Category Archives: 5 Flames

SHATTER ME
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Source: Publisher
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Reading level: Ages 14 and up
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins (November 15, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0062085484
ISBN-13: 978-0062085481

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days. 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.

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

I was actually sent this book months ago to read and review.  I don’t know what kept me from reading it right away!  Now that I read the book, I wish I had started it that first day I received it in the mail! This book shattered my expectations and blew me away!


The summary on the back of the book didn’t really give me much to go on.  Just a couple of lines with part of them crossed out.  Here is what I had to go on:

At this point I am thinking about someone along the lines of Medusa except her touch instead of her eyes turn them to stone or something.  Yet when you start reading the book,  you start to realize it is better compared to Rogue from X-Men.  Her touch will literally kill you!  Juliette has been shunned by friends and family for a long time.  She has never had anyone to really confide in and has suffered in silence for most of her life.  When she is sent to captivity, she spends 264 days alone in a small cell with no contact of any kind to the outside world.  All she has is a small notebook that she writes in and hides it from anyone who might show up in her cell. 


Then on morning they arrive with a new cellmate.  One that has eyes that seem familiar.  Come to find out, the new cellmate is the boy from her past that showed kindness to her in school.  While he never really got the chance to talk to her back then, he never showed any hatred or repulsion that others had when being near Juliette.  She slowly starts to open up to Adam in the cell and they start to grow close.  Then one day out of the blue, they come for them.  The Reestablishment decides to use Juliette as a weapon to torture people.  If that wasn’t bad enough, it is revealed that Adam is in on this and she starts to reevaluate what she knows of him.  But is he really on the wrong side, or is he secretly leading a double life?


This is one of those books that suck you in so fast you don’t know what hits you.  A book where you will try to put it down to do something, but then you think to yourself that you just need to read one more chapter.  Then you realize the book has now been finished within a short amount of time and you want more!  I stayed up late reading this book and even tortured my family with me telling them that I wanted to just read a few more pages.  


This is one debut novel you are going to want to add to your wish list and one of the first books you will want to save up your money to buy.  I can’t wait for the next book in the series to release so I can read more of Adam, Juliette and the rest of the characters that captured my interest from page one!

Outstanding Book That Will Stay On My Bookshelf
For Rereading! 5 STARS

THE SWEETEST THING
Lucky Harbor #2
Author: Jill Shalvis
Source: Personal Purchase

Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Forever; 1 edition (April 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446571628
ISBN-13: 978-0446571623

Two Men Are One Too Many . . . 

Tara has a thousand good reasons not to return to the little coastal town of Lucky Harbor, Washington. Yet with her life doing a major crash-and-burn, anywhere away from her unfulfilled dreams and sexy ex-husband will do. As Tara helps her two sisters get their newly renovated inn up and running, she finally has a chance to get things under control and come up with a new plan for her life.

But a certain tanned, green-eyed sailor has his own ideas, such as keeping Tara hot, bothered . . . and in his bed. And when her ex wants Tara back, three is a crowd she can’t control-especially when her deepest secret reappears out of the blue. Now Tara must confront her past and discover what she really wants. If she’s lucky, she might just find that everything her heart desires is right here in Lucky Harbor.

The Sweetest Thing is the second book in the Lucky Harbor series by author Jill Shalvis.  After reading the first book, Simply Irresistible, I was anxious to read more about Tara and Ford.  In the end of the first book, we learned what secret Tara had been hiding and it included her past with Ford.  In this book, we get to deal with the emotions and repercussions that have evolved in each of their lives since that fateful event.

I think I might have loved this book in the series even better than the first book.  I loved Ford and his determination when it came to Tara.  I loved their interaction with not only her sisters and friends, but with their teenage daughter Mia.  I have a soft spot for Ford and have enjoyed his character the most.  I also enjoyed his competition with Tara’s ex husband throughout the book.  The drunken phone calls from Ford, the town giving her ex husband a run for his money, and the overall reaction between Ford and Tara were at times hilarious.  I also enjoyed the town rallying together and making a Facebook page dedicated to Tara’s love life.  It was funny to hear about what was posted and who was winning in the poll to win her heart. 

Chloe was in this installment quite a bit and I can’t wait to see how Sawyer is going to win her over in the next book.  She was her usual hilarious and witty self around Tara in this book and I laughed out loud a few times when she was in the scene.  Jax and Maddie are also in this book, but not as much as I would have liked.  I missed their romance, but I also understand that they already had their book.

If you are a fan of Jill Shalvis or if you are just on the lookout for your next fun contemporary romance to read, then I urge you to give The Lucky Harbor series a try.  You will fall in love with the writing, the characters and the whole town.

Outstanding Book That Will Stay On My Bookshelf
For Rereading! 5 STARS

DEATH SENTENCE
Escape From Furnace #3
Author: Alexander Gordon Smith
Source: Publisher
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); 1 edition (August 2, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0374324948
ISBN-13: 978-0374324940

Alex’s second attempt to break out of Furnace Penitentiary has failed. This time his punishment will be much worse than before. Because in the hidden, bloodstained laboratories beneath the prison, he will be made into a monster. As the warden pumps something evil into his veins–a sinisterly dark nectar–Alex becomes what he most fears . . . a superhuman minion of Furnace. How can he escape when the darkness is inside him? How can he lead the way to freedom if he is lost to himself? 

Just when I thought Alex had no hope or strength left inside of him, the author renewed my hope in this story.  When we last saw Alex he was burning in the incinerator.  He had been pulled from the flames by the Black Suits and taken to the lab — a lab that holds even more evil than we have seen so far.  The Warden has decided to make Alex into one of them.  The Alex of old will be nothing but a memory and a new but stronger Alex will emerge. 


I finally understood the meaning of remembering your name when captured by the Black Suits.  It actually does make sense once you get to book three.  What Alex is turned into is a stronger and darker side of his true self.  We also learn about how Alfred Furnace invented the Nectar and his reasoning in creating Furnace Penitentiary.  Involving WWII and Nazi history within the horrors of Furnace Hell, plots are revealed and surprises are around every corner.  I loved the return of previous characters and the mental strength that Alex realizes he has had.  Has Furnace created their perfect monster, or have they created their own terror they can’t control?


An amazing addition to the series that is quickly gaining attention from readers everywhere!  I can’t wait for the next book in the series that features Alex as a fugitive on the run from Alfred Furnace!

Outstanding Book That Will Stay On My Bookshelf
For Rereading! 5 STARS

LOCKDOWN
Escape From Furnace #1
Author: Alexander Gordon Smith
Source: Publisher
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Square Fish; 1 edition (August 3, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312611935
ISBN-13: 978-0312611934

Beneath Heaven is Hell. Beneath Hell is Furnace.

Furnace Penitentiary: An underground hellhole. A place of pure evil with walls soaked in blood. Murderous gangs and vicious guards rule the darkness. Horrific creatures steal people away in the dead of night. And the impossible – escape – is the only hope. 

Holy hot streak!  When I was sent this series for review, I wasn’t too sure if I was going to like it.  I thought it was going to be geared more for the male readers — and in a way it is — but nothing prepared me for what unfolded between the covers of this book!


Alex is a normal teenage boy, but he has a dark side of thievery and bullying.  When Alex and his friend Toby gets a tip about a family being away, they decide to break in and steal what they can in hopes of scoring some quick cash.  While in the process of the burglary, they quickly realize it was a set up and the ‘black suits’ come in and catch them in the act.  When they shoot Toby in front of Alex, he realizes this is just the beginning.  When he is caught, the suits have already framed him for the murder.  The judge sentences him to Furnace Penitentiary.  Furnace is not your ordinary jail though and it gives a whole new meaning to the word Hell.


Imagine Hell in your mind from everything you heard growing up.  Now expand that with the references you have heard from Dante’s Inferno in the meaning of different levels of Hell within the Furnace walls.  Then take it one step further and throw in Freddy Krueger nightmares made of evil.  That should give you some imagery of Furnace Penitentiary.  The author did not hold back in the details of the gruesome acts and scene set ups in this book.  There were many times I was gagging from the disgusting and atrocious things Alex had to experience.  There were also times of bravery and friendships that would be on the other end of the spectrum. 


Even with all of the things Alex suffers through, I still cheered him on.  I wanted Alex to be free and escape.  Then the author leaves you on the edge of a cliff — literally — at the end of the book.  Thankfully, I had the next book in the series to start immediately following this one.  If you are brave enough to make the journey into Furnace with Alex, consider having the next book around to keep the journey going.  

“Beneath Heaven is hell, boys, and beneath hell is Furnace.  I hope you enjoy your stay.”

–page 59

Outstanding Book That Will Stay On My Bookshelf
For Rereading! 5 STARS

THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Source: Amazon Vine
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 464 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers (September 27, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1442421762
ISBN-13: 978-1442421769

Mara Dyer doesn’t think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.

There is.

She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love.

She’s wrong.

Where do I start with my review? Amazing. Haunting. Outstanding. Un-freaking-believable!

That sums up my experience with The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin.  I dipped my toes into the well deserved hype of this book and slowly started reading it.  Once I got through the first chapter, I was hooked so much on the story that I dove in head first and didn’t want to come up for air.  I stayed up all night to finish this book just so I could see how it would end. 

When Mara wakes up after an accident involving her friends, she realizes life is never going to be the same.  Not only did her friends die and she lived, but she can’t remember what really happened the night of the accident.  Her mind is literally hiding the event to keep her shielded from the pain.  As her mind slowly unravels the mystery of that night, Mara is also haunted by her friends in more ways than one.  Mara thinks she is losing her mind, but is she really seeing her friends or are they truly the ghosts of her lost friends?

I just loved this new book by author Michelle Hodkin.  I can’t stress how good this book is! The author gives you just enough clues to keep guessing and wanting more.  I definitely will be looking for news on the next book in this series to help quench my thirst of young adult suspense!

Outstanding Book That Will Stay On My BookshelfFor Rereading! 5 STARS