Review: Heist Society (Heist Society #1) By: Ally Carter

Title: Heist Society

Author: Ally Carter

Published: February 9th, 2010

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Goodreads Summary:

When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her on a trip to the Louvre…to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria…to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own—scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving “the life” for a normal life proves harder than she’d expected.

Soon, Kat's friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring Kat back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has a good reason: a powerful mobster has been robbed of his priceless art collection and wants to retrieve it. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat's father isn't just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat’s dad needs her help.

For Kat, there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it's a spectacularly impossible job? She's got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family's history--and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way.

My Thoughts:

This one is one of those books that if you are looking for a fun adventure, you will completely enjoy it. Ally Carter gave me everything that I was looking for in this read and I got to lay back and enjoy the ride.

Kat Bishop has spent her whole life in the family business, conning, scamming, and robbing. She has finally got to have the normal life she always wanted but, it didn't last for long. Kat's dad is being accused of stealing some extremely valuable paintings from a very scary man but, he couldn't have stolen those paintings because he was stealing something else. It is up to Kat and her heist society to help her dad.

I related to Kat from the very beginning, although I kept imagining how cool it would be to travel the world and getting to see so many things that teenagers dream about. But, I could also see her side of it, you always want what you don't have and think that the grass is greener on the other side. All she wanted was a normal life. Family was a huge part of Kat's life and you could really see how much she cared for her dad and wanted to help him.

Her love interest Oliver was completely adorable and they definitely have a past, which did not like insta-love which  made me very happy. You could really feel how much he cared for Kat and he would do anything that she asked of him. I was disappointed that she never really let herself care back and I wanted to know if she felt the same way. Hopefully in the next book, I will get my romance fix. 

Overall, this book was just a fun read, if you are looking for an easy read that makes you smile definitely pick up Ally Carter. This book was great and it would also be great for younger readers, easy to understand, and nothing to old or inappropriate. Ally Carter is my go to girl from now on when I am looking for a break and just want some fun. What about you guys, do you have any authors you go to when you just want to read something fun and easy?

Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1) By: Laini Taylor

Title: Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1)

Author: Laini Taylor

Published: September 27th, 2011

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars!

Goodreads Summary:

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

My Thoughts:

Ok, so I have waited so long to read this b book and I don't know why. I have read so many great reviews of this book and now I understand why. This was one of the most creative and magical fantasy books I have ever read and Laini Taylor is a master storyteller.

Karou has spent her whole life growing up in a mysterious world that she has never quite understood. She has grown up under the care of a monster who deals in teeth. She is completely mysterious, a blue haired artist with a sketch book full of drawings of creatures that nobody has ever seen before. Living half a live between two different worlds has made her never able to completely open with anyone.

This book had me staying up all night, flipping each page manically, completely absorbed in this world. Writing this review is so hard because half of the fun of reading this book was discovering the fantasy. 

Overall, this book was amazing! I was kicking myself for not reading it sooner and all of the hype surrounding this book completely makes sense. If you enjoy a great fantasy then you will love this one. How do you guys feel about the hype? Does this turn you away from reading a book?

What's Next (25)

I am so excited to be participating in a new meme every Thursday hosted  by Iceybooks, this meme is designed to help us bloggers get some help from our reader's on what to read next, so every week I will post 3 books that I am trying to decide between and you guys can vote on which one you think that I should read next. Cast your vote through the poll at the bottom of this post.

Happy Reading!
Kristin

 My 3 choices for this week are:

The Statistical Probability Of Love At First Sight By: Jennifer E. Smith
Goodreads Summary:

  Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. Having missed her flight, she's stuck at JFK airport and late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon-to-be stepmother Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's sitting in her row.

A long night on the plane passes in the blink of an eye, and Hadley and Oliver lose track of each other in the airport chaos upon arrival. Can fate intervene to bring them together once more?

Quirks of timing play out in this romantic and cinematic novel about family connections, second chances, and first loves. Set over a twenty-four-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it. 

Possession (Possession #1) By: Elana Johnson
Goodreads Summary:

 Vi knows the Rule: Girls don't walk with boys, and they never even think about kissing them. But no one makes Vi want to break the Rules more than Zenn...and since the Thinkers have chosen him as Vi's future match, how much trouble can one kiss cause? The Thinkers may have brainwashed the rest of the population, but Vi is determined to think for herself.

But the Thinkers are unusually persuasive, and they're set on convincing Vi to become one of them...starting by brainwashing Zenn. Vi can't leave Zenn in the Thinkers' hands, but she's wary of joining the rebellion, especially since that means teaming up with Jag. Jag is egotistical, charismatic, and dangerous--everything Zenn's not. Vi can't quite trust Jag and can't quite resist him, but she also can't give up on Zenn.

This is a game of control or be controlled. And Vi has no choice but to play.

Cold Kiss ( Cold Kiss #1) By: Amy Garvey
Goodreads Summary: 

  It was a beautiful, warm summer day, the day Danny died.

Suddenly Wren was alone and shattered. In a heartbroken fury, armed with dark incantations and a secret power, Wren decides that what she wants--what she "must" do--is to bring Danny back.

But the Danny who returns is just a shell of the boy Wren fell in love with. His touch is icy; his skin, smooth and stiff as marble; his chest, cruelly silent when Wren rests her head against it.

Wren must keep Danny a secret, hiding him away, visiting him at night, while her life slowly unravels around her. Then Gabriel DeMarnes transfers to her school, and Wren realizes that somehow, inexplicably, he can sense the powers that lie within her--and that he knows what she has done. And now Gabriel wants to help make things right.

But Wren alone has to undo what she has wrought--even if it means breaking her heart all over again

Waiting On Wednesday!

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine, that highlights upcoming book releases that everyone is waiting on.

This weeks selection is:

Title: Born of Illusion Goodreads
Author: Teri Brown
Published: June 11th, 2013
Goodreads Summary:

 Anna Van Housen is thirteen the first time she breaks her mother out of jail. By sixteen she’s street smart and savvy, assisting her mother, the renowned medium Marguerite Van Housen, in her stage show and séances, and easily navigating the underground world of magicians, mediums and mentalists in 1920’s New York City. Handcuffs and sleight of hand illusions have never been much of a challenge for Anna. The real trick is keeping her true gifts secret from her opportunistic mother, who will stop at nothing to gain her ambition of becoming the most famous medium who ever lived. But when a strange, serious young man moves into the flat downstairs, introducing her to a secret society that studies people with gifts like hers, he threatens to reveal the secrets Anna has fought so hard to keep, forcing her to face the truth about her past. Could the stories her mother has told her really be true? Could she really be the illegitimate daughter of the greatest magician of all?

Born of Illusion is the first book in a new series. Each book in the series will introduce a new historical figure, whose legend is shrouded in magic, along with the young woman whose fate is irrevocably tied to his. The through line in each of the books will be The Ghost Club, the real life secret society that was founded in 1862 by the likes of Charles Dickens, Sir Conan Doyle, and W. B. Yeats to advance mankind’s knowledge of the paranormal. The first three books in the series will deal with Houdini, Aleister Crowley and Rasputin.

My Thoughts: 

I have to admit that I am not a huge historical fiction fan but, this book sounds so good! I cannot wait to read this one, maybe it will change my mind on historical fiction! What are you waiting on this week?  

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books/Authors I am thankful for

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish


This week is my list of books and authors that I am thankful for!


1. Richelle Mead

I love Richelle Mead, she is one of my all time favorite authors and I know that when I pick up one of her books I will completely fall in love with the story. Her YA books and her adult books are both amazing.


2. The Twilight Saga and Stephanie Meyer

I am thankful for Stephanie and her  books because they are what got me back into reading again. It also got me back into YA books which made me so excited to read and brought me to where I am today!

3. Michelle Hodkin and her Mara Dyer Trilogy

I am absolutely in love with Michelle and her writing. It has been such a long time since I had read a book that kept me like these two did. I couldn't get enough of them. I also would like to marry Noah Shaw, he has become one of my favorite book boyfriends and I could read about him all day long!

4. Suzanne Collins and The Hunger Games Series 

I love what The Hunger Games books have done for books and reading in general. I am so thankful that they have given people a reason to read and I can only hope that with all the movie to book adaptations that are coming up in 2013 it keeps on going like this!

5. All of the self published authors that have given me the chance to review their books!

I have to give a shout out to some of the amazing authors who I have had the pleasure of getting to know and read their work, thank you so much for what you do!

6.  Cassandra Clare

Another one of my favorite authors, I am in the process of reading her Infernal Devices, and it is just as amazing as The Mortal Instruments. I am beyond excited for the release of the City of Bones movie, and I can't wait to read anything and everything that she writes!

7. Lois Duncan

When I was growing up I was a total book devourer and my parents eventually only let me get books from the library because they just couldn't afford to buy me books as fast as I could read. After going to the library one day I picked up one of her books and I read them all within a week. They were creepy and awesome, she definitely helped me be the book junkie I am today.