Forbidden

Book: Forbidden
Author: Syrie James and Ryan James
Pages: 410
Blurb: "She should not exist.He should not love her.

Claire Brennan has been attending Emerson Academy for two years now (the longest she and her mom have remained anywhere) and she’s desperate to stay put for the rest of high school. So there’s no way she’s going to tell her mom about the psychic visions she’s been having or the creepy warnings that she’s in danger.

Alec MacKenzie is fed up with his duties to watch and, when necessary, eliminate the descendants of his angelic forefathers. He chose Emerson as the ideal hiding place where he could be normal for once. He hadn’t factored Claire into his plans. . . .

Their love is forbidden, going against everything Alec has been taught to believe. But when the reason 

behind Claire’s unusual powers is revealed and the threat to her life becomes clear, how far will Alec go to protect her?" - form goodreads.com

Rachael's Recap

Book Rating: 3.5

Cover Rating: 4.5

A typical girl meets a not so typical boy. Meet Claire, a girl just trying to get through high school, and now trying to understand this strange power that has been suddenly thrust upon her. Meet Alec, an MIA angel. Wanting to find a place to hide out he chooses a place where he thinks no one of his world would find him, but then he meets Claire. It is forbidden for her to exist. It is forbidden for him to leave. And it's forbidden for them to be together. Will they be able to fight for their love? And will they win?

This book had many high points for me, but also a couple low. I'll start out with the characters. Claire was the typical teen, with everything being normal in her life at first. She was a pretty low key character. Not really exciting enough for me. She was over-reactive and there was nothing about her that really grabbed me. Too me she was a pretty typical/normal teen girl, which is fine, but it made me bored at times. Alec was an interesting character. It was fun to read when it was written in his POV, because so many things were new to him that he didn't understand. I also liked how he changes throughout the book. You can really see the change since the begging of the book to the point when he is with Claire. It was very interesting when it came to the "bad guy" in the story, there were really two. I can't say too much without spoiling parts of the book, but I really liked how they set up the "bad guy" characters. Claire's two best friends Brian and Erica were fun, light characters that gave the story the much needed humor.

The story over all was good, not mind blowing great, but pretty good. I felt though that there were a lot of things they never explained in the book that would have been useful to know. It just felt like there was something missing. The plot of the story had no problem reeling me in. It kept up a good pace throughout the whole book. And of course, a major plus is the forbidden love aspect of the book. It makes me a total stereotypical girl, but I have to admit I loved it. 

What I loved

• Written in dual POV
• It keeps you guessing about what Alec really is, and why he is there. It doesn't just pop up right away

What I wished were different

• Saying they were in love too soon. I mean they had barely been dating that long and BAM they are in love
• I didn't really like Claire's character that much
• I felt like there were unexplained spots in the book

If you are looking for a forbidden love story filled with angels of all kinds, I suggest you grab a copy of Forbidden by Syrie James and Ryan James.

Tiger's Curse

Book: Tiger's Curse
Author: Colleen Houck
Pages: 403
Blurb: "Passion. Fate. Loyalty.
Would you risk it all to change your destiny?

The last thing Kelsey Hayes thought she’d be doing this summer was trying to break a 300-year-old Indian curse. With a mysterious white tiger named Ren. Halfway around the world. But that’s exactly what happened. Face-to-face with dark forces, spellbinding magic, and mystical worlds where nothing is what it seems, Kelsey risks everything to piece together an ancient prophecy that could break the curse forever.

Tiger’s Curse is the exciting first volume in an epic fantasy-romance that will leave you breathless and yearning for more." - from goodreads.com

Rachael's Recap

Book Rating: 3.9 chocolate bars

Cover Rating: 3 chocolate bars

What do you expect from a summer job? Fun, getting paid a lot, and maybe even a cute guy. But definitely not a surprise trip to India, where you find out you are the one you were prophesied to break the curse that has held two princes captured in tiger form for centuries. Kelsey travels with Ren, the hansom prince, the white tiger in order to break the curse. Can she do it without losing her life? Or her heart?

Tiger's Curse brought me into a whole new venue of writing, Indian mythology. For me, Tiger's Curse was a book I had on my shelf and I never wanted to read because I thought, Indian mythology - really? But, I am sure glad I picked it up. Colleen Houck spins together a beautiful world of love, danger, and adventure that drew me in instantaneously.

Now, let's talk about the characters. Honestly, I was a little disappointed in Kylie. To me she seemed like a fairy tale princess who didn't understand anything about the outside world and thought everything was great. I also found myself - a lot of the time - wishing she would quit whining. She was much too self-conscious and it really got to me. Even though Kylie did have some characteristics I had troubles with, she had some good ones as well. She was always willing to help others and wasn't afraid to speak her mind. Those are two very important characteristics I like in a female heroine. I loved Mr. Kadam in this book, he was sort of like a grandfather character. I wish we saw more of him during the book, but never the less he was great.
Now, let's get to Ren and Kishan. Those are the two brothers who are cursed into being tigers for almost 24/7.  Whenever you read a book that has brothers in it, you know you are in trouble. Both beautiful brooding boys were pretty intense and straight forward. Ren was especially protective of Kylie which at some point I totally loved, but other times I was like seriously? One thing I loved about this book (and series) is that it wasn't completely centered around one brother (read book 2!).

Overall this book was pretty good. I loved how Kylie and Ren would argue (it was funny), but I also liked how in the end you saw how deeply Ren cared for Kelsey. Another little problem I had was all the poetry! Now it may just be me, because I don't really like poetry, but it was getting tiring when they kept quoting famous poets and reading poetry all the time.

What I loved

• Kishan and Ren were the best heart breaking pair of brothers ever
• It's so unique! I mean who has ever done Indian mythology before? Plus it was really interesting

What I wished were different

• Kelsey was kind of like a Disney princess, thinking everything was great, and it got  annoying
• Too much poetry
• Way to much lack of self-esteem and whinnying in Kylie 

Wanting something totally unique and never done before? Check out Colleen Houck's amazing head spinning world of lion, tigers and bears. OK, maybe just tigers. 

Before the Fairy-tale

*I was asked to do this review via bookblogs.com 

Book: Before the Fairy-tale 
Author: Iscah
Pages: 125

Blurb: "Banished from her village, a young shape shifter sets out on a journey to find her place in the world...

The first of four "Before the Fairytale" stories, "The Girl With No Name" is told in a deceptively simple storybook style with the flavor of an original Grimm's fable, but don't expect your typical once upon a time scenario. This is a coming of age tale humorously interwoven with social commentary."

 - from amazon.com

Rachael's Recap

Book Rating: 3.5 chocolate bars

Cover Rating: 2 chocolate bars 

What do you do when you have no name? This is a story of a young girl, who starts her journey searching for her father. She goes through many parts of her world, and experiences many things. This book, for me, was a nice light read. The characters were nice, but nothing too deep. Almost all of the characters were likable, but you never got to know them. The Girl was kind and caring, but never let anyone push her around, especially the prince. It was a fun story to read and at the end left me with questions and also left me wanting to read more.
What I loved

• It was a fun light story
• Different than most things I have read

What I wished were different 

• I wished the ending was stronger
• It did not have a climax or clearly state what happened to her father
• Ended too soon

If you are looking for a light fun story I suggest you go to amazon and get a copy of Before the Fairy-Tale!

Shatter Me

   

Book: Shatter Me
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Pages: 338

Blurb: "Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior."

Rachael's Recap

Book Rating: 3.7 chocolate bars 

Cover Rating: 2  chocolate bars (the original cover I liked much more. This one kinda creeped me out)

This book was, honestly, not what I was expecting. I was expecting the whole "Poor me. I wish my life was normal," then que sobs. But, no way was that this book. The main character Juliette cannot touch anyone without hurting them, or even killing them, but she still kicks butt. She does not let anyone push her around , especially Warner, the man who is keeping her captive. Everyone has called her a monster or  a freak, except Adam. This story was something new and fresh that I loved. I loved the way the writing in the story had Julliet fighting with herself, trying to figure out who she really was, if she was really the freak everyone had said she was. In the beginning of the book it starts with Juliette talking and describing things. At first I was terrified it was going to be the type of book that goes on and on with boring descriptions that make you want to pull your eyes out. It wasn't quite at the eye pulling out phase but I found myself looking ahead waiting for the dialogue to start again. One other thing was that Juliette and Adam had not seen each other in years and then BAM they are in love. It was kind of annoying. I mean it's ok to go on a little about their feelings but then Julliet started up with the metaphors again and it made me look around for something to poke my eyes out with. I think this book is either a book you love or you hate. Personally, I thought it was pretty good.

What I loved:

• Juliette was a very strong character
• I totally did not see the ending coming

What I wished were different:

• A little too many metaphors 
• Adam and Juliet are a little intense with their feelings 

Transparent

Book: Transparent
Author: Natalie Whipple
Pages: 350

Blurb: "Plenty of teenagers feel invisible. Fiona McClean actually is.

An invisible girl is a priceless weapon. Fiona’s own father has been forcing her to do his dirty work for years—everything from spying on people to stealing cars to breaking into bank vaults.

After sixteen years, Fiona’s had enough. She and her mother flee to a small town, and for the first time in her life, Fiona feels like a normal life is within reach. But Fiona’s father isn't giving up that easily.

Of course, he should know better than anyone: never underestimate an invisible girl."- from goodreads.com 

Rachael's Recap

Book Rating: 3.8 chocolate bars 

Cover Rating: 4 chocolate bars 

When I first read the little blurb, I thought they meant a girl that could turn invisible, not an actual invisible girl! It was a super cool surprise and totally changed my expectations for this book.   In Transparent the main character , Fiona, escapes from her father so she does not have to continue living as his personal spy.  When she and her mother escape, Fiona starts school and meets other teens that are "special" like her.  I loved Fiona's character - strong and brave. I also loved her best friend, Bea, and her family and of course Brady and Seth. This book was funny and had twists and turns that I never saw coming. All the characters were new and fresh, not the same stereotypical girls and guys in YA books. I did feel that the first chunk of the book was really rushed though - It needed more explanation. Also, I got a huge surprise involving Fiona's love interest. I can't tell you how happy I was about that ( and no I am not going to tell you. Go pick up the book yourself). 

What I loved:

• Fiona was not the only character with a superpower
• Surprise twists I never saw coming ( yes, it is about Brady)
• There are so many brothers in this book! 
• Lots of cool superpowers, some I have never heard of

What I wished were different:

•  I wished there was more in beginning of the book of how life was like with her father
• I wished  there was  more of a history for Bea's family ( if you read the book you will understand)
• It ended a bit suddenly for me
• I wish the ending was stronger
• Fiona over reacted a lot 

If you are looking for a book full of twist and turns and some pretty awesome super powers then go get Natalie Whipple debut novel Transparent.