Review: Ruined By Jus Accardo

Ruined  (The Eternal Balence #1)

Author: Jus Accardo
Pages:325
Publisher: Entangled Embrace
Release Date: December  30th 2013
Author Website | Twitter | Goodreads |Facebook

Available for Order: amazon | Barnes and Noble              

 

Hell is looking for a way to break loose…

Jax lost the genetic lottery. Descended from Cain, the world's first murderer, he's plagued by a curse that demands violence in exchange for his happiness. He left everything behind, including the girl he loved, but thriving on the pain of others is lonely… And it's killing him.

After a series of heartbreaking losses, Samantha put rubber to pavement and headed for college as fast as her clunker could carry her. But she can't outrun her problems. When an attack at school drives her back home, she's thrown into the path of a past—and a guy—she's been trying to forget.

Sam strains Jax's control over his darkness, but running isn't an option this time. Someone—or, something—followed her home from school: a ruthless monster with a twisted plan centuries in the making. Forced together to survive, and fighting an attraction that could destroy them both, Jax and Sam must stop a killer bent on revenge.

My Take:

 Who knew coming back home would lead to even more destruction. Jax left his uncle Rick and his twin brother Chase, because it was the right thing to do. Except of course he left behind someone who meant everything to him, the girl in question is Samantha. After being attacked at school the only thing to do was go home. Even though her aunt has always wanted her to end up with Chase who she never felt connected with. She always knew that deep down Jax was the one to make her happy. 

 

What brought him back was Rick he knew about the attack at the school with Sam but knew he had to stay away because he had to hide what he was. Being a monster is a strong word but that is what he is, a demon. A decedent of Cain, with a inkling to torture those wrong doers, he is able to stop himself if only to satisfy the demon within. But being back in the same town he left all those years before is hard enough, seeing Sam hinging out with Chase starts up the demon to go farther than any torture, Chase's presence brings out the worst. With Rick going and Sam's attacker still gunning to finish the job, Jax must put aside what is may be wrong but feel oh so right.

I just couldn't help but love this story, Jax is the type you want to see be rescued himself, because when things are right you're not supposed to question it. Sam of course comes in and is all over him either telling him off or just saying what feels right she knows what she wants. What I liked though was that his demon side to me had a more charismatic feel to him, but at the same time you felt that these two were one and the same. I couldn't put it down, and instantly would have kicked a few demons myself. In honesty, you looking for a captivating character, Jax fits the bill and then some. 

5/5 stars- once started its hard to put down

 

Review: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Author: Stephen Chbosky
Pages:216
Publisher: MTV Books

Release Date: February 1st 1999
Author Website | Twitter 
Available for Order: Amazon|Barnes and Noble

Source: Library

Standing on the fringes of life... offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.

Since its publication, Stephen Chbosky's haunting novel about the dilemma of passivity vs. passion has received critical acclaim, provoked discussion and debate, and grown into a cult sensation with over one million copies in print. 

It is the story of what it's like to grow up in high school. More intimate than a diary, Charlie's letters are singular and unique, hilarious and devastating. We may not know where he lives. We may not know to whom he is writing. All we know is the world he shares. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it puts him on a strange course through uncharted territory. The world of first dates, family dramas, and new friends. The world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, where all you need is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite.

My Take:

In Perks of Being a Wallflower, Charlie doesn't see himself fitting in any where, high school can be tough but Charlie sees things differently. His mind always wonders why and always questions logic. So fitting in isn't at all easy, so Charlie writes to a friend of sorts and tells that person about his day. Always addressing with a friendly hey, Charlie goes to let us all inside, and through his eyes we see the world differently. He is able to speak to us freely and even when he seems down about something his words always seem to let us all know what he is experiencing. As a freshmen, Charlie meets his English teacher Bill, who forms a friendship with Charlie and gives him different books along the school year. Charlie also meets two seniors willing to give him a chance, they also see him for what he is. 

Since its high school and its the 90's, Charlie goes to the parties he is invited too by Patrick and Sam, and along the way goes through adolescence, he of course questions everyones actions and of course wants answers. Girls? Drugs? Even when he asked out he seeks guidance from his sister, or brother and even Sam who seems to know a thing or two. But add in his sense of asking so many things, dating is further from his mind, at least we know his heart is in the right place. 

I loved this because the story itself told me things I was always blind too, questioning my actions along the way could be bad, but I liked that Charlie was able to be relatable in a sense. Of course when I found out what happened to him I couldn't stop crying, his story is so beautifully written and I am so glad to at least know he is able to move forward. His heart is still in the moment and of course his questions will never stop to amaze me.

5/5 Stars - loved every minute of this

The Movie based on the Book already in theaters 

Review: After Ever by Jillian Eaton

After Ever

Author: Jillian Eaton
Pages:196
Publisher: Bay Horse
Release Date: June 12 2012
Author Website | Goodreads
Available for Order: Amazon

Source: ARR

“Just because you’re dead doesn’t mean you can’t die again in a thousand different ways.” 
For sixteen-year-old Winnie Coleman, dying is the least of her worries. Between coming to terms with her mother’s unexpected death, trying to think up new and inventive ways to break up her father and Girlfriend #3, and keeping her brother from chewing off his fingers, she has her hands full. Courtesy of a thin patch of ice and failed swimming lessons, all of that changes in the blink of an eye. 

In death Winnie will find the answers that eluded her in life, and a whole slew of other questions she never thought to ask. Like why is she stuck with Sam for a guide? Sure, he’s funny and cute in a geeky sort of way, but he wears sweater vests… and loafers. For a girl who has tattoos on her face and glue in her hair, it’s not exactly the best match up.

But when Sam is taken and his very existence threatened, Winnie must make the ultimate choice between cowardice and courage. Faithlessness and loyalty. Family... and love.
Suspenseful and action packed, After Ever is a must read for anyone who ever wondered: what happens next?

My Take:

Ever wonder what happens after you die, for Winnie just an ordinary teen one day and gone the next isn't something she ever thought of. But when she unexpectedly falls and dies her life doesn't end like that, the Ever works differently. But what happens when death offers you so much more than what life offered, like being able to relive any memory and remember all as if your actually living it. But communicating with the living is a no no and even though the temptation is there Sam is there to help her understand why the living need to be in the dark in these things. Meeting someone while alive who isn't actually alive is one thing add in the fact that he is her guide after what happens is just crazy right? Winnie  just wonders why now and of course her.

The answers of course are never so straight forward, and with  some time in the Ever Winnie will gain some insight about what she has to look forward to in the afterlife. Of course everything isn't all what it seems, with many warnings from Sam, Winnie knows that just she is in the ever doesn't mean she can not get hurt and more. Just understanding that she is not apart of world she once knew has to tough, to bad it's short lived when other problems start happening. With her life as well Sam's in danger Winnie has to come to grips that life or unlife just got complicated and the rules have changed forever.

After Ever was a story about finding out that life shouldn't be taken for granted and sometimes life goes on. Of course losing someone like Winnie did has to be tough for anyone and even though her father always looked to her to take care of her brother didn't mean she had to stop living life. Of course now her the Ever is a different playing field, and rules must be followed. I liked that the ever offered a way to live your life until that end came but when your stuck on a memory, life goes on. After Ever offered an insight to what could happen next and when things get tough its easier to stick together. 

5/5 Stars