Heartless | Marissa Meyer

I am SO thankful because my best friend allowed me to ship my copy of this gem to her so she could get it SIGNED FOR ME. I have a slight obsession with signed books but that's okay. I saw a copy at walmart and oh my goodness. I took the dust jacket off and that thing is gorgeous! GORGEOUS. 

I downloaded an ebook copy so I can go ahead and read it because I have no patience and I have problems.

Okay, so update. I got my copy in the mail from my friend and I am now obsessed with this book and it holds a lot of meaning for me now. I opened it and there was a Marissa Meyer/best friend BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT. What the heck. Seriously, I screamed and I'm really excited and I feel like this is the way to tell your reader friend you're having a baby.

ANYWAYS. On to the actual book thoughts. Like every other Marissa Meyer book I have had the pleasure of reading, I LOVED THIS. I loved the story of Caath and how all she really wanted to do was open a bakery and how in the kingdom of Hearts she wasn't allowed to do that and everyone wanted her to marry the king that she had zero feelings for. I'm trying to not spoil it, but at the end, I really felt like I understood why Cath did the things that she did. The way things happen.. you feel terrible for her. 

Also my owlcrate for novemeber was totally Alice themed but I'm keeping both copies I have because look at this exclusive cover!? It's so pretty! That, and I think I'm going to collect a another or two from other countries because I loved this book and it does hold now special memories for me.

4.5/5 stars. 

Trapped in Silver | Emily Sowden

Okay, so first let me start this review by saying I have the flu and I'm supposed to be going to work right now but instead, I'm in bed writing about THE BEST DAMN YA FANTASTY I HAVE READ IN QUITE SOME TIME.

Let me start with a good ole fashioned goodreads synopsis:

Courage comes from a shadowed place in our hearts; a blurred line that straddles love and sheer stupidity.

To seventeen-year-old Ava, wild woodcats, hungry stragglers, and simple-minded townsfolk are the evils she’s grown accustomed to. But when Ethan, an unusual man with eyes of smoke and fire opal, enters her world she quickly understands that there are worse things out there than drunken men and carnivorous forest creatures. She’s a specialised liar and a hell of a fighter, but against a group of animalistic men called Berserkers she struggles to survive the encounter as the desperate swing of a dagger is all it takes to change her life for good.

Half-dead and hunted by the Berserker’s leader when he forms a monstrous obsession with her, Ava escapes his pursuit in an unfamiliar land full of impossible creatures, unlikely allies, and the man she doesn’t know whether to kiss or kill.
But after dreadful news of her missing brother surfaces, Ava becomes more involved in the centuries-long war and begins to unravel the reasons behind her relentless nightmares, discovering truths long-buried in a violent history of love, loss and betrayal.

Okay, so I am planning a much more spoilery blog post for when after this book releases in February, because I have to talk to someone about certain events that go down. I'm going to try to avoid them spoilers. That, and not knowing much about this book besides that you need to read it as soon as it's released, is the way to go into it.

This book does follow a YA trope that I usually find annoying but it was done so different in this book, that I didn't mind it at all. One thing about the ebook formatting that I loved was before each chapter you get a blank page with the characters name that the chapters perspective is written from. That made it much easier to follow unlike some high fantasy books that I have enjoyed but could have enjoyed much more (example: Game of Thrones) I've noticed a lot more YA books doing this lately and I am so not complaining about it!

Ava is an AMAZING main character. There were some things that she does that I didn't agree with but I loved the fact that in a world where women were expected to act a specific way, she was like "Um, no, I don't think so, I'm going to do this instead."

The creatures in this book are something else. I love my high fantasy to have something a little different that really makes it stand out in all the others books I go after and this book DEFINITELY did that for me! I just love the authors writing style, mainly because it reminds me of other authors that I absolutely enjoy such as Sarah J. Maas and Susan Dennard.

Now, let me tell you a little story that has to deal with this book. I was reading this book on my phone at work and I finished it right around the time of shift change, and I kind of started freaking out to the point where one of my coworkers (who shall remain nameless) offered to tranquilize me. Obviously, I didn't accept their offer but that should let you know just how invested you will be in this book. <3

5/5 stars

Release date: 02/07/17
(I don't want to wait for the second novel in this series, may I please have it now? PLEASE?)

Also, if you preorder this bad boy, be sure to email your receipt to oftomes@oftomes.com for some sweet looking preorder swag.

FTC disclaimer: I was provided an egalley of this book from oftomes publishing in exchange for an honest review. #teamBERSERKERS

A List of Cages | Robin Roe

Goodreads Synopsis:
When Adam Blake lands the best elective ever in his senior year, serving as an aide to the school psychologist, he thinks he's got it made. Sure, it means a lot of sitting around, which isn't easy for a guy with ADHD, but he can't complain, since he gets to spend the period texting all his friends. Then the doctor asks him to track down the troubled freshman who keeps dodging her, and Adam discovers that the boy is Julian--the foster brother he hasn't seen in five years.

Adam is ecstatic to be reunited. At first, Julian seems like the boy he once knew. He's still kind hearted. He still writes stories and loves picture books meant for little kids. But as they spend more time together, Adam realizes that Julian is keeping secrets, like where he hides during the middle of the day, and what's really going on inside his house. Adam is determined to help him, but his involvement could cost both boys their lives.

I don't think I will be able to recommend a more important to book for anyone to read ever. This is one of those books that will stay with you for the rest of your life. I am pretty sure that this will be the hit YA book for 2017. I read this book in one sitting last night and I don't think 10 minutes went by where my heart wasn't ripped out and stomped on into a millon little pieces. This is a debut novel by Robin Roe, but with her writing style, it doesn't seem that way at all.

Told from dual perspectives, I actually didn't do the whole "I don't care about this character, I can't wait until I get to read more the other characters perspective!" I cared about Julian and Adam equally. As a former guardian ad litem, what happens to Julian completely broke my heart and I felt so bad for him, I just wanted to give him a hug and tell him that it would all be okay. Adam on the other hand, is one of those friends who you are glad to have. His love for Julian so genuine and real. While there is a minor romantic interest with two character in this story, I am so glad that it took a backseat and focused on this wonderful friendship.

I don't want to ruin the plot of this book for anyone, but I'm going to tell you this: I feel like everyone and their moms best friend needs this book in their lives. I always do volunteer work for guardian during the summer, and I'm already planning to buy a few extra copies for the older kids that I help. Sometimes they won't tell you what's really going on in their lives because they're scared and I feel after reading this, they will be more perspective to me trying to find out what's really going on their lives so they don't get sent back to a unhealthy environment.

This book is going to change so many peoples lives, and I'm excited for it to hit shelves on January 10, 2017.

5/5 stars. Duh.

FTC: I recieved an advanced reading copy of this novel courtesy of NetGalley and Disney Hyperion in exchange for an honest review.

The Girls | Emma Cline

I have heard SO many people talking non stop about this book. This was the "it" adult book of the summer, if I am not mistaken. I joined Book of the Month Club on cyber monday because they had a super sweet discount code where you got a couple of extra credits for books. I had heard so much about it, and I am trying to get into reading more adult books, so I decided to give this one a chance.

This book takes place in northern Cali in 1969, and the main character is a 14 year old girl named Evie. I had heard before I got this book that this was  fictional retelling of the Manson Murders which peaked my interest even though I knew nothing about them.
This book takes place the summer before Evie begins high school, which for her, is going to consist of a baording school. The beginning of the book, Evie has several friends that are around her age, which is cool. Only problem is that they end up having a falling out. This is where she runs into Suzanne at. They never really give me Suzanne's age, but I feel like she is MUCH older than Evie. Anyways, Suzanne's involved in a cult that a character Russell is in charge of. I hate to say it this way but I feel almost as if Suzanne may be Russells main bitch during this time. Most of the book is about the things that Evie does to get on the good side of these people so they will come to accept her as one of them, this mainly involveds lying and stealing things.
One thing that caused me to almost put this book down several times was the sexual content between Evie, a 14 year old girl, and other characters that would be much older than her (I'm talking 40 plus). This bothered  me to the point where I felt dirty reading this book, and I'm not really a prude so if you decide to pick this one up, I would watch out for that.

I didn't really connect with this book until I was less than a hundred pages from finishing it. The murders were supposed to be the climax of this book but I feel like they were really rushed though and that disappointed me. One thing I didn't get it, is that Evie knew excatly who did it when she saw the murders hit the news but she kept her mouth shut, and months later Suzanne went to her boarding school to threaten her about them. OBVIOUSLY they find out about them, and how she was with them on that fateful night but she didn't say anything. I want to know why she wasn't punished for knowing but keeping her mouth shut. The book kind of just eneded adruptly without telling me why that happened the way it did.

I LOVED the writing style in this book and because of that it's a strong 4.5 out of 5 stars for me, and I'm probably going to pick up Helter Skelter next year so I can really learn about this gruesome event in history.

"That was the part about being a girl, you were resigned to whatever feedback you'd get. If you got mad, you were crazy, and if you didn't react, you were a bitch. The only thing you could do was smile from the corner they'd backed you into. Implicate yourself in the joke, even if the joke was on you."

Made You Up | Francesca Zappia

Okay, so I am so excited for this book I found it on a goodreads deal for 1.99, and I figured that it's time to read a little something different.
The main character in this book is named Alex and she suffers from schizophrenia hallucations. The first one happens when she is at a supermarket at the age of seven, I believe. This hallucation involves her and another boy named Miles and they set all the super red lobsters in the supermarket free and they make it to the ocean and live happily ever after. She tells her mom about this but she leaves the boy out, and she also mentions that the lobsters are bright red like her hair. Which of course, they only turn that color after you boil them. She ends up seeing a therapist, and going on to all kinds of drug cocktails. This book starts with Alex going to a new school and well, well, well, who does she see? Alex. The boy from her hallucation that she made up. Or she thinks she made up. I'm writing this review as I'm reading the book so I'm not currently sure of what is real and what isn't.
One thing I can tell is that some of Alex's halluications are just that as she mentions what she sees in the book. For example, at the beginning she talks about a bunch of security gaurds on a roof of the school. As a security officer myself, that is something that doesn't usually happens. Another one she mentions is that's she is in class and sees a lady bug and she herself knows it must be a halluication as well because instead of spots, well, this lady bug has stars instead. Because of this, at a quarter of the book, I am not completely sure if Miles is real or not. Is this made up? Is this all a little dream? I can't imagine a mother knowing that this is going on with her child and then proceeding to send this child on a bike to a school. Nor a mother not knowing that her child requires school uniforms that are 70 bucks a pop and then being fine with her child raiding a janitors closet for one.
Anyways, Alex is going to this public school and pretending to be normal when she knows she isn't. She goes to a party with a bunch of her new friends and has an episode. Come to find out, I was right! A lot of what she was seeing is a hallucation. I'm currently about halfway through and I am pretty sure that Miles is actually real, and he's a genius.

Okay, the rest of this has been written after I finished this book. Let me being that I'm probably going to be just gushing about this gem because this book was one of the best books I've read all year.

I absolutely loved Alex and her character. She is so smart and sarcastic and I felt like even though I do not suffer from this disease I could still relate to her. There are points in the book where Alex stops taking her medication, which I have done myself before. I have an autoimmune disorder so both of us deciding not to take our medication kind of results in dire consquences. Alex is also very mature, she realizes that her disease is getting worse and does decide to seek out the help she know she needs.

I loved almost all of the characters except for two. Alex's parents. I want to spoil this but I'm not going to because I'm not an asshole. But seriously. I want to knock some sense into those two. Just USGH.

ANYWAYS. As you can tell from the beginning of the post I thought I knew what was a hallucination and what wasn't.
Um, I was so wrong. I couldn't have been more wrong. There were parts where I literally screamed "WHAT THE HELL?" to my kindle and my raccoon so did not appericate that, but seriuosly..do yourself a favor and pick this one up. I feel like I need to get a physical copy after my move because I know that this is going to be one that I read over and over and over again.

5/5 stars

The Merciless | Danielle Vega

Okay, so. I bought an ecopy of this for 2.99 around Halloween because I wanted something spooky to read around this. I finished this rather quickly but I've been sitting on it trying to decided if I wanted to talk about it or not.


Buying this book was a mistake and a major waste of 3 bucks.


This book is like a super religious version of Mean Girls gone gross. That's the only way I can think of to describe it. I though the cover was different. I've seen the copy at my library and it doesn't have a dust jacket and it's pretty cute. That's where the things that I like about this book ends.


When I began this book I was sure it was a cute contemporary and I didn't understand why it was marked under the horror genre nor why it was on sale in the month of October. It begins with a main character named Sofia moving to Texas.


Goodreads Summary


Forgive us, Father, for we have sinned

Brooklyn Stevens sits in a pool of her own blood, tied up and gagged. No one outside of these dank basement walls knows she’s here. No one can hear her scream.

Sofia Flores knows she shouldn’t have gotten involved. When she befriended Riley, Grace, and Alexis on her first day at school, she admired them, with their perfect hair and their good-girl ways. They said they wanted to save Brooklyn. They wanted to help her. Sofia didn’t realize they believed Brooklyn was possessed.

Now, Riley and the girls are performing an exorcism on Brooklyn—but their idea of an exorcism is closer to torture than salvation. All Sofia wants is to get out of this house. But there is no way out. Sofia can’t go against the other girls . . . unless she wants to be next. . . .

In this chilling debut, Danielle Vega delivers blood-curdling suspense and terror on every page. By the shockingly twisted end, readers will be faced with the most haunting question of all: Is there evil in all of us?




Basically the majority of the book takes place during this insanely gross exorcism and then a few pages of what happens afterward. If this book was trying to give me nightmares, it did a good job because of some the descriptive scenes did make me gag, but other than that, I did not like this one. Also let me give you some advice you decide to read this: Don't read it while you're waiting to get you some food from the Waffle House.


1/5 Stars.

Replica | Lauren Oliver

Goodreads Synopsis:  

Gemma has been in and out of hospitals since she was born. 'A sickly child', her lonely life to date has revolved around her home, school and one best friend, Alice. But when she discovers her father's connection to the top secret Haven research facility, currently hitting the headlines and under siege by religious fanatics, Gemma decides to leave the sanctuary she's always known to find the institute and determine what is going on there and why her father's name seems inextricably linked to it.  Amidst the frenzy outside the institute's walls, Lyra - or number 24 as she is known as at Haven - and a fellow experimental subject known only as 72, manage to escape. Encountering a world they never knew existed outside the walls of their secluded upbringing , they meet Gemma and, as they try to understand Haven's purpose together, they uncover some earth-shattering secrets that will change the lives of both girls forever.. 

Okay this book is going around and it's really hyped up right now and that’s for a reason. This book is pretty cool. There are several different ways to read it. You can read either one of the stories straight through and then go and read the other one..or you can do what I did which was I read a chapter of Lyra's story and then I flipped over and read a chapter of Gemma's story and I just kept flipping back and forth until I finished both stories at around the same time.. I think this is the way to do it if you're planning on reading this book. However, if I could go back I would start with Gemma and then flip to Lyra. Lyra's an interesting character and while I did like her..I feel like I would have been happy with just Gemma. I LOVE Gemma. She's a more complex character. I'm not really sure if I want to call this book dystopian or not. I feel like it would fit the bill rather well with the "replica's" and all. The romance in this book felt rushed and I was much more invested in Gemma's health story and WHY they were doing what they were to the replica's. I feel like if the book was about a day or so longer in the timeline it would have been a better place to stop and then continue the book on in the sequel. I am 99.99 percent sure with an ending like Miss Oliver gave me there will be a sequel and unlike all the other Lauren Oliver books I have read, I have liked this one the most! Also, do yourself a favor and go to a bookstore and look at the hardcover edition. It is so pretty! :)  

4/5 stars

Stalking Jack the Ripper | Kerri Maniscalco

Goodreads Synopsis:  Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord's daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.  Against her stern father's wishes and society's expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle's laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world. 

This book was a recent release (September 20..same day as my birthday, yay!) and I felt like it would be something good read so close to Halloween...well, one thing is for sure, I wasn't wrong. I'm a major wimp when it comes to thrillers or horror books, I like to give myself anxiety attacks to the point where I get next to zero sleep. I loved the Shades of London series so I thought that this would be a safe subject for me to read. I was correct. NO NIGHTMARES FOR SAMMEH!! Which was AWESOME. So, this book is set in London around the time that the Jack the Ripper murders were happening. The MC, Audrey finds herself in the middle of the murders. This book has it's own take of who did it and why, and it takes sort of a Frankenstein/odd approach. I won't ruin the ending, but it was a lovely ending to a rather gruesome book.   One thing I didn't like about this book was the fact that some of the tag lines I've seen for this novel was something along the lines of "Jack the Ripper with a dash of romance" or something like that. I was under the strange impression that Audrey falls in love with Jack, and she goes stalker on him. Kinda like some sort of twisted Bellatrix love story. Lettme tell you right now.. This is NOT what happened!! The love interest is another character named Thomas who is supposed to be some sort of genius, and it was supposed to be sort of a love/hate relationship that I just didn't feel the chemistry for which is okay, I guess. Not everyone is going to get it.  However, this book will be great for people who love Maureen Johnson's Shades of London series while they wait for the final book. I loved it for the entertainment it gave me at work when I had downtime, and I do plan on allowing one of my friends to borrow my copy so she can read it as well, so I do recommend it! :)   4/5 stars 

This Adventure Ends | Emma Mills

Goodreads Synopsis: 

Sloane isn't expecting to fall in with a group of friends when she moves from New York to Florida—especially not a group of friends so intense, so in love, so all-consuming. Yet that's exactly what happens.  Sloane becomes closest to Vera, a social-media star who lights up any room, and Gabe, Vera's twin brother and the most serious person Sloane's ever met. When a beloved painting by the twins' late mother goes missing, Sloane takes on the responsibility of tracking it down, a journey that takes her across state lines—and ever deeper into the twins' lives.  Filled with intense and important friendships, a wonderful warts-and-all family, shiveringly good romantic developments, and sharp, witty dialogue, this story is about finding the people you never knew you needed. 

This book is a recent release, it dropped October 4th, 2016

I read this at work today (October 9, 2016) and it was a quick read and I really enjoyed it. What I really enjoyed was this: It was a gorgeous day outside and I was working outside, WHERE THIS BOOK IS SET. I always flip out when I've been somewhere a book is set at. This however was set in Panama City, Florida, and I LOVED THAT. She has the native kids to this area's attitudes set right. However, I would recommend that you do not read it right now. Wait until summer. Or you're at the beach like I was. This is a perfect summer contemporary. I feel like I can't explain a lot of what happens without spoiling but read this! The 30A setting is perfect and it's now my favorite setting for a summer contemporary. Just. Do. It. 

5/5 stars!

Love & Gelato | Jenna Evans Welch

I got this book from my local library the other day and I'm pretty glad I did. I finished Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins the other day and I needed something light and fluffy to clear my head. This looked like the fluffiest book out of my stack of library books so I grabbed it and went for it. 

I am so glad I did! I mean, no this book isn't anything amazing, but I really enjoyed it and it kept me entertained while I working on it.   

Goodreads Synopisis:  

“I made the wrong choice.”  Lina is spending the summer in Tuscany, but she isn’t in the mood for Italy’s famous sunshine and fairy-tale landscape. She’s only there because it was her mother’s dying wish that she get to know her father. But what kind of father isn’t around for sixteen years? All Lina wants to do is get back home.  But then she is given a journal that her mom had kept when she lived in Italy. Suddenly Lina’s uncovering a magical world of secret romances, art, and hidden bakeries. A world that inspires Lina, along with the ever-so-charming Ren, to follow in her mother’s footsteps and unearth a secret that has been kept for far too long. It’s a secret that will change everything she knew about her mother, her father—and even herself.  People come to Italy for love and gelato, someone tells her, but sometimes they discover much more. 

Okay, first off, let me tell you right now..the entire book takes place in a time span of less than a week, and with all the things that happen, I tell like that makes it more than a little unrealistic. HOWEVER. I loved the descriptions of the scenery. It made me crave to go on a little adventure to Italy. Lina's mothers journal was a little off putting for me. Instead of reading it all the way through and then figuring some things out, she tries to figure things out beforehand, and it doesn't work out very well for her.  I hated the romance between Lina's mother, Hadley and Howard. The way that was laid out just broke my heart and shattered it into a million tiny pieces. This book also had some of the stereotypical two super hot guys are after the shy girl love triangle but I was able to simply ignore that and pretend that it didn't exist.  Its not the best book in the world by any means, but I would recommend if you're looking for a cute fluffy book that will make you crave gelato something fierce.  

3/5 stars.   Some of my favorite quotes out of this bad boy: 

“You may be slow to warm up, but once you do, you light up the whole room” 

“I needed to find The Dress. You know, the once-in-a-lifetime dress guaranteed to make anyone fall in love with you.”  

“It wasn't a little kiss, Not like your first peck or like the time you made out with your junior high boyfriend behind the movie theater. It was throw-your-arms-around-his-neck, bury-your-fingers-in-his-hair, why-haven't-we-done-this-before kissing”