Angela's January Read-Cap

Holy doughnut holes where did the month go?!! Is January seriously over??? And did I seriously read 25 books? Rhetorical question or not, the answers are both yes. I can't really put a finger on if this month was a good month for reading or not. The highs were high and the lows were low. I did get a lot of simple reading done... aka I read more novellas than normal. Managed to finish some series I didn't get to last year, and started some new ones I was really excited about. Below are all the books managed to slam into this wickedly quick month. (Click the titles to go to the reviews)

Inexcusable- Chris Lynch
Hooked on the Game- C.M Owens
The Conspiracy of Us- Maggie Hall
Elixir- Jennifer L. Armentrout 
Apollyon- Jennifer L. Armentrout
Sentinel- Jennifer L. Armentrout
Stay With Me- Jennifer L. Armentrout
Bound by Duty- Stormy Smith
The Invitation- Roxy Sloane
Broken Skies- Theresa Kay
Hardwired- Meredith Wild
Red Rising- Pierce Brown
Golden Son- Pierce Brown
Losing It- Cora Carmack
Blackbird- Anna Carey (broke up with)
Reborn- Jennifer Rush
Flawed- Kate Avelynn
Never Never- Collen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher
Slammed- Colleen Hoover 
Ignite- Lily Paradis
Dark Places- Gillian Flynn
The Duff- Kody Keplinger
An Abundance of Katherine's- John Green
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children- Ransom Riggs
Collide- Ella Adams

Guess now that I'm looking over my list, January was a really good reading month. As far as my top picks go, I have quite a few. Broken Skies, Red Rising, Golden Son, Never Never, and Slammed  are without a doubt my favorites. Broken Skies is the start to a new series about my favorite subject... YES ALIENS!!!! Then there's the Red Rising Series which includes Golden Son, which if you follow me on any social media you know I'm obsessed with. And finally to wrap up my favorites is Slammed and Never Never. Fisher is a new author to me but this book wont be the last of hers I'll read, and I'm pretty sure you can't say the name Colleen Hoover and NOT have someone say "omg I love her". All five of these books were books I ranked five stars on goodreads and ten stars on our blog.

My favorite surprise scandy read was definitely Hooked on the Game. Yup the name is awful, the book was cheese, but dang it if I didn't love it anyways. So good bad!

But on too the books that let me down... because sadly there were more than I would like in this month. The Invitation is the book that I believe I rated the lowest, giving it a one star on goodreads. It was just so pointless! It was a novella that also served at a prequel... hated it. Next was BlackBird which I failed to finish. I just couldn't get behind the leading lady, or the story. Stay With Me was just a WTF in itself. I think my biggest let down was The Conspiracy of Us. I was SO excited when I saw and heard about this book. It seemed to have everything I was looking for in a YA novel, but ended up having nothing I wanted. It had such hype and didn't live up to the high reviews on goodreads.

Well there you have it... Another month, another list.
See ya in February!
-Angela


Don't forget if you'd like to purchase any of these books use out BookDepo list on our home page.

Leah's January Reads

Half Blood by Jennifer Armentrout

Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover

Spell Bound by Rachel Hawks

Fever by Maya Banks

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Paper Towns by John Green

Broken Skies by Theresa Kay

Never Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher

Erased by Jennifer Rush

Bound by Duty by Stormy Smith

Red Rising by Pierce Brown
Charmed by Michelle Krys (ARC)
Inexcusable by Chris Lynch
Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahren 

This year has started off so good with reads!! I've started SO many good series and finished a few. It's nice to tie up some loose ends and start some new beginnings. Even though I've super late to the game, I'm super excited to have started The Covenant series by Jennifer Armentrout. Y'all know our love for JLA runs deep, and I just LOVE this series so far. I've only read the first book, but I'm planning on ordering the rest next month. Two other exciting opportunities I got this month was when two up and coming authors approached us to read their books: Broken Skies by Theresa Kay and Bound by Duty by Stormy Smith. I loved both of the books so much that they are instantly on my 2015 favorites list. YES, REALLY. I'm so excited for the sequels of both to come out. I loved reading books that are being made into and have been opted for movies. Paper Towns (seriously, can John Green write anything bad??), Miss Peregrine's, and Red Rising were all so good. I also got an amazing opportunity to receive an ARC of Charmed by Michelle Krys which doesn't come out until May. Thank you Brittany from Brittany's Book Rambles for the ARC! Y'all got check out her blog, it is one of my favorites! Angela and I also did another book swap, so I have loads of new books to read next month.

My absolute favorite for this month, though, was Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover. This book was absolutely amazing. Definitely one of my all time favorites. We have the opportunity to go to a book signing for CoHo next month in Savannah and I AM SO EXCITED THAT I CAN BARELY BREATHE. She is becoming one of my favorite authors.

Erased by Jennifer Rush

So in book two of the Altered series by Jennifer Rush, we pick up pretty close to where book one left off. Anna is still on the run from The Branch with the boys and tension is at an all time high among everyone. Anna still is in lurve with Sam, Cas is still hot and fun, Nick is still angsty hot, and Trev is still a traitor and working for The Branch.

As the book goes on, we learn a LOT more about each of their pasts, especially Nick. I'll admit I was not on Nick's team at all in the first book. I thought his attitude was over the top and he needed to turn down several notches. After what happens with him in book two, and the friendship that he develops with Anna... I'm all about Nick now. Through his flash backs and some other things, you are able to figure out a lot about him and why he acts the way that he does. By the end, I was SO #teamNick and I wanted Anna to dump Sam and be with Nick instead (don't worry, this doesn't happen to my dismay so it's not a spoiler). Nick is just sooooooo hot with his tortured soul and wrong side of the tracks background. Don't get me wrong, Sam sounds handsome, but he just sounds so boring compared to Nick. What would be really awesome is if Maya Banks or some other scandy writer got ahold of these characters, if you know what I mean. #notweird

ANYWAY.. I didn't see some of the big twists coming and my jaw was left hanging open on THE FLOOR. We find out the truth about the night Anna's parents die, Anna's connection with The Branch, more about sister Dani, what's going on with Trev, and all kinds of crazy stuff. We get to meet tons of new characters who really do a good job of adding to the story.

I thought the ending was pretty perfect. All the loose ends are tied up (my favorite) and I really think it could have been the end of the series. I'm actually pretty confused about what is going to happen in book three that just came out a few weeks ago because literally everything is good and happy and fulfilled at the end of book two. I will say I liked this book a lot more than the first. Altered was good, but it wasn't my favorite. Erased is much better as far as pace, character development, ending, and just overall likability. I think this series is super underrated series, so I think if you are a fan of The Bourne Identity series, The Raven Boys series, and even Shatter Me then you will like the Altered series.

Book Depository Link

5/5 stars

Broken Skies by Theresa Kay

"Thirty years ago, civilization collapsed. Few survived.
Ten years ago, the aliens arrived…and stayed.
One year ago, I killed two men and went a little crazy.
Today, the aliens took my brother and I will do anything to get him back." 

Until recently, the E’rikon have remained segregated in their city and ignored the few humans who have tried to engage them, that was until now... They have taken Jax’s brother. After the aliens have taken him she finds that she wasn't the only one left behind. One of the aliens was also left.  Coming to some sort of an agreement, they decide to work together to get her into the alien's city. That seems like it would be the hardest part of their journey... it's not. In this world where alien and human are at odds, the connection forming between the two could have major consequences. What started off as a rescue mission sets a chain of events in motion which threatens everyone one earth. 

We were fortunate to be asked by Theresa Kay to give this book a try in exchange for an honest review. Below we are going to post both of our views on Broken Skies. 

Angela's Review

All I knew about Broken Skies was that it was being compared to The Lux Series a lot... If you know anything at all about me you know that The Lux Series is my favorite series. And yeah it is very comparable, but too me it was more like The Lux Series, The Dustlands Trilogy, Taken, Alienated, and The 5th Wave had some kind of crazy sex party and during which a baby was formed and that baby turned out to be Broken Skies. Yeah it's that insane. On top of all of that I am a known Alien obsessed freak so I have very high standards when it comes to alien books... All that being said... I LOVED THIS BOOK! I LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT IT.

Starting off with the characters. Jax is this fiery strong willed sassy redhead that you will love. Her loyalty and determination are absolutely amazing. Her character growth is off the charts! She is strong; yet weak at the beginning, but by the ends transforms into the leading lady that you wanted and you'll be standing behind. Her attitude is much like mine aka very sarcastic, and made it very easy for me to connect with her. Lir... OH LIR... I loved him. The second he appeared and was described I knew I was in love. Normally it's the characters I have to worry about falling in insta-love, nope this time it was me. whoosh, SWOON. Even when I hated  him I loved him. The relationship between the two is what really makes this story, and I have no complaints about that. Their relationship is an emotional roller-coaster that I want to ride on another 50 times. They don't have insta-love just insta-like and it was to cute for words. I like how their relationship builds, what it becomes, and how it is left at the end. At one point when they are in the Alien city and things happen with Lir (can't say what because spoils) that I seriously screamed....

It's just so good. The sub characters like her twin brother Jace, her family friend Flint, and Lir's cousin Rym were all strong and well rounded. I especially liked Rym. Pretty sure if some kind of side story or novella was written from his point of view I would eat that junk right up. The next thing I loved about Broken Skies was the world building. It wasn't anything over the top. It was just enough to get it's point across and then left it so you could fill in the rest yourself, and I loved that. Their journey never feels forced or rushed, another plus side too this story. With strong characters, and a strong story you think that is all I would really have to say about this book but its not... My favorite thing about Broken Skies is that Theresa has given us something new to the alien genre!!! AND THANK YOU!!! She gave us a new spin on what aliens look like. Their hair color was brillz, their eyes amaze, but the fact that they have these scales on their backs leading into their hair line was something that I thought at first hear was going to be odd... NO LOVED IT!!!!! Never thought a man with scales could sound sexy, but I loved being wrong about that.... And I know I've said this before as well but I don't care Imma say it again... I DON'T WANT TO LIVE IN A WORLD WHERE IF ALIENS DO COME HUMANS AND ALIENS COULDN'T BE TOGETHER!!!!! I seriously love them that much. And who are we kidding I know we all hope aliens come and that they look like Lir, Daemon Black, and Evan Walker. BEAM ME UP HOTTIES!!!! AM I RIGHT?!?!

The plot is fast paced and constant, leaving you with a "never a dull moment" feeling. The story starts small and just keeps building up and up until the ending leaves you breathless. No it didn't per say leave on a cliffhanger but just about as close as you can get too one. Action packed, no emotion left un-felt, and super suspenseful... Too me the ending was left at the perfect moment.

 I can not wait to read book two in this series, and hope that Theresa will bless us with more chances to read her work... Theresa Kay was born to write. She might be an "under known" author right now, but I have no doubt that that will end soon. 

10/10 Stars 
-Angela

Leah's Review

I'm not as big of an alien fanatic as Angela, but I do love some romantic action packed alien stories. When Theresa contacted us and described this as a post-apocalyptic scifi novel that is like Lux.... Well, SOLD.

I was sucked into the book as soon as I started reading. You find out early on that Jax is pretty damaged as far as emotions and people skills go. Something really awful happened to her which pretty much changed her life and now she relies on her brother to keep her together. Once her bro is taken away by some aliens, she kicks it into high gear and sets out to find him. Problem is that one of the aliens got left behind and is now with her. He also just happens to be a super handsome, sarcastic, and charming alien named Lir (seriously, who knew a dude with a line of scales on his back could be hot... don't knock it until you read it!!).  The thing that I love about Jax is that she knows she is broken. She knows that what happened to her really screwed her up, but it doesn't stop her at any point in the book from being a complete BA. She reminds me of Katniss from The Hunger Games where she channels her hurt and pain into doing what she has to do for her loved ones. I think she is a killer leading lady.

The majority of the book follows Lir and Jax on their misadventures through the woods trying to make it back to the alien city where Jax's brother is supposedly being kept. A lot of stuff happens along the way that brings them together... then apart... then together... You get the picture. Basically they spend two weeks together hiking through the woods and almost dying several times and accidentally fall in love with each other. They have to learn to depend on each other and trust each other, but EVERY TIME things seem to be going good for them, something else happens. It was so frustrating!! It was also sort of awesome at the same time because there isn't a whole lot of insta-love going on and you have to stay on your toes to keep up with all the action. But when it happens, BAM YOU LOVE IT. Oh, and I just love Lir. I love how he could be Daemon Black's handsome witty cousin. They could get together and be sarcastic and makes girls drop their underwear all over Earth.

There are some pretty major plot twists that happen. Like, I had NO idea and was completely thrown off my game because I had no idea where the book was going to go. In short, this book was amaze-balls. I was on the edge of my seat pretty much the whole time because I had no clue where Theresa was going to take the ending. My favorite part of the book is when Lir and Jax actually get to the alien city and the time they spend inside of it. My only complaint with the book is that I wish that there would have been a little less time in their woodsy adventure and more time focused on them once they got in the city. THAT ENDING THO. Holy bananas. Talk about a cliffhanger. I seriously need book two NOW because everything ended right when you are on the edge of your seat and have NO idea where your allegiances lie.

If you are an alien lover or just a fan of scifi in general, this is definitely a book you want to pick up. It reminded me a lot of Lux, The 5th Wave, and Alienated, which btw all happen to be my favorite alien books.

5/5 stars
-Leah

Paper Towns by John Green

I want to start by saying that I think it is impossible for John Green to write a bad book. Seriously, everything I've read by him makes me feels all sorts of stuff and makes me fall even more in love with his writing style. He is witty and the story is full of dry humor.

Q is an ordinary guy that is about to graduate high school. He makes good grades and stays out of trouble. He is planning on leaving Florida behind and going to college at Duke. Every thing is going as planned until one night his next door neighbor of almost all of his life, Margo Roth Spiegelman, knocks on his bedroom window and persuades him into coming with her for a night of mischief. The two spend the night righting wrongs and wronging rights of their classmates who they will soon be saying goodbye to soon after graduation. At the end of the night, Margo says her goodbyes to Q as well. She then disappears, and when she doesn't come to school the following week it is apparent that she has runaway from her life. Q spends the rest of the book on a treasure hunt of sorts trying to find out if Margo is leading him to her, whether it be her dead or alive.

I'll be honest, I had a lot of ups and downs with this book. Mostly ups, but there is a chunk of the book where Q is on the hunt following clues that he thinks will lead him closer to Margo, but really he is just chasing his tail in a circle. His friends get frustrated with him, he gets frustrated with himself, everyone gets frustrated with Margo, and I just wanted someone to get to the point. I feel like John Green was trying to do a lot of character building during this chunk, which I appreciate, but it didn't really add much to the plot. You get some deep insights on how to view people and why people do things the way they do them, and you also learn a lot about Walt Whitman.
The characters are pretty amazing. I think my favorite character is Radar because he is the person in their group of friends who is the most logical. He is also the one that is there when Q needs him, despite whatever else is going on. I love the comedic relief that Ben brings, but he is that friend who dumps you as soon as they get a girlfriend and they're that friend that fixates on wanting do whatever it takes to move up the social ladder and be cool. Ben is still a good friend to Q, but I feel like neither one of them are the best friends that they could be to each other.

I spent most of the book disliking Margo, to be honest. I really, really loved her at the beginning of the book during her adventure with Q, but as the book went on, I found myself disliking her. I felt like what she was putting everyone through was so selfish. When we started to learn more about the why's, I felt more sympathetic towards her but in the end, I still think she behaves like a child who can't handle life and needs to get away. Lacy on the other hand really surprised me and went from being one of the token mean girls to really coming and being an integral part of the ending of the book. I really wish Angela, Radar's girlfriend, would have had more air time. She was really funny and witty, so I think she could have added a lot to the characters.

My favorite parts of the book is the adventure between Q and Margo at the beginning. Right from the get go it pulls you in and gets you hooked. After that, my other favorite part is the the road trip that the group takes. I was laughing with tears coming down my face with a certain incident that required Ben to use a bottle. The cow incident was also pretty hilarious in a morbid, poop your pants kind of way.

Overall, I think this is a great book. If you like John Green's writing, then this book will be no exception. It is a great contemporary novel that focuses on angsty teens and lessons they have to learn in order to grow. I'd also like to recommend The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider. It reminds me SO much of Paper Towns. The main female character, Cassidy, is very much like Margo and I found myself feeling the same things towards both of them. These are both great books, and I think they should be on everyone's TBR list because I think everyone will pull away different things from the stories depending on their own life experiences.

Also, Paper Towns will be released as a movie in June of this year. I checked out the actors that are going to be in it, and I think it is spot on! I LOVE the actress (Cara Delevingne) that is cast for Margo. I think she is going to do an excellent job. I really can't wait to see this movie. I hope all John Green books get made into movies.

4/5 stars