'Anna and the French Kiss' is here!

After weeks of waiting, my last giveaway win is here! And it's so beautiful I could cry!!!  This has got to be one of the prettiest covers I've got in my library! I'm in love!!! 

Book Review: Divergent (Divergent, #1) by Veronica Roth

Read from February 14 to 18, 2015

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Reading Divergent was a lot like when I read The Hunger Games trilogy. It wasn't as good as I was lead to believe it was but I'm just loving the kickass female protagonist! LOL!

Divergent wasn't as "amazing" as I was told it would be, but still it was pretty good. I wasn't as invested in the characters as I am when I read 5-star rated books,  but I wasn't totally disconnected. I was still concerned about Tris and Four and the rest of her friends, so the tragic deaths that happened were pretty sad.

I actually liked the characters and I felt that Abnegation Tris was a lot like me when I was attending school! LOL! Tris getting initiated into Dauntless was like me graduating from school! So, yeah, Tris was a very relatable character!

Also, I really liked the Divergent universe! It was very dystopian and that appealed to me a lot! My favourite faction has got to be Dauntless cause I just love the whole jumping off trains and zip lining down buildings thing! This book was fun to read cause of those Dauntless scenes!

I also liked how the primary focus of the story was about Tris getting initiated into Dauntless and that Divergence wasn't the biggest concern in the story. It nicely shifted Tris into this good vs. bad situation that is gonna hang over the rest of the series. 

Overall, Divergent was a pretty good book but I expected it to be better. I have an inkling that if I'd read this when I was younger I would have enjoyed it more. Reading YA when I'm in that stage where I'm shifting into NA is pretty confusing.

my Goodreads review

Book Review: A is for Alibi (Kinsey Millhone, #1) by Sue Grafton

Read from February 08 to 12, 2015

PI Kinsey Milhone 32, in a pretty California town, gets her first case. Laurence Fife was a slick divorce lawyer and slippery ladies' man until someone killed him. Released from jail after 8 years, his wife Nikki wants the truth. But the trail is cold, and at the end is a chilling twist - a second eight-year-old murder and a brand new corpse.

This book was an okay read. I just picked it off the shelf cause I was hungover about the Weather Warden series ending but it turned out a bit better than I thought it would!

The beginning was not that interesting cause nothing actually happens much. Even Kinsey doesn't seem to give a damn about the case so that part of the book was pretty "dismissive" about the case.

But I found Grafton's writing style interesting so I hung on.

The excitement genuinely starts to build up somewhere beyond the halfway point of the story. Clues start popping up and the case seems to matter more. Frankly, that's how Kinsey's attitude changes so the story just drifts with her.

However, it wasn't the kind of excitement that has you cheering on the protagonist and gasping when pitfalls turn up; no, it was more like a clinical assessment on the part of the reader. I wasn't actually connected with Kinsey and all I was really concerned about was ending the book, which is frankly a dreadful way to end a story.

So, all this story really was, was a one night stand sort of thing. I don't feel any commitment to read the rest of this series and I don't feel the tiniest bit attached to any of the characters much.

my Goodreads review

Book Review: Total Eclipse (Weather Warden, #9) by Rachel Caine

Read from February 02 to 05, 2015

Weather Warden Joanne Baldwin has defeated her longtime enemy and saved the world—again. But at what cost? Standing at the ground zero for the last attack, Joanne, the Djinn David, and the Earth herself have been poisoned by a substance that is destroying the magic that keeps the world alive.Joanne and David have already lost their powers, but that's just the beginning. The poison that has seeped into the planet is destablizing the entire balance of power, bestowing magic on those who have never had it and taking it at critical moments from those who need it. It's just a matter of time before the delicate balance of nature explodes into chaos, destroying mankind—and every living thing on Earth—with it.

I was grinning like a sappy fool by the time I finished this! That ending was so perfect, both for the book and the series! I'm still grinning like an idiot! LOL!

I really don't know how to write a proper review for this book since all that's going on in my mind is happy babbling! LOL! And there were so many shockers and twists, so I really don't wanna spoil anything!

This series finale was very hardcore and absolutely action packed! Also, it was steamy and nerve-wracking! It absolutely felt like the apocalypse was coming and that was amazing! It was such a roller-coaster really, something good happens, then something absolutely horrible happens and then again something good.

I just absolutely loved Jo, David and Lewis in this! I just cannot stop loving them; they have got to be three of my favourite fictional characters ever!!! And I don't wanna spoil anyone, so I'm gonna have to be veeeeeery vague here, but know that major stuff happens to all three of them and it's epic!!!

And that epilogue! I wish Lewis had made an actual appearance in it rather than a mention but either way it was amazing! I was bursting with happiness once I made my way through the epilogue because it was everything!!!

I'm so happy tight now that I actually she'd some happy tears and am feeling so sappy! Haha! This series was downright amazing! I've never felt so strongly towards fictional characters as I've felt for Jo, David and Lewis! They're like my fictional BFFs right now! And I'm so glad I picked up Ill Wind when I did because it's one of the best decisions I've ever made! This series turned my heart to mush and I don't think I'll ever be able to let go of it! Absolute perfection! And I don't think there are enough words to describe how amazing and perfect this series is! This series is one of the best things that ever happened to me! :')

my Goodreads review

Book Review: Cape Storm (Weather Warden, #8) by Rachel Caine

Read from January 31 to February 02, 2015

Weather Warden Joanne Baldwin and her new husband, the Djinn David, are running from a malevolent hurricane bent on destroying her. Joined by an army of fellow Wardens and Djinn onboard a hijacked luxury liner, Joanne has lured the storm into furious pursuit. But even their combined magic may not be enough to stop it-nor the power-mad ex-Weather Warden controlling it...

I didn't realise how emotionally invested I was in these characters until I read Cape Storm. Once I put down this book I was feeling so sad and desperate and hopeless, which is pretty much what the characters were feeling by then.

This book has got to be the emotional roller-coaster of this series so far. It hurt me so bad to read this. Everything was dark and desperate throughout this story.

Cape Storm was all about dark themes. It was all desperation, anger and sadness all rolled into a book.  Everyone is emotional and everyone is going through a tough time, so it really impacts the reader's mind. It had this really dark apocalyptic feel throughout.

It was so hard to see Jo, David and Lewis getting hurt so bad when  you've been with them on their journey for 7 books in the series so far. Unspoken secrets (or not-so-secret secrets) were finally brought to light and those scenes were painful to read. I'm feeling so scarred by how emotionally raw this book was.

I'm dreading reading the next book; not just because it would be the last but also because Cape Storm ended on an enormously pessimistic note. I'm just so scared to see how this series ends and at the same time I don't want it to end!

Cape Storm left me completely emotionally scarred. I couldn't even write a coherent review after I was done reading!

All in all, Caine's writing is amazing and I'm so unprepared for what's coming in Total Eclipse.

my Goodreads review

My January Wrap-up

I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT I READ 8 BOOK THIS MONTH!!!

How AMAZING is that?!? This is like, double my normal wrap-up! What an amazing way to start off 2015!!! I'm the happiest person on the planet right now!!!

So, here are my January reads, which is actually 4 books and 4 ebooks:

• Chill Factor by Rachel Caine - 4/5 stars
• My True Love Gave To Me by various authors - 3/5 stars
• Looking For Alaska by John Green - 5/5 stars
• Blubber by Judy Blume - 5/5 stars
• Windfall by Rachel Caine - 5/5 stars
• Firestorm by Rachel Caine - 4/5 stars
• Thin Air by Rachel Caine - 5/5 stars
• Gale Force by Rachel Caine - 5/5 stars

It's really hard to choose the best of the month since they were all pretty good, but I'm gonna go with Thin Air and Gale Force for January's best reads!

Book Review: Gale Force (Weather Warden, #7) by Rachel Caine

Read from January 28 to 30, 2015

Weather Warden Joanne Baldwin is on vacation when her Djinn lover, David, asks Joanne to marry him. She's thrilled to say yes, even if some others may be less than happy about it. Unfortunately, Joanne's pre-marital bliss is ended by a devastating earthquake in Florida. And she can't ask David and his kind for assistance. Because the cause of the quake is unlike anything Joanne has ever encountered-and a power even the Djinn cannot perceive.

OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD!!! OH. MY. GOD!!!

I don't even think I can write a coherent review right now 'cause the feels are explosive!!! THIS HAS GOT TO BE THE BEST BOOK IN THE WHOLE SERIES SO FAR!!!

This is downright one of the best books in the series! Dawn impressive writing too!

Okay, so Wardens and the Djinn working together is so badass! Especially when David and Lewis team up! Like, it's so badass!!! *.* Seriously though, the Wardens and Djinn teaming up took this series to the next level! Amazing stuff keeps happening and it's just downright badass!

Jo and David were so amazing in this book! Since I don't wanna reveal major spoilers, I'm gonna have to be pretty vague here, so all I'm gonna say is that the two of them are amazing in this book, and I really can't say they don't deserve each other!

And Lewis! Oh my God! Lewis and David are definitely my baes! I have never felt so drawn to any hot fictional characters as I am to these two! They're both so badass, and I don't think I'm ever gonna end up in a relationship since these two just raised my standards to infinity times infinity! LOL! Seriously though, these two have got to be the hottest fictional characters I've ever ever ever "met"!

And the bad guys were badass too! There were so many shockers in this book! The Sentinels are pretty badass when it comes to being evil SOBs, so I'm really itching to land a punch on them!

When it came to good guys vs. bad guys showdowns, Caine gave it her all 'cause I've never read better showdowns in this whole series than in this! It was all so badass!

Ultimately, all I can really say to sum up this book is "badass"! Caine brought writing to a whole new level with this book and I'm so happy that I picked up this series! One of the best decisions of my whole life!

my Goodreads review

Book Review: Thin Air (Weather Warden, #6) by Rachel Caine

Read from January 26 to 28, 2015

After preventing Mother Earth from destroying the planet, Joanne Baldwin lost her memories thanks to Ashan the djinn-and they will remain lost forever unless Joanne can recover her identity-and destroy the demon who is impersonating her, fabulous shoes and all...

I read this book in like, TWO DAYS!!! OH MY GOD!!! *happy dance*

Thin Air has got to be the most thrilling book in this series! It was like Ill Wind all over again: Jo vs. the world, which is one of the best combos possible in this series!

Another plus point about this book was that we had hella lot of action from David and Lewis!!! I mean, the two of them teaming up is way hot, and that just made me love them even more!

And then there was ET aka Evil Twin! She was pretty nasty and I pretty much hated her! The reasons why I hated her where pretty much the same reasons why Jo hated her! LOL! And I was pretty much as mad as Jo was when I realised how fooled everyone was by ET! Ouch!

There were some pretty cry-worthy moments in this book. Like Jo and Imara scenes. Those were so sad! I might have shed a tear or two (or more).

And THAT ENDING!!! OH GOD IT WAS AMAZING!!! I was giggling and gasping the whole time and it was amazing! OMG OMG OMG!!! Since I don't wanna spoil that awesome ending, I'm not gonna say what happens, so all you're gonna know is that it was awesome!

Overall, I loved this! The series sort of got pulled back to its original race-against-time sort-of style, compared to how tragic Firestorm was, so I'm majorly ecstatic over that!

I'M SO EXCITED FOR GALE FORCE!!!

my Goodreads review

Book Review: Firestorm (Weather Warden, #5) by Rachel Caine

Read from January 22 to 26, 2015

Rogue Weather Warden Joanne Baldwin is racing to New York to warn her former colleagues of the impending apocalypse. An ancient agreement between the Djinn and the Wardens has been broken, and the furious Djinn, slaves to the Wardens for millennia, have broken free of mortal control.With more than half the Wardens unaccounted for in the wake of the Djinn uprising, Joanne realizes that the natural disasters they’ve combated for so long were merely symptoms of restless Mother Nature fidgeting in her sleep. Now she’s waking up—and she is angry....

OMG! I can't believe Caine ended this with that cliffhanger! Now I'm just dying to move on to the next book!!!

Like the rest of the series, this book was pretty good! I think readers felt more in tune with Jo in this book because she was going through such a difficult time and obviously, I totally sympathised with her situation! Like her, all I could think about was "when is this gonna end?"

I liked how other Wardens and Djinn were more involved in this book! I'm happy that Lewis and David were very much involved in this book 'cause those boys are all Jo and I live for! LOL!

I also loved Imara, Jo's and David's daughter. She and Jo had this really interesting mother-daughter dynamic going on, and I just melted whenever David got all fatherly with her. Such a cute family. And that's exactly why my heart got ripped up at the end...

And, of course, I loved Ashan's character. He may be the villain but his sass level is very interesting! LOL! He's pretty good at his job!

And now I'm gonna have to finish this off 'cause I'm so impatient to start the next book right now! I'm dying to see what's next!

my Goodreads review