Sea of Stars by Amy Bartol

According to Alameedan prophecy, one house will rise to power and the other will be completely wiped out, and Kricket is believed to be the weapon that will tip the scales. Kricket is forced to come face to face with finding out if her fate really is written in the stars.

THANK YOU AMY BARTOL FOR GETTING ME OUT OF MY READING SLUMP!!!

Sea of Stars literally picks up where Under Different Stars left off. We are still following Kricket's story as she continues to be a fugitive. Kricket in this novel much like the first, is still a force to be reckoned with. She is still so strong and insanely smart. The big difference between book one and two is that this one is over-packed with action (yes this is a good thing). You’ll find yourself barely having time to breathe with all the twist and turns that are happening. The first "OMG" moment happens so early on in the book that I’m still floored by it. All the action in this book has a snowball effect…. Gets going right away and as the novel continues just gets bigger and bigger.

We get to learn not just more about Kricket’s powers but more about her past. This making her an even stronger character than she was in the previous novel. The other character plus in this book is Trey. If you’ve read Under Different Stars than you know how amazing and swoon-worthy he was in book one… In Sea of Stars he just gets even better. As much as I did like him in the UDS I still wanted so much more out of his character and I got it in this book. We also get re/introduced to several characters. We still have Trey's boys, Jax and Wayra. I wish I would have gotten more of them in this book, but never was let down when they were present. We still have have Kyon as the villain. Loved him in this book! He is an amazingly written villain and I can't wait to get more of him in the next book. I loved getting a  little peek into his softer sides as well. We finally get to meet Charisma and Trey’s parents (Sadly kept calling his father Vaseline in my head, didn’t mean to but couldn’t stop myself). All were great sub characters, but none I have yet to connect with. Hoping that in book three we'll get more of them. My favorite however is a new one, Giffen. Too me he gives off this Rowan from Heir of Fire feel. Which I loved! He still has a lot of mystery surrounding him, but I look forward to seeing him in book three. I think he is going to add something so grand to this series. I want to go more into detail about him because I really liked his character, but for spoiling reasons I'll leave the convo about him at that.

On to my favorite book subject… The romance! BE STILL MY BEATING HEART! I’M SWOOING ALL OVER THE SOUTH! I loved that this book had a lot more Tricket moments (Yeah, I went there). I loved getting to see them on a more personal level, I loved their banter, and I love how they are towards each other. I feel like in a lot of books like this relationships are built of half truth and a lot of hidden secrets. This isn’t the case with them and I really enjoyed that.  

“I want to discover every thought… every look… every other freckle." "Why every other freckle? Why not all of them?”
“Well, I didn't want to sound obsessed, and also some freckles aren’t as good-natured as others" As I laugh harder, Trey rises on his elbows, smiling down at me. "That's the sound that I want to live in for the rest of my life."

Sigh, just loved it. Any and every moment these two are present was written to perfection. I'm on pins and needles waiting to see where their relationship goes next. I want NEED more of these two. 

The world building in Sea of Stars, is so on point. We get a deeper and move descriptive look into the universe. Amy paints a powerful picture of life in Ethar. We also get shown some super badass weapons. As far as the plot went, as I stated before, it's massively action packed. We never get a moment to rest our legs. It's just one insane moment after the next. *Small Spoiler ahead if you haven't read book one* My favorite thing about this book was how Kricket is learning more about her powers and how she can control them. I feared Kricket being able to see into the future would be hard to write and have play out well, but Amy does it flawlessly. I can't stress enough how much I absolutely loved how all the vision played out! Seriously did not see it coming! It's just great! Found myself having to pick my jaw up off the floor after everything is revealed and comes together. Oh and that ending... Seriously!!!! 

This is torture! How can you leave us hanging like that?!?! I mean, hey I'm super thankful for such an amazing ending, but I don't know how I'll be able to wait for the next book! Not only does this series have some of my favorite covers, it's steadily becoming one of my favorite series.

As one of my most anticipated reads of 2015 I wasn't let down.

10/10 Stars
-Angela 

(Sea of Stars BookDepo)

The Retribution of Mara Dyer: Michelle Hodkins

The Retribution of Mara Dyer: Michelle Hodkins
Mara Dyer wants to believe there's more to the lies she’s been told.
There is. She doesn’t stop to think about where her quest for the truth might lead.
She should. She never had to imagine how far she would go for vengeance.
She will now.Loyalties are betrayed, guilt and innocence tangle, and fate and chance collide in this shocking conclusion to Mara Dyer’s story.
Retribution has arrived. [book discretion taken from Good reads]

THE END IS FINALLY HERE!!! AND MRS. HODKIN DOESN'T DISAPPOINT. I had to drive like Tokyo drift and almost got in 4 accidents on the way to get this bad boy, but it was so worth it! From the moment I picked it up I knew it would be jaw dropping. I was actually D-reading it right after purchasing it... D-reading is a word I invented to explain when someone reads between stoplights. But man-o-man was that an emotional roller coaster. I'm going to break everything down for you, but try not to give out any spoils (or as little as possible)  away in the mean time. 

Everything about this book was perfect. From the book covers of this series to the unique writing style at the very end! Just perfect.

The Retribution picks up right where book two left off. Mara is still on No Name island being experimented on, Noah is still MIA, and most of the world is clueless to what is really going on. Basically someone made a sandwich and spread a whole bunch of cray-poupon all over it. This book is insane, but most importantly WE FINALLY GET ANSWERS. So I guess I should start the break-down. The characters in this book are amazing. Jamie her best friend is so much more loveable in this book. He is witty and funny and what you would hope for in a best friend. He continues to try to keep Mara in check, but still lets her run wild at the same time. We discover more about his powers (mind control), and I love that he plays a more active roll in this book. 

"taste the rainbow, bitch"  

Seriously loved Jamie's character so much. Daniel, Mara's brother is also a bigger deal in this book. He is still sweet, wise, and has his sisters back. Stella on the other hand is the character I very much disliked. Okay, I just flat out hated her. She's just too sensible for my taste. She can read minds, but refuses to really use the power especially to do evil. Stella get out of here no one wants you here!  Noah's dad of course is finally introduce as well... And that's all I'll be saying about him... Then there's Jude, DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THAT BIPOLAR FREAK! He is up and down left and right in this book. (side-bar: does anyone else think that Jude sounds kind of scary hot?!?! or is it just me... because ya boy despite being a freak sounds hot!)But on to the important characters MARA AND NOAH... before you say anything we all knew that Noah wasn't dead, so don't even try to say that I gave something away...

Mara has to be one of my all time favorite leading ladies. She is the definition of what people wouldn't normally like in a LL... She isn't a good girl, she isn't a hero, she isn't a nice person. She's selfish, needy, and is heavy on the insane side. I mean she actually gets off on doing what is wrong. These things are what make me love her.  Mara isn't going down without a fight and is far from scared of getting her hands dirty. She will cut your throat and not thing twice about it. 

Her character development in this book is spot on. She really comes to terms with what she is and the fact that she can't change that. She's not even sure she wants to. For those of you who are a little behind on the series, Mara is able to torture people, and make them kill themselves by just thinking it. I was so happy that Mara is finally let run wild in this book. I felt in the last two she was always being held back and we only got to see some of what she is capable of... but not in this book, you will get everything you want from her in this one.

Now on to her polar opposite MR. NOAH SHAW!!! BE STILL ME BEATING HEART!!!! Noah Shaw without a doubt is one of the all time book boyfriends. Noah isn't in this book as much as he was in previous, and that was my only complaint... THERE WASN'T ENOUGH NOAH! Then again I don't think there ever could be. Noah is still able to heal people and produce good in the world. Plus he is super super sexy in this book... Like WHOA THANK YOU BRITISH BABY JESUS HE IS FINE. He could speak french to me anytime. Like I said though it does take his character a lot longer than I would have wanted to come back into the story, but when he arrives, whoosh just grab some tissues because it gets emotional.

Noah and Mara's relationship in this book is pushed to the limits. I don't think I've ever text "OMG!!!!" so many times to Leah before. That's what I was saying 99.9% of this book. I continue to adore their love and how far they are both willing to go to be together. Michelle Hodkins take the phrase "opposites attract" to a new level.

"Do not find peace. Find passion. Find something you want to die for more than something you want to live for. "

As far as the plot/location goes it's all over the place. The characters travel from Flo-rid-a to the big apple. The story line is well written and never has you confused. I was crazy about how they didn't just stay in one spot. Every question you had from book one and two WILL be answered, and every emotion WILL be felt. The plot of this book is insane, and is very very dark. The beginning of this book had me screaming "OH MY LORD THIS BOOK IS LIKE THE MOVIE SAW!" I wont go into super details, but at one spot there's a tape recorder with a note that says "play me" and someone has to cut out another person's eye....

The story only gets crazier from there. I can't talk to much on the middle-end of this story, because it was just AMAZING! BUT AS FAR AS THE ENDING GOES... ITS ONE OF THE BEST ENDINGS TO A SERIES EVER!!! I couldn't have asked for anything better!!! The way she wrote the last few chapters was probably one of the most amazing ways possible to do so! The short poetic style paragraphs caught the mood and did so with such little words that you have no idea why you are feeling the way you do... because sometimes less is more and Hodkins captures that perfectly at the end.

I didn't think it was physically possible to die from a book but here I am typing to you from my grave! The Retribution of Mara Dyer came, saw, conquered, and lived up to it's hype. This book will have me gasping for the breath for a very long time. I'll probably have an extreme book hang over till after the new year. This book will hands down will be on the top of everyone's favorite reads for 2014/2015. 

"My name is not Mara Dyer, but my lawyer told me I had to choose something."

10/10 SEXY NOAH SHAW STARS!!!

-Angela 

Audible provided us with an audio clip for this book.
Click the link below to give a listen. 

The Retribution of Mara Dyer Audio