{Blog Tour} Book Review + Giveaway: Indigo Awakening - Jordan Dane

Welcome to my stop on the Indigo Awakening blog tour hosted by YA Bound. Click HERE to see the rest of the blog tour schedule!

Title: Indigo Awakening (The Hunted #1)
Author: Jordan Dane

Release Date: December 18th 2012
Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Because of what you are, the Believers will hunt you down.

Voices told Lucas Darby to run. Voices no one else can hear. He’s warned his sister not to look for him, but Rayne refuses to let her troubled brother vanish on the streets of LA. In her desperate search, she meets Gabriel Stewart, a runaway with mysterious powers and far too many secrets. Rayne can’t explain her crazy need to trust the strange yet compelling boy—to touch him—to protect him even though he scares her.

A fanatical church secretly hunts psychic kids—gifted “Indigo” teens feared to be the next evolution of mankind—for reasons only “the Believers” know. Now Rayne’s only hope is Gabe, who is haunted by an awakening power—a force darker than either of them imagine—that could doom them all.

From the blurb alone, I knew Indigo Awakening would remind me of X-Men, which, like the case in Tahereh Mafi's Shatter Me, is never bad because God knows how much I love mutants. Sadly, this book didn't quite... amaze me.

The story introduces us to Rayne, a Harley-driving teenage girl with an iguana for a pet, and her new dilemma: Luke, her younger brother, had escaped from the hospital he was detained in for his "abilities". But Rayne didn't know that Luke's talents and quirks were actually him being a part of the evolution of mankind, along with the other Indigos.

Indigo Awakening was certainly action-packed and suspense-filled, what with the ruthless and, unbeknownst to themselves, jealous Believers going after the gifted but misunderstood children, but what broke it for me were the lengthy and sometimes redundant internal monologues. Although those parts revealed a lot about the characters - because the book was written in multiple perspectives - I couldn't help but wish they would end once the action kicked in, but they irritatingly stayed on till the end and appeared in moments when I was just desperate to know what would happen next. They really downplayed the pace, and I think the author overused them to reveal backstory.

Also, there was quite a case of insta-love here. It didn't bother me when it happened to fellow Indigos because they all had this bond with everyone else in their kind, but I can't find an excuse for Rayne and Gabriel because only one of them was an Indigo. What's worse was how fast their relationship moved, and I found Gabriel's reaction - or lack, thereof - to Rayne's touching and snuggling when they'd just met unrealistic. I mean, I expected him to get uneasy or back away at first because he had been living in seclusion for years, but instead he was uneasy only for the same reason normal teenage boys would be if they were in close proximity with a girl.

After all my ranting above, you might think I didn't enjoy this book, but I did. I think it was because of the overall thrill of the cat-and-mouse game, and even more so when the mice proved powerful enough to defend themselves. Still, stories like this don't end with a happy ever after, but I'm fine with that because - especially with that little bomb right at the last page - I'm really looking forward to Crystal Storm (oh god that freaking title!), the sequel.

MY FAVORITE PART was Rayne and Gabriel's rescue mission at the tunnels.

RATING:

 

About the author:

Bestselling, critically-acclaimed author Jordan Dane’s gritty romantic thrillers are ripped from the headlines with vivid settings, intrigue, and dark humor. Publishers Weekly compared her intense novels to Lisa Jackson, Lisa Gardner, and Tami Hoag, naming her debut novel NO ONE HEARD HER SCREAM as Best Books of 2008. She also pens young-adult novels for Harlequin Teen. Formerly an energy sales manager, she now writes full time. Jordan and her husband share their Texas residence with two cats of highborn lineage and two lucky rescue dogs.

Website  / Twitter  / Facebook  / Pinterest 

Thriller/Crime Fiction Blogs:

The Kill Zone 

YA Blogs:

ADR3NALIN3  / Fringe Dweller

Check out Indigo Awakening's book trailer!

Cover Reveal: Eternal - Kristi Cook

Title: Eternal (Winterhaven #3)

Author: Kristi Cook

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Goodreads

THERE’S NO HIDING FROM DESTINY…

In the final book of the Winterhaven trilogy, Violet McKenna and her friends find themselves right in the middle of a vampire war. The stakes have been raised, the danger unavoidable now. As the Warriors’ senior year draws to a close, not everyone makes it out alive. Who will be left standing at the end of it all? Will Aidan be a part of Violet’s future, or is he just a specter of the past?

 
About the author:
YA author Kristi Cook is a transplanted southern gal who lives in New York City with her husband and two kids. Her YA debut, HAVEN, was released in Feb. 2011 by Simon Pulse.  

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

• US ONLY
• Must be 13 or older to enter
• Winner has 48 hours to respond to email claiming their prize or a new winner will be chosen.
• Enter via Rafflecopter below. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review: A Shimmer of Angels - Lisa M. Basso

Title: A Shimmer of Angels (Angel Sight #1)

Author: Lisa M. Basso
Release Date: January 29th 2013
Publisher: Month9Books
Source: NetGalley

Goodreads | Amazon | The Book Depository

Sixteen-year-old Rayna sees angels, and has the medication and weekly therapy sessions to prove it. Now, in remission, Rayna starts fresh at a new school, lands a new job, and desperately tries for normalcy. She ignores signs that she may be slipping into the world she has tried so hard to climb out of. But these days, it’s more than just hallucinations that keep Rayna up at night. Students are dying, and she may be the only one who can stop it. Can she keep her job, her sanity, and her friends from dying at the hands of angels she can't admit to seeing?

I was really excited to read A Shimmer of Angels, partly because I read my last angel book way back in October (it was Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick, which I really loved), and partly because of the gorgeous cover. Sadly, gorgeous covers had never disappointed me this much before.

One of the biggest reasons why I didn't like this book was Rayna, the protagonist, which was really bad because it was written in her perspective alone. She'd spent three years in a mental institution - the term used in the book was 'clinic', but the rooms and restraints proved otherwise - because she made the mistake of telling her Dad that she could see winged people, but now she was out to live a normal life. Only she couldn't, because she was still seeing wings and, worse, the owner of the wings went to school with her. 

If I were Ray, sure, I'd probably never get used to the idea of seeing wings like it was a normal thing, but I think I'd be able to give myself some credit and stop thinking I'm crazy when I'd learned for a fact that the wings were real. Unfortunately, Ray kept doing the opposite for about the first half of the book. Yes, the first freaking half. She kept whining and questioning her sanity, even when Cam, her angel - literally - of a classmate had owned up to his real identity. Also, I never thought I'd encounter a character who's clumsier than Bella Swan and jumpier than a kangaroo, but alas, Rayna Evans, everyone. The other characters didn't help, either. They were too flat, too forced, too much just-here-for-the-sake-of-the-plot. 

And then there was the romance. I wouldn't say it was insta-love, but it did make me raise an eyebrow; there just wasn't enough ground for it to be believable. Well, not between Ray and Cam, at least. Which reminds me - can someone please explain to me how she could choose Cam, the guy who'd brushed her off for his mission until the climax, over Kade, the one who always had her back despite his being one of the weak Fallen? Surely hallucinations aren't the only reason to label a person crazy, right? Yep, I'm still hair-pulling over here.

Fortunately, the action-y part of the story satisfied quite a bit. I mean, there's a chain of teenage suicide that somehow involves the dark-winged angels, and even though that part of the plot was resolved in the ending, there were still a lot of questions left unanswered. I'm most curious about the "changes" with Ray, and that - but mostly it's my concern for Kade - has me looking forward for the sequel, A Slither of Hope.

MY FAVORITE PART was Cam and Kade's testosterone-packed reunion at Roxy's.

RATING:

(cover and summary from Goodreads.com)

Waiting on Wednesday {16}: Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, where bloggers post about much-awaited releases!

Title: Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality

Author: Elizabeth Eulberg

Release Date: March 1st 2013
Publisher: Point
Goodreads | Amazon | The Book Depository

A hilarious new novel from Elizabeth Eulberg about taking the wall out of the wallflower so she can bloom.

Don't mess with a girl with a Great Personality.

Everybody loves Lexi. She's popular, smart, funny...but she's never been one of those girls, the pretty ones who get all the attention from guys. And on top of that, her seven-year-old sister, Mackenzie, is a terror in a tiara, and part of a pageant scene where she gets praised for her beauty (with the help of fake hair and tons of makeup).

Lexi's sick of it. She's sick of being the girl who hears about kisses instead of getting them. She's sick of being ignored by her longtime crush, Logan. She's sick of being taken for granted by her pageant-obsessed mom. And she's sick of having all her family's money wasted on a phony pursuit of perfection.

The time has come for Lexi to step out from the sidelines. Girls without great personalities aren't going to know what hit them. Because Lexi's going to play the beauty game - and she's in it to win it.

I feel like I've been waiting for this book without knowing it. I mean, sure, I was able to relate a lot with Charlie from The Perks of Being a Wallflower, but he's a boy with deeper issues. This book has a normal wallflower with normal problems, and I think a lot of girls will identify with Lexi. I can't wait to read about her revenge!
(cover and summary from Goodreads.com)

Book Review: Nobody But Us - Kristin Halbrook

Title: Nobody But Us

Author: Kristin Halbrook 
Release Date: January 29th 2013 
Publisher: HarperTeen 
Source: Edelweiss
Goodreads | Amazon | The Book Depository

Bonnie and Clyde meets IF I STAY in this addictively heart-wrenching story of two desperate teenagers on the run from their pasts. 

They’re young. They’re in love. They’re on the run. 

Zoe wants to save Will as much as Will wants to save Zoe. When Will turns eighteen, they decide to run away together. But they never expected their escape to be so fraught with danger.... 

When the whole world is after you, sometimes it seems like you can’t run fast enough. 

Nobody But Us, told in alternating perspectives from Will and Zoe, is an unflinching novel, in turns heartbreaking and hopeful, about survival, choices, and love...and how having love doesn’t always mean that you get a happy ending. Described as “beautiful, heartbreaking, and exhilarating” by Kody Keplinger, author of The DUFF, Nobody But Us will prove irresistible to fans of Nina Lacour, Jenny Han, and Sara Zarr.

I can't think of any other way to start this review but to say this: Nobody But Us broke my heart. Like the case in Flawed by Kate Avelynn, I kept thinking "if only they had good parents...", and having that in mind just made it more heartbreaking.

Will, who was abandoned by his mom at a young age, and Zoe, who grew up with her abusive father, found each other and decided to run away to build the life they'd always dreamed of. Being teens who had to endure hard lives, I expected them to be  realistic and they were, to a point, but unfortunately they were more naive. 

Like Zoe realized near the end, I think they mistook the want to save each other for love, but I didn't really care because it was beautiful to see that grow into real love with every smile, every touch, every kiss. Their relationship wasn't the only thing that grew, though, because along the way, they urged each other to grow, either by getting over their past or facing it. Sadly, after the initial good came the bad. Will sunk deeper into his hopelessness - which was believable - but Zoe's speedy change to a rash person totally surprised me.

Because the book was written in both Will and Zoe's POVs, I truly felt and understood their worries, uncertainties, and the thrill of finally being free for the first time in their lives, however short-lived the prospect was. Will's double negatives irked me, but it really helped in figuring out who was talking and also to give him more individuality.

Due to the characters' circumstances, I knew I shouldn't expect a happy-ever-after, but damn, that ending was worse than I'd guessed. I'll stop here before I say something spoiler-y, but believe me when I say that I really loved this book and that I'll pick it up again when I feel like getting depressed.

MY FAVORITE PART was when Will and Zoe were in the woods. 

RATING:

(cover and summary from Goodreads.com)