Let's Talk: This Is Where It Ends

Title: This Is Where It Ends

Author: Marieke Nijkamp

Series: N/A

Genre: YA Fiction

Page Length: 282 pages

Publication Date: January 5, 2016

Date Started: March 28, 2016

Date Finished: March 29, 2016

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

*Semi-spoiler free review*

I didn't read this book for the stellar ratings, I read it because it's an important topic to talk about. Even so, it wasn't quite what I was expecting.

This was a pretty good book, but I don't believe this is what a school shooting is like. I've never been in one, but this seemed different than what I've read about in the news and such. For starters, this is a revenge story, with a lot of people getting caught in the crossfire.

I didn't expect the story to be so centralized on revenge for one thing. Usually when you hear stories about revenge shootings it's the kid who was bullied and he wants to get revenge on everyone. In this book, the shooter does what to get revenge on the school, but mostly on the characters who the points of view are told from.

I expected to feel a lot more than I did. I thought that I would be crying more, but I only cried at the very end during a memorial ceremony. Things that should have had me bawling, like when someone's brother died or sister got shot, didn't have me crying. I wish I had been able to form connections to them.

I did enjoy this book for the most part. Well, not so much enjoy as I don't think I could really enjoy a book full of so much death and sadness as the main part. I don't know how to describe my feelings on this book.

I think that while it wasn't exactly like a lot of school shootings, it still raises the topic of school shootings, which is what I hope the author set out to do anyway. I think this is a very important read that not only talks about shootings, but also the importance of family and friendship and keeping the ones close to you sane. 

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Thanks for reading

xoxo

Lauren

Let's Talk: Awake at Dawn

Title: Awake at Dawn

Author: C.C. Hunter

Series: "Shadow Falls" #2

Genre: YA Paranormal

Page Length: 383 pages

Publication Date: October 11, 2011

Date Started: March 21, 2016

Date Finished: March 23, 2016

Rating: 5/5 stars

*Semi-spoiler free review*

I adored this book. It was so good!

For starters, there was quite a bit of character development in this installment. I saw so many characters at the end that were quite different than the beginning of the first book. It was very interesting and fun to see how Kylie has progressed since the beginning of the first novel.

Of course, we still don't know what she is...

Derek is driving me insane! He's being such a dick! Ugh, maybe I want her to be with Lucas now. Lucas is still there for her and he almost died for her, but where was Derek? Ignoring her. I'm not sure how I feel about him right now.

The action has been amped up. And the feels, too. This book left off at a bit of a cliffhanger--not the biggest, but still a little bit--and I really want to jump right into the next book. I'm actually about to go buy it...

Honestly there's not much I can say right now other than this book was fantastic! 

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Thanks for reading

xoxo

Lauren

Let's Talk: Born at Midnight

Title: Born at Midnight

Author: C.C. Hunter

Series: "Shadowfalls" #1 

Genre: YA Paranormal

Page Length: 398 pages

Publication Date: March 11, 2011

Date Started: March 20, 2016

Date Finished: March 20, 2016

Rating: 5/5 stars

*Semi-spoiler free review*

Picking up this book from my TBR shelf was a random split second decision when I was putting books on my shelf. I opened it up, read the first page, and then ended up reading the rest of the book in one night.

This book was really good. I enjoyed it more than I expected to, and I'm honestly on such a Shadow Falls kick right now. I already ordered the 3rd and 4th books and am reading the 2nd. It's such a good world to be in.

This book follows a girl named Kylie who's mom send her to a camp for delinquents, only for Kylie to find out it's actually a camp for supernatural creatures. And she's apparently one of them. However, she denies this at first, then tries to figure out more about who she is--WHAT she is.

Born at Midnight was a great series opener. We established the world, got character relationships started, lit a match under a romance candle, and even got a bit of ass-kicking action. There was humor but also seriousness. It was great.

I adore this series now, and I'm only on the second book. I'm very excited to continue on and see what happens with Kylie, Derek, Lucas, Della, and Miranda (especially Kylie, Derek, & Lucas; team Dylie for life). 

A definite recommend from me.

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Thanks for reading

xoxo

Lauren