The Book Junkie

Title: The Jewel (The Lone City #1) Author: Amy Ewing  Genre: Dystopia Publishing Date: September 2, 2014 Publisher: HarperTeen Medium Read In: Hardcover Pages: 358 Rating: 4.5 Why I Read It: I wanted to see why there was so much talk about this book. Synopsis:  The Jewel means wealth. The Jewel means beauty. The Jewel means royalty. But for girls like Violet, the Jewel means servitude. Not just any kind of servitude. Violet, born and raised in the Marsh, has been trained as a surrogate for the royalty—because in the Jewel the only thing more important than opulence is offspring. Purchased at the surrogacy auction by the Duchess of the Lake and greeted with a slap to the face, Violet (now known only as #197) quickly learns of the brutal truths that lie beneath the Jewel’s glittering facade: the cruelty, backstabbing, and hidden violence that have become the royal way of life. Violet must accept the ugly realities of her existence... and try to st...

Title: The Selection (The Selection #1) Author: Kiera Cass Genre: Dystopian  Publishing Date: April 24, 2012 Publisher: HarperTeen Medium Read In: Hardcover Pages:  336 Rating: 5 Why I Read It: I wanted to see what everyone liked about it. 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 alwa...

Title: The Elite (Selection #2) Author: Kiera Cass Genre: Dystopian Publishing Date: April 23, 2013 Publisher: HarperTeen  Medium Read In: Hardcover Pages: 336 Rating: 4.5 Why I Read It: I wanted to continue with the Selection series. Synopsis:  The Selection began with thirty-five girls. Now with the group narrowed down to the six Elite, the competition to win Prince Maxon's heart is fiercer than ever—and America is still struggling to decide where her heart truly lies. Is it with Maxon, who could make her life a fairy tale? Or with her first love, Aspen? America is desperate for more time. But the rest of the Elite know exactly what they want—and America's chance to choose is about to slip away. Review: I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would.  Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed this book. But there were some things that were beginning to aggravate me to end. Firstly, I was sick and tired of America's wishy-washy ...

Title: The Rest Falls Away (The Gardella Vampire Hunters: Victoria #1) Author: Colleen Gleason Genre: Paranormal Publishing Date: September 15, 2014 Publisher: Avid Press Medium Read In: Kindle e-book Pages: 300 Rating: 5 Why I Read It:  This was the Book of the Month for the Read with Ben Goodreads group. Link: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/149464 Synopsis:  Beneath the glitter of dazzling nineteenth century London Society lurks a bloodthirsty evil… Vampires have always lived among them, quietly attacking unsuspecting debutantes and dandified lords as well as hackney drivers and Bond Street milliners. If not for the vampire slayers of the Gardella family, these immortal creatures would have long ago taken control of the world. In every generation, a Gardella is called to accept the family legacy, and this time, Victoria Gardella Grantworth is chosen, on the eve of her debut, to carry the stake. But as she moves between the crush of b...

  Title:  Dark Secrets (Dark Secrets #1) Author: A.M. Hudson Genre: Paranormal Romance Publishing Date: May 12, 2013 (January 1, 2013)   Publisher: Vivid Publishing Medium Read In: Kindle E-book Pages: 718 Rating: 4 Why I Read It: One of the many books on my kindle that needed to be read. Synopsis:  How can you be attracted to a guy who just said he wants to kill you? Ara-Rose asks herself the same question. She’s been torn away from her old life, thrown into a new one in a new country, and in the midst of death, heartache and depression, she finds herself in love with a vampire—one who kills people with his teeth! But the vampire is forbidden to fall for this human, and at the point Ara-Rose decides she can’t live without him, he pulls away and leaves her falling back to the darkness he woke her from. She will be caught up in a century-old feud among brothers, and the fight for love becomes a fight for her life. The only question now...