Spirit by Brigid Kemmerer (Elementals #3)

Spirit by Brigid Kemmerer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Spirit is releasing later this month and I just can't say enough good things about this series. I love how the dialogue and the guys' thought processes are SO your average teenage guy! They say the craziest shit to each other and fight like all the siblings Ive known. It's hilarious and so realistic feeling that the guys seem completely real to me. And that's the best feeling from a book, because it makes the series an addiction to know what happens next.

Overall the series is about brothers with elemental powers that make them a force feared by many. But Spirit is Hunter's story, and Hunter is a spirit user and not one of the Merrick brothers. Instead he's a "fifth" with a tenuous relationship with the Merricks because he suspects his dad and uncle probably died because of them. However, Hunter's life is kind of in a tailspin and he's left having to decide whether he can possibly trust the brothers. After all, it wasn't too long ago that he and Gabriel Merrick were teaming up to fight some deadly fires.

Then there's the new girl Kate. She's like a splash of cool water and connects with Hunter like no one else has done in a very long time. But she's got some secrets of her own and Hunter's left trying to figure out who he can really lean on when he needs a friend. I love this series and recommend it for anyone looking for a fun YA read.

Because It Is My Blood (Birthright #2)

Because It Is My Blood by Gabrielle Zevin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really liked this one. It's shaping up to be a reeeeeeally great series and I'm hoping it continues just as strongly with the next book(s?). The Birthright series is set in a future New York where substances like chocolate and coffee are banned and, like in the prohibition era of the 1920s, these things have given rise to illegal black markets, mob families, and a NYC very different than our present.

Anya Balanchine is a daughter of an infamous chocolate family and in this book we pick up with her after her stint at a notorious juvenile detention center, Liberty Children's Facility. She emerges with a determination to keep her siblings safe and get her life together but it's even harder now that she has a record and a family "business" in chaos. But Anya is a survivor and a girl with true grit. She works her butt off trying to keep everything from falling apart but things go awry, people die, and Anya becomes a fugitive in Mexico! Hence, the recipe for some spicy Mexican chocolate in the book's preface.

I also liked the parallels between Anya's world and our current events (e.g. the NYC bans on big cups of soda, junk food restrictions).

It was a nice little extra layer of things to think about as I read.This would make for a great read and discussion with high school classes. I'd love to hear what they think about what exactly makes something legal or illegal, and how our history with prohibition compares and contrasts with bans on the sale of gluttonous sodas. Yay nerd fun! lol

This book was a library copy.

Spark (Elemental #2)

Spark by Brigid Kemmerer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh man, I LOve LOVe LOVE this series! It's so funny and so good it just sucks you in. And to top it off Gabriel is my favorite of the brothers so I really couldn't put this book down. The best thing about the writing is the dialogue, both between characters and their internal thoughts, because it's so real. The brothers interact and speak exactly like every guy I've ever known and it kept me laughing since of course it included plenty of ribbing lol.

The story is about 4 teen brothers who were orphaned but their oldest brother managed to gain custody so they could continue living as a family together. Aside from the problems they have trying to keep their lives on track without parents, the brothers also share a family secret: they are elementals, or humans with strong supernatural affinities that can be very dangerous for people around them.
This book is Gabriel's book and he's one of the twins whose element is fire, hence the title Spark.

If you haven't read book 1 or the ebook shorts you won't be lost (I myself still havent read Hunter's e-novella yet) but I highly recommend doing so because it really adds depth to the characters and their backgrounds. Plus, they were just as much fun to read as this book.
The only aspect I didn't like about this story was a detail in the plot's turning point.
****But Spoiler Alert****do not read rest if you don't want a spoiler****
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The part I personally didn't like was when Layne's scars are supernaturally wiped away. When I first learned about her scars and how they made her who she is I liked that she wasn't perfect and was learning to find who she really is. And I liked that Gabriel was able to show his true character when she shared that part of herself with him. So when she suddenly lost the scars I felt a little cheated out of that aspect of the story, those parts of the characters.
Regardless, I still loved the book. It was hilarious to be in Gabriel's head and nice to see him grow and find friendship and love with Layne.

Thank you to LibraryThing Early Reviewers and Kensington Teen for the chance to win this copy:)

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FYI! a great giveaway going on @GultPlsureBkRev

Hard, hot & real para romantic suspense: FEVER from @joanswan on sale limited time! $3.99! ow.ly/aDQaz

The Last Sookie Book...

It's just been announced, the last book in the Sookie Stackhouse series is gonna be titled:

I'm excited to see how it turns out, even if Deadlocked underwhelmed me. All in all I'm ready to see some closure with Sookie and move on to a new Charlaine Harris world. It's been a great ride and I think the end will be worth sticking through it all!

Quick update...

So I'm a goober and have been doing things the hard way because I never took the time to explore goodreads after all their upgrades. I was using it in just the most basic way, and not connecting it with any other accounts (fb, twitter, etc) so I was missing out on some tools that make blogging much easier. I still haven't connected it to fb yet but I did start the post sharing here, which is so much easier! I don't know why I wasn't doing it before. I can only blame my burned out brain that is so tired of textbooks and group projects that it didn't want to read another word that wasn't required for a grade :P But class/finals/etc are all finally over and I'm not doing summer semester, so I'm looking forward to some fun and of course relaxing summer reads:)

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love Love LOVED book one in this series and couldn't wait for book 2, but had to postpone reading it til after finals! That was hard but well worth the wait. While it had a few bits that I saw coming the majority of it was a nice adventure to read. The author flipped back and forth between the past and present of Lena's life smoothly and it made it easy for me as a reader to connect with her emotions of the past and see how they were driving her present decisions.
This book is just as dramatic and emotional as the first, and it even has just as strong a cliffhanger ending to boot. If you're looking for an intense and romantic series this one is great!

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