Update: Conventions and Festivals 2015

Earlier this year we did a post on what we were looking forward to in 2015, and about events we were aiming to attend. Now that it's a little into the year we have all of our plans set in stone, so we decided that we would post an update on what we have planned.

April will be giving us readers something amazing, YallWest! The spin off our Yallfest! We have decided with this being it's first year that we will be dipping out of this event. Were going to wait and see how it plays out. Once we get the skinny from our Cali friends we will decide from there... Ya
know before we take on a cross country adventure there. So look out California there's a good chance were coming for you next year! 

In May we sadly wont be able to attend BEA due to our work schedules, but we are for sure headed to BookCon. SO YUP YOU HEARD RIGHT SBSR IS HEADED TO NEW YORK!!! May 30th and 31st we will be at the Javits Center. We're so excited to attend and meet everyone there. Well be going to panels, signings, and hopefully a few meet ups! Oh and we will finally, FINALLY, get to meet Colleen Hoover! Anytime we go to see her or she is near something pops up and the event gets cancelled! So fingers and toes crossed that nothing happens in this case. The list of authors, celebrities, and publishers that will be attending this event are insane! We are also hoping that there will be an Ansolo event one of the nights there so we can squeeze that in. If he has a show while were there we might actually die!

The biggest months this year for us are definitely October-November. October 30th through November 1st for the first time ever we will be attending the Walker Stalker Con in Atlanta.We've never been to this event before, but had so many people message us once they saw we were going. The feedback we've heard has been amazing, and has up so jacked to make the trip to our sister state. Well have a chance to go to cast panels, signings, contest, and other walker like events! WE ARE SERIOUSLY FANGIRLING OVER GETTING TO MEET STEVEN YEUN AND NORMAN REEDUS! We can't wait to cover this event and let y'all know how it is! Hopefully well be able to add this to the growing list of yearly adventures. November 13th and 14th we will once again be hitting up Yallfest! If you don't know it's currently the nations largest Ya book festival and it's held in our town!!! This event is probably our favorite all year. Again well be doing panels and signings. Last year we were able to meet some huge authors like Jennifer Armentrout, James Dashner, and Veronica Roth. The list for 2015 attendees hasn't been posted yet, but I promise once it has well be posting if for y'all. We're really hoping to authors like Ransom Riggs, Tahereh Mafi, and Victoria Aveyard will snag some spots this year (we could probably name 100 more hopefuls). November 19th we will be hitting up the early screening and marathon of The Hunger Games. We will be seeing all the movies leading up to the premiere of MockingJay Pt. 2. Saying were excited about seeing how this movie series wraps up would be an understatement. 

As far as the year goes these are all the major events we have going on. Can't wait to write post for all these events and to see all of you there.

WAT UP 2015?!?!

We here at Southern Read are so excited to bring in the New Year... New year equals new books right!?!?! Not just that, there are going to be some pretty big events happening this year... Everything from page to premieres, to new releases, to book signings! We can barely contain our fangirlness.

MOVIES!
I think the thing we are most excited for is.... 50 Shades of Grey the movie..... HAHAHA JUST KIDDING (But Leah is actually secretly excited for it to come out on DVD so she can watch it... No judgement...)(Angela's judging lol)! But there are a lot of movies we are looking forward too this year and we have plans to see them all!
As of right now all these movies are expected to come out in 2015.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth is the second movie in the Divergent Trilogy. I think we all can agree that at first seeing the teaser trailer and little pictures here and there, we weren't too excited for this movie to come out... But after seeing the full length trailer we're beyond stoked too see it, even with the already clear

changes. Seriously though, after seeing that trailer, we were both so confused. We were both like "it hasn't been THAT long since we've read the books, I know we couldn't have forgotten that much!!" and a lot of saying "WHAT'S IN THE BOX".  Regardless if it stays true to the book or not, it looks totes BA. Plus Theo James' abs in 3D, how can we say no.

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner. After meeting James Dashner this past year at YALLFest and hearing him talk about how awesome The Scorch Trials will be (and how handsome Dylan O'brien really is in person... yes, we asked), we are SO STOKED! The Scorch Trials was definitely our favorite book out of the trilogy and it's going to be so intense if they go by the book. All I'm going to say is all those scenes with the lightening and the who NO NOSE SCENE. OMG. SO TERRIFYING.

Paper Towns by John Green. Angela read this a while back (around 2010 I think), and Leah hasn't read it at all. But! Angela picked up a copy for us to read/re-read! John Green is pretty much one of those YA authors who can do no wrong, so we are excited to see how the movie comes out. If you don't follow him on Instagram, you definitely need to because he posts a TON of stuff from the movie set.

Fallen by Lauren Kate. Leah recently read book one of this series and while it wasn't her favorite book, it was still a good read. Fallen angels has been a big theme in YA books for a while, but there aren't too many movies out there featuring them (well, minus The Mortal Instruments, but we all see how big of a box office hit that was... womp womp). It can either go really good or really bad, so fingers crossed for the latter. The cast is already set, and they look like good picks so we are excited!

The DUFF by Kody Keplinger. Leah read this book a few months ago and it was well..... hopefully it will be a better movie than it was a book. Honestly, from seeing the trailers, the movie doesn't look like it is going to follow the movie at all, so this can probably one of those page to premieres that you can skip reading the book first. The guy that has been cast to play Wesley is hot hot hot, so he's reason enough to see this one.

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn. Dark Places is the second book that Gillian Flynn is having become a movie. Her first was Gone Girl and it was one of the best movies we saw this year. Chloe Grace Mortez is set to be the main star in this adaption... Is there anything this girl isn't in/going to be in. If you don't know she is also set to play Cassie in the 2016 film adaptation of The 5th Wave (which is the film Angela is the most excited about) and was the leading lady in the film If I Stay. We haven't read Dark Places yet (it is on our short TBR list), but we have read Gillian Flynn's other books and LOVED how dark and haunted they all are. If Dark Places is anything like that and the movie is anything like Gone Girl, get ready to get your socks knocked off.

OH JUST WAIT!!! DON'T THINK WE FORGOT!!!! The film we are probably most hyped on seeing in 2015 is....  MOCKINGJAY (Part Two) by Suzanne Collins, the fourth and final film in The Hunger Games Trilogy. After where they left part one we can't even explain how excited we are to finally see everything end. Bittersweet, but sure will be amazing. We have it set to take the whole day off to marathon the movies at our local theater. We can't wait to purchase some super sweet HG gear (in addition to what we already own) and geek out in the theater with Peeta bread sandwiches (get it??!) and snacks.

The other movies we are excited to see are...
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. (on our TBR)
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith. (Angela's read it and Douglas Booth swoon)
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (Leah got this for Xmas so its TBR).
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. (Angela's read it... thinking it's going to make a better movie than it did book; wasn't one of my favorites.)
Matched by Ally Condie. (Angela has read the series. I think if they just stick to book one that it will make for an interesting movie. However the Matched series is one of my least favorites.)

EVENTS! 

As far as bookish events we are definitely hoping for some big names to roll through Charleston this year. We have a locally owned book shop in our area (Blue Bike Books) that host most of the book signings in our area. Sadly they only list authors that are coming a little closer to time. So once we know, you'll know lol. If  my father doesn't end up working in Germany (Angela) than I'm going to try to head up to New York for BEA and possibly BookCon. Since they are the same week. We shall see though. Then of course we are doing YALLFest again this year!!!! 

It's biggest and best event we go to all year! It's the nations largest YA book festival. Authors come from all over for panels, signings, and meet and greets. We have coverage up from our time at the 2014 festival, both day 1 and day 2, so just click the links to read about our time there. The author line up for who will be attending probably won't be out until this summer, so stay tuned. We constantly troll the YALLFest website in hopes of new info popping up! Once the list does appear we will more than likely do a post on it.

We are also heading to Atlanta in October to go to the Walker Stalker Con! Angela is a big fan of the comics, and we are both HUGE fans of the TV show so this is a HUGE DEAL for us! Tickets and hotel
are booked, so now we only have to wait 300 something more days! So before you know it it'll be here! We'll get to meet the cast, get some swag signed, and go to some panels.

  

           NEW RELEASES! 

As y'all know though the number one thing our blog focuses on is books... And 2015 has some pretty big books coming out. We keep a running list in calendar of book release dates, so we will keep y'all posted when the big day for these comes up!  

Some of the books we are most looking forward to be released are The Heir by Kiera Cass, Invaded by Melissa Landers, Reborn by Jennifer Rush, Sea of Stars by Amy Bartol, Miss Mayheme by Rachel Hawkins, Unleashed by Sophie Jordan, The Death Code by Lindsay Cummings, Charmed by Michelle Krys, Hunted by Abi Ketner, Heart of Betrayl by Mary E. Pearson, The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, and A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. But the book we are MOST looking forward to is Every Last Breath by Jennifer Armentrout. This book is the grande finale for Layla and her love triangle with Zayne and our booboo Roth, so we are so stoked to see who she picks (ROTH!!!) in the last book! And we adored that Jla let her reads vote on who they wanted too see Layla end up with.

  

BOOK TRENDS!

As far as book trends, I (Leah) really hope the trend for series having different POV for each book ends. For example, in 2014 I read These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman. For the second book in the triology (and I assume the third will be this way as well), it has an entirely new cast of characters. I HATE THIS! I fall in love with characters in the first book and want to continue on with them through the whole series! Same goes for when I read Rush by Maya Banks. SO GOOD, but the other two books in the series are from the other two guys POV. HATE HATE HATE. I want more Gabe and Mia!! I also really hope that the time/dimension travel books stay popular. All Our Yesterdays and A Thousand Pieces of You were BIG hits for me, and I really hope to see more books like them! The dystopian theme seems to be fading away a bit, but I hope that it starts to pick back up with some new fresh ideas.

What I (Angela) am looking forward to as far as book trends go the only BIG thing I want to end is when authors change cover styles mid series. I like all my books in a series to match and when they switch them up UGH I get so annoyed. Also I'm hoping for some new and surprising things to be brought to the Ya genre. I've also really gotten into Na books this year and I can't wait to see what else they have in store for that as well. I love dystopian books and like Leah lately I haven't found anything too shocking or new brought in. I also would like more well written love triangles and just romance in general. I wouldn't mind seeing more books like Kiss of Deception were there is a lot of mystery to who is who. Also hoping for some really second books or final books in series. I guess the only other thing is that I'm hoping as far as the films coming out I pray even if they have changes from the books that they do the stories justice.

Resolutions

Angela- My bookish New Year resolution is to finish all of the books on my DNF/Broke up with list from 2014. I think there is around 11. To read more same author books. To do better about writing film adaption reviews right after we see the movies. To do more of my own photos for our blog. And to branch out more to other book bloggers and authors.

Leah- My 2015 bookish resolution is to branch out with the type of books that I read and be open minded with books that I normally wouldn't think I would like. I also want to work on chiseling away at my TBR list before adding new books. Like Angela, I want to do more of my own book photos for our blog. Lastly, I want to work on building up my fandom collections by adding more book swag to my collection.

If there are any movies we forgot please comment below and let us know! We would love to know and add it to our growing list. That goes for books coming out and book events going down as well! We would also love to hear about which movies and books you are looking forward to too.

<3 
-A&L

YALLFest Day 2!!!

Yesterday was the second day of Yallfest, and IT WAS AMAZING!!! I (Angela) was off work so Leah, Richard (Leah's husband) and I were all able to go out there together and see everyone!

For those of you that follow us and are from Charleston, out of state, or out of town just to catch you up, YALLFest is a once a year two day YA book festival. It's located in Leah and I's home town of Charleston, SC. It's actually the largest YA book festival in the country. It's hosted by the cutest little local book shop called Blue Bike Books that is located in downtown Charleston. It's spread out over several streets with multiple hours of signings. Along with the signings there are Keynote speakers, a YA smackdown, and several panels you can attend. You can also purchase books, shirts, and get lots of free goodies.

The weather outside is flawless this time of year so it made getting up at 5:30 in the morning so worth it. And that's how we started our early and by rushing around to make sure we got there early. We knew that James Dashner and Veronica Roth were both only seeing select number of fans so we knew we had to plan perfect and....

I'm pretty sure we did the impossible because we were able to see both Veronica Roth and James Dashner! They were both only seeing the first 200 people and we somehow managed to get wristbands and see both of them in like less than two hours!

James Dashner was who we choose to see as our keynote speaker and we're so glad we did! He was super funny, charming, and probably one of the nicest authors we met. His panel was all about how he became and author, what his writing process is, and how he's handling everything now that the movie is out. Being able to get a wristband and meet him was amazing. He took the time to not rush his signings and talked to every single person on a personal level. He also didn't have a one book limit and was willing to take photos with everyone.

 

That was the only downside of seeing Veronica Roth. She was only allowing one book to be signed and no pictures to be taken with her, I mean we get it she's freaking VRoth and people would probably want to take a million pictures, but it was still a little bit of a bummer about the one book thing. The positive side about her "strict" signing was that it went super smooth and we were able to see her, talk for a few moments, and then go to our next signing with no wait time. Just being able to meet both of them was such a pleasure.

The other authors we saw were Sarah J. Maas and Jennifer L. Armentrout.The line for Sarah J. Maas was insane (theres a video on our insta)! Once again we lucked out and got there super early. We were in the first 15 to go in. She was so sweet and also allowed any amount of books to get signed and personalized.

 

  

I will say seeing Jennifer L. Armentrout was the biggest highlight for both of us. She was so funny and sweet. She is our my favorite author and was our #1 must see. I really think she took book signing to a whole new level! She had no limit on how many books you could get signed and she actually asked to take pictures with us. Plus she personalized every book we brought in. I know it might be a little hard to see in pictures but my book seriously says "#TeamRoth cant even stand it :)".

 

Like it's been a full day and I'm still coming down from my fangirl high from seeing her. The fact that she had no limits on books, wanted to take pictures, and did it all with such positive energy just shows why she is the best! She was also signing in a train museum which really made it interesting. We sadly didn't make it out to Marie Lu's line since it was crazy insane and was at the same time as JLA's.

As far as Swag Bags went Leah and I made out with posters, buttons, shirts, bookmarks, and a ton of book samples. The girls from EpicReads were out there hooking people up with posters and totes. Also the folks from TheNovl where hooking everyone waiting in line to see James Dashner with hot coffee and water bottles!

 

Overall our experience at Yallfest was amazing. Everyone, even the people visiting from out of town were so polite, and caring. It was not only amazing seeing the authors, it was amazing talking and meeting new people. We are so excited to go again in 2015! All that being said we will definitely be bringing rolly-bags instead of totes next year, gonna be feelin the book burn for the next few days!

I've posted some pictures here but to see more go to the contact section of our blog and check out our instagrams!I'm also going to put a list below of who all we saw over the two days. If you'd like to read their reviews they'll be located in the A-Z section of our blog.

Day 1:
Kiera Cass: The Selection Series 
Michelle Hodkins: The Mara Dyer Trilogy

Day 2: 
Jennifer L. Armentrout: The Lux Series, The Covenant Series, The Dark Elements Series, etc.
James Dashner: The Maze Runner Trilogy, The Eye of Minds
Veronica Roth: The Divergent Trilogy, Four
Sarah J. Maas: The Throne of Glass Series


I also had a super awkward and hilarious run in with Gayle Forman while we were down there too.

Let us know if you went, who you saw, and what you love! Sorry if we didn't get to meet you there but hopefully we'll meet more followers in the near future!

<3
A&L

YALLFest- Day 1

Today was the beginning of YALLFest here in Charleston. Unfortunately, Angela had to work :-( But my awesome husband volunteered to come in her place to a few of the book signings they were doing today.

I originally wasn't going to go to any of the signings today because I figured that I could see everyone that I wanted to see on Saturday, but then I realized that Michelle Hodkin ONLY was doing signings today. Obviously if you read this blog you know that Michelle Hodkin may as well have hung the moon in the sky for us. Richard, my hubby, and I got downtown for her line around 12pm. There were already a few girls in line so we decided to just go ahead and have a seat on the sidewalk and wait the three hours until the signing began.

Boy, am I glad that we did! SO many people came out today! The line for Michelle Hodkin didn't really start getting super long until closer to 3, but the line that was to see James Dashner a few stores up already had 50-75 people in it. By the time it was time to meet the authors, the line for James Dashner went down the sidewalk maybe a block. It was insane!

We were the 4th or 5th people to get in to see Michelle, and OMG she is so sweet. She really made an effort to have a unique conversation with every person and made them feel welcome. I got all three of my Mara Dyer books signed and Richard got Angela's Mara Dyer books signed! YESSSS!

After that, we decided to hoof it down King St. to where Kiera Cass was signing because we wanted to get her marked off our list so we wouldn't have to rush as much tomorrow. Her line was SO long, but the awesome volunteers for YALLFest made everything run so smoothly and the lines moved very quickly for the amount of people that were in them. Kiera Cass was an absolute doll and the cutest thing ever. She had this super sweet top bun with a giant pink flower on her head. SO CUTE. I loved her. I even got to meet one of our followers of this blog while waiting in Kiera's line (so nice to meet you, Tanya!!)! I got all three of my books for her signed, and Richard got two of Angela's books signed as well.

After that, we decided to call it a day since the other authors that were signing weren't super high on our MUST SEE list. Tomorrow, we are getting up at the butt crack of dawn to be downtown in line by 7AM.

We have tickets to see James Dashern's opening keynote panel which is sold out and going to be completely amazeballs. I can't wait. Other than that, our #1 must see author or we will die of a broken heart is Jennifer Armentrout. Again, if you have read anything on this blog you know we worship at the altar of JLA so WE HAVE TO MEET HER! We also are planning to see Marie Lu, Alex London, Sarah Maas, and Veronica Roth if at all possible (you already know her line is going to be crazytown).

I can't wait for tomorrow! It is going to be so much fun. I've got my #teamalien tote bag packed and organized. My hubby even has a backpack full of snacks for us all packed for tomorrow as well. We promise to take lots of pictures! Stay tuned for a blog about our adventure!

Heir of Fire: Sarah J. Maas

Heir of Fire: Sarah J. Maas 

Celaena Sardothien’s only thought is to avenge the death of her best friend. As the King’s assassin, she is bound to serve him even though she hates him... but he will pay for what he did. Celaena's only hope to destroy the king lies in answers to be found in Wendlyn. Chaol, the Captain of the King’s Guard, has sent Celaena there to protect her, but there's so much there that he would have never expected her to find. If she can discover the truth she will be Adarlan’s biggest threat. While Celaena learns of her true destiny, and the eyes of Erilea are on Wendlyn, a brutal and beastly force is preparing to take to the skies. With Prince Dorian off fighting his own demons, and with the introduction of a new Fae ally, Rowan, will Celaena be able to stand her own and get the vengeance she deserves?!


First off does anyone else think that the covers for book two and three should have been switch? Maybe it’s just me. Either way I’m really loving the covers for this whole series so far. But to the point...

I will say that I didn’t like this book as much as book two, because I loved Crown of Midnight so much, mainly because this book had so much “setting up” to it that will be important later on. I was really hoping for some more badassassin like there was in the second novel, but there really wasn’t a lot of that going on. With all that being said the Throne of Glass series is undoubtedly one of the best series I have ever read. I read so many reviews where people were saying “oh the first half of this book is like a 2 compared to the second half which is like a 5 star”, and I think people were right. The first half of this book was like pulling teeth. It was brutally slow!!! Trust me when I say PUSH THROUGH IT, IT'S WORTH IT!

I thought that I had my girl Celaena all figured out from reading the first two books... Nope. She is a broken, restless, and a guilt ridden girl in this book. Which is a complete turn around from how she was in the other two. Your heart will hurt just seeing how shattered she is. I think that everything that has broken her is what makes her go from the bottom to the top by the end of the book. After dusting herself off she decides its time to take control of her destiny. Celaena starts really revealing her memories and a lot of her past. Her memories are hard to hear and gruesome. She goes from being this strong tough cookie, to this brittle pastry of a person, back to a brick wall. I have never wanted to be a book character as bad as I've wanted to be her. She even gets all tatted up!!! Choal and Dorian are still swoon worthy and relentless. Dorian I started to love even more in this story. He has moved on from Celaena and I want to tell you so bad about their story but I just can't! All I can give you is her name, Sorscha. He has also really matured a lot more in this book. When he starts standing up to his D of a dad you'll find yourself hardcore cheering for him. Choal however went from one of my top book boyfriends to the bottom real fast. Yeah he still sounds smokin hot but that's all he really has going for him. I might just be holding a grudge, because of what he did to my girl idk. Either way he is indecisive and whiny this whole book! 

There is the introduction of some new characters as well. Rowan! As soon as he is introduced I was like Choal who?!?! Rowan is a dick turned sweetheart, and I'm definitely #teamfae. He starts to train Celaena to see her aunt and doesn't go easy on her. He thinks she is a Diva, but has no idea of her back story. When he finds out though sparks fly and a potential romance starts. Did I mention Rowan is sworn to serve Celaena's aunt for all entirety... Because he is! Her aunt isn't the only family member that is introduced in this book. When he shows up it’s really obvious. Her cousin and childhood best friend Aedion Ashryver comes into play. He is all deadly smiles, hot face, and bad attitude. He makes it very clear that when he finds his cousin he is going to help her take the crown.

There are a lot of twist towards the end of the book which totally made suffering through the first half worth it. The plot of this series is SO strong! 
The one big thing this book had going for it was its ending…OMG WHOOSH!!!! THAT ENDING!!!! THE ENDING... THAT ENDING... THE END! HOLY COWS IN SPACE! THE

ENDING!!!! BOOK FOUR IS GOING TO BE CRAZY!!!  I can't stress this enough...The last few chapters more than make up for the uphill battle you face during the first half, and you will have no idea what is going to happen. It will basically feel like you got hit by a bus by the time it's all over.

Overall I loved the second half of this book so much and can’t wait to get my hands on book four! And I think I, like everyone else have switched teams and are really hoping that Celaena and Rowan end up having something going on (even though she's blowing through boyfriends like the Kentucky derby I don’t care because I liked him so much.) I secretly think Maas is trying to kill us while we wait for the rest of this series to come out. The suspense of waiting for the final books to come out is unbearable! It don't think series get much better than Throne of Glass.

9/10 Stars for the second half of this book
-Angela 

The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

You know, most of the time Angela and I will do a joint review when we read the same book at the same time. Every so often, we read a book that is so epic, so mind blowing that we each have to write our own thoughts because it was just that good. This is what happened with The Retribution of Mara Dyer.

I think I am not over exaggerating when I say this is one of the most highly anticipated books this year (for us anyway). Michelle Hodkin sucked us into her world of Mara Dyer and made us fall in love with Noah Shaw and then left us hanging on a massive cliffhanger at the end of book two.

FINALLY, I was able to get my hands on my precious. I was actually out of town the day the book was released, so I reserved a copy at like three different book stores because I didn't know which one I was going to be able to get to first.

The book opens a few weeks after the last one left off. Mara is still at the Horizons facility on No Name Island, but she wakes up drugged and with no memory of what has happened in the time that has passed. Dr. Kells and her assistant Wayne are major parts of the first part of the book. Dr. Kells reveals a little why she everything has happened the way it has gone down. The book gets pretty intense pretty quickly, especially when our favorite villain Jude makes a reprise a la SAW style.

Mara finds Jamie and Stella in the facility, but Noah is still MIA. They have to figure out how to get out of this facility and off of No Name Island. Along the way they are finding more and more clues on why they are there and what they are. Once they uncover some pretty important information, they all decide that they need go to NYC. Along the way, we meet some other characters. Some good, some not so good. Between the three of them and their powers they are able to difuse and handle some pretty ridiculous situations. I won't reveal much, but I will say this book is a lot darker than I was expecting. Mara really has to deal with her crazy and she is also dealing with the fact that Noah may or may not be alive. You really feel her pain and your heart breaks for her right along the way (all I'm going to say is marashaw and when that scene happened I was ready to just go ahead and throw myself off a bridge).

"An angel sat on one shoulder, a devil on the other. Both of them wore my face."

Once they finally make it to NYC, crazy stuff stars happening left and right. All I'm going to say that several scenes left my jaw literally hanging open on the floor. The best thing about this book is we get answers. We FINALLY get ALL of our questions answers. Why is this happening? Why did Dr. Kells do this? Who all is involved? All of it gets answered.

The best part of the book happens over three hundred pages in and that is when my booboo Noah FINALLY reappears. Though he isn't in the whole book, the last ~150pgs that he is apart of is absolutely amazing. What he has to go through was so heart wrenching. He if faced with some crazy hard choices that involve Mara, his dad, Mara's brother, Jamie, and even Jude. I read the last part of the book in an hour because I was on the edge of my seat the entire time freaking out. It is truly freak out worthy and you will be going back and forth between wanting to cry your eyes out to wanting to rip someone's throat out.

But the ending is worth it. Oh my gosh, is it worth it. The way Michelle Hodkin wrote the last handful of chapters is so romantic and so beautiful. She makes you feel the feels without directly saying what is going on, but it still makes you feel uncomfortable in all the write ways. Let's just say that Noah Shaw earned his reputation for good reason.

"I know what I can do to a girl with a word, a look, a touch. And I want to do them all to her."

The ending reminded me a lot of the ending of the Shatter Me series. You get closure. Like for real closure. You're not sitting there wondering WTF just happened. The ending leaves it open enough that you don't know what the future will hold but you know that all the characters are going to be ok, at least for now. SPOILER (don't highlight if you haven't read the book because it will spoil the ending!!!)- You don't know if Noah and Mara will live a long life together, but you know the option is there that they could possibly live forever (since her grandma hopefully broke the curse) or Noah could die any time. You get enough closure to be okay with those questions not being answered because you know that right now Mara and Noah are together and they have chosen each other no matter what. 

sSo needless to say this book absolutely rocked my world. I didn't know what to expect going into this, but all of my expectations were blown out of the water. I'm sad this book series is over, but I am adding it to my top series of all time list. If I could give this book a million stars, I would.

"I will love you to ruins."

5/5 stars

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 

YALLFest 2014

The time is finally here! YALLFest IS FINALLY HERE!!!! This is our first time going, so we thought we would put out our guide for what we are planning on bringing and who we planning on seeing.

We both have designated YALLFest totes (#teamalien) that we are bringing and we are going to pack them with:
-The necessities of course which are snacks, drinks, jackets, alien sunglasses
-The books we are getting signed

The authors we plan on meeting:
-Jennifer L. Armentrout
-Kiera Cass
-Marie Lu
-Michelle Hodkin (depending on how Mara Dyer #3 ends.. If Noah Shaw dies then YOU ARE DEAD TO ME MICHELLE HODKIIN)
-James Dashner (keynote)
-Sarah Maas (alternate depending on Mara Dyer #3)

We purchased tickets to go to James Dashner's keynote speech on Saturday at 10AM so we are SO stoked to get to meet him. SPOILER ALERT! We are also planning on getting an extra Maze Runner book by him signed to giveaway to one of our readers once our instagram hits 1,000 followers. More information on that to come!

I don't think we are going to any of the events on Friday night because Angela won't be off work in time, but one of our favorite fangirls is hosting a meetup with some Indie Authors that we are planning on going to! Katie (IG: MRSFANGIRLN) is hosting a meet up with authors Megan Duke and Leah Ward at Paolo's (40 John Street) in Charleston, SC on November 7th at 7pm. Anyone else planning on attending?

If you are planning on being at YALLFest, let us know! We'd love to meet up! Leave us a comment below or hit us up on IG and we'll look for you! ONLY FIVE MORE DAYS!!!!!

The Selection by Kiera Cass

When I read the description for this book, I knew straight away it was right up my alley. It sounded like a non-reality TV version of pretty much any dating show. 35 girls in a competition to get a handsome young prince? Add in a dystopian world and a few love triangles? Oh yes, this is definitely my kind of book.

So, this girl named America Singer is born into a musical family of a lower caste (the caste system is by numbers in this country) and has just came of age right at the same time the young prince is finally of age to look for a lady. All the girls from the country register in a lottery of sorts and get "randomly" chosen to come to the castle and basically compete for the prince. Sounds awesome right? Well America didn't think so. She already had a guy named Aspen who was even lower and poorer than her family but was super swoon worthy. Because of their differences in the social rankings, they both pretty much knew that being together in the future is a long shot, but they still longed and hoped. America doesn't want to sign up for the lottery, but her family really wants her to (especially her mother who is a little cray) because it really is a good opportunity for the family. You see, whatever girl wins becomes the princess but their whole family gets bumped up to One status (the highest, basically royalty only) which means they are set for life. Even if the girls don't get picked, their families receive a stipend while they are away. Money is money, especially when you're poor.

Anyway, so Aspen thinks America needs to at least enter the picking just so he can say in the future that he didn't hold her back. Well as luck would have it, she actually gets selected. America's pissed, her family is stoked, her and Aspen break up, and her world pretty much falls apart. She goes off to the competition ready to lose but ends up doing really well. The people of the country love her because she is real. She speaks to them and wants to meet them when the opportunity arises. America right away makes a BFF, Marlee, who turns out to be awesome.

America assumes she is going to hate Prince Maxon because of course he is super hot and royal so that automatically means he is going to be stuck up and awful... Only he isn't. And they hit it off really well. The rest is all cake from there, right? Except it's not. It's never that easy because c'mon, this is a YA novel.

 The process of girls getting cut and getting to know the other competitors was pretty enjoyable as well. Their are some bitches and some really sweet girls. The competition is pretty cut throat because some girls have been waiting for this their whole lives. Add in a douchebag king and a sweet queen and you've got some pretty interesting eliminations. By the end of the book the 35 girls are narrowed down to the Elite six, which is where book two picks up.

This was a super quick read for me. I really enjoyed the competition and seeing America change through the book. Where she ends up at the end isn't the same person she was in the beginning. It's a really cute read that I enjoyed. I loved the two sequel books as well. This series ranks in my top trilogies and I am super stoked when the author announced that their was going to be more in the series! Can't wait for The Heir next year

5/5 stars

Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Have you ever wanted a chance to start over? To erase all of your memories and start life fresh? That's exactly what happens to Samantha Franco, except her memories begin with her standing on a road covered in blood and dirt. She has no idea who she is or how she got there or what happened. After being taken to a hospital, her identity is finally figured out and her parents show up a few hours later. Too bad she has no idea who her mom and dad are, that they are super rich, that she has a twin brother, she has a boyfriend who she is basically betrothed to, and she and her mean girl friends basically rule their high school. She also has no idea that her best friend's name is Cassie and is missing.

Sam has to rebuild her life with memories other people have with her and share with her. She has to rely on her boyfriend to tell them how in love they are. She has to rely on her friends to tell her how popular she is and how she is the queen bee of the school. She has to rely on her twin brother to tell her everything about herself that her parents don't want to-- how she was an awful person who manipulated and terrorized everyone with her bestie Cassie.

Sam hates her former self. She doesn't understand how she could ever have been so mean to everyone around and treated everyone so bad. She spends most of the book feeling the shame and embarrassment as she tries to make everyone realize that the old Sam is gone, including her brother's super hot friend Carson. Carson is the son of grounds keeper of her family estate. They were childhood friends, but after Sam met Cassie her whole life changed. She dumped her former friends and the person who she could have been and turned into the mean girl that everyone expected her to be.

Now that Sam is a completely different person, how can she maintain her former relationships? She is expected to have a fairy tale relationship with her boyfriend but now finds herself having feelings for someone else. She hates her friends and finds friendship in her twin brother who seems to be one of the only people she can trust. After Cassie's body turns up and the case officially turns into a murder case, Sam is the number one suspect. People whisper at school and even her own parents can't look her in the eye and say she is innocent. But without having any memory from that night, how does Sam know that she didn't actually kill Cassie? Sam finds herself questioning everyone around her and her own sanity. I was really rooting for Sam to figure out what was going on, and I kept getting super frustrated for her when everyone was calling her crazy. Every time I thought I knew what was happening, something new would pop up.

The book has a lot of mystery surrounding it and I felt like I was playing a game of Clue the whole time. I kept thinking EVERYONE was a suspect and felt super suspicious the whole time. There is a big twist at the end, but I guessed it a few chapters before just by picking up on clues. It's a very unique twist and really brings a creepy feel to the book. Even with all the mystery and drama, JLA still gives you a few steamy scenes with a good romance to keep you feeling the feels. The book sort of reminds me of the Mara Dyer series, so if you are a fan of that, then I think you'll enjoy this book.

Like all of JLA's books, the book neatly resolves itself after all the twists and drama so that you have a good ending. I'm very happy with the ending (I was super worried for a while) and think this is an AWESOME standalone book. I was so relieved after reading because it seems like every book I've read lately has been a bust. Once again, JLA proves herself to be my favorite YA author.

5/5 stars. 

Birthday Book Haul

November is my favorite month for many reasons. The weather is FINALLY getting cooler, YALLFest (btw stay tuned for a post on that), and best of all: MY BIRTHDAY! WOOHOO! The best part of birthdays when you get older is most older relatives give you cash which means you can go on a book spending spree! My birthday book haul includes:

-Legend series by Marie Lu (Not pictured. She's one of the authors we are planning on meeting at YALLFest and I only had her books on Nook, so I had to buy them so she can sign them!)
-Anna Dressed In Blood by Kendare Blake
-Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout
-A Thousands Pieces of You by Claudia Gray


This haul doesn't include the books I already have and also the book I am planning on buying November 4th. Can anyone guess what it is?? THE RETRIBUTION OF MARA FREAKING DYER!! It's finally here! We have all been waiting forever for this book to be out and you better believe I will be at the bookstore as soon as I can to get my copy. No sleep will happen until I find out what happens to my booboo Noah Shaw.


Stay tuned for lots of reviews this week! I've already got a couple of lined up for YALLFest authors plus what I am currently reading! I have a HUGE pile of TBR books that I plan on tackling and making a big dent in. I am on vacation from work all this week, so my plan is to read a book a day. #bestvacationever

-Leah

Leah's October Reads

October was a really good book month for me. If you remember, I was planning on dedicating this whole month to The Mortal Instruments series. Well, that was my intention, but if you have ever read the series, you know how long the books are and how in depth they go. I kept finding myself having to take breaks in between books (even though I LOVE THE SERIES SO FAR!) because I was just so overwhelmed with emotion and information from this killer endings. I am currently about halfway through book three and taking a break because I am SO mad with everything that is happening to poor Simon. In the meantime, I've read lots of really awesome books. Seriously, some of my favorite books of the year was read this month. Here is my list, and I'll put my absolute favorites at the very end:

-City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
-City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
-Losing It by Cora Carmack
-Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma
-I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga
-These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman
-The Jewel by Amy Ewing
-Born at Midnight by C.C. Hunter
-All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill
-Pivot Point by Kasie West
-The Young Elites by Marie Lu
-Don't You Forget About Me by Kate K. Quinn
-Stone Cold Touch by Jennifer L. Armentrout
-Awake at Dawn by C.C. Hunter

October Favorite! 

 This is really, REALLY hard for me. Like I said above, some of my top books this where read this month. If I HAVE to choose, my top picks are Stone Cold Touch and All Our Yesterdays. Stone Cold Touch was highly anticipated for us because of how much we love Jennifer L. Armentrout and how awesome White Hot Kiss was. Roth made the Holy Grail of Book Boyfriends list because he is hot hot hot and so swoon worthy. Demon or not, he is such an awesome character that JLA developed. You want to hate him in this book, but it's only because the pieces of your heart are laying all over the floor. And the ending of the book..... OMG the ending. I may or may not freak out because I have to wait until July for book three. Alas, this book comes in second place (though it is very close) because my actual top favorite made me feel so many feels that I have no choice but to name it my top.

All Our Yesterdays is probably in my top five books that I have read all year, which should say a lot. I was kind of skeptical when I first read the synopsis because it sounded super action packed and intense but I didn't know where all it could go. I picked up the book and couldn't put it down. I was so invested in the characters, and every time I thought I had things figured out everything fell apart. It was so intense. I felt all the feels in this book, and again, this ending is what made it... The ending. I can't even talk about it without wanting to tear up. I don't know why I reacted so strongly towards the end except maybe it was just so unexpected for me. I had tears pouring out and was literally yelling at my book at the same time. But, you know, it wasn't just the ending of this book.. The whole thing was just nerve wracking and heart wrenching that it takes the cake hands down as my favorite for this month. I just can't explain it. You just need to go buy it.