Mini Review: The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die by April Henry

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Title: The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die

Author: April Henry

Length: 224 pages

Publisher: Henry Holt and Company

Classification: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller

Release Date: June 11, 2013

Source: e-book (purchased)

Read: July 2014

GoodReads

“Take her out back and finish her off.” She doesn’t know who she is. She doesn’t know where she is, or why. All she knows when she comes to in a ransacked cabin is that there are two men arguing over whether or not to kill her. And that she must run. In her riveting style, April Henry crafts a nail-biting thriller involving murder, identity theft, and biological warfare. Follow Cady and Ty (her accidental savior turned companion), as they race against the clock to stay alive. (From GoodReads)

My Rating:

This is a genre that I haven't read many books from before.
I purchased this e-book thanks to Fierce Reads having a readalong (#ReadAprilHenry) on Twitter.
I was a little hesitant at first, because I wasn't sure if it was a book that I would enjoy reading. But in the end I decided to give it a try since it was part of the readalong and on sale.
And I am really glad that I stepped out of my normal genres and read this one.

It is a quick and intense read.

It instantly grabbed my attention from the very beginning of the story. I was so mesmerized by the world, the story and the main character, Cady and trying to find out what was going to happen next. I could not put the book down.

There were a couple things that I saw coming (just minor details) but overall the story had twists that surprised me. It was a bit of a mystery to figure out the motive behind why these people were after her and wanted to kill her.

I like the characters. I especially likeTy. I found his character to be interesting. I was a little surprised that he helped her so much when he didn't know her. But overall he is a very likable character. He is nice and caring.
I also enjoyed reading from Cady's point of view because she has amnesia, which is a different type of point of view for me. It helped add mystery and some suspense to the story.

My Recommendation:

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book. If you enjoy reading thrillers that have some mystery and are a very quick read, then I suggest giving this book a try.

Mini Review: Dirty Little Secret by Jennifer Echols

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Title: Dirty Little Secret

Author: Jennifer Echols

Length: 288 pages

Publisher: MTV Books

Classification: Young Adult, Contemporary, Music

Release Date: April 22, 2014

Source: Paperback (Won from the author. Thank you so much Jennifer for the signed copy!)

Read: May 2014

GoodReads

Bailey wasn’t always a wild child and the black sheep of her family. She used to play fiddle and tour the music circuit with her sister, Julie, who sang and played guitar. That ended when country music execs swooped in and signed Julie to a solo deal. Never mind that Julie and Bailey were a duet, or that Bailey was their songwriter. The music scouts wanted only Julie, and their parents were content to sit by and let her fulfill her dreams while Bailey’s were hushed away. Bailey has tried to numb the pain and disappointment over what could have been. And as Julie’s debut album is set to hit the charts, her parents get fed up with Bailey’s antics and ship her off to granddad’s house in Nashville. Playing fiddle in washed-up tribute groups at the mall, Bailey meets Sam, a handsome and oh-so-persuasive guitarist with his own band. He knows Bailey’s fiddle playing is just the thing his band needs to break into the industry. But this life has broken Bailey’s heart once before. She isn’t sure she’s ready to let Sam take her there again… (From GoodReads)

***I won a copy of this book from a giveaway on Twitter from the author. This does not change the way I view this book.***

My Rating:

Overall, I really enjoyed the story.

I think that this was a fun quick read. 

I really liked the plot. I LOVE music very much. So I was really excited about all the musical aspects of the book.

I don’t really listen to much country music, but I do really love Johnny Cash. And I liked that I knew some of the country musicians that were mentioned in the story.

I found that the challenges that Bailey had to overcome were very well written. The story for the most part felt realistic to me and I was very interested in what would happen next.

I had a hard time putting this book down.

I liked most of the characters. I liked Bailey a lot as a main character. And I enjoyed her relationship with her grandfather. I was interested in everything else that was going on with her family. And I liked Sam's friends that were in the band and found myself wanting to know more about them as well. 

But I had a hard time with Sam. The young man. There were times that I really liked him then there were times that I disliked him majorly. I guess I liked him more than I hated him. I just personally didn’t “fall in love” with him or his character. But that didn’t make me hate the story nor did it make me any less engrossed by what was happening.
I enjoyed reading the book and was satisfied with the ending. I am happy that I was able to read this book and plan on checking out some of the author's other books.

Mini Review: The Collector by Victoria Scott

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Title: The Collector (Dante Walker #1)

Author: Victoria Scott

Length: 352 pages

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Classification: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal

Release Date: April 2, 2013

Source: e-book (purchased)

Read: May 2014

GoodReads

Dante Walker is flippin’ awesome, and he knows it. His good looks, killer charm, and stellar confidence has made him one of Hell’s best — a soul collector. His job is simple, weed through humanity and label those round rears with a big red good or bad stamp. Old Saint Nick gets the good guys, and he gets the fun ones. Bag-and-tag. Sealing souls is nothing personal. Dante’s an equal opportunity collector and doesn’t want it any other way. But he’ll have to adjust, because Boss Man has given him a new assignment: Collect Charlie Cooper’s soul within 10 days. Dante doesn’t know why Boss Man wants Charlie, nor does he care. This assignment means only one thing to him, and that’s a permanent ticket out of Hell. But after Dante meets the quirky, Nerd Alert chick he’s come to collect—he realizes this assignment will test his abilities as a collector, and uncover emotions long ago buried. (From GoodReads)

My Rating:

I bought this book and book number two because they were both on sale and I saw some other bloggers talking about the series on Twitter. So I thought I would give it a try. Then I saw that Jessica at Just a Booklover and Stephanie from Ohana Reads were having a Read-a-thon. So I decided to participate and read the books. 

My Thoughts:

• I didn't know what to think when I first started this book. Like I wrote earlier, I knew that there were some bloggers that have enjoyed reading this series, so when they went on sale I bought them. I didn't read the synopsis at all, and it was fun going into the book only knowing that the main character was a hot guy. :D
• Dante's character starts off as this guy that is pretty unlikable. I wasn't sure that I would end up liking him. He seems to only really care about himself and is just an all around jerk. But since he started off this way, I really enjoyed his character development throughout the story. And I was really interested in what he was up to. I especially enjoyed reading from Dante's point of view.
• Favorite thing: Dante's humor. I found a lot of this story to be funny. 
• I liked Charlie. Overall she was a likable character. Very sweet and caring. The complete opposite of Dante. 
•  I also really liked Charlie's friends. They were interesting and likable. 
• There were a lot of things that surprised me while reading this book and there was something that I did see coming, but it didn't ruin the book for me.
• The entire book kept me hooked and interested in what was going to happen next. And I left me wanting more, so I was very happy to start the next book. 

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book. And I am very glad that I participated in the Read-a-thon!