"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: