3.5 stars Wow. I feel like a rug has been pulled from under my feet.
In Spirit, Kemmerer deviated from the usual PNR route and brought something even mo...more3.5 stars Wow. I feel like a rug has been pulled from under my feet.
In Spirit, Kemmerer deviated from the usual PNR route and brought something even more emotional and entirely unexpected. It was a bold move, a very risky one, but I always appreciated authors who toy with a genre and make their own rules. While I struggled with both Hunter and Kate at times, I applaud Kemmerer’s effort to do something different and throw her readers off balance.
It could be his element that’s making me love Hunter and hate him at the same time, or it could be a series of questionable actions on his part. Whatever the cause, it made Spirit an extremely thought-provoking, emotional read and left me feeling conflicted… pacified, but not quite ready to trust Hunter completely. Not just yet.
Hunter Garrity is one troubled boy, my friends. If you thought Gabriel’s story was heartbreaking, just you wait until you spend some time in Hunter’s head. Not only is he completely alone in the world, but he is being abused and neglected by the very people who should be taking care of him. I’d probably be bitter and untrusting if I were him, too.
When the new girl shows up in school, Hunter is immediately drawn to her, but he’s sure she has some kind of hidden agenda. Everyone always does, right? Why would she be any different? Unfortunately, Hunter is paranoid, but he is also right – Kate Sullivan is a Guide in training, and she may not be there to get Hunter specifically, but she is definitely after the Merricks.
Hunter has no idea whom to trust, but more importantly, he just can’t decide where his loyalties lie. He wants desperately to hate the Merricks and do what he was taught was right, but they keep making it impossible by being reliable and nice. Guards, on the other hand, haven’t done a single thing right, but Hunter’s father was a Guard and Hunter was trained to become one, so what does that say about him? Every part of Hunter’s story is extremely painful. There were times when I wanted to strangle him, but even then I felt more pity than anger. Kemmerer did an outstanding job with this character, possibly better than with anyone else.
The noose is tightening around the Merricks. The Guards are starting to view them as formidable opponents instead of just underestimating them like they used to. Things are more dangerous than ever in Spirit and Michael and his brothers are forced to make some hard choices. The easiest thing to do would be to just pack up and leave, but each of them now has a reason to stay.
January 2014 can’t come soon enough. Nick’s story promises to be the most heartbreaking of all and after Spirit, I have no idea where Kemmerer might take it, which is both upsetting and thrilling at the same time. Brava, Ms. Kemmerer!
1. She has an awesome name (I should know, right?) 2. She can write much better than this.
I have a feeling Maya jo...moreHere are two facts about Maya Banks:
1. She has an awesome name (I should know, right?) 2. She can write much better than this.
I have a feeling Maya joined the Fifty Shades club with this one, and she didn't need to do that. I appreciate her books because she usually has no boundaries, but compared to her previous work, this one was relatively tame. Add to that the obscenely rich, dominant man, and the sweet, young, submissive female, and it's pretty clear what you'll end up with.
There were a few things I liked about Rush, but all in all, I am not impressed. (less)
I’d like to be able to say that Just Remember to Breathe was a complete waste of my time, but it wasn’t. Yes, most of it was downright horrible, the w...moreI’d like to be able to say that Just Remember to Breathe was a complete waste of my time, but it wasn’t. Yes, most of it was downright horrible, the writing isn’t even worth thinking about, it needs hours and hours with a decent editor and the author should never, under any circumstances, write from a female perspective again. But underneath the cheesy love story was a whole different story that was touching, genuine and honest. That story, the story of a young soldier, badly wounded in Afghanistan, who just wants to find a way to get rid of the pain and the guilt and live his life as normally as possible, is a story that should have been the main focus of this book. That’s the story I wanted to read.
But I’m getting ahead of myself again.
Just Remember to Breathe is the first book in a series called Thompson sisters. From what I understand (and I did some research for the good of mankind), each sister will get her book (Julia already has hers), Nora Roberts/Danielle Steel style. I have no idea what made Charles Sheehan-Miles, an ex soldier who currently works with disabled veterans, think that he can write a New Adult love story, and in alternating points of view at that, but Danielle Steel he’s not. He has no understanding of his female characters, which was more than obvious from Alex’s point of view. It made me cringe at times, that’s how bad it was, and Alex herself was as plastic as they come.
About Alex and Dylan’s relationship, I’ll say this (and try not to grit my teeth in the process): they met as teens on a trip to Israel and stayed more or less together for years, even with four thousand miles between them. Then, while he was in Afghanistan, they broke up over a misunderstanding and he was wounded a few days later. Alex didn’t hear from him again until he showed up at Columbia and they were forced to do research together. The entire thing was blatantly unbelievable and cheesy, to the point of being laugh out loud funny on several occasions, and not at all touching like it was meant to be.
While in college, Alex was sexually assaulted twice by the same guy, a family friend her parents wholeheartedly approved of. This is the part that truly made me angry because it was handled superficially with absolutely no understanding for the women that go through such a thing. It was all a huge cliché and the author insisted on using those empty phrases you can read in cheap self-help articles, probably because he didn’t know any better. The rapist was just as bad, poorly written, made to be either incredibly stupid or just begging to be caught. The entire thing was thrown in just to create an extra obstacle for Alex and Dylan and I resented that.
There were two significant relationships in this book, and while Alex and Dylan’s oftentimes wandered into ridiculous(ly unbelievable) territory, the relationship between Dylan and his fellow soldier and friend Sherman was simply wonderful. Those few brief conversations between them, their loyalty and friendship, the genuine emotions I felt, the understanding, all of it made this book worth reading, despite so many unforgivable problems.
I think Charles Sheehan-Miles should have just written what I suspect he really wanted to write, even though it probably wouldn’t sell as well. If he ever decides to write a story about a young man struggling with PTSD, war injuries, brain damage and guilt, I’ll be glad to read it. But more if this? No, thank you.
Honestly, I hate doing this to a self-published author, I do, but honesty above all, right? You won’t have any trouble finding many four and five star reviews, so please read some of those too before making your decision. My opinion is just one of many.
Everyone knows that Michael is my favorite Merrick (if you have any illusions that you’ll be able to take him from me, please keep in mind that I have...moreEveryone knows that Michael is my favorite Merrick (if you have any illusions that you’ll be able to take him from me, please keep in mind that I have mad ninja skills I’ve been keeping under wraps all this time and that I won’t hesitate to use them), but what you might not know is that smart, calm, level-headed Nick is a close second. There was always something especially vulnerable about him that made me want to hide him and protect him.
I must admit that I love the direction Nick’s story is taking. What lies ahead of him is sure to be painful and extremely difficult, but I hope he’ll find the courage to go where his heart leads him, despite what his brothers might think. In the end, it probably won’t be nearly as terrible as he’s imagining it.
Ever since Spark, I’ve been uneasy when I thought of Nick (and I do think about the Merricks more often than I care to admit). I didn’t like Quinn for him, she is too unpredictable, too wild and self-centered. But Breathless showed a different side of her, and a different side of Nick, too, and I can’t wait to see where it will all lead them in Nick’s full-length novel, scheduled for January 2014. I liked Adam the second he showed up. I think he might be exactly what Nick needs – gentle and wise beyond his age, but also a bit pushy and determined not to let anyone dictate his life. I don’t doubt Nick’s happy ending at all, I just hope neither of them will get too hurt in the meanwhile.
January 2014, huh? Where’s that darn pre-order button?
The first thing you need to know about Sister Assassin (or Mind Games, title of the US edition) is that it’s absolutely thrilling. Ferguson, my Kindle...moreThe first thing you need to know about Sister Assassin (or Mind Games, title of the US edition) is that it’s absolutely thrilling. Ferguson, my Kindle, was temporarily unavailable so I was forced to read it on my iPhone and my eyes nearly fell out, but I couldn't stop. Not for a second. I wouldn't have stopped to save my life.
Sister Assassin is a story about two sisters, Fia and Annie, and the narrative is divided between their two points of view. It also jumps back and forth in time, and these flashbacks (both Annie’s and Sofia’s) allow us to fill in the crucial backstory. The sisters live in a boarding school for talented girls. Annie is blind, but she is also a Seer, able to predict the future to a certain extent. However, the real asset is Fia, for whose talent there isn’t even a proper name. Her instinct, the tiny voice that tells right from wrong, never fails her. She always knows the best course of action, even when she doesn’t understand the reason.
Her ability doesn’t really help her to defend herself from the school and its owner, Mr. Keane, when he starts holding Annie hostage in order to force Fia to do his bidding. She’s a girl who can do anything – predict stocks, steal anything they need, kill and get away with it. She always knows which road to take if she needs to get away.
In the process of training her, they completely broke her. Fia is a disorganized mess of violent thoughts and White’s writing reflected this perfectly. I honestly didn’t think that she, as a writer, was capable of such a thing. It reminded me just a bit of Tahereh Mafi, and you all know how I feel about her. In Annie’s chapters, the writing was more balanced, but Fia’s was full of jumbled, disjointed sentences and repetitiveness. It was the perfect way to keep the damage that was done to her constantly present in the reader’s mind.
In this room I have picked which gun was unloaded out of ten options. And then they pulled the trigger on me. I have picked stocks that went on to skyrocket. I have picked which pencil I would shove into Ms. Robertson’s ear until she kicked me out for thinking about it.
Ms. Robertson, you see, is Mr. Keane’s secretary and a (mind) Reader. The school also has Seers, and Feelers (empaths). Under their watchful eye, it’s almost impossible to plan a successful escape, but Fia is better trained than any of them and she has her own ability to help her.
The romance was completely unconventional, and all the more exciting because of it. Sofia had no idea whom she could trust, and neither did I. I liked James a lot, but his every action was morally dubious, and it was precisely that that made him perfect for Fia in a sad, twisted way. Theirs is a romance I resisted for as long as I could because I felt that a part of it is rotten at its core, but in the end I had no choice but to accept it and want it for both of them.
Make sure to have a free afternoon when you decide to read this book. You will not be able to put it down, that much I can promise you, it will consume your every thought. Sister Assassin doesn’t end with a cliffhanger, but things are far from resolved. The ending IS an ending, but it is also a promise of a great second installment. I’m in. How about you?
Based on the cover and the (admittedly vague) synopsis, it would be easy enough to assume that Recalled is just another formulaic paranormal book told...moreBased on the cover and the (admittedly vague) synopsis, it would be easy enough to assume that Recalled is just another formulaic paranormal book told from alternating POVs, but dismissing it as such would be a grave error. When I signed up for this tour, I had no idea what to expect. I’ve heard great many things about Cambria Hebert’s work, almost all of them positive, but I wasn’t sure I’d enjoy her style. I do.
Right now, off the top of my head, I could probably name about seven YA books that revolve around the theme of dying/crossing over/grim reapers, and yet, Cambria Hebert found a way to offer something new. Her worldbuilding, although quite narrow, is very imaginative. She found a perfect balance between creepy and fun, and the tone of this entire novel was somewhere in the middle, with a healthy dose of sweet to make it even better.
Dex and Piper are both wonderful characters, completely unpredictable and fun. I enjoyed the many differences in their voices, and I enjoyed never really knowing what Dex would do next. He didn’t make it easy for us to like him and he made some very questionable choices, but that’s precisely what I loved about Recalled. It kept me on edge. Oh, but you have to meet the grim reaper! He is something else. In fact, nothing in this book is quite what you’d expect. It’s far from perfect, true, but I enjoyed every second of it.
The final part was where Recalled lost half a star. It was a bit all over the place, unfocused, like Hebert didn’t quite know where to take it or how to get there. The switches between two points of view came far too fast and I was a tiny bit confused at times. Wow, I made it sound bad, didn’t I? In reality, it was just a minor thing that bothered me precisely because what came before was so good. Recalled is an excellent book, fun and at times surprising, and if you’re into paranormal romance but have been craving something original for a very long time, trust Hebert to deliver.
Objectively,his book really deserves more than 2 stars, but two stars means it was ok, and that's all it was for me. I like my urban fantasy a bit mor...moreObjectively,his book really deserves more than 2 stars, but two stars means it was ok, and that's all it was for me. I like my urban fantasy a bit more straightforward and Between is more fantasy than anything else. Unfortunately, it just wasn't for me. Full review to come.(less)
2.5 stars It has never been easier to describe a book in a single sentence. Here it goes: The Rules by Stacey Kade is the young adult and somewhat more...more2.5 stars It has never been easier to describe a book in a single sentence. Here it goes: The Rules by Stacey Kade is the young adult and somewhat more civilized version of Alien vs. Predator.
I kid you not.
We have Ariane, a part alien in hiding with impressive telepathic and telekinetic powers; and Rachel, a spoiled, predatory rich girl with the tendency to bully people into submission. 80% of this book is a huge battle of wills between these two, so if you’re not a fan of high school drama and plans of revenge (no matter how justified), you’d best stay away.
Between them stands Zane Bradshaw, one of Rachel’s best friends. His brother is the city’s (and especially their father’s) pride and joy and whatever Zane does, he can’t possibly measure up. He knows he is simply not good enough, and it was finally and definitely proven a year ago when his mother left him.
When we first see Zane, we see him in the worst possible light. He is part of the in-crowd, one of the bullies, and while he doesn’t actively humiliate anyone, he doesn’t do a single thing to stop his friends either. It was hard to cease despising him long enough to actually consider his reasons, but once I did, he and I turned a new leaf. While his point of view came as a complete surprise, I started appreciating it pretty early on. I don’t think I could have understood him as well as I did if I was limited to Ariane’s point of view alone.
As for Ariane, I loved that she wasn’t a pushover. I was also fascinated by her relationship with her Father, the man who saved her from the lab and allowed her to assume his dead daughter’s identity. It was so hard for him to see some other girl, some alien girl in his daughter’s place, but still he protected her and cared for her and loved her as much as he could.
For the first six years of my life, give or take, I’d thought my name was Wannoseven. It was only after I escaped – with Mark Tucker’s help – that I learned Wannoseven wasn’t a name at all but a numerical designation. 107. Pathetic.
Perhaps this will sound a bit silly, but I generally dislike villains that are too evil. In The Rules, there are two: Rachel and her grandfather Dr. Jacobs. Both are evil to the point of being cartoonish and consequently, neither of them feels like an actual threat. A truly frightening villain has some small part you can identify with, something that makes you wonder how they got to that point. A well-crafted villain is made of many colors, and while black may be predominant, it’s certainly not the only one.
And whatever happened to worldbuilding, Ms. Kade? Mentioning Roswell does not a worldbuilding make! Perhaps more will come in future installments, but right now, I’m not even sure The Rules qualifies as sci-fi. It reads very much like a contemporary with a few weak paranormal elements.
In addition, I think this book’s biggest fault is that it’s just not memorable. After The Ghost and the Goth, I expected more from Stacey Kade – I was sure she’d give us unforgettable characters at the very least. But alas, I’m having trouble remembering their names even though I finished the book no more than five days ago. So when I compare that to names (and characters) like Froi of the Exiles, Georgia and Shaun Mason, or even Janelle Tenner, my opinion on this series becomes crystal clear.
It's not often that a sequel outshines its predecessor, but with Through the Ever Night, it seems to be the general consensus. We've had a few example...moreIt's not often that a sequel outshines its predecessor, but with Through the Ever Night, it seems to be the general consensus. We've had a few examples here and there, and they've all proved to be pretty memorable, but I don't think I've ever seen a case quite like this. Don't get me wrong – I loved Under the Never Sky, it was fresh and dynamical and it left a lasting impression, but due to its intensity, Through the Ever Night is far more remarkable. Rossi has grown more confident as a writer, the success of her debut has done her a world of good, and her newly found self-assurance shines from every page. As with everything else, the attitude makes so much difference, it's a well-known fact, and Rossi now firmly stands on her own two feet. I believe we can expect great things from her.
I deem it necessary to mention that the book is perfectly paced. Like its predecessor, it’s told from both Aria and Perry’s point of view, and while third person alternating view is by far my least favorite narrative mode, Rossi made it work splendidly. I can’t imagine Through the Ever Night told any other way.
It goes without saying that things never go smoothly for Perry and Aria. Theirs is a romance I’m very fond of and left to their own devices, they would be no more than a step away from their happily ever after. However, there’s not one, but two worlds between them: Aria’s Dwellers would never accept someone like Peregrine, a savage by their standards, and his Tides have nothing but insults for Aria, with only a few exceptions.
Even though their feelings for each other were constantly being put to the test, through it all, they both grew tremendously as individuals. Aria is nothing like that pale, scared girl from Under the Never Sky. She is confident, fierce, a strong Aud and a good friend. All her attitudes and prejudices are gone. There is both strength and grace in her gait she didn’t possess before, and she certainly knows what to do with a knife. But there are also changes on the inside, she cares for people differently and she values different things. She’d been seeking the comfort of a place. Of walls. A roof. A pillow to rest her head on. Now she realized that the people she loved were what gave her life shape, and comfort, and meaning. Perry and Roar were home.
Changes on Perry are perhaps less evident, but they are just as big. Through his responsibility toward his tribe and more losses than he can count, he gained a somber maturity that he lacked before. His every step, every single word carries more weight, and each decision he makes shapes the lives of many. He is a far cry from that rash, headstrong boy we know from Under the Never Sky, and if I had to choose one thing that really stood out in this book, it would be his characterization – the subtle changes found between the lines, but perhaps more important for the remainder of the story than everything else put together.
There are things in Through the Ever Night that will make you laugh, things that will make you cry, things that will make you inch up nervously in your seat, some that will make you angry enough to punch something (hopefully not someone, though), and things that will make you swoon. Now, aren’t those signs of a perfect read?
I think you’ve all noticed that my five star ratings are few and far between, but a book that had… HAS such a tight hold on my heart, that still lingers in my mind even though it’s been weeks since I’d finished it, definitely deserves my wholehearted support. Veronica Rossi does, too. While the ending was open, but entirely satisfactory, Into the Still Blue can’t come soon enough, I tell you. I will be right here, nervously biting my nails until it does.
Ten Things I’ve Learnt About Love is so far out of my comfort zone that I had to take a train back, but it was definitely worth the trip. It is a soft...moreTen Things I’ve Learnt About Love is so far out of my comfort zone that I had to take a train back, but it was definitely worth the trip. It is a soft, nostalgic story about a woman who is a bit lost but more importantly, who doesn’t want to be found. As the youngest of three daughters, Alice has a hard time finding her place in her own family. She also has a hard time staying in one place; she is a wanderer, restless by nature. It doesn’t take long for her to start feeling trapped so she travels the world to avoid it.
It is a lonely life Alice leads. Unable to create real emotional attachments, or rather prone to denying those she has created, she is a lone island surrounded by people she should be closest to. After spending six months in Mongolia, running from a dysfunctional family, a relationship that made her feel aimless and trapped, she receives the news that her father is dying and returns home.
Daniel is Alice’s real father. He is homeless, a different type of wanderer, but a wanderer nevertheless. He is, in part, homeless by choice; the life without attachments suits him. He refuses to leave the city, though, because that’s where he thinks Alice is, although he knows very little about her. For her part, Alice doesn’t even know that the doctor dying in their family home isn’t her real father. He was her mother’s husband, father of her two sisters, and he raised her as his own, even after her mother died.
I don’t even know what you look like. I don’t even know where you are. I tried to find you, you must believe that. I went to her house and rang the bell, but no one answered, and when I looked through the window, I saw the marks on the carpet, where the furniture used to be.
It wasn’t always easy being inside the head of someone so detached. In lack of her emotional responses, I’d try to assume what she would feel in any given situation and quickly become frustrated when Alice remained unchanged by this new experience. At least on the surface. There were some complicated feelings underneath, but she never reacted as one would expect.
It takes a lot for me to pick up a realistic novel, and even more if it’s literary fiction, but I rarely regret it in the end. That is the case with Ten Things I’ve Learnt about Love. I loved the change, the maturity of it, I loved that it didn’t have a messy beginning and a clean ending. I loved the asymmetry of it, the nostalgia that poured out of every page. I loved that it was a quiet read, never melodramatic, complicated and yet so very simple at the same time. It made me want to step out of my comfort zone more often because I always come back a different, if not better person, and really, what more can one ask?
Well, it seems I can still enjoy dystopian after all! Now, this statement (and my delight) may seem a bit odd to those of you who don’t know me very w...moreWell, it seems I can still enjoy dystopian after all! Now, this statement (and my delight) may seem a bit odd to those of you who don’t know me very well, but I was never a big fan of the (sub)genre in the first place, and there are only a handful of dystopian titles that I actually loved. (Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me trilogy and Ann Aguirre’s Razorland are the only two that quickly come to mind.) I was more than a little surprised and more than a little thrilled when I was able to add Defiance to this very short list.
The story is equally divided between two points of view, Rachel’s and Logan’s. These characters won me over in a heartbeat. Rachel, our heroine, is a strong, independent, stubborn girl in a society in which girls like her shouldn’t exist. While her peers sat demurely with their mothers or their Protectors and learned embroidery, Rachel was secretly being taught how to survive in the wilderness by her liberal father. Logan is her father’s apprentice, a brilliant young inventor who was orphaned as a boy when his mother dared walk the streets without her Protector and was whipped to death on the town square. As much as Rachel hates living under the Commander’s iron fist, Logan hates it even more because when he looks at their leader, he sees the man who murdered his mother.
When Rachel’s father disappears outside the town limits, where there are no guarantees of safety and a huge monster, the Cursed One, preys on the unprotected, Rachel and Logan will have to go against the Commander to bring him back.
Now that I think about it, the worldbuilding wasn’t nearly as complete as I’d have liked it to be, but in all honesty, I got so caught up in the action and the romance that I completely failed to notice until much, much later. In retrospect, there really should have been more background, more explanations offered. What little there was, however, I liked well enough.
The romance was multilayered and complicated, just the way I like them, and I was feeling things along with Rachel and Logan from the very first page. There were, however, hints of a love triangle in the last part and I fervently hope that C.J. Redwine won’t take that road and that she’ll continue to build the wonderful, honest, warm romance between Rachel and Logan without unnecessary drama.
I need Logan. Not because he could plan our way out of this. But because on some basic, soul-deep level within me, he is the solid ground beneath my feet. The one who will move mountains to keep his promises. The one who looks at me and sees.
Which brings me to Logan himself, (again) and let me tell you, he is one amazing guy. He’s not just Rachel’s love interest, he is a hero in his own right. I love that he’s both a skilled fighter and a brilliant inventor, and that he knows exactly what his goals are and what sacrifices he needs to make to accomplish them.
My hat’s off to you, C.J. Redwine. I can’t wait to see where you’ll take them in the next book.
Crystal Cove is the fourth book in Lisa Kleypas’ Friday Harbor series, the first paranormal series in her rather extensive bibliography. People more f...moreCrystal Cove is the fourth book in Lisa Kleypas’ Friday Harbor series, the first paranormal series in her rather extensive bibliography. People more familiar with Kleypas’ work seem to dislike this series, but I enjoyed the first three books. They were just cute, feel-good, forgettable reads, perfect for rainy Sundays.
Justine is a hereditary witch, and a powerful one at that, but she doesn’t want to join her mother’s coven. Instead, she bought a small inn and she’s running it happily with her cousin Zoe. Justine is mostly happy with her life, but she misses the only thing she’s never had – love. Jason Black is a half-Japanese millionaire, an extremely driven and extremely successful businessman. But he needs the one thing money can’t buy –a soul. To get it, he needs to steal a powerful witch’s grimoire, and Justine seems like the perfect choice. Neither of them counts on falling in love, but once they do, another problem arises. Because of something called the witch’s bane, no witch has ever been able to keep the man she loves. They always die within months.
I found it odd that the issue of Jason’s soullessness was never properly addressed. It was an essential part of the story, and yet we never did find out how it came to be. Was he born without a soul or did something happen to him later? In fact, a great many things about Jason weren’t explained and I never understood him, despite the addition of his point of view.
On top of that, I didn’t understand what brought them together in the first place. It makes sense that Justine was drawn to him, but the entire process of falling in love was somehow glazed over. Consequently, I was never really invested in their relationship, nor did I feel anxious about their happily ever after. In fact, when Jason did something he wasn’t supposed to and Justine forgave him, I was disappointed that he didn’t have to work for it at all.
With a half-Japanese character, Kleypas explored shibaru, Japanese rope bondage. Allow me to put this into context: Kleypas’ romances are usually of the hot-and-sweet variety (sweet being the key word here), and she writes characters that fit this type of story. Bondage of any kind simply doesn’t work, and Japanese bondage – more a form of art than anything else – was, to be entirely honest, slightly ridiculous.
The narrator, Tanya Eby, is a perfect choice for this type of book. Her voice has a very pleasant, calming quality. Above all, I enjoyed the Arkansas accent she used for Priscilla – it was well-done and endlessly amusing. Eby saved this book for me – given my lack of connection with Justine and Jason, I probably would have dropped it halfway through, but Eby’s entertaining narration kept me going.
I doubt I’ll even bother picking up Lightning Bay, the next book in this series. Instead, I’ll probably find some of Kleypas’s older contemporary books and hopefully find out why she has so many loyal fans.
Is there anything a mother wouldn’t do to save her son? Even if they are mostly estranged and angry at each other? Would she willingly walk into a pla...moreIs there anything a mother wouldn’t do to save her son? Even if they are mostly estranged and angry at each other? Would she willingly walk into a place where the air is poisonous and hundreds of zombies roam about?
Of course she would. I would, too.
That’s the choice Briar is forced to make, and it really isn’t a choice at all. Sixteen years ago, Seattle was destroyed by one of her late husband’s inventions, and she became an outcast, a poor, single mother with no one to rely on. From that point on, Briar and her son were lucky when they could cross the street without someone spitting on them for something neither of them played any part in. Briar’s son Zeke is only sixteen and he’s desperate to clear his father’s name, not knowing that his father really is guilty of turning Seattle into a poisonous prison. And there is no doubt in Briar’s mind, her late husband poisoned the air, flattened the city and created rotters, the zombies. But every boy wants his father to be perfect, so Zeke runs away from home to go to Seattle and prove his father’s innocence.
As much as I enjoyed the (too few) steampunk elements in Boneshaker, what I found most intriguing was the complexity of Briar’s relationship with her teenage son Zeke. I normally dislike situations that stem from lack of communication between characters, but in Boneshaker, their reasons for not sharing secrets with each other were so painful and real that I couldn’t blame Cherie Priest for deciding to write it exactly like that. It is what made these characters truly alive, as if they didn’t exist until they were around each other or thinking about each other. Despite the alternate history setting and all those fantastic inventions, despite the zombies and everything else that was exciting, Briar and Zeke were what really kept me on the edge of my seat. When it comes to character bulding, Cherie Priest is the best psychologist I’ve come across since Ann Aguirre, which is saying something, my friends.
But it appears that everything good comes at a price, and excellent characterization was very pricey indeed. In terms of steampunk, Boneshaker leaves a lot to be desired. I realize I’m very nitpicky when it comes to this sub-genre, but if authors won’t use the endless possibilities it provides, I see no point in writing it at all. The steampunk bits did not blow me away like they did in Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, and I expected more from Priest language-wise, to be honest. Still, keep in mind that Boneshaker won the 2010 Locus Award for Science-Fiction, so this is probably just me being unreasonable and difficult. I get like that sometimes, just ask my siblings. :)
Although Boneshaker didn’t leave me completely satisfied, I am intrigued and eager to read the next book in this series.
And so my steampunk marathon continues. Surprisingly enough, I liked this companion novella more than I liked the book itself. But both are pretty awe...moreAnd so my steampunk marathon continues. Surprisingly enough, I liked this companion novella more than I liked the book itself. But both are pretty awesome. (less)
I think I liked the idea much more than I liked the book itself. It was just too... contemporary and focused on boy troubles for my taste. The last pa...moreI think I liked the idea much more than I liked the book itself. It was just too... contemporary and focused on boy troubles for my taste. The last part, however, was a game-changer, and it totally made me sob. So I'm officially torn.(less)
I rated Glow somewhat higher than I normally rate this type of books, due solely to the incredibly strong emotional impact it had on me. Some of the c...moreI rated Glow somewhat higher than I normally rate this type of books, due solely to the incredibly strong emotional impact it had on me. Some of the characters in it might prove forgettable in time, but I will never forget the pressing, claustrophobic feeling it left me with. I’ve read a few reviews in advance and I was prepared to be unsettled by it, but nothing could prepare me for this story in which people, every last one of them, were monsters, usually hidden behind a very pleasant façade.
When, decades ago, two identical ships were launched into space on a mission to find New Earth and settle, everyone thought their chances of survival were pretty much the same. After all, the only difference between them was the religious conviction of their respective crews. Weaverly and Kieran belong to the first generation of children born on the Empyrean – the ship with a non-religious crew. They are both fifteen and thinking about getting married – in their circumstances, children are always welcome, no matter how young the parents. They have their lives planned out for them and they’re happy with the way things are going. But the New Horizon crew hasn’t had as much luck. They haven’t been able to procreate at all, which means their crew is fairly old and they are pretty desperate. Their solution is to attack the Empyrean and steal all their girls, nearly destroying the ship in the process. Suddenly, Weaverly and Kieran aren’t even on the same ship and each of them is dealing with a different set of disasters.
The name Weaverly seems like an odd and unfortunate choice, especially for third person narration. Since Ryan seems to harbor a strong dislike for personal pronouns, it’s used in almost every sentence, and, being a mouthful, it clogs the natural flow of sentences and makes the already thick narrative even harder to read. That is, writing-wise, the only objection I really have. Amy Kathleen Ryan showed unusual skill and control.
Because so many awful, hateful things happen in it, Glow is a hard book to like. There is no real warmth between the characters, nothing even remotely positive or hopeful, just violence, horrible moral choices and more violence. One couldn’t exactly call Kieran a hero, not by any stretch of the imagination, and the same goes for the rest of the characters. They behaved exactly as one would expect people in such an isolated environment to behave: they have deviated drastically from moral and ethical standards of society.
Faced with a crew made up entirely of rebellious boys, Kieran decided to lead them through a religion he pretty much made up on the spot. The ease with which this decision was made and the way those boys accepted it was incredibly creepy and eye-opening. Their sudden faith in Kieran was alarming, and the speed with which this cult of personality arose staggering.
There are many more things that unsettled me and kept me awake at night, but writing about them would give away too much of the plot. It’s best to go into this book knowing very little about it. Fortunately, I have the sequel, Spark, on hand, but I’m not brave enough to read t right away. My poor little heart needs a lengthy break.
3.5 stars Oh, I should have listened to this entire series on audio! It’s a completely different experience. With her great accents and excellent chara...more3.5 stars Oh, I should have listened to this entire series on audio! It’s a completely different experience. With her great accents and excellent characterization, Emily Gray breathed life into a series that very much needed it in its last installment. She’s done such an amazing job that I’ll purposely seek out other audiobooks narrated by her, regardless of the genre, and enjoy them while driving to work and back. Of all the narrators I’ve come across so far, she and Holter Graham are by far my favorites.
Unfortunately, Gail Carriger doesn’t deserve such praise. Timeless is essentially plotless, and what little excitement there is pales in comparison to previous books. Everything I used to love about this series is gone – even the humor isn’t what it used to be. The Parasol Protectorate simply lost its charm. It’s a good thing Carriger decided to end the series when she did – this is where we would have parted ways anyway. By making Timeless the last book, she allowed me to say my goodbyes with a smile and a little bit of nostalgia, instead of the bitter taste so many authors left me with.
Timeless picks up two years after the end of Heartless. Alexia’s daughter Prudence is an extraordinary child and she’s keeping her biological parents and her adoptive father, Lord Akeldama, very busy indeed. She’s even managed to attract the attention of Queen Matakara, vampire Queen of the Alexandria Hive, the oldest supernatural in the world. Alexia, Prudence and their numerous entourage travel to Egypt to indulge Matakara, and hopefully, to uncover Alessandro Tarabotti’s plans for the supernaturals. Meanwhile, Biffy and Professor Lyall investigate the murder of a Beta, but they somehow spend more time flirting with each other than actually investigating. The budding romance between these two was my favorite part of this book. I loved seeing a different side of Lyall – the reserved professor is surprisingly passionate under the surface, much to my (and Biffy’s) delight.
I never gossip. I observe. And then relay my observations to practically everyone.
After many adventures and several misunderstandings, the relationship between Lord and Lady Maccon is finally steady and calm, but never boring! After all, neither of them is very conventional and Lady Maccon becomes rather restless if she isn’t involved in at least three different conspiracies and secret societies at any given time. But the tenderness she shows her darling husband, and his complete and utter adoration for her turned this book into a satisfying conclusion, despite its many flaws.
You know I have to mention some of those flaws, right? I’ll try to make it quick, like pulling off a band aid. The most important thing is that I wanted more! Many questions were left unanswered and I’m still unclear on quite a few things. The humor… oh, the humor! I used to adore Lord Akeldama and his many fashion experiments, but he, too, became tiresome after a while. Much like the series, he just lost his shine.
In the end, I will go back to the beginning: if you’re considering reading this book, do yourselves a favor and get it on audio. Emily Gray made everything so much more interesting. As for the rest, this is one of those times when saying goodbye isn’t hard. I’m sure Gail Carriger has a lot more to offer, but in a different series and with a new set of characters.
I still haven’t quite decided on my rating for this book. It’s somewhere between 3 and 4 stars, but since I’m out of time and I hate being indecisive,...moreI still haven’t quite decided on my rating for this book. It’s somewhere between 3 and 4 stars, but since I’m out of time and I hate being indecisive, I’ll go with 4. On the one hand, Pushing the Limits was a very emotional reading experience for me. It made me laugh and it made me cry several times, which is a rare occurrence these days, contrary to what the rumors would have you believe. On the other hand, though, when I read it at all, I like my contemporary YA to be extremely realistic, and there were things about this book that just didn’t sit well with the adult, rational part of my mind, or rather my 28 years of experience. But I’m getting ahead of myself…
Echo Emerson used to be a golden girl: she went to all the right parties, had the best grades, the most popular boyfriend, a large group of friends and an older brother who adored her. Then, during her sophomore year, her brother Aires was killed in Afghanistan and, just months later, she was brutally attacked. Her arms are covered in ugly red scars, but even though Echo knows that her bipolar mother was somehow involved, that entire day is just a huge black hole in her memory.
Before his parents died in a fire, Noah Hutchinson used to be just like Echo, successful and popular. He played sports and dreamed about being accepted to some of the best colleges in the country. For the past two years, he and his two younger brothers have been separated and living in the foster system. The kids are together and with the same foster parents the entire time, but Noah has been moved around more times than he can count. Gradually, he gave up on his dreams, he stopped playing sports when he couldn’t afford it anymore, and started experimenting with soft drugs. Echo and Noah are united by a common goal: breaking into the school counselor’s office and finding out what happened to Echo in her mother’s apartment and where exactly Noah’s baby brothers live.
Even though I had no trouble connecting with the characters (especially Echo), their relationship was very hard for me to swallow at first. McGarry kept telling me how they felt about each other and my mind registered it, but it took quite a while for me to actually feel it alongside them. This is my main grievance with this book: no matter how much I liked it, when I compare it to contemporary masterpieces written by Kirsty Eagar, Melina Marchetta, Cath Crowley, Jandy Nelson or Hannah Moskowitz, for example, somehow it loses some of its shine.
Another thing I just have to mention is Noah himself. It was impossible not to notice how truly wonderful he was, but instead of it being a good thing, it was a double-edged sword. Boys like Noah simply don’t exist. Kids in his situation aren’t just one deep conversation away from getting their act together, restoring their trust in humanity and setting their priorities straight. They don’t just wake up that easily. I needed Noah to be damaged according to his circumstances, but he just looked like it on the surface and underneath he was perfect.
Now that I managed to get it all off my chest, please disregard everything I wrote and go grab a copy of this book. It is, after all, a very promising debut that will hopefully make you laugh and cry just as much as it did me. It is, perhaps, more suitable for teens and people in their early twenties, but I guess that’s how it’s supposed to be.
It should take me no more than three words to convince you to read this book. They are the same three words that convinced ME to read it, and I haven’...moreIt should take me no more than three words to convince you to read this book. They are the same three words that convinced ME to read it, and I haven’t regretted it at all. Those three words are… are you ready? Four hot brothers. That’s all you need to know.
*sigh* Oh, okay. I suppose I should write a “proper” review. Here it goes:
Four Merrick brothers have a very strong connection to the elements: Michael controls earth, twins Gabriel and Nick control fire and air respectively, and the youngest, Chris, controls water. All four of them are far more powerful than they should be which causes the other Elementals to fear them and attack them at every opportunity. The brothers can’t use their elements to defend themselves because they’re all young and untrained and loss of control on their part could mean the loss of many innocent lives.
When two older boys ambush Chris and beat him almost to death, a girl from school comes to his rescue. She somehow chases them away and gets him home but Michael, his legal guardian since their parents died, practically chases her out of the house. Chris doesn’t really know her, even though she’s in some of his classes. He’s heard about her, though, everyone has. People say that she sleeps around with anyone who asks nicely enough. But Becca isn’t like that at all. She’s been through a lot and she’s just trying to keep her head down and avoid being noticed. Then, suddenly, she is in the middle of Chris’s drama, and a gorgeous new boy is showing a real interest in her.
You probably figured out from that last sentence that there is a love triangle in this book. In my humble opinion, there’s no such thing as a good/interesting love triangle, but I can tell you that this one is less painful than most. It made sense in a strange kind of way and it kept me in suspense because, unlike with other love triangles, I actually wasn’t sure which boy Becca would end up with. Another thing worth mentioning is Brigid Kemmerer’s writing – it is much better than I expected when I first heard about this book. Her style doesn’t draw attention from the story itself, it is straightforward, clean and very easy to read.
Storm doesn’t end with a cliffhanger, but it has a pretty open ending. So many things are unresolved and I can’t wait for Gabriel’s book to be out. This is the type of not-quite-cliffhanger I can live with: everyone is safe, but there are a lot of questions that need answers.
If you are going to read Storm, definitely read the short story prequel first. It takes place about 4 years earlier, and it helped me understand why Michael is the way he is. My recommendation: go read it. Just keep those smelling salts near – these boys will make you swoon!
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