Title: Screwed
Author: Laurie Plissner
Release Date: May 18th 2013
Publisher: Merit Press
Source: NetGalley
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(This review was originally posted at My Library in the Making.)

Starting a book with the prose version of the “How can you call it murder if it doesn’t even have a heartbeat yet?” debate might make it boring for some people, but this certainly wasn’t the case for me. That argument was the first amongst the many dilemmas for Grace, the main character here in Screwed, and even though I’m very much against abortion, I’m sure I would consider it too if I were in her shoes.

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Title: Firecracker
Author: David Iserson
Release Date: May 16th 2013
Publisher: Razorbill
Source: NetGalley
Goodreads | Amazon | The Book Depository

(This review was originally posted at My Library in the Making.)

When I think of how to start this review, the only thing that comes to mind is ‘Did I really think of skipping this book?’, because yes, I did. The blurb/description/whatever-it’s-called doesn’t hint at even one percent of this book’s awesomeness. It’s only May, but I think I’ve read one of my top five faves this year.

Let me just say this now: the best thing about Firecracker was Astrid Krieger herself. She was obviously a spoiled, rich kid and an all-around professional asshole—there’s just no better word to describe her—but instead of irritating me, I actually loved her for it. She liked exacting revenge and pranking with her group of misfits slash minions; if you’ve read Looking for Alaska by John Green, you’d know what I’m talking about. And I was about to say her sarcasm was hilarious, and I’ve just realized how wrong that is because she was rarely sarcastic but always outrageous, instead.

“How long was I out?” I asked. “You weren’t really out. You were sort of muttering.” “What did I say?” “Ms. Sharp asked if she should call an ambulance and you said, ‘Not sure, I left my medical degree in my other purse. Why don’t you figure it out yourself?’” “Sounds like me.”

Astrid also thought she was great, and that everything she did was, too.

There was a boy named Jacques Durang whose father was an international assassin. Jacques Durang was pretty much evil. When I was thirteen, I kicked him so hard he had to get testicle retrieval surgery.

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Title: Stripped
Author: Brooklyn Skye
Release Date: May 14th 2013
Publisher: Self-published
Source: ecopy for blog tour
Goodreads

(This review was originally posted at My Library in the Making.)

Stripped turned out to be a very nice surprise for me; I went into it expecting a heavy read, so I’m glad to find out that it’s actually just very emotional. It was a bit slow at first, but that worked out entirely fine in getting to know each of the colorful characters.

The star of the show, Quinn Montgomery, was introduced into the story in an off-putting manner, with her vulgar words and repulsion to anything related to love, the way she acted like a spoiled, bratty princess to her parents, and how she was dating a boy just as unappealing as her to avoid falling in love for real. But I soon learned that her sister’s suicide wasn’t the sole reason for all of that. This reminded me that every person has more than one story to tell, and even after we hear the last one that they have, we still don’t have the right to judge them. Anyway, despite her all-around rudeness, Quinn was strong and determined, always going after what she wanted, and she knew when to apologize.

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Title: The Summer I Became a Nerd
Author: Leah Rae Miller
Release Date: May 7th 2013
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Source: ecopy from publisher
Goodreads

(This review was originally posted at My Library in the Making.)

Oh, The Summer I Became a Nerd. Where to start? Hmm. It was so good that even a day after finishing it, I’m still in awe, and at times I find myself grinning like a lunatic when remembering the story of a girl who struggled to hide her real interests in order to fit in. The story sounded quite dramatic at first, but this book actually kept it light and funny while still managing to provoke my thoughts. All the nerdiness also reminded me of my high school years, especially of when I’d gone to cosplay conventions (where I dressed up. Twice.)

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Title: Chantress (Chantress Trilogy #1)
Author: Amy Butler Greenfield
Release Date: May 7th 2013
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Source: Edelweiss
Goodreads

(This review was originally posted at My Library in the Making.)

I admit, what drew me to Chantress was its pretty cover—black, violet, and pink! Stunning combination, eh?—but from the start, this intensely fast-paced book proved itself so much more than physically entrancing; it was imaginative and, for some reason, it reminded me of Cornelia Funke’s Inkheart. The writing was beautiful and very descriptive, perfect for the era the story was set in: England in the 1600s. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything that went as far back as that.

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Title: The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden #2)
Author: Julie Kagawa
Release Date: April 30th 2013
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Source: NetGalley
Goodreads

(This review was originally posted at My Library in the Making.)

Right from page one, I knew The Eternity Cure has outdone The Immortal Rules. The story opened better, with immediate action that prevented me from putting the book down.

In this book, I got to see the side of Allie that I’d wanted to witness in the first one: an unapologetically ruthless vampire. That’s not to say that she had lost the good in her, but only that, when called for, she utilized her vampiric capabilities without thinking “Oh I can’t kill this person even though he’s made my life completely miserable.” She knew what and who she wanted, and she was determined to keep them, all consequences be damned.

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Title: The Forgotten Ones (The Danaan Trilogy #1)
Author: Laura Howard
Release Date: April 30th 2013
Publisher: Self-published
Source: eARC from author for blog tour
Goodreads | Amazon

(This review was originally posted at My Library in the Making.)

I didn’t think I’d be this surprised by The Forgotten Ones—just by reading the blurb, I’d already formed theories as to where this story could go, especially since this isn’t my first time encountering the Tuatha de Danaan in fiction—but from the start, Allison’s story had me curious. The writing also captured me; I found its beauty on the clarity and simplicity of how the words were strung together.

Allison was an okay character for me. She was smart and strong, and I admired her determination to someday be able to relieve her grandparents of the burden of taking care of her schizophrenic mother, but it irked me how she felt like having fun every once in a while was such a crime, or at least that it would be a huge hindrance to her goal. In the end, she was also quite forgettable.

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The books I got in March. More here.