NICOLE'S REVIEW + Novel Nails #14: The Nightmare Dilemma by Mindee Arnett

Title: The Nightmare Dilemma

Author: Mindee Arnett

Format Acquired: Hardcover

Publication Date: March 4 2014

Publishing House:  Tor Teen

ISBN: 9780765333349

Source of Copy: Gifted by Louisse from The Soul Sisters

Summary: 

Dusty Everhart might be able to predict the future through the dreams of her crush, Eli Booker, but that doesn't make her life even remotely easy. When one of her mermaid friends is viciously assaulted and left for dead, and the school's jokester, Lance Rathbone is accused of the crime, Dusty's as shocked as everybody else. Lance needs Dusty to prove his innocence by finding the real attacker, but that's easier said than done. Eli's dreams are no help, more nightmares than prophecies.

To make matters worse, Dusty's ex-boyfriend has just been acquitted of conspiracy and is now back at school, reminding Dusty of why she fell for him in the first place. The Magi Senate needs Dusty to get close to him, discover his real motives. But this order infuriates Eli, who has started his own campaign for Dusty's heart.

As Dusty takes on both cases, she begins to suspect they're connected to something bigger. And there's something wrong with Eli's dreams, signs that point to a darker plot than they could have imagined.

(Image and information courtesy of Goodreads; Summary lifted from actual book)

Review: 

Note that The Nightmare Dilemma is sequel to The Nightmare Affair which was reviewed HERE.

When one of Dusty's friends is attacked and accusing eyes are cast on resident jock Lance Rathbone, Dusty is doubtful of Lance's participation in the heinous crime. She's all set to find out who the real perpetrator is but it's not as easy as it seems. The dreams she shares with Eli are no help either seeing as how they're more nightmare than prophecy. To complicate things even more Dusty's ex-boyfriend is back and he's all about trying to get back into Dusty's good graces just as Eli's all set to capture Dusty's heart.

The Nightmare Dilemma is as entertaining and enjoyable as its predecessor. The summary might be a little misleading - with Paul making an appearance, you'd think that a love triangle was in the making. Fear not because nothing really ever happens between Dusty and Paul, aside from making Eli jealous. Which is good; jealous Eli amused me.

Dusty is still as funny as she was in the first book. She's developing her powers as well as nurturing her budding relationship with Eli. It was glorious, really. I ship them so hard. Dusty is an amusing character, she's also real and human (as human as a nightmare can be) and she doesn't have a hero complex going on. She's got rad powers and wields a super sword but that doesn't mean she's going to jump in headfirst into danger, totally disregarding her life. No. She makes rash decisions sometimes but come on, don't we all?

In the second book she also has to deal with Eli and Selene keeping secrets from her. Selene and her nightly forays and Eli with his hot and cold attitude towards their relationship. It's pretty obvious that Eli wants her too. You're not fooling anyone Eli! Paul too is trying to get Dusty to trust him again. After the events of the first book, it's hard to not cast suspicion on everything Paul does but I feel like he's genuinely remorseful about his actions.

The pacing of the book was great with decent helpings of mystery and romance. But that ending? The way the romance was heading has me worried. Don't do anything to ruin my OTP please. I beg of you. All in all The Nightmare Dilemma is a solid sequel and I cannot wait for the next installment.

Rating: 

"Novel Nails" is a feature of the blog that showcases nail art inspired by books and their covers. Nail art will be created by either Michelle or Nicole and will be featured alongside their reviews.

Obviously this week's feature is The Nightmare Dilemma. I actually made nail art for the Nightmare Affair too and if you want to check that out you can visit my nail art tumblr HERE or my instagram HERE. 

Nail polish used: 

OPI Keeping Suzi at Bay

I used white acrylic for everything else. Freehand yo!

I would have used black but the blue base was a little too dark.

See Excalibur? And the castle? And the tree? Yeah. I like how they turned out. Not too shabby.

Here they are with the book.

Huzzah! Hope you liked this mani. I've been doing a lot of freehand designs recently and you can check out my recent work over at my Instagram. I did Divergent nails which I'm oddly proud of.

Novel Nails Designs

                       

[Blog Tour] The Twins on Thursday: Resistance by Jenna Black

"The Twins on Thursday" is reserved for the Twins' joint reviews. It is a special feature of our blog that discusses books that we either both like, dislike, or have mixed feelings about. This is also the day where we post reviews for books (and ARCs/Galleys) that have been sent to us by authors/galley sites/publishing houses. And because we don't believe much in uniformity, we'll be trying to mix things up a bit by adding random stuff in relation to our review (well, mostly for books we purchased anyway).

Title: Resistance
Author: Jenna Black
Format Acquired: Paperback

Publication Date: March 11, 2014

Publishing House: Tor Teen

ISBN: 9708765333728
Source of Copy: Borrowed from Dianne

Summary:


Nate Hayes is a Replica.

The real Nate was viciously murdered, but thanks to Paxco's groundbreaking human replication technology, a duplicate was created that holds all of the personality and the memories of the original. Or... almost all. Nate's backup didn't extend to the days preceding his murder, leaving him searching for answers about who would kill him, and why. Now, after weeks spent attempting to solve his own murder with the help of his best friend and betrothed, Nadia Lake, Nate has found the answers he was seeking... and he doesn't like what he's discovered.

The original Nate was killed because he knew a secret that could change everything. Thanks to Nadia's quick thinking, the two of them hold the cards now - or think they do.

Unfortunately, neither of them fully understands just how deep the conspiracy runs.

(Image, summary and information courtesy of Goodreads)

Review:

Against her will, Nadia is sent to a "spa" to keep the heat off her family and to their family name. Nate doesn't know that Nadia is in seclusion, and Nadia knows that she is useless when the real battle is outside... Until an ally steps in to inform her about the new developments in Nate's life. Nate, on the other hand, finds himself in a stickier situation, what with politics and love and familial duties and ties entangling themselves into a web where he finds a bigger conspiracy that no one is really quite prepared for.

If you think Replica (the first book) was pretty good, Resistance is even better. Replica only skimmed the surface of the conspiracy, so we were really impressed at how bigger Black makes this ruse out to be without sacrificing too much credibility. While things may have come to a certainly roundabout way, both Nadia's and Nate's characters have grown and their resolve is no longer as shaky and conflicted as before.

We like that not only has Nadia cemented herself as a kickbutt girl (We knew the girl had it in her since book one!) in Resistance, but Nate isn't so much as the hang-back-and-let-Nadia-worry-about-it Nate here. He's actually testing his limits and control, which makes us proud of him.

Another thing we have to love about Resistance is the pacing, there's never a dull moment in this book and it's full of action packed scenes. Nate and Nadia have matured a lot and have to make a lot of hard decisions. We totally approve of Black's willingness to put her characters through one catastrophe after the other. 

In Resistance, everything is falling into place - the plot, the characters, the conspiracy. It's an interesting roller coaster of suspense and action with romance throw in. Plus points to that because it's not forced at all and we kind of wish that Nadia's romance with this spy flourishes. (And we're pretty grateful that the revolution isn't run by a bunch of teenagers this time.)

Rating:

MICHELLE'S REVIEW: Dear Killer by Katherine Ewell

Title: Dear Killer
Author: Katherine Ewell
Format Acquired: eARC

Publication Date: April 1, 2014

Publishing House: Katherine Tegen Books

ISBN: 9780062257802
Source of Copy: Edelweiss

Summary:

Rule One - Nothing is right, nothing is wrong.
Rule Two - Be careful.
Rule Three - Fight using your legs whenever possible, because they're the strongest part of your body. Your arms are the weakest.
Rule Four - Hit to kill. The first blow should be the last, if at all possible.
Rule Five - The letters are the law.

Kit takes her role as London's notorious "Perfect Killer" seriously. The letters and cash that come to her via a secret mailbox are not a game; choosing who to kill is not an impulse decision. Every letter she receives begins with "Dear Killer", and every time Kit murders, she leaves a letter with the dead body. Her moral nihilism and thus her murders are a way of life - the only way of life she has ever known.

But when a letter appears in the mailbox that will have the power to topple Kit's convictions as perfectly as she commits her murders, she must make a decision: follow the only rules she has ever known, or challenge Rule One, and go from there.

(Image, summary and information courtesy of Goodreads)

Review:

Kit is the Perfect Killer everyone is both in fear and in awe of. She doesn't leave a trace, which leaves the police force scratching their heads. But when she meets a police officer she thinks she can play cat and mouse with, Kit breaks some of her rules, and reveals the identity of the killer slowly... just because she can, and just because she thinks she can't get caught. 

After the first few chapters, I was so ready to quit this. Unlike her mother, Kit doesn't exactly kill because there's a passion for it. It's more like she gets off on people not knowing about the Perfect Killer's real identity, and she gets her ego stroked when people call her murders the perfect crime. Kit kills people based on demand, in the loo of a coffee shop where people leave her names of persons they'd want dead, and I have no idea why the police aren't checking this area out if some people know that this is the Perfect Killer's mailbox. Kit thinks she's invincible, so when her paths cross with Alex, who is on the investigation of the Perfect Killer murders, she's cocky enough to give him some clues, and offer her help with the investigation (because the fully grown police officers can only be too happy to accommodate a seventeen year-old, am I right?). 

I seriously don't understand why Kit even bothers to commit murder, since she obviously lacks her mother's passion for killing. She approaches murder methodically and scientifically, that the whole thing doesn't even come out as deserving of words like macabre or gore - just painfully clinical and uninteresting. There is just no motive. Kit just kills because it's what her mother taught her to do, so what cleaning our rooms is to us, is what Kit is to murder. 

If you're into books featuring teenage protagonists struggling with their darker side, you can do so much better than Perfect Killer. You don't need a cocky, confused teenager who doesn't deliver with much conviction. Dan Wells' I Am Not A Serial Killer and Barry Lyga's I Hunt Killers are undoubtedly much better, and deliver characters who are believable, real, and who actually know what they're doing and why. 

Rating:

           

NICOLE'S REVIEW + Novel Nails #11 : These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Title: These Broken Stars
Author: Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
Format Acquired: Hardcover

Publication Date: December 10 2013

Publishing House: Disney Hyperion

ISBN: 9781423171027
Source of Copy: Purchased from Fully Booked

Summary:

It's a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone.

Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they're worth. But with only each other to rely on, Tarver and Lilac must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help.

Then, against all odds, Lilac and Tarver find a strange blessing in the tragedy that has thrown them into each other's arms. Without the hope of a future together - would they be better off staying here forever?

Everything changes when they uncover the truth behind the chilling whispers that haunt their every step. Lilac and Tarver may find a way off this planet. But they won't be the same people who landed on it.

(Image and information courtesy of Goodreads; Summary lifted from actual book)

Review:

I initially had a lot of misgivings about this book but I bought it anyway because of the gorgeous cover which, after reading the story is very fitting. Confession time guys, I rated this book based on the summary alone and proudly proclaimed that this book would rate 3 rainbows at most. At MOST. I was actually expecting it to go even lower but I was wrong. I was dreadfully wrong and I love These Broken Stars all the more for shoving that those 3 rainbows back in my face.

Think Titanic but set in space. When the ship Lilac was traveling on - ironically named Icarus, nothing good comes from that name, seriously - crash lands on a seemingly terraformed planet leaving only her and the infuriatingly handsome Tarver alive, she's got no choice but to stick to his side in hopes of surviving. Their goal? To stay alive and hope that they get rescued. But they didn't count on the voices that call to Lilac or the secrets that their journey across the terrains seem to uncover. 

Lilac, whom I initially thought I would be annoyed at - because I don't get along well with prissy, spoiled characters - threw me for a loop. She's rich and spoiled and she's basically a prim and proper princess, which we all should expect because she's daughter of the richest man in the universe, but she wasn't annoying. She's smart and pretty like all YA heroines are wont to be but she's got some hidden facets to her personality that I absolutely adored. That scene where she got down on her knees in her gorgeous dress and high heels to tinker with the control panel of an escape pod made me think that well, this chick's pretty cool. She's not only a looker but she's got brains too. (Her ability to walk through a jungle in high heels garners plus point for her. I can't even walk on solid ground in high heels.)

Tarver is an award winning military man. He's handsome and capable and I'm pretty sure I'm in love with him too. He and Lilac are total opposites, which make their interactions highly entertaining. It was amusing to see his confusion, fascination and unbridled interest in Lilac. He's not meant to mingle with the elite upper class but does so and despite being capable of dealing with them expertly, he just doesn't quite fit in and their class standing might have been a point of tension between them.

Panicked crowds, crashing ships and surviving on an unknown planet; these are all situations that Tarver's been trained for and his strength and fierceness and capabilities are all admirable. But while I can say that I liked all of those traits it's their character growth and willingness to change that I approve of best. Lilac's growth was incredible and I found myself adoring her even more for the way she pushed herself to change. The romance was unbearably sweet and real and absolutley swoon-worthy. Tarver and Lilac bickered a lot but once they started to get to know each other that only served to rekindle the attraction they had for each other on the ship. 

I'm not exactly a fan of survival stories but I loved These Broken Stars so much. Excellent characters and wonderful character growth and gorgeous prose? Yes please. While there are a few things questionable about the sci-fi aspect I find that I don't really mind and this book deserves 4 freaking rainbows. 

Also, Starbound #2 (This Shattered World) comes out November 11 2014 which is a LONG, LONG TIME to wait. It's not a continuation of Lilac and Tarver's story - cue ugly cry - but it's totally fine because HAVE YOU READ THAT SUMMARY? It sound so interesting! I can't wait till November and the moment local bookstores stock it I am totes throwing my money at them and grabbing a copy. The fact that it has some Legend by Marie Lu vibes going on is kind of a plus. I just hope the ending doesn't make me bawl like Champion did. Please. No tears. 

Rating:

"Novel Nails" is a feature of the blog that showcases nail art inspired by books and their covers. Nail art will be created by either Michelle or Nicole and will be featured alongside their reviews.

These Broken Stars has a freaking gorgeous cover. How could I not create nail art for it? Plus, it was the perfect opportunity to try out galaxy nails. Yay!

These nails also served as my graduation nails because they matched the blue of my dress. 

Here's a list of the nail polish I used to create these babies.

Base: NARS Ethno Run RIGHT

Silver: OPI Haven't the Foggiest

Blue: Orly Sweet Peacock

"Stars": Orly White Tips

Shimmer overlay: China Glaze Fairy Dust

Isn't it just gorgeous?

I love how my NARS base coat, which is a dark shade of blue, looks darker than it really is thanks to the application of the lighter shades.

I used a sponge to apply the silver and blue. I just dabbed the colors onto the opaque base and applied the white dots which are supposedly stars with a dotting tool.

I layered China Glaze Fairy Dust over it. Doesn't it look marvelous? That shimmer is the best.

I'm all matchy with the book now. 

So what do you guys think? Yay or nay?

                           

MICHELLE'S REVIEW: Ten by Gretchen McNeil

Title: Ten
Author: Gretchen McNeil
Format Acquired: Hardcover

Publication Date: September 28, 2012

Publishing House: Balzer + Bray

ISBN: 9780062118783
Source of Copy: Purchased from Fully Booked

Summary:


It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives - an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their own reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school's most eligible bachelor) and look forward to three glorious days of boys, booze, and fun-filled luxury.

But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.

Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn't scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?

(Image, summary and information courtesy of Goodreads)

Review:

Going to a house party in an island moored far away from the mainland might sound a bit too much for Meg, but she doesn't think being gone for the weekend away from the parents would hurt. Especially when T.J.'s going to be at that party. But when a weekend of no rules and no limits turns into a living nightmare with the partygoers turning up dead one by one, the remaining teens end up wary and distrustful of each other. This is one weekend that anyone can seem to do without.

Well, I'd probably warn people that this wasn't really for people who are unaccustomed to pretty grisly deaths in books. While I didn't much blink an eye because Rick Yancey's The Monstrumologist series pretty much made everything pale in comparison when it comes to gore, people who are thinking just along the lines of la-la-stabbity-stab-stab might end up surprised.

Meg was probably the most sane of the bunch, but then that would probably be biased since we're whisked to the story via her perspective. What she thought was supposed to be a fun party was shot when she realized that basically almost everyone in the house were jerks. I don't know about you guys, but a house party with no chaperones in a pretty secluded island already sounds like the perfect horror flick set-up for me, so I'm not exactly what possessed seemingly smart Meg to say yes to this party.

And because these teens have probably never watched The Ring, they watch a DVD only to end up with the warning: Vengeance is mine, only to find that a bit later, surprise surprise, there's already something happening in the house.

I actually finished Ten in one sitting, so it wasn't pretty bad. While I am in no way a fan of "Whodunnit" thrillers because I always end up wrong and probably because I am already casting suspicious looks at everyone from the get-go which makes it more annoying for me, Ten is a pretty easy read for newbies who are into thrillers. Enthusiasts of the genre might find this one a bit predictable, but Ten would be interesting for people who don't read thrillers more often. Provided that you're not that squeamish, of course.

Rating: