Mini Review: Until The Beginning by Amy Plum

Until The Beginning
Author: Amy Plum
Release Date: May 5, 2015
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Library
Review by: Nahomi

When Juneau's clan disappeared, she lost so much more than her friends and family. She soon discovered everything she thought she knew about her life was a lie. Her people's gifts were actually secret abilities that others wanted, desperately enough to kidnap an entire village.

Juneau and her new companion Miles's cross-country journey to find her clan has led them to a game preserve in New Mexico. Now Juneau's people are finally within reach, and she will stop at nothing to save them. But she has a target on her back too, because unbeknownst to her she is the key to unlocking everything. To rescue her people - and herself - Juneau must discover what she, and her abilities, are truly capable of. 

Rating: 4 stars out of 5 stars

Until the Beginning is the perfect ending to the After the End duology. Amy Plum infused this last installment with suspense, action, and romance. Until the Beginning picks up where After the End left off and I was thrust into Juneau’s world once again. In the middle of all of the chaos and mystery Juneau fights to get her people back and determine what she believes in.

This story is an emotional rollercoaster full of turmoil and coming to terms with reality. I love how Juneau’s and Miles relationship developed. I love the give and take of their relationship. Until the Beginning is a wonderful coming of age story.

Stacking the Shelves (#26)

Stacking the Shelves, which is hosted by Team Tynga's Reviews, is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This mean you can include books you buy in a physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course, ebooks.

Well hi there, Pretty.

It been a while since we've done one of these posts. I can give you the long version and tell you why we fell off the face of the blogosphere when it came down to this meme, but I think I'll just let you see what books Nahomi and I got in the month of August/September.

We got these for review:

DARK WILD NIGHT by Christina Lauren

ROMANCING THE DARK IN THE CITY OF LIGHTS by Anne Jacobus

BREAKAWAY by Kat Spears

I actually have this in hardcover but I can't find the picture I took.

MAD ABOUT THE MAN by Tracy Anne Warren
ALL I WANT by Jill Shalvis

FALLING FOR DANGER by Chanel Cleeton

THE GREAT HUNT by Wendy Higgins

WHAT HAPPENS IN COLLEGE by Vanessa M. Knight

WHAT PRETTY GIRLS ARE MADE OF by Lindsay Jill Roth

ONE LIFE by A.J. Pine

And we purchased these beauty:

QUEEN OF SHADOWS by Sarah J. Maas

DIE ONCE MORE by Amy Plum

That's it for us today. We'll be doing these once a month so we'll see you the week before Thanksgiving!

Favorite Friday (#37) - Until I Die by Amy Plum

Have a favorite book? Series? One that you've just read or are currently reading? Favorite Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Books and Swoons where we spotlight some of our Favorite Reads. Everyone is welcome to join. Just enter your information on the linky or leave us a comment!

This week pick is: Until I Die by Amy Plum.

Kate and Vincent have overcome the odds and at last they are together in Paris, the city of lights and love.

As their romance deepens there’s one question they can’t ignore: How are they supposed to be together if Vincent can’t resist sacrificing himself to save others? Although Vincent promises that he’ll do whatever it takes to lead a normal life with Kate, will that mean letting innocent people die? When a new and surprising enemy reveals itself, Kate realizes that even more may be at stake—and that Vincent’s immortality is in jeopardy.

In Die for Me, Amy Plum created a captivating paranormal mythology with immortal revenants and a lush Paris setting. Until I Die is poised to thrill readers with more heart-pounding suspense, spellbinding romance, and a cliff-hanger ending that will leave them desperate for the third and final novel in the series.

Until I Die is the second book in the Revenants series. It's my absolute favorite of the series; being that it's full of romance, action and suspense.Until I Die is an emotional rollercoaster from beginning to end! I loved the interaction between the characters and Kate is a kick-ass MC.

About the author:

Amy Plum is the author of DIE FOR ME, a YA series set in Paris. The first three books—DIE FOR ME, UNTIL I DIE, and IF I SHOULD DIE—are international bestsellers, and have been translated into thirteen languages. The fourth and fifth books are digital novellas, entitled DIE FOR HER and DIE ONCE MORE. Amy’s newest series is a duology: AFTER THE END and UNTIL THE BEGINNING.

Amy grew up in Birmingham, Alabama before venturing further afield to Chicago, Paris, London and New York. An art historian by training, she can be found on most days either daydreaming or writing (or both) in a Parisian café.

Author's links: Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

I hope you can join us in sharing and talking about some of your favorite reads. Book talk always make me happy. 

What are one of your favorite reads?

Review: After The End by Amy Plum

After The End
(After The End #1)
Author: Amy Plum
Release Date: May 6, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Signed copy from BEA14
Review by: Nahomi

She’s searching for answers to her past. They’re hunting her to save their future. World War III has left the world ravaged by nuclear radiation. A lucky few escaped to the Alaskan wilderness. They've survived for the last thirty years by living off the land, being one with nature, and hiding from whoever else might still be out there.

At least, this is what Juneau has been told her entire life.

When Juneau returns from a hunting trip to discover that everyone in her clan has vanished, she sets off to find them. Leaving the boundaries of their land for the very first time, she learns something horrifying: There never was a war. Cities were never destroyed. The world is intact. Everything was a lie.

Now Juneau is adrift in a modern-day world she never knew existed. But while she's trying to find a way to rescue her friends and family, someone else is looking for her. Someone who knows the extraordinary truth about the secrets of her past.

4 stars out of 5 stars

     I loved Amy Plum's Revenants series, so when I heard that she was coming out with a new series I was so excited to read it. I finally got around to reading it and I wasn't disappointed. It was a little difficult for me to get into in the beginning because of all of the back story and terminology being introduced but once I got passed that I was invested in the Juneau's journey.

After The End is a heart clenching story. Juneau is forced to deal with the loss of her family and finding out about being betrayed by the elders of her clan. The story is an emotional roller coaster of Juneau trying to find herself among the lies she grew up in. All the while being hunted down by several people for reasons unknown to her. There are several moments full of tension and suspense throughout the novel. The level of suspense and mystery kept me turning pages and left me with the need to find out what happens next.

Juneau is naive but is very in touch with her instincts and although she is lost and has doubts about everything she has been taught, she tries to stay true to herself. She is kind and fierce all at the same time. Miles, on the other hand, is selfish. I get that he has abandonment issues and maybe his actions are more to call attention than anything else but until the end of the story there is not one redeeming quality in him. Together they are the odd couple but it works.

The plot the pacing and the characters are all good. I enjoyed reading After The End and am curious to see what happens in Until The Beginning.

Stacking the Shelves (#24) - BEA Recap & Book Haul

Stacking the Shelves, which is hosted by Team Tynga's Reviews, is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This mean you can include books you buy in a physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course, ebooks.

Hi Lovelies!

It been ages since I've done one of these. Almost a year. I decided to come back with a bang since I went to BEA2014 and it was an absolute blast. I was lucky enough to grab some of my must haves along with some that I had my eye on for a while. I won't link the books because, honestly, that would take me forever, and I'm still trying to catch up on my loss of sleep from last week. If you see some asterisks(*), it means that it a signed copy.

First off are the finished copies that I managed to grab:

Discretion by Allison Leotta

Finding Cinderella by Colleen Hoover

Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson*

Lux: Beginnings by Jennifer L. Armentrout*

The Ring & The Crown by Melissa De La Cruz*

These are for the months of July and August:

Breathe, Annie, Breathe by Miranda Kenneally*

Zac & Mia by A.J. Betts

Virgin: A Novel by Radhika Banghani

Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid*

The Black House by Peter May

Ghost House by Alexandra Adornetto*

Messenger of Fear by Michael Grant

Positive: A Memoir by Paige Rawl, Ali Benjamin

The Beautiful Ashes by Jeaniene Frost*

There are for the month of September (Holy crap there's a lot!):

Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini*

Anatomy of a Misfit by Andrea Porters

The Jewel Amy Ewing

Falling into Place by Amy Zhang

The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

The Drop by Dennis Lehane

Sway by Kat Spears

The Vault of Dreamers by Caragh M. O'Brien

Blackbird by Anna Carey*

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld

Salt & Storm by Kendall Kulper

Tape by Steven Camden

Burn by James Patterson

Invisible by Dawn Metcalf

Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer

Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley*

These are for the months of October, November, December and January:

Famous in Love by Rebecca Serle*

Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick

The Forgotten Girl by David J. Bell

Unmarked by Kami Garcia

Stone Cold Touch by Jennifer L. Armentrout*

Talon by Julie Kagawa*

Compulsion by Martina Boone*

Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers

Zodiac by Romina Russell

We Should Hang Out Sometime by Josh Sundquist

This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Her by Harriet Lane

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

And my MOST prized possession that I managed to get signed!:

Landline by Rainbow Rowell*

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas*

Sublime by Christina Lauren*

Those are my babies right there. They didn't leave my eyesight all throughout BEA and on the trip home. 

And these are just some of the pictures I managed to get of some of the authors who's line I made:

Amy Plum

Christina Lauren

Sarah J. Maas

Speaking of Sarah J. Maas, I was in line for her 2 hours beforehand and it was INSANE. However, since she was a priority for me, I sucked it up and made the best of it. Thankfully, I had one of my best friends with me, Daisel, who blogs for Owl Always Be Reading, waiting in line with me.

Besties waiting for Sarah =)

Since Daisel knew I was super excited and was going to be a fangirl mess, she took over and took pictures for me. Bless her heart.

Almost to Sarah!

Trying to contain my inner fangirl

My baby!

And then I promptly sat down to read right at the next signing. *happy sigh*

I managed to snag this beauty as well:

And on Book Con *shudders*(such a nightmare) I manage to see Danielle Fisher AKA TOPANGA!

Since I have family in New York, I met up with them after BEA and just drove around the city. It was such a nice break after spending the past 3 days stuck inside a convention center. It actually felt like I was in New York then. Here's me in Brooklyn, enjoying the nice weather and the view:

That's it for me. I hope I can get back into the swing of doing Stacking the Shelves again. Maybe not every week but every few weeks. Can't wait to see what everyone is adding to their shelves!

Mini Review: If I Should Die by Amy Plum

If I Should Die (Revenants #3)
By Amy Plum
Release Date: May 7, 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Personal Copy
Review: Jenn & Nahomi
Links: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / IndieBound

Jenn's rating: 2.5 stars out of 5 stars
Nahomi's rating: 4 stars out of 5 stars
Our overall rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 stars

I will not lose another person I love. I will not let history repeat itself.
Vincent waited lifetimes to find me, but in an instant our future together was shattered. He was betrayed by someone we both called a friend, and I lost him. Now our enemy is determined to rule over France’s immortals, and willing to wage a war to get what they want.
It shouldn’t be possible, none of it should be, but this is my reality. I know Vincent is somewhere out there, I know he’s not completely gone, and I will do anything to save him.
After what we’ve already fought to achieve, a life without Vincent is unimaginable. He once swore to avoid dying—to go against his nature and forsake sacrificing himself for others—so that we could be together. How can I not risk everything to bring my love back to me?

Nahomi:

After the ending of the of Until I Die I was anxiously awaiting the last installment of the series If I Should Die. I was heartbroken after the second book so when I got my hands on this book I couldn’t read fast enough. The first part of the book was excruciatingly painful for me. I was suffering for Kate and Vincent. I couldn’t believe what was happening to them, I just wanted to fix everything and make it better.

So I read and read like a little maniac, and I reached a point in the book where I felt that the story got a little predictable. I was a little disappointed with this because I really liked the series so far and I felt that the series could have ended in a different way. I get why the book ended the way it did, but I still wished that it would have ended differently.

There were several things that I loved about this series. I love the feminist tone of the entire series. Vincent is very progressive as far a love interests go, he lets Kate try and defend herself although he is there in the background in case she needs help. I really enjoyed the series in general but I was a little disappointed in the ending.

Jenn:

Just like Nahomi said, after the ending of Until I Die, I had to get my hands on If I Should Die. After that cliffhanger, I was desperate to find out the outcome of one the main characters. The book picked up fairly quickly but unlike the previous book, I didn’t end up loving it. Everything felt predictable for me and I rolled my eyes so many times while reading. After a while, I just wanted to get to the end and see how everything would be resolved but I was no longer invested. There was so many similarities to Twilight by Stephenie Meyer that just turned me off. And when we finally got to then end, I found it to be very convenient and I still don’t agree how it ended. So overall, my favorite book of the series was Until I Die and I won’t be rereading this book again.

Mini Review: Until I Die by Amy Plum

Until I Die (Revenants #2)
By Amy Plum
Release Date: May 8, 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Friend's Copy
Review by: Jenn & Nahomi
Links: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / IndieBound

Jenn's rating: 3 stars out of 5 stars
Nahomi's rating: 5 stars out of 5 stars
Our overall rating: 4 stars out of 5 stars

Kate has chosen to leave the comfort and safety of her human world in order to join Vincent in the dangerous supernatural universe he inhabits. For his part, he has sworn to go against his very nature and resist the repeated deaths that are his fate as a revenant—even though it will bring him immeasurable suffering.
Heady with romance and rife with danger, the second book of the DIE FOR ME trilogy follows Vincent and Kate as they search—separately—for a solution to their plight, pursuing their quest from the glamorous streets of Paris to the city’s squalid underbelly. Although the experiment that Vincent attempts is progressively destroying him, he insists on seeing it through to the end. This prompts Kate to strike out on her own into the dangerous world of the revenants to find another way. But she unwittingly puts everyone she loves at risk when she discovers a family of ancient healers who hold the key to a secret that could help the bardia—the good revenants—overthrow their murderous enemies, the numa, forever.
And while the lovers search for something they have little chance of finding, a new threat arises among the numa. Kate finds herself in the midst of an ancient and deadly war, not as a bystander…but as a target.

Jenn:

Until I Die is my favorite of the Revenants series. I enjoyed getting to know the characters in depth and seeing them interact with each other. It was also interesting to see Kate and Vincent’s relationship grow and how they learned to deal with Vincent being a revenant. My only problem with this series is how much it reminds me of Twilight. Some of the characters just straight up reminds me of Bella and Edward and the Cullens.

I do have to admit that the end killed me. I was so surprised and I just had to know what happens next. Until I Die was a great follow up and it was so much better than Die For Me. It got me super excited about the last book, If I Should Die.

Nahomi:

I have to agree with Jenn Until I Die was my favorite book of the series. I love the scenes where Kate was training to learn how to defend herself. After having read the first book I didn’t know what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised. I was on an emotional rollercoaster I didn’t know what was happening and I needed to get to the end.

Throughout the book I had this feeling of impending doom, like something really bad was going to happen.(I wasn’t going to like). I couldn’t put the book down and when I reached the end I couldn’t believe what happened. I was devastated, and desperately needed the third book like yesterday. I feel that Amy Plum did a great job with making the characters relatable and keeping me guessing as to what would happen next. I really enjoyed reading Until I Die.

Waiting on Wednesday (#45)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Morning swooners!

This week pre-publication "can't wait to read" selection is:

After The End by Amy Plum

Expected Release Date: May 6, 2014

Links: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Goodreads

Synopsis:

She’s searching for answers to her past. They’re hunting her to save their future.

World War III has left the world ravaged by nuclear radiation. A lucky few escaped to the Alaskan wilderness. They've survived for the last thirty years by living off the land, being one with nature, and hiding from whoever else might still be out there.

At least, this is what Juneau has been told her entire life.

When Juneau returns from a hunting trip to discover that everyone in her clan has vanished, she sets off to find them. Leaving the boundaries of their land for the very first time, she learns something horrifying: There never was a war. Cities were never destroyed. The world is intact. Everything was a lie.

Now Juneau is adrift in a modern-day world she never knew existed. But while she's trying to find a way to rescue her friends and family, someone else is looking for her. Someone who knows the extraordinary truth about the secrets of her past.

I am so excited about  After The End! I am a big fan of Amy Plum's Revenants series, and can't wait to see what she's come up with for this series!