Book Review: Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

Summary:
Everyone has something to hide—especially high school juniors Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna.

Spencer covets her sister's boyfriend. Aria's fantasizing about her English teacher. Emily's crushing on the new girl at school. Hanna uses some ugly tricks to stay beautiful.

But they've all kept an even bigger secret since their friend Alison vanished.

How do I know? Because I know everything about the bad girls they were, the naughty girls they are, and all the dirty secrets they've kept. And guess what? I'm telling.

Review: I got hooked on the t.v. show when it first came out. As I was watching it I decided to read the books because I thought they might be good. As it turned out, I was right. The book was a lot like the Pilot episode of the t.v. show. This book was a quick read and pretty entertaining. The four girls, Spencer, Hanna, Emily, and Aria separated after the 7th grade when their friend, Alison, went missing. When Alison was found dead 3 years later, the four girls reunited. They all started recieving strange text messages that end with "-A". Before they knew Alison was dead they thought that "A" might be Alison. But when they started recieving texts from "A" after Alison was found dead, then they were very concerned.

I think my favorite character out of the four main girls would be Aria. She has to deal with her father's secret and finding out that the guy she really likes is her new English teacher. She doesn't do anything crazy like when Hannah stole her boyfriend's car and smashed it into a telephone pole. I think I could relate to her the most. What I didn't like about this book was the language and some of the mature content. I really liked the storyline but some of the content made me rate the book 3.5 coffee cups. I would recommend this book if you like a quick read and don't mind the language.

I can't wait to read the next book. I'm eager to find out who "A" is!

Read "Pretty Little Liars" Online!

I just discovered that you can read Pretty Little Liars online. The link above should work. Just click on "Browse Inside This Book". If it doesn't work, click here. I'm excited because I've been waiting for this book at the library for a while and now I don't have to wait anymore!

In My Mailbox (1)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme started by The Story Siren. I went to a used bookstore today. They didn't have much YA books but I found This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen. So I bought it.

I also picked up Vampire Diaries: The Awakening and the Struggle and Flawless, a Pretty Little Liars novel at the library.

The hop!

Crazy-For-Books is hosting another book blog hop.
This week's question is:

Tell us about the book you are reading.

My Answer:

I am reading Linger by Maggie Stiefvater. I just started reading it so I am only about 20 pages into it. It is a good book so far. I just read the book before it and i'm eager to finish reading Linger. It is a romance (my favorite genre!).

Happy Friday!

Book Review: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Summary: For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human ... until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human--or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

Review: I thought the love story in this book was really cute. A wolf named Sam has been watching Grace since Grace was a young girl. Grace has also been watching Sam for a while. Grace didn't know that Sam was a werewolf until he showed up on her porch in human form. As soon as Grace realized that the wolf she has been watching turned human, they fell in love. This happened in Sam's last year of being able to turn human. Before Grace, he had never had a girlfriend. If he never would of met her, he probably would never fall in love with anyone. Sam struggled to stay human to be with Grace. I loved how the book ends. You'll have to read it to find out. I really liked reading this book. I liked how the book switched from Sam's POV to Grace's POV. That helped me know what both characters were thinking. I also liked how the character Isabel changed. At the beginning, she was very rude to Grace. As she found out about the werewolves, she spent more time with Grace and eventually they became friends. I would recommend reading this book. It is a good romance novel. I wouldn't say it is completely clean because there is one part that isn't very clean and there is a little bit of language but not much. I liked this book enough to buy its sequel, Linger. Here's a cool fact about the book: All the letters are in blue! I thought that was really cool when I started reading the book. As for the sequel, Linger, all the letters are in green. This is the first book that I've read that the letters are a different color.

I'm back!

I'm back from my vacation! I finished the book Shiver and a review is coming shortly. I bought Linger (the sequel to Shiver) yesterday. :) As you can see, my background has changed. The site that I my other background isn't working anymore. I'm glad I could still find a cute background though.

Taking A Break

I am leaving tomorrow morning for a vacation. I won't have internet so that means no new posts. I will be back in a week (July 21). I am taking the book Shiver with me. I will try to finish it and have a review up shortly after I return.
Until then, Happy Book Blogging!
-Elena

Contest Promotion

Hey everyone! I want to promote a contest that is started by a blog I am following called The Bodacious Pen.

The winner will recieve an ARC of Clockwork Angel and some other goodies!

You can check it out here.

Summer Romance Challenge!

I know its a little late to start this, but I think I have enough time. It is hosted by Book Chick City.
Here are the details:

1. Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate.

2. 4 months, 8 books - that's doable, right? Or if you want to push yourself further double it to 16!!

3. Any book format counts.

4. The books you choose can crossover into other challenges you have on the go.

I have already read Beastly, and I plan on the rest to be:
2. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
3. The Vampire Diaries: Awakening by L.J. Smith
4. The Vampire Diaries: The Struggle by L.J. Smith
5. The Vampire Diaries: The Fury by L.J. Smith
6. The Vampire Diaries: The Dark Reunion by L.J. Smith
7. That Summer by Sarah Dessen
8. A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks
These are just what I hope to read. They might change.

Feel free to join me in the challenge! It will be fun!

Book Review: Beastly by Alex Flinn

Summary: Kyle Kingsbury had everything he ever wanted. He was rich, gorgeous, and extremely popular. That all fades when a witch casts a spell on him and turns him into a beast. He has two years for a girl to fall in love with him and break the spell with a kiss. Until then, he remains beastly.

Review: Let me start off by saying I absolutely LOVED this book! I first wanted to read this book because I saw the trailer for the movie and I thought the book might be interesting to read first. Beastly is a modern retelling of "Beauty and the Beast". It is in the point of view of Kyle, who changes his name to Adrien when he turns into a beast. I really liked how the book is told from the guy's point of view, like the book Dear John by Nicholas Sparks, because not very many romance books are told from their POV. I like the way Adrien fell in love with Lindy, not because of her looks but because of her personality. Before, when he was human, all he cared about were good looks and he could care less about Lindy. Before he turned into a beast, Adrien took his girlfriend Sloane to their school dance. He gave her a rose corsage but she freaked out because she wanted an orchid. When he went into the dance, he gave Lindy the rose. That was the first favor he had done for anyone he didn’t care about. After he had turned into a beast, and Lindy was living at his house, he grew to love her. He learned more about her personality and he saw beyond her looks. Eventually, so did she. I loved the ending of this book. It was very cute. I like how the characters in the book learned to look beyond basic things such as looks and popularity and find inner beauty. I would definitely recommend reading this book. There was romance and drama. I couldn’t stop reading. I rated this book five coffee cups. This is my new favorite book! Great book!!

Book Blogger Hop!

Crazy-For-Books is hosting another book blogger hop! It is open from July 9-12.

This week's question:

Tell us about some of your favorite authors and why they are your favorites!

My answer:

I have two favorite authors.

Nicholas Sparks because his books captivates the reader and leaves them wanting more. He also writes a lot of romance books, which is my favorite genre.

My second favorite author is Erynn Mangum. She writes a lot of Christian fiction for young adults, so her books were very clean. I loved reading her books.

The Friday 56

Storytime With Tonya and Friends is hosting The Friday 56. These are the rules:

Rules:

Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog.
*Post a link along with your post back to this blog.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Here's mine for today! It's from Beastly by Alex Flinn.

"Do I need to mention, she whined?."

That's it. Happy Friday!

Just a little heads up

Hey followers! I just wanted to let you know that I am in the middle of reading the book Beastly by Alex Flinn. When I finish it, I plan to write a review. I am almost half way done reading it. So far I have enjoyed the book.

Book Review: The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

Summary: Seventeen-year-old Veronica "Ronnie" Miller's life was turned upside down when her parents divorced and her father moved to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Three years later, she remains alienated from her parent, particularly her father...until her mother decides it would be in everyone's best interest if she and her brother spent the summer with him. Resentful and rebellious, Ronnie rejects her father's attempts to reach out to her and threatens to return to New York before the summer's end. But soon Ronnie meets Will, the last person she thought she'd ever be attracted to, and finds herself falling for him, opening herself up to the greatest happiness--and pain--that she has ever known.

Review: I enjoyed reading this book. This book made me sad and happy at the same time. I was happy that Ronnie fell in love with Will. I was sad when one of the characters (I won't say which one, it would spoil the book) died. The main character, Ronnie is a rebellious teen who has gotten in trouble with the law a few times. When she visited her father in North Carolina, she found some people to hang out with who weren't very good friends. One of them, Blaze, slipped something in Ronnie's bag while they were in a store. When they left the store, as you can guess, Ronnie got caught and blamed for the theft. By the end of the book, I realized Blaze is just a very insecure teen with a bad home life.

There is one part I didn't like. Towards the end of the book, Will gets really mad at Marcus (Blaze's boyfriend who constantly annoys Ronnie) and beats him and his friends up. I almost felt bad for Marcus because Will was so angry he broke Marcus's nose. To me Will seemed like a madman. His anger got the best of him. Overall, Will is still my favorite character because he is very kind and sweet. He cares about Ronnie as well as her brother and father.

I would recommend reading this book. For a Sparks novel, it was pretty clean. The ending is very sad, though. You will have to read this book to find out why it it sad...I almost cried. I gave it three coffee cups because I liked this book but its not my favorite.

Book Review: Splendor by Anna Godbersen

Summary: As spring turns into summer, Elizabeth relishes her new role as a young wife, while her sister, Diana, searches for adventure abroad. But when a surprising clue about their father's death comes to light, the Holland girls wonder at what cost a life of splendor comes. Carolina Broad, society's newest darling, fans a flame from her past, oblivious to how it might burn her future. Penelope Schoonmaker is finally Manhattan royalty--but when a real prince visits the city, she covets a title that comes with a crown. Her husband, Henry, bravely went to war, only to discover that his father's rule extends well beyond New York's shores and that fighting for love may prove a losing battle.

Review: This is the 4th and final book in the Luxe series. I really enjoyed reading this book. There was a lot of romance and some betrayal. As I read this book I couldn't stop reading. This book was a good conclusion to the series. What really disappointed me was the ending. I was sad when the series was over. I look forward to the author's upcoming book titled Bright Young Things.

***********Spoiler Alert!***************** (Don't read below if you want to read the book!)

At first, I didn't really like the ending because I thought that Diana should be with Henry. As I thought about it, I'm glad that Diana left for Paris alone. Her decision showed that she had matured enough to not be so jealous all the time. Penelope and her husband, Henry, also showed more maturity by staying together. My favorite book in the series is the second book, Rumors. I would recommend reading this book.

Newbie!

I just started making this blog. I plan to write reviews about books i've read. Some of my favorite authors are Nicholas Sparks and Erynn Mangum. I hope you like my blog!