Violent Ends - Collaboration of Authors - 2 stars

This a (purely fictional) look into the life of a school shooter, Kirby Matheson, a seemingly normal kid who had many friends, loved reading and even loved being in the school band. This story is about the accounts, leading up to the attack, from several different people, peers and teachers alike, who were involved with Kirby at some point. It seemed that many of the students and teachers had very different experiences with him.

I discovered that there seemed to be many sides to Kirby, some that would never lead you to believe that he could ever be killer, other parts you could definitely think 'Oh yea, he is definitely capable of these atrocities.' You just have to read the book and decide for yourself at what point did Kirby break. I was never really all that sure when or what caused the issue. I felt the story was simply incomplete. Sure you get to see what other people saw, or what they thought, but readers never really get to the nitty gritty of Kirby himself. So that was a little disappointing for me. I feel like Kirby's perspective throughout the book would have had a much better spin on the story.

It was pretty cool as to how this book was written though if I understand correctly. Several different authors wrote each of the different perspectives in the book. So that is kind of a neat aspect to the story, But I don't feel like it flowed very well because of that. It was almost like what was being written did not add up to Kirby's character if that makes any sense. He was a killer, but he did not at all act like one for the most part.

Salt to the Sea - Ruta Sepetys - 5 stars

I knew I would love this story because I love this time period and I loved her other book, Between Shades of Gray. The author is very talented. She can whisk readers back to a time of desperation and a place of desolation with the turn of a page. Such a poignant story that is told here. One that will keep you turning the pages till the story is over.

The plot is 1940's midst a Soviet advance into Germany. The people are trying to find passage among 4 ships ready to set sail. The story focuses on a small group of these people desperate to survive and flee that hands of the soviets, the ships promise that to them.

The story is told in 4 perspectives, 4 different characters, which does help to keep the story straight. There is Joana, who is a young nurse, Florian, a soldier, Emilia, a 15 year old from Poland, and Alfred, also a soldier. These characters are all so different from each other, but come together in a way that will wrench your heart from your body. So be ready with the tissues.

Defy the Stars - Claudia Gray - 4 stars

This book to me falls into YA Sci-fi pretty much. I do have trouble with science Fiction unless it is YA. So I got lucky with that. I have not heard a whole lot about this book in the past, but I have had it for a little while and finally decided to read it and put it on my Great list challenge. I found that it flowed very well, was pretty engaging and had some great characters in it. I did kinda figure though that it would just be another space book, but it surprised me. I really enjoyed it. It reminded me a bit of the Illuminae series, which I loved.

The plot was pretty exciting despite the fact that it seemed to have a slow start, but once it took off, it took off. Of course while most the solar system was fake in the story it really made you believe that all of these planets really do exist, from one being a party and vacation planet to another be a very desolate and dry planet. You get to travel among the stars in a huge ship called the Daedalus. It is equipped with everything you would need to survive especially when your goal is to save your own home planet with a very intelligent life-like Mech named Abel as your companion.

The characters were probably my favorite part of the story. I enjoyed Noemi and Abel the most of course. I thought they were pretty well thought out when they were being written. I would have liked a little more back story on them, but maybe that will come with future books. Noemi is very strong and I liked how she thought things out, also how she kinda goes with the flow. Abel is very patient and learns quite a bit more about himself than he bargained for I think, once he gets with Noemi. Great, fun, exciting characters in this story.

I was not aware that this book was the first of a series and I look forward to the other installments of this series because the ending of this book was not what I wanted, but was what told me there were other books, and I was pretty thankful for that because I would have been extremely disappointed otherwise. I recommend this to others who like science fiction, and even if you don't. If you enjoyed the Illuminae files you will surely enjoy this one.

Sleeping Beauties - Stephen & Owen King - 5 stars

I read this book for part of Spook season this year. I was afraid that it was gonna be this cheesy tale that the two of them just threw together. It seems like when he has a co-writer, the stories do not come out quite right. Fortunately it was nothing like that. Although this was not a scary book by any means it seemed to fit in well with my spook season reads.

I enjoyed the plot of this story a lot. Even though I could guess what was gonna happen in some parts there was still that element of creepy surprise. I feel like everything came together really well in the storytelling. I also really liked this feeling of a parallel universe. So there was some great fantasy, mystery, and sci-fi all rolled into one.

The characters, of course, were the best part of this story. They were all so well developed. You learn about them from the inside out. But then again, King fans all know how well King can build characters. So well that you feel like you are there with them, or that they are your personal friends. Evie was by far the best character in this story, IMO. She was mysterious, alluring, engaging and I was so very drawn to her from the first moment I met her. Something about her will draw readers in, take your breath away with her beauty, but she is also so mysterious that you do not know if she can be trusted or not. I loved reading about her.

So glad I finally got to read this one. I can recommend this one to anyone really. If you are a king fan and have not yet read this one, then do yourself a favor and pick it up. If you have never read any King, this one is sure to delight.

Enclave - Ann Aguirre - 4 stars

I have had this book for so long and just never took the time to read it even though I loved the cover and the premise of the story. Well I finally picked it and I am so glad I did. This book is a part of my Great List.

The prermise of this story is amazing. It flows very well and it is also very engaging. It is a dystopian and I don't tend to read to many because generally dystopians tend to follow the same path. A disorderly government, check, oppressed people, check, rebel citizens, check, outside baddies, check, but the characters in this series are what make the story great along with a pretty good plot. It was exciting, with lots of actions and twists and turns sure to please any dystopian lover.

The characters are great, they are flawed, strong and bold. I really enjoyed Deuce a lot. her name, her ethic, and her personality. She knows what she wants and she goes for it without caring for what others think she should be. But in this story that is not enough to get where she wants. She learns a lot of stuff and just goes with it, along with her counterpart, Fade.

I look forward to reading the rest of this dystopian series, and I look forward to seeing more of these characters. I can only see them getting better with each installment.

Ashley Bell - Dean Koontz - 4 stars

I have had this book for quite some time, a couple of years at least I think and I finally decided to read it for this year's spook season. Dean Koontz is generally a hit or miss for me, but this one seemed like it could be a scary one or at least creepy at some point. I am glad that I finally have it done and under my belt.

I really enjoyed the plot of the story and the different elements that the author added like the super natural, mystery, and even magic, but I felt like the book was pretty wordy in some places as well, which is why it did not get 5 stars. I felt like it could have lost about a hundred pages. The author did keep me guessing throughout the story though so that is good, and it was engaging for the most part.

The characters of the story were my favorite part of the book. They are very 3 dimensional because you see them differently than they appear if that makes sense. Bibi is definitely my favorite character, you discover that she has an ability pretty late in the book, which I thought was kind of odd, but to make the story work the way the Author intended it to, I am guessing it had to be wrote like it was. Next favorite characters I would have to say are Pax, Bibi's husband and Pogo, her best friend. They are such unique characters in every way. I would have liked to see more of Pax though. I feel like he is a strong character for Bibi. I kept asking myself "Who is Ashley Bell?" Readers learn more about her near the end of the book. So hang on, she is there.

Now, if there is a second book to this series, I will pick it up and read it, there is definitely enough to the story to urge me forward in the series if it does become one.

The Haunted House || Poetry