The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
Published September 3rd 2013 by Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Pages: 419

Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown's gates, you can never leave.
One morning, after a perfectly ordinairy party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The nly other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulen heart of Coldtown itself.

"Every hero is the villain of his own story." 

- Holly Black, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

I'd like to get straight on with my main issues of the book: the pace and the writing style. These two combined made it quite hard for me to even finish it. I thought the writing didn't do much in general and was that kind of style that's so formally written you'd have to get used to it before you could enjoy it. I didn't get used to the writing until I was already fifty percent done with it. Also the overall descriptions and details were really unnecessary. The pace had the biggest role to play in why I didn't find myself liking this book. There are so many flashbacks of Tana's family traumas which I didn't care for, and way too much repeating information. I get if one wants to have good world building. I'm not going to lie: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown has an amazing concept with a vampire apocalypse, yet still having the stereotypical vampire feeling while reading. I almost forgot to mention endless chapters of Tana whining and her monologues. They just didn't do much good to the story in general and got me out of the world I was supposed to be sucked in. This and, again, the pace in general managed to bother me throughout the entire book.

Did I felt like the only one when I say that the plot went nowhere? Already from the synopsis the only plotline  I got was Tana going to Coldtown. The whole idea is set around that journey. I wondered what was going to happen when they finally arrived. A happily ever after? Nothing really happened. This has yet again to do with the pace, but the feeling of it going nowhere made it way too easy for me to put it down. I hate to be writing about this in a bad way, because - as in many other books I've recently read - the beginning of the book is just great. There's action and it immediately grabs your attention. You're sitting on the edge of your chair, and that's the moment Holly Black decides to take it slow. Eventually you're going, nowhere.

As stated earlier on in this review, I actually really liked the world in general. It's original, and I don't think it should have been more than a standalone. What did bother me a little was it being set in modern times. I wouldn't have minded a couple of references here and there, but after tons of mentioning popular social networking sites and modern electronics, it's clear we're in the twenty-first century. I wanted to get a rather dark and mysterious feeling while reading this book, and those mentions make you stay in the world Holly Black wants you to be. I think, although the whole book being boring, the ending was a nice conclusion. It ended the way I wanted it to be, and it even had a faster pace as we got closer and closer to the end.

Out of all the characters, Graviel has to be the I cared most for. His flashbacks were the ones that actually grabbed my attention and his personality in general can be addictive. However I didn't care that much for him that I actually shipped him with Tana. The romance wasn't that well done He was a fun character, yet nothing more than that. To talk about other characters, Tana occasionally felt like a pain in the ass and the others... There's really nothing to talk about, really. I liked Midnight in the way of her flaws such as her little naivete of the real world and wanting to escape it.

At first this seemed like a hard review to write. Now that I've cleared my thoughts, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown wasn't a book I love after all.

Onyx (Lux, #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Published August 14th 2012 by Entangled Teen
Pages: 366

"Embarrassed someone would see you and think you're capable of reading?"
"I do have a reputation to maintain."
"And what a lovely reputation that is."
- Jennifer L. Armentrout, Onyx

Being connected to Daemon Black sucks...
Thanks to his alien mojo, Daemon's determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro connection. So I've sworn him off, even though he's running more hot than cold these days. But we've got bigger problems.
Something worse than the Arum has come to town...
The Department of Defense are here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we're linked, I'm a goner. So is he. And there's this new boy in school who's got a secret of his own. He knows what's happened to me and he can help, but to do so, I have to lie to Daemon and stay away from him. Like that's possible. Against all common sense, I'm falling for Daemon. Hard.
But then everything changes...
I've seen someone who shouldn't be alive. And I have to tell Daemon, even though I know he's never going to stop searching until he gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them-from me?
No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies...

I hate to write about Onyx as a dissapointment. After finishing Obsidian, I knew at some point the Lux series was going to be one of my favourite series. Now I'm not so sure anymore.

I clearly mentioned in my review of Obsidian that the book has clear similarities with Twilight. That being said, what would the Lux series be without a Jacob Black? Yes, Blake, I'm looking at you. What started out as an opportunity for Katy to expand her horizons and meet new guys, ended in a love triangle. Normally I don't have much trouble with love triangles, but this one seemed to become the base of the story. I didn't like it, at all. I quickly lost interest and definitely had my moments of wanting to put it down. I also can't accept to believe of being the only one who got irritated after the tenth time Daemon came up with another nickname.

Don't think the romance ruined it for me, because it didn't. It is unbelievable how the second half of the book was so different from the first. So faced paced, I loved it! I smanaged to have my moments where I was completely freaking out, especially the ones where the DOD was involved. Although it took a while to get to the good part, I absolutely loved it. It met my predictions, yet it didn't become predictable at any time. The mystery that the author set up in the beginning really gets to play out. Almost every question we had while reading the previous book gets resolved in this one. God I love it so much.

Katy wasn't herself. She still was the sarcastic, fun girl I met in Obsidian, but there were times she acted out of character, for example pushing Daemon away even though she knows she loves him. Their conversations were not as fun as I remembered them, and there was no such thing as chemistry to be found. Daemon is doing such a good job with trying to show his love for her, and the only thing she does is pushing him away. She clearly didn't know what to do, which got on my nerves too many times as I preferred. It was only until very late into the book she was a badass again. Speaking of characters, where was Dee? I knew why she was absent most of the time, working on her relationship with Adam and all, but it could have done much if she and Katy had a moment every now and then. This is why I smiled a lot during their get-together. To round up the alinea: despite being the main reason for the love triangle, I actually really liked Blake. His first appearance immediately gave away the fact that the guy has to play a big part in this book. I loved how that part turned out to be. I was wondering what he might be, and then came to the conclusion that he was something I would have never expected. What I just didn't understand, why he had to be romantically involved with Katy.

I feel like an alien for having written a review of a book which a big part of the reading community adored. For some reason I know Opal's going to be a lot better, especially after the fantastic second part.

Title: Uninvited (Uninvited, #1) by Sophie Jordan
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 384

When Davy Hamilton's tests come back positive for Homicidal Tendency Syndrome (HTS)-aka the kill gene-she loses everything. Her boyfriend ditches her, her parents are scared of her, and she can forget about her bright future at Juilliard. Davy doesn't feel any different, but gene don't lie. One day she will kill someone.
Only Sean, a fellow HTS carrier, can relate to her new life. Davy wants to trust him; maybe he's not as dangerous as he seems. Or maybe Davy is just as deadly.

I can't ever hide from this night. No matter that I did it to save Sean's life, I am what everyone always thought.A killer. 

- Sophie Jordan, Uninvited

Thank you Netgalley and HarperTeen for providing me with a copy of this book!

Uninvited was that book I'd hoped it to become one of my favourite's, a book with a sequel I'd be dying to read. It definitely had its good sides, but why oh why, did it feel like such a disappointment?

Before summing up all the things I didn't like about this book, I'd like to point out the ones I found myself enjoying. For starters, I loved the little addition at the end of each chapter. You don't notice it at first, but after having read the enitre book, that was some crucial world building. We didn't get the reason why it started in the first place, yet it brought depth to the world itself. It was also very nice to know certain things before the protagonist did. The plot was original and I loved it. It was probably the only reason - apart from the awesome cover - that got me to read it. The concept of there being a valid reason of why sociopaths would do certain things was wonderfully thought of. People living on the edge of society, treated like animals... It's horrifying, yet something accurate if this book would become reality.

Uninvited started off with Davy coming home from school and there's something going on. You're on the edge of your seat, turning page after page to find out what it is. After Davy's discovery of posessing the kill gene, you know things are about to get messy. Even if it isn't triggered yet, it will soon. That's when the slow page pops up. It keeps dragging on and on and I was wondering if the whole topic of the book is going to be Davy's journey to her inner killer. That's when the second part, Mount Haven, begins. From there, I managed to read it in one sitting. The sudden action and fighting was a bonus in overall. The were these moments when I felt like reading Divergent by Veronica Roth because of teens being trained together. There's very high competition and people are constantly being send away. I quickly set the thought aside, because it is different in so many ways. The ending decided it would be three stars. With the thought of Mount Haven being a heavily guarded camp, they managed to pull their stunt off way too easily.

With a three-star book, there's always those issues. Uninvited is one, and this is no exception. Davy was a character I couldn't relate to in any way, and didn't feel very believable either. Her being a Mary Sue wasn't something I enjoyed, nor was the attempt of the author of making her realistic. Only adding one flaw to her character isn't going to do it, and will even create the opposite effect if that certain flaw is naivete. Davy took it to a whole new level by trusting everyone, and always throwing herself in situations where she's constantly assuming that everything will be okay. Since she's in a camp with sociopahts, and she's one, it's not. To talk about her discovery with having the kill gene: it's understanble if you have difficulties accepting it at first, but denying it throughout the entire book got on my nerves. She's judging people with the kill gene of being dangerous and all, when she's not going to accept that she's one of them. Davy wasn't what I expected to be. There certainly were other issues that were a lot smaller and didn't irritate me as much as this one. They were a lot smaller and didn't irritate me at all while reading. It was only after I realised I didn't love a certain character and wasn't in love with the author's writing.

So Uninvited wasn't what I expected it to be, but it I did love the plot and the second half of the book. To eventually read or not read the sequel, that's the question. I probably will, just because I love the world so much. For now I hope to see Davy have a sociopath moment in the sequel, that would be perfect.

Title: Spring Moon
Author: Hrh Princess Sophie Audouin-Mamikonian
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Rating: ★★★☆☆

Amid the expansive plains of Montana, the Lykos Ranch streches for miles. The inhabitants who live in near isolation from the outside world are members of the most powerful clan of werewolves in North America. Among them lives just one human: Indiana Teller.
Grandson of the clean's leader and offspring of a werewolf father and a mysterious yet human mother, Indiana is rejected by his peers and heads to the University of Montana to find a normal life. Despite warnings from his grandparents, he falls in love with a beautiful human, Katerina.
Before too long, he is the victim of an accident that would have killed him had he not miraculously vanished at the moment of impact. Are there strange occurrences just chance or the machinations of a hidden enemy out to destroy him? Facing the destiny, Indiana will have to choose who to believe, and who to love.

Thank you Netgalley and Entangled Teen for providing me with a copy of this book!

Werewolves aren't my typical kind of thing to read, and it was nice to read something in that genre. Spring Moon didn't manage to convince me of suddenly loving the whole wolf thing. I know I didn't love the book, yet I also know I didn't hate it. There were things that frustrated me at times, but I didn't forget the things I liked very much.

The fact that I knew everyone was just going to stay alive made the book a bit predictable. It didn't manage to spoil the fun I had while reading. It was interesting to see all these people together in a pack. It sent out a that solidarity of the pack, which felt very real. I think I'm just very interested in how things go in wolf packs. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see that much of the whole wolf pack thing in general because Indiana had to go to university.

Other elements such as the pace and writing were quite good. It was fast paced at times such as the action scenes, but I still had my moments of wanting to put it down for a moment. It had nothing to do with the pace, at all. What did, was the writing style. I didn't like it. I thought I'd read books with way too many descriptions. Spring Moon surpasses them all. Especially the monologue felt dreaded, as if the author had to fill up some space. Thank God, it got way better as I got more into it. After a while you get used to the overuse of descriptions that were still very noticable in the story. Out of the characters, there wasn't really someone I loved. If I must choose one, I think I'd be Serafina. With her Mary Sue character and her fierce side, she's that character you both like and dislike. She was able to stand up for herself, unlike others. Thinking about the characters, I'd completely forgotten about Seasmus. A typical drunk in the beginning with probably the best development out of all the characters. How he decided to stop drinking after the semi incident out of safety for his daughter? Lovely. Just, lovely. I adored the other side of him we get to see after it all.

The action was a big bonus, although the plot itself being predictable. The romance was okay, but the wolf thing was so interesting. Eventually, Spring Moon was that kind of book I enjoyed reading, despite the little issues I had with it.

Title: Bint
Author: Ferdinand Bordewijk
Publisher: Grote Lijsters
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

When class 4D succeeds in badge a teacher, De Bree is being appointed to maintain order. At his fall in he gets an instruction from Bint, the principal of the school: "That class is unique... I warn you... I demand discipline from each one. Already on his first day De Bree gives 4D The hell as a nickname and declares war for the rest of the year. Completely according to Bint's guidelines he rules the students with an iron first. When the class wants to make peace after two months, De Bree decilines...

From the moment I recieved my copy of Bint and told my friends, they all sighed and laughed at me because now I was the one who was going to read it. As the dateline of the book came closer and closer each day, I was already mentally preparing myself for the worst. I can pretty much say that I got what I was told. For example, being confused throughout the entire book. Not going to lie, but I was relieved while reading chapters I understood. Reading Bint was like reading another language, which is true because I read it in Dutch. What I actually mean is, I didn't understand much. The book itself has a very simple plot, but the writing just messed it all up. I didn't found myself enoying Bint in any way and I was proud of finishing this short book in one night.

Title: Childhood
Author: Jona Oberski
Publisher: Plume
Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Jona Oberski has created the Holocaust through the eyes of a very small child, a child experiencing the baffling walls of discrimination that isolated his Dutch family during Nazi occupation and the walls of concrete and steel that rose in reality as his family was interned at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

The most interesting thing after reading Childhood, is the point of view. Never have I read a book told from a seven-year-old boy's point of view. It made the book very interesting, it is also one of the few things I'd applaud the author for. You don't know anything more than the boy does, and everything is described how I would picture a child, picturing it. How difficult it must be to imagine yourself as a Jewish seven-year-old, whilst I thought it's impossible to picture myself at such a young age.

As I rated the book only two stars, I found it okay. It was a quick read and no difficult linguistic usage. Even if you haven't read the synopsis or know anything about it at all, the pieces fell into place very quickly. I only needed the first few chapters to figure out the rest of the book. I may have been wrong at some times, although most of the events were very predictable. At other moments, the boy as a character felt flat and superficially written. We never get to see any highlighted emotions, what must be the case in a war. Because of the point of view, I didn't get to see much of the war as an important element of the book. One time I had to do some research to figure out a thing or two.

Childhood was a book I was required to read and would have never read it if I'd the chance. Yet the biggest difficulty I had with it, was figuring out wether I liked it or not. I'm choosing somewhere inbetween.

Title: Shadows
Series: Lux, #0.5
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Rating: ★★★☆☆

Daemon stomped past them, bumping into his brother's shoulder.
"You make my head hurt", he said, scowling. "And you make me all warm and fuzzy inside" 

- Jennifer L. Armentrout, Shadows

The Last thing Dawson Black expected was Bethany Williams. As a Luxen, an elien life form on Earth, human girls are... well, fun. But since the Luxen have to keep their true identities a secret, falling for one would be insane.
Bethany can't deny the immediate connection between her and Dawson. And even though boys aren't a complication she wants, she can't stay away from him. Still, whenever they lock eyes, she's drawn in.
Dawson is keeping a secret that will change her existence... and put her life in jeopardy. But even he can't stop risking everything for one human girl. Or from a fate that is unavoiable as love itself.

Shadows will be the only love story with love at first sight that I loved. How dangerous the romance between Dawson and Bethany may have been, I am a fan. I may even have shipped the two if I hadn't known about their fates.

It was hard in the beginning to get used to the sudden change of the point of view. I would have prefered it being told in the first person present tense, as it was in Obsidian. I don't know why this change was made, because it would have made the transition from the one book to another To talk about the difference between the two, Shadows reminded me to Obsidian in the way of the same direction of the plot. Boy meet girl, something happens where the boy has to tell who he is. At times it felt like Katy's and Daemon's story, only in their case it was insta-hate instead of insta-love. It was the most obvious reason of not finishing it as quick as I though I would. The other issue is the much slower pace, with more focus on the development of Bethany's and Dawson's relationship. Their sweet, sweet relationship.

The story itself gave much more depth to Daemon's character and choices in Obsidian. Why he had such an instant hatred towards Katy. I wish I'd read this story before Obisidian. Like that I think I would have enjoyed the first novel a lot more. It may have been mentioned in it, but it didn't made my opnion about Daemon change. After reading Shadows, I think it did, just a little bit. He still acted like a jerk, let me make this clear. On the other hand, we get to see Dawson's story with Bethany, something Daemon never wanted to have. Then Katy comes into his life. I understand why he was so overprotective of Dee, she indeed is the only family he has left.

Because we all read Obsidian, we knew what would happen, where this story would lead us to. We wanted to do something about it, prevent it from happening. I actually thought we were going to have an ending in the style of Romeo and Juliet because of what happened to Bethany near the end. Don't know if I would have liked it better that way. It did create a gasp-moment and progress everything that happened. Because of that, I'm happy with the author not giving away details about their story. It kept me interested to see how the story would end.

New characters were introduced in this novella, as we all expected from reading the description. Dawson is the typical guy to fall for, kind of the opposite of his twin brother. Bethany is not Katy, we all know that. She's more your typical kind of girl, rather boring. I didn't connect with her as much as I did with Dawson. The two of them together created some chemistry to remember. Their romance was nice and sweet, like a fairy tale in the real world. There were never aguments. They were that couple to be destined to be together forever, until fate decided to throw in a plot twist. Now I'm actually waiting for something to happen in the next books of the Lux series, involving the two of them. One could have so much story by creating something that leaves you hanging. Dee and Daemon never got to see them, maybe that's a clue in the direction I want the story to head.

I'm definitely picking up Onyx very soon because I want to see if my expected plot twist will play out!

Title: Unite
Series: Project Integrate, #1
Author: Jamie Campbell
Publisher: Patchwork Press
Rating: ★★★☆☆

"I can't. Going into hiding will ruin the whole project." I didn't waste seventeen years being different just to hide at the end and not see it through. "I'm not doing it. I'll either win or die trying."
- Amery, Unite

Seventeen years ago an entire generation of aliens were sent to Earth in order to save their home planet and integrate into the human population. Now, those aliens are being hunted.
Amery Jones is your typical teenager, except for the fact that she is an alien and a member of the government's secret Project Integrate. When Amery's best friend Lola is kidnapped in order to get her, there is only one person that can help - the exceedingly annoying and charming Lochie Mercury.
Together, Amery and Lochie must put aside their differences and attraction in order to rescue Lola before it's too late.

Thank you Netgalley and Jamie Campbell for providing me with a copy of this book!

Not going to lie: I went straight into this book with a thought of it going to dissapoint me, just as I thought with the previous one. I haven't read many alien books, but every book except The Host has managed to disappoint. I thought this was going to be just like the others, especially because it's self-published. I think I should stop with making prejudices because it did not disappoint at all.

I am not the biggest alien fan of all times, but a unique storyline always catches my attention. The story starts with the protagonist, Amery Jones, being disturbed from her daydream when she figures out she has to do a project with the one she hates, Lochie Mercury. Then, we get a scene where Amery and Lochie run away from men in suits. That was what kept me reading and pulled me into the story. When a story begins with something weird happening, you're immediately interested and keep on reading. From there until the kidnapping, I was waiting around for something big to happen, which I eventually got. Not only the events, but also the good writing kept me reading on until I eventually finished it. I have to say: it was good. Not fantastic or wonderful, but good.

As it felt like an important piece of the novel to talk about, I don't think Amery's hate towards Lochie come across very realistically. It would have made more sense if we actually got a background why she hates the guy, or if she has a crush on him but denies it. I have a feeling that that's what it's all about, yet it doesn't have to be covered with insta-hate. The way he acted around her is what I'd call friendly, not irritating. They have great dialogues together, one shouldn't ruin those.

Unfortunately, the hate wasn't the only unbelievable thing in Unite. I'm not talking about the alien aspect of the book, but for example about how Lola got over her best friend being an alien way too quickly. Or, how Lochie and Amery managed to escape without any trouble, while it is clearly stated that this mysterious organisation is very organised and dangerous. I think it has become quite clear what my biggest struggle with this book was. Another issue would have to be the lack of depth in characters, such as Lola and Amery's parents.

To make this review short: I enjoyed it. It definitely has something interesting about it: good dialogues, a unique plot, a good pace, yet the unbelievability in certain scenes couldn't be ignored.