Book Review: Born at Midnight

"Born at Midnight" by C.C. Hunter(Shadow Falls #1)

Publication Date- March 29, 2011

Paperback Edition-398 Pages

Genre-Young Adult, Paranormal, Fantasy, Romance

Rating-4.5/5 Lily Pads

Would I Recommend It? If you love Cassandra Clare's books, I think you'll like this book

No Spoilers!!

Introduction

Hey there, I am back with a review! Today I am reviewing a book that's been on my TBR for five years and that book is "Born at Midnight". I've been wanting to read this book since I first discovered it on Booktube in 2012. So I finally read it. I'll admit, that I dnf'd it after reading the first half because I wasn't loving it. I just decided to pick it up again because I really don't like not finishing books, and I'm so glad I did because I really enjoyed the book. Let's get on to the review. 

Goodreads Summary

One night Kylie Galen finds herself at the wrong party, with the wrong people, and it changes her life forever. Her mother ships her off to Shadow Falls—a camp for troubled teens, and within hours of arriving, it becomes painfully clear that her fellow campers aren’t just “troubled.” Here at Shadow Falls, vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, witches and fairies train side by side—learning to harness their powers, control their magic and live in the normal world.

Kylie’s never felt normal, but surely she doesn’t belong here with a bunch of paranormal freaks either. Or does she? They insist Kylie is one of them, and that she was brought here for a reason. As if life wasn’t complicated enough, enter Derek and Lucas. Derek’s a half-fae who’s determined to be her boyfriend, and Lucas is a smokin’ hot werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past. Both Derek and Lucas couldn’t be more different, but they both have a powerful hold on her heart. 

Even though Kylie feels deeply uncertain about everything, one thing is becoming painfully clear—Shadow Falls is exactly where she belongs…

Plot-5/5

I know the plot of this book isn't very original, but I really liked it. I liked that it it's about a camp for paranormal creatures. It kind of reminded me of "Camp Half-Blood" from the Percy Jackson series. I love paranormal books so I thought it was cool that everyone at the camp were different creatures, it wasn't just one type of creature. 

Setting-5/5

I really liked the setting. Like I said before, I love that it took place at a camp for Paranormal creatures. It was cool to read about. 

Writing-4.5/5 

I like the author's writing, but her style isn't my favorite. I've read authors with better writing so I'm not giving her a perfect rating for this one. 

Pacing-5/5

The pacing was great. It was never slow and I was never bored while reading this book. 

Cover-5/5

I actually love the cover of this book. Purple is my favorite color so of course I love the cover! The spine is pretty too. 

Characters-5/5

I think the characters really saved the book for me. I chose to dnf it at first because I wasn't loving the book, but the characters definitely made me want to keep reading. The character development was done very well. I actually found myself attached to these characters.

I really liked Kylie. I don't understand why she has so much hate. Yeah, she can be immature at times but she's a teenage  girl so it's fine. I liked her because she's a kind, good, person. She really cares about others, especially her friends and family. 

I'm not going to mention all of the characters because that would take way too long. 

I liked Derek. I think I liked him more in the beginning of the book because Lucas wasn't present yet. He's a very good, sweet guy and I liked him. But I don't like that he keeps pressuring Kylie to be more than friends with him. If you read the book, obviously she likes Lucas better(I do too) and she doesn't want a relationship in the first book so I kind of wish he would back off a little. I heard he's more pushy in the second book and I just can't stand guys like that. What's wrong with just being friends first? They haven't known each other for long either. I only see him as a friend to her and nothing more. I'm biased because Lucas stole my heart. 

Guys, I am Team Lucas all the way! I loved him so much!! He's actually not in the book that much but when he was, my heart was beating so fast. He's such a good guy too like Derek but I like him so much better. He's very kind, sweet and very protective to Kylie and I love guys that are protective. Ahh, I love him so much! I obviously ship him and Kylie together, they are meant for each other. I also like that they have a history because their relationship didn't feel insta-lovey like her and Derek. I love that he always protected her when she was little, it's so cute! There's something he does at the end of the book and  I don't wanna spoil you but its' so sweet! I can't wait to see him more in the other books. He is seriously one of my book boyfriends now!

As for the side characters, I loved Della and Miranda. They are so cool and I would love to be friends with them. I loved Holiday and Perry but I don't like Kylie's parents. If you read the book you'll know why. 

Ending-5/5

The book has a happy ending but it ends on a cliffhanger. I need to know what happens next! I can't wait until I get to the next book. 

Overall Thoughts

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I'm so glad I decided to finish it and give it a second chance. It's been a while since I've read a paranormal book, so it was a nice change from all the other stuff I've been reading. The reason I didn't give the book a perfect rating is because I didn't love the book. I didn't think it was amazing or mind blowing but it was really good. I can't wait to read the second book "Awake at Dawn". This book is worth a buy. If you love paranormal books with love triangles or love the "Mortal Instruments" series by Cassandra Clare I think you will love this book. 

That was my review. Thank you so much for reading. I'm probably going to continue reading "The Rules of Magic" by Alice Hoffman next. Stay tuned for a review for that book soon. Have a great day and happy reading! :)

Book Review: Grim

"Grim" edited by Christine Johnson

Publication Date-February 24, 2014

Genre-Young Adult, Short Stories, Fairy Tale Retellings

ARC Paperback Edition-476

Rating-4/5 Lily Pads

Would I Recommend it? Yes
No Spoilers!!

Hey guys. I feel like it's been a couple of weeks since I last posted. I've still been reading, but I didn't want to review the last couple of books I've read and I just dnf'd a book. Today I am reviewing "Grim". This is a YA Anthology about fairy tale retellings written by Young Adult authors. I got this book from Harlequin Teen years ago and never got to it. I finally read this book and it feels so good that I'm done with it. I did enjoy it, it was pretty good. Let's get on to the review.

I am going to rate each story individually. 

"The Key" by Rachel Hawkins-4/5 Lily Pads

I really liked this one. I never read a book by Rachel Hawkins but I like her writing style. This short story was good but it was too short for me and ended abruptly. I wasn't attached to the characters but that's okay because it was only 34 pages. Overall, I liked this one but it was kinda weird. 

"Figment" by Jeri Smith-Ready-5/5 Lily Pads

I really loved this one! I loved her "Shade" trilogy so I was really excited to read her story and it didn't disappoint me. I'll admit that I was confused in the beginning but it started to make sense soon after that. I really liked the "Puss in Boots" retelling and I really liked the main guy, Eli. He was a good guy and I loved that he was a musician. I loved Lyra and "Figment the cat". Overall I really loved this story, it was very cute. The character development was really awesome and it ended really well, but I wish it was a full novel because I would love to see more with the characters. 

"The Twelfth Girl" by Malinda Lo-5/5 Lily Pads

This is my favorite story so far out of the first three. I liked the main character, Liv even though she was naive. I love the "Twelve Dancing Princesses" story. I liked the plot and the setting at the boarding school. 

"The Raven Princess" by Jon Skrovron-5/5 Lily Pads

This one is my new favorite so far. I loved this story! The plot was awesome and the character development was amazing! I wish this story was a full length novel. I wanna read more about these characters. 

"Thinner Than Water" by Saundra Mitchell-1/5 Lily Pads

I didn't care for this story. It was weird and I didn't like the incest in it, I thought it was gross. I was also bored while reading it, and I don't even remember how it ended. 

"Before The Rose Bloomed" by Ellen Hopkins-2/5 Lily Pads

This one was ok. I didn't love it and I hate books in verse so that's probably why I didn't care for it. She does have a pretty writing style though so I gave it a higher rating than the last story. 

"Beast/Beast" by Tessa Grafton-5/5 Lily Pads

I really liked this story! It was really good and I loved the characters. It's Beauty and the Beast, how could I not love it?

"The Brothers Piggett" by Julie Kagawa-5/5 Lily Pads

I loved this story! Julie is one of my favorite authors so of course I wasn't disappointed. I loved all the characters, especially Percival. He was so cute and I felt so bad for him. 

"Untethered" by Sonia Gensler-1/5 Lily Pads

I'm not sure how I feel about this story. It was confusing and it was only ten pages long so there wasn't really a plot. There wasn't any character development either. It was just meh, and it probably would've been better if it was longer. 

"Better" by Shaun David Hutchinson-DNF

I couldn't finish this story. I didn't care for it. It was boring and I didn't care about the characters. 

"Light it Up" by Kimberly Derting-5/5 Lily Pads

I loved this story! It's a retelling of "Hansel and Gretel" and it was really good! I loved their relationship and the character development was awesome. I honestly wish the story was a full length novel. This story is one of my favorites now. 

"Sharper Than A Serpent's Tongue" by Christine Johnson-5/5

I really liked this one. I love the close sister relationship between Clara and Dina. The story was very creative. 

"A Real Boy" by Claudia Gray-5/5 Lily Pads

This is by far the most beautifully written story in the book. Her writing style is gorgeous. I loved Blue and Rowan, they were great characters and Rowan is such a sweetheart. 

"Skin Trade" by Myra McEntire-1/5 Lily Pads

I'm not really sure how I feel about this story. It was weird and wasn't that great. It was also very short and had insta-love in it. 

"Beauty and the Chad" by Sarah Rees Brennan-4/5 Lily Pads

This story was pretty good. It reminded me of "Mulan" because Belle disguised herself as a boy. I liked that the author made the beast a good guy and he was a really nice person. 

"The Pink" by Amanda Hocking-3.5/5 Lily Pads

I love Amanda's books so I had high hopes for this one. This story was good. The first half kind of bored me, but the second half was a lot better. I loved Brenn, Dianthus and his parents. The ending was really cute. 

"Sell Out" by Jackson Pearce-2/5 Lily Pads

I really like Jackson Pearce's books but I wasn't a fan of this one. It was boring and the plot wasn't very good. 

Final Thoughts

I gave this book an overall rating of 4/5 Lily Pads. A lot of the stories I really liked, but there were some I didn't care for. This was my first anthology and I can't wait to read more of them in the future. If you love retellings, you should definitely read this book. 

So yeah that was my review. Thank you so much for reading and have a great day. Happy reading! :)

Book Review: The Glass Spare

"The Glass Spare" by Lauren DeStefano(The Glass Spare #1)

Publication Date-October 24, 2017

Genre-Young Adult, Fantasy, Retelling, Romance

Hardcover Edition-402 Pages

Rating-5/5 Lily Pads

 Would I Recommend It? Yes!

Some Spoilers!!

Introduction

Hey everyone! I am back again with a review. Today I am reviewing a new release book which is "The Glass Spare". This is Lauren's new fantasy novel. I read "Wither" by her earlier this year and really enjoyed it. When I found out she was writing a Fantasy novel and read the synopsis, I was so excited! I actually pre-ordered this book and I never pre-order books. This book was really good! I really enjoyed it. Let's get on to the review. 

Goodreads Summary

Wil Heidle, the only daughter of the king of the world’s wealthiest nation, has grown up in the shadows. Kept hidden from the world in order to serve as a spy for her father—whose obsession with building his empire is causing a war—Wil wants nothing more than to explore the world beyond her kingdom, if only her father would give her the chance.

Until one night Wil is attacked, and she discovers a dangerous secret. Her touch turns people into gemstone. At first Wil is horrified—but as she tests its limits, she’s drawn more and more to the strange and volatile ability. When it leads to tragedy, Wil is forced to face the destructive power within her and finally leave her home to seek the truth and a cure.

But finding the key to her redemption puts her in the path of a cursed prince who has his own ideas for what to do with her power.

With a world on the brink of war and a power of ultimate destruction, can Wil find a way to help the kingdom that’s turned its back on her, or will she betray her past and her family forever?

Plot-5/5

Like I said before, the plot is what made me want to read this book in the first place. I loved the plot! It is so unique and different. Wil can kill people or living things by turning them into gemstone. It's so cool! I never read a book like that before. Also, the fact that this book takes place in kingdoms made me love it even more. I love anything that's set in a royalty setting. It's my favorite type of fantasy to read about so of course I loved the plot of this book. 

Setting-5/5

I love books that take place in castles and I just love fantasy worlds in general so obviously I gave it a perfect rating. The setting was absolutely perfect!

Writing-5/5

I love the author's writing style. When I was reading "Wither" I remember loving her writing and the way she writes is just beautiful. 

Pacing-5/5

The pacing was perfect in this book. It kept me interested the whole time. 

Cover-4/5

I like the cover but I'm not in love with it. It's pretty but I feel like it could've been better. 

Characters-5/5

I really liked all of the characters in this book. They were developed really well and I like that she threw in some diversity. One character is physically disabled and another character has OCD. 

Let's discuss our main protagonist, Wil. I really liked Wil. She was a really strong, awesome girl. She has three older brothers so she's pretty tough and she's really good at fighting and defending herself. She has a kind heart, and is really close to her family. I love how the main plot revolves around Wil's family and I love how protective she is for the people she loves. She's a great character and I really love her. I feel so bad for her since she's stuck with her bad power, I would hate to be her. I like that even though she has a deadly power, she's not a monster, she's a good person. 

I love her Mom, she's very kind and loves her family. I don't really like her Dad. He's not in the book that much but I don't like him because his intentions aren't good. I love Owen, he's such a good older brother. Spoiler- I was so sad when he died, I thought he would come back to life but he didn't. It broke my heart because I loved Owen. 

I didn't like Baren at all. He was a mean brother, he didn't love any of his siblings and he just wasn't a likable character at all. 

I loved Gerdie so much!! He's definitely one of my favorite characters of this book. He's so intelligent, kind and sweet. I love how much he cares about Wil and I just love their relationship. It's refreshing to see a brother and sister have a close relationship in a YA book. I feel like that's not common. 

I like Zay. At first I didn't like her because she didn't like Wil and didn't trust her. But she becomes nicer as the book goes on and by the end, I really liked her. I really liked Loom too. He was a great guy, he really wanted to help his kingdom and make the world a better place. I kind of shipped him and Wil. This book doesn't have a lot of romance, it's a very minor part of the book. So if you want a Fantasy book with a lot of romance, this isn't the book for you. There's a reason why there's not a lot of romance but it's explained at the end of the book. 

Ending-5/5

Since this book isn't a stand-alone, I can't really judge the ending. It was good. I didn't think it ended on a cliffhanger. I can't wait to read the next book to find out what happens. It stinks that I have to wait a whole year for the next book but I can live because there's no cliffhanger. 

Overall Thoughts

Overall, I loved this book. It was a great and refreshing Fantasy book. I loved everything about "The Glass Spare". If your wondering, I never continued the "Chemical Garden trilogy" because something happens in the second book that I don't like. So I'm not planning on finishing that series even though I really liked "Wither".  I definitely want to read the next book when it comes out next year. This book is so worth a buy, you should go out and buy a copy of this book right now because it's amazing and underrated. This book seriously needs more recognition. I haven't seen this book anywhere around booktube and I don't understand why. Please go read it and give this book and the author some recognition. She deserves it. So yeah, that was my review. Thank you guys so much for reading. I have no idea what book I'm going to read next, but stay tuned for my next review. Bye and happy reading! :)