Book #58 "A Beautiful Fate"

Title: "A Beautiful Fate" (The Beautiful Fate #1)
Author: Cat Mann
Rating:  ★★★★½

So, the funny part about this book was that the main male characters name, (Ari Alexander) was the same name as the main characters name in the last book I read, (Gravity). That was an odd coincidence(?). 

Ava Baio is a teenage girl who has had incredibly bad luck lately. 

Well, I guess that's putting it lightly. 

First, she's cursed with nightmares every night. Second, her beloved grandfather dies, and she thinks that she might be responsible for it. Third, her mother dies, thus leaving her in the care of her not-so-lovable grandmother, Margaux Baio, fashion designer extraordinaire. And finally, because of said grandmother, she is sent to a coed boarding school in Dana Point, California. 

It's pretty fair to say that things suck for Ava right then. 

In Dana Point Ava meets her dorm neighbor, crazy handsome Ari Alexander. As time progresses, she finds out that most of her new friends, Ari included, are descendants of Greek not-so-mythical Gods, and that she is above them all as she is a fate. And if you guys aren't Greek Mythology savvy, fates control just that, Fate. In her case specifically, she cuts the thread of each persons life, causing them to die. 

Naturally, having that kind of power comes with some powerful enemies. 

With the Alexander's help, Ava learns her heritage, and all that entails, including who her father was and how he died. And why. 

The first great thing about this book was that I got it for FREE, thanks to Cat Mann, the author. 

She gave me a free eBook in exchange for an honest review, which this will be;)

The second great thing about this book is that it seemed like three books in one! I'm telling you, it was GREAT. I really, really, enjoyed this book. It had so much detail and really follows Ava and Ari's--oh yeah-- love life. Swoon. 

Where was I again? 

Ahem. 

So, yeah, I honestly thought since it was so long, and so detailed that it would be a one book, um, book. But imagine my utter delight when I found out that there is yet ANOTHER book entitled "A Broken Fate"!!!

I cannot WAIT to read this book. 

Please take my advice and READ. THIS. BOOK!!!

(a Big, HUGE, GIGANTIC, THANK YOU, to Cat Mann, for not only writing such an amazing story, but gifting me with this story for free! You're amazing!)

Book #57 "Gravity"

Title: "Gravity" (The Taking, #1)

Author: Melissa West

Rating: ★★★

The story takes place about a hundred years or so in futuristic America. 

Seventeen-year-old Ari Alexander is the daughter of Americas second in command, the Commander. 

She is in line to take the Commander's posistion one day, and that means the responsibility of protecting her loved ones, and the country, from the Ancients.

What are Ancients you ask? 

Let me tell you...

Decades before, Ancients, an extraterrestrial species, came to our world via the trees, (yep, you heard me. Trees-- but it's a lot cooler than it sounds) because the natural resources on their planet were depleting. 

The Ancients struck a deal with the leaders of our world--- they would come and go peacefully, and in exchange, every night every American citizen, ten years or older, must participate in the Taking.

During the Taking, humans wear a sort of high tech eye mask that basically paralyzises and blinds them while the Ancients take a little of the humans nutrients and natural anti-bodies necessary to survive in our atmosphere. 

Everything is going peachy until one night Ari can't find her eye mask, and peeks during the taking. What--or who-- she sees shocks her. 

Jackson Locke, her incredibly handsome, yet pretty jerk-y classmate, whom she had up until then presumed to be HUMAN. 

After her discovery, she interacts with Jackson, which is a HUGE no-no, and he tries to enlist her in helping him divert an epic war brewing between the Ancients and the citizens of Earth. 

Torn between duty, family, and love, Ari must decide whose side she's on and what the repercussions of her actions will be. 

I actually liked this book a lot. It did have some plot holes here and there, and didn't really explain certain things, but it still kept me reading. 

(The sequel, Hover, is already out.)

Book #56 "The Fault in our Stars"

Title: "The Fault in our Stars"
Author: John Green
Rating:  ★★★★★

 

 *Sigh*

What can I say about this book? I feel like whatever I say about this book won't do it justice. 

I'll admit that at first I was hesitant to read what I thought of as a "cancer book", but, BOY WAS I WRONG! It is so infinitely much more than that. 

It's a glimpse into a shockingly REALISTIC world where wishes don't get granted, where not everyone gets a happy ending, where people, good people, are dealt a losing hand in the game of life, but despite all of that, they continue to yearn for life. To fight to live just one more second, minute, hour, day. 

(Authors note: this book made me cry harder, and longer, than any book I've ever read. I didn't even cry that much when Dumbledore died. Yeah. I cried for about three chapters straight).

Our main character, and narrator, is Hazel Grace Lancaster. 

She is a terminally ill cancer patient who has bought herself a little more time thanks to the fictional drug, Philanxifor. 

She is an insanely bright sixteen-year-old, who is obsessed with the book, "An Imperial Affliction", (a book about a cancer patient, named Anna) written by the reclusive (fictional) author, Peter Van Houten. 

Hazel is forced by her parents to go to a cancer support group at a local church, where she meets Isaac, (a soon to be blind boy, thanks to cancer) and Augustus Waters, (soon to be Hazel's love interest, and reason for her life never being the same again) an amputee cancer patient. 

Augustus is witty and handsome, and stirs up emotions in Hazel that she's not prepared to deal with. She doesnt want to get involed with anyone because she wants to minimize the pain her passing will inevitably afflict upon the people she loves, and who love her in return.  

At Hazel's recommendation, Augustus,(Gus) reads "An Imperial Affliction" and catches Hazel's obsession. Both Hazel and Gus are unhappy with the questions that the book leaves unanswered, and make numerous attempts to contact Van Houten in the hopes of clarity. 

What follows is a captivating, heart-wrenching, and unforgettable journey through Love, Loss, Dreams Shattered, and all the in betweens. 

This book hit hard. 

I don't say this often, but really, if you don't read this, you are missing out on something critical. And you will never know the exquisite pain of a good tragedy.