"This is Not a Test" by Courtney Summers

Genre: YA... something?
Format: Paperback
Publication: June 2012
Cover Rating: 5/5 Stars

From Goodreads: It's the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won't stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self. To Sloane Price, that doesn't sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed and since then, she's failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up. As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she's forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live. But as the days crawl by, the motivations for survival change in startling ways and soon the group's fate is determined less and less by what's happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life—and death—inside. When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?

My Thoughts: This book has been sitting on my shelf for SIX years! I've been trying to clean up my TBR books lately, and I knew this was one I really needed to read.

Honestly, I'm not sure how I felt about it. This is Not a Test is well written, and it kept me turning the pages... but I was left with the impression that this is NOT a Zombie novel. To me, this was more of a novel about a girl dealing with mental illness and PTSD from living in an abusive home, with zombie's in the background. It had some really good Zombie moments, especially towards the end, but ultimately I couldn't list this one as a YA Horror novel. I'm sure when I picked this up I was looking for something more like The Forest of Hands and Teeth (which is an EPIC Zombie YA), but TINAT just doesn't fall in that category.

Besides the non-zombie feel, I had three other big issues with this one. The first was that Sloane was annoying for a Zombie Apocalypse world. The truth was, I just didn't see her surviving as long as she did. If you read it, the reasons would become obvious. The second was that I felt zero chemistry between her and the other characters, which made for a lot of boring and forced interactions. And my last issue was that nothing really seemed to happen until the last 30 pages or so. They're basically all just hanging out in the school, doing nothing.

So, why did I keep reading? Despite my issues, the author really does have a seamless writing style. Everything flowed together perfectly and it kept me reading, even though there wasn't too much going on. I also really thought she had a strong understanding of PTSD and mental illness. And even though this won't be listed as one of my favorite books, I did enjoy the ending. It saved the book from becoming a one star for me.


Bottom Line: Of course, all of this is just my opinion and just because I wasn't a fan of it doesn't mean you won't be. I feel like the author should have either went all in for the Zombie novel or either all in for the PTSD/ mental illness novel and left out the zombies. But together it just didn't really work for me.

My Rating: 2.5/ 5 Stars

"War Storm" by Victoria Aveyard

Series: Red Queen #4
Genre: YA Dystopia
Format: Hardback
Publication: May 2018
Cover Rating: 5/5 Stars

From Goodreads: Mare Barrow learned this all too well when Cal’s betrayal nearly destroyed her. Now determined to protect her heart—and secure freedom for Reds and newbloods like her—Mare resolves to overthrow the kingdom of Norta once and for all… starting with the crown on Maven’s head.

But no battle is won alone, and before the Reds may rise as one, Mare must side with the boy who broke her heart in order to defeat the boy who almost broke her. Cal’s powerful Silver allies, alongside Mare and the Scarlet Guard, prove a formidable force. But Maven is driven by an obsession so deep, he will stop at nothing to have Mare as his own again, even if it means demolishing everything—and everyone—in his path.
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War is coming, and all Mare has fought for hangs in the balance. Will victory be enough to topple the Silver kingdoms? Or will the little lightning girl be forever silenced?

In the epic conclusion to Victoria Aveyard’s stunning series, Mare must embrace her fate and summon all her power… for all will be tested, but not all will survive. 

My Thoughts: This is hard to say, so I'm just going to come right out and say it: For me, the final book in the Red Queen series was just... meh. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't good either. Red Queen was simply amazing. The world building, the plot, the characters and their chemistry... not to mention that WTF moment at the end of the book. It was all it was hyped up to be plus more. However as the series went on each book got less and less amazing for me. I stuck with it simply because I fell in love with these characters in the first book. So by the time War Storm came out, I was ready for it to be over. I just wanted to know what happened in the end to Mare, Cal, and Maven. I also didn't really feel like it should have been a 600 + page novel. It definitely had that dragged out feel. It was the end that really got to me though. I wasn't satisfied with it, and I wasn't happy about how things were left with Mare, Cal, and Maven. I'm not going to get into the spoilery parts, but I just wasn't happy about it.

Bottom Line: In the end I am glad I read I this series. I loved the characters so much and I can tell the author really took the time to plot her books. But I wouldn't have read another book in the series if this one wasn't the last. I definitely feel like the whole series could have been condensed into three books.

My Rating: 2/5 Stars

"Confess" by Colleen Hoover

Genre: New Adult
Format: Kindle
Publication: March 10, 2015 by Atria Books
Cover Rating: 4/5 Stars

From Goodreads: Auburn Reed has her entire life mapped out. Her goals are in sight and there’s no room for mistakes. But when she walks into a Dallas art studio in search of a job, she doesn’t expect to find a deep attraction to the enigmatic artist who works there, Owen Gentry.

For once, Auburn takes a risk and puts her heart in control, only to discover Owen is keeping major secrets from coming out. The magnitude of his past threatens to destroy everything important to Auburn, and the only way to get her life back on track is to cut Owen out of it.

The last thing Owen wants is to lose Auburn, but he can’t seem to convince her that truth is sometimes as subjective as art. All he would have to do to save their relationship is confess. But in this case, the confession could be much more destructive than the actual sin…

My Thoughts: Sigh. Sadly, there's not a lot I can say about Confess. There is no doubt that Colleen Hoover is amazingly creative. The woman incorporates poetry, music, art, etc into all of her novels, and we've witnessed some amazing work from her because of it. But (and I think I must be in the minority here), I just have a hit and miss relationship with her books. Which makes me so, so sad because when I do love her books, I really LOVE them. For instance, Maybe Someday is one of my all time favorite New Adult novels. It's just incredible. Enough to where I've read it twice. I also really loved Slammed and Finding Cinderella. However, Confess just fell flat for me. Besides the fact that she was super original by including actual art work in her book, nothing really stood out. The characters were meh at best, the plot felt silly, and the romance rushed. I don't know what happened or if it's just me, but it felt mediocre.

Bottom Line: I would skip it.

Rating: 2/5 Stars

"Dorothy Must Die" by Danielle Paige

Series: Dorothy Must Die #1
Genre: YA Fantasy/ Retellings
Format: Kindle
Publication: April 2014 by Harper Collins
Cover Rating: 3/5 Stars

Links: Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depo,

From Goodreads: I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't ask to be some kind of hero.

But when your whole life gets swept up by a tornado - taking you with it - you have no choice but to go along, you know?

Sure, I've read the books. I've seen the movies. I know the song about the rainbow and the happy little bluebirds. But I never expected Oz to look like this. To be a place where Good Witches can't be trusted, Wicked Witches may just be the good guys, and winged monkeys can be executed for acts of rebellion. There's still a yellow brick road - but even that's crumbling.

What happened? Dorothy.

They say she found a way to come back to Oz. They say she seized power and the power went to her head. And now no one is safe.

My name is Amy Gumm - and I'm the other girl from Kansas.

I've been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked.

I've been trained to fight.

And I have a mission.


My Thoughts: Dorothy Must Die has to be my least favorite fairytale retelling that I have ever read, and I had such high hopes for it to. I mean, just look at that cover! This book was designed to lure you in with a cover like that! But alas, I feel victim once again to my cover lust.

So, here's my issues with DMD:

1. Pacing- While this novel started off VERY strong, it quickly got boring fast... and slightly confusing. The story seemed to drag on and on, without bothering to really explain certain important plot elements. By the time I was half-way through, I was already wanting it to just be over with.

2. Characters- While our MC, Amy Gumm is pretty rad and awesome, the rest of the stories characters are FLAT and lame. I didn't feel any kind of connection or love for any of the side characters, or their relationship to Amy. Even Dorothy herself was just plain boring. And don't even get me started on the love interest, Nox (I could seriously punch myself in the face trying to get through reading scenes with him).

3. Immature writing, but with adult language- This was the real kicker for me. The story read for a young audience (think 14 and younger), but it felt like the author changed her mind by dropping the F-Bomb randomly throughout the story to "adult it up", which just came off as silly.

Bottom Line: I won't be recommending this one.

My Rating: 2/5 Stars

"Pretty Little Things" by Teresa Mummert

Genre: New Adult
Format: Kindle
Publication: March 11, 2014
Cover Rating: 5/5 Stars

From Goodreads: I was young enough not to understand that my life was different. Colin became the one person that I could count on to protect me. He suffered for the both of us by carrying the burden of our secret. 

We were the lucky few that got a chance to start over. A fake family, a new home and a pretty little life built on lies. But while our lives continued to intertwine, we were put on very different paths. Now it was only a matter of time before they collide and the beast behind the beauty is exposed.

My Thoughts: Wha...what in the hell did I just read? Okay. Let me just figure out where I want to start, so I don't come off as being a total ranting bitchtastic book blogger. Because I'm not. But this book makes me want to be one.

First of all, Pretty Little Things sounded promising. The description (although a bit vague), the hype, the beginning of the story... these were all were things that drew me in. Alas, that is the ONLY good thing I can say about PLT. The story just fell apart, and quickly. I felt like I was being tossed back and forth from one story to a completely different one. The plot was full of "what the hell is going on" moments, and not in the good mysterious way. Honestly, it felt like it had potential... but there was just too much the author was trying to convey in one story that didn't make any sense, at all.

For instance, we have a few chapters thrown in that are written from Jacob's POV. Why? Why are reading this random crap from Jacob's view? It did not contribute ANYTHING to this story. Don't get me wrong, I am a character driven kind of girl. I usually prefer Character Development over Intense Plot. But this... this just made NO sense. And it pissed me off.

Oh, and while we're on character development, can I rant for a minute about Colin? Seriously? This guy can't decide if he wants to play the hot egotistical jackass or the over-caring standoffish brother. I don't know, but I didn't connect to him at all. And Annie just got on my nerves with her stupid wishy-washy-ness.

And let's not even get me started on the ending. Because besides the fact that it felt VERY rushed, it also made ZERO sense.

But I will say this: There were some HOT moments. I mean, steamtastic I-need-a-cold-shower moments. Unfortunately, that couldn't make up for my other issues.

So, would I recommend this book? No. Not as it stands now, anyway. Maybe with some intense editing and flushing out of the story I would consider it... but even then, I'd probably still be too pissed off that I wasted my time the first go round.

My Rating:

"The Opportunist" by Tarryn Fisher

Genre: New Adult
Series: Love Me With Lies #1
Publication: November 14, 2011
Format: Kindle
Cover Rating: 4/5 Stars
Links: Goodreads, Amazon

From Goodreads: Olivia Kaspen has just discovered that her ex-boyfriend, Caleb Drake, has lost his memory. With an already lousy reputation for taking advantage of situations, Olivia must decide how far she is willing to go to get Caleb back. Wrestling to keep her true identity and their sordid past under wraps, Olivia’s greatest obstacle is Caleb’s wicked, new girlfriend; Leah Smith. It is a race to the finish as these two vipers engage in a vicious tug of war to possess a man who no longer remembers them. But, soon enough Olivia must face the consequences of her lies, and in the process discover that sometimes love falls short of redemption.

My Thoughts: I'm not even sure where to start with this review. I really wanted to love this book. Really, I did. I love darker NA books, so I thought I would surely love this one. Well, I was wrong.

But although, I didn't love it, it definitely had some redeeming qualities. For instance, the characters in this book were kind of amazing. Kind of. I love the fact that Tarryn Fisher wasn't afraid to write horrible human beings. Because Olivia and Caleb totally were. Both were completely terrible to each other and others around them. Possibly, some of the most selfish characters I have ever read about it. And it worked... for a while.

Here's where things started going down hill for me though, they began to feel too over the top. It felt like I was watching some daytime Soap Opera and not in the "Oh-My-God-I-Could-Just-Eat-This-Up" guilty pleasure kind of way. While I do love the darker, sometimes more far-fetched, NA books, I still prefer them to have some dose of realism. But, for me, The Opportunist went too far and completely abandoned the "real" world. This was also a major factor in the ending, which I felt was rushed and just completely ridiculous.

Which brings me to my next issue: the past/present combo chapters. I was not a fan. I felt like this book should have been split into two if we were going to be doing time jumps. Sometimes they work for authors, sometimes they don't. This was one of those times when they didn't. Had I picked up a prequel to Caleb and Olivia's story, I probably would have devoured it and given it five stars easily. Their past had just the right amount of drama and mystery to keep me intrigued. But the huge amount of time that passes (the book covers a ten year time span), just makes the whole thing feel rushed. Which was incredibly disappointing because it had the potential to be excellent. I was about 50% in when I realized that this was not going to be the awesome-sauce book I hoped for.

Overall, it was okay. I'm VERY picky these about my NA books because there is such an abundance of them out there. I like them the way I like them, and that's not always what everyone else likes. And that's okay. Would I personally recommend this book? Maybe. If I knew you well enough to know if you would like it. But other than that, no.


My Rating:

"Forever Black" by Sandi Lynn

Genre: New Adult
Publication: February 16, 2013
Format: Kindle
Cover Rating: 2/5 Stars

From Goodreads: When Ellery moved to New York with her boyfriend, she thought they’d live happily ever after in their small New York apartment. She never thought he’d pack his bags and leave because he “needed space.” With her newfound single status and fear of being alone, Ellery buries herself in her artwork and paintings until one night she helps a mysterious intoxicated stranger get home safely. Little did she know the mysterious stranger is none other than CEO and millionaire Connor Black. After finding Ellery in his kitchen the next morning and assuming she broke his #1 rule about sleepovers, he becomes intrigued, not only by her stubbornness and defiance, but by her kindness.

Connor Black, emotionally dead and damaged, that stemmed from a personal tragedy, made a vow to never love or fall in love with a woman, until Ellery Lane walked into his life by accident. After she opens up and shows him her world, Connor starts to feel emotions and feelings he never knew existed. Despite the rumors and warnings regarding Connor Black and his use and misuse of women, Ellery finds herself being drawn into his world. 

Ellery knows they can never be together because she is harboring a deep secret that could destroy Connor emotionally forever. 

Join Connor and Ellery as they embark on a journey of courage, love and strength. Will it be enough to save them?


My Thoughts: This book read like a rough first draft. It felt like the author wrote her story out, but didn't bother to go through it and fix any of her mistakes... and there were a lot of mistakes. Here's the thing: I am not a grammar Nazi. Really, it doesn't bother me if I'm reading a story and I happen to notice a few errors. Hey, it happens. In fact, I'm a prime example because I always, ALWAYS, find flaws in what I'm writing (especially reviews). Here's the part that pisses me off though. If you're going to self-publish your book, then at the very least you should EDIT your work. You should edit it until you think you can't edit it anymore, then you should do it once more! Hand it over to someone trust-worthy and then get them to edit it.

Okay, so I don't know the author and I don't know what she did, but if she did hand her book over to someone to edit, then she needs to find someone else for her future works. The reason I'm so mad about it though, is because this could have been a really great book. The story was good, the characters had great chemistry... but it all fell flat because of the first draft feel. I felt like we could have been given more insight into certain characters had they been "fluffed" out more, if that makes any sense.

Forever Black is like a bad (albeit milder) re-telling of Fifty Shades of Grey, but with a few plot twist here and there, replacing Christian with Conner. Although, I will say this, I definitely liked Elle over Anna any day of the week. Overall, I would NOT recommend this book, unless the author went through and at least fixed her grammatical errors and lowered the price. For $3.99 on Amazon, it's just not worth it.

My Rating:

"Ten Tiny Breaths" by K.A. Tucker

Series: Ten Tiny Breaths #1
Genre: New Adult
Format: Kindle
Publication: December 11, 2012
Cover Rating: 5/5 Stars

From Goodreads: Kacey Cleary’s whole life imploded four years ago in a drunk-driving accident. Now she’s working hard to bury the pieces left behind—all but one. Her little sister, Livie. Kacey can swallow the constant disapproval from her born-again aunt Darla over her self-destructive lifestyle; she can stop herself from going kick-boxer crazy on Uncle Raymond when he loses the girls’ college funds at a blackjack table. She just needs to keep it together until Livie is no longer a minor, and then they can get the hell out of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

But when Uncle Raymond slides into bed next to Livie one night, Kacey decides it’s time to run. Armed with two bus tickets and dreams of living near the coast, Kacey and Livie start their new lives in a Miami apartment complex, complete with a grumpy landlord, a pervert upstairs, and a neighbor with a stage name perfectly matched to her chosen “profession.” But Kacey’s not worried. She can handle all of them. What she can’t handle is Trent Emerson in apartment 1D.

Kacey doesn’t want to feel. She doesn’t. It’s safer that way. For everyone. But sexy Trent finds a way into her numb heart, reigniting her ability to love again. She starts to believe that maybe she can leave the past where it belongs and start over. Maybe she’s not beyond repair.

But Kacey isn’t the only one who’s broken. Seemingly perfect Trent has an unforgiveable past of his own; one that, when discovered, will shatter Kacey’s newly constructed life and send her back into suffocating darkness.

My Thoughts: I love the New Adult genre, truly I do. But I have issues with it too. Almost every single New Adult book follows a simple formula: Girl has a troubled past, meets guy, falls in love despite trying not to for whatever reason, insert some kind of trouble here, they break up, they get enlightened and get back together. And it works. I eat that stuff up like cotton candy. The problem is, it gets old. Quick. I can't read a New Adult book right after another one. I get bored.

My problem with Ten Tiny Breaths is this: Instalove. I hate it. I absolutely loved the story that K.A. Tucker has written. It was sad and beautiful and everything that a romance should be... except for the fact that Trent and Kacey barely know each other. I actually really loved Kacey's character, I know some of my friends found her hard to connect with, but I thought she was awesome. She's tough and bruised from a tragic past. She makes poor decisions, but she owns up to them. I kind of respect her. Until Trent comes a long. Then all of a sudden just because he's hot she melts? It seemed way too convenient. I felt cheated out of my good romance. The really bizarre part is, I loved every other character in the book, EXCEPT Trent. It wasn't that I didn't like him, I just felt like I didn't know anything about him.

Overall the story itself is good, but predictable. Would I recommend it? Eh, probably not. The New Adult genre is just booming right now, and there are way too many other good romances that beat this one out for me. I love a good tortured, tragic heroine, but I need the quality romance too, and I just didn't get that with Ten Tiny Breaths.

My Rating:

"Austenland" by Shannon Hale

Genre: Chick Lit
Format: Kindle
Publication: August 10, 2010 by Bloomsbury
Cover Rating: 3/5 Stars

From Goodreads: Jane Hayes is a seemingly normal young New Yorker, but she has a secret. Her obsession with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, is ruining her love life: no real man can compare. But when a wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to an English resort catering to Austen-crazed women, Jane’s fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman suddenly become realer than she ever could have imagined. 

Decked out in empire-waist gowns, Jane struggles to master Regency etiquette and flirts with gardeners and gentlemen—or maybe even, she suspects, with the actors who are playing them. It’s all a game, Jane knows. And yet the longer she stays, the more her insecurities seem to fall away, and the more she wonders: Is she about to kick the Austen obsession for good, or could all her dreams actually culminate in a Mr. Darcy of her own?


My Thoughts: The premise to this book held so much potential! I went into it knowing it was going to be a cutesy, fluffy, romantic comedy, and I was okay with that. But I was still let down! While yes, this IS a cutesy fluff novel, it felt like the author just slapped some characters on a page without bothering to try to make them "real" for the reader. I had a hard time relating to Jane and I felt like her Austen obsession was just an excuse for A) Wanting someone as hot as Colin Firth in "breeches" and B) to believe in "love at first sight". However I pushed myself to keep reading it because I thought SURELY this gets better... and it did. At least, a little.

I really enjoyed the idea behind the story, but as so often happens, I didn't love the way it was executed. Not even the charming Mr. Nobley could change my mind. I'm still holding out hope though that the movie will surpass the book.


My Rating:

"Dark Lover" by J.R. Ward

Genre: Adult Paranormal Romance
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood #1
Publication: September 6, 2005 by Signet Eclipse
Format: Paperback 393 Pages
Cover Rating: 2/5 Stars

From Goodreads: In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Yet none of them relishes killing more than Wrath, the leader of The Black Dagger Brotherhood.

The only purebred vampire left on earth, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But, when one of his most trusted fighters is killed-leaving his half-breed daughter unaware of his existence or her fate-Wrath must usher her into the world of the undead-a world of sensuality beyond her wildest dreams.

My Thoughts: Sadly, I have found that I am not going to be joining The Black Dagger Brotherhood fandom. But before I delve into what I didn't like about this book, let's focus on what I DID enjoy about it first:

Dark Lover quickly sucked me into the story of Wrath and Beth. The plot was pretty original for a vampire novel. I liked the idea of this whole underground Vampire society that didn't even feed off of humans or in general have anything to do with them. I also enjoyed the Lessers (once humans, turned soulless) and their role. And the novel itself was fast paced, and had a lot of good action- of both kinds ;)

Here was my major issue, though: CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT! I had a seriously hard time beveling that bad ass warrior vampires would use the same vocabulary as Alicia Silverstone in Clueless (Ex: "I'm outtie!") Did I just hear the 90's calling? They want they're lingo back. Sadly, I wish I was joking- I'm not- and this was just one example of many. Overall, they just felt... cheesy. I found myself saying "Really? You're really going write them that way?" Honestly, it just ruined the whole thing for me. Maybe it's just my personal  pet peeve, but the whole thing just threw me out of the story instantly.

Would I recommend this book to someone else? Only if they asked for a vampire romance specifically... and that would be after listing a whole slew of others before it. Then again, I hear if you can push through the first couple of novels, the story really picks up, but I won't be wasting my time because it just wasn't for me.

My Rating: