Elixir by Hilary Duff

Clea Raymond, the daughter of a famous surgeon and important politician, has made a name for herself as a photojournalist. Her father left disappeared one day and has yet to return. It's one day that she takes a photograph and notices a gorgeous man in the background. Who is he? Why is she drawn to him? It becomes harder and harder to trust him when she finds out that he could be connected to her father. Her life in the spotlight has become even dangerous. Is this beautiful stranger her guardian angel or just trying to kill her?

This book series reminders me of the Evermore series by Alyson Noel. They both have a love triangle and a mysterious elixir. Yet they both are very different and interesting on their own. I love the many different settings that this novel took place. The ending had a cliffhanger which made the next book in the series even more exciting. But I didn't like that the love triangle wasn't really that suspenseful, from the beginning you could tell who she was going to end up with. Nonetheless, Elixir is worth reading.

Sage, the person in  Clea's photographs, is so mysterious you can't help but want to read more and more about his past. Clea was a pretty cool main character but at times she felt a little bit emotionless. I loved all of the characters, this is one of those rare books were all the characters are interesting and exciting to read about. I can't wait for the new books to come out so I can read more about Clea's father.

 

Little Women And Me by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Emily knows how hard it is to be the middle sister. As soon as she gets an assignment to write about what she would change from a novel, she immediately thinks of the Little Women. There is so many changes that she can make, but fixing them is more difficult than she ever expected, especially after she finds herself in the world of the March sisters. Adapting in this new environment, is more diffcult than living at her own home. A crush on a boy from 1860, four other sisters and one big suprise no one saw coming will change Emily's life forever.
I am so happy that this kind of book was written since I know so many people would love to change things in their favorite books. Little Women is a great book and this book was an enjoyable modern take on it. Some of the events that happened were unnessesary and the story would have been the same without them. I liked that Emily was a modern girl put into a different time period. My favorite part was the end because it was so suprising and so hard to see coming.
Emily was annoying at the start at the story but towards the end, you could tell how much she grew up. The March sisters felt quite similar to ones in the original Little Women. I liked that their personality didn't change much even though the stories were kind of different.

The Indigo Notebook by Laura Resau

Zeeta comes to Ecuador with her mother but what she really wants is to live a normal life. But that's difficult when your mother is anything like Layla. She meets Wendell, who is an adopted boy from Colorado, looking for his real parents. Zeeta agrees to help him not at all expecting how much danger she could be in. How many secrets could this small town possibly have? And despite his secrets, Zeeta can't help but develop feelings for Wendell. Can she have the normal life that she''s always wanted?

My favorite part of the story was the setting. The story transitioned from one beautiful location to another and the descriptions make you feel like you're actually there. There was much more suspense than I thought there would be. Wendell and Zeeta's sweet romance gradually built with time. The concept of finding your birth parents was not necessarily that original but the small details helped to make it seem more unique. Sometimes Zeeta's tone did not have enough emotion for the situation. I thought it was worth reading.

Layla, Zeeta's mother, was fun to read about. Zeeta's father was a mystery and brought about a good amount of suspense that will carry on into the second book. Zeeta paled in comparison to Wendell. Wendell was more unique because of his ability to predict the future. I thought that the main character should be more interesting than the second main character. 

The Fallen by Liz Braswell

Chloe King's sixteenth birthday was not one that she could ever expect. She certainly didn't expect to die. How in the world is she still okay? No one else would have survived the fall that she had. Chloe must accept that she's not normal. The changes that she's facing are surely not the ones that any other sixteen old have to deal with. Who else has claws? With eight lives left, what will Chloe do to avoid dying again?

I really liked the story line. This book has the perfect blend action and romance. The story started quickly and the ending was also very exciting. The relatively fast pace was perfect throughout the entire story. My favorite part of this story was the mystery surrounding Chloe's father. This book is also very suspenseful even though she has nine lives. I definitely would recommend it.

The characters were a big part of the story. They are hardly similarities between the characters in the book to those in the television series. I personally preferred the characters in the television series. They seemed more relatable and realistic than they seemed in the book.

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Cate as a lot to deal with especially since her sisters, mother and her are witches. Before her mother died, Cate promised that she would do anything to keep her sisters safe. No one can know or else it could be disastrous. Then Cate comes across an even bigger secret that makes being witches even harder. Finn Belastra, the extremely good-looking and highly forbidden gardener, isn't making Cate's decision to protect her sisters any easier. Will joining the Sisterhood to keep her family safe be worth giving up true love?

I love the plot of the story. The pacing of the story was perfect as it built suspense but didn't drag on forever. The decisions that Cate had to make were very believable. The use of foreshadowing made perfect sense and helped enhance the story. The setting and time period were the best possible ones for this story. The only thing that I really hated was that I have to wait one and a half years for the next book. Overall, an amazing and well thought out novel.

The Cahill have such an interesting story that I can't help but be excited to see how they deal with it. Finn was a classic character that you just can't help but fall in love with. I found out that as the book continued I wanted to know more about the Brotherhood and Sisterhood. I guess I have to wait I little while longer to find out.