White Witch by Trish Milburn

Witchcraft Is Her Family’s Business.No One Quits The Family And Lives To Tell About It. “Jax” Pherson has power, enough power to know her future will end in service to the dark coven her father controls. Unless she can stay hidden in a small community in the mountains of North Carolina. She must find a way to live without magic and deny the darkness she feels welling up inside her—the same dark power that fuels the covens around the world. All she wants is a normal life. A boyfriend. Friends. Some place to belong, but all too soon Jax’s barely begun new life hangs in the balance when she discovers that the boy she’s attracted to is sworn to kill her kind. He’s a hunter with good reason to kill everything that goes bump in the night. Even the most fleeting use of her power is tantamount to signing her death warrant and will bring both hunter and coven down on her. But can she walk away when her friends are threatened by an old evil? Something created by the magic of witches? Jax’s only hope of survival is to convince the boy she loves to forget everything he’s ever been taught and help her find a way to fight the covens. To believe there is some good in her.

Summary taken from Goodreads.


White Witch was a fun, quick read. I didn't love it, but it kept my attention and was entertaining enough.


There was a bad case of insta-love in this one. Not just insta-love, but STARCROSSED insta-love. Keller and Jax see each other for the first time, and then they are in love. But she's a witch and he hunts the supernatural. Not really anything new there and the should-I-shouldn't-I got old pretty quick. 


That aside, I enjoyed the plot. Jax is a witch on the run from her coven because they're evil and they force everyone in the coven to do evil. She doesn't want that for herself, so she runs. Now if they find her, they'll kill her. Even though she's blood family. Kinda messed up huh? So now Jax is trying to blend in and live a normal life. She clashes with the 'queen bee', makes friends with the quirky outsider, and attracts the hottest, most unattainable guy in school. Again, not much for new ideas. 


I did like the quirky best friend and her Whedon obsession. As a lifelong Whedon fanatic, I loved all the Buffy and Firefly references. 


Overall, White With was a fast, enjoyable read, even if it's not terribly original. I'd say it's worth reading, but no need to run out and buy a copy THIS MINUTE. Probably more of a borrow book than a buy.


Have you read this? Let me know what you thought of it in comments!

The Book of Wonders by Jasmine Richards

Magic, Djinn, Ogres, and Sorcerers. Thirteen-year-old Zardi loves to hear stories about fantastical beings, long banned from the kingdom of Arribitha. But anyone caught whispering of their powers will feel the rage of the sultan—a terrifying usurper who, even with his eyes closed, can see all.

When her own beloved sister is captured by the evil ruler, Zardi knows that she must go to any lengths to rescue her. Along with her best friend, Ridhan—a silver-haired, violet-eyed boy of mysterious origins—and an unlikely crew of sailors led by the infamous Captain Sinbad, Zardi ventures forth into strange and wondrous territory with a seemingly impossible mission: to bring magic back to Arribitha and defeat the sultan once and for all.

Summary taken from Goodreads 

The Book of Wonders was a really fun read. I don't read middle grade novels very often, but I enjoy this one a lot!

Zardi's Arribitha seemed like such a sad place. It used to be a beautiful kingdom, filled with magic. But the evil sultan stomped all that out, killing anyone with the slightest magical ability. But still, Zardi couldn't help craving it, wanting to know as much as possible.

I hated the fact that Zardi's father worked for the sultan, even if he was just trying to keep some of his evil in check. But he was clearlu failing, because one night the sultan comes for Zardi's older sister and turns her into a Praisemaker, meaning that he would hunt and kill her. 

And that's where Zardi's adventure begins. She and her best friend, Ridhan, go off in search of a way to save her sister and destroy the sultan. And maybe find out more about where Ridhan comes from. The story is jammed packed with pirates, magic, genies, and non stop action. I loved every minute of it!

My favorite parts were probably the references to Aladdin. They made me smile and excited for the next book. I hope we get to see more of them.

Book of Wonders was a fabulous adventure story that I'm so glad I won, or else I probably would have missed out on it! Check this one out! I promise you won't be disappointed!   

Babe in Boyland by Jody Gehrman

When high school junior Natalie - or Dr. Aphrodite, as she calls herself when writing the relationship column for her school paper - is accused of knowing nothing about guys and giving girls bad relationship advice, she decides to investigate what guys really think and want. But the guys in her class won't give her straight or serious answers. The only solution? Disguising herself as a guy and spending a week at Underwood Academy, the private all-boy boarding school in town. There she learns a lot about guys and girls in ways she never expected - especially when she falls for her dreamy roommate, Emilio. How can she show him she likes him without blowing her cover?

Summary taken from Goodreads 


First off, I love this cover! It was so adorable and playful I couldn't help but pick it up!


Babe in Boyland was a cute, but predictable read. If you've seen She's the Man (or read the original Shakespeare play) you've read this book. But it was still a fun read.


Natalie goes under cover as a boy at an all boys school to find out what boys really think about relationships and why boys do the things they do (which I'm sure all us girls would LOVE to know). As fate would have it, she gets a super hot, sensitive boy as her roommate. And of course, 
  she falls in love with him, but can't do anything about it. Hilarity ensues. 


Parts were laugh out loud funny. Especially the closet scene. SO funny! 


All in all, it was a cute, quick read. I'm glad I read it but didn't buy it. I'd say it's worth your time, but get it from the library or a friend.

The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa

Half Summer faery princess, half human, Meghan has never fit in anywhere. Deserted by the Winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the Winter faery queen. As war looms between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron fey—ironbound faeries that only she and her absent prince have seen. But no one believes her.
Worse, Meghan's own fey powers have been cut off. She's stuck in Faery with only her wits for help. Trusting anyone would be foolish. Trusting a seeming traitor could be deadly. But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can't help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-too-human heart

 Summary taken from Goodreads 




This is the second in the Iron Fey series, and I think it was an improvement over the first.

War is breaking out between Summer and Winter courts. The Specter of the Summers, which has been passed between the courts for centuries to make the passing of the seasons, has been stolen from the Winter court. Of course, they blame Summer, especially after the murder of one of their Royals. Only Ash and and Meghan know the truth, that the Iron Fey is behind it all. And after a betrayal by one of Winter's own, no one will believe them. So now Ash and Meghan are on the run from their courts, risking their lives to steal the Specter back from the Iron Fey.

The action in this just doesn't stop. There is battle after battle, each unique and terrifying.

There was only one thing that really started to get on my nerves. Meghan jerking Puck around. Kissing him, then pushing him away saying she has feelings for Ash. It's clear the entire time that Ash and Meghan are in love and no matter what they say they aren't over each other. But she wouldn't just let Puck go. It pissed me off. Puck is my favorite character and he deserved so much better than the way Meghan treated him in this book.

Meghan and Ash are the epitome of star crossed lovers and I'm rooting for them! They make each other better and they are a great couple.

The ending made me very curious of how this books are going to progress and I can't wait to find out!

Early to Death, Early to Rise by Kim Harrison

Seventeen, dead, and in charge of heaven's dark angels—all itching to kill someone.

Madison Avery's dreams of ever fitting in at her new school died when she did. Especially since she was able to maintain the illusion of a body, deal with a pesky guardian angel, and oh yeah, bring the reaper who killed her to his untimely end. Not exactly in-crowd material. It's amazing that her crush, Josh, doesn't think she's totally nuts.
Now Madison has learned that she's the dark timekeeper, in charge of angels who follow the murky guidelines of fate. Never one to abide by the rules, she decides it's time for a major change to the system. With the help of some unlikely allies, Madison forms a rogue group of reapers who definitely don't adhere to the rules of the heavens.
But as she grapples with the terrifying new skills that come with being a timekeeper, Madison realizes she may not be prepared for what lies ahead—unless she gets some seriously divine intervention. 

Summary taken from Goodreads

First thing, while I enjoy Harrison's young adult series, I greatly prefer her adult series. If you haven't read the Rachel Morgan series, you should. Seriously.

Early to Death, Early to Rise was a quick, fun read, but wasn't really memorable. I liked learning more about light and dark reapers slash time keepers (especially Barnabas, who is by far my favorite character) but other than that nothing else really stuck in my mind,


I'll be finishing this series, but it isn't on the top on my to be read list.

Abandon By Meg Cabot

Though she tries returning to the life she knew before the accident, Pierce can't help but feel at once a part of this world, and apart from it. Yet she's never alone . . . because someone is always watching her. Escape from the realm of the dead is impossible when someone there wants you back.

But now she's moved to a new town. Maybe at her new school, she can start fresh. Maybe she can stop feeling so afraid.

Only she can't. Because even here, he finds her. That's how desperately he wants her back. She knows he's no guardian angel, and his dark world isn't exactly heaven, yet she can't stay away... especially since he always appears when she least expects it, but exactly when she needs him most.

But if she lets herself fall any further, she may just find herself back in the one place she most fears: the Underworld.

Summary taken from Goodreads


One of the main benefits so far of writing this blog for me has been just sitting down and really thinking about why I liked or didn't like a book. It's really helped me figured out my taste in books in even greater detail.

For instance, Abandon taught me that I'm not a big fan of books that spend the majority of the time telling stories through flashbacks, like this one did. A few well placed flashbacks? Love it. Most of the story being past tense? Not so much. I have a harder time connecting to the story if most of it already happened. As soon as Abandon came back and stayed in the present, I devoured it. But most of the book lagged for me. 


My only other complaint is I'm a little worried about how the romance between John and Pierce is going to play out. So far, John is just a little too controlling, 'it's for your own good' type for me. 

This book made me wanna go and find my old copy of Greek myths I know I've got around my apartment somewhere. Cabot did a great job of making the story her own, but still kept enough of the originally mythology to make you interested in that as well. I loved the author's note at the end that told us even more about the other myths and real life facts she included in the book. 

The ending saved Abandon for me. I won't say much, but that was definitely a twist I did not see coming.

Abandon ended up being a three star read for me. I will be on the look out for book two, Underworld, which should come out sometime next year.

Oh and I have a question for you guys:
What's your favorite Meg Cabot book? I wanna try another by her and wanna hear your suggestions!