"Cress" by Marrisa Meyer

5 of 5 stars.

The Basics: The Lunar Chronicles continue but this time we are introduced to a new character, Cress (reminiscent of Rapunzel). She is locked in a satellite by Sybil (a thaumaturge for evil Queen Levana). The last book, Scarlet, left off with Emperor Kai vowing to marry Queen Levana to stop her attacks on the Earthen civilizations. As the wedding is being planned, Kai continues to despise Levana and everyone is still on the hunt for Cinder. Once Cinder and her crew get in contact with Cress, who is a shell and also a reluctant, high tech hacker for Queen Levana, they decide to rescue her but the mission goes array. In the botched attempt to rescue Cress, Scarlet is taken by Sybil, Jaicin (a Lunar guard) uses the opportunity to escape and Wolf is badly injured. On top of all that, Thorne is stuck in a satellite with Cress which is on a quick, crashing descent to Earth as punishment by Sybil.
Though Cress and Thorne survive they must then learn to survive a journey through the Sahara desert. Thorne eventually learns that he can have feelings for someone other than himself. Cinder learns that she needs a better plan to rightfully gain her crown as Princess Selene. Wolf withdraws from the others as he copes with possibly losing Scarlet forever. 

My Thoughts: Definite spoilers ahead: OMG! This book was awesome! From the beginning to the end this book took me on a wild ride. The action starts from the top and never really tapers off, which I loved.
Ok, so Cress is such a welcomed new character. Her hacker abilities come in handy for the crew once she and Thorne make their way back to Cinder and Wolf. Also, I certainly feel bad for Thorne. I hope he gets his vision back in the next book, it does seem like he will. On to Wolf, I like him so much and I like that Cinder is patient with him because he is kind of wild. I feel bad that he has lost Scarlet. He is so withdrawn because of this loss. One flaw in his character that makes me hesitant about him is his ability to be manipulated by Lunars paired with his deadly wolf-like enhancements from being a special op.
Moving on to Cinder. I have grown to love her more as the series continues. She is my shero. She is learning to defend herself and by the end of the book she is hesitant but ready to take on the epic mission of gaining her throne. As the book moved on and the crew gets back to Earth, it is so awesome to see Cinder command a mission and follow through almost seamlessly. She is overwhelmed with everything but she doesn't nag too much, and that makes me like her even more.
At the end of the book, I could not believe Dr. Erland contracted letumosis, and I cannot believe that he is Cress's father. How crazy. I did like that he confronted Queen Levana about the creation of letumosis on Luna and how she has been purposefully using it as biological warfare so the Earthen civilizations would have to look for her for the cure. Unfortunately, her plan worked but I like that Dr. Erland shared his findings with Cinder and the crew before he died.
At the end of the book we also meet Winter, the stepdaughter of Levana. So, we know that Winter is a little loopy (crazy) from not using her glamour for many years but she obviously has a good heart. Scarlet senses there is something good about Winter but she is still hesitant about Lunars (especially after Queen Levana cut off her pinkie finger).

So these are my hopes for the last book, Winter.
-I hope Cress and Thorne fall madly in love with each other and Thorne becomes more humble. I love his wit but obviously Cress wants him to be the man for her. Shoot, I have a crush on Thorne so Cress better get him before I do. :)
-I hope Scarlet is reunited with the crew. Wolf wants her back dearly. It seems like Winter will be working with Cinder in the next book so I definitely see Scarlet and Wolf reuniting in the near future.
-I hope Dr. Erland's findings about Luna creating letumosis as biological warfare and then using the blood of shell's to create vaccines (and not killing the shells as the Lunar parents think) helps Cinder in her attempt to win over the people of Luna.
-I would hope that Kai would assist Cinder in any way he can in overthrowing Levana and stopping her continued attacks on Earth. I also hope Cinder and Kai marry and build a union between the Lunar people and Earthen civilizations.

I am so looking forward to Winter. November can't come fast enough!

~Remember, teachers read fun stuff too!

"The Catastrophic History of You and Me" by Jess Rothenberg

3 of 5 stars.

The Basics: 15 year old Brie Eagon dies suddenly of what is believed to be complications from a per-existing heart condition. In actuality, she died from a broken heart after her boyfriend Jacob spoke the words, "I do not love you." Brie's death brings turmoil to her family as her father overworks himself trying to find the cause of her death, knowing that her mild heart condition could not be the reason. Also, Brie's three best friends are struggling to handle life after her death.
In Brie's afterlife at Slice (a pizzeria), she runs into Patrick, an energetic teenager who passed away in the 80s based on his attire. He helps Brie go through the 5 stages of grief (which turn into the different parts of the book). Brie struggles with letting go of her past life while Patrick hopes to unravel a secret he's been waiting on Brie to uncover for the past 20+ years..

My Thoughts: This book was cute. In the beginning I thought it would be about a teen following her old life once she had passed, but it was much more than that. It was a lesson in letting go and understanding that other people have issues they are battling, I think. It was kind of weird because the book started sadly, but then it got kind of upsetting when Brie decided to get revenge on Jacob for breaking her heart. As the book progressed it did get kind of creepy. The introduction of Larkin and then the whole "stealing souls" thing came out of left field. It felt out of place.
Also, I felt like I was reading a young adult novel which is funny because I read YA allllll the time and never feel like an old fart reading a teenager's book. There were many cliches and honestly the only person I really felt bad for was Jacob. He was pretty much haunted by Brie but she never heard the full story of why he wasn''t in love with her until well after she exacted her revenge (cue the cliched music now)!
Either way, I would certainly recommend this book to my giggly middle school girls but it certainly wasn't my favorite.

Remember, teachers read fun stuff too!

"Third Grave Dead Ahead" by Darynda Jones

4.5 of 5 stars. 

The Basics: The Charley Davidson saga continues. Charley takes on a new case involving a missing wife. She suspects the wife's husband, of course, based on the guilt emanating from him. As she investigates the case she realizes that Dr. Yost is hiding much more than he leads on. In Reyes news, he is still upset about being bound to his corporeal body so much so that he escapes from prison. He enlist Charley to help locate Earl Walker, the man he was accused of murdering 10 years earlier. Charley also meets Mistress Marigold, who is actually a young nun who hears angels. This nun enlightens Charley to the fact that she will soon have a guardian, who she will indirectly be responsible for killing. And the plot thickens...

My Thoughts: *Spoilers Ahead* So during the latter part of the novel I kept trying to figure out who this guardian would be. I almost cried when Swopes "died" because I kind of figured the guardian would be either him or Cookie. I have never felt so emotionally tied to characters so when Swopes died, a part of me died too. But luckily he was resuscitated. I did like that he was able to "see" what Charley sees so that when he wakes up he will firmly believe in her abilities. Either way, that part of the book had be completely sad for a good while. But, is cute that Artemis is Charley's new guardian, I didn't see that coming.
On to Reyes, I really started to dislike him in this book. He was awful. Absolutely awful. He threatened Charley, threatened her family, punched her in the face, and almost got her killed. Though I understand why he did much of what he did I still feel some resentment toward him and obviously Charley does too.
I did like the plot of this book tremendously. It definitely wasn't as action-packed as book two but I just love to see these characters develop. I love Cookie, but that's a given, I can't believe Reyes's father was still alive (though he is the scum of the earth), and I am completely put off from Charley's dad Leland. How could he do that to Charley? I'm happy she has Uncle Bob to counteract the craziness of her father's actions. To actually try to get his daughter arrested so she can't practice her private investigating is horrible. I understand his concern but Charley's career choice is not his decision.
I love how Darynda Jones weaves in all of the subplots seamlessly. Everything fit together so well in this book which is nice because the opposite was my complaint for book 2. The case of Dr. Yost and his missing wife was intriguing and it allowed Charley to continue to see what she is capable of doing professionally and grim reaperly (lol). I was so happy she was able to save Cookie in that mine, hopefully she can continue to learn how to control her abilities.
I'm so ready for book 4!

~Remember, teachers read fun stuff too!   

"Second Grave on the Left" by Darynda Jones

4 of 5 stars.

The Basics: The Charley Davidson saga continues. In this novel, Charley is working a new case brought to her attention by her neighbor and assistant Cookie. Mimi has gone missing and her family has no idea want could have happened to her. A man she went to school with has turned up dead and now her husband is being blamed for the death and Mimi's disappearance. As Charley starts to work on the case she digs up a secret that Mimi and her former high school classmates, one being a Senate hopeful, have been hiding for years. Charley is also being threatened after taking on the case, but the person hiring the bullies takes everyone by surprise.
Among everything else, Charley is struggling to find Reyes' physical body. She also learns that she is up against demons! On top of that, Charley's father is struggling to figure out Charley's abilities as she learns how to control her "talents".

My Thoughts: (spoilers ahead) I absolutely loved this book. The series is engaging, witty, and simply charming. It's obvious that Charley will be solving a new case in each book, which is great. I like that she learns a little more about her grim reaper abilities as she continues to interact with Reyes and solve cases. Reyes continues to be a heartthrob. Also, Cookie is warming my heart. She is a great balance for Charley's character, though their addiction to coffee is a bit disturbing.
I also love the tension between Garrett and Reyes. I did feel bad for Garrett after getting shot, I wanted more of him in this book but I suppose his character had to take a back seat to propel the action of the story and develop Charley's development of her grim reaper traits. I did like that Gemma and Charley's relationship seemed to be on the mend. And of course, I love Strawberry though I am interested in her new friend, Blue.
On to my issues, I felt like sometimes Darynda Jones was searching to make pieces of the story work together when it was obvious they didn't. For example, Pari's story in the beginning of the novel seemed so random. Why would Charley just now be hearing this story? It was weird though I suppose it served the point in Charley figuring out that she could summon Reyes at will. Also, how in the hell did Charley figure out that she could search the dead prostitute's mind after crossing by Reyes calling her a whore? That connection was loose and Jones was certainly pulling for straws there. Also, when Charley was searching for Reyes and she finally figured out that he was in the basement, which was the last place she would look, I really had a hard time figuring out how she made that connection. Ok, this was so random that it could only happen in a book and a movie. No one would every make that connection. And if the demons were in the basement why couldn't they simply find Charley upstairs? That seemed like a flaw in the storyline, but I love this story so much that I don't mind any flaws.

~Remember, teachers read fun stuff too!