Book Review: Vixen by Jillian Larkin.

 Vixen by Jillian Larkin.
(Flappers #1)
Book Summary: Jazz . . . Booze . . . Boys . . . It’s a dangerous combination.
Every girl wants what she can’t have. Seventeen-year-old Gloria Carmody wants the flapper lifestyle—and the bobbed hair, cigarettes, and music-filled nights that go with it. Now that she’s engaged to Sebastian Grey, scion of one of Chicago’s most powerful families, Gloria’s party days are over before they’ve even begun . . . or are they?
Clara Knowles, Gloria’s goody-two-shoes cousin, has arrived to make sure the high-society wedding comes off without a hitch—but Clara isn’t as lily-white as she appears. Seems she has some dirty little secrets of her own that she’ll do anything to keep hidden. . . . 
Lorraine Dyer, Gloria’s social-climbing best friend, is tired of living in Gloria’s shadow. When Lorraine’s envy spills over into desperate spite, no one is safe. And someone’s going to be very sorry. . . . 
From debut author Jillian Larkin, VIXEN is the first novel in the sexy, dangerous, and ridiculously romantic new series set in the Roaring Twenties . . . when anything goes.

Liana's Summary: Gloria wants to be a flapper. She's sick of the goody girl lifestyle. She's going to become a flapper-- more to annoy her parents than to satisfy her own desires. She's engaged to be married, so why not live while she can before she's trapped in the responsibilities of being a wife? Clara wants to start over again. She regrets the things she's done in the past but she can't change what's already happened, so what's better than to start all over? In a new place? Her cousin's house is not really the best place to start, but where else can she go? Lorraine is Gloria's best friend, and she's determined to keep things that way. Even to go to surprising limits. You know what they say-- try to keep a little, you end up losing a lot. It's 1923. Anything can happen.

Rate(1-10): 10!

Yeah, I know. I've been giving lots of 10's recently. But can I just tell you guys that this book deserves so much more than a ten? But I won't break the scale because I've never done that before. LOL. I think the exclamation mark is enough.

Can I just say that it would be so cool and dangerous to be a flapper?

THIS BOOK WAS TOO GOOD. TOO FERKEN GOOD. I swear! Let me take a moment to thank my friend for recommending it to me in the first place, a long, long time ago. I'll say 2 years ago. So why did I take so long to pick it up? Fine, I'm guilty. 2 years ago I would have never picked something like this up. And more importantly, I didn't like to read that much back then. That's right, I was a fob back then, just trying to stop going on the computer so much and trying to find a new hobby (although I still go on the computer lots..just stopped playing those Facebook dressup games). Anyways, back to this book.

First of all, let me just say that this cover is completely GORGEOUS. I would say there's something about Clara's (covergirl) pose that's erotic in a way... LOL. My mom just said, 'YOU WANNA BE LIKE DIS GIRL?' And I guess she didn't see the erotic pose that I saw. Anyways, screw the pose. The cover design is completely fab, the title text so swirly and the covergirl like a flawless Barbie doll. Yes. Gorg cover.

So, about the plot.. I've always loved Historical Fiction romance because it would be SO fabulous to read about a protagonist who falls in love with a gentleman, not just some cocky sexy beast that we meet so much nowadays in reading contemporary books. 

If I were to explain this book to someone that didn't read, I would just explain this quite vaguely, something like: There's this girl who falls in love with a black guy, cheating on her fiance.. meanwhile her fiance is cheating on her to have sex with the girl's best friend. And the girl's cousin is just so 'innocent' and she changes a lot, meanwhile falling in love with the girl's best guy friend. So if you ask me, CIRCLES, CIRCLES CIRCLES. It's so ironic in a way that's even funny.

The plot is totally wonderful and I think this is the first book that I've read set in the early 1900's, where there are flappers (yay, new vocab word LOL.) and guys that are either gentlemen or rude ass dicks that act like gentlemen. 

The climax was seriously the cherry on top of this delightful ice cream sundae. 

The romance is absolutely perfect and errrrrmahgerrrrrd. The book kept me sucked in the whole time and I could NOT put it down. Even if I did find myself in a situation in which I HAD to put it down, I had to pick it up again as soon as possible. People were like WTF LIANA PUT THE BOOK DOWN GOSH and I'm just like UGH GO AWAY I'M IN BOOK LAND

Character Discussions--

Gloria- I actually consider her the main character. She's basically the one who started narrating this whole story and she seems like the actual protagonist. But there can be more than one protagonist, can't there? I kinda expected her to be on the cover of the first book, but no, she's on the last one. I'm pretty sure the covergirl is Clara, here. And then Ingenuine's covergirl should be Lorraine. And then Diva's covergirl, the one and only, Gloria. Okay. Gloria is actually a likable character. But I like her rebellious attitude but I like it at the same time. Well. I think she's my favorite out of the 3 girls. She's responsible when she needs to be and independent as well. The only thing is, she doesn't think she can be independent.

Clara- At first I disliked her a lot. Since she had so much secrets. But throughout the book I realized that she's a great character and she's pretty awesome in her own way! Clara is like the big sister anyone would want. She and Gloria hated each other at first but became closer afterwards. It's like the evil stepsister turned good-- except in this case, both of them were evil stepsisters that are turned into Cinderellas. (Now that I think about it Clara was truly evil in the beginning..LOL. Well only because Gloria and Lorraine were both evil to her first.)

Lorraine- Ew someone slap this bitch no one really likes Lorraine anyway

I liked her at first but she became more and more desperate and the things she thought that were right were actually wrong and she was so desperate and frustrated with everything and it was all her fault for giving off such a bad-influence vibe. It annoyed the ferk out of me, I swear!

Marcus- I like the fact that Gloria can have guy friends, unlike Lorraine who just swoon over them. Marcus is hot, besides, and he's more than the rich pretty boy that everyone thinks he is. In a good way. He's really nice and kind and stuff and a fabulous boyfriend.

Jerome- The not-so-mysterious-hot-date-black-pianist boyfriend of Gloria. Ah, the wonder. I like Jerome. He's awesome.

Sebastian- I think I hate Bastian a little more than I hate Lorraine. Enough said..

Yes. I can't wait for the next book. (The ending was too much of a cliffhanger! Gah!) Just let me get the next book already. Wait.. my TBR list is like dying and killing me with it. omg. Brb crying. Well I sure hope I can start Ingenuine soon! 

Quotes!

"First you embarrass me with this hair of yours.."

LOL what? Sebastian is such a penis wrinkle

"Your father and I are getting a divorce."

"He had dimples!"

"Stop that immoral writing and give me twenty jumping jacks!"

Apparently everything they do is dissolute HAHA

"Who are you and where did you come from?"

Right now I want y'all to imagine Haymitch drinking some wine or whatever, saying "Whoa! So eager!"

"They found an orgy."

"She was falling for Marcus Eastman."

"No. She wanted Gloria back."

"Because you know I've never hidden anything from you."

Is this foreshadowing I smell?

"And she'd thought musicians were supposed to be scrawny."

Does this mean that Jerome is muscly? (; hehee

"You most definitely are not wearing a corset,"

IS HE CALLING HER FAT HAHA

"..like saying merde?"

Is it a sin that my friend and I searched up how to say 'shit' in French just for fun.. OMG THIS MADE ME LAUGH SO HARD.

"Let Lorraine take credit for transforming Clara into a flapper."

"..mosquito-bite boobs."

"It was none other than Sebastian Grey."

"I'm her fiance, colored boy."

"Or rather, how sloppy do you want to get?"

Gosh that sounded so wrong

"..Harris Brown.."

"Lorraine felt only love for Gloria, and everyone knew that."

It's confirmed!! LORRAINE IS A CRAZY BITCH

"..Bastian Grey."

I GET WAY TOO ANNOYED WHENEVER I SEE HIS NAME. It's either his last name that reminds me of erotica or it's just his stupid ugly presence

"Surely, her feelings for Jerome were nothing more than a childish infatuation.."

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"With one hand he caught her by the waist."

EW PERV

"I love you."

YES YES YES

"Shoot, I forgot something."

NONONO I AM FORESHADOWING DOOM

"Two figures emerged from the snowy dark."

SEE WHAT DID I TELL Y'ALL

"A shot rang out."

"You saved my life."

"I love you, Gloria. And because I love you, I can't let you come with me."

omg no wtf no

"She had to fix this."

Yes she does

"It's her money I want to marry."

Someone slap this son of a bitch penis wrinkle

"I'll make sure of it."

Looks like Gloria's gotten a guardian angel. (;

"And then she firmly closed the door on him."

-----
One thing I noticed, reading this book, was that it wasn't only white people being racist to black people back then. It was vice versa as well. It was a wonderful historical fiction book; loved it. I think you guys can tell.

What did you think of this review?(;

Book Review: Fury of the Phoenix by Cindy Pon.

 Fury of the Phoenix by Cindy Pon.
Book Summary: The Gods have abandoned Ai Ling.

Her mysterious power haunts her day and night, and she leaves home--with just the moon as her guide--overwhelmed by her memories and visions and an unbearable sense of dread. For Ai Ling knows that Chen Yong is vulnerable to corrupt enchantments from the under-world. How can she do nothing when she has the skill and power to fight at his side? A dream has told her where he is, the name of the ship he is traveling on, his destination. So she steals off and stows away on board.

The ocean voyage brings with it brutal danger, haunting revelations, and new friendships, but also the premonition of a very real and terrifying threat. Zhong Ye--the powerful sorcerer whom Ai Ling believed she had vanquished in the Palace of Fragrant Dreams--is trapped in Hell, neither alive nor dead. Can he reach from beyond the grave to reunite with Silver Phoenix and destroy Chen Yong? And destroy whatever chance Ai Ling has at happiness, at love?

In this sequel to the acclaimed novel Silver Phoenix, four lives are woven together and four destinies become one, now and forever.

Liana's Summary: Ai Ling is alone now. The Gods have left her, now that she's done her job and fulfilled her promise. Chen Yong is about to leave to find his biological father, and Ai Ling is about to let him go... After all, he will be back, won't he? But when Li Rong, an old friend that both Chen Yong and Ai Ling cared greatly about, enters Ai Ling's dream and tells her that Chen Yong is in danger, Ai Ling has to follow Chen Yong, and that means sneaking on the ship.. and being the only girl there. Only.. Chen Yong isn't so happy to see her, and he has some news of his own that won't please Ai Ling too greatly. However, the two still go on  the journey together, with no more than a vague idea of what they should expect. Meanwhile, Ai Ling still senses something inside of her- something that she thought she got rid of forever. It's still there, haunting her. And she's going to get rid of it.

Rate(1-10): 10

Hoo, boy. What a summary. You can tell I loved this book so much that I nearly wrote a book report essay in that summary section. 

Cindy Pon is way too good. After reading SILVER PHOENIX, I knew I had to read this one. The beginning of this book continues right after the first book's end. Well, not exactly right after, but close enough. And I love that. My sister, while reading this, was complaining about how different the cover is from the first book's cover, meanwhile complaining about how it's so plain. However, I liked this cover well enough and I think it's pretty cool and symbolic-- although it could have been more colorful. But whatever-- don't judge a book by its cover, right? I ship Ai Ling and Chen Yong with such a passion. They're perfect for each other and their relationship sounds so realistic. It's amazing and so adorbs and romantic. Chai.. Long. Or Ain.. Ying! omg I give up trying to merge a ship name.. anyways, just ship them because they are perf for each other! Keep calm and ship Chai Long! Now, Zhong Ye. Y'all have no idea how much I hated that man in the first book. I WANTED TO KICK HIS NONEXISTENT PENIS UNTIL HE DIED. STUPID FUCKING EUNUCH. omg. Anyways, in this book, everything was explained and I was just like 'oh'. He's a very complex character and he's just like an onion. (Ogres have layers) This is so Severus Snape. If you know what I mean.. I like how Jiang and Xian culture were both in this book because that's pretty cool. Just saying. Also, the chapter decorations. Those little drawing thingies at each chapter. Cindy Pon, what a designer! Btw, just a note. Do not attempt to read this book on an empty stomach because all the fabulous food will make you freakin' hungry OVERALL, THIS BOOK ENDED SO PERFECTLY THAT I DON'T EVEN CARE IF THERE'S NOT A NEXT BOOK BECAUSE THE ENDING IS JUST SO PERFECT AND I LOVED THIS BOOK Quotes~ "He gave her rump a shove for good measure." "Ai Ling?" And.. the moment of recognition! "She's my... sister." "I'm bored with my favorites. Find me a new girl." "You're cockless." It's probably rude to eunuchs how I laughed at this for about literally 5 minutes "Strip." "Silver Phoenix, master." "..across the taut muscles of his shoulders and biceps." OOOH CHEN YONG'S MUSCLY "No. I've had no time for love." Cos' ain't nobody gat time for love "..wooden eating sticks." Could you possibly mean chopsticks "We can be friends to each other?" FRIENDS "I've got you." "But he would not look at her and simply shook his head." "..made her more fetching." "Ai Ling is my sister," "I don't know if I can ever forgive you." "He had cut his hair short,.." "I would fast for you, Li Chen Yong." That is saying so much (SHE'S JUST LIKE ME BECAUSE SHE LOVES FOOD AND I LOVE FOOD AND I WILL GIVE NO ONE MY FOOD IF I LIKE IT) omg brb crying they're too cute ------ That's that! What did you think of this review? (;

Book Review: The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan. (Heroes of Olympus #3)

 The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan.
(Heroes of Olympus #3)
Book Summary: Annabeth is terrified. Just when she's about to be reunited with Percy—after six months of being apart, thanks to Hera—it looks like Camp Jupiter is preparing for war. As Annabeth and her friends Jason, Piper, and Leo fly in on the Argo II, she can’t blame the Roman demigods for thinking the ship is a Greek weapon. With its steaming bronze dragon masthead, Leo's fantastical creation doesn't appear friendly. Annabeth hopes that the sight of their praetor Jason on deck will reassure the Romans that the visitors from Camp Half-Blood are coming in peace.

And that's only one of her worries. In her pocket Annabeth carries a gift from her mother that came with an unnerving demand: Follow the Mark of Athena. Avenge me. Annabeth already feels weighed down by the prophecy that will send seven demigods on a quest to find—and close—the Doors of Death. What more does Athena want from her?

Annabeth's biggest fear, though, is that Percy might have changed. What if he's now attached to Roman ways? Does he still need his old friends? As the daughter of the goddess of war and wisdom, Annabeth knows she was born to be a leader, but never again does she want to be without Seaweed Brain by her side.

Narrated by four different demigods, The Mark of Athena is an unforgettable journey across land and sea to Rome, where important discoveries, surprising sacrifices, and unspeakable horrors await. Climb aboard the Argo II, if you dare....

Liana's Summary: Annabeth is finally reunited with Percy. Everything's supposed to be perfect, right? Wrong.  It looks like war is coming. Seven demigods-- Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Hazel, Leo, and Frank. The seven of the prophecy. They must be separated. Each with different tasks. Annabeth must do her task alone, to avenge her mother-- to follow the Mark of Athena. 

Rate(1-10): 10

Someone tell me why I didn't pick this up earlier. (Probably intimidated by the thickness, which is nothing like me) I got this like, five months ago, aware of how good Rick Riordan was, and didn't pick it up 'till.. last week. Yeah, I know. I took forever. Mainly because I was procrastinating like there was no tomorrow, or it might have to do with the fact that I had too much homework. Idk. The main point is that I took so long on a Rick Riordan book which is such a shocker.

Enough of that. Anyways, I loved loved loved this book. The cover is so gorgeous (has so much meaning behind it just like all other Rick Riordan book covers) and the synopsis just makes your heart leap out of your throat. I originally thought that this was going to be a trilogy, but, guess not. I think that's a good thing! But gee, what a cliffhanger. What an ending. Ermaferkengerd.

What I found ironic and slightly funny was that this included a few myths that I just barely learned. Such as, Echo and Narcissus. We were barely doing Greek mythology in our English Honors class and we learned the story of Helen of Troy, of Echo and Narcissus, (since we're reading The Odyssey atm) and I just crack open the book and see those myths. And it makes so much sense and it's so much funnier.

Character Discussions-
Percy- I LOVE PERCY JACKSON, PERIOD. HE'S FRICKIN AMAZING. He's such a sweet guy! Any girl would want a boyfriend like him.
Annabeth- She's so much more mature, since she's older and all, but she's still the know-it-all daughter of Athena. Yes, love her.
Hazel- Since she's from the past and all it's all kind of awkward. And no matter how cute they may seem, I do not ship her and Frank... Now that I think about it, there were really less Frazel moments in this book.
Piper- She's great. LOL. Yeah, she's really caring and I know she would do anything to save the people she cared about.
Jason- I feel like all he really did in this book was get knocked out. LOLOLOL. But yeah, Jason is amazing. He and Percy make such a great team. If they were single I would ship Percy and Jason so hard it would hurt
Leo-LEO VALDEZ IS MY FAVORITE CHARACTER GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWSH HE'S SO AMAZING. The class clown that all the girls love. He's funny and creative and even more, he's a very very very amazing mechanic. And since I want to be an engineer... wow just wow I love Leo and that is all
Frank-Honestly I don't like Frank that much. But he's there when everyone needs him and he's there to save the day whenever people need his.. bravery. But yes. He's great, in his own way.

In this book I was sort of surprised and then again not surprised by my foreshadowing skills. Prophecies aren't supposed to make sense until it's too late, but I found myself making sense of the prophecies before any of the characters did. (; I think Riordan did it on purpose. LOL.

Rick Riordan must be a god. It amazes me how he can weave these words together just like Arachne can weave them webs. That man is truly amazing. I don't know if it's his writing or if it's just the mythology that I love- but yeah. ALL I CARE IS THAT IT'S AMAZING AND YES, IT IS AMAZING.

I can't wait for the next book.

Quotes-

"Ella likes books."

LIANA LIKES BOOKS TOO

"He would remember a pretty girl paying such close attention to him."

Hey hey hey she's got a boyfriend

"I am so gorgeous."

Narcissus- the father of all narcissists. LOL. He's sooo gorgeous.. right.

"I'm the Super-sized McShizzle, man!"


LOLOL WTF

"..only because he'd tried to shield her from the Romans."


AWWWWWW how sweeeeet.

"Team Leo?"

SHHH, DON'T TELL EDWARD?

"Ah... yes. John Green."

ERMAHGERD JOHN GREEN HAHA

"Percy fell face-first into his pizza."



Is it bad that I'm thinking of that one kid who died with pizza sauce on his forehead in Safe Haven? 

"I care nothing about this Percy."

I am offended

Everyone cares about Percy

"But they interrupted a Chuck Norris movie!"

AIN'T NOBODY GAT TIME FOR CHUCK NORRIS

"..all children of Athena feared spiders."

DOES THIS MEAN.. OMG RON WEASLEY IS A CHILD OF ATHENA HAHA

"She had nice hair--"

No Leo you're not allowed to say she has nice hair because she has a boyfriend

it's ok Leo bby I'm here for you

"Do you trust me?"
"No!"

Going all Aladdin huh HAHA

"I should have been there for you."


If all the guys in the world were like Percy Jackson then the world would be a better place.

"You would be my Deianira."


EW EW WTF THAT ESCALATED SO QUICKLY

"Hello, brother."



Said Damon omg

"Percy, let me go,"

NO NO NO OMG MY FEEEEEELS BRB CRYING

"Leo, they're not dead."



And at that moment, I swear that Nico di Angelo put hope into all of us.

--------

AGH I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT BOOK GOSH

Reading this book I've realized that all antagonists have a good side, no matter how small that is.

What did you think of this review? (:

Book Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi.

 Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi.
Book Summary: Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war– and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

Liana's Summary: They locked Juliette up, like she was some crazy psychopath. She wasn't. She just didn't know how to control her disease. When Adam comes into her life once more, she's not sure whether or not he's dangerous, but she trusts him anyway. However, when things turn strange and horrible, Juliette knows exactly what to do, knows exactly who to trust, and knows exactly who to run away from. And she especially knows who's immune to her and who's not... or does she? Is she the only one with strange 'powers'? Is she alone, or not?

Rate(1-10): 9.5

I'm starting to think I'm giving every good book I read a high ass rating. LOL. But honestly, this book totally deserves it.

I got this as a recommendation from a friend, and even before that recommendation I've been wanting to read it for quite some time already. 

I don't know what I expected, but for sure it wasn't some crazy chick who can kill people with her touch. Which is awesome. Her powers, man! It's so Dystopian it's just so wow. I guess I think I'm done and over with my no-dystopia-for-now phase?

What I like about this book is that it has a voice. Reminds me a whole lot of Patrick Ness's Chaos Walking Trilogy. Yes. The author's writing is about as good as Patrick Ness's. Ermahgerd. I'll tell you what's special about Shatter Me. There are sentences and phrases written like this.  It's like her thoughts-- yeah, she could have italicized them. But, instead, she stroke them out and it's like Juliette refused to think those thoughts. It's not really explicable but that's what I really like. It's part of what creates the voice. 

And

this

too.

1

2

3

4

and 5

It's like poetry, and it really creates such a voice that you can hear. To me, that's remarkable.

My eyes are seriously about to fall out. I'm sick as a dog and I can barely breathe through my nostrils and I can barely afford to look at the screen right now as I'm typing this because my eyes HURT. However, I think this book was worth it.. although I won't be too happy if I turn blind.

Juliette- She's a fairly likeable protagonist. However, sometimes she forces everyone to question her sanity. LOL. But yeah, I like her!
Adam- He's so freaking hot omg. I like Adam. They were a cute couple ever since 3rd grade; awwwww. (;
Kenji- It's probably me being too obsessed with Vampire Diaries but I imagined him as Tyler Lockwood. LOLOL. But he's pretty cool.

The antagonist. Don't even get me started.

Overall this book was freaking AMAZING. Totally a recommendation.

Quotes!

"You're afraid of me." 

DUH

"..he's not wearing a shirt."

LOL OMFG

"Your eyes are so deep."

That's honestly a strange thing to say to someone you just met

"Maybe I want to touch you."

Oh okay.

"Well aren't you a little shit?"

MERDE PETITE HAAHAHAH BRB DYING

"Adam is a soldier."

omfg wtf I am angry

"He's beautiful."

I KNEW IT WOULD BE A LOVE TRIANGLE FKODSJFKLS (or is it)

"Besides, it'd be a shame to lose such a pretty face."

That moment when an annoying antagonist is perverted and unsuccessfully trying to be flirtatious omfg

"I'd like to cry into his eyes."

WTF LOL

"You insist on making me the bad guy."

THAT'S BECAUSE YOU ARE POOP

"You're absolutely delicious when you're angry."

#Awks

"I've wanted to kiss you for so long."

YEAH, KISS HER NECK BEFORE YOU KISS HER LIPS. THAT'S PERFECTLY NORMAL.

"Because I'm in love with you."

D'aaaaaaaaaaw. (:

"It's a full living room, open and plush."

IT'S HANNAH MONTANA'S CLOSET ALL OVER AGAIN HUH

------------

That's that! What did you think of this review? (: