Fall For You Blog Tour & Review

Today, Little Red Reads is one of the tour hosts for Cecilia Gray's Fall For You. As being one of the tour hosts, even though I am posting this late because I woke up later than expected. Next time I will remember to write my review and have it scheduled to post. I will be posting my review. This review is going to be a little different than my previous reviews.


Fall For You by Cecilia Gray
E-Book
4.5 / 5 Stars


Summary from AToMR Book Blog Tours:

Jane Austen meets Pretty Little Liars in this fresh, new young-adult series! 
* * * 
The last thing that the girls at the elite Jane Austen Academy need is hot guys to flirt with. Please. They need to stay focused on something that lasts much longer: an acceptance letter from an Ivy. 
But over the summer the school has been sold, and like it or not, the guys are coming. And it’s about to turn the Academy–and the lives of its students–totally upside down… 
* * * 
To say Lizzie and Dante are polar opposites is the understatement of the century. He’s a snooty Exeter transfer with more money than Google. She’s a driven study-a-holic barely keeping up with tuition. It’s obvious that Dante thinks he’s way too good for Lizzie. And Lizzie knows Dante is a snob with a gift for pushing her buttons. 
But things are changing fast this year at the Academy. And when Lizzie’s quest to stop those changes blows up in her face, taking her oldest friendship with it, she has nowhere else to turn but to Dante, with his killer blue eyes, his crazy-sexy smile, and his secrets… Secrets Lizzie can’t seem to leave alone, no matter how hard she tries…

My Thoughts:
I absolutely loved this book! It may be because I love all things Jane Austen and my absolutely favorite book of all times is Pride & Prejudice, but put those aside, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was so nice reading a book and relating it so much to Pride & Prejudice. I quickly fell in love with the characters. Lizzie obviously being the character like Lizzie Bennet, Dante quickly taking a place in my heart just like Darcy, Anne being the sweet and love-able character that Jane Bennet always was, and Rick taking the place of Bing. What I was most surprised about was that Georgiana took residence within Fall For You and it made my heart melt. I love Georgiana and having Georgiana in the series makes you see the other side of Dante.


All the twists and turns that are inside Pride & Prejudice are also inside Fall For You just in a more modern way. I definitely related to this book. I loved the way it was written and I loved how easily it was to read. I am definitely looking forward to reading more of not just this series but everything Cecilia Gray has to offer.


If you are an avid Jane Austen fan, you will not be disappointed with this series. I definitely recommend that you read this series because it is well worth the enjoyment of stepping into a Jane Austen land in the modern era. I cannot wait to read the second installment of the Jane Austen Academy Series.


I want to personally thank AToMR Book Blogs and Cecilia Gray for this opportunity to join in on this tour and letting me read Fall For You. It was such a pleasure to read. You can check out the rest of the stops by clicking HERE


xo Stephanie

Spellbound (Hex Hall #3) [Review]

Title: Spellbound
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Series: Hex Hall Series
Publisher: Hyperion Teens
Release Date: March 13th, 2012
Hardcover: 327 pages
Average Star Rating: 4.23

Synopsis (from Publisher):

Just as Sophie Mercer has come to accept her extraordinary magical powers as a demon, the Prodigium Council strips them away. Now Sophie is defenseless, alone, and at the mercy of her sworn enemies—the Brannicks, a family of warrior women who hunt down the Prodigium. Or at least that’s what Sophie thinks, until she makes a surprising discovery. The Brannicks know an epic war is coming, and they believe Sophie is the only one powerful enough to stop the world from ending. But without her magic, Sophie isn’t as confident. Sophie’s bound for one hell of a ride—can she get her powers back before it’s too late?

My Review:

Oh my God. I absolutely LOVE Sophie. She's an amazing character and Rachel Hawkins has done a wonderful job at creating this world and the characters. Sophie is back in the third and final Hex Hall novel and she kicks ass. So many twists to keep you on your toes.

As for being Team Archer/Team Cal. I have warmed up to Archer, but around page 308 I literally punched the book. There is a marking on that page from not only my hand (which hurts, by the way) but also my nail polish. As you can see, I got really into the book. I read it within a day.

Now, even though, I wish the ending went differently, I still enjoyed this book. And I love this series. I've recommended this series to so many people. It's just that enjoyable and un-putdownable. It was really interesting to learn more about the Brannicks (gotta love them redheads ;P we do rock). I even didn't mind Archer that much. I still prefer Cal, but Archer's not bad either :P

I was a little disappointed with the Underworld scene, I was hoping for more, but learning about all those instances and possible future outcomes, was pretty interesting.

Memorable Quotes:

“Jackass, jackass on the wall, where's the info on Hex Hall?”

“We're going to the Underworld," Izzy said. She bounced a little as she said it, her eyes bright and her tone implying that "the Underworld" was akin to "Candy Land.”

"We've tried to kill each other, fought ghouls, and kissed a lot. I'm pretty sure we're married in some cultures.” 

“Um...Mercer? Haven't seen you in nearly a month. I was expecting something like, 'Oh Cross, love of my heart, fire of my loins, how I've longed--”

“I think I might have seen pride in Dad’s eyes. Or maybe it was just a gleam of Why is my offspring so insane?”

"Man, what had that piney-tasting stuff been? The Brannick version of Red Bull?”

My Rating:

4.5/5 Stars

Hex Hall (Hex Hall #1) [Review]

Title: Hex Hall 
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Series: Hex Hall Series 
Publisher: Hyperion Teens
Release Date: March 2nd, 2010
Hardcover: 323 pages
Average Star Rating: 4.06


Synopsis (from Publisher):
Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she is a witch. Her non-gifted mother has been supportive, consulting Sophie’s estranged father—a warlock—only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it’s her dad who exiles her to “Hex Hall”, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, fairies, and shape-shifters.
By the end of her first day, Sophie has three new enemies, a futile crush on a warlock, a tagalong ghost, and a vampire roommate. Worse, Sophie soon learns that an unknown predator has been attacking students. As a series of blood-curdling mysteries converges, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.


My Thoughts:
I am a huge fan of witches, whether it be in books or movies or TV shows. My favorite witch-y show was Bewitched. So when I won this book through a giveaway, I was super excited to read it because I hadn't read a witch book in quite some time. I've always wanted to be a witch. Where I could just snap my fingers and manifest anything that I ever wanted. You know like Sabrina or Samantha (from Bewitched). So, you can tell that I was really excited to read this book and thankfully, the excitement never ended.


So why did I love this book so much, you ask? Well, for one, witches. However, I liked the characters, the plot, the writing, and so much more.


I absolutely fell in love with the main character, Sophia Mercer. She is very relatable and humorous (whether she says something funny or she does something that you just cannot help but to laugh at). This book had me laughing a lot because of the quick-witted remarks. I love that about books. I also have to say that I am definitely on Team Archer. The romance within this series has potential. I am looking forward to what Rachel Hawkins will write next. 


This book had me so enthralled that I read it in basically a day and the second I finished it, I had to go and by the second book. This book was a bit predictable, yet, not to where the ending completely threw me. This is a wonderfully written, fast paced, and easy read. Hex Hall has a little bit of everything in it-- mystery, love, heartache, friendship, finding self, humor, family and their issues, etc. It is definitely worth it to pick this book up and get an exciting and enchanting dose of bewitchment.


Memorable Quotes:
“Good luck explaining to God that you used to spank one of his heavenly beings."
Mom gave a startled laugh. "Sophie!"
"What? You did. I hope you like hot weather, Mom, that's all I'm saying.”


“Archer isn't hot anymore.... He tried to kill me, and his girlfriend is Satan.”


“But this room looked like it had been decorated by the unholy lovechild of Barbie and Strawberry Shortcake.” 


“When someone tells you somebody’s been murdered, laughing is probably not the best response. You know, for future reference. But laughing is exactly what I did.”


“I should say upfront that I have never been in a cellar in my life. In fact, I can see no reason why anyone should ever go into a cellar unless there is wine involved.” 
       -This one I so agree with! :D


My Rating: 
4.5/5 Stars


xo
Stephanie

13 To Life (13 To Life #1)

Title: 13 To Life

Author: Shannon Delany

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Paperback: 308 Pages

Published Date: June 22, 2010

Average Rating: 3.91 Stars

Goodreads Blurb:

Everything about Jessie Gillmansen’s life changed when her mother died. Now even her hometown of Junction is changing. Mysterious dark things are happening. All Jessie wants is to avoid more change. But showing a hot new guy around Junction High, she’s about to discover a whole new type of change. Pietr Rusakova is more than good looks and a fascinating accent—he’s a guy with a dangerous secret. And his very existence is sure to bring big trouble to Jessie’s small town. It seems change is the one thing Jessie can’t avoid…

My Review:

This is a wonderfully paced and easily read novel. Shannon Delany knows how to write for the young adult. I'm not saying there were flaws, but there weren't many. For starters, I read on somebody else's review that Pietr's last name was of a female surname for the Russian culture. His name should have been Rusakov not Rusakova. However, Shannon Delany has a method to her madness because in the second book (very first page) she mentions that the father did some stuff to make the mother want her kids to have her last name. So after I found that out, it didn't bug me as much as it did prior to reading that. Another thing that got a little irritating was how much the Rusakova's used some Russian terms for "sorry," "no," things like that. I didn't have as much of a problem with "nyet" or "da" but there were others that I just couldn't pronounce and it bugged me. The third and final problem was with the main character Jessie...please live a little for yourself, dammit! Her motto was "We don't just live our lives for ourself," (pg. 37). This irritated me because of how little she did for herself!

Onto the better stuff :D The characters are very relatable. I absolutely fell in love with pretty much all of them (especially Pietr and Amy). Pietr has a knack for pointing out the obvious which gave the book a bit of a comedic aspect to it. Amy, Jessie's best friend, I absolutely LOVED! As for Jessie...other than her motto that she lives by... I liked her. She was sarcastic and quick-witted which made me relate to her so much more. It takes about 100 pages to get to the really good stuff but just hang in there because you won't regret it! Plus, you want to know what exactly happened with the "accident" and the "test" that Jessie is put through to show her loyalty and trust to the Rusakova family. Trust me!

All-in-all, I think that this was a very good book that was well written and keeps you wanting more. After reading the first in this series, I immediately went and bought the second one and will probably do the same for the third one. So ultimately.. I cannot wait until the fourth one comes out at the end of January 2012.

Memorable Quotes:

"Trembling like my dogs, I looked at the pitchfork in my hands and laughed. Add a torch and I'd be set to join the mob in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. What did I think was out there? A monster?"

"'Not love at first sight. Lust at first sight. Haven't you ever just wanted something?' 'Yes, yes I have,' I admitted. She leaned closer. I looked into her pale blue eyes and said, 'Every time a new vampire novel comes out I want it.'"

“You know, considering your IQ, you're really socially retarded sometimes."

My Rating:

4.5 Stars

xoxo stephanie