Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

***The following synopsis and summary contain spoilers for Throne of Glass.***

In the sequel to Throne of Glass, Celaena has become the King's Assassin. She must kill to win her freedom. But as much as Celaena wants freedom, she doesn't want to be used by the King and she doesn't want to kill those who do not deserve to be killed. With every death Celaena fakes she puts not only herself at risk, but her loved ones.

Celaena finds herself holding the fate of a kingdom in her hands and she will have to face darker forces than the King of Adarlan to bring justice to Erilea.

Rate: 5 stars

Crown of Midnight being the second book in the Throne of Glass series, I wouldn't recommend reading this review if you haven't started the series yet. And trust me you should start the series, especially if you like action-packed fantasies. Anyways, the second book was pretty good, although I do favour Throne of Glass. There were many twist and turns in this instalment. There is so much potential for the next books in the series, and so many ways the books could go. 

SPOILERS AHEAD.

Like I said above, there were so many surprises in this book. First off, Dorian has magic! How does that work? I mean magic had been banned for ten years. If the King ever figured out about what Dorian can do, let's just say it wouldn't be good. I was also great that Dorian started to stand up to his father. If he could some how get rid of his father and take the throne, Erilea would be so much better off.

Then we had Nehemia's death. I was really unhappy about her death, I loved her as a character, and she was a great friend to Celaena. We found out that Grave, one of the contestants in the tournament in the last book, was hired to kill Nehemia. And of course Celaena killed him. We were lead to believe that Minister Mullison had hired Nehemia at first. But we later learned that it was in fact Archer who hired Grave, and that Nehemia might have just set it all up knowing her death would impact Celaena more than her life. I just can't believe that Nehemia would set up her own death. It was a very noble thing to do.

Later we learned that Celaena was Fae and the the lost Queen of Terrasen! She might just be able to take down the King of Adarlan if she plays everything right. She could have so much power. It makes sense now why her family was killed when she was young. Although we did learn a little bit more of Celaena's (or should I say Aelin's) past, I would still like to know more. 

And now Celaena is off to Wendlyn to kill of the King and the Prince. If she could gather followers, take back the throne of Terrasen and join up with Wendlyn and the remaining Fae, she could, just maybe, take on the King of Adarlan. Oh, and she might have to find a Wyrd Key as well, will one be in Wendlyn? The King already has so much power with one (or maybe two?), Celaena will have to find one. We also saw some of the things that the King was up to. What was with that creature under the castle? He must have made it with magic.

Oh, and I almost forgot about Chaol. He'l be returning home to Anielle with his father since his father supported him when he suggested that Celaena go to Wendlyn. What will happen there? Will he go after Celaena in Wendlyn? I wouldn't be surprised if he did because of what happened between them (they're still together, right?). And what will happen to Dorian back at the castle? How will the next book play out? There are so many possibilities for Heir of Fire. I'm glad that the author isn't squishing everything into three books. It's good that she is taking time to let everything play out in six books. I'm really excited for this series! It's going to be huge.

Impostor by Susanne Winnacker

Tessa is part of a secret branch of the FBI, the FEA (Forces with Extraordinary Powers). She is a Variant, somebody with abilities that humans shouldn't be able to have. When more and more people are being murdered in a small town in Oregon, Tessa is put on the case. Once one of the victims, Madison, dies Tessa is to take her place as she can mimic the appearance of anybody she touches.

Disguised as Madison, Tessa begins to fall in love with her life, after all, Madison has the loving family that Tessa never did. But Tessa must find the killer soon, or they could come back and finish off Madison.

Rate: 4 stars

When I picked Impostor up at the book store, the synopsis sounded very intriguing. I mean a murder mystery and people with super powers,  how could you go wrong with that? And I did end up quite enjoying this book. I loved the storyline and the mystery aspect kept you guessing until the end. If you are a fan of murder mystery or the whole kids-with-super-powers story, then I would definitely consider picking up this book.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

First off, I liked the whole Variant idea. That the people-with-super-powers idea isn't super original, but I enjoyed anyways. There were a wide variety of powers, from being able to take another's person's appearance (Tessa), to turning invisible (Holly), or eve telekinesis (Tanner). 

Speaking of some of our character's abilities, let's talk about the characters themselves. I liked our main character, Tessa. She seemed like a genuinely caring person. She cared about Madison's death, even though she didn't even know her. Plus she snuck out after the mission to go to her funeral. But we could also see that Tessa didn't have the best past, her family didn't even care about her, so she welcomed the idea of having a real family when she had to take Madison's place.

I liked most of the other characters though, minus Kate and Ryan. Kate was really mean to Tessa and was always rubbing in her relationship with Alec, Tessa's crush. But I was confused why she showed up when Tessa followed Devon and then Ryan. Part of Abel's Army maybe, because she said Major didn't send her. Anyways, I also didn't like Ryan, obviously, because her turned out to be the killer. He let his power get to his head, plus he seemed like an obsessive, controlling jerk when he tried to get Madison back. But it all fell into place why he killed the people he did, either because they may have known something about his power, to frame somebody or get revenge for somebody else. 

Then we had the character's I liked, Alec, Holly and Devon. There was obviously something building between Alec and Tessa, even though Alec was with Kate. What was with that? Alec seemed like he liked Tessa, but continued to date Kate, until the end of the book. The two always seemed to be fighting, and then Tessa overheard Kate say "'We're in this together. Remember what Major said.'" That led me to believe that maybe they weren't together because they wanted to be because you could obviously see that Alec cared about Tessa. Anyways, Holly. You could she that she was a good friend to Tessa. She was caring and had a really bubbly personality. I wish we could have seen more of her in the book. Devon was also caring, he seemed to really look out for his sister. And he had a variation as well, he could heal himself and others. I thought that was really cool.

The mystery aspect of the book was good, like I said above, it kept you guessing. Ryan framed Devon by killing somebody he had been seen with only moments before. Then Tessa found information of all the murders hidden away in his room. But I wondered what his motive was, so I wasn't completely convinced he was the murderer.

It seemed like Madison had more going on in her life that Tessa originally thought. I liked that she had to figure out what was going on in Madison's life as well as who the murderer was. Some of the events that went down in Madison's life (like the affair with her teacher), did a good job of throwing the reader off the trail of  the real murderer. 

Overall, I really enjoyed Impostor. I hope to pick up the sequel, Defector, sometime soon.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

It's Cath's first year at college and her twin sister Wren has decided to room with someone else. Cath is crushed. Ever since they were little they have shared a room, clothes, friends, and basically everything else. Plus Cath is worried about her dad who isn't exactly mentally stable and has never really been alone.

Cath is totally out of her element at college, she's not used to being by herself. She would rather just stay in her dorm in her pyjamas writing Simon Snow fanfiction, being a huge fan and all. And Simon Snow is what got Cath and Wren through their mom leaving in the third grade. Slowly Cath branches out and befriends her grumpy roommate, Reagan, and her always-around-ex-boyfriend, Levi.

Dealing with the ups and downs of college, Cath wonders if she can do this on her own. If she can do it with Wren their to lead the way.

Rate: 4 stars

This book is definitely more relatable if you are a Harry Potter fan (which I am, of course), as Simon Snow is this world's equivalent of Harry Potter. What I liked about Fangirl was the characters, they all had different, interesting personalities. I also liked that Cath had to deal with college, but family life. Plus this book was a nice change from the ones I usually read. If you are a fan of contemporary novels, I would definitely consider picking this up, if you haven't already. Or if you haven't yet dabbled in contemporary, this would be a good place to start.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

Cath was different from the main characters that I normally read about (confident, headstrong, ect...). She was really shy and anxious, especially in social situations. Now, I'm not shy, but don't get we wrong, I have on occasion gotten anxious in a social situation, especially after moving to the other side of the world and not knowing how people do things in a different country. 

I also liked her roommate, Reagan and Levi. Reagan wasn't the warmest person, but she started to grow on me as she and Cath became friends. And she helped Cath get out a bit more. Levi was basically the opposite of Reagan, he was friendly and nice and talked to every body. His relationship with Cath developed over time, and they did have their share of ups and downs. But, they did end up together in the end, which is good because I thought they were a good fit for each other.

Now I didn't like Nick, one of Cath's classmates from her fiction writing class. Cath had some highs with that class, but also some lows. First her teacher totally bashed on her fanfiction. That would be hard to take, especially for someone like Cath. I mean that is what Cath loved to do, Simon Snow was her world, and so many people read her fanfiction. Then when Cath and Nick started writing together, and Nick used their work for one of the projects, that was horrible. I was glad that their teacher found out and that Cath hadn't let him use it in the end, even if her name was on it. But Cath ultimately succeeded in that class, she got some of the highest marks, and even won the Underclassmen Prize with her last assignment. I can't believe she almost didn't write it.

Cath's family situation was interesting. She and her dad basically had reverse roles, Cath had to make sure he was okay and not overworking, and when she was home, she would make the meals. You could really tell that Cath cared about her dad, when he was in the hospital, Cath drove down during finals week and was willing to flunk a class to make sure he was okay. Even though her dad was mentally challenged, I liked him. Cath's mom on the other hand, well let's just say I didn't like her. I can totally understand why Cath didn't want to see her again, I mean she left her and Wren when they were little and didn't even acknowledge them for like ten years. And when Wren was in the hospitable, she left before even seeing her, she didn't even stay to make sure was okay.

Then there was Wren. At first I didn't like her because she totally just left Cath to go party and get drunk, but then towards the end of the book, she turned around. I liked it when Cath and Wren were friends rather then them not even talking to each other.

This book was pretty good over all, and it was a nice change for dystopian. 

The Elite by Kiera Cass

***The following synopsis and summary contain spoilers for The Selection.***

When America Singer registered for the Selection, she never imagined that she would be one of the thirty-five girls chosen to compete, let alone one of the Elite. Now with only five other girls remaining at the castle, the competition is as fierce as ever. But America struggles to figure out what she wants, to be with Aspen or Maxon. And her time to choose is running out.

Rate: 3.5 stars

This is the second book in The Selection series, so if you have not picked up The Selection and would like to know more about it, I have a review on it as well. Anyways, I didn't enjoy The Elite as much as The Selection. The book wasn't quite as exciting. I think that Kiera Cass could have made the entire Selection process into one book, and what happens after into another. America was just really frustrating in this book. Hopefully her character will develop and she will finally make up her mind in The One.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

Okay, so like I said above America was really frustrating. She just couldn't make up her mind. She couldn't choose between Maxon and Aspen. One minute she would be all for marrying Maxon and the next she would be all over Aspen. And that basically describes the entire book. And it is pretty obvious who America will marry, I mean the next book is called The One, and for crying out loud she is wearing an extravagant white dress. Plus The Heir is coming out this year, and that book wouldn't that book have a different title if she married Aspen? Honestly, I'm not too found of any of the characters. I know some people love Maxon, but I don't. Although I don't hate him either. I'm just not too attached to him or Aspen or America.

Thankfully there were some other events taking place during the book. The rebel attacks continued. It seemed like they were searching for certain books that held information of the past. As soon as Maxon showed America the secret library, I knew that was what the rebels were looking for, but that only occurred to America at the end of the book, isn't she supposed to be smart? And while Maxon and America hid away from the rebels together, I was surprised to find out the King had beat Maxon, on various occasions. Well, now we know the King has a nasty side. Oh, and Gregory Illéa as well. He seemed like a good person at first, but when America was reading his journal, we found out that he was not who we thought he was. That's probably why their history is passed down orally. 

As well as the rebel attacks, the girls had to complete various tasks like hosting foreign guests or come up with a philanthropy project. America and Kriss did very well with hosting the Italians, and I was surprised at who well America got along with them. And I was even more surprised that Princess Nicoletta was willing to do something for America to win. Now, America's philanthropy project could have been a good idea if she had thought of a way to actually execute it. I was quite surprised that she had a hard time coming up with ideas. I mean she was starving all the time, so couldn't she have done something about that?

Another exciting event was the whole Marlee thing. Now I was surprised that she and Carter were a thing. But I was sad that we didn't see as much of her after she was whipped. Thanks to Maxon she wasn't completely out of the plot. I was glad that he kept her and Carter around, and that she was able to see America. He went behind his father's back to do the right thing.

I will be picking up The One, but I hope it is better that The Elite. It'll be interesting to see what happens next.

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Written in dual point of views, Eleanor and Park is a young adult love story. With her crazy red hair, large body type, and interesting wardrobe, Eleanor doesn't fit it. She is bullied at school, and if that's not bad enough, she has an abusive stepfather. 

Park is technically in the popular group at school, but still feels as if he doesn't fit in, he's the only Asian kid at his school (well, half-Asian anyways). Plus, his dad is constantly trying to get him to be more masculine, more like his younger brother.

On her first bus ride to her new school Eleanor ends up sitting next to Park. Through their love of comic books and music, the two begin to fall in love themselves.

Rate: 4 stars

I typically stick to dystopian, action or adventure books. But as you can see, I've decided to branch out a bit. Along with Eleanor & Park, I've also picked up Fangirl, and so far I haven't been disappointed with Rainbow Rowell. Although I did not like Eleanor and Park as much as some people, I still enjoyed it. I think the book is fairly realistic, and it isn't all about the romance. I liked how the characters were far from perfect (physically and emotionally), and that they dealt with real world problems like bullying, stereotypes and abuse. Plus, I thought it was interesting how Eleanor & Park was set in the 80s, it gave the book a nice twist.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

The romance itself was quite sweet actually. It wasn't love at first sight (or as Eleanor put it "'Oh my God, he's so cute' at first sight"). They fell in love gradually over comic books and music. And I loved the fact that they weren't super good looking models or something. No, they were misfits, and they had their flaws. And I think that shows that you don't have to be good looking to find love. 

Now, let's talk about the Eleanor's home situation. Honestly I felt really bad for her. The fact that Eleanor didn't even have a toothbrush is really sad. She had to share an extremely small room with all three of her other siblings. She could rarely afford to buy new clothing (well, not really new actually, just used clothes from Goodwill or someplace like that). Then on top of having little money, she had an abusive step-dad and a biological father that didn't care. It's one thing to have a stepfather that you hate, but to have your real father out of the picture because he didn't care is another. All around Eleanor's family life sucked.

Her school situation wasn't that much better either. She was bullied, as well as an outcast. She did find a couple of friends along the way though, who helped her get by (along with Park). Tina and her friends were mean to Eleanor just because she was different. What's wrong with different? I can't believe that they would take her clothes during gym class and drop them in the toilet. I felt really bad for Eleanor during that scene. I think this aspect is relatable as some many people go through bullying during school.

Park's social situation was't nearly as bad. He had friends and wasn't bothered by the bullies. But he didn't feel like he fit in either. I liked how he stood up for Eleanor on the bus. Although I don't think it was necessary for him to get in a fight with Steve. 

Park's home situation was much better than Eleanor's. Even though his dad wanted him to be more masculine, he did soften up throughout the book. His parents were still together, unlike Eleanor's, and it was clear that they were still in love. At first I wasn't to fond of Park's mom, as she thought Eleanor was odd, but I began to like Park's mom more as she began to accept Eleanor. I liked the moment when she realized had gone through similar things as a child as Eleanor, so as a result, she accepted Eleanor. I thought that it was nice of her to give her some of the makeup she would use on her client, that was a nice touch.

Now the ending of this book is interesting. We find out that that Eleanor's stepdad, Richie has found out that Eleanor has been dating somebody. He had destroyed Eleanor's belongings and we also find out that he had written the mean messages that Eleanor found on some of her duo-tangs. Because of this Eleanor fled her house and Park drives her up to her uncle's place in another state. Eleanor went to a new school leaving Park behind. Park tried to keep in touch, but Eleanor didn't respond except for one postcard that she sends at the very end of the book with three words. What are those three words? Lots of people think that they are 'I love you'. But is that really it? And I think that it is so sad that Eleanor had to leave the state to get away from her step-dad and live with her uncle. Her biological dad didn't even want her.

Overall, I thought this book was pretty good. I liked how it delt with heavier topics and I liked the messages it sent out.