Sea By Heidi R. Kling

Sea was a wonderful book that gave me a lot of insight of how it is to live in Indonesia. This book had a lot of romance, just my type of book.

Review on Goodreads:

Still haunted by nightmares of her mother's death, fifteen-year-old Sienna Jones reluctantly travels to Indonesia with her father's relief team to help tsunami orphans with their post traumatic stress disorder-something Sienna knows a lot about. Since her mother's plane went missing over the Indian Ocean three years before, Sienna doesn't do anything if it involves the ocean or planes, so this trip is a big step forward.

But the last thing she expects is to fall for Deni, a brooding Indonesian boy who lives at the orphanage, and just so happens to be HOT. When Deni hears a rumor that his father may be alive, Sienna doesn't think twice about running away with him to the epicenter of the disaster. Unfortunately, what they find there could break both their hearts.
A compelling summer romance, Sea marks the arrival of a stunning new voice in YA.

She does have an amazing way of writing and I enjoyed reading it a lot. I think it just might be one of my many favorite books. One of the interesting things that I learned is that people in Indonesia don't have toilet paper, so they eat with their right hand when they eat, it's disrespectful to point your toes at somebody,they aren't very sanitary since the country is in poverty, and I learned many more customs in this book. Heidi really did her research!

Uncommon Criminals (Heist Society, #2) by Ally Carter

Uncommon Criminals (Heist Society, #2) by Ally Carter

Hardcover, 298 pages

Published June 21st 2011 by Hyperion Book CH

Katarina Bishop has worn a lot of labels in her short life life. Friend. Niece. Daughter. Thief. But for the last two months she’s simply been known as the girl who ran the crew that robbed the greatest museum in the world. That’s why Kat isn’t surprised when she’s asked to steal the infamous Cleopatra Emerald so it can be returned to its rightful owners. There are only three problems. First, the gem hasn’t been seen in public in thirty years. Second, since the fall of the Egyptian empire and the suicide of Cleopatra, no one who holds the emerald keeps it for long, and in Kat’s world, history almost always repeats itself. But it’s the third problem that makes Kat’s crew the most nervous and that is simply… the emerald is cursed.
Kat might be in way over her head, but she’s not going down without a fight. After all she has her best friend—the gorgeous Hale—and the rest of her crew with her as they chase the Cleopatra around the globe, dodging curses, realizing that the same tricks and cons her family has used for centuries are useless this time.
Which means, this time, Katarina Bishop is making up her own rules. – Goodreads

My Opinion: This was a quick read for me. I love Ally Carter and I especially love Katarina. She is one of my favorite characters to read about. I loved her even more in this one because of how she is. Hale is also a favorite of mine and I am very glad that Nick made another appearance in this novel. The Cleopatra Emerald sounds really cool. I wonder if its actually part of real history.The plot had me going. I was full of adrenaline just like Katarina and Hale and the rest of the team. I just could not put the book down. It was just powerful.

 

I really liked the mission. The twists were amazing. I really thought that Katarina and her team failed, but they rocked it. Ally Carter did an amazing job with the plot for this. She had me guessing the whole time about what the actually plan was and how they were going to do it. I really hope there is another book in the series but honestly the way the book ended I would be happy with the ending of the series.

 

Something that I really enjoyed was the beginning of the book. How is describes the job Katarina did in Moscow. It’s just amazing. I also really enjoyed the different perspectives we get from the other characters on how they perceive Katarina. It made her seem more real and tangible. Ever since the Gallagher Girls series, I have been a huge fan of Ally Carter and I haven’t been disappointed by her, if anything she exceeds my expectations every time. I can’t wait to see what else she is going to write.

 

Overall: 5 out of 5