Book Review: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
Author:  Becky Albertalli
Publisher:  Balzer + Bray, 320 pages
Publication Date:  April 7, 2015

From Goodreads:
Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

Review:
Utterly charming and adorable!  I loved the e-mails.  Simon and Blue…so cute.  

I loved Simon's friends and his family. 

And Simon: genuine, funny, smart, and articulate.  

This book was a sheer pleasure to read from beginning to end, it had me smiling almost the whole time.  The best kind of light and fluffy…READ IT!

Posted by:  Pam

Book Review: In a World Just Right by Jen Brooks

In a World Just Right
Author:  Jen Brooks
Publisher:  Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 432 pages
Expected Publication Date:  April 28, 2015
*ARC provided by author

From Goodreads:
Sometimes Jonathan Aubrey wishes he could just disappear. And as luck—or fate—would have it, he can. Ever since coming out of a coma as a kid, he has been able to create alternate worlds. Worlds where he is a superhero, or a ladies’ man, or simply a better version of himself. That’s the world he’s been escaping to most since sophomore year, a world where he has everything he doesn’t have in real life: friends, a place of honor on the track team, passing grades, and most importantly, Kylie Simms as his girlfriend.

But when Jonathan confuses his worlds senior year and tries to kiss the real Kylie Simms, everything unravels. The real Kylie actually notices Jonathan…and begins obsessing over him. The fantasy version of Kylie struggles to love Jonathan as she was created to do, and the consequences are disastrous. As his worlds collide, Jonathan must confront the truth of his power and figure out where he actually belongs—before he loses both Kylies forever.

Review:

A creative and imaginative take on parallel worlds, with Jonathan being a world-maker.  In the real world, Jonathan is lonely.  His mom, dad, and sister died in a plane crash when he was 8, which he survived.  He's never been the same after that. He has no friends.  He lives with his uncle, who he never sees (that was weird, although we get an explanation at the end).  To escape, he's created two different worlds, one where he has a girlfriend, Kylie, and another, where the entire world (I think?) is a dance club.  He created that one when he was 13 and doesn't go there very often (That world was pretty pointless, I have to say).  

Although Jonathan created Kylie-Simms-Is-My-Girlfriend world where the main parameter is that Kylie loves him, the rest of the world is basically the same as the real world, although he has a few friends and is on the track team (and doesn't get in trouble for missing school).  Is this a parallel world?  Is it "real"?  Are the people "real"?  Is this all in his imagination?  The book basically starts with Jonathan mixing up the two worlds, and suddenly neither Kylie is acting like they should.

I enjoyed this book, it was twisty and surprising and it kept me guessing the whole time.  And that reveal toward the end…whoa.  I did feel bad for Jonathan, but part of me also was a little creeped out by him.  Creating a fantasy version of a girl to love him?  There's a certain ick factor.  I also had tons of questions throughout the book, things that bugged me while I was reading, but most of them were answered by the end.  In a World Just Right is definitely worth a read.  

Posted by:  Pam

Stacking the Shelves (92)

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!  It is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

Bought:

99 Days by Katie Cotugno.  Already read.  Here's my review.
Things We Know by Heart by Jessi Kirby.  Already read.  Here's my review.

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli.  Already read.  Loved it. Review to come.

From NetGalley:
Crow's Rest by Angelica R. Jackson

What books did you add to your shelves this week?

Posted by:  Pam

Book Review: 99 Days by Katie Cotugno

99 Days
Author:  Katie Cotugno
Publisher:  Balzer + Bray, 384 pages
Publication Date:  April 21, 2015

From Goodreads:
Day 1: Julia Donnelly eggs my house my first night back in Star Lake, and that’s how I know everyone still remembers everything—how I destroyed my relationship with Patrick the night everything happened with his brother, Gabe. How I wrecked their whole family. Now I’m serving out my summer like a jail sentence: Just ninety-nine days till I can leave for college, and be done.

Day 4: A nasty note on my windshield makes it clear Julia isn’t finished. I’m expecting a fight when someone taps me on the shoulder, but it’s just Gabe, home from college and actually happy to see me. “For what it’s worth, Molly Barlow,” he says, “I’m really glad you’re back.”

Day 12: Gabe got me to come to this party, and I’m actually having fun. I think he’s about to kiss me—and that’s when I see Patrick. My Patrick, who’s supposed to be clear across the country. My Patrick, who’s never going to forgive me.

Review:
Flawed characters, messy and complicated relationships between friends, brothers, mothers/daughters, and boyfriends/girlfriends.  Yes, Molly makes mistakes (over and over again), but I still felt for her even when I wanted to scream at her to stop. I'm not usually a fan of love triangles and the whole plot revolves around this one, which makes it pretty surprising that I liked this book so much (although maybe it was the fact that it wasn't a gratuitous love triangle thrown in for the drama).  It was understandable how she was drawn to both guys, Gabe because he's so easy to be with, things feel good and right when she's with him, but then there's Patrick, who was her other half for so long and she can't get over the way things ended between them.  Addicting, soap opera drama, I have to say.  I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.

Although I really liked this book, I can understand some of the negative reviews I've read because it's just so REALISTIC.  But it makes you feel, and think.  I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending (there's a certain someone who admits something to Molly that just made me cringe and I ended up almost hating one of the brothers), but again, it's realistic.

Posted by:  Pam

Book Review: Things We Know By Heart by Jessi Kirby

Things We Know By Heart
Author:  Jessi Kirby
Publisher:  HarperTeen, 304 pages
Publication Date:  April 21, 2015

From Goodreads:
When Quinn Sullivan meets the recipient of her boyfriend’s donated heart, the two form an unexpected connection.

After Quinn loses her boyfriend, Trent, in an accident their junior year, she reaches out to the recipients of his donated organs in hopes of picking up the pieces of her now-unrecognizable life. She hears back from some of them, but the person who received Trent’s heart has remained silent. The essence of a person, she has always believed, is in the heart. If she finds Trent’s, then maybe she can have peace once and for all.

Risking everything in order to finally lay her memories to rest, Quinn goes outside the system to track down nineteen-year-old Colton Thomas—a guy whose life has been forever changed by this priceless gift. But what starts as an accidental run-in quickly develops into more, sparking an undeniable attraction. She doesn't want to give in to it—especially since he has no idea how they're connected—but their time together has made Quinn feel alive again. No matter how hard she’s falling for Colton, each beat of his heart reminds her of all she’s lost…and all that remains at stake.

Review:
I fell in love with this book.  I fell in love with Quinn and Colton.  They were so sweet together!  It's filled with such sadness, and such happiness.  I felt bad for Quinn, who goes looking for the recipient of her boyfriend's heart on the 400th day after he died.  Quinn, who counts every day that Trent is gone, who has faded from life, an eighteen year old "widow."  

Instead of just seeing Colton, they accidentally meet, and begin a relationship that you can't help yourself rooting for but at the same time knowing that Quinn has created an impossible situation and wondering whether it will all work out (and when will he find out the truth???)  I loved the California beach setting, and the fact that family was so important for both Quinn and Colton.  

Read this book!  It will make you cry, both for sad reasons and for happy ones.  It's a beautifully written story about love, grief, guilt, letting go, and moving forward.

Posted by:  Pam

Book Review: The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson

The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive #1)
Author:  Brandon Sanderson
Publisher:  Tor Books, 1007 pages
Publication Date:  August 31, 2010

From Goodreads:
Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soiless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter.

It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them, and won by them.

One such war rages on a ruined landscape called the Shattered Plains. There, Kaladin, who traded his medical apprenticeship for a spear to protect his little brother, has been reduced to slavery. In a war that makes no sense, where ten armies fight separately against a single foe, he struggles to save his men and to fathom the leaders who consider them expendable.

Brightlord Dalinar Kholin commands one of those other armies. Like his brother, the late king, he is fascinated by an ancient text called The Way of Kings. Troubled by over-powering visions of ancient times and the Knights Radiant, he has begun to doubt his own sanity.

Across the ocean, an untried young woman named Shallan seeks to train under an eminent scholar and notorious heretic, Dalinar’s niece, Jasnah. Though she genuinely loves learning, Shallan’s motives are less than pure. As she plans a daring theft, her research for Jasnah hints at secrets of the Knights Radiant and the true cause of the war.

Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive #2)

Author:  Brandon Sanderson

Publisher:  Tor Books, 1087 pages

Publication Date:  March 4, 2014

From Goodreads:

Six years ago, the Assassin in White, a hireling of the inscrutable Parshendi, assassinated the Alethi king on the very night a treaty between men and Parshendi was being celebrated. So began the Vengeance Pact among the highprinces of Alethkar and the War of Reckoning against the Parshendi.

Now the Assassin is active again, murdering rulers all over the world of Roshar, using his baffling powers to thwart every bodyguard and elude all pursuers. Among his prime targets is Highprince Dalinar, widely considered the power behind the Alethi throne. His leading role in the war would seem reason enough, but the Assassin's master has much deeper motives.

Expected by his enemies to die the miserable death of a military slave, Kaladin survived to be given command of the royal bodyguards, a controversial first for a low-status "darkeyes." Now he must protect the king and Dalinar from every common peril as well as the distinctly uncommon threat of the Assassin, all while secretly struggling to master remarkable new powers that are somehow linked to his honorspren, Syl.

Brilliant but troubled Shallan strives along a parallel path. Despite being broken in ways she refuses to acknowledge, she bears a terrible burden: to somehow prevent the return of the legendary Voidbringers and the civilization-ending Desolation that will follow. The secrets she needs can be found at the Shattered Plains, but just arriving there proves more difficult than she could have imagined.

Meanwhile, at the heart of the Shattered Plains, the Parshendi are making an epochal decision. Hard pressed by years of Alethi attacks, their numbers ever shrinking, they are convinced by their war leader, Eshonai, to risk everything on a desperate gamble with the very supernatural forces they once fled. The possible consequences for Parshendi and humans alike, indeed, for Roshar itself, are as dangerous as they are incalculable.

Review:

Words cannot adequately express how much I loved these two books.  I'm just in awe.  Phenomenal world-building with creative and unique mythology.  Then on top of that, you have an AMAZING cast of characters.  I'm emotionally invested.

Kaladin…my absolute favorite.  Shallan…she's not in the first book that much, but in the second book, her role becomes clear and I now love her.  Dalinar, Jasnah, Adolin.  I could keep going on and on about them.  How real they are, how flawed they are, but how strong they are.  They make mistakes, but they learn and grow and they never stop trying to do what's right.  There's such a depth to all of the characters, even the villains.  

To be honest, it took me awhile to get into the first book.  About 400 pages.  But then I was hooked.  And even though each book is over 1000 pages, I didn't want them to end.  How did I fall in love with a 10 book series where only the first two books are out????

Posted by:  Pam

Stacking the Shelves (91)

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!  It is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

Bought:

Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

Play On by Michelle Smith

The Wondrous and the Wicked by Page Morgan

 

From NetGalley:
Hello, I Love You by Katie M. Stout

What books did you add to your shelves this week? 

Posted by:  Pam

Book Review: Twist by Karen Akins

Twist (Loop #2)
Author:  Karen Akins
Publisher:  St. Martin's Griffin, 336 pages
Publication Date:  April 7, 2015

From Goodreads:
Bree Bennis finally has it all—a non-comatose mother, an uber-hot (albeit anachronistic) boyfriend named Finn, and a new-found mission to protect the timeline from those who would skew it for their own gain. But when she leans over one day to smooch said boyfriend, her lips meet those of her arch-nemesis Wyck instead. The timeline has been altered, and Bree is caught in the crosshairs. But when she goes back to repair the damage, she is stopped by none other than her Future Self, who delivers an urgent message: Someone is kidnapping Shifters from the distant past. It’s up to Bree to stop them. But first, she has to figure out who... and why.

To follow the trail of chronocrumbs, Bree reluctantly accepts her new undercover gig as Wyck’s girlfriend. Everything goes spiffy until Finn shows up in the 23rd century on the eager arm of a gorgeous fellow Shifter, Blark. Even as Bree struggles with jealousy, she battles the nagging dread that Finn might be better off with someone less chronologically complicated. Her worst fear is confirmed when Finn becomes the kidnapper’s next victim. As Bree zeroes in on the culprit, they unravel her life one timeline-change at a time. She realizes that she alone has the power to save herself and everyone she loves. But to do that, she may lose Finn forever.

Review:
I loved Loop, the first book in this duology (see my review here) so I was really excited to read Twist.  While I liked it, I didn't love it, but that may just have been because my expectations were too high.  It seemed to be missing the magic from the first book, if that makes sense.  Honestly, I didn't get enough Finn.

One of my favorite things about Loop was the relationship between Bree and Finn, their banter, and the fact that he knew the future her (and was in love with her) but she didn't know him at all.  But Finn is not in this book as much.  In fact, Bree is on her own a lot, struggling to fix all of the changes in the timeline.  And there's a misunderstanding between Bree and Finn that made me crazy.  It doesn't last too long, but it seemed unnecessary.  I wanted them to work together, and for the most part, that didn't happen.

The stakes are much higher in this book and that leads to a more serious book.  There were a couple of time travel plot questions that I had and I'm still trying to decide if I liked the ending or not.  In some ways I do and it sort of had to happen that way, but part of me is sad.  I can't say anymore without spoiling it so I will leave it at that.

Fast-paced and full of action, I did enjoy it, but there was a lot of frustration and angst while reading it.  

Posted by:  Pam

Book Pushing (2)

                    This is a feature where we will be pushing books or authors on you.

Jessica Shirvington is one of my favorite authors.  I've read every book she's written.  First, I read the Embrace series and absolutely fell in love with it.  The whole series is out so you can binge read it.  It's amazing.  Interesting angel mythology, a fantastic heroine, a great love interest (Lincoln!), and well-fleshed out secondary characters (think the Buffy Scooby gang).  There's action, adventure, drama, romance, betrayal, redemption, and a lot of snark.  I can't recommend this series enough.  Now, to be honest, there is a love triangle, but it's integral to the plot of the series.  One of the few.  So even if you hate love triangles, I'm still recommending this book.  Just trust me on it.  Jessica Shirvington writes in such a way that you care about the characters.  I don't cry in books, but in one of the books, I cried for the last 10 chapters.  

Since I fell in love with that series, I had to read Between the Lives (One Past Midnight) when it came out.  It wasn't out in the US, but I was so obsessed with this author that I purchased the audiobook (which for some strange reason you could get in the US even though the book wasn't out yet).  And I'm not a big audiobook fan.  But I couldn't wait.  And again, fell in love with this book about a girl who lives in two different worlds.  

Finally, I read the Disruption series.  Loved this duology!  Quin!!!!  Best. Book. Boyfriend. Ever.  I'm telling you, Jessica Shirvington is a genius.  You can't go wrong with any of her books.  

                                                   
                                    Have you read any of her books?? 
                         
                         Posted by:  Pam

Stacking the Shelves (90)

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!  It is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

Bought:
Twist by Karen Akins

Spark by Rachael Craw

From the Library:

A Wicked Thing by Riannon Thomas

Under a Painted Sky by Stacy Lee

The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson

From Edelweiss:
The Edge of Forever by Melissa E. Hurst

What books did you add to your shelves this week?

Discussion Question: Why Love Triangles?

Why do authors include love triangles?  So many people are anti-love triangle and even if they aren't, it's not like they like them, they just may not mind them.  So what's the point?  Is it just to create issues for the new happy couple?  It does seem like love triangles are more likely in the second book of a trilogy.  You have the first book and at the end, the guy and girl realize they love each other.  Finally!

Then in the second book, their relationship is new, they're going through things, and then the lack of trust and confidence in the new fragile relationship happens, or the guy is keeping a secret from the girl, or he feels like he has to handle things on his own (alpha male stuff) and they grow apart.  Basically, instead of growing together and working as a team, misunderstandings, etc. keep them from truly being happy and then just to make things worse, along comes the OTHER GUY.  Just to screw things up even more. 

Now sometimes the other guy is introduced in the first book.  Obviously there are variations.  But why?  Why do so many authors turn to love triangles to create the drama?  Is it just laziness?  Do they take a class that tells them they should include one?  Is it the dream of every teenager to have two hot guys fighting over them?  (Uh…yeah, probably).

Are there any books that have love triangles where you actually thought the love triangle was important?  Integral to the plot?  There are actually a few that I can think of, to be honest.  One in particular where the love triangle is very important plot-wise (not just creating drama between the couple) and if certain events hadn't happened, it would have changed the series forever.  

So what do you think?  Why do authors include love triangles?  Do you hate them?  Like them?  Don't mind them?  

Posted by:  Pam

Waiting on Wednesday: The Wondrous and the Wicked by Page Morgan

   Waiting on Wednesday features upcoming releases and is hosted by 

Breaking the Spine.  

We pick books that we've been waiting for that are coming out next week.

The Wondrous and the Wicked (The Dispossessed #3)

Author:  Page Morgan

Publisher:  Delacorte Press, 352 pages

Expected Publication Date:  April 14, 2015

From Goodreads:

Since the Waverlys arrived in Paris, the streets have grown more fearsome by the day. As Ingrid learns to master her lectrux gift, she must watch Axia's power grow strong enough to extend beyond her Underneath hive. By all indications, the fallen angel's Harvest is near-and the timing couldn't be worse.

Targeted by vengeful gargoyles, Gabby has been exiled to London for her own protection. Meanwhile, the gargoyle castes are in disarray, divided between those who want Luc to lead them and those who resent him and his fondness for humans. The Alliance is crumbling from the inside as well, its members turning against one another, and possibly against the Waverlys, too.

Axia has promised that the world will burn. And now, unable to trust the Alliance, separated from Luc, Gabby, and her twin, Grayson, Ingrid is left to face the demon uprising alone.

This is a fantastic series (I mean, come on, it's about gargoyles) and I can't wait to find out how it all ends!

Posted by:  Pam

Book Review: The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord

The Start of Me and You
Author:  Emery Lord
Publisher:  Bloomsbury, 384 pages
Publication Date:  March 31, 2015

From Goodreads:
It’s been a year since it happened—when Paige Hancock’s first boyfriend died in an accident. After shutting out the world for two years, Paige is finally ready for a second chance at high school . . . and she has a plan. First: Get her old crush, Ryan Chase, to date her—the perfect way to convince everyone she’s back to normal. Next: Join a club—simple, it’s high school after all. But when Ryan’s sweet, nerdy cousin, Max, moves to town and recruits Paige for the Quiz Bowl team (of all things!) her perfect plan is thrown for a serious loop. Will Paige be able to face her fears and finally open herself up to the life she was meant to live?

Review:

The Start of Me and You is a well-written and enjoyable coming of age novel.

What I liked:

1.  Paige is not your typical YA main character.  She's a non confrontational introvert (a Jane Bennett instead of an Elizabeth).  

2.  I loved Max, the nerdy guy whose in the robotics club, captain of the Quiz Bowl team, and spends many a Friday night at the bookstore, reading.  We need more guys like Max! (They shouldn't all be the obnoxious Alpha males).

3.  Friendship.  No mean girls here.  A group of four girls who support each other and are truly best friends.

4.  Family.  Parents and even a grandmother play an important role in Paige's life.

My only complaint is that it ended too soon.  I wanted MORE and the last paragraph really makes me curious about the future of Paige and Max.  Maybe Emery Lord is planning on writing a companion novel (about Tessa perhaps)?  Let's hope so!

Posted by:  Pam

Stacking the Shelves (89)

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!  It is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

Bought:
Etherworld by Claudia Gabel and Cheryl Klam

Fall With Me by J. Lynn

The Closer You Come by Gena Showalter
The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord

Mind Games by Teri Terry

Those Above by Daniel Polansky

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

 

What books did you add to your shelves this week?

Book Review: The Shattered Court by M.J. Scott

The Shattered Court (A Novel of the Four Arts #1)
Author:  M.J. Scott
Publisher:  Roc, 336 pages
Expected Publication Date:  April 28, 2015
*ARC received from publisher via NetGalley

From Goodreads:
The royal witches of Anglion have bowed to tradition for centuries. If a woman of royal blood manifests powers, she is immediately bound by rites of marriage. She will serve her lord by practicing the tamer magics of the earth—ensuring good harvests and predicting the weather. Any magic more dangerous is forbidden.

Lady Sophia Kendall, thirty-second in line to the throne, is only days away from finding out if she will be blessed—or perhaps cursed—with magic. When a vicious attack by Anglion’s ancient enemies leaves the kingdom in chaos, Sophia is forced to flee the court. Her protector by happenstance is Lieutenant Cameron Mackenzie, a member of the royal guard, raised all his life to be fiercely loyal to the Crown.

Then Sophia’s powers manifest stronger than she ever imagined they would, and Cameron and she are inextricably linked in the process. As a witch unbound by marriage rites, Sophia is not only a threat to the established order of her country, but is also a weapon for those who seek to destroy it. Faced with old secrets and new truths, she must decide if she will fight for her country or succumb to the delicious temptation of power.…

Review:
The Shattered Court is a fantastic first book in a new fantasy series.  I enjoyed learning about the world, where women practice earth magic and men practice battle magic (blood magic and illusions).  Where women bind their magic to the goddess and to their husbands, leaving them with hardly any power.  Where the enemy country lets their witches be free and they also practice a forbidden magic, air magic, in which they use demons somehow.  It's fascinating.  For example, with blood magic, men use it to fight, but they feel a lot of the pain that they inflict.

Sophie is a lady in waiting to the princess.  She's about to turn twenty-one and that's the age when you find out if you have magic or you don't.  There are certain rituals that have to happen if magic manifests, although Sophie doesn't really know what they mean.  But those rituals don't happen because the castle is attacked and Sophie and Cameron (a lieutenant with the royal guard) escape through a portal and are on the run when she turns twenty-one.  Then they do something that changes everything and puts Sophie in danger.  

I liked Sophie and Cameron together.  They're drawn to one another, and, although they don't know each other very well, they like each other, they talk, they're honest with each other, and they don't play games.  That was refreshing.  Their relationship is complicated by the fact that he was the princess's lover (by the way, this is an adult fantasy novel, with language and explicit sex scenes), so it's not all smooth sailing, but it appears that the author is setting them up to be a good team. 

Filled with magic, royal intrigue, and romance, I loved this one.  Definitely recommend!

Posted by:  Pam

Book Review: The Eternity Key (Into the Dark #2) by Bree Despain

The Eternity Key (Into the Dark #2)
Author:  Bree Despain
Publisher:  Egmont USA
Expected Publication Date:  April 28, 2015
*ARC received from publisher via NetGalley

From Goodreads:
Haden Lord, the disgraced Prince of the Underrealm, has chosen love over honor and will do everything in his power to protect Daphne Raines, the human girl he was supposed to bring to the Underrealm. Haden’s choice is put to the test as the Skylords and a figure from his past arrive in Olympus Hills with a plan that could destroy all of the realms.

Embracing her destiny as the Cypher, Daphne begins to understand the immense power of her musical ability to control the elements, but she must come to terms with her feelings for Haden and what she must sacrifice in order to protect him and her friends.

Believing the Key of Hades is the only thing that can stop the Underrealm Court from releasing the monstrous Keres on the mortal world, Haden, Daphne, and their friends set out to find the Key before Persephone’s Gate opens again on the spring equinox.

Review:
Although the book starts off a bit slow, the last half really picked up and was so intense I couldn't put it down.  Amazing!  

Daphne is still an incredible heroine.  It's refreshing that she's not a damsel-in-distress and that, although she's starting to have feelings for Haden, she puts that aside and makes saving the world a priority.  So instead of having the girl pining over the guy, you actually have Haden pining over her.  

Love the Greek mythology and the secondary characters.  There are also new villains.  Or possible allies?  

And then the ending.  The twists and turns.  The jaw dropping revelations and betrayals.  I don't know if my heart can take it, I feel like it was ripped out and stomped on.  So many people are in danger at the end of the book.  I need the next book NOW!

Posted by:  Pam