Hide and Seek by Sara Shepard...

Series: The Lying Game (Book #4)
Published: July 31st 2012 by HarperTeen
Pages: 288
Rating: 2 stars
Age Recommendation: -

Synopsis:

My friends and I used to play lying games.

Now my twin sister is living one.

When I was alive, my family seemed picture-perfect. My adoptive parents adored me, and my little sister, Laurel, copied my every move. But now that my long-lost twin, Emma, has taken my place to solve my murder, we're both learning just how flawed my family really is.

Laurel is shooting Emma nasty looks and sneaking around with my ex-boyfriend. And it turns out my parents are keeping a huge secret--could it be the reason I'm dead?

How far would they go to keep the truth buried? No one can harm me now, but Emma is still fair game. And if she's not careful, she'll end up buried, too. . . .

From Sara Shepard, the #1 "New York Times" bestselling author of the Pretty Little Liars books, comes a riveting series about secrets, lies, and killer consequences.

Review:

I really wanted to like this book, I really did. I had heard great things about it from people who like me had thought that the last book in the series was a huge dissapointment. But for me this book fell flat for me.

The plot. I don't know what it was about this book but there is just something about this book and the last that really didn't hold my interest. I thought that the plot had a lot of promise but was just executed in the wrong way and I also thought that it lacked depth. But in saying that I did think that there were some good plot twists in this book and I thought that the book flowed very well and was very easy to read.

The characters. I liked seeing that change in Sutton's character, in the last book I thought that it was just that she had been written wrong but when it came to reading this book I came to the realization that her character had changed for the better which I really liked.
I also really liked Emma's character. I thought that she was really relateable and I loved that even though she was so good at playing Sutton she still is able to hold onto her own personality.
I really enjoyed reading Ethan's character as well. I think that he has handeled everything that has happened throughout the series really well and he seems to take everything very seriously and believe in Emma.

Overall I didn't think that this book was the worst in the series but for me it defineitly wasn't the best either so I think this will be the last book in the series that I read unless I see some amazing reviews about the books that come out in the future.

Elixir by Hilary Duff...

Series: Elixir (Book #1)
Published: July 1st 2011 by Simon & Schuster Children's
Pages: 330
Rating: 2 stars
Age Recommendation: -

Synopsis:
Clea Raymond is a talented photojournalist and the daughter of high-profile parents. Usually she's in total control of her camera, but after Clea's father disappears while on a humanitarian mission, eerie, shadowy images of a strange and handsome young man begin to appear in Clea's photos--a man she has never seen in her life. When Clea suddenly encounters this man in person she is stunned--and feels an immediate and powerful connection. As they grow closer, they are drawn deep into the mystery behind her father's disappearance and discover the centuries-old truth behind their intense bond. Torn by a dangerous love triangle and haunted by a powerful secret that holds their fate, together they race against time to unravel their past in order to save their future--and their lives.

Review:

I didn't have very high expectations when I went into reading this book just because I know that more times than not when celebrities try to go into other relms then what they are orginally known for it doesn't normally go well and for me this book fell flat. The plot. For me I found that the plot didn't really hold my interest because it was so far fetched. Yes, I know this is meant to be a paranormal book but I think that this is probably the most far-fetched of any paranormal book that I have...moreI didn't have very high expectations when I went into reading this book just because I know that more times than not when celebrities try to go into other relms then what they are orginally known for it doesn't normally go well and for me this book fell flat. The plot. For me I found that the plot didn't really hold my interest because it was so far fetched. Yes, I know this is meant to be a paranormal book but I think that this is probably the most far-fetched of any paranormal book that I have read and I also found the plot quite hard to follow as new characters were being introduced from the past and for me it just all seemed to get a bit confusing so I lost interest towards the end of the book. The characters. For me the characters weren't very relateable, there was just something about them that made it so I couldn't really feel for their characters as much as I have in many most other books that I read. Overall, This book just wasn't for me, the idea of the book had a lot of promise and that's what got me interested in reading the book in the first place but I just don't think that it was executed in the right way.

Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire...

Series: Beautiful (Book #1)
Published: August 14th 2012 by Simon & Schuster UK
Pages: 432
Rating: 5 stars
Age Recommendation: 16+ (Due to mature content and violence)

Synopsis:

The new Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate percentage of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance between her and the darkness of her past, but when she arrives at college with her best friend, her path to a new beginning is quickly challenged by Eastern University's Walking One-Night Stand.

Travis Maddox, lean, cut, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby needs—and wants—to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a floating fight ring, and his days as the ultimate college campus charmer. Intrigued by Abby’s resistance to his appeal, Travis tricks her into his daily life with a simple bet. If he loses, he must remain abstinent for a month. If Abby loses, she must live in Travis’s apartment for the same amount of time. Either way, Travis has no idea that he has met his match.

Review:

Words cannot describe my emotions right now... Which does sound a bit dramatic but it is non the less true. After finishing this book I am finding it hard to collect my thoughts enough to write this review but I thought I would give it a try anyway and see how it goes.

The plot. I have one word, LOVED! My friend recommended this to me a little over a year ago and I never picked it up, but when I was buying some books online I remembered she had reccomended it to me, I have to admit when I read up about it I was a bit skeptical because at the top of the synopsis it said if you were a fan of "50 Shades Of Grey" then I would like the book. Now I have never read 50 Shades and have no desire to, so I was really hoping that that reccomendation was wrong. Luckily I don't think this book was anything like "50 Shades Of Grey" not that I can really compare because I haven't read, it but going off of what I have heard about it. I really did love the plot of this book I thought that it was amazing, I thought the pacing was great the relationship between Abby and Travis was pretty realistic in the way that their feelings for each other developed throughout the book. I thought that the storyline was great aswell, yes it was the typical good girl falls in love with a bad boy but in this book and how everything was written I thought it worked. The ending I have to admit was pretty cheesy but I still couldn't stop reading.

The charcters. I loved the characters! I thought that they were all really realistic though I had a bit of trouble at the start desiphering who was who, but as I started to read it seemed to click pretty quickly. I loved Abby's character. I really liked that the book was told from her POV because I got to see how the relationship she had with Travis made her feel and see how her character changed throughout the book and I just thought that her character was really enjoyable to read.
I also really liked Travis ofcourse. Yes he was over protective but in a way I couldn't really fault it because he just wanted to make sure that Abby was safe. I loved seeing how his character developed throughout the course of the book and seeing him let his guard down around Abby. I also loved being able to see his pain when things wern't going so well for their relationship in the book, I liked that he showed how he was feeling to Abby and I thought it was portrayed very well in the story by Jamie McGuire.
And last but definitely not least America and Shepley. I loved them! I think if this book was without them I wouldn't have liked the story half as much. They had witty remarks throughout the book which made me laugh and also they were both really great friends to Abby and Travis.

Overall I loved this book and I think it has become one of my favourites and one that I will be reading for years to come. I was so glad to find out that it was the first in a series so I cannot wait for the second books release sometime next year, I will definitely be pre-ordering it, I would definitley reccomend this book.

Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout...

Series: Lux (Book #2)
Published: August 14th 2012 by Entangled Teen
Pages: 366
Rating: 5 stars
Age Recommendation: -

Synopsis:

Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…

Thanks to his alien mojo, Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro connection. So I’ve sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we’ve got bigger problems.

Something worse than the Arum has come to town…

The Department of Defense are here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we're linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And there's this new boy in school who’s got a secret of his own. He knows what’s happened to me and he can help, but to do so, I have to lie to Daemon and stay away from him. Like that's possible. Against all common sense, I'm falling for Daemon. Hard.

But then everything changes…

I’ve seen someone who shouldn’t be alive. And I have to tell Daemon, even though I know he’s never going to stop searching until he gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me?

No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies…

Review:

This series has just put Jennifer L. Armentrout into a very close second place behind Richelle Mead in my top favourite authors, which from me is something big. I had really high expectations when I startes reading this book because I had loved Obsidian, but this book completely surpassed my expectations.

The plot. All I can say is WOW, what a rollercoster ride, the plot was so fast paced with so many twists and turns this would have been finished within a couple of hours if it hadn't been for having to finish assignments and helping my mum buy a new laptop. But really this book was just a complete joy to read, the pacing was great, there were so many twists and turns in the book, the characters were realistic and the relationships were so realistic in how they developed. Really it was just a great book.

The characters. I LOVED the characters, I feel a lot more connected to the characters after reading this book. I really loved Katy's character, I loved that in this book I got to see a bit more of her vulnerable side and also how her and Daemon's relationship developed throughout the book. I really felt for her in the choices she made, she really felt like she was doing what was best for everyone and I have to admire her for that.
Ahhh Daemon... I have seriously fallen in love with him after reading this book. I saw a HUGE change in his character while reading this book, he really started to let his emotions show and it just made him a really likeable guy and I loved seeing how his relationship changed with Katy through the course of the book and how he started to let his guard down... I am really looking foward to see what happens with their relationship in the next book.

Overall I have completely loved reading this book. This series has defineitly become one of my favourite series and it will be one that I read over and over for years to come, I really don't think I could tire of reading this series. And I cannot wait to see what's in store for Katy, Dee and Daemon in Opal, I'm so glad mines already on pre-order.

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout...

Series: Lux (Book #1)
Published: May 8th 2012 by Entangled Teen
Pages: 361
Rating: 5 stars
Age Recommendation: -

Synopsis:

Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I'd pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring.... until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something...unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon's touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I'm getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don't kill him first, that is.

Review:

I completely fell in love with this book! I read it in one sitting because it was so engrossing and I just couldn't bring myself to put it down and do the assignments that were sitting on my desk undone.

The plot. To be honest when I first opened this book I had no idea what to expect because throughout my four years of reading I have never read an alien book so I was excited. I knew that it was going to be good because I had already read the "Covanent" series also by Jennifer L. Armentrout which I completely adore and this book was much of the same. I thought that the set up of the story was great, I could easily picture the characters and see what was going on in my head. I loved the storyline, it was like nothing I had ever read before and there were so many twists and turn in the plot that I had to keep turning the page to see what happened next.

The charcters. I loved the characters, they were all written really well and they all had really distinct personalities. I loved Katy's character, I loved having the story told from her POV because she was just so relateable and nice, I thought that she was a really strong character and I liked that she stood up for herself.
I also really liked Dee's character, she made the book such a joy for me to read, her bubbly personality was infectious.
And last but definitely not least Daemon... Okay so I really didn't like him at the start of the book, he just seemed way too full of himself and just really didn't like him. But as the book progressed I did find myself likeing him a lot more because I could see the internal struggle that he was going through. I liked seeing how he changed throughout the book as he started to spend more time with Katy, though he did still have some unlikeable moments.

Overall I thought that this was a great start to the series, I am so glad that I bought the second book and pre-ordered the third when I bought this book because I can tell that this is a series that I am going to love.

Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward...

Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood (Book #9)
Published: November 1st 2011 by Signet
Pages: 537
Rating: 5 stars
Age Recommendation: 16+ (Due to graphic content and violence)

Synopsis:

Few authors give readers such a “powerful rush”* as #1 New York Times bestselling author J.R. Ward does in her phenomenal books of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Now she returns to that fiercely intoxicating world in a new novel of a woman’s journey from terrifying enslavement to an erotic rapture that proves equally dangerous…

Payne, twin sister of Vishous, is cut from the same dark, warrior cloth as her brother: A fighter by nature, and a maverick when it comes to the traditional role of Chosen females, there is no place for her on the Far Side… and no role for her on the front lines of the war, either.

When she suffers a paralyzing injury, human surgeon Dr. Manuel Manello is called in to treat her as only he can- and he soon gets sucked into her dangerous, secret world. Although he never before believed in things that go bump in the night- like vampires- he finds himself more than willing to be seduced by the powerful female who marks both his body and his soul.

As the two find so much more than an erotic connection, the human and vampire worlds collide … just as a centuries old score catches up with Payne and puts both her love and her life in deadly jeopardy.

Review:

This series keeps suprising me. When I think things just can't get any better with this series they do.

The plot. I loved the plot, especially because it was about two of the side characters that I have seen thoughout the course of the series. I was interested to see what J.R. Ward would do with it and how she would get Manny and Payne together because Manny loved his job and I couldn't really see him giving it up. For me I felt that the plot of the book ran a little bit slower than the previous books but I still really enjoyed it. There was no lesser POV in this book but I found that I didn't mind not having their POV in the story because I have come to find in the last few books that it wasn't really nessasary for the story, but I really did like seeing the other vampire group's POV in this book and there were defineitley some unexpected things happened, especially towards the end and I thought that it was a really enjoyable read.

The characters. I loved Manny's character, I have loved him ever since he came along in Vishous's story, I thought that his character was really witty and I was hoping that I would get to see more of him again. I loved being able to see inside his head and see the loss that he felt for Jane's death (in Lover Unleashed) and seeing how he changed when he started to have a relationship with Payne.
I also really loved Payne's character. I will admit when I first started reading about her character in previous books I found her character to be boring and I found myself skimming and even sometimes skipping her chapters because I just didn't find her interesting enough to want to read things from her POV. But reading this book I really found a love for her character, I thought that she was really strong and knew what she wanted and really was a great match for Manny.

Overall I really enjoyed reading this book and I cannot wait to start the next one.

Lover Mine by J.R. Ward...

Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood (Book #8)
Published: November 30th 2010 by Signet
Pages: 615
Rating: 5 stars
Age Recommendation: 16+ (Due to graphic content and violence)

Synopsis:

In the darkest corners of the night in Caldwell, New York, a conflict like no other rages. Long divided as a terrifying battleground for the vampires and their enemies, the city is home to a band of brothers born to defend their race: the warrior vampires of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

John Matthew has come a long way since he was found living among humans, his vampire nature unknown to himself and to those around him. After he was taken in by the Brotherhood, no one could guess what his true history was- or his true identity. Indeed, the fallen Brother Darius has returned, but with a different face and a very different destiny. As a vicious personal vendetta takes John into the heart of the war, he will need to call up on both who he is now and who he once was in order to face off against evil incarnate.

Xhex, a symphath assassin, has long steeled herself against the attraction between her and John Matthew. Having already lost one lover to madness, she will not allow the male of worth to fall prey to the darkness of her twisted life. When fate intervenes, however, the two discover that love, like destiny, is inevitable between soul mates

Review:

Best book in the series so far! I literally couldn't put this book down so I ended up reading it in one sitting, all 615 pages of it.

The plot. I loved the plot. When I found out this book was on John Matthew my expectations for the book went through the roof just because I knew the story was going to involve his inner circles POV's and his friend's are some of my favourite characters in the series so I couldn't wait to get inside Xhex, Blay and Qhuinn's heads, and they really didn't dissapoint. One of the main things that I loved about the plot of this book was ofcourse the action and the pacing of the book, but also how I got to see characters and relationships develop throughout the book and seeing how they all changed whether it be for the good or bad.

The charaacters. Like I said before I loved reading all of these characters because they were some of my favourties in the series so far and this book just really solidified that. John Matthew... Where to start. I have to admit when I first started reading about him the series I didn't like him but as I read about him more he really started to grow on me and eventually became one of my favourite characters. I thought that he was great in this book, I loved being able to see inside his head and also how he grew throughout the book as his relationship with Xhex started to change.
I also really liked Xhex's character, she has always been a favourite character of mine, but this book just made me like her even more, I loved being able to see into her head as well as being shown a bit of her past, I loved seeing how she changed throughout the book.
And last but definitely not least, Qhuinn and Blay, I really think they just need to hurry up and get together already! Their story is seriously breaking my heart, being in their heads and feeling their pain while reading their POV's seriously killed me, but also made me love their characters all the more.

Overall this would have to be my favourite book in the series so far and I cannot wait to see what happens to all these characters in the next books.

Lover Avenged by J.R. Ward...

Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood (Book #7)
Published: November 24th 2009 by Signet
Pages: 642
Rating: 5 stars
Age Recommendation: 16+ (Due to graphic content and violence)

Synopsis:

Rehvenge is used to living in the shadows and dealing with the roughest night walkers around—including the Black Dagger Brotherhood. As his secret identity as a sympath is threatened, he turns to the only light in his ever darkening world—a female vampire untouched by corruption, who’s the only thing standing between him and eternal damnation.

Review:

Wow, that is all I can say... This story just keeps getting better with each book I read I seriously cannot get enough.

The plot. I loved the plot, I thought that it was really fast paced especially towards the end and when I actualy did get the chance to pick up the book I never wanted to put it down. There were definitly a lot of plot twists in the book and definitly things happened that I did not see coming even from the first page of the book. The only downside for me in this book was the parts from Lash's POV, I really have liked these in the past but in this story I found myself just skimming over his chapters.

The characters. I loved the characters, I thought that they were all written really well and just made this book so interesting and ejoyable to read. Rehvenge... Where to start, he has been one of my favourite characters for a while so when I found out that this book was on him I was really excited to be able to see a bit more inside of his head, and he didn't dissapoint. I loved being able to see what he is really feeling as apossed to what he portrays to the world and how I got to see what he thinks of the things that he does and how he is very protective of the people that he cares about. I also loved deeing how he changed throughout the book once he got to know Ehlena.
I also really loved Ehlena's character, I thought that she was really strong and stood up for what she thought was right and didn't care what anyone else thought which I think made her a great match for Rehvenge. But one of the things that I loved most about her character was that even though that she was so strong she was still incredibly kind.

Overall I really loved this book and I thought that it was a great edition to the series, these books keep surpassing my expectaions and J.R. Ward keeps coming up with amazing plot twists so I cannot wait to see what happens in the next book.