2010 Reflection

With 2011 creeping up, I thought that it would be a good time to do a 2010 reflection. Yes, I know, this blog has only been around since September, so really this isn't a full 2010 reflection. But regardless, I'm considering 2011 a fresh start, so I thought this would still be appropriate. And if you can stick in there, I appreciate it (I understand that this will probably be obnoxiously long).


2010 was a big year (or a big four months...) for I Like These Books. For one, this (super- duper) blog was created. Then came the shock that people actually liked listening to what I have to say (which is a big change coming from a large family). Then came the even bigger shock when I reached 100 followers and realized that I actually have something good here. It is really exciting to know that people enjoy reading my reviews as much as I enjoy writing them. 


I've written a decent amount of reviews for my short time in this blogosphere (check them out on my review tab). I'm sure 2011 will hold many, many, many, many more reviews. 


Jen from Jae Bird Designs took my blog to a whole new level! (Yes, you do deserve your own mini paragraph!) How gorgeous is my layout? She was just a joy to work with and I would recommend her in a heart beat to anyone else (she does custom cards too!).


I am proud to say in my first four months I've earned three blog awards. First I received the Life is Good award from Annett at The More You Read, The More You Will Know (see post).  Later that month (November) I received the Versatile Blogger award from Meghan at Midnight fume (see post). In early December I was given my third award, another Life is Good award by Julia at That Hapa Chick. So thank you girls for my wonderful awards!


2010 was the year that the book bug really bit me, so I did not read as many books as I could have. I became highly overcome by the effects of this disease later in the year, which is when my reading really picked up. Below is my full list of books read. Looking at it now, it seems pitiful. I'm sure 2011 will be able to boast many more titles. 

2010 Book List

1.) Beautiful Creatures
2.) The Lonely Hearts Club
3.) To Kill a Mocking Bird
4.) Fallen
5.) The Luxe
6.) Rumors (I only got 3/4 through - on of the only books I've dropped)
7.) Shiver
8.) Evermore
9.) Blue Moon
10.) Shadowland
11.) The Forest of Hands and Teeth
12.) The Dead Tossed Waves
13.) Skinny Bitch
14.) Romeo and Juliet
15.) If I Stay
16.) The Summer I Turned Pretty
17.) The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner
18.) The Art of Racing in the Rain
19.) The Odyssey
20.) It's Not Summer Without You
21.) Dark Flame
22.) Uglies
23.) Linger
24.) Pretties
25.) Specials
26.) Extras
27.) The Body Finder
28.) Shiver
29.) City of Ashes
30.) A Separate Peace
31.) City of Bones
32.) City of Glass
33.) Fixing Delilah
34.) The Lying Game
35.) Beautiful Darkness
36.) Life of Pi
37.) Elixir
38.) Delirium
39.) Desires of the Dead
40.) Clockwork Angel
41.) My Soul to Take
42.) Misguided Angel
43.) The Keening
44.) Torment
45.) The Glass Menagerie
46.) Night Star
47.) Matched
48.) The Age of Innocence
49.) Fall for Anything
50.) Finding You
51.) Prom & Prejudice
52.) Sisters Red


Italic= for school / Bold = re-read / Underline = play


As you can see, I've read many different types of books this year. I read books about love (and about swearing off love), about suicide, about vampires, werwolves, witches AND zombies. I've read books where a girl is haunted by the dead (and the undead). Mix those in with a few dystopians and we've got a party! 


On top of all of this, I've found out that the book-blogger world is tight-knit and full of amazing people! I can't imagine ever going back to a world where I was oblivious to this. There are so many super talented young adult authors who actively reach out to readers on the web - I've only met a couple of you in person and I hope 2011 will allow me to meet many more of you. Almost all YA book bloggers I've talked to (via twitter/email/etc.) seem extremely nice and hilarious. On top of those two, wonderful groups of people there are the readers. I love your comments! I read every one and they seriously make my day sometimes.


I look forward to the surprises hiding in the new year. Having only been around for four (three and a half really) months this year, I can't imagine what a full year in this wonderful world will be like! Thanks to everyone who made these four months great!


If you could take the time to fill out this survey, I would greatly appreciate it! Sadly, I don't have any prizes for you... Unless you count making my day- in which case, there is plenty of prizes for everyone! I'm sorry that the form doesn't fit perfectly... If you want it in a new window, you can find that HERE.

Prom & Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg

Prom & Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg
231 Pages (Hardcover)
January 1, 2011
Point
Source: Bought
Format: Hardcover

After winter break, the girls at the very prestigious Longbourn Academy become obsessed with the prom. Lizzie Bennet, who attends Longbourn on a scholarship, isn’t interested in designer dresses and expensive shoes, but her best friend, Jane, might be — especially now that Charles Bingley is back from a semester in London.

Lizzie is happy about her friend’s burgeoning romance but less than impressed by Charles’s friend, Will Darcy, who’s snobby and pretentious. Darcy doesn’t seem to like Lizzie either, but she assumes it’s because her family doesn’t have money. Clearly, Will Darcy is a pompous jerk — so why does Lizzie find herself drawn to him anyway?

Will Lizzie’s pride and Will’s prejudice keep them apart? Or are they a prom couple in the making? Whatever the result, Elizabeth Eulberg, author of The Lonely Hearts Club, has concocted a very funny, completely stylish delight for any season — prom or otherwise.

    Let me start by saying that I have never read Pride and Prejudice, so you will find no similarities nor differences between the two in this review. I have no idea how much they relate beyond their titles. I enjoyed this novel on its own merit alone.

    With that said, I loved this novel - absolutely adored it. The story follows Lizzie who attends the prestigious Longbourn Academy on a music scholarship. Most of her hardships spring from the fact that at Longbourn, the only thing worse than not coming from a rich family is.... well, nothing is worse than that. Lizzie it at the butt of numerous hazing pranks that never seem to stop. She finds safety in only three places: with her roommate Jane (Presumably the only nice wealthy girl on campus), with Charlotte (scholarship student #2) and during her piano lessons (her only reason for roughing it out in the battle zone).

    When Will Darcy is welcomed back from his semester abroad, Lizzie is consumed by two nagging thoughts: 1.) Will Darcy is a pompous jerk and 2.) Why can't I stop thinking about him?

    Ms. Eulberg delivers yet another light, fun love story (or anti-love, however you want to look at it) with her second novel. I am a huge fan of her debut, The Lonely Hearts Club and I felt that this novel Prom & Prejudice surpassed the first by a long shot. I found myself literally laughing out loud many times (which doesn't get you nice looks at the nail salon). And when I say that, it was not just a chuckle under my breath, it was a genuine cluching-stomach-out-of-breath-laughing-fit.

    I would recommend Prom & Prejudice again and again. If you've ever wished your could re-write the rules of love, or even attempted to (and failed completely) Prom & Prejudice is for you.

   

Finding You by Kristen Kehoe

Finding You by Kresten Kehoe
176 Pages (Paperback)
Friesen Press
April 30, 2012
Source: Author
Format: Paperback

Sloan Sawyer's family began to dissolve the day her father died. Fifteen then, Sloan had turned to her mother for comfort, and had been turned away. Now, at eighteen, a senior in high school, Sloan is alone and playing the role of guardian for her fifteen-year-old younger sister, who appears to be set on ruining her own life. Along with trying to save her sister from her destructive decisions,, Sloan is working day and night to get into a prestigious art program, while working out twice a day to try and clinch a state title in swimming-the same state title that her mother had won when she had been Sloan's age. When an incident at school brings her into contact with the new kid, who also happens to be the principal's son, Sloan finds herself beginning one more relationship that she isn't sure she knows how to handle.

    This novel follows the life of Sloan Sawyer during her senior year of high school. After her father's death, nothing has been the same. Even worse than the grief felt from this horrible event is the fact that Sloan, by her mother's standards, is an adult and does not need the aid of a mother to get by. So Sloan is left to not only fend for herself, but to take care of her out-of-control younger sister while competitively swimming and applying to a summer art program in Paris. So, needless to say (yet I'll say it anyway), her hands are more than full.

   Then Grady comes along. Grady is the good-looking, nice new kid - who just happens to be the principal's son. When a romance starts to bud between the two, it becomes evident that Grady is just as broken as Sloan.

   There were somethings I liked about this books, and somethings I didn't. For one, I really liked how each chapter switched point of views. It went between Sloan and Grady, never breaking the pattern. I thought it was refreshing to see the scenes from a different angle, well that and I liked Grady so much more than anyone else. One of the not so great aspects of this novel was the pacing. The beginning was intriguing and I was interested in where Grady and Sloan's relationship would go. However, it quickly became very slow. Luckily, it picked up towards the end and I found myself immersed in the story.

   I also found myself enjoying the swimming scenes more than I would have expected. Kristen Kehoe was able to radiate Sloan's feelings very well during these scenes and I started to get it. It was one of those things where you understand Sloan in the way that you get why she is feeling this way, yet you don't really get how she is feeling. I found that Sloan is like on of those little pill like things that grow in water - put the girl in a pool and feelings fly off the pages and into the reader's body (that sounds like a really lame analogy, but it's true).

   If you like realistic, contemporary fiction (especially if you're into art or swimming), this book is worth a shot. However, if you're into sci-fi/action/fantasy or other fast paced books, I'd say simply pick up another novel. That is not because this one is bad, per se, but I don't think that type of reader would enjoy it. I have alot of respect for authors, especially self published, and I don't like when people trash books because they weren't right for them. (Sorry to rant, I just felt the need to justify my recommendation).

   Overall, I found this book enjoyable. Some parts were slow, but I liked most of the parts that weren't. Plus, there were lots of Twilight jokes (Pro- Twilight jokes, so sorry Twilight haters), which I found amusing. It was evident in certain scenes that Ms. Kehoe knew make the reader feel what she wanted them to feel. I found myself tearing up at some parts and laughing at others.

Fall for Anything by Courtney Summers

Fall for Anything by Courtney Summers
224 Pages
St. Martin's Griffin
December 21, 2010
Source: Publisher
Format: ARC

From the author of Cracked Up to Be and Some Girls Are comes a gripping story about one girl’s search for clues into the mysterious death of her father.
When Eddie Reeves’s father commits suicide her life is consumed by the nagging question of why? Why when he was a legendary photographer and a brilliant teacher? Why when he seemed to find inspiration in everything he saw? And, most important, why when he had a daughter who loved him more than anyone else in the world? When she meets Culler Evans, a former student of her father’s and a photographer himself, an instant and dangerous attraction begins. Culler seems to know more about her father than she does and could possibly hold the key to the mystery surrounding his death. But Eddie’s vulnerability has weakened her and Culler Evans is getting too close. Her need for the truth keeps her hanging on...but are some questions better left unanswered?

    I feel odd saying "I loved this book" because this is not the kind of book you love. It is the kind of book that you respect. It has a way of putting your life into perspective; showing one that the little everyday problems are nothing. This was my first encounter with Courtney Summer's works, and I was pleasantly surprised. This novel is very raw, heart-wrenching and unnerving, but very beautiful.

    In the wake of her father's suicide, Eddie Reeves is left trying to put all the pieces in place for herself. Her mother is deeply affected and virtually not able to function. Eddie loves her mother, but she has to help herself first, and the only way to do that is find out why.Why did her father choose to end his life? Was there really nothing left living for? Was she not worth living for? Even more consuming then these questions is her dire wish for something more. Something more than a note - that didn't explain anything- and something more than a box of old photographs.

    When a student of her father's, Culler Evans, shows her that there is something more, Eddie is thrown in a journey that she is not quite ready for.

    This novel was remarkable. Courtney brilliantly portrayed Eddie's pain in a matter-of-fact way. Eddie was very Juno-esc to me in the way that she will blatantly say what she thinks and see no problem in answering people's uncalled for, insensitive questions. Part of the reason I really liked this character was the shameless use of the F bomb in nearly every other sentence. She is hurt- she is broken. Most young adult novels try to censor this type of language with "Fuggin", "Fudging", "Freakin", and others, but a real person wouldn't and I love how Eddie doesn't.

    There was a lot of raw humor placed perfectly for some comic relief. I chose to flag quotes as I was reading this book, and this novel went through so many more sticky note flags than I could have ever imagined. This quote, in my opinion, really showed Eddie's character, "Milo and I have this drinking game about Beth: every time she annoys me, we drink. She annoys me alot" (8). And since I loved so many quotes in this book, I have to share a few more.

    "You have a boy's name.' 'You have a dog's name" (42). - Eddie and Milo

    "This is the part where Mom cries on me after Beth is done yelling at me. Normal. It is so depressing how these things become normal. Like brushing your teeth" (129). - Eddie

    "Real life is always quiter and anticlimatic somehow" (145).

    There were many more noteworthy quotes, but I will save those for you to discover.

    After my experience with this novel, I will definitely be checking out Courtney's other two books. I would recommend this book highly. However, there is more adult language and events that take place, so I would gauge this for 14/15 and over. However, my parents were very open with me, so I would have read this when I was younger than that. So it really depends on how comfortable parents are with this type of thing.

100 Followers!

Yay! *Squeel*! Thanks so much guys for following! I've only been at this for a few months and already I have 100 followers - thats a big milestone for me. Now here comes the hard part..... planning a some sort of super-great celebration. Any ideas? What ever I choose won't take place until after the new years because I will be busy and I know a lot of followers will not be able to participate (and that kind of defeats the point...) But seriously, thanks so much! You don't know how great it feels to know that people actually like (or just tolerate) my book ramblings. So help me out here....


Leave a Comment: What can I do for a super special 100 follower celebration?

Young Adult Reading Challenge 2011

Here's an easy challenge! This Young Adult Reading Challenge is hosted by Jamie at For the Love of YA (join HERE). The only requirements are that you pick a level (listed below), and read at least that many YA books between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2011. And that is ANY young adult book. It could come out next year or ten years ago. You can hold the book in your hands, read it digitally or even listen to it! Easy peasy. The four challenge levels are bellow...
--The Mini YA Reading Challenge – Read 12 Young Adult novels. 

--The "Fun Size" YA Reading Challenge – Read 20 Young Adult novels.

--The Jumbo Size YA Reading Challenge – Read 40 Young Adult novels.

--The Mega Size YA Reading Challenge – Read 50+ Young Adult novels.



In case you are having trouble guessing which one I am going for, I picked "The Mega Sized YA Reading Challenge". I will be updating this post throughout the year with my book list (that I've read). You can click on the button in the left sidebar to get here. 

Young Adult Reading Challenge 2011

1.) Across the Universe by Beth Revis
2.) Wither (Chemical Garden Trilogy #1) by Lauren DeStefano
3.) Bloody Valentine by Melissa de la Cruz
4.) Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
5.) My Soul To Save (Soul Screamers #2) by Rachel Vincent
6.) Unearthly by Cynthia Hand
7.) The Darlings Are Forever by Melissa Kantor
8.) Firelight by Sophie Jordan
9.) Red Riding Hood by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright
10.) Glimmerglass by Jenna Black
11.) Radiance by Alyson Noel
12.) XVI by Julia Karr
13.) The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller
14.) Hex: A Witch and Angel Tale by Ramona Wray
15.) Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton
16.) Nightshade by Andrea Cremer
17.) The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan
18.) Hereafter by Tara Hudson
19.) The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff 
20.) Love Ya Like a Sister by Tom Kepler
21.) I'm Not Her by Janet Gurtler 
22.) Nickel Plated by Aric Davis
23.) Huntress by Malinda Lo
24.) The Secret Year by Jennifer R. Hubbard
25.) City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
26.) Two Moon Princess by Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban
27.) The Time Traveling Fashonista by Bianca Turetsky
28.) The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide by Stephenie Meyer
29.) Overprotected by Jennifer Laurens
30.) Boyfriends With Girlfriends by Alex Sanchez 
31.) Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer
32.) A Season of Eden by Jennifer Laurens 
33.) My Not So Still Life by Liz Gallagher
34.) Moonglass by Jessi Kirby
35.) The Magnolia League by Katie Crouch
36.) I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan
37.) Dreamland Social Club by Tara Altebrando
38.) Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready
39.) Shift by Jeri Smith - Ready 
40.) A Golden Web by Barbara Quick
41.) Happy Birthday To Me by Brian Rowe
42.) We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han
43.) Wallflower by Holly Jane - Rahlens
44.) Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

45.) Ashes, Ashes by Jo Treggiari
46.) The Vampire Stalker by Allison Van Dilpen
47.) Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
48.) Crush Control by Jennifer Jabaley 
49.) Don't Stop Now by Julie Halpern
50.) Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Completed!

I will no longer be updating this post, but of course I will be reading more Young Adult books. Check out my Outdo Yourself Challenge for more.

*Authors' names are links to my reviews
Key:


Color-  review will be posted soon

Leave a Comment: Are you participating in the challenge?

Book Blogger Hop (December 17-20)

Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love of the written word!  This weekly BOOK PARTY is an awesome opportunity for book bloggers to connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books!  It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs to read!

Click to Join the Fun!

(Borrowed from Crazy-For-Books)

This week's question is....

What do you consider the most important in a story: the plot or the characters?

I would say both. I know that is a kind of cheating answer, but it is true. I don't think that you can say one aspect of a book is more important than the other because if you have bad characters and a really awesome plot, the book still won't be that good. The same goes for the opposite. Many aspects of a book are important, and if the author doesn't hit all of them, the book will not be as great as it could have been.

Leave a Comment: Did you participate in this week's hop? Leave a link to your answer! Stopping by? Say hi! (wow, I'm a poet and I didn't even know it!)

Matched by Ally Condie

Matched (Matched #1) by Ally Condie
366 Pages (Hardcover)
Dutton Juvenile
November 30, 2010
Source: Bought
Format: Hardcover

Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

    Before I say anything... Oh. My. Goodness! Yes, it was that good. I have not been in the blogger (or book for that matter) world for a very long time. Matched has been probably the first hyped up book that I've read since starting this blog. The trailer is absolutely amazing, one of my all time favorites. I cannot say how many contests I entered for an ARC (about 30 - not kidding) and didn't win. I've been waiting and waiting and waiting for this book. Naturally I set some hight standards. I mean, if so many people are raving about it, it has to be amazing to be worth the wait and anticipation. It was worth every second.

    Cassia (pronounced Cash-ah) lives in a time where everything is decided for her. It is not that she is incapable of making her own decisions, but rather, she has no choice. From the moment she is born to the moment she dies (possibly even after), the Officials decide.

    For years she has been looking forward to her seventeenth birthday: the year she would be Matched. Dressed in a shimmering, green silk gown (much different from her brown, drab plain clothes), she stands before the matching screen, waiting. Nothing happens. A blank screen. This could only mean one thing, her match is in her own providence. When Xander's name is announced, Cassia is relieved and excited at the same time. Being matched with your best friend, how much more lucky can she get?

    Cassia is happy. However, things start to change.... quickly. When a friend, Ky, starts to find a way into her deeply regulated life, she starts to question everything she knows. Is she really meant to be Matched with Xander? What if her whole life is a lie? Cassia starts to discover truths that were maybe better off left alone.

    I loved this book! The only people I have heard of not really liking it that much were people who are on Team Xander. But, I am whole heartedly on Team Xander (to this point) and I adored this novel! It was fantastic in all the right ways! It was nice to have a break from the "I'm a sad, weak girl, come same me (insert male here)!" story YA is so prone to. Don't get me wrong, I like those too, but this was a great change of pace. Cassia is a strong, independent, brave young women and those are a little too hard to come by in literature. She is not waiting to be saved. Actually, at the beginning of the novel, there is nothing to save her from. I really enjoyed that aspect, how everything is perfect.... until your eyes are opened.

    Yes this is a love story. But it is also about finding your own way in a world where creativity is virtually illegal and humans are produced to create the "optimal" species. I would recommend this to any YA reader because there is a lesson everyone can learn from. Luckily for all, this book is only the first in a planned trilogy, so no one has to say goodbye just yet.

HUGE Giveaway!

Do you see all of those ARCs?

In case you do not know a certain lady by the name of Beth Revis has a book coming out next year (11/11/11) called Across the Universe. I have not yet read it (I won an ARC and am starting soon!). I have heard awesome things about it, it also looks awesome, but it just got awsomer (yikes! This contest is so great I'm making up words!). Ms. Revis is hosting an EPIC giveaway. There are, brace yourselves, 100 prizes being given away! Yup! 100 prizes! And the coolest part is that no winners will be announced. In the spirit of the holidays, if you are a lucky winner, a surprise package will magically appear in your mailbox! How cool is that? So what are you waiting for? Oh, the link? HERE it is!

Winner of Melissa de la Cruz Bookplates

The winner is.... Buffy! Woo! 


I thought I'd just skip to the point. The winner has been notified via email and has 48 hours to reply before another winner is chosen. Thanks so much to all those who entered! If you didn't win, sorry - better luck next time. Remember, my The Body Finder swag giveaway is still going on (HERE) - so go and enter! 


* I use the random number generator on www.random.org to pick a winner. This lucky winner was #4

Night Star by Alyson Noel

Night Star (Immortals Book 5) by Alyson Noel
302 Pages (Hardcover)
St. Martin's Griffin
November 16, 2010
Source: Bought
Format: Hardcover

After fighting for centuries to be together, Ever and Damen’s future hinges on one final showdown that will leave readers gasping for breath. Don’t miss this explosive new installment of the #1 bestselling series that’s enchanted millions across the world!

Haven still blames Ever for the death of her boyfriend Roman, no matter how hard Ever’s tried to convince her it was an accident. Now she’s determined to take Ever down…and destroy Damen and Jude along the way. Her first step is to tear Ever and Damen apart—and she has just the ammunition to do it.

Hidden in one of Ever’s past lives is a terrible secret about Damen—a secret that illuminates new facts about her relationship with Jude, but that’s so dark and brutal it might be enough to drive her and Damen apart once and for all. As Ever faces her greatest fears about the guy she wants to spend eternity with, she’s thrust into a deadly clash with Haven that could destroy them all.

Now it’ll take everything she’s got—and bring out powers she never knew she had—to face down her most formidable enemy. But in order to win, she must first ask herself: is her own survival worth dooming Haven to an eternity of darkness in the Shadowland? And will learning the truth about Damen’s past hold the key to their future?

    This was the first book in the series that I actually had to wait for. I lucked out since I started the series after the first three were out, and then the fourth came out before I was finished. So naturally I was very excited. I found this novel very enjoyable but equally irritating- a good addition to the series nonetheless. Starting right away with action, I was immediately drawn in. Sure, a few parts were lacking that extra "oomph", but the beginning drew me in quickly and kept me there.

    After Haven's dramatic inclusion into the immortal world in the last book, we all knew that Ever had a problem on her hands. Haven is out for revenge and she won't stop short of anything to get it. Ever is yet again torn with a seemingly impossible situation - kill her childhood best friend and trap her in an eternal empty abyss or live guilt free in constant fear.

    Obviously this decision puts ever in a bad situation. On top of that drama- which, by the way, she cannot explain to anyone- Ever is under exposed to the wrath of Sabine who is completely convinced that Ever is a deeply troubled teen in need of serious, immediate help. Oh, and did I mention that Ever has a serious case of senioritis?

    With the pressure of her mortal life (which, to her, is completely insignificant) combining with the eminent danger of her immortal life, Ever is a wreak. She starts to push Damen further and further away.

    I completely understand where Ever is coming from, I mean, she does have some huge life changing decisions to make. However, there were so many times where she could (*should*) have ended Haven, and didn't. I say that, yet, I'd probably do the same thing. I loved how Ever learns so much about her past lives in this novel. We've all seen a glimpses of her past, but this novel puts everything on the table. Maybe Damen isn't as perfect as he seems...

    I really liked this installment, and yet again (I see a pattern!) Alyson writes a perfect ending! Towards the end, everything started to work out, I was actually starting to think that this novel was the conclusion of he series. Then its like "bam!" and a totally new plot unfolds. Throughout this novel there is great set up for the final book, Everlasting (summer 2011). If you've stuck with the series thus far, I would highly recommend that you continue.