Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen

Title & Author:
Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen
Publisher:
Walker Children’s
Publication Date:
February 14, 2012
Pages:
292
Source:
NetGalley

Many readers know the tale of Robin Hood, but they will be swept away by this new version full of action, secrets, and romance.

Posing as one of Robin Hood’s thieves to avoid the wrath of the evil Thief Taker Lord Gisbourne, Scarlet has kept her identity secret from all of Nottinghamshire. Only the Hood and his band know the truth: the agile thief posing as a whip of a boy is actually a fearless young woman with a secret past. Helping the people of Nottingham outwit the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham could cost Scarlet her life as Gisbourne closes in.

It’s only her fierce loyalty to Robin—whose quick smiles and sharp temper have the rare power to unsettle her—that keeps Scarlet going and makes this fight worth dying for. – Goodreads

Guys, Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen is SO FREAKING GOOD. I’m on a book high right now, I swear. I can’t stop smiling!

Scarlet has it all, seriously. It’s a story about Robin Hood & his bandits (clearly), it has slow burn romance, it’s got kings and sheriffs and taverns, it has some serious action scenes and majorly high stakes, and the protagonist, Scarlet, is such a freaking badass. Oh, and Robin.

Seriously. Robin is kind of the most amazing guy I’ve read in book in a while. And yeah, okay, he’s Robin Hood, but we’ve always sort of seen Robin Hood from Robin Hood’s eyes, right? But from Scarlet’s eyes? He’s like doubly and triply amazing.

And the slow burn romance (I have no idea who I stole that term from, sorry!). Sure, Scarlet thinks Robin is attractive from the beginning, but there is so much slow burn in this book it’s almost torturous. But so amazing.

A.C. Gaughen’s writing in general throughout Scarlet was basically amazing. She sure knows how to tell a story. I mean, writing action scenes with all the chaos and confusion and swords and daggers can’t be an easy task. But she did it and she did it well in Scarlet.

There have been a lot of series in the past few years. And sometimes it’s tiresome. But Scarlet is one of those books where I am seriously hoping so hard that it’s a series because I need to read more about Scarlet and Rob and their story. Or just more books from A.C. Gaughen in general.

Basically – go read Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen. It’s fabulously written with developed and awesome and brave and interesting characters, and has a story that’s familiar, but also very engrossing and action-packed and just all around awesome. Scarlet is one of those books that grips onto you and won’t let you go until you’ve finished – and then it leaves you wanting more.

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When the Sea is Rising Red by Cat Hellisen

Title & Author:
When the Sea is Rising Red by Cat Hellisen
Publisher:
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication Date:
February 28, 2012
Pages:
296
Source:
ARC from Publisher

After seventeen-year-old Felicita’s dearest friend, Ilven, kills herself to escape an arranged marriage, Felicita chooses freedom over privilege. She fakes her own death and leaves her sheltered life as one of Pelimburg’s magical elite behind. Living in the slums, scrubbing dishes for a living, she falls for charismatic Dash while also becoming fascinated with vampire Jannik. Then something shocking washes up on the beach: Ilven’s death has called out of the sea a dangerous, wild magic. Felicita must decide whether her loyalties lie with the family she abandoned . . . or with those who would twist this dark power to destroy Pelimburg’s caste system, and the whole city along with it. – Goodreads

My brain is still processing all the crazyness that occured in The Sea is Rising Red by Cat Hellisen.

Where do I even begin? When the Sea is Rising Red is like a crazy combination of fantasy and paranormal. There are VAMPIRES but they’re totally different than the Twilight kind of vampire because these vampires are looked down on as basically social climbing scum. Which was kind of awesome. We weren’t supposed to like them, which is kind of rare in YA these days.

And the magic! I loved what Cat Hellisen did with magic, with different classes of power and what each class needs to perform their magic.

The writing I thought was pretty brilliant. Very, very descriptive and flow-y.

I think my favourite part was all the different legends and rumors and tales passed down among the lower classes. Each one had a different story and explanation for why things happened and it was humorous but also totally real because it was like a game of telephone but played over hundreds of years.

The love triangle was weird. I actually don’t even know what to say about the characters. Felicita was brave and determined, and I really admired that. Especially towards the end. Dash? Jannik? I just. I can’t. Those of you who’ve read it need to tell me how you feel because none of them ended up where I thought they would, hah!

The story itself in When the Sea is Rising Red hurt my brain. I mean, I was flipping the page and going what what what they did what he did what HE SAID WHAT and WAIT WHO DIED?

Is my review of When the Sea is Rising Red by Cat Hellisen coherent at all? I didn’t think so. Let me try to sum it up – When the Sea is Rising Red is crazy. The magic elements were awesome, although I’m still unsure where I land on some of the characters, namely the males. But I enjoyed it for the most part and managed to read it in one day. If you’re up for a paranormal/fantasy roller coaster, do check out When the Sea is Rising Red. And let me know what you think!

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Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Title & Author:
Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
Publisher:
HarperTeen
Publication Date:
March 06, 2012
Pages:
375
Source:
ARC

I’m pushing aside the memory of my nightmare,
pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame.

Lauren Oliver delivers an electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed New York Times bestseller, delirium. This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce defiance, forbidden romance, and the sparks of a revolution about to ignite.- Goodreads

Do you guys remember how Delirium ended? Pretty freaking crazy, right? Definitely let me in shock and tears and with feelings of Noooooooooooooo!

So luckily, Pandemonium sort of picks up right after that, except it switches back and forth between Then (the end of Delirium) and Now (what present-day Lena is doing). And this is super interesting because it sets us up with two different storylines that sort of converge into present day and explain everything. Well, explain as much as Lauren Oliver wants us to know.

It’s too hard for me to talk about the characters for several reasons. First off, I loved them all. I loved Lena and the new characters introduced – every single freaking one. The other reason is because I don’t want to spoil anything! So let me just say, I love them all.

The storyline is just as intense and riveting as Delirium, although there was one moment towards the end that had me going “whaaaaaat are you serious” in an…interesting way. It was just weird. But really, Pandemonium is a tale of survival and revenge and, of course, love.

And guys, THE ENDING THE ENDING THE ENDING. Seriously Lauren Oliver, you had to do it AGAIN? These endings are killing me! My reaction to the ending was to gasp, reread, gasp, reread and then feaofjeoaifjeawopipejioafjeankxjvnj80wearuweaioj keyboard mash.

If you’re a fan of Delirium, you’re going to love Pandemonium. It’s an epic follow-up to an epic book and I seriously cannot wait until Requiem, which doesn’t come out until freaking February 2013.

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Allegiance by Cayla Kluver

Title & Author:
Allegiance by Cayla Kluver
Publisher:
Harlequin Teen
Publication Date:
February 28, 2012
Pages:
490
Source:
NetGalley

Only I saw Narian for who he truly was: a young man with courage and an independent mind, and made to pay for what was outside his control. He couldn’t help his past any more than he could help the way those intense, deep-blue eyes pierced me and held me captive.

An eighteen-year-old queen in love with the enemy as their countries pass the point of no return…

Bound to a man she cannot love, Queen Alera of Hytanica must forget Narian, the young man who holds her heart. For Narian is destined to conquer Hytanica at the behest of his master, the powerful magic-user known as the Overlord. Alera doesn’t truly believe Narian will fight against Hytanica-until Cokyrian troops attack with Narian commanding the charge.

Faced with the greatest betrayal a heart can know, Alera must set aside personal feelings and lead her kingdom through its darkest time. And when all hope, will and courage seem lost, she must find strength and remember that even the blackest night must have a dawn…. – Goodreads

MAN I loved Allegiance by Cayla Kluver. I mean, I liked Legacy, the first book, a lot, but so much epic happened in Allegiance that my mind was blown. Especially with how it all ended up, I was like WHAT I never saw any of this coming.

And yes, the length – Allegiance is a long book (although just a tad shorter than Legacy, I think). But it’s a fantasy, what do you expect? The world building is amazing and I could totally see myself in Hytanica, sneaking around riding horses and fighting against my attraction to Steldor.

Oh, yeah, and Steldor. I think I strongly disliked him in Legacy, because hello – Narian was the mysterious forbidden boy. And he was awesome. But in Allegiance, even though Alera was all “I never wanted to marry Steldor and I sure as hell don’t want his kisses although they are quite good” – I was like KISS HIM, ALERA. I know, I couldn’t believe myself.

And Alera. She was STRONG in Allegiance. Her strength came out in bits, like denying Steldor or annoying him, but she also made hard, real decisions and I really admired her a lot more in Allegiance than I did in Legacy It can’t be easy being a queen!

If you enjoyed Legacy by Cayla Kluver, I have a feeling you’ll enjoy Allegiance just as much or even more. It’s an awesome fantasy series with a kickass storyline full of fighting and drama and kidnappings and what not.

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In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by awesome Kristi at The Story Siren which allows bloggers to share what books they bought/received each week.

And yet again, I meant to do a vlog this week, but I’m at my parents with all my cat drama, so I just haven’t had time. Hence the not as fabulous picture.

BUT I did get some awesome books this week and I only broke my book buying ban just a tad bit so YAY for me! I had a giftcard and only went over by about $7. Definitely not splurging like before. Lots of class books this week though, mejiaofea. But you know.

I’ve got two great chances to win The Fine Art of Truth or Dare going on here and here! Check them out for sure!

For Review
Above by Leah Bobet (from publisher, thank you!)
Child of the Mountains by Marilyn Sue Shank (from publisher, yayay!)
The Academie by Susanne Dunlap (from publisher <33)
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (from publisher – seriously awesome page design)
The Returning by Christine Hinwood (NetGalley)
Burn Mark by Laura Powell (NetGalley)

Gifted

Gilt by Katherine Longshore (from Gabrielle Carolina THANK YOU!!)
Try Not to Breathe by Jennifer R. Hubbard (from Tirzah, thank you!)
The Difference Between You and Me by Madeleine George (from Tirzah!)
The Girls of No Return by Erin Saldin (from Tirzah!)

Bought

Child of God by Cormac McCarthy (class)
The Girl in the Flammable Skirt by Aimee Bender (class)
M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang (class)
The Fine Art of Truth or Dare by Melissa Jensen
Harbinger by Sara Wilson Etienne
Dead to You by Lisa McMann
Arcadia Awakens by Kai Meyer

So that’s what I got in my mailbox this week! What did you all get in your mailbox? Please comment and let me know! :)

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