ARC Review ⋯ Shadow and Bone

Title: Shadow and Bone
Series: The Grisha ⋯ Book 1
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Pages: 358
Release Date: June 5, 2012
Stars: ★★★★★


Summary: Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee. 

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. 

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart.


Review: Absolutely loved! I loved how conflicted Alina was about everything, like her feelings about her powers and her feelings about Mal. I loved the ending, how it felt like an ending, but still left a lot to be resolved in the next books. I cannot WAIT for the next book.


I was in no way paid for this review. I won this free ARC in a giveaway I entered in.


NOTE: The number of pages is based on my ARC copy.

ARC Review ⋯ The Book of Blood and Shadow

Title: The Book of Blood and Shadow
Series: None
Author: Robin Wasserman
Pages: 436
Release Date: April 10, 2012
Stars: ★★★★★


Summary: It was like a nightmare, but there was no waking up.  When the night began, Nora had two best friends and an embarrassingly storybook one true love.  When it ended, she had nothing but blood on her hands and an echoing scream that stopped only when the tranquilizers pierced her veins and left her in the merciful dark. 

But the next morning, it was all still true: Chris was dead.  His girlfriend Adriane, Nora's best friend, was catatonic. And Max, Nora's sweet, smart, soft-spoken Prince Charming, was gone. He was also—according to the police, according to her parents, according to everyone—a murderer.

Desperate to prove his innocence, Nora follows the trail of blood, no matter where it leads. It ultimately brings her to the ancient streets of Prague, where she is drawn into a dark web of secret societies and shadowy conspirators, all driven by a mad desire to possess something that might not even exist. For buried in a centuries-old manuscript is the secret to ultimate knowledge and communion with the divine; it is said that he who controls the Lumen Dei controls the world. Unbeknownst to her, Nora now holds the crucial key to unlocking its secrets. Her night of blood is just one piece in a puzzle that spans continents and centuries. Solving it may be the only way she can save her own life.


Review: This book was so good! Absolutely amazing! I can't believe it was the first Wasserman book I've read. I loved how I didn't find out who everyone really was until the very end, and I LOVED the ending. It wrapped up nicely, and it felt like an end, there wasn't anything left unfinished. I loved the writing style, too. It was a little different from what I'm used to, in wording and such, but I loved it nonetheless. This is definitely a book you should pick up, and soon.


I was in no way paid for this review. I won this free ARC in a giveaway that I entered in.


NOTE: The number of pages is based on my ARC copy, as I have not checked a final copy.

ARC Review ⋯ Born Wicked

Title: Born Wicked
Series: The Cahill Witch Chronicles ⋯ Book 1
Author: Jessica Spotswood
Pages: 326
Release Date: February 7, 2012
Stars: ★★★★★


Summary: Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they're witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave. 

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word . . . especially after she finds her mother's diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family's destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra. 

If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren't safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other.


Review: I absolutely loved this book! I loved the characters and I loved how well developed they were. The setting was really interesting to read about, and it was terrible how women were treated. The way the magic was told about was wonderful, and all the things they could do was amazing. I loved the style of writing and how a lot was explained, even though it was told entirely in Cate's point-of-view. I read a measly 3½ books over my 8-day vacation, and this one only took me 1 day to read, which is impressive considering it took me just over two days to read The Hunger Games.


I was in no way paid for this review. I won this free ARC in a giveaway that Penguin Teen hosted through their Facebook page.

ARC Review ⋯ Switched

Title: Switched
Series: Trylle ⋯ Book 1
Author: Amanda Hocking
Pages: 293
Release Date: January 3, 2012
Stars: ★★★★★


Summary: When Wendy Everly was six-years-old, her mother was convinced she was a monster and tried to kill her. It isn't until eleven years later that Wendy discovers her mother might have been right. With the help of Finn Holmes, Wendy finds herself in a world she never knew existed - a world both beautiful and frightening, and Wendy's not sure she wants to be a part of it.


Review: This book was soooooooo good!!!!! I loved the storyline and the writing style, and just the whole book. I have to admit this trilogy was near the bottom of my to-read list, and now that I've read the first book, the trilogy is near the top. Love, love, love. That is what I feel for this book. When it comes out in January, you should go buy it.


I was in no way paid for this review. St. Martin's Press sent me this free ARC in exchange for an honest review.