Wake (Watersong #1) - Amanda Hocking

Fall under the spell of Wake—the first book in an achingly beautiful new series by celebrated author Amanda Hocking—and lose yourself to the Watersong.

Gorgeous. Fearless. Dangerous. They're the kind of girls you envy; the kind of girls you want to hate. Strangers in town for the summer, Penn, Lexi and Thea have caught everyone's attention—but it’s Gemma who’s attracted theirs. She’s the one they’ve chosen to be part of their group.

Gemma seems to have it all—she’s carefree, pretty, and falling in love with Alex, the boy next door. He’s always been just a friend, but this summer they’ve taken their relationship to the next level, and now there’s no going back. Then one night, Gemma’s ordinary life changes forever. She’s taking a late night swim under the stars when she finds Penn, Lexi and Thea partying on the cove. They invite her to join them, and the next morning she wakes up on the beach feeling groggy and sick, knowing something is different.

Suddenly Gemma is stronger, faster, and more beautiful than ever. But her new powers come with a terrifying price. And as she uncovers the truth, she’s is forced to choose between staying with those she loves—or entering a new world brimming with dark hungers and unimaginable secrets.

My first Hocking! I was SO excited to read this, and I definitely wasn't disapointed.

As it turns out, Wake isn't about mermaids as I'd previously thought. I'm not going to tell you what it's about though. That'd be giving away a major spoiler, although, the signs are pretty obvious once you eliminate the whole mermaid thing.

While reading Wake, there was one question on my mind: Gemma, Gemma, Gemma. What are we going to do with you? On one hand, I enjoyed Gemma's character - she reminds me of my little sister: determined and stuboorn. On the other, however, I found Gemma to be extremely annoying at times, and I really just wanted her to make up her mind, for the most part. One thing that bothered me about this story relating to Gemma was that we don't see much of her social life, besides swimming and being at home, her social life is seemingly non-existant, and it threw me off a bit. Although, this could just be me picking at something that doesn't need to be picked at. Gemma's lack of social life didn't deter from the plot, or the pacing, of this first novel, and I was extremely happy for that.

Harper is someone that I can definitely connect with. I see a lot of myself in her, actually, which is why she's my favorite character. I enjoyed reading from Harper's point of view more than I enjoyed reading from Gemma's. She just seemed more "with it" for lack of a better phrase. And, she works at a library - my dream job.

Anyway, I'm going to quit talking about the characters now, and actually get to the recommendation part. If you like mysteries about creatures, teenagers, and the paranormal struggles of first love, this book is definitely for you. 4/5

Warm Bodies - Isaac Marion

A zombie who yearns for a better life ends up falling in love—with a human—in this astonishingly original debut novel.

R is a zombie. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he has dreams. He doesn’t enjoy killing people; he enjoys riding escalators and listening to Frank Sinatra. He is a little different from his fellow Dead.

Not just another zombie novel, Warm Bodies is funny, scary, and deeply moving.

I thought that this book was going to be another one of those horribly over done paranormal romances... Boy, was I wrong! I was very skeptical in starting this book. Judging by the movie's trailer, I thought that it would be sappy and there would be a lot of mushy love moments. I was both happily and unhappily suprised when I realized that this wasn't going to be one of those books. Warm Bodies  was bruitally honest and funny. I couldn't believe that one person could make me I feel so much and then make me burst out laughing with the next sentence. The characters in this book were fantastically written and the twist on the zombies was unique to me, which made Warm Bodies all the more surprising. I loved every second of reading this book and I highly recommend reading it if you haven't already. Please, pick up this book if you have any interest in zombies or in the workings of the world in general. You definitely won't regret it.

Infinity - Sherrilyn Kenyon

  At fourteen, Nick Gautier thinks he knows everything about the world around him. Streetwise, tough and savvy, his quick sarcasm is the stuff of legends. . .until the night when his best friends try to kill him. Saved by a mysterious warrior who has more fighting skills than Chuck Norris, Nick is sucked into the realm of the Dark-Hunters: immortal vampire slayers who risk everything to save humanity.

Nick quickly learns that the human world is only a veil for a much larger and more dangerous one: a world where the captain of the football team is a werewolf and the girl he has a crush on goes out at night to stake the undead.

But before he can even learn the rules of this new world, his fellow students are turning into flesh eating zombies. And he's next on the menu.

As if starting high school isn't hard enough. . .now Nick has to hide his new friends from his mom, his chainsaw from the principal, and keep the zombies and the demon Simi from eating his brains, all without getting grounded or suspended. How in the world is he supposed to do that?

More fighting skills than Chuck Norris? Well, now I just had to read that!

I started this book thinking that it was going to be just another paranormal whatever and in a way, it was and then... it was so much more. It wasn't completely centered on one age group, there was something there for everyone. I do realize that this book is only the first in a series, and that it will get better, which is part of the reason that I'm being completely honest while typng this review.

Some things in this book just didn't make much sense to me, and maybe it's because I haven't read this book in a while, but somethig ns just didn't completely add up. Part of me is saying that I feel that way because it's just the mystery of the series, and I hope that's the case.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I thought that it was new and different and I liked learning about different cultures, though they weren't the main focus of this book, they were still interesting. Nick and his mother are both fantastic characters and I feel like I was connected to them in a way. That's the best part about reading, you know? When you can legitimately connect with a fictional characer and it's almost as though you've known each other forever.

If you haven't read this book and are looking for something new to read, you should definitely pick it up! I give it 4/5 stars. :)