4.5 stars The last two books in Julie Kagawa’s impressive bibliography – first The Lost Prince and now The Eternity Cure – show a certain level of matu...more4.5 stars The last two books in Julie Kagawa’s impressive bibliography – first The Lost Prince and now The Eternity Cure – show a certain level of maturity and self-assuredness that simply wasn’t there before. I always enjoyed her books, even those first few ones in which she relied on familiar mythology and tropes, but now that she trusts herself enough to fly solo, like has become too small a word for how I feel. In The Eternity Cure more than ever before, Kagawa kept all the fine threads tightly in control.
Things that bothered me in The Immortal Rules, like lack of backstory and worldbuilding, were neatly taken care of with Dawn of Eden, a prequel novella published in the ‘Til the World Ends anthology. Going into this sequel with the hows and whys properly explained allowed me to relax and sink into the story without the constant nagging questions rising at the back of my mind.
Our long-awaited reunion with Allison Sekemoto brings with it a few surprises. Months have passed since she left Eden behind, and while she’s getting closer to Kanin every day, she still hasn’t found him. After so many months spent in solitude, searching fruitlessly for her Sire, Allie is a somewhat different vampire. She is much stronger and far more confident, but even more importantly, she knows who and what she is, and although she suffers from occasional bursts of nostalgia, she never whines or wallows in self-pity anymore. This Allie is someone I can get behind, a person (oh, fine, a vampire) I can admire.
It’s probably why I felt so strongly about the romance this time, when it failed to touch me at all in the first book. Back then, I simply didn’t understand the attraction between her and Zeke, it seemed like something included pro forma rather than a passionate, heartfelt thing. Allie is not the only one who’s changed, matured. Zeke is hardened, different, but still the kind, gentle boy somewhere underneath. Still, this new and improved version seemed somehow more believable in those circumstances. To explain it like a vampire would: he stopped being prey and became a hunter instead.
After reading dozens of reviews, I think it’s safe to conclude that Jackal, Allie’s blood brother, is the readers’ favorite. I just love redeemed characters, but I love characters that dance on that fine line between good and bad, likeable and obnoxious, even more. Allie kept having to remind herself to hate him for what he’s done, and I had the same problem, although it’s safe to say Zeke never came near forgiving and forgetting. Jackal brought with him what the first book sorely lacked – a wonderful sense of humor. Without him, this would have been an action-packed, tense, but humorless adventure.
As much as I enjoyed my love-hate relationship with Jackal, Kanin remains my favorite. Quiet and solemn, he seemed a bit more approachable this time around, and possibly a bit warmer too, especially towards Allie. We finally learned about his past, and the revelations were timed perfectly. Instead of turning me and everyone else against him, they just made me love him even more.
The Eternity Cure is positively addictive and it took me completely by surprise. As someone who felt merely lukewarm about the first book, I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did, but I said exactly the same about The Lost Prince. I won’t make the same mistake a third time.
Jessica McClain is the only female werewolf in existence. She is also the strongest, fastest and most powerful among werewolves. Not even her father,...moreJessica McClain is the only female werewolf in existence. She is also the strongest, fastest and most powerful among werewolves. Not even her father, the strongest Alpha, can force her to obey him if she doesn’t do it willingly. Her first change was met with hostility and anger since it was prophesied that a female werewolf would destroy their entire race. According to a different prophecy, she'll be the one to bring ballance to the entire supernatural community.
But Jessica doesn’t want to rule the werewolves or bring balance to the supernatural world, no matter what the prophecies say. In truth, she just wants to be left alone to run her small PI business, but it simply isn’t in the cards. In Hot Blooded, her pack found itself in the middle of a war, and Jessica had to abandon them all to save her mate from an evil goddess bent on revenge.
In the first book, worldbuilding was a bit neglected in favor of character development, but in Hot Blooded, Carlson more than made up for it. The second part was especially interesting in that regard – Jessica and her friends had to fight all kinds of mythological creatures to get to Rourke, each of them more fascinating than the last.
Hot Blooded is full of heart-pounding action. To save her mate from the evil goddess Selene, Jessica has to fight her way through a forest full of traps from the underworld, but she’s more than up to the task. She’s not just incredibly strong and resistant to hostile magic, she is also quick witted and kind, always ready to risk her life to save someone else. Carlson found a perfect balance for her main character – she made her stubborn and strong, but also compassionate and thoughtful.
Unfortunately, romance is where Hot Blooded fell a tiny bit short. In Full Blooded, Jessica and Rourke discovered their mating bond, but before they had a chance to talk about it, let alone do something more than that, Rourke was taken and Jessica forced to move heaven and earth to save him. He ended up being absent through most of this book, and while I adored both he and Jessica separately, I simply wasn’t invested in their romance as much as I should have been. Hopefully, that will change in Cold Blooded. Carlson is a skilled enough author to make me forget all about it and I already think Rourke is perfect for Jess. I just need to see how well they work together.
Carlson’s secondary characters are extraordinary. I am emotionally attached to every one of them, especially Tyler and Danny. She really took the time to flesh out Jessica's entire inner circle. Her take on vampires was also very enjoyable. While it wasn’t the most original, she at least made their rules fascinating to read about.
I honestly think every urban fantasy fan should give this series a chance, and even those who don’t read much UF would probably find it very easy to read.
I honestly never thought I’d say this, but Frost is even better than Mist. The stakes are higher, the romance is more intense (although still appropri...moreI honestly never thought I’d say this, but Frost is even better than Mist. The stakes are higher, the romance is more intense (although still appropriate for MG readers), and the action is far more exciting.
After spending two months far north, trying to open the iron camps and release their elders, Evan had to return to help the other Elven children, but he is not the lighthearted boy he once was. Watching his parents and hundreds of other Elven waste away in the iron camps changed him, made him mistrustful of all humans, including Nell. During those two months, Nell tried to go back to her usual, everyday life, but a part of her remained with the Elven and especially with Evan. When Star comes to her for help, terrified and panicky, Nell is ready to do anything to save Evan’s world.
She saw shadows start to move on his face, like last time when he’d told her about his family in the iron camp. This time, as he’d told her how cold they’d become, and how they’d walked for days, hardly sleeping, snow formed on his eyelashes and frost on his face.
The harps that are keeping the Elven world alive are slowly going quiet. Without them, there will be no more forest behind the mist, no place the Elven kids can call their own. They would be forced to come to the human world, where they would surely be hunted down by the Watchers and forced into iron camps. There are no adults they can turn to, only Nell and Evan.
This time, the sweetest almost-couple had more than just prejudice and fear to fight – they had to join forces against the cold-hearted ice Elven. A brother and a sister, Loki and Laki, showed up in Nell’s little town and turned Nell’s older sister and her friends into mindless servants. While immune to their powers, Nell was still desperate to protect her sister Gwen.
In Frost, the world around Evan and Nell expanded even more and Kathryn James was really able to let her imagination run wild. When she combined that with her beautiful writing, what resulted was a book that was rich and magical, gentle and more satisfying than any fairy tale.
Nell was even more fierce and daring in this book, and rightfully so. She did achieve the impossible last time after all. Evan, while wounded and traumatized, still kept showing his sweet side, especially around Nell.
All the loose ends were tied in Frost so I don’t think there’ll be another book, but I can hope, right? For someone who doesn’t even read Middle Grade, I’m enjoying this series more than I can put into words.
4.5 stars Perfect Scoundrels was my Waiting on Wednesday pick just over a month ago, and no wonder; I’ve been looking forward to it for months. I loved...more4.5 stars Perfect Scoundrels was my Waiting on Wednesday pick just over a month ago, and no wonder; I’ve been looking forward to it for months. I loved Heist Society and I loved Uncommon Criminals (although maybe just a tiny bit less), but Perfect Scoundrels exceeded all my expectations. It was by far the best of the series, exciting and virtually unputdownable. Finally (finally!) things moved forward between Kat and Hale, but just as Kat recovered from the panic attack their new girlfriend-boyfriend status caused her, the news came that Hale’s grandmother is dead and that he inherited his family’s billion dollar company.
In Perfect Scoundrels, Kat and her crew face the most cunning enemy yet, and the stakes are even higher because they’re defending one of their own. W.W. Hale the Fifth may be an heir and a billionaire, but he is also the most loyal, wonderful person any of them has ever met. Kat’s entire family (and it’s a very large family) will have to work together to fix the mess and steal back the boy that has become irreplaceable to them all. As difficult as that sounds, it’s still easier said than done. Kat’s usual crew – Gabrielle, Nick, Simon and the Bagshaw brothers – will need help from their elders if they’re to outsmart Hale’s enemies and save his company.
It was exactly what Kat would have done – what she had done on a number of occasions – and she felt the sting that comes from knowing that turnabout is absolutely not fair play.
In this emotionally difficult situation, Kat shined brighter than ever. I’ve always admired her, but here she showed the presence of mind and astounding maturity one simply doesn’t expect from a 16-year-old, not even an accomplished thief. Hale always seemed more mature to me, but that was not the case in Perfect Scoundrels. While he was busy mourning and showing us his more vulnerable side, Kat was fighting everyone (including him at times) to steal back the boy she just wasn’t ready to let go.
Once again, Ally Carter’s trademark sense of humor shone from every page, but in this book, she showed a different side of her characters as well – a frightened, more vulnerable side that gave them more credibility. I’ve complained in my earlier reviews that this series lacks emotional depth, but that’s not the case anymore. Finally these characters are three-dimensional. I just hope this won’t be the last time we get to see it.
I think my overall enjoyment of this series is largely due to my love for W.W. Hale the Fifth. He is the perfect love interest (and possibly a hero in his own right) , good looking and genuinely nice, but mysterious enough to keep me on my toes the entire time. He still didn’t share what W.W. stands for, although he came very close in one heartbreaking scene, but we did get to learn the nickname his family uses for him, and let me tell you, it’s not one you’re likely to forget. *g*
Objectively speaking, this isn’t a 4.5-star book, but I gave it the extra half just because it made me happy – and objectivity be damned. It’s my party after all, and I fervently wish there were more books like Perfect Scoundrels out there. I’d read them all. And then I’d re-read them.
I'm not sure whether Sean Kennedy intends to publish a third book, but I would pre-order it, read it on the release date and then probably rave about...moreI'm not sure whether Sean Kennedy intends to publish a third book, but I would pre-order it, read it on the release date and then probably rave about it just as I plan to rave about the first two books.
In fact, it doesn't even need to have a plot for all I care: I would happily read about Simon and Declan getting groceries, spending lazy Sundays together, visiting friends and weird family members and so on. They are such fantastic characters that quickly become your friends, it's impossible to resist them. Anyway, this is not a review and I'll probably never write one, but I just wanted to share how much I loved both these books and the lovely, tender, and above all, realistic romance in them. This is not some implausible, exaggerated m/m romance written to satisfy a growing market, it is a warm story about a solid relationship that occasionally suffers a bit from being in the spotlight.
I'd bow to Sean Kennedy if he wasn't on the other side of the world. But even now, my hat's off to him. If you like stories about love, friendship and family with a lot of good humor and quirky characters, this one fits the description perfectly.(less)
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.
4.5 stars I have book ADD, I really do. Even when I like a book, by the time I reach the second half, I get impatient, eager to be done with it and be...more4.5 stars I have book ADD, I really do. Even when I like a book, by the time I reach the second half, I get impatient, eager to be done with it and be free to discover a new world. It’s a definite downside of having so many books to choose from, and it’s something I need to work on.
Therefore, I was more than a little surprised by the enormity of my despair when I reached the last page of Sanctum. It’s rare that a book leaves me desperate for more. Sarah Fine’s rich and imaginative world, although grim and depressing, captivated me entirely. She almost (but not quite, I’m not crazy) made me want to visit Suicide City and look around for myself. It is where suicide victims end up, condemned to wander the city, lost in their own despair. Can you imagine a more hopeless place in this world or the next? And for the very few conscious enough to want to escape or cause trouble, there are the guards, merciless creatures led by a human, their fearless Captain, Malachi.
Enter Lela, a worthy, if somewhat unconventional heroine. She came to Suicide City willingly, to save he best and only friend, not knowing what she might have to do, but ready for any kind of sacrifice. From the very first page of Sanctum, the readers know they won’t be getting a Mary Sue: she smokes, she curses, and she beats up bullies with terrifying ease. It takes a while for her tender side to be revealed, but she is lovable from the very start.
And Malachi… oooops, there goes my dignity! I haven’t felt so strongly about a fictional character since Sean Kendrick and I doubt I will anytime soon. With his warmth and Lela’s unflinching bravery, it’s no wonder they’re my new favorite couple. Which brings me to the girl I can’t stop thinking about – Lela Santos. Some would say she’s damaged beyond repair, and in some ways, they’d probably be right. But there’s so much love and hope in her, despite not having had an ounce of luck her entire life.
Sanctum is a dark, dark book, and although most of it happens in this hellish, unreal place, the horrors described are very real. Brief glimpses of Lela’s past were more than enough to make me want to run the other way, but I guess I absorbed some of her astonishing bravery because I kept reading even when it made me sick. This is where I truly applaud Fine; a lesser writer would have chosen a safer, less controversial road, especially when writing for young adults, but I could tell that Sarah Fine doesn’t believe in pulling any punches, and I admired her for it.
I’m sorry, guys, I’m very much aware that this review is all over the place. It was hard for me to put into words how much I loved this book. On December 6th, Sarah will share Malachi’s journal entries on several blogs, including The Nocturnal Library, so make sure to stop by. If you haven’t met Malachi yet, you’ll definitely want to after that. Brava, Ms. Fine! I’m thoroughly impressed.
I have so much love for Rachel Hartman and this book! My five-star ratings are few and far between, but I’d give Seraphina ten if I could. It was so e...moreI have so much love for Rachel Hartman and this book! My five-star ratings are few and far between, but I’d give Seraphina ten if I could. It was so easy to get lost in this world of humans, dragons and those in-between – I still haven’t found my way back.
Hartman’s dragons are magnificent creatures, full of intersting paradoxes. On a physical level, they produce fire, but on an emotional level, they’re cold and tightly controlled. They go to great lengths to remain emotionless, even though their saars (human shapes) are more susceptible to emotions. They have ways to excise these unwanted emotions from their brains and they keep close watch on dragons suspected of harboring human emotions.
Dragons used meditation and what Orma called cognitive architecture to partition their minds into discrete spaces. They kept their maternal memories in one room, for example, because they were disruptively intense; the one maternal memory I’d experienced had bowled me over. Emotions, which the saar found uncomfortable and overpowering, were locked away securely and never permitted to leak out.
The world Hartman created has a distinctly Medieval feel, but with many exceptions and liberties that were quite unimaginable in the Middle Ages. She took the time to build this world, which resulted in somewhat slower pacing, but I didn’t mind in the least. I find that I’m willing to suffer through almost anything if that means I’ll end up with a complete and well thought-out world. Fortunately, Hartman’s intricate worldbuilding didn’t come at a price. From the very first sentence, Seraphina had me entranced. I took my time reading it and I appreciate that it allowed me to do that. The best books aren’t those that practically force you to turn pages. True works of art permit you to enjoy them slowly, at your own pace, and it takes a great author to achieve that.
As for Seraphina, oh my! If there was ever a heroine one could admire with no doubts or hesitations, a heroine whose every action is an inspiration, it’s Maid Seraphina Dombegh. Half-human and half-dragon, she isn’t even supposed to exist, and yet she finds a way to live so fully despite her need for secrecy. Phina has the best of both worlds: quick logical thinking and problem solving typical of dragons tempered with inherently human warmth and loyalty. I think these words directed to her by Dame Okra, another half-dragon, describe her better than I ever could:
Whatever else may be true of you, you do things your own way, with a refreshingly self-assured pigheadedness. I like that!
Over time, Seraphina falls deeply in love with Prince Lucian Kiggs, queen’s bastard grandson and fiancé of Princess Glisselda, heir to the throne. Kiggs is the captain of the Queen’s Guard, competent, fiercely intelligent, and loyal to a fault. When she first meets him, Seraphina thinks of him as plain, but the more time she spends with him, the more beautiful he becomes in her eyes. They share so much, these two – their curiosity and love for philosophy, but above all, their loyalty to Glisselda, which makes it impossible for them to be together. Such bittersweet, well-written romance would be my favorite part in any book, but in Seraphina, the competition is hard. Singling anything out would be unfair to all the other parts I absolutely adore.
As soon as Dracomachia gets a cover, I’ll pre-order a copy. I don’t pre-order books with no covers, it’s just another one of my oddities, but this one almost made me break my own rule.
I hope my friend Catie will forgive me for stealing her line, but I simply couldn’t resist: Fantasy lovers, rejoice!
I know I’m supposed to write a review with a head and a tail, start from the beginning and work my way toward the end (at least that’s the way I usual...moreI know I’m supposed to write a review with a head and a tail, start from the beginning and work my way toward the end (at least that’s the way I usually do things) but I’ll make an exception just this once and start with the ending, from which I honestly doubt I’ll ever recover. The ending of Flutter broke my heart, destroyed me completely, and then left me with a small sliver of hope to cure my wounded heart. It was both unexpected and unexpectedly gorgeous, one of those conclusions that take you completely by surprise, but when you stop to think about them, you realize there was really no other way to make things work. Those are the best endings, aren’t they? Even when they’re exceedingly painful and cruel, they leave an impression, something that stays with you forever.
And now, back to the beginning, I guess…
When Emery was just a little girl, she started having seizures that completely changed her life, only they aren’t seizures at all, they’re jumps through time, loops, as Emery calls them. Her father, the neurologist, refuses to believe her. Instead, he put together a team of scientists to work on her episodes and he treats her as no more than a lab rat. After giving the team, but especially her dad, more chances than they deserve, Emery decides to run. Lead by a little boy from her loops, she goes to Esperanza where she meets Ash, a kind, but strange young man who comes with his own mystery and problems.
Emery is the perfect heroine, truly she is. Her curly red hair and fair complexion make her beautiful, but she is too thin, almost transparent, completely exhausted by her condition. The lack of sleep and jumping through time always take their toll, and she is constantly dizzy and weak. On the inside, however, the girl is made of pure steel. She is decisive, strong and never afraid to stand up for herself. Since she has no one to care for her or care about her, really, these are the qualities she needs the most. A few insecurities occasionally did shine through, but considering her background, they’re more than understandable, and they felt genuine to me, not just sad, attention seeking behavior, but real doubts of someone no one ever saw for what they truly are.
The romantic element is very strong in Flutter, but never strong enough to overtake the plot. Emery and Ash shared a connection, yes, but they both kept their secrets for the longest time, and I truly appreciated that Emery never allowed herself to become obsessed with the mystery that was Ash and forget about the world of trouble she was in. Theirs was a romance I could definitely get behind, believable, but with a dreamlike quality that matched everything else Emery was going through. While I didn’t connect with Ash nearly as strongly as I connected with Emery, I sympathized with him immensely. His every act of penance was utterly heartbreaking and it made me feel oddly protective toward him.
It broke my heart to know that he couldn’t forgive himself, I couldn’t do that for him. I couldn’t take that on for him. If I could, I would. If I had learned anything from the odd little life that I had lived, especially in the last few years, it was that you had to be kind to yourself. Sometimes no one else was.
It’s obvious to me that Linko teaches college English; her writing is very clean, precise and grammatically correct. She isn’t fond of contractions (though she does use them occasionally, especially in dialogues) which makes her prose a bit stiff at times, but I enjoyed her style overall.
Unfortunately, the cover isn’t doing this book any favors. It does reflect the story fairly well, but it’s not nearly eye-catching enough. We all know that covers sell books – bad books, let alone the good ones. It always saddens me when, due to an unnoticeable cover, an excellent book doesn’t get the attention it deserves, while horrible books sell like cookies because of some girl in a pretty dress. Random House, I’m staring daggers at you! You better make sure that Linko’s next book, Indigo, gets the cover it deserves. I promise I’ll read it. (Oh, who am I kidding, I’d read it even if it came wrapped in greasy parchment paper. And you should too. Linko is that good.)
I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but Alice in Zombieland has very little to do with Lewis Carroll’s classic. In fact, aside from the title itself an...moreI’m sure you’ve heard this before, but Alice in Zombieland has very little to do with Lewis Carroll’s classic. In fact, aside from the title itself and the white rabbit-shaped cloud that warns our Ali of danger, there’s nothing connecting the two. As someone who stays as far away from retellings as possible, I was overjoyed when I discovered this, but if you go into this expecting a new version of that story, you might find yourself disappointed.
Alice in Zombieland is, above all, a fun little book suitable for younger audience. While there are plenty of hot scenes and sexual references in there to contradict what I just wrote, the overall story lacks enough substance and depth to satisfy a more mature reader. This is mostly due to formulaic narrative and stock characters. That’s not to say, however, that this book is not worth reading – it is, as it has several things going for it, but it’s not nearly as original or exciting as I’d hoped.
The story is all too familiar: Ali’s entire family dies in a car accident caused by her schizophrenic father who was trying to save them from invisible monsters. After the tragedy, Ali goes to live with her grandparents, where she soon discovers that her father wasn’t nearly as crazy as he sounded. Monsters start popping up everywhere, but with them comes a group of young people led by the scorching hot Cole Holland, all of them trained to kill the zombies and defend humanity.
Although I liked Cole well enough, he didn’t even come close to provoking the reaction Showalter was going for. All the ingredients were there: the initial rudeness, the mystery surrounding him, the incredibly attractive looks, overprotectiveness, strength and impressive fighting skills, but I just never felt truly enthralled by him, not for a split second. It’s probably because, as a love interest, he seemed just a bit too plastic. Take this quote for example:
I knew he was strong, determined, protective, and that he cared about his friends more than he cared about himself. He obeyed no rules but his own. In the Wild West days, he would have been an outlaw.
It’s true, Cole is all those things, which makes him exactly like hundreds of other characters that showed up recently. I’ve seen authors work with this mold and still manage to create something unique, be it through the sense of humor or something else entirely. But Showalter just didn’t succeed in making Cole memorable at all.
Where she failed with him, she succeeded with Alice… at least up to a point. Alice is also a stock character, but unlike with Cole, Gena Showalter managed to breathe some true spirit into her, which is why she’s the only thing I’m sure I’ll remember about this book.
Oddly enough, Showalter’s take on zombies was the most original thing about Alice in Zombieland, and my favorite part, to be honest. Existing only in the spirit realm, they cannot be seen or touched by just anyone, but that doesn’t mean they can’t do real harm. In order to fight them, Cole and the gang have to separate their spirits from their bodies, and it’s the first thing Ali had to learn as well. While I’m usually a blood-and-gore kinda gal, I found it all very interesting, although a bit confusing at times.
All in all, Alice in Zombieland is a fun, but rather unmemorable book that, I fear, was written merely to satisfy the market, and not in a creative outburst of any sort. A lot of adult authors are deciding to write YA these days because, let’s be honest, that’s where the money is, but some manage better than others, and Gena Showalter falls somewhere around the middle.
Do I think this book is worth reading? Definitely, if you’re looking for a compelling, fun read you’re likely to forget in a short while. There are times when a reader needs exactly that.
4.5 stars When you wait for a book as long as I’ve waited to read Unbreakable, finally holding it in your hands seems like the most surreal experience....more4.5 stars When you wait for a book as long as I’ve waited to read Unbreakable, finally holding it in your hands seems like the most surreal experience. Needless to say, the expectations that come with it are sky high, and there is always fear of disappointment, no matter how much you trust an author. In this case at least, I shouldn’t have feared, not even a little bit. Elizabeth Norris ended her duology just like she started it – confidently and with a bang.
The first few chapters of Unbreakable slowly paint a picture of the aftermath. Janelle’s world is in ruins – her life, her house, her school, her mother… it’s all gone, buried under the rubble. Janelle herself is doing her best to rebuild her life in a small apartment with Jared and Struz. Try as she might, she’s having a hard time finding anything to look forward to, except maybe the time she gets to spend with her baby brother. She is out of high school and working for the FBI, her shifts are endless and her efforts hopeless. People are disappearing all the time, and no one has any idea why.
Enter Taylor Barclay, the IA agent Ben and Janelle have a love-hate relationship with. He knows something about the missing people, but even more importantly, he seems to know something about Ben. He wants Janelle to help him solve the human trafficking case and Janelle is certainly brave enough to try, but first she has to decide whether she can trust him at all.
When I first started Unraveling, I didn’t even dream it would end up being a story about human trafficking. It started as your run of the mill YA speculative fiction and even when it proved to be much more, I somehow pictured the ending as something smaller, quieter. Contrary to my expectations, Unbreakable is full of action, a real attention gripper that will keep you on the edge of your seat. But even as such, it retained two things I’ve come to associate with Elizabeth Norris: elegance and thoughtfulness.
Good pacing is so hard to achieve in books like Unbreakable, but Norris knows how to keep a tight hold on her reader’s attention. The short chapters just added to the overwhelming sense of urgency, as did the countdown we all remember from Unraveling. It was impossible for me to sit still and read – I paced anxiously the entire time instead. It breaks my heart to think that my time with Ben and Janelle is over.
And now we finally come to the part I’m sure you all want to know about: Ben and Janelle. Once again Norris found a way to seamlessly blend action and emotion. In Unraveling, they faced external challenges, but their feelings never came into question. By the time they found each other in Unbreakable, they both had to do things they weren’t proud of and while neither of them ever doubted their love for each other, they were both well aware that sometimes love just isn’t enough.
I strongly recommend reading Undone, a HarperTeen Impulse novella from Ben’s POV, before Unbreakable. It covers some of the most important events from Unraveling, which will help you remember the details, but even more importantly, you’ll find out what happened to Ben between the two books.
4.5 stars Something was seriously amiss in this town. I’d felt it the moment I crossed Bell Lake. The shadows seem deeper, the nights longer, the secr...more4.5 stars Something was seriously amiss in this town. I’d felt it the moment I crossed Bell Lake. The shadows seem deeper, the nights longer, the secrets older. Even the wind felt different here.
In The Kingdom, second book in The Graveyard Queen series, Amelia Gray is called to restore the local cemetery in Asher Falls, South Carolina, and she gladly accepts, hoping that some time away will help put emotional distance between her and John Devlin, the haunted police detective she desperately loves. The job, however, is not as simple as it seemed to be. Thorngate cemetery and the powerful family that used to own it are surrounded by controversy and not everyone is welcoming. Amelia soon discovers that she has blood ties to the place and she is forced to face not only the ghosts that are everywhere, but her family's history as well.
It is strange but admirable that Stevens decided to distance her heroine from the original love interest for the duration of this book. As much as I missed John Devlin and his dark, brooding personality, that particular storyline is a lot like good wine: the more time Stevens chooses to give it, the better it will become. After all, if Devlin was freed from the ghosts that haunt him – those of his wife and daughter – too quickly, it would make the issue seem less serious than it’s supposed to be, especially if the trigger happened to be his attraction to Amelia. In addition, getting to know Thane Asher, the man who kept Amelia company in this book, was an unexpected pleasure. Like Devlin, he has a lot of baggage and a definite dark side, but they really couldn’t be more different. I could see why Amelia would be attracted to him, especially after everything she went through with and for Devlin.
The heavy atmosphere of Deep South wasn’t as pronounced in The Kingdom, but the creepiness of the minuscule town and the closed mentality of such a small community were portrayed rather excellently. Asher Falls had layers upon layers of shameful and dangerous secrets, and for some unknown reason, Amelia was at the very center of it all.
Amelia Gray is a highly unusual Urban Fantasy heroine. She is gentle, reserved and very quiet, trained to keep her emotions and reactions to herself. She never relies on sarcasm and her entire personality is influenced by her Southern upbringing. Perhaps she is not a real lady like her adoptive mother and her aunt, but she is, above all, polite – towards friends and enemies alike. My mother and aunt were very beautiful women, exuding a bygone femininity that smelled of honeysuckle, sandalwood and fresh linen. Papa, by contrast, smelled of the earth. Or was that me? To Mama’s horror, I often had little half moons of dirt beneath my nails, the odd leaf or twig stuck to my hair. Even wearing my Sunday best, a bit of graveyard seemed to cling to me.
Stevens’s prose is lush and gorgeous, intense and heartbreaking. Her characters come alive so easily, and her talent for creating an eerie atmosphere is enormous. Truth be told, there aren’t that many Urban Fantasy authors like her. With her talent, she could write anything she chooses, anything at all, which is why I’m especially proud that she opted for my favorite genre.
I’m supposed to read the third book, The Prophet, with my friend Heidi over at Rainy Day Ramblings and I’m already so excited about it. If you’re a fan of dark, eerily beautiful stories that will keep you awake at night, please give this series a try. It was, after all, recommended to me by Ann Aguirre, and she’s a lady who knows what she’s talking about. (less)
It’s been a year since Agent Eliza Braun was pulled from the field due to insubordination (temper, temper, Miss Braun!) and sentenced to work in the a...moreIt’s been a year since Agent Eliza Braun was pulled from the field due to insubordination (temper, temper, Miss Braun!) and sentenced to work in the archives with Mr. Wellington Thornhill Books, the archivist. Nothing remotely exciting has happened since their very first case together, the one involving a secret society, and Miss Braun is starting to become restless. She needn’t worry, though, since trouble is attracted to her just as Eliza is attracted to trouble, and before you know it, our dashing archivist and our colonial pepperpot find themselves entangled in a complicated case involving missing suffragists, teleportation, ghosts from the past and quite a few explosions. Of course, Eliza and Welly aren’t supposed to be working outside the archives at all, but the field agent assigned to the case has been neglecting his duties in the worst possible way and meanwhile, women from the movement are still disappearing.
Unlike the first installment, The Janus Affair was harder to get into. The beginning was pretty slow compared to the explosive opening scene of Phoenix Rising. I struggled with the first 80 pages for five days straight, giving up and then forcing myself to restart, only to give up again after 10 pages or so. But when things finally started moving, when Eliza and Welly reminded me just how extraordinarily witty (and dysfunctional) they are, I wanted to kick myself for waiting so long to push through the beginning.
I should have remembered how wonderful these two characters are when they interact, how amusing when they snap at each other and, despite all their bickering, how protective they become when a third party goes after one of them. ”Your faith in my abilities does inspire me as would Helen’s visage,” snipped Wellington. “Helen had a thousand ships covering her backside, mate.” Eliza shrugged, motioning to him. “I have an Archivist who’s afraid of guns. You figure out who has the better deal.”
There is more of everything in The Janus Affair: more action, more humor, more inventions, more peculiar occurrences, more witty banter and (ahem!) more unresolved sexual tension. My poor Books is too nerdy and shy to admit to himself, let alone to Eliza, how he really feels, but the arrival of Eliza’s old flame from New Zealand might just push him over the edge. Everyone has secrets, right? Even our gentle archivist has a surprise or two in store.
This, my darlings, is steampunk at its best! I’m not exactly an expert on the genre, but I do recognize quality when I see it, and spouses Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris delivered quality work not once, but two times. From the language (especially language!) and society to the intriguing inventions, even the smallest detail is in its place. If you intend to read one steampunk in your life, this is what you should choose. Ballantine and Morris know what they’re doing.
So beautiful and chilling. The Restorer was recommended to me by someone I trust implicitly when it comes to books (that someone being my favorite aut...moreSo beautiful and chilling. The Restorer was recommended to me by someone I trust implicitly when it comes to books (that someone being my favorite author, Ann Aguirre) so it’s no wonder I didn’t hesitate to pick it up as soon as I found it in my mailbox. My intention was to read a chapter or two to get a feel of the story and then leave it for the night, but I ended up reading it all in one sitting. Let me tell you, reading this book at night, in a dark and silent house wasn’t the smartest move I ever made… but it was definitely exciting.
First and foremost, I need to point out that Amanda Stevens is an excellent writer. She has a tremendous talent for creating the right atmosphere, a very good sense of pacing, and a way to evoke very strong emotions at exactly the right time. Her detailed descriptions never failed to send chills down my spine. Even though The Restorer is marketed as paranormal romance, it is, in fact, urban fantasy in all its glory. For one, it is written in first person and told from a single point of view, whereas paranormal romance is usually told in third person, from alternating POVs. Romance (or lack thereof) makes a big part of the story, but it’s certainly not the main motivator as it always is with PNR. Besides, as someone who gets a strong allergic reaction whenever I come within a hundred yards of a paranormal romance novel, I can tell you with absolute certainty that this is not it. From what I understand, detective John Devlin is not even present in book two, The Kingdom, which I suppose proves my point.
The worldbuilding is fairly simplistic: the presence of ghosts is all that is unusual. Amelia Gray can see them, but she’s learned through life-long instructions by her father, not to acknowledge them in any way. She restores graveyards for a living and is very good at hiding her reactions and emotions from the occasional spirit. One of her father’s rules is never to get involved with someone who is haunted, which is why Amelia is less than thrilled when an obviously haunted (and devastatingly handsome) police detective comes asking for her help.
Amelia is the type of delicate, quiet and restrained heroine that you grow attached to in time. She’s spent her entire life on cemeteries, following strict rules imposed by her father. She has a very lonely way of life and very few personal connections. John Devlin… *fans self* Amanda Stevens knows how to write a gorgeous and wounded romantic interest that makes you want to murder the heroine and take her place... except, in this case, it would be pretty pointless. The one Devlin wants is already dead. He said my name then. Just that. Amelia. But in the slow, proper drawl of the Charleston aristocrat, stringing out the syllables with an elegant, imperious cadence that was tinged with decadence, indulgence and the kind of secrets that can only fester in the deepest shadows of the South.
I absolutely adored the Southern setting. Not many urban fantasy books take place in Charleston, and I relished the opportunity to learn about the city through Amelia’s eyes. Amanda Stevens and I share a fascination with Southern accents and the fact that she kept mentioning the famous Southern drawl never failed to make me smile.
I didn’t even wait to finish this book before I ordered book two, The Kingdom, from The Book Depository. I’ll make sure to find a sunny and bright place to read it, though. I bet it will be just as creepy as the first one.
In Eastport, a tourist town on Cape Cod, lives a family of freaks. My family. I’m a psychic. My brother’s a medium. My mother’s a telepath. Tourists...moreIn Eastport, a tourist town on Cape Cod, lives a family of freaks. My family. I’m a psychic. My brother’s a medium. My mother’s a telepath. Tourists love us. Townies scorn us. My name is Clarity “Clare” Fern and my brother is Periwinkle “Perry” Fern. What were our parents thinking?
Clarity ‘Clare’ Fern is a psychic. Her father is long gone and the family earns a living by using their respective talents to entertain tourists. Even though their customers think it’s just harmless fun, the locals know that their talents are real. When a young girl ends up dead in a hotel room right in the middle of a political campaign, Clare is asked to secretly work with the mayor’s son – her cheating ex boyfriend, and Gabriel, the new boy in town. It is the mayor’s hope that she will be able to use psychometry to identify the killer as quickly as possible, which would help him save face and eventually win the election.
Clarity was a big surprise for me. I always approach paranormal YA with a certain amount of weariness, but I needn’t have worried this time. I finished it all in one sitting, in less than three hours, and found it very refreshing. I could have done without the love triangle, but I didn’t mind as much as I thought I would. Torn between an almost perfect ex-boyfriend who cheated on her once while heavily drunk, and the mysterious new boy in town who harbors conflicted feelings towards her, Clare didn’t know which way to turn, and neither did I. That’s probably why I didn’t hate the whole situation as much as I normally would – I have no idea who Clare will end up with and I kind of like it that way, for now. I do have a favorite, though. That said, I’m a bit tired of the new-bad-boy-in-town trope. Gabriel fits it perfectly. He likes Clare the second he sees her, but there’s something in his past (no spoilers, I promise) that makes him hate, or rather despise all psychics, Clare included, so he tries to keep his distance, and the whole love-hate thing that happens after that is just a little tiresome, in my opinion. However, the shortness of the book and the pretty fast pacing didn’t leave much time for Gabriel’s internal struggles.
Clare found her place high up on my list of favorite heroines. She felt like an actual person to me and I enjoyed her intelligence and her loyalty. In fact, I thought all the characters were fully fleshed out, except maybe Clare’s mother, but I have a feeling something’s coming there too. You can only expect so much in 250 pages, and I was really satisfied with how much Harrington was able to include. I have high hopes for all these characters in the sequel. After reading the blurb for book two, I’m absolutely convinced that I already know the identity of Clare’s stalker. I can’t wait to find out if I’m right.
A copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher, Scholastic UK, for review purposes.
Update 04/17/12: Stop by The Nocturnal Library to read a guest post by Elizabeth Norris and enter for a chance to win a hardcover copy of Unraveling....moreUpdate 04/17/12: Stop by The Nocturnal Library to read a guest post by Elizabeth Norris and enter for a chance to win a hardcover copy of Unraveling.
I never give five stars easily, but I'd give this book ten if I could.
I always feel this strange sense of accomplishment when I discover a book I can add to my all-time favorites. There aren’t many books that mean so much to me and that I keep going back to over and over again. I take that short list and adding books to it very seriously. Therefore, I needed to give myself some time before reviewing this because I was afraid that my initial reaction was entirely emotional and that my enthusiasm will drop once I calm down. I slept on it, I finished a very different book by one of my favorite authors, but none of that changed how I feel. If anything, I am now convinced more than ever that I found something truly special in Unravelling (that’s two Ls in the UK edition, only one in the US).
Janelle Tanner is living with her parents and her younger brother, working as a lifeguard at the beach and dating a gorgeous and extremely popular high school senior, Nick. Her life looks perfect on the outside, but on the inside, her mother is bipolar and needs to be taken care of, and her father, no matter how wonderful, has a job that’s keeping him away most of the time. He’s the head of counterintelligence in the FBI’s office in San Diego, and he just got a case that’s driving him and the other agents crazy. An explosive device has been discovered and it’s counting down days, but no matter how many experts they bring in, no one has any idea what it is or how to disarm it. As if that’s not enough, unidentifiable bodies, almost completely melted from radiation, are suddenly showing up everywhere. One of these bodies was found in the car that hit Janelle on her way home from work. She seemed more or less fine after the accident, but what no one knows, what no one would ever believe her, is that she died when the car hit her, and a stoner kid from her school, Ben Michaels, brought her back to life and healed her. Who is Ben? Where are all the bodies coming from? What’s going to happen when the countdown finally hits zero? Is it all somehow connected? Janelle and her best friend Alex always enjoyed ‘borrowing’ her father’s case files from his home office and discussing his cases, but this time, they may be in over their heads.
Elizabeth Norris’ writing is flawless. It doesn’t draw attention to itself, but it keeps you engaged and controls your emotions in a way that doesn’t make you feel manipulated. Unravelling is action-packed from start to finish, but that doesn’t mean that it lacks depth. It was truly heartbreaking, and I gave myself a headache from all the crying. If you think this is just another YA novel, think again, because Elizabeth Norris pulled no punches. She kept surprising me on every page, and each time I thought I had it all figured out, she did something entirely unexpected. It was like watching the awesome first season of Fringe all over again, but with a likeable heroine instead of Olivia.
Don’t you just love a girl who doesn’t spend all her time consciously making one mistake after another because she lacks the backbone to do the right thing? That’s our Janelle for you, a girl who knows exactly what she wants and doesn’t hesitate to make it happen. She’d been a victim once and she has no intention of being one ever again, so she thinks hard about every choice she makes and doesn’t allow herself to be influenced by anyone else’s opinion. She’s my new character I want to be best friends with. I always expect YA heroines to disappoint me sooner or later, because they almost always do, but with Janelle, that never happened. I can count on the fingers of one hand the characters that impressed me as much as she did.
(Did you guys notice how I avoided writing about Ben as much as possible? I'm trying to be serious here and I don't think gushing about that boy would help my cause much. But rest assured, he IS perfect.)
I think I’ve made my opinion pretty clear: I cannot recommend this highly enough. I can’t wait to find out how other people will feel about it. Do yourselves a favor and preorder this one, you won’t regret it.
A copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher, HarperCollins UK, for review purposes.
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