Asylum (#1) by Madeleine RouxAugust 2013 by HarperTeen313 pagesFour stars "Asylum is a thrilling and creepy photo-novel perfect for fans of the New York Times bestseller Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.
For sixteen-year-old Dan Crawford, New Hampshire College Prep is more than a summer program—it's a lifeline. An outcast at his high school, Dan is excited to finally make some friends in his last summer before college. But when he arrives at the program, Dan learns that his dorm for the summer used to be a sanatorium, more commonly known as an asylum. And not just any asylum—a last resort for the criminally insane.
As Dan and his new friends, Abby and Jordan, explore the hidden recesses of their creepy summer home, they soon discover it's no coincidence that the three of them ended up here. Because the asylum holds the key to a terrifying past. And there are some secrets that refuse to stay buried.
Featuring found photos of unsettling history and real abandoned asylums and filled with chilling mystery and page-turning suspense, Madeleine Roux's teen debut, Asylum, is a horror story that treads the line between genius and insanity." - Goodreads This was such a fun book to read! The cover art is beautiful and it was the first thing that drew me to the book before I had any idea what it was about. It's so mysterious and I feel like it really embodies what the book is about.Asylum kept me on the edge of my seat for most of it and just kept throwing surprises at me left and right. It did have spots that dragged a little bit and I wish there had been a little more character development, but thats usually what happens in the first book of a series. I don't suggest reading the book in the dark because it's just creepy enough that I couldn't fall asleep right away. I kept thinking I would wake up and be in an insane asylum. Of course that was just my imagination and paranoia but this book did a great job at giving me the heebie jeebies. I thought I had the plot figured out and I knew what was going to happen and I was so wrong! I really thought that Dan was actually just crazy and that when he was blacking out, it was him going crazy on people. Whenever Dan would go down to the basement or do something stupid I would just yell at my Kindle and I was near throwing it across the room at times. The ending really surprised me and looking back now I'm pretty happy they went the way they did with the story. It makes a lot of sense and gives the location of the story more personality and makes it larger than life. I really enjoy book where the location and setting as so much personality that it's almost a character itself. I love where the book left off and cannot wait to start the next book, Sanctum. I'm looking forward to learning more information about this town and the people that lived in it. We all know carnivals are creepy. I can't wait to see what Madeleine Roux does to make it even more creepy.
Isla and the Happily Ever After (#3) by Stephanie PerkinsAugust 2014 by Dutton352 pagesFive stars "Love ignites in the City That Never Sleeps, but can it last?
Hopeless romantic Isla has had a crush on introspective cartoonist Josh since their first year at the School of America in Paris. And after a chance encounter in Manhattan over the summer, romance might be closer than Isla imagined. But as they begin their senior year back in France, Isla and Josh are forced to confront the challenges every young couple must face, including family drama, uncertainty about their college futures, and the very real possibility of being apart.
Featuring cameos from fan-favorites Anna, Étienne, Lola, and Cricket, this sweet and sexy story of true love—set against the stunning backdrops of New York City, Paris, and Barcelona—is a swoonworthy conclusion to Stephanie Perkins’s beloved series. " -Goodreads I give Isla and the Happily Ever After 5 stars and a big high five! I frickin' loved this book! This was the perfect ending to the series and it wrapped up every one's story so well. I felt so many feels while reading this and couldn't help but giggling out loud or yelling at the book. I love when a story can make those emotions come out of you. I'm so glad I wasn't in public because I'm sure I looked like a crazy person. I've heard a lot of people say that they were the least excited for this book out of the three and they weren't as invested in the story as the others. I've got to say I disagree, and not just because it's the last story in the series. I was really excited once I heard the story was about Josh. I've always found him as a very interesting character. I liked that we got a small glimpse of what was to come in Anna and the French Kiss when Isla confessed her love for Josh to Anna. One of the things I loved the most was that there wasn't really a love triangle. It was just about these two people who had admired each other from afar for too long and were just too insecure about their feelings. It was great to see their relationship grow and how fast they fell for each other. Honorable mentions to the Barcelona scenes. :) While reading, I remember thinking to myself "All books have some type of drama, what on earth could cause these two to break up?". By the time everything went down I was just an absolute mess. I didn't see how everything could end nicely and let us revisit Anna & Etienne and Lola & Cricket. Stephanie Perkins did a great job with wrapping everything up nicely and it was flawless. I loved seeing the other characters again and think the way their stories ended were wonderful. Especially the little bit about Calliope. All three stories were so special and this is one of the best series I have ever read. I finished the book in a day and I was so sad when it was over. Stephanie Perkins will always be one of my favorite authors for this series alone but I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next!
The Heiresses (#1) by Sara Shepard
May 2014 from Harper
320 pages
Three stars
"You know the Saybrooks. Everyone does. Perhaps you’ve read a profile of them in People or have seen their pictures in the society pages of Vogue. Perhaps while walking along that choice block on Fifth Avenue, you’ve been tempted to enter the ornate limestone building with their family name etched into the pediment above the door.
The only thing more flawless than a Saybrook’s diamond solitaire is the family behind the jewelry empire. Beauties, entrepreneurs, debutantes, and style mavens, they are the epitome of New York City’s high society. But being a Saybrook comes at a price—they are heirs not only to a dizzying fortune but also to a decades-old family curse.
Tragedy strikes the prominent family yet again when thirty-four-year-old Poppy, the most exquisite Saybrook of them all, flings herself from the window of her TriBeCa office. Everyone is shocked that a woman who had it all would end her own life. Then her cousins receive an ominous threat: one heiress down, four to go.
Was it suicide... or murder? In the aftermath of the tragedy, the remaining heiresses—Corinne, the perfectionist; Rowan, the workaholic; Aster, the hedonist; and Natasha, the enigma—wrestle with feelings of sadness, guilt, and, most of all, fear. Now they must uncover the truth about their family before they lose the only thing money can’t buy: their lives.
The Heiresses is a whip-smart mystery that simmers with the wicked sense of humor and intrigue that made Sara Shepard’s number one New York Times bestselling Pretty Little Liars series a must-read, must-watch phenomenon." -Goodreads
I would give The Heiresses a solid three stars. It was much slower to start than other books by Sara Shepard that I have read. When reading both the Pretty Little Liars and The Lying Game series, I was hooked within pages. Even though I was so excited to read this book, it fell a little flat or me. I didn't find myself engrossed in the story until about halfway through the book. To be fair, I have been going through a reading slump and I just don't think this was the book to pull me out of it. I had started reading it twice before I actually sat down to read and finish the book. I just couldn't get myself to sit down and pay attention when I had other books I wanted to read.
While I liked the characters and had no major problems with them, most of them blurred together. After a while, I couldn't keep track with whose story line was whose. I really liked Corrine and I thought she was one of the stronger characters. I found myself sympathizing with her the most. Rowan and Aster's storylines blurred together to much or me and I couldn't keep track of Natasha at all. I think that was more so my fault as a reader, than Sara's writing.
I was thoroughly surprised by the plot twist and did not predict it. As with all Sara Shepard books, I think it was executed well. I enjoyed the roller coaster of figuring out who was the bad guy. I am really happy that there was a resolution to the main mystery in this book.There was a lot of mystery in The Heiresses, much more than I expected. I don't want to spoil anything, so I won't say any more about that.
I am very excited to read the next book in the series. I think now that I am interested in the storyline, the rest of the series will flow much better. By the end of the book, I was connected to all the characters and wanted to know more about them.
Overall, I would still recommend The Heiresses by Sara Shepard. It was a fun quick read that is filled with mystery and suspense.
