Book Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Book Stats:
Divergent by Veronica Roth
(Book #1 of Divergent)
Source: Gifted
Format: Hardcover, 487 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: 5/3/2011
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Sci-fi, Romance, Adventure, Action

Goodreads Summary: In a future Chicago, 16-year-old Beatrice Prior must choose among five predetermined factions to define her identity for the rest of her life, a decision made more difficult when she discovers that she is an anomaly who does not fit into any one group, and that the society she lives in is not perfect after all.

After reading The Hunger Games last March, I went on this crazy whole new search for another dystopian novel that is similar to it. Not even two days after finishing The Hunger Games trilogy, I came upon Divergent by Veronica Roth. Divergent is a rather interesting post-apocalyptic story that's set in future Chicago. The world is very unique but also very confusing. Not much of the backstory was provided except that they believed that people should live in factions pertaining to their abilities to avoid war and conflict. 

We follow the journey of Beatrice Prior. She was a very interesting girl. Here she was, an Abnegation member who was supposed to be selfless and caring but our heroine finds herself at odds with her faction. She can't seem to connect to the things they do so during her choosing ceremony, she made a decision that changed her life forever. Although, she did lack (no pun intended) the fire that Katniss had, she was pretty kick-ass when she learned to be. See, this was a girl who lived her whole live as a quite and shy Abnegation member so you do see huge character development. She went through a lot of physical and emotional turmoil over her course of being an initiate. Before transferring to her new faction, she also learned that she is a "Divergent" which are people that are able to test out into several factions because being one means you have a target in your head.

Let me get into my favorite part of this book and that is, none other than, Four. Our sexy, mysterious, bad-ass trainer. There was a lot of dark revelation with his character which made me love him even more. He has personal demons that he needed to conquer and he had a problem of his own, that is the same as Tris which is why he was instantly protective of her. Especially after that chasm scene. I was just about to combust from the Four hotness!

They do have a little of a "forbidden" romance because she was an initiate and Four was an instructor. They bond through their similar characteristic and over the course of the training, it blooms to an even deeper connection. The romance wasn't put exactly in the spotlight and it was paced rather perfectly in my opinion.

I admit, It had a really slow beginning because I felt the lack of emotions (understandable because she was an Abnegation) and that was the most boring part that I could think of. Other than that, this book really did provide action, romance, a very descriptive imagery of the world, the factions and what they do. I was really invested in the book, I couldn't put the book down. I only read this in a day! I was day-dreaming about being a Dauntless member. I was really motivated to do those adrenaline induced activities, stupid or not, after reading this book. It makes you want to.. LIVE LIKE A DAUNTLESS.

I wouldn't say this is necessarily the next Hunger Games but it's definitely in that same podium. Divergent holds its own in the countless books of Dystopian literature and I highly recommend this book!

 ★★★★★

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Adult Book Review: Halfway to the Grave by Jeanine Frost

Book Stats:
Halfway to the Grave by Jeanine Frost
(Book #1 of Night Huntress)
Source: Purchased
Format: Kindle, 394 pages
Publisher: Avon Books
Publication Date: 9/1/2007
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Paranormal, Romance, Mystery

Goodreads Summary: Half-vampire Catherine Crawfield is going after the undead with a vengeance, hoping that one of these deadbeats is her father—the one responsible for ruining her mother’s life. Then she’s captured by Bones, a vampire bounty hunter, and is forced into an unholy partnership. In exchange for finding her father, Cat agrees to train with the sexy night stalker until her battle reflexes are as sharp as his fangs. She’s amazed she doesn’t end up as his dinner—are there actually good vampires? Pretty soon Bones will have her convinced that being half-dead doesn’t have to be all bad. But before she can enjoy her newfound status as kick-ass demon hunter, Cat and Bones are pursued by a group of killers. Now Cat will have to choose a side... and Bones is turning out to be as tempting as any man with a heartbeat.

This adult paranormal series have been long talked about that I knew I just had to see what the fuss was all about and I think, Halfway to the Grave deserves every bit of its hype. Well surely, I've taken prejudice over it's title and its cover, that this is will be a very cheesed out albeit adult novel. I was amazed by how easily I got into the story! I've read too much vampire novels to be surprised about the content but I liked every bit of the world Jeanine Frost created here in the first book of the Night Huntress. Most of all, I fell in love with its characters!

Let's start with the protagonist, Cat. Oh Cat.. I loved her feisty character! She was strong and determined but also compassionate. She has issues and she has insecurities which showcases her human side then there is also the vampire side that is just straight up bad-ass! 

Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you my favorite word as of the moment and it's… BONES. Jeanine Frost sure knows how to make a girlfriend swoon over a fictional character. He was just perfect to me. The descriptive image of his white blond hair and that Australian or British accent won't surely leave my perverted train of thoughts for a while. Oh also, another favorite word of mine as of the moment is SHAG. Was that inappropriate?

Anyways, the romance was… *insert dreamy sigh* was nicely executed. It developed not too fast but not achingly slow from my preference. It was so swoony and steamy that it makes me wanna cry! As you can probably tell, I love this couple! There is sex but it was written in a tasteful but suggestive manner. I really don't think this was meant to be erotica anyway.

"I love you, Bones.” 

A weight seemed to lift from me I hadn’t known was there.

 Funny how much I’d feared something that shouldn’t have frightened me at all. 

“Again.” He started to smile, and a beautiful, pure joy filled up the emptiness I’d carried my entire life. 

“I love you.”

I found myself laughing out loud with this book. Again with the prejudice, looking at the cover, I would have thought otherwise but there's so many things I really thought wrong. This has pretty dark content like rape and gory murders but Jeanine Frost seemed to have balanced that with the perfect touch of romance and the light mystery. The action was sufficient enough for me. It wasn't all ass-kicking. I love me some crime related books and this gave me a nice paranormal twist. 

I don't think it was a good idea to have read this though because I just found another book to fangirl about. A girl can only take so much squealing!

★★★★★

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