Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

5/5 stars

So I have finally finished Queen of Shadows; a book that I had highly anticipated every since I finished Heir of Fire. Maas is one of my most favorite authors yet and a definite auto-buy for whatever she gets published. I apologize for a wait between reviews. I needed some time to recuperate before writing about it. The emotions I felt reading this, especially in the end portion, sapped me of all emotional strength.

I'd like to start off by saying I really did love this book! Maas did a great job yet again, and I'm already dying for book five. Why do we have to wait? I had gotten my hands on it before I finished reading another book and was itching to finish it just so I could finally get to QoS. I was not disappointed as I finished its last page. Hey Sarah, can you publish book five early, just for me?

The end of QoS was phenomenal, and I was crying and yelling, and I couldn't take it. I stayed up late just to finish it. Maas destroys my emotions and I'm surprised I made it through in one piece. I love the radically different characters Maas creates, let alone how strong her female characters are! She gives a whole new meaning to badass! No matter if a woman is warrior or courtesan, she is intelligent and strong. It's wonderful. Along with the male protagonists that make you swoon and jump for joy. Everyone has a place! 

I like to describe Maas as a watered down version of George RR Martin. She can be heartless in who she destroys, but I don't think she's as evil as GRRM is. She wouldn't destroy certain characters. Right, Maas? [If Maas ever sees this: please don't make me eat my words.] 

The world within the Throne of Glass books is amazing and the detail describing it gives you the ability to imagine it perfectly well in your mind and feel as though you're there with the characters. If the royal hammer wasn't so horrible in Adarlan, I'd want to live there! 

On to a certain character. Manon. I wasn't a big fan on her or her excerpts in Heir of Fire. I was a little uninterested and just wanted to get past it. Her parts were so different from Celaena's that I couldn't grasp them well enough. But after finishing QoS, I really do love Manon and cannot wait to see what's in store for her in the future! She isn't as heartless and evil as she may want everyone to think. Please give me more Manon, along with her kitten of a wyvern, Abraxos. 

Despite giving this book five stars and raving about it, I will admit to its flaws. I love you, Sarah, but we have to cover all the bases here! If you haven't read it yet, I will hide all spoilers and if you want to read them, you can highlight the hidden text. First off, I won't count as spoilers! I love Chaol. He's been one of my favorite characters from the beginning; stern and serious male characters are my kryptonite. Though, throughout QoS, Chaol just seemed a little too broody and depressed for my taste, even after the events at the end of Heir of Fire. I felt as though his character undeveloped. I will admit though, he got better towards the end of QoS. Second off, Celaena, or how we now know her to be, Aelin, just seemed more bloodthirsty than her usual self. Too kill-happy. I know she's Aelin, but finding out what you truly are doesn't change who you are. 

This next bit is spoiler-y, so I'll hide it. As I said, highlight the text to see it! I love Rowan's character, really loved him in Heir of Fire! I personally never saw anything romantic between him and Aelin, though I do know that a portion of the Throne of Glass series fans did, and really loved them to be a couple. "Shipping" them. I'm more of a Chaolaena fan. I have been. The romantic relationship between Aelin and Rowan, I have no problem with it. If it makes Aelin happy, so be it [but girl, please, I love me some Chaol]! It just seemed that the romance experienced between Rowan and Aelin in this installment was rushed and sloppy. First, nothing in Heir of Fire, then BAM! Rowan is so in love with Aelin and has to hold himself back. I'd have less of a problem with their romantic relationship if it was eased into a bit more. End of spoiler-y bits. 

But in the end, I really do appreciate this book and will continue on through the end of Maas's plan of six books! As long as I can survive the wait between books. I highly recommend this series to anyone who likes action, romance, and epic fantasy. You will love it, so go buy it right now!

Before You Break by Christina Lee

1/5 stars

Main character Ella lost her brother in high school and that has inspired her to pursue a career in psychology, and in college she works on a suicide prevention hotline. Daniel Quinn is depressed and emotional over what happened to his best friend, and calls the hotline. Neither Ella nor Quinn know it's someone they know on the other line, but they're falling hard for each other outside of the hotline.

I just really didn't like this book very much. The story could be interesting and it could have gone very well, but Lee didn't put much into it. I felt like the story went way to quickly and nothing really developed. Basically, it was insta-love. Quinn is immediately has the hots for Ella and it's same for her. There was no building in the relationship. And it was as if Joel, Ella's boyfriend, was just there for kicks; he could have been taken completely out of the story and it would have been exactly the same. 

The language used was also ridiculous. Ella's girlfriends would call her "bitch" as a nickname. No one does that! Along with terms used such as "bud[s]" and "very stiff". 

I also felt as though Quinn's emotions were just too extreme. Everything he did and felt were extreme, from happiness to sadness to depression or anger. He was too much the "good guy". But what I really disagreed with was the whole "bring out my inner caveman" and a sense of ownership over Ella. That isn't very good guy in my book. 

This book held some potential and could have been a great story, but in my opinion, Lee didn't put enough into it and ruined this story of Ella and Quinn. I couldn't follow the plot because it was all over the place and each rising action rose quickly and dropped like a roller coaster going down. The story was immediately entered and there was little to no exposition. 

I don't recommend this book to anyone unless you like cheesy stories. They by all means, go read it! 

Just wasn't my type of book!

The Dark Elements trilogy by Jennifer L. Armentrout

5/5 stars

I would like to begin by saying that I finished this trilogy with high-pitched squeals. Happy ones, I might add. I'll always have a soft spot for JLA; she's one of my most favorite authors and I have loved every single book I've read by her so far. She hasn't disappointed me yet [let's hope she keeps it that way]. But this trilogy has probably been one of my favorites by her yet! 

This trilogy really got my emotions going. That takes a lot for me nowadays in books. Aside from just everything going on in the book, I was a little hesitant to read the series just because it was gargoyles. Gargoyles! I didn't know how it would pan out; you almost never see gargoyles being the main part of what books are about. But now that I've gotten through it, I think it was an amazing choice for JLA to stray from the cliches of vampires, werewolves, faeries, and so on and write about something fairly new. Doing things like that, writing about something out of the ordinary, is basically putting your head on the chopping block for authors. 

JLA always ties her stories together in a little perfect bow in the ends. Things make sense, you aren't sitting there wondering "Why" or "How". She hands you a story that is satisfying in the end, even though she has you cursing her name throughout the entire story. 

Now, I won't spoil anything for you, but I am so glad how the romantic-aspect side of things ended up for Layla. I was so stressed out when I finished Stone Cold Touch and began Every Last Breath. Seriously. I really like romance [good romance, mind you] so I stress over the unknowns in relationships in my books, but JLA really got me and I felt like I aged five years just over what I wanted to happen. ///The next bit may end as a spoiler, so highlight the text if you want to see what it says.\\\ I wanted Layla to end up with Roth from the very beginning. Zayne was a great character, but I feel like Roth was better for Layla by a ton. Roth encouraged her and acknowledged her strengths, whereas Zayne didn't want her to go out and hurt herself and was overprotective. I feel as though Zayne never recognized Layla's abilities until the very end, but Roth knew she was strong and let her fight alongside him. I'm just not one for overprotective male-type. Protectiveness is fine, but definitely to a point, at least for a romantic-prospect. 

I believe a lot of people who have read this trilogy forgot that it isn't strictly YA+a little romance+action, it's fiction/fantasy/romance, meaning that the romance will be focused on a lot more than a general YA. There were a few people that I noticed on Goodreads that complained about the romance getting too much focus on it, especially through the last book. News flash: there's a reason for that. Remember that JLA wrote this to be a romance along with being fantasy/action.

JLA is such a talented author and I have no idea how she hasn't surpassed authors such as Stephanie Meyer and EL James in popularity and recognition. JLA creates well-rounded, strong characters, pleasing stories, and leaves you begging for more.

Read her books now!

I've finished JL Armentrout's White Hot Kiss and have moved on to book two in her The Dark Elements trilogy, Stone Cold Touch. Can I just say... Jen, can you stop hurting me so much? I can't deal with the emotions of the characters. Umm, Roth, get your act together please. Layla, kick some butt. Zayne, calm yo' booty with over-protectiveness. I am freaking out over what's happening in this series!

Vanished in the Night by Eileen Carr

3/5 stars

So I finished this book a little while ago, but got caught up in life that I've just had now to write out a review! Sorry!

Vanished in the Night is written about a cold case popping back up. A decomposed body turns up in a construction site, which turns out to the body of Veronica's brother who had gone missing years before. Although there is much more to what happened than just what happened in the past; there's murders happening around town that the police can't piece together. 

I did like this book, though I had to focus on how things were written and described. I got it off of BookOutlet under their romance section, and don't get me wrong, there is romance in it, but I wouldn't put it under romance books. Vanished in the Night focused more on the mystery/crime case aspect of the story than the romance between the two main characters, Veronica Osborne, a nurse, and police Sergeant Zach McKnight. There's little romance to it; I'd say 85% mystery, 15% romance.

The characters were well put together and didn't seem cliche to me. Zach, Veronica, and supporting characters all seemed real. Along with the fact that, even with a growing attraction, Zach and Veronica kept their heads in the game instead of unrealistically "caving to their fiery passions" in the middle of important happenings. 

By the end of the book I was satisfied. I enjoyed the ending, and just by how it ended. It made sense to me! The only reason I gave three out of five stars was that this really wasn't my type of book. Not sure how else to explain it, but I'm sure my fellow bookworms know what I mean! I do recommend reading it though if you like crime case books!

So I'm pretty sure those of you who like to check out this blog have noticed my... absence. I'd like to say sorry for that.

I just got home on Sunday from a 10-day stay at my boss's house, watching his dogs and home while he was in France with his family. Why would that keep me from reading and blogging, you may ask. Well, my boss's house is also on the land where I work. My job? I work with horses and give lessons, and at work, I generally work all day. Each day I usually didn't get off until 7:30 and by then, I was exhausted and did not have the energy to read, so the last book I read, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, took me a while to get through. I loved it though, I promise! I didn't think it required a review, though, because who doesn't love Harry Potter? 

Along with getting up at 6am for class and Saturday work day, I was exhausted every day. But I'm back to my normal schedule and have more time for reading! I finished Jessica Sorensen's book in about 2-3 days. 

So forgive me! I've just started Don't Look Back by Jennifer L Armentrout, so hopefully you all will get a new review soon! 

The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden by Jessica Sorensen

4/5 stars

I don't know why, but I'm actually surprised that I enjoyed this book. Though I know one reason is because of the abuse cases in this book aren't romanticized—just the connection that Callie and Kayden share are the hard experiences they're dealt with in their lives. As a trigger warning: there is physical abuse from a parent and rape/child rape mentioned in this book. 

About the only thing I didn't like about this book was the "I never noticed you before, but now I do" cliche; but to be fair, I generally don't like that in stories. Although, it is not overdone, which is wonderful!

I really love Kayden, he isn't made out to be absolutely perfect like so many men in books. He has problems, and again, those problems aren't romanticized. As with Callie's past. They're there for each other. They don't run away from their mental challenges anymore, they've accepted them, which is a common case for long-time sufferers of such things. Depression, anxiety, triggering. Sorensen does pretty well at hitting these parts of a bad past/present. And she doesn't make it seem like said actions make a person bad. 

There is a killer for me; grammatical errors. I'm a fast reader, so I generally don't notice too many minor grammatical errors, but there was one that the editor must have missed. The use of 'your' instead of the proper "you're". I was ready to pull my hair out, the grammar nazi that I am. Sorensen may need to find a new editor. 

All-in-all, this was a pretty good book. Not one of the best ever, but worth the read. The ending tortured me and I really can't wait to get my hands on the next one!

Jennifer L Armentrout's ELB Giveaway!!!

Check out miss JLA's giveaway celebrating the anticipated release of her book Every Last Breath.

CLICK HERE

JLA is one of my most favorite authors. The giveaway includes wonderful stuff like some signed books of her own, a couple Julie Kagawa books, a Kiera Cass book, along with some awesome swag! What makes it great? The giveaway is international! So if you're a JLA fan, I suggest you enter it!

- Christina 

Easy by Tammara Webber

5/5 stars

I absolutely loved this book. The quality of the relationship, the characters, the well-done background. WOW Webber outdid herself. Please know that there is attempted rape scenes and rape on another character, in case anyone needs a trigger warning.

What I do love so much, though, is that the concept of rape is in no way glorified [as like some books]. It's put into a real perspective, along with the fact that it not ever being the victim's fault. I also like how Webber added a self-defense class and actual moves to use. Plus, Webber put rape and abuse hotlines and websites in the back of her book. Wow, do I love her for that.

The character of Lucas made me so happy. His background and past was obviously what made him who he was, which is hard to do well for a character. There was a lot to Lucas's character and wasn't overdone or seemingly cliche. It makes me want my own Lucas.

Along with the story itself, the romance is A+. It's realistic, not seeming childish, and didn't have aspects in it that couldn't happen in real life. It gives a reader an amazing example of how a relationship should be: between two people, not one. 

To me, Jacqueline wasn't whiny. She was intelligent an a go-getter. She made her own path and made sure she was safe instead of relying on other people for safety. Of course, she was babyish after her break-up with Kennedy, but the way Webber wrote her fall-out after it, it wasn't overdone or unrealistic. She was sad, but dealt with it and got past it instead of whining through the whole book about it. Kennedy wasn't for her, so she didn't pine after him. 

All-in-all, I loved this book a lot and wouldn't mind reading another one of Webber's books. 

Take a Chance by Abbi Glines

1/5 stars

This is probably one of the few books that I'll give such a low rating. I really just couldn't get into it at all and so it took me much longer than usual and necessary to finish. It may have been that I didn't read Glines' other books with the same characters, but still, any book that's a first in a separate series should make sense.

I don't think there was enough detail to the characters, even the main ones. They were kind of just there. Harlow was probably the most detailed out of any of them. There wasn't any "glue", per se, to any of the characters. They were all like a bowl of loose crumbs.

There wasn't much of a solid plot either. Just, "Oh, I love him/her, I'm falling too hard, oops we had sex I'm in love." No build up to passion, it just appeared out of nowhere. When something new happened, it didn't seem to have anything behind it, so I was just thinking, "Oh. Okay." It didn't pull me in much at all. Seriously, the synopsis is more interesting than the story.

I won't be reading on to book two. I can already tell you what happens. Harlow has a hard time re-trusting Grant, Grant still loves her even through her health problems, they have sex and make up, and live happily ever after.

The After Series by Anna Todd

I had my ups and downs with this book, but I really loved it in the end. I didn't bother looking at the fanfiction of this on WattPad, but I heard that the grammar is bad, so either that rumor is untrue or the editor had a lot of work to do. Anyway, After is well-written and has a small place in my heart.

I'm doing a review on the series as a whole, as it seems to be a better decision than leaving my reviews of it at just the first book or bombarding you all with four reviews of an entire series.

Can I say that these are probably a guilty pleasure read of mine. There's a lot of smut and I would never recommend this series to anyone under seventeen [eighteen, more likely]. Smut aside, it is so well-written and the character development is phenomenal. Tessa of book one would not recognize Tessa of book four. Same goes for Hardin [I feel like book one Hardin with laugh his behind off at Hardin of book four]. It's difficult for a writer to create good character development; changing your initial character to fit what they go through in the story, 

In the beginning, Tessa's mind was clouded by her mother's choices for her. She was modest and young-minded. Meeting Hardin Scott was a huge steamroller to Tessa's life. Their relationship went from play to toxic just in one book. No doubt that there was an aspect of verbal/mental abuse between Hardin and Tessa. If anyone misses that, they need to wipe the dirt from their metaphorical glasses [that is, unless you do wear glasses, then I do mean your own glasses]. 

Hardin was dysfunctional to say the least. He was rude and nasty and so caught up in his own troubles that he didn't bother to stick his head out and look at the world and its people around him. Of course, it's difficult growing up with an alcoholic parent whose decisions then affected their family's lives negatively. Especially when you grow up to find out that that father became sober and well-off with a new family. 

But Hardin destroyed himself in the long run. He partied too hard, drank too much, and lied to everyone who passed by. Even the one who was most important to him, way before he knew she was that. He didn't care about anyone but himself. I think deep inside he knew it, but Hardin just didn't care anymore. 

He hurt Tessa, lied to her face and expected complete forgiveness when she found out. Now, this is a non-spoiler review, so I won't say what happened, but let me just tell you... [insert dramatic pause here where I don't continue and wag my finger at you]. But this climax to the story is one where you will either think, "She's stupid to forgiving him for that," during book two, or you'll understand why Tessa let him back into her life but didn't completely forgive him. Especially with Hardin's horrible attitude towards her.

The story just gets better with every book. It's a great book because it evokes emotion within you, whether or not you like it and whether or not it's actually a "great" book [short version of something my college English Composition II professor said that's stuck with me]. The last book broke my heart a little bit, but by the last few pages, those tears were sewn back. I love the end to After and it makes my heart swell and leaves that tiny smile on my face, you know the one that shows that you love how it ended but are so sad that it has. 

Now, before you anti-Afters get all huffy at me for enjoying a book with an aspect of verbal/mental abuse, let me clarify something. I know the pain of a verbal/mental abusive relationship. Not with a boyfriend, but with a father. I know how hard it is to love a person so wholly, no matter how nasty they can be to you. The want, the need, to keep a relationship with that person throughout the terrible things they can say and the rude way they can act, to you and anyone else. It's not easy. I think that's one big reason why I loved this series so much, because I understood that want for a better relationship, whether it be between lovers or between father and child. I loved the idea that people can change for the better so they can keep that person[s] they love to dearly.

I do understand how highly unlikely such a change in a person is. My own father still hasn't changed his ways, even after me trying my hardest to fix him. I really hope readers of this series don't get the idea that someone with such a nasty attitude and abuse problem can change so dramatically, because in all real light, it probably won't actually happen outside of fiction. But we all love to dream of possibilities. 

Honestly, I'm still not a fan of the fact that the story of After is not much more than a One Direction fanfiction, especially since I'm one, not a fan of One Direction the band, and two, I don't like the idea of fanfiction based on real people [though I'm all for fanfiction on fictional people]. But I'm so glad that I looked past that and continued the books. I did more than once consider quitting reading them for that fact alone, but I stuck through it and I'm happy about it. 

Please don't compare After to Fifty Shades, I implore you. They may both be aspects of abusive relationships, but After has so much more sexual consent [all consent, really]. The aspect of abuse in After is addressed and acknowledged, not ignored. Just had to put that out there.

All in all, I give five-stars to After and really hope more people give it a chance past the first book.

After by Anna Todd

This is such a great book. 

Despite the fact that it's a published One Direction fanfiction with names changed. But let's ignore that for now.

After is well written and engaging. Anna Todd did so well with character development and plotline. I didn't want to put this book down! I can see why it got published. Todd is living proof that young authors shouldn't be judged by their age but by their talent. It's sometimes a leap to write a long book [500+ pages!] because a writer can get carried away in the story and end up having to scavenge for plot, but Todd did so well with putting just as much story into After as needed. 

And jeez, she had to end on a cliffhanger? Of course. 

Now to the mildly controversial side of it.

There are people saying that the relationship between Hardin and Tessa is a [verbally] abusive one. I won't lie, I can definitely see where people get that from. The yelling, the insulting, the withholding of information, et cetera. I will always hold that idea to heart in these books, and I'm not saying it's okay, but since I personally have never been in or known someone in an abusive dating relationship, I continue to read the After books. The relationship on the abusive turn is not anywhere near as bad at Fifty Shades or Twilight. There is no attempting to brainwash Tessa into staying in the relationship, Hardin never hits her, and always makes sure Tessa is okay with something sexual before doing it.

Lastly, the fanfiction aspect of this. I was looking online for fanworks, maybe fanart, of After when I came across the fact that these books are literally just Anna Todd's One Direction boy band fanfiction with the names changed [for legal reasons, I'm sure]. Now, I cringed at finding this fact out; I am not a fan of the band, nor am I a fan of fanfictions that are of real people. But, I loved the book so I continued to read it because it was so well written. I'm okay with looking over this little fact. It's not like it's the first fanfiction-gone-published book series. 

All in all I really loved this book and am ready to go on to book two [I convinced my dad to purchase it, along with two other books, for me since I'm virtually broke]. 

There is a lot of mature material in this book, so I wouldn't recommend this to anyone under the age of 17, but if you are 16 1/2 and think you're ready, then go for it. 

Now, I'm off to attempt to murder a fly that has been annoying me for the past few hours.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

This is a newly published YA book but is already very popular. I've heard good and bad things about it, but mainly good. It was on my to-read list before it even released and I picked it up soon after it was. The average rating on GoodReads is currently 4.15 stars. I gave it 4.

This was very well written, but that's no surprise from someone who went to college for screenwriting. I like the idea of the story, it's original; status depending on the color of your blood. 

Silver-blood = Royal/noble, has super powers.

Red-blood = Lowly/peasant, powerless.

I really like the main protagonist, Mare Barrow. She's real in personality, and doesn't let royal status alter herself or her idea on the world. Her relationships are built, not instant. She keeps to her own ways, even when it seems impossible to do so. She's strong and finds out how to get through difficult situations.

As you may have heard, there is a twist at the end. Some people expect it, some don't. I kind of did, but more towards the end.

I really did like it, and the end makes leaves you begging for more. You really feel for the characters and want to hug them and bake them cookies.

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

This book is fantastic!

Just absolutely fantastic! The beginning was a bit slow, but once the story really picked up, I was sucked into the world of The 5th Wave. The writing is very well done and you can really see the world around you with how Yancey describes it. I really enjoyed how he created the stages of the apocalypse and how they went about. The world he writes is a rainbow of wonderful [aside from the, you know, apocalyptic death]. 

 The characters are great and are also well written; they are honestly kids trying to be strong is a dystopian world. The characters aren't snore-worthy, too-teenagery people; they honestly make sense.  

The romance isn't insta-love.  Personally, I would have liked a little more growing in Cassie and Evan's relationship before love came about, but like I said, it isn't insta-love like a lot of YA books, so I won't complain. 

Definitely a worthwhile read if you like aliens and dystopian apocalypses. There just aren't enough alien books in the world. I just cannot wait to read what happens next. 

Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

I passed this book on the shelves of bookstores multiple times and was very hesitant in buying and reading it. I read the synopsis a few times and put it back because it sounded so cliche to me.

Boy, was I wrong.

This book, along with the following books in the series, is my favorite of all time. Maas does an excellent job of writing and creating a story-line and characters. If you are looking to avoid a Mary Sue type protagonist, you don't have to look any more; Throne of Glass's female protagonist is anything but a Mary Sue, which I think is so hard to find in books nowadays. Each character has a different personality that isn't too perfect or too imperfect and everyone fits into the story in some way or another; there are no characters that just sit there and make you wonder why they're there. The story in this book is well thought out and isn't too slow or fast, as some books are; it keeps you wanting more, and finishing it is just torturous. 

This book, as well as its following books, are quite accepting and has proper equality while addressing the obvious problems [such as sexism] that occur in every day life.

Celaena herself is a strong female character, but not disbelievingly strong; she has her faults and weaknesses and accepts them while embracing them. She basically spits in misogyny's face.

I rarely ever give a book a full 5 stars, at most I usually give 4, 3 stars being my usual rating, just because I am so picky about the books I read, so it's hard to impress me. Throne of Glass has just blown me away and I have no idea how Maas managed it, but she did. She's a genius in writing! Young or old, I highly recommend this book [though, maybe not to little kids, ha ha]. You will not be disappointed, and if you are, you may want to go to a book doctor. ;)

Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel

It took me a little bit to finish this book and I probably didn't internalize a lot of the content because of the way it was written. My rating skipped around, but I've finally settled on 2 1/2 stars.

Now let me start off by saying that I did enjoy this book. It was a much more original aspect to vampires and showed the pain behind being a vampire for so long. Maizel did a good job with creating this story, but I really think she could have and should have done much more with it. The story felt just a little bit rushed. The climax of the story didn't last very long at all. There was little action to the book. The main character, Lenah, was the most detailed, albeit she is the main character. I felt like her person was way more detailed than the rest of the characters. Of course, you want to put focus on the main character, but I felt like Maizel could and should have put a lot more into the rest of the characters. 

Now let's move on to the romance aspect of the book.

I couldn't get into the romance whatsoever. It seemed rushed to me, too much like insta-love and not enough building to a relationship. I didn't feel like Lenah and Justin grew to each other, more of, "Oh, you're pretty, I love you. I barely know you, but I know I love you." I couldn't grow on the pair just because there wasn't enough between them at all. I honestly saw more potential of a romance between Lenah and Troy because there was more growing of a relationship with them. Troy had much more character to him. Sorry, but Justin was still more high-schoolish. [Yeah, the book is set in a high school, but come on].

But, all in all, Maizel did a decent job of writing this book. I like the aspect of it and the originality-ness to her vampires. Holy water and crosses don't work because "...vampires were before Christ." That actually makes a lot of sense.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

So this is basically your classic love it or hate it kind of book.

There are so many reviewers raving on about how this is a rape/abuse book and are comparing it to Fifty Shades. Oh god, please do not listen to those reviews. I will not lie, there is attempted/rape, but it is absolutely nothing like the hating reviews say. Plus, what do you expect? No rape in the 1700's? Honestly, it was probably worse than the 2000's. Now there is one scene that irritates me a bit between Jamie and Claire, but that's about it and won't make me hate the book. Plus, the rape scenes are more attempted than anything else. All "rape scenes" are only attempted.

Along with that, yes, Claire is a married woman who falls for another man. Does that make her horrible? No. Do you know how common that is? Why is someone supposed to forever be in love with one single person?

Outlander is nothing like Fifty Shades. NOTHING. Just don't compare them. Jamie will forever treat Claire much better than Christian Grey would ever treat Ana. 

What's wrong with a man reminiscing about his past? Can he not have feelings? And how dare he [minor spoiler here] how dare he be a 23 year old male virgin? Wow. He should have gone out as soon as he hit 16 and did the first girl he found just so he wouldn't be a male virgin. [I really hope people realize that as sarcasm]. 

Honestly, the book is wonderful in my opinion. Gabaldon does so well with the historical aspect of the story and her characters are wonderfully set up. I find it interesting and love reading Outlander.

Please, I beg you, if you want to read Outlander, don't let the reviews sway your opinion of it before you read. Let yourself choose whether you like it or not. :)