Review: Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins

Title: Spell Bound
Author: Rachel Hawkins

Series: Hex Hall #3
Publisher: Hyperion
Release Date: March 13, 2012
Pages: 327 pages
Age: YA
Amazon Goodreads

                   Synopsis:

Just as Sophie Mercer has come to accept her extraordinary magical powers as a demon, the Prodigium Council strips them away. Now Sophie is defenseless, alone, and at the mercy of her sworn enemies- the Brannicks, a family of warrior women who hunt down the Prodigium. Or at least that's what Sophie thinks, until she makes a surprising discovery. The brannicks know an epic war is coming, and they believe Sophie is the only one powerful enough to stop the world from ending. But without her magic, Sophie isn't as confident.

Sophie's bound for one hell of a ride -- can she get her powers back before it's too late?

Review: Tiger's Quest By Colleen Houck

Title: Tiger's Quest
Author: Colleen Houck

Series: The Tiger Saga #2
Publisher: Sterling Publishing
Release Date: June 7, 2011
Pages:  479 pages - Hardback
Age: YA
Website Amazon Goodreads

                   Synopsis:

Back in Oregon, Kelsey tries to pick up the pieces of her life and push aside her feelings for Ren. But danger lurks around the corner, forcing her to return to India where she embarks on a second quest-- this time with Ren's dark, bad-boy brother Kishan, who has also fallen prey to the Tiger's Curse.

Review: Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Title: Uglies
Author: Scott Westerfled

Series: Uglies #1
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: May 3, 2011
Pages:  406 pages
Age: YA
Website Amazon Goodreads

                   Synopsis:

Tally Youngblood is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait for the operation that turns everyone from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to party. But new friend Shay would rather hoverboard to "the smoke" and be free. Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world and it isn't very pretty. The "Special Circumstances" authority Dr. Cable offers Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever.

My Thoughts:
I really liked Uglies. I think it had a great message to it. Looking just like everyone else is not all it's cracked up to be. Appreciate who you are & the looks you do have.
I liked seeing Tally's personal journey from being this girl ready & willing to follow in the societal footsteps of everyone else to being a teen who sees there's another way to live. Her best friend Shay leaves her and she becomes okay with that... until she's told she can no longer have the life she wants unless she makes the hard decision to track & give up her best friend. You see her journey to find Shay and her inner struggle with the right & wrong of becoming a Pretty. Seeing her change and choose how she wants to live her life is amazing, but of course things don't go the way she planned.
 Shay's character was fun also. Everyone wants a best friend who's fun and willing to take a few risks. But when Tally met Shay, she had no idea that she would change her whole life. Shay is the one who always wants to rebel against society & Tally doesn't want to push the boundaries. They are both easy characters to connect to emotionally & the story really pulls you in. I'm excited to continue Tally's story and see what happens next.

Recommend:
I highly recommend Uglies to everyone. It's a great dystopian that really makes you think about our world and the importance we place on looks.

Other Reviews:

The Cheap Reader
The Busy Bibliophile
Brave New Shelf

Review: Cinder By Marissa Meyer

Title: Cinder
Author: Marissa Meyer

Series: Lunar Chronicles #1
Publisher: Feiwel & Freinds
Release Date: January 3, 2012
Pages:  387 pages
Age: YA
Website Amazon Goodreads

                   Synopsis:

Humans & androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space,a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth's fate hinges on one girl.

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg.She's a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother & blamed for her stepsister's illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome prince Kai's, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, & a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty & freedom, loyalty & betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world's future.

My Thoughts:
Cinder was amazing! Not your typical fairy tale retell. I like that Meyer took the basics of the story we know and completely gave them a fresh new take. Cinder is still a stepchild with two stepsisters & a dead stepfather and her only friend is not a human (or cyborg in her case). I also like the fact that this was a science fiction book. Having Cinder be a cyborg made it more interesting. It was fun to imagine the situations where she should have been blushing but couldn't, or should have been crying but couldn't. It made you feel for her more. Besides Cinder, my favorite character was Iko. Her personality was amazing even though she was just an android. She made me want an android of my own just like her. The setting of this book was very cool. Instead of being in some small, overcrowded town in the middle of nowhere, the story takes place in New Beijing. It's easy to picture what that place looks like in the story.
I loved reading about Cinder's journey of self discovery. She always knew that she was a cyborg, a mix of human & machine. But it was interesting to watch her find out about where she actually came from and who her family is. Especially since half her adopted family wants nothing to do with her. She learns of her importance and how she can help with the plague that is killing off tons of humans on the Earth while struggling with her feelings for the prince, who has come to have feelings for her as well.
I'm very glad that Meyer kept to the original story and only had one love interest. Nowadays every ya book has a love triangle & it's getting to be a tad annoying. It's refreshing to read a book where two people are focused on just each other.

I can't wait for the second book in the series, Scarlet. This one will be a somewhat retelling of little red riding hood that also continues the story of Cinder. I know it's going to be just as amazing!

Recommend:
I highly recommend this book to anybody. It was a fun read and kept my interest the whole time. You could really connect to Cinder's character.

Other Reviews:
The Sweet Bookshelf
My Books. My Life.
The Englishist