The Word Mineur

Lexi Ryan is a born and raised New York City girl, with alot of snarkiness and tons of honesty, which makes me love her the most. She wasn't exactly outgoing, but at the same time, she wasn't shy about her feelings either.I personally have only been to the circus once in my life. It was when I was younger, about 4th grade, and it wasn't even in...a tent. I never really thought it gave me the full experience, but I wasn't complaining either( I don't get to travel much). However, the circus itself was pretty cool. Acrobats, lions, clowns( ugh, everyone hates, including myself), cotton candy... it was amazing, especially when I was only like 9 years old.This book seemed to capture the same energy when I had visited the circus. It was vibrant, exciting, and different. I loved the descriptions in the book about the circus. It made me feel as if I was really there.The secondary characters added depth into the book, and I especially enjoyed each one's different qualities. They made me laugh at intervals and I just ended up falling in love with all of them. They also seemed to change during the book. Some more than others, but there was actual character development...in a contemporary book! Like I said, it added depth to the book.The problem I had with this book was the romance. She liked, like, 4 different guys in this book, within a 4-5 month period. Hmm....yeah. It really bugged me when she kissed one boy in particular and decided that she didn't like him after all...and pretty much just ditched him. To me, that doesn't sound like a good friend( or girl-friend). And then with another boy, she claimed she loved him after knowing him...for like 3 weeks? So yeah, the romance was my least favorite part in this book. It didn't have any depth to it, and the author just made it sound like a fling, for some of the boys that actually liked Lexi. It just made me feel sorry for some of the boys.Overall, this book wasn't bad, but it definitely had some holes in it. The circus descriptions in it was amazing, and the plot itself was good, just not amazing.

My first thoughts on this book were slightly wary, due to the aliens-take-over-the-Earth concept. It didn't seem highly original. I was taken completely by surprise.

I DNFed this, since I wasn't able to get much further in than page 50. I'm sure it might have gotten better by the end, but I couldn't stand trying to understand what was going on in the first chapters. There was massive info-dumping to a point that I was confused as hell. I didn't particularly like the main character, even though I can't quite pin point why. I will give credit that it was a different take on dystopian, but it wasn't near perfect.

Nonstop action, romance, and also the mystery of the whole book is what makes this book a good young adult thriller. And really, it is a pretty good combination.For some reason, while I was reading this book, I kept comparing this book to Sound of Thunder. I have no idea why, but I just found myself doing it. I guess why is that it held some similarities. Like, in this book they wake up and the land outside is barren and there are mysterious animal footprints. In Sound of Thunder, after they time travel back, the land is ravaged, and there are meat-eating animals. That is mainly the only similar thing that I really found, but I enjoyed comparing the two of them.( If you aren't familiar with Sound of Thunder, you should look it up!)The constant mysterious air in Strangelets is what had me in suspense and and anticipation during the whole book. I had so many questions flying through my head. Why did they end up in this hospital? How did they all end there? What had happened to all the people? Those are just a few examples of my thoughts while reading it. Gagnon really did a well job creating all the action and mystery contained in the plot in the book. It kept me sitting on edge throughout it!While I mostly enjoyed the action and mystery in this book, I did have some problems with the romance. Again, I have to mention that I HATE pretty much all insta-love in books. They usually don't hold much meaning in them and end up cheesy as heck. This book definitely had some insta-love. This book takes place in maybe, 3 or 4 days, and you can only assume that, of course, it is insta-love. I guess, in order to have romance in this book, it would only end up being insta-love. It never extremely bothered me, but it did make me a tiny bit disappointed.Overall, this book is something you want to look out for if you're into nonstop action, mystery, or are just looking for a thriller!

My feelings for this book cannot possibly be put down on paper( or more correctly, my computer screen). I have to say, in this book Mafi took it to the whole new level. The first book seemed to receive mixed reviews, and I understand why. The beginning was kind of weird and slow, but then when you got to the ending...everyone was OBSESSED with the book. Including me. You can imagine my anticipation for the sequel.We first have the amazing, unique writing of the book. For me, it took awhile to get used to in the first book. However, when I read the second book, I learned to appreciate the lovely descriptions and style of the writing. A quick example( right from the beginning of the book):"The big ball of yellow might be spilling in the clouds, runny and yolky blurring into the bluest sky, bright with cold hope and false promises about fond memories, real families, hearty breakfasts, stacks of pancakes drizzled in maple syrup sitting on a plate in a world that doesn't exist anymore."That was just one of many, many weirdly unique descriptions. But you seem to imagine the world in the book with a whole new perspective. I absolutely adore the writing, to put it simply.The love triangle...I am seriously SO SO SO happy right now. If you have already read this book, and are team Warner...you will most likely love it too. If you are team Adam...well, you had your shot in the first book. But....just....hhfnnjdfjldmfkfnufbdu....in coherent form would be better, I suppose? Mafi plays with your emotions majorly in this book, more directly to the romance. I have undoubtingly not read another book that plays with your emotions as much as this one( at least with the romance). Usually, when there is a love triangle, you KNOW from the start who she/he's gonna pick. I seriously believed, judging from the first book, that Juliette would pick Adam till the end. BUT I AM SO HAPPY, BECAUSE WARNER GETS A SHOT WITH HER...sorta.The characters. You can imagine in this book, that you are able learn SO much more about Warner. You get to know about his horrific past, his gentle side, and what made him into the man he is today. I LOVED that about this book. Not only can Mafi write an amazing plot, but deep, interesting characters. They are in no respect, perfect characters. But, that is what makes people want to learn more about them, what intrigues them. She also writes amazing secondary characters( I love Kenji).The plot is, of course, great, like every other part of the book. I could see what would eventually happen, but I didn't know how it would happen. And I can say alot of things surprised me in this book. There were so many twists and turns, tear-jerking moments, and just...everything good.That is my extra-long review, so I'm not going to talk about the ending. You will just have to buy it to know what happens!

I have to say, this book didn't let down my incredibly high expectations. It was one of my most anticipated books of 2013, and now it will be one of my favorite books of 2013.If you loved Hex Hall with all the crazy paranormal witches and werewolves in it, then you most definitely will want to get this book. It's just with a new twist to it.First, you are introduced to Dusty. She was a normal teenager until well, she found out that she was a Nightmare. Nightmares have the ability to go into to people's dreams. But, they only do that when they have to "feed" to be able to live.I was actually taken by surprise when I started liking Dusty from the very start. It's not like I can relate to her, I just understood her somehow. Maybe that is just how well the author can write and make us all like the main character, but I was glad that I liked her. After all, she is a very important part to the story.The plot of the story was, yet again, amazing. It was fast-paced and dragged you into the world of Arkwell Academy. Everything was easy to imagine, and it wasn't unrealistic. The murder was probably one of my favorite things about this book. I know that sounds really morbid, but it keeps you guessing who the murderer could be. There were so many possibilities and it kept me on my toes.The romance. I first have to say, just by my first time reading the description, I thought it would be too-overbearing. I thought it might turn into a cheesy romance book instead of a well-planned out mysterious paranormal book. Now, that was just my thoughts when I first read the description. Thankfully, I was totally wrong. There was surprisingly little romance in the first 1/2 of the book. Sure, there were some things, but I was expecting a huge love triangle(there was sort of a love triangle, but you could barely tell it was even there). Thankfully, the book seemed more focused on the important stuff: the mystery of the murderer. The romance was merely just another good part of the book. It was believable and not overly-done.The ending was not anything entirely important for me. I don't mean to sound harsh. It wasn't bad, and it wasn't amazing. It was in the middle for me. Nevertheless, I will be looking forward to reading the second book.Overall, the book was well written, especially for a debut book. You could tell it was planned out and it was believable. The romance wasn't overbearing, and the mystery of the murderer kept me on my toes through the whole book.

This was yet, another amazing book of the year. This book made me a tiny bit worried in the beginning, since I knew it was a grotesque re-telling of Alice in Wonderland. I thought somehow this book would mess up my perception of the actual Alice in Wonderland. It did not ruin my perception of the classic book. If anything, I barely thought about the classical book when reading it. You know the book is based off a classical book, but when I read it, I forgot entirely about that. Maybe because of the major difference in it, or maybe I was just too transfixed by everything.The vivid descriptions in the book was an awesome part of this book. Yes, I know that sounds a bit weird, but it let me imagine how this Wonderland compares to the classic one. Trust me, there weren't very many similarities, but there were a few. Just, most of them were way more twisted or cruel. It made the story interesting to me.The romance was very...interesting. What kind of ticked me off about it was the love triangle. I have mentioned before that I usually don't like love triangles simply because one guy gets left out 95%. In this story, Jeb and Morpheus are the victims of a love triangle. Of course, she has to choose one of them, and I'm glad in the end that she chose that guy. However, it also made me sad and angry that the other guy will be left out. As you may have noticed, I'm being a good spoiler free girl by not mentioning any names( you must read it to believe it)!The plot of the story,and also the most important part for me is what hooked me from beginning to end. You were always kept on your toes guessing what would happen next. There were many surprising turns in the novel, which I LOVE! You could tell the author planned everything out carefully to make an intriguing plot. Again, I have to say the plot was the most interesting part to this novel, which is quite a complement in my case!Now, the dreaded ending. The ending was...surprising. I like surprises, I do. But, this surprise devastated me, which isn't not entirely bad. Sad endings always makes books linger in my mind. While the ending ate at me for days, making me relive that moment again and again, the devious author was writing the sequel to the book( probably doing evil things in that one too). So, for a debut, this book deserves a standing ovation!

When I first read the description, I was immediately really excited to read this! I love Apocalyptic-type books! This book didn't disappoint too! I thought this book was surprisingly really easy to get through. Maybe because I was enjoying it so much, I forgot how many pages I was getting through. Everything wove together to make an enjoyable read and really an addictive read at that! At first, I didn't like Pandora. I just couldn't really connect with her. After awhile though, I started liking her and understanding her actions and thoughts better. I thought she was extremely brave . She's a act-before-thinking type of girl. At times, I was annoyed by that, but nevertheless she was really brave and protective about the people she cared for. That one factor probably made me like her ten times better. Ahh, the love triangle. I usually hate love triangles, and this one, sadly, was no exception. There is always one(or maybe even two) people who get hurt. That is what makes me hate them so much. Yes, they are entertaining...until someone gets hurt and then it isn't so enjoyable( at least for me). I was really disappointed when I found out that there was a love triangle between Eli, Theo, and Pandora. Luckily the romance wasn't the most important thing about the novel....saving the world was! The action-packed and fast-paced plot is what me had drawn in from page 1. For me, the pacing was perfect. One thing would happen and I'd think nothing could possibly beat that...I guessed wrong SEVERAL times! There was more action also than I could have possible dreamt for! That is why I loved this book EVEN more than anticipated. Overall, this was a highly entertaining read and I will definitely look forward to reading more of her books! I would recommend this book to anyone that likes action!

Umm...

3.5*

Ok, I admit that I now feel VERY guilty for waiting this long to read this book. I just kept pushing it aside and reading other books on my TBR pile. But, FINALLY on one day...I did it. I finally let myself pick up this book. And, oh my God, it was AMAZING, STUNNING, BEAUTIFUL, and just...my words alone can't express my feelings for this book! It was quite a thrill ride reading this book. One minute I'd be feeling happy and upbeat and next thing you know...BAM!...something happens that make you scream, "WHAT JUST HAPPENED??". But, that's what reading books are all about. Making you feel exhilarated or stunned or just devastated. That is one reason why I enjoyed this book immensely!The romance is my next topic. I admit that I was quite curious to how they would fall in love( I figured it out right away by reading the description...and if you didn't....). I was waiting to find out if it would be instantaneous love( which I hate about 98% of the time) or a budding relationship that turns from friendship to romance. Of course, I would pick the latter most of the time, but this author has a way to just make you love that it kinda...was, in fact, instantaneous. Now, I'm NOT saying that they saw each other and they kissed passionately until dawn rose up, but if you think about it, it IS instantaneous. From the moment she saw that HER tiger was a human prince in disguise, she knew she was love-struck. Ok...not exactly like that, but she was AMAZED, which in other words means she was love-struck. And, I mean come on, who wouldn't in their right mind fall head over heels in love with a guy that was caring, passionate, and not to mention, SMOKIN' HOT! So, wrapping it up, although it is KINDA instantaneous love, I somehow ended up liking it VERY much indeed.The plot to this story was slighty shaky at first. I kept wondering when something entertaining would take place. There didn't seem to be anything completely different about Kelsey besides that her parents died. I know that does sound incredibly harsh, but that's what book reviewing is all about: you have to judge it from several different angles. And when I did that, I realized the beginning was pretty boring. But, then again, that is JUST the beginning. After only about 30-ish pages( I am estimating here), it starts picking up speed and then you're all of a sudden in a whirlwind of unexpected craziness! Really, that is how I felt! On from there I LOVED the pacing and the action and the (somewhat) steamy romance! Like I know I've said before, I love fast-paced books and this book is no exception! Actually...I don't think there will ever be an exception when I come to fast-paced books...it's my weakness!The ending: it was one of those tormenting cliffhangers once again! WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO US, AUTHORS?! I mean, can't you let me off that hook ONE time, so I don't have an urge to pummel my pillow and immediately buy the second book? Oh wait, that's right THAT'S the reason you do those tormenting cliffhangers! To make us use our money to buy the WHOLE SERIES( erm...I don't feel espcially guilty)..."finishes rant"...So yes, the ending was okay( NO! I MEAN EPIC)...in other words.Overall, this book was AWESOME! I can't believe it took me THIS long to find this book and read it! Everything I enjoyed(besides the very beginning). I will definitely continue reading the series( how could I not with that ending!?) If you haven't already read it, what are you waiting for? This book deserves all the attention it can get! I BEG you, GO OFF TO THE LAND OF AMAZON( or b&n's) AND BUY IT!!

I DNFed this about 70 pages in. Why? I don't quite know. Vane really annoyed me from the beginning, I know that much at least. And Audra...she was best described as flat to me. I guess the characters are what made me quit reading it, then.

I was absolutely stunned when I finished this book. Somehow, Marissa Meyer has got me to love this book even more than Cinder, and that is saying alot. Cinder was probably within my top 5 books of 2012, and man, Scarlet is probably going to BE the top pick of 2013, unless some other book SOMEHOW manages to blow be away even more than Scarlet did.It starts off right after Cinder ended, except you have a different main character: Scarlet. Now, Cinder is still pretty important( I mean, of course she is, since she's the freakin' key to EVERYTHING!), but you only get to see her viewpoint about 40%. There are also different characters viewpoint's thrown in there, pretty much at random, like Thorne, Wolf, and EVEN Queen Levena! Yes, that was a pretty interesting chapter. I really liked being able to see in different people view's, since it let me inside their heads and undertand their feelings and emotions. So, that was just ONE small detail that I loved. Unfortunately for you, my dear readers, I still have many other things to talk about and fangirl over!Back to the story, so Cinder is on the run and Scarlet( your new main character, hence the name of the book!) is trying to find her grandmother, since the police decided to stop looking due to the lack of evidence and because her grandmother left without a trace. Scarlet runs into a person at a bar/restaraunt with a tattoo on his elbow. She later realizes that that tattoo happens to be the key to finding her grandmother. So, of course she asks for his help( ERM...not exactly ASKED for helped, but you get the point) and she goes on her journey with Wolf to find her grandmother. Yeah, that is a very shortened up version, and it sounds much lamer than it actually is. Trust me though when I type this! IT BLEW MY MIND AWAY! There was so many surprises and the plot and characters were all amazing! And now I will continue on to tell about the new and old characters.Cinder-She was as awesome as ever, except she is now on the run and desperately trying to get her powers under control. I seriously, love Cinder. How could you not? She is a kick-ass heroine and is a cyborg! So, don't worry people! Just because there is another heroine in the book doesn't mean that Cinder doesn't have her fair share of time in the book!Scarlet-Ahh, the other kick-ass heroine in the book. I really loved her from start to finish. She was strong, intelligent, and had red hair! I did think that she may have been a little too impulsive, but her other characteristics made up for it. Overall, I thought she was a great new addition in this series, and hope to see her in the next two books!Wolf-He was a very quiet and mysterious person at first. He was big and dangerous looking, but shy all the same. I'm not quite sure what to say about him. I liked him alot, but I guess I didn't love him in the beginning. I just thought he was an important character in the story. Later though, I started understanding him and ended up LOVING him for who he truly was.Kai-What dissapointed me most about this book was that you don't get to see alot of Kai. I seriously loved Kai in Cinder, and it saddened me to find out that there couldn't be any romance between Cinder and Kai, because they are supposed to appear as rivals to the people. Kai is supposed to care about his country more than Cinder, and I do understand that, but it doesn't make me any less sadder.Thorne- My first thought about him was that he was a moron, and I still think that. All the same, he was a hilarious new addition in the book! He always made horrible circumstances funny, and just had a fun vibe to him.Ok, I know there are MANY other characters in the book, but it would take me forever to put my emotions for them into words, so without further ado I will talk about the plot.Wow, Marissa Meyer did it again with her magical writing powers. The plot was intense, fast-paced, and kept me reading until the very last page. There were so many unanswered questions from the previous book and I was reading furiously to find them out! The plot was probably my most favorite thing about this story!The ending, THANK GOD, was not a cliffhanger. At least, not in my opinion.There are still many unanswered questions, but it isn't what you would call a cliffhanger. Nonetheless, I will be watching like a hawk for the third book! And there was still a thrill of excitement left in my veins that had me acting all gushy inside...even though I should be sad, since I WON'T get to read Cress, for more than a year!

This book met my incredibly high expectations, due to all the raving reviews and complements it was generating. So, I'm happy to announce that it WAS incredible like all those readers, reviewers, bloggers, and publishers said it would be. Here goes my RAVING review! It seemed to me that it was SO long, even though it was only 404 pages, but then again I AM a slow reader and perhaps that is why it seemed to take forever to read. So, yes, this book took me about 5 days to read. Although, I did stop reading in the middle of it to start another book, but then I continued on with it and finished it! And ended up falling in love with it! For me, the beginning was slightly slower paced, but all the descriptions were so well written that I didn't even notice until I looked backed and realized not that many days had passed. But, when you continue on with the story, it picks up speed. Also another thing that I noted while reading it was that, sometimes it would just skip ahead a couple days later(or weeks) and that slightly bothered me because I thought maybe something important could have happened in those missed days. I understand, though, that she had to cram about 6 months into the spansion of the book. So, all is forgiven and quickly forgotten as I was swept up into the world of Throne of Glass!The plot of the story, was what had me loving it SO quickly and made me eager to read more. Everything, you could tell, was so planned out until the very last detail and made the bigger picture just WHAM you in the face when it came. The murder mystery was intriguing, to say the least. It kept me guessing, and although I guessed who the murderer was from the start( and guessed correctly!), I was still slightly shocked that IT ACTUALLY was the person who I thought it would be. Usually I NEVER guess correctly, AND definitely not in murder cases. So even though it may appear to be obvious...I guess just keep reading to find out if you're right? I guess?The romance was actually kind of invisible during the story. You knew it was there, but it wasn't very distintive. I really liked how the romance was though...very slow and realistic. They didn't rush head long into a forbidden romance. There was actually a love triangle( and I'm definitely team Chaol!), but it was, surprisingly, a love triangle that I liked. I couldn't decided who she liked better: Dorian or Chaol and it kept me guessing throughout the novel! I can sense that there will be some drama in the sequel between Dorian and Celaena!Overall, this book was such a fantastic read! I would recommend it espicially for high fantasy readers, but I'm sure every reader would end up loving it! Though, it wasn't a cliffhanger book, I will desperately be looking out for the sequel to find out what happens next!

I was really surprised at how much I ended up liking this book. I've never really been into high fantasy books, so it came to a surprise to me. But, I'm really glad I decided to pick up this book and start reading it.Basically, there are three separate kingdoms: Auranos, Paelsia, and Limeros. In the book, you get to see viewpoints of people from each kingdom: Cleo is the narrator of the Auranos kingdom and is also the princess, Jonas is a villager of Paelsia and is the narrator for that kingdom, and then Lucia and Magnus are the narrators of the Limeros kindgom and also the prince and princess of the kingdom also. I espicially enjoyed getting to see through the eyes of so many very different people. I'm used to only seeing through one person's eyes, so it was a nice break from the usual stuff and it made me like the book even more.The Characters of the storyCleo-Well, to start off, I thought she was a bitch at first. Do NOT worry! I didn't think that way for long. It's just...I thought she was exactly what she was supposed to be: a spoiled rotten princess. But, later I found out that she really is a pretty caring person and even though she was still slightly spoiled while growing up, she never always got what she wanted or planned for.Jonas-I thought he was a pretty amazing character. In this book, I never actually got to see him much, which saddened me alot, because he was just such an awesome character. I really understood his feelings and reactions during the book, which is probably why I loved him so much! He was just such an honest and devoted friend and brother.Magnus-My first word thought to describe him: very strange...well then, I guess it is actually two words, since I had to add VERY too. He was very percular throughout the book and had such weird moments during the book. I just couldn't stand how he ACTUALLY found his OWN sister attractive and he LIKED her??? What is UP with that? I'm sorry if that is offensive to anybody, but where I come from, that is just NOT right! Put aside that, I guess he was an ok character, just not my favorite. There were just TOO many things that bugged me about him. He was too...uncaring( except for his own sister) and cold too everyone. That about sums it up for me.Lucia-Overall, I thought she was a pretty great character. She was at least better than her brother. She was kind and honest. AND she actually showed emotions( again, her brother was not anything like her). I want to say more, but it would end up spoiling some pretty important things..."ARGH! I hate when that happens!"...The PlotOk, I have to admit it. I absolutely hated the beginning of this book! I just thought it was too slow for me and it never caught my attention. I was about ready to give up on it, but I told myself that I if I had already gotten this far, I could do it! So, I continued reading and it FINALLY picked up the right pace(for me at least!) and I found I actually started liking it. So, I'm very proud of myself for finishing it and ACTUALLY liking it! The plot is pretty good and it should have caught my attention RIGHT away, but it didn't,which I'm sad to admit. So, I have to say the pacing kind of sucked, but that is just me! I'm sure people would be glad to argue with me!The EndingUmm...the ending for me was like I kind of loved it, but kind of hated it at the same time. Let me explain what I'm trying to say. I loved it because it made me interested to find out what happens next, but I ALSO hated it because it was just so...sudden. Like you just walked off of a cliff without knowing there would be one. But, like I said above, I loved it too!SO, there is my crazy review with a whole bunch of complaints and complements( at least I hope I said a few...:/). I recommend this book to high fantasy book lovers, but I'm not sure all of you would enjoy it all that much.

When I first read this description, I was drawn in by just reading the first two sentences. As I read even more, I was just about dying in ancticipation. You want to know why? I'm now a 100% sure that I have mentioned before my love for supernatural powers, and this is no exception. Ruby's life turns into a disaster the day she turns 10. She wakes up and her mom and dad no longer know her daughter. For real, they have absolutely no memories about her. You will later realize that she accidentally used her powers on her parents, and erased all their memories of her. Her parents call the cops, but the PSF soldiers get there before they do. They take her to a rehabilitation camp, where you can imagine, is nothing as it is said to be. They don't treat them good, and care for them like they promised their parents. They run dangerous tests on them and use them like lab rats. Ruby is classified as a "Green" but is really an "Orange", which later you will realize, saved her very life. A couple years after she is there, the reds and oranges are taken from the camp, never to be seen again.After that, she becomes even more rare and valueable to the "Children's League", which is an government organization to "save" children from the camps, but really uses the children's power for their own purposes.I adored this book so, so much, but I gotta say what I liked most about this book was the premise. I just had fallen in love with this made-up world, where there was powers and evil villians. I know that sounds so wrong, since I should be pitying them because their life sucks, but...I don't know it just managed to get my attention and keep me reading to the very last page. The descriptions helped alot, since they were so profound and I could picture them perfectly in my head.On to the characters: I really loved Ruby. There I said it. She was just so honest, and caring, it was so hard not to love her. From the beginning, I felt for her. She went through so much at such a young age, and that made her that much smarter and stronger. So, in a way, it helped her alot.Liam...what to say? He was so great...smart, funny, compassionate, caring, and hopeful. I can't think of one bad thing to say about him. From the start, I KNEW I would love him, because of...just the way he was. Ok, that is my best I can do about describing my feelings for him.The other minor characters like Chubs and Zu, were such a huge, GIGANTIC part of this story too! I have to give them some credit :DThe ENDING to this story was just so...heartbreaking and sad. I was (seriously) cying and screaming "WHY, OH WHY DID THIS HAVE TO HAPPEN?" So, if you don't like sad endings...don't read this book, but the good news? It does make me want to read the second book VERY badly.Overall, this book was incredible and awesome and I would recommend this to everybody!