(M) Prophecy Girl by Cecily White

Reading Level: Ages 13 and up
Paperback: 368 Pages
Release Date: April 2, 2013
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Narration: First Person: Amelie
Genre: Paranormal/Demons
Challenge: Paranormal

Angel Academy Series:
Book One: Prophecy Girl
Book Two: Unknown
Book Three: Unknown

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Author's
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Goodreads Synopsis:

Amelie Bennett. . . . Ending the world, one prophecy at a time. 

I was born to slay Crossworld demons. Big black flappy ones, little green squirmy ones. Unfortunately, the only thing getting slain these days is my social life. With my high school under attack, combat classes intensifying, and Academy instructors dropping right and left, I can barely get my homework done, let alone score a bondmate before prom. Then he shows up. Jackson Smith-Hailey. Unspeakably hot, hopelessly unattainable, and dangerous in all the right ways. Sure, he’s my trainer. And okay, maybe he hates me. Doesn’t mean I’ll ignore the wicked Guardian chemistry between us. It’s crazy! Every time I’m with him, my powers explode. Awesome, right? Wrong. Now my teachers think I’m the murderous Graymason destined to bring down our whole race of angelbloods. Everyone in New Orleans is hunting me. The people I trusted want me dead. Jack and I have five days to solve the murders, prevent a vampire uprising, and thwart the pesky prophecy foretelling his death by my hand. Shouldn’t be too difficult. Getting it done without falling in love. . . that might take a miracle.

My Mini Review:

Feelings after reading this book? Perplexed. Confused. Flabbergasted. I could barely keep up with the story and some things just didn't make a lick of sense. Although the protagonist was strong at times and had a great sense of humor, she clearly lacked in the decision making department. She acted downright idiotic at times and was way too reckless for my tastes. As they say, there's a fine line between bravery and stupidity, and unfortunately, she crossed it more than once. I didn't mind (too much) her instant connection with Jackson, but her infatuation with him as the story progressed grated on my nerves. At every fork of the road, no matter if she was doing something as mundane as brushing her hair or running away from things that were trying to kill her, she always had Jackson on her mind, wondering if he approved of her actions or berating herself for acting like a complete fool in front of him. Which she did pretty often. The comedy was hilarious and actually induced a feel laughs from me now and then, however, there were some times I wished the protagonist would stop taking everything as a joke. I loved the idea and concept of the novel, I just wish it was better executed. 

Heroine- 2/5
Romance- 2/5
Action- 3.5/5
Comedy- 4/5 
The jokes were funny, but I wished she took some of the situations more....seriously.
Writing- 4/5
I had no issues with the writing style.
Overall- 2.5/5

Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black

Reading Level: Ages 12 and up
Hardcover: 447 Pages
Release Date: February 12, 2013
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Narration: Third Person: Vanessa
Genre: Paranormal
Challenge: Debut & Paranormal

Dance of Shadows Series:
Book One: Dance of Shadows
Book Two: Untitled
Book Three: Untitled

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Dancing with someone is an act of trust. Elegant and intimate; you're close enough to kiss, close enough to feel your partner's heartbeat. But for Vanessa, dance is deadly – and she must be very careful who she trusts . . .

Vanessa Adler attends an elite ballet school – the same one her older sister, Margaret, attended before she disappeared. Vanessa feels she can never live up to her sister's shining reputation. But Vanessa, with her glorious red hair and fair skin, has a kind of power when she dances – she loses herself in the music, breathes different air, and the world around her turns to flames . . .

Soon she attracts the attention of three men: gorgeous Zep, mysterious Justin, and the great, enigmatic choreographer Josef Zhalkovsky. When Josef asks Vanessa to dance the lead in the Firebird, she has little idea of the danger that lies ahead – and the burning forces about to be unleashed . . .

My Review:

As soon as I laid eyes upon the cover for Dance of Shadows, I knew I was a goner. Everyone's heard of the old saying, "Don't judge a book by it's cover," but to be honest, we all do. At least to some degree. I first heard of Dance of Shadows on The Story Siren about a year ago, and to this day, I still haven't seen a cover prettier than this one. Everything from the breathtaking costume made of rose petals, down to the elegantly scripted font, just screams "Read Me!". Most important of all, at least appearance wise xD, the cover actually pertains to the book. Something that doesn't happen as often as it should in YA novels. The model's pose as well as the mist so ominously surrounding her automatically makes me think she's baring her soul for some sort of possession to take place. Either that, or Ballerina Zombies. Since the synopsis said nothing about the walking dead, I went with my first instinct. xD Sadly, this book does not do this cover justice.

The first issue I had was with the characters. Bluntly put, they were all bland and had as much depth as a piece of paper. Not a very good comparison, but I couldn't think of anything better. Don't judge me. >.< I couldn't tell the difference between any of Vanessa's friends, because they all acted the same. Vanessa was likable enough in the beginning, but as the the story progressed, I liked her less and less. There were so many times when I wanted to jump in the book myself and smack her silly. She seemed to be bent on ignoring the ones who only wished to help her and desperately following the ones who acted like complete asshats. 

She claimed multiple times throughout the course of the book, that her sole reason for attending the NYBA, or New York Ballet Academy, was to search for her sister who seemed to magically disappear off the face of the earth two years ago. Meanwhile, she did anything but. Not once did she do anything productive enough to even remotely come close to her supposed one and only desire to bring her sister home. Most of the time, she just sat around daydreaming about Zep, her dance partner, wondering why he never responded to her desperate phone calls or never answered the door when she knocked. She refused to see the answers right in front of her, and it took her about three quarters of the book to finally realize that something wasn't quite right.

The synopsis mentions her gaining the attention of three guys, which makes you think that there's going to be a love....square? But in reality, it's only a love triangle. At least I hope it's a love triangle. There were a few times when Vanessa and Josef became intimate in the art of dance, but considering the fact that the book states he's in his late thirties, I really hope that wasn't what the author was trying to imply. Zep, her dance partner in the Firebird and current boyfriend, was a complete jerk. It seemed as if she fell madly in love with Zep as soon as she saw him for the first time. I get that it's completely normal to find a guy attractive, but not in the way she was thinking about him. As if they were destined to be together and that one glance from the dark and brooding Zep meant that he was hopelessly in love with her as well. He ignored and outright lied to her, and all she did was follow him around like a lost puppy, needy for attention. Justin was a little bit more interesting, but I still never connected with his character. He acted like a jerk at times, but I could still see that all he wanted to do was to keep her from following her sister's footsteps, even when the protagonist could not.

Dance of Shadows was also really hard to believe. Girls just happen to mysteriously disappear from one of the most renowned dance academies of the country, maybe even the world, and no one's the least bit suspicious? Yeah, I understand if the police don't want to get seriously involved over one or two runaways, because considering the harsh rules, strict diets, and high expectations, it's very possible for a dancer to get overwhelmed and wish to start over. But were talking about ten girls, maybe more, all who dance the lead role in the Firebird. Am I the only one who finds that a bit sketchy?

Despite the negative comments bloggers have made about Yelena's writing style, I have to say that I disagree. I found that it flowed pretty well and never seemed abrupt or awkward like some of the past books I've read by debut authors. I was also bracing myself for the overuse of the word "sweat", but I found that I didn't have a problem with that either. Although she used that word more often than other authors, I never found it glaringly obvious. It was pretty subtle, and if I hadn't been on the lookout for it, I probably would have never noticed it. On the other hand, the action was a bit too slow for my liking. I found myself skipping pages often and only really got interested in the story near the end when the dance was actually taking place.

Overall, Dance of Shadows had an awesome theme that could've been brought to life at the hands of a more experienced author. I should've listened to the negative reviews pouring in as soon as it was released, but I couldn't help myself because the cover was just too beautiful for me to ignore. I probably won't read the next book in this series, but I will definitely be anticipating the cover for it.

Heroine- 1/5
Romance- 1/5
Comedy- 1.5/5
Action- 2/5
Writing- 3.5/5
Overall- 1.5/5

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Prophecy by Ellen Oh

Reading Level: Ages 13 and up
Hardcover: 320 Pages
Release Date: January 2, 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Narration: Third Person: Kira
Genre: Mythology/ Fantasy
Challenge: Debut Author Challenge

The Dragon King Chronicles
Book One: Prophecy
Book Two: Warrior
Book Three: King

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Author's
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Goodreads Synopsis:

The greatest warrior in all of the Seven Kingdoms... is a girl with yellow eyes.

Kira’s the only female in the king’s army, and the prince’s bodyguard. She’s a demon slayer and an outcast, hated by nearly everyone in her home city of Hansong. And, she’s their only hope...

Murdered kings and discovered traitors point to a demon invasion, sending Kira on the run with the young prince. He may be the savior predicted in the Dragon King Prophecy, but the missing treasure of myth may be the true key. With only the guidance of the cryptic prophecy, Kira must battle demon soldiers, evil shaman, and the Demon Lord himself to find what was once lost and raise a prince into a king.

Intrigue and mystery, ancient lore and action-packed fantasy come together in this heart-stopping first book in a trilogy.

My Review:

After skimming through a fair portion of not so stellar reviews, I was a little hesitant as to if I would like Prophecy or not. It seemed like one of those "Hate it" or Love it" type of books right off the bat. Although the cover did intrigue me with its undeniable allure, the synopsis wasn't very innovative at all. How many times have we danced this dance before? It seems as if all the YA authors decided to have a get together and had the oh so brilliant idea to write about the same exact theme. A Ancient Prophecy. A girl destined to save them all. Sound familiar yet? However, even though this plot doesn't catch my eye as much as it used to, I still enjoy it nonetheless! What I found in this debut definitely surprised me. Although it all revolved around the revered Dragon Prophecy, all of the fascinating Korean myths and legends kept my attention from straying afar.

In this particular era and region, girls are not allowed into the army and are treated as inferiors to men. This, added to the fact that Kira has unnerving, pierce your soul, yellow eyes and moves with a grace that isn't quite human, makes her a walking anomaly. Throughout her whole life, she was mocked, teased, and reviled for her peculiar features. But no matter what happened, she never let petty insults control her actions or decisions. What I liked best about her character was that she wasn't flawless. She had doubts and fears just like any other average teenage girl, even though she was a badass ninja with tiger like reflexes.The malicious words and difficult situations constantly being thrown her way affected her deeply, but she refused to let anyone else see the neverending sadness and simmering rage hidden just below the surface.

Taejo, Kira's charge and crown prince of Hansong, came off more like a indignant little peewee than a soon to be king. I felt that Ellen was trying her hardest to make him out to be some heroic boy who always did the right thing no matter how many people tried to stop him, but I never came close to those conclusions. It seemed like every single time Kira tried to protect him or tell him why they were executing a plan a certain way to save lives, he would stomp off and pull the "I'm the prince" card to intimidate people into doing his bidding. Yeah, I get that he's younger than most main characters, being all of 12 years old, but his temper tantrums and childish comebacks made me think him much younger then he really was.

The romance was mediocre at best. I wouldn't say it was bad, but it just felt unnatural and forced upon the characters. As if the author decided to just jam it in there as a afterthought, for the purpose of attracting a bigger audience of teenage girls. It wasn't what you would call a insta love connection, but the feelings both characters developed progressed just a little too quickly for my liking. Although you can't call the romance a love triangle just yet, the.....well you'll see. xD Don't want to give anything away. Curse you spoilers! I'll just put my five cents in to say that my spidey senses are tingling, warning me that one is underwraps and will soon be revealed.. 

I wasn't too keen with the writing style Ellen integrated into Prophecy. Even though I didn't hate it wholeheartedly, I could never become fully immersed into the story, because the sentences felt choppy, rough, and abrupt. A good portion of them ended with unnecessary exclamation points, which induced many facepalm moments, because it felt awkward and embarrassing.

With all the negative stuff out of the way, let's get onto the good part shall we? The action was by far my favorite part of the whole novel. I ended up reading this in one sitting, because I absolutely had to know what happened next. The worldbuilding and Korean mythology was another huge factor in why I enjoyed this book. The setting and overall atmosphere were described with just the right amount of details to interest you instead of bore you to tears, which I have experienced many many times throughout my life of reading. The intriguing terms and legends that were skillfully weaved into the novel were riveting as well and almost had me checking google just to learn more about it.

Although the "Warrior destined for greatness" theme is kind of old, Prophecy put a fresh new twist to it that I enjoyed immensely. This story had the potential to induce some fangirl moments from me, but the writing style prevented that from happening. Will I be reading the next two books in this trilogy? Probably. Do I recommend this for fans of high fantasy, fast paced action, and badass warrior protagonists? Definitely!

Heroine- 4/5
Romance- 2.5/5
Action- 5/5
Comedy- 2/5
Overall- 3.5/5

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