-Alex

I'm just going to go right into this and say that this is one of those books that just left me feeling very confused. Not in a bad way, don't get me wrong! Just confused. I started this book yesterday afternoon and put it down at night, only to keep thinking about the characters and the interesting story line that accompanies them. I'm surprised that I haven't heard more about this book because it's honestly one of the most interesting and "different" Young Adult books that I've picked up in a while. It's very "Stephen King-esque" and like I mentioned in my Goodreads Review, specifically about Stephen King it reminded me of Carrie. I've never read Carrie, only seen the recent movie adaptation, but while reading The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, there was a passage that mentioned the prom scene from Carrie and that comparison has been stuck in my head ever since.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin centers around Mara Dyer, a young 17-year-old girl who has recently moved from Rhode Island to Miami, Florida after a horrific accident that occurred to Mara and her other three friends. Being the lone survivor of this tragedy, Mara has no recollections of what or how everything occurred, and begins to experience symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD). Her family thus decides to relocate and move away to help get some closure and heal from the past. Except everything that Mara is moving away from seems to be catching up to her, to the point where she starts seeing things...and people. She starts experiencing things that aren't normal, and begins to hallucinate. She so desperately wants to remember what happened that night with Jude, Rachel, and Claire but all she gets are more visions and strange occurrences. Moving to a new school and trying to make friends are enough stress as it is, when the most attractive and dangerous guy at school, Noah, starts grabbing her attention. Things are never what they seem to be, and this is especially true for Mara. She needs to figure out what is going on with her, and figure out if she is in fact going crazy after all...

I've had this blog post on draft since Friday because I was busy reading another book (Shadow Kiss, the third book in the Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Reade) and there was a football game on Saturday for my university. I wanted to post this right away but I wasn't able to until today, it's crazy how time flies! Now, I know I said New Adult wasn't my thing, but honestly this book was so good that I couldn't put it down! I'm sure many of you have probably already heard of this or already read it, but I wasn't expecting to like it so much. As you can see above the next book I've finished is Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover, and it definitely managed to live up to the hype. Like I said in my Goodreads Review it had me frustrated, nervous, angry, heartbroken, and absolutely in love with all the characters. All the feels.

Maybe Someday centers around Sydney, who has recently found out that her boyfriend, Hunter, of two years has been cheating on her with her best friend, Tori, a.k.a. her roommate as well- talk about awkward. Luckily, the guy Sydney's been staring at for the past couple of weeks from across her balcony comes to her rescue; Ridge not only offers Sydney a place to live, at no cost, but he also opens up her world to lyric writing, music and a new chance at love. Only thing is that, Ridge has been in a serious relationship for the past couple of years, with what it seems is the perfect girl- Maggie. When both Sydney and Ridge find themselves falling for one another, it seems as though life is playing a cruel joke. Switching between Ridge and Sydney as dual narrators, you get an inside look into what each one is struggling through to keep their emotions in line and what choices they will have to make to not only hurt one another but the people they love.

I'm back once again! Sorry about that, but I had a really important test last Thursday. So once I finished up reading City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, I dived right into studying. The life of a college student...but I made it out alive! Since then I have finished one other book, Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead, but unfortunately I didn't have time to sit down and write out a blog post. Good thing though, is that I think my Goodreads Review does a decent job at explaining my feelings and thoughts, so if you want to check it out it's on there!

Today I managed to finish Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid, primarily because it was due soon through my library's eBook system, so it got pushed up to the top of my TBR pile. I had heard a little bit about this book, largely that it had to do with road-tripping and so I thought why not?! I've been in a wanderlust mood where all I want to do is be able to travel, whether by air or auto, fingers skimming through the wind, and being lost in another place altogether- yeah, you can see why I didn't really question picking this up.

Ok, I'm probably the very last person to read this Young Adult book. Although, I did watch the movie before picking up City of Bones, I'm not sure what to think; well, I can relate with the way I felt when I finished watching the film: weird. I'm into really sudden twists and suspense but I think the later-half of the book was a big turn-off for me, one that is making me skeptical about picking up the second book in the series (City of Ashes). I don't know! Am I alone in this?! Everyone that has read it or that I am friends with on Goodreads has rated City of Bones 4 or 5 stars. I just didn't feel the same way.

I won't go into what the premise of this book is about because honestly you've either heard about The Mortal Instruments series or have probably seen the movie adaptation. I mean if you really want a quick synopsis then all I can tell you is that the plotline revolves around a young teenage girl named Clary Fray who loses her mom, the last she heard of her through a phone call where she warns Clary to stay away from the house. Coming home to find her house in ruins, she simultaneously comes into contact with an other-worldly beast that is both hideous and dangerous. Not knowing it yet, Clary is about to enter the Shadowhunter world where demons, angels and sorcery exist- a world that Clary is more connected with than the "mundane," Earthly world she's known all her life. From there, you just get sucked right into this other paranormal/fantasy world that is full of action and shocking turns.

*WARNING: Spoilers ahead, if you have not read the book do not read on!

I've recently been in the mood for a light, fluffy read because 1.) the weather has been gray and foggy and 2.) school is in full gear so I need a distraction. Thus, I went browsing along my library's online ebook system and put on hold the book up there. If you don't know who J. Lynn is then you will be in for a surprise- it's the pen name that Jennifer L. Armentrout uses to write Adult/New Adult books, though it will no longer be used after her book Stay With Me. I know I mentioned that New Adult isn't my thing but this one was pretty alright, and considering I enjoyed the Young Adult Lux Series I figured I had nothing to lose.

Wait For You revolves the main protagonist, Avery Morgansten who moves from Texas to West Virginia for college, far away from her family, her friends and everything that has been familiar to her for so long. Even though the distance would seem daunting to some, Avery plunges into the move desperately after having gone through a horrific event that occurred 5 years ago back home. You quickly find out that Avery has lost her friends and that family isn't something warm and safe she can run to- West Virginia is exactly what she needs. On her first day of school, running late to class, she runs into the guy everyone gawks at on campus (so no surprise that he's a looker)- Cameron Hamilton. Although Avery isn't looking for romance, especially with what has occurred to her, Cameron becomes instantly infatuated with her, constantly bumping into one another and coincidentally living right across the hall from her. The more time they spend with one another, the more that Avery realizes where this can lead, yet the attraction between them isn't something you can easily ignore. When you least expect something, is when it comes looking for you and Avery must decide whether to take a leap and finally trust someone or keep to herself as she has in the past.