Review: Darkness Before Dawn (Darkness Before Dawn Trilogy #1)

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Title: Darkness Before Dawn

Author: J.A. London

Series: Darkness Before Dawn Trilogy, #1

Age Group: young adult

Format: paperback

Pages: 342

Release Date: May 29, 2012

Publisher: HarperTeen

Source: library

ONLY SUNLIGHT CAN SAVE US.
We built the wall to keep them out, to keep us safe. But it also makes us prisoners, trapped in what's left of our ravaged city, fearing nightfall.
After the death of my parents, it's up to me--as the newest delegate for humanity--to bargain with our vampire overlord. I thought I was ready. I thought I knew everything there was to know about the monsters. Then again, nothing could have prepared me for Lord Valentine...or his son. Maybe not all vampires are killers. Maybe it's safe to let one in.
Only one thing is certain: Even the wall is not enough. A war is coming and we cannot hide forever.

I remember reading some time ago that Darkness Before Dawn received criticisms for the cover being similar to Fallen by Lauren Kate. That is true, but I still love the whole gothic theme going on, so in the end, I love it!

I can't help but admit that this was a bland read. There wasn't anything new to read in Darkness Before Dawn. I found it very cliche, and boring, to be honest.

Through the story, I kept reading that Dawn was special, but yet I never found out why. Major disappointment. There was the classic love triangle. Michael, Dawn, and Victor. But if you keep reading, you'll immediately find out who the obvious choice is going to be.

I ended up struggling to finish this book. I would read a few chapters each day, and then put it down for a few more days, and then pick it up again.

In the end, there's not much to say. I just could not enjoy Darkness Before Dawn. If I had to say, Rachel would be my favorite character out of all. She was just a sweet young woman who took on the responsibility of taking care of Dawn. Rachel represented a great mixture of being a friend, and a motherly figure for Dawn.

That's about. I still have not decided if I want to start the sequel, but don't let this convince you to not read the book. Maybe it just was not for me. I hope you all have better luck. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

My Rating:

Darkness Before Dawn is part of the Catch Up Reading Challenge!

Review: Fantasy Lover (Dark-Hunter Prequel)

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Title: Fantasy Lover

Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon

Series: Dark-Hunter, Prequel

Age Group: Adult

Format: Paperback

Pages: 337

Release Date: February 2, 2002

Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks

Source: Borrowed

Dear Reader,
Being trapped in a bedroom with a woman is a grand thing. Being trapped in hundreds of bedrooms over two thousand years isn't. And being cursed into a book as a love-slave for eternity can ruin even a Spartan warrior's day.
As a love-slave, I knew everything about women. How to touch them, how to savor them, and most of all, how to pleasure them. But when I was summoned to fulfill Grace Alexander's sexual fantasies, I found the first woman in history who saw me as a man with a tormented past. She alone bothered to take me out of the bedroom and into the world. She taught me to love again.
But I was not born to know love. I was cursed to walk eternity alone. As a general, I had long ago accepted my sentence. Yet now I have found Grace--the one thing my wounded heart cannot survive without. Sure, love can heal all wounds, but can it break a two-thousand-year-old curse?
--Julian of Macedon

There isn't much I can say about Fantasy Lover. A friend of mine told me about it, saying that it was a good book. Personally, I'm indifferent to this book. Sure, there were a few ups that had me intrigued, but most of the books went by in slow chunks. See my conundrum? I didn't hate Fantasy Lover, but I also didn't feel that pull that tells me it's a good book. Well, enough of that.

Let's see, Julian of Macedon is the hot guy here. He's blonde and blue-eyed. Tall(6'2" tall) and muscular(perks of being an ancient warrior). Oh, and he's like a magnet for females, seriously. Every woman that sees him wants to throw herself at him. Young and old alike.

And here comes Grace. The one who summons him from the book that he's been trapped in for a looong time. She changes everything, of course. 

Grace was a mediocre heroine. It was claimed that she was "different" from the other women crawling at Julian's feet, but the only difference I could see was that she hid it better. But, her thoughts were all about Julian and how she wanted to take off his pants, lick him, bite him, and do who knows what. That made Grace a hypocrite in my eyes, so I couldn't really warm up to her.

Julian was okay. But, he was also a ball of hormones, considering his curse made him want to strip Grace's clothes at any given moment. I did love Julian's humor.

This was a less than average read. I didn't warm up to any of the characters, so the twists and turns did not affect me. Most likely I will read the next book in the Dark-Hunter series, considering Fantasy Lover, was a sort-of-ish prequel.

Rating:

Review: Juliet Immortal (Juliet Immortal #1)

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Title: Juliet Immortal

Author: Stacey Jay

Series: Juliet Immortal, #1

Age Group: Young Adult

Format: Hardback

Pages: 306

Release Date: August 9, 2011

Publisher: Delacorte Press

ISBN: 978-0-385-90826-9

Source: Local Library

My Rating: * * (2 stars)

I'm not Ariel Dragland. My name is Juliet, and I've spent centuries jumping in and out of people's bodies, fighting for true love, trying to save soul mates from Romeo, the man who killed me. Yes, that Juliet. That Romeo. He's in Dylan's body. And I'm only borrowing Ariel's body for a short time.
Then I'll be gone, and the soul who really lives here will come take my place, and no matter what she remembers, she'll never love you the way I do. Never.

The Cover:
No matter what they say about "Don't judge a book by it's cover", I don't listen. Most of us do it. The more beautiful the cover, the more likely we are to pick up the book. This doesn't mean that I only pick up books with pretty covers, but they do catch my interest more. And...the cover for Juliet Immortal is just that. It's alluring, and that is what made me pick it up at the library. Cover Rating 4/5


Review:
Honestly, I have mixed feeling about this book. It's a good book, but maybe just not my type of book.


To say the least, Juliet Immortal was disturbing. I most definitely did not imagine Romeo the way Stacey Jay portrayed him. He was twisted and to me, completely evil. I couldn't stand him. Dylan's corpse(whom I also disliked) fit him perfectly. Two who occupied the same corpse. I would also group Gemma in this category. She was crazy at the best, and a maniac/psycho at the worst.


Out of all of them, I guess Juliet would be my favorite character. In the end I did not like any of them, but Juliet was the best. She was, troubled, because of Romeo's betrayal(who wouldn't be). But she seemed the most sane. I guess Ben would fit in with her.


I wasn't particularly interested about Juliet and Ben's love interest. It didn't appeal to me. Oh, but there is one surprise about Ben. I did figure it out since the beginning. If you want a clue, just think f the characters in Shakespeare's play and Ben's name.


Overall, the book was not that appealing to me, but I did receive a copy from Netgalley of Romeo Redeemed, which I will be reading. I want to see what happens with Romeo. Hopefully I'll like it better than Juliet Immortal. Stacey Jay also has the You Are So Undead to Me series. I may read these, but I'm also not a big zombie fan. We'll see. Based on my review, it's up to you if you want to read this book. I won't tell you not to, but I also won't encourage you.


The Author:

Stacey Jay is the author of the You Are So Undead to Me series and several other books for young adults. She lives in California with her husband, two sons, and a few friendly ghosts who say they don't care for pets.

The Goddess Test (Goddess Test #1)

Author: Aimee Carter
Series: Goddess Test, #1
Age Group: Young Adult
Challenge: None
Format: Paperback
Pages: 293
Published: 4/19/2011
Publisher: Harlequin
Source: Local Library
My Rating: * *

It's always been just Kate and her mom--and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family, and fear her mother won't live past the fall.


Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld--and if she accepts his bargains, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.


Kate is sure he's crazy--until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she suceeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess.

I can honestly say "I TRIED!" But, please forgive me, Ms. Carter, and anyone else who liked The Goddess Test, but I detested this book! My blog. My opinion. No matter how hard I tried, I could not enjoy it. By the end, I was rushing to finish the book, and returned it to the library as soon as I was finished(I even had to pay a late fee).


Why didn't I like this book? Kate was whiny, selfish, and clingy. Henry was a complete BORE. How was he sexy? When I read the description I was thinking, "Hey, the love interest is Hades, sounds good." But by the end, I was thinking, "Uh....how is he supposed to be sexy? Please let this be over!"


I could go on ranting forever, but I will admit three good points. Diana. I loved her. I want to you what happens with her, but she was interesting. James. A pretty cool guy. Loved that he always had the earphones. Lastly, I semi-enjoyed approximately the last 50 pages of the book. A few surprises. Although, my judgment was clouded with the joy of almost finishing the book.


Overall, I do not recommend this book at all. But, who am I to judge? Maybe this book is something you'll like, but you won't hear good things about The Goddess Test from me. Why then did I give it two stars? I was feeling generous, and like I said previously, I did enjoy the last 50 pages, or 1/4 of the book. I may or may not pick up the second book, Goddess Interuppted in February 2012, depending on if I have much better books to read or not, because right now, this series is at the bottom of the pile. I think I'll stick to the Percy Jackson series for Greek mythology.


About the Author:

Aimée Carter was born and raised in Michigan, where she currently resides. She started writing fan fiction at eleven, began her first original story four years later, and hasn’t stopped writing since. Her first novel for young adults, The Goddess Test, will be published by Harlequin Teen in May 2011. The sequel, Goddess Interrupted, will follow in February 2012.