{Review} Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Published on 15 April 2014

Genre: YA Mystery

Page Count: 384

Synopsis

Samantha is a stranger in her own life. Until the night she disappeared with her best friend, Cassie, everyone said Sam had it all-popularity, wealth, and a dream boyfriend.

Sam has resurfaced, but she has no recollection of who she was or what happened to her that night. As she tries to piece together her life from before, she realizes it's one she no longer wants any part of. The old Sam took "mean girl" to a whole new level, and it's clear she and Cassie were more like best enemies. Sam is pretty sure that losing her memories is like winning the lottery. She's getting a second chance at being a better daughter, sister, and friend, and she's falling hard for Carson Ortiz, a boy who has always looked out for her-even if the old Sam treated him like trash.

But Cassie is still missing, and the facts about what happened to her that night isn't just buried deep inside of Sam's memory-someone else knows, someone who wants to make sure Sam stays quiet. All Sam wants is the truth, and if she can unlock her clouded memories of that fateful night, she can finally move on. But what if not remembering is the only thing keeping Sam alive?

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RATING

Don't Look Back is a girl's journey to getting back her memories and to solve the mystery of her friend Cassie's and her own disappearance. Samantha was the only one who came back from her disappearance, disoriented and with no memory of anything whatsoever. How bad was that? Not to forget that she may be one of the suspects involved in her friend's disappearance. I love how supportive her parents and especially her twin brother, Scott, was to the amnesic Sam. They weren't very close before but we definitely get to see how supportive he was to his sister. Sure, she may be a mean girl but she has no recollection of how she was in the past. She definitely dislike her old self which I totally have to agree with her.

Bits and pieces of her past slowly came back to her but nothing prepared her for the little notes she received in her room and in school. That was pure freaking! The mystery was awesome! It was as if I'm working alongside Sam as she slowly unravel the truth and get back pieces of her forgotten memories. I think she's a brave girl, who wanted to get her memories back soonest possible, work through her failing relationship with her boyfriend and the new, or rather not-so-new, interest--Carson, her childhood friend. What was surprising was that Carson was on friendly terms with Sam after her disappearance despite her prior meanness. I like how natural Sam, Carson and Scott was! Can't get enough of them!

Then the shocking revelations... Shocking... Everything made sense then. All the disappearances, notes, stalker... A tad dramatic and the ending felt somewhat rushed. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and the mystery and romantic aspects. Will definitely be looking forward to future works by the author in the same genre. 

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{Review} Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Covenant #1

Publication Date: 18 October 2011

Genre: YA Paranormal

Page Count: 281

Synopsis

The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi pure bloods have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals--well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures. Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1:Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden. Unfortunately, she's crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn't her biggest problem--staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck.

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RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

What I Felt

I only found out about this series after reading Obsidian by the same author. As with Obsidian, I actually re-read Half-Blood! I find myself hook on Armentrout's writing style. The words flow so smoothly that they just spurred me to continue reading on and when I reached the end of the book, I craved for more. That was what led me to buying the whole series of 5 books.

We get to learn about Alexandria, or Alex for short, how she was trapped in the building with these monsters called daimons and what happened to her after that. It's fun to read about Alex because she's just full of energy and without self-restrains, evidenced by the fights she got into at the Covenant. How fun was that? Aiden is her champion throughout the book, always looking out for her and then volunteering to coach her on her skills so that she could catch up with the rest. Wow... However, they cannot be together... Relationships between a Half-blood and a Pure is strictly forbidden so how will they ever continue?

I must say that Armentrout has a way with her cast of characters, all of which supported the main characters in the book. A must read for fans of Greek Mythology and well, fans of Armentrout! On to the next book! 

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{Reviewed} Cursed by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Cursed
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Genre: YA Paranormal
Source: Library

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Dying sucks--and high school senior Ember McWilliams knows firsthand. After a fatal car accident, her gifted little sister brought her back. Now anything Ember touches dies. And that, well, really blows. 

Ember operates on a no-touch policy with all living things--including boys. When Hayden Cromwell shows up, quoting Oscar Wilde and claiming her curse is a gift, she thinks he's a crazed cutie. But when he tells her he can help control it, she's more than interested. There's just one catch: Ember has to trust Hayden's adopted father, a man she's sure has sinister reasons for collecting children whose abilities even weird her out. However, she's willing to do anything to hold her sister's hand again. And hell, she'd also like to be able to kiss Hayden. Who wouldn't?

But when Ember learns the accident that turned her into a freak may not've been an accident at all, she's not sure who to trust. Someone wanted her dead, and the closer she gets to the truth, the closer she is to losing not only her heart, but her life. For real this time.

RATING: 3.5 out of 5 Stars

Ember died in a fatal car accident but her sister, Olivia, brought her back to life. Ever since that incident, Ember became totally different--her touch kills. She couldn't touch anything that's alive, which was kind of sad. All she wanted was to just hold Olivia and she wouldn't want to risk her sister's life by doing just that. Hayden was a hot guy who seemed to be stalking Ember but she found out that he was part of something... special... And they want Olivia.

I feel in love with Ms Armentrout's writing the moment I read Obsidian. It was actually the first book that I re-read immediately after finishing once. I told myself that I'll read every single book by the author. I was excited about Cursed and it was partly due to the fact that it's a stand-alone! (A stand-alone in a huge sea of series book is kind of hard to come by) Cursed is an enjoyable fast-paced book and it can be finished in a seating. Because of Ember's 'condition', the romance part didn't really come about until much later. The plot is a little predictable (obvious hints in the story--read to find out if you share the same thought as me) but the author style of writing made it worth it to read Cursed. Fans of Ms Armentrout shouldn't miss this book!

{eBook Review} Shadows (Lux 0.5) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Shadows by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Series: Lux 0.5
ebook, 179 pages
Published February 21st 2012 by Entangled Publishing (first published February 20th 2012)
Genre: YA Paranormal
Source: Bought
Rating: 4/5 Stars

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Goodreads Summary:

The last thing Dawson Black expected was Bethany Williams. As a Luxen, an alien 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.

Dangerous. Tempting. Undeniable.

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.

Captivated. Lured. Loved.

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 as unavoidable as love itself.

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My Opinion

Good but not as good as Obsidian. That's because I read Obsidian first and therefore Shadows is sort of a background read for me. I got to find out what actually happened to Dawson, one of the triplets who ended up dead. However, the fact that I know what would happen did made me cringe when it actually happened.

The writing flows and I enjoyed reading for both Dawson and Bethany's perspective. I think I can fall in love with the author's writing style. The characters' emotions are well captured and therefore it is an engaging read. Dawson is totally sweet! *swoons* And I love the sibling interaction and how they support each other. Fans of Daemon should totally read this and understand why he acted the way he did in Obsidian!

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Quotes:

• “It’s just snow,” Lesa said, rolling her eyes. “It’s not going to hurt you.”
  Kimmy smoothed her hands over her blond hair. “Sugar melts.”
  “Yeah, and shit floats.” Lesa took her seat, yanking out last night’s English homework.
  A deep, low chuckle came from behind, and Dawson grinned. The girl cracked him up.
  
  
• “You were the twin sitting behind me in English.”
  Surprise flooded his face. “How’d you know? Most can’t tell us apart.”
  “Your smile.” Flushing, she wanted to hit herself. Your smile?
  
  
• Dawson smirked. “There’s something inherently wrong with the fact that Dee and I have to stand here and talk to you while you’re in your boxers.”
  “True that,” Dee murmured, making a gagging motion with her finger.

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Books in the series:

Lux #1: Obsidian

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About the author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

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Reading this as part of the above Readathon

{Book Review} Obsidian (Lux #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout 
Series: Lux #1
Paperback, 2nd Edition, 335 pages
Published May 8th 2012 by Entangled Teen (first published November 29th 2011)
Genre: YA Paranormal
Source: Library <3
Rating: 5/5 Stars! (Can I give it a 6 or even a 10 stars? :D)

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Goodreads Summary:
Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I'd pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring.... until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something...unexpected happens. 

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon's touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I'm getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades. 

If I don't kill him first, that is.

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My Opinion

I've been seeing this cover a lot on the blogosphere and even on Twitter! I admit I got curious because of that and grabbed myself a copy. My first impression before I read the book was: "Alien? How interesting can it be? Is it some horror stories? Gross?" Of course it wasn't anything like what I thought. It was totally better! Way beyond my imagination. I got sucked into the story and was re-reading the book before I knew it! Yep, it is good! Awesomesauce!

Katy just moved to a new town so that her mother can start afresh without any lingering memories of her husband. Her mother encouraged Katy to make some friends with their two neighbours who happened to be of her own age. So on the second day in the town, Katy went over to say hi and to ask for direction to the nearest place where she can get some supplies for her garden. And wow... some hot dude answered the door and she couldn't stop staring... until he opened his mouth... He infuriated her with his attitude. It was later revealed that the guy, Daemon, didn't want Katy to be handing around his precious twin sister, Dee. 

It was totally amusing reading Daemon and Katy's interaction and shooting snide remarks. Dee is cute and bubbly and is very excited to have Katy as a friend, despite her brother's view on Katy. Daemon was forced to be nice to Katy when Dee hid his car keys and the situation was hilarious! I love the author's writing style and I find myself connecting to Katy. Who couldn't? Imagine my shock when I found out that Katy's a book blogger as well. It brought a smile to my face when I see some of the book memes mentioned in the book. Wow! Totally relatable.   

With a hot guy, cool girl and an intriguing storyline... do I need to say more to encourage you to pick up the book? Obsidian is a thick book but every page is so entertaining and it's really hard to put down the book once I started reading it. I'm actually re-reading the book at the moment so it's definitely worth it to read it if you haven't done so! Immerse yourself in Daemon's hotness. *swoons* I'm looking forward to Onyx!

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Quotes:

• His stomach was ripped. Perfect. Totally touchable. Not the kind of stomach I expected on a seventeen-year-old boy, which is how old I suspected he was, but yeah, I wasn't complaining. I also wasn't talking. And I was staring.
  
  
• "You have a blog?" He faced me, leaning back against the post. Derision pinched his features.
  He'd said blog like it was a crack habit. "Yeah, I have a blog."
  "What's your blog's name?"
  "None of your business," I said, smiling sweetly.
  "Interesting name." He returned my smile with a half grin.
  
  
• Confusion flashed in his eyes as he leaned forward, his lips parting slightly. "I think I understand now."
  "Understand what?" I whispered.
  "I like to watch you blush." His voice barely above a murmur as his thumb traced circles on my cheek.

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About the author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

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