Spark - Amy Kathleen Ryan (2012)

5 stars

I was browsing through the book depository when I came across this book and remembering how much I loved Glow I bought it, it definitely lived up to it's predecessor.

This book is told from the three different perspectives of Seth, Waverly and Kieran, it is a testament to how well the author writes that some characters I used to hate I now like and some characters I used to like I now hate. She shows what effect power has on people and how torture and kidnapping can affect a person's behaviour, I loved reading Kieran's inner monologue and how he was justifying his actions at the same time Seth was reprimanding himself for acting that way. Anne Mather is a villan  for the history books, my hatred for her runs so deep that whenever I'm reading her dialogue I curse at her out loud, I can't wait for the next book, Flame, to come out in 2014 so I can finally see her taken down. My favourite characters in this novel were Tobin and Seth. Tobin is just so brave it amazes me, his character was needed as a moral comparison for the rest of the crew members to live up to in my mind. Although I disliked Seth in the previous book, his cleverness, kindness, and love for Waverly make him a very loveable character.

The book starts with Seth being let out of the brig and the alarms going off in the ship, someone had set the thrusters to go off to try to fling them off course. Kieran fixes this, then when he realizes Seth is out he immediately blames him. Waverly knows that Kieran is going mad with power and it wasn't Seth that did it, so she calls an election for a central council to help Kieran in which she is elected as a member. Seth realizes a terrorist from the New Horizon is on board so he tries to stop him and gets hurt so badly he has to stitch himself up in Waverly's room where he immediately collapses after the procedure from the pain. Waverly gets home and starts to help Seth and where she next arranges to drop him food he realizes is where the terrorist is sending messages from. When Seth goes to find Waverly and warn her, the terrorist is already there and almost kills them both before they knock him out. Kieran then decides to board the New Horizon to discuss the return of their parents from Anne Mather but the Central Council's plan to attack them and get their parents while he was negotiating failed. As they are being sent back on their shuttle they see the Empyrean's hull explode. Waverly gets Sarek to take all the kids to the New Horizon while she goes to the brig to save Seth. After they return to the shuttles Seth kisses Waverly then doesn't get on the shuttle with her and stays on the damaged Empyrean alone.

Size 12 and Ready to Rock - Meg Cabot (2012)

3.5 stars

I bought this book because I really enjoy this series and if there was any chance I wasn't going to read this one, the book trailer/video clip they made to remind readers of the storyline would've changed my mind.

I think Cabot originally intended this as a trilogy, and I have no idea why she kept going with the series five years later, but I'm glad she did. Unlike the other novels in the series, the murderer turns out to be who Heather actually first thinks it is, also unlike the other novels it isn't just a jaded enemy of the victim. This time he's a deranged abusive perv who you grow to hate as much as all the other characters do. My favourite characters in this novel were Cooper and Tania. I found Cooper was a lot more involved in this book than the others and he was a good counter balance to Heather's character, I also found Tania to be surprisingly likeable and her strength in the final moments made me feel a bit like a proud mama. I would recommend this book or series to anyone who wants a funny read that is really more about following one woman's life than the murders or romance  surrounding her.

The book opens with Heather and Cooper finding Tania passed out in the penthouse of Fischer Hall. They learn that her bodygaurd was just shot so Cooper's father hires him as her bodygaurd until her old one gets better. Tania also insists that she move her upcoming rock camp for girls to Fischer Hall. Heather soon learns that Tania was married before, to her high school choir teacher, who abused her mentally and physically and since she left him for Jordan had been blackmailing her for money. When she stopped sending the money, he said he would hurt her and that's why when filming starts on the rock camp show, one of her producers eats a poisoned muffin and dies. Later Heather learns that one of the girls from the rock camp has been going over to Wasser Hall to meet her boyfriend and when she goes to get her, it's really Gary, Tania's ex, before she can get him, he jumps out the window and manages to get away. She then sees the girl had been using her scarf to hide the finger shaped bruises on her neck, which she says were her fault for not hitting the notes right. At the final show for the rock camp, Tania and Heather are left alone backstage when Gary comes in and tries to shoot Heather to get Tania to give him the money. Heather stabs him with a hair comb into his previous wound and as she's running away with Tania Cooper returns and shoots Gary in the chest.