Gone Book Review

Hi Guys,
For this week's review I will pick back up with the Dream Catcher Trilogy. This is going to be a review of the third and final book of the trilogy, Gone by Lisa McMann. Before the review I would like to let you guys know that I have a feeling this summer will be full of awesome reviews. Some of the reviews to come, so far, are: Light by Michael Grant, Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick, and The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey. I'm also about to finish The Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon soon, and I just started Legend by Marie Lu and I love it. So, yeah, SUMMER OF EPIC REVIEWS! I can't wait. Anyway, here's the synopsis of Gone from Goodreads:

Janie thought she knew what her future held. And she thought she’d made her peace with it. But she can’t handle dragging Cabel down with her. She knows he will stay with her, despite what she sees in his dreams. He’s amazing. And she’s a train wreck. Janie sees only one way to give him the life he deserves—she has to disappear. And it’s going to kill them both.
Then a stranger enters her life--and everything unravels. The future Janie once faced now has an ominous twist, and her choices are more dire than she’d ever thought possible. She alone must decide between the lesser of two evils. And time is running out...

My first impression of this book was that it would be mediocre like the other books in this series.  The cover didn't really pop to me either, and the synopsis didn't seem to catch my attention. This book was definitely better than Wake, but nowhere close to Fade. I was expecting the conclusion of this series to hook me more than the previous two books, but that wasn't the case. It was definitely mediocre, and as for the actual ending, it was quite depressing. I mean, it was a good ending, just very depressing. I give this book 3/5 stars because I loved seeing how the characters grew, how Janie's power has transformed (and originated), and how the story ended. These things made the book good, but the lack of any sort of excitement, or pop, and the depressing nature of this novel, definitely deducted 2 stars from it. Overall if I were you, I would check this series out from the library if you're interested, I don't think it's worth buying, just because it's a very dark and depressing world that I wouldn't want to enter a second time. I hope you guys enjoyed the review, and I look forward to posting more reviews soon. The next review will most likely be on Light by Michael Grant, the conclusion to this epic series. I can't wait to share my thoughts! Also, check out some of the previous reviews if you haven't already, I know the first couple reviews are a little rough, but I believe they get better as I went along. Also, please share this blog with your reading friends, it would be great to see this blog grow, and have more opportunities for other awesome blog things.

Charm & Strange (Galley) Book Review

Hi Guys,
I know, I know... I haven't been posting reviews like I need to, I apologize. I can't help it, my schedule has been hectic this semester, and things are just starting to die down now that I only have two exams left to take. Although, you guys should be pleased to learn that I've been reading quite a few books since I last posted a review. I would also like to say that I've been on an amazing book streak, every book I've read in the past month has been phenomenal. One of those phenomenal books just so happens to be the book I'll be reviewing today: Charm & Strange by Stephanie Kuehn. I received this a few weeks before it was released as a galley from the publisher. So I want to give a huge thanks to St. Martins Griffin publishers, I really appreciate the opportunity to read this book early. Here's the synopsis from Goodreads:

When you’ve been kept caged in the dark, it’s impossible to see the forest for the trees. It’s impossible to see anything, really. Not without bars . . .
Andrew Winston Winters is at war with himself.
He’s part Win, the lonely teenager exiled to a remote Vermont boarding school in the wake of a family tragedy. The guy who shuts all his classmates out, no matter the cost.
He’s part Drew, the angry young boy with violent impulses that control him. The boy who spent a fateful, long-ago summer with his brother and teenage cousins, only to endure a secret so monstrous it led three children to do the unthinkable.
Over the course of one night, while stuck at a party deep in the New England woods, Andrew battles both the pain of his past and the isolation of his present.
Before the sun rises, he’ll either surrender his sanity to the wild darkness inside his mind or make peace with the most elemental of truths—that choosing to live can mean so much more than not dying.

My first impression of this novel was that it was going to be really good. I e-mailed the publishers, and they sent me a galley copy of this, and I was very excited. This book starts off very weird, but amazing. I read the first half of the book in an hour, and I didn't want to put it down. This book is separated by alternating chapters, matter and anti-matter. Matter being what is presently happening to Win, and anti-matter being something that Win has previously experienced. The further I got in this novel, the more I understood, but with every one thing I understood, I got ten more questions about Win and his circumstances. This is definitely a good mystery novel, not because Win is trying to find a killer, or a thief, but because he is trying to find himself. I went through half of this book believing one thing about Win, and the other half questioning my belief and trying to make sense of the information the book gave. This book has several plot twists, and I loved learning about Win, and how he came to be the way he is. I loved this book so much, it is eerily amazing, and unbelievably dark. It is like a slightly more dark and sinister version of The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. Before reading this book, I was in a slump, and this novel definately brought me out of it. I give this book 4/5 stars, not for any particular reason, it just didn't seem like a 5-star book to me. You guys definately have to check this book out when it is released on June 11th. This book has impacted me immensely, and I find myself thinking about it, even now, a month after reading it. It's dark and impactful nature definitely makes this book one of my favorites. Mark your calendars, June 11th.