Anything by Michael Baron

 

 

What would you do if you had the opportunity to go back in time and save the love of your life from experiencing pain? You would do it, right? Even if it meant altering time and your relationship? Even if it meant never meeting her? That's the choice our heroine is plagued with.

Anything is both heartwarming and heart wrenching as we follow our heroine on his journey. Michael Baron really has a way with words. He sucks you in with his beautiful jargon. You could literally feel the pain and heartbreak radiating off the pages. A story of love and letting go, I give Anything five out five stars.

The Alchemy of Forever by Avery Williams

Summary: Can we ever really escape our past? Especially when we have all the time in the world for it to catch up to us?

 Seraphina was just a young girl when her life was taken from her. When a handsome young man called Cyrus offers her eternal life, she takes it. But centuries later, she's tired of living. She makes a plan to commit suicide, but when things don't go as planned, she ends up stuck in someone else's body. As she plots her second suicide attempt, she grows attached to her home's (aka the body she occupies) friends and family, and discovers that she may want to live. Still, she knows that she cannot go on living inside of someone else's body, living someone else's life, even when throwing away that someone else's life means throwing away her only chance at love. But will Cyrus ever let her go? 

My Thoughts: Okay, what the hell kind of ending was that?? If you-know-who took over you-know-who's body then I'm not reading book two. This really sucks and I want to cry....See, this is what happens when you live vicariously through fictional characters: you feel there fictional pain. My night is ruined....grrr! BUT, I can't deny that, up until the last page, I enjoyed reading this. I thought the plot was pretty original and the writing wasn't horrible. 

Books I Read in 2011

It's A List!: YA Romance Novels to Look Forward to in 2012 That Are Not In A Series (Part 2 of 2)

17. Shooting Stars by Allison Rushby

Expected Publication: February 28, 2012

18. The Fine Art of Truth or Dare by Melissa Jenson

Expected Publication: February 16, 2012

19. Someone Else's Life by Katie Dale

Expected Publication: February 2, 2012

20.  New Girl by Paige Harbison

Expected Publication: January 31, 2012

21. Forbidden by Syrie James

Expected Publication: January 24, 2012

22. Dragonswood by Janet Lee Carey

Expected Publication: January 5, 2012

23. Love? Maybe by Heather Hepler

Expected Publication: January 5, 2012

24. Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler

Expected Publication: January 3, 2012

25. Unraveling Isobel by Eileen Cook

Expected Publication: January 3, 2012

26.  The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

Expected Publication: January 2, 2012

27. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

Expected Publication:  2012

It's A List!: YA Romance Novels to Look Forward to in 2012 That Are Not In A Series (Part 1 of 2)

1. Seven Clues to Winning You by Kristin Walker

Expected Publication: April 26, 2012

2. Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard

Expected Publication: March 13, 2012

3.  Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins

Expected Publication: May 1, 2012

4. Breaking Beautiful by Jennifer Shaw Wolf

Expected Publication: April 24, 2012

5. Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

Expected Publication: May 8, 2012

6. In Honor by Jessi Kirby

Expected Publication: May 8, 2012

7. First Comes Love by Katie Kacvinsky

Expected Publication: May 8, 2012

8. Enchanted by Alethea Kontis

Expected Publication: May 8, 2012

9.  When You Close Your Eyes by Celeste Conway

Expected Publication: March 20, 2011

10.  The Thing About the Truth by Lauren Barnholdt

Expected Publication: July 10, 2012

11.  If I Lie by Corinne Jackson

Expected Publication: August 28, 2012

12.  My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Expected Publication: June 14, 2012

13.  Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Expected Publication: August 2012

14.  Wrecked by Anna Davies

Expected Publication: May 1, 2012

15.  The Unquiet by Jeannine Garsee

Expected Publication: July 17, 2012

16.  Wicked Jealous: A Love Story by Robin Palmer

Expected Publication: July 19, 2012

The One That I Want by Jennifer Echols

Rating: 2/5


When I first noticed this book on Goodreads, I paid no attention to the title or the description. I only had eyes for the author's name: Jennifer Echols. Jennifer Echols is a big deal to me when it comes to the YA romance genre. So, when I saw that she authored this novel I just knew it was going to be good. No, let me rephrase that: I just assumed it was going to be good. And we all know what happens when we assume. 


For a YA novel published in 2011 (sorry to say, but the standards for a good YA novel these days have lowered tremendously), it wasn't horrible. I even enjoyed it a bit. But, for a YA novel written by Jennifer Echols? Bleh. The ending was cheese (and I'm not talking cute cheese, I'm talking If I Have A Wicked Stepmother Where's My Prince cheese) and felt kind of rushed. Now, this is just my opinion. You really have to see for yourself. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it. If you really just have to read a book about a girl lusting after her best friend's boyfriend while said best friend turns out to be a rhymes-with-witch, then I would recommend Something Like Fate (Susane Colasanti) or The Unwritten Rule (Elizabeth Scott) or even Sometimes it Happens (Lauren Barnholdt....and we all know I don't have too high an opinion of her writing, so that's saying something). My point is that since there are plenty more novels out there with similar story lines, you can skip this one. 


Oh but wait! There was one thing I liked about this novel: the main character's journey from overweight to healthy. Although we don't get to actually witness this journey, we do get to see the before and after. Her weight was an important part of the story, and it was a part that I liked and could relate to. That part alone was enough to give this two stars, but not enough to make me like this novel. The bad outweighed the good. Echols needs to step up her game and quit slacking!

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkins

Rating: 5/5


Okay, let me just say that this is the best book I've read this year (next to Wither). Looks like someone in the YA business decided to step up their game. I loved the originality, and the ending. But I hate cliffhangers :/ The heroine kind of puts me in the mind of Rogue from X-Men (the movies, as I'm well aware that the comics differed greatly even though I didn't read them). And I LOVED Noah (although I can't stop thinking about The Notebook when I see his name).  I cannot wait until next year! Oh, and do you wanna know the twist at the end? Well too bad! ;p