Friday, January 9, 2015

Atlantis Rising


I am different. I have always been different, but no one can know or my life will be in danger. So I hide in plain sight, wearing drab clothes and thick glasses and trying to be invisible. I’m so good at hiding, no one has ever noticed me. Until Ian…the mysterious and oh-so-cute boy I know I need to avoid.

Now I have been seen. And more terrifying still, I am wanted—by those who would protect me and those who would destroy everything and everyone I love. But if they’re all terrified about who I am, wait until they see what I can do


Author: Gloria Craw
Page Count: 352
Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Fantasy, Romance
Series: Yes! (Book 1)



  *I received an ebook version of this book from Entangled Teen for a free honest review*

  I read the summary of this book in an email request for upcoming review titles. The title alone drew me in. This was going to be a book about the mysterious world of Atlantis! Ever since I was young these stories have pulled me in. 

  Starting this book my expectations were high. As I mentioned above the chance to read about Atlantis already had me wanting this story, but the description on the back pulled me in as well. Who is this person and what powers does she hold? Why would someone be after her? This is where my thoughts stayed as I began the story...

  While the story was interesting and I really did enjoy it, my expectations were squashed a little. Some of the things I was hoping to see within the pages of this story never happened. The overall story was good and the characters were great, but there was still something missing.

  One of the parts I loved most about this book was the characters. Each character was unique in their own way, even the side characters had something that would make them stand out from the rest. The main characters were lovable and I found myself wishing I could talk to them. 
       
   Thankfully there was something missing from this story that I won't complain about: A love triangle. Unlike most Young Adult novels out there, this story kept the love interest between one guy and one girl. You didn't have the over protective friend trying to get the same girl as the exceptionally hot new guy. Some love triangles are ok, but I'm honestly getting tiered of  most of them. But with this story, the relationship between Alison and Ian is refreshingly normal. (Except for the whole being from Atlantis thing...) 

  There was a little action toward the end, nothing mind blowing or outstandingly epic, but it was a good ending to the story. There was a little build up to this fight throughout the story, and I personally am satisfied with the way it turned out. Not only did it wrap some issues and questions up, we are now left with a few others that need to be answered, a nice way to set up for a sequel. 

  About the only two problems I had with the entire story is:

  1. What about Atlantis? One of the key points in my decision to read this was to get a bit of Atlantis story, but there really wasn't anything present. We get maybe a page about what happened to Atlantis and how it ends up at the bottom of the sea, and a quick mention that some of the people are alive. This is mainly to express why the lead characters are different from others, they are called Dewings, which means they come from Atlantis. But other than those two things, Atlantis is not really brought into the story. This was a major let down to me, but I'm hoping as the next book (or books?) come out there will be more!
  2. A bit cliche. There were parts that came out being different than most stories, but most of the entire beginning is something that I have read many times. -The main character is trying to blend into society. All is working fine, until the new kid arrives, and then something extraordinary happens to them changing their lives forever!- This is not exactly a bad thing, I just think with the Atlantis aspect to the story, something a little different could have been done. 
All-in-all, I really enjoyed this story. It was a quick read and something I look forward to reading more of. I give this story a 4 out of 5 stars! If you like a cute read, this is the story for you. 

Thursday, January 1, 2015

New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!! 

  Today marks the first day of 2015! A blank page in this new chapter of life. Like many people, I guess I need to get some goals I might can achieve this year. I normally don't do resolutions, partly because I honestly know I won't stick with them.

   This year I going to do a little better with my resolutions! Instead of making mine the typical: Lose weight, exercise daily, eat healthier, etc.. I'm going to stick with bookish goals. If I'm going to be completely honest with myself, I know I'm more likely to hit the local library than the local gym.

  So here are a few of my goals for 2015:

  • Read 50 books- This may not seem like a lot of books to read in a year to some, but for me it's a large amount. Don't get me wrong, I read a lot! But I never read that many in a year. This is going to be a bit of a challenge for me so that is where the next goal comes in handy...
  • Complete the 2015 Reading Challenge- This is the challenge hosted by Popsugar. It's a checklist of different reading challenges to complete throughout the year. I'm going to work this a bit differently than a checklist, more info on that coming soon!
  • Do more Posts- I just started blogging late in 2014 so this should be an easy goal to meet. I look forward to getting more reviews up and hopefully add a few ARCs to the list of reviews! Also planning on doing a few discussion type posts. Got to come up with a few topics first, but hopefully I'll get some going pretty soon.

Just to keep from failing at too many things this year I'm going to stop at 3 resolutions. I believe I can complete these 3, but only time can tell. A new year is a time for a new start and I've already started the year off in a great way by joining two reading groups! I have found some great people to talk to with these clubs and I look forward to all the fun awaiting us this year!!! 
I guess that is all for now, I hope every the best in this new year! If you have made a few resolutions feel free to share in the comments or add a link to your post! 

Now I'll talk to you all later, it's time to go get lost between the pages!
~Lauren

Stacking the Shelves December edition!

Now that December has ended, I think now would be a great time to list my new books that have been added to my shelf!

Since I have a pretty long list, I'm just going to do a group picture of all the books instead of doing individual pictures.

Let me show you my little castle of books:

Now that I have shared the picture, let me break these down:

First we have my Black Friday books I got from BookOutlet's Black Friday Sale! 
  • Another Little Piece of Me, by Kate Karyus Quinn
  • Antigoddess, by Kendare Blake
  • Scintillate, by Tracy Clark
  • Pulse, by Patrick Carman
The next batch is from the lovely Stacie!
  • Wicked Lovely, by Melissa Maar
  • Vampire Academy, by Richelle Mead
  • Sketchy, by Olivia Samms
  • The Gathering Storm, by Robin Bridges
  • Ruby Red, by Kerstin Gier
  • Shadowcry, by Jenna Burtenshaw
  • Ashes, Ashes, by Jo Treggiari
  • Find Me, by Romily Bernard
  • I Am Number Four, Pittacus Lore
  • Second Star, by Alyssa B. Sheinmel
  • Mila 2.0, by Debra Driza
  • The Burning Sky, by Sherry Thomas
My last set of books came from my Boyfriend for Christmas:
  • Complete Harry Potter book Set
Just because they are gorgeous covers to me, I want to share a picture of these books! 















I know games are not books, but the three I'm listing have an actual story plot. 
  • Kingdom Hearts 1.5 remix
    • Kingdom Hearts 
    • Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories
    • Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
  • Kingdom Hearts II.5 Remix
    • Kingdom Hearts II
    • Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
    • Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded
  • The Last of Us
That's all I have for now on new books. 
Have you read any of these on the list? If you have, what did you think??