Review: Chantress (Chantress Trilogy #1) by Amy Butler Greenfield

Chantress (Chantress Trilogy #1)by Amy Butler Greenfield
Release Date: May 7th 2013
Source: Edelwiess

"There must be no singing. Ever. Sing and the darkness will find you." 

I wasn't 100% in love with this book. Maybe not even 60%. But I have to say it was beautifully written.
Although this book was slightly on the boring side. There was little to no action in Chantress, so if you like a lot of action this book is not for you. But if you like a beautifully written story, you should read this!

For more than half of Chantress, it was written like someone telling you a story. Chantress is basically one note. She spends most of her time learning how to do magic through songs.

As for the romance, there really isn't any. There was someone. But he's not a huge fan of magic so he tries to keep his distance from our main character. They seem to have an attraction towards each other, but the romance takes a back burner to the story. Until maybe they last few pages.

I was thinking about only giving this book three stars. But with less than fifty pages left and how beautiful the ending was, I could't help but give it four stars!

I know in past reviews I've said I'm not a huge fan of action, but in this case I wish there were a bit more. However it was still a good read and can't wait for the next installment!

4/5

February New Release Giveaway Hop

The February New Release Giveaway Hop is hosted by Book Twirps & Refracted Light Reviews.

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ARC Review: Pivot Point by Kasie West

Pivot Point (Pivot Point #1)
by Kasie West
Source: Edelweiss
Release Date: February 12th 2013

Knowing the outcome doesn’t always make a choice easier . . .
Addison Coleman’s life is one big “What if?” As a Searcher, whenever Addie is faced with a choice, she can look into the future and see both outcomes. It’s the ultimate insurance plan against disaster. Or so she thought. When Addie’s parents ambush her with the news of their divorce, she has to pick who she wants to live with—her father, who is leaving the paranormal compound to live among the “Norms,” or her mother, who is staying in the life Addie has always known. Addie loves her life just as it is, so her answer should be easy. One Search six weeks into the future proves it’s not.
In one potential future, Addie is adjusting to life outside the Compound as the new girl in a Norm high school where she meets Trevor, a cute, sensitive artist who understands her. In the other path, Addie is being pursued by the hottest guy in school—but she never wanted to be a quarterback’s girlfriend. When Addie’s father is asked to consult on a murder in the Compound, she’s unwittingly drawn into a dangerous game that threatens everything she holds dear. With love and loss in both lives, it all comes down to which reality she’s willing to live through . . . and who she can’t live without.

 Everything about this book was perfect. The only bad thing I can say about this book is that I wish it were longer!

After reading the synopsis, I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy Pivot Point or not. I thought it was going to be lots of drama and the plot sounded a bit confusing. And when I first started it and seen how each chapter switches back and forth, it did make me a bit hesitate. However once I got into it, I really loved reading her Search about both futures!

I think the thing about how this story was written, switching back and forth from two different futures, is that it could have been more serious and more drama included. But instead it ended up being
the complete opposite! This book ended up being surprisingly light. It was so fun to read and the characters were so enjoyable.

After Addie finds out her parents are getting a divorce, she has to decide who she wants to live with. So Addie uses her ability to Search her own future six weeks in advance to make her choice. The story alternates back and forth every chapter.

The main character, Addie, was so easy to like. She was a strong, confident character. I loved watching her adjust to life in the "norm" world. I also loved how Laila, Addie's best friend, and Addie are so different but yet they have a strong friendship! I love reading books that already has a developed friendship. And this book didn't disappoint in that aspect.

Something I found interesting is that there are two different love interest, but it's not really a love-triangle. In her Search where she lives with her dad in the "norm" world, she meets Trevor, who I absolutely loved, and their chemistry was amazing. And then in her Search where she lives with her mom, in the compound, she meets Duke. His character was charming and even though I prefer Trevor, I don't think there was one character I didn't like reading about in Pivot Point.

Another thing I loved is how no matter what future she decided to go with, whether to live with her mom or to live with her dad, I loved how the story came full circle. Pivot Point was refreshing, original and was executed beautifully!

Overall, Pivot Point had humor, character development and great dialogue! I loved reading about both futures. I know which one I wanted her to choose but I didn't know what her choice was until the end. In the end I was very happy with where the story went and it made me that much more excited to read the second book!

Quotes: "I need to find some flaws to focus on. I study him for a moment but come up empty. He's flawless. Not even a single zit. New strategy. I will not look at him."

"Okay, I'll play. What are the criteria of a male best friend?"
"One: I feel completely comfortable around him, no nervousness or anxiety. Two: He's really nice. And three: He doesn't annoy me."
"Wait, are you saying a love interest has to annoy you?"
"At first. And then eventually it's realized that all that annoyance and mistrust is actually romantic tension."

Rating 5/5

New Releases: February 12,2013

My top pick:

Pivot Point (Pivot Point #1)
by Kasie West

Knowing the outcome doesn’t always make a choice easier . . .
Addison Coleman’s life is one big “What if?” As a Searcher, whenever Addie is faced with a choice, she can look into the future and see both outcomes. It’s the ultimate insurance plan against disaster. Or so she thought. When Addie’s parents ambush her with the news of their divorce, she has to pick who she wants to live with—her father, who is leaving the paranormal compound to live among the “Norms,” or her mother, who is staying in the life Addie has always known. Addie loves her life just as it is, so her answer should be easy. One Search six weeks into the future proves it’s not.
In one potential future, Addie is adjusting to life outside the Compound as the new girl in a Norm high school where she meets Trevor, a cute, sensitive artist who understands her. In the other path, Addie is being pursued by the hottest guy in school—but she never wanted to be a quarterback’s girlfriend. When Addie’s father is asked to consult on a murder in the Compound, she’s unwittingly drawn into a dangerous game that threatens everything she holds dear. With love and loss in both lives, it all comes down to which reality she’s willing to live through . . . and who she can’t live without.

The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead {Goodreads}

Out of The Easy by Ruta Sepetys {Goodreads}

The Lives We Lost by Megan Crewe {Goodreads}

Notes from Ghost Town by Kate Ellison {Goodreads}

Override by Heather Anastasiu {Goodreads}

Revel by Maurissa Guibord {Goodreads}

Sever by Lauren DeStefano {Goodreads}

DNF Review: Dualed by Elsie Chapman

Dualed (Dualed #1)
by Elsie Chapman
Publication date: February 26th 2013 

You or your Alt? Only one will survive.
The city of Kersh is a safe haven, but the price of safety is high. Everyone has a genetic Alternate—a twin raised by another family—and citizens must prove their worth by eliminating their Alts before their twentieth birthday. Survival means advanced schooling, a good job, marriage—life.
Fifteen-year-old West Grayer has trained as a fighter, preparing for the day when her assignment arrives and she will have one month to hunt down and kill her Alt. But then a tragic misstep shakes West’s confidence. Stricken with grief and guilt, she’s no longer certain that she’s the best version of herself, the version worthy of a future. If she is to have any chance of winning, she must stop running not only from her Alt, but also from love . . . though both have the power to destroy her.

DNF Review: Dualed by Elsie Chapman, was dual. I found it really difficult to get into, for many different reason. One, was I wasn't a huge fan of the writing style. It was really stiff and impersonal. Another, is the main character, West. She reminds me of a lot of other YA characters, like the author meant for her to be a strong, kick-ass character. But she really just came off like she was playing dress up. I guess it just wasn't believable, to me.

Another problem was the world building. When I started this book, it was like I just skipped to the middle of the book. You probably only got one page of set-up to get you "caught-up" then that's it really.

As of right now I don't know if I want to finish it. Maybe I'll decide to pick it up after a while.

Rating: DNF

Waiting on Wednesday #20: Parallel by Lauren Miller

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.

Parallel
by Lauren Miller
Publication date: May 14th 2013

Abby Barnes had a plan. Get into a great college, major in journalism, and land her dream job at a major newspaper. But on the eve of her 18th birthday, she's stuck on a Hollywood movie set instead, wishing she could rewind her life. But the next morning, she’s in a dorm room at Yale, with no memory of how she got there. A collision of parallel worlds has left Abby living a new reality every time her younger parallel self makes a new decision. Forced to live out the consequences of a path she didn't choose, Abby must let go on her plans for the future and learn to focus on the present, without losing sight of who she is, the boy who might just be her soul mate, and the destiny that’s finally in reach.

New Releases: January 22,2013

My top pick:

The Archived (The Archived #1)
by Victoria Schwab

Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.
Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.
Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was, a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often-violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.
Being a Keeper isn't just dangerous-it's a constant reminder of those Mac has lost. Da's death was hard enough, but now her little brother is gone too. Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.
In this haunting, richly imagined novel, Victoria Schwab reveals the thin lines between past and present, love and pain, trust and deceit, unbearable loss and hard-won redemption.

Nobody by Jennifer Lynn Barnes {Goodreads}

Boundless (Unearthly #3) by Cynthia Hand {Goodreads}

Ravage (Deviants #3) by Jeff Sampson {Goodreads}

Everbound (Everneath #2) by Brodi Ashton {Goodreads}

Cinders & Sapphires (At Somerton #1) by Leila Rasheed {Goodreads}

Review: Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Under the Never Sky (Under the Never Sky #1)
by Veronica Rossi
Published: January 3rd 2012

Since she'd been on the outside, she'd survived an Aether storm, she'd had a knife held to her throat, and she'd seen men murdered. This was worse.
Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland - known as The Death Shop - are slim. If the cannibals don't get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She's been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He's wild - a savage - and her only hope of staying alive.
A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile - everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria's help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.

"She looked up. "A world of nevers under a never sky."
She fit in well then, he thought. A girl who never shut up." 

I honestly can't name one thing I didn't like about Under the Never Sky. I loved the characters. The romance. The plot. And the writing.

To be honest I had no interest in reading this book. But then I saw a teaser Tuesday with one small quote and was just like, okay I'll read it. So I did! And I am really glad.

I enjoyed so much of Under the Never Sky. It's not a typical dystopian novel I've read before. Dystopian books always annoy me at some point in the book, and it usually takes me a bit to get into them. But Under the Never Sky was neither annoying, nor did it take me long to get into. I actually forgot it was dystopian, which is good, since it's not my favorite genre.

Under the Never Sky really exceeded my expectations. I loved about everything. The characters were amazing. The adventure was enjoyable and the romance was as close to a YA book can get to perfection! It wasn't rushed at all. It progressed rather nicely. As did the entire book!

"She absorbed the terror and beauty of him and his world. Of every moment over the past days. All of it, filling her up like the first breath she'd ever taken. And never had she loved life more." 

Rating: 4/5

Waiting on Wednesday #19: Dirty Little Secret by Jennifer Echols

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.

Dirty Little Secret
by Jennifer Echols
Release Date: July 16th 2013

From the author of the “real page-turner” (Seventeen) Such a Rush comes an unforgettable new drama that follows friends-turned-lovers as they navigate the passions, heartbreaks, and intrigue of country music fame.
Bailey wasn’t always a wild child and the black sheep of her family. She used to play fiddle and tour the music circuit with her sister, Julie, who sang and played guitar. That ended when country music execs swooped in and signed Julie to a solo deal. Never mind that Julie and Bailey were a duet, or that Bailey was their songwriter. The music scouts wanted only Julie, and their parents were content to sit by and let her fulfill her dreams while Bailey’s were hushed away.
Bailey has tried to numb the pain and disappointment over what could have been. And as Julie’s debut album is set to hit the charts, her parents get fed up with Bailey’s antics and ship her off to granddad’s house in Nashville. Playing fiddle in washed-up tribute groups at the mall, Bailey meets Sam, a handsome and oh-so-persuasive guitarist with his own band. He knows Bailey’s fiddle playing is just the thing his band needs to break into the industry. But this life has broken Bailey’s heart once before. She isn’t sure she’s ready to let Sam take her there again…

New Releases: January 15,2013

My top pick:

Level 2 (The Memory Chronicles #1)
by Lenore Appelhans

Three levels. Two loves. One choice. Debut novelist, Lenore Appelhans has written a thrilling otherworldly young adult novel about a place that exists between our world (Level 1) and what comes after life (Level 2).'I pause to look around the hive - all the podlike chambers are lit up as the drones shoot up on memories ... I've wanted to get out of here before, but now the tight quarters start to choke me. There has to be more to death than this.'
Felicia Ward is dead. Trapped in a stark white afterlife limbo, she spends endless days replaying memories, of her family, friends, boyfriend ... and of the guy who broke her heart. The guy who has just broken into Level 2 to find her.
Felicia learns that a rebellion is brewing, and it seems she is the key. Suspended between heaven and earth, she must make a choice. Between two worlds, two lives and two loves.

Uses for Boys by Erica Lorraine Scheidt {Goodreads}

Vortex (Tempest #2) by Julie Cross {Goodreads}

Touch of Death (Touch of Death #1) by Kelly Hashway {Goodreads} 

Gates of Paradise (Blue Bloods #7) by Melissa de la Cruz  {Goodreads}

Shades of Earth (Across the Universe #3) by Beth Revis {Goodreads}

January New Release Giveaway Hop

A lot of good books releasing this month! I am giving away one of the books below!

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