Review: After Obsession

After Obsession
By Carrie Jones & Steven E. Wedel
Release Date: September 13, 2011

Description:
Aimee and Alan have secrets. Both teens have unusual pasts and abilities they prefer to keep hidden. But when they meet each other, in a cold Maine town, they can't stop their secrets from spilling out. Strange things have been happening lately, and they both feel that something-or someone- is haunting them. They're wrong. Despite their unusual history and powers, it's neither Aimee nor Alan who is truly haunted. It's Alan's cousin Courtney who, in a desperate plea to find her missing father, has invited a demon into her life-and into her body. Only together can Aimee and Alan exorcise the ghost. And they have to move quickly, before it devours not just Courtney but everything around her.


Review:

Courtney has lost her father, he was on the river and his body has not turned up.  Her cousin, Alan (who is half Navajo) has come to Maine with his mother to stay with his cousin and her mother to take care of them.  When Alan comes to town weird things start to happen.  People are getting angrier than usual, fights are breaking out, the hospital starts getting busy and the police are always having to break up fights.  Aimee's mother died in the river.  There is something wrong with the river, there has been talk of a River Man, someone who haunts the river trying to get out of the river to walk among men.  Aimee has seen him in her dreams.  She has the powers to heal and sometimes has dreams that come true, like prophecies that she tries to stop.  Alan being half Navajo has his spirit guide or totem behind him to help him with all the troubles.  He doesn't know his father but has learned everything he can about his people through the Internet and even found his spirit guide by building his own sweat lodge back in Oklahoma.

As things turn for the stranger Blake, Aimee's boyfriend, gets so angry at her that he pulled her out of her car, and they break up because Blake is saying very racial things against Alan. At the same time Courtney starts acting weirder by the day and then starts to strangely break out horribly all over her skin.  Alan and Aimee quickly become good friends, there's something between them that they've never felt before and they help each other out with everything that is going on.  With their friendship growing stronger into something else, they come together with a plan and a conclusion that Courtney has been or is trying to be possessed by the River Man so that he can take over her body and walk amongst the men instead of being confined to the River.  The school's librarian even shows Aimee a file with article after article of people being found dead by the river, dismembered and with claw marks but no conclusion as to why it has occurred.

The River man torments Alan and Aimee through wind storms, throwing of objects and all kinds of weird possession type things.  Eventually Alan decides he needs to build a sweat lodge and speak to his spirit guide to help him conquer the River man, he really believes he can beat this.  Aimee and Alan therefore decide to tie Courtney to her bed so that they can bring the River man forward and banish it away.  Somehow with the help of Aimee's mother's spirit they make it through this and get rid of the River man. 

It was a really interesting story, I haven't read anything about possession like this, so this was definitely different and was an easy quick read.  I think the romance between Alan and Aimee went by a little too quickly it's almost like they fell in love in less than a week.  They even told each other I love you.  I think it was just the heightened situation which made them feel this way so quickly.  The whole book in timeline frame seemed to go by quickly and escalate even faster.  All in all it was a good read and if they were to somehow continue the book, which I don't believe is the case.  I would read it.

Musing Monday: What's next?

MUSING MONDAYS… is a weekly event where MizB at Should be Reading will ask a book/reading-related question, and you answer with your own thoughts on the topic.

This week’s musing asks…
How far along are you in your current read before you start thinking about what you’ll read next?

I think it depends on the book, because if I'm really into it I can't think of another book (unless it's a series then I can't wait to read the next one).  Usually when I'm about half way through with one book I start contemplating which book I can read next or which book I can read concurrently.  Always turns out though that even if there is a book I'm contemplating by the time I'm done with the current one I change my mind and start reading a different book.  Ha, I'm all over the place. 

Booking Through Thursday: Writing or Riveting?

A weekly meme about (mostly) books and reading. Hosted at Booking Through Thursday.

Today's question is:
What’s more important: Good writing? Or a good story?

(Of course, a book should have BOTH, but…)

Ok yes I agree we need to have both.  But I'll say if the story is riveting, you can always make up the good writing in your mind.  hehe.  If something is written mediocre but the story is great, you're going to read it.  If it's written horribly but the story is great, you're still going to read it.  But if it's written beautifully but the story is just blah and doesn't get your attention then you're not going to read it unless you have to finish it for a reason.  Think of the time when you were in school, all of that was written well, has to be it's for educational purposes but in reality was it riveting to you? Was the story good?  No it was just information for you to retain and throw away at a later date (like after a test).  That's just my opinion though, what do you think?

Review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight By Jennifer E. Smith
Release Date: January 2, 2012

Description:
Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?


Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. She's stuck at JFK, late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's in seat 18C. Hadley's in 18A.

Twists of fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel about family connections, second chances and first loves. Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.

Review:
This book was amazing.  It made me laugh, it made me cry and it just made me feel.  I couldn't put it down, I wanted to read it so bad I even read it while I was at work, just don't tell anyone lol.  This book was perfect. 

We first meet Hadley at the airport, she just missed her flight, she's on the way to her dad's wedding to a woman she's never met before.  Through all this she's still angry and keeps thinking maybe this was meant to happen, her missing her first flight.  At the airport while waiting for the next flight they could get her on she meets a boy who helps her lugging her bag around the airport, Oliver.  Their meeting is pure chance, I'm not going to lie I wish things like this happened to me.  She is very claustrophobic and as luck turns out Oliver has a seat right next to her (well technically a seat over next to her but turns out the lady that has that seat lets him sit there).  Oliver and Hadley spend the entire flight talking (when they weren't nodding off).  Their conversations were too funny, he really did make me laugh quite a bit.  It really helped Hadley ease the tension and her phobia.  By the end of the flight they have to go their separate ways but it's as if they don't want to leave each other.  When Hadley gets out of customs she finds out that she can't find Oliver anyway and she only has about an hour to get to the church for the wedding, she's a bridesmaid.

She finally makes it to the wedding and realizes she doesn't get to talk to her dad before she has to walk down the aisle.  It's all very stressful for her because it's just weird watching her dad getting married to someone else.  After the ceremony they are all waiting to take pictures.  After a few pictures Hadley overhears something and knows that she has to go and find Oliver.  She leaves the wedding party with a very angry father and heads to look for Oliver.

She eventually finds him and they have a talk about his family and her family and they end it on a not so happy note.  Now Hadley is rushing back to make the reception.  When she gets back she finally breaks down and talks to her dad about everything that has gone on all day and the feelings she has towards him.  It really hit home for me and I couldn't help but get all caught up in the emotions they were feeling. They make it to the reception and everything turns out better than she expected.  She goes outside for some fresh air and to talk to her mom.  After her conversation, you've guessed it ... Oliver is outside crashing her party. 

It was just great, they have the best story to tell for their future because they met an airport.  Think about it what a great story this is.  Loved it, can't wait to read what else Jennifer E. Smith has in store for us.  I have to go and research and look for her other books because I loved her style of writing.

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.


This week I'm "Waiting on":

Where it Began
By Anne Redisch Stampler
Release Date: March 6, 2012

Description:
A teen’s world comes crashing down in this compulsively readable YA debut that’s as literary as it is commercial.Gabby Gardiner wakes up in a hospital bed looking like a cautionary ad for drunk driving—and without a single memory of the accident that landed her there. But what she can recall, in frank and sardonic detail, is the year leading up to the crash.


As Gabby describes her transformation from Invisible Girl to Trendy Girl Who Dates Billy Nash (aka Most Desirable Boy Ever), she is left wondering: Why is Billy suddenly distancing himself from her? What do her classmates know that Gabby does not? Who exactly was in the car that night? And why has Gabby been left to take the fall?
As she peels back the layers of her life, Gabby begins to realize that her climb up the status ladder has been as intoxicating as it has been morally complex...and that nothing about her life is what she has imagined it to be.

Review: Shatter Me

Shatter Me
By Tahereh Mafi
Release Date: November 15, 2011

Description:
The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.


The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

Review:

Mafi has created a world in the future where everything has been destroyed and everyone is trying to survive.  Through all this there is one girl who can kill people with just a touch.  Her parents didn't want her, no one wanted to be her friend, she was all alone.  They sent her to insane asylum where she would stay there until she meets Adam.  He's a boy she used to go to school with and he helps Warner gain access to Juliette, but he his intentions are not what Warner thinks.  Warner is an evil person in charge of one sector of the Reestablishment, who wants to use Juliette as a weapon.  As anything she touches dies.

Adam is assigned to protect her because they have a past together.  In this time they share together she realizes that he remembers her and she remembers him.  It's kind of sweet and weird their love for each other.  It's as if it happened instantly but in reality it was growing all along they just didn't realize it and now it's just gone full force.  Adam has a tattoo on his body that Juliette used to dream of, not something she knew until he came back into her life and just so happened to see the bird tattooed on him.  She plays along with Warner's requests until it's time for Adam and her to escape.  Which turns out to be sooner than they were planning.

During their escape Juliette learns that Adam has a brother, a ten year old boy.  James and Adam's relationship is so nice to see, it's hard to remember that sometimes the younger generation have it worse because they dont' know any better.  They are bought into this world that is in ruins and that innocence is so precious.  But soon Warner finds out where Adam and Juliette are and the pursuit continues.  But with Kenji's help they escape Warner's grasp.

They make it to a place called Omega Point.  I don't want to say much more because really now I think is when it's gets interesting, and now I really want to know what happens.  I think I read in a review of this book that it's something like a cross between Xmen and Fantastic 4, I think this is like a combination of a large group of comic book heroes and you know what, I'm loving it.  I thought the beginning was not as exciting as I thought it was going to be compared to every one's great reviews but the more I read through it the more I realized everyone was right, this book is good.  Can't wait to see what happens next.  And what ability other people in Omega Point will have.

Top Ten Tuesday: Freebie

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. This feature is great because everyone loves lists, including me.

This week's Top Ten is:
Freebie --- Make a top ten list about anything book related that you want. That super specific topic you thought would make a great top ten list or that past topic you wished you would have gotten a chance to participate it? This is the week to do it!


My top 10 Book Boyfriends:

1.  Finn from Something Maybe by Elizabeth Scott.  This boy is so obviously into the main character and she doesn't even notice it until the very end.  He's protective and looks out for her best interest, he would do anything for her.  My favorite part is when she finally realizes it's him she wants.

2.  John After from Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols.  He's a cop in uniform and sounds super sexy and adult even though he's really only 19.  The way he carries himself, his artistic ability.  His machoness, it's just sexy.

3.  Peeta from Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  There's just something about him, the fact that he's been watching Katnis for so long, and would literally do anything to save her.  He really does love her and will wait for her to realize it.

4.  Etienne from Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins.  I mean really - do I even need to say anything about him.  How sexy is his name alone!

5.  Jace Wayland from The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare.  Ok technically he's not really Clary's boyfriend but they might as well be official from the beginning of the book.  He's deep, brooding, cocky and just a combination of confusion which is just great.  He just needs to get it together and stop punishing himself.

6.  Sam from the Wolves of Mercy Falls series by Maggie Stiefvater.  He's loved Grace since he first saw her when the wolves attached.  They are lost without each other and just belong together.  Their love story is beautiful and he is the start of it.  Him with those yellow eyes.

7.  Wesley from the DUFF by Kody Keplinger.  He's cocky and just all around boy who seems to have have it all.  But when he starts messing around with Bianca, something changes in him. He becomes human and so unbelievably lovable. 

8.  Ethan from The Chiacogoland Vampire Series by Chloe Neill.  Even though they aren't technically a couple the bond is there between Ethan and Merit and its great.  He's 100 % male (vampire), he's cocky and strong and has been around for such a long time that he just knows too much.

9. Adam from Endless Summer by Jennifer Echols.  Him and Lori together are too much.  The things they come up with.  He has ADD and because of this he doesn't think he can do things others can but when he does things he does it with all his heart.  Their dynamic together is priceless.  If you haven't introduced yourself to Adam and Lori you definitely have to check it out.

10.Four from Divergent by Veronica Roth.  He helps getting over fears and working through the system to get to a better place.  He's sneaky and ready for anything.  After all they are Dauntless.