Title: A Witch in Winter

Author: Ruth Warburton

 

Series: Winter Trilogy #1

My rating: 4.5 of 5

(Book re-read from my own copy from March 2nd to March 4th, 2013)

Summary:

Anna Winterson doesn't know she's a witch and would probably mock you for believing in magic, but after moving to the small town of Winter with her father, she learns more than she ever wanted to about power. When Anna meets Seth, she is smitten, but when she enchants him to love her, she unwittingly amplifies a deadly conflict between two witch clans and splits her own heart in two. She wants to love Seth, to let him love her - but if it is her magic that's controlling his passion, then she is as monstrous as the witch clan who are trying to use her amazing powers for their own gain. 

 

When love is tangled up in magic, how can you be sure what's real?

 

My Thoughts on the Book:

Ok, since this was a re-read for me, I read it last year, but never got around to writing a review, and I still remember what I thought about it then, I guess I'll include my thoughts then & my thoughts now.

So,  when I saw A Witch in Winter last year, I knew I had to have it, because it sounded really interesting, and I do love witchy books, and you gotta love that cover - it's even more gorgeous IRL. Anyway, I pre-ordered it, read it & loved it, but as I said I never got around to reviewing it, although it was one of my fav debuts in 2012.   

What I loved about A Witch in Winter? Well, first, I have to admit the writing. It was lovely, a little bit magical, with some really lovely descriptions in this 1st book of the Winter Trilogy. And you could really feel that you're actually there, and I love it when the writing does that to me. Also, the story was really fun & interesting & sweet. Anna doesn't know she's actually a witch, so when joking around with friends trying to do some magic from a grimoire they found, she's in for quite the surprise when she realises that she's actually cast a love spell & now Seth Waters is obsessively in love with her, so she tries to reverse it, and lots of stuff start to happen around. There are some quite amazing, yet terrifying magic when it comes to the weather ;) Anyway, she actually manages to reverse the love spell, and although Seth's not obsessive anymore, he's still in love with her. It's not actually a love at first sight story, but Seth doesn't give up, so Anna falls in love with him, too. Now, that's not all to the story, but anything more would be full of spoilers, but there are some other witches that try to hurt Anna & her new friends & it was really interesting learning about the witch world. As for the characters, I really liked all of them, both Anna & Seth, as well as all the secondary characters, especially Abe & Emmaline. I remember while reading this last year thinking how much I love Abe as a character, he's just so fun, but also mysterious, and he has some amazing magic, and I was thinking that it's great there's not actually a love triangle. To be honest, near the end of the book Abe did something I didn't expect that I thought I might be wrong, but I didn't really mind it, it was just something on the spur of the moment, and after I re-read this book, I still like him quite a lot as a character. As for Seth & Anna, I thought that their romance is sweet & really honest, and they really do love each other, and I liked them a lot as a couple.

 

The ending was pretty great, with lots of action, some heartbreak, and it will leave you eager to pick up the next book, although there isn't a cliffhanger.   

Do I recommend A Witch in Winter? Yes! If you love YA fantasy books full with magic, witches and romance, then I recommend this one!

Challenges:

2013 Books-In-A-Series Reading Challenge

Title: The Light

Author: D. J. MacHale

 

Series: Morpheus Road #1

My rating: 5 of 5

(Book re-read from my own copy  from November 28 to December 03, 2012)

Summary:

Marshall Seaver is being haunted...

It begins with mysterious sounds, a fleeting face outside a window, a rogue breeze - all things that can be explained away. That is, until he comes face-to-face with a character who only exists on the pages of a sketchbook - a character Marshall himself created.

Marshall has no idea why he is being tormented, but he is quickly convinced it has to do with his best friend, Cooper, who has gone missing. Together with Cooper's beautiful but aloof sister Sydney, Marshall searches for the truth about his friend while ultimately uncovering a nightmare that is bigger and more frightening than anything he could ever have imagined.

 

My Thoughts on the Book:

Ok, so this is the 3rd time I read The Light - the first book in the Morpheus Road trilogy - and I have already reviewed it twice, but I have to do it again because I love it so much, and want to spread the love for the trilogy, but I'll try to keep it short ;)

Marshall Seaver is a loner in a way. He's an artist, he keeps sketching his creepy character Gravedigger again & again, and spends most of his time with his best (and only) friend Cooper Foley! Also, he has lost his mother a couple of years ago, and has a crush on Cooper's older sister Sydney. So, after having a really big fight with Cooper, strange things start to happen to Marshall. He's freaked out of course, especially after seeing Gravedigger - a character from his own imagination - who tries to kill him again & again. So, when he tries to contact Cooper, he finds out that he's been missing. So, Marshall, together with Cooper's sister, Sydney, try to find Cooper, while trying to stay alive.    

The Light is a book that will keep you on the edge of your sit from the beginning until the end! This being my 3rd time I've read this book, I didn't found it as creepy as I did the previous 2 times, but it was still a thrilling read that I found exciting & fun & sad & eerie, with such a great mystery, and once again I loved every second of it. I loved Marshall as a character, and I love the way he grows up through the book. I also loved both Cooper & Sydney, they're such great characters, too. Most of this book is from Marshall's PoV, with a little from Sydney, and an epilogue from someone unexpected ;) 

So, if you're a fan of books with lots of thrills & chills and lots of twists & turns, then this is a book for you!!! I can't recommend it enough!

Title: The Black

Author: D. J. MacHale

 

Series: Morpheus Road #3 

My rating: 5 of 5

(Book re-read from my own copy  from December 05, 2012 to January 09, 2013)

 

 

 

A Note of Warning: 

 

If you haven't read The Light, and you'd like to, then DON'T read the summary of The Black, because it has lots of important spoilers!

Summary:

This isn't what Cooper Foley expected death to be like... 

Cooper Foley has landed square in the middle of a border war between the worlds of the living and the dead. He's always had a knack for finding trouble, but nothing has prepared him for this. 

At the end of The Light, book one of the Morpheus Road trilogy, Marshall Seaver learned what really happened to his missing best friend, Cooper. Now the mystery continues, only this time through Cooper's eyes. 

What did Marshall's terrifying encounter with Gravedigger have to do with spirits from another existence? Who is Damon? What role did he play in Cooper's dilemma? And most important, what is the mysterious Morpheus Road? All of existence hangs in the balance as Cooper races against time to find answers.

 

My Thoughts on the Book:

So, The Black was also a re-read for me, but it was only the 2nd time I've read this book ;) Once again I was totally wrapped up in the events happening in this book. We follow Cooper and what happened to him. He's such a fun character, and got stuck in the middle of events that didn't concern him, well, until Damon decided to involve him :) We learn about the Morpheus Road, and we learn more about Damon & about Marshall's Mom a.k.a the events that started this whole thing. We also meet Maggie - I really liked her - and she & Cooper were really sweet together. Also, there was a mystery involving her, and that one was totally unexpected, so another awesome subplot by D. J. MacHale. I don't want to go into too many details, because I dislike spoilers, but this books was really great sequel, that was full of thrills, suspense, mystery & action, so you'll find yourself unable to stop turning the pages, wanting to know what will happen next? And that epilogue, so sad, yet amazing, and will make you want to pick up the last book - The Blood - right away! If you've enjoyed The Light, you will definitely enjoy this one, too, so I can't recommend it enough.  

Title: Divergent

Author: Veronica Roth

 

Series: Divergent #1

My rating: 5 of 5

(Book re-read from my own copy  from January 4-29 for a read-along)

Summary:

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue - Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is - she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are - and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series - dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.

 

My Thoughts on the Book:

So, yeah, Divergent. I don't think I have something more to add about it that hasn't been said so far. I actually read it last year, and this was a re-read for me, and since I didn't review it last year, I decided to do that now, but I'll keep it short & simple. 

And what did I think about Divergent? I loved it. I loved it last year, and once again I loved it just as much when I re-read it :) I just loved every second of it. There's just something really addictive about the story & the characters, that will keep you glued to the pages. The world was interesting, the story fun & interesting, I really liked most of the secondary characters, of course there were quite a few I hated (I mean those that were meant to be hated), I loved Tris as a heroine, and I loved Four as a character, too. The romance between them was really sweet & I loved it!  

Overall, Divergent is a great dystopian novel, that you wouldn't want to miss, it will make you laugh, it will make you cry, and it will keep you on the edge of your sit, so if you still haven't read it, you must!

Title: Free Four: Tobias Tells the Story

Author: Veronica Roth

 

Series: A Divergent short story 

My rating: 5 of 5

Summary:

#1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth retells a pivotal Divergent scene (chapter 13) from Tobias's point of view. This thirteen-page scene reveals unknown facts and fascinating details about Four's character, his past, his own initiation, and his thoughts about new Dauntless initiate Tris Prior.

 

My Thoughts on the Short Story:

So, like Divergent, this short story was a re-read for me. I read it the moment it was released last year, and again while re-reading Divergent, but this time I read it right after I re-read the knife-throwing scene. And what did I think about it? I felt about it just as I did last year. I loved it, because we learn more about Tobias, but I have to mention that this short story makes me love Tris a little less, just a tiny bit ;) and at the same time it makes me love Tobias more as a character. Still, a great addition to Divergent, it was great to see things from Tobias' PoV.

Challenges:

2013 Books-In-A-Series Reading Challenge