Review: Stray by Rachel Vincent

Cover Source: GoodReads

Title: Stray
Author: Rachel Vincent
Series: Shifters #1
Version Reviewed: Finished, Paperback.
Website: www.rachelvincent.com
*I borrowed this book from a friend.

GoodReads Summary:

There are only eight breeding female werecats left . . .
And I'm one of them.
I look like an all-American grad student. But I am a werecat, a shape-shifter, and I live in two worlds.
Despite reservations from my family and my Pride, I escaped the pressure to continue my species and carved out a normal life for myself. Until the night a Stray attacked.
I'd been warned about Strays -- werecats without a Pride, constantly on the lookout for someone like me: attractive, female, and fertile. I fought him off, but then learned two of my fellow tabbies had disappeared.
This brush with danger was all my Pride needed to summon me back . . . for my own protection. Yeah, right. But I'm no meek kitty. I'll take on whatever -- and whoever -- I have to in order to find my friends. Watch out, Strays -- 'cause I got claws, and I'm not afraid to use them . . .

Before finding this book, the only Rachel Vincent books I had known of were the Soul Searchers. When I discovered this series, I couldn't wait to read it. Of course, life and other books got in the way and everyone else finished the series before I could even get started on the first.

Now that I have read and finished Stray, I intend to finish the entire series as soon as possible. I began reading this book while in the grips of a reading slump, but the well written plot and characters had me hooked in no time.

I loved everything about this book and really had no complaints. I definitely plan to check out more Rachel Vincent books in the future.


Favorite Character: Marc and Faythe.

Rating: 4 Stars.

Review: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Source: GoodReads

Title: Speak
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Series:
Version Reviewed: Finished, Paperback.
Website: www.madwomanintheforest.com
*This book was borrowed from a friend.

GoodReads Summary:
Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't even know hate her from a distance. The safest place to be is alone, inside her own head. But even that's not safe. Because there's something she's trying not to think about, something about the night of the party that, if she let it in, would blow her carefully constructed disguise to smithereens. And then she would have to speak the truth. This extraordinary first novel has captured the imaginations of teenagers and adults across the country.

Speak is one of those books you just have to read. There's so much controversy surrounding it as well as admiration and fandom that it's really a no brainer. You're drawn in and you have to at least check it out to see what all the fuss is about. It seems to be a book that most people like.

A few people got the chance to read the book while in school. My husband got the opportunity, but I was not one of the lucky few. I had never even heard of this book until after I graduated and started the blog. I saw a lot of reviews and posts about it during Banned Books Week and immediately put it on my list to read. I didn't have the book, but after searching in the top shelf of our closet (which is full of books), I realized that Jess owned a copy. A very battered and beaten copy, but it was there for me to read. For some reason, I never picked it up and actually sat down to read it. But Jess and I were watching TV one night and the movie, starring Twilight's Kristen Stewart, came on. Jess had seen it, but I never had, so I settled in and watched the entire thing. By the end of the movie, I grabbed the book and read. I read over half the book in one sitting and then finished it the next day while on my lunch break at work.

And now I understand.

Speak is a very raw and emotional book. It takes you on a journey through Melinda Sordino's freshman year in high school. Basically an outcast, she has no real friends and is pretty much hated by her ex-best friends. What no one knows is that Melinda has a secret. A secret that has basically led her into a depression, though she never really admits to herself that she is depressed. She acts out in school and has a bit of a rocky home life.

Melinda's character was very relateable and her life is very real and easily identifiable. A lot of kids in high school can relate to her actions and thoughts. I enjoyed this book immensly. The only thing I sort of had a problem with was the way it was written. It's not written like a normal novel. It's a bit different and at first I was kind of uneasy with it. But it was extremely easy to get sucked into the book and once I did, I realized that I wouldn't have written it any other way. The writing style fit perfectly for the story and it made sense. It just worked.

Favorite Character: Melinda

Rating: 5 Stars.

Review: Seven Point Eight: The First Chronicle by Marie Harbon

Source: GoodReads

Title: Seven Point Eight: The First Chronicle
Author: Marie Harbon
Series: 7.8 #1
Version Reviewed: ARC, eBook.
Website: www.marieharbon.com
*This book was provided for free by the author for review.

GoodReads Summary:
Out of Body to Out of Universe

Seven Point Eight is a twist of sci-fi confusion that asks some interesting questions. If you had special abilities to travel out of body, what would you do with them? Where would you go? What would secret agencies do with these abilities? And how far could you go?

A physicist begins a quest to measure the soul but soon finds himself drawn into the world of the enigmatic Max Richardson, where research is sold to the military at the highest bid. However, he soon discovers another purpose when an extremely talented young psychic enters his life. He devises a project and builds a team to stretch the frontiers of exploration, only to make a reality-shattering discovery...

Written in the style of a TV series, The First Chronicle is the beginning of a five part epic which follows the quest of five people: to understand the universe and our place within it. This sci-fi/paranormal drama interweaves the human dramas of love, betrayal, bitterness and above all, courage in a world where everyone must face their own dark shadow. The tale begins in the 1940s, unfolds during the 1960s and reaches its conclusion in the modern age.

This series is for fans of science fiction, fantasy, the paranormal, big sweeping epics, metaphysics, 'Lost', 'Fringe', visionary fiction, ancient knowledge and technology, time travel and past lives.

This book was very interesting. It seemed like a slow start in the beginning, but the further I got into it, the more into the book I became.

I'll be honest, the scientific aspect of the book kind of threw me for a loop. I was horrible at science while in school and I felt like I was reading a text book. The book itself wasn't text book-like, it was just my unfortunate lack of science retained from school.

I found the paranormal aspect of the book very interesting. I enjoyed the testing of the characters, finding out what each character could do and how they were significant to the storyline. The characters in this book are very well written and thought out, and it honestly seems like you're reading about real life people. I enjoyed getting to know these characters and learning more about who they were and what they were doing.

Oh, I also loved the author's little note at the end of the book.

"Woo hoo! Congratulations on reading the first chronicle of the five! You may now perform a happy dance!"

Who wouldn't love that

Rating: 2 Stars.