Pages: 336
Publication date: October 4, 2011

Publisher: Harper Teen

How I got the copy: Bought (Hardcover)

Rating:  3 Stars
  

     

From Goodreads:

The year is 2032, sixteen years after a deadly virus—and the vaccine intended to protect against it—wiped out most of the earth’s population. The night before eighteen-year-old Eve’s graduation from her all-girls school she discovers what really happens to new graduates, and the horrifying fate that awaits her. 

Fleeing the only home she’s ever known, Eve sets off on a long, treacherous journey, searching for a place she can survive. Along the way she encounters Caleb, a rough, rebellious boy living in the wild. Separated from men her whole life, Eve has been taught to fear them, but Caleb slowly wins her trust...and her heart. He promises to protect her, but when soldiers begin hunting them, Eve must choose between true love and her life.

Plot: 5/10

Characters: 5/10

Setting: 5/10

Pacing: 6/10

Style: 7/10

Cover:  The colors drew me to the book right away.  I especially love the font and the way that it looks like the girl is running.  But I'm confused why the bridge doesn't have cars on it.

28+50=78 (3 Stars)

     My first thought upon finishing this book?  Crap, now I have to buy the rest of the books in this trilogy.  I find this funny for two reasons. 1. I didn't even want to read/buy the first book. and 2. For the first 100 or so pages of this book I hated the main character.  But somewhere along the lines I became engrossed in this story and captured by the suspense.  I couldn't stop reading.  

     Eve is frustrating at first because she is so naive.  It makes sense and I'm glad the author was true to the character, but there were so many times I wanted to reach through the pages and shake some sense into her.  I was so relieved when she realized her mistakes and I even cheered when she finally grew some courage.  

     Caleb was a great addition to the story, but that's all he really was.  Just an addition.  I kinda wish it had been split POV between the two of them because I felt he had a lot to tell and I wanted to know him more.  I also thought it would be nice to see what the world was really like through his eyes since Eve is so sheltered in the beginning.

     The world building is really interesting in this one.  I was having trouble with it because I found holes in the logic of it, but once I got past that I realized it was an interesting idea and just let my hesitations go.  I liked that the author took literature examples and twisted them to fit what the king wanted the girls to think.  Like how "Romeo seduced Juliet and led her to her death" because he wanted the girls to fear all men.  I hope book two and three explain more about this world and how the plague started it's destruction.

     If you like Delirium, The Host, Uglies, or Article 5 you should try this book.  And the best part is that all three books are already out so we don't have to wait to continue reading!  This one definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat, holding your breath, and wanting more.

Publication date: May 31, 2013

Publisher: Entangled Publishing

How I got the copy: Bought

Rating:  5 Stars
  

    

From Goodreads:

This is a stand alone novel that is an adult spin-off
of the Lux Series You do not need to read a Lux book to read Obsession and vice versa.

He’s arrogant, domineering, and... To. Die. For.

Hunter is a ruthless killer. And the Department of Defense has him firmly in their grasp, which usually doesn’t chafe too badly because he gets to kill bad guys. Most of the time he enjoys his job. That is, until he’s saddled with something he’s never had to do before: protect a human from his mortal enemy.

Serena Cross didn’t believe her best friend when she claimed to have seen the son of a powerful senator turn into something... unnatural. Who would? But then she witnesses her friend’s murder at the hands of what can only be an alien, thrusting her into a world that will kill to protect their secret.

Hunter stirs Serena’s temper and her lust despite their differences. Soon he’s doing the unthinkable—breaking the rules he’s lived by, going against the government to keep Serena safe. But are the aliens and the government the biggest threats to Serena’s life… or is it Hunter?

Plot: 8/10

Characters: 9/10

Setting: 10/10

Pacing: 10/10

Style: 10/10

Cover:  Not sure why they're naked in a field, but the cover does capture the essence of the novel...sexy times.

47+50=97 (5 Stars)

     Jennifer L Armentrout can't write romance...said no one ever.  Seriously, this woman is the queen of steamy scenes!  My devotion as a fangirl for Daemon and Aiden has never faltered, but I think they need to scoot over because there needs to be room for Hunter now.  

     After reading the Lux series, never did I expect to fall for an Arum.  JLA took his dark side and somehow made it attractive.  Although at times he was really frustrating.  I was right there with Serena when she wanted to throw things at him.

 

    The plot was not lacking either.  Sometimes with romance novels there's hardly any plot development.  Not only does this book take us deeper into the world of the Arum and Luxen, but it also gave us a sneak peek at what Daemon is up to after the end of Opal.  I kind of wish he had been in it more.

     While I love the snark that JLA writes in all her novels it kind of starts to feel like they're all the same characters with the same voices.  Katy and Alex are very different, but their humor is similar.  And I felt like Serena was an adult mixture of those two.  Daemon and Hunter were very similar in their cockiness and protectiveness.