Diary of a Book Addict

Book Review: The Springsweet by Saundra Mitchell

2012-02-01T21:21:00.000-06:00

Genre: YA Historical Fiction
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books
Release Date: April 17, 2012
Series: (companion to The Vespertine)
Source: Amazon Vine

Blurb: Heartbroken over the tragic death of her fiancé, seventeen-year-old Zora Stewart leaves
Baltimore for the frontier town of West Glory, Oklahoma, to help her young widowed
aunt keep her homestead going. There she discovers that she possesses the astonishing
ability to sense water under the parched earth. When her aunt hires her out as a
“springsweet” to advise other settlers where to dig their wells, Zora feels the burden of
holding the key to something so essential to survival in this unforgiving land.
Even more, she finds herself longing for love the way the prairie thirsts for water.
Maybe, in the wildness of the territories, Zora can finally move beyond simply surviving
and start living.

Review:

After her adventures in turn-of-the-century Baltimore, Zora finds herself in an odd place. Her life isn't the same, and there's no way she can go back. To help her find her way, Zora is sent out west to live with her aunt in the newly-opened Oklahoma territory. While the hope is that this will allow Zora to get away from all the drama, drama -and romance -always manages to find her. As Zora gets settled into her new life, she finds that she has the ability to help settlers find the right place to dig for water. Her aunt starts to hire her out as a "springsweet," but in her adventures she crosses paths with a mysterious and somewhat dangerous Sooner, and romance inevitably blossoms.

I loved The Vespertine. It was one of my favorite YA historical fiction novels of 2011, and I found myself in love with the gothic romance tones and the wonderful characters and scandalous plots that graced the book's pages. I was excited for The Springsweet, but something about getting so far from Baltimore just didn't work for me. We lost the grandeur, beauty and high-class scandals of classy Baltimore and are thrown into the frontier. While I thought I could survive the sudden setting change, it was too much. The tone was gone, the gothic romance style destroyed.

Despite this, The Springsweet still had its moments. The story is still well-written and enjoyable to read with a great historical backdrop that hasn't been explored very often in literature. The writing style is simple and straight-forward, and the plot is entertaining. But Springsweet just didn't have the same spark for me as Vespertine.

February Book of the Month: Harbinger by Sara Wilson Etienne

2012-02-01T13:21:00.000-06:00

Girl, Interrupted meets Beautiful Creatures in this fast-paced thriller

When sixteen-year-old Faye arrives at Holbrook Academy, she doesn't expect to find herself exactly where she needs to be. After years of strange waking visions and nightmares, her only comfort the bones of dead animals, Faye is afraid she's going crazy. Fast.

But her first night at Holbrook, she feels strangely connected to the school and the island it sits on, like she's come home. She's even made her first real friends, but odd things keep happening to them. Every morning they wake on the floors of their dorm rooms with their hands stained red.

Faye knows she's the reason, but what does it all mean? The handsome Kel tries to help her unravel the mystery, but Faye is certain she can't trust him; in fact, he may be trying to kill her - and the rest of the world too.

Rich, compelling writing will keep the pages turning in this riveting and tautly told psychological thriller.

Non-fiction review: The Sister Queens by Julia Fox

2012-01-31T12:40:00.000-06:00

Genre: Biography
Hardcover: 480 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Release Date: January 31, 2012
Series: (none)
Source: Amazon Vine

Blurb: The history books have cast Katherine of Aragon, the first queen of King Henry VIII of England, as the ultimate symbol of the Betrayed Woman, cruelly tossed aside in favor of her husband’s seductive mistress, Anne Boleyn. Katherine’s sister, Juana of Castile, wife of Philip of Burgundy and mother of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, is portrayed as “Juana the Mad,” whose erratic behavior included keeping her beloved late husband’s coffin beside her for years. But historian Julia Fox, whose previous work painted an unprecedented portrait of Jane Boleyn, Anne’s sister, offers deeper insight in this first dual biography of Katherine and Juana, the daughters of Spain’s Ferdinand and Isabella, whose family ties remained strong despite their separation. Looking through the lens of their Spanish origins, Fox reveals these queens as flesh-and-blood women—equipped with character, intelligence, and conviction—who are worthy historical figures in their own right.

When they were young, Juana’s and Katherine’s futures appeared promising. They had secured politically advantageous marriages, but their dreams of love and power quickly dissolved, and the unions for which they’d spent their whole lives preparing were fraught with duplicity and betrayal. Juana, the elder sister, unexpectedly became Spain’s sovereign, but her authority was continually usurped, first by her husband and later by her son. Katherine, a young widow after the death of Prince Arthur of Wales, soon remarried his doting brother Henry and later became a key figure in a drama that altered England’s religious landscape.

Ousted from the positions of power and influence they had been groomed for and separated from their children, Katherine and Juana each turned to their rich and abiding faith and deep personal belief in their family’s dynastic legacy to cope with their enduring hardships. Sister Queens is a gripping tale of love, duty, and sacrifice—a remarkable reflection on the conflict between ambition and loyalty during an age when the greatest sin, it seems, was to have been born a woman.

Review:

I'm not much of one for biographies, despite the volume of European historical fiction that I enjoy reading. This is usually because every non-fiction novel I have ever attempted to read has been incredibly dull, overly complex and, most importantly, incredibly scholarly, but not readable at all. This brings me to Julia Fox's latest offering, Sister Queens, which I originally ordered thinking that it was a fiction novel. It wasn't until I received the book, that I realized I had made a mistake. However, I decided to give it a try anyway, and I was incredibly surprised.

Sister Queens tells the stories of Katherine of Aragon and her sister Juana of Castile, daughters of the famous Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain wrapped into tales of the entire families and the larger issues taking place in Europe at the time. Young Katherine and Juana are brought up with the greatest of schooling and the greatest of ambitions. Through careful negotiations, when the sisters were old enough, each was sent off to marry -and build politically advantageous unions. Katherine was sent to England to marry Prince Arthur, while Juana was sent to Burgundy to marry Duke Philip.

Though Katherine of Aragon's life has been well-explored, much of the focus on her was later in her reign, when Henry broke with the Catholic Church, divorced Catherine and married Anne Boleyn. Through this lens, Katherine was always depicted as the wronged, strong-willed first wife of Henry VIII, but here, Julia Fox paints a detailed portrait of Katherine's young years, struggling with the sudden death of Arthur, the painfully drawn-out negotiations that eventually led to her marriage to Henry, and years as a powerful political figure, confident and beloved Queen -even though she never gave birth to a living son. Fox offers readers a glimpse into the life of a strong, intelligent and real woman who was more advanced than most women of her time.

Katherine's story is intertwined seamlessly with that of her older sister, Juana. Juana's story has been less-explored than that of Katherine, and she has been frequently portrayed as "Juana the Mad," a mentally unstable queen who spent much of her life imprisoned. Here, Fox sheds some light into Juana's younger years in Burgundy, and the complex politics that led to her unexpected position as the Queen of Castile, the most powerful kingdom in Spain. And, sadly, how her gender became her downfall. Juana's tale is a tragic, yet strangely compelling one that, in many ways, captivated me more than Katherine's tale. She was wronged by so many men in her life -her husband, her own father and even her own son, all labeling her as deranged and insane so they could take power in her place, though Fox (and many other historians) believe that the charges of insanity were fabricated.

Fox does an exquisite job of balancing scholarly discussion and accurate information with compelling readability that made this biography whiz by without even a hint of boredom. I read this book in just two days, and loved every education moment of it. Fox offers just enough well-researched detail to bring the period to life without bogging down the story with too much information (which tends to be an issue in much of the non-fiction I've attempted). Sister Queens has made me a believer in non-fiction.

In My Mailbox (17): Liquid Spring

2012-01-30T13:21:00.000-06:00

For review:

The Springsweet by Saundra Mitchell
Liquid Fear

New This Week

2012-01-29T13:21:00.000-06:00

Wings of the Wicked by Courtney Allison Mouton

Life as the Preliator is harder than Ellie ever imagined.

Balancing real life with the responsibility of being Heaven's warrior is a challenge for Ellie. Her relationship with Will has become all business, though they both long for each other. And now that the secret of who she really is has come out, so have Hell's strongest reapers. Grown bold and more vicious, the demonic threaten her in the light of day and stalk her in the night. She's been warned.Cadan, a demonic reaper, comes to her with information about Bastian's new plan to destroy Ellie's soul and use an ancient relic to wake all the souls of the damned and unleash them upon humanity. As she fights to stay ahead of Bastian's schemes, the revelations about those closest to her awaken a dark power within Ellie that threatens to destroy everything—including herself.Treachery comes even from those whom she loves, and Ellie is broken by the deaths of those who stood beside her in this Heavenly war. Still, she must find a way to save the world, herself, and her love for Will. If she fails, there will be hell to pay.

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

NEWSOUL

Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

NOSOUL

Even Ana's own mother thinks she's a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she'll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are suspicious and afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

HEART

Sam believes Ana's new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana's enemies--human and creature alike--let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else's life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?

Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life.

Article 5 by Kristen Simmons

New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned.

The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren’t always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it’s hard for her to forget that people weren’t always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It’s hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.

Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings…the only boy Ember has ever loved.

Best Books of January

2012-01-28T13:20:00.000-06:00

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Review

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

Struck by Jennifer Bosworth

Mia Price is a lightning addict. She’s survived countless strikes, but her craving to connect to the energy in storms endangers her life and the lives of those around her.

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Review

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Review

Since she’d been on the outside, she’d survived an Aether storm, she’d had a knife held to her throat, and she’d seen men murdered. This was worse.
Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland—known as The Death Shop—are slim. If the cannibals don’t get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She’s been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He’s wild—a savage—and her only hope of staying alive.

A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile—everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria’s help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.

In her enthralling debut, Veronica Rossi sends readers on an unforgettable adventure set in a world brimming with harshness and beauty.

Book Review: From Hell with Love by Simon R. Green

2012-01-27T09:41:00.000-06:00

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Roc Hardcover
Release Date: June 1, 2010
Series: Secret Histories (Book 4)
Source: Local Library

Blurb: It's no walk in the park for a Drood, a member of the family that has protected humanity from the things that go bump in the night for centuries. They aren't much liked by the creatures they kill, by ungrateful humans, or even by one another.

Now their Matriarch is dead, and it's up to Eddie Drood, acting head of the family, to figure out whodunit. Unpopular opinion is divided: it was either Eddie's best girl, Molly. Or Eddie himself. And Eddie knows he didn't do it.

Review:

Everyone's favorite secret agent shaman is back with his witchy lady in From Hell with Love, the latest in Simon R. Green's Secret Histories series. After gaining popularity for the series, Green expanded what was originally a trilogy into a full-blown series. From Hell with Love is the first step out of the original mold and into something more. The result is good, but not great.

Eddie Drood never has it easy. Especially now, with the Matriarch of the Drood family dead and the family in chaos, with Eddie as the acting head of the family to unravel the mystery behind his grandmother's death. Some people even dare to point the finger at Eddie himself.

From Hell with Love tried to expand the Secret Histories universe, but something about it just didn't quite hit critical mass yet. This world just isn't as wild or as well developed as Nightside, so I find myself missing it. At least, in Hell with Love, readers get the opportunity to return to Nightside even more, but almost to a point where it starts to feel like Secret Histories is leaning too much on the Nightside instead of developing into its own universe.

Despite this, I just can't dislike Green novels. Hell with Love has entertaining twists and turns, and is far more engaging and unexpected than the last novel in the series, Spy Who Haunted Me. But let me warn you: the cliffhanger ending of Hell with Love will make you so mad. Luckily for me, I had the next book close at hand, but if you don't, you'll want to throw the book against the wall -and immediately run out and buy the next one.

Blog Tour -Book Review of Cascade by Lisa T. Bergren

2012-01-26T07:21:00.000-06:00

Genre: Young Adult Historical Fiction
Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: David C. Cook
Release Date: June 1, 2011
Series: River of Time (Book 2)
Source: The Teen Book Scene Tour

Blurb: Mom touched my underdress—a gown made six hundred years before—and her eyes widened as she rubbed the raw silk between thumb and forefinger. She turned and touched Lia’s gown. “Where did you get these clothes?”

In Cascade, the second book in the River of Time Series, Gabi knows she’s left her heart in the fourteenth century and she persuades Lia to help her to return, even though they know doing so will risk their very lives. When they arrive, weeks have passed and all of Siena longs to celebrate the heroines who turned the tide in the battle against Florence—while the Florentines will go to great lengths to see them dead.

But Marcello patiently awaits, and Gabi must decide if she’s willing to leave her family behind for good in order to give her heart to him forever.

Review:

Cascade picks up right where Waterfall drops off. Gabi and Lia have returned from fourteenth century Italy, but Gabi has left her heart in the past. Gabi convinces Lia to return to the past with her, despite the risks. The sisters find themselves in the middle of a fanfare celebrating their heroism for saving Siena. Everything seems to be going well, accept for Gabi's relationship with Marcello. She's left to decide if she should remain in ancient Italy forever, and forsake her family, or return home, and forsake her heart.

I'll admit -I wasn't incredibly impressed with Waterfall. Maybe it's because I read and ARC of the book, so it wasn't completely polished -or maybe it's because the ARC I read was factory defective: it was printed upside down and from right-to-left, instead of left-to-right. Needless to say, this probably impacted my reading experience in a negative way. Still, I read the entire book and thought it was a lovely YA historical novel.

Cascade, on the other hand, is a considerable improvement on Waterfall. This time, the world and characters have already been established, so author Lisa T. Bergren has the opportunity to really expand on her characters and the world in a new and compelling way. This time, I felt like the romance between Gabi and Marcello was more mature, more genuine, and the plot far more compelling. Though Gabi has established herself as a heroine, she now finds herself firmly in the cross hairs of an enemy that would see her dead.

As a fan of YA novels and historical fiction, Cascade satisfies both of these interests perfectly. This is a wonderful series for readers who enjoy a little history, a little romance, and a well-constructed plot that'll keep you flipping pages up to the very end.

Book Review: The Spy Who Haunted Me by Simon R. Green

2012-01-25T08:57:00.000-06:00

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Roc Hardcover
Release Date: June 2, 2009
Series: Secret Histories (Book 3)
Source: Local Library

Blurb: Eddie Drood's evil-stomping skills have come to the attention of the legendary Alexander King, Independent Agent extraordinaire. The best of the best, King spent a lifetime working for anyone and everyone, doing anything and everything, for the right price. Now, he's on his deathbed and looking to bestow all of his priceless secrets to a successor, provided he or she wins a contest to solve the world's greatest mysteries. Eddie has to win, because King holds the most important secret of all to the Droods-the identity of the traitor in their midst...

Review:

Thus, fans return to the world of Eddie Drood aka Shaman Bond, secret agent extraordinaire, Drood family rebel, and field agent sworn to protect humanity -but most importantly, constant cheesy James Bond reference that never gets old. The Spy Who Haunted me is third book in author Simon R. Green's series about Eddie, and what was originally meant to be the final book of the series before it was later expanded before a trilogy.

In Spy Who Haunted Me, Eddie is faced with another wild road of unexpected twists and turns that takes me into the darkest parts of London. Though he had no intention of attracting attention, Eddie has captured the eye of Alexander King, who is looking to pass his power on to someone else who proves themselves worthy by winning a contest to solve the world's greatest mysteries -including the illusive Loch Ness monster.

For me, Spy had its ups and downs. While Green weaves another great tale with plenty of mysterious twists and unexpected situations, it just wasn't as compelling as the previous Secret Histories novels. Despite this, there were plenty of fun little Easter eggs for long time Green fans -Eddie takes a trip to the Nightside, and visits some old places and old friends that the Green-faithful have come to love. It's always fun to take a little walk on the Nightside.

While Spy was just a little off the mark, it was still an enjoyable read that had me flipping pages up until the very end and I will certainly be coming back for more.

Book Review: Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire

2012-01-24T07:21:00.000-06:00

Genre: Fantasy
Hardcover: 592 pages
Publisher: William Morrow
Release Date: November 1, 2011
Series: Wicked Years (Book 4)
Source: Local Library

Blurb: The stunning conclusion to the smash New York Times bestselling series the Wicked Years. Hailed as “bewitching,” “remarkable,” “extraordinary,” “engrossing,” “amazing,” and “delicious,” Gregory Maguire’s Wicked Years series—a sophisticated fantasy cycle inspired by the classic children’s novel The Wizard of Oz—became national bestsellers and the basis for a hit Tony-winning Broadway musical. Now, Maguire returns with the final installment in his transformative work, a thrilling and compulsively readable saga in which the fate of Oz is decided at last. . . .

Once peaceful and prosperous, the spectacular Land of Oz is knotted with social unrest: The Emerald City is mounting an invasion of Munchkinland, Glinda is under house arrest, and the Cowardly Lion is on the run from the law. And look who’s knocking at the door. It’s none other than Dorothy. Yes. That Dorothy.

Yet amidst all this chaos, Elphaba’s granddaughter, the tiny green baby born at the close of Son of a Witch, has come of age. Now it is up to Rain to take up her broom—and her legacy—in an Oz wracked by war.

The stirring, long-awaited conclusion to the bestselling series begun with Wicked, Out of Oz is a magical journey rife with revelations and reversals, reprisals and surprises—the hallmarks of the unique imagination of Gregory Maguire.

Review:

So, we've finally come to the end of Gregory Maguire's Oz. While I thoroughly enjoyed the trip to Maguire's vibrant, yet highly political Oz, it was time for the story to come to an end. In fact, I've had trouble with the series since Wicked. With each book I've hoped from something as engaging, as delightfully entertaining yet tragic, but I've always come up disappointed. I even got so fed up with A Lion Among Men that I nearly skipped Out of Oz altogether, but something about Maguire's world still intrigued me, and I wanted to see what he had in store for the final chapter.

Now, once again, Oz is in the midst of social unrest: the Emerald City is preparing to invade Munchkinland, Lady Glinda is under house arrest and the famous Dorothy returns to Oz, where she is put on trial for the murder of the Wicked Witch of the East. All the while, Elphaba's granddaughter Rain has grown up, and it's up to her to take on Elphaba's legacy.

Returning to Maguire's Oz was like returning to a familiar vacation spot to visit old friends. And it comes along with all the vivid detail, social unrest and unique politics that come along with the experience. Out of Oz also offers Maguire's signature style, which is highly lyrical and just jumps off the page with every sentence. I particularly enjoyed the trial of Dorothy -who would have thought that the little from the Wizard of Oz would ever have to atone of the witch's murder?

While there were some enjoyable elements on Out of Oz, I still found myself leaving Maguire's vision of Oz disappointed. The ending of Out of Oz just wasn't satisfying, and, ultimately, I was sad to see that Elphaba never made her triumphant return, even though it implies as much at the end of Wicked. I also thought it was somewhat strained to have Out of Oz focus on Elphaba's green-skinned granddaughter, which Maguire was trying to make into another Elphaba -but it's not the same. Out of Oz also suffered from a serious lack of editing. The book could have easily lost one hundred pages or so, but the published likely decided it didn't need to go on a book diet since the author is already so popular. Not a good call.

I'm ultimately torn on this book. There were some elements that were enjoyable to read, and it really is a joy to visit Maguire's vision of Oz and swim around in his mesmerizing sea of words, but I wasn't fully satisfied when it was time to get out.

In My Mailbox (16): The King's Earth

2012-01-23T09:00:00.000-06:00

Bought:

Earthly Joys by Philippa Gregory
Virgin Earth by Philippa Gregory

From the Library:

At the King's Pleasure by Kate Emerson
Ready Player One
Feed by Mira Grant

Book Review: Slumber by Samantha Young

2012-01-22T09:10:00.000-06:00

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Paperback: 350 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace
Release Date: October 26, 2011
Series: Chronicles of the Fade (Book 1)
Source: Bought

Blurb: Sleeping Beauty may be the damsel in distress, but her White Knight? Why her rather un-knightish best friend of course. And the White Knight’s White Knight? Well… none other than her reluctant mortal enemy… When Haydyn falls victim to the mysterious Sleeping Disease, the world of Phaedra is thrown into Chaos. Rogan, Haydyn’s best friend and handmaiden, is the only one who can save her. Together, with the Royal Guard and their young Captain, Wolfe Stovia, Rogan must set off across the provinces to find the Somna Plant that will wake Haydyn from her dying sleep. Beset on all sides by the chaos, Rogan tumbles into a dark world of kidnapping, prejudice, betrayal and love… a journey that will change her forever, and a journey that will change their world forever, if she does not retrieve the cure. YA Fantasy for Older Readers.

Review:

I have a complicated relationship with self-published books.

When I first started blogging about books and doing reviews, I never really paid attention to the self-published world. Then, the requests started pouring in. Every week, I would get a handful of requests from self-published authors asking for a review -and I just couldn't say no. I wanted to help everyone out, but I quickly learned two things: 1) I don't have the time to read and review them all (as much as I wanted to) and 2) as much as I wanted to enjoy all these books, none of them managed to be good. I've found that many other book bloggers feel the same: we want to like self-published books, but, with every try, we continue to be disappointed. It's gotten to a point where I've almost completely given up on the self-publishing world.

Then, I read Slumber, and my perception of self-publishing changed. For the first time, it was good. I enjoyed it. I wanted to read more the second I put it down.

Slumber offers a unique twist of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale, introducing an unconventional "white knight" with a unique adventure of her own. When Haydyn falls victim to the Sleeping Disease, it's up to Rogen, her best friend and handmaiden to save her. Along with the Captain of the Royal Guard, Wolfe, Rogen sets out to find the magical plant to save Haydyn -and discovers a romance of her own.

As I said before -I enjoyed this book. Rogen, our heroine, is a fun and spunky hero that's a joy to cheer for and easy to understand. The plot is interesting and unexpected, and the romance between Wolfe and Rogen feels natural, though at times somewhat extreme or exaggerated. I especially enjoyed author Samantha Young's unique approach to the tale of Sleeping Beauty, rather using it as a jumping-off point than as an inspiration for a full retelling.

Slumber, however, isn't without a few flaws. It could use a good edit to help clean up some of the writing and make it just a little more polished. Despite this, the pacing was still right, and the writing still had beautiful moments that were just a joy to read, and were almost lyrical.

Better than some of the books I've recently read by big New York publishers, Slumber has given me renewed faith in the self-publishing industry. Recommended for older teens and adults who enjoy fantasy, romance, and a good adventure.

Book Review: The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff

2012-01-21T12:59:00.000-06:00

Genre: Young Adult
Hardcover: 360 pages
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: November 14, 2011
Series: none
Source: Local Library

Blurb: Everything is made of steel, even the flowers. How can you love anything in a place like this?

Daphne is the half-demon, half-fallen angel daughter of Lucifer and Lilith. Life for her is an endless expanse of time, until her brother Obie is kidnapped - and Daphne realizes she may be partially responsible. Determined to find him, Daphne travels from her home in Pandemonium to the vast streets of Earth, where everything is colder and more terrifying. With the help of the human boy she believes was the last person to see her brother alive, Daphne glimpses into his dreams, discovering clues to Obie's whereabouts. As she delves deeper into her demonic powers, she must navigate the jealousies and alliances of the violent archangels who stand in her way. But she also discovers, unexpectedly, what it means to love and be human in a world where human is the hardest thing to be.

This second novel by rising star Brenna Yovanoff is a story of identity, discovery, and a troubled love between two people struggling to find their place both in our world and theirs.

Review:

As a big fan of The Replacement, I couldn't wait to get my hands on The Space Between -and the blurb didn't make it any easier. The oddness of it just captured me and I was curious to see how Yovanoff handled her unique idea of heaven and hell -and good and evil.

Daphne is a half-demon, half-angel daughter of Lucifer and Lilith. She lives in a strange sort of purgatory known as Pandemonium with her sisters, half-brother and other strange creatures from hell. Her life is far from exciting, before her brother Obie is kidnapped and Daphne travels to earth to find him -and instead finds a human boy who teaches her what it means to love and to be human.

From the very first page I was completely sucked into The Space Between. Yovanoff's unique depiction of heaven, hell and places in between was unlike anything else I've ever read -dark, twisted and yet strangely beautiful and compelling. Though I found Daphne to be a somewhat flat character, I couldn't help but find her fascinating. Yovanoff did an excellent job of creating a believable character who is innocent of real human relationships, and knows nothing about the earth or the people who inhabit it. Daphne's ignorance and self-discovery was incredibly compelling and pulled me in up until the very last page.

What really shined her for me was the writing. Not only does Yovanoff delivers a wonderfully written and atmospheric tale with captivating tones, unexpected twists and dark characters. More than anything, Yovanoff's world is completely unlike anything else I've ever read, and I love the fact that she doesn't shy away from dark characters deeper, more adult issues that infuse her novels with more depth than the average YA novel.

Yovanoff shines in her second novel, and I can't wait for the third. According to her blog, it's called Paper Valentine and will be out in 2013.

Book Review: Anne of Hollywood by Carol Wolper

2012-01-20T07:30:00.000-06:00

Genre: Contemporary
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Gallery Books
Release Date: January 24, 2012
Series: (none)
Source: ARC

Blurb: “I wasn’t prepared for the enemies. Had I been as gorgeous as a supermodel, or as rich as an heiress, or an actress with an Oscar to my credit, people would still not be happy that I had Henry’s attention, but they’d understand. What they resented was the king coupling with a ‘nobody.’”

Skirts may be shorter now, and messages sent by iPhone, but passion, intrigue, and a lust for power don’t change. National bestselling author Carol Wolper spins a mesmerizing tale of a twenty-first-century Anne Boleyn.

Wily, intelligent, and seductive, with a dark beauty that stands out among the curvy California beach blondes, Anne attracts the attention of Henry Tudor, the handsome corporate mogul who reigns in Hollywood. Every starlet, socialite, and shark wants a piece of Henry, but he only wants Anne. The question is: can she keep him?

Welcome to a privileged world where hidden motives abound, everyone has something to sell, and safe havens don’t exist. With her older sister Mary, a pathetic example of a royal has-been, Anne schemes to win her beloved Henry in the only way that gives a promise of forever—marriage. Success will mean contending with backstabbing “friends,” Henry’s furious ex-wife, and the machinations of her own ambitious family, and staying married to a man who has more options than most and less guilt than is good for either of them will take all her skill. Anne will do anything to hold on to the man—and the lifestyle—she adores, however, even if sticking your neck out in Hollywood means risking far worse than a broken heart. With Henry’s closest confidante scheming against her, and another beautiful contender waiting in the wings, Anne is fighting for her life. Can she muster the charm and wit to pull off her very own Hollywood ending?

Review:

Everyone knows the tragic, soap opera-like (though, true) story of Anne Boleyn, who seduced Henry VIII away from his wife Catherine of Aragon and convinced the monarch to break with the Catholic church -all with the promise of providing him with a son, which she never had.

Author Carol Wolper puts a twist on Anne's often-explored story by placing it in modern-day holiday, where powerful connections, seduction and Hollywood near-royalty are just are important as they once were in Tudor-era England. Wolper casts Anne as a rising young socialite, who uses her intelligence, charm and sex appeal to ensnare the powerful Henry Tudor, even after he's used Anne's sister and discarded her. Anne must deal with harsh Hollywood politics, backstabbing friends, a jealous ex-wife and others who would dare take Anne's place.

Anne of Hollywood is basically like a semi-Gossip Girl-like modern retelling of the Anne Boleyn story, complete with backstabbing and all kinds of juicy social politics. Wolper's version of the tale is an interesting balance of the modern and the classic, where she attempts to keep the integrity of the tale while bringing it into the 21st century. Some of the differences may bother history junkies like myself -such as Thomas Cromwell becoming Theresa Cromwell -but once I got deeper into the story, I found the changes a welcome twist that breather new life into a story I've read far too many times. Though this time, there's much more overt sex, and not as much at stake -and heads don't role. I especially enjoyed Henry's run for political office, it just fit.

There are a few things that bothered me here though, where the translation of the story just didn't work as well in modern times. First, Henry and Catherine are already divorced at the start of the novel, as divorces are much easier to attain now. This, of course, got rid of all the drama of Henry's divorce from Catherine that created much of the conflict in the original story. Anne of Hollywood is also completely devoid of religious issue which, again, makes sense in the modern context, but the religious issues that Henry and Anne dealt with changed the course of history. There's also the whole having a son thing, which was the thing that finally pushed Henry into divorcing Catherine and marrying Anne -and that ultimately led to Anne's death. Though this isn't a centerpiece in Anne of Hollywood, the book's approach to this seems a little flimsy. Instead, the book leans more on Henry's tendencies to change his mind than on his desperate need to have a son and heir.

To really enjoy Anne of Hollywood, I just had to let these items go. Once I did, the book became much easier to read and took on a life of its own. I wouldn't say that this is a book for history lovers (like me), it's more for fans of contemporary chick lit novels who could use some good political backstabbing. But still, a unique read.

Book Review: Partials by Dan Wells

2012-01-19T09:30:00.000-06:00

Genre: YA Dystopian
Hardcover: 480 pages
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release Date: February 28, 2012
Series: (none)
Source: Amazon Vine

Blurb: The human race is all but extinct after a war with Partials—engineered organic beings identical to humans—has decimated the population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by RM, a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island while the Partials have mysteriously retreated. The threat of the Partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to RM in more than a decade. Our time is running out.

Kira, a sixteen-year-old medic-in-training, is on the front lines of this battle, seeing RM ravage the community while mandatory pregnancy laws have pushed what's left of humanity to the brink of civil war, and she's not content to stand by and watch. But as she makes a desperate decision to save the last of her race, she will find that the survival of humans and Partials alike rests in her attempts to uncover the connections between them—connections that humanity has forgotten, or perhaps never even knew were there.

Dan Wells, acclaimed author of I Am Not a Serial Killer, takes readers on a pulsepounding journey into a world where the very concept of what it means to be human is in question—one where our humanityis both our greatest liability and our only hope for survival.

Review:

The young adult post-apocalyptic/dystopian genre doesn't seem to be losing any steam in 2012, with even more genre books slated to be released in 2012 than ever before. Author Dan Wells, like many adult novelists, decides to take on the popular YA genre with his new novel, Partials.

Partials paints a grim picture of the future of the human race. Humans face extinction, and a deadly virus threatens to take the lives of every newborn child. Time is running out for humanity, and the gentically engineered Partials threaten to eradicate them completely. There's where sixteen-year-old Kira Walker comes in. Even though she witnesses the horrors of the virus first-hand, she comes across a wild idea to cure the virus and help save humanity -even if it means going into Partial territory.

Partials advancing an interesting concept at the beginning: a virus kills all newborn children within three days of birth. Therefore, humanity must have as many babies as possible for study and to find a cure. Of course, it's up to protagonist Kira Walker to safe the world. Sadly, once the author gets past the initial set-up and basic exposition, the plot quickly becomes confused and contrived, like the author didn't know what to do next.

That's when things started to get drawn-out and boring. For me, a good one hundred or one pages could have taken out. It seems like it took far too long for the characters to do what they said they were going to do, and once they did that too, was far too long-winded. It also didn't help that I had trouble finding a direction in the middle of it all. Though the ending did bring things together and focused the novel more, the big reveal at the end made absolutely no sense and came out of nowhere -like the author had to do something unexpected, but it didn't really work. The characters didn't help much either, as they tended to be overly emotional and melodramatic during much of the story.

Though it is well-written, Partials is an uneven and somewhat disappointing dystopian novel that had promise, but didn't deliver. And with the endless supply of YA dystopian/post-apocalyptic novels, Partials can't compete with the steep competition.

Book Review: The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges

2012-01-18T09:00:00.000-06:00

Genre: YA Paranormal Historical Fiction
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Release Date: January 10, 2012
Series: The Katerina Trilogy (Book 1)
Source: Amazon Vine

Blurb: St. Petersburg, Russia, 1888. As she attends a whirl of glittering balls, royal debutante Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, tries to hide a dark secret: she can raise the dead. No one knows. Not her family. Not the girls at her finishing school. Not the tsar or anyone in her aristocratic circle. Katerina considers her talent a curse, not a gift. But when she uses her special skill to protect a member of the Imperial Family, she finds herself caught in a web of intrigue.

An evil presence is growing within Europe's royal bloodlines—and those aligned with the darkness threaten to topple the tsar. Suddenly Katerina's strength as a necromancer attracts attention from unwelcome sources . . . including two young men—George Alexandrovich, the tsar's standoffish middle son, who needs Katerina's help to safeguard Russia, even if he's repelled by her secret, and the dashing Prince Danilo, heir to the throne of Montenegro, to whom Katerina feels inexplicably drawn.

The time has come for Katerina to embrace her power, but which side will she choose—and to whom will she give her heart?

Review:

The Gathering Storm seemed to have it all: Russian nobility, a mysterious paranormal element and an interesting protagonist who wasn't willing to accept the norm for young women her age. Despite the book's rather generic name, I was ready to dive in the second I got the book. Sadly, it just didn't live up to my expectations.

Russia: 1888. Young royal noble Katerina is caught up in the world of fancy balls and the European marriage market, though she tries to hide her dark secret: she can raise the dead. It doesn't take long for rumors of Katerina's strange power to grow, and for it to attract unwanted attention. In this re-imagining of Imperial Russia,vampires, witches and other paranormal creatures go bump in the night.

I really wanted to like this book, but, overall, it just wasn't that great. There were moments that were really enjoyable and well-done, but others elements that just didn't work.

Things that did work: Katerina is a decent character who has some honest emotions and an unique struggle because of her necromancer powers. The use of paranormal characters, such as a the vampires was interesting and I enjoyed the more classic, Bram Stoker-esque approach, but it still seemed a little hazy. I liked Bridges' idea of re-imagining turn-of-the-century Russian nobility, but it didn't take long before my head was whirling with too many characters, difficult names to keep track off, and somewhat convoluted family connections that needed a map to fully understand.

Things that didn't work: Most of the characters are very flat, and I couldn't get very invested in any of them. The plot got really confusing, really fast. There seemed to be too many things jammed into this one book: vampires, werewolves, necromancers, witches -just too much at once. The setting was fairly weak, it was very hard for me to envision, and I was only reminded of the fact that I was in Russia because of the difficult-to-pronounce Russian names.

Basically, when it comes down to it, The Gathering Storm had an interesting concept, but it wasn't well-executed and it just never got anywhere. Sadly, this is one that still needs some work.

Book Review: The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau

2012-01-17T09:20:00.000-06:00

Genre: Historical Fiction
Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: Touchstone
Release Date: January 10, 2012
Series: Joanna Stafford (Book 1)
Source: Amazon Vine

Blurb: An aristocratic young nun must find a legendary crown in order to save her father—and preserve the Catholic faith from Cromwell’s ruthless terror. The year is 1537. . .

Joanna Stafford, a Dominican nun, learns that her favorite cousin has been condemned by Henry VIII to be burned at the stake. Defying the sacred rule of enclosure, Joanna leaves the priory to stand at her cousin’s side. Arrested for interfering with the king’s justice, Joanna, along with her father, is sent to the Tower of London.

The ruthless Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, takes terrifying steps to force Joanna to agree to spy for him: to save her father’s life she must find an ancient relic—a crown so powerful, it may hold the ability to end the Reformation. Accompanied by two monks, Joanna returns home to Dartford Priory and searches in secret for this long-lost piece of history worn by the Saxon King Athelstan in 937 during the historic battle that first united Britain.

But Dartford Priory has become a dangerous place, and when more than one dead body is uncovered, Joanna departs with a sensitive young monk, Brother Edmund, to search elsewhere for the legendary crown. From royal castles with tapestry-filled rooms to Stonehenge to Malmesbury Abbey, the final resting place of King Athelstan, Joanna and Brother Edmund must hurry to find the crown if they want to keep Joanna’s father alive. At Malmesbury, secrets of the crown are revealed that bring to light the fates of the Black Prince, Richard the Lionhearted, and Katherine of Aragon’s first husband, Arthur. The crown’s intensity and strength are beyond the earthly realm and it must not fall into the wrong hands.

With Cromwell’s troops threatening to shutter her priory, bright and bold Joanna must now decide who she can trust with the secret of the crown so that she may save herself, her family, and her sacred way of life. This provocative story melds heart-stopping suspense with historical detail and brings to life the poignant dramas of women and men at a fascinating and critical moment in England’s past.

Review:

Set against a Tudor backdrop, The Crown is a surprisingly enjoyable and thrilling historical mystery that explores the religious upheaval during Henry VIII's reign, and the people who were affected by it. At first glance, I wondered how a story about an aristocratic nun could be interesting, especially set in such a juicy period, but The Crown amazed me with its intriguing twists, unexpected plot, and unique hero.

The Crown follows the story of Joanna Stafford, a young nun from an aristocratic family, who learns that her favorite cousin is to be burned at the stake. Joanna defies her vows and sets out to help her cousin. That's when she is imprisoned in the Tower of London and meets the dangerous Bishop Gardiner, who has his own designs on Joanna's future. In exchange for her freedom, he sends Joanna to Dartford Priory to search for Athelstan's crown, a powerful relic that might grant eternal life -and, hopefully, end the Reformation.

Incredibly well-written and intricately researched, the Crown is an amazing piece of historical fiction that stands out from the rest of the genre. Joanna is a unique and fascinating protagonist, somewhat torn between her faith and her duty to her family, and most importantly -incredibly intelligent and cunning. The period is just as well constructed, with plenty of detail and a vivid depiction of life in a convent during a time of serious religious unrest.

The Crown offers plenty great Church lore, and an engaging mystery that's reminiscent of The Da Vinci Code, complete with just a whiff of the supernatural. Probably the only small issue I had with this book was that the action is somewhat uneven. At times things really slowed down, so much that it felt laborious to keep going, but I soldiered through and was rewarded with a worthwhile mystery.

Not for romance lovers, The Crown is an incredibly engaging historical mystery for fans of conspiracies, intelligent female protagonists, and Church lore. And it looks like it may be only the first of a series of novels about Joanna Stafford -so more to look forward to.

In My Mailbox (15): Heaven and Hell

2012-01-16T07:03:00.000-06:00

ARC Tours:

Grace Mercy by Robin LaFevers

For Review:

Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

From the Library:

The Spy Who Haunted Me by Simon R. Green
From Hell with Love by Simon R. Green
The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
For Heaven's Eyes Only by Simon R. Green

Bought:

Slumber by Samantha Young
Lady of the English by Elizabeth Chadwick
Skyship Academy by Nick James
Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson
Seed by Rob Zieger

Book Review: Waterfall by Lisa T. Bergren

2012-01-14T08:00:00.000-06:00

Genre: Young Adult Historical Fiction
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: David C. Cook
Release Date: February 1, 2011
Series: River of Times (Book 1)
Source: Amazon Vine

Blurb: Gabriella has never spent a summer in Italy like this one. Remaining means giving up all she’s known and loved…and leaving means forfeiting what she’s come to know…and love itself.

Most American teenagers want a vacation in Italy, but the Bentarrini sisters have spent every summer of their lives with their parents, famed Etruscan scholars, among the romantic hills. Stuck among the rubble of medieval castles in rural Tuscany on yet another hot, dusty archeological site, Gabi and Lia are bored out of their minds… until Gabi places her hand atop a handprint in an ancient tomb and finds herself in fourteenth-century Italy. And worse yet, in the middle of a fierce battle between knights of two opposing forces.

And thus does she come to be rescued by the knight-prince Marcello Falassi, who takes her back to his father’s castle—a castle Gabi has seen in ruins in another life. Suddenly Gabi’s summer in Italy is much, much more interesting. But what do you do when your knight in shining armor lives, literally, in a different world?

Review:

Waterfall was one of those books that I wasn't very interested in before I picked it up. However, I did have the opportunity to review it, and the Italian hills were calling to me. How could I say no to such a romantic, gorgeous setting? Waterfall also happens to be part YA and part historical fiction, two genres that I enjoy -and that I enjoy even better when they collide. So, I few aside my misgivings on Waterfall and tried it.

Waterfall introduces authors to Gabriella and her sister, the daughters of two famed Etruscan scholars, and has spent much of her life visiting Italy on archaeological trips with their parents. This year, Gabi and Lia find themselves in rural Tuscany on yet another dusty dig. That is, until they find a strange portal to fourteen century Italy, right in middle of a battle between knights from different cities.

Seems like a winner, right? Who doesn't love a trip to the gorgeous, romantic world of ancient Italy, complete with gorgeous knight-princes and city feuds? Well, at first I enjoyed the concept and thought it was fun, but it wasn't too long before I started to ask questions that didn't seem to have answers.

First, Gabi seems to accept her new-found surroundings all too easily and seems to sink into it far too easily as well. While yes, her parents would know all these things about ancient Italy, but it just seemed too convenient here. The people of ancient Italy also seemed to accept Gabi far too easily as well, so I just had trouble buying the whole girl-gets-sucked-back-in-time scenario. It just didn't feel real.

Bergren's writing, though comfortable and honest, had some flaws. While she can create decent characters with realistic dialog, Bergren had trouble creating a fully-developed setting that felt real. I couldn't see Italy in the setting, and I couldn't see much else but generic knights and castles. I just didn't feel like I was in ancient Italy.

Despite its flaws, Waterfall is a decent read for teens who enjoy a sweet romance with a historical backdrop, but I was disappointed with the historical aspect.

Book Review: Grave Witch by Kalayna Price

2012-01-13T09:30:00.000-06:00

Genre: Paranormal Romance
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Roc
Release Date: October 5, 2010
Series: Alex Craft(Book 1)
Source: Bought

Blurb: Not even death can save her now.

As a grave witch, Alex Craft can speak to the dead-she's even on good terms with Death himself. As a consultant for the police, she's seen a lot of dark magic, but nothing has prepared her for her latest case. When she's raising a "shade" involved in a high profile murder, it attacks her, and then someone makes an attempt on her life. Someone really doesn't want her to know what the dead have to say, and she'll have to work with mysterious homicide detective Falin Andrews to figure out why...

Review:

Every now and then, I have to read something that's easy. Something frivolous, thin, and certainly not thought-provoking or in-depth -and, in some instances, just a little sexy. Grave Witch was one of those books I picked up to satisfy this craving. Though not an incredibly engrossing book, Grave Witch is a fun adventure with a fairly entertaining premise and a good protagonist that's well-worth the read.

Alex Craft is a grave witch. And in a world where magic, witches, and other fantasy creatures have become the norm, it's completely okay for Alex to have a good relationship with Death himself and to work as a freelance consultant for the police. Using her magic to raise a dead "shade," in a big-deal murder, it attacks her and someone attempts to kill Alex. That's when she's thrown into a murder mystery that's unlike any other Alex has ever encountered.

I wouldn't say that Grave Witch is that extraordinary, or even that interesting or original. I feel like I've read all of these things before -and sometimes in a better-executed and witter approach than what was presented here. But, for what the book is, it works. The writing is decent and easy to follow, though not amazing, the plot is semi-predictable but still readable, the romance is steamy and downright sexy -which is all it needs to be.

But most importantly, Grave Witch has potential. A lot of potential to become something really fun and enjoyable to read. When I'm back in the mood for the same type of book again, I would definitely pick up the sequel. A great book in the genre.

Book Review: Tempest by Julie Cross

2012-01-12T09:00:00.000-06:00

Genre: YA Romance
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: January 3, 2012
Series: Tempest (Book 1)
Source: Amazon Vine

Blurb: The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.

That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.

Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.

But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler. Recruit… or kill him.

Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.

Review:

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from Tempest. Between the time travel blurb and the connections to "Twilight" that are being screamed on the covers, I wasn't sure if this was going to be a science fiction thriller, a paranormal romance or something else completely.

Tempest is something between a romance, a thriller, science fiction and something else. The story is told through the eyes of Jackson, a boy who can time travel, but only for short periods of time. While one of Jackson's friends studies him to help understanding the time traveling phenomenon, Jackson learns more about his strange abilities -and why they don't mess up the time stream. Then, everything changes. Jackson's girlfriend Holly is fatally shot and he accidentally jumps back in time two years -and can't get back. Now Jackson must re-write the past and cross space and time to get back to Holly.

While Tempest sounds like an interesting concept, sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. First, I really enjoyed the male narrator, it was really something different for the YA genre, even though his primary mission is centered around his love for Holly. However, the frequent time-jumping and shifts between character relationships and other events was really confusing at certain points and occasionally became so overly complex that it was hard to me to fully follow what was going on.

Despite this, Tempest, overall had a unique concept that was interesting and felt fairly epic, though no other characters were really developed aside from Jackson. I was, however, surprised at the level of adult content in this book. It wasn't explicit, but it was there, making Tempest not as clean as many other, more Twilight-like novels out there. Tempest is also strangely low key on the romance, but focused on the semi-Lost-like Desmond time travel. I wouldn't say that I loved this book, or that I will read the sequel, but its an interesting teen novel that's worth the read.

Book Review: Katana by Cole Gibsen

2012-01-11T10:00:00.000-06:00

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Flux
Release Date: March 8, 2012
Series: (none)
Source: NetGalley

Blurb: Kill Bill meets Buffy in this supernatural samurai tale

Rileigh Martin would love to believe that adrenaline gave her the uncanny courage and strength to fend off three muggers. But it doesn't explain her dreams of fifteenth century Japan, the incredible fighting skills she suddenly possesses, or the strange voice giving her battle tips and danger warnings. While worrying that she's going crazy (always a reputation ruiner), Rileigh gets a visit from Kim, a handsome martial arts instructor, who tells Rileigh she's harboring the spirit of a five-hundred-year-old samurai warrior.

Relentlessly attacked by ninjas, Rileigh has no choice but to master the katana--a deadly Japanese sword that's also the key to her past. As the spirit grows stronger and her feelings for Kim intensify, Rileigh is torn between continuing as the girl she's always been and embracing the warrior inside her.

Review:

What's not to like about Katana? A gorgeous, Japanese-inspired covered with a kick-ass chick dual-wielding katanas, an intriguing and action-packed blurb evoking the classic cult series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Kill Bill films. I was pretty much in love from the start.

While the story turned out to be much more Kill Bill than Buffy, there was still plenty to enjoy. Young Rileigh Martin hasn't had a normal life lately. She's been having strange dreams about feudal Japan, and finds herself with the sudden strength and courage to fight off three muggers -who are much bigger than her. While reeling from her experience, Rileigh meets Kim, a sexy martial arts master who tells Rileigh that she happens to have the spirit of a samurai warrior inside her. It's not long, of course, until word gets out.

Katana introduces readers to a fun new character with plenty of spunk and excitement suddenly thrown into a world that she doesn't understand. Not only that, but she's constantly being attacked by ninjas and others who claim to be settling a score -or following a lost love -from Rileigh's past life. Laced with plenty of fast-paced action, Katana is a different kind of action story with a new kind of hero.

And definitely my kind of hero..

Book Review: Revealing Eden by Victoria Foyt

2012-01-10T09:08:00.000-06:00

Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Sand Dollar Press, Inc.
Release Date: January 10, 2012
Series: Save the Pearls (Book 1)
Source: NetGalley

Blurb: Eden Newman must mate before her 18th birthday in six months or she'll be left outside to die in a burning world. But who will pick up her mate-option when she's cursed with white skin and a tragically low mate-rate of 15%? In a post-apocalyptic, totalitarian, underground world where class and beauty are defined by resistance to an overheated environment, Eden's coloring brands her as a member of the lowest class, a weak and ugly Pearl. If only she can mate with a dark-skinned Coal from the ruling class, she'll be safe. Just maybe one Coal sees the Real Eden and will be her salvation her co-worker Jamal has begun secretly dating her. But when Eden unwittingly compromises her father's secret biological experiment, she finds herself in the eye of a storm and thrown into the last area of rainforest, a strange and dangerous land. Eden must fight to save her father, who may be humanity's last hope, while standing up to a powerful beast-man she believes is her enemy, despite her overwhelming attraction. Eden must change to survive but only if she can redefine her ideas of beauty and of love, along with a little help from her "adopted aunt" Emily Dickinson.

Review:

Set in an unique idea of the future, Revealing Eden offers a unique and unexpected vision of a post-apocalyptic world where beauty, class and genetics are intertwined in ways that turn the expected on its head. Author Victoria Foyt creates a unique and frightening world that will stay with you.

Eden Newman is quickly approaching her 18th birthday, and in her oppressive totalitarian world, every one must mate by 18, or risk being thrown out into the burning, overheated world without any resources and certain death. But Eden's white skin and light hair brand her as a Pearl, the lower class who is not resistant to the beating sun -unlike the ruling class, the dark-skinned Coals. If Eden can mate with a Coal, she just might be safe, even if she doesn't love him. It's not that easy, when Eden gets involved with her father's experiments, and it thrown into an unexpected conflict that could shape the future of humanity.

Revealing Eden has a unique and unexpected concept that drew me in from the very beginning. The characters and their conflicts perfectly complimented the concepts, especially Eden, who felt like a real teenage girl dealing with honest issues that would plague any girl in her situation -but there's this spark to Eden that makes her a fighter, and that gets readers involved in her life and her conflicts -and makes me root for her.

Despite all the awesome in this book, I had a little trouble with the setting. It just wasn't strong enough. I wasn't able to visualize most of it, and it was tough to get completely engrossed in the world. This especially became an issue when the setting drastically changed later on in the book, after Eden got out of her society's protective underground world. It was nearly impossible for me to see what was going on.

However, I still enjoyed this book. It was fast-paced, and I couldn't put it down.

Mostly Metal Monday: New Epica Album in 2012

2012-01-09T10:30:00.000-06:00

And it's called: Requiem for the Indifferent. It will be released March 9, 2012 in Europe and March 13th in the U.S. Get excited.

It seems like just yesterday that Epica put out their last album...

Tracklist:

1 - Karma ~ intro
2 - Monopoly on Truth
3 - Storm the Sorrow
4 - Delirium
5 - Internal Warfare
6 - Requiem for the Indifferent
7 - Anima ~ interlude
8 - Guilty Demeanor
9 - Deep Water Horizon
10 - Stay the Course
11 - Deter the Tyrant
12 - Avalanche
13 - Serenade of Self-Destruction
14 - Twin Flames (bonus track)
15- Nostalgia (bonus track)

According to the band:

"This title refers to the end of an era. Mankind can no longer stick their head in the sand for the things that are happening around us. We are facing many challenges. There is an enormous tension between different religions and cultures, wars, natural disasters and a huge financial crisis, which is getting out of control. More than ever we will need each other to overcome these problems. As we are all connected; the universe, earth, nature, animals and human beings, this period in time will be the prelude to the end for those who still don't want to, or simply won't see it. A REQUIEM FOR THE INDIFFERENT but also a possibility for a new beginning with great new chances!^"

Book Review: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

2012-01-08T11:00:00.000-06:00

Genre: Young Adult Historical Fiction
Hardcover: 560 pages
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
Release Date: April 3, 2012
Series: His Fair Assassin (Book 1)
Source: Around the World ARC Tours

Blurb: Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

Review:

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Ismae has always known that she doesn't quite fit in. After her mother attempted to end her pregnancy with Ismae, the girl was born with a horrendous birthmark, that many claimed marked her as the daughter of Death. At the age of 17, Ismae is married off to a brutal man who has little love for her. After running away, Ismae takes refuge in the convent of St. Mortain, a strange place where the sister practice the art of assassination to serve the god of Death. Somewhat reluctantly, Ismae learns the sister's ways, and is sent on a dangerous assignment to the high court of Brittany, where she becomes entangled in a deadly web of lies, intrigue and betrayal.

Set in an alternate 12th century England, Grave Mercy weaves together medieval history and superstition with the supernatural and the unexpected into a seamless and fascinating tale of a young girl thrown into a deadly world. Author Robin LaFevers does an excellent job of painting a haunting world with dark, almost stony tones that feel like the Dark Ages. From the first word up to the last, I was completely mesmerized with the incredible word-smithing that went into each powerful sentence.

Not only does LaFevers offer an incredible setting, but her plot offers plenty of unexpected twists and turns in a unique world. She takes readers into unexpected places of carefully-woven politics and court intrigue that isn't typical for the YA novel. I really loved this approach -it infused the novel with adult-oriented issues, and forced the main character, Ismae, to confront more adult problems that the typical teen book.

Probably the only issue I had with this novel was the passage of time. It seemed a little off. Basically, in about two pages Ismae goes from a blushing bride to a battered wife on the run. When she arrives at the convent, Ismae not only seems to accept her role as handmaiden of Death far too easily, but it felt like her assassin training was far too easy and quick. Then, before I knew it, Ismae was being packed off on a serious assignment -why would they trust something so important to a novice? -and suddenly seems to be a top-notch assassin with super assassin powers. While it was pretty cool, I just didn't buy that this could all happen in such a seemingly short period of time.

Despite this, Grave Mercy is an excellent YA historical novel. Highly recommended!

Book Review: Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

2012-01-07T10:24:00.000-06:00

Genre: Young Adult Dystopian
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: January 3, 2012
Series: Never Sky (Book 1)
Source: Amazon Vine

Blurb: Since she’d been on the outside, she’d survived an Aether storm, she’d had a knife held to her throat, and she’d seen men murdered. This was worse.

Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland—known as The Death Shop—are slim. If the cannibals don’t get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She’s been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He’s wild—a savage—and her only hope of staying alive.

A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile—everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria’s help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.

In her enthralling debut, Veronica Rossi sends readers on an unforgettable adventure set in a world brimming with harshness and beauty.

Review:

In life, you rarely get a second chance.

For me, when it comes to books, you NEVER get a second chance.

I hate to sound so negative, but when you're as busy as I am, you have to be very selective with what you do with your free time. Sadly, I've found that this translates into my reading as well -I simply don't have time to read books that I don't love. I've also read so many books that, by now, I'm not as forgiving as I once was.

I actually first attempted to read Under the Never Sky on NetGalley. I was really excited after reading the blurb and couldn't wait to get started. However, I found the e-ARC version of the book to be lacking -and stopped reading around page 100, giving Never Sky a black mark in my book.

That is, until I had the opportunity to review it through Amazon Vine. You may think I'm crazy for attempting the same book twice (which I've never done before), but, aside from the fact that I always hate saying no to a free book and that there wasn't much else I was interested in at the time, I always react better to physical books than e-books. And, I may be completely wrong here, but it felt like what I read and experienced with the e-ARC version of this book is very different from the printed ARC. First, the printed ARC seemed to be about one hundred or more pages longer than its electronic counterpart; certain extraneous scenes and details had been taken out in the print version (and replaced with more depth); and the printed ARC, overall, had more polished writing and more engaging moments. Now, I could be remembering all of this wrong, but when I was reading the physical ARC, I kept noticing scenes and other things that just weren't the same as the e-ARC -in a good way.

Reading the physical ARC completely changed my view of this book -I mean complete 180. Instead of just throwing it in with the massive cascade of teen dystopian novels out there, I had to put it on my shelf of favorite novels in the genre, with more depth and less romance than much of what is dominating the genre right now. Instead of relying almost solely on a romance, Never Sky deals with some unique, and somewhat mature issues about what is real, and how important it is for humanity to be grounded in reality, and not live in some simulated fantasy world (cough, the Internet, cough). After I read the print ARC, I even wondered why on I earth I ever considered throwing this book aside in the first place!

Under the Never Sky introduces readers to Aria, a teen who has lived her entire life in the enclosed "bubble" known as Reverie, where people seem to spend their lives living in some sort of simulated reality and don't have to experience things like physical pain or any other kind of inconvenience. Then, she gets locked out in the savage wasteland known as The Death Shop. Forced to survive in the harsh wilderness, she teams up with the mysterious Outsider Perry, who teaches her how life works outside of Reverie -where the truth of reality sets in.

Bottom line: if you want a dystopian romance, a la Matched, I wouldn't suggest Never Sky. If you're like me and you enjoy some social commentary in your books, Never Sky does a lovely job of touching upon this in a way that makes sense, but that doesn't feel forced. In fact, I rather enjoyed the discussion of Aria's experiences with dirt, sunlight and other nature items, since nature doesn't seem to exist in Reverie. In particular, I thought her reaction to getting her first period was interesting (since apparently women don't get their periods or have babies in Reverie), calling it savage and low, though the savages of The Death Shop know it's a normal part of life. Never Sky also offers some great action, strong writing and enthralling storytelling that had me flipping pages up until the very end.

Book Review: Struck by Jennifer Bosworth

2012-01-06T07:00:00.000-06:00

Genre: Young Adult Post-Apocalyptic
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Release Date:May 8, 2012
Series: (none)
Source: Around the World ARC Tours

Blurb: Mia Price is a lightning addict. She’s survived countless strikes, but her craving to connect to the energy in storms endangers her life and the lives of those around her.

Los Angeles, where lightning rarely strikes, is one of the few places Mia feels safe from her addiction. But when an earthquake devastates the city, her haven is transformed into a minefield of chaos and danger. The beaches become massive tent cities. Downtown is a crumbling wasteland, where a traveling party moves to a different empty building each night, the revelers drawn to the destruction by a force they cannot deny. Two warring cults rise to power, and both see Mia as the key to their opposing doomsday prophecies. They believe she has a connection to the freak electrical storm that caused the quake, and to the far more devastating storm that is yet to come.

Mia wants to trust the enigmatic and alluring Jeremy when he promises to protect her, but she fears he isn’t who he claims to be. In the end, the passion and power that brought them together could be their downfall. When the final disaster strikes, Mia must risk unleashing the full horror of her strength to save the people she loves, or lose everything.

Review:

Struck wasn't what I expected. Something about that blurb just made me think that this novel was going to head in a different direction than it actually did. While this did bother me somewhat at first, I quickly got over it. Despite my misconceptions, Struck turned out to be a fantastic novel with fast-paced action, a fantastic main character, great writing and a completely engrossing plot that made me desperate for more.

Mia has been struck by lightening hundreds of times in her life -and shes' still alive. In fact, she seems to attract the lightening. Once in Los Angeles, Mia hopes that she's safe from the lightening, only to find that a devastating earthquake devastates the city, and everything is plunged into chaos of end-of-the-world proportions. The city is overrun by strange cults, and isn't not long until Mia finds herself drawn into the strange web of religion, romance, betrayal and the end of the world.

I was most surprised at author Jennifer Bosworth's heavy use of religion in the novel. While I was a little concerned about where it might be going, Bosworth handles the topic brilliantly, and uses it as an effective device to create a fascinating, tight plot with interesting comments about how humanity acts in the face of oblivion. The use of religion and prophets might make some people uncomfortable, but I thought it was intelligently executed without becoming an attack on religion.

From the very beginning, I was drawn into Bosworth's writing style: crisp, clean and strong as well as emotional and descriptive. Not only that, but she does an excellent job of balancing emotion with character development, plot and description to create a unified and well-woven novel that's got all the right elements. And Bosworth doesn't let the reader down -Struck offers endless twists and an action-packed ending of epic awesome that's beyond satisfying.

It's been a long time since I've read a book that was the complete package, and Struck has it all. More intelligent and powerful than the average YA novel, Struck is an electrifying debut that hits all the right buttons.

Book Review: Dragonswood by Janet Lee Carey

2012-01-05T08:23:00.000-06:00

Genre: Historical/Fantasy Fiction
Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: Dial
Release Date: January 5, 2012
Series: (none)
Source: Giveaway Win

Blurb: Wilde Island is not at peace. The kingdom mourns the dead Pendragon king and awaits the return of his heir; the uneasy pact between dragons, fairies, and humans is strained; and the regent is funding a bloodthirsty witch hunt, hoping to rid the island of half-fey maidens.

Tess, daughter of a blacksmith, has visions of the future, but she still doesn't expect to be accused of witchcraft, forced to flee with her two best friends, or offered shelter by the handsome and enigmatic Garth Huntsman, a warden for Dragonswood. But Garth is the younger prince in disguise and Tess soon learns that her true father was fey, making them the center of an exciting, romantic adventure, and an ancient prophecy that will bring about peace between all three races - dragon, human, and fairy.

Review:

Tess is the daughter of the local blacksmith at Wilde Island, who sees visions and finds herself drawn to the dangerous, yet mysterious wood outside her protected village known as the Dragonswood, which has long been rumored to contain fairies, dragons and other kinds of fey. But after Tess succumbs to her desire to visit the wood, she is accused of being a witch. After running away from the town with her two best friends, also accused of being witches, Tess is taken in by a handsome huntsman who isn't who he seems. Tess and her friends find themselves caught up in a tangled web of fey-human politics and find that they are not who they seem.

Dragonswood was so fast-paced that I almost didn't have a chance to breath between sentences. In fact, I read the entire book in just one sitting, since the plot moved so swiftly that there really didn't seem like a good time to take a break. Interestingly enough, that plot was so well-paced that it was easy to miss a few things, and it seemed like Tess's situation kept changing so much that I occasionally got lost. One minute I'm reading about witch hunts, and then next I'm getting caught up on fey politics and human conspiracies. Though these were all interesting elements, they felt somewhat mashed together with a small lack of cohersion.

The setting was also somewhat interesting, as something of a semi-historically accurate approach to the 12th century with a paranormal element. Though Carey does offer a somewhat dark view of the period (serious witch torture), her setting feels somewhat hazy for much of the book and I had trouble really buying into some of the fantasy elements aside from the politics. The characters didn't help much either, as they were primarily flat and uninteresting, even Tess, our protagonist.

Overall, Dragonswood is a decent read for those who enjoy a good fantasy set against a historical backdrop. Though the pacing will keep you flipping pages, the uninspired characters and somewhat hazy setting make it tough to fully enjoy.

Book Review: Monument 14 by Emmy Labourne

2012-01-04T09:14:00.000-06:00

Genre: Young Adult Post-Apocalyptic
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Release Date: June 5, 2012
Series: (none)
Source: Around the World ARC Tours

Blurb: Fourteen kids. One superstore. A million things that go wrong. A huge store isn’t the worst place to be stranded. There’s food and water, bedding and books. But what if it’s not safe to leave? Emmy Laybourne had us from the get-go with her utterly fresh and fast-paced debut. Six high school kids (some popular, some not), two eighth graders (one a tech genius), and six little kids are trapped together in a chain superstore. Together they build a refuge for themselves inside, while outside, a series of escalating disasters, beginning with a monster hailstorm and ending with a chemical weapon spill, seems to be tearing the world—as they know it—apart.

Review:

Monument 14 follows closely in the footsteps of the currently-popular (and quickly growing) teen post-apocalyptic fiction genre, but with a twist.

While riding on the bus to school on what seemed like a perfectly normal day, disaster strikes. Massive hail rains down on the bus, volcanoes explode, triggering mega-tsunamis and strange Armageddon-like natural disasters that signal the end of the world. Only fourteen kids on the bus survive the first round, and are suddenly thrown into a strange new world of horrendous monsters and dangers with only one another to survive. They take up residence in a chain store, close all the entrances, and try to find a way to survive despite massive hailstorms and chemical weapon spills that threat to destroy the world once and for all.

Monument 14 is one of the most fast-paced books I've read in a while. Even though it comes in at only 300 pages, I devoured this book in just one sitting and didn't break a sweat. It's filled with constant action and edge-of-your seat drama about survival and the social dynamics of the haves and have-nots of high school being forced to work together.

Despite having a unique concept, the characters didn't quite hold their own for me. While they perfectly portray the many different stereotypes of children, middle school and high school, they don't transcend the stereotypes into anything different or particularly compelling. The characters, especially the main one (whose name I could not figure out), have virtually no personality and get swallowed up in the concept.

While I loved the plot and overall concept of Monument 14, I had troubling connecting because of the weaker characters, especially since I prefer character-driven novels to purely plot-driven novels. But if you can get past the characters, the fast-paced, action-packed plot is a fun and unexpected twist on the genre.

January Book of the Month and Book Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

2012-01-03T10:33:00.000-06:00

Genre: Young Adult
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Release Date: January 3, 2012
Series: Lunar Chronicles (Book 1)
Source: ARC from Publisher

Blurb: Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

Review:

You've never seen Cinderella like this...

It's been so long since I've read something as good as Cinder. I can't remember the last time I was so thoroughly in love with a book that I read it in just one sitting and starting raving about it to anyone who would listen. Cinder is unlike everything that I've read all year.

This retelling of Cinderella takes the classic fairy tale into places no one has ever seen or imagined before. Cinder takes place into a semi-dystopian future with heavy Blade Runner-esque cyberpunk elements, unique Asian elements and something of a Firefly feel that's sure to delight any science fiction fan. Set in New Beijing, Cinder is a mechanic cyborg, a second-class citizen used by her stepmother to make money. Her life changes one day when she meet Prince Kai and is asked to work on his robot -and she's blamed for her stepsister's deadly illness and sent off for medical research. Little does Cinder know that this would throw her into a strange new world of secrets, politics and betrayal.

The first thing I fell in love in with Cinder was the setting. Weaving together elements of cyberpunk, science fiction and dystopian, along with heavy anime influences, Cinder paints a truly unique, in-depth setting that sets the novel apart from everything else in the YA genre. Come on -androids? Cyborgs? Moon kingdoms? How can you go wrong?

After I settled into the setting, I became engrossed by the characters, especially Cinder, and the compelling writing style, that balances description with pacing very well. Honestly, with all of these elements together, I found virtually nothing lacking in this novel: I was never bored, I was completely pulled in by the characters and their struggles, and I loved watching an unexpected version of Cinderella's story unfold.

As much as I loved Cinder, there was one major flaw that kept me from placing it on my bookshelf of truly immortal novels that I will cherish forever. What was it, you ask? I don't want to give it all away for fear of spoilers, but I will point out that I figured out one of the big reveals at the end around 100 some-odd pages in. You heard me -I totally called something at the end that was meant to be this big shock fairly early on. For someone like me -who has read far too many books in this life, and thus has become very critical of what I read -figuring out a major piece of the plot reveal long before it's actually revealed drives me insane. It's just about the worst thing that can happen to me when reading a book. In fact, when I discovered that all my speculations were completely correct, I nearly threw Cinder aside and fought the urge to deem it a complete loss. I hate it when books do this to me -especially when I find something that I really enjoyed.

Okay, semi-rant moment over. Despite this, I finished the book, really enjoyed it, and have been raving about Cinder to anyone who will listen to me. Despite this flaw, I can't wait for the next book in the series, and I already have an empty spot reserved on my bookshelf for these books.

Seriously, go read this book.

Obligatory New Year's Post 2012

2012-01-02T19:37:00.000-06:00

I know this is late. But, you know, after a little while I just couldn't resist. I generally don't like people who write the seemingly obligatory "what I learned in 2011"/"my resolutions for 2012," etc. posts. I always thought these posts were somewhat narcissistic and conceited, and while I understand putting things down in writing, I was always like: "Good for you, why do I need to read about it?"

On the other hand, this does put a personal touch on someone's blog and allows readers to gain more insight into the blogger. Yet, crafting something thoughtful takes a good amount of time (which I don't have) and, thus far, my experience with in-depth blog posts hasn't been positive. I usually end up deleting them due to lack of traffic and some discomfort about having such personal information out there about me. You'd be amazed at how many articles I've started for this blog that I've never finished because they don't spark any discussion and my readers just don't seem interested. And I hate to bore you, I really do.

But, at the time of year that virtually demands introspection, I find that I should put a few things down into words. Even if this post gets taken down, I'll at least have it in my blog's drafts.

Things I learned about myself in 2011:

I'm a leader

My mom always used to tell me this when I was younger, but I always waved her off and told her she was crazy. Now I'm starting to realize what she met. I take charge of things (sometimes a little too much), and I don't let them fall through the cracks. For some unexplained reason I have naturally good business sense, which completely shocked me considering I always thought that I wasn't cut out for the business world. Yet, all my actions, instincts and opinions tell me differently. Some of this seems to be innate -and some of it is excellent coaching and encouragement.

I'm a creative

I've always told myself that I wasn't creative, that it wasn't my thing. I've spent much of my life around others who are highly creative people, and the tiny blossom of creativity inside me that I attempted to nurture seemed like nothing compared to them -thus, how could I be creative in the least if I was so far behind? I have no musical talent, no artistic talent, very little acting, singing or dancing talent...so I figured it was better to focus my time on other things. But, I've found that I seem to have a natural head for marketing and advertising. My ad writing is pretty good, I can whip out a press release like no one's business, and heck -I've got great ideas for slogans, campaigns, web initiatives, etc. I've also found that I LOVE marketing strategy. LOVE it.

I'm pretty

I've always felt like I didn't fit in my skin, even in college. I've never considered myself one of the "pretty girls." At the age of 12 I got horrendous acne, and it never seemed to completely go away. While some women struggle with weight, acne was my body image issue. The worst part was that it didn't go away when I got older, like the doctors always said it would. Then, at 23, I put my foot down, went to the doctor and vowed to be serious about getting rid of this once and for all. (Not that I haven't been to numerous doctors before and tried just about everything under the sun. In fact, a couple of years ago I got so fed up because NOTHING worked, that I stopped taking all meds, using all treatments, etc. because I was sick of spending so much time and money with NO results). A little over a year later, my face is completely clear of acne, along with my chest, back and ears (yes, ears). When I turn 25 this weekend, I will be acne-free for the first time since I was 12.

I'm a talented writer

I've always considered myself a somewhat mediocre to slightly above average writer when it comes to blog-style writing and creative writing. Now, I thought I wasn't very good at ad writing, writing for web, and other more marketing/advertising/business-oriented stuff. I've found that I'm wrong about that. I've also found that I'm not as a terrible as I thought about more personality-based writing, like blogs, and creative writing. More work must be done, of course, but I'm not a bad writer. In fact, I'm a pretty darn good writer.

I'm a fighter

I've put up with some serious crap this year in my professional life. Stuff that someone of my age and experience level shouldn't-and typically doesn't -deal with. This is so much more difficult than I ever imagined. It's emotionally and physically draining, and filled with so much negativity. I've never experienced something like this before, and, from my understanding, most people never do in their professional careers. In a sense, it's good, because I have learned so much and I've learned how to fight it and how to stand up to it in an intelligent, rather than purely emotional, way. I've grown so much in this area, and in ways I never thought I could.

Goals for 2012:

Read and blog less, write more

Kind of crazy, I know. Just a year ago I was out to become a more "serious" book blogger. Well, I had some success at that and quickly realized that it is far more time-intensive than I thought. I've realized just how limited my time is these days, and I want to really focus it on something that I care about: creative writing.

Spend more time in Photoshop, Illustrator, Wordpress

In the past few months I've discovered a strange fascination with these programs, graphic design, web design, etc. -and found that my feeble "attempts" are not-quite-so-feeble. I never, ever thought that I had a good sense of design or anything else of that nature. I'm a writer, not a designer...or am I?

It started with a few horribly drawn layouts. Then it became learning Wordpress and Dreamweaver basics. Then it became messing around in Photoshop, Wordpress, Dreamweaver, etc. for just some little things. Next thing I knew five hours had flown by before I consulted my "How to Use Photoshop CS4" book to get a little "past" the basics. Now I find myself wanting to learn more every day...

Be patient

Patience is absolutely not my middle name. In fact, much of the time I'm the opposite of patience. Honestly, some of the items I'm currently attempting to be patient about in my life point to some sort of trial of patience. I have to just keep telling myself that everything will work out in its own way...in time.

Actually go on a vacation

I work too much, I really do. In fact, last year I went out of a town for an extended weekend and called it my vacation for the year. That was in April, meaning that I spent the long summer working and working and working. I got incredibly close to burn-out numerous times throughout the year because I just wouldn't take time off (I guess I just feel guilty unless there is a compelling reason?). And when I work from home, I could spend 16 plus hours a day just working away. I don't have a husband, and I don't have any kids, so there's not an incredible drive to pack it in at 5:30 (or 6). I do pull back on the weekends, though...

And, there you have it. A lot of growth, a lot of opportunity, but still more work to be done.

In My Mailbox (14): A Partial Storm

2012-01-02T10:49:00.000-06:00

For Review:

Partials by Dan Wells
The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges

ARC Tours:

Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne
Struck by Jennifer Bosworth

Bought

Grave Witch by Kalayna Price
A Reliable Wife

New This Week

2012-01-01T10:48:00.000-06:00

Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer

The third and final installment of the international bestselling Nightshade trilogy!

Calla has always welcomed war. But now that the final battle is upon her, there's more at stake than fighting. There's saving Ren, even if it incurs Shay's wrath. There's keeping Ansel safe, even if he's been branded a traitor. There's proving herself as the pack's alpha, facing unnamable horrors, and ridding the world of the Keepers' magic once and for all. And then there's deciding what to do when the war ends. If Calla makes it out alive, that is. In this remarkable final installment of the Nightshade trilogy, international bestselling author Andrea Cremer crafts a dynamic novel with twists and turns that will keep you breathless until its final pages.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

Switched by Amanda Hocking

Amanda Hocking is an indie publishing sensation whose self-published novels have sold millions of copies all over the world. Switched is the book that started the phenomenon. Prepare to be enchanted….

When Wendy Everly was six years old, her mother was convinced she was a monster and tried to kill her. Eleven years later, Wendy discovers her mother might have been right. She’s not the person she’s always believed herself to be, and her whole life begins to unravel—all because of Finn Holmes.

Finn is a mysterious guy who always seems to be watching her. Every encounter leaves her deeply shaken…though it has more to do with her fierce attraction to him than she’d ever admit. But it isn’t long before he reveals the truth: Wendy is a changeling who was switched at birth—and he’s come to take her home.

Now Wendy’s about to journey to a magical world she never knew existed, one that’s both beautiful and frightening. And where she must leave her old life behind to discover who she’s meant to become…

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Since she’d been on the outside, she’d survived an Aether storm, she’d had a knife held to her throat, and she’d seen men murdered. This was worse.

Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland—known as The Death Shop—are slim. If the cannibals don’t get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She’s been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He’s wild—a savage—and her only hope of staying alive.

A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile—everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria’s help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.
In her enthralling debut, Veronica Rossi sends readers on an unforgettable adventure set in a world brimming with harshness and beauty.

Book Review: The September Queen by Gillian Bagwell

2011-12-31T10:01:00.000-06:00

Genre: Historical Fiction
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Release Date: November 1, 2011
Series: (none)
Source: Gift

Blurb: Charles II is running for his life-and into the arms of a woman who will risk all for king and country.

Jane Lane is of marrying age, but she longs for adventure. She has pushed every potential suitor away-even those who could provide everything for her. Then one day, adventure makes its way to her doorstep, and with it comes mortal danger...

Royalists fighting to restore the crown to King Charles II implore Jane to help. Jane must transport him to safety, disguised as a manservant. As she places herself in harm's way, she finds herself falling in love with the gallant young Charles. And despite his reputation as a breaker of hearts, Jane finds herself surrendering to a passion that will change her life forever.

Review:

When I read Gillian Bagwell's The Darling Strumpet earlier this year, I was in love. Not just with the witty, spunky and outspoken Nell, but with the well-researched and somewhat lyrical writing style of author Gillian Bagwell. More than any other tale of Nell Gwynne I've read, Bagwell brought the restoration period of Charles II to vivd life and drew me so completely into Nell's story that I couldn't put the book down.

Thus, I couldn't wait to get my hands on Bagwell's follow-up novel, The September Queen. In her second novel, Bagwell doesn't stray far from Darling Strumpet. She's still dealing with Charles II, but this time with a different mistress. September Queen introduces readers to Jane Lane, a young woman and minor noble who longs for adventure, who is recruited by a group of loyal Royalists looking to restore Charles II to the throne. It's up to Jane to track down the King-in-exhile and transport him to safety. Of course, she finds herself falling in love with the dashing Charles, who is known for his deep affection for women.

From the beginning, I enjoyed Jane. She's a fun, spunky heroine who is blinded by love -and by naviete. Though I didn't enjoy her as much as Nell, Jane stands her own here, and her perilous journey from Europe for her country -and herself -is balanced with just enough action and romance to keep readers hooked. She's painted as an understandable and realistic young woman who is trying to defy the social roles of women at the time.

While I did enjoy Darling Strumpet more than September Queen overall, September Queen is still a well-researched, well-written and enjoyable adventure with heartbreaking romance and delightful characters. This one had me flipping pages late into the night.

Book Review: Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

2011-12-30T15:41:00.000-06:00

Genre: YA post-apocalyptic
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: May 1, 2010
Series: Ship Breaker (Book 1)
Source: Local Library

Blurb: In America's Gulf Coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being broken down for parts, Nailer, a teenage boy, works the light crew, scavenging for copper wiring just to make quota--and hopefully live to see another day. But when, by luck or chance, he discovers an exquisite clipper ship beached during a recent hurricane, Nailer faces the most important decision of his life: Strip the ship for all it's worth or rescue its lone survivor, a beautiful and wealthy girl who could lead him to a better life. . . .

In this powerful novel, award-winning author Paolo Bacigalupi delivers a thrilling, fast-paced adventure set in a vivid and raw, uncertain future.

Review:

After reading (and thoroughly enjoying) Paolo Bacigalupi's The Windup Girl, I was curious to see how he translated into the young adult genre. When I saw that his YA debut, Ship Breaker, was a finalist for the National Book Award, I just knew I had to read it. Bacigalupi takes on the popular YA post-apocalyptic/dystopian future genre with Ship Breaker, a quick and easy read that's dripping with power, depth and raw energy.

Pulling on many modern events, Bacigalupi paints a vivid, yet dark future where the Gulf Cost areas of America are covered in grounded oil tankers that are broken down for parts by scavengers looking for a little money -including Nailer. One day, Nailer comes across a beached ship that's rich in parts -a Lucky Strike, as it's known. That's when Nailer meets a young and beautiful girl, and must decide to either rescue her or strip the ship for all its worth. That's when his life changes forever.

From the very first sentence, I was in love with this book. Bacigalupi's writing is polished, concise and strong, and he manages to compress a lot of details into very few words, which not only paints a great picture of the world, but also keeps the pacing going on every page. That's really one of the best things about this book: the pacing. I was constantly flipping pages up until the very end, and I even finished the book in just one sitting.

Though the plot and characters are fairly simple, it just works here, partially because it takes place in the YA genre and partially because of the world that Bacigalupi paints. Though it is very gritty and dark, it's incredibly engaging, strangely real, and laced with meaningful moments that are drawn from current events. A fast-paced adventure with plenty of action and an unexpected depth, Ship Breaker's is a YA post-apocalyptic novel that will make you think.

Book Review: Daemons are Forever by Simon R. Green

2011-12-29T11:00:00.000-06:00

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Hardcover: 406 pages
Publisher: Roc Hardcover
Release Date: June 3, 2008
Series: Secret Histories (Book 2)
Source: Local Library

Blurb: Second in the trilogy from the New York Times bestselling author of The Man with the Golden Torc.Eddie Drood’s clan has been watching mankind’s back for ages. And now he’s in charge of the whole kit and caboodle. But it’s not going to be an easy gig…

During World War II, the Droods made a pact with some nasty buggers from another dimension known as the Loathly Ones, which they needed to fight the Nazis. But once the war was over, the Loathly Ones decided that they liked this world too much to leave. Now it’s up to Eddie to make things very uncomfortable for them—or watch everything humanity holds dear go up in smoke.

Review:

In this second installment in the Secret Histories series, author Simon R. Green offers another fun, witty and downright entertaining book that continues the adventures of everyone's favorite Drood. This time, Eddie now finds himself as the head of his clan, that has spent centuries defending mankind. But Eddie's position may not be as solid as he thinks, and it comes along with a price. Apparently, during World War II, the Droods made a pack with the Loathly Ones, some inter-dimensional creatures, to fight the Nazis. But once the war was over, the Loathly Ones decided they didn't want to leave.

Eddie, Molly and all our favorite characters are back along with some fun new faces. Green's signature wit and charm is dripping from every word, with such excellent dialog to compliment the cooky characters. Though not as dark as the Nightside, Daemons are Forever is a light-hearted and quick read that's a fun adventure for Green's readers. While I wouldn't say that Daemons are Forever is an incredible difference from Man with the Golden Torc, it's basically more of the same, making it the perfect for the Green faithful.

2012 Books I Can't Wait to Read!

2011-12-28T10:47:00.000-06:00

Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

Everything is in ruins.

A devastating plague has decimated the population. And those who are left live in fear of catching it as the city crumbles to pieces around them.

So what does Araby Worth have to live for?

Nights in the Debauchery Club, beautiful dresses, glittery make-up . . . and tantalizing ways to forget it all.

But in the depths of the club—in the depths of her own despair—Araby will find more than oblivion. She will find Will, the terribly handsome proprietor of the club. And Elliott, the wickedly smart aristocrat. Neither boy is what he seems. Both have secrets. Everyone does.

And Araby may find something not just to live for, but to fight for—no matter what it costs her.

Surrender by Elana Johnson

Forbidden love, intoxicating power, and the terror of control…

Raine has always been a good girl. She lives by the rules in Freedom. After all, they are her father’s rules: He’s the Director. It’s because of him that Raine is willing to use her talent—a power so dangerous, no one else is allowed to know about it. Not even her roommate, Vi.

All of that changes when Raine falls for Gunner. Raine’s got every reason in the world to stay away from Gunn, but she just can’t. Especially when she discovers his connection to Vi’s boyfriend, Zenn. Raine has never known anyone as heavily brainwashed as Vi. Raine’s father expects her to spy on Vi and report back to him. But Raine is beginning to wonder what Vi knows that her father is so anxious to keep hidden, and what might happen if she helps Vi remember it. She’s even starting to suspect Vi’s secrets might involve Freedom’s newest prisoner, the rebel Jag Barque....

Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

In this follow-up to Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas begins 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.

The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan
Book 3 in the Camp Half-Blood series.
(no cover or blurb yet)

Dearly, Beloved by Lia Habel
Sequel to Dearly, Departed.
(no cover or blurb yet)

December Best Reads

2011-12-27T10:47:00.000-06:00

The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff
Review

Everything is made of steel, even the flowers. How can you love anything in a place like this?

Daphne is the half-demon, half-fallen angel daughter of Lucifer and Lilith. Life for her is an endless expanse of time, until her brother Obie is kidnapped - and Daphne realizes she may be partially responsible. Determined to find him, Daphne travels from her home in Pandemonium to the vast streets of Earth, where everything is colder and more terrifying. With the help of the human boy she believes was the last person to see her brother alive, Daphne glimpses into his dreams, discovering clues to Obie's whereabouts. As she delves deeper into her demonic powers, she must navigate the jealousies and alliances of the violent archangels who stand in her way. But she also discovers, unexpectedly, what it means to love and be human in a world where human is the hardest thing to be.

This second novel by rising star Brenna Yovanoff is a story of identity, discovery, and a troubled love between two people struggling to find their place both in our world and theirs.

Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Review

Every other day, Kali D'Angelo is a normal sixteen-year-old girl. She goes to public high school. She attends pep rallies. She's human.

And then every day in between . . . She's something else entirely.

Though she still looks like herself, every twenty-four hours predatory instincts take over and Kali becomes a feared demon-hunter with the undeniable urge to hunt, trap, and kill zombies, hellhounds, and other supernatural creatures. Kali has no idea why
she is the way she is, but she gives in to instinct anyway. Even though the government considers it environmental terrorism.

When Kali notices a mark on the lower back of a popular girl at school, she knows instantly that the girl is marked for death by
one of these creatures. Kali has twenty-four hours to save her and, unfortunately, she'll have to do it as a human.

In My Mailbox (13): Dark Crowns and Queens

2011-12-26T10:47:00.000-06:00

For review:

Sister Queens by Julia Fox
The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau
Dark Eyes by William Richter

2011 YA Historical Fiction Challenge: Wrap Up!

2011-12-25T17:05:00.000-06:00

YA Historical Fiction

Hosted by YA Bliss

(see original post)

I think I read a few more YA historical novels than listed below, but there are the books I included in the challenge.

My Challenge Books (Level 3):

1/ The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell

2/ Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

3/ The Queen's Daughter by Susan Coventry

4/ Dark Mirror by M.J. Putney

5/ Lily of the Nile by Stephanie Dray

6/ A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

7/ Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

8/ A Sweet Disorder by Jacqueline Kolosov

9/ Chime by Franny Billingsley

10/ Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George

11/ The Lost Crown by Sarah Miller

12/ The Amaranth Enchantment by Julie Berry

13/ Daughter of Xanadu by Dori Yang
14/ Prisoners in the Palace by Michaela MacColl
15/ The Borgia Betrayal by Sara Poole

Best Reads of 2011

2011-12-24T17:05:00.000-06:00

Wither by Lauren DeStefano
Review

By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males born with a lifespan of 25 years, and females a lifespan of 20 years--leaving the world in a state of panic. Geneticists seek a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children.

When Rhine is sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Yet her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can’t bring herself to hate him as much as she’d like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband’s strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement; her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next; and Rhine has no way to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive.

Together with one of Linden's servants, Gabriel, Rhine attempts to escape just before her seventeenth birthday. But in a world that continues to spiral into anarchy, is there any hope for freedom?

Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel
Review

Love can never die.

Love conquers all, so they say. But can Cupid’s arrow pierce the hearts of the living and the dead—or rather, the undead? Can a proper young Victorian lady find true love in the arms of a dashing zombie?

The year is 2195. The place is New Victoria—a high-tech nation modeled on the manners, mores, and fashions of an antique era. A teenager in high society, Nora Dearly is far more interested in military history and her country’s political unrest than in tea parties and debutante balls. But after her beloved parents die, Nora is left at the mercy of her domineering aunt, a social-climbing spendthrift who has squandered the family fortune and now plans to marry her niece off for money. For Nora, no fate could be more horrible—until she’s nearly kidnapped by an army of walking corpses.

But fate is just getting started with Nora. Catapulted from her world of drawing-room civility, she’s suddenly gunning down ravenous zombies alongside mysterious black-clad commandos and confronting “The Laz,” a fatal virus that raises the dead—and hell along with them. Hardly ideal circumstances. Then Nora meets Bram Griswold, a young soldier who is brave, handsome, noble . . . and dead. But as is the case with the rest of his special undead unit, luck and modern science have enabled Bram to hold on to his mind, his manners, and his body parts. And when his bond of trust with Nora turns to tenderness, there’s no turning back. Eventually, they know, the disease will win, separating the star-crossed lovers forever. But until then, beating or not, their hearts will have what they desire.

In Dearly, Departed, romance meets walking-dead thriller, spawning a madly imaginative novel of rip-roaring adventure, spine-tingling suspense, and macabre comedy that forever redefines the concept of undying love.

Legend by Marie Lu
Review

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

Full of nonstop action, suspense, and romance, this novel is sure to move readers as much as it thrills.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
Review

Mara Dyer doesn't believe life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there. It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her strangely unharmed. There is.

She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love. She's wrong.

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
Review

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas's life.

Across the Universe by Beth Revis
Review

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone - one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship - tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now, Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

Possession by Elana Johnson
Review

Vi knows the Rule: Girls don’t walk with boys, and they never even think about kissing them. But no one makes Vi want to break the Rules more than Zenn…and since the Thinkers have chosen him as Vi’s future match, how much trouble can one kiss cause? The Thinkers may have brainwashed the rest of the population, but Vi is determined to think for herself.

But the Thinkers are unusually persuasive, and they’re set on convincing Vi to become one of them….starting by brainwashed Zenn. Vi can’t leave Zenn in the Thinkers’ hands, but she’s wary of joining the rebellion, especially since that means teaming up with Jag. Jag is egotistical, charismatic, and dangerous: everything Zenn’s not. Vi can’t quite trust Jag and can’t quite resist him, but she also can’t give up on Zenn.

This is a game of control or be controlled. And Vi has no choice but to play.

Book Review: Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

2011-12-23T08:56:00.000-06:00

Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Egmont USA
Release Date: (December 27, 2011)
Series: (none)
Source: Amazon Vine

Blurb: Every other day, Kali D'Angelo is a normal sixteen-year-old girl. She goes to public high school. She attends pep rallies. She's human.

And then every day in between . . .She's something else entirely.

Though she still looks like herself, every twenty-four hours predatory instincts take over and Kali becomes a feared demon-hunter with the undeniable urge to hunt, trap, and kill zombies, hellhounds, and other supernatural creatures. Kali has no idea why she is the way she is, but she gives in to instinct anyway. Even though the government considers it environmental terrorism.

When Kali notices a mark on the lower back of a popular girl at school, she knows instantly that the girl is marked for death by one of these creatures. Kali has twenty-four hours to save her and, unfortunately, she'll have to do it as a human. With the help of a few new friends, Kali takes a risk that her human body might not survive. . .and learns the secrets of her mysterious condition in the process.

Review:

Okay, full disclosure: I thought I was going to hate this book. I mean, I only picked it up because I had the opportunity to review it through Amazon Vine and it seemed like it might be mildly entertaining. Also, as a closet Buffy fan, I was curious to see if the many references to the cult classic were warranted. I also hadn't read any of author Jennifer Lynn Barnes' other novels, so I wasn't entirely certain what to expect. I just hoped that this wasn't yet another tired teen paranormal romance.

Every Other Day builds on an interesting concept: young Kali D'Angelo is a normal high school girl -well, not every day. Every other day, she becomes something entirely -something not human, something virtually indestructible. It's up to Kali to protect humans from all the horrible monsters and other supernatural creatures that exist in this world, even though the government (who is well aware of these creatures) are completely against any sort of supernatural intervention. Then, one of the girls at Kali's school is in danger and, of course, it happens to be the wrong 24 hours for Kali...

From the very beginning, Every Other Day established itself as a fast-paced adventure chalked full of action that kept me flipping pages for most of the book. Written in quick, crisp sentences, Barnes offers a very tight and polished style that reads quickly and comfortably.

Then, there's the witty dialog and excellent humor that infuses the characters in the novel with incredible personality. This where the Buffy-esque feel really comes in -complete with wise-cracking comments, somewhat campy moments, strong female characters struggling for normalcy, and bratty cheerleaders who have the strange tendency to get into trouble. This incredibly engrossing style, combined with the fast-paced storytelling completely pulled me in and pulled me through the story.

Then, things started to slow down as the story became more serious, and the fascinating secrets behind Kali's orgins started to unravel. Then, when one of the big reveals came, the book completely lost it for me. I was so angry that I nearly threw it aside and refused to continue. The only reason that I didn't was because I was working out at the time, and had nearly half an hour left on the treadmill and didn't want to get stuck with nothing to read.

So, I soldiered on and spent the rest of the novel trying to find a way to forgive the author for her indiscretion. The secrets continued and the action became even more climactic, so I at least finished the book, but I never fully forgave her for doing what she did to the main character.

Every Other Day isn't bad, mind you, in fact it felt rather fresh in the constant sea of teen paranormal novels out there. The romance is lighter here than in most YA, which I thoroughly enjoyed and found refreshing. The pacing is great and the quirks left an impression on me. Despite this, the book just lost it near the end for me, and never fully recovered.

Book Review: A Million Suns by Beth Revis

2011-12-22T12:30:00.000-06:00

Genre: Young Adult Dystopian
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date:January 10, 2012
Series: Across the Universe (Book 2)
Source: Around the World ARC Tours

Blurb: Godspeed was fueled by lies. Now it is ruled by chaos.

It's been three months since Amy was unplugged. The life she always knew is over. And everywhere she looks, she sees the walls of the spaceship Godspeed. But there may just be hope: Elder has assumed leadership of the ship. He's finally free to enact his vision - no more Phydus, no more lies.

But when Elder discovers shocking news about the ship, he and Amy race to discover the truth behind life on Godspeed. They must work together to unlock a puzzle that was set in motion hundreds of years earlier, unable to fight the romance that's growing between them and the chaos that threatens to tear them apart.

In book two of the Across the Universe trilogy, New York Times bestselling author Beth Revis mesmerizes us again with a brilliantly crafted mystery filled with action, suspense, romance, and deep philosophical questions. And this time it all builds to one mind-bending conclusion: They have to get off this ship.

Review:

Across the Universe was one of my favorite books of 2011. Call me a huge nerd, but I was in love with the twisty plot filled with lies, deception, manipulation and all kinds of other juicy things -not the mention the incredibly well drawn science fiction background, that took the novel into a different place than much of what's out there in the YA genre right now.

A Million Suns picks up where Across the Universe dropped off, but this time, things have reached critical mass. It's now been three months since Amy was unplugged from her hypersleep.Things seem to be okay since Elder assumed power on the ship, but Amy and Elder soon discover that things are more complicated than they seem, and they must put their heads together to get the Godspeed safely to its destination.

Everything that I enjoyed about Across the Universe continues in Million Suns, complete with more excellent action, mesmerizing action, suspense and complex plotting. Though some of the danger of the original book has passed, there's still plenty going on here to keep readers enthralled. Author Beth Revis' style also continues to shine with every word, and her storytelling continues to keep me spellbound. Can't wait for the next one in this series.

2011 Debut Author Challenge: Wrap Up!

2011-12-21T08:00:00.000-06:00

YA Debut Author Challenge

Hosted by The Story Siren

(see original post)

So, I completed the challenge. Yay! Even though I read more novels by debut authors than those listed below, these are the books I included in the challenge.

My Challenge Books:

1/ Wither by Lauren DeStefano (March)

2/ The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher (January)

3/ Awaken by Katie Kacvinski (June)

4/ Entwined by Heather Dixon (March)

5/ Warped by Marissa Guibord

6/ Divergent by Veronica Roth (May)

7/ Angelfire by Courtney Allison Mouton (February)

8/ Possession by Elana Johnson (June)

9/ The Iron Witch by Karon Mahoney (February)

10/ XVI by Julia Karr

11/ Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver
12/ Hereafter by Tara Hudson
13/ The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab
14/ Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini
15/ Across the Universe by Beth Revis
16/ Entangled by Cat Clarke
17/ Clarity by Kim Harrington
18/ Dark Parties by Sara Grant

Book Review: A Perfect Blood by Kim Harrison

2011-12-20T13:30:00.000-06:00

Genre: Paranormal/Urban Fantasy
Hardcover: 448 pages
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Release Date: (February 21, 2012)
Series:The Hollows (Book 10)
Source: Amazon Vine

Blurb: New York Times bestselling author Kim Harrison returns to the Hollows with the electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed Pale Demon!

Ritually murdered corpses are appearing across Cincinnati, terrifying amalgams of human and other. Pulled in to help investigate by the I.S. and the FIB, former witch turned day-walking demon Rachel Morgan soon realizes a horrifying truth: a human hate group is trying to create its own demons to destroy all Inderlanders, and to do so, it needs her blood.

She’s faced vampires, witches, werewolves, demons, and more, but humanity itself might be her toughest challenge yet.

Review:

I was starting to get a little disenchanted with the Hollows series a few books ago. It just seemed like the story lines were starting to become repetitive, took readers in a circle and didn't seem to be moving toward anything. However, things started to turn around in past couple of installments, with the return of Harrison's signature humor and sparks and excitement and action that made the Hollows such a fun place to visit. A Perfect Blood keeps the spark going and the action-packed awesome rolling.

Picking up not long after Pale Demon left off, former witch turned day-walking demon (and everyone's favorite heroine) Rachel Morgan is pulled into an investigation of ritually murdered bodies discovered throughout Cincinnati. It doesn't take long for Rachel to uncover the truth behind the murders: a group is creating its own demons to destroy all of humanity -and they need her demon blood to succeed.

Author Kim Harrison takes things to another level with Perfect Blood, where Rachel must face humanity itself in a deadly, action-packed battle that will keep readers flipping pages from beginning to end. Everything that readers have come to know and love about Rachel and the Hollows is here: great action, fascinating paranormal characters, semi-tongue-and-cheek humor that makes readers chuckle, Trent being sexy and downright delicious, and plenty of awesome.

But most importantly, Perfect Blood is about Rachel's attempt to integrate something normal into her wild, crazy life. Though Harrison throws in several "normal," comfortable scenes throughout the action, things just aren't fully normal for Rachel, though she and her friends enjoy strong, honest relationships that bring Rachel's world to life.

Really, with such an excellent formula, there's no way Harrison came go wrong. Perfect Blood is exactly what fans want and love about the Hollows -and it feels like new life has finally come to the Hollows, bringing plenty of action and romance with it. But be warned -if you haven't read all of the previous novels, you'll be somewhat confused here. There's just too much back story that's covered in the previous novels, but for the Hollows faithful, Perfect Blood is the perfect addition to the story.

Mostly Metal Monday: Delain Reveals Title of New Album

2011-12-19T09:30:00.000-06:00

Delain has announced that their third studio album will be titled: "We Are the Others" and will be released in the Spring.

According to the official press release:

"The album title was taken from a song by the same name featuring on the album. We Are The Others is an outsiders anthem, for everybody who, deliberately or not, diverts from the norm. Whether it’s by looking different, acting different, or choosing a different path in life then is expected from you. We are the others: “Forget about the norm. Take off your uniform".

Soon after, the band will embark on a headlining tour. No details yet on tracks, cover or anything else -but I'll be keeping an eye out.

Book Review: The Man with the Golden Torc by Simon R. Green

2011-12-18T08:25:00.000-06:00

Genre: Science Fiction/Paranormal
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Roc Hardcover
Release Date: June 5, 2007
Series: Secret Histories (Book 1)
Source: Local Library

Blurb: From the New York Times bestselling author of the Deathstalker and Nightside series comes a new kind of hero in an old kind of war.

All those things you hear about as a kid? The boogeyman under the bed? The creature in the closet? They're for real, people.

Eddie Drood knows they're for real. His family has kept humanity safe from the things that go bump in the night. For ages, they've held back the nightmares, locked the doors, barred the gates, and put righteous boot to monster arse on a nightly basis.

But now Eddie's in trouble. One of his own has convinced the rest of the family that Eddie's become a menace, and that humanity needs to be protected from him. So he's on the run, using every trick in the book, magical and otherwise, hoping he lives long enough to prove his innocence. And he knows how dangerous the Droods can be-because he's one of them.

Review:

Paranormal save the world novel? Tongue-and-cheek James Bond references? Quirky dialog with just as quirky characters? What's not to like about the first installment in this new series from Nightside author Simon R. Green?

That's what I thought when I picked up The Man with the Golden Torc, and that's what I got -no more, no less.

Golden Torc introduces Eddie Drood, member of the famous Drood clan, who has spent generations protecting mankind from the monstrous things that go bump in the night. Eddie has always been willing to take on this role -until his family declares him rogue and goes after him. That's when Eddie discovers the truth and his life changes forever.

Golden Torc offered everything that I liked about Nightside and added in a different twist. Sure, no underside of London where it's always 3 a.m., but an interesting concept with Green's signature quirks, characters and great dialog. Where the Nightside feels like it has recently become stale, Golden Torc injects a compelling freshness into Green's universe, complete with somewhat cheeky, but fun, James Bond references.

Though, admittedly, Golden Torc is almost too much like the Nightside. Eddie feels like a slightly livlier clone of John Taylor, and Molly could be Shotgun Suzie's cousin, plus many of the storytelling elements are eerily similar to previous works. But, you know what, that really didn't bother me too much. Golden Torc is a fun ride that feels like Green has finally found something new to get excited about.

For fans of the Nightside, Secret Histories is a worthy successor.

Book Review: The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott

2011-12-17T21:46:00.000-06:00

Genre: Historical Fiction
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Doubleday
Release Date: February 21, 2012
Series: (none)
Source: Amazon Vine

Blurb: Just in time for the centennial anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic comes a vivid, romantic, and relentlessly compelling historical novel about a spirited young woman who survives the disaster only to find herself embroiled in the media frenzy left in the wake of the tragedy.

Tess, an aspiring seamstress, thinks she's had an incredibly lucky break when she is hired by famous designer Lady Lucile Duff Gordon to be a personal maid on the Titanic's doomed voyage. Once on board, Tess catches the eye of two men, one a roughly-hewn but kind sailor and the other an enigmatic Chicago millionaire. But on the fourth night, disaster strikes.

Amidst the chaos and desperate urging of two very different suitors, Tess is one of the last people allowed on a lifeboat. Tess’s sailor also manages to survive unharmed, witness to Lady Duff Gordon’s questionable actions during the tragedy. Others—including the gallant Midwestern tycoon—are not so lucky.

On dry land, rumors about the survivors begin to circulate, and Lady Duff Gordon quickly becomes the subject of media scorn and later, the hearings on the Titanic. Set against a historical tragedy but told from a completely fresh angle, The Dressmaker is an atmospheric delight filled with all the period's glitz and glamour, all the raw feelings of a national tragedy and all the contradictory emotions of young love.

Review:

Just in time for the centennial anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic comes a romantic tale of a young woman who survives the terrible tragedy of ship's infamous sinking to rise up and seize an amazing opportunity to become more than she is. Woven with a romantic atmosphere, The Dressmaker offers a compelling portrait of a unique time in history, and the very real people who survived it.

Tess, an aspiring seamstress, knows opportunity when she sees it. After agreeing to be the personal maid of Lady Lucile Duff Gordon on the Titanic's maiden voyage, Tess becomes a personal observer of the Titanic tragedy and barely makes it onto a lifeboat to safety. Once in New York, Tess and her Lady quickly become the center of rumors and the media circus that ensues. Despite this, Tess seizes an unexpected opportunity: to become a seamstress.

The Dressmaker uses the Titanic tragedy as a unique backdrop to a compelling, atmospheric and enjoyable tale. Interestingly enough, the romance of this novel expanded beyond the love story and into the likelihood of the plot. While it didn't quite seem believable -and, frankly, a little far-fetched - it was enjoyable to read and great to escape into.

Complete with solid writing and solid research, The Dressmaker is a great story for fans for historical fiction and romance with a spirited heroine.

Book Review: Scarlet Lion by Elizabeth Chadwick

2011-12-16T15:25:00.000-06:00

Genre: Historical Fiction
Paperback: 576 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Release Date: March 1, 2011
Series: William Marshal (Book 2)
Source: Bought

Blurb: The Legend of the Greatest Knight Lives On

William Marshal's skill with a sword and loyalty to his word have earned him the company of kings, the lands of a magnate, and the hand of Isabelle de Clare, one of England's wealthiest heiresses. But he is thrust back into the chaos of court when King Richard dies. Vindictive King John clashes with William, claims the family lands for the Crown-and takes two of the Marshal sons hostage. The conflict between obeying his king and rebelling over the royal injustices threatens the very heart of William and Isabelle's family. Fiercely intelligent and courageous, fearing for the man and marriage that light her life, Isabelle plunges with her husband down a precarious path that will lead William to more power than he ever expected.

Review:

Whenever I pick up an Elizabeth Chadwick novel, I know that I'm in for something good. Not just good: excellent. The Scarlet Lion, which I recently got my hands on, is no exception.

Chadwick continues the story of William Marshal, who was introduced in The Greatest Knight. Though it seemed like William's world was settled at the end of the previous novel, Chadwick chronicles the latter half of William's life, his marriage to heiress Isabella de Clare, and his children's lives. Then, King Richard dies, and William finds himself at odds with King John, who seizes William's lands and takes two of his sons hostage. With Isabella at his side, William heads off to save his lands and his family, and to set the world right again.

Chadwick delivers another well-constructed and well-researched novel with expertly-crafted characters that leap off the page. Dare I saw that Scarlet Lion is better than Greatest Knight? I dare say it. I thoroughly enjoyed Isabella's much-expanded role in Scarlet Lion, and her relationship with her children was throughly believable, honest and most importantly -true to the period while still feeling like a loving mother. Isabella isn't the only character who stands out, but she certainly made an impact on me.

Scarlet Lion only solidified my love of Chadwick further and reminded why I enjoyed her work so much. Chadwick weaves a thoroughly engrossing and all-too-real world that comes to life on every page. Highly recommended for fans of historical fiction with an emphasis on the history.

2012 YA Historical Fiction Challenge

2011-12-15T22:55:00.001-06:00

Historical fiction: tells a story that is set in the past. That setting is usually real and drawn from history, and often contains actual historical persons, but the principal characters tend to be fictional. Writers of stories in this genre, while penning fiction, attempt to capture the spirit, manners, and social conditions of the persons or time(s) presented in the story, with due attention paid to period detail and fidelity. (Wikipedia)

Hosted by Sab over at YA Bliss.

I had fun with this, so thought I'd give it another go for 2012!

Choose your level:

Level 1: 5 books

Level 2: 10 books

Level 3: 15 books

Rules:

All Historical Fiction books must be YA or MG
Books don't have to be 2012 releases.
Anyone can join. Please link to a public (web) place I can find you.
You can join at anytime. The challenge runs from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012

Level 2: 10 books

Books (subject to change, of course):

1/ The Lucky Ones by Anna Godbersen

2/ Diva by Jillian Larkin

3/ The Springsweet by Saundra Mitchell

4/ The Celtic Warrior Princess by O.R. Melling

5/ Grave Mercy by R.L. LaFevers

6/ Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

7/ The Borgia Mistress by Sara Poole
8/ Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen
9/ Waterfall by Lisa Bergren
10/ The Gathering Storm by Bridges

Book Review: The Death Cure by James Dashner

2011-12-15T10:14:00.000-06:00

Genre: Young Adult Dystopian
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Release Date: October 11, 2011
Series: Maze Runner (Book 3)
Source: Local Library

Blurb: Thomas knows that Wicked can't be trusted, but they say the time for lies is over, that they've collected all they can from the Trials and now must rely on the Gladers, with full memories restored, to help them with their ultimate mission. It's up to the Gladers to complete the blueprint for the cure to the Flare with a final voluntary test.

What Wicked doesn't know is that something's happened that no Trial or Variable could have foreseen. Thomas has remembered far more than they think. And he knows that he can't believe a word of what Wicked says.

The time for lies is over. But the truth is more dangerous than Thomas could ever imagine.

Will anyone survive the Death Cure?

Review:

I was really looking forward to this book. I loved The Maze Runner, and though The Scorch Trials was a little bit of a letdown, I had faith that James Dashner would pull through in the final book, and with such a compelling cover and title, how could you go wrong.

WICKED has said that the lies were done, but Thomas knows that the organization couldn't be trusted. Now, it's up to Thomas and the other Gladers to help WICKED find a cure for the Flare, a horrible disease. But, of course, Thomas doesn't want the Gladers to cooperate, as his newly-recovered memories tell him not to trust the organization.

While The Death Cure was a decent book, it felt like a little bit of a let down after the previous books, especially The Maze Runner, it just didn't live up to the hype, the twists and the adventure that was in the first book. I was also surprised at how short Death Cure was compared to the other books and, as a result, there just weren't as many twists and turns here and the plot seemed like it was rushed and a little underdeveloped.

Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of this book was that it left many long-standing questions unanswered. I have no idea if Dashner is planning to continue these books or not, but this felt like a half thought-out conclusion to the series that left me unsatisfied and feeling like I was somewhat cheated out of a good ending. This just didn't have the quality of the beginning of the series, which was surprising -and not in a good way.

Blog Tour: Review of Remembrance by Michelle Madow

2011-12-14T10:59:00.000-06:00

Genre: Young Adult Romance
Paperback: 314 pages
Publisher: Dreamscape Publishing
Release Date: August 1, 2011
Series: Transcend Time (Book 1)
Source: Teen Book Scene

Blurb: Inspired by Taylor Swift's "Love Story" music video ...

New Hampshire high school junior Lizzie Davenport has been reincarnated from Regency Era, England ... but she doesn't know it yet.

Then Drew Carmichael transfers into Lizzie's school at the beginning of the year, and she feels a connection to him, almost like she knows him. She can't stop thinking about him, but whenever she tries talking with him about the mysteries behind her feelings, he makes it clear that he wants nothing to do with her. Reaching him is even more difficult because she has a boyfriend, Jeremy, who has started to become full of himself after being elected co-captain of the varsity soccer team, and her flirtatious best friend Chelsea starts dating Drew soon after his arrival. So why can't she seem to get him out of her mind?

Even though Lizzie knows she should let go of her fascination with Drew, the pair of them soon find that fighting fate isn't going to be easy.

Review:

Remembrance has an interesting history. According to online materials, the inspiration for Remembrance came from the music video for the song "Love Story" by Taylor Swift, when author Michelle Maddow decided to make up a story to go along with the video.

The result was the story of Lizzie, a teen in New Hampshire who has been reincarnated from Regency-era England. Though she doesn't know it, things start to become suspicious when new kid Drew Carmichael starts at Lizzie's school and she finds herself strangely drawn to him -despite her relationship with Jeremy.

On the surface, Remembrance seemed like an interesting concept, and I really liked the idea of past lives, especially from such a great period. However, I was a little disappointed that Remembrance didn't focus more on the past life aspect of the story, which was such a compelling concept.

Despite this, Remembrance still has its positive points. It's a quick, easy read that's ideal for fans of teen romance and good dialog. The characters deal with very realistic issues for teens, and, most importantly, Maddow does a good job of capturing realistic teen dialog that's compelling to read.

While I wouldn't say I was crazy about this book, Remembrance uses an interesting concept with an honest, straightforward writing style that works well for the novel's concept. It's the idea book for teens who enjoy reading about romance and star-crossed lovers.

Book Review: Heartless by Gail Carriger

2011-12-13T07:12:00.000-06:00

Genre: Witty Steampunk
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Orbit
Release Date: July 1, 2011
Series: Parasol Protectorate (Book 4)
Source: Bought

Blurb: Lady Alexia Maccon, soulless, is at it again, only this time the trouble is not her fault. When a mad ghost threatens the queen, Alexia is on the case, following a trail that leads her deep into her husband's past. Top that off with a sister who has joined the suffragette movement (shocking!), Madame Lefoux's latest mechanical invention, and a plague of zombie porcupines and Alexia barely has time to remember she happens to be eight months pregnant.

Will Alexia manage to determine who is trying to kill Queen Victoria before it is too late? Is it the vampires again or is there a traitor lurking about in wolf's clothing? And what, exactly, has taken up residence in Lord Akeldama's second best closet?

Review:

Lady Alexia Maccon returns in another incredibly witty, fun novel from Gail Carriger. After all her adventures, Alexia finds herself heavily pregnant and the subject of an investigation, as the child of a soulless and a werewolf is a highly rare thing. Despite her pregnancy, Alexia finds herself in trouble yet again, and must investigate a death threat against the queen, all while dredging up things from her husband's troubled past. It's up to Alexia to protect Queen Victoria and to fight off the vampires and others who want her baby.

Complete with zombie porcupines and other wondrous mechanical inventions in a re-imagined Victorian England, Heartless is another excellent offering from Carriger and, in my opinion, better than the last novel in the series -which seemed to slump somewhat. Alexia is back and better than ever. Sad to see that the next book in the series is the last one, but I'm excited to read it.

In My Mailbox (11): Hollywood's Secrets

2011-12-12T10:04:00.000-06:00

For Review:

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Anne of Hollywood by Carol Holper
Keeper of the King's Secrets by Michelle Diener

From the Library:

The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff

From Netgalley:

Katana by Cole Gibson

Book Review: The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark

2011-12-11T09:30:00.000-06:00

Genre: Paranormal
Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Release Date: December 27, 2011
Series: Fairwick (Book 1)
Source: Amazon Vine

Blurb: I gasped, or tried to. My mouth opened, but I couldn’t draw breath. His lips, pearly wet, parted and he blew into my mouth. My lungs expanded beneath his weight. When I exhaled he sucked my breath in and his weight turned from cold marble into warm living flesh.

Since accepting a teaching position at remote Fairwick College in upstate New York, Callie McFay has experienced the same disturbingly erotic dream every night: A mist enters her bedroom, then takes the shape of a virile, seductive stranger who proceeds to ravish her in the most toe-curling, wholly satisfying ways possible. Perhaps these dreams are the result of her having written the bestselling book The Sex Lives of Demon Lovers. Callie’s lifelong passion is the intersection of lurid fairy tales and Gothic literature—which is why she’s found herself at Fairwick’s renowned folklore department, living in a once-stately Victorian house that, at first sight, seemed to call her name.

But Callie soon realizes that her dreams are alarmingly real. She has a demon lover—an incubus—and he will seduce her, pleasure her, and eventually suck the very life from her. Then Callie makes another startling discovery: Her incubus is not the only mythical creature in Fairwick.

Review:

Combining old-school gothic romances with modern paranormal romance, author Juliet Dark tackles the popular modern concept of paranormal love-interests with a sexy twist. Callie McFay (yes, that actually is her name, as cheesy as it sounds) accepts a teaching position at Fairwick College in upstate New York. Callie's reputation proceeds her, as the author of the bestselling novel The Sex Lives of Demon Lovers. Though she has been in a long-term relationship with long-distance boyfriend Paul, she sporadically purchases a a famous home in Fairwick, where a famous Gothic romance author, of which Callie is a big fan, once lived. But the house, it seems, it haunted with a mysterious incubus that haunts Callie's dreams -seduces her, makes love to her and pleasures her every night -even if it means sucking the very life from her.

The concept doesn't seem the unique at first glance, nor particularly interesting. Though the novel started out with this somewhat simplistic approach: sexy incubus haunting, find out the mystery behind the incubus, banish it, blah, blah, blah, it's not long before it starts to veer off into less expected territory that gives the novel an enjoyable depth. Not only are there incubi in the tiny town of Fairwick, there are also vampires, faeries, witches and other kinds of wonderful paranormal creatures.

But really, I didn't read this book for the plot or the characters or the writing, but I was pleasantly surprised by most of this. Callie, though somewhat predictable, is a well-rounded and realistic woman who deals with honest issues and emotions that leap off the page. But what impressed me the most here was the writing. Dark creates dazzling sentences and sensual passages that make my toes curl. Dark does a lovely job of evoking the classic Gothic romance genre, in all its haunting splendor with a sexy twist.

That brings me to real reason I read this book -sometimes, you just need something escapist and fluffy. Though Demon Lover does satisfying this need, it delivered much more than I expected in the world of character, writing and plot. There was much more depth than I thought there would be, and I ended up discovering an enjoyable, sexy, though somewhat escapist, novel that's a quick and easy read.

Book Review: Hard Day's Knight by Simon R. Green

2011-12-10T20:50:00.000-06:00

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Ace Hardcover
Release Date: January 4, 2011
Series: Nightside (Book 11)
Source: Local Library

Blurb: John Taylor is a P.I. with a special talent for finding lost things in the dark and secret center of London known as the Nightside. He's also the reluctant owner of a very special-and dangerous-weapon. Excalibur, the legendary sword. To find out why he was chosen to wield it, John must consult the Last Defenders of Camelot, a group of knights who dwell in a place that some find more frightening than the Nightside.

London Proper. It's been years since John's been back-and there are good reasons for that.

Review:

Welcome back to the Nightside...

And we're back to everyone's favorite underside of London, where it's always three in the morning and love is always available -for a price. This time around, though, the stakes are higher and the characters are wilder.

At the end of the last novel, The Good, the Bad, and the Uncanny, the Nightside was left without The Authorities, and our favorite private investigator, John Taylor, is left in charge of the Nightside. He's not alone though, along with his girlfriend, bounty hunter Suzie Shotgun, John is armed with Excalibur, the legendary sword of Arthurian myth. To discover the secrets behind the sword, John must track down the Last Defenders of Camelot, a group of Arthurian-style knights that live in London Proper -and hold the answers to what is next for the Nightside.

Something of an improvement over the previous novel, Hard Day's Knight takes the Nightside into places readers never would have though possible. Green takes everything readers thought they knew about the Nightside and throws in a handful of unexpected elements that brings together characters and loose plot lines that have been floating around since the beginning.

Most importantly, it's incredibly obvious that the end is coming, and the story is gearing up for an epic battle that will decide the fate of the Nightside.

And I can't wait.

Giveaway & Character This or That for Remembrance by Michelle Mado

2011-12-09T09:00:00.000-06:00

Character This or That with Lizzie from Michelle Madow's Remembrance.

1/ Winter or Summer?

Summer. I don’t like the cold weather in thewinter.

2/ In or Out?

I’m guessing this means inside or outside? I’mdefinitely an indoors girl J

3/ Dresses or Pants?

I usually wear jeans, but I like wearing adress when I’m going somewhere nice, as long as it’s not too cold outside.

4/ Brother or Sister?

I’m an only child, but I’ve always wanted ayounger sister. It would be nice to have someone to teach how to draw andrecommend my favorite books to.

5/ Black or White?

White. It’s also one of my favorite colors towear.

6/ Red or Blue?

Blue, because it matches my eyes.

7/ Facebook or Google +?

I have Facebook, but I don’t check itobsessively (like some people I know do.) I don’t even have Google +!

8/ Pirates or Ninjas?

Pirates! Actually, I don’t know much abouteither one, but pirates sound cooler J

9/ Macaroni and Cheese orPeanut Butter-Jelly sandwich?

Mac and Cheese. I used to eat it all the timewhen I was younger.

10/ Past or Present?

The past—I love learning about the differentways people lived in other times.

11/ Work or Play?

If reading for fun counts as play, thendefinitely play. I always get my work done first though.

12/ Boyfriend time or timewith girlfriends?

Boyfriend time. Balancing my boyfriend timewith time with my girlfriends is something I need to work on. I think myfriends get frustrated with me sometimes :/

13/ TV or movies?

TV, because I feel like you can get to know thecharacters better when watching them every week on a television show.

14/ Apricots or Peaches?

Peaches, because they’re sweeter.

15/ White horse or mustangconvertible?

A white horse sounds romantic <3

Giveaway Time!
It's one giveaway to run for the whole tour, and everyone will have the same link. Michelle will pick the winner herself. US Only, ends December 27. Enjoy!

Prize Pack:

1 signed copy of Remembrance

1 mask that resembles the one on the cover of Remembrance

3 signed Remembrance bookmarks

2 Remembrance Stickers

Book Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Uncanny by Simon R. Green

2011-12-08T09:17:00.000-06:00

Genre: Paranormal
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Ace Hardcover
Release Date: January 5, 2010
Series: Nightside (Book 10)
Source: Local Library

Blurb: Things were going so well for P.I. John Taylor, that it was only a matter of time before everything hit the fan. Walker, the powerful, ever-present, neverto-be-trusted agent who runs the Nightside on behalf of The Authorities, is dying. And he wants John to be his successor-a job that comes with more baggage, and more enemies, than anyone can possibly imagine.

Review:

Simon R. Green welcomes readers back to the Nightside for the series' 10th installment. As a reader who recently re-discovered the Nightside, I find every trip to the strange world to even more addictive than the last. Book 10, The Good, the Bad, and the Uncanny, isn't any different -it's as mysterious, engrossing and strangely intriguing as Green's other Nightside novels, though it becomes obvious here that he's moving closer to a far-reaching resolution for the series.

Good, Bad and Uncanny picks up where Just Another Judgment days ends, when Lord Screech, a supposed peace ambassador got the elf realm, asks our hero John Taylor to help him safety open a portal to another realm. Teaming up with Ms. Fate, another wonderfully color character who inhabits Green's world, John Taylor must fight his way through werewolves and Neanderthals to deliver Screech to his destination -all the while that Walker, an agent of The Authorities who run the Nightside, is dying -and he wants John to take up his job.

Green weaves his signature mystery with eccentric characters and the macabre here, and delivers another woman trip to the Nightside. While it does help to have read the previous books in the series, new readers won't be completely lost in Good, Bad, and Uncanny -but I highly recommend reading the previous books first.

It's been interesting to see how Green's world has grown and evolved throughout the series, but at this point it feels like its all starting to reach critical mass. While I do love the Nightside novels, it's feeling more and more like this series is winding down to a wild and wonderful ending.

Book Review: Unforsaken by Sophie Littlefield

2011-12-07T09:30:00.000-06:00

Genre: Young Adult Thriller
Hardcover 288 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Release Date: October 11, 2011
Series: Banished (Book 2)
Source: Local Library

Blurb: Hailey Tarbell is no typical girl. As one of the Banished who arrived from Ireland generations ago, Hailey has the power to heal—and, as she recently learned, to create zombies if she heals someone too late. But now, Hailey is finally getting a chance at a normal life. After realizing the good and bad sides of her power, Hailey has survived the unimaginable to settle with her aunt, Prairie, and her little brother, Chub, in the suburbs of Milwaukee. Finally Hailey has a loving family, nice clothes, and real friends. But her safe little world is blown apart when she tries to contact her secret boyfriend, Kaz—and alerts the incredibly dangerous man who's looking for her to her true whereabouts.

Review:

Unforsaken is the companion novel to Banished, which I read earlier this year and unexpectedly enjoyed. Banished was a short, but fast-paced adventure that offered readers a great chase and a thriller that kept me flipping pages and never ceased its excitement. Unforsaken picked up the story at the end of Banished and kept the pace -and the thrills, up until the very end.

After learning that she is one of the Banished, Hailey found herself on the fun, trying to hide her ability to heal people -and to create zombies. But just when things start to settle down for Hailey -or at least seem to. As she works to control her powers and build a new life with her aunt Prairie, Hailey makes the mistake of contacting her secret boyfriend Kaz, and unknowingly alerts the man hunting her about her whereabouts and she's plunged into another thrilling chase to save herself and her aunt from the man who would use her talents for evil.

Basically, Unforsaken is more of Banished, thrills, fast-paced chases and edge-of-your-seat action that keep readers flipping pages from beginning to end. Littlefield also does an excellent job of creating well-developed and strong characters in a fairly short period of time. Probably the only drawback is that this felt like just more of the same as the first book without much that's new or different, but if you enjoyed the first book, you'll enjoy this one.

Book Review: Exit the Actress by Priya Parmar

2011-12-06T06:12:00.000-06:00

Genre: Historical Fiction
Paperback: 464 pages
Publisher: Touchstone
Release Date: (February 1, 2011)
Series: (none)
Source: Bought

Blurb: While selling oranges in the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, sweet and sprightly Ellen "Nell" Gwyn impresses the theater’s proprietors with a wit and sparkle that belie her youth and poverty. She quickly earns a place in the company, narrowly avoiding the life of prostitution to which her sister has already succumbed. As her roles evolve from supporting to starring, the scope of her life broadens as well. Soon Ellen is dressed in the finest fashions, charming the theatrical, literary, and royal luminaries of Restoration England. Ellen grows up on the stage, experiencing first love and heartbreak and eventually becoming the mistress of Charles II. Despite his reputation as a libertine, Ellen wholly captures his heart—and he hers—but even the most powerful love isn’t enough to stave off the gossip and bitter court politics that accompany a royal romance. Telling the story through a collection of vibrant seventeenth-century voices ranging from Ellen’s diary to playbills, letters, gossip columns, and home remedies, Priya Parmar brings to life the story of an endearing and delightful heroine.

Review:

Nell Gwyn is perhaps one of my favorite scandalous ladies from British history. Not only group up from nothing a climb her way into the king's bed, but she did virtually all of it based on her personal wit and charm. Not only that, but she was the darling of the London stage for much of her career in a time where woman were still considered second-class citizens. The Restoration Court of Charles II is also a fascinating period to read about, with its lavish ways, mistress rivalry and Charles II's many liaisons.

While I wouldn't say that Exit the Actress is my favorite novel of Nell, but its certainly one of the most beautifully written and uniquely presented. In author Priya Parmar's tale of the actress, Nell lands a job selling oranges to patrons at a local theatre. Happy that she does not need to resort to prostitution, Nell grabs the attention of the theartre's owners with her wit and charm that seems to cast a spell on patrons, which lands her a role in the company. As she grows into a well-loved actress, Nell eventually catches the eye of Charles II.

Parmar succeeds in painting a fascinating portrait of the period, and of Nell -not just a witty woman, but a human woman who grows up onstage, deals with love and loss, and finds a life that she loves. The most interesting aspect of Exit the Actress, is the unique way that Parmar tells Nell's tale -through a unique collection of diary entries, letters, newspaper clippings, playbills and other items from the time that reveal other character's personalities while giving the readers a complete view of the period.

A beautiful, moving drama, Exit the Actress is a beautiful portrait of Restoration England surrounding the fascinating life of Nell Gwyn. This is the perfect read for historical fiction buffs.

Mostly Metal Monday: Review of Imaginaerum by Nightwish

2011-12-05T07:30:00.000-06:00

Genre: Symphonic Power Metal
Country of Origin: Finland
Label: Nuclear Blast
Release Date: November 30, 2011 (Finland)
Last Album: Dark Passion Play (2007)

Review:

Nightwish composer and creative leader Tuomas Holopainen has always said that his life-long ambition was to write a film score.

While Imaginaerum isn't a film score, it's pretty darn close.

A little context: Imaginaerum is Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish's seventh studio album and is unlike anything else the band has ever put out. This time, Tuomas decided to take the band to a completely new level by producing a feature-length film to go along with the album, also called Imaginaerum and due out next year. Though the film will have its own soundtrack (notably written by someone else chosen by Tuomas), the Nightwish album Imaginaerum serves as an integral part of the film experience and as the heart and soul of the entire project.

And it's EPIC.

Imaginaerum is the most diverse, eclectic, powerful, profound and downright genius album the band has ever put out. In many ways, the music here feels like a natural progression for Nightwish, though some of the songs are a little unexpected. All of the elements go together perfectly, and for the first time since bringing singer Anette Olzon into the band, the music feels fully coherent and comfortable with her vocals. In fact (and many fans will probably hate me for saying this), I doubt that the band's former vocalist Tarja Turunen would have been able to pull it off. Anette's voice is the perfect fit for the sound of Imaginaerum, which not only affirms that she is the right woman for the job, but makes me wonder if the band chose her specifically for this project. She offers some incredible vocal work here that's far better than on Dark Passion Play and infuses her unique personality into every song. I was honestly blown away by some of Anette's performances on Imaginaerum -I had no idea she was capable of so much diversity, innocence and power. Anette seems to have grow into her new role completely, and has plenty of confidence as Nightwish's frontwoman.

My personal favorites on the album include: "Storytime," "I Want My Tears Back," "Scaretale," "Slow, Love, Slow," "Song of Myself," and "Ghost River," with "I Want My Tears Back" coming in first. "I Want My Tears Back" is probably the most approachable song on first listen. It's an upbeat, hard tune with heavy bagpipes and celtic-style violins, complete with a very celtic-inspired bridge and an Irish jig-like section in the middle of the song that made me want to dance and sing along (okay, I get really into my music). Sprinkle on some powerful vocals from Anette and Marco, and we've got a great song.

"Storytime" needs no introduction, as it was the first single of the album, and serves as an excellent starter for Imaginaerum, with harder drum beats, heavy guitars and Nightwish's signature sound of a haunting, though corrupt innocence. "Slow, Love, Slow" is a really out-of-box song for the band. Though it has some metal and orchestral elements, the core of the song is actually a jazzy nightclub song straight out of the 1940s (yes, you heard me). I loved it -Anette even pulls off the smoldering, lounge-singer sound perfectly! All I can say is -more Nightwish jazz please!

"Scaretale" is a unique experience that explores childhood nightmares and feels like a crazy mix between horror movies, showtunes, demented circus clowns, and some dark carnival taken from a movie directed by Tim Burton with music by Danny Elfman. Anette's vocals take on a dark, sinister personality here that border on showtunes style while Marco, who is already the king of unexpected vocals, goes into places I never thought he could. Interestingly enough, the majority of this song is actually instrumental, and the influences of Burton and Elfman (which Tuomas has frequently stated as influences on this album and movie) are very clear here, especially in the use of choirs.

"Ghost River" was one of the more difficult songs to get into on first listen. It's a complex, hard song filled with darkness, emotion and incredible drama. It took me a few listens, but "Ghost River" eventually grew on me and became one of my favorite songs on the album. The vocals here are just insane. At points there were numerous Anettes and Marcos singing over one another, and the resulting chaos was strangely intriguing and haunting. Plus, "Ghost River" strongly features a children's choir, which infuses the the song with a dark innocence.

Inspired by the Walt Whitman poem of the same name, "Song of Myself" is basically the "Poet and the Pendulum" of Imaginaerum -though it has a much darker approach than the original poem. It's a 14 minutes epic symphony with four movements, heavy orchestral sections and catchy lyrics. In many ways, "Song of Myself" is the spiritual successor of "Poet and the Pendulum," with many similar musical elements and structures, and, in my opinion, is a step into a newer, more epic world that's even stronger than its predecessor. Interestingly, "Song of Myself" includes a six-minute recitation of a profound, dark poem in the same vein as the original Whitman poem. I had a little trouble with this at first -it's a lot of poetry -but as I delved deeper into the poem, I became engrossed and fascinated with its message. Truly, a work of creative genius.

There's also "Taikatalvi" (meaning 'magic winter'), a sweet lullaby in Finnish performed by Marco and the celtic-y ballad "Turn Loose the Mermaids." Imaginaerum even feature a song written by Maroc Hietala: "The Crow, the Owl and the Dove," which actually seems like something of an orphan on the album. It draws more on the folk elements of Nightwish's older sound, and offers a few minutes to breath between the crazy metal symphonies on the album. Ironically, it's the most pop-oriented item on the album, but was written by someone Tuomas considers to be the "most metalhead" guy in the band.

There are actually two instrumentals on Imaginaerum, the most of any single Nightwish album: "Arabesque," an exotic tune that sounds like its straight out of the middle east (apparently it was written for a specific scene in the movie), and "Imaginaerum." "Imaginaerum" serves as something of a musical summary of the entire album. According to interviews with Tuomas, this song was originally part of "Song of Myself," but was later separated during the album's production. Imaginaerum is meant to serve as something of an outro or wrap up of the entire musical experience, and, most notably, it was meant to be played over the credits of the movie.

The limited 2-disc edition includes a second disc of instrumental versions of the songs, which is excellent for the hard core Nightwish fan. Though I admit I sometimes found myself missing Anette and Marco here, the instrumentals help fans get to the real heart and soul of the album.

What else is there to say about this album? It's easily one of the top albums the band has ever put out and signals the start of a fresh, new era that will take them into ever more amazing places. While some of the songs on Imaginaerum took a little growing into, the ultimate result is unlike anything else out there. More than any previous Nightwish album, Imaginaerum offers heavier orchestral sections, harder metal, and, most importantly, is much closer to a film score.

Never have I heard some with so much heart and soul, with so much drama and emotion that was crafted with great care, great love and incredible personal commitment. Not only does this album capture the very core of this project, but it feels like a very intimate adventure into the heart and mind of the band.

New This Week

2011-12-04T12:30:00.000-06:00

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street—and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa’s powers for his own dark ends.

With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister’s war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move—and that one of their own has betrayed them.

Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, though her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will—the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?

As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart.

The Fire by James Patterson

Whit and Wisty Allgood have sacrificed everything to lead the resistance against the merciless totalitarian regime that governs their world. Its supreme leader, The One Who Is The One, has banned everything they hold dear: books, music, art, and imagination. But the growing strength of the siblings' magic hasn't been enough to stop the One's evil rampage, and now he's executed the only family they had left.

Wisty knows that the time has finally come for her to face The One. But her fight and her fire only channel more power to this already invincible being. How can she and Whit possibly prepare for their imminent showdown with the ruthless villain that devastated their world-before he can truly become all-powerful?

In this stunning third installment of the epic Witch & Wizard series, the stakes have never been higher--and the consequences will change everything.

Book Review: Lady in Waiting by Susan Meissner

2011-12-03T16:24:00.000-06:00

Genre: Historical Fiction
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: WaterBrook Press
Release Date: September 7, 2010
Series: (none)
Source: Bought

Blurb: Love is a choice you make every day.
Content in her comfortable marriage of twenty-two years, Jane Lindsay had never expected to watch her husband, rad, pack his belongings and walk out the door of their Manhattan home. But when it happens, she feels powerless to stop him and the course of events that follow Brad’s departure.

Jane finds an old ring in a box of relics from a British jumble sale and discovers a Latin inscription in the band along with just one recognizable word: Jane. Feeling an instant connection to the mysterious ring bearing her namesake, Jane begins a journey to learn more about the ring—and perhaps about herself.

~

In the sixteenth-century, Lucy Day becomes the dressmaker to Lady Jane Grey, an innocent young woman whose fate seems to be controlled by a dangerous political and religious climate, one threatening to deny her true love and pursuit of her own interests.

As the stories of both Janes dovetail through the journey of one ring, it becomes clear that each woman has far more influence.

Review:

Okay, I bought this off the clearance self.

I admit it -I had no real prior interest in this book until I discovered it on the clearance shelf at my local used book store, and was somewhat intrigued by the blurb. Rather than approaching Jane Grey's story in the traditional, historical fiction sense, author Susan Meissner throws a unique twist into the well-known story by weaving it into a tale of another woman named Jane in modern-day New York.

At the beginning of the novel, Jane is hit with a devastating divorce and is suddenly thrown into a strange new world where there is little to hold onto. That is, until she finds a mysterious ring hidden inside a prayer book that she believes once belonged to the doomed Lady Jane Grey. In Tudor-era England, readers meet Lucy, the dressmaker for Lady Jane Grey and observer of Jane's strange nine-day reign and political drama. Lucy's story helps shine some light on the mysterious ring, though Jane may never know if the ring was Jane Grey's.

Lady in Waiting was a solid novel -not great, not bad, but solid. It reads very quickly -I read it in an afternoon -and offers a fun, escapist adventure through Lady Jane Grey's life and Jane's journey to find herself after her divorce. The writing is solid and comfortable, and the historical accuracy seemed to be consistent with my knowledge of the period, and I especially enjoyed seeing the period from the eyes of a common, though fictional, person, it gave it a different feel and allowed me to see a different side of Tudor England. I'd also like to see more novels integrated a modern element with the historical one -mostly just for something a little bit different.

A worthwhile read for a Sunday afternoon.

Book Review: Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton

2011-12-02T07:27:00.000-06:00

Genre: Young Adult
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: February 22, 2011
Series: Gods and Monsters (Book 1)
Source: Local Library

Blurb: Ari has always been a little strange. She has long, thick, silver hair that remains unchanged no matter how much she cuts or dyes it. She has teal eyes that lure people in. And growing up with bounty hunting foster parents has taught her how to kick some serious butt. When she learns that her birth mother committed suicide in “New 2,” the reincarnation of hurricane-ravaged New Orleans, Ari travels there to uncover her past. New 2, it turns out, is full of unsettling entities like half-spider creatures, sword-wielding strangers, and vampires—including the supersexy Sebastian. Ari seems normal in comparison—but every creature she encounters, no matter how deadly, is afraid of her. And when she finds out why, the truth is worse than she ever imagined….

Review:

I think I was expecting something different. After reading this blurb, and the blurb from Darkness Becomes Her's sequel, A Beautiful Evil, I was thinking this would be more in the vein of the currently-popular YA dystopian genre with something of a science fiction flavor. While there is a vague sense of this in the book, Darkness Becomes Her is more of a paranormal romance with some deeply-rooted mythological elements.

Ari has always know she's not normal, with her strange silver hair and her teal eyes, but growing up with bounty-hunter foster parents taught her how to kick some serious butt. But when Ari finds that her birth mother committed suicide in the newly-constructed version of hurricane-ravaged New Orleans, Ari decides to travel there to learn about her past. In New Orleans she finds vampires, spider creatures -and, of course, the sexy Sebastian.

That's when things start to spiral into something vaguely interesting. For me, Darkness Becomes Me had its hot moments and its cold moments. Sometimes I found myself completely engrossed in the beautiful prose and fascinating mythology Keaton creates here, and the dark tones woven throughout the novel. Other times, I was incredibly bored. It seemed like Keaton went in and out of that lovely tone and that wonderful prose that make this novel so enjoyable.

Sadly, this happened far too much in this book for me to really enjoy it thoroughly, but I thought it had great promise, so hopefully future novels will improve on these inconstancies.

Book Review: At the Mercy of the Queen by Anne Clinard Barnhill

2011-12-01T13:16:00.000-06:00

Genre: Historical Fiction
Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: January 3, 2012
Series: (none)
Source: Amazon Vine

Blurb: A sweeping tale of sexual seduction and intrigue at the court of Henry VIII, At the Mercy of the Queen is a rich and dramatic debut historical about Madge Shelton, cousin and lady-in-waiting to Anne Boleyn.

At the innocent age of fifteen, Lady Margaret Shelton arrives at the court of Henry VIII and quickly becomes the confidante of her cousin, Queen Anne Boleyn. But she soon finds herself drawn into the perilous web of Anne’s ambition.

Desperate to hold onto the king’s waning affection, Anne schemes to have him take her guileless young cousin as mistress, ensuring her husband’s new paramour will owe her loyalty to the queen. But Margaret has fallen deeply in love with a handsome young courtier. She is faced with a terrible dilemma: give herself to the king and betray the love of her life or refuse to become his mistress and jeopardize the life of the her cousin, Queen Anne.

Review:

Do we really need yet another rehashed version of the Anne Boleyn drama?

That was the question I asked myself when I first saw At the Mercy of the Queen. Honestly, with the seemingly endless cascade of Tudor tales that have been released since the unexpected popularity of The Other Boleyn Girl, Anne's story has become incredibly well-known and been explored so many times that readers known precisely what will happen. Though I've read some recent books that did a nice job of recounting the tale in an original-enough way that's still engaging, it becomes harder and harder every time to read the same story.

Newcomer Anne Clinard Barnhill offers her version of the Anne Boleyn story through the eyes of Anne's cousin and lady-in-waiting Margaret Shelton, aka "Pretty Madge." Like many of the Tudor faithful, my previous knowledge of Madge comes from the Showtime series The Tudors, where she is portrayed a somewhat chunky, and not incredibly pretty, young woman whom Anne manipulates into being Henry's mistress while she is pregnant -and help Anne keep her hold on Henry while he is unable to bed her.

Barnhill takes a different, and somewhat more historically accurate approach. In her novel, Madge is a rather slim and attractive young woman who is sent to court at the innocent age of fifteenth to wait on Anne. Madge arrives just as Anne is being crowned queen, and just in time to meet the dashing Arthur, who steals her heart. But as Madge's romance with Arthur starts to unfold, Anne delivers a disappointing daughter to Henry, and must fight to keep Henry's waning affections while trying to produce the much-needed heir. Madge finds herself pulled into Anne's intrigues, and is used as a pawn in Anne's ambitions, though Madge continues to fight for the life -and the man- she desires.

Though we've all heard the story before, it was really interesting to see it through Madge's eyes. Readers are able to get a different perspective this way, and also able to get a glimpse into the life of a little-known woman from history who existed on the edges of one of the biggest events in British history. Madge is portrayed as an intelligent, obedient woman who is somewhat under Anne's thumb, but manages to find her own way, her own happiness as the novel goes on.

Barnhill does a great job of differentiating her "Anne Boleyn" story with solid writing, well-researched characters and setting and lovely romance that fans of historical fiction and historical romances will enjoy. Though I wouldn't call this the best Anne Boleyn novel out there, it's very easy to read (I finished it in one afternoon), enjoyable and will keep you reading up until the last page.

Book Review: Sojourn by Jana Oliver

2011-11-30T09:37:00.000-06:00

Genre: Historical Fiction/Science Fiction
Paperback: 369 pages
Publisher: Dragon Moon Press
Release Date: April 1, 2006
Series: Time Rovers (Book 1)
Source: Review copy from author

Blurb: Victorian London harbors dark secrets. Shape-shifters weave skillful illusions, cloaking their identities while a killer stalks the unwary in WhiteChapel.

For time rover Jacynda Lassiter, the mission seems simple — find an overdue ‘tourist’ and return him to 2057 before he alters history.

To survive the bloody autumn of 1888, Jacynda must walk a dangerous line between fantasy and reality, between love and duty. To prevail she must outwit a madman whose legacy will endure for centuries.

Review:

When I had the opportunity to read Jana Oliver's Sojourn, I jumped at the opportunity -even before I had any idea what the book was about. Aside from the fact that I just love books, I also have recently fallen in love with Oliver's Demon Trappers series, so it's hard for me to say no to any of her other work. However, I'm always careful when it comes to delving into an author's past titles. While such an expedition can turn up unexpected gems, it can also turn up some titles that were just not as good.

Fortunately, I'd say Sojourn is one of these unexpected gems.

Sojourn straddles two different worlds: a futuristic world where an organization openly allows time travel, and time "tourists" are somewhat common, all policed by the time rovers -and the dark world of late 19th century England on the eve of the Jack the Ripper murders. Jacynda, also known as Cynda, is given the mission of retrieving an overdue tourist who has gone missing just before the murders begin. Cynda quickly finds that her mission isn't as easy as it seems, and that she must unravel the secrets of one of London's most famous serial killers, and how he is connected to the time rover organization.

While I must admit that I wasn't completely expecting something like this from Oliver (especially with such a strong Dr. Who vibe!), but I still found it enjoyable to read. Oliver does an excellent job of painting an accurate and well-constructed picture of 19th century London that is incredibly well-researched and tightly woven. Oddly enough, the futuristic setting wasn't as vivid or as well put together, and at times was very hazy for me, so I desperately wanted to get back to London and back into the fascinating webs of the Whitechapel underground.

Though Sojourn isn't quite as polished as the Demon Trappers series, it's a wonderful, creative series that's a fun adventure that fans of Oliver's other novels will enjoy.

Best Reads November

2011-11-29T09:08:00.000-06:00

Truth by Julia Karr
Review

An exciting dystopian thriller, and sequel to XVI

Nina Oberon's life has changed enormously in the last few months. When her mother was killed, Nina discovered the truth about her father, the leader of the Resistance. And now she sports the same Governing Council–ordered tattoo of XVI on her wrist that all sixteen-year-old girls have. The one that announces to the world that she is easy prey to predators. But Nina won't be anyone's stereotype. And when she joins an organization of girls working within the Resistance, she knows that they can put an end to one of the most terrifying secret programs the GC has ever conceived. Because the truth always comes out . . . and the consequences can be deadly.

Darker Still by Leanna Renee Hieber
Review

The Picture of Dorian Gray meets Pride and Prejudice, with a dash of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

New York City, 1882. Seventeen-year-old Natalie Stewart's latest obsession is a painting of the handsome British Lord Denbury. Something in his striking blue eyes calls to her. As his incredibly life-like gaze seems to follow her, Natalie gets the uneasy feeling that details of the painting keep changing...

Jonathan Denbury's soul is trapped in the gilded painting by dark magic while his possessed body commits unspeakable crimes in the city slums. He must lure Natalie into the painting, for only together can they reverse the curse and free his damaged soul.

Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan
Review

In The Lost Hero, three demigods named Jason, Piper, and Leo made their first visit to Camp Half-Blood, where they inherited a blood-chilling quest:

Seven half-bloods shall answer the call,
To storm or fire the world must fall.
An oath to keep with a final breath,
And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.

Who are the other four mentioned in the prophesy? The answer may lie in another camp thousands of miles away, where a new camper has shown up and appears to be the son of Neptune, god of the sea. . .

With an ever-expanding cast of brave-hearted heroes and formidable foes, this second book in The Heroes of Olympus series offers all of the action, pathos, and humor that Rick Riordan fans crave.

In My Mailbox (11): Perfect 5

2011-11-28T12:30:00.000-06:00

For Review:

Article 5 by Kristen Simmons
Perfect Blood by Kim Harrison

From the Library:

Feed by Mira Grant
Out of Oz by Gregory McGuire
Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

New This Week

2011-11-27T09:02:00.000-06:00

Kiss of Frost by Jennifer Estep

At Mythos Academy, teen warriors in the making train to take up their roles protecting humankind. With her snarky, self-deprecating voice and strange gift of psychometry - the ability to know an object's history just by touching it - Gwen Frost is an outsider both to the students of the Academy and the rest of the world. But now that she's taking private tutoring with the Academy's most notorious young Spartan, and has Nike's own sword to protect her, she's ready to make mark...

Book Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

2011-11-26T09:44:00.000-06:00

Genre: Young Adult
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Quirk Books
Release Date: (June 7, 2011)
Series: (none)
Source: Local Library

Blurb: A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs.

It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.

Review:

When I first heard about Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, I'm admit that I wasn't very interested in it. It just sounded...peculiar. But after seeing all the positive publicity about it, I thought it was time to give it a try. Plus, it was Quirk Books, so it's hard to go wrong there.

Growing up, Jacob always enjoyed his grandfather's stories, as peculiar as they are. As he grew up though, the strange photographs his father kept and the wild stories that went along with them seemed more and more out of the ordinary. When Jacob's grandfather dies, he goes on a strange journey to find the mysterious abandoned orphanage where his grandfather's stories took place. What he finds is a rag-tag collection of peculiar children stuck in the 1940s -and it's up to him to help protect this strange place, no matter as peculiar as it seems.

A unique blend of fiction and photography, Peculiar Children is a unique and exciting YA novel that's thrilling from beginning to end. With a refreshing and original story, unforgettable characters and great storytelling, it's hard to go wrong here. In fact, I finished Peculiar Children in just one sitting. In fact, I thought I wouldn't like the inclusion of the photography, but it only helps to paint the unique, on-edge tone of the novel.

If you haven't read this book, or aren't even considering it: read it. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is unlike anything else you've ever read. All I can say is: more please.

Shattered Souls Blog Tour: Review of Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey

2011-11-25T13:21:00.002-06:00

Genre: Young Adult
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Philomel
Release Date: (December 8, 2011)
Series: (none)
Source: ARC from The Teen Book Scene

Blurb: Lenzi hears voices. She also sees visions--gravestones, floods, a gorgeous guy with steel gray eyes. She knows she must be going crazy, just like her dad did. Her boyfriend, Zak, can't do anything to help, and the voices just keep getting louder, the visions more intense. But when Lenzi meets Alden, the boy from her dreams, everything makes sense.

Sort of.

He tells Lenzi that she's a reincarnated Speaker--someone who can talk to lost souls and help them move on--and that he has been her Protector for centuries. But instead of embracing her abilities, Lenzi struggles between her life as the girlfriend of a sexy musician and the life she is destined to lead with Alden. Yet time is running out; a malevolent spirit has been trying to destroy Lenzi for ages, and he will surely kill her if she doesn't make a decision soon.

Her choices are clear: Destiny or normalcy. Alden or Zak. Life or death.

Review:

Shattered Souls introduces readers to young Lenzi, a girl growing up in Galveston, Texas with her mother after her father passed. But Lenzi isn't like other girls -even though she wishes she could be. Lenzi hears voices -frightening, horrible voices from people who aren't here. She's convinced herself that she's not crazy, even though her father also heard voices. When Lenzi and her boyfriend Zak go to the cemetery to commemorate her father's death, she meets a strange boy named Alden, who not only hears the same voices that Lenzi does, but knows what her strange "gift" is and how to control it...and protect it.

Debut author Mary Lindsey brings a new and fascinating world to life in Shattered Souls. Told in crisp, well-written prose, Lindsey weaves a great tale of romance, action and unexpected twists. I was very pleasantly surprised at the quality of Lindsey's writing (you never know sometimes when you read a new author!). Virtually every scene was completely clear in detail, and Lenzi's emotions and struggle felt real and honestly haunting. I seriously felt like I was reading this book from directly inside her head, which is amazing. Not only that, but she's a great protagonist that I was able to invest in and genuinely was concerned about.

I also really enjoyed Lindsey's approach to her paranormal elements. Something about it was vaguely familiar, but had enough of its own originality and world-building to keep more completely intrigued. It also helped that Lindsey's approach managed to not sound cheesy or contrived, just straightforward and fascinating.

As far as I am aware, Shattered Souls is a stand-alone novel. I really hope that they consider doing a sequel though -or at least giving Lindsey another book deal -she's an excellent new writer that shouldn't be missed!

Book Review: All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin

2011-11-24T13:00:00.000-06:00

Genre: Young Adult
Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Release Date: September 6, 2011
Series: Birthright (Book 1)
Source: Amazon Vine

Blurb: In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.'s son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend. That is until her ex is accidently poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she's to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight--at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family.

Review:

Set in a semi-dystopian future where chocolate and caffeine have been deemed illegal, All These Things That I've Done evokes the bootlegging Prohibition where alcohol was illegal, but most of the population blatantly ignored the ban, thus the law did nothing accept promote the creation of organized crime. All These Things That I've Done applies the same concept to chocolate and alcohol, complete with mafia princesses and forbidden romances.

Anya is the daughter of one of New York's most notorious crime lord, though he died prior to the events of the book. Left alone to manage her family, Anya tries to maneuver through life at her strict Catholic school while juggling her ex-boyfriend (who insisted on perpetuating horrid rumors about their break-up) with her new flame, who happens to be the son of the local assistant DA -who is out to shut down illegal chocolate running. And it doesn't help when Anya's ex-boyfriend is poisoned by the quality chocolate from Anya's family.

At the beginning, I enjoyed this book, it had a fun concept and a compelling main character who was incredibly likable -she stood up for herself, was respectable, loved her family and was easy for readers to connect with. The setup had so much promise for me -I mean illegal chocolate-running? Dystopian setting? Mafia? How can you go wrong with so much awesome going on?

But that's when the mixed feelings about this book started to settle in...the whole mafia thing never really took off. The characters were somewhat flat and interesting...and the plot never really seemed to get into first gear. But for me the biggest letdown was the fact that there is virtually no description of why chocolate and caffeine are banned, no exploration of this one fascinating social phenomenon that the concept of the entire book hinges on. There's also the fact that I felt like the blurb promised me a really juicy mafia-like drama, but there was hardy a hint of mafia anything in this. Where was the backstabbing and the other great, juicy drama?

Instead, All These Things That I've Done ran out of steam to me around halfway through the book and turned from a semi-dystopian mafia drama into a typical teen forbidden romance...thing. While I do have mixed feelings about this book, and I feel a little cheated by the plot, author Gabrielle Zevin is a great author with a very comfortable and honest style that is easy to read and screams of polished, excellent potential and great technical skill.

Book Review: Possess by Gretchen McNeil

2011-11-23T21:22:00.000-06:00

Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release Date: August 23, 2011
Series: Possess (Book 1)
Source: Bought

Blurb: Fifteen-year-old Bridget Liu just wants to be left alone: by her over-protective mom, by Matt Quinn, the cute son of a local police sergeant, and by the eerie voices she can suddenly and inexplicably hear. Unfortunately for Bridget, the voices are demons—and Bridget possesses the rare ability to banish them back to whatever hell they came from. Literally.

Terrified to tell her friends or family about this new power, Bridget confides in San Francisco’s senior exorcist, Monsignor Renault. The monsignor enlists her help in increasingly dangerous cases of demonic possession, but just as she is starting to come to terms with her freakish new role, Bridget receives a startling message from one of the demons. And when one of her oldest friends is killed, Bridget realizes she’s in deeper than she ever thought possible. Now she must unlock the secret to the demons’ plan before someone else close to her winds up dead—or worse, the human vessel for a demon king.

Review:

I've been excited about Possess for a long time. Ever since that beautiful cover jumped off the page, I couldn't get it out of my head. And with a blurb like that -I had to read it. I spent at least a month trying to hunt it down, and eventually broke down and bought it off Amazon.

Young Bridget seems like a normal girl -her father is a local police sergeant, her mother is completely overprotective and she hears voices. And not just any voices, but the voices of demons. It turns out that Bridget as the ability to exercise and banish demons that possess human bodies -in every religious aspect of the sense. To cope, Bridget tracks down the leading exorcist in San Francisco, who decides to train her, even though that means taking her along on dangerous missions. And Bridget's life will never be the same.

Debut author Gretchen McNeil is an excellent new author who delivers a solid story with honest dialog, realistic characters that are easy for readers to relate to, and a well-constructed story that was enjoyable to read. McNeil also has a very clear, clean and polished writing style that was comfortable for the reader and was easy to get into. But most importantly -Possess had me hooked from the beginning and flipping pages up until the very end.

Would I read the next book in the series? Of course. Of all the debut authors I've read this year, McNeil had one of the most comfortable and honest writing styles and best dialog.

Book Review: Dark Souls by Paula Morris

2011-11-22T09:11:00.000-06:00

Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Point
Release Date: (August 1, 2011)
Series: (none)
Source: Amazon Vine

Blurb: Welcome to York, England.

Mist lingers in the streets.

Narrow buildings cast long shadows.

This is the most haunted city in the world. . . .

Miranda Tennant arrives in York with a terrible, tragic secret. She is eager to lose herself amid the quaint cobblestones, hoping she won’t run into the countless ghosts who supposedly roam the city. . . .

Then she meets Nick, an intense, dark-eyed boy who knows all of York’s hidden places and histories. Miranda wonders if Nick is falling for her, but she is distracted by another boy -- one even more handsome and mysterious than Nick. He lives in the house across from Miranda and seems desperate to send her some sort of message. Could this boy be one of York’s haunted souls?

Soon, Miranda realizes that something dangerous -- and deadly -- is being planned. And she may have to face the darkest part of herself in order to unravel the mystery -- and find redemption.

Review:

In the eerie mists of York, Miranda finds a strange, dark city filled with secrets, mysteries and ghosts. Ghosts it seems that only Miranda can see, until she meets a local goth-boy named Nick, who has in-depth knowledge of the city's unique history and deepest secrets. Miranda soon finds herself falling for Nick, a strange boy who seems to finally understand her. Then she falls for another boy...who just may be a ghost. Written in a dark, fascinating and eerie tone, author Paula Morris weaves a ghostly tale of mystery and secrets.

If you enjoyed Morris' Ruined, you'll enjoy Dark Souls. It's really more of the same -ghosts, eerie settings, a strong overtone of creepy, otherworldliness and an artistically crafted ghost story etched with romance and intrigue. While I'll admit I wasn't completely sold on Ruined, Dark Souls is a step forward for Morris, has much better pacing, and even has some great, compelling action near the end that's a welcome change from the subtle eeriness of the book.

While I wouldn't read a steady diet of these kinds of books, Dark Souls is a unique book with an incredibly well-crafted tone that'll chill readers' spines and bring a vivid, mysterious town to life.

In My Mailbox (10): Scarlet Fever

2011-11-21T09:02:00.000-06:00

For Review:

Kiss of Frost by Jennifer Estep
Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

ARC Tours:

Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen
Fever by Lauren DeStefano (okay, actually got this the week before, but am so excited)

From the Library:

The Man with the Golden Torc by Simon R. Green
Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton
The Mermaid's Madness by J.C. Hines
The Death Cure by James Dashner

NetGalley:

The Gathering Storm by Robing Bridges

Book Review: The Hidden Coronet by Catherine Fisher

2011-11-20T08:52:00.000-06:00

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Hardcover: 432 pages
Publisher: Dial
Release Date: July 12, 2011
Series: Relic Master (Book 3)
Source: Local Library

Blurb: The third installment in the Relic Master quartet!

The coronet, a potent ancient relic, might be the only way to defeat the power that is destroying Anara. But it has been lost for centuries, and only legend tells of its whereabouts. Will Galen and Raffi be able to find it before the Watch does?

Review:

*Sigh* sometimes I wonder why I keep reading these books. The Dark City was decent, The Lost Heiress was okay -and I wasn't falling over myself to get the next book in the series. Well, the library did get the entire Relic Master series in, so it helps that I can read them all for free. Plus, I keep reading reviews and other online comments that say the series gets better as it goes on, so I kept on going.

Book three in the Relic Master series, The Hidden Coronet continues the story of young Raffi and his master Galen. This time, they are questing for a very powerful relic, a coronet that may help save the world.

Yeah, that's pretty much all there is to it. Even though the plot itself is very simple and pretty thin, Hidden Coronet is a quick and easy read that still has the charm and fun of the previous installments. Most importantly, Hidden Coronet is a definite improvement from the previous installment, The Lost Heiress. It has more character development and some more action, as well as greater mystery to it -and was just downright more intriguing.

Overall, I was happy with The Hidden Coronet, more so than The Lost Heiress. I wouldn't say that it's amazing, but it's a fun and enjoyable read.

Book Review: The Margrave by Catherine Fisher

2011-11-19T11:16:00.000-06:00

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Hardcover: 464 pages
Publisher: Dial
Release Date: August 9, 2011
Series: Relic Master (#4)
Source: Local Library

Blurb: The fourth installment in the Relic Master quartet!

Galen and Raffi's quest has brought them to the Pits of Maar. There, below the surface of the world, in the deepest darkness, a most evil thing is waiting for them to come.

Review:

At this point, I can't keep asking myself why I'm reading this series. I thought it started out okay -not amazing, but it was still fun and exciting. I slogged through the two middle books, at times thinking that it should just dump series altogether, but persevering because I always end up finding some little scene or chapter that reminded me of why I kept going with this series.

In The Margrave, Galen and Raffi find themselves at the perilous Pits of Marr, where something evil awaits them. Not just evil, but frightening and sinister.

And in The Margrave, I think the entire series finally came together. To me, this was an excellent and exciting ending to a fun series that finally grew into its potential. While it is, of course, not as good as Incarceron or Sapphique, The Margrave was a satisfying ending to a fun adventure.

Great for younger teens and middle grade readers.

Book Review: The Lost Heiress by Catherine Fisher

2011-11-18T08:51:00.000-06:00

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Dial
Release Date: June 14, 2011
Series: Relic Master (Book 2)
Source: Local Library

Blurb: The second installment in the Relic Master quartet!

Even though Tasceron and its Emperor have fallen, there is a rumor that the heiress to the throne still lives. If so, her life is in grave danger, especially from the Watch. Galen and Raffi must race to find and protect her.

Review:

The Relic Master saga continues in The Lost Heiress.

You know, I wasn't really sure I wanted to read this book after I finished the first one in the series, The Dark City. Why? Well, it's a far cry from author Catherine Fisher's excellent Incarceron books. It's much easier and simpler than the others and, while a quick read, not that intriguing. So, why did I take the time to read the sequels? Well, they ended up getting the entire Relic Master series in at my local library, so I thought why not?

The Lost Heiress pretty much continues where Dark City left off -we've got Raffi the apprentice traveling with Galen the Relic Master, followed closely by a member of the Watch. And though she hates Relic Masters, she just might have a thing for Raffi. But this time around, there might be a hidden heiress to one of the nearby kingdoms and it's up to our heroes to find and protect her.

Basically, The Lost Heiress is more of Dark City. There's not really much more to it than that, which is a little disappointing. While I still had fun reading more about Raffi and the others, I felt like there really wasn't much here that was completely new to the series, nor was it all that exciting. Frankly, I'm wondering how this series can even continue for two more books -I feel like I've lost sight of what the overarching premise is and what the characters are trying to accomplish.

Not bad, but not great either. A decent library find.

Book Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

2011-11-17T09:30:00.000-06:00

Genre: Adult Historical Romance
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Doubleday
Release Date: September 13, 2011
Series: (none)
Source: Local Library

Blurb: The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart.

Review:

Much like the circus in the book, The Night Circus seemed to come out of nowhere. It suddenly appeared on the scene and garnered massive hype -hype that I never fully understood or followed. It was not until glowing reviews started appearing on Amazon that I started to believe that the hype was real. Thus, I picked up a copy of the book from my local library.

Le Cirque des Reves isn't like any other circus. It is only open at night, and it hides magnificent secrets that no other circus could even hint at. Buried in mysticism, magic and beauty, the circus hides the strange romances, betrayals and battles going on behind the curtain. Celia, a fascinating and talented illusionist, takes up residents in the circus, and falls in love with Marco, another of the circus' members.

From the first page, Night Circus cast a spell on me. Every page -every sentence -is infused with magical, elegant prose that leaps off the page with emotion and life. It's been so long since I have read anything as enthralling, as enchanting and fabulous as The Night Circus. For once, the hype was worthwhile.

The Night Circus is an experienced not to be missed...

Book Review: The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch

2011-11-16T12:49:00.000-06:00

Genre: Young Adult
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Release Date: September 1, 2011
Series: (none)
Source: Amazon Vine

Blurb: In an America devastated by war and plague, the only way to survive is to keep moving.
In the aftermath of a war, America’s landscape has been ravaged and two thirds of the population left dead from a vicious strain of influenza. Fifteen-year-old Stephen Quinn and his family were among the few that survived and became salvagers, roaming the country in search of material to trade for food and other items essential for survival. But when Stephen’s grandfather dies and his father falls into a coma after an accident, Stephen finds his way to Settler’s Landing, a community that seems too good to be true, where there are real houses, barbecues, a school, and even baseball games. Then Stephen meets strong, defiant, mischievous Jenny, who refuses to accept things as they are. And when they play a prank that goes horribly wrong, chaos erupts, and they find themselves in the midst of a battle that will change Settler’s Landing forever.

Review:

Not much was left after the war. Not just any war either, but a horrible war between the U.S. and China where a horrible strain of the flu ravaged America and left nearly two thirds of the American population dead. Young Stephen and his family were some of the few who managed to survive the plague, but are now left in a world where you have to fight to survive. When Stephen's grandfather dies and his father falls into a coma, Stephen ends up in Settler's Landing, a community that seemed to have survived. But, of course, this wonderful new world isn't as wonderful as it seems. Stephen is thrown into a battle that could destroy this wonderful utopia.

With a setup like this, it's hard to say no to Eleventh Plague. Though the book is short, it's incredibly fast-paced, and has plenty of action. It's also really interesting to see a male narrator in a post-apocalyptic setting, especially when he has very real, compelling relationships with his father and grandfather, not to mention a lovely young girl he meets in Settler's Landing.

Though I wouldn't say this book completely jumps out of the ranks of YA post-apocalyptic novels, it's a well-paced and enjoyable read with an interesting concept and really likable characters.

Book Review: Heat Rises by Richard Castle

2011-11-15T09:24:00.000-06:00

Genre: Crime/mystery
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Hyperion
Release Date: September 20, 2011
Series: Nicki Heat (Book 3)
Source: Local Library

Blurb: Fast-paced and full of intrigue, Heat Rises pairs the tough and sexy NYPD Homicide Detective Nikki Heat with hotshot reporter Jameson Rook in New York Times bestselling author Richard Castle's most thrilling mystery yet.

The bizarre murder of a parish priest at a New York bondage club opens Nikki Heat's most thrilling and dangerous case so far, pitting her against New York's most vicious drug lord, an arrogant CIA contractor, and a shadowy death squad out to gun her down. And that is just the tip of an iceberg that leads to a dark conspiracy reaching all the way to the highest level of the NYPD.

But when she gets too close to the truth, Nikki finds herself disgraced, stripped of her badge, and out on her own as a target for killers, with nobody she can trust. Except maybe the one man in her life who's not a cop: reporter Jameson Rook.

In the midst of New York's coldest winter in a hundred years, there's one thing Nikki is determined to prove: Heat Rises.

Review:

Richard Castle delivers again with Heat Rises, the third book in his New York Times bestselling Nicki Heat series.

Okay, I had to say that. As a dedicated Castle fan, I just couldn't resist. In reality, Heat Rises is the third book in the tie-series to ABC's Castle, a lighthearted crime drama where writer Richard Castle helps the NYPD solve crimes. And this series, originally launched to bank off the TV show, has evolved from a somewhat cheesy extension of the series into a fun, action-packed (though still somewhat cheesy) series that has taken on something of a its own life outside of the series.

In Heat Rises, NYPD detective Nicki Heat is back at work with reporter Jameson Rook, this time investigating the murder or a local parish priest that may be more than it seems, including bondage clubs, drug lords and deep-reaching conspiracies. And, of course, when everything comes crashing down for Nicki, Jameson is there to take care of her.

Not only do things in this book heat up for Nicki and Jameson, but the overall writing quality and storytelling also heat up here. I'm not sure if this is the same ghost writer or a different one, but it really feels like Nicki Heat's story was finally able to take off, somewhat independent of Castle, but still drawing on the established style of previous Heat novels and Castle.

I especially liked the utterly shameless promotion of Heat Rises in the season premiere of Castle, where Richard himself was shown signing copies of the newly released Heat Rises.

The best Heat book yet, Heat Rises delivers on everything that Castle fans love about these books -and about the show.

2012 Sophomore Reading Challenge

2011-11-14T15:27:00.001-06:00

The challenge is to read 10 Sophomore novels published in 2012! Hosted by Chickloveslit.com.

Here's my book list!

1/ Fever by Lauren DeStefano
2/ Black is the Color by Alexandra Bracken
3/ Dearly, Beloved by Lia Habel
4/ Insurgent by Veronica Roth
5/ Springsweet by Saundra Mitchell
6/ Surrender by Elana Johnson
7/ Magic Most Foul #2
8/ Mara Dyer #2
9/ Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Black
10/

Kiss of Frost Giveaway!

2011-11-14T11:38:00.000-06:00

So, yesterday a copy of Kiss of Frost by Jennifer Estep (Mythos Academy, #2) showed up in my mailbox. I was not expecting this little surprise -but, I am simply too busy right now to spread the word, so I thought I'd share the Mythos Academy love.

Enjoy!

Here are the details:

- U.S. only (sorry!)

- To enter, fill out the form below

- ONE extra entry for following my blog

- ONE extra entry for following me on Twitter

- ONE extra entry each if you spread the word (tweet, blog, Facebook, etc.)

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Giveaway lasts until end of day November 29. Winner will be announced November 30.

Mostly Metal Monday: "Storytime" by Nightwish

2011-11-14T09:12:00.000-06:00

And here it is, the first single from Nightwish's upcoming album Imaginaerum!

The VIDEO:

Love this video. Not only is it very well put together, but I really love the approach. Not only do we get a semi-tradition music video with the band performing the song (and some interesting Snow White/Phantom of the Opera references), but we're treated to some making-of footage from the Imaginaerum movie.

It. Looks. Epic.

I mean, I was excited about the movie before, but this completely justifies my excitement. It looks dark, somewhat strange and yet oddly appealing and powerful. I was also so happy to see the band genuinely having a great time with this song, and the movie. It feels like there is more heart and soul in this than there has been in a Nightwish project for a while.

Can't wait for the end result next year.

The SONG:

Well, I wouldn't call this an epic Nightwish song, but it's a good Nightwish song. From the very first note, it has the signature Nightwish feel. The song, or the "story" starts with that haunting, almost on-edge sound that the band is known for, before exploding into a powerful (and, at times, somewhat overpowering) guitar riff, complete with soaring melodies.

As the song goes on, I found myself falling deeper and deeper into the music. It continues that haunting sound, but also features some items that feel fresh for Nightwish. Fans are treated to a somewhat harder drum section on the bridge and higher-pitched vocals from a children's choir that gives the song a more innocent sense -and something of an otherworldly sense. All of this over the epic orchestral sounds of a truly talented and visionary band. I was a little surprised that this song was so catchy. I've had it stuck in my head ever since I first listened to it.

Now, the vocals -I was a little hesitant before this song came out. While Anette sounded lovely on Dark Passion Play, I just wasn't completely sold. But this time around, the band has tweaked their sound to better fit with Anette's vocal range, and the result is a more unified, stronger sound that is still true to Nightwish but better integrated with Anette's vocals. I also really liked how the children's choir complimented Anette's voice so well. It just worked.

Anette's delivery is much better here than it was on DPP. Her voice is stronger, and she seems more confident as the lead singer of Nightwish. In fact, I was very impressed when she launched into the first verse. She has a strong, innocent and somewhat angelic quality that seems to shed some joy and light through the dense, deep music -like she's guiding the listener through the story. Sadly, I do think she lost it a little bit on the chorus, mostly because she was singing over herself -something about this just felt overproduced to me and it inhibited my ability to hear her voice clearly. This is really nit-picky, I know, but I thought I'd point it out.

Then, possibly my favorite aspect of this song: the lyrics. I could get lost in these lyrics. They are so deep, so beautiful and so strong; truly poetic and unlike anything else I've ever heard from this band. I could feel the heart of the music, and of the band, beating on every word. I could feel the very soul of Imaginaerum here, and I want more.

New This Week

2011-11-13T09:12:00.000-06:00

Shatter Me by Taherah Mafi
Review

"You can't touch me," I whisper.

I'm lying, is what I don't tell him.

He can touch me, is what I'll never tell him.

But things happen when people touch me.

Strange things.
Bad things.

No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal, but The Reestablishment has plans for her. Plans to use her as a weapon.

But Juliette has plans on her own.

After a lifetime without freedom, she's finally discovering a strength to fight back for the very first time—and to find a future with the one boy she thought she'd lost forever.

Book Review: Dragon's Tooth by N.D. Wilson

2011-11-12T07:15:00.000-06:00

Genre: Children's/Middle Grade Action/Adventure
Hardcover: 496 pages
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Release Date: (August 23, 2011)
Series: Ashtown Burials (Book 1)
Source: Amazon Vine

Blurb: For two years, Cyrus and Antigone Smith have run a sagging roadside motel with their older brother, Daniel. Nothing ever seems to happen. Then a strange old man with bone tattoos arrives, demanding a specific room.

Less than 24 hours later, the old man is dead. The motel has burned, and Daniel is missing. And Cyrus and Antigone are kneeling in a crowded hall, swearing an oath to an order of explorers who have long served as caretakers of the world's secrets, keepers of powerful relics from lost civilizations, and jailers to unkillable criminals who have terrorized the world for millennia.

N. D. Wilson, author of Leepike Ridge and 100 Cupboards, returns with an imagination-capturing adventure that inventively combines the contemporary and the legendary.

Review:

Young Cyrus and Antigone have spent nearly the last two years managing a rundown motel in the middle of nowhere, just to stay afloat with their brother Daniel. It's a boring, hard life until a strange tattooed man appears and Daniel goes missing. Then the motel is set on fire, and suddenly, Cyrus and Antigone are forced out of their comfort zones and into a new life where they work closely with a secret organization that's sworn to protect the world's deepest secrets and most mysterious relics. And they aren't the only ones in the family who've gotten involved with the organization.

Fast-paced and brimming with excitement, Dragon's Tooth introduces fun, multi-dimensional characters that readers will connect with, cheer for and, most importantly, want to see through to the end. Though I don't read that many children's books these days, this one was well-written and fun, with great action and originality.

There were times, however, where I felt like the world became a little overly complex and odd -not to mention the strong Percy Jackson overtones. While this isn't a bad thing (love Percy Jackson), it made me constantly try to compare the two books to one another and, sadly, Percy won out every time. Dragon's Tooth still draws on a mythological basis, but with throwing in something a little different while trying to pull in original mythological content. I wouldn't say that Dragon's Tooth does the whole mythology thing better, but it does a decent job and works hard to stand on its own from Percy. But with a fast-paced plot and so much great action, along with great young heroes and a hidden world -it's hard to not think of Percy, when reading about Cyrus and Antigone.

Ashtown Burials though, overall, is an exciting and action-packed new series that's great for younger readers who enjoy Percy Jackson-style stories. Recommended for the young and the young at heart.

Book Review: Fox Inheritance by Mary Pearson

2011-11-11T13:13:00.000-06:00

Genre: Young Adult
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co
Release Date: August 30, 2011
Series: Jenna Fox Chronicles (Book 2)
Source: Local Library

Blurb: Once there were three. Three friends who loved each other—Jenna, Locke, and Kara. And after a terrible accident destroyed their bodies, their three minds were kept alive, spinning in a digital netherworld. Even in that disembodied nightmare, they were still together. At least at first. When Jenna disappeared, Locke and Kara had to go on without her. Decades passed, and then centuries.

Two-hundred-and-sixty years later, they have been released at last. Given new, perfect bodies, Locke and Kara awaken to a world they know nothing about, where everyone they once knew and loved is long dead.

Everyone except Jenna Fox.

Review:

I may have been living under a rock for the past year, but it was only recently that I read The Adoration of Jenna Fox, which was an excellent book. I was a little concerned about a sequel though, as Adoration seemed like it was a stand-alone novel, and not really worth continuing. But, Fox Inheritance showed up on shelves this year, either proving that the publisher that this was a profitable enough franchise to continue, or that the author had more story to tell.

Barely a few pages into Fox Inheritance, I knew that this book suffered from the former. More than anything, Fox Inheritance felt like an unnecessary sequel that added absolutely nothing to the original story. With such a massive time-jump, the author could virtually start the plot over that could be sustainable over numerous volumes. However, the plot of Inheritance was so far from the original concept of Adoration that I didn't even recognize it. It may as well have been a completely unrelated book that started a new series.

Sadly, this is the end of the road for me and Mary Pearson. Adoration was an excellent book, but this was something else completely that didn't make much sense and is, frankly, not needed.

Book Review: All You Desire by Kirsten Miller

2011-11-10T10:31:00.000-06:00

Genre: Young Adult
Hardcover: 432 pages
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Release Date: August 9, 2011
Series: Eternal Ones (Book 2)
Source: Local Library

Blurb: Haven Moore and Iain Morrow have been living a blissful life in Rome, an ocean way from the Ouroboros Society and its diabolical leader. But paradise is not to last. The mysterious disappearance of Haven's best friend, Beau, sends the pair running back to New York, where they encounter the Horae, an underground group of women who have spent centuries scheming to destroy Adam Rosier. Only they can help Haven uncover the secret to Beau's whereabouts in one of her past lives. But their help comes at a price: Haven must infiltrate the Ouroboros Society, charm Adam Rosier, and lure him into a trap. It's a plan the Horae believe will save the world-but Haven and Iain fear that it may destroy the happiness they've been chasing for two thousand years.

Review:

I really surprised myself last year when I read Eternal Ones. From the blurb it seemed like something that I wouldn't enjoy, but I was very pleasantly surprised by the book -and was even a little embarrassed at the fact that I enjoyed the book so much, but it ended up being such an interesting and unexpected concept that I couldn't put it down. So, of course, I was more-than willing to give the sequel a try.

In All You Desire, Haven is now living with her long-timed beloved in Rome, where they hope to live a peaceful life far away from the intrigue of the Ouroboros Society. This, of course, does not last. Soon Haven runs into some financial issues, and not long after, her best friend goes missing -which, of course, is connected to Haven's past lives.

Sadly, this book is about as boring as the plot sounds. Not only is it incredibly boring, but it feels like it came completely out of left field after the previous book. I was expecting more of the well-paced past-life romance from the first book, but all of that felt like it was very toned down here, almost like the emotions and the overall plot were very hazy and unclear -even to the author.

And it didn't help that Haven is completely unlikeable in this book. She seemed aloof nearly the entire novel and was downright annoyed. I was amazed at just how many times I wanted to slap her throughout the book -more than the average for me. Because of all these issues, I constantly found myself fighting to continue reading the book. I nearly gave up on it so many times it's a miracle I actually reached the final page.

All You Desire is a massive disappointment after The Eternal Ones. It fell apart completely. Hate to say it, but this is the end of the line for me with this series.

2012 Debut Author Challenge

2011-11-09T13:35:00.000-06:00

From The Story Siren!

More info here.

My 12 DAC books to read in 2012 (subject to change, of course):

1/ Queen of Glass
2/ Level Two
3/ Above
4/ Stormdancer
5/ Masque of the Red Death
6/ Breathe
7/ Etiquette and Espionage
8/ Defiance
9/ In the After
10/ Struck
11/ Glitch
12/ The Selection

Book Review: When She Woke by Hillary Jordan

2011-11-09T07:16:00.000-06:00

Genre: Dystopia
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Release Date: (October 4, 2011)
Series: (none)
Source: Amazon Vine

Blurb: Hannah Payne's life has been devoted to church and family. But after she's convicted of murder, she awakens in a new body to a nightmarish new life. She finds herself lying on a table in a bare room, covered only by a paper gown, with cameras broadcasting her every move to millions at home, for whom observing new Chromes--criminals whose skin color has been genetically altered to match the class of their crime--is a sinister form of entertainment. Hannah is a Red for the crime of murder. The victim, says the State of Texas, was her unborn child, and Hannah is determined to protect the identity of the father, a public figure with whom she shared a fierce and forbidden love.

A powerful reimagining of The Scarlet Letter, When She Woke is a timely fable about a stigmatized woman struggling to navigate an America of the not-too-distant future, where the line between church and state has been eradicated, and convicted felons are no longer imprisoned and rehabilitated but chromed and released back into the population to survive as best they can. In seeking a path to safety in an alien and hostile world, Hannah unknowingly embarks on a journey of self-discovery that forces her to question the values she once held true and the righteousness of a country that politicizes faith and love.

Review:

When She Woke is, essentially, a futuristic re-telling of Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter with some Handmaiden's Tale thrown in. But this time, Hannah Payne's, the new Hester Prynne's, skin color is changed to a bright, stop-sign red after she was found guilty of aborting her unborn baby. In this world where the line between church and state has been virtually erased, those convicted of crimes have their skin color changed as part of their sentence, and as part of public shaming. Hannah refuses to name the baby's father, must serve time in jail, and find her way in a new world that despises her for her crime.

I was somewhat confused by this book. First, with the heavy discussion of religion, heavily fundamentalist religious society, and theocratic government, I wondered if the book was meant to be an attack on religion or some sort of atheistic rant. Though, thankfully, criticisms of religion did not fully materialize, Jordan's depictions of religion, per-martial sex and other issues can be somewhat one-sided and uncomfortable for some readers. And, most importantly for young adult readers. Which brings me to the next thing I was confused about -what audience is this book for? Upon reading the blurb, I thought this was going to be a more adult-oriented book because of the material, but it seems like the publisher has been trying to market this as a YA novel, and some reviewers seemed to think it was a YA novel, so I'm confused as to who this book is written for.

I was also confused about the book's direction and what message Jordan was trying to convey, as it constantly seemed like she was working up to something, but shied away from it. The story started out with an interesting concept that was well-constructed and unexpected, not to mention beautifully written. However, as Hannah moved through the different phases of the novel, the story seemed more and more scattered and more and more confused, especially when seemingly important plot points were not introduced until later on in the novel and had no prior buildup. I also had trouble with the frequent nods to The Handmaiden's Tale. That, combined with the Hawthorne-isms made When She Woke feel somewhat unoriginal and like it was retreading similar ideas already explored in literature.

Thus, I ended up with mixed feelings on this book. Jordan started out with some great ideas, but the story seemed to get confused as it went on, so much that I almost got lost. I was also hoping this book would be thought-provoking, as some wonderful dystopians can be, but When She Woke was neither thought-provoking nor entertaining.

Book Review: 13 to Life by Shannon Delany

2011-11-08T08:25:00.000-06:00

Genre: Young Adult
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: June 22, 2011
Series: 13 to Life (#1)
Source: Giveaway win from Goodreads

Blurb: Everything about Jessie Gillmansen's life changed when her mother died. Now even her hometown of Junction is changing. Mysterious dark things are happening. All Jessie wants is to avoid more change. But showing a hot new guy around Junction High, she's about to discover a whole new type of change. Pietr Rusakova is more than good looks and a fascinating accent--he's a guy with a dangerous secret. And his very existence is sure to bring big trouble to Jessie's small town. It seems change is the one thing Jessie can't avoid...

Review:

I was never really that interested in 13 to Life until Amazon kept suggesting this book and its sequels to me. On a whim, I entered a giveaway on Goodreads for the first book, and ended up winning, so I figured why not. I can't say no to a free book, so I thought it was worth trying out.

Jessie's life was thrown upside down when her mother died, and her world changed forever. Things started to settle down in her hometown until a new boy named Pietr starts at her school. And, while he is, of course, incredibly attractive, he's also loaded with all kinds of mysteries and secrets. Not only does he bring trouble in his wake, but Jessie can't resist him.

I wasn't completely sure what to expect when I picked up this book. I suppose I thought it would be more interesting and compelling, especially since it spawned numerous sequels. But instead...this book was just downright bad. Not only is the paranormal aspect of the novel incredibly light and virtually non-existent, but it's incredibly cliche. I think I've read virtually the same story in practically every modern teen novel, so the plot was incredibly predictable and not interesting at all.

Now, when it comes to books with not-so-great plot, I can be willing to forgive the book if it has great characters. 13 to Life didn't have great characters -in fact, they weren't even good characters. They were incredibly flat and impossible to understand or relate to. I honestly didn't care about who the characters were, what they were trying to accomplish or anything about them.

Then, get even get me started on the construction of this book. It suffered from serious editing issues, and read like it was some middle school student's English project and was never cleaned up after the first very rough draft. Some many of the sentences are far too long, and so many things here were juts horribly put together. I honestly don't know how something like this even got published, but it's the worst editing job I've ever read.

I really don't understand why this book is popular or why it has numerous sequels. I hate to say it, because I don't like to be so negative in my reviews, but 13 to Life has no redeeming qualities at all.

In My Mailbox: Unforsaken Demons and Waterfalls

2011-11-07T09:08:00.000-06:00

For review:
The Demon's Lover by Juliet Dark
Waterfall by Lisa Bergren

From the library:
Unforsaken by Sophie Littlefield
The Good, Bad and Uncanny by Simon R. Green
A Hard Day's Knight by Simon R. Green

Book Review: The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines

2011-11-06T11:57:00.000-06:00

Genre: Fantasy/Parody
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: DAW
Release Date: January 6, 2009
Series: Princess Novels (#1)
Source: Local Library

Blurb: What would happen if an author went back to the darker themes of the original fairy tales for his plots, and then crossed the Disney princesses with Charlie’s Angels? What’s delivered is The Stepsister Scheme—a whole new take on what happened to Cinderella and her prince after the wedding. And with Jim C. Hines penning the tale readers can bet it won’t be “and they lived happily ever after.”

Review:

This one had been taunting me for a long time. It seems like virtually every time I went to Barnes & Noble one of the books in this series always seemed to find its way to me, and with a title and blurb like this, I just couldn't resist. While I found myself particularly drawn to The Mermaid's Madness, being the person that I am, I always have to start at the beginning of a book series and read each volume in order so I don't miss out on something.

Thus I began with The Stepsister Scheme, the first tale of a group of fairy tale princesses that are anything but damsels in distress. Danielle de Glas, previously known as Cinderella, has recently married Prince Armand, and is starting to fall into her new life as a princess. However, her scheming stepsisters have kidnapped the prince to get back at her, so she must team up with two unlikely friends to bring him back: Talia, a runaway who loathes her nickname of "Sleeping Beauty," and a magic-wielding princess who prefers to go by her nickname "Snow."

Yes, the concept is somewhat silly, and a little ridiculous, but it actually brings a more realistic approach to age-old fairy tales and allows the damsel, for once, to go save their prince (instead of the other way around). It was hard not to enjoy such a fun concept, and to just let myself go along for the ride. The writing was well-done and fast-paced, with great action and an exciting trio of characters that were real, but still could kick some serious butt.

Something of a guilty pleasure, Stepsister Scheme was a fun, and somewhat silly read that doesn't take itself too seriously. Will I read the other books? Heck yes -how could I say no when it was this much fun?