Tween Tuesday Review: Moving Target

Cassie is in Rome with her father. One day, he pulls her out of school with no explanation. Then they are attacked and her father is severely injured. He's holding on to a deadly secret.

He tells her the name of one person she can trust.

Instead, she goes to her best friend. They find her there, so she turns towards her father's friend where she finally uncovers answers.

Ancient blood runs through her veins that allows her to wield the Spear of Destiny. This weapon has the power to change the future. The spear has been lost - until Cassie uncovers it. Now two secret organizations want both the power and Cassie.

Cassie doesn't trust either of them - but can she survive on her own with help from her friends?

My Thoughts:
I enjoyed this book. It grabbed me from the very beginning. I loved the action and the danger. I loved Cassie turning to her friend and a new friend Asher. I love how together they searched for the clues. I found the two societies a little confusing and I didn't understand how they were different and what they stood for. I hope to get more of a sense in the next book. I loved the two twists at the end.

Cover Thoughts: Cool
Source: My Library

Final Thoughts: Christina Diaz Gonzalez created a Da Vinci Code for Tweens with lots of action and danger keeping your turning the pages quickly. I'm eager to read more of Cassie's story.

Tween Tuesday Review: Shadows of Sherwood

After sneaking out one night to scavenge for mechanical parts, Robyn Loxley's returns home one night to find her parents missing and the house torn apart. Robyn's afraid they've been murdered.  She escapes into the woods, where's she's caught by the police.
After escaping jail, Robyn teams up with two unlikely friends. She learns the Governor staged a coup, getting rid of his opponents, including Robyn's parents.

Robyn soon realizes that her parents have prepared her for this event, with a list of clues. Desperately she tries to interpret the clues while staying hidden. She learns of the injustices of Sherwood and works to help out those less fortunate.

That only gets her into further trouble with the Governor and his crew. Can she stay one step ahead of him and work towards her goals?

My thoughts: I enjoyed this book, but I didn't love it as much as I wanted to. It took me a while to get into the book. I liked the action and the danger and the social justice. I liked Robyn understanding more about Sherwood and the people in the city. I really liked Laurel and how she brought out a softer side to Robyn.  I really liked Scarlet too - she had serious skills.

I liked that Robyn was a biracial female - that changed up the retelling a bit.

I wasn't crazy about the Moon Lore - maybe that's because I didn't fully grasp how it tied into the book. It felt a little out of place for me. 

I wasn't crazy about Robyn not sharing all her information with her friends either. 

Still, I'm eager see what happens next...

Cover Thoughts: Love the action
Source: My Library

Review: Lies I Told

Grace doesn't know any other life than being a grifter. Her latest mission is to infiltrate and be-friend a boy to discover the whereabouts of the gold bars hidden on the property.

Her first mark, a friend of the boy's doesn't take, so she goes right to the source. Logan is easy on the eyes and he's nice. The more Grace gets to know him, the more she regrets the job and her role in it.

With her brother trying to get her to leave the job and their adoptive parents behind, Grace can't help but wonder if she's going the right thing - when does the con become too much?

My Thoughts: I really loved this book; I devoured it and I'm so happy there's another book coming.

Ever since Tera Lynn Childs hooked me on Leverage, I've been a huge fan of grifter and con books. I really liked how Parker made Grace think long and hard about their past and about their future. Grace isn't all that happy in this job and I like her questioning her life. It's hard for her because she feel obligated to help her family - the people that took her in and raised her. But they never really gave her a choice on their life style.  

I liked watching both Parker and Grace learn to fit in with a new crowd of people and their tricks to getting people to like them. Where does obligation and duty end? Where does loyalty fit in? 

I can't wait to have these questions and more answered in the next book.

Cover Thoughts: I like how it's blurry
Source: My Library

Final Thoughts: Lots of action and danger and emotions kept me turning the pages as fast as I could. 

Review: I am the Mission

* Sequel to I am the Weapon (aka Boy Nobody) *

He's the perfect person for the job - no past, no ties, and no feelings. He's not supposed to have a future. He's an assassin; someone who follows orders without question.

His last mission went terribly wrong for the first time. He's having trouble getting over it. He's starting to think and to have feelings - which means he might no longer be the best.

He's not out yet, but he does have to prove himself.  He gets a new mission: a new objective and a new target. He's to take out Eugene Moore who owns and runs a military camp for teenagers. He's training them to be soldiers. On the surface, it seems legitimate, but when he goes in, he realizes it's anything but.

Nothing about the mission goes according to plan. He doesn't know who to believe or who to trust, including the Program. Will he complete the missions?

My Thoughts: I really loved this book; it's filled with action, danger, and a boy questioning everything in his life. I couldn't stop turning the pages to see what happened next. I felt bad for the way his life has been up until this point, coerced into becoming a weapon. I liked the mission - uncovering the truth behind the camps and understanding the people running it.  It's hard seeing people for who they really are, especially if you've been blinded.  The boy wrestles with himself and his loyalty, even in the midst of danger.  I loved Howard coming back, he allows the boy a softer side. The ending was amazing and now I can't wait for the third book in the series.

Cover Thoughts: Perfect

 Source: ARC for review

Review: Time Riders

Three teens, all from different time periods, have the same man visit them asking them the same question: Do you want to die, or do you want to live a strange but helpful life?

Each choose to live.

They come together as Time Riders, a group of people who live days over and over again looking for any significant changes in the world. Liam, Maddy, Sal, and their robot, Bob, are responsible for watching the world on September 11, 2001. They're not allowed to do anything, as it will change the entire history of the world.

When they notice something amiss, Liam and Sal travel back in time for a reconnaissance mission. While their time is informative, they miss the window of opportunity to return. Stuck in the past, they need to learn everything they can to change the future and set the world back to normal. Back in the present day, Maddy is dealing with her own troubles. Liam and Sal's travels to the past changed their world, creating grave danger. Can the team set the world to rights?

My Thoughts: I thoroughly enjoyed this read and I'm not a huge lover of time travel. The changes in both time and perspective intensify the situations in TIME RIDERS, creating a fast-paced read you won't want to put down. This story provides lots of action, lots of danger, and lots of plot twists.

Cover Thoughts: I really like it, especially the wheels near the tittle and the dates popping up.

Source: reviewed for www.teensreadtoo.com

Review: Ice Claw

Max Gordon and his friend, Sayid, are in the French Alps where Max participates in an Xtreme sports challenge. While practicing for the event, Max crosses paths with a monk who dies before his eyes. The monk screams out a clue with his last dying breath after saving Max's life. Max can't forget the monk.

He needs to know who murdered the man and why. With dangerous men after him, he needs help. Luckily, one of the boys he competed against lends him a hand. Max doesn't give him the full story. He's not sure who to trust.

He and Sayid, who is hurt, do their best to unravel the mystery. They can't do much because Max's face is plastered all over the news as a murder suspect. Can Max clear his name by revealing the true murderers - before those responsible come after everyone in his life?

My Thoughts: The sequel to THE DEVIL'S BREATH, ICE CLAW contains the same fast pace, danger, action, and adrenaline rushes as the first book. Again, Max fights against nature, his better judgment, and bad guys to stay alive. He's persistent, smart, determined, good-hearted, and lucky. The first chapter sucked me in and I was hooked for the entire wild ride. I can't wait for the next DANGER ZONE novel!

Cover Thoughts: I love this cover for it's simplicity and yet it conveys the danger of the wilderness and of Max as a target

Source: My library - also reviewed for www.teensreadtoo.com where I gave it a:

Review from www.teensreadtoo.com: Viper's Nest

Dan and Amy just barely escaped from a deadly fire that killed their adversary, who in a strange turn of events died saving their lives. Now, they're on the run again trying to escape from everyone while chasing another clue in South Africa. They're on a mission to research Shaka Zulu and unravel the man from the myth, plus discover his final resting place. Once again, the search leads them into the hands of Grace's old friends, who offer advice and more puzzles to unravel. Will they find the next clue before their opposition finds them?

My Thoughts: The seventh book in the addicting action-adventure series, THE VIPER'S NEST uncovers a huge secret that raises additional questions. I can't wait to read about what happens to Amy and Dan next.

The Cover: Addicting as the books themselves, it makes me very curious

Source: review from www.teensreadtoo.com