Personalized Reviews


Review: Beautifully Broken (Spellbound #1) by Sherry Soule

Title: Beautifully Broken
Author: Sherry Soule
Series: Spellbound #1
Format: ebook
Release Date: Aug. 4, 2011
Genre(s): YA, paranormal
Rating:

Summary

Thirteenth daughter. Heritage witch. Demon slayer.

They say every town has its secrets, but that doesn’t even begin to describe Whispering Pines. The townsfolk are a superstitious lot and the mystical disappearance of a local teen has everyone murmuring about a centuries old witch’s curse…

Sixteen-year-old Shiloh Ravenwolf is a heritage witch from the Broussard family, a family both destined and cursed. After she takes a summer job at Ravenhurst Manor, she discovers a ghost with an agenda. That’s where she meets the new town hottie, Trent Donovan. But Trent may be the next victim on the supernatural hit list, and Shiloh is the only person with the power to save him.

Complicated much?

After receiving cryptic messages from a creepy wraith, and then frightening threats from a demon, Shiloh finally begins to understand the mysterious significance of the strange mark branded on her wrist. Now Shiloh must decide how much she’s willing to sacrifice to protect the other teenagers in town.

Unfortunately, for Shiloh, not all ghosts want help crossing over. Some want vengeance

Review

Plot: Shiloh Ravenwolf is a girl whose always been a bit different. Kids at her school treat her like an outcast, spreading rumors that she is a witch. She has a few good, close friends but sometimes that isn't enough. Ever since an unfortunate incident, Shiloh has been seeing things. Shadows in the dark. But now they start getting more dangerous than just shadows. Then there's Trent. He's a complete distraction for all the stress of demon hunting. When her friends start to disappear one by one, Shiloh realizes she's going to have to learn how to stop the demons before it's too late.
Character(s): Shiloh is a bit weird but it's a good thing. She deals well with being an outcast and is used to it. Sometimes it's hard to read her though. She seemed so strong and independent, I never would have guessed she like skirts and bright pink boots. But sometimes her ever changing mind is what keeps the story so interesting.
Cover: The cover is what pulled me in the most. Out of the books I've been reading lately, this was the one I was most excited for. It was a bit creepy and ghostly but also somewhat elegant. I like the font of the lettering and I think the girl on the cover is perfect.
Closing Thoughts: I'm giving this book a three out of four nail polishes. I loved the plot and the romance and all the surprising twists. My only complaints were that sometimes the author would add something completely shocking and the character almost seemed to shrug it off. I would be sitting there with my eyes wide thinking "oh my gosh" and the character would be like "oh" and move on. Sometimes I felt like the characters would accept things too easily. Also, I think Shiloh acted a bit young at times. I found myself imagining a twelve year old in her place. But I kind of liked that at the same time so it just depends I guess. I really liked the creepiness of this though! I didn't go into this thinking I would be spooked at night. But I was! Definitely going to read more from her.
Where to find (author's name):
Sweet Daydreams,
Brooke
You have read this article Brooke's Reviews / Paranormal Romance / Young Adult with the title . You can bookmark this page URL https://renthompsonishere.blogspot.com/2012/11/review-beautifully-broken-spellbound-1.html. Thanks!

Review: Cut by Patricia McCormick

Title: Cut
Author: Patricia McCormick
Series: N/A
Format: Paperback
Release Date: February 1, 2002
Genre(s): YA, Realistic Fiction
Rating:

Summary

"A tingle arced across my scalp. The floor tipped up at me and my body spiraled away. Then I was on the ceiling looking down, waiting to see what would happen next." Callie cuts herself. Never too deep, never enough to die. But enough to feel the pain. Enough to feel the scream inside. Now she's at Sea Pines, a "residential treatment facility" filled with girls struggling with problems of their own. Callie doesn't want to have anything to do with them. She doesn't want to have anything to do with anyone. She won''t even speak. But Callie can only stay silent for so long...

Review

Plot: Callie has been put into a treatment facility called Sea Pines (or Sick Minds as the others call it.) There are druggies, addicts, girls with eating disorders, and much more. And then there's her. Callie cuts herself to deal with her emotions. She feels absolutely alone. She doesn't speak at all. Not to anyone. She soon learns that she couldn't even if she tried. Throughout the book, Callie learns how to get better and how to be herself again step by step.
Character(s): Callie- Callie is the main character in this story. She is shy and introverted. She's ashamed of why she's there and feels as though she's worse than everyone else. She blames herself for everything that goes wrong and she hates herself. But in some ways, she's also a very strong young woman who is learning how to recover.
Sydney- Sydney is one of the "substance abuse guests." She claims to be addicted to every drug she's ever tried. Sydney is the girl Callie is probably closest with and she is almost well enough to go home. 
Tara- Tara is a "food issue guest" meaning she's anorexic. Her hair is falling out and she cried when she hit 99 pounds. But while she is having a hard time, she really is trying to get better. She is another girl who always tried to help Callie. She even talked to her when Callie wouldn't speak back.
Becca- Becca is also a food issue guest. She, on the other hand, doesn't want to get better. She manages to hide her food and throw up the little she does consume. Becca is a tiny, fragile thing and is a super sweet girl. She's almost like the baby of the group and everyone makes sure to look out for her.
Debbie- Debbie is and overweight food issue guest who struggles with the the opposite of the other girls. She struggles not to eat. She breaks down sometimes when she can't eat but she knows she needs to get better. She's like the mother of the group, always fussing over the other girls. Especially Becca. Some of the girls get annoyed but she's just trying to help. She has this overwhelming desire to make others feel better.
Tiffany- Tiffany is another on of the substance abuse guests. She doesn't have as bad of a problem. She's mostly there so she doesn't have to go to jail. She has a bit of an attitude and puts on an act of toughness. But in the end, even she sticks up for her group and shows that she really cares about them.
Amanda- Amanda shows up a ways through the book as a new guest. She has a major attitude and doesn't care what people think. She, like Cally, hurts herself. But she's proud of it. She walks around showing of her arms (making Callie feel uncomfortable) and doesn't care one bit about getting better.
Cover: The cover is very simple but to me personally I understood it. While not everyone may get it, I loved it. The words in the background are subtle but moving and the three cuts on the word cut are powerful to me.
Closing Thoughts: I absolutely loved this book. There were moments that made me want to cry and for a good reason. This was much different than the fantasy romance books I'm used to reading but I really liked the change. There was not one bit of romance but I liked it better that way. Weird right? Especially for me. I'd recommend this to anyone who thinks they could handle a heavy topic such as this. A great motivational story and a great theme. 
 Where to find (author's name):
Sweet Daydreams,
Brooke
You have read this article Brooke's Reviews with the title . You can bookmark this page URL https://renthompsonishere.blogspot.com/2012/11/review-cut-by-patricia-mccormick.html. Thanks!

Review: Torn by Ashley S. Morgan

Title: Torn
Author: Ashley S. Morgan
Series: N/A
Format: Ebook
Release Date: Feb. 20, 2012
Genre(s): YA, Romance
Rating:

Summary

Isadora Rivers feels trapped. Her small town high school is suffocating her. Another day of wannabe gangsters, dumb jocks, and Barbie clones, and she'll just lose it. Her keen emotional sensitivity is to blame. She sees through all of the poser behavior to the pain and insecurity simmering just below the surface, and it's overwhelming. She feels like she's literally drowning in other people's emotions.

This same sensitivity, however, makes her a great actress. Suffocating or not, her high school is one of the top arts schools in the country. Acting is not only her passion, but it also looks like her way out. If she can just score the lead role in the school play, she might get herself noticed by a Hollywood agent. But she's got a strong reckless streak, and it keeps getting her in trouble and jeopardizing her chances.

Riding her bike at top speed, she swerves in front of a car and nearly gets hit. The driver, Tristan Blake, turns out to be the mysterious new boy at school. He's rebellious, broody, and wise beyond his years. He's also devastatingly gorgeous. From the moment their eyes meet, Isadora is irresistibly drawn to him. But as soon as he enters her life, things go horribly wrong. She begins having disturbing visions full of unimaginable glamour and unbearable darkness. He knows things about her he shouldn't. And he's somehow so familiar. As he at turns pulls her close, and then pushes her away, Isadora feels like her heart is being twisted and torn.

She soon discovers that her whole future is in jeopardy, and her only hope is to stay away from Tristan. But how can she turn away from the only boy she has ever loved? As a harrowing event looms closer, one that threatens to rip apart her psyche, Isadora must reach deep inside herself and find the strength to change her own destiny. But is she strong enough to do it?

Review

Plot: Right from the beginning things are exciting. Isadora can feel a special connection with the new, mysterious boy, Tristan. Does he feel it too? He's not very consistent with his emotions and it leaves poor Isadora very confused. Then there's the visions she keeps having leaving her thinking she's going insane. I was constantly frustrated with both of the charcters but in a good way! I got into the story and felt what the characters were feeling. In that way I knew the plot was well written. She created tension and emotions nicely and she kept me constantly wanting to read more.
Character(s): Isadora is a strong, independant girl who feels constantly trapped. One thing I really liked about her is that she was flawed. She would do stupid things and she wasn't a prefect strong character. She would lose her temper a lot and get really shy sometimes. She was relatable and I loved that about her! Sometimes I wanted to yell at her for being stupid but that's what made me care for her so much.
Cover: The cover is very simple and I think it's perfect for this story. The shading and lighting is very pretty. I like the feeling it gives you for this book.
Closing Thoughts: This book definitely deserves a four out of four. There realyl was nothing I could complain about for this. The plot line was amazing and really cute. The characters were strong and probably my absolute favorite thing about this book. The author uses emotions and senses and lets you really feel the book which is great, too. The tone was mature and well written and I absolutely loved this book! I definitely would reccomend this to everyone.
Where to find (author's name):
Sweet Daydreams,
Brooke
You have read this article 2012 Reads / Brooke's Reviews / Romance / Young Adult with the title . You can bookmark this page URL https://renthompsonishere.blogspot.com/2012/11/review-torn-by-ashley-s-morgan.html. Thanks!
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