The Stars Never Rise by Rachel Vincent

Definitely not what I was expecting...

I feel like I missed this hype train for sure, seeing all these stellar five star reviews. And when I say missed the train, I mean I feel like I jumped off at full speed to tumble messily in the dirt. I admit, I went in with high hopes since I was a big fan of Rachel Vincent's Soul Screamer series, despite the drama of it. I realize Vincent is kind of a bubblegum literature author; drama to the max, but so bad that it's good. This was not one of those.

Stars Never Rise uses the Church as the strict, controlling regimen to a demon based story which might have been interesting, if the writing wasn't so lacking. To put it basically, our main heroine, Nina, was a bore, it was all just a big snooze. Predictable and cliched.

One defining moment of said cliche-ness was that fact that when Nina is running home, trying to stay under the radar, she encounters a situation where there is something in the bushes. Logically, a person would book it over that fence instead of spending ten minutes debating whether it be dog or demon but oh no, no. Then, when she gets herself saved, she presses upon the fact that she needs to make a quick escape before she's discovered, but still takes the time to reach out and push his hood back so she can see his face. Apparently not so much in a rush as she said she was...

I stumbled through this book, and when we finally reunite with her disgustingly, insta-love interest Finn, I was seriously puzzled. 

It was weird.

 
It was almost like Vincent was going for a unique, love overcomes all approach but it was just strange. Finn isn't a demon, but he has no body, and simply goes from body to body as he pleases. To make matters more bizarre, we don't find this out until after Nina shares a passionate kiss with him. Once she joins with Finn's group of friends, or group of exorcist rebels, we find out the truth and also discover that the guys in the group are rather okay with sharing their body with Finn when he needs it. Even when it comes to kissing. Uhm, what? Dare I even mention the awkwardness of Nina kissing several different men with Finn inside?

The only thing that would compel me to read the sequel is to find out wtf is up with Finn's...incorporeal situation. Otherwise, I was not impressed.  

Lauren: 2 stars

The Nightmare Dilemma by Mindee Arnett

Girly, badass, and full of trouble!

 (sequel to The Nightmare Affair)

Dusty and Eli are back! Be prepared for more mystery and more whodunnit fun! Tensions are rising in Arkwell Academy with the magical restrictions being gone, and a student found assaulted with fingers pointing every which way. Telling apart friend and foe becomes difficult, and magic kind starts taking sides against each other. Drama arises for our duo when they find out Dusty's ex is being released and is returning to the Academy.

While the book was fun and the mystery good, we sisters cannot help but have raised eyebrows (and not in a good way) at the part where the adults entrusted the super secret, ultra-important mission to the teenaged girl. “It’s all on you now. We can’t trust anybody else, young teenaged girl with impulse control issues.”

Not to mention the super cliched cop-out that Arnett pulled near the end. It made one of us want to vomit, it made the other want to put a bullet in one's head, it made both of us want to punch someone in the face...the point is it was terrible. It was a PUH-LEASSSE moment and we can't help but wonder why, oh why, Arnett does this to her poor readers.This hexy twist lowered our ratings. 

(P.S. It's getting harder to forgive you of these cruelities. *sniff*)

Dominique - 4 stars

Lauren - 3.5 stars

Coming out in 2015!

The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett

This is our very first review as Two Sister's, Two Cents! Thank you for reading and for your patience! We'll be editing the other reviews as we go along. ;)

Fun, fast paced, and interesting!

  

 It's a well written book that is similar to Hex Hall, or Harry Potter meets Vampire Academy, with the main scenery being based on a school for mythical creatures. Destiny, or preferably Dusty, is our main heroine in a story filled with awkward chest feedings, typical attractive and annoying female rivals, unpopularity, strange occurrences, and duh, duh, DUHHHH....murder.

It isn't easy being a creature who feeds on people's dreams, and Dusty really struggles in life as her Nightmare kind are ostracized as evil and manipulative. It becomes especially complicated when it is discovered that when paired up, she and Eli (human turned dream buddy) can see prophetic dreams. This ends up being handy when it comes to solving the mystery and discovering 'whodunnit' rests upon her and Eli's shoulders. 

We must applaud Arnett for bringing together high school and high stakes into a highly entertaining read. Arnett's concept on Nightmares was unique and interesting, and there were some fun twists thrown in as well! We may have waited the whole book for some romantic progression between certain someones, but sometimes good things are worth waiting for. (Although waiting is annoying. P.S. We forgive you.)   

 Dominique - 4 stars            

 Lauren - 3.5 stars

Follow our review for The Nightmare Dilemma!

Fiendish by Brenna Yovanoff

3.5 stars

Haunting, gothic, and wildly imaginative!

What is Clementine's story?

 I was certainly dying to find out! This was such a fun magic themed story, with great mystery behind it. 

 Clementine's tragic tale begins with her being forced to sleep with magic for ten years in a basement closet until she was finally discovered and rescued by one of our main characters, Fisher. But why and by whom is left unknown and Clementine is seeking to find some answers.

As we uncover the old town Clementine grew up in, things get weirder and weirder. My interest really began to peak when "bad things" started happening. Bad things being slimy green catfish with rows of monstrous needle-like teeth, ominous storms, demon dogs, the magical Hollow forest acting up; all signs of what they called The Reckoning. Problem is nobody knows why The Reckoning is coming or why it even happened ten years ago, either. 

One of my issues with the book was that after finishing it and running my opinions and thoughts through my head, I realized something rather shocking; I could not remember Clementine or Fisher's names. Clementine, although strong willed, sweet, and having a rather bizarre introduction, was slightly bland. Fisher too, suffered a similar fate as there was nothing defining about him except his unique craft. This problem is more than likely due to the wide cast of main characters to share with readers, but it doesn't make the book terrible just not as amazing as it could have been. I also found myself wishing I could have known a little more about the fiends. Information like their origins, and how they came to existence.

Yovanoff's story is engaging and fascinating and the small town really comes to life with its unique descriptions, and mysterious, as well as old, history. There were some fun characters as well and a happy ending. Fiendish was truly fun and mysterious and I will look forward to more from Yovanoff in the future.

The Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne

3.5 stars

Not a bad read and it was unique, but it didn't really blow me off my feet.

A split POV book that ties two people's fates together.

Meet Kyra, a orphan girl who steals in order to keep a roof over her head, and food in her stomach. She is the best of her kind with her light footing, grace, and instinct for danger. Alas, along with her instinct comes a stubbornness that also lands Kyra in a lot of trouble and gets her involved in the Assassin's League.

On the other hand, we have Tristam, a knight and kind soul who longs for revenge for his slain friend, Jack. Jack was unjustly slaughtered by barbarians who are ravaging the land, stealing from villagers, and killing the innocent and Tristam works hard in order to find these vagabonds and protect the city all the while trying to stop the Assassin's Guild, as well. Eventually, Tristam and Kyra's tales become entwined as they have to learn to work together, and join forces to save the city from destruction. 

What made this book unique was the fact that it contained shifters, people who can change forms. It was also this unusual twist that left me with many questions. It's hinted that there are paranormal creatures out there such as griffins and dryads beyond the city and beyond seas, and yet we see no other supernaturals besides the shifters which leads to a lot of unanswered questions and curiosities. 

My other little disappointment was that the big secret of Kyra's was really no secret at all. I pretty much pieced it together right away. Another peeve of mine was that some of the plot developments felt slightly convenient and I also felt like everyone's emotions were rather fickle. Romantic feelings were easily developed in my opinion, and people kept betraying or lying to one another and some part of me wanted to scream out in exasperation of the sheer frustration of it all. Not to mention the relationship of certain someones in the book is left with a rather big question mark in the end. The feelings are obviously there, and they certainly are not enemies, but we are left to ponder on whether or not something will be pursued.

 In the end, I know a lot of my questions will most likely be tossed onwards to the sequel.

Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken

5 stars

(sequel to The Darkest Minds)

Such an amazing sequel, I want to kick myself for putting it off for so long!

We pick up where we left off in the previous book but some time has passed. Ruby is now an official member of the Children's League, and has become much more comfortable with her powers compared to how out of control she was before.

She works for the League doing a variety of tasks, mostly unpleasant. Whether its missions to help attain goods for the League, or questioning prisoners aggressively, Ruby does what she needs to do though Liam and friends are a constant on her mind.

We get to meet a few new people, mostly people from Ruby's team. We have the sweet and loveable Jude though he can be annoying, to the rather bitchy but stunning beauty, Vida. We also get to meet Liam's older brother but with his arrival comes bad news: Liam is unknowingly carrying information that is important to his brother, and possibly vital to the League, which puts Ruby in a situation since she sacrificed everything to protect him. 

Things become especially complicated when Ruby finds that there are untrustworthy members of the League that have no problem killing children or any one who gets in their way of their higher goals. The story once again takes on an on the run theme, as Ruby seeks the information Liam carries in order to protect him while keeping out of the reach of the dangerous clutches of the rogue League members. 

Readers unite with old friends, meet new enemies, and encounter old ones as well. The ending of the book leaves off in a triumphant and dangerous cliffhanger that was absolutely brilliant. The third book, In the Afterlight, should be released this year!

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

4 stars

A unique and powerful read! It truly delves into the darker sides of children.

Bracken absolutely tore my heart out with this book and yet I longed for more! In a dystopian twist where children become monsters, tools of war, and runaways, Ruby is a wolf among sheep biding her time before the inevitable happens. 

A disease strikes the children of the world, either rendering them dead, or gifted with unique powers. Struggling to keep everyone from panicking, the government sets up camps where they promise parents to help make their unique children "better" and to find a cure. These children are classified by colors based up their danger to others.

 Just imagine how powerful Ruby is when she has the abilities of an orange and the highest ranking power is red. But sweet and naieve Ruby does not long to use her powers against others, in fact she is scared of them and the consequences, to the point of manipulating the man registering the children into thinking she wields a less lethal ability, and is classified as a green. She must learn to adapt though, as she later escapes her horrible and abusive camp, and joins up with a group of children also on the run not only from the camps, but from bounty hunters. It's only with these lovable characters, Liam, Zu, and Chubs, that Ruby truly blossoms and cracks open her hard outer shell.

Alas, times are tough, and Ruby is wanted by many but the on the run feeling of the book was exciting, thrilling, and interesting. Bracken writes a great high paced dystopian that leaves you with the urge to weep or tear out your hair in the end. (Trust me, it's still amazing.) 

(my review of the sequel, Never Fade)