads:

Savannah. Courtney. Peyton. 

The three sisters grew up not knowing their father and not quite catching a break. But it looks like their luck is about to change when they find out the secret identity of their long-lost dad—a billionaire Las Vegas hotel owner who wants them to come live in a gorgeous penthouse hotel suite. Suddenly the Strip's most exclusive clubs are all-access, and with an unlimited credit card each, it should be easier than ever to fit right in. But in a town full of secrets and illusion, fitting in is nothing compared to finding out the truth about their past.

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I tried so hard to read this book. I picked it up more than once, but I just could not finish this novel. I found the lead characters to be entirely indistinguishable voice-wise from each other. They weren’t unique at all, and within the first half of the novel, there was virtually no character development. To make matters worse, for the most part the lead characters were vapid and annoying. I kept hoping that the story would pick up and intrigue me in a way that the characters weren’t, but that didn’t happen. The premise of girls gone wild in Vegas took over the mystery element, and when the mystery element was in play, the reveals were flat, predictable, and not enough to keep me interested.

ARC Review: The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Pub. Date: November 5, 2013

Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Hardcover

304 pages

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Seventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she can tell you who you are and what you want. But it’s not a skill that she’s ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI come knocking: they’ve begun a classified program that uses exceptional teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie.

What Cassie doesn’t realize is that there’s more at risk than a few unsolved homicides— especially when she’s sent to live with a group of teens whose gifts are as unusual as her own.

Sarcastic, privileged Michael has a knack for reading emotions, which he uses to get inside Cassie’s head—and under her skin. Brooding Dean shares Cassie’s gift for profiling, but keeps her at arm’s length.

Soon, it becomes clear that no one in the Naturals program is what they seem. And when a new killer strikes, danger looms closer than Cassie could ever have imagined. Caught in a lethal game of cat and mouse with a killer, the Naturals are going to have to use all of their gifts just to survive.

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I’m not someone who gravitates towards crime stories. I get creeped out easily, and I have what some may call an overactive imagination. Let’s just say it’s best when I’m not aware of the multitudes of ways people can be murdered. Yet, the premise behind The Naturals intrigued me. I found Cassie’s ‘natural’ approach to reading and profiling people so much more interesting than the scientific approach we usually see. Surprisingly for me, the girl who get’s creeped out, one of my favorite things about the novel is when ‘You’ takes over the narrative. Switching to a criminal perspective really upped the anti on how drawn into the world of The Naturals I became.

Review: Earthbound (Earthbound #1) by Aprilynne Pike

Pub. Date: July 30^th, 2013

Publisher: Razorbill

352 pgs

Hardcover

Before I review Earthbound, let me just say that I absolutely adored Aprilynne Pike’s Wings series, and I’m always afraid I’m not going to like the new, when I loved the old. Wings was something that I picked up a few years ago expecting a cute, fun, light read, and I found myself surprised by its complexity and world building. My feelings for Earthbound were thankfully the same. I’m not sure how Pike is able to seamlessly create an entire paranormal world with a complex mythology, while keeping the story straightforward, understandable and simple in its delivery. She amazes me, this book amazed me, and you should read it.

Tavia Michaels shouldn’t be alive. She was the only survivor of a plane crash that killed hundreds, including her parents. Now living far away from everything she ever knew, and trying desperately to recover physically and mentally from the damage done in the crash, Tavia questions just how damaged she is when she starts seeing things. Buildings appear and disappear, symbols start popping up everywhere, and Quinn, a guy she swears she has never met, yet feels she has known forever, keeps

Review: Undercurrent by Paul Blackwell

Pub. Date: July 23^rd, 2013

Publisher: HarperTeen

320 pg.

Hardcover

Before I start my review let me just say that I acknowledge I am probably not the target reading audience for this book. Even still, I was completely drawn in, especially for the first few chapters, and I really couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen. The problem I guess is that I am the type of reader who always works at figuring out the mystery. With Undercurrent I figured it out in less than 100 pages. I don’t know about you, but once I put the pieces together, I have a hard time staying engaged, waiting for the characters to catch up.

Slowing waking in a hospital bed, at first being unable to move, speak, or blink, Callum Harris knows that something is wrong. People keep telling him that he should be dead, and not in a, you’re so lucky way, but an, if karma existed you would be dead, kind of way. Once he’s ‘home’ the wrongness of his life becomes more apparent. His once divorced parents are happily together, his books have been replaced by football trophies on his shelves, a box with a gun and hundreds of dollars is found in his room, people are afraid of him, and most significantly his older brother was apparently in an accident leaving him paralyzed years before.

Review: Imposter by Susanne Winnacker

Pub. Date: May 28, 2013
Publisher: Razorbill
Hardcover
274 pages

Tessa can change her appearance to that of anyone she comes in contact with. She is a Variant – a person with an otherworldly ability. Two years ago, Tessa was offered the chance to leave her not so happy home to join the Forces with Extraordinary Abilities (FEA), a subset of the FBI. She along with the other Variants work at the FEA to hone their abilities, from becoming invisible, to reading minds, influencing emotions, and having super strength. It’s hard not to compare the Variants series to the X-Men, and the FEA to Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. While a comparison to such a beloved series (franchise?) can be the kiss of death, at this point in the series I would say the comparison is warranted and deserved. 

Once a Variants training is complete, the FBI can use them to assist during special assignments. But, even though Tessa’s training isn’t done, her specific Variant is needed now. She is assigned to take over the body and the life of Madison, a high school senior, and the fourth victim of a small town serial killer. Tessa is not only unsure if she can maintain her Variant for days or weeks at a time, but she is also unsure how to integrate herself into a family and a group of friends that

Review: Touching Melody by RaShelle Workman

Pub. Date: May 14^th, 2013

Publisher: All Night Reads

Format: ebook

161 pages

When Maddie Martin sees two men leaving her house, one her best friend Kyle Hadley’s police officer father, the other man with a gun, she would never have believed that she would find her parents shot to death inside. Forced by her strict Aunt and Uncle to keep quiet about Hadley’s involvement, Maddie becomes reclusive. She throws herself into music, becoming an accomplished pianist, earning a full scholarship to the University of Bellam Springs. As devastating as it was to lose her parents, never hearing from Kyle after the murders hurts her more, and makes her believe that he is just as bad a person as his father. What Maddie and Kyle don’t know is that her Aunt and Uncle intercepted all of letters Kyle wrote, in an attempt to keep the two apart.

At Bellam Springs, Maddie and Kyle are reunited. Maddie is surprised by how strongly she is drawn back to Kyle, given how firmly she believes that he is not a

Review: Dragonfly (Dragonfly #1) by Leigh Talbert Moore

Pub. Date: June 6^th, 2013

Publisher: All Night Reads

Edition: eBook

198 pages

After her best friend moves away, Anna Sanders plans on a quiet and lonely senior year, with lots of college prep. Her plans quickly change when Lucy and Jack Kyser, the twins of wealthy land developer Bill Kyser, enter her life. Lucy becomes the friend Anna needs, and an encouraging force behind the sparking of more than friendship between Anna and Jack. Even though Anna feels a strong pull towards Jack, the very hot and cold nature of their relationship leaves her confused. Adding to her confusion is the reentry of Julian, an artistic prodigy that Anna tutored in math the previous year, to her life. Julian is equally as charming and attractive as Jack, but where Jack is secretive and standoffish, Julian is straightforward and honest about his feelings for Anna.

When Jack pushes away, just as their relationship is starting to progress, Anna begins to wonder how much his father is pulling the strings. Under the guise of her internship at a local newspaper, and driven by her own curiosity about Jack, Lucy and the Kyser family, Anna becomes entangled in the secrets the Kyser’s have worked very hard to keep hidden. Just as Anna uncovers one mystery, she discovers that the secrets she has learned, and what she thought she knew about the family, is really just the tip of the iceberg.