I’ve done this before (find them here, if you’re so inclined) but this is basically just books that I don’t really feel like reviewing in any full or coherent sense, and that I also don’t have to review. I mean, I could have…
Onto the books!
The Heart of Betrayal by Mary E. Pearson
Series: The Remnant Chronicles #2
Published by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) on July 7th 2015
Pages: 470
Format:Hardcover
Source:Purchased 
Intrigue abounds in this hotly anticipated sequel to The Kiss of Deception!
Held captive in the barbarian kingdom of Venda, Lia and Rafe have little chance of escape. Desperate to save her life, Lia's erstwhile assassin, Kaden, has told the Vendan Komizar that she has the gift, and the Komizar's interest in Lia is greater than anyone could have foreseen.
Meanwhile, nothing is straightforward: there's Rafe, who lied to Lia, but has sacrificed his freedom to protect her; Kaden, who meant to assassinate her but has now saved her life; and the Vendans, whom Lia always believed to be barbarians. Now that she lives amongst them, however, she realizes that may be far from the truth. Wrestling with her upbringing, her gift, and her sense of self, Lia must make powerful choices that will affect her country... and her own destiny.
Quick & Dirty:
This book makes me happy. You know the only thing I didn’t like about it? It ended, and I have to wait an entire year for the next one. I am not saying much about it, since it is a second book, except for this:
- No sequel slump in any way.
- Very engaging and fast paced book.
- Set up the next book so, so well.
More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera Published by Soho Teen on June 2nd 2015
Pages: 304
Format:ARC
Source:BEA
In his twisty, gritty, profoundly moving debut—called “mandatory reading” by the New York Times—Adam Silvera brings to life a charged, dangerous near-future summer in the Bronx.In the months after his father's suicide, it's been tough for 16-year-old Aaron Soto to find happiness again--but he's still gunning for it. With the support of his girlfriend Genevieve and his overworked mom, he's slowly remembering what that might feel like. But grief and the smile-shaped scar on his wrist prevent him from forgetting completely. When Genevieve leaves for a couple of weeks, Aaron spends all his time hanging out with this new guy, Thomas. Aaron's crew notices, and they're not exactly thrilled. But Aaron can't deny the happiness Thomas brings or how Thomas makes him feel safe from himself, despite the tensions their friendship is stirring with his girlfriend and friends. Since Aaron can't stay away from Thomas or turn off his newfound feelings for him, he considers turning to the Leteo Institute's revolutionary memory-alteration procedure to straighten himself out, even if it means forgetting who he truly is. Why does happiness have to be so hard?
Quick & Dirty: I am more happy than not that I read this book, especially after that dude at the booth at BEA did not want me to have it. Nay, I think he may have cried when his co-worker gave one to me, Val, and several other people. This has nothing to do with the book. Moving on. 
This book was awesome, because it covered so many relevant topics. The cool thing is, it isn’t just diversity, it is Aaron’s life. His whole world is so different from mine, but it didn’t even matter, because I’ll be damned if I didn’t connect to him regardless! There were some pretty epic twists that I didn’t see coming, and so many multifaceted characters. I felt like I was actually in the Bronx- and I have never been there! These was a fabulously well done debut, deserves every ounce of hype, and I suspect Adam has a lot of amazing stories left to write- and I am certain I’ll be reading each one.
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater Series: The Raven Cycle #1
Published by Scholastic Press on September 18th 2012
Pages: 468
Format:eBook
Source:Purchased
Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue never sees them--until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks to her.His name is Gansey, a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can't entirely explain. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul whose emotions range from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher who notices many things but says very little.For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She doesn't believe in true love, and never thought this would be a problem. But as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.
Quick & Dirty: Onto the books that you made me read! So, I am very glad you all made me read this one. It is not about avian-human hybrids, so for all the exactly zero other people who thought that… you’re safe. It started off a little slow- though not boring, just slow. I liked Blue and I wanted to know what her deal was, and I liked some of the Raven Boys, but not Adam. He can get bit by a rabid raven or something, that would probably bring more ravens into play, no?
Anyway, there were some very cool twists that I did not see coming, so that added to my enjoyment. I will definitely be picking up The Dream Thieves, so thank you, everyone!!
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer Series: The Lunar Chronicles #2
Published by Feiwel and Friends on February 5th 2013
Pages: 452
Format:eBook
Source:Purchased
Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison--even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive.
Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.
Quick & Dirty: Another blogosphere-selected book for the Make-Me-Read-It-a-Thon. I read it, woo hoo! I got to two books that you picked- this, and Everything, Everything, which were the top two.
I liked this significantly more than Cinder, and I kind of feel bad rating it only a half-star better, but… I don’t know. I did like Cinder, so I wouldn’t have rated it lower. Basically, I liked that this book had a lot more action and revelations than the last book. I also really liked Scarlet as a character, and enjoyed Cinder’s story arc much better this time around. The negative? Well, it’s insanely predictable. I don’t know if Cress is the same way, but man, I knew what was coming around every corner. It was still enjoyable, don’t get me wrong. I just kind of wish there was a bit more guess work involved. 
First – love your Christopher from Project Runway GIF. And yes I know his name off the top of my head because he was my favorite. OK not to the books – More Happy Than Not is one I really want to read. I think it sounds amazing. I am happy to see Scarlet was better than Cinder because I love when a series gets better as it goes on. Great reviews!
Bwhah I literally only know him from all the amazing gifs of him- but I think I’d like him 😉 More Happy Than Not was really good, I think it’s one of those “everyone should read” kind of books! And thanks!!
WELL I AM MONSTROUSLY PLEASED THAT YOU LIKED THE RAVEN BOYS. *flails and hugs that book forever* Adam is so not my favourite either, but he is a sad neglected little dumpling. SO I sort of still like him. rONAN IS MA BABY THO. Oh oh oh and I really want to read More Happy Than Not. except that cover doesn’t look happy. It looks like a dementedly sad smiley face SO CONSIDER ME CONCERNED. I still want to read it though. 😉
I know, how could I have faced you guys if I’d hated it!? Luckily, I did not hate it at all! Yay! Maybe I will like Adam more in the next book? I mean, I get that his family is the WORST, but… that doesn’t mean HE has to be too! Read More Happy Than Not- because it IS a demented sad smiley face and you SHOULD be concerned.
I finally bought the Kiss of Deception, so it’s good to hear the sequel is good. Thanks for no spoilers! I STILL haven’t read Raven Boys! I’m sure you aren’t the only person who thought bird people. Yay for Scarlett! That was my least favorite of the series, but most people’s favorite. (I liked Cress best, I guess I could just relate to her better. I hope you read that one soon! Then you don’t have long to wait for Winter!) Yes, the whole series is very predictable.
Oh YAYYY! I hope you love it, it is one of my favorites! And seriously, I SUCK at sequel reviews, because I cannot do it without spoilers- how can you even? OOH I have been hearing so much love for Cress, so this is good. Also, I thought of you when I was reading it, because I remembered you saying it was predictable, and me thinking “MAN, Molly was right, I didn’t know it would be THIS easy to guess!” (I actually just thought you were super smart and knew what would happen!)
I’m excited to read Heart of Betrayal (after Kiss of Deception) as well as More Happy Than Not so I’m glad to hear you enjoyed those 🙂 I’m a bit behind on the Raven Cycle series but I loved the first two. Thanks for your thoughts, even if they’re not reviews!
Yeah, this was an unusually good bunch of books! It seems odd, but then I think about some of the ARCs that were NOT so good littered in with them, well, it makes sense 😉 I hope you LOVE the books when you get a chance to read them!
I’m so elated that you enjoyed Heart of Betrayal. Definitely no slump there! I’m so glad The Raven Boys isn’t boys morphing into ravens. That would just be creepy xD Scarlet was good, but Cinder was definitely better. I think Cress might be my favorite though. I hope you like it 🙂
Morphing into ravens would be kind of boring as well as being creepy, no? Because I assume morphing would take like, 3 minutes and then… womp womp. All this Cress love has me VERY excited to start it! YAY!
Props for the GIFs. They were perfect. Now you make me want to add The Heart of Betrayal to my list. People, don’t you see I already have a mountain? … Maybe I’ll read More Happy Than Not cause I’m pretty sure I have that…somewhere…
Hahha you HAVE to read HoB if you’ve read KoD! It’s imperative! But… I guess if you waited, you’d have less of a wait until BoD? I don’t know, it’s hard to decide. More Happy Than Not is a very good choice though! I love when we don’t even know if we actually have books- I do that ALL the time, and it is so messed up 😉
Oooh glad you liked The Raven Boys! Dream Thieves is really good and even more twists so I can’t wait to see what you think of that one!!
Oh YAY! I am excited to move onto that now! I have heard it gets even better as it goes along, so I am looking forward to it 🙂
I am so happy you enjoyed More Happy Than Not. I just bought that one on my Kindle, but haven’t read it yet. Hopefully I will get to it soon. 🙂 I have not read The Remnant Chronicles series, but your review has me rethinking that.
Ohh I hope you love it when you read iT! I think it is one of those very important to read kind of books! And seriously, I almost didn’t read The Remnant Chronicles series either, but Holly made me, and I am SO glad she did! It’s a favorite!
First, I need to read Heart Of Betrayal and More Happy Than Not. Secondly, I’m so glad you liked Raven Boys! Trust me, it’s one of those series that gets better with every book, and, um, personally, I started liking Adam a lot better later on, because I didn’t really like him at first either. But ships! They really come in later(Dream Theives and, mostly, Blue Lily, Lily Blue) but, do you have any yet?
And yes, Scarlet very predictable but I loved it, especially Scarlet herself. =)
OHH good! I need some ships! I mean, I like Gansey, and I think he and Blue are probably going to be really good together, but there was such minimal romance that it was kind of hard to decide. I am glad Adam gets better though, because for now, I want to throttle him 😉
I agree, Scarlet was so fun! I am excited to start Cress- but I think I am more excited for Dream Thieves!
So happy you loved The Raven Boys – it gets even better from here on out. 🙂
Scarlet is my favorite of the series thus far… WOLF. <3 <3
Great minis, girl!
YAYYYY! I am so excited to keep reading. I am trying not to buy Dream Thieves but.. I probably will 😉 And I liked Wolf too- a lot!
You’re welcome about HOB and TRB. That is all.
Thank you. You’re welcome for… this post. 😉
I still have to read More Happy Than Not and The Heart Of Betrayal, but I’m so freaking glad you read Scarlet and The Raven Boys and enjoyed them! The Lunar Chronicles is one of my favorite series, and The Raven Boys was just as amazing! I haven’t read the next two books yet) We definitely need to buddy read the rest of the Raven Cycle, as well as Fairest and Winter 🙂