Maze Runner Review

Maze Runner by James Dashner

"shouldn't someone give a pep talk or something?" Minho asked, pulling Thomas's attention away from Alby.
"Go ahead" Newt replied.
Minho nodded and faced the crowd. "Be careful," he said dryly.
"Don't die."
— James Dashner (The Maze Runner (Maze Runner, #1))

Maze Runner starts with a boy named Thomas waking up in a black box his memory wiped. Greeted by kids, in a 'community' they call the Glade. A place where they all live and work. They tell him they are trapped there, around their little world is a maze in all directions. They work during daylight hours trying to solve the maze. Once a week they get supplies and once a month a new boy is sent there. No explanation. Until the day after Thomas gets there a GIRL is sent through the box, the first girl any of them has ever seen. She carries a message.

I put this book on the shelf more than once. I read a lot of books with romance and Maze Runner has ZERO romance. A bunch of boys and ONE girl. Sounded like Lord of the Flies to me. It was a really good read. A lot was going on and it spooked me a few times, good suspense and not predictable. The slang they use took me a few chapters to get used. I loved the description of the Glade & maze, James Dashner painted a very fantastic picture.

The next book in the series The Scorch Trials is out already as well as a few prequels to Maze Runner. I am excited to read more about these kids and see what else they are put through. The Epilogue was VERY interesting and raises more questions than it answers. I recommend this for suspense lovers or if you ladies want a break, like I did, from the same old story of "two kids in love saving the world".

Rating: 4/5 - Excellent Puzzle.

Crave Review

Crave be Laura J. Burns & Melinda Metz



I will be honest, I didn't have very high hopes for this book. I read a few bleak reviews but it sounded like a good story and frankly the dude on the cover looked hot. Sue me I am a sucker for a great book cover.

Shay is our resident heroine, she has been sick her whole life, some rare blood disorder which makes her get transfusions more than once a week. Her "new" treatment of blood makes her feel better than ever but gives her these surreal visions of being someone else...a vampire named Gabriel. She falls for him & sets out to see if he is real.

I liked Shay and I liked the connection she has with Gabriel. But the flashes between her "visions" and swapping narrators mid-chapter was confusing. It could have been a lot better. I will read the sequel Sacrifice only because I am an optimist when it comes to books.

Rating 2/5 - Slow Going.

Shatter Me Review

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

"The soldiers stomp stomp stomp through the rain...They dont understand the freedom in feeling the universe on their skin. They dont care. I wish I could stuff my mouth with raindrops and fill my pockets full of snow. I wish I could trace the veins in a fallen leaf and feel the wind pinch my nose"
- Shatter Me #1 by Tahereh Mafi

Shatter Me opens with Juliette in prison, solitary for the past year. We find out she has been locked up since she was 14. Juliette has never been loved or touched in her life because her touch is lethal to humans. Her whole world is the dark cell and the thoughts in her head.

One day they tell her she is getting a cellmate and it turns out to be a boy. He tells her about he world outside how bad it has gotten. She is taken from her small four walled world and throw into the lap of luxury and asked to use her power to torture and kill. If she does not they will throw her back in prison forever. She doesnt know what to do but she knows she needs to find a way to escape.

I loved the style of this author, it felt like poetry and I couldn't get enough. So many quotes stuck with me. Some really great sexy, charged moments in this book too! The characters are written really well and even the "bad guy" I find incredibly sexy!

Give it a go you will love it!

Rating 4.5/5 - Sexy & Dangerous!

Pandemonium Review

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
Delirium Series #2

"Fire in my legs and lungs; fire tearing through every nerve and cell in my body. That's how I am born again, in pain...
I run, and when I can no longer run, I limp, and when I can't do that, I crawl, inch by inch, digging my fingernails into the soil, like a worm sliding across the overgrown surface of this strange new wilderness. I bleed, too, when I am born"
— Lauren Oliver (Pandemonium (Delirium, #2))

I was looking forward to this book for quite a while. I was yet again swept up in the story Delirium began.

Pandemonium is almost the opposite of Delirium. In this story she is on the outside of civilization as an Invalid. She runs from the gory scene that ended Delirium watching Alex die before her eyes and then running into the wild, completely alone in her grief.

Lena runs for a days, lost in her desperation, the feeling of everything she ever loved has been taken from her. She is discovered, nearly dead, by the Invalids in the wild and they nurse her back to health, not back to her old self but as a newer, stronger, braver, hardened version of herself. They become her family. Life on the outside is hard and full of loss. Lena is thrown in with a "uncured" poster boy for the cure, Julian after being kidnapped and they get close. But she is still haunted by her love and loss for Alex. Chaos ensues and you guessed it, they fall in love.

Its a fast paced and it's deeply painful to read Lena's loss of hope. I am such a fan of Lauren Oliver's writing style and this story line I fell in love with after Delirium and now will be counting down the days until her next novel.

Highly recommended! Had a feel of Scott Westerfeld's Pretties . Check it out.

Rating: 4/5 - Fast paced & full of love & loss.

Passion Review

Passion by Lauren Kate
Fallen Series #3

"All that is good in Heaven and on Earth is born of love. This war is not just. This war is not good. Love is the only thing worth fighting for."
— Lauren Kate (Passion (Fallen, #3))



The third book in the series opens with Luce jumping into an Announcer on a quest to find out why her and Daniel's relationship is doomed and find out why she has to die over and over again for their love.

This is a roller coaster ride through time with Luce bouncing between ancient times and each time reliving their love and her death. Luce is trying to find out if there is an end to this curse and if their love is worth it for her and for poor Daniel who is felt to mourn her after each death. Daniel is chasing her through time hoping to reach her before something terrible happens.

I really enjoyed the different eras she experienced, so many details in the clothing and the locations. Like a history lesson with a Angelic twist. My only concern is not enough of our beloved demon Cam. He is by far my favorite fallen angel and I would have liked to see more of him. But aside from that I loved this novel as I have loved all of them in the Fallen series.

Luce & Daniel's love story of the ages is wonderful. I highly recommend this novel and keep your eyes open for Rapture the fourth book in the series being released June 15, 2012. Also, there is a Valentines Day novel with short love stories about SOME of our favorite characters: Shelby, Miles, Ariane, Roland, Luce & Daniel. This is different but I have to say I am dying to read it! Not sure how much it has to do with the series but rest assured I will review it when I am finished :)

Rating: 4.5/5 - History Lesson in love.

Torment Review

Torment by Lauren Kate
Fallen Series #2

"Sometimes beautiful things come into our lives out of nowhere. We can't always understand them, but we have to trust in them. I know you want to question everything, but sometimes it pays to just have a little faith."

"Yeah,there was a whole chapter on you in my eight grade History of Angels textbook," Miles said.
Arriane clapped. "And they told me that book was banned!"

"I have to go," he said at last, getting to his feet. "I shouldn't even be here, but I cannot keep my self away from you. I worry about you in every waking moment. I love you, Luce. So much it hurts."
— Lauren Kate (Torment (Fallen, #2))

The battle for good & evil, Heaven & Hell continues with our girl, Luce and her fallen Angel boyfriend, Daniel. Our favorite Angels & Demon reappear in this book as well as some great new ones.

Luce is moved into hiding from the Outcasts, at a school called Shoreline in California. Which is basically a finishing school for Angel half breads, ran by 2 fallen Angels one a Demon on the dark side, one an Angel on the good side, so as to not sway the students to either side. Luce learns a lot about the shadows that have followed her for her whole life. Now realizing they are a way to glimpse her past with Daniel she sets off to find out more about their past including her families in each past life who were left to mourn her untimely death.

Daniel is elusive as ever and I am never really sure if the whole truth is being told to Luce. If a fallen Angel tells you that you are the love of his life, should you believe him? And why? Luce keeps thinking how much simpler her life would be if he had never fallen in love with her to begin with.

I am knee deep in this series and am loving every word. It is written beautifully with so much detail. I am still, after 2 books, on the fence whether Luce is being lead astray by these angels and what the real story is behind the truce and the war.

I highly recommend this book and Series. next up is Passion. I am swept up by this story and its strong cast of characters. There is a fine line between Good & Evil, sometimes it's hard to see where you stand. Read it you wont be disappointed.

Rating: 4/5 - Angel fantasy delivers!

Fallen Review

Fallen by Lauren Kate

"She had sand in her mouth and between her toes, the briny wind raising goose bumps on her skin, and the sweetest, spellbound feeling spilling from her heart.
She could, at that moment, have died for him."

"He dipped her low and kissed her fiercely, as if he were angry, and each time his lips left hers, even just for half a second, the most parching thirst ran through her, making her cry out."
— Lauren Kate (Fallen (Fallen, #1))


In the case of this novel I judged a book by it's cover and I am glad I did.

Fallen is about a girl, named Luce (Lucinda) who is sent to a reform school where she meets many strange and interesting characters. Two boys catch her eye. Cam, is sweet and kind and Daniel who is NOT sweet or kind and treats her like a pesky infatuated child. Luce is drawn to him in such a powerful way and doesn't know why. Big surprise there, aren't girls always drawn to the guy who ignores them.

She is torn between the two guys and starts digging into Daniels past to try to find a reason for her powerful feelings for this perfect stranger. What she discovers starts to unravel her whole world and everything she believes.

It took a while for this book to get going. Knowing it was a trilogy I wanted the story to get to the point which it didn't do until about half way into the book. I am not a patient reader and it took me 4 days to read this, which for me, is a long time. BUT, that being said, once the writer got to the point I was hooked. I could fill this review with spoilers but that's not my style. Its a good fantasy novel and I enjoyed the last half and am about 5 minutes away from starting in on the next in the series Torment.

I reluctantly will recommend this but only because the story got good, really good and I am excited to see where the trilogy takes Luce & the other characters. I hope the reason for the slow start was due to the necessary intro to all the characters that will be popping up in the next 2 books and not just her style of writing. Fingers crossed.

Rating 3.5/5 - Slow & steady wins the race.