Prophecy of the Sisters

 

 Author: Michelle Zink
Series: Prophecy of the Sisters, #1
Pages: 343
Challenge: Goodreads Challenge 2014
Genre: Paranormal
Acquired: Bought
Rating: ★★★★

*****

Goodreads Summary:

An ancient prophecy divides two sisters--one good, one evil.
Who will prevail?
Twin sisters Lia and Alice Milthorpe have just become orphans. They have also become enemies. As they discover their roles in a prophecy that has turned generations of sisters against each other, they find themselves entangled in a mystery that involves a tattoo-like mark, their parents' deaths, a boy, a book, and a lifetime of secrets.

  *****

 My Thoughts:

Within an ancient prophecy twin sisters, Lia and Alice are pitted on the opposite sides of good and evil. Soon after both sisters and their younger brother are orphaned, Lia finds a strange tattooed marking on her wrist. Soon after they are all launched into a world of secret texts, symbols, witchcraft, and angels and demons. While one sister is tasked with saving the world from evil, the other is destined to destroy it and let evil prevail.

Told in Lia's POV, she is a sweet, young girl who tries to unravel the secrets of her past as well as the mystery of the age old prophecy that she and her sister are now involved in. I really liked Lia's character and personality. She was the more cool, calm, and collected sister; she took everything in stride (which was a bit weird because I would have definitely driven myself mad if a bomb like having to potentially try to save the world had been dropped on me!).

Other characters like Sonia and Luise were very different while being similar at the same time. I like their connection to the prophecy (which I figured out before hand so go me :D) as well as Aunt Virginia. I will say though I am still wary about James and his potential involvement (Lia's boyfriend) I just get the suspicion that there is more to him buuuuuttttt I could be reading way to much into it. Also the vague and mysterious beast demon trying to escape the Void or Plane.... I really want to know more about him too. (Even the bad guys need stories and attention too haha)

Back to Lia..... I liked that she developed throughout the book into a stronger, more capable character to rival her sister. I like that she knew that she had a goal and purpose to accomplish and that she was clever enough to find clues and try to connect the dots with the help of Luisa and Sonia.

I was pleased that this book was different from what I expected. Originally bought the book because I had seen it around and heard about it a while ago, but I didn't have high hopes or expectations in the storyline or being engrossed with the characters and their involvement in the plot.... Let's just say that I am happy I decided to randomly pick it up and give it a try!

My favorite scenes were when Lia understood and discovered more about her mother. Also finding out the significance of the keys was another favorite scene(s). What did I like most? The mystery of everything and the truth about Lia and Alice. What did I like least? The Henry scene. :((((((( the feellllllssss!

I was kept guessing throughout the majority of the book while occasionally being hit with clues to figure out the mystery along with the characters. The plot was cool with the different take on angels and demons and good and evil and how they coexist or are connected to the regular world in the book. Also the traveling the plane aspect was interesting as well. Ending? I was satisfied; it set up the next book with no cliffhanger, but the reader is still left (or at least I was) with an interest to read the next book to see what happens.

Cover: 6/10
Rating: 4/5
Recommend to: Those who like mystery, angels/demons, twin sisters with two different fates and prophecies.

If you have read this book, let me know your thoughts below!!

*****

Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days, #1)

 

 Author: Susan Ee
Series: Penryn & the End of Days
Pages: 283
Challenge: Goodreads Challenge 2014, 2014 Book Bingo Challenge
Genre: Dystopian, Paranormal
Acquired: Library
Rating: ★★★★

*****

Goodreads Summary:

It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

  *****

 My Thoughts:

Angelfall is a novel that follows seventeen-year-old Penryn in her search to find her sister and rescue her from the angels that took her. Penryn is a brave and determined young girl with one mission in mind... to rescue her sister and get her family to safety which includes herself, her sister, and her deranged mother. When her sister is taken by warrior angels, she goes after them with the help of a broken and battered angel named Raffe who has his own agenda and secrets.

I really liked Penryn and her dedication and unwavering resolve to get her sister back and to protect her family in the midst of the apocalypse. I related to her most and admired her maturity for her age and how she dealt with having to grow up fast to support and look after her family especially when her mother goes through her deranged, crazy spells.

I also loved Raffe and how interesting he was as a character. He is an angel, who in the midst of a fight with a crew of warrior angels, get his wings brutally and forcefully ripped off. When Penyrn saves him and nurses him back to health after this incident, she convinces him to help her find the location of the angels who took her sister and in return will help him try to get his wings repaired and sewn back onto his body. Another interesting character was definitely Penryn's sister at the end of the novel..... one word.... freaky.

The problems faced in the story suited this particular story nicely. The characters dealt with a kill or be killed mentality as well as the survival of the fittest aspect whilst on their journal to the angels location. Penryn learned early on that she would have to build an alliance with Raffe if she ever wanted to survive and also find her sister.

Penryn also got stronger and more cunning throughout the novel in preparation to try to kick angel ass and rescue her sister. I loved this part in reading the book! I can say that this book definitely took me by surprise a little bit and I loved that! Susan Ee's take on angels and the apocalypse as well as the interesting turn of events near the end of the novel made me shake with excitement. It was soooo good!

My favorite scenes were the camp scene and the club scene at the end. Both were a bit scary and suspenseful but added to the storyline nicely. I also liked the relationship between Penryn and Raffe. As far as ratings go, I give the cover a 7/10 I thought it was very pretty as well as symbolic to the story. I would recommend this to someone who is looking for a different take on an angel story with lots of action and adventure along the way! I gave the overall book a 4/5 and will definitely pick up the next book.

Also the ending was crazy! The cliffhanger at the end.... Ugh.... it ended a little abruptly especially with the Raffe aspect but otherwise it was done really well! Check this one out for sure.

*****

Top Ten Tuesday (TTT, #5)

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's post is:

Top Ten Books I've Read So Far This Year

So considering that I've only read about 10 books so far this year, I don't have much of a choice in picking the best ones that I've read. Currently I'm around 13 books behind schedule for my Goodreads 50 book challenge but hopefully I'll be able to turn that around this summer since I'm challenging myself to read 25 books by the end August. It's time to kick it into gear! Fingers crossed! Nonetheless, here are the books I've read so far this year!

Top Ten: ( in order)

Shatter Me: I finally read this book this year and it did not disappoint! I really enjoyed it and need to read Unravel Me very soon!



 Clockwork Angel: This is one that I am very ashamed to have not read sooner. It was the first Cassandra Clare book that I read and I am excited to continue on with The Infernal Devices trilogy and also start The Immortal Instruments series as well!



 Miss Match: This book was one that I picked up on impulse from my library's adult fiction section. I really wanted to branch out this year and read more adult fiction books and figured I would start off with a light read like this one. I was pretty good and is the first in a series. If you have any suggestions for adult chick-lit books or authors let me know!


*****
What are your favorite books that you've read so far this year? 
Comment and let me know!!

Embrace

 

 Author: Jessica Shirvington
Series: The Violet Eden Chapters
Pages: 369
Challenge: Goodreads Challenge 2014, 2014 Book Bingo Challenge
Genre: Paranormal
Acquired: Library
Rating: ★★★★

*****

Goodreads Summary:

It starts with a whisper: "It's time for you to know who you are..."

On her 17th birthday, everything will change for Violet Eden. The boy she loves will betray her. Her enemy will save her. She will have to decide just how much she's willing to sacrifice.
Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, EMBRACE is a compelling novel of good and evil, seductive desires and impossible choices. A centuries old war between fallen angels and the protectors of humanity chooses a new fighter. It's a battle Violet doesn't want, but she lives her life by two rules: don't run and don't quit. If angels seek vengeance and humans are the warriors, you could do a lot worse than betting on Violet Eden.
LINCOLN: He's been Violet's one anchor, her running partner and kickboxing trainer. Only he never told her he's Grigori--part human, part angel--and that he was training her for an ancient battle between Angels and Exiles.
PHOENIX: No one knows where his loyalties lie, yet he's the only one there to pick up the pieces and protect her after Lincoln's lies. In a world of dark and light, he is all shades of gray.
Two sides: Angel or Exile.
Two guys: Lincoln or Phoenix.
The wrong choice could cost not only her life, but her eternity...

  *****

 My Thoughts:

Embrace follows the story of a seemingly normal girl named Violet Eden who is trying to deal with the reality that she is actually half-angel and half-human. The same goes for the guy that she thought she would fall in love with. The book follows Violet's journey of deciding to accept or not accept who she is becoming. Along the way she copes with learning the reality that the world is not all that she thought it was, with it being filled with good and evil paranormal beings and creatures. When big problems start to arise will Violet be able to make a life-changing decision that will affect her for the rest of her existence or will she opt out of all of it and choose to try to go back to living a normal life like before.

I found the main character, Violet, to be a confused and defiant individual from the start of the novel. I really wanted her to come to terms with who she was to make things easier for herself. I also wanted her to make more decisions for herself and with herself in mind. She also held many grudges for too long in my opinion (but these reasons where explained and cleared up later in the novel as the story progressed).

So any other interesting characters? Umm YES Please! Phoenix! I absolutely loved his character and how he cared for Violet even though it was against his nature and existence. He was definitely one of my favorite characters!

I also liked that the story was told though the view point of Violet; I felt that it suited the story well. I would also be interested to see the story through Lincoln's POV. I think that it would be interesting to see his side on everything also.

Although Violet changed throughout the novel, I constantly debated on if I really liked her character. To like her character or not to like her character. I think I chalk it up to it being the first book in a series so her character was meant to be confused and naive since she hasn't really started to grow as a character yet. I also came to find the book a bit predictable. I found myself guessing on what would happen next and came to be right about 80% of the time.

The ending of the book didn't end with a crazy cliffhanger but it did elude to bigger and badder events to come in the next books or the series. Despite everything you have read about my problems with the predictability and conflicts with Violet's character. I actually enjoyed this book and plan to continue on with the series eventually. I give it ★★★★ and would recommend this to anyone looking for an ok/standard start to a paranormal series involving angels.

*****