Title: Unforgotten (Unremembered #2)
Author: Jessica Brody
Published: February, 2014 by Macmillan
Pages: 400
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

After a daring escape from the scientists at Diotech who created her, Seraphina believes she is finally safe from the horrors of her past. But new threats await her and her boyfriend, Zen, at every turn as Zen falls prey to a mysterious illness and Sera’s extraordinary abilities make it more and more difficult to stay hidden. Meanwhile, Diotech has developed a dangerous new weapon designed to apprehend her, a weapon that even Sera will be powerless to stop. Her only hope of saving Zen’s life and defeating the company that made her is a secret buried deep within her mind. A secret that Diotech will kill to protect.

Final Thoughts:
Ranging from bored, to mildly interested, to disturbed, and to just plain annoyed—this book drew a lot of emotions out of me. I’m finding it hard to fathom how I gave the first book a five star rating, when this one was so hard to like. Its first mistake was that it took something like ten chapters before ANYTHING happened. I wanted to give up on it, but forced myself to go on. And then, boom, love triangle. Not the good, or even plausible, kind. No, she is inexplicably drawn to some random new character that’s been sent to capture her for the big evil organisation that created her. He shows no interest in her, forces her to do things, but on she goes wondering about how drawn she is to him. Um, Sera, you have a boyfriend. He loves you. Where is your head???

Title: Signs Point To Yes
Author: Sandy Hall
Published: October, 2015 by Swoon Reads
Pages: 288
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

If only Jane’s Magic 8 Ball could tell her how to get through the summer. With her “perfect” sister, Margo, home for her “perfect” internship, Jane is not going to be able to spend the summer writing fan fiction, as she had planned. And her emergency babysitting job requires Jane to spend the whole summer in awkward proximity to her new crush, Teo, a nerdy-hot lifeguard with problems of his own. With his best friend out of town, Teo finds himself without anyone to confide in…except Jane. Will Jane and Teo be able to salvage each other’s summer? Even the Magic 8 Ball doesn’t have an answer…but signs point to yes.

Final Thoughts:
Fluffy romance is what you’ll find here. The stakes are low to point where pretty much nothing goes wrong for the main character, Jane. The romance, I’d say it’s marshmallow (enough to bite into, but not a lot of substance), and the family drama, it doesn’t go far beyond Jane and her mum arguing over what she’ll do after high school. So if you’re looking for a meaty contemporary to rage over your emotions, this isn’t it. However, it is a quick little book to devour, have some mild fun with, and move on from.

Title: The Rest Of Us Just Live Here
Author: Patrick Ness
Published: August, 2015 by Walker Books
Pages: 352
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

What if you aren’t the Chosen One?

The one who’s supposed to fight the zombies, or the soul-eating ghosts, or whatever the heck this new thing is, with the blue lights and the death?

What if you’re like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom and maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before someone goes and blows up the high school. Again.

Because sometimes there are problems bigger than this week’s end of the world, and sometimes you just have to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life.

Even if your best friend is worshipped by mountain lions.

Final Thoughts:
Now this is a paranormal contemporary done right. I’ve read enough paranormals over the years that get caught up in the teen angst (bitchy girls, annoying best friends, romances with the broody angel/demon/fae/whatever) for most of the book until somewhere around the three-quarter mark when they suddenly remember there’s a world that needs saving. Here, that’s not an issue—the paranormal stuff is going on in the background to a bunch of characters we only learn little blips of—while we get to immerse ourselves in the lives of a bunch of seniors in the month leading up to their high school graduation.

Title: Ten Thousand Skies Above You (Firebird #2)
Author: Claudia Gray
Published: November, 2015 by Harper Teen
Pages: 424
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Ever since she used the Firebird, her parents’ invention, to cross into alternate dimensions, Marguerite has caught the attention of enemies who will do anything to force her into helping them dominate the multiverse—even hurting the people she loves. She resists until her boyfriend, Paul, is attacked and his consciousness scattered across multiple dimensions.

Marguerite has no choice but to search for each splinter of Paul’s soul. The hunt sends her racing through a war-torn San Francisco, the criminal underworld of New York City, and a glittering Paris where another Marguerite hides a shocking secret. Each world brings Marguerite one step closer to rescuing Paul. But with each trial she faces, she begins to question the destiny she thought they shared.

Final Thoughts:
The covers are gorgeous. They’re probably the best thing about this series. I’m two books in now, and I can’t stand Marguerite. Her personality has just driven a wedge between me and this book. While I love all of the different worlds, the adventures we get to experience, and the overall conspiracy of the series going on around them, I just can’t stomach any of this girl’s rationalities for why she does the things she does. I mentioned last time that the romance got in the way of plot, but this time, Marguerite’s obsession with her boyfriend IS the plot. If this were from anyone else’s viewpoint, I probably could have loved this series, but with all of her ramblings of fate, and loving every version of this guy no matter what, it was a struggle.

Title: A Thousand Pieces Of You (Firebird #1)
Author: Claudia Gray
Published: November, 2014 by Harper Teen
Pages: 368
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Marguerite Caine’s physicist parents are known for their radical scientific achievements. Their most astonishing invention: the Firebird, which allows users to jump into parallel universes, some vastly altered from our own. But when Marguerite’s father is murdered, the killer—her parent’s handsome and enigmatic assistant Paul—escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him.

Marguerite can’t let the man who destroyed her family go free, and she races after Paul through different universes, where their lives entangle in increasingly familiar ways. With each encounter she begins to question Paul’s guilt—and her own heart. Soon she discovers the truth behind her father’s death is more sinister than she ever could have imagined.

A Thousand Pieces of You explores a reality where we witness the countless other lives we might lead in an amazingly intricate multiverse, and ask whether, amid infinite possibilities, one love can endure.

Blogger’s Note: I haven’t been doing nothing this past month, I’ve just been reading a fair bit of manga—Nana and Highschool of The Dead. Both were great, but really could have used proper endings. I NEED MORE!!

Final Thoughts:
The first chapter drew me in immediately—something you always want to find. With its promise of revenge, world-jumping through parallel dimensions and science-y (but not over the top) explanations, I was in. I loved the idea that their physical bodies didn’t actually pass between the worlds, but rather their consciousness did, taking over the host body of their other self in whatever world they landed in (therefore, prohibiting from entering worlds they’ve never been born into, or had died in). It was great world-building in my opinion. Still, that didn’t stop the romantic fails from bringing it down. I loved a lot about the book, but the romance—just, no.

Title: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Author: Benjamin Alire Saenz
Published: April, 2014 by Simon & Schuster
Pages: 359
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Dante can swim. Ari can’t. Dante is articulate and self-assured. Ari has a hard time with words and suffers from self-doubt. Dante gets lost in poetry and art. Ari gets lost in thoughts of his older brother who is in prison. Dante is fair skinned. Ari’s features are much darker. It seems that a boy like Dante, with his open and unique perspective on life, would be the last person to break down the walls that Ari has built around himself.

But against all odds, when Ari and Dante meet, they develop a special bond that will teach them the most important truths of their lives, and help define the people they want to be. But there are big hurdles in their way, and only by believing in each other?and the power of their friendship?can Ari and Dante emerge stronger on the other side.

Final Thoughts:
This isn’t your regular, fluffy romance full of swooning and kisses and happiness. It felt so much more real. There were a lot of sad moments, but the characters here just seemed to spark so much emotion. Watching Ari, a bit of angry loner, meet Dante, the boy with so much heart and charisma—it was such a journey. If you like something that’s heavy on the drama, this is for you. The growth of their friendship, and of themselves, it really made the book something special. I never wanted to let it go.

Title: Jenna & Jonah’s Fauxmance
Author: Emily Franklin & Brendan Halpin
Published: February, 2011 by Walker Childrens
Pages: 240
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Fans of romance don’t need to look any further than the fauxmance brewing between teen idols Charlie Tracker and Fielding Withers-known on their hit TV show as Jenna and Jonah, next-door neighbors flush with the excitement of first love. But it’s their off-screen relationship that has helped cement their fame, as passionate fans follow their every PDA. They grace the covers of magazines week after week. Their fan club has chapters all over the country. The only problem is their off-screen romance is one big publicity stunt, and Charlie and Fielding can’t stand to be in the same room. Still, it’s a great gig, so even when the cameras stop rolling, the show must go on, and on, and on. . . . Until the pesky paparazzi blow their cover, and Charlie and Fielding must disappear to weather the media storm. It’s not until they’re far off the grid of the Hollywood circuit that they realize that there’s more to each of them than shiny hair and a winning smile.

Final Thoughts:
Well, this was different. Entering the lives of two tween stars hounded by the paparazzi and under the restraint of their family-friendly contracts, this little book gives us a glimpse into what it’s like to be a celebrity at such a young age and the pressures that come along with that. I wouldn’t call it a perfect read, but I did manage to get through it fairly quick. Still, I found that my enjoyment dipped in the second half, losing a lot of the spark that the two leads had in their earlier scenes.