Books of Before (2)

Books of Before is going to be random books that I want to read and are available to read whenever I want to. They could have been published last week or last year or even more! =)

Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles
Why: I've read the books on the Fuentes brothers and I absolutely loved them all so I think I will really enjoy reading her other books. Plus, I think I should give them a try seeing as it's Simone Elkeles.

The Karma Club by Jessica Brody
Why: I don't really know. It's just one of those books that I have the need to pick up and read. The idea of someone trying to make the universe right with karma sounds interesting, especially if it's a girl.

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
Why: I've heard so much about this book so I feel like I should read it. From what I hear it's a good book and fantasy which I love reading about! Definitely one I think I would really enjoy.

Have you read any of these? What did you think of it? =)

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Title: Grave Mercy
Author: Robin LaFevers
Pages: 549
Released: April 2012
Rating: 5/5
Synopsis: Escaping from the brutality of an arranged marriage, seventeen-year-old Ismae finds sanctuary at the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts- and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must be willing to take the lives of others.

Ismae's most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany, where she must pose as mistress to the darkly mysterious Gavriel Duval, who has fallen under a cloud of suspicion. Once there, she finds herself woefully unprepared- not only for the deadly games of love and intrigue, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death's vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

My Thoughts: Ismae has lived a pretty tough life ever since she was born. She is helped and taken to the convent of St. Mortain who happens to be the god of death. There she is given the opportunity at having a better life as long as she does what the convent says. After finishing some of her assignments, she is given one that she isn't too happy about and where she will start to question what she has been told and also find that not all men are alike.

We start off when Ismae is younger and how her father hasn't been the best person to her and is also forced into a marriage that turns out to be horrible. When she arrives at the convent she is given the opportunity for a better life and takes it. After three years she has been trained in different ways to go through with what her convent is asking of her which killing people who are a threat to her country. Once she gets to the court of Brittany she starts to see things differently and starts to realize that she may have taken too easily to the orders of the convent. Her change in thoughts and feelings throughout the story is something I really loved about her.

The majority of the book is Ismae trying to find who are the ones they can trust and who is trying to gain something for themselves who are also a threat to Brittany. There's a lot mystery and I loved finding along with Ismae who were the traitors and who were not. Duval was another character that I really loved! At first he seems cold and distant but as the story progresses we see different sides of him. Everything he does is for the safety Anne who is the Duchess even if others are trying to go against him.

This book honestly had everything that I wanted for in a book. I loved seeing how Ismae changed throughout the story and seeing her interact with others who she might not have. And we can't forget the fact that she was trained to be an assassin so she knows how to use various weapons. Even though it was a long book I went through it pretty fast so don't think too much about how long it is!

Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

Title: Catching Jordan
Author: Miranda Kenneally
Pages: 281
Released: December 2011
Rating: 5/5
Synopsis: What girl doesn't want to be surrounded by gorgeous jocks day in and day out? Jordan Woods isn't just surrounded by hot guys, though- she leads them as the captain and quarterback of her high school football team. They all see her as one of the guys and that's just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university.
But everything she's ever worked for is threatened when Ty Green moves to her school. Not only is he an amazing QB, but he's also amazingly hot. And for the first time, Jordan's feeling vulnerable.Can she keep her head in the game while her heart's on the line?

My Thoughts: Jordan isn't your typical girl in high school. She's on the football team and also happens to be the captain. Her friends are her team mates and has no friends who are girls. The most important thing to her right now is playing good football and getting to play in the college of her choice. All her plans are changed with the arrival of Ty who changes her in ways that she wasn't expecting. Now she has to figure things out with her heart and how being a girl is going to affect her chances of playing in the college that she wants.

I absolutely loved reading through the eyes of Jordan since she wasn't the typical girl in high school. She is constantly trying to prove herself to others that she can play football despite the fact that she's a girl. She doesn't want to let others tell her that she shouldn't be playing football because she's a girl or that she's not good because she knows this isn't true. She's far from being a girl so when Ty arrives things start to get complicated. Now she has to figure things out with her feelings and how to deal with them, especially knowing what she really wants.

One part that I really enjoyed was Jordan's relationship with her team mates. The author does a great job in giving us a whole football team who has Jordan's back and will look out for her. There was JJ, Carter, and Henry who all looked out for her and tried to help her when she needed it. In particular I have to say I loved Henry! I wish I had someone like that in my life! Another part that I really enjoyed seeing was how Jordan's relationship with her dad changed throughout the book and I loved the way it ended compared to how it started.

I'm not the kind of person who knows everything about football so I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to understand the football aspect but I'm glad that things were explained in a way that I could understand. Catching Jordan has everything one could ask for in a book, and one part I loved was that Jordan went against a lot of common thoughts such as girls not being able to play on a football team. If you haven't read this book yet then you should definitely go read it! =)