Anna and the French Kiss - Book Review by Voodoo Bride

Anna and the French Kiss (Anna and the French Kiss #1)
by Stephanie Perkins

What is it about:
Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris--until she meets Étienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Étienne has it all...including a serious girlfriend.

But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss?

What did Voodoo Bride think of it:
When complaining that I find it hard to find Contemporary Romances that I like, I had several people recommending me Anna and the French Kiss. Although it's YA and not Adult or New Adult, I decided to give it a try.

And I fell in love.

This is such a fun, light read, even with the teenage love drama.

I will confess that I love Paris and that it's the foreign city that I visited the most, so that this story is set in Paris might have been one of the reasons I loved this book.

But I also really loved reading bout Anna and the people she befriends at the boarding school (yes: a boarding school, yet another thing I love to read about). Some of them were more interesting and likeable than others, but I loved how much friendship there is in this book. And how even when people make mistakes their friends are there for them.

Anna and St. Clair did test my patience at times I will confess. They really should have just sat down and talked instead of wallowing in their own thoughts and feelings, but as the book would have been over very soon that way, I won't hold it against them.

All in all this is a very enjoyable and fluffy read that I can advice to anyone who's looking for a light, heartwarming read. I will most certainly read the other books in this series as well.

Why should you read it:
It's a fun and fluffy YA Romance


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They All Fall Down - Book Review

They All Fall Down
by Roxanne St. Claire

What is it about:
Every year, the lives of ten girls at Vienna High are transformed.

All because of the list.

Kenzie Summerall can't imagine how she's been voted onto a list of the hottest girls in school, but when she lands at number five, her average life becomes dazzling. Doors open to the best parties, new friends surround her, the cutest jock in school is after her.

This is the power of the list. If you're on it, your life changes.

If you're on it this year? Your life ends.

The girls on the list have started to die, one by one. Is it a coincidence? A curse? Or is the list in the hands of a killer?

Time is running out for Kenzie, but she’s determined to uncover the deadly secret of the list...before her number’s up.

What did I think of it:
This was a very entertaining read.

I will say that I sniffed out the Who or What of the story very early on, but the Why was more difficult because it was a bit out there. Even so, the story is suspenseful and very enjoyable. I liked Kenzie and her best friend and loved reading how Kenzie tries to stay alive and to figure out what's going on and why.

There were a couple of situations where I wanted to kick some sense in Kenzie, but this being a YA thriller I must say she was acting more sensible than expected. And I actually was rooting for the right guy in the inescapable teen romance drama triangly thing for once.

All in all a fun read. I might try other books by St. Claire in the future.

Why should you read it:
It's a very entertaining YA read


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The Plague Carrier - Book Review

The Plague Carrier
by Merrie Destefano

What is it about:
A teenage runaway’s post-apocalyptic world comes tumbling down when she discovers a survivor in a field of dead bodies.

Condemned as a runaway and sentenced to work as a Cleaner, fifteen-year-old Anna now spends her days searching for valuables in a field of dead warriors. Her life goes from bad to worse, however, when she stumbles upon a plague carrier, a boy her age who could kill her entire camp with a single drop from the flask he carries around his neck.

What did I think of it:
This is a short post-apocalyptic YA story.

Anna's life has fallen to pieces, but she stills keeps hope and keeps going on. Then a dangerous boy shows up and might destroy what little she has left. I loved that there's a minimum of worldbuilding, but that Destefano still manages to create a clear post-apocalyptic setting and atmosphere with well chosen words and descriptions.

This being a short story I can't tell too much without spoiling, but it was a great read, and I wouldn't mind reading more stories in this setting.

Why should you read it:
This is a quick and satisfying Post-Apocalyptic YA read


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Teaser Tuesdays - The Kiss of Deception

"My back is dirtier than a potato?"
She grunted and set to work.

(page 170, The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson)


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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: - Grab your current read - Open to a random page - Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) - Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Heroine Worship - Book Review

Heroine Worship (Heroine Complex #2)
by Sarah Kuhn

What is it about:
Once upon a time, Aveda Jupiter (aka Annie Chang) was demon-infested San Francisco’s most beloved superheroine, a beacon of hope and strength and really awesome outfits. But all that changed the day she agreed to share the spotlight with her best friend and former assistant Evie Tanaka—who’s now a badass, fire-wielding superheroine in her own right. They were supposed to be a dynamic duo, but more and more, Aveda finds herself shoved into the sidekick role. Where, it must be said, she is not at all comfortable.

It doesn’t help that Aveda’s finally being forced to deal with fallout from her diva behavior—and the fact that she’s been a less than stellar friend to Evie. Or that Scott Cameron—the man Aveda’s loved for nearly a decade—is suddenly giving her the cold shoulder after what seemed to be some promising steps toward friendship. Or that the city has been demon-free for three months in the wake of Evie and Aveda’s apocalypse-preventing battle against the evil forces of the Otherworld, leaving Aveda without the one thing she craves most in life: a mission.

All of this is causing Aveda’s burning sense of heroic purpose—the thing that’s guided her all these years—to falter.

In short, Aveda Jupiter is having an identity crisis.

When Evie gets engaged and drafts Aveda as her maid-of-honor, Aveda finally sees a chance to reclaim her sense of self and sets out on a single-minded mission to make sure Evie has the most epic wedding ever. But when a mysterious, unseen supernatural evil rises up and starts attacking brides-to-be, Aveda must summon both her superheroine and best friend mojo to take down the enemy and make sure Evie’s wedding goes off without a hitch—or see both her city and her most important friendship destroyed forever.

What did I think of it:
I ordered this book right after I finished the first book in this series.

And this is yet another fun read.

Aveda is not as easy to like as Evie, in fact I didn't much like her in the first book. But in this book you get to see more about what makes her tick, and soon I could understand why Aveda is such a difficult person. I even started to root for her. It sure helps that Aveda is aware of her flaws and is actively trying to better herself, even though not always in the best way. By the end of the book I loved Aveda.

Aveda's love interest was also a character in the first book, and I wasn't impressed by him there, and in this book he didn't manage to make much of an impression either.

Luckily there's so much more to this book than the romance. I was invested in what was going on from the start and wanted to find out who or what was behind all the strange things that were happening. As with the first book I love how suspense and humor manage to go hand in hand. There isn't a dull moment.

Even though the first book is still my favorite, I very much enjoyed this book as well, and you bet I will get my greedy trotters on the third book once it releases.

Why should you read it:
It's a fun and very entertaining Superhero read.


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The Nothing - Book Review

The Nothing (The Between #3)
by Kerry Schafer

What is it about:
When people in Wakeworld begin dying in their sleep, Vivian Maylor travels through an increasingly unstable Between on a quest to stop the mysterious epidemic. Although she has no love for the dark magic of the Sorcieri, they hold the only hope of stopping the disaster. Vivian has one chance to save the worlds – if she can persuade the Master of the Sorcieri to share his secrets, and if she is willing to sacrifice everything she loves…

What did I think of it:
Did you ever love a series so much you both wanted to read the last book and didn't want to read it, because then it would officially mean it was over? That's how I felt about this series. And the longer you wait to pick up that last book the harder it gets, because that means you should reread the previous books, and when you do you get all angsty about reading that last book all over again.

But I finally sat down, reread the previous books and dove into The Nothing.

And this is an awesome read!

I knew things would be difficult and I knew not everyone was going to make it out in one piece, or even alive, but I still hoped and rooted for all my favorites.

What an emotional roller coaster!

Vivian and the others encounter lots of danger, difficult decisions, and heartache. There are choices to be made, sacrifices... I can tell you I shed some tears over events in this book.

Everything leads up to an edge of your seat finale that blew me away. What a great ending to a wonderful and emotional series. This series is a keeper for sure!

Why should you read it:
It's an awesome and emotional UF read with dragons and a cool penguin!


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Wakeworld - Book Review (repost)

Wakeworld (The Between #2)
by Kerry Schafer

What is it about:
Vivian Maylor is trying to hold it together. But her attempts to build a life with the man she loves seem doomed by the dragon inside her yearning to break free. Vivian is a dreamshifter, the last line of defense between reality and the dreamworld, and the only one of her kind.

Weston Jennings also believes he is the only one of his kind. He fears his powers as a dreamshifter, and resists learning to control them. After suffering a tragic loss, Weston heads deep into the woods of the Pacific Northwest to embrace a safe life of solitude. But when a terrible mistake leads to an innocent’s death, his guilt drives him to his former home, where he encounters what he never thought he would find: another shifter.

Now Vivian and Weston must work together to defeat a new threat to the dreamworld.

What did I think of it:
I loved Between, the first book in this series, and preordered Wakeworld as soon as it was possible. Still it took me a while to find the time to pick it up.

I'm very glad I finally found that time though, because this is yet another winner.

Schafer doesn't make it easy for her characters. They have to struggle and fight to get where they're trying to go. I felt for Vivian, and even more for Zee (Vivian's love interest). They get challenges thrown their way that could easily break them. Still they keep trying.

I really liked to see that Vivian has grown since the first book. There she let herself be dragged along mostly, powerless to stop what was happening to her. In this book she was starting to take control of things, not always with success, but at least she was doing everything she could to change her fate.

The story is full of twists and turns, and you have to keep paying attention to what's happening. I was on the edge of my seat and had to keep reading to see if Vivian and Zee would manage to get out alive and (mostly) well.

The ending was satisfying, but left many things open that make me anxious and eager for the next book. I will most certainly get my trotters on the next book when it releases, because I want more!

Why should you read it:
It's a wonderful (Urban) Fantasy read with dragons.


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