Daughter of the Centaurs
Author: Kate Klimo
Source: Amazon Vine
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
         (January 24, 2012)
ISBN-13: 978-0375869754

Malora knows what she was born to be: a horse wrangler and a hunter, just like her father. But when her people are massacred by batlike monsters called Leatherwings, Malora will need her horse skills just to survive. The last living human, Malora roams the wilderness at the head of a band of magnificent horses, relying only on her own wits, strength, and courage. When she is captured by a group of centaurs and taken to their city, Malora must decide whether the comforts of her new home and family are worth the parts of herself she must sacrifice to keep them.

Forget the vampires.  Forget the werewolves.  No zombies.  Welcome to the new supernatural in the dystopian world.  In Daughter of the Centaurs, we are introduced to just that — Centaurs.  These are those half human/ half horse people from long ago legends and fables.  I was curious about this one.  Not only is the cover kind of pretty,  but it features the dystopian world with a different twist in the paranormal we have grown accustomed to.

This was in fact a hard read to get into.  It has a lot of narrative and the dialogue was lacking for me.  Then add in the fact that the Centaurs were nothing like I expected, a world that isn’t explained well on the how it came to be, and you have a so-so novel with no bang for the buck.  I really wish the author would have answered many of the questions that will arise for the reader.  How did this future world come to be?  This was the main thing for me.  If you want to present a dystopia novel to readers, you better be able to back it up on the how.  Now this could have changed since the copy I read was an ARC copy and not a finished copy.  It could have been fixed for final prints.  I just don’t think I would even buy a finished copy to find out.

Certainly not a read I expected to fall as flat as it did.  I had high hopes for it only to be bored halfway through and ready to quit.  If you want to step out of the current fads of reading — and have the patience to put up with everything I didn’t like — then give it a try.  This might be just what you are looking for.

If the library doesn’t have it, don’t worry about reading it!

*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Virtuosity
Author: Jessica Martinez
Source: Amazon Vine
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Simon Pulse
 (October 18, 2011)
ISBN-13: 978-1442420526

Now is not the time for Carmen to fall in love. And Jeremy is hands-down the wrong guy for her to fall for. He is infuriating, arrogant, and the only person who can stand in the way of Carmen getting the one thing she wants most: to win the prestigious Guarneri competition. Carmen’s whole life is violin, and until she met Jeremy, her whole focus was winning. But what if Jeremy isn’t just hot…what if Jeremy is better?


Carmen knows that kissing Jeremy can’t end well, but she just can’t stay away. Nobody else understands her–and riles her up–like he does. Still, she can’t trust him with her biggest secret: She is so desperate to win she takes anti-anxiety drugs to perform, and what started as an easy fix has become a hungry addiction. Carmen is sick of not feeling anything on stage and even more sick of always doing what she’s told, doing what’s expected.


Sometimes, being on top just means you have a long way to fall….

I deliberately waited to read this book because everyone was reading it at the same time.  I was careful to stay away from the reviews because I wanted the full effect of this book with no spoilers.  I fell in love with the cover first thing and I wanted to fall in love with the story as well!

While I am a piano player, I am in no means a master of it.  So when I saw that this book was about a musical child prodigy,  I was curious to see how it would play out.  While I wasn’t a huge fan of the book, I will admit that the author knows how to write with ease.  It flowed nicely but I just couldn’t connect with the characters.  Carmen’s struggle with stage fright was something that I think many people would struggle with.  I liked how the author took this struggle and added to it the medication as well.  Jeremy was just an okay character for me.  Again, I had a hard time connecting with the characters, so that could be the reason I wasn’t a big fan of him.

I would say that this is a book that many teenagers will fall in love with.  I might not have been a big fan of it,  but I might try reading it again when my reading tastes have changed.  It could have been a personal reading funk I am in or not.

Okay book, but it left me wanting more!

*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

The Vampire Academy
The Ultimate Guide
Author(s): Richelle Mead and Michelle Rowen
Source: Gifted
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
Publisher: Razorbill
  (December 22, 2011)
ISBN-13: 978-1595144515

Sink your teeth into the perfect holiday gift and must-have collector’s item for every fan of Richelle Mead’s totally addicting Vampire Academy series.


Discover the history of St. Vladimir’s Academy, explore the dark psychology behind Rose and Lissa’s spirit bond, and find out even more illicit secrets about Moroi society. This ultimate guide will feature everything readers want and need to go even deeper into the world of Vampire Academy, Frostbite, Shadow Kiss, Blood Promise, Spirit Bound, and Last Sacrifice . . . every heartache, every betrayal, every sacrifice, and so much more!

If you are a fan of the Vampire Academy series,  you probably think you know everything there is to know about them.  Even if you think you do, you still need to give the Ultimate Guide a chance because it will definitely surprise you with things you didn’t know.

I loved how it was broken down by each book in the series.  We get a small section from author Richelle Mead before each summary and she shares her thoughts on the writing process of each story.  We get to hear about her struggles, feelings, and character creation that we don’t get to read about in the original stories.  Then each book is broken down into sections as well explaining certain quotes, story arcs and more.  It even features a pop quiz at the close of each one.  I loved taking the quiz after each section because it really made you think about what you have read.  Great for readers in testing their reading comprehension.

In the middle of the book,  we are also treated to color photos of the illustrated novel, photos of the author at signings, and web site links to further our experience into the Vampire Academy world.  The final part of the guide is a glossary.  It explains certain terms that readers will come across in the world that the author created for us.

If you are a fan of this author and/or the series,  then this is a book you have to have in your collection.  It completes the collection and series perfectly and is perfect for gifts as well.  A great addition to my bookshelf!

Outstanding book that will stay on my bookshelf for rereading!

The Hunger Games Tribute Guide
Author: Emily Seife
Source: Publisher
Publisher: Scholastic Press
 (February 7, 2012)
ISBN-13: 978-0545457828

The New York Times bestselling Hunger Games is now a major motion picture — and here is the ultimate guide to the all the tributes in the 74th annual Hunger Games!


Here is the ultimate guide to the twenty-four Tributes participating in Panem’s 74th annual Hunger Games. Follow the Tributes’ journey from the Reaping to the Games, with a look at all the highlights along the way–the Tribute Parade, the stations of the Training Center, the interviews, and more. Get exclusive information about the Tributes’ strengths and weaknesses, their weapons of choice, and their experience in the Capitol before entering the arena.

If it is a book on the Hunger Games, you can bet I am going to buy it and drool over it.  When I received this guide for review, I did not hesitate in jumping right into it. Unfortunately, it was not what I was really expecting.

We get to see wonderful pictures from the upcoming movie, but nothing really new that we haven’t seen from released trailers.  It is set up in sections from explaining the reason for the Hunger Games all the way to where Katniss enters the arena.  It has color photos of each tribute with little facts on each one leaving the reader with no more information than what we started with after reading the series.

While it is great as a refresher book to remind us of the original story we have already read, it wasn’t something that really added to the experience.  The photos were the only added bonus but not enough to make me really excited.  If you are a hardcore fanatic for this series, then add it to your collection.  Otherwise, you might want to pass on this one and see if something better comes out.

If the library doesn’t have it, don’t worry about reading it!

*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review*