Darkness Becomes Her (Gods & Monsters #1) by Kelly Keaton

Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton

Genre: Paranormal YA

Rating: 5/5

Release Date: February 22nd, 2011

Official Website

Beneath every beauty, evil stirs.

Ari can’t help feeling lost and alone. With teal eyes and freakish silver hair that can’t be changed or destroyed, Ari has always stood out. And after growing up in foster care, she longs for some understanding of where she came from and who she is.

Her search for answers uncovers just one message from her long dead mother: Run. Ari can sense that someone, or something, is getting closer than they should. But it’s impossible to protect herself when she doesn’t know what she’s running from or why she is being pursued.

She knows only one thing: she must return to her birthplace of New 2, the lush rebuilt city of New Orleans. Upon arriving, she discovers that New 2 is very…different. Here, Ari is seemingly normal. But every creature she encounters, no matter how deadly or horrifying, is afraid of her.

Ari won’t stop until she knows why. But some truths are too haunting, too terrifying, to ever be revealed.

My Thoughts: I didn’t know what to expect when I started reading this book. The book description didn’t really make me want to read it. But I still gave it a try—and I’m so glad I did. This book was amazing! First of all, it’s set on a post-apocalyptic New Orleans called New 2, where kids are living by themselves squatting. Ari has been skipping houses since she was born and left by her mother. She goes to New Orleans to find out about her family history and curse. I don’t want to give away much, but the bad “guy” in this story is very hateful. This is not an all-ages story— there are deaths everywhere, and Ari herself kills a couple of bad guys too. I would describe this as a YA dark urban fantasy. It’s definitely darker than most of the paranormal YA I usually read, but it works. I also loved Ari. She was a kick-ass heroine who didn’t have to rely on anyone. At the end, I could identify with her reasons to stay at New 2. All I can say is—you need to read this book! Kelly Keaton did an amazing job with his book, and I can’t wait to read the next book in the Gods & Monsters series!

Grave Witch (Alex Craft #1) by Kalayna Price

Grave Witch by Kalayna Price

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rating: 4.5/5

Official Website

Grave witch Alex Craft can speak to the dead, but that doesn’t mean she likes what they have to say …

As a private investigator and consultant for the police, Alex Craft has seen a lot of dark magic. But even though she’s on good terms with Death himself—who happens to look fantastic in a pair of jeans—nothing has prepared her for her latest case. Alex is investigating a high profile murder when she’s attacked by the ‘shade’ she’s raising, which should be impossible. To top off her day, someone makes a serious attempt on her life, but Death saves her. Guess he likes having her around …

To solve this case Alex will have to team up with tough homicide detective Falin Andrews. Falin seems to be hiding something—though it’s certainly not his dislike of Alex—but Alex knows she needs his help to navigate the tangled webs of mortal and paranormal politics, and to track down a killer wielding a magic so malevolent, it may cost Alex her life … and her soul.

My thoughts: This book was so good! I’m not even gonna lie, I was hooked on it!! The mystery parts were great, even if I kind of had an idea who the bad guy was. Now on to the Death/Falin deal. I loved Death from the beginning. He was sexy and mysterious. But he kind of left for a while on the book so I was left wanting more. Then Falin appeared and was so perfect. I always had an idea that he was something more than human. It didn’t come as a surprise when I found out what he was. Still, he was an awesome character! But I was disappointed with the ending. The whole deal with Coleman saying that Falin was *SPOILER*the Winter Queen’s lover*SPOILER* made me sad. I don’t know what’s the truth, and the end was so sudden. I’ll have to read the next book to find out!

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Matched by Ally Condie

Matched by Ally Condie

Release Date: November 30, 2010

Rating: 5/5

Source: Bought

Buy: Amazon

Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander’s face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate … until she sees Ky Markham’s face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Society tells her it’s a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she’s destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can’t stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society’s infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

This book caught my attention when I watched the Breathless Reads trailer. The whole idea of a future where even your marriage is controlled captured me. I admit it, I am no dystopia reader. This marked a new genre for me to read, and I’m glad I did.

Matched captured my attention from the beginning. I really wanted to know what would happen next to Cassia and Ky.  I was intrigued by the idea of a Society that controls every aspect of the characters’ lives. Even though the existence of the Society is interesting, I found it creepy too. They are watching Cassia at every moment. They know everything “wrong” she does, and they are controlling her even when she thinks they aren’t.

 Cassia is a girl who was raised in a controlled environment, but inside she feels like she wants to live more. Ky’s appearance on the monitor triggered something in her—something that made her want to know what’s out there. I liked Cassia. She was a great character who wanted to fight for what she believed in. I liked how she was a strong-willed, which is a bit rare in the YA genre. Most girls in YA fiction nowadays are so weak. The fact that Cassia was the center of the story was a different, but great aspect. Ky was such a great character. He had so many emotions bottled up. I just loved how he communicated with Cassia in his old-fashioned artistic way. Xander was a very likeable character too. I kind of felt bad for him in the end because he was just so nice to Cassia. The fact that the Society pretty much played a game between all three is just sad. I loved how the relationships were developed. This book just felt so real and raw.  

Matched is an amazing book about a girl who is fighting for her beliefs in a world where rights are nonexistent. I recommend it for anyone who wants to read something different, but powerful.