Swoon (Swoon, #1)

Aug 14, 2012 Kira rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Gremlins or goblins or whatever Sin is

Recommended to Kira by: A gremlin or goblin or whatever Sin is

Shelves: ya, ghosts, made-no-sense, train-wreck-romance, so-boring-i-ate-my-own-face, lost-the-will-to-live, lolwut, could-have-been-worse

Gawd, this book. Let's just say The Spanking Scene and leave it at that.

...or maybe not. You know how, in the Kingdom Hearts fandom, there is this legion of Xion-loving trolls who all think that every single person who hates their precious ~~Mary-Sue~~ Xion only does so because they ship Axel and Roxas? That's what this book's fanbase is like. If you hate this book it's obviously just because you're a prude, right? And you think sex is a sin, right?

Please. Don't fuck with me.

I make absolutely no s...more

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Nov 01, 2012 Gemma rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone with a seriously low brain cell count.

Shelves: reviewed

Beware fellow readers: The blurb may seem promising, but DO NOT BE TAKEN IN.
I'd love to meet the person who wrote the blurb, as I think I can safely say all who read this book have done so because of it.

I picked up Swoon expecting a pretty generic but hopefully enjoyable read.
Sadly, I was misled. I wanted to be a trooper and bravely carry on reading this book, but it got to the point where I just couldn't make my poor mind take in any more.
For me, it was the spanking scene. Yep, you heard righ...more

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May 18, 2009 Kristi (The Story Siren) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own, own-arc

Swoon was totally not what I was expecting. And not in a bad way, just much more dark, edgy and sensual than I had anticipated.

In the vast sea of ya paranormals this one definitely left it’s mark on me. Malkin has a way with words, originally I was intimidated by the size, well actually, I was just afraid it would take me awhile to read it, but essentially it took me no time at all, it was surprisingly addictive. The pages were turning non-stop. It’s one of those novels where you just have to k...more

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Jun 16, 2009 Aileen rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book was so good, though I've heard it hasn't had the best reviews, I completly disagree. I loved this book, from the beginning when you meet Candice or Dice as she goes by, you just fall in love with her struggle, not just that she's falling in love with Sinclair Youngblood Powers, the handsome, sexy, spirit possessing his cousin Pen, but how she feels this need to save the town from themselves, especially when she inadverently sets him free. This causes making her feelings for him grow ev...more

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Jul 26, 2011 Ashleigh Paige rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: the-shameful-shelf-of-get-rid-of-it

... I do whatever I had to in order to get the person who wrote this blurb to write mine. The blurb for Swoon has to be one of my favorite blurbs ever written. Months before the book came out, I was fangirling over it. Then I read the book and was let down. A beautiful premise and blurb wasted. I love the complication of the heroine having feelings for the antagonist and still having to stop him, but it was done all wrong in this book. All wrong.

The book? Let's not get into that. You really don'...more

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Jan 09, 2013 Jackie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: used-from-1-5-price-books, read-in-2013, pleasure-reading

This tale is twisted, dark, creepy, macabre and yet strangely compelling as it captures the reader in it's grip and you have to know how things turn out. I found it to be horrifying, titillating, intriguing, gutsy in it's fine line between perversion and star crossed lover romance aspect but most of all unique and just "out there" enough to hold my interest from beginning to heartbreaking end. The author has penned something that will in no way appeal to many mainstream YA readers but this one s...more

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Jan 26, 2009 Kim rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, horror, romance, psychics, ghosts, arc

Swoon is another book from Simon and Schuster's spring release list -- the hardcover hits bookstores May 2009. And all I can ask myself is "why?"

I tried to like this book. I really did. I told myself it was edgy, and tried to look at it from a teen's perspective. The premise grabbed me: malevolent, vengeful ghost takes possession of a teen and wrecks havoc on the town that wronged him in the 1700s. The teen's cousin is the only one who knows about the possession . . . and she's in love with the...more

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Aug 24, 2012 Tammy rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, romance, paranormal, mature-young-adult, read-at-your-own-risk, just-plain-awful, mini-reviews, awful-characters, series-or-trilogies-i-ve-given-up-o, train-wreck-romance

No. Just No.

(Fully fleshed out and more coherently thought out review to come later)

What on earth did I just read? I'm not a prude (in fact, I applaud YA authors who deal with sexual situations in a frank manner), but last time I checked, spanking is something that's featured in erotic fiction, not YA.

Was there a plot? Who knows? The only thing I can pretty much tell you is that this book didn't make me care enough to want to pick up on any nuances and undertones in the novel.

The characters?...more

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Jan 22, 2012 Darling DePuff rated it 1 of 5 stars

Nina Malkin's efforts to offer readers a controversial and 'edgy' story are lost in the midst of a scattered plot and unrealistic characters. Swoon's main girl, Candice, whom everyone calls Dice (are you annoyed yet?) exudes no real emotion, purpose, and just rambles on and on using 80s lingo while the town she lives in, Swoon, comes under attack by a vengeful and "SWOON"-worthy ghost called SIN (oh, you're annoyed now).

While most thrillers featuring angry spirits coming back for revenge involv...more

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Nov 16, 2010 Jillian -always aspiring- rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: disappointing-books, dropped-series, should-have-loved-it-but-didn-t, reviewed

Oh, goodness. This book was one that I had been looking forward to -- and then I rushed out to get it as soon as it came out at the bookstore.

It was almost utter trash, I kid you not.

Though I will not delve into details about WHY it was utter trash -- I will say that this book is crass and just plain strange at some points. Sure, I understand the irony in the name Sinclair, but -- come on -- this book got pretty trashy at some points. It wasn't downright horrible -- but it came pretty close, in...more

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Dec 07, 2009 Katie rated it 1 of 5 stars

I really, really wanted to like this book. And yet I couldn't. The characters were poorly developed and their personalities seemd to change depending on what the author wanted to happen in that scene, as opposed to what she had originally set their temperments to be. I nearly got whiplash trying to keep up with the flip-flop between their personalities. The "love interst" was completely unworthy of the title, as he is completely uninterested in anyone but himself until fifteen pages til the end,...more

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Feb 16, 2012 Ginny added it

Shelves: 2011, tried-but-couldnt-finish, books-i-m-pissed-at

Okay. I know I am not going to read this entire book. I am going to play the skim game just because I am curious if it is as bad as everyone says.

So my review will instead be a running commentary of sorts-instead of little updates, this!

(view spoiler)...more

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Jun 30, 2010 Natalie (Mindful Musings) rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: did-not-finish

Hmm...where to begin? This is going to be a difficult review for me to write, because I just couldn't find anything I liked about Swoon (Except for the cover. Does that count?). I don't leave books unfinished very often, but unfortunately, I was not able to finish Swoon.

This is the first book I've actually not finished since I started blogging a year ago. I gave it my best shot: I read the first 250 pages, and then ended up skimming the rest of the book, but it took a lot of motivation for me to...more

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Jul 21, 2009 BOOK BUTTERFLY rated it 4 of 5 stars

Torn from her native New York City, nickname-loving Candice (or Dice) is resigned to accept her fate when she is transported into Swoon Connecticut, a place where nothing ever happens. That is until spoiled cousin Penelope, better known as Pen, has a near fatal fall from an ancient ash tree. Pen's body is infiltrated by the vengeful spirit of an eighteenth century man bent on revenge against the descendants of those who unjustly murdered him. In an attempt to save Pen from the possession, Dice a...more Torn from her native New York City, nickname-loving Candice (or Dice) is resigned to accept her fate when she is transported into Swoon Connecticut, a place where nothing ever happens. That is until spoiled cousin Penelope, better known as Pen, has a near fatal fall from an ancient ash tree. Pen's body is infiltrated by the vengeful spirit of an eighteenth century man bent on revenge against the descendants of those who unjustly murdered him. In an attempt to save Pen from the possession, Dice accidentally frees the spirit of Sinclair Youngblood Powers (aptly nicknamed Sin), and installs him into the body of a real flesh-and-blood man. Now more dangerous than ever, Sin awakens the quiet, cookie cutter small town to their darkest, most suppressed desires and subsequently leaves a path of destruction in his wake. Dice is the only person who can save her friends and family from Sin before it’s too late. But there’s just one problem- she’s inexplicably, utterly in love with him. In setting Sin free, she knows she’ll lose him forever. Dice must struggle with her desire for Sin and her loyalty to her family and friends before it's too late.

Swoon was a dark, edgy and sensual read. The starkly beautiful prose in which Malkin constructs her sentences was like a breath of fresh air, and I found myself wanting to savor each delicious turn of the page. By far, my favorite character was Dice. Told in the first person narrative, her observations were so wry and so honest, I felt like I was transported into the book, sitting right next to her and totally immersed in everything she was confiding in me with. I understood why she was so conflicted in her feelings, especially when it came to Sin. And let’s talk about Sin, shall we? Sin was so witty, so ruthless and so insanely passionate. Not to mention gorgeous and a gentleman (in his own strange way). There were times when I knew I should hate him, but I simply could not. It was easy to see why Dice would fall for him, who wouldn't?
There are a lot of conflicting reviews I have read about this book. Though I agree with other reviewers that the writing could meander a bit, the characters were so well developed and the atmosphere so hauntingly decadent, I was able to overlook it with no problem. Many people also objected to the parade of “lust” left behind as Sin ran rampant through the once peaceful, mild mannered town. While I can understand that, I personally did not think it was portrayed in an overtly explicit manner. However, with that being said, Swoon is not a book that everyone will love, and it's definitely geared toward older, more mature teens.

BOTTOM LINE: Swoon is a novel that will stay with you long after you have finished reading it. It’s a smartly written, achingly beautiful novel about improbable love and unimaginable loss
(less)

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Mar 23, 2013 Janna Horlick rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, ya-romance, owned

WARNING: This review may seem a bit harsh to some, remember, it is MY honest opinion.

This book is not worthy of it's pretty cover. I had high hopes for this book, but sadly it fell flat. Dice has a sickening obssesion of Sin, who is a ghost by the way, that leads to a very unhealthy relationship. Dice is very delusional in her perception of their relationship with Sin and seems surprised every time he does something "unfaithful". Not to mention, the disgusting back and forth of Sin between Dice...more

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May 19, 2013 Justine rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: may-challenge, spring-fever-paranormal

The idea of this novel is something that is really cool, and I feel is has the potential to be really enjoyable. I mean, the whole golum idea is pretty awesome. Make that golum a sexy, chivalrous, bad ass ex-ghost named Sinclair? Oh, yes. I am game! And Something's about the novel are good.

The idea, for one.

Sinclair is an interesting character. The fact that he is a bit turned-evil is probably what makes him more interesting than many of the other characters. Plus, the fact that he is from the e...more The idea of this novel is something that is really cool, and I feel is has the potential to be really enjoyable. I mean, the whole golum idea is pretty awesome. Make that golum a sexy, chivalrous, bad ass ex-ghost named Sinclair? Oh, yes. I am game! And Something's about the novel are good.

The idea, for one.

Sinclair is an interesting character. The fact that he is a bit turned-evil is probably what makes him more interesting than many of the other characters. Plus, the fact that he is from the eighteenth century? Awesome.

The fact that I could not stop reading the novel has to count for, well, something.

If you are a horny teenage girl looking for something soft-core, then this novel might be a decent place to start. It definitely tries to get hot. A lot.

However, I was disappointed when reading.

First of all, the writing was a bit hard to follow sometimes. It might just be Dice's voice, I am not really sure. Still, it did not really impair me from finishing so I *guess* I can let that slide.

Dice is a character that - whenever I feel like I am starting to like her - she does something that makes me change my mind. Yeah, okay, maybe the rest of us hopelessly romantic teenage girls would instantly develop feelings for a sexy bad boy from the past. Even if he is possessing her cousin, I'll give her that. But it did seem like she was admitting her "love" for him really quickly. Don't get me wrong, instalove can work in a story, but in this case - it was a bit much. I did like her humor and singing. I guess the fact that she admits to being with a lot of guys breaks the whole "sixteen-or-seventeen-and-never-been-kissed-but-suddenly-have-a-bunch-of-damn-perfect-guys-into-me YA stereotype, but the whole "yep-I-drink-smoked-shit-and-party-hard-also-my-parents-only-sort-of-exist" strengths was a little much. (Maybe being a teen myself, this just seems more unrealistic?)

The actual writing of the novel was OK. It had it's moments, but it was really nothing special.

All in all, the stars I gave it were pretty much for the idea and Sinclair. That's about it.

Maybe if more time would have been spent on the golum idea, instead of possible orgys, I would have enjoyed it a bit more. I'm no prude, but your drugs-sex-and-porn should not get in the way of your plotline and characters.(less)

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May 16, 2013 Nicole McElhose rated it 2 of 5 stars

Not your typical YA paranormal romance novel. For one, the plot revolves around a sex Golem who comes to a small Salem-esque town to wreak mischief, and for another, it's pretty damned sexy -- but not in that 'trying to be sexy for the sake of being sex,' way. It's totally organic to the story, which not a lot of writers can pull off. Judy Blume pulled it off, but I can't think of many other authors who have. The teenage anthem of this book is all about sex, drugs and rock and roll, baby, and I...more

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Apr 01, 2013 Miranda Raney rated it 1 of 5 stars

I got to that rape scene and was done. I just couldn't do it.

Two women I love and respect to my very core (who I shall not name) are rape victims. One of them has talked about it with me.

It almost ruined her life.

And to see a author of YA romance fiction treat it like a joke made me cry. I'm serious, I cried. I cried because young girls are reading this and think that rape is funny. They might think that no one will care if they scream for help. Or maybe, the one that really gets me, those yo...more

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Mar 13, 2013 Melinda rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: gave-up-on, reviewed

I couldn't even make it to the end of the book. I stopped reading at about page 200, which I don't do unless I really can't stand the book. My reasons? Well, here's a few of them (pardon the rant):

First of all, this is supposed to YA. Okay, mentions of sexual acts and some desire are permitted, but since when does YA contain more than that? Orgies? Really? Pretty sure 12-year-olds are reading this. And honestly, I didn't find it hot. At all. It was stupid.

Second of all, WHAT THE HELL?!?!? Who ju...more

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Mar 05, 2013 Holly rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: angst-a-plenty, demons-and-possesion, not-a-fan, not-what-i-expected, overrated, sequels-and-series, young-adult-reads, ashamed-to-admit-i-read-it, misleading-blurb, worst-ever

Oh, Swoon. Swoon, Swoon, Swoon.

What a waste of paper.

So, a ghost becomes a souless "golem" hell-bent on bringing revenge upon the small town of Swoon-- all for the murder of his girlfriend, like, three hundred years ago. (It's like, get over it, dude. Not as if the people living now had anything to do with it, let alone even KNOWS about it.)

So, how does he go about bringing his revenge on the people of Swoon? Does he go on violent rampages and beat people to a bloody pulp? Torture them? Destroy...more Oh, Swoon. Swoon, Swoon, Swoon.

What a waste of paper.

So, a ghost becomes a souless "golem" hell-bent on bringing revenge upon the small town of Swoon-- all for the murder of his girlfriend, like, three hundred years ago. (It's like, get over it, dude. Not as if the people living now had anything to do with it, let alone even KNOWS about it.)

So, how does he go about bringing his revenge on the people of Swoon? Does he go on violent rampages and beat people to a bloody pulp? Torture them? Destroy homes?

Nope. He gets people horny.

Yup. You read that right. He starts orgies at both a high school Homecoming dance AND a retirement home party. "Lusty Crusties" was the term used, actually, for the erotic party at the old folks home. (Disturbing, eh?)

The entire book is pumped full of sex the likes of teenage boy fantasies.

And "love story?" WHAT love story? You mean how Candice randomly decided to fall in love with this souless person bringing erotic behaviors to all those around him (One could argue: how exactly is that REVENGE?), without him ever showing the slightest bit of interest in her besides the way he uses her. There was no romance between them whatsoever. None, until like the last five pages. Dice's "love" for Sin was formed with no foundation whatsoever and was completely unconvincing.

My number one pet-peeve about Swoon? The way Nina Malkin threw in massive vocab words all willy-nilly wherever the heck she felt like it. Um, excuse me? The horny teens that are actually going to be interested in this book are going to have absolutely no freaking idea what you're talking about. I certainly had no idea at times.

Randomly flipping and scanning through, I found: milieu, clitoro, amalgam, iconoclastic, palaver, altruistic, augury, hoyden, reconnoitered, patricide, succinctly, etc. Just to name a few. Come one, really? Not to mention the high-and-mighty way she executes the throwing-in-randomly-advanced-words as if all of a sudden she wants to write artsy prose instead of the horny novel that is Swoon.

Needless to say, it's little more than trash in my book.(less)

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Nov 02, 2012 Alexandra rated it 3 of 5 stars

Life hasn't been easy on Candice - nicknamed Dice, since moving to Swoon - .but she's determined to make the most of it. That's why, one day, she and her cousin Penelope - Pen - take it too far. Pen falls out of a tall tree and nearly dies. That's when things get a little strange for Dice. Pen's body has been possessed by a young man named Sinclair Youngblood Powers - Sin. And Dice begins to fall in love with him, even though he's making Pen wreak havoc all over the town of Swoon. So Dice decid...more Life hasn't been easy on Candice - nicknamed Dice, since moving to Swoon - .but she's determined to make the most of it. That's why, one day, she and her cousin Penelope - Pen - take it too far. Pen falls out of a tall tree and nearly dies. That's when things get a little strange for Dice. Pen's body has been possessed by a young man named Sinclair Youngblood Powers - Sin. And Dice begins to fall in love with him, even though he's making Pen wreak havoc all over the town of Swoon. So Dice decides to exorcise Sin. She manages it too - just one problem. Sin was made into a golem. Dice has given him flesh, and now he can ruin Swoon himself. Dice has to try and stop the boy of her dreams - or is it nightmares?
From the summary of this book on its back cover, Swoon sounded really good. However, it didn't quite meet up to my expectations. It was very sex-and-drugs based. There was nothing too bad or vivid in it, getting down to technicalities, but the book is based on teenagers, and apparently, all teens do drugs and are sex-obsessed! That was one thing that irked me. The reason Pen fell out of the tree that led to her possession was because she'd just been smoking pot. I think I would have enjoyed the writing more if the characters had better things to do on a Friday night (or any night, really) than get stoned or high.
I found the town of Swoon to be quite funny, how everyone had to have monosyllable names or they didn't fit in. What I didn't find so funny was the older version of Swoon, which Dice experienced with her psychic powers. There was a lot of drinking and violence, which resulted in Sin's death; he was hanged for a murder he didn't commit.
Sin was one character I couldn't figure out. From the back of the book, it sounded as if he would be evil; but the whole reason he was trying to ruin the people of Swoon was because of their ancestors, who hanged him unjustly. That may not be fair to the people in the here-and-now, but it is a decent enough reason. I couldn't figure out why Dice had feelings for Sin. Okay, he was "hot". But there were no real aspects to his personality that made him attractive, considering the whole revenge deal. And Sin not only confesses no feelings towards Dice, he also sleeps with her cousin. Nice guy.
Overall, I'd rate this book three stars. It was an interesting storyline, but I didn't particularly like the characters or their actions. I did like it enough to read book 2, though. I would recommend this story for anyone who likes golems or mythology, quirky towns, and love at first sight.(less)

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Jun 24, 2012 Katie rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: NO ONE!!!!! EVER

Shelves: oh-god-why, just-awful

This book was one of the first I read when starting out on YA novels. I had read a few of them before this, and I was totally fine. Heck, I thought, YA novels could never go wrong. Swoon made me think otherwise.

THIS
BOOK
WAS
AWFUL.

It was the first book on my YA rampage that made me wary about what I was reading. I used to go through my good friend and lover, Goodreads, and leaf through all the 3 star novels it suggested to me. I would read a decently reviewed book and (although it's nothing like Th...more

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Mar 29, 2012 Star (The Bibliophilic Book Blog) rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

Candice Moscow is sort of new to Swoon, Connecticut – she’s visited her family there before – but never had to live there full time. She falls in with her cousin Penelope's crowd easily, despite the two being very opposite. Pen is the blonde popular cheerleader, while Dice is the quiet girl, who is gifted with psychic sensitivity.

When Pen has a brush with death that leaves her acting strange, Dice starts to realize something is wrong. She realizes that Pen is possessed and instead of “exorcising...more

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Mar 14, 2012 Muggle Madness rated it 4 of 5 stars

I had read this book around a year or two ago and I thought that it would be a "Sin" not to review this mysteriously wicked book. I hadn't read the synopsis of this book before reading it because I like surprises and I have noticed that once you read the description of the book, it doesn't seem to hold the thrill for me anymore. So I dove into the book blindsided and at first I was not pleased because I thought it was going to be like any other "highschool scene" and I was disappointed, until......more

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Dec 16, 2011 Carrie rated it 1 of 5 stars

I just didn't get this book. The language and word choice was poetic and interesting, but the plot was a train wreck. This book seemed to portray teens at their worst. Teen taking drugs and experimenting with dangerous choices that lead to some deaths. Teens having no morals or consideration for others were a constant for this novel. The characters were unlikeable and their actions and choices were deplorable. The over the top sexual referrences was akin to soft porn, not something that teens re...more

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Sep 22, 2011 Amanda rated it 3 of 5 stars

See My Full Review Here: http://www.hippiesbeautyandbooksohmy....

First Impressions: So, as you all know, I am a sucker for books with awesome covers. When I first seen the cover of Swoon, I knew I needed to read this book. Gotta love the pretty cover! The story sounded interesting to me and reminded me a bit like Twilight. The author was kind to send me this book along with Swear, the second book in this series, for my reviews.

First 50 Pages: I had a love/hate relationship with this book from th...more See My Full Review Here: http://www.hippiesbeautyandbooksohmy....

First Impressions: So, as you all know, I am a sucker for books with awesome covers. When I first seen the cover of Swoon, I knew I needed to read this book. Gotta love the pretty cover! The story sounded interesting to me and reminded me a bit like Twilight. The author was kind to send me this book along with Swear, the second book in this series, for my reviews.

First 50 Pages: I had a love/hate relationship with this book from the beginning. While I loved the author’s style of writing and I thought the material was clever and entertaining, the names of the her characters really bothered me. The names were Dice, Sin, Pen, Doll, Con, Marsh, Gel, Crane, El and Em, Duck, Wick, Boz, No and Way. This was extremely distracting and unnecessary. It also made it very difficult for me to be able to connect to any of these characters since I had a hard time following who was who. It wasn’t until I was about ¾ of the way through the book that I was able to tell exactly who was speaking. I’ve been seeing unusual names in books lately and I really wish that this trend would stop.

Plot Points: The initial premise, as seen in the book synopsis, of this book really grabbed my attention and for the most part, it delivered. What I wasn’t expecting was the sexual references and scenes. I know that most teens are driven by their hormones and some practice casual sex. Whatever. That is their prerogative. This story wasn’t so much of a romance as it was borderline erotic. It is very racy for a YA book. It isn’t a bad thing, but I’m not sure how most parents would feel having their child read this book. I don’t think I would want my teenage daughter (if and when I have one) reading this book. There is A LOT of sex. I mean, an absurd amount of sex. This book would be much better suited for an adult or a very mature older teen.

Final Thoughts: Besides the fact that it is overly sensual for a teen novel, the core of the story was very good and like I had said before, the writing style is unique and edgy. This book isn’t going to be for everyone. A more conservative reader and young teens should skip this book, it’s not for them. It’s a decent book and I believe in second chances. I hope that Swear will be less focused on the sex and more focused on, well…just about everything besides sex. (less)

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Aug 15, 2011 Anne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: really-good-yet-shallow

The plot was unique, the writing was good, but the characters were shallow. i couldnt really empathize with any of them. it was kind of like when you meet a hitch hiker on the highway. theyre interesting, and keep your attention for awhile,but you never get to know them. then, after they leave you just go on with your life. you never really think about them again(unless theyre really odd or the like... but thats beside the point).
you see, that was my problem with swoon-who names a town swoon an...more The plot was unique, the writing was good, but the characters were shallow. i couldnt really empathize with any of them. it was kind of like when you meet a hitch hiker on the highway. theyre interesting, and keep your attention for awhile,but you never get to know them. then, after they leave you just go on with your life. you never really think about them again(unless theyre really odd or the like... but thats beside the point).
you see, that was my problem with swoon-who names a town swoon anyway-it was a really good story, dont get me wrong, but after it was over i realized that we didnt really know the characters. we knew a few things about them like the fact that dice comes from new york, or that sin used to be a blacksmith, but i wanted to know a little more about them before i could relate. i wanted to know what the heck dices parents were thinking if they sent her out to swoon for her mental health in the first place, then they leave her unsupervised! what parent in their right mind would do that with their normal child, let alone one who supposedly needs to be away for their health. i just felt generally distanced from dice, probably because she doesnt seem realistic to me(this could partially be because ive never met anybody like that but..im not sure that people like that exist, much less make up a whole town.).
oh and the romance? it was just kind of there. dice sees sin and suddenly she knows she loves him. ive never been one for love at first sight but that just tested my limits. as far as sin goes, if hes supposedly so in love with hannah, then why does he a) screw every girl he sees, and b) fall in love with dice. it just seems rediculous that sin comes back from the dead for hannah and just like that(cue snapping fingers) he falls in love with another chick! the man needs to get his priorities straight...
all in all, i really liked this book, but i tend to get really aggrivated with the small stuff and im glad i read this book, and will probably-no definitely read the second one. (less)

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Aug 04, 2011 Amanda rated it 2 of 5 stars

When Candice, aka "Dice," is uprooted from her comfortably familiar life in New York and plopped into small-town Connecticut, she must build a new life for herself while surviving the hazards of high school...with a few ghosts thrown in there for good measure.

Nina Malkin's debut novel, Swoon, opens with a typical, boring plot, becomes somewhat interesting near the middle, but fizzles out near the end and doesn't deliver much in the way of climax or closure.

After some strange occurrences with Dic...more

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Jul 25, 2011 Isabel rated it 3 of 5 stars

Alright, so I walked into my library on a goal: find something to read on a 4 hour car trip. I turn and right there in front of me is Swoon. Seductive title, interesting cover, and I'm sold. Add a bad boy and an out of place girl, and I'm definitely in.
Now, I can't say that I completely hated the book and that I wish I had done something else in that 4 hour car trip, but I will warn you about some things in this book.
The reason I rated low was because it just so happens that I live in Connectic...more Alright, so I walked into my library on a goal: find something to read on a 4 hour car trip. I turn and right there in front of me is Swoon. Seductive title, interesting cover, and I'm sold. Add a bad boy and an out of place girl, and I'm definitely in.
Now, I can't say that I completely hated the book and that I wish I had done something else in that 4 hour car trip, but I will warn you about some things in this book.
The reason I rated low was because it just so happens that I live in Connecticut, in a small town just like Swoon. And let me tell you this:
That is NOT what we do in our free time.
The characters in the book seemed like they should be transported to a horny college, not in high school. There were some scenes in the book where I thought, um, WTF? Especially (view spoiler)
Another thing is that Dice (yes, I had to look up the names) is unable to see how truly bad Sin is, and if she sees it, finds she doesn't care! I don't want to add another spoiler here, but some of the things (view spoiler) he does would not only be a turn off for me, they would have me running to the police and/or killing him!
In general the characters were decently developed, but I could not find sympathy for Pen at any point. In some cases she even annoyed me by being in the book. The book was not realistic and, ahem, very horny, and if I were 13 I wouldn't even know some of the things they were doing.
That being said, I did rate the book a 2.5 out of 5 instead of a 1. Other than Dice's opinions on Sin, I found her narration hilarious at times, edgy, and sarcastic enough to bring a smile to my face. Until Sin came. Then I was a little disgusted. Sin himself amused me with his revenge, but I really did like the insight on his past with Hannah; it really made me feel something for him. Same goes with Dice's past on why she moved to CT, and I liked that the secret wasn't one of the main driving forces, just an odd mystery that is told towards the end. While it is convenient that Dice's parents are usually gone, Pen's are not, and they were realistic as parents.
All in all, I will probably end up reading the second Swoon novel just for the hell of it, but I most certainly will not buy it or look for it especially.
WARNING: I think I've said this five times, but the book is really horny, so think before you recommend!

An Edit: I forgot something else I didn't like: Dice takes way too long to make a decision as to what to do with Sin. I get that she feels for him, but she can't let him run around harming people! (view spoiler)(less)

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Jul 19, 2011 Sara rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2-5-stars

Plot: 3 Stars
When I read the back cover copy, I was so excited for this book. It seemed like such an interesting take on demons and possession. But the book just didn't live up to my high expectations. The demons and possession (the parts of the book that had my attention) seemed to take a backseat for most of the novel. Instead, the majority of the book felt like there was nothing paranormal going on, just crazy teenagers (and sometimes adults) doing crazy things.

Pace: 2 Stars
This novel just d...more Plot: 3 Stars
When I read the back cover copy, I was so excited for this book. It seemed like such an interesting take on demons and possession. But the book just didn't live up to my high expectations. The demons and possession (the parts of the book that had my attention) seemed to take a backseat for most of the novel. Instead, the majority of the book felt like there was nothing paranormal going on, just crazy teenagers (and sometimes adults) doing crazy things.

Pace: 2 Stars
This novel just dragged on for me. There were a number of scenes that could've been cut, in my opinion. They didn't seem to add much to the plot and kinda seemed like filler. I kept hoping some of these scenes would tie in as the loose ends were being tied together near the end, but it just didn't happen. The ending also felt a little rushed and quick. It was over before I knew it, and I was left looking for a bit more to wrap everything up.

Characters: 2.5 Stars
There weren't a lot of characters in this novel that were well rounded. Most of the teenagers seemed shallow and most of the parents seemed aloof. Dice wasn't as shallow as most of her fellow classmates, but she was a bit hung up on Sin throughout the novel. I would've liked her to be a bit more down to earth than she came across. The characters I really felt for was Marsh, Pen and Dice's friend who dealt with many obstacles that most teens in the town didn't have to deal with. Although the mayhem Sin caused was confusing, I didn't necessarily agree with his reasoning behind everything.

Cover: 3 Star
The colors of the cover were very striking. The different purple hues really stood out against the much brighter colored covers found around the novel (both in the store, and on my bookshelf). The pink text of the title was a nice contrast, although I thought the title was a bit small for the cover. The tree was a very spooky element to include. The only thing I'm not very fond of on the cover was the cover model, mostly because I didn't like the pose that was chosen. It seemed a bit awkward.

Overall: 2.5 Stars

Disclosure: I bought this book for my own enjoyment. (less)

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title link	preview: Swoon
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Swoon (Swoon #1)

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