Silence by Natasha Preston

Oakley Farrell hasn’t spoken in over a decade. At age five she stopped talking and no one seems to know why. Since she refuses to speak Oakley only has one friend, Cole Benson. Cole and Oakley have been friends their whole lives and have formed their own way to communicate. When forced to face the past Oakley has to decide wither to remain silent or speak out.

Silence is a book that I am going back and forth with… I'm on the fence about how to really rate it. Silence is written in dual Pov changing between both Oakley and Cole. Oakley wasn’t my favorite character. I didn’t hate her but I definitely didn’t love her. She was strong in some ways but overall pretty weak. When she does go into why she isn’t talking I did overall like the reasoning behind it. As far as a character that doesn’t speak goes she was pretty interesting. I did think that for how mature she was about her personal issue she was far too immature about others. As far as Cole’s character went I was head over heels for him. I thought he was funny, charming, and definitely swoon worthy. I liked that he was more than just a love interest that he was a great friend. Even though we got a lot less chapters from his point of view I found myself loving his side and the way he spoke way more. It was his sweetness though that really won me over. Their relationship was the biggest plus of this book. I enjoyed that we got so much back story and build up of their relationship. It wasn’t just a “hey they’ve been friends forever so that why they should be together.” It was how relationships should be: starts off as a friendship, explores that for awhile, then builds to something more. So I appreciated that it wasn’t insta love. As far as sub characters the only few that I want to touch base on. Julian (the bully), her cousin with the stupid name, and her parents. I wish we would have gotten more interaction with her mother and father and gotten more out of them. The other two I really hate, Julian and her cousin. Julian was set up to be this horrible mean bully, but all he did was be creepy then convenient. I hate random thrown in characters and he was the epitome of one. Her cousin was as equally as pointless and dumb. Overall I felt no real connection to any character except Cole.

The thing that has me torn though was the flow of the story. In the beginning the story is slow, and this isn’t my problem… In Silence case I can respect the slow start. It really made me connect more with the story and characters (aka Cole). But I still found myself wanting more out of it. I felt like the first part of the book is a two star rating (goodreads). The meaty middle of this story is what I fell hard for. I liked when the families went on vacation, I liked the sweet little dates, and the late night hang outs. I enjoyed getting to see our leading couple fall for each other. It'll give you a toothache it was just so sweet. This had me thinking the middle section of this book would be rated a solid 4 stars (goodreads). It was the ending of this book that has me annoyed. How everything plays out had me so mad. It’s clearly not a spoiler that ya girl Oakley eventually talks, and from then on out it had my blood boiling!!!! I can’t even tell you why I’m so mad either, because it would be giving out spoilers. All I can say is that the last few chapters took this book from a 4 star read to a 1. The ending could have been what it was but the way it was laid out and presented was a huge no in my book. It felt like the ending given was just so there could be a follow up book. I personally wanted this to be a standalone and play out the complete opposite of what it did... But like I said even if the ending is what it is the way it went down…. No. I’m not ok with it. It was rushed and slammed. Silence  isn't a long book and could have handled 30 more pages to make it something more. I wish the romance in this book would make up for the ending but sadly it didn't. I felt this book was just the sweeter version of Speak and it could have been similar and yet had something that made it standout.

5/10 Stars 
-Angela  

AngelFall by Susan Ee

It's been six weeks since the angels descended down and destroyed the world as we know it. Savage street gangs rule the day while something worse rules the night.

Where other books like this have lacked *cough* Hush Hush *cough* Angefall prevailed. I knew this book was going to be good, but I kept putting it off until the series was complete and now that it is I can finally dive in. And oh did I dive, I read this whole book in one sitting.I loved what Susan did with this book. Angelfall is one of the best balanced books I’ve ever read. No one thing outweighs the other. The action, the romance, characters, and the underlying story all are evenly balanced. The biggest plus of this book was that it was different. I loved the idea of Angels being the bad guys. We all know it's one thing to have an amazing book idea like this, but it's a whole different thing when it comes to having it play out well on paper... Susan nailed it.

 Angelfall takes place six weeks after Angels have come to earth and started raining hell down on everything. Penryn is our leading lady and right away we get to see that she is what is holding her family together. Her, her sister, and mother are hiding out when they start to run out of supplies and realize their building will soon be raided by gangs and that they need to move. Only issue is that Penryn’s sister Paige is in a wheelchair and her mother is suffering from schizophrenia and insist on pushing around an old shopping cart. They decide to leave at night to avoid being seen by both the Angels and the street gangs. While running they stumble upon an Angel fight where Paige ends up kidnapped and Penryn takes in/hold hostage Raffe who is now a fallen Angel. As far as characters go both Raffe and Pen are super strong. Both are fighters with such strong personalities. Both of them are very determined characters for very different reasons. Both Pen and Raffe have moved up to my list of my favorite leads. Pen is so unbelievable real and Raffe has built a category all his own. Even the moments when things are so far from being a real life situations Pen's character makes them feel real. Raffe our leading male and fallen angel is so spot on. He was witty, sarcastic, and had perfect timing.Personally he was my favorite character, and it didn't hurt that he sounded like a total panty dropper.  

"... But the truth is that we're all stumbling around in the dark. Sometimes we hit something terrible..." "...Sometimes, as we're stumbling along in the dark, we hit something good."

Since this is written only from Pen's POV we get a lot more out of her character, but I was never not satisfied with Raffe. I liked how their stories come together, I liked how they interact with one another, and I love their forbidden love. I found myself getting really caught up in their relationship, more so than I normally would. As far as sub characters go we have her mother, her sister Paige, and the Twins. All were perfect. I loved how insane-o her mother is... Like the women is next lever crazy. Besides our two main characters she was probly my favorite,and the person I'm most looking forward to reading about in the next book. The other sub characters I liked were the twins, Tweedle Dee and Dum. They were the perfect sprinkled in characters. For characters that could have easily became too convenient I never felt their presence was forced. There are a few other subs I wanted to mention but decided to leave out for certain spoily reasons.

The plot of this book is what sets this book apart from others in its genre and what made it a five star read. As I said above not one aspect overshadows another one. The setting is described to perfection. This new worlds details aren't ones you'll have to question. The action is so steady and perfectly spaced out. The romance isn’t so cheesy that you become lactos. The twist are ones you don’t seem coming, and are never pointless. The ending of this book had twist after twist and one after another I didn't see them coming... But that one twist that I really really didn't see coming, had my jaw dropping!!!!!! Susan Ee comes out of nowhere and punched me in the face!!!

I wish I could really put into words how much this series has won me over. This is a book that had it all and then some. I've fallen and I don't wanna get up from the world Susan has built. Bring on World After.  

10/10 Stars
-Angela

Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A Tucker

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. Kacey just needs to keep it together until Livie is no longer a minor, and they no longer have to keep a low profile.
 
How to start... How to start... Ok so Ten Tiny Breaths follows the story of Kacey Cleary, a girl who is trying to get her life back on track after a traumatic accident. Shortly after which, her and her sister move to live with her aunt and uncle. After that fails they decided to run away and move to Florida. I was drawn too this story for two reasons... The cover and the ratings. Almost everyone I'm friends with on GRs gave it 4 stars or higher... Which I'm kind of confused about. 

The characters in this book are just above okay. That's it though, just okay. Kacey is our leading lady. From the start I didn't like her. I get she has this hard outer shell because of what happened to her, but her attitude was 90% of the time just too much. If anyone said hi to her she wanted to fight them. She automatically assumed every guy wanted to sleep with her. We get that you're a fiery red head and all but calm your tits. Just because a guy says good morning doesn't mean he wants to jump your bones. Seriously, she spends pages and pages talking about punching people in the face... WE GET IT YOU TOOK A FEW KICK BOXING CLASSES!!! Towards the middle of the story I started to like her a lot more, but by the end I was hating her again. The whole "don't hold my hand" thing was so pointless. It seemed like it was going to be important, but was dropped so early on. 

Livie, Kacey's sister, just barely formed as a sub character. At first when the story started from the way Kacey talked to her, to the way the author portrayed her, I assumed both girls were a lot younger. I thought Livie was idk 8, and Kacey 17. Turns out ones 15 and ones 20. (So that was awkward to discover.) Livie was BEYOND annoyingly naive. Then there's Storm and her daughter Mia. This is going to sound harsh since Mia's all little and cute but still could careless for her character. Storm was the only lady in this book I actually liked. She was the perfect blend of sassy and sarcastic. 

As far as males go there's only one you really need to know about, and that's Trent. Oh Trent where to start with you... Should I start with your sexy dimples? Should I start with your six pack abs? No, I think I'll start with the fact that your character was SO, SO predictable! That and the fact that all he has to do is smile at Kacey and her Vagina bust out her pants. I'm all for girls getting weak in the knees over a guy but this chick took it to the next level. She can barley walk the whole novel. Something serious happens between the two characters toward mid-end and all ya boy has to do is say "whoops my B" and Kacey is back in love with him. I wont say what it is, but trust me it would take more than a couple of lopsided dimple smiles to make me forgive him. I just didn't like his character. I wont lie I like guys that are moody bad boys. Trent tries to wear a wolf mask but turns out he was just a sheep. I don't want my guys just showing up thinking looking hot is enough... I want some kind of emotion from them, even if it's just because they have some crazy in their eyes. I JUST WANT SOMETHING!!! Trent is the character that makes Kacey start "returning to her old self" but I have no idea what was it about Trent which made her decide to let her guard down? He does nothing but stalk. (yeah I've found stalking hot in other tales, but not this one.) On top of all that this boy turned out to be some kind of super natural human... He can literately make a girl climax by just looking at them. Yeah couldn't make that part up if I tried.

As far as the plot went, it went slow. I kept waiting and waiting for something to happen that would make my jaw drop, and it sadly never came. I figured out pretty early on what the "big reveal" was going to be. I was hoping there was going to be more to it and there wasn't. If someone didn't see it coming than I would naturally assume they had never read another ya/na novel before. The plot basically rinse, lather, repeats itself over and over again. The plot builds about as much as the story does... So yeah not at all. THE ONLY, ONLY thing I liked about this book was the meaning, and the way the phrase "Ten tiny breaths" was revealed. 

“Just breathe. Ten tiny breaths. Seize them. Feel them. Love them...”

 

The meaning behind it was BEAUTIFUL! And I applaud Tucker for giving us such a wonderful quote with a powerful meaning to back it up. But even that sweet little nugget couldn't save this story for me. Everything down to the ending of this book just didn't reach me. I found myself having to do the tiny breath routine just to get to the ending. I wish this book would have lived up it all the hype and constant recommendations I was getting on it. Sadly, to me, it was just boring. 

3.5/10 Stars
-Angela 

(Ten Tiny Breaths BookDepo) 

Angelas 2014 ReadCap

This is my 2014 end of year Read-cap! I'm pretty sure I forgot a few and that I might have added 1 or 2 from mid-end of last year, it was really hard too keep up with everything. I swear I'll do better next year with keeping track of  everything.  

We have a full post of our top picks, along with the years biggest let downs. 

Click here to see them all. 

Overall 2014 was an amazing year for books, book events, and book to movie adaptions. I'm so excited to start 2015. January first we will have a post up about what's to come for SBSR in 2015. Thank you all so much for making our first year such a success. 

If I have done a review for the books all you'll have to do is click the title and it'll take you straight to the review.

Shatter Me- Tahereh Mafi
Unravel Me- Tahereh Mafi
Ignite Me- Tahereh Mafi
Unite Me- Tahereh Mafi
Half-Blood- Jennifer L Armentrout
Pure- Jennifer L. Armentrout
Deity-Jennifer L. Armentrout 
White Hot Kiss- Jennifer L. Armentrout
Stone Cold Touch- Jennifer L. Armentrout
Obsidian- Jennifer L. Armentrout
Onyx- Jennifer L. Armentrout
Opal- Jennifer L. Armentrout
Origin- Jennifer L. Armentrout
Opposition- Jennifer L. Armentrout
Don't Look Bank- Jennifer L. Armentrout
Wicked- Jennifer L. Armentrout
Wait for You- Jennifer L. Armentrout   

Legend- Marie Lu
Prodigy- Marie Lu
Champion- Marie Lu
The Young Elites- Marie Lu
Hex Hall- Rachel Hawkins
Demon Glass- Rachel Hawkins
Rebel Belle- Rachel Hawkins 

Days of Blood and Starlight- Laini Taylor 
Black City- Elizabeth Richards
Phoenix- Elizabeth Ricahrds
Wings- Elizabeth Ricahrds
Reboot- Amy Tintera
Rebel- Amy Tintera 
Taken- Erin Bowman
Frozen- Erin Bowman
The Hunt- Andrew Fukuda
The Prey- Andrew Fukuda
The Trap- Andrew Fukuda
The Retribution of Mara Dyer- Michelle Hodkins

The Evolution of Mara Dyer- Michelle Hodkins
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer- Michelle Hodkins 

If I Stay- Gayle Forman
Where She Went- Gayle Forman
Throne of Glass- Sarah J. Maas
Crown of Midnight- Sarah J. Maas
Heir of Fire- Sarah J. Maas
City of Ashes- Cassandra Clare
City of Glass- Cassandra Clare
City of Fallen Angels- Cassandra Clare
City of Lost Souls- Cassandra Clare
City of Heavenly Fire- Cassandra Clare
Nowhere- Jon Robinson
Anywhere- Jon Robinson
Altered- Jennifer Rush
Erased-Jennifer Rush
Hush Hush- Becca Fitzpatrick
Crescendo- Becca Fitzpatrick
Silence- Becca Fitzpatrick
Finale- Becca Fitzpatrick

The Scorch Trials- James Dashner
The Death Cure- Jmaes Dashner
Matched- Ally Condie
Crossed- Ally Condie
Reached- Ally Condie
The Raven Boys- Maggie Stiefvater
The Dream Thieves- Maggie Stiefvater
Blue Lily, Lily Blue- Maggie Stiefvater
The 5th Wave- Rick Yancey
Infinite Sea- Rick Yancey
Never Fade- Alex Bracken
In the Afterlight- Alex Bracken 
Enclave- Ann Aguirre
Cinder- Marissa Meyer
Poison Princess- Kresley Cole
A Thousand Pieces of You- Claudia Gray
The Selection- Kiera Cass
The Elites- Kiera Cass
The One- Kiera Cass 
Panic- Lauren Oliver
Delirium- Lauren Oliver
Pandemonium- Lauren Oliver
Requiem- Lauren Oilver
Before I Fall- Lauren Oilver 

In the End- Demitria Lunetta
In the After- Demitria Lunetta 
Rush-Eve Silver
Push- Eve Silver
The Winner’s Curse- Marie Rutkoski
The Winner’s Crime- Marie Rutkoski 
Siege and Storm- Leigh Bardugo
Ruin and Rising- Leigh Bardugo
Shadow and Bone- Leigh Bardugo 
The Lover's Dictionary- David Levithan
Every Day- David Levithan
Dust Lands- Moria Young
Rebel Heart- Moira Young
Rising Star- Moira Young
Filthy 1-Megan D. Martin
Filthy 2-Megan D. Martin
Filthy 3- Megan D. Martin
Filthy 4- Megan D. Martin
Pawn- Aimee Carter
Captive-Aimee Carter  

The Chaos of Stars- Kiersten White
Beautiful Bastard- Christina Lauren
Under Different Stars- Amy Bartol
Fire in the Woods- Jennifer M. Eaton
The 100- Morgan Kass
Wallbanger- Alice Clayton
Unteachable- Leah Raeder
The Ring and the Crown- Melissa de la Cruz
Mystic City- Theo Lawrence
The Program- Suzanne Young
These Broken Stars- Amie Kaufman &  Megan Spooner
Beg- C.D Reiss
The Black Mage- Rachel E. Carter
The Jewel- Amy Ewing
Born at Midnight- C.C Hunter
NIL- Lynne Matson
All Our Yesterdays- Cristin Terrill
Taboo Unchained- C.M. Stunich 
The Bodies We Wear- Jeyn Roberts 

Take Me Tomorrow- Shannon A. Thompson
So it Goes- Grace Elizabeth Collins 
Moon Tortured- McKenzie Hunter
Falls the Shadow- Stefanie Gaither
Unremembered- Jessica Brody
The Kiss of Deception- Mary E. Pearson
Gravity- Melissa West
Forbidden- Tabitha Suzuma
The Beginning of Everything- Robyn Schneider
Snow Like Ashes- Sara Raasch
Say Her Name- James Dawson
The Girl in Between- Laekan Zea Kemp
Midnight Thief- Livia Blackburne
Vault of Dreamers- Caragh M. O’Brien
Forsaken- Lisa Stasse
Rot and Ruin- Jonathan Mayberry
Unwind- Neal Shusterman
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea- April G. Tucholke

Under the Never Sky- Veronica Rossi
The Onion Girl- Charles de Lint
Chasers of Light- Tyler Gregson Knott
Will Grayson, Will Grayson- John Green
Paper Towns- John Green
Vampire Academy- Richelle Mead
Alienated- Melissa Landers
The String Quartet- Dan Hupalo
Branded- Abi Ketner
Fire & Flood- Victoria Scott
Labor Day- Joyce Maynard
Winter's Tale- Mark Helprin
The Future of Us- Jay Asher
This is Where I Leave You- Jonatha Tropper
Not a Drop to Drink- Mindy McGinnis
The Murder Complex- Lindsay Cummings
The Taking- Kimberly Derting
We Were Liars- E. Lochart
The Spectacular Now- Tim Tharp

The Book of Ivy- Amy Engel
Unbroken- Laura Hillenbrand
Uninvited- Sophie Jordan
Ugly Love- Colleen Hoover
Maybe Someday- Colleen Hoover 
Everneath- Brodie Ashton
The Truth About Alice- Jennifer Mathieu
Rush- Maya Banks
Fever- Maya Banks 
Burn- Maya Banks 
Keep Me Safe- Maya Banks
Outlander- Diana Gabald
Pushing the Limits- Katie McGarry
Love, Rosie- Cecelia Ahern  
Arclight- Josin L. McQuein
Raw- Belle Aurora 
Love Letters to the Dead- Ava Dellaira

Yup, if you weren't counting, and I doubt you were that was 174 books. 

174 books in one year is insane!!!! In 2015 I'm going to aim to pass that mark... I can not wait to kick off my reading... Just need to figure out what book should be honored with the number one spot. mmmmm choices choices.

My most read author this year was (surprise lol) Jennifer L. Armentrout totaling out with 13. Followed by Cassandra Clare and then Lauren Oliver both with 5. 

My most viewed review was Take Me Tomorrow by Shannon A. Thompson. This book was gifted to me from her. She was so sweet to work with so I'm so glad she got a lot of coverage from it. My next most reviewed posts were both tied in view numbers. Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma and the other one was kind of a surprise to me and that was Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater.

My Favorite Series that ended this year were The Mara Dyer Trilogy Series, The Lux Series, The Mortal Instruments Series, The Selection Trilogy, and The Shatter Me Trilogy. My favorite starts to series (only one book currently out) were Wicked and Under Different Stars. My favorite ongoing series were The Throne of Glass Series and The 5th Wave Series. Favorite Duology was the Reboot Duo. And Favorite Stand-Alones were Unteachable, Ugly Love, Maybe Someday, Raw, and Forbidden. 

I was going to just pick my top four favorites but clearly that didn't work out too well. Anyways...

Thanks again for making this year one of the best. Fingers-crossed that 2015 is even better! Thank you to everyone that has followed us and all the authors who were so kind to trust their reviews in our hands...

But most of all I would like the thank my Co-Blo (I know you hate that word), my partner in crime, the only person who understand my fangirl, and twin Leah for everything she does! Without her this blog wouldn't be possible because we all know I have no computer skills! 
I can't wait to see what the New Year bring for us! 

  I hope you all have a wonderful New Year!

Love

-Angela

Beautiful Bastard by Christina Lauren

Beautiful Bastard by: Christina Lauren

Hardworking, smart, sassy, and on her way to an MBA, Chloe Mills has only one problem: her boss, Bennett Ryan. He's exacting, rude, blunt, inconsiderate, and completely irresistible. Bennett has returned to Chicago from France to take a vital role in his family's massive media business. He never expected that the assistant who'd been helping him from abroad and has worked for his family for awhile now to be gorgeous and completely infuriating. Despite what people say around the water cooler, he's never been one for a workplace hookup. But Chloe's so tempting he might be willing to smash all the rules if it means he can smash her all over the office. As their appetites for one another increase to a breaking point, Bennett and Chloe must decide exactly what they're willing to lose in order to win each other.

If you read or follow our blog at all then you know that once or twice a month I like to break out my norm and read something a little more.... more... I'm sure you get what I mean. Well this month I read Beautiful Bastard. It was mmmm interesting. This probably wont be the longest review ever but I will give you some kind of sum up of everything.  

Chloe is a witty, silver tongued leading lady who can dish it out as well as take it in. As far as character development goes she doesn't really have any. She was funny but as the story went along I liked her less. At the start of the novel I really liked her bluntness and how up front she was about everything. As it went on though I started to care less and less for her. Everyone keeps saying how smart she is but yet she never really gets to display her intelligence. As for Mr. Bennett he was the complete opposite. As the story went on I liked him more and more. He went from this un-realistic to good to be true man to an actual person. He made the book interesting, and had the character development that we didn't get from Chloe.... Plus he sounds Smokin' Hawt!

As far as the plot goes, well, there really isn't to much of one. This story is based almost 100% on steamy scenes, and sometimes I was like:

 










Goodness gracious this is hot....

and sometimes I was like:

This is just a little too much, and not in a good way.  

Overall though this book is a quick, fun, and hot read with a few moments of ehh mixed in. I really liked how the story played out and the ending was actually pretty cute.

It was a really good book to read in between series, but I don't think I'll be reading book two. I just don't think there's really anywhere for it to go. 

7.5/10 Stars 

-Angela