Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

Genre: fantasy
Series and Book #: unknown
Pages: 342
Synopsis:

Their love was meant to be.

When Megan Rosenberg moves to Ireland, everything in her life seems to fall into place. After growing up in America, she’s surprised to find herself feeling at home in her new school. She connects with a group of friends, and she is instantly drawn to darkly handsome Adam DeRís.

But Megan is about to discover that her feelings for Adam are tied to a fate that was sealed long ago—and that the passion and power that brought them together could be their ultimate destruction.

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Great Irish connections. Throughout the entire novel, Fallon connected Megan and Adam's powers with traditional mythology. Also, the places Megan went (example: Trinity College in Dublin) Fallon explained really well and made me even more excited if I one day go to Ireland.

I have a problem with something. If you look in the summary, you'll see the opening line is "Their love was meant to be." LIAR! Forbidden love is a main theme in this novel. Megan and Adam's elements do not mix and if they were to get married and have children, the world would implode and the universe would be destroyed, life as we know it would end etc. etc. You know, the usual.

Megan and Adam were a sweet couple, and I think Fallon made them very realistic, but...they just jumped into the "I think we're meant to be" thing. But once that's settled, Adam and she become a lovable couple that you will root for. They have their fights and their worries, and I really liked them together. They balanced each other nicely.

Overall, I loved the back-myths that Fallon included, and I loved the characters she included in Megan's life. Caitlin (Megan's first friend at her new school) reminded me a bit of myself, always going after something, always worried about someone, and always bubbly and enthusiastic. The DeRís's were a wonderful family whom Fallon put together nicely. Their connection to Megan was supurbly plotted, and everything had a purpose. Not one thing was unnecessary to the story, and I love when that happens!

The Cover: Gorgeous. Just...wow. Her dress, her hair, the font...beautiful. 

Releases: Tris & Izzie, Death Cure, and Frost

Tris & Izzie by Mette Ivie Harrison
Publisher: EgmontUSA

“I don’t want him to love me because of a potion,” she said. 
 
Izzie loves Mark, and why shouldn’t she? As the captain of the basketball team, he is kind and loving and he’s everything she’s ever wanted in a boyfriend. Her BFF loves . . . somebody, but she won’t say who. So when a hot new guy, Tristan, shows up at school, who better for Izzie to fix up her friend with? And what better way to do it than with a love philtre? 

But even the best of magic has a way of going awry—and Izzie finds she’s accidentally fallen in love with Tristan herself. And that’s a problem. First of all, there’s Mark. Second, Tristan comes with baggage—like the supernatural creatures that keep attacking whenever he’s with Izzie, and the fact that he comes from the place where Izzie’s father was killed, years ago, by an enormous, evil serpent that’s still around—and it knows Izzie is out there.

The Death Cure (Maze Runner #3) by James Dashner
Publisher: Random House Children's Books

Thomas knows that Wicked can't be trusted, but they say the time for lies is over, that they've collected all they can from the Trials and now must rely on the Gladers, with full memories restored, to help them with their ultimate mission. It's up to the Gladers to complete the blueprint for the cure to the Flare with a final voluntary test. What Wicked doesn't know is that something's happened that no Trial or Variable could have foreseen. Thomas has remembered far more than they think. And he knows that he can't believe a word of what Wicked says.

The time for lies is over. But the truth is more dangerous than Thomas could ever imagine.
Will anyone survive the Death Cure?



Frost (Stork #2) by Wendy Delsol
Publisher: Candlewick Press


Katla Leblanc has to employ her grit, spirit, and special gifts to rescue the boy she loves. After the drama of finding out that she's a Stork, a member of an ancient and mystical order of women, and that her boyfriend, Jack, is a descendent of the Winter People able to control the weather, Katla Leblanc is delighted when all signs point to a busy and peaceful Christmas. That is, until the snowstorm Jack summons as a gift to Katla turns into the storm of the century, attracting Brigid, a gorgeous scientist who, in turn, attracts Jack. Between the school play, a bedridden, pregnant mother's to-do lists, and keeping an eye on her aging grandfather, Katla doesn't have time to question Brigid's motives or deal with Jack's increasingly cold behavior. But Katla's suspicions mount when Jack joins Brigid on a research expedition to Greenland, and when the two of them go missing, it becomes clear that Katla is the only one who can save her beloved Jack from the Snow Queen who holds him prisoner. Adventure, romance, and myth combine in this winter escapade for teens who like a bit of fire with their ice.

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

Genre: social issues
Series and Book #: none
Pages: 215
Synopsis:

Katherine V thought boys were gross. Katherine X just wanted to be friends. Katherine XVIII dumped him in an e-mail. K-19 broke his heart.

When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton’s type is girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact.

On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight, Judge Judy-loving best friend riding shotgun—but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove the Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl.

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That smile could end wars and cure cancer.

-An Abundance of Katherines by John Green, pg 32

To start off on an off note, I hated the beginning of this novel. It was just like, BOOM, let's on a road trip, and Colin and Hassan (his best friend) went on said road trip and then stopped the road trip when they made it to Gutshot, Tennessee, home to the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Lindsey Lee Wells. It was just a quick little chapter of Colin reminiscing about K-19. That was another thing that bugged me. I loved how John went into the different Katherine's that Colin had dated, but I hated that Colin would start the story and a couple chapters later finish it. It just made no sense to me.

Despite some of my *ahem* dislikes, An Abundance of Katherines was everything that I'd expect from John Green. Humor, meaningful passages, and a nerdy-ish boy and a girl. Really, it was the perfect John Green novel. Colin is my favorite of all of John's MCs because he wasn't obsessed with Lindsey, not even in the end. He liked her, sure, but unlike in Paper Towns and Looking for Alaska, he wasn't completely in love with her. Mostly Katherine XIX held his heart and the Theorem took up most of his time.

Overall, what a wonderful novel. I especially liked the little passages under the text that gave meaning to what Colin was saying and what he meant. It was fun to read the story of a prodigy longing to be a genius, and not realizing that you don't have to be an extraordinary person to make others lives better. Lindsey, Hassan, and Gutshot were all great to him in realizing that life wasn't all about him being a genius, but about others taking care of each other.

The Cover: Love it! I find it very hard to believe that there are nineteen different Katherines for Colin to date, but whatever.

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

Genre: romance
Series and Book #: Starcrossed #1
Pages: 487
Synopsis:

How do you defy destiny?

Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is—no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it’s getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she’s haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood…and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they’re destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeated throughout history.

As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together—and trying to tear them apart.

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Originally, I wasn't going to read this book. I thought that there were too many Greek mythology spin-offs, and I really thought this was going to be just like the rest. But it was so different. The mythology and how it connected to Helen and the Delos family went deeper than the surface that I've seen in others.

Helen was a good MC. She wasn't my favorite. I always love MC's that are brave and proud of themselves, but Helen was just...blah. At the beginning of the novel, she's self-conscious and she doesn't put out her full potential. Understandably, she was under a curse that her mother placed on her when she was young, but she could have stood up straighter and at least be seen. When the Delos' comes to Nantucket, you see a change with her. When she sees how they act, and compares it to how she acts, she stands up straight, doesn't let the bullies at school get to her, and starts to recognize her talents and potential. I loved Helen much more at the end of the book.

I am a hopeless romantic. It's true--and it's ridiculous. I hate, hate, HATE when romances go awry. This was just crawling with little opportunities to split Helen and Lucas up. **CAUTION: SPOILER ALERT!** For those of you who've read City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, it was just like what happened between Clary and Jace. For those of you who haven't, well...sorry, but no spoilers!

Overall, amazing romance. Just amazing. I wish Helen was more confident than she was, and the characters a bit more in touch with what had happened. I found that I'd realize so many things before the characters, and it started to grate on my nerves. More often than not, I'd yell at the book: "OH MY GODS, REMEMBER...???" I can't wait for the sequel, just to see what happens with Helen and Lucas, and to find out what the prophecy means... :)

The Cover: Beautiful. You can't see it in the picture, but the sky and water changes colors if you move it in and out of the light. Pretty, shiny cover!

Releases: Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick, Eve by Anna Carey

Silence (Hush, Hush #3) by Becca Fitzpatrick

The noise between Patch and Nora is gone. They’ve overcome the secrets riddled in Patch’s dark past…bridged two irreconcilable worlds…faced heart-wrenching tests of betrayal, loyalty, and trust…and all for a love that will transcend the boundary between heaven and earth. Armed with nothing but their absolute faith in each other, Patch and Nora enter a desperate fight to stop a villain who holds the power to shatter everything they’ve worked for—and their love—forever..


Eve by Anna Carey

Where do you go when nowhere is safe?

Sixteen years after a deadly virus wiped out most of Earth’s population, the world is a perilous place. Eighteen-year-old Eve has never been beyond the heavily guarded perimeter of her school, where she and two hundred other orphaned girls have been promised a future as the teachers and artists of the New America. But the night before graduation, Eve learns the shocking truth about her school’s real purpose—and the horrifying fate that awaits her.

Fleeing the only home she’s ever known, Eve sets off on a long, treacherous journey, searching for a place she can survive. Along the way she encounters Arden, her former rival from school, and Caleb, a rough, rebellious boy living in the wild. Separated from men her whole life, Eve has been taught to fear them, but Caleb slowly wins her trust . . . and her heart. He promises to protect her, but when soldiers begin hunting them, Eve must choose between true love and her life.

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I still haven't read any of the Hush, Hush Trilogy, but I'm going to get on that! I've heard they're amazing novels, and I have Hush, Hush, so I can't wait to read it soon.

Eve has gotten some amazing reviews. It sounds like an interesting new novel. I'll be sure to pick it up if I'm able.

In My Mailbox (8): September

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren where we share what books we've bought, received, or borrowed over the last week or, in my case, month. I don't get enough books over the week to cover a weekly IMM but I always do one every month.Here's August's! (Some of these books I've already read, so if you click on the links they should bring you to the review)

Library Finds:

Looking for Alaska by John Green

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini
Divergent by Veronica Roth

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

Borrowed:
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
The Power of Six (Lorien Legacies #2) by Pittacus Lore

Bought:
Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Release: Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

For budding costume designer Lola Nolan, the more outrageous, the outfit - more sparkly, more fun, more wild - the better. But even though Lola's style is outrageous, she's a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins move back into the house next door.

When the family returns and Cricket - a gifted inventor and engineer - steps out from his twin sister's shadow and back into Lola's life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

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EEEEEPPPPPPP!!!! I can hardly believe that it's here! I've been waiting for, like, EVER! Stephenie Perkins took my heart in Anna and the French Kiss, and I'm waiting for her to steal it again! If you have not picked up one of her books yet, do, because you'll never regret it. Her writing is amazing, and they're the best, sappy, hilarious love stories ever.