The story of Lightbringer was incredibly creative. Wendy is a lightbringer; she sends lingering spirits to rest. When her mother’s spirit goes missing...moreThe story of Lightbringer was incredibly creative. Wendy is a lightbringer; she sends lingering spirits to rest. When her mother’s spirit goes missing, Wendy makes it her mission to find it and return her to safety. At the same time, Piotr is having problems of his own. Piotr is a rider; a teenage ghost that oversees the safety of several ghost children. One by one, the ghost children are being kidnapped and Piotr and his friend have no idea why. Wendy and Piotr meet and they decide to help each other out with their mysteries. I am over simplifying this, but you get the gist of it.
Wendy is an interesting character, but she wasn’t terribly memorable. I just did not feel that connection that you want to feel with characters. I felt the same about the overall book. Like I said, I found it undeniably creative, but I would not classify it as a page-turner. When I put the book down, my fingers didn’t itch to pick it up again. I didn’t have to force myself to read slower, so that I didn’t miss anything. I was interested in the book, I just wasn’t captivated by it. I also wasn’t too fond of Eddie (Wendy’s best friend). But for the life of me, I cannot exactly tell you why. To me, he was presented as Wendy’s alternative to Piotr, more than her partner in crime. He is meant to be her best friend, who wants more out of the relationship. But I struggled to really figure him out. At times he flirts with Wendy, but then follows it up with a joke. So, like Wendy, I was confused about where he stood.
I would love to see more of Wendy's family in next book. I am interested in seeing how Wendy’s siblings play into the upcoming story arcs. I doubt Jon has any paranormal abilities (it seems to be a girl thing), but I wonder if Chel’s powers will ever awaken. That would present an interesting story arc.
I enjoyed Lightbringer by K.D. McEntire, I just didn’t love it. It was a rather creative story, but I found it to be a bit slow at times. I was impressed with how unpredictable the story was. I left like there were twists and turns around every corner. That coupled with the creative storyline, McEntire was able to create a rather impressive book.The characters and storyline were interesting; I just wasn’t pulled into the book. Still, it was entertaining and I will be keeping an eye out for the upcoming books.(less)
Kiss of Frost by Jennifer Estep is a marvelous follow up to the exciting and entertaining Touch of Frost. I loved seeing the now solid friendship betw...moreKiss of Frost by Jennifer Estep is a marvelous follow up to the exciting and entertaining Touch of Frost. I loved seeing the now solid friendship between Daphne and Gwen. I have to admit, they are quickly becoming two of my favorite YA friendships. They just complement each other so beautifully. I am also digging the relationship between Daphne and Carson.
And Logan. Oh, Logan. Can we just take a moment to reflect on the perfection of this ever lovely Spartan….. okay. Although, I must admit, there were a few moments when I wanted to smack him across the face. Granted, most (if not all) of those instances involved his irritating semi-girlfriend/she-devil Savannah. Honestly, I don’t know if Savannah ever actually did anything that justified my hatred for her.. but do I ever hate her. She’s coming between Gwen and Logan, and we cannot have that. Plain and simple.
I was a bit disappointed with Gwen in Kiss of Frost. I just felt like she was rather clueless about Oliver and it just didn’t fit. I am not going to give any the plotline, but let’s just say that I believe Gwen is smarter than that. She wasn’t even slightly skeptical about Oliver and that just does not fit with her character. Gwen is jaded and she’s intelligent. She would have at least known that something was off.
I was also put-off by the sheer amount of recapping. I’ve read a number of Estep’s books and I’ve come to see that this is just her writing style. She is a big believer in lengthy recaps. Even though I’ve come to understand this about her writing, I still can’t come to accept it. I always want to get to the good stuff and I feel weighed down by all the excess.
Despite these minor flaws, I LOVED Kiss of Frost. It’s a story that is easy to fall into. I read the entire thing in one sitting. Estep does a wonderful job of pulling her readers in. She mixes the perfect amounts of romance, excitement, adventure and humor to produce a truly wonderful and delightful story. I cannot wait to get my hands on Dark Frost and see what Estep has in store for Gwen and the gang next!
With The Near Witch, Victoria Schwab hits one out of the park her first time up to bat. This outstanding young adult debut is full of mystery, magic a...moreWith The Near Witch, Victoria Schwab hits one out of the park her first time up to bat. This outstanding young adult debut is full of mystery, magic and charm.
The main character, Lexi is incredibly easy to like. I instantly felt a sort of camaraderie with her; she pushes at the boundaries placed on her and will not take no for an answer. She is feisty in a quiet way, she does not always speak up, but she doesn’t obey blindly either. I just really appreciated the fact that she makes her own decisions about how she lives her life, who she trusts and how she behaves.
I also have to talk about Lexi’s love interest, Cole. Oh, Cole, I love you so. He’s mysterious and captivating and just so, magnetic. You want to know all you can about him; you are right there with Lexi as she tries to unravel the mystery of him. I don’t want to get into too much detail surrounding this character, because it would spoil things, but believe me; you are going to love him. He and Lexi together are pure magic.
Now, I don’t want to short change the storyline, because believe me, it was fabulous, but the real magic lies within the writing itself. Honestly, nothing I say will come close to explaining how much I enjoyed it. It was captivating, lyrical, eloquent, sweeping and just vivid. I think I would like practically anything Schwab writes, it could be a story about a garbage can and I would be utterly entertained. She has such a unique way of depicting things that enables the reader to envision the complete story; from head to toe. Schwab gives the reader many different layers of description, not just the surface. She doesn’t simply rely on what you would expect – she comes up with ways of putting things that creates an image that is absolutely unique to her story. Her character and settings simply could not be found in different stories – everything down to the candles Lexi holds throughout the story become exclusive to The Near Witch. I am not sure if I am explaining this properly or not, basically what I am trying to get at is Schwab has an uncanny ability to put her distinctive stamp on everything.
I am going to be completely straight with you, The Near With was awesome. With its vivid and rolling descriptions, heart pumping storyline and delightful, enchanting characters, readers of all ages are sure to enjoy it. I am going to be on the lookout for other works by Shwab, because I have an inkling that she is one to watch.(less)
Well, let me just start off by saying, I really, really, wanted to love Paradise. The description made it sound like something that would be right up...moreWell, let me just start off by saying, I really, really, wanted to love Paradise. The description made it sound like something that would be right up my alley – a music obsessed, strong willed teenage girl pursuing her dreams to make it big. Plus, it had a cowboy. Sounds great, right? If only.
First of all, Paisley didn’t exactly jump off the page for me. I loved the setting of the book (rural Texas) and I enjoyed the idea of the characters, but I struggled to connect with them – especially Paisley. She was so overtaken with the idea of playing at Texapalooza, that her character was utterly consumed by it. She came across as incredibly one dimensional and her relationships with other people suffered. I did however enjoy her narrative. Alexander does an excellent job giving Paisley a distinctive and undeniably entertaining voice.
I honestly, did not see much chemistry between Paisley and Gabe (aka Paradise). The squeezebox playing cowboy instantly had a thing for our leading lady and she eventually admitted her feelings for him. That being said, I did not really feel like they were good together. First of all, Gabe could be rather pushy. While I was trying to sort out my feelings on Paradise, I looked at some other reviews. Nobody else seemed to be bothered by his character, but he certainly riled up my feathers a few times. There is a scene in which Paisley and Paradise are getting cozy in the back of his pickup and he keeps pestering her about going further.
Paisley, for her part plays the “not now” and he gets irritable with her. Now, maybe this doesn’t seem like a big deal to others out there, but you have to look at the context. I am not one of those people who flinches at sex in young adult books, but this particular scene got to me. At this point, Paisley and Paradise weren’t even together. Does he really expect her to give in? Is it really okay that he pressures her like this? Is that just how things work in rural Texas? Look, I don’t know, the extent of my knowledge can be summed up by what I’ve seen on Friday Night Lights. But, I cannot imagine this sort of behavior would fly anywhere. Needless to say, his character certainly fell a few notches for me.
Now, let’s talk about the sucker punch of an ending. Look, I’m not the kind of person who needs a book to end with a “happily ever after”. But, at the same time, I cannot stand it when books have unnecessarily depressing endings either. Unfortunately, I feel like the ending of Paradise was incredibly unnecessary. I am not saying things had to be all sunshine and rainbows, but it certainly didn’t need to be hurricanes and hailstorms either.
In theory, Paradise sounded like a great idea. I love myself some cowboys, I am a huge music buff and I enjoy strong female leads. Unfortunately, the book itself just did not work for me. I could not connect to the characters, the leading man didn’t do it for me and the ending made me want to completely jump ship. However, I seem to be in the minority here. So my advice to you (if Paradise sounds like something you would like) is to check out some other reviews on the book -tons of people really seemed to enjoy it. I however, am just not one of them. (less)
Red Moon Rising is a highly ambitious undertaking that is part Urban Fantasy, part coming-of-age and part social commentary. The story is essentially...moreRed Moon Rising is a highly ambitious undertaking that is part Urban Fantasy, part coming-of-age and part social commentary. The story is essentially about a boy - who happens to be half vampyre, half wulf. In Danny's world vamps rule and wulves are second class citizens at best. The tension between the two groups mirrors the turmoil the United States faced in the 1960's. In the book segregation between the species has ended, but the tension still resides. The vampyre are still considered the high class citizens, while the Wulves are stuck with low paying jobs.
There were things that I really loved about Red Moon Rising and there were things that I could have done without. I, for one, really enjoyed the way Moore modeled the social unrest after the American Civil Rights movement. It was a highly creative take on your average paranormal YA story - it was very much a coming-of-age story that tackled such topics as inequality,self-image and pride. I loved the fact that this was not your typical paranormal romance - this story has a lot of backbone. While Danny does meet and fall for a girl, it does not take front seat in the plot - it rides shotgun at best. Danny spends the majority of the book worrying about his Wulven heritage and the effects that it has on his daily life. You see, when Danny was baby he had genetic treatments that were supposed to sort of neutralize his Wulven DNA. However, he got sick during the process so they were never able to finish. He and his family always figured that he had gotten far enough in the treatments to keep him from shifting, but soon they realize they were wrong.
Danny is an easy character to relate to, because like almost every teenager in the world, he is going through an identity crisis. Granted, most people (that I know of) don't worry about whether they will be more vampyre or more wulven. He certainly isn't perfect, but he is really trying to accept and embrace his new life. He makes mistakes, but he is the first to admit when he is wrong. Overall he is a very likable character and it is easy to get behind him. You want everything to work out for Danny; you genuinely want him to be okay.
While I loved the idea of the story and found Danny to be an intriguing character there were elements of the writing that I wasn't too crazy about. Moore peppers the book with tons of pop culture references, but they are all slightly altered. He often quotes popular songs, movies and televisions but changes them to fit his vampire universe. While at first this was amusing, I soon grew tired of hearing about McJagger and Gwenbeth Paltroff. These almost pop culture references began to throw the book of track. In all honesty, Red Moon Rising is a serious book and these distractions did not tie in with the tone.
I was a little disappointed with the ending as well. There was a great deal of build up between Danny and the villain, Gunther but the climax was a bit lacking. I just feel like things were a bit rushed and we were left will an awful lot of questions. I understand that it was setup for a sequel, but the reader doesn't really get any sort of resolution in the end of book one.
That being said, I will still be looking out for a book two. I feel like Danny's story is just getting started and now I am very invested in what happens to him. I just would have liked to have a little bit more closure before diving into book two. (less)
Born at Midnight was an entertaining read for me, but it did not bring anything new to the table. Paranormal Young Adult Romances are absolutely everywhere and unfortunately, this one did not stand out. I enjoyed it while I was reading it, but I cannot say that it made a lasting impression on me.
I found the story overall to be a bit, shall we say, theatrical. The characters themselves are all a bit over the top and extremely dramatic. Kylie tends to wallow and whine for the majority of the book – which got under my skin. In the rare instances that she put her big girl panties on, she was a smart, snarky character. I can only hope that she will grow up a bit during the next book and learn to stop complaining all of the time.
However, I am completely in love with the secondary characters; especially Kylie’s two roommates, Miranda and Della (a witch and a vampire) and the perverted shapeshifter, Perry. All three of them have a great dynamic and I would have loved to see more of them. They liven up the story and often draw Kylie away from her poor me pity party.
Now, let’s talk love interests. Oh my, there are just so many. Are you tired of the dreaded love triangle? Yeah, me too. Unfortunately, Hunter’s solution for this is to create a love square. Here we have traditional good boy vs. the “misunderstood” bad boy, but now we’ve added exactly one apologizing ex-boyfriend into the mix. Tell me, how many suitors does one girl need? Because there are so many different options, we don’t spend a great deal of time with any of them in particular. Therefore, I did not get a good handle on them and they just end up seeming a bit stereotypical. The additional boy also doesn’t solve the problem of predictability – it is still obvious where the story is going with this one. Simply follow the angst kiddies.
Like I said before, I did enjoy Born at Midnight while I was reading it. The story is easy to follow and the characters are certainly entertaining, but do not expect anything out of the box. Hunter sticks with the tried and true Young Adult + Paranormal Romance formula and produces a light, entertaining read. If you are looking for something to keep you occupied for a few hours that does not exactly bog your brain down, then give Born at Midnight a try.(less)
Solid was a fun read with a rather exciting and unique premise. It is obviously a science fiction story – it’s got the whole “mad scientist” thing going on and is about a group of teens with genetic mutations. But it’s a sci/fi that isn’t overtly science fiction – it will appeal to a wide range of readers who aren’t normally fans of the genre. It’s the sort of book that is wonderful for testing the waters of a new genre because it heavily relies on the characters themselves. While they do have special abilities, the book really focuses more on the relationships, interactions and feelings amongst them, rather than their powers. Workinger roots the majority of the book in reality, which makes it easy for readers to accept and champion the characters.
There is an interesting collection of characters with a major variety of personalities amongst them. Because they vary so much, it allows for a lot of different interactions & plotlines to form. The main group of friends consists of Clio, Jack, Bliss, Garrett and Miranda – although Miranda is a bit of the odd girl out. Like I said before, all of the characters have distinct personalities and they all bring something different and interesting into the mix. Clio is a wonderful character – she is an extremely nice person but she doesn’t let herself get walked on. She stands her ground when needed and protects her friends when necessary. Bliss is shy, caring and loyal. Jack is always the man with a plan and the one who calms everyone down. Garrett is the clown of the group and Miranda… well Miranda isn’t really much of a people person.
My only real complaint with the book is the length. I just feel like the story was a bit crammed; you didn’t really get a chance to settle into it. Everything is so bing-bang-boom that you have a hard time connecting with it. The ending in particular was extremely rushed. I really would have liked to see it drawn out a bit more. When you discover who the “bad guy” is the reveal, climax and explanation are all just kind of shoved at you – things don’t have a chance to stew properly.
But, all in all I honestly enjoyed Solid. It was a tremendous series opener and I cannot wait to see where the gang takes things from here! I am a bit skeptical about how Workinger is going to keep all the characters together, I hope that they are all included in the sequel. (less)
I had been wanting to read this book for a while, because the premise sounded really unique and intriguing. I have never read any books about Sandmen...moreI had been wanting to read this book for a while, because the premise sounded really unique and intriguing. I have never read any books about Sandmen before and I saw a lot of great potential in this story. However, I must admit, the book was a little bit of a let down for me.
However, I would like to start off with things that I thoroughly enjoyed about this book. First off, like I said, the concept was extremely unique. In a world where young adult fantasy books are everywhere you turn, I have to give the author huge credit for coming up with such a different topic. Also, on top of the fact that the subject matter was unique, it was also intriguing. I wanted to know more about Eron's universe and was eager to learn more about him.
Speaking of Eron, I think he was a great character. Watching him try and struggle to fit in to the modern world was rather charming. Unlike the vampires of other young adult novels, although Eron was from a different time, he had not adapted to the modern world. He often struggled with the slang of today and simply how to behave. He wears a top hat and suit, opens doors for women and even takes Julia for a stroll - which coincidentally, was one of my favorite quotes from the book:
"He holds the mall door open, and just as I'm thinking, Oh, how sweet, he extends the crook of his elbow to me. I stand there for a moment, wondering if he's just trying to check the time on his wristwatch, but then I realize he isn't wearing one. Tentatively, I put my hand on his forearm, and he claps his hand over it, just like in those old-time movies. We're strolling. People are staring at us."
Isn't that just adorable? They are strolling! Now, on to the things that bothered me about Sleepless. The first of which, was Julia. I just could not connect with her, no matter what I did. I just did not find her character to be interesting, in fact I found her rather drab. I really take issue to this, because she is one of the two main characters in the book.
I also had a problem with the story; the ending in particular. Just as it was picking up speed, it abruptly ended. I don't want to spoil anything for anyone, but Griffin's actions in the very end were completely out of character. He is made out to be super possessive and he definitely would have put up more of a fight.
Overall, I did enjoy Sleepless. I just didn't love it. It was a quick read and the premise was interesting, but it did not pull me in like I had hoped it would.(less)
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