Review of The Divergent Series: Divergent & Insurgent

I haven't been this obsessed with a dystopian novel since The Hunger Games. When I say obsessed I mean read both books in one weekend and the re-read my favorite parts. I am that crazy sometimes. Divergent and Insurgent are the first two books in the Divergent Series by Veronica Roth. Book three is scheduled to be out on October 22, 2013. It is set in a futuristic Chicago where the city is cut off from the outside world and the city is broken into 5 factions.

In Divergent, the main character, Beatrice (Tris) Prior, must choose to stay or leave her faction on her choosing day. During her faction initiation, she goes through so many challenges that test her resolve and her decision. She forms an instant attraction to Four and struggles to understand why he makes her feel the way he does. In Insurgent, a war between the factions is developing and Tris must find a way to be strong, despite the losses she has suffered and the guilt that terrorizes her. Her relationship with Four is tested as they both question whether they trust each other.

Tris is probably one of my favorite female characters of all time because I never know what to expect from her. When she is physically weak, she makes up for it by being mentally strong. She struggles internally with who she is and who she wants to be but she makes sure no one else can see her struggle, except maybe Four. I love the development of her character between the two books. I think Veronica does an amazing job of showing that development so that the readers can easily follow how she went from who she was at the beginning of Divergent to who she is at the end of Insurgent. I am looking forward to seeing the character she will ultimately become in the final novel.

Also, I love to listen to music when I read so I am always relating songs to characters or scenes in the book. It is like my own personal movie going on in my head. That being said, I wanted to share the song that always makes me think of Tris when I hear it. The song I would pick for Tris is "Girl on Fire" by Alicia Keys. After you read the book, listen to the song and tell me what you think.

March Madness Update

I am feverishly working on setting up the brackets and details for the competition and giveaway. I will have it all posted Friday but I wanted to give an update because I originally said I was going to start with the top 64 books but I think that might be a bit too much so I am going to narrow it down to 32. I will be using the results from Goodread's Best Books of 2012 but I am still working on deciding which genres and books I will include. Come back Friday for the official brackets and details of the competition!

New Release Spotlight & Cover Reveal: Wait for You

What do early readers have to say about WAIT FOR YOU?

“J. Lynn creates a wonderful cast of characters that will make you laugh, swoon, and cry. Cam stole my heart.” – Cora Carmack, NYTimes and USA TODAY Bestselling Author of LOSING IT

“For the love of all that is Cameron without a shirt on! Wait for You will have you laughing out loud, fanning yourself and anxiously waiting to know what will happen next.” – Molly McAdams, NYTimes and USA TODAY Bestselling Author of FROM ASHES and TAKING CHANCES

“I don't think I have ever read a NA Contemporary novel with as much depth as this one. It really moved me and by the end I was just speechless over how inspirational and uplifting it was as well as being sexy and cute and funny and emotional.” - K Books

“Wait For You is uniquely different from anything else J. Lynn's written but it might possibly be her best work yet.” – Jenuine Cupcakes

“For all of you in love with Aiden and Daemon, PREPARE YOURSELVES! Your heart will have to expand a little more for Cam.” Total Bookaholic

“For the love of all things CAM, this book deserves more than 5 stars.” – Mundie Moms

“I cannot even begin to explain how much I adored this perfectly crafted contemporary.” – Shortie Says

Excited? Ready to see the cover for WAIT FOR YOU?

Synopsis

Some things are worth waiting for…

Traveling thousands of miles from home to enter college is the only way nineteen-year-old Avery Morgansten can escape what happened at the Halloween party five years ago—an event that forever changed her life. All she needs to do is make it to her classes on time, make sure the bracelet on her left wrist stays in place, not draw any attention to herself, and maybe—please God—make a few friends, because surely that would be a nice change of pace. The one thing she didn’t need and never planned on was capturing the attention of the one guy who could shatter the precarious future she’s building for herself.

Some things are worth experiencing…

Cameron Hamilton is six feet and three inches of swoon-worthy hotness, complete with a pair of striking blue eyes and a remarkable ability to make her want things she believed were irrevocably stolen from her. She knows she needs to stay away from him, but Cam is freaking everywhere, with his charm, his witty banter, and that damn dimple that’s just so… so lickable. Getting involved with him is dangerous, but when ignoring the simmering tension that sparks whenever they are around each other becomes impossible, he brings out a side of her she never knew existed.

Some things should never be kept quiet…

But when Avery starts receiving threatening emails and phone calls forcing her to face a past she wants silenced, she’s has no other choice but to acknowledge that someone is refusing to allow her to let go of that night when everything changed. When the devastating truth comes out, will she resurface this time with one less scar? And can Cam be there to help her or will he be dragged down with her?

And some things are worth fighting for…

WAIT FOR YOU is available now!

AMAZON

BARNES AND NOBLE

 J. Lynn, also known as Jennifer L. Armentrout, is the USA TODAY Bestselling author of the adult romance Gamble Brothers’ series, the young adult Lux Series and award winning Covenant Series. She pretty much writes everything—contemporary, paranormal, and fantasy. All of her books have one thing in common no matter the name or genre: kissing… and stuff. When she’s not busy writing, which is never, she’s usually hanging out with dog Loki, watching reruns of The Walking Dead, or procrastinating on the Internet. You can find out more about Jennifer by visiting the following websites:

Twitter
https://twitter.com/JLArmentrout

Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/JenniferLArmentrout

Website:
http://www.jenniferarmentrout.com/

As most of you can tell, I am a huge fan of Jennifer Armentrout so I can't wait to get my hands on this one. I will do a review after I have read the book to share with all of you.

March Madness: Reader's Edition

In honor of the upcoming March Madness, I have decided to do a reader's edition with some of the top books from 2012.  I am working on the brackets this week and will post the official bracket on Friday, March 1st. The competition will start out with the top 64 books of the year and Round 1 voting will start on Monday, March 4th. I haven't decided which list I will compile the bracket from yet, but I will let you know Friday when I post the official bracket. There will be a giveaway to the voter that wins the most brackets. Hope everyone enjoys and has fun!

Covenant Series: Half-Blood, Pure, Deity

Jennifer Armentrout does it again, and again, and again. Her books are like a drug for me and I can't get enough. And since I have read them all,  I re-read them again and again while I wait for new releases because I am that addicted. The Covenant series is so incredible to me and when the series is all over after Sentinel is released in December, I think I might cry.

The Covenant series takes place in the world of Gods, Demi-Gods and Hematoi. Within the Hematoi, there are pure bloods and half-bloods. Half-bloods are the children of a pure-blood and a mortal. The books center around Alexandria (Alex), a half-blood student at the Covenant, which is a school for Hematoi children. Alex is being trained by Aiden, a pure-blood who she immediately builds a connection with. However, relationships between halves and pures is strictly forbidden.

The three main characters are Alex, Aiden and Seth. Alex is witty, reckless and a total badass. Aiden is loyal, smart and level-headed and Seth is clever, volatile and manipulative. Aiden and Alex have this deep and epic love but Alex is physically connected to Seth. Her love with Aiden is forbidden and her connection to Seth is almost impossible to ignore. No matter how hard Alex and Aiden fight their attraction, they both struggle to stay away from each other but Seth is always there to remind Alex that she can't have Aiden.

I don't like to discuss plots too much because I don't like to give away spoilers but this book is not all just romance. The Covenant trains pures and halves to fight and kill daimons (dee-muns), who hunt Pures. As they struggle to figure out what the daimons are plotting, a bigger conflict is brewing that no one is expecting. The great thing about this series is that the romance is intricately woven within the plot so that is is always there as the action and suspense carries you forward.

Just like the Lux series, Jennifer Armentrout writes witty and entertaining dialogue that makes me laugh out loud and grows my attachment to the characters. The Covenant Series will be a total of 5 books with Apollyon coming out on April 9th and Sentinel being released in December. I also recommend reading Daimon, which is a prequel novella to Half-Blood and Elixer, which is a novella from Aiden's point of view and takes place between Deity and Apollyon.

New Release Spotlight: Ethereal Knights

Amazing author of the Celestra Series, Addison Moore, just released her new book Ethereal Knights. Ethereal Knights is the first Celestra book, Ethereal, re-written from the POV of Gage and Logan, the main male characters in the series. I love POV scenes from male characters so I am psyched to get their perspectives on scenes from Ethereal. Check out Addison's Celestra series and don't miss out on the men of Celestra!

Also, check out Addison's blog,addisonmoorewrites.blogspot.com, for information on all her books and updates every Tuesday on her current projects. I will do a full review of the Celestra series after book 8 comes out in the Spring.

Lux Series: Obsidian, Onyx, Opal

My oh my, what can I say about the Lux Series, except for that I love it! I will admit that I have re-read the first 3 books 3 times because I just can't get enough of Daemon. I love him and that would make me a cougar but since he is just a character in a book, I am okay with that.

The Lux series will be a total of 5 books and the first 3 books are available now with the fourth book, Origins, out in July. It is a para-normal romance centered around Katy, a human girl and Daemon, an Alien boy. Katy and Daemon have this explosive relationship that drags you in from the moment they first spout their hateful words to each other. You can feel the heat and chemistry between them rolling off the pages, especially when they go back and forth with witty insults to each other.

Jennifer Armentrout has a unique writing style that I really enjoy because her books have some of the most dialogue of any that I have read and the dialogue is what makes this book for me. I often find myself laughing out loud when Daemon says things like "Very Bad Kitten." I can imagine the smirk on his face when he says it and it makes me laugh and then my husband gives me weird looks.

I'm not going to say anything about the plot of these books because I don't want to give anything away but I will say that I think it has an exceptional plot. However, my real love for the books is due to the interaction between Katy and Daemon and I could read them a thousand times more just for that.

If you like para-normal romance novels then I highly recommend you read the Lux series and I hope I inspire a few people to get as addicted to the books as I am.

 Also, check out Jennifer's website. She is super awesome and she posts some scenes from the books in Daemon's POV and they are to die for. http://www.jenniferarmentrout.com/

Sneek Peek: Upcoming Reviews

Just wanted to give a sneak peek of the books I plan to blog about over the next week.

* Lux Series by Jennifer Armentrout
* Covenant Series by Jennifer Armentrout
* Divergent Series by Veronica Roth
* Residue Series by Laury Falter

Hope I can inspire a few people to check them out!

And so it begins...

I have always loved to read and have had a passion for it since I was young. Over the past several months, I have found myself with the opportunity to do more reading. When I got a Kindle, I found the ease of accessing new books made it easier to read a lot more. Whenever I finish a book, especially one that I become passionate about, I find myself wanting to discuss the book but never really having someone to talk to it about. I decided to start this blog as a way for me to discuss the books that I read and hopefully give notice to the wonderful authors who write them. For those who read the blog, I hope you find some inspiration to check out the books I discuss and the passion to read.