Review: The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson

The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Rating: PG-13

Score: 4.5 stars

Genre: Paranormal, Mystery

Page Count: 258

Stand Alone

Publisher: HarperTeen

Published: July 1, 2014

Girls started vanishing in the fall, and now winter's come to lay a white sheet over the horror. Door County, it seems, is swallowing the young, right into its very dirt. From beneath the house on Water Street, I've watched the danger swell.
The residents know me as the noises in the house at night, the creaking on the stairs. I'm the reflection behind them in the glass, the feeling of fear in the cellar. I'm tied—it seems—to this house, this street, this town.
I'm tied to Maggie and Pauline, though I don't know why. I think it's because death is coming for one of them, or both.
All I know is that the present and the past are piling up, and I am here to dig.I am looking for the things that are buried.
From bestselling author Jodi Lynn Anderson comes a friendship story bound in snow and starlight, a haunting mystery of love, betrayal, redemption, and the moments that we leave behind.

Review:

PROS:

1. Not going to lie here but the only reason I ended up buying this book was because of the beautiful cover. Yep, that's right, most books I buy are bought because half of the reason for buying them is because of the cover. I can't help if I like pretty covers more than the actual content! Anyway, I decided to actually pick this book up because the synopsis sounded very mysterious and kind of ghost-story like. I'm currently really in the mood for mysteries and this one did the trick! Here's the review:

2. I really enjoyed the characters. One, to be more specific, which was our main character Maggie. I liked that she was very quiet and kind of kept to herself. She never asked her parents for anything and was a little shy at times and not very outgoing. I thought it was cool to finally see a quiet and shy character get the spotlight and I thought it really helped the book to be what it was. Given, there wasn't a lot to relate to when it came to Maggie's character and her family, but she fit the story perfectly in my opinion and because of that, she's my favorite. I also really enjoyed the new friends she made even though I ended up hating both of them at the end of the book. You'll know why if you decide to read this book. The three friends were very loyal to each other and connected very easily. 

3. I also loved the writing in this book so very much! I never exactly knew why there was so much hype surrounding Anderson's other book Tiger Lilly but now I can get an idea of why. Her writing was absolutely beautiful and I loved how she was able to say so much about a character or place with so few words. The writing gave the book a very mysterious and melancholy feeling that actually made me shiver and get goosebumps. The descriptions were beautifully written and you could really visualize everything without needing a description of every single little detail. I think Jodi Lynn Anderson has just made it onto my list of favorite authors.

4. I also loved the feel of the book while reading the story. The book takes place during a bitterly cold winter in a small town where a string of murders starts happening and it's very mysterious and eerie, which is the exact feel I was getting while reading this book. I liked that you really got a sense of a ghostly presence especially since one of the POV's is actually told from a "Ghost Girl" whom is not actually named until the end of the book. I loved that this Ghost Girl was somehow tied to the three friends and had to follow them  as they had to deal with living in a town they no longer felt safe in. It reminded me a lot of The Lovely Bones and Paper Valentine because of this eerie string of murders in a small town while also having a Ghost Girl tell a little of her story as everything plays out.

5. Overall, I think this book is something I'll be picking up again sometime in the future. I highly recommend this book is you want something eerie and wintery. I think this would make a perfect Halloween read for those who don't exactly like being scared. I think this would also be a good one to pick up on a rainy day or during the winter. I really enjoyed this one and I really hope to get my hands on another book by this very talented author!

The reason why I didn't give this book a five-star rating is because I got frustrated with Maggie's friends and I never recovered from it. I honestly don't think I ever will to be honest. You might understand why once you actually read the book, which you should. It's great. Go. Read it now.

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I hope you guys enjoyed this book review! If you have any other book requests you would like me to review, just leave a comment or send me an email! Read on bookworms! See you in the next chapter!

All Fall Down by Ally Carter

All Fall Down By Ally Carter

Rating: PG

Genre: YA Fiction, Action & Adventure

Score: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Page Count: 310

Book #1 of the Embassy Row Series

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Published: January 20, 2015

 

This exciting new series from NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Ally Carter focuses on Grace, who can best be described as a daredevil, an Army brat, and a rebel. She is also the only granddaughter of perhaps the most powerful ambassador in the world, and Grace has spent every summer of her childhood running across the roofs of Embassy Row. Now, at age sixteen, she's come back to stay--in order to solve the mystery of her mother's death. In the process, she uncovers an international conspiracy of unsettling proportions, and must choose her friends and watch her foes carefully if she and the world are to be saved.

 

Review:

PROS:

1. I'm not only a huge fan of the lovely and talented Ally Carter but I'm also such a huge fan of this new novel by her! I seriously couldn't wait to get my hands on it and even though I wasn't able to pick it up immediately after buying it, my excitement only increased. Here's the review!

 

2. One thing I seriously loved about this book was the characters! I loved the witty and sarcastic banter between them and it was exactly what you'd expect from a band of misfits trying to unravel the mystery of a murder. Grace was definitely my favorite out of all of them however. I loved how Grace knew she wasn't perfect despite her grandfather's important place in society and I loved how she accepted it but also used her imperfections to drive her to do whatever it took to catch her mother's killer. I also loved how Grace and Alexei had some major chemistry between them but Grace, however, chose to put her feelings aside and focus on her mission. I felt she was a strong character and very daring and a big risk taker.

 

3. The whole book had an air of mystery from the first page to the last. I loved how the story unfolded and how, at first, things seemed somewhat normal in Grace's life until different events started happening which revealed the true nature of Grace's personality and anxiety. It also felt like there were multiple twists and turns and even some pretty exciting, heart pounding moments that kept you on the edge of your seat. I wasn't sure where the story would go when I first picked it up but then things started falling into place, secrets were revealed, rumors were spread and a path was opened up for the story and boy did I love where it headed!

 

4. This book was an exciting, heartbreaking, heart pounding, action and suspense with a touch of romance read that I seriously want to reread it already! Not only did this book have an amazing band of characters, very well developed ones at that, and a really amazing world and surprising truths, but it had a mind blowing and all around freaking amazing plot twist about 20 pages from the end! Needless to say, I almost had a heart attack while reading and because of the amazing ending, I need the sequel to see what happens next! A sequel that I know will be worth the wait!

 

I hope you guys enjoyed this book review! If you have any more book requests you would like me to review, just leave a comment or send me an email! Read on bookworms! See you in the next chapter!

 

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Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin

Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Mystery

Score: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Page Count: 245

Book #1 of the Low Red Moon series

Publisher: Bloombury USA Childrens

Published: August 2, 2010

The only thing Avery Hood can remember about the night her parents died is that she saw silver—deadly silver, moving inhumanly fast. As much as she wants to remember who killed them, she can't, and there's nothing left to do but try to piece her life back together. Then Avery meets the new boy in school — Ben, mysterious and beautiful, with whom she feels a connection like nothing she's ever experienced. When Ben reveals he's a werewolf, Avery still trusts him — at first. Then she sees that sometimes his eyes flash inhuman silver. And she learns that she's not the only one who can't remember the night her parents died.

Review:
PROS:
1. I'm not going to lie and say I was super excited to read this book at first. I've had a really bad past with werewolf books and never liked any of them. I wasn't too happy about reading this one but for the sake of crossing it off my TBR, I read it and well . . . ended up really liking this one! Talk about a pleasant surprise!

2. I loved all the characters in this book but my favorite was our main character, Avery. I really loved how she wasn't the typical character most werewolf novels tend to portray; Avery was an average girl who had gone through something horrifically tragic and pretty much shut the world out and just wanted to try and move on with her life and didn't really interact with people on a regular basis. I really loved how she wasn't portrayed as a beautiful and breathtaking girl who wanted to fall in love with some guy so badly that she made horrible and unrealistic decisions. She was very relatable and put her family first before any feelings she had towards Ben which I really liked.

3. I also really loved the storyline of the book. I loved how it started out dark and somewhat menacing and carried that theme throughout the book. It was very mysterious and I loved how there were so many missing puzzle pieces when it came to Avery's parent's murder and I really liked how when one problem seemed to be close to being solved, something else would pop up and was somehow in relationship to all the other pieces of the puzzle.

4. I really enjoyed Ivy Devlin's writing for this book. It was not only beautiful but also realistic and easy to read and follow along with. I really liked how the story played out with a series of events all leading up to an amazing climax and realization and even the ending was really good. The story was fleshed out beautifully and no questions were left unanswered.

5. Overall, I'm definitely keeping this book on my shelf and I can't wait to continue on with this series! I fully enjoyed reading this story and loved almost everything from how beautiful the book looked on the outside to the story on the inside. It wasn't my favorite book this year so far but it was still a lot of fun to read.

Age Recommendation: 13+

I hope you guys enjoyed this book review! If you have any other book requests you would like me to review, just leave a comment or send me an email! Read on bookworms! See you in the next chapter!