Defy the Fates by Claudia Gray
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A great finish to a fantastic YA sci-fi adventure. Still clean and full of action and morality questions. Glad I read it.

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Defy the Worlds by Claudia Gray
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I tore through this book. And although I enjoyed the plot and action and the relative cleanliness of the book, it also contains and delves in to complex moral questions of artificial intelligence and what is the threshold for what constitutes life. I’m already reading the last book in this trilogy.

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Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Update Mar. 1, 2021: I have re-read this and I still loved it! Now I'm going to binge on the trilogy!

After reading the epic Pillars of the Earth, I needed something a little less involved and this was perfect. Almost totally clean and chock full of adventure and action, with some ethics and morality thrown in. I can't wait to read the next in the series.

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Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I just could not get into this book. It seemed like such a chore to pick up. I so wanted to like it, and I gave it my best, but it did not hold my attention. DNF at 62%

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Catalyst by S.J. Kincaid
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The final book in this trilogy was bloody and disturbing. And it taught some questionable ethics. But I will say that it was exciting and had a satisfying James Bond-esque ending of the villain.
I did mostly skip the part that’s in space, because it was boring. I basically just skimmed it for any important developments. There was one major development, and it could have been condensed into a couple of pages instead of all.those.pages. If you’ve read it, you know what I’m talking about.
But happily, still no swearing or sex. That is rare and commendable.

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Vortex by S.J. Kincaid
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This one definitely wasn't as good as the first book, but it moved along at an OK clip and for the most part kept me interested. I probably will read the last book, just to see how it all ends.
Still no swearing or sex.

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Insignia by S.J. Kincaid
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Update: I re-read this yesterday. It was just as good as I remembered it. Now I’m determined to read the whole trilogy, since I somehow forgot to get #2 after I read this 5 years ago.


I liked this YA sci-fi thriller a lot. It reminded me of Ernest Cline's Armada at the beginning, but quickly took on shades of Ender's Game. I am going to look into the next in the trilogy. No swearing or sex, so I can recommend fully!

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Evertrue

Evertrue (Everneath #3)

by Brodi Ashton

2.5 stars

336 pages

Published January 21st 2014 by Balzer + Bray 

 

I'm not sure if I was totally in love with this trilogy's last installment. There didn't seem to be a lot of thought put into it - basically a "let's blow everything up" kind of mentality to the ending. I would have liked a little more finesse and a lot more explanation of things. So I think I'll rate this one 2.5 stars.

A smattering of swearing and not too much violence.

Origin

Origin (Lux #4)

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

3 stars

364 pages

Published Aug. 27, 2013 by Entangled Publishing

Although I give this book 3 stars, I can't really recommend it because the language was so bad. Unnecessarily. The plot was good, action was plentiful, but the violence was a bit over the top.

I'm not sure if I'm going to read the next in the series. I was actually hoping this book was the last.

After the End

After the End (After the End #1)

by Amy Plum 

4 stars

352 pages

Published May 6, 2014 by HarperCollins 

 

 

This is the first book that I've read since having a baby that I actually finished; one that kept my attention and that I enjoyed. It has elements of that movie "The Village" in it, with some paranormal powers thrown in. I will be reading the next in the series.

Endless

Endless (The Violet Eden Chapters #4)

by Jessica Shirvington

3 stars

446 pages

Published Aug. 28, 2012 by Hachette

Can I just say that if this was the last book in this series, I would have seriously had to hurt someone. The ending TOTALLY sucked. I was so bummed the entire rest of the day, because for some reason I thought that this was the end. Luckily I got on Goodreads to check. Whew. Disaster averted!

As it is, I still have mixed feelings about this installment in the Violet Eden series. Some good things happened. Some bad things happened. There still was all the violence and sexual tension that appear in the previous books. And some significant things happened and knowledge shared. But what's next?

I suppose the "financier" will have something to do with the next book - obviously. There was a huge fat question mark floating above his head at the end of the book.

I'm just happy that there is another book. Although, I'm hoping Number 5 is the last. There's only so much I can take, you know?

The Royal Ranger

The Royal Ranger (Ranger's Apprentice #12)

by John Flanagan  

4 stars

 

464 pages 

Published Nov. 5, 2013 by Philomel

 

I enjoyed this last book (we hope) in this long series of Ranger's Apprentice books. I can't believe there are 12 of them! I appreciated the plot and the fact that finally!!! there is a girl Ranger's apprentice! It took the author long enough to figure out that girls would make fabulous Rangers, too. Maybe he'll do a spin-off series focused on this. We'll see.

Expect the same great action, adventure and bad-guy slaying you read in the other 11 books. Flanagan has proven that he knows how to write adventure stories for all age sets.

First Date

First Date

by Krista McGee

2 stars

336 pages

Published Jan. 10, 2012 by Thomas Nelson 

 

If you like christianity being shoved down your throat and all things "The Bachelor," this book is clearly for you.

Now, I am a christian, but this book is just not my cup of tea. Every page has some religious ideology and prayer on it. Religion for me is a personal thing. I go to church - I enjoy it, but I don't want my beliefs turned into a YA romance filled with saccharine, eye-rolling and lack of plot. It may have helped if the writing was better and the relgious down-the-throat-shoving was toned down to just "religious overtones."

The only reason I gave it two stars is because there is no swearing, sex or bad stuff. And it obviously touts the benefits of christian thinking - forgiveness and love.

And I finished the thing. I guess that counts for something.

The Diviners

The Diviners (The Diviners #1)

by Libba Bray

3 stars

578 pages
Published Sept. 18, 2012 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
 
I enjoyed this book, mostly. Sometimes the flapper language was annoying and too persistent and the book was a little too long - plus there is a developing love triangle (ick!), but I overlooked all that in favor of a great, twisted, and delightfully dark plot. There is some - no, quite a lot of gruesome killing scenes, so beware. I skipped most of them. All I needed to know was who got dead.

I haven't read many books set in the flapper and prohibition era, so this was a good introduction to speakeasies, spiritualism and old-time New York. What a crazy time.
I may pick up #2 when it comes out. We'll see.

Tremor

Tremor (Pulse #2)

by Patrick Carman

4 stars

320 pages

Published Feb. 25, 2014 by Katherine Tegen Books

 
Luckily, this book - the 2nd in the Pulse Trilogy - is better than the first. It does not make you wait as long for the action like in the first book. Our heroine already has her powers, so we can get right to the juicy stuff.
The bad guys are stronger and badder, with a devious plan. The ending contained an awesome twist. Will be reading #3.

Pulse

Pulse (Pulse #1)

by Patrick Carman

3 stars

371 pages

Published Feb. 26, 2013 by Katherine Tegen Books

The first half of this book was very slow, but I was so intrigued with the premise and where the book could go, that I stuck it out. It finally picked up after slogging through the boring stuff - I'm glad I stuck with it. A promising new trilogy by one of my favorite authors, Patrick Carman.

Ruins

Ruins (Partials Sequence #3)

by Dan Wells

3 stars

464 pages

Published Mar. 11, 2014 by Balzer + Bray

Unbeknownst to me, I skipped the 2nd book in this series and didn't realize it until I was halfway through this book. Hmm. I'm not exactly sure what that means ...

At least now I don't have to read Book #2. It must have been not that enlightening, since I was following Book #3 right along with no problem.

The One

The One (The Selection #3)

by Kiera Cass

3.5 stars

323 pages
Published June 5, 2014 by HarperCollins Children's Books  
 
I'm glad this series is over. It ended well, too, which was nice. It even had an epilogue! I love epilogues.

I'm not sure there is much depth to this series, but if you want a mindless, entertaining beach read, this is a great choice.

Ruin and Rising

Ruin and Rising (The Grisha #3)

by Leigh Bardugo

3 stars

422 pages

Published June 17th 2014 by Henry Holt and Co.

I'm wavering between 2.5 and three stars, because this book just wasn't all that great. Actually the whole series wasn't all that great. Not bad, just not stellar. But I read all three, so I guess that says something.

Maybe it was the whining characters, or the endless killing, or maybe it was just boring.

I'm glad it's over.

Graduation Day

Graduation Day (The Testing #3)

by Joelle Charbonneau

3 stars

304 pages 

Published June 17, 2014 by HMH Books for Young Readers

 

Meh. Not great. Too many questions in the prose: "Should I do this?", "How can I do this?", "Who can I trust?", etc. Too distracting.

I'm just glad this trilogy is over. It wasn't stellar - more of a Hunger Games meets whiny girl meets Rage Against the Machine. If I had to do it again, I probably wouldn't waste my time.