Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles II)

To shorten this up for you, Scarlet is a totally awesome sequel for a totally awesome first book.

I finished Cinder, picked up Scarlet and literally INHALED IT.

Cinder is trying to break out of prison--even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive. Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner

“She did not know that the wolf was a wicked sort of animal, and she was not afraid of him.”

Scarlet is a retelling of "Little Red Riding Hood" but it also continues Cinder's story with her chapters in between. (thank god.)So we get introduced to three new protagonists: Scarlet Benoit, Wolf and Captain Carswell Thorne. The first two I liked, the last one I LOVED. As soon as Thorne came into the picture, I was like "not a love triangle, please god, I've had enough of that" IT WASN'T!!
I liked Cinder better but Scarlet was a really good sequel. Also, my love for Kai has only grown..

“Did you know that she was cyborg?” asked a woman in an unhidden tone of disgust.
Kai stared at her, appearing confused, then let his gaze dance over the crowd. He shuffled his feet
closer to the podium, a wrinkle forming on the bridge of his nose.
Cinder bit the inside of her cheek and braced herself for adamant disgust. Who would ever invite a
cyborg to the ball?
But instead, Kai said simply, “I don’t see that her being cyborg is relevant. Next question?”
Cinder’s metal fingers jolted.” 

I liked Scarlet and Wolf but didn't really connect with them, or maybe I just liked Kai and Cinder soooo much I couldn't stay away from them for even a few chapters. But seriously, the idea of a new retelling in every book is GENIUS. I would give Scarlet

4.5 STARS

Now excuse me while I go off and start reading book 3.  

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

WHAT IS THIS? Have I found another series to add to my all time favorites list??

OH YES.

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. 

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

Now; Cinderella retelling, kickass cyborg protagonist, love interest to die for, dystopian Beijing, crazy moon people; who wouldn't read this!

I loved EVERY frikkin' THING about this book.(the fact that I'm using uppercase so much proves it.) 

Let's start with Cinder, she and Kai are like one of my favorite characters (counting in ALL books) Cinder's truly kickass, and her sarcastic replies made me laugh so hard. 

“I don't know. I don't actually remember anything from before the surgery."
His eyebrows rose, his blue eyes sucking in all the light of the room. "The cybernetic opetation?"
"No, the sex change."
The doctor's smile faltered.
"I'm joking.” 

She deals with all that's happening so well, maybe not always, but every move she makes is understandable.

Though there was this huge cringe fest, in the last part of the book (you'll know it when it comes), when I had to close my book and cringe and squeal and hyperventilate and then slowly open it again. I was like this for the next 10 pages or so..... 

But that's what a good book does, It make you feel.

Back to how I loved everything, Kai is one of the BEST LOVE INTERESTS EVER. I have a new fictional crush and a new otp. 

But what's the best part of this book is the world building; God knows how, but Marissa Meyer managed to include every detail about this world that the reader wanted to know, without making it boring. It's been so long since I've read about a well built dystopian world. So many of them just focus on the characters and the little environment around them (cough*Shatter me*cough), but this is so not the case with Cinder, here we get to look at the bigger picture.

Also, It's part of a quadrilogy, well, all the more books for me to devour!!

This Definitely gets

5 STARS

My Goodreads

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Saving June by Hannah Harrington

Reading "Saving Francesca" reminded me that I had a book with a similar name rotting in my Goodreads tbr, and that's how I finally read Saving June. To save your time, If you're not into music related books, this book can be summarized with the word "meh".
How very misleading a Goodreads rating can be, this got a 4.05! Tell me HOW is this fair that a book like this gets a 4.05 while "Speak" gets 3.9?! I wouldn't have read it if not for the rating and now I FEEL BETRAYED.

‘If she’d waited less than two weeks, she’d be June who died in June. But I guess my sister didn’t consider that.’

Harper Scott’s older sister has always been the perfect one — so when June takes her own life a week before her high school graduation, sixteen-year-old Harper is devastated. Everyone’s sorry, but no one can explain why.

When her divorcing parents decide to split her sister’s ashes into his-and-her urns, Harper takes matters into her own hands. She’ll steal the ashes and drive cross-country with her best friend, Laney, to the one place June always dreamed of going — California.

Enter Jake Tolan. He’s a boy with a bad attitude, a classic-rock obsession and nothing in common with Harper’s sister. But Jake had a connection with June, and when he insists on joining them, Harper’s just desperate enough to let him. With his alternately charming and infuriating demeanor and his belief that music can see you through anything, he might be exactly what she needs.

Except June wasn’t the only one hiding something. Jake’s keeping a secret that has the power to turn Harper’s life upside down — again.

Despite whatever I say, I did read this book fairly fast, it was interesting, but It's been a while since I read it and I think I slowly started to dislike this book.

The main reason? Our dear protagonist Harper

aaaah, Harper just irritated me sooo much, she was full of this teenage angst and just so un-connectable. The fact that Harper was the exact opposite of what her sister was seemed so contrived.

And this:

So, your sister's just committed suicide and now you divorced parents are distributing her ashes, what do you do?

Duh, you steal the urn and set off on a road trip with you best friend and a guy you hardly know who clearly has some problems of his own. Nice.

Also, The author was always trying to convince the reader that Harper was oh-so-strong. NOT buying it!

I get it why this book has gotten so many 5 stars, There's really good music, a hot love interest, road trip, and all that. I could have liked this book but eventually I ended up on the not-liking side. 

Maybe I expected a more serious book, rather that the teeny, fluffy, shallow YA I got, when there's "suicide" written in the summary.

I'll give Saving June

3 STARS

My Goodreads

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Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta

"Jellicoe Road" impressed me so much, I HAD to read another Melina Marchetta book, and it might not equal Jellicoe Road, but Saving Francesca was AMAZING.

“It's a weird smile, but it reaches his eyes and I bottle it. And I put it in my ammo pack that's kept right next to my soul and Justine's spirit and Siobhan's hope and Tara's passions. Because if I'm going to wake up one morning and not be able to get out of bed, I'm going to need everything I've got to fight this disease that could be sleeping inside of me.” 

 Francesca is stuck at St. Sebastians, a boys' school that's pretends it's coed by giving the girls their own bathroom.  Her only female companions are an ultra-feminist, a rumored slut, and an an impossibly dorky accordion player.  The boys are no better, from Thomas who specializes in musical burping to Will, the perpetually frowning, smug moron that Francesca can't seem to stop thinking about.

Then there's Francesca's mother, who always thinks she knows what's best for Francesca—until she is suddenly stricken with acute depression, leaving Francesca lost, alone, and without an inkling who she really is.  Simultaneously humorous, poignant, and impossible to put down, this is the story of a girl who must summon the strength to save her family, her social life and—hardest of all—herself.

This book was both a heavy, and a light read (if that makes sense?). The parts dealing with Francesca's mother's depression aren't sunshiny happy - and that makes up most of the book, but there are scenes with Francesca and her friends and they're so happy and so funny and you forget that there's some problem to deal with. I totally loved our protagonist, Francesca and her love interest, Will. Her friends were supercool and very original. This was such a short book and yet I got to know each one of them well enough. That's amazing writing right there. But this was also very different from Jellicoe road and I couldn't compare these two books at all. 

I'll give it

4.5 STARS

Saving Francesca is a fun, quick read you definitely want to pick up.

My Goodreads

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The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

It's quite depressing that it's taken me so long to read a Neil Gaiman book, even more so because this is one of the BEST books I've read this year (and that's saying something). RUN. Run right now to your nearest bookstore AND GET THIS BOOK! (I'm even using caps for the emphasis! GO.)

Nobody Owens, know to his friends as Bod, is a perfectly normal boy. Well, he would be perfectly normal if he didn't live in a graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor the world of the dead.

There are danger and adventures for Bod in the graveyard: The strange and terrible menace of The Sleer; a gravestone entrance to a desert that leads to the city of ghouls; friendship with a witch, and so much more.

But it is in the land of the living that real danger lurks, for it is there that the man Jack lives and he has already killed Bod's family.

This is a fascinating story of love and friendship realized in the most unlikely of place.

The story is so interesting, who wouldn't want to read about a boy growing up in a graveyard and his adventures? The writing style is awesome and has got a Harry Potter-ish feel to it (this is just me, guys). There are eight chapters, each a short story, with a gap of about two years between each, so we really see Bod grow, and it's wonderful. Fans of fantasy, do not miss this book. No one should miss this book. This novel definitely gets

5 STARS

and Neil Gaiman,

Congrats, you made me cry like a baby.(even though there was not much to cry about.)

My Goodreads
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