**spoiler alert** I read this book over and over again when I was a teen (I'm 31 now) and got a little bit of a squee of delight when I saw it availab...more**spoiler alert** I read this book over and over again when I was a teen (I'm 31 now) and got a little bit of a squee of delight when I saw it available on Netgalley. Even though I went out and got it and the second in the series on Kindle (then got approved on Netgalley, oh well, now I've got it on my bluefire app as well) New cover and new title, it was called The Cheerleader when I read it. And I was delighted to see that I loved it reading it again now as much as I did when I was a teen.
It was one of my favourite Point Horror books. Even way back then it was a fresh new look at vampires I had never seen before. Althea was a fantastic character, and so so easy to identify with. I've been exactly where she has at the start of the book and I know just how horrible it is to start high school and see all your old friends drift away with new ones. So right away I knew just how she felt and could sympathize with her situation.
And this disturbing creature has a very very tempting offer. Throughout the book the descriptions of the vampire are wonderful, and quite chilling for a teen horror book. The story was equally vivid and so easy to picture throughout. I loved how Althea struggled with the choices she made and tried more than once to get rid of the vampire but was never quite strong enough and at the end figured out she didn't need his gift to be strong.
Just as good now as it was fifteen years ago. Thank you Netgalley. (less)
This was a fantastic book. Engaging story, right from the opening. Full on action and a brilliant lead character. So good to see a YA heroine who was...moreThis was a fantastic book. Engaging story, right from the opening. Full on action and a brilliant lead character. So good to see a YA heroine who was strong and bad ass without turning into a sappy love stuck diva. Scar was awesome. The plot of the novel was excellent, especially for a paranormal school story. There wasn't a romantic sub plot, which made it even better, there was a potential love interest side but it didn't develop and over take the action side of the story. No insta-love. No sappiness. Can't wait for the next one in the series.
**spoiler alert** Unfortunately, this book turned out to be rather disappointing. The blurb on Netgalley sounded really interesting, and not like the...more**spoiler alert** Unfortunately, this book turned out to be rather disappointing. The blurb on Netgalley sounded really interesting, and not like the type of YA paranormal books I usually go for so I thought it would be a good change of pace to read something dark and angsty. So when my request to view was granted I started reading right away.
The start of the book was really good, Quinn's state of mind, her nightmares, and her falling apart. And some of scenes of the despair were very powerfully and emotionally written. Both Quinn and Aaron were damaged and there was no insta-love (a plus) but one thing I did not like was Quinn's constant whining over her ex boyfriend. Yes, I can see why she would be in love with him still, after being together for four years and being dumped for resident mean girl Kerstin (who was delightful trash and a complete and utter bitch) but enough is enough. He was constantly in her thoughts when she had Aaron save her and be there for her on several occasions.
The about half way through....it got stupid. She finally gets together with Aaron, he can tell her his secrets, but she can't reveal hers, the demons tormenting her. And then when she goes back to the ex and everything goes down hill from there. Why couldn't she just man up, and talk to Aaron instead of giving into the monster voices and going back to the stupid cheating ex?! Big drama at the high school homecoming leads Quinn to run away and decide not to deal with anything anymore by throwing herself into a river and killing herself. She's emotionally drained and can't cope anymore.
The running away bit was actually quite vivid and descriptive. And thankfully its Aaron who comes after her and not Jeff. Then we get some answers to what the demons in her head are and who Aaron is. In the last ten percent of the book with an info dump. This scene would have been better if little tid bits of info had been filtered into Aaron's story more maybe through his own dreams and flashbacks. We're told early on due to a terrible car accident Aaron woke up with no memory and this last minute info dump explains why.
Quinn is told also in the last few pages about her own destiny and she can either die or live and face her destiny. She finally mans up and chooses to live which means she has to go back and deal with all her problems and her destiny.
Whilst some of it was well written, it all got a bit messy and all over the place for my liking. Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this, but I don't think I'll be looking for the sequel. (less)
A very enjoyable novella. Well written with a whole host of fascinating fun characters. at once you're th...moreWon from a librarything.com member giveaway.
A very enjoyable novella. Well written with a whole host of fascinating fun characters. at once you're thrown into a very layered fantasy world. It did take a a while to wrap my head around what was going on but its a quick, easy read. Fantastic world building with a vivid back history and a satisfying conclusion, with a nice coda that could possibly lead to a sequel. (less)
**spoiler alert** Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book. **Spoilers**
The idea of this story is a brilliant one, a YA paranormal romance set in...more**spoiler alert** Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book. **Spoilers**
The idea of this story is a brilliant one, a YA paranormal romance set in Japan based on Japanese Mythology. And the blurb of the book sounds incredible and makes you want to pick it up right away.
The start of the story - the heroine Katie Greene moves to Japan after the death of her mother, thrown into a different world and culture. Its easy to see how difficult it is for her to try and fit in, and it was an interesting start to the story, and we meet Tomohiro, the love interest when she has to go back to get something she's forgotten and needs to pass through somewhere he is when he's arguing with his girlfriend. Right off its a oh look, bad boy warning. He's gorgeous, he's dangerous and he's a complete jackass. But of course, she's fascinated by him when. And he has strange powers.
The moving drawings were interesting, and the story itself wasn't actually a bad one. It kept me going enough so I read it reasonably quickly because, like Katie, I wanted to know more about the drawings, why they moved and what his powers were and how the mythology came into it. Katie was likeable enough, Tomohiro was kind of flat with his stay away I'm dangerous, but I can really care about you and you see the real me kind of thing. The love connection and the whole romance thing was unfortunately, way too cliched for my liking. Katie's friends Yuki and Tanaka were quite fun and entertaining.
There's also a potential for a love triangle as well, and danger from the Yakuza.
I did find the Kami quite fascinating, even though they are powerful, they are also quite dangerous, which leads to oh noes!! Forbidden love when Katie realises she's the reason Tomo's powers and drawings are going haywire.
I enjoyed the book, even though it is full of annoying YA Paranormal romance cliches, and in certain parts of the book, even though he annoyed me, even Tomohiro was quite likeable particularly towards the end of the novel. Same with Katie.
I read the book on a Kindle and a Kindle for iPad/iPhone app and found the drawings inserted in random paragraphs very distracting and annoying. It broke up the flow of the story. I would have liked to see a section at the back with the glossary maybe five or ten pages with the drawings all together. Maybe they work better in an actual paperback.
I got a copy of this through NetGalley for a review.
The story is about musically talented couple Lee and Devorah who have been together many many year...moreI got a copy of this through NetGalley for a review.
The story is about musically talented couple Lee and Devorah who have been together many many years, Dev an opera singer and Lee a pianist. When Dev gets the chance of a life time to play Carmen through eccentric Annajean Eggers initially Lee is reluctant to let her go but does seeing the fantastic career making opportunity that her beloved has been yearning for for years. The story starts out as Lee mourning the death of her beloved Devorah, who has perished in a tragic fire whilst staying with Annajean whilst preparing for the role of Carmen.
The opening is beautifully depicted and Lee's heart ache is so raw and painful it almost hurts to read at times. Lee is on the beach by the castle where the fire happened when she hears what she believes is Devorah singing to her. Convinced Dev is still alive the novel takes the reader through Lee's journey to convince her friends and help her rescue her beloved.
This story is engaging and impossible to put down, its so easy to connect with Lee's yearning to be with her lover again and her refusal to accept her demise. The world of classical musicians and singers is a fascinating one to me so I loved being immersed in that side of Lee's profession along with her friends also classical musicians. It only took me four days to read this and I will definitely be reading it again. (less)
I started reading this one and Veronica Roth's Divergent at the same time and must admit I had my reservations about it as both had very similar Hunge...moreI started reading this one and Veronica Roth's Divergent at the same time and must admit I had my reservations about it as both had very similar Hunger Games-esque plot and had my doubts about both of them. and was very pleasantly surprised on how much I loved The Testing when it turns out after half way through Divergent in the same genre I didn't really like it much. But I'll put more on that when I get round to my Divergent review.
The Testing was surprisingly awesome. Bit of a slow start but it really builds up to a great story. Yes, it does follow a bit of a YA Dystopia cliche list - world destroyed, new factions with certain purposes, test for the kids to prove themselves, tacked on romance, over bearing watching everything government with hidden agendas.
But none of that really seems to matter as it was such a good story. True it doesn't have the shut in feeling of violence that HGs did, but it does have some particularly good shocking moments, especially once the Fourth test gets going.
Basic plot of the novel is when students graduate high school they have the potential to be chosen for Testing to determine whether they make it to the University to study to become one of the country's leaders. The testing starts of pretty benign then get start to get worse and the tension starts to build. There was some fantastic world building in this story, explaining a lot of history and background which I did like to see.
The characters are interesting, the romance side of things isn't the main focus of the male and female lead. its not insta-love. Which is another big plus. The two already know each other and build something together gradually.
Different things keep cropping up throwing a spanner into what we think we already know is going on. Especially towards the end of the story.
All in all a fantastic book and I look forward to the next in the series. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. (less)
I won a copy of this fantastic novella from a librarything.com members give away. The blurb sounded good so I took a chance. I'm usually not that keen...moreI won a copy of this fantastic novella from a librarything.com members give away. The blurb sounded good so I took a chance. I'm usually not that keen on novellas and tend to like my books to be at least 200 pages, but I'm so glad I took a chance on this one because as it turned out...I loved it to pieces.
It was a wonderful story. Engaging right from the start with an incredible cast of characters. Bronwen was an excellent main character, strong, smart with great voice. Half the time I wanted to punch Felix with his constant quips and annoying attitude, but he really does grow on. He matures as the story progresses and by the end of the book he was wonderful.
His friends Alistair and Loki are brilliant characters.
The writing is first class, beautifully touching and vivid. My only real qualm was that about half way through the novel you could tell how it was going to end, but that didn't really seem to matter as it was so well written. And made me cry.
A great book and look forward to seeing more from this author. (less)
Loading...
