Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire...

Series: Beautiful (Book #2)
Published: April 2nd 2013 by Atria Books
Pages: 433
Date Finished: April 14th, 2013
Rating: 5 stars
Age Recommendation: 16+ (Due mature content)

Synopsis:

Finally, the highly anticipated follow-up to the New York Times bestseller Beautiful Disaster. Can you love someone too much?
Travis Maddox learned two things from his mother before she died: Love hard. Fight harder.

In Walking Disaster, the life of Travis is full of fast women, underground gambling, and violence. But just when he thinks he is invincible, Abby Abernathy brings him to his knees.

Every story has two sides. In Beautiful Disaster, Abby had her say. Now it’s time to see the story through Travis’s eyes.

Review:

This would have to be the best book that I have had the pleasure of reading this year so far, it was a completely perfect book for me.

The plot. When I first heard that this book was going to be from Travis's POV my expectations for this book went through the roof, I loved his character in "Beautiful Disaster" and I couldn't wait to finally be able to get inside his head and to finally see the emotion that I saw in "Beautiful Disaster" being played out within his head. I loved having the story of "Beautiful Disaster" played out from Travis's POV and being able to see parts of the story that we didn't get to see in "Beautiful Disaster" because Abby wasn't around as well as seeing a lot more into Travis's home life which gave me a much better insight into why Travis is the way he is. But one of the best parts for me would have to have been the epilogue, I loved seeing into Abby and Travis's future, seeing that they had both made something of themselves and were both very happy in the life that they had made together and I thought that it was a perfect ending to the book.

The characters. I loved all of the characters in the book and also being able to see them in the way that Travis thought of them, I thought that it was very interesting seeing the difference in what both Abby and Travis thought of the same character.
Travis. I couldn't find a fault with his character in this book, sure he made some mistakes but for me since it was being told from his POV he MADE the book for me. I loved seeing how much of an emotional character he was and seeing the vulnerability that I didn't get to see in "Beautiful Disaster" I also loved seeing the back story into Abby's nickname at the start of the book though I also found that to be quite heart-breaking also and how that event helped shape him into the man he was when he was with Abby. I loved seeing his transformation throughout the book up close and from his POV when he started having a relationship with Abby and how she changed him for the better. This book really just made me love his character even more than I already did after reading "Beautiful Disaster".
Abby. I also really enjoyed her character in this book and seeing her through Travis's eyes. I loved seeing just how entertaining Abby was to Travis and how she ended up changing him for the better. I thought that she was a great match for Travis and really helped him to become the person that I saw in reading the epilogue.
America and Sheply. I love them both even more after reading both of the books in the series because I now know them both equally as well. I loved seeing how their relationship played out in situations that I didn't get to see in "Beautiful Disaster" and this book made me love Sheply's character even more, I thought that he was funny, witty and a great person.

Overall this a book that I thoroughly enjoyed and one that I will be reading over again alongside "Beautiful Disaster" very soon this was an amazing second book in an amazing series and is one that I would recommend to anyone.

Covet by J.R. Ward...

Series: Fallen Angels (Book #1)
Published: October 29th 2009 by Signet
Pages: 474
Date Finished: April 12th, 2013
Rating: 5 stars
Age Recommendation: 16+ (Due to sexual and other mature content)

Synopsis:

Redemption isn’t a word Jim Heron knows much about—his specialty is revenge, and to him, sin is all relative. But everything changes when he becomes a fallen angel and is charge with saving the souls of seven people from the seven deadly sins. And failure is not an option. Vin DiPietro long ago sold his soul to his business, and he’s good with that — until fate intervenes in the form of a tough- talking, Harley-riding, self-professed savior. But then he meets a woman who will make him question his destiny, his sanity, and his heart—and he has to work with a fallen angel to win her over and redeem his own soul.

Review:

I had very high expectations after reading and loving J.R. Ward's "Black Dagger Brotherhood" series and I was interested what she would do with the concept of fallen angels, well she did not disappoint I thought that this was a great first book, so good in fact I bought the next three in the series when I was about half way through.

The plot. I really did enjoy the plot of this book. I loved how it was set in the same city as the BDB series and also had a small side character in BDB becoming the main love interest as well as bringing in other side characters from the series. I thought that having those familiar characters and the familiar setting feel like the elaborate storyline and world set up was that much of a leap. I thought that the overall feel of the book was a lot like the BDB series also, but in saying that the book also stood on it's own and it had so many differences that I didn't feel that this was a repeat of the series. I loved having the multiple POV in this book also, I thought that it bought a whole different element to the book and really was able to draw me in a lot more because I was able to relate to all of the characters from seeing inside their heads.

The characters. I thought that they were all written flawlessly and they all had their own different personality traits and were all likeable for their own reasons.
Marie-Terese. I really enjoyed her character and seeing how she developed throughout the book into a more trusting person. From the start of the book I liked her, I loved seeing her strength in what she had been through with her family situation and the lengths she had gone to to make sure that her son was safe.
Vin. I also enjoyed Vin's character in this book. I liked seeing the transformation he went through from the start of the book and how he started to feel love for another person when he met Marie-Terese. I liked seeing how their relationship slowly changed him for the better.
Jim. I liked seeing how the situation he was in ultimately changed him into a better person and how he started to let people into his life which he hadn't done for a long time and I also really enjoyed reading everything that happened to him in this book.

Overall I thought that this was a great first book the series. I thought that it was well written, well thought out and just ultimately a great book and I cannot wait to see what is in store for Jim in the rest of the series.

Eden by Jamie McGuire...

Series: Providence (Book #3)
Published: April 3rd 2012 by CreateSpace
Pages: 276
Rating: 4 stars
Age Recommendation: -

Synopsis:

She had seen the unspeakable. She had learned the unknowable. Now, she would fight the invincible. In the third and final installment of the Providence series, Nina Grey will marry the wrong man, carry the child that was never supposed to be born, and fight a war she can't win. Faced with the impossible task of protecting his new wife and unborn child against the throes of Hell, Jared Ryel is allowed no mistakes. Pressured to return the Naissance de Demoniac to Jerusalem, he revisits St. Ann's to learn the answers were in front of him all along. Together, they must survive long enough to let their child save them - and the world.

Review:

I had pretty high expectations after finishing "Requiem" and really liking it, and this book didn't let me down. I thought that it tied up all the loose ends in the series very well and I thought that it was a very well done and very well thought out end to the series.

The plot. I will say right off the bat that this would have to be the book that I liked the least in the series, but that is not to say that it wasn't a great book because I really did enjoy the plot of this book. For the most part I thought that the storyline was very fast paced and entertaining, though, towards the end of the book I did think that it started to drag a bit with all of the fight scenes. But apart from that I thought that the book flowed very well and I thought that the ending came to a natural conclusion and I didn't feel that it was rushed which I have found in countless other series that I have read over the years. I liked seeing more of the strategical side of the work that Jared and his family does and also seeing how Nina started to take control and make some of the decisions and I thought that it was very interesting to see Jared not being fully in control at times because it was something that I was so used to seeing.

The characters. Like all of the other books that I have read from Jamie McGuire the characters were written very well and I loved seeing all of their different personalities and quirks shine through as I was reading them.
Nina. I enjoyed reading Nina's character in this book and how I got to see her take more control of the situation that she found herself in and start being on the offensive when it came to protecting her family rather than it being primarily Jared's job. I thought that Nina took everything tha happened to her in her stride and made the best out of a situation when she could. I really felt for her as she had to watch everything that was happening to the people around her that we're associated with her in one way or another and how she was powerless to do anything. But ultimately I found myself really liking Nina's character at the end of the book, and with reading this series in about three days it was great to be able to see the progression her character has made throughout the series and seeing what she was like at the start of the series and how she changed into the stronger, more determined person that she is now.
Jared. Like in all the other book I found that I couldn't fault Jared's character. He always had Nina's best interests a heart and even though he had to make her do some things that she didn't want to do it was always in the interest of keeping her safe. Something else I loved about his character was even though asunder under a lot of stress in this book he still always found time for Nina and did whatever she needed him to do for her.
Bex. He is a character that I haven't talked about yet , but I really found him entertaining while reading him in this book. I thought that he was so sweet and really looked up to and admired his brother and sister and strived to be like them. I also really loved his great one liners and I found that he was very entertaining to read about.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and I thought that it was a great conclusion to the series. I thought that it tied up all the loose ends and left no question unanswered. As a whole I have really enjoyed this series and it is one that I would definitely recommend.

Requiem by Jamie McGuire...

Series: Providence (Book #2)
Published: June 11th 2011 by Jamie McGuire LLC
Pages: 257
Rating: 4 stars
Age Recommendation: -

Synopsis:

Dreaming of the dead might mean a restless night for anyone, but for Nina Grey it was a warning.

Still healing from her last run-in with Hell, Nina struggles with not only her life as a Brown University student, but also as an intern at Titan Shipping, her father's company. Recurring nightmares about her father's violent death have become a nightly event, but being overwhelmed with guilt from Ryan's unexpected departure to the Armed Forces, and heart ache over Claire being across the ocean to protect him, Nina believes her sleepless nights are the least of her problems—but she's wrong.

Worried about Nina's declining health, Jared must steal back Shax's book for answers. Fighting new enemies, and with the help of new friends, Jared's worst fear comes to fruition. Desperate, he is faced with a choice: Fight Hell alone, or start a war with Heaven.

Review:

I had extremely high expectations going into this book after reading and loving "Providence". I thought that this book was a little slow to start and I will admit that "Providence" was a little bit better but for me this was still a four star book.

The plot. I really enjoyed the plot of this book. Though I didn't think that this book held as much of the mystery as "Providence", but I think that may be due to the fact that we had already found out the major secret of the series. I thought that the pacing of the book was great and I loved how I got to see some more of how Jared did his work and all of the twists, turns and unexpected things that happened within the book. I found this book to be a quick, fun and entertaining read and one that had me turning the pages up into the early hours.

The characters. I thought that just like "Providence" all the characters were written extremely well in this book and all their individual personalities shone through. Though I will admit there were a few characters I didn't like.
Nina. I still really enjoyed Nina's character in this book and I thought that she was still very relatable and took everything that was happening to her in the stride. I thought that what happened to her throughout most of the book was a very interesting twist and something that I was not expecting. Another thing I loved was just seeing how happy Jared made her in this book and seeing how their relationship progressed, though I thought that the ending was a little predictable I was still very happy for them.
Jared. I loved Jared in this book! He would have to be the only character within the book that I couldn't find a fault with. I loved seeing the lengths he would go to when it came to protecting Nina and how he genuinely felt like the luckiest guy alive to be with Nina and to have her in his life.
Ryan. He would have to be the one character that I did have a problem with. I can't pin-point one specific thing that I didn't like about his character in this book but whenever he would come up I would get the same annoyed feeling. I thought that in this book he seemed very needy and he was a complete contrast to the guy I had gotten to know in "Providence".

Overall I thought that this was a very quick, enjoyable read and I very good edition to the series. Though I will admit I did find "Providence" to be a little bit better this is still a book that I would recommend and I cannot wait to see what happens in the last instalment of the series.

Providence by Jamie McGuire...

Series: Providence (Book #1)
Published: November 17th 2010 by Jamie McGuire LLC
Pages: 484
Rating: 5 stars
Age Recommendation: -

Synopsis:

Struggling with her father's death, Nina meets Jared Ryel, presumably by chance. However it soon becomes clear that he knows more about her than even close friends. When her father's former associates begin following her in the dark, Nina learns that her father was not the man she thought he was, but a thief who stole from demons. In searching for the truth behind her father's death, she stumbles upon something she never expected, and something Hell wants, that only she holds the key for. Jared risks everything to keep the women he was born to save, by sharing the secret he was sworn to protect.

Review:

I had very high expectations going into this book after reading and loving "Beautiful Disaster", though I really didn't have much of an idea what this book was about as I decided to buy the first three books in the series on a whim. But I am happy to say I really enjoyed this book.

The plot. I really enjoyed the plot of the book and I thought that it was a really unique storyline. Sure the plot of guardian angels isn't anything new, but the way that the story was written and all of the different ins and outs of this world were like nothing I had ever read before, and I really loved the idea of angel assassins. I also really enjoyed seeing how Nina and Jared's relationship developed throughout the book and seeing the highs and lows of their relationship and really, just how much they loved each other. I thought that the book was paced very well and I thought that there was a lot of suspense and mystery in this book. Something else that I thought was done very well in this book was how Jamie McGuire managed to make a book that was based on such an unrealistic topic and make it seem believable and realistic, overall I thought that it was a very well written book.

The characters. I know from after reading "Beautiful Disaster" that Jamie McGuire has a knack for writting characters and this book was no exception. She had such great attention to detail when it came to writing each and every one of the characters in this book and they all shone for their own reasons.
Nina. I really enjoyed having the book told from Nina's perspective and I think that if it was told from anyone else's POV it wouldn't have had half as much impact as this book had for me. I thought that Nina was a very relatable character and coped very well with the situation she was in and was very open minded to it. I thought that she was very strong willed and always stuck to what she thought was right and would do anything to protect the people she cared about. Thought I thought she did make some poor decisions towards the end of the book in regards top her relationship with Jared, ultimately things turned out the way that they should have and I was so happy for her when it came to the end of the book.
Jared. I really loved Jared in this book. I thought that he was amazingly dedicated to Nina and would do anything for her. I really felt for him with the situation he had been in his whole life and how he had to battle with his feelings on a daily basis until he could finally talk to Nina, but I felt really happy for him as I got to see just how happy Nina made him. I really felt his pain as he was trying to cope with the decision that Nina made about their relationship, but ultimately I really did love Jared's character and I cannot wait to read more about him the next book.

Overall I really did enjoy this book and I was pleasantly surprised, sure I had no idea what to expect when I went into this book because I didn't do my research, but it just goes to show that sometimes by picking up a book by chance, you could just stumble upon a great book. I thought that this was a great first book in the series and I am really excited to see what is in store for Nina, Jared and Claire in the next book.

Burn For Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian...

Series: Burn For Burn (Book #1)
Published: September 18th 2012 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Pages: 368
Rating: 5 stars
Age Recommendation: -

Synopsis:

BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY...
THEY GET EVEN.

Lillia has never had any problems dealing with boys who like her. Not until this summer, when one went too far. No way will she let the same thing happen to her little sister.

Kat is tired of the rumours, the insults, the cruel jokes. It all goes back to one person– her ex-best friend– and she's ready to make her pay.

Four years ago, Mary left Jar Island because of a boy. But she's not the same girl anymore. And she's ready to prove it to him.

Three very different girls who want the same thing: sweet, sweet revenge. And they won't stop until they each had a taste.

Review:

I had very high expectations going into this book after reading Jenny Han's "Summer" series and falling in love with it. But I went into this book not really knowing what to expect, especially because I had not read anything from Siobhan Vivian. But I found that I really enjoyed this book.

The plot. I thought that the plot of this book, though not a completely original idea, was like nothing I had ever read before. Something I really loved about the book was the change of POV between the three girls and how it gave me a chance to learn about the girls as the story went along and I was able to see parts of their lives that the others didn't get to see. I thought that the pacing of the book was great and thought that the book was left on a great cliff hanger.

The characters. I thought that that the three main girls were written very well but when it came to the side characters I found that they fell flat for me especially Rennie.
Lillia. I enjoyed Lillia's character and how her revenge was purely based of trying to keep her sister safe because of what she thought Alex did, so I think that that really speaks volumes about her as a person and that she would do anything for her family and the people that she cares about.
Kat. I also really enjoyed Kat's character and I loved seeing the contrast between her and the two other girls in the way that she lives her life and I thought that it brought a really interesting element to the book. I really felt for her with what she had been through in her life and I thought that she was a really interesting character to read about.
Mary. I really felt for Mary and what she had been through with Reeve and to be honest I thought that her revenge was probably the most justified out of the three girls because of the effect that the bullying had on her. I really think that her story was an important element in the book because I thought that it showed the extent that bullying can have on people.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and I cannot wait to see what happens in the next one and I will definitely be pre-ordering my copy very soon.

Things I Can't Forget by Miranda Kenneally...

Series: Hundred Oaks (Book #3)
Published: March 1st 2013 by Sourcebooks Fire
Pages: 320
Rating: 5 stars
Age Recommendation: 15+ (Due to mature content)

Synopsis:

Companion to Catching Jordan and Stealing Parker.

Kate has always been the good girl. Too good, according to some people at school—although they have no idea the guilty secret she carries. But this summer, everything is different…

This summer she’s a counselor at Cumberland Creek summer camp, and she wants to put the past behind her. This summer Matt is back as a counselor too. He’s the first guy she ever kissed, and he’s gone from a geeky songwriter who loved The Hardy Boys to a buff lifeguard who loves to flirt--with her.

Kate used to think the world was black and white, right and wrong. Turns out, life isn’t that easy…

Review:

I had extremely high expectations for this book after reading and loving the first two in the series and this book definitely lived up to and even surpassed those expectations,

The plot. I didn't really know what to expect when it came to the plot because I hadn't read the synopsis because I didn't want to be spoiled in any way. But I knew two things before I even opened this book... the characters would be written amazingly and I would pretty much fall in love with the book right away, and I was correct on both counts. Even though this wasn't centred around anything sport related like the last two books that really didn't bother me and I thought that it was a nice change. I loved seeing all the new and old characters and how they all interacted with each other and I thought that the pacing of the book was great as well as just how the plot of the book developed throughout the book.

The characters. I really loved all of the characters in this book and I thought that they were all written really well.
Kate. I really enjoyed Kate's character. Sure, I didn't really like her at the start of the book because she was so strict in her beliefs (which isn't a bad thing) but I liked seeing how she changed throughout the book as she went through the weeks at camp and when her relationship with Matt started to develop into something more than friendship and how he started to bring her out of her shell and to become more comfortable in herself.
Matt. I really loved Matt's character also and I loved how him and Kate had that connection of their previous camp so they could build on that friendship. I thought that Matt was a really great guy and was so genuine and caring towards Kate and his friends throughout the book.
Parker. I really enjoyed Parker's character in this book and how she let Kate into her life even what happend with her church when her mum left. I loved seeing how her and Will's relationship developed over the course of the book and how she ultimately became a great friend for Kate.

Overall I really did enjoy this book and I thought that it was a great third book in the series and I will be pre-ordering my copy of "Racing Savannah" very soon.