Review: The Ascended by Tiffany King

The Ascended by Tiffany King
Release Date: December 15, 2011
Format: ebook
Series: The Saving Angels #3
Source: Author in exchange for an honest review

Description from Goodreads:
The Ascended is the final installment of The Saving Angels Trilogy. With Krista's life in turmoil, she is now struggling with the responsibilities that have been passed down to her. With the help of Haniel and her friends, Krista risks everything, including her soul, to march into the den of the Dark Angel. Their only chance for survival is for Krista to find the courage to accept the new role that fate has bestowed upon her, even if it means losing her loved ones forever.

After how much I loved the ending to Forgotten Souls, I jumped right into The Ascended. I really wanted to see Krista standing on her own without Mark--getting stronger, finally. At first, she didn't really do that and I was disappointed. But then the story went on and she DID. Krista turned into a character that I like! I can't even explain how happy that makes me.

I still want to be bestest friend with Shawn and the couples are still adorable. I didn't get as confused with who was coupled with whom this time. And I was right, there ARE two Pauls! And I even felt some of Krista's jealousy when being around the couples. And--goodness gracious--I missed Mark. I was happy to see Krista not depending on him anymore, but I still wished he could have been around for this to happen. But that kind of defeats the purpose, so... *sigh*

HANIEL. That guy still continued to grow on me and I like him so much now. I wasn't too impressed with his love story, though. Haniel is one of those characters that was great the way he was, and though it was nice to see him soften a bit throughout the books, there was a limit to that for me. But then again, I like Haniel and want him happy. I guess we can say that I feel conflicted over this.

When I started reading this one, I had a set idea for what I thought would happen this time. For the most part, what I thought would happen DID. But then there were a couple of BIG things that actually surprised me. Those things made me feel "WHOA" enough that they made up for what I had easily predicted. And the ending...the end of this one was okay. I didn't feel overly fond of it or anything. It did make sense and it was cool, I was just hoping for something more BOOM. To me, it felt anticlimactic.

Overall, I was happy with this third book and enjoyed reading it just as much as the two before. Also, I'm definitely wanting to pick up another Tiffany King book. Soon.

Oh, and I still heart Mark ;)

♥Jessica(:

Review: Forgotten Souls by Tiffany King

Forgotten Souls by Tiffany King
Release Date: August 4, 2011
Format: ebook
Series: The Saving Angels #2
Source: Author in exchange for an honest review

Description from Goodreads:
Any chance Krista Miller had at a normal teenage life is now gone. Less than a year ago she lived under the radar, avoiding any relationships that would send her emotional sensitivities out of control. Little did she know that her life was destined for something more. Something that will test her very soul.

After facing certain death at the hands of the man responsible for their mysterious past, Krista and her friends learn the truth behind their origins and the purpose for their newly discovered abilities. Now, they must band together to fulfill their inherited, sacred duty. As Guides and Protectors, they must save Mankind's Forgotten Souls before they are lost forever.

I liked the first book in this series and was glad to be able to start the second book soon after. One thing I'm really liking about this series is that the books fit super well together. The ending of the first book went well with the beginning of this one, and I didn't feel like I was being reminded boringly of everything I'd read in the book before.

I liked seeing what came next for the characters, and still really adore Mark. I am quite fond of Shawn now, as well. even though he does use the word "sis" a lot, he was funny and I like funny. Krista was still too sensitive for my liking for most of this book, but she is getting better. Oh, and Haniel. At first, I did not like him. He was boring and info-dumpy. But I'm not going to lie--the dude's growing on me.

There were a bunch of new characters in this one, which was cool, but also very hard to keep track of. I got confused more than once with this. Was there two Pauls? And who matched up with who? The couples were cute and sweet and I enjoyed them, I just would have liked for them to have been differentiated better so I could tell who was who easier.

This is NOT one of those filler book 2's, which I was happy to see. The plot went farther and made sense to me. And the ending? It was sad, but it was my favorite part. It made me FEEL more than any other part in the whole book, and it's where I felt Krista started to stand for herself a bit. It also left me very much looking forward to the third book in this series.

Overall, I enjoyed Forgotten Souls just as much as I did Meant to Be and look forward to moving on in the series. I love the sweetness and the good direction (most of) the characters are going in. Plus, I have quite a few questions that I'd like answered and quite a few worries to be eased. So...onto book 3 I go!

♥Jessica(:

Review: Meant to Be by Tiffany King

Meant to Be by Tiffany King
Release Date: March 17, 2011
Format: ebook, 287 pages
Series: The Saving Angels #1
Source: Author in exchange for an honest review

Description from Goodreads:
Krista Miller feels like she has lived her entire life in a glass box with her every emotion on display. She can’t help feeling like a defect as her sensitivities have made her socially inept and without any real friends; the one exception being the boy that visits her each night in her dreams.

Krista’s emotions are put to the test when a move to California triggers a devastating change to her fantasy world. The nightly comfort that the boy provides has now become a recurring nightmare as he is taken from her by an unseen force.

Struggling to appear normal, Krista enrolls in a new school and finds it to be nothing like she thought. Her new life is sent spiraling out of control from a strange connection with a boy, Mark, who claims to know all her secrets.

As Krista begins to explore the emotions that Mark evokes in her, secrets about their mysterious past and their predestined purpose threatens to separate them just when they have found each other.

I've wanted to read this book for a while. Partly because I think Tiffany King is awesome and partly because this book (and series) sounded all kinds of cool. It has the kind of premise I usually fall all over the place for.

So now I've read it, and I have somewhat mixed feelings about it. The most important thing, though, is that I definitely enjoyed it. I liked reading it and finding out more as I went along and so on.

Character Rundown:
Krista: She was okay. My biggest problem with her was because she was so whiny. Which I KNOW is part of her ability and whatnot--being sensitive--but still. You don't have to be completely strong the whole entire time, but this girl spent more time crying and whining about things. Again, I GET that it comes with the territory, but that doesn't mean it won't bother me.

Mark: I heart him bunches. I can't think of anything in particular I do not like about him. That in and of itself probably isn't good--because he could be TOO perfect and that wouldn't be believable. But he DOES have flaws. I just enjoy them.

Plot. This book starts out in a dream that I thought was so interesting and had fun learning about how Krista had dreamed of this guy since forever. But then things slowed down. And then we met a certain someone and things sped up again...I guess what I'm saying is that when things were going, they were GOING and I was 100% into this story, but then when things were slower, I got somewhat bored. Not bored enough to give up on the book altogether (obviously), but enough for it to bother me.

Relationships. This is pretty much what causes my mixed feeling for this book, along with the pacing thing. Relationships in this book are built up SO FAST. I know this is another thing that comes with the territory, considering what the book is ABOUT, but it still felt weird. Krista and Sam meet and BOOM best friends. She meets Mark and BOOM. They both meet Shawn and BOOM. And then we're all nice and happy with little actual friendship-building. Oh, and I'd like to know more about Shawn. I hope we get more in the next books!

But even though things were fast, they were still sweet. I liked seeing Krista and Mark together, and Shawn and Sam were nice to see, too. SO MUCH SWEETNESS.

Ending. There's a sequel, y'all.

Overall, though Meant to Be wasn't perfect, I still found it enjoyable and am certainly looking forward to reading the next book in the series!

♥Jessica(: