Review: Marked by P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast

Enter the dark, magical world of the House of Night, a world very much like our own, except here vampyres have always existed.

One minute, sixteen-year-old Zoey Redbird is a normal teenager dealing with everyday high school stress: her cute boyfriend Heath, the school’s star quarterback who suddenly seems more interested in partying than playing ball; her nosy frenemy Kayla, who’s way too concerned with how things are going with Heath; her uber-tough geometry test tomorrow. The next, she’s Marked as a fledgling vampyre, forcing her to leave her ordinary life behind and join the House of Night, a boarding school where she will train to become an adult vampyre. That is, if she makes it through the Change—and not all of those who are Marked do. It sucks to begin a new life, especially away from her friends, and on top of that, Zoey is no average fledgling. She has been chosen as special by the vampyre Goddess, Nyx. Zoey discovers she has amazing powers, but along with her powers come bloodlust and an unfortunate ability to Imprint with Heath, who just doesn’t know how to take “no” for an answer. To add to her stress, she is not the only fledgling at the House of Night with special powers: when she discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school's most elite group, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look deep within herself for the courage to embrace her destiny—with a little help from her new vampyre friends.

From goodreads.com

 

I liked the idea of a school for vampires and it was interesting to read about that (what kinds of classes they take and stuff like that). I also liked how everyone knows that vampires exist.

I really did like the plot and this book could have been great, but I couldn't connect with the main character, Zoey. I could see how lots of people could really like this book- I just didn't like it as much as I had hoped. I did like Stevie Rae though. She really reminded me of a friend of mine.

I probably will read the next book though because I really liked the idea and the story and it could get better. If you're really into vampires you'll probably like this book more.

Overall, I thought it was okay but had potential. I give it 6/10.

Review: Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson

Scarlett Martin has grown up in a most unusual way. Her family owns the Hopewell, a small Art Deco hotel in the heart of New York City.
When each of the Martins turns fifteen, they are expected to take over the care of a suite. For Scarlett’s fifteenth birthday, she gets both a room called the Empire Suite and a permanent guest named Mrs. Amberson. Scarlett doesn’t quite know what to make of this C-list starlet and world traveler.
And when she meets Eric, an astonishingly gorgeous actor who has just moved to the city, her summer takes a second unexpected turn.
Before the summer is over, Scarlett will have to survive a whirlwind of thievery and romantic missteps. But in the city where anything can happen, she just might be able to pull it off.

From goodreads.com

I love Maureen Johnson's books (although I've only read three of them now) because something amazing happens to an ordinary girl. I liked Scarlett. She reminded me of myself almost. Well, of a more outgoing me of course. I felt like I could understand her really well. The only thing I didn't really like about Scarlett was that she had a hard time dealing with or solving her own problems. If anyone else had a problem though, she figured something out in a few minutes. This didn't distract me from the rest of the book too much though. I really loved Mrs. Amberson. Almost everything funny in the book came from Mrs. Amberson in one way or another (of course a lot of the things that happen are caused by Mrs. Amberson so this is kind of to be expected). Mrs. Amberson is definitely my favorite character in the book.

Suite Scarlett is unpredictable. I don't think I saw any of plot twists coming and my eyes were glued to the pages for hours. Overall, Suite Scarlett was a really fun read that I couldn't put down. I give it 8/10.

Review: Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta

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At the age of nine, Finnikin is warned by the gods that he must sacrifice a pound of flesh to save his kingdom. He stands on the rock of the three wonders with his friend Prince Balthazar and Balthazar's cousin, Lucian, and together they mix their blood to safeguard Lumatere.

 

But all safety is shattered during the five days of the unspeakable, when the king and queen and their children are brutally murdered in the palace. An impostor seizes the throne, a curse binds all who remain inside Lumatere's walls, and those who escape are left to roam the land as exiles, dying by the thousands in fever camps.

 

Ten years later, Finnikin is summoned to another rock--to meet Evanjalin, a young novice with a startling claim: Balthazar, heir to the throne of Lumatere, is alive. This arrogant young woman claims she'll lead Finnikin and his mentor, Sir Topher, to the prince. Instead, her leadership points them perilously toward home. Does Finnikin dare believe that Lumatere might one day rise united? Evanjalin is not what she seems, and the startling truth will test Finnikin's faith not only in her but in all he knows to be true about himself and his destiny.

From goodreads.com

At the age of nine, Finnikin is warned by the gods that he must sacrifice a pound of flesh to save his kingdom. He stands on the rock of the three wonders with his friend Prince Balthazar and Balthazar's cousin, Lucian, and together they mix their blood to safeguard Lumatere.

But all safety is shattered during the five days of the unspeakable, when the k

Sometimes I forget how much I like this kind of fantasy book. I don't think I'll be forgetting for awhile though. I absolutely loved Finnikin of the Rock.

One of my favorite things about this book is Evanjalin. I love how you can never truly tell (until towards the end) if she's trying to help Finnikin and Sir Topher or not. I loved how she kind of just took matters into her own hands to try and take Lumatere back and get back into Lumatere. She is definitely my favorite character.

Finnikin of the Rock is pretty fast paced and action packed. I never really could tell what was going to happen next (partially thanks to Evanjalin I'm sure). I couldn't put it down!

Overall, I thought it was amazing and had just the right amounts of action, romance, and mystery in it. I give it 9/10.