Cover Reveal: A Broken Fate (Beautiful Fate Series #2) by Cat Mann

Title: A Broken Fate (A Beautiful Fate Series #2)

Author: Cat Mann

Genre: New Adult Paranormal Romance

Book Description:

Coping with the traumatic experiences Ava endured with the Kakos is more challenging than she ever imagined it to be. She finds herself struggling to remember the details of her time kept away with Damien Kakos and when the memories assault her mind, she is plagued with crippling fear. There is something in the back of Ava’s thoughts screaming at her, telling her that the fight with the devil’s brood has not yet ended.

Newly married, Ava and Ari deal with issues involving trust, honesty and faith in one another and as they plot their course for a new life together, they discover that their individual wants and needs don’t exactly match. Ari’s promises to Ava begin to break. Some of the Alexander’s family secrets are revealed and Ava realizes that she needs to keep her friends close, and her enemies even closer.

A Broken Fate, the second novel in The Beautiful Fate Series, dives further into Ava and Ari’s nail-bitter of a story and adds even more suspense, mystery, romance and thrills. This series is impossible for any reader to resist.

About The Author

Cat Mann has lived her entire life in central Illinois, but her interests and passions span the planet. She loves skiing, French music and working with the written language.

A self-proclaimed hermit, she is happiest at home reading, writing and scouring the far corners of the internet for new musical artists -- artists she skillfully weaves into her tales of the offspring of ancient Greece. She is happily married to her amazing and awe-inspiring best friend, Derek Mann, and together they have created two beautiful daughters.

A Beautiful Fate is Cat’s first novel in The Beautiful Fate Series. The second installment of The Beautiful Fate Series, A Broken Fate, will be available summer 2013. Visit Cat on Facebook and keep up with Cat on her blog.

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Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

Synopsis from Goodreads: The heroic son of Poseidon makes an action-packed comeback in the second must-read installment of Rick Riordan's amazing young readers series. Starring Percy Jackson, a "half blood" whose mother is human and whose father is the God of the Sea, Riordan's series combines cliffhanger adventure and Greek mythology lessons that results in true page-turners that get better with each installment. In this episode, The Sea of Monsters, Percy sets out to retrieve the Golden Fleece before his summer camp is destroyed, surpassing the first book's drama and setting the stage for more thrills to come.

Number of pages: 279
My review: PLEASE NOTE: This review does not contain any spoilers if you have not read the first book The Lightening Thief.
I am completely and 100% thrilled with the second installment of Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series. It got me out of my recent (and unfortunate) reading slump so that's always a huge plus in my book!
There was so much adventure and action and of course, *insert angels singing* mythology! I couldn't put the darn book down and I couldn't pick it up fast enough later (I will admit I snuck in a little reading time here and there at work)!
Anyways back to the point! Action! Adventure! Mythology, oh my! Just like The Lightening Thief, Rick Riordan starts the adventure from the very first chapter. I know these books are really meant for middle schoolers but I don't care. There's a sort of fun innocence about them while still managing to teach valuable lessons about friendship and loyalty, not to mention teaching us about different myths, all while we follow Percy and his gang on their crazy adventures.
I might have like The Sea of Monsters better than The Lightening Thief because we had established who Percy was and what he was capable of, and all the conflicting emotions he was going through. Usually, sequels fall short behind their predecessor novel, but The Sea of Monsters definitely shines on its own. Plus, for some reason I just loved how Percy and Annabeth would hop from island to island and boat to boat. Something big is definitely coming for this pair and I can't wait to see exactly what that is in the next novels!
These books are so perfect for summer, they just make you want to kick back on a beach and watch the ocean and wonder if Percy is out there somewhere fighting off monsters. I can't wait to get my hands on the third book (which unfortunately is at my parents house). But I will get to it!
See you soon,

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Spring Break by Katherine Applegate

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 211
This is the sequel to the omnibus Beach Blondes, also by Katherine Applegate, and you should definitely read Beach Blondes before reading this one otherwise you will probably get confused with the majority of the plot. Also this review may contain some spoilers if you have not read Beach Blondes.
Summer Smith is traveling back down to Florida from Minnesota so she can hang out with her two best friends Diana Olan (who is also her cousin) and Maria Marquez (who likes to go by just Marquez). Summer is also meeting up with her boyfriend Seth, in the hopes that this short week of Spring Break can help rekindle their relationship, to the amount of lust and love they felt last summer.
The entire party will be spending a week on a yacht which Diana's mom kindly borrowed from one of her friends and is lending to the girls.
On a connecting flight to Florida, Summer meets a guy named Austin Reed who jumps off the plane at the last minute, for no apparent reason. He leaves behind a book of lyrics and poems that he wrote and Summer jumps off the plane too, to go find him. By the time Summer has found Austin her flight has already taken off (with all her luggage on board) and she is stuck at the airport with Austin until later that night, which is when she can get another flight. 
Austin suggests they go to DisneyWorld instead of waiting in the airport and Summer reluctantly agrees. This is where I start to question Summer's judgement. Wandering off to DisneyWorld with a guy just because he's cute? That's seems a little sketchy, and something someone with a lot of sense would NEVER do. Also, he pays for her ticket; what a gentleman. But DisneyWorld tickets are expensive, so that's a little unbelievable too. Not to mention getting a cab to DisneyWorld and back to the airport? Austin must be very rich if he's doing this out of the kindness of his heart for Summer, but I digress.
The couple, who is not really a couple, has fun at DisneyWorld and they exchange a kiss, which Summer feels she simply cannot resist, even though, again, a girl with a lot more sense would say no firmly and declare that she has a boyfriend. Although, in Summer's defense she did say that a few times and Austin kept coming on to her, however if a strange man you just met could not understand what "no" meant then I'd be hightailing it out of DisneyWorld back to the airport if I were her. 
Once the troublesome twosome come back to the airport they land in Florida and take a cab to the marina where the yacht it docked. No where in the story is there a discussion about picking up the luggage, or luggage being lost, which would have been my number one priority. It all seemed a little to easy and perfect if you asked me. 
Summer, of course, insists that Austin stay on the boat with her and Diana (because Marquez has run away in the meantime to God knows where) and he agrees. Beats staying in a motel which was his original plan. However, that night he tries to kill himself and Summer miraculously saves him (from drowning) and brings him back to the yacht and finally asks him what is wrong. Austin confesses that his father has Huntington's; a genetic disease which slowly kills the person it affects. Austin is also unsure if he has the disease himself and is supposed to be tested for it during his time in Florida but is too scared; he's also too scared to visit his dad in the hospital. All very understandable, and Summer soothes him by letting him sleep in her bed. 
What. What the heck. Summer you have a boyfriend! 
Then the plot thickens, and her boyfriend Seth shows up a day earlier than he was supposed to and almost catches the two of them in bed together but Diana saves the day and pretends that Austin is HER boyfriend, even though Austin makes it extremely obvious to everyone, except apparently Seth, that he is in love with Summer.
After a few days Summer tells Austin he has to leave the yacht and never come back. Before that though she goes to the hospital with Austin to visit his dad, which is very kind of her. Austin becomes too close to her again and she demands that he leave. Conveniently, Seth see's the pair making out in a parking lot and mopes, cries, and accuses Summer of cheating. Seth is sort of a hypocrite though because last Christmas he got stuck in a truck with Diana and was making out with HER. Although Seth never tells Summer this. 
By this point I was rubbing my hands together manically and producing evil laughter with all the twists and turns these teens were taking.
The rest of the story...well you'll have to read that on your own to figure out what happens next. Although it is a little predictable. I do love this book, it's just a little too perfect and predictable sometimes. It's one of those guilty pleasure books for me and I can not wait to read Tan Lines which is the next omnibus in the series. 
See you soon!
Paige

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Rumors by Anna Godbersen

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 423
This was such a great sequel to The Luxe! Once again Anna Godbersen fills her books with suspense, romance, back stabbing, and beautiful descriptions of New York, and all the people in it, during the year 1899. 
Just when you think one thing is going to happen there is a major plot twist and the story turns in a completely different direction. Not many authors can do this very well, but Anna Godbersen succeeds and her stories have, so far, kept me on my toes. 
There's not many times when I'm reading a book and I want to rush all the way through just to see what is happening next. It has to be a VERY good book for that to happen, and I found myself doing that with this series. The books are long, but they so easy to read and so much fun to read that you don't even notice how long they are.
In this second installment in The Luxe series, we follow all the same main characters, as they either fight for there way to the top of the social ladder or try to overcome forbidden love. Anna Godbersen writes her stories in such a fresh way, that you are never sure which characters are going to succeed or not, and there are a few times when your loyalties to certain characters change, due to their actions throughout the story.
Often times when there is a plot twist that is not good for a character I found myself rooting them on and hoping that everything would be all right for them. That's when you know a book is good; when the characters almost seem life-like and you support them like you would any of your best friends. 
In the first book, I said that I didn't like how the characters didn't seem to be talking in a way that would have fit for 1899, but in this book the conversations and thoughts of the characters seemed to fit more with the vernacular of people who actually lived in 1899 (maybe more research was done on Ms. Godbersen's part). Nevertheless the story is still excellent either way! This time around it just seemed more believable. I hope the next book also has flawless speech like this one did, but is also easy to read. Anna Godbersen has the ability to incorporate both into her novels, which is also a hard feat to master.
As usual, this book ended on a complete cliff-hanger and I can't wait to see what will happen in the third book! I'm going to my local library to pick it up so my questions about the different characters can be answered and I can stop wondering what will happen next!
See you soon!
Paige

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Gossip Girl: The Carlyles: You Just Can't Get Enough by Cecily von Ziegesar

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 208
This is the sequel to the first Carlyles book appropriately called The Carlyles, and it was just as good as the first! The beginning was a little slow but they usually are for me with Gossip Girl books, I'm not sure why. But as soon as you really get into the story and what issues are going on in the current novel, the book gets better and better. Gossip Girl/Carlyle books, for me, are like the TV show The Hills; totally addicting and a guilty pleasure! Sure there are books with more quality out there, but I just love diving right into these books where there's tons of backstabbing, hooking up, name dropping, and just overall, bad girl/boy activities. 
Plus I would totally love to move to New York!
I don't want to give away anything in this review so it will be fairly brief; Avery is still trying to live a classic and old fashioned New York life just like her grandmother did. Sometimes that doesn't always work out for her though...Avery also has to deal with her arch nemesis Jack again, who stirs up more trouble than she can handle. Especially with all the baggage she has in her own personal life.
Baby is now enjoying New York a little more, but she keeps noticing things that would make either her sister or her brother happy, but not her. Baby is a very conflicted person. She's happy most of the time, but the rest of the time she feels frustrated and unhappy with the old fashioned ways of NYC. Very unlike her sister who feels NYC isn't old fashioned enough...Hmm
Then Owen, also has conflicts with his friends and there are some large rumors spread about him around his school and he has to deal with those as well. (And some other stuff that I can't tell you about without spoiling it!)
I think I liked the first book better, simply because it was the first book, but I like how the characters are developing more and more throughout each novel. I also noticed more snarky interjections from Gossip Girl herself, throughout the novel, which I actually liked. She (or he? Really it could be either) has such a sarcastic attitude, but at the same time she has a lot of sense. A perfect narrator! 
Overall, I can't wait for the next one and can't wait to see what other kind of trouble these kids get into!
(Also, is it just me or do they seem way more sophisticated than their age level? They're only juniors in high school but they have such authority and power. Maybe it's because they're rich....)
See you soon!
Paige

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The Daughters Break the Rules by Joanna Philbin

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 276
Once again Joanna Philbin does an excellent job with her writing! In this second installment to the Daughter series, we follow Carina Jurgensen around on her adventures. Carina is the daughter of the billionaire Karl Jurgensen, and when Carina puts some incriminating information about him on the Web he sends her to California. Once in California, however, her mother's attorney alerts Karl that he cannot move Carina according to court order so they travel back to New York where he cuts her off; no credit cards, no money, no driver, nothing.
She starts out with a $20 a week allowance, and it's actually quite hilarious to see how she has to deal with being "penniless" (I think this book has some underlying tones of money management in it, and kind of shows people that money isn't everything).
So, Carina gets a job as a party planner and we see how she hides from people the fact that she's penniless and can't afford to hire people for this party. It was also nice to see how she dealt with the social pressures of her high school; even though she is famous, she is portrayed as an everyday girl who has to go through the same things that other girls go through everyday.
This book had a lot more ups and downs than the first book and it was just as fun to read. It also focuses more on just Carina and not so much the other girls. There's more cat fights between the friends too which I wasn't expecting at all. However, it was nice to see that they are human, and have fights just like the rest of us.
Overall, a great read and I can't wait for the next one (actually, I already started it!!). I can't wait to see how the characters grow even more in the next two books!
See you soon!
Paige

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The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 308
Another impeccable book in the Last Survivors series. This book was written from a different point of view of a different kid in a different location. The main character, Alex, lives in New York when the moon is moved closer to Earth and the book follows all of his ups and downs of surviving. Neither of Alex's parents are home when the disaster strikes and throughout the story Alex and his two sisters go through the turmoil of wondering whether or not they are dead. I felt that the three siblings had an easier time of surviving than Miranda and her family did in the previous book. Alex and his sisters always had a constant way of getting food and their apartment building had heat for 90% of the story so I felt there situation was a little easier to live in. Alex and his sister started with less but eventually it seemed that they had more as time passed. Alex also had a variety of ways to possibly escape New York and save himself. However, I don't want to spoil the ending and say how he and his sisters managed.
This story, like the last one, kinda has the same thing going on everyday but this story progressed and changed more quickly because Alex was able to go outside and walk around more than Miranda and her family was able too. It was also a little more predictable in terms of what was happening with the weather because all of that was already experienced in the first book, and this is going back to the beginning just in a different place, so it was still cool to see how different people dealt with the changing weather.
In the next story I believe the two kids will be meeting and we will be able to see how they live together in this post-apocalyptic world! I can't wait to start reading the next one! Plus I can't wait to see if the world will ever put itself back together and if things will go back to normal!
See you soon!
-Paige

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Almost Famous by Zoey Dean

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 303
This book was just as good as the first one! There was still tons of name dropping which I loved!
Almost Famous focused more on outside forces trying to divide the Inner Circle (IC) from the rest of the school instead of the girls fighting one and another.
In the beginning, Mac has a sleepover with Emily, Coco, and Becks. The girls prank their nemesis over iChat and afterwards they forget to turn off the iChat, and their enemy finds out a bunch of secrets that the girls spill about themselves.
Ruby, the girls' enemy, posts the audio clips of the girls online for their entire school to see and the IC becomes immediate outcasts. The girls must now follow Ruby's bidding to get back on her side and the schools. Mac has to be Ruby's personal assistant, Emily has to dress up as a grungy boy, Coco has to teach one of Ruby's friend's to surf, and Becks is the water girl for the dance team she was once captain of.
Ruby makes the girls suffer the consequences for a week and at the schools' ExtravaBAMSa she is supposed to reveal that the girls are actually quite nice and sincere after all.
Does this really happen? I'm not going to spoil that you'll have to read it for yourself! ;)
This book was also left on a bit of a cliff hanger so I can't wait to read the next one!
The underlying theme in this book was internet safety and bullying which is becoming an ever-increasing problem in today's society with teens. I really liked how Zoey Dean tackled these issues without clearly stating "Hey! Be safe on the Internet and don't bully people!"
Overall, a great quick and easy read, and I can't wait to read the final installment!
See you soon!
-Paige

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The Book of the Shadow by Carrie Asai

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 215
(I love how squat and square these books are!)
This was a really good sequel to the first book. Tons of action and there was more romance integrated into this book!
As I was reading through one part of the book, I felt that Heaven was beginning to become a little whiny but then again, her brother had been killed and she had been attacked multiple times. I got over that thought pretty quickly. The story plot seemed a tiny bit repetitive. There was various small fighting scenes, which lead to the main focus of a large fight at the end of the story. (Same as the first book.)
I did like how this book focused less on her parents and more on other kids or adults(?) around her age. More of the people she knew.
I don't think I will be reading the next books in the series because I've sort of lost interest for the series because it was a bit repetitive. I really like how more and more of the entire story develops over the course of the books. It doesn't feel like it's just being made up as it goes along but that it's been strategically plotted out to avoid plot holes.
Great book! I give this the Paige-Turner stamp of approval! Check it out!
See you soon!
-Paige

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Bookmarked for Death by Lorna Barrett

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 297
I'm going to try to not have any spoilers in this review, but if I have a slip up, then I'm sorry!
So, as usual I loved this cozy mystery! These books are so good! The stories are adorable and I loved how Lorna Barrett puts other side plots into the story that sometimes help solve the murder or that just make the story more interesting. The way Tricia (the main character) solves the mysteries is not the same as in the last book which is really nice because some mystery books get really repetitive.
I just love how cute the whole series has been so far! I've come to the conclusion though that these stories are more geared towards women. Like I don't think men would like these as much. Is it because the main character is a woman? Perhaps, but there are more strong female characters then men.
I think high schoolers could read this too (I mean look at me!) as well as adults. A great read, for a lot of age groups!
I've already started the third book, which I'm borrowing from my library for the time being. I'm sure I will get through that one quickly! Gotta go! Dinner's awaiting!!
See you soon!
-Paige
P.S. Today was my last day of school so I have 2 wonderful weeks of break which means lot's of reading! Yay!

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