Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (a book with more than 500 pages)

Aaahhhhhh! I finally read a Brandon Sanderson book and I understand what all the hype is about! This book was so good. It had a great world, magic system, and characters. I loved the politics involved in the plot and the way it was constantly changing into something I wasn't expecting. A great adult fantasy read!

Spoilers Follow!

I have to say that I loved Vin's character and I loved seeing how she grew in the novel. In the beginning she was weak and didn't trust anyone but by the end she was a BOSS! I also liked learning about her background before the crew, even if it wasn't mentioned very often. Her story is one filled with even more pain than Kell's but she was able to overcome it. I was thrilled to find out that her either didn't betray her and even died for her because I think that realization will go a long way in helping her trust others.

The other characters were equally interesting but Kelsier was the hardest to figure out. I wasn't able to discern his true motivations until after his death because I doubted him just like the other members did. I couldn't help but compare his inner dialect to the diary of the "Lord Ruler" and I was concerned that he would be corrupted. The scene where he dies was so abrupt and unexpected that I had to reread the paragraph to make sure he was really dead. I kept thinking that there was a twist and that he would burst into the shop smiling but it never happened. I felt terrible for Vin because he was one of the first people she was able to truly trust. 

The other characters were equally awesome and I can't wait to see how they develope in the next book. I am particularly excited to read about Elend as king and his relationship with Vin. At the end I was a little concerned that she wouldn't go back to him but she did (thank the Lord Ruler). I am curious about their relationship because they haven't even kissed in the first book. I get that it is a fantasy novel, and it's written by a guy, but I can't help but want a little romance to spice things up. I am also eager to learn more about the Deepness and maybe even the man who was supposed to be the Hero of Ages. (BTW I am proud to announce that I figured out that the Lord Ruler Rasheik before it was actually revealed, but I was still surprised).

MY RATING: *****

Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver (a book with a love triangle)

In all technicality this book doesn't have a love triangle; people that have read this book will understand what I'm talking about but originally it started out with two sisters liking the same boy. It is getting harder now to just read whatever I want and fit it into a category, so soon I will have to start reading more specific books. But for now I can work to fit this book into the love triangle category.

I didn't really like this book at all. I hated the "twist"; even though I didn't see it coming, it wasn't very original and it seemed like a bit of a stretch for the book. I didn't like how the book was marketed because the synopsis really didn't fit the story. It was a really slow book but I kept reading because I wanted to see what happened at the end but that only disappointed me too. Dara doesn't even disappear until  3/4 of the way through the book. I was expecting the whole thing to be about the missing girls but it wasn't. I also found the characters to be really annoying. Nick seemed to get on my nerves more because she blamed everything that happened to her on her sister even thought her sister was the one that was hurt in the accident. Dara complained a lot too and I just couldn't relate to either one of them.

MEGA SPOILERS TO FOLLOW....

If you read the book and you read the top part and were confused by how I talked about the sisters, I understand. After finding out that they were both Nick the whole time, I struggled to try and think of them as two separate people. After finding our about Nick's personality disorder, I hated to think about how her family and friends had overlooked this for so long. I know that she  was seeing a therapist but her family let her continue to think that her sister was alive. Even Parker enabled her through his relationship with "Dara". When they were kissing in the car and her called her by her real name, he didn't seem surprised when she freaked out and he even tried to defend himself. They all overlooked it while she continued to pretend to be two separate people. They let it get to the point when she could have harmed herself during her breakdown. 

I also didn't like the Madeline Snow story. The synopsis made it seem like Dara and Madeline were related in some way but that wasn't true. Really Madeline wasn't even kidnapped, she just got scared and ran off for ten days! I can't believe that a child could hide for that long and the police wouldn't find her. Also, Madeline's sister's cover story wasn't very convincing. She made up this whole story about being at the ice-cream shop when Madeline was taken, when really she was wasted at a club! When I found that out, I didn't understand how the police wouldn't immediately figure out that was a lie. If she had really been at Big Scoop people would have seen her, she would have been on video, and the police would have verified all of that. Even the neighbor didn't tell the police she was lying until Madeline had been missing for about a week. Overall, i pretty much hated it and was beyond disappointed because I had been so excited to read a YA thriller.

MY RATING: *

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (a mystery or thriller)

I actually finished this book about two weeks ago but I haven't had a chance to review it, so I am going to keep this post short. I enjoyed this book and I would compare it to Gone Girl in the sense that they both have unreliable narrators but I didn't like it as much as I liked Gone Girl. I was frustrated by the main character and her drinking problem and I thought the plot was very slow moving. There were a few plot twists that caught me off guard but ultimately I figured who did the crime about 2/3 through. My main issue was how frustrated I was with the main character, her drinking problem, and her obsession with her ex husband and Scott.

MY RATING: *** 1/2

Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan (a book my mom loves)

As soon as I saw this challenge on the list  I knew that I would read Joy Luck Club because every women in my family, including my mom, loves this book. I enjoyed it but o wouldn't say I loved it. I thought the book was very unique and revealed a lot about the Chinese culture and how their women are expected to behave. There were a lot of surprises in this book about the women and the trials they faced in their lives. Each chapter revealed a bit more about their trials and past but the stories never really "entwined" live the back of the book said. I liked reading each story but if you enjoy a more plot driven book, this isn't for you. The main plot that I wanted to read about (June visiting her missing sisters) was only two chapters in the whole book and they were the very first and last chapter. I liked th book but it was mostly character driven which I don't enjoy as much as a book with huge plot twists.

MY RATING: ***1/2

Fairest by Marissa Meyer (a book you can read in one day)

Since this book was obviously short enough to finish in one day, this is going to be a short post because I don't have a ton to say. There also aren't really spoilers in this post because it is a companion novel; as long as you have read up to Cress nothing in this post should spoil you too much. 

I thought this was a neat novella to read if you want to know more about Levana. I love the Lunar Chronicles series and I didn't want to wait until Winter came out to read more about this world. I thought it was interesting to read about Levana's marriage and how manipulative she was even as a child. I also didn't know that Winter wasn't her real daughter, so that helped me piece together their relationship. I also really enjoyed seeing Cinder and Winter as kids before they got  separated and grew up in completely different worlds. Cinder's mother wasn't what I was expecting and I was glad to know that she was separated from her mother early on because her mom was probably worse than Levana. It was interesting to find out the reason that Levana wears her glamour or the veil all the time. Overall it is a good read for those who love the Lunar Chronicles because it reveals stuff about the characters. I wouldn't recommend buying it though because it isn't very long and it isn't necessary for the series; just borrow it from your library.

MY RATING: ***1/2