Book Reviews: January 2016

This is my first time linking-up with Steph and Jana, and I really hope it's not the last time!  This is a great way to share all of the books we've read each month!   As you'll see by my ratings, I read a lot of great books this month!! (I'm really picky about which books I give 5 stars, so don't be put off by 4 stars).

This is the second book in the Dorothy Must Die series and just like the first book, I couldn't put it down!  This book was actually significantly shorter than the first book but so much happened!  I can't wait for the last book to come out!  I need to know what happens!  (PS the last book comes out in march so if you're a person who likes to read a series straight through, don't read this yet).
I gave this book a 4/5 on my GoodReads.

LOVED!! This book started out a bit slow but once it picked up, I couldn't put it down!  I absolutely love Mare.  I love that she is protective of her family and I love that she is trying to figure out who she is and where she stands in the midst of all the changes going on around her.  This is such a great story and I really can't wait for the rest of the series to come out!  You can bet I will be at Barnes and Noble the day the second book comes out!
I gave this book a 4/5 on my GoodReads.

In this second book of the Mara Dyer series, things just get crazier, creepier, and weirder - and I LOVE IT!  By the end of this book you will really be wondering how the author is going to twist things and end the series. This book is so fast paced and easy to read, I'm pretty sure I finished it in like 2 days.  Also, I might be in love with Noah.
I gave this book a 4/5 on my GoodReads.

I honestly have mixed feeling about the ending of this series.  I'm sorry to say that I was slightly disappointed, as I loved the rest of the series.  I just felt like this book was all over the place and there were so many loose ends left at the end.  The first part of the book was very good and I enjoyed it, but the last part was just lackluster.  It feels like she got bored and didn't feel like coming up with a good ending.  Overall, I enjoyed this series and even though I didn't like the ending, I still recommend reading the series.  Also, I seem to be in the minority with my opinion of this last book, so definitely give it a chance.
I gave this book a 3/5 on my GoodReads.

I actually read most of this book sometime in middle school but for some reason I never quite finished it.  I needed an autobiography for my Popsugar reading challenge and figured it was the perfect reason to read this book. I don't really know what to say other than that this is a book that everyone should read at least once.  It's a very real (obviously) look at life during WW2 and how much of the world was affected by it.
I gave this book a 5/5 on my GoodReads.

So much love for this book! When I first opened this book I had forgotten that it was in letter format and wasn't sure I was in the mood for that type of book, but I went with it anyway because I had heard such great things about it.  As I've said 1,000 times, I love books set in the WW2 era, and this one was interesting because it was about yet another country during this time, but it's actually set after the war ends. I loved reading about Guernsey and the occupation on the Channel Islands and felt compelled to learn more about these events.  I completely fell in love with all of the characters!  They all had such unique and distinct voices and I couldn't get enough of them!  This book manages to be cute, funny, sad, and real all at the same time.  I highly recommend this book to anyone.

 I gave this book a 5/5 on my GoodReads.

My sister said her friend read this series and loved it, so I figured I'd give it a try.  I was surprised by how much I ended up liking this book.  I really liked the characters for the most part and enjoyed getting to know them.  They all have such explosive tempers and it's really entertaining, then there is the "comic relief" character; I think he may be my favorite.  This is such an easy book to read (I read it in a day) because it is fairly fast paced and there isn't a lot of fluff. I've also really never read anything about Mermaids, so it was a bit different for me.  I found this book to be really enjoyable and am looking forward to the rest of the series.

I gave this book a 4/5 on my GoodReads.  

*I also read the ebook novella Legacy Lost (prequel to Of Poseidon) as part of a reading challenge.  It was only like 50 pages so I'm not going to review it but I did find it interesting to read and good for understanding one of the characters a bit better.