ARC Review: Omega by Robert J. Crane {The Girl In The Box Book 5}

Title: Omega
Series: The Girl in the Box book 5
Author: Robert J. Crane
Publisher: Reikonos Press
Date of Publication: Feb. 8, 2012
Source: received from author for honest review of it
Get Your Own At: 

Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

Goodreads Description:

Omega - a shadowy organization that is synonomous with power in the metahuman world. They have hunted Sienna Nealon since the day she first left her house, killed countless Directorate agents and operatives, and now they unveil their greatest plot - Operation Stanchion, a phrase whispered to Sienna by an Omega operative almost too scared to speak the words aloud. Now Sienna must track the pieces Omega has in motion, journeying across the upper midwest to confront the forces that have plagued her since she first stepped into the metahuman world before they can land their final stroke - and bring an end to the Directorate forever.

My Thoughts:

I have read this author's works for a while now and it seems to be that he keeps getting better and better, surprising us with what he is capable of next and how far he is willing to go to write that masterpiece.  

Well, I believe Omega came pretty damn close to it.  It is full of emotion (to the point where my heart literally broke and tears flew out of my eyes in all directions ), action, and this deeper darker mankind that scares the hell out of me but still pulls me in because it is that captivating.  

Mr. Crane has a true talent of putting simple words to paper that have the tendency to pull the reader so far into Sienna Nealon's world, it is hard to come back to reality.  And for some of us, it is sad to leave the crazy world of metahumans, the gods of old, and a really kick ass heroine who is one of the bravest and honest people we could ever get to know.  And yes, she is a literary character.  

My warning to all of those who have not gotten into this series yet is to STOP reading here (this is book 5 so it will definitely have some kind of spoiler in it without it meaning to) and go pick up book one so you can join all of us fans that know The Girl In the Box Series is soon to be a classic along with many others, including Mr. Tolkien and Mr. Lewis.

We are thrown right into the action; which I really do love about Crane's writing style.  He can write a fight scene worthy of the big screen or video game time.  It is epic indeed!  One of the first things I came to notice about our protagonist this time is how mature she is.  Sienna has came a long way since book four and she shows it with her leading the junior M Squad, her calm demeanor with the team, and the more interaction with Old Man Winters.  I actually came very close to liking his character, because he seemed to having a fatherly interest in Sienna; but he still has this aloofness about him that makes me question his loyalty to her.  But time will tell and it does indeed.

Reed is still around and I absolutely love Reed!  I have to say he is my favorite male character in this book, besides Kurt.  Yes, I know Kurt can be a douche but I don't know why-but I feel like Kurt is ......Kurt.  Sorry I can't explain anymore than that; it is just this warm feeling I have toward Kurt.  

And of course, Zack has forgiven Sienna for her failings and they are still working on the relationship between the two of them.  I think the no touching rule bothers Sienna much more than it does Zack and it seems to always be a stresser on their fragile relationship.  But the two seem good together so it works out and we get a little more this time for them.  

I really love the way Crane used the old gods, for example Thor and Odin, to describe the different powers that some people had.  And there was a lot of references to Chris Hemsworth, which totally works for me because I seriously loved him as Thor, and it is good to see Sienna's humor still in tact.  So if I were to label this would it be possible to say mythology too for it?  I would like to think so because of what Omega holds in their hands.  But that is the beauty of this series: it crosses many different genres and has something for everyone in it, whether it be urban fantasy, science fiction, a little bit of mythology, and romance.  Of course there is also action, suspense, and it is most definitely a thriller; so yeah, something for everyone.  

Now, I was warned from the author that this could possibly be a tear jerker, and so I will pass along the same warning for you.  There is so many twists, turns, and complete surprises that it will be very difficult to not have one little tear escape.  Then again, you could be like me and whisper to yourself," I will not cry, I will not cry, I will not cry!"  Only to find yourself at the end bawling like a baby because the author, Mr. Crane, decided to put something so heartbreaking in our midst that it was impossible not to let our emotions take over.  

And you know what?  I love the author even that much more for it.  He has a plan for our favorite hero and though the road there will be sad, happy, terrible, and joyous, I have a good feeling he will help us see the series to its end.  Now, we may not get there unscathed; whether it be sleepless nights, eyes red from crying long and hard, or our thoughts always drifting to Sienna and her plights, causing us to spill milk we are pouring into the kids' cups (okay, I guess I can't blame that one on the book), but we will make it there.  And I know that I will be loving every minute of the journey.  

I gave Omega five hearts!  

Connect with Robert J. Crane:

Goodreads  | Website | Facebook | Twitter |

Audio Review: Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

Title: Girl of Nightmares
Author: Kendare Blake
Series: Anna Book #2
Publisher: Tor Teen
Audio Publisher: AudioGo
Audio Publication Date: August 7, 2012
Format: mp3, 10hr 4 min,
Source: received from AudioGo for my honest opinion of it.
Get Your Own: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Synopsis: It’s been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can’t move on.
His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live—not walk around half dead. He knows they’re right, but in Cas’s eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.
Now he’s seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he’s asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong... these aren’t just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.
Cas doesn’t know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn’t deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it’s time for him to return the favor

-goodreads blurb 

 My Thoughts:
I would like to say thank you to AudioGo for sending me Girl of Nightmares on mp3 for review.

I absolutely loved the audio version of Girl of Nightmares!  I wasn't too keen on the narrator, August Ross, while he read the first book, but he came back in full stride and really changed my opinion of his skills in this one.  As soon as I turned it on, I just leaned back, closed my eyes and found myself swept away with Ross' chilling narration.
Character Development- Cas is this crude, gritty, tough hero that has a soft side hidden deep within himself that he finds surprising when it surfaces out.  He tells people how things are and doesn't really care if it puts him in another light.  He is brutally honest and I love him for it.  Cas really grows throughout this series and learns a lot about himself, his friends, and his ability to love.
Thomas is a darling.  I have to admit, besides the main protagonists, Thomas is one of my favorites.  The voice August Ross gives him is part hippie, part surfer dude.  And it fits his personality.  Thomas is so laid back, hardly getting too worked up over situations.  He always tries to find the silver lining, even when there is darkness everywhere.  The scene where Cas and Thomas go visit Thomas' Finnish aunt is extremely spooky and extremely funny.  I had to gag a little thinking about the cookies Thomas sucked down.  (Not giving anything else away-just read it! :) )
I have always liked Ana.  She is this cursed soul that has been put through so much, never being able to really live, and still has this spunk to her that makes me smile.  She is definitely a good match to Cas' attitude.
We have a lot of the same characters here, including Carmel, and we also meet a lot of new characters.  These new people help Cas reach his goal and help tie everything together in the end.
Plot-  Girl of Nightmares is so, so , so good!  It is a dark story but it does have these snarky comments thrown in, to help lessen the stress, if you will.  I really enjoyed the fact that Blake could write a scene to scare the hell out of me, but even then, still throw in a joke to let me laugh the fright off a little.

He smiles at me like he is Yoda and I'm just a dumbass without the force,"

There is action in this book but Girl of Nightmares is more of an emotionally charged book, showing Cas so broken and sad to seeing him realize the power he has within himself.  Kendare Blake did an exceptional job of painting such imagery that the reader can feel Cas' heartbreak, Ana's pain, Thomas' power, and Carmel's insecurity.
Blake also does a really wonderful job of world building, especially in Girl of Nightmares, when our "ghostbuster" team has to travel to many different places.  The Suicide Forest was the scariest thing I have ever heard (and dummy me, I listened to it at night, with all the lights off, and everyone else asleep).
The pacing was just right. I didn't find myself bored with it at all.  I liked learning more about the athame's past and why it does the things it does.  Yes, it is much more than just a knife.
Blake's interpretation of Hell was so interesting and very scary and breathtaking.  It was a different take, yet based on a lot of classic examples.

"This place exists in the wake of a scream..."

The best part about this novel or series, is that the point of view is from our male protagonist, Cas.  I feel like we don't have enough YA books from a male p.o.v and it is refreshing to get a book that can pull it off this well.  He is gritty, curses when the need arises, sarcastic as hell, and doesn't question his feelings for Ana.  He embraces the love he has for her and it shows with the very depth he is willing to take to save his beloved Ana.
Narration-August Ross has really stepped his game up in narrating Girl of Nightmares.  I wasn't really impressed with his style in the first book, but he has totally turned my opinion around in this second book.  This guy has so many great accents hidden up his sleeves; southern, Scottish, Finnish, English, and of course, Carmel's voice.  Sorry that is the only one I had a tough time with.  Other than that one, Ross sounds like a completely different person.  He is also superb at conveying the intensity of the situation, capturing you with the fullness of his voice.
I had to give Girl of Nightmares five hearts, more if I could!

Contact Kendare Blake:

Facebook | website | Twitter

Review: Unbreak My Heart by Melissa Walker

 Title: Unbreak My Heart

Author: Melissa Walker

      Publisher: Bloomsbury USA

            Publication Date: May 22, 2012

        Formats: hardcover, 240 pages

                                                  Source: I won this in a contest from the Publishing company

Goodreads Summary:

Sophomore year broke Clementine Williams’ heart. She fell for her best friend’s boyfriend and long story short: he’s excused, but Clem is vilified and she heads into summer with zero social life. 

Enter her parents’ plan to spend the summer on their sailboat. Normally the idea of being stuck on a tiny boat with her parents and little sister would make Clem break out in hives, but floating away sounds pretty good right now. 

Then she meets James at one of their first stops along the river. He and his dad are sailing for the summer and he’s just the distraction Clem needs. Can he break down Clem’s walls and heal her broken heart?

Told in alternating chapters that chronicle the year that broke Clem’s heart and the summer that healed it, Unbreak My Heart is a wonderful dual love story that fans of Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, and Susane Colasanti will flock to.

My Feelings:

Let's talk about the cover first.  I know the old saying, " Never judge a book by its cover" is really good advice; but come on, you know everyone does this.    

But I like to think I will read a book even if the cover may not interest me.  

I loved Unbreak My Heart's cover.  I liked how it is just her sitting on the boat gazing out into the water and everything else is in the rose colored background.  Like maybe Clementine was looking through rose colored glasses for a long time, not really seeing the real picture.  

The colors are serene and beautiful and you can tell the girl in the picture is sad and just a little bit peaceful in the setting.  

Now I am ready to delve into the actual book.  

Clementine...what can I say about Clementine?  I loved her..I hated her...I just didn't understand her.  

I hate that she had to go through this terrible pain and the mama in me wants to wrap her in my arms and tell her it is not as bad as she thinks it is.  

But the mama in me also wants to tell her to stop with her attitude towards her family too.

That was one of the main problems I had with the book.  She took everything out on her Mom, Dad and even her little sister, Olive.    They were there for her when everyone else turned their back on her and she is constantly snapping at her family instead.  

I guess that also adds weight to the adage " We hurt the ones we love most."   

Olive, on the other hand, was just so darn lovable.  I know she was the little sister and more of the supporting character in the story but I just fell in love with her.  She never loses sight of who Clementine really is even though Clem does.  

She is the little sister I always wanted to have and I guess I was a little envious of Clem for having that and taking Olive for granted.  

James is a really great person too.  He is funny, understanding, and loyal.  He loves "Crazy Olive" just as much as she loves Clementine and he sees the true Clem.  His past is much more than Clem has ever had to go through and it was good to pair those two up together to help each other with the pain they are feeling.  

I think everyone in this story learns something from each other and are able to find a way to get past the pain.     Clementine definitely finds  a piece of herself she is missing and is finally able to come to terms with what happened...and didn't happen.

I gave this book 3 hearts.