Reviews written by Lauren Thoman

Although the synopsis is written from the POV of Number Six, The Rise of Nine actually shifts between three POVs: John Smith (Number Four), Number Six, and Marina (Number Seven). I’m wondering if this is going to become a thing with this series. Book #1 had one POV, Book #2...

I have such mixed feelings about this book, I’m going to have to break it up into pieces. World Building: A+ Absolutely stellar world building. As far as the setting goes, this book is Oregon Trail meets Harry Potter. The magic was well thought...

First of all, while I was expecting Persephone, I found the plot of this book was a lot closer to Orpheus and Eurydice, although both myths were mentioned prominently throughout the book. I’m not really complaining, since both myths are definitely interesting. I just wouldn’t go into this expecting a...

Much like Clarity, Perception is an exciting, fast-paced teen mystery channeling the essence of Veronica Mars, but with psychic powers. The love triangle between Clare, Justin, and Gabriel is still a huge part of the story, even moreso than in Clarity, since the secret admirer plot line...

Clarity was kind of like Veronica Mars, if Veronica was raised by her mom instead of her dad, wasn’t actually a trained detective, and was psychic. Which kind of sounds not at all like Veronica Mars, but just bear with me here. They’re both social outcasts, sassy and sarcastic, and...

One Moment is actually fairly simple, and although the revelations throughout are shocking to Maggie, they were pretty predictable for me. But that didn't keep me from enjoying the book. The story is told from Maggie's perspective, which means we are treated to the story of her...

I can see why Graceling is so well-loved by so many people. The writing is fantastic, and the world-building exquisite. I love the idea of this fantasy world where certain people have what essentially amounts to mutant powers. The notion of the different-colored eyes marking the Graced is great, as...

I was totally captivated by this book. Everything that Miranda's family went through seemed feasible in our current world, and I found myself wondering how my family would cope in a similar situation. It was chilling and frightening, because her family doesn't react to their new circumstances like heroes in...

I picked up The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness thinking it was going to be a dystopian, but as far as I understand the definition of a dystopian, this is not one. Or it is, but only by the slimmest margin. I personally feel this book is...

This book was just fun. I really don’t understand the constant comparisons to The Hunger Games. Yes, they’re both dystopian, but The Selection is VASTLY different from The Hunger Games. America and Katniss are nothing alike, except that they’re both kind of socially awkward. There is no violence (except for...

Holy cow, people. This book was insane. I was completely riveted from page 1, something that rarely happens. Even with books I completely adore, it normally takes me a chapter or two to immerse myself in the world of the book. But with The Maze Runner, I was in that...

This book is not for everyone. Not by a long shot. It’s not fast-paced (it took me an entire week to get through, which is like 5 years in book-reviewer world). It’s sad. It’s set during one of the darkest periods in human history. It’s narrated by Death. So even...

When I picked up The Immortal Rules, I thought I knew what I was getting into. I haven’t read Julie Kagawa’s highly praised Iron Fey series (YET), but I gathered from the reviews that Ms. Kagawa is a great writer with engaging characters. I also knew that The Immortal Rules...

Timepiece starts with a bang. New, bigger bad guys are immediately introduced and the stakes are promptly upped. We were introduced to the basic mechanics of this time-slippy world in Hourglass; this time we get into details. We find out more about most of the secondary characters. The action increases...

Wow. Okay. I just finished Insurgent, the highly anticipated second book in Veronica Roth's Divergent trilogy, and I've got to say...it's good. It's really good. In my opinion, better than Divergent. Let me try to get my thoughts in order and explain why. Like Divergent, Insurgent is...