From My Notebook #4: Book Review - The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

When I read I write notes, thoughts, and quotes about the book in a notebook. I sometimes write drafts or full book reviews in my notebooks too. And sometimes I forget to write up a review from those notes. Or sometimes I would forget to type up and/or post those reviews. So From My Notebook will be the notes, thoughts, quotes, or full reviews that I had in one of my notebooks from other the past years that I forgot to share before. 

Title: The Evolution of Mara Dyer 
(Mara Dyer #2)
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Length: 528 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Classification: Young Adult, Paranormal, Mystery
Release Date: October 23, 2012
Source: Paperback
Read: May 2015

The truth about Mara Dyer's dangerous and mysterious abilities continues to unravel in the New York Times bestselling sequel to the thrilling The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. Mara Dyer once believed she could run from her past.She can't. She used to think her problems were all in her head. They aren't. She couldn't imagine that after everything she's been through, the boy she loves would still be keeping secrets. She's wrong. In this gripping sequel to The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, the truth evolves and choices prove deadly. What will become of Mara Dyer next?

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*This is the second book in a trilogy, so this review may contain possible spoilers for the first book, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. This is your warning, if you haven't read the first book, then proceed at your own risk of any possible spoilers.*

From My Notebook #1: Book Review - The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

When I read I write notes, thoughts, and quotes about the book in a notebook. I sometimes write drafts or full book reviews in my notebooks too. And sometimes I forget to write up a review from those notes. Or sometimes I would forget to type up and/or post those reviews. So From My Notebook will be the notes, thoughts, quotes, or full reviews that I had in one of my notebooks from other the past years that I forgot to share before. 

Book Review of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

Read: May 2015

Wolf By Wolf by Ryan Graudin

Title: Wolf By Wolf
(Wolf By Wolf #1)
Author: Ryan Graudin
Length: 400 pages
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Classification: Young Adult, Alternative History, Fantasy
Release Date: October 20, 2015
Source: ARC via the NOVL Newsletter (Thank you, NOVL!)

Code Name Verity meets Inglourious Basterds in this fast-paced novel from the author of The Walled City.
The year is 1956, and the Axis powers of the Third Reich and Imperial Japan rule the world. To commemorate their Great Victory over Britain and Russia, Hitler and Emperor Hirohito host the Axis Tour: an annual motorcycle race across their conjoined continents. The victor is awarded an audience with the highly reclusive Adolf Hitler at the Victor's ball.
Yael, who escaped from a death camp, has one goal: Win the race and kill Hitler. A survivor of painful human experimentation, Yael has the power to skinshift and must complete her mission by impersonating last year's only female victor, Adele Wolfe. This deception becomes more difficult when Felix, Adele twin's brother, and Luka, her former love interest, enter the race and watch Yael's every move. But as Yael begins to get closer to the other competitors, can she bring herself to be as ruthless as she needs to be to avoid discovery and complete her mission?

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***I received an ARC of this book from the NOVL Newsletter in exchange for an honest review***

A Million Miles Away by Lara Avery

Title: A Million Miles Away
Author: Lara Avery
Length: 320 pages
Publisher: Poppy
Classification: Young Adult, Contemporary
Release Date: July 7, 2015
Source: ARC (Thanks to the NOVL Newsletter!)
Read: April 2015

Perfect for fans of Nicholas Sparks, this breathtaking story of love and loss is guaranteed to break your heart and sweep you off your feet.
When high school senior Kelsey's identical twin sister, Michelle, dies in a car crash, Kelsey is left without her other half. The only person who doesn't know about the tragedy is Michelle's boyfriend, Peter, recently deployed to Afghanistan. But when Kelsey finally connects with Peter online, she can't bear to tell him the truth. Active duty has taken its toll, and Peter, thinking that Kelsey is Michelle, says that seeing her is the one thing keeping him alive. Caught up in the moment, Kelsey has no choice: She lets Peter believe that she is her sister.
As Kelsey keeps up the act, she crosses the line from pretend to real. Soon, Kelsey can't deny that she's falling, hard, for the one boy she shouldn't want. 

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***I received an ARC of this book from the NOVL Newsletter in exchange for an honest review***

Scarlett Undercover by Jennifer Latham

Title: Scarlett Undercover
Author: Jennifer Latham
Length: 320 pages
Publisher: Little Brown Books For Young Readers
Classification: Young Adult, Mystery, Paranormal
Release Date: May 19, 2015
Source: ARC via the NOVL Newsletter 
(Thank you, NOVL!)
Read: March 2015

A voice-driven mystery perfect for fans of Veronica Mars.
Meet Scarlett, a smart, sarcastic, kick-butt, Muslim American heroine, ready to take on crime in her hometown of Las Almas. When a new case finds the private eye caught up in a centuries-old battle of evil genies and ancient curses, Scarlett discovers that her own family secrets may have more to do with the situation than she thinks -- and that cracking the case could lead to solving her father's murder.
Jennifer Latham delivers a compelling story and a character to remember in this one-of-a-kind debut novel.

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***I received an ARC of this book from the NOVL Newsletter in exchange for an honest review***

The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things by Ann Aguirre

Title: The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things
Author: Ann Aguirre
Length: 336 pages
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Classification: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Release Date: April 7, 2015
Source: ARC via Danielle @ Love at First Page (Thanks Danielle!)
Read: March 2015

Sage Czinski is trying really hard to be perfect. If she manages it, people won’t peer beyond the surface, or ask hard questions about her past. She’s learned to substitute causes for relationships, and it’s working just fine… until Shane Cavendish strolls into her math class. He’s a little antisocial, a lot beautiful, and everything she never knew she always wanted.
Shane Cavendish just wants to be left alone to play guitar and work on his music. He’s got heartbreak and loneliness in his rearview mirror, and this new school represents his last chance. He doesn’t expect to be happy; he only wants to graduate and move on. He never counted on a girl like Sage.
But love doesn’t mend all broken things, and sometimes life has to fall apart before it can be put back together again…

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***I received an ARC of this book from a fellow blogger. This does not change the way I view this book.***

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

Title: Cruel Beauty
Author: Rosamund Hodge
Length: 342 pages
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Classification: Young Adult, Retellings, Fairy Tale, Mythology
Release Date: January 28, 2014
Source: Hardback (won from a giveaway)
Read: March 2015

Graceling meets Beauty and the Beast in this sweeping fantasy about one girl's journey to fulfill her destiny and the monster who gets in her way-by stealing her heart.
Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.
Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.
With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.
But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her.
As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.

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***I won a copy of this book from a giveaway. This does not change the way I view this book.***

2015 Real Book Challenge!

You can find the sign-up post HERE! 

I really love doing Book Challenges, and I have already signed up for several this year! And I really thought I was done, but I decided that I just couldn't pass this one up.

I do read a lot of E-books and E-galleys but I really want to get through a lot of my physical books that I already own! And I think this challenge will go really well with the challenges I have already signed up for this year!

If you aren't already participating, you should definitely think about signing up too!

My Goal:

45 - Real Book Hoarder 

I am really looking forward to reading #RealBooks!

I'm not including a book list since I am not really sure for sure what books I plan to read yet, but each month I will include a list of Real Books read that month in my Monthly Highlights posts. And I will also try my best to keep my ongoing list updated on my Challenges Page!