Divergent by Veronica Roth (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"In a future Chicago, 16-year-old Beatrice Prior must choose among five predetermined factions to define her identity for the rest of her life, a decision made more difficult when she discovers that she is an anomaly who does not fit into any one group, and that the society she lives in is not perfect after all."

My Thoughts:

Divergent is one of those books that is SO engrossing and SO amazingly good that when I closed the last page I wanted to start immediately back at the beginning. And I expected everyone else that had read it to have loved it just as much as I did because it was just that good. I've seen some criticism of the book but I can't honestly think of a thing that I would want differently when it comes to a book like this. It sucked me into the world that Beatrice (or Tris as she was also known) lived in, and I didn't want to leave. I didn't think about how realistic this book was or if it could happen....instead I just lived and breathed this world for a few short days. This is a book that I can't wait to recommend (I'm sending my copy to my sister for sure) and talk about with others. I loved it. And now I NEED to read Insurgent.....how am I supposed to wait until May??? Aack! I'm keeping my thoughts on this one short and sweet so I don't give anything about the book away. Just take my word for it...it is that good!

Enough gushing. Obviously, I just loved this book and I can't think of a bad thing to say. Highly, highly, highly recommended to just about everyone. Enough said :)

Bottom Line: 99.9% sure that this will be on my top 10 reads list for 2012. AMAZING.

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book from the publisher for review from a Shelf Awareness offer (I think). Embarrassingly enough, it was last year and this book has languished on my shelves this entire time. Thank goodness I finally picked it up.

The Tender Mercy of Roses by Anna Michaels (thoughts)

From Goodreads:

"While the body of rodeo star Pony Jones lies motionless in the northern Alabama woods, her spirit is on a mission to find her killer. Invisible to the eye but not to the sixth sense, the only thing Pony can do is guide the living to the truth.

Her grief-stricken father, Titus, wants nothing more than retribution for his daughter's death, so when former police detective Jo Beth Dawson comes to town, something compels him to seek out her help.

But when Jo Beth and Titus team up to track down Pony's murderer, it turns loose a whirlwind of intense emotion and unexpected encounters. As they uncover more and more clues leading them to the killer, dark family secrets are revealed and the two must search their souls for redemption."

My Thoughts:

The Tender Mercy of Roses was a quiet novel driven by the main characters and the secrets that have shaped their lives. The story is shaped by Jo Beth, a former detective turned self-destructive alcoholic, with the weight of the world on her shoulders. Jo Beth is one of those characters that I couldn't help but feel for from the very beginning. Both her past and her downfall are given to us in pieces throughout the story. This helped to add layers to the story as Jo Beth is pulled into the investigation of Pony's death. My favorite part of this book was hands down the characters in the story. I felt they were well developed, realistically portrayed, and just were plain interesting. I wanted to read about their stories, figure out the secrets that they were possibly hiding, and see how it all tied into the mystery of Pony's death. The mystery was part of the story but it wasn't the main focus. Instead, the focus of the story was the past and how hidden secrets affected all of the character's lives. It was Pony's story, her father Titus' story, and of course it was Jo Beth's story as well. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this novel. The writing was gorgeous at times and I found myself just going along for the ride that the author was leading me. This wasn't a fast-paced novel by any means but instead a novel that was meant to be savored and enjoyed. I really liked the atmosphere created within the book. The author was able to create a haunting atmosphere where nothing is what it seems and the most important thing was staying true to oneself. I found the ending to be very satisfying and I was sad to see it end. All in all, this is a book that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend especially to those who enjoy literary fiction. Recommended!

Disclosure: I was sent this book to review from the publisher as part of a Gallery Books Blog Tour. My thanks for the chance to share my honest thoughts!

Wither by Lauren DeStefano (thoughts)

From the back cover:

"In the not-too-distant future, because of genetic engineering, every human is a ticking time bomb-males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. To keep the population from dying out, girls are kidnapped and sold into polygamous marriages.

When sixteen-year-old Rhine is taken, she enters a world of wealth and privilege that both entices and terrifies her. She has everything she ever wanted-except freedom. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to escape before it is too late."

My Thoughts:

Wow! So there has been a ton of hype surrounding this book and lots of love/hate reviews. I loved it myself and found that I could not put this book down. The author has created such a realistic, horrible world that Rhine is living in and trying to escape from. Rhine's character was easy to relate to and came across very realistically. She was confused at times throughout the story as she tried to deal with everything that was happening to her...the wealth and luxury that she was now living in, her scary father-in-law, and her supposed "husband" who really knew so little of what was going on. This book had me constantly on my toes waiting to see what was going to happen next. I grew attached to Rhine from the very beginning of the book and wanted to see her both safe and free. It is a dystopian novel so I knew from the very beginning that there might not be a happy ending. This thought in the back of my head kept me turning the pages as fast as I could to see what would happen next, to ensure that Rhine would be okay. I just didn't want to put this book down. And what I liked about it best is that the ending left things open but in a way that was okay to me as the reader. I'm SOO looking forward to reading the next book in this trilogy as I can't wait to see what happens next! Highly recommended to both fans of adult and young adult books!

Disclosure- I was kindly sent a copy of this book for review free from the publisher. My thoughts are my own :)

Spotlight Review: Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde (thoughts)

Spotlight Reviews are my way of playing catch up. I read and didn't review a ton of of books from last year that I always wanted to share my thoughts on. These reviews will be short and sweet with just my basic thoughts and are my way of "catching up".

From Goodreads:

"Part social satire, part romance, part revolutionary thriller, Shades of Grey tells of a battle against overwhelming odds. In a society where the ability to see the higher end of the color spectrum denotes a better social standing, Eddie Russet belongs to the low-level house of Red and can see his own color-but no other. The sky, the grass, and everything in between are all shades of grey, and must be colorized by artificial means."

My Thoughts:

This book was one of my top ten reads last year which should tell you how much I enjoyed this book. I kept the synopsis short and sweet because I think that you should go into this book knowing as little as possible. Because it made the reading experience that much more enjoyable for me. Fforde is a talented author that has created such an intricate world...I was caught up within the pages of this book instantly. I loved the important role that colors played in this book and the way that the author incorporated colors throughout the story. The ending left me feeling very surprised and wanting more. I'm not sure when the second book comes out but I will be picking it up as soon as it does. Highly recommended!

Disclosure: I checked this book out from the library last year at some point.