"Awaken" To A Great Series

We are going to flashback a little bit today. In honor of the third Awaken book that recently came out, I am going to review the first two books. In my family we have a tradition that every year we draw out a name of a cousin who we are going to buy a gift for. Every year I love sitting there and getting to open the present my cousin picked out for me. Two years ago one of my cousins got my name and when I opened it, I found the book Awaken inside the wrapping. I had never heard of the book before but I was so excited to give it a go. Let me just say … I LOVED it!!!!

Growing up in a world that is so involved with technology, made this book really hit home. Every day we are becoming more and more dependent on computers, the internet, smart phones, texting, etc. In Awaken we see the world advanced to the point where human interaction is almost void. It made me realize how important everyday communication and our social lives really are.  This book is set in 2060 where everything is done on the computer. Going to school, hanging out, and even dating is done online. That is the way Maddie lives. I absolutely love Maddie. I love seeing her growth through the first book and having her realize that there might be more than just the digital world. Of course this book has a love interest and let me just say, when he was introduced, I fell in love with him almost instantly. However, the reason I loved Awaken so much is because it made me look at life and how much I was taking for granted. Was I being thankful for having friends to hang out with and have me some "girl talk"? Was I taking the time to just be outside and enjoy the world around me? Was I taking full advantage of school and all that it had to offer me? Or just simply, was I fully enjoying the opportunity to be with my family, talking ... laughing ... and communicating together? So much in life is being forgotten as we shift our focus to the things on a screen. Awaken is one of the books that I went around telling anyone and everyone I knew to go read it.

I always get nervous reading the second book when I loved the first book so much. I always have such high expectations and sometimes it is a huge disappointment. Middle Ground was definitely not a disappointment! I loved it just as much as the first book. As soon as I finished Awaken, I drove down to the bookstore and got this follow-up in my hands!  And what did that mean once I was back home ... Middle Ground and I had an all night reading date!  I couldn't put it down!!! I don’t want to give too much away for all you who haven’t read the first book. I will just say it was amazing! The book had me laughing, crying, and biting my nails at points. You continue to see Maddie fighting against the digital world … I will just stop now or else I will give stuff away.

Should you read this book series??? YES!!!!!!! A hundred times yes!!!! Awaken is the book I recommend whenever someone asks me what they should read. Go buy it so you can read the final book that just came out this month! Great author, great characters, and just an overall great book!

Here is a look at what Awaken and Middle Ground are about:

RELEASE DAY PARTY!

Today the Third book in the Throne of Glass series came out. I am so excited for this next book in the series, I already went out and bought my copy! I know some of you haven't read this little gem yet so I'm going to introduce the series to you. Enjoy ...

Throne Of Glass

 We begin the series by meeting one of my favorite heroines, Celaena Sardothien.  Celaena is not your typical female roll. She is hard, ruthless, skilled, arrogant, and witty. The author, Sarah J. Mass's inspiration for Celaena was Arwen from lord of the Rings.

Sarah said this about developing the character, "Arwen's arrogance and fierceness made me want to write about a woman like her—about a woman who never once said sorry for being talented and determined and utterly in love with herself." I think that describes Celaena to a tee. 

Once you meet Celaena and fall in love with her, we then meet the other two points in the triangle. There is Chaol - the hunky captain of the guard. He takes his job very seriously. However, right from the start you know that Celaena is going to cause problems for him and not just the trouble making kind.

Second, there is the handsome Prince Dorian - the heart breaker! I loved his cocky personality right from the start. Prince Dorian saves Celaena from the dreaded salt mines of Endovier. Endovier ia a ruthless prison that no one can ever escape from. Not even the world's best assassins. Dorian saves her so she can compete in a compition to become the king's assassin. The King is a ruthless man who is responsible for the death of her family. Her opponents are all men ... the best there are across the Empire. If she wins, she will serve the King for three years and then ... Freedom!

Here is what Goodreads has to say about the book;

"After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom. 

Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best. 

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. 

Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined."

I was going to tell you all about the second book but I can't do that without giving away what happens in the first. I will just finish by showing you the awesome cover of the second book...

and the third book;

and say that you are in for a treat with the second one as well. Now we can all read the third together and fall in love with a world full of Princes, Guards, magic and best of all ... assassins together.

To read what Goodreads says about the second and third book keep reading ...

"Pandemonium"

Finally … FINALLY the sequel to “Delirium” is out and read!  “Pandemonium”  didn’t let me down.  It was fast paced and kept me on my toes.  When the end hit … I was like, “What!  It’s over?!!“  And THAT reaction was not a bad thing.

At first I didn’t know if I would like the writing style.  Each chapter went back and forth between the past and the present.  However, I think that helped the readers get lost in the story, always guessing and wondering what was going on.  It really made “The Wilds” feel real and distressing.  It also showed the growth Lena went through as you saw her before and then after.  The thing I liked best about Lena, is that even though her life was turned upside down, she stayed true to herself.

"Delirium"

Honestly, I didn't know what to expect before I started reading Delirium.  I had passed by this book numerous times before deciding to give in and give it a try.  But after finishing it, I can say that this book is amazing.  I loved it!  The story is gripping, intense and very captivating.

Lauren Oliver writes about a very sad world in which love is considered a disease that will kill you.  I can’t even imagine a life without feeling love for my children … love for my spouse … love for my friends and family.  Love is where true happiness lies.  If our society came up with a cure that takes us past feelings … I personally couldn't think of anything scarier.

"Witch & Wizard"

I hate making these kind of reviews, but with that said … here it goes.  I think my main problem I had with this novel, was that I was expecting a lot from this book when I first picked it up.  It wasn't bad.  It just wasn't up to the expectations I had.

The premise was good.  The story itself was okay.  It just seemed a bit slow.  Nothing much really happened.  I could probably summarize the book in a few sentences.  Don’t get me wrong … the story wasn’t terrible … it actually kept me curiously interested and I kept reading until the end, just to find out how it would finish.

"Divergent"

"Divergent" was definitely a new riveting tale that had me rapidly flipping the pages in a reading frenzy!  I have to say, I had an absolute blast taking this wild ride ...  I enjoyed every minute of it!  It had me jumping out of my seat, biting my nails to the quick as I was drawn into Beatrice's world, cheering her on one minute, and wanting to cry with her the next.  I haven’t been drawn into a book like this since the “Hunger Games” first introduced me to this genre of novels.  The characters, setting, plot, pace and narrative where perfectly blended to produce a highly action packed read that I’m sure will captivate dystopia fans.  This is one book that I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who loves action, bravery, a little romance, and a ton of adventure.  Be forewarned that it will have you sitting on the edge of your seat and eagerly anticipating a sequel!

Here’s a quick look at what  “Divergent” is all about:

"Matched"

I was so excited when this book FINALLY came out! After finishing the "Hunger Games" series ... I was longing for another book that would capture me, and take me to an unimaginable world. Living in the world that we do now ... can we even imagine what it would be like to live without free will? This plot is created in "Matched".

"Matched" started out slow and I almost wondered if I was going to like it. However, when it picked up ... I fell in love! The ending made up for all of the slow parts and left me counting down the days until Book #2, "Crossed", gets released ... November 1st, 2011!

I strongly recommend this book. Here's a peek: