The Bursting Bookshelf

Gemma seems to have it all—she’s carefree, pretty, and falling in love with Alex, the boy next door. He’s always been just a friend, but this summer they’ve taken their relationship to the next level, and now there’s no going back. Then one night, Gemma’s ordinary life changes forever. She’s taking a late night swim under the stars when she finds Penn, Lexi and Thea partying on the cove. They invite her to join them, and the next morning she wakes up on the beach feeling groggy and sick, knowing something is different.

Suddenly Gemma is stronger, faster, and more beautiful than ever. But her new powers come with a terrifying price. And as she uncovers the truth, she’s is forced to choose between staying with those she loves—or entering a new world brimming with dark hungers and unimaginable secrets.

Review:
This was one of the books of this year that I was most looking forward to. After reading the Trylle series earlier this year, I knew I wanted to read this book right away. Lucky for me, I have an amazing blogger friend Lindsay who gave me her ARC of it a little while back. I was really looking forward to this book because there aren't that many good mermaid books in YA books. I'm glad to say that I truly did enjoy this book, and that it's one of my favorite siren books out there.

Blue; the perfect color for the cover of this book. It uses the ocean for the majority of the cover and a bit of a rocky outcrop in the distance with a lighthouse on it. The sky is a simply gorgeous sunset of colors ranging from red to orange with clouds throughout, indicating a storm brewing. The large, full moon in the sky also gives the cover an eerie look due to all the mythology tied to full moons. Then there's the gorgeous typeset for the title added a nice, elegant touch to the cover, bringing it together nicely.

Gemma was a good character in the fact that she was well developed and I agreed with most of her decisions except for one (you'll have to figure out which decision that was by reading the book!) but other than that, she was an enjoyable character. Harper was a good character, too, but she wasn't very well explored. I'm sure in the next book she will get used more other than for a bit of narrating. The book was told from both the points of view of Harper and Gemma. The relationship between Gemma and Harper had the distinct fighting that often goes hand in hand with sisterly relationships. Both characters had a love interest, but I liked Harper's a lot more than Gemma's. Gemma's love interest was Alex, the boy next door that lacked a lot of personality. Harper's guy was Daniel, a cocky older guy who lived on a boat in the local harbor who would do anything for Harper. On the other end of the spectrum you had the sirens, who also were not all that explored, but I am really looking forward to reading more about them in later books. There was a whole range of secondary characters in the book as well, but even for the amount of them, they were all fairly well developed and were able to make you feel for them as much as the main characters could.

The writing was what made me want to read this book; I had enjoyed Amanda Hocking's writing in the Trylle trilogy and I knew that I would love it just as much in this book. It was the finesse that the author's writing style has that drew me in, but it was the extremely fast style of story that kept me interested.The plot was paced nicely with the only slow part at the beginning when all of the introductions happened. After that, it was smooth sailing with events immediately following each other. It was this speed that really contributed to the cliffhanger ending by making the book seem so short, leaving me wanting more right away.

This book was a great set up for the next book in the series, which I cannot wait to read when it comes out. I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for a mermaid book with some mythology or someone looking for a different style of paranormal book. I give Wake a 5/5.

Wendy Everly is facing an impossible choice. The only way to save the Trylle from their deadliest enemy is by sacrificing herself.  If she doesn’t surrender to the Vittra, her people will be thrust into a brutal war against an unbeatable foe.  But how can Wendy leave all her friends behind…even if it’s the only way to save them?

The stakes have never been higher, because her kingdom isn’t the only thing she stands to lose. After falling for both Finn and Loki, she’s about to make the ultimate choice…who to love forever. One guy has finally proven to be the love of her life—and now all their lives might be coming to an end. 

Everything has been leading to this moment.  The future of her entire world rests in her hands—if she’s ready to fight for it.

Review:
Well, we've finally reached the end of the Trylle series (for those of us that got them as they were published). With the end of the series came some mixed emotions for me; I didn't agree with how some of the characters were utilized and how some of the plot points were tied up. Wendy became more enjoyable, taking more irresponsibility for her actions and thinking more of her kingdom as well. She also realized that she had decisions to make, relationship-wise, and she did achieve those decisions. I won't spoil who she chose, but it was my favorite of her two suitors, though she did go about it in the wrong way. I didn't agree with some of the experiences that lead up to their union, but in the end I liked the way it ended. Wendy grew to the point of being capable of ruling her kingdom without the aid of others. When it came to side characters, they weren't very well developed; they didn't make me feel for them the way they should have. If more focus had been put on them, the issue could have been easily resolved.

The story was the most enjoyable of the series, the characters were all introduced and the plot was already going somewhere. It carried one fairly nicely, with only few slow spots. The writing was the same standard as the other books in the series, perhaps my favorite part of the book. With the writing so good, it hooked me up in the story when I otherwise wouldn't have been. Altogether, I look forward to reading more of Amanda Hocking, in the hopes of improved characters in her other books. I give Ascend a 3.5/5 for being a fairly good conclusion to the series.

Amanda Hocking is an indie publishing sensation whose self-published novels have sold millions of copies all over the world.  Step into the world of the Trylle, and prepare to be enchanted….

When Wendy Everly first discovers the truth about herself—that she’s a changeling switched at birth—she knows her life will never be the same. Now she’s about to learn that there’s more to the story…

She shares a closer connection to her Vittra rivals than she ever imagined—and they’ll stop at nothing to lure her to their side. With the threat of war looming, her only hope of saving the Trylle is to master her magical powers—and marry an equally powerful royal. But that means walking away from Finn, her handsome bodyguard who’s strictly off limits…and Loki, a Vittra prince with whom she shares a growing attraction.

Torn between her heart and her people, between love and duty, Wendy must decide her fate. If she makes the wrong choice, she could lose everything, and everybody, she’s ever wanted…in both worlds.

Review:
Yet again, I found myself wishing I had read this series much earlier. Torn picks up where Switched ends; with Wendy at home after leaving the Trylle behind along with her responsibilities too. Among the features I greatly enjoyed of this book, there were also a few that I didn't enjoy nearly as much. For starters, I found it highly unrealistic that the Vittra would leave her so pathetically guarded that she would be able to walk out like that. Loki was also frustrating as he lacked the substance that I had hoped for, seeming to instantly fall for Wendy which is a massive pet peeve for me. The positive parts of this book were the great writing, good story (at times), and the characters. The story could get rather annoyingly slow at times and Wendy wasn't utilized well to speed up the story. On the note of Wendy, she was frustratingly single minded, she didn't stop to think of others very often until the very end of the book. Finn lost a lot of appeal for me as well, he lacked the substance saw in him before, he became much more docile than before. In the secondary characters, there were quite a few that were amusing and fun, I enjoyed them more than the main characters. The writing was my favorite part of the book, it was just as good as in Switched and it one of the major features that keeps me coming back to Amanda Hocking's books.

The ending wasn't all that shocking to me, it was fairly predictable and easy to figure out. Will I be reading the next book? Yes, but mainly because I have it ordered and I would like to know the conclusion of the story. Overall, I'd recommend this book to someone looking for a light, quick read or who have read the first book in the series. I give Torn a 3.5/5.

When Wendy Everly was six years old, her mother was convinced she was a monster and tried to kill her. Eleven years later, Wendy discovers her mother might have been right. She’s not the person she’s always believed herself to be, and her whole life begins to unravel—all because of Finn Holmes. 

Finn is a mysterious guy who always seems to be watching her. Every encounter leaves her deeply shaken…though it has more to do with her fierce attraction to him than she’d ever admit. But it isn’t long before he reveals the truth: Wendy is a changeling who was switched at birth—and he’s come to take her home. 

Now Wendy’s about to journey to a magical world she never knew existed, one that’s both beautiful and frightening. And where she must leave her old life behind to discover who she’s meant to become…


Review:
I can honestly say this is the first book I have ever read about trolls. Just the fact that it was about them drew me into trying this book out, though the gorgeous cover may have had something to do with it too. I also loved the story behind the publishing of this book and the success story of the author. I dove into the book and quickly found myself very involved in the story and already rooting for the characters as well as feeling emotions along side them. The characters of the book were hugely enjoyable, they were realistic while still being trolls, which is quite a feat when you think about it. Wendy could seem a little whiny at times, but it was understandable given her position of not knowing who or what she was for most of her life. Finn bothered me a little bit due to the fact he lied to Wendy and wouldn't fulfill his promises.

The story was great, it never slowed down or proved uninteresting to the reader, though the book really picked up the most speed at the very end, leaving with a cliffhanger and a promise for more action in the coming books. Writing-wise, the book excelled, it utilized such detail and it had a certain style to it that worked very well for me. Altogether, this was a great book setting up a series that I will be following in the future, but until then, I give Switched a 4/5.