Review: All the Broken Pieces by Cindi Madsen (Blog Tour Stop)

All the Broken Pieces by Cindi Madsen
Publisher: Entangled Teen
First published: December 11th, 2012
Source: Received from publisher
Format: eBook (Kindle)
Pages: 304

Goodreads Summary:

What if your life wasn’t your own?

Liv comes out of a coma with no memory of her past and two distinct, warring voices inside her head. Nothing, not even her reflection, seems familiar. As she stumbles through her junior year, the voices get louder, insisting she please the popular group while simultaneously despising them. But when Liv starts hanging around with Spencer, whose own mysterious past also has him on the fringe, life feels complete for the first time in, well, as long as she can remember.

Liv knows the details of the car accident that put her in the coma, but as the voices invade her dreams, and her dreams start feeling like memories, she and Spencer seek out answers. Yet the deeper they dig, the less things make sense. Can Liv rebuild the pieces of her broken past, when it means questioning not just who she is, but what she is?

My Rating: 4.0 / 5

First thoughts:

Even though memory loss stories can be found very often in YA books at the moment and can therefore become a little bit tiring, I thoroughly enjoyed All the Broken Pieces.  

More detailed:

... the narration and the plot:

I usually prefer stories told from a first person narrator, because they make it a lot easier to connect with the main charcter. All the Broken Pieces is told from a third person narrator who isn't omniscient though. At first this confused me since I'm not as used to this technique, but soon it no longer made a difference. We get to experience the world from Liv's point of view, who isn't a very reliable narrator thanks to her memory loss, which makes stories like this so very interesting.

As I already mentioned above, memory loss stories aren't unique and so far I have read a couple - some were good, some not so good. All the Broken Pieces is definitely one of the better ones, even though it cannot replace my current favorite. The problem I've had with its plot is the rather slow pace and the missing action. While it's mysterious, I found it to be more like a "simple" contemporary coming-of-age story with some elements that are supposed to keep us guessing. Nonetheless I loved those moments that hint at a big secret behind Liv's awful accident and I loved trying to find out about it.

... the characters:

Liv is a character you can't help but end up liking. She isn't too whiny even though she has enough reasons to be and tries to figure out the mysteries of her accident without forgetting that she has a life to live nonetheless. What I didn't like about her though, were her inconsisent reactions. There were moments when she completely overreacts, while I'm completely baffled after some scenes where her reactions are just too mild.

Spencer, too, is a very likeable main character and a great love interest for Liv. He has to work through his own issues, which makes him a very understanding friend and boyfriend for the poor girl, who never fails to support her when she needs it the most. The other characters we meet in All the Broken Pieces are diverse but none of them really stick out (except for Liv's parents maybe).

... everything:

All in all, I can definitely recommend All the Broken Pieces, if you're looking for an entertaining and slightly mysterious contemporary to your tbr-pile. It's a lot of fun to guess along with Liv and Spencer and find out what really happened. And while it's definitely possible to guess the truth (I wasn't too mistaken actually), I'm sure some of you will definitely be surprised by what truly happened.

This review is part of All the Broken Pieces' blog tour.

Cindi Madsen sits at her computer every chance she gets, plotting revising, and falling in love with her characters. Sometimes it makes her a crazy person. Without it, she’d be even crazier. She has way too many shoes, but can always find a reason to buy a new pretty pair, especially if they’re sparkly, colorful, or super tall. She loves music, dancing, and wishes summer lasted all year long. She lives in Colorado (where summer is most definitely NOT all year long) with her husband and three children.

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Review: Opal by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Opal by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Series: Lux #3
Publisher: Entangled Teen
First published: December 3rd, 2012
Source: Bought
Format: eBook (Kindle)
Pages: n/a

Goodreads Summary:

No one is like Daemon Black.

When he set out to prove his feelings for me, he wasn’t fooling around. Doubting him isn’t something I’ll do again, and now that we’ve made it through the rough patches, well... There’s a lot of spontaneous combustion going on.

But even he can’t protect his family from the danger of trying to free those they love.

After everything, I’m no longer the same Katy. I’m different... And I’m not sure what that will mean in the end. When each step we take in discovering the truth puts us in the path of the secret organization responsible for torturing and testing hybrids, the more I realize there is no end to what I’m capable of. The death of someone close still lingers, help comes from the most unlikely source, and friends will become the deadliest of enemies, but we won’t turn back. Even if the outcome will shatter our worlds forever.

Together we’re stronger... and they know it.

I'd recommend Opal to an older audience (16+) due to sexual content and violence.
This review might include spoilers for the first two books of this series.
Review(s): Obsidian (#1) | Onyx (#2)

My Rating: 4.0 / 5

First thoughts:

Believing Opal to be the last installment of this wonderful series, I expected to get closure. You can imagine how surprised I was to realize that there are still more sequels to come, which makes me very happy as this is a series I cannot get enough of.

More detailed:

... the plot and the narration:

The Lux series has never been boring, but with every new installment the plot's getting more and more interesting. Sadly I read Opal during a very busy time, which forced me to put it down again and again, but under different circumstances this would have been a book that's almost impossible to stop reading. Sadly this lack of time to read made me enjoy it a little bit less than I probably would have, so I'm definitely planning to re-read it closer to the fourth book's release date.

Other than that, I'm still incredibly happy with Jennifer L. Armentrout's style of writing - especially Kat's witty narration and the non-stop excitement. But despite the action in Opal, I can already tell you that I'm expecting the next book to be even more nerve-wracking. And once you've read that cliffhanger ending that both broke my heart and made my secret cliffhanger-loving part of my heart smile, you'll know what I mean.

... the characters:

Of course I cannot not mention Daemon, who's probably one of the main reasons why this series is so popular. Even though he's probably always been a sweet guy ever since the first book, he only truly starts to show this now and I love getting to know new sides of him. And considering Kat's reactions to him, I'm not the only one who likes the more open and slightly romantic side of Daemon.

Character-wise we also get to encounter some surprises. Some of those are slightly heart-breaking and will make you want to erase the words of the book and rewrite them, others will make you want to continue reading as fast as possible just to find out whether those people will continue to develop so positively.

... everything:

All in all, I really liked the third book of the Lux series and after that mean cliffhanger ending I cannot wait for the fourth installment. I'm not sure whether to recommend you to wait to read this until the release of the fourth book has come closer, because I'm pretty sure that Jennifer L. Armentrout will torture us again with a mean ending - and you'd just miss some very awesome Daemon-time. If you haven't even started reading this series, I don't even know why you're wasting precious time reading this review - grab a copy of Obsidian and start reading now.

Buy this book:

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

Do you love this series as much as I do? If you haven't read it yet, do you plan to do so soon?
Carina

Review: Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Series: Lux #2
Publisher: Entangled Teen (Entangled Publishing)
First published: August 14th, 2012
Source: Bought
Format: eBook (Kindle)
Pages: 376

Goodreads Summary:

Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…

Thanks to his alien mojo, Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro connection. So I’ve sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we’ve got bigger problems.

Something worse than the Arum has come to town…

The Department of Defense are here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we're linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And there's this new boy in school who’s got a secret of his own. He knows what’s happened to me and he can help, but to do so, I have to lie to Daemon and stay away from him. Like that's possible. Against all common sense, I'm falling for Daemon. Hard.

But then everything changes…

I’ve seen someone who shouldn’t be alive. And I have to tell Daemon, even though I know he’s never going to stop searching until he gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me?

No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies…

This review might include spoilers for Obsidian.

Previous review(s): Obsidian

My Rating: 4.5 / 5

First thoughts:

As a book blogger I know how annoying it can be when your life decides to eat up all the time you'd love to spend reading and blogging - but my reasons for absence aren't (sadly) as swoon-worthy or (luckily) as life-threatening as Katy's.

More detailed:

So far Jennifer L. Armentrout has always managed to make me love her books and Onyx is no exception. I already loved the first installment of the Lux series and am happy to announce that I liked its sequel (almost) just as much. Katy and Daemon pulled me back into their world of danger, passion and fantastic humour and didn't want to let me go once I was finished.

The thing, or rather the person, I was looking forward to the most was, of course, Daemon Black. He can melt you into a puddle with one word, annoy you to death or just surprise you more than you'd ever expect. And in Onyx he definitely didn't disappoint - on the contrary, I liked him even more than in Obsidian, which should have been impossible.

Katy, on the other hand, can be a tiny bit annoying during some moments in Onyx. I can completely understand her doubts concerning a certain handsome neighbour, but nonetheless I sometimes wanted to shake her awake and tell her to finally realize that he's a very awesome male specimen and not only a pretty face to look at. But apart from that I really enjoyed witnessing the story from her point of view again and still think that she's a wonderful and favorite-worthy female main character.

The plot takes some very interesting and surprising twists and turns in Onyx and made sure that I don't just love this series for its characters. I won't elaborate on the things that are in store for you once you decide to pick it up, but it definitely doesn't get boring.

All in all, Onyx is a very worthy sequel for the awesomeness that is Obsidian, yet I didn't feel like giving it five stars. In comparison to its predecessor I liked it (just a tiny bit) less, but my expectations for the third book are incredibly high nonetheless. If you have yet to read this series, don't dare to wait much longer and just pick it up - I'm pretty sure you'll love it.

Buy this book:

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

Have you read Onyx? If yes, what did you think about it?

If no, do you plan to read it or Obsidian?

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Carina