The Murder Complex by Lindsay Cummings

Title: The Murder Complex
Author: Lindsay Cummings
Rating: 2 stars

Cover: 

Synopsis: An action-packed, blood-soaked, futuristic debut thriller set in a world where the murder rate is higher than the birthrate. For fans of Moira Young’s Dust Lands series, La Femme Nikita, and the movie Hanna.

Meadow Woodson, a fifteen-year-old girl who has been trained by her father to fight, to kill, and to survive in any situation, lives with her family on a houseboat in Florida. The state is controlled by The Murder Complex, an organization that tracks the population with precision.

The plot starts to thicken when Meadow meets Zephyr James, who is—although he doesn’t know it—one of the MC’s programmed assassins. Is their meeting a coincidence? Destiny? Or part of a terrifying strategy? And will Zephyr keep Meadow from discovering the haunting truth about her family?

Action-packed, blood-soaked, and chilling, this is a dark and compelling debut novel by Lindsay Cummings.

~~~~~~~~~~

In response to the above synopsis...

 You promised me bad ass. You promised me two broken kids on the run surviving from a tyrannical government who has them trapped in a game which they cannot win.

What did I get?

A forgettable male protagonist and a female protagonist who promised to be interesting until about 25% of the way through. A pathetic and confusing storyline, an uninteresting writing style that constantly had me skipping paragraphs, and then going back and reading them just in case--oh, wait, what happened?

Oh, and an absolutely appalling case of insta-love. *gags*

       My synopsis: A young woman, Meadow, has been raised by her father to be merciless and do whatever it takes to survive. A young man, Zephyr, has spent his life picking up dead bodies with his best friend and dreaming of a 'moonlit girl.' (We'll get back to that little bit later) They meet, after spending they're entire lives prior to this point completely separate, multiple times on mere coincidence. One of the times he takes her out walking, where he introduces the new and adrenaline inducing activity of swinging, where they have a lovely conversation and then...he tries to kill her.

You said it, Dean. 

Of course, after seventeen years of living the way Meadow has-in harsh conditions and struggling to survive, not to mention the training to kill in order to stay alive-she just can't bring herself to kill him. Because they shared some truly sensational and memorable moments beforehand. 

From there, our delectable duo embarks on a wondrous journey of chance encounters and action packed close-calls that had nothing to do with the plot line. Wait, what was the plot again? 

Let me think...a girl and a guy running from...the government? Pirates? To...? And what was that about her mom? And her siblings? What's a Murder Complex? Oh, it's mind control. But Zephyr a special Murder Complex baby, I see... Meadow's mom made them...wait, why? I thought she just made drugs? How did they get okay-ed if they sucked? Her mom's alive, and she's evil...and Meadow is the root of it all and that's why the freaking Murder Complex's baby would want to kill her, even though it's existence relies on her survival. Right.

And this desolate new world with random dead people and a tyrannical government rose up in...how many years? Twenty? I could be wrong...

This book was very confusing, and had numerous action scenes and little bits of information that had nothing to do with the rest of the book. There was one scene where they were in a graveyard and a whole bunch of scary people came out to scavenge at night like junk vampires or something. They never had another appearance or even a mention. The only thing they did was just take up pages and cause...what? Fear? Confusion? I don't even know.

The characters.

Meadow. Would've been a decent character had she not fallen apart every time she saw Zephyr, her mother, or anything else that was meant to tug on your heartstrings but ended up just annoying you. Wishy washy with her actions and thoughts, and way, way to many coincidental things happened around her.

Zephyr. He was more feminine than Meadow. His entire character reminded me of a girl on her period, only constantly that level of sad and so, so sweet. He was adorable and nice and completely and utterly forgettable. He was such a hardcore killer who lived a horrible life of shoveling bodies and had dreams of his freaking moonlit girl. His life revolved over this stupid dream he has of his moonlit girl. (Meadow, duh. We all know that.) He couldn't have dreamed of a metaphor, the way Juliette did in Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. No, he actually had dreams about her, and when he saw her face in person, his life suddenly had a purpose. And then, of course, he tries to kill her. But not on purpose.

Shame he didn't succeed, really. That would have shortened the book considerably.

 

 Meadow's family. Her brother was only there to show how much he sucked and how everyone should be jealous of Meadow's abilities and 'oh, all that wasted potential because you didn't kill him when you had the chance, even though your heart knows it was the right decision.' Her sister was leverage. Her dad would not be winning Dad of the Year, he constantly put his children in danger, despite 'loving them oh so much and he could never loose them.'

Peh.

Meadow's mother was annoying. She wasn't even a good bad guy, or a good good guy in the beginning. She was just annoying.

Wouldn't recommend it, it didn't do anything any other YA dystopian didn't already.

xxAvalon

Dear Killer by Katherine Ewell

Title: Dear Killer
Author: Katherine Ewell
Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis: Rule One—Nothing is right, nothing is wrong.
Rule Two—Be careful.
Rule Three—Fight using your legs whenever possible, because they’re the strongest part of your body. Your arms are the weakest.
Rule Four—Hit to kill. The first blow should be the last, if at all possible.
Rule Five—The letters are the law.

Kit takes her role as London’s notorious “Perfect Killer” seriously. The letters and cash that come to her via a secret mailbox are not a game; choosing who to kill is not an impulse decision. Every letter she receives begins with “Dear Killer,” and every time Kit murders, she leaves a letter with the dead body. Her moral nihilism and thus her murders are a way of life—the only way of life she has ever known.

But when a letter appears in the mailbox that will have the power to topple Kit’s convictions as perfectly as she commits her murders, she must make a decision: follow the only rules she has ever known, or challenge Rule One, and go from there.

Katherine Ewell’s Dear Killer is a sinister psychological thriller that explores the thin line between good and evil, and the messiness of that inevitable moment when life contradicts everything you believe.

Cover: 

Review:

Our protagonist, Kit, is a seventeen year old serial killer. She learned from her mother, who is quite crazy, and she receives requests for kills from a hole in a bathroom stall at a little coffee shop.

But, unlike most serial killers, she's not insane. She kills 'as a consequence of the way I was raised.' 

  

At least, she doesn't think she's insane.

Kit has several very honest character traits, which she is not honest about. She loves gloating. She loves the fact that she can dance around these police officers and give them every clue they need--and still have them utterly baffled. 

She is basically a narcissist. She knows she's good at what she does and she loves it because she's good at it. She tries to tell herself that she can stop at anytime, but she can't. She doesn't have anything to fall back on. She doesn't believe that she can start over, despite what she tells herself. 

She refers to her mother lovingly, despite that fact that the woman is completely bonkers. Her father is gone so much it's as if he's dead and she has no other siblings. Her mother doesn't kill anymore, due to the fact that she almost got caught. She taught Kit how to kill for closure, to know that there is some kind of 'justice' out there.

Which, of course, brings up the question: Who decides whether or not someone deserves to die? Kit's mother believed it was the people's choice, not Kit's. Kit was a means to an end. She was meant to do, not question or decide. But then, Kit begins to wonder, why can't she make the decisions? Isn't she a part of the people?

She forgets, her mother explains, that she--The Perfect Killer--is a symbol. She's not a vigilante or a hero, she's a symbol. The people need her, a disruption, to group together and form a sense of unity. Her mother reasons that Kit's persona is doing much more good than bad, as it unifies the people and breaks them out of a false sense of security.

Ewell could have done more for the psychological feel of the book. Above I highlighted the main points of Kit's crazy, but there was more that the author could have made clear to the reader. The end was also a bit disappointing, but they often are to me. Very few endings make me satisfied with the book.

All in all, for a young writer like Ewell, it was very well written and thought out. But, I don't give slack for that kind of crap, so in the end I liked it alright, but not as much as I might have if Ewell spent a little bit more time on the feel of the book. The feel, the aura, whatever, has to be set from page one or else you lose the reader's emotions. This one was a bit undecided, and right when it seemed to settle into one it swapped out.

I'd recommend it for teen readers who want a thriller to read. It's not a fluff book, and it's not humorous. Attempts at humor fell flat and awkward. It did keep the reader guessing in suspense at most parts, although there were a few very pivotal points that I could see coming from miles away.

xxAvalon

The Break-Up Artist by Philip Seigel

Title: The Break-Up Artist
Author: Philip Seigel
Rating: 2 stars

Synopsis: Some sixteen-year-olds babysit for extra cash.

Some work at the mall.

Becca Williamson breaks up couples.

Becca knows from experience the damage that love can do. After all, it was so-called love that turned Huxley from her childhood best friend into a social-world dictator, and love that left Becca's older sister devastated at the altar. Instead of sitting on the sidelines, Becca strikes back—for just one hundred dollars via PayPal, she will trick and manipulate any couple's relationship into smithereens. And with relationship zombies overrunning her school and treating single girls as if they're second-class citizens, business is unfortunately booming. Even Becca's best friend, Val, has resorted to outright lies to snag a boyfriend.

One night, Becca receives a mysterious offer to break up the most popular couple in school: Huxley and raw football team's star player, Steve. To succeed, she'll have to plan her most elaborate scheme to date—starting rumors, sabotaging cell phones, breaking into cars...not to mention sneaking back into Huxley's good graces. All while fending off the inappropriate feelings she may or may not be having for Val's new boyfriend.

No one said being the Break-Up Artist would be easy.

Cover: 

This book was...okay.

It was a stunning example of the slang phrase 'meh.'

And, despite what the back of the book would tell you, there were, in fact, clichés.

First off, I would like to acknowledge the peculiar fact that every single female in school couldn't have a single conversation where boys were not the topic. Every conversation was about either relationships or boys. What is wrong with the females there? Do they not have their own brains, hobbies, or interests? Have they somehow managed to be the only females on earth that have been completely and utterly submersed by pop-culture's view of relationships? 

There was on scene where Becca, the protagonist, went to the mall with Huxley, her current break-upee. I thought at the beginning of the scene that perhaps this would just be about fashion and maybe the two girls could hit it off with some nice reminiscing about their past--but no. Huxley dragged Becca to the mall so that she could get in a fight with Angela, her boyfriend's ex. 

Every single thing=boys. 

What else?

Oh, yes. Our dear protagonist, who seemed to be the only normal girl in the entirety of the school. She is adamantly opposed to the idea and the acting out of love and anything similar. She was developed minimally, and I think that this may have something to do with the author. I find that character development and the leading up to plot twists tend to be better written by female authors, at least with a female protagonist.

Philip Seigel wrote Becca like he was writing his dream woman, a woman who was a strong, strong soul among lessers until she manipulated and seduced by an evil other man, until the end when she finally overcomes the evilness of the other guy and decides to give love one last try with the nerdy boy who has only ever been kind to her.

WOMEN DO NOT THINK LIKE THAT, GOOD SIR.

The reason that this book has a two star rating instead of one star is because of one, simple reason:

Ezra.

I mean, there was one entire male in this book who was bad. I had to give the book a little something for that. *rolls eyes*

And even he was designed to bring shame to women, I mean, how did Becca not realize that at least a little something was wrong when he repeated the exact same words he had said to Val to her. 'I could see myself falling in love with you.' I mean, really? Really? How stupid do you have to be to fall head over heels in love with that line?

Becca, to me, seemed like a character who the plot line was changing with right up to that point. Then she became a puppet to the author's will. I stopped feeling Becca when she 'swooned' at Ezra's every freaking word.

Honestly, she ends up telling Val that there is no way she feels what she feels because Becca feels the same way.

"Are you really into Ezra? Genuinely?"

"Of course!"

"No, you're not!"

There's more to that conversation, too.

Maybe Seigel didn't know what he was doing when it came to the incredibly low intelligence and independence he granted women in this book, but it definitely came off as sexist to me. Talk about the stereotypical view of high school and the teenage years: ooooh, girls love boys and boys dump girls. Girls cry for hours and never forget about their 'one true love.' 

Oh, cry me a river.

And Steve and Huxley? Loved her view of them in the beginning. 

I don't know what happened there at the end...really, true love? He was cheating on her! I mean, honestly, did even the author forget about the texts she found on Steve's phone? And I quote:

There's a chain of text messages attached to it. I read them about twenty times and hold on to the edge of teh Jacuzzi for support. My head spins, and I haven't even had a drink yet. 

Angela: Hey, thanks for the coffee.

Steve: It was so good seeing you.

Angela: When are you going to tell Huxley about us?

Steve: Soon. I promise.

And this is all completely forgotten afterwards? I don't know, maybe he was talking about them...as in when they were dating years and years ago? Hmmm....

It got to the point where even Becca got as pathetic as Seigel described the other women being. The one rational character sees someone she can't have? It must be love.

Good idea, it just sort of went horribly wrong when it got on paper. I would actually recommend this book to people who are polar opposite of feminists, enjoy your protagonist to be the only sane person--until they're not--and if they like blackmail in books. There was quite a bit of that, as well.

xxAvalon

HI GUYS!

Hey, I just wanted to apologize for not being able to post very much recently. Due to bad Internet and a crazy schedule, I'm reviewing a lot less than I had hoped for earlier this year.

I've been writing stories of my own, and it really takes a lot of work and time. I haven't had the time to read as much as I would like, let alone review.

It's been rough.


However, I would like to say that in the future I will be reviewing more as I intend to buy more books shortly. I am looking forward to reading some finales in series I have begun and enjoyed, and I am especially looking forward to reviewing them.

And, please, if anyone ever has any suggestions about what to read, please comment below or contact me via email at any time, I read all and reply as often as I can. :) I am trying to find newer authors debuting to read and review, as well as any old goodies you find interesting. :D

Thanks for hanging in there, and I'll be back as soon as I can! (Which will be probably sometime this week)

xxAvalon

To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

Title: To All the Boys I've Loved Before
Author: Jenny Han
Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.

Cover: 

Warning: My reviews contain spoilers/semi-spoilers.

This book was actually a lot better than I thought it might be. A lot different, but better as well. I thought it might have sort of the same layout as Love Letters to the Dead or The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Ava Dellaira and Stephen Chbosky respectively.

However, this book is told in a story mode, with the occasional letter mixed in. There were only five, and one (or two?) of which we never see. 

Plot. Most of the story is our protagonist, Lara Jean, pretending to date one of the guys she sent a letter too in order to impress one of the other guys she sent a letter too...who also happens to be hopelessly in love with her sister. So, obviously, guy no. two is off-limits. 

But then...her sister breaks up with Josh (guy no. two) and suddenly Lara Jean finds her letters gone. To her complete and utter horror, she finds via the first boy she ever wrote a letter too, the letters were all mailed.

Josh also received a letter, her most recent one, and when he confronts her about it, she panics. She brushes the whole thing aside like nothing and claims to have a boyfriend. This boyfriend, on an act of impulse, is Peter, who 'stole' her first kiss and was the first boy she was ever in love with. He's also in love with someone else: his ex-girlfriend, Geneveive, who is the prettiest girl in Lara Jean's grade. Peter agrees to pretend to be her boyfriend so they can both make Geneveive and Josh super jealous. 

Because this sort of plan always works out. 

Anyway, onto characters. Lara Jean was a funny character, and I was relieved to find that she was also an intelligent one. She saw a situation, and while her immediate mind panicked, she usually found her way out of it. Yay for strong female protags! Even if she was a bit of a jerk to her little sister...

Josh I really liked, but even from the beginning I always liked him more as a friend of Lara Jean's than a boyfriend. He was really sweet and caring, but not too perceptive. He was perfect for Lara's sister, Margot, though, which was good.

Peter. Most people don't like douche-baggy boy love interests, but I always have and I guess I always will. Peter was a jerk for most of the book, until he wasn't and was really sweet and caring and super sensitive to her attention. By the middle-end of the book, Lara Jean was the light of his world and I found that adorable. 

Problems. The only really big problem with this book was predictability. You kind of knew the ending of it from the beginning. The way it dealt with this, however, was to make the journey to the end as interesting as possible. 

Adorable book with fluffy characters, a great easy realistic fiction read for any age. 

xxAvalon

Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira

Title: Love Letters to the Dead
Author: Ava Dellaira
Rating: 5 stars

Synopsis: It begins as an assignment for English class: Write a letter to a dead person. Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain because her sister, May, loved him. And he died young, just like May did. Soon, Laurel has a notebook full of letters to people like Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Amelia Earhart, Heath Ledger, and more; though she never gives a single one of them to her teacher. She writes about starting high school, navigating new friendships, falling in love for the first time, learning to live with her splintering family. And, finally, about the abuse she suffered while May was supposed to be looking out for her. Only then, once Laurel has written down the truth about what happened to herself, can she truly begin to accept what happened to May. And only when Laurel has begun to see her sister as the person she was; lovely and amazing and deeply flawed; can she begin to discover her own path.

Cover: 

This book started out as an English assignment where the students had to write a letter to a dead person. Laurel ends up with a lot of letters to dead people, mainly Kurt Kobain, Judy Garland, and Amelia Earhart, but she never turns them in. 

 This is the kind of book that you get a little bit into, set down for a week or so, and then read the rest in one sitting.
 

I confess, I did not like this book when I first started reading it, it reminded me too much of The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, and I sort of felt like it was total bull, ripping off of one of the most moving and powerful books of this generation like that.
 

(I didn't find out until a little bit later that Chbosky was Dellaira's mentor.)
 

The second time I picked it up, I felt as though I grasped Laurel's character better. Having an older brother who I love dearly myself, I can understand her tremendous pain at losing a sibling like that. It would be totally world-shattering.
 

Of course, this didn't explain why she came across like a small child, or perhaps as though she had a mental disability. (I actually think she might have a little bit of a mental disability, like Charlie in The Perks did.) But, as the book gets closer to the end, you begin to understand the entirety of Laurel's dilemma. She felt so much pain and heartache and she felt such a sense of secrecy over what happened and she had no idea why. She didn't quite understand that the reason she could never fully tell someone else what happened to her was because the one time she did, that person died. She feels so guilty because of that and she doesn't even know she feels guilty.

Laurel, while writing, really did her research on these famous people. She wrote about their childhoods, their rise to fame, their deaths. She wanted so badly to connect with them, because she thought she'd feel less pain if she knew there was someone else out there that hurt as badly as her. I think this might have been some of Laurel's problem, she wanted to know that someone out there felt what she felt but the only people she knew that did were dead. (I'm seriously surprised she didn't contemplate suicide herself.)

Laurel sees some things in such black and white, much like a child. Her two best friends love each other, they should go out. Her sister died while with her, her fault. Sky loves her...why does he give up on her? And this is her character, she just doesn't understand the way that a mentally healthy teenager or adult might. Her childlike thoughts and writing is of no fault to the author, nor does it make the book less important or bad, it just makes the character different than the type of female protagonist most YA readers nowadays like.

Onto the other characters.

Her father. We don't see much of him throughout the book, just a few scenes in which Laurel emphasizes her affection for him. It's clear she truly loves her father, even just for sticking around the way her mother didn't after May died.

May. Wowza, May was truly a character. She tried so hard, and I think she and her sister shared many of the same qualities. She wanted what was best for Laurel, she truly did, she just didn't quite get that she was actually destroying Laurel instead. She needed love from everyone, and she was so caught up in trying to make everyone love her that she didn't realize what was happening to her sister. 

Aunt Amy. I didn't really like the way Aunt Amy was portrayed. Jesus-freak, radical, really crazy and odd, overprotective. I felt as though that part was more of a vendetta that the author had against Christians/their religion, and the parody I felt was not needed or relevant to the story. If anything, I thought it was a really pathetic attempt at comic relief, which I, for one, did not find entertaining or funny at all. However, I think Aunt Amy was trying her best to do what she could, concerning both the Jesus-Man and Laurel.

Laurel's new friends in general. Weird, but awesome. That's pretty much all I have to say about them.

All in all, Love Letters to the Dead was an emotional roller coaster, and while I don't know if I enjoyed it, per say, but I do respect it.

xxAvalon

The One by Kiera Cass

Title: The One
Author: Kiera Cass
Rating: 5 stars

Synopsis: The Selection changed the lives of thirty-five girls forever. And now, the time has come for one winner to be chosen.

America never dreamed she would find herself anywhere close to the crown—or to Prince Maxon's heart. But as the competition approaches its end and the threats outside the palace walls grow more vicious, America realizes just how much she stands to lose—and how hard she'll have to fight for the future she wants.

From the very first page of The Selection, this #1 New York Times bestselling series has captured readers' hearts and swept them away on a captivating journey... Now, in The One, Kiera Cass delivers a satisfying and unforgettable conclusion that will keep readers sighing over this electrifying fairy-tale long after the final page is turned.

Cover:

*Smiles*

Okay...

This review might have a few  a lot of spoilers :D

I've always like the Selection series, and while The Elite was a little rough, I feel like The One really made up for any of it all. (But maybe I'm just saying that because my ship lasted the storm--you'll either get that reference or you won't)

Maxon and America love each other, that much is obvious, but neither one wants to be the first to admit it. America won't say it until Maxon sends the girls home, and Maxon won't send the girls home until she says it. Basically, we have some communication issues.

Aspen is kind of non-existent in the book, he only appears for a few scenes (just in time to seriously screw up a happily ever after, not to mention) which I am grateful for. I just don't like him...

So, anyway, we also get a lot of girl time. Kriss, Celeste, and Elise all have their different reasons for wanting to marry Maxon, some a little more genuine than others. Kriss is, for one, genuinely in love with Maxon. (And she's also got another vendetta, but I won't spoil that). Celeste, we find out, isn't actually as bad as she seems. We get a better insight on her character, and while NOBODY like Celeste in the first two novels, at least we understand her a bit more by the end of the third. Elise, as was a bit obvious beforehand, is pretty much only there because of her family in New Asia. She has some high standards for herself, and while she respects Maxon, she is not in love with him.

We also get a few touching scenes with the queen, which was nice. The king, however, was in a few scenes as well, and remained as much of a jerk as in The Elite. Yay -.-

The plotline remained steady and flowing, and while there were a few little bumps in it the rest of the book really made up for any inconsistencies. We get to see a little bit more of the Northern Rebels, although the Southern Rebels were only mentioned. The only real complaint I have is that I wish there were more interactions with the Southern Rebels, it seemed as though they were such a big deal before, I thought they might be more prominent.

All in all, there were big plot twists, happy endings, the whole shebang, how could I possibly complain? The One was truly a stunning conclusion to a fabulous series, and I'll miss it greatly.

xxAvalon

Random Thought: Upcoming Movies/Adaptations

Okay, this one may be kind of long, but a friend of mine got me thinking about all of the movies I wanted to see this and next year. Some of these movies may not be confirmed yet that they are actually coming out (Some don't make it after they're announced), but these are my top few and why.

1. Guardians of the Galaxy. HOLY CRAP I cannot wait for this movie to come out. It cannot come soon enough. I love all of the Marvel movies and am extremely ashamed to say I haven't read many of the comic books. (I do plan to, though, when I have more money and time) Stan Lee deserves so many awards for coming up with ideas this amazing, I mean, come on, a raccoon, a tree, a green woman and a guy named Star Lord are off to save the universe. ASDFGHJKL. Honestly, this movie looks amazing and halarious and it has Vin Diesel and Benecio del Toro.

2. The Amazing Spider-man Two- Why? Andrew Garfield.

 Need I say more?

No, but really, The Amazing Spider-man charmed me in a way that the originals didn't. To me, Toby McGuire made a really whiny version of one of the coolest superheroes out there. In other words, so much wasted potential. Emma Stone and Andrew just made a better fit, both of their characters are capable, and they don't complain all the time. Plus, #EnemiesUnite !!! What?!? Rhino, Electro, and a gorgeous Green Goblin?! Well, at first anyway, he sort of turns green after a while... (Hopefully he's complicated)

3. The Hobbit: There and Back Again. How could you not want to see this? It's got Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman and Ian McKellan and it'll have Elijah Wood as Frodo in this one *grins happily*. Not only is the cast amazing, the graphics are going to be so amazing, the storyline is awesome, even if it doesn't follow the book, and for God's sake it's The Hobbit!

4.  The Maze Runner. My brother and I both read the book, so now I kind of feel obligated to go. He doesn't read many books. Although, I have seen the trailer, and it looks as though it's going to follow the book fairly well. The book was awesome and new and original, and I really hope that the movie follows it as well as it promises too.

5. How To Train Your Dragon Two. I really love animated, Disney-esque sorts of movies. They're fluffy and adorable and Hiccup has stubble in this one. Cate Blanchet is his mother *.* and I just am so excited I even have a poster :D

6. Mockingjay Part One. Do I really need to explain why I want to see this? Francis Lawrence is a gift from God, and Jennifer Lawrence deserves all of the awards. But Finnick...*sobs*

7.  Malificent. Oh, I think this one is going to be cool. Angelina Jolie stars as Malificent, and you get to see Sleeping Beauty from her point of view. Oh, Jolie is going to be a perfect Malificent, she has a great voice for the part. (It's not animated though)

Malificent when she's going to go see the baby princess...

8. Into the Woods. I've watched the play a whole bunch of times at my school, and I really think the plot line is interesting. A whole bunch of fairy tales combine so they are all happening on the same night in the same woods. Besides the totally cool story and the fact that I already love the play, the cast consists of: Johnny Depp, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Chris Pine, and Anna Kendrick. And those are only some of them!! 

9. The Other Woman. This really doesn't have to do with anything, it just looks hilarious. It stars Cameron Diaz and Kate Upton, and Nicki Minaj is in it as well. It appears as though it's going to be witty and fluffy, and I figure I have to see just maybe one sort of movie of this kind before the end of the year, so not everything is so angsty.

As for movies I don't want to see. 

The Giver. I read the book for my English class last year, and it isn't that bad of a book. It wasn't my favorite, but then again, it was for class. I was planning on going to see the movie, until I saw the trailer. It's like they took the book and changed it into some sort of action movie with heart stopping action and romance and while I like Brendon Thwaites he's too old to be Jonas. Weird, how you can have amazing book to movie adaptations like the Hunger Games and then you have this. I won't judge yet though, if the reviews are good enough I might go see it.

Godzilla. I have a feeling this movie is going to be one of those shaky-camera action movies, where you can't see the fight, you can just hear the grunts of pain from the two participants. It's going to have a lot of angst and debate and a little romance in there and a monster who destroys New York. Nothing we haven't all seen before. 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Yes, it's becoming a movie, and yes, it has Megan Fox. While it looks like a cute, comedy, superhero movie, I don't think I want to spend seven dollars plus gas to go see it. Maybe if a friend buys it when it's out on DVD I'll see it, but it just doesn't have that 'wow' factor with me.

Batman vs. Superman. I didn't like Man of Steel, and the only Batman I really liked was The Dark Knight, with Heath Ledger as the Joker. Once again, I don't like the shaky-camera action scenes all that much, and that is just about all that Man of Steel was. Over the top violence does not make a movie good! Another thing, why would Batman and Superman fight?

Anyway, so that's an abbreviated list of the movies I do and do not want to see in the future. :D

xxAvalon

DNF Review: The Brokenhearted by Amelia Kahaney

Title: The Brokenhearted
Author: Amelia Kahaney

Rating: One Star

Synopsis:

 Prima ballerina Anthem Fleet is closely guarded by her parents in their penthouse apartment. But when she meets the handsome Gavin at a party on the wrong side of town, she is immediately drawn into his dangerous world. Then, in a tragic accident, Anthem falls to her death. She awakes in an underground lab, with a bionic heart ticking in her chest. As she navigates her new life, she uncovers the sinister truth behind those she trusted the most, and the chilling secret of her family lineage…and her duty to uphold it.

The Dark Knight meets Cinder in this gripping and cinematic story of heartbreak and revenge. From Alloy Entertainment, this inventive new superhero story is sure to captivate any reader.

Cover:

Why it sucked:
When I saw this book, it looked awesome. It had a gorgeous cover, a pretty cool name, and an interesting synopsis. And yet...

Our main character was not only just inconsistent, she was inconsistent to things she claimed to be consistent about. She was loyal to her ballet, she skips practice...everyday. She was a level-headed girl who made clear choices, she follows a cute stranger around like a puppy dog. She was afraid of losing her virginity, she knows a guy for one week and sleeps with him.

The characters were not only inconsistent, but unbelievable. I couldn't even force myself to believe that this was 'actually' happening.

Gavin. What the fuck, mate? Seriously, you just meet this girl in a club, mind you, so you think she's pretty and paint a gorgeous, breathtaking, life size picture of her...in less than a few days. Yeah, okay, that's totally believable. And then you take her to your secret lair where almost no one has ever been before the second day you've known this chick. And then you sleep with her?!?

I took away one star for the the stupidity of Anthem. Another for the unbelievable characteristics of Gavin. Another for the zero world-building. Another because the author's presence was clearly felt in the story, and I'm not talking writing style. You could feel the author breathing down your neck as you read, it was sort of obvious that she got too excited about the story while writing it, and didn't take any time to actually develop anything properly.

I can't say I'm entirely sure why I even gave it one star. Maybe because I didn't finish it and I felt bad about that? Whatever.

For anyone who read the synopsis, just please know that this was nothing like Cinder, which was a fantastic and captivating retelling of Cinderella, nor was it like The Dark Knight, where at least the Joker was pretty freaking awesome. The instalove and the pathetic-ness of Anthem and Gavin just distracted me from the actual plot of the book...actually, I think that was the plot...


xxAvalon

Most Highly Anticipated Books of 2014

For me, anyway. :D

1. The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
My NUMBER ONE favorite series. I absolutely LOVE these books, mostly because I admire Hodkin's ability to craft a book mixing such haunting and disturbing elements together, and still being able to make the story line crystal clear with little staccato bursts of hilarity.
2. The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa
I really like all of Julie Kagawa's books, including her other series, the Iron Fey. I like the originality of the series, and how she crafted two mythological things (faeries for the Iron Fey and vampires for the Immortal Rules) and she not only made them good, she made them badass.
3. The One by Kierra Cass
I'm not really sure why I like this series so much. It's just so...frustrating.
4. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
I generally don't like realistic fiction, but between John Green and Stephanie Perkins my love for the genre has increased dramatically.
5. The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan
Before I begin here I just want to put something out there: I truly hate Rick Riordan.
This series has been beloved by my brother and me since we were little kids, and as soon as I heard there was going to be a spinoff, I was a little bit skeptical of how it was going to turn out. So, I borrowed the first book from the library...and then I bought every single Rick Riordan book there was. Which, by the way, cost me a TON of money. Anyway, time went on and my heart became crushed because of his characters and if you get one thing out of this, don't read a Riordan book unless you are prepared to get your heart ripped out of your chest.
6. Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bugardo
I really like the Russian feel of these books. I honestly think it may be the only worthwhile piece of Russian mythology-ish dystopian book out there. All of the characters are well-developed and interesting, even if they aren't likeable. Like the Mara Dyer series, it has a very haunting feel with little bits of humor that make it interesting.
7. City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare
I seriously considered not putting this book on the list because I am seriously NOT looking forward to the heart wrenching pain I know I am going to go through when I finish it. Seven character deaths. NOT FUNNY CASSIE
8. Sweet Reckoning by Wendy Higgins
This series is seriously adorable and hot. I really like Kaidan, and while some of the writing makes it a bit obvious that Higgins is a new author, the idea for the series in itself had great potential, and she really worked with that potential well. I truly enjoy reading these books and they always make me smile.
9. Between the Spark and the Burn by April Genevieve Tucholke 
I liked Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea a lot, and while it was a little bit odd, I'd give the first book a four star review. The second book I hope is as good as the first, although I have my doubts about Neely :(
10. Opposition by Jennifer L. Armentrout
(Is that what it's called???) Anyway, the final book in the Lux series. I love Daemon and Katy, and the pacing in these books was the most perfect thing ever. I like that Armentrout realizes that not all of the beginning stages of the plot has to happen in one book. It takes time for things to develop and escalate, and not all series have to be crammed into three books.

Anyway, this is my list of the books coming out this year that I will buy and read ASAP. Really, they're just continuations of series I've grown attached to over the last few years.


xxAvalon

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

I'm back!!! I'm sorry about the long...long...LONG break...haha...really.  I'm quite ashamed. Anyway, I finally have some time thank you Spring Break so I'm hoping I'll have some more time to post a whole bunch now. :D (maybe even some videos)

Anyway, back to the book review.

Title: Dorothy Must Die
Author: Danielle Paige
Source: Bought it off of Amazon.com
Rating: 4 stars
Synopsis:  I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't ask to be some kind of hero.
But when your whole life gets swept up by a tornado—taking you with it—you have no choice but to go along, you know?
Sure, I've read the books. I've seen the movies. I know the song about the rainbow and the happy little blue birds. But I never expected Oz to look like this. To be a place where Good Witches can't be trusted, Wicked Witches may just be the good guys, and winged monkeys can be executed for acts of rebellion. There's still the yellow brick road, though—but even that's crumbling.
What happened?
Dorothy. They say she found a way to come back to Oz. They say she seized power and the power went to her head. And now no one is safe.
My name is Amy Gumm—and I'm the other girl from Kansas.
I've been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked.
I've been trained to fight.
And I have a mission:
Remove the Tin Woodman's heart.
Steal the Scarecrow's brain.
Take the Lion's courage.
Then and only then—Dorothy must die!
Cover:

Dorothy Must Die was definitely one of the best re-imaginings I've read in a long time. Amy Gumm was likeable and fiery, (Side Note: I think YA authors are finally getting the message that strong heroines = GOODNESS) and the book kept me hooked all the way through.

I've never been a big fan of The Wizard of Oz, or any of the Hollywood productions of the film. Before Dorothy Must Die, I'd  never heard of or taken any interest into any re-tellings of the story, but I have to say, this book made up for all of my misgivings.

Amy Gumm. Amy is sarcastic and rude, and she's not afraid to push the limits. One of the first scenes in the book is when she gets into a fight with a pregnant girl, right before having to go home and deal with her alcoholic mother who stopped caring about her when she was nine. Amy transformed a lot during the story, and maybe that's one of the reasons I loved it so much was the character development. She could take an experience of any type and take a lesson out of it, or at least appreciate it's worth later on, no matter how upset she was about it at first.

When a tornado hits Amy's small town in Kansas, she is whisked away to Oz, where she is greeted by a mysterious boy and a punk munchkin named Indigo. When she is taken in by Princess Dorothy's new hooligans, Amy is facing a certain death sentence. Until, that is, she is rescued by a powerful witch and taken back to the headquarters for the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked. The Wicked witches who once hated each other are working together now, recruiting whoever is willing to stand up to evil Dorothy, to take the princess down. Above everything else, one thing is ranked atop their priorities: Dorothy must die.

The love interest(s) in this story was a bit odd. I wasn't entirely sure how to feel about Pete, other than I found Amy's reaction to him a bit harsh. I liked him well enough, but he wasn't even a big character until about the end of the book. Then there was a big plot twist (which I won't reveal). But anyway, Pete really wasn't an object to drool over. The other love interest (if you could call Pete a love interest), Nox, was a bit more drool worthy, although we didn't really get a good picture of what he was like.

Which is why I had to take a away the last star. Despite the fact that I really enjoyed this book, it lacked some serious descriptive qualities. Paige would explain certain things, but it was never enough to paint a clear picture of the scenery, or the characters. One of the reasons I was so confused on how to feel about Pete was because I never really got a clear depiction of his personality, his looks, or even how he sounded.

All in all, this was a great book, it just needed a bit more of a clear picture. It had a great setup for a sequel, and I fully plan on reading the ebook prequel No Place Like Oz. I'm hoping for a bit more developed relationship between Nox and Amy in the next book, and I can't wait to hear more on how she's going to be completing her task given to her by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked.

xxAvalon