Review: The Selection by Kiera Cass

The Selection by Kiera Cass
The Selection (Book 1)
Dystopian
 HarperTeen (April 24, 2012)
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Synopsis:
 For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself—and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

My thoughts:
I liked getting to know America and her relationship with Prince Maxon. Also her relationship with Aspen and what it means to her and what her future is and what she wants. A couple of the girls were catty but most of them were nice and tried to be friends through this.

Review: The Nightingale by Hannah Kristin

The Nightingale by Hannah Kristin
standalone
Fiction
St. Martin's Press; First Edition edition (February 3, 2015)
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Synopsis:
 In love we find out who we want to be.
In war we find out who we are.

FRANCE, 1939

In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will invade France...but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When France is overrun, Vianne is forced to take an enemy into her house, and suddenly her every move is watched; her life and her child’s life is at constant risk. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates around her, she must make one terrible choice after another.

Vianne’s sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old girl, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she meets the compelling and mysterious Gäetan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can...completely. When he betrays her, Isabelle races headlong into danger and joins the Resistance, never looking back or giving a thought to the real--and deadly--consequences.

With courage, grace and powerful insight, bestselling author Kristin Hannah takes her talented pen to the epic panorama of WWII and illuminates an intimate part of history seldom seen: the women’s war. The Nightingale tells the stories of two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals, passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path toward survival, love, and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France--a heartbreakingly beautiful novel that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the durability of women. It is a novel for everyone, a novel for a lifetime.

My Thoughts:
I loved getting to know Vianne and Isabelle and how they survived the war and what they had to do to survive and save their family and friends. Very well written and I listened to this on audiobook.

Review: Son by Lois Lowry

Son - Lois Lowry
Book #4 of The Giver Quartet
YA Fantasy
HMH Books for Young Readers; 1 edition (October 2, 2012)
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Synopsis:
 They called her Water Claire. When she washed up on their shore, no one knew that she came from a society where emotions and colors didn’t exist. That she had become a Vessel at age thirteen. That she had carried a Product at age fourteen. That it had been stolen from her body. Claire had a son. But what became of him she never knew. What was his name? Was he even alive? She was supposed to forget him, but that was impossible. Now Claire will stop at nothing to find her child, even if it means making an unimaginable sacrifice.
Son thrusts readers once again into the chilling world of the Newbery Medal winning book, The Giver,　as well as Gathering Blue and Messenger where a new hero emerges. In this thrilling series finale, the startling and long-awaited conclusion to Lois Lowry’s epic tale culminates in a final clash between good and evil.

My Thoughts:
  A clash between good and evil is the final book. Claire was a Birthmother to Gabe and they are in this book along with Jonas to tie up the books. I loved how she tied up the series.

Review: Four A Divergent Collection by Veronica Roth

Four A Divergent Collection - Veronica Roth
Novella from Divergent series
YA Dystopian
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books; 1st edition (July 8, 2014)
My Rating 4 out of 5 stars

Synopsis:
 Two years before Beatrice Prior made her choice, the sixteen-year-old son of Abnegation’s faction leader did the same. Tobias’s transfer to Dauntless is a chance to begin again. Here, he will not be called the name his parents gave him. Here, he will not let fear turn him into a cowering child.

Newly christened “Four,” he discovers during initiation that he will succeed in Dauntless. Initiation is only the beginning, though; Four must claim his place in the Dauntless hierarchy. His decisions will affect future initiates as well as uncover secrets that could threaten his own future—and the future of the entire faction system.

Two years later, Four is poised to take action, but the course is still unclear. The first new initiate who jumps into the net might change all that. With her, the way to righting their world might become clear. With her, it might become possible to be Tobias once again.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth comes a companion volume to the worldwide bestselling DIVERGENT series, told from the per-spective of the immensely popular character Tobias. The four pieces included here—THE TRANSFER, THE INITIATE, THE SON, and THE TRAITOR—plus three additional exclusive scenes, give readers an electrifying glimpse into the history and heart of Tobias, and set the stage for the epic saga of the DIVERGENT trilogy.

My thoughts:
 
I liked this novella and got to know Four(Tobias) much better and what he did and why?He found out his mother was alive and his reaction. He confronted his father for the first time.

Review Allegiant by Veronica Roth

                                                                                  Allegiant by Veronica Roth
 Divergent Trilogy Book #3
YA Fantasy/SciFi
Published October 22nd 2013 by Katherine Tegen Books
My Rating: 4out of 5 stars

Synopsis:
The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered - fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she's known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.

But Tris's new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningliess. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend to complexities of human nature - and of herself - while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.


My Thoughts:
 
I liked how each chapter was based on either Tris or Tobias's point of view. The ending did not come out the way I thought it would but it ended the way the characters should have. 

The first book was my favorite and then this book. I wasn't to fond of the second book.

Reviews: Beach Town by Mary Kay Andrews

Beach Town by Mary Kay Andrews

Contemporary Women

Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1st edition (May 19, 2015)

My rating: 4/5 stars

 

Synopsis:

 Greer Hennessy needs palm trees.

As a movie location scout, picture-perfect is the name of the game. But her last project literally went up in flames, and her career is on the verge of flaming out. Greer has been given one more chance, if she can find the perfect undiscovered beach hideaway for a big-budget movie. She zeroes in on a sleepy Florida panhandle town called Cypress Key. There's one motel, a marina, a long stretch of pristine beach and an old fishing pier with a community casino-which will be perfect for the film's explosive climax.

There's just one problem. Eben Thibadeaux, the town mayor, completely objects to Greer's plan. A lifelong resident of Cypress Key, Eben wants the town to be revitalized, not commercialized. After a toxic paper plant closed, the bay has only recently been reborn, and Eb has no intention of letting anybody screw with his town again. But Greer has a way of making things happen, regardless of obstacles. And Greer and Eb are way too attracted to each other for either of them to see reason.

Between an ambitious director and his entourage-including a spoiled "It Boy" lead actor-who parachute into town, a conniving local ex-socialite, and a cast of local fangirls and opportunists who catch the movie bug, nothing is going to be the same in Cypress Key. Now Greer is forced to make some hard choices: about the people and the town she's come to care about, and about her own life. True love is only for the movies, right? Can Greer find a way to be the heroine in her own life story? Told with inimitable heart and humor, Mary Kay Andrews' Beach Town is the perfect summer destination.

 

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book and want to go visit Cypress Key. Sounds like a small town where everyone knows each other and watches out for each other. Greer Really didn't trust her feelings and neither did Eb but they also had reasons to feel the way they did. Kregg is a spoiled young singer who is a diva.  Greeg learning to accept her father and bringing him into her life was big on her part and I was happy for the ending.