Gretchen C. Hohmeyer's Blog, page 64
August 27, 2013
TOP TEN MOST MEMORABLE SECONDARY CHARACTERS
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!
I tried to remind myself that ‘memorable’ does not always mean ‘awesome’, but this came out mostly good guys anyway, with the exception of Kossil and the technical boy. Do the bad guys not get fleshed-out secondary characters? Or am I just low on imagination right now? (Also, hi everybody! First Real Marina Post is apparently a Top Ten post! Welcome to my literary tastes!) Anyway, in no particular order…
1. Archer, from Kristin Cashore’s Fire: Archer’s relationship with Fire is jealous and controlling, even while he’s sleeping with every pretty girl who will say yes. But his good side is portrayed as well as the bad, so that we know exactly what Fire sees in him and understand her conflicts; I love that he comes out more as a flawed, damaged human being than a shallow womanizer, even if I totally don’t like him.
2. Elodin, from Patrick Rothfuss’ Kingkiller Chronicles: Elodin is LITERALLY THE BEST. He’s both the most ridiculous and the most intelligent person around, and also probably the most dangerous although nobody’s really willing to acknowledge it, and his artistic madness serves as such a beautiful foil for the scientifically-minded main character, who thinks that brains will suffice where subtlety and understanding are needed.
3. Vic and Ranulf, from Claudia Gray’s Evernight series: this is sort of cheating, but they deserve to be a duo, as they’re probably the reason I finished the series at all. Vic is a laid-back surfer dude who acts so shallow and goofy that people don’t realize he’s actually way smarter than they are; Ranulf is a vampire from I think the 6th century who is immensely out of touch with the modern world. Put them together and everything suddenly becomes amazing, because they accept each other’s weirdnesses without question and, despite significant language and cultural barriers, genuinely love each other’s company.
4. Kossil, from Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Tombs of Atuan: for some reason, Kossil TERRIFIED me when I was little. As an adult I can feel some righteous indignation at what a bully she is, but she remains incredibly strong in my mind, even if she was only really a secondary villain.
6. Anna Engel, from Elizabeth Wein’s : I can’t tell you why because spoilers but if I wasn’t already crying over everything else Anna would probably have made me cry.
5. Lord Randolph, from Pamela Dean’s Secret Country series: poisoned his king to prevent everybody being massacred horribly by horrible battle plans in an oncoming, horrible war. Feels extreme guilt about it, but instead of wallowing sets out to protect the new king with his life if necessary, including but not limited to conversations with dragons and A LITERAL BARGAIN WITH DEATH. Also, speaks like Shakespeare.
7. The Technical Boy, from Neil Gaiman’s American Gods: I’m not sure why I find the technical boy so captivating, except that he’s a pathetic teenage embodiment of our adoration for technology, and he’s a wretched creature who sucks up to more powerful personalities and only thinks of his own gain, and then later you wind up feeling sort of sorry for him against your own better judgment, and then eventually he tries to do something decent and it works out REALLY badly.
8. Hai, from Amelia Atwater-Rhodes’ Falcondance and Wolfcry: I don’t know if this counts, because she turns into a main character later in the series. But she spends a lot of time manipulating the main characters with her predictions of the future, and influences entire empires this way. All while being lost in a psychological prison created by her own magic. She’s also very poetic, and angry, and takes nonsense from no one.
9. Mel, from Robin McKinley’s Sunshine: Mel is memorable because I WANT TO KNOW WHAT’S UP WITH HIM and I never will. But also because he’s a biker and former gang-banger with more magical tattoos than you can shake a stick at in a world where too many magical tattoos are VERY DANGEROUS and can literally make your brain unstable. But he’s one of the most stable characters in the book. And he works at a bakery making food for people and is quite happy that way, thanks.
10. Maura Sargent, from Maggie Stiefvater’s The Raven Boys: seeing parents playing major positive roles in YA is actually really rare, and I 
love the human dynamic between Maura and her daughter.
That’s all I’ve got for now. Tell me who I’m missing! Especially the less-than-good-guys, since I can’t seem to come up with any!
August 26, 2013
ARC Review: “Taste Test” by Kelly Fiore
Taste Test by Kelly Fiore
If you can grill it, smoke it, or fry it, Nora Henderson knows all about it. She’s been basting baby back ribs and pulling pork at her father’s barbeque joint since she was tall enough to reach the counter. When she’s accepted to Taste Test, a reality-television teen cooking competition, Nora can’t wait to leave her humble hometown behind, even if it means saying good-bye to her dad and her best friend, Billy. Once she’s on set, run-ins with her high-society roommate and the maddeningly handsome—not to mention talented—son of a famous chef, Christian Van Lorten, mean Nora must work even harder to prove herself. But as mysterious accidents plague the kitchen arena, protecting her heart from one annoyingly charming fellow contestant in particular becomes the least of her concerns. Someone is conducting real-life eliminations, and if Nora doesn’t figure out who, she could be next to get chopped for good.
With romance and intrigue as delectable as the winning recipes included in the story, this debut novel will be devoured by all.
Three and a half stars
Thanks to Walker Childrens and NetGalley for this eARC! This title will be released August 27th.
When I picked up this book, I did it for the quirk factor. I automatically figured that this book would be cutesy and fairly predictable, but I also thought I could really enjoy it, considering my food service background. As it turns out, I was completely right on all counts.
Like I said, the book has a fairly easy plot. A small town girl leaves her widowed father and her best (male) friend (who might be more than a friend) behind to compete in a crazy cooking competition for high school students. The first prizes is $50,000 and acceptance to a Paris cooking school. On the first day, Nora butts heads with the handsome but spoiled son of a cooking legend, and it becomes clear that they are the main story line of the season. I appreciate that Fiore chose to add more than this, however, since the story could have run on the love-hate relationship alone (you know you’ve seen it done). Instead, there is also a subplot of a saboteur who is blowing up sinks and stealing cleavers, trying to derail the show. The focus wasn’t entirely on the love story, and I liked that.
As far as main characters go, I really enjoyed Nora. She wasn’t the happy-go-lucky, “we’re all in this together” stereotype she could have been. Instead, she got dragged into the rough and tumble world of reality TV and gave back everything she got. She wasn’t afraid to speak her mind, and more often than not she jumped to conclusions and was overly dramatic where she shouldn’t have been. Normally this would have annoyed me, but given the reality show setting it made it feel more real. She was getting ripped apart by the circus her life had become, and it showed.
Christian, like many of the secondary characters, however, was more cliched. Neither he nor any of the other characters really popped for me in anyway. I did enjoy the levels of nasty snark that he and Nora’s relationship dug into, though–even though it made the eventual reveal of “oh we like each other!” even more … meh. There was more nasty snark than love. It certainly wasn’t the worst relationship I’ve ever seen written, though, and I let it float by rather than bother me.
The love triangle really got me, though, because it wasn’t really a thing. Like, it was a thing for 30 seconds and then something completely unrealistic happened and then it wasn’t a thing. I say this not as a spoiler, but rather because it confused me more than anything else when it’s clear from page one that it’s The Nora and Christian Show. It’s like it was just tossed in there for a chapter’s footnote.
The final reveal of the saboteur wasn’t completely a shock, but it was a good twist that I enjoyed. Actually, none of the final chapters shocked me at all, but it was still written well and nothing bothered me that much. If I was any kind of a chef, I might have been super duper excited about all the recipes for the “challenge winning” dishes in the back of the book. Maybe I’ll make my mother cook them…
Anyways, in the end, this book is a definite like for me, but not a total love. It was a cute way to pass a couple of hours, and it was different enough to remain amusing and interesting even when I basically had it all figured out. If this book appeals to you at all, I do recommend reading it if you get a chance!
August 25, 2013
BREAKING NEWS: My Life is a Notebook Adds a Co-Blogger!
Hey there all! Here comes the really huge news that I’ve been dying to share with you guys. As you know, college has been a huge timesuck
for me away from this blog, and I’ve had trouble keeping up with posting. I’ve been searching for a co-blogger for a while now, and I’m SO happy to announce that I’ve found one in my friend Marina! We’ve been friends for more years then I really believe have passed now (I met Marina FRESHMAN YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL and now I’m a COLLEGE SOPHOMORE, I AM SO OLD). Seriously, she’s one of my bestest best friends. Even though we live on opposite ends of the country. (Yay Skype and texting and Facebook!)
But without further ado, she’ll introduce herself!
Hi, everybody! I actually have no idea what Gretchen’s going to write at the top of this post, but I assume she introduced me and I don’t need to say who I am. I’m a Classics and Anthropology major at a university in Colorado, where I spend silly amounts of unnecessary time in the library. I also dance a lot of Argentine tango—not only in official venues, but in places like the university fountain, people’s kitchens, and a bowling alley on a Navy base. I’ve been chatting about reading and writing with Gretchen since high school, which seems strangely long ago at this point.
But those are not the important things when it comes to this blog! Here are some bookish things about me:
My tastes run a bit more literary than Gretchen’s a lot of the time, although not always. I also don’t always stick to YA, but I promise that if (okay, let’s get real, when) I review non-YA books on here I’ll tell you why they’re appealing to me as a reader of YA.
I read extremely fast. This leads to many rereads.
I love gorgeous prose, amazing characters, and atmosphere. I like fantasy because I love seeing weird new ideas. I’m a little tired of dystopian, vampires, etc but I’ll give it a go if it looks good. I adore complex books that will take me a long time to finish, and my favorite books are always books that make me think long after I’ve put them down.
I think the worst sin a book can commit (beyond being terrible, at least) is being forgettable. I will also rant at books that do bad gender things, just on principle.
A few books I’m exceedingly fond of at the moment, to give you an idea:
The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man’s Fear, by Patrick Rothfuss
The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman (I may review this one if I get a chance, actually, as it’s recent)
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Deathless by Catherynne M Valente
Graceling and Fire by Kristin Cashore (but not Bitterblue. Seriously, what happened there?)
Sunshine by Robin McKinley
I say a few because this list varies from month to month, and by the time October rolls around I may be in the mood for pirates or something.
Anyway, that’s me! Hello! It’s lovely to be here, and I can’t wait to get started!
August 23, 2013
ARC Review: “The Morning Star” by Robin Bridges
The Morning Star (The Katerina Trilogy Volume III) by Robin Bridges
Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, wants to be known as a doctor, not a necromancer. But Tsar Alexander III forbids women to attend medical school; his interest in Katerina extends only to her ability to raise the dead. Twice now, Katerina has helped him by using her power to thwart the forces of darkness—vampires bent on resurrecting the lich tsar Konstantin Pavlovich so that he can take what he sees as his rightful place on the throne. Katerina thought she had bound Konstantin to the Greylands, the realm of the dead, but he has found a way out. Now he is searching for the Morning Star, a sword that will allow him to command a legion of supernatural warriors.
Katerina must find the sword before Konstantin does—and she must travel to Egypt to do so. Along the way, she puts up with unwanted attention from her former fiancé, the nefarious Prince Danilo, and struggles with her feelings for her true love, George Alexandrovich. But with the looming threat from Konstantin, Katerina’s focus remains on the sword. Russia’s fate will be determined by whoever wields the Morning Star—and delivers the final blow.
Three and a half stars
Thanks to Random House and Delacorte Books for Young Readers for this ARC! This title will be released August 27th, 2013.
WARNING: This review WILL have spoilers for volumes 1 & 2. See my reviews of The Gathering Storm and The Unfailing Light for more! Don’t forget to also check out my interview with Robin!
Well, this is it. The end of Katerina’s journey through legions of the supernatural and an (intentionally) lopsided love triangle. She has raised an army of the dead and fallen in love and fought fiercely to be allowed to be a doctor. Will Katerina get everything she desires, or will she let go of her dreams and her love for the sake of the lives of friends and family? Well, I know how this all turns out, and I was fairly pleased with the result.
I have always been a big fan of Katerina’s character, and this book really cemented that feeling for me. Throughout the book, Katerina sometimes seemed to be one of the few–if not the only one–willing to put all the personal drama or wishes aside for the good of everything else. Sometimes this trait can come off as annoying or cliche, but with Katerina I was shouting “WHY AREN’T YOU LISTENING TO HER” at all the other characters at times. They brushed her off because she was a woman or because she was young or because they thought she was useless, and she stood there and demanded people to hear her.
The plot of this novel wore on me a little bit, however, because it felt like a lot of jumping around. This thing happened, and then this thing happened, and they were all connected but really coarsely– It was really confusing. I never settled into a rhythm with the book because it just wouldn’t stop. Now usually I’m a fan of this–I love fast paced books–but it went too fast even for ME to keep up, and as a result some of the biggest climaxes in the book passed right over my head because they lasted for like 2 pages and then we were moving on to the next thing.
I really appreciated how Bridges dealt with the pseudo-love triangle she had built up with Danilo, George and Katerina. It was made clear even prior to this book that Katerina and George were meant to be and Danilo was just trying to use Katerina for her power. It was never a real battle for her affections. That allowed this book to have a much more interesting dynamic between the three of them. I can’t say much more on that because I’m talking a lot about the last chapter of the book, but … I enjoyed it. Bridges made it different, and I liked it.
I will say, though, that I thoroughly recommend re-reading AT LEAST The Unfailing Light before jumping into this one. I didn’t, and as such my recurring problem with this series–the sheer number of kinds of supernatural beings and all the laws, allegiances, kinds, etc–came back in full force. This book adds even more supernatural beings, and not knowing exactly who was who or what was what gave me a bit of a headache. This are definitely not books you can just jump into when you want to if you want to know the small details about what’s going on. (For instance, Katerina kept referring to her mother as “the striga.” It was so impersonal it took me forever to realize who she was talking about.)
All in all, I say with confidence that fans of the first two books will not be disappointed by the ending to this series. All my wishes came true, and the ending certainly had a ring of realness to it–not just the “happily ever after”/”all the bows are tied” type of a finale. This was just the icing on the cake. If you enjoy the supernatural, Russian mythology, Russian history and a good love story, these books are most definitely for you!
August 12, 2013
Cover Reveal: “Daughter of Isis” by Kelsey Ketch + Excerpt!
by Kelsey Ketch
Release Date: 10/26/13
Cover Designed by: Steven Novak
Summary from Goodreads:
“Her mouth parted slightly, waiting for Seth to breathe life into her own body, just like in the story. She wanted him to awaken her senses.”
Their worlds collide in California’s high desert.
The last thing Natara “Natti” Stone wants to do is to start anew at Setemple High School. She wished she had never left London. Yet the brutal murder of her maternal grandmother has made her life very complicated. The only clue related to her murder is an ancient, encrypted necklace Natti discovered after her grandmother’s death. And if trying to adjust to American life is not enough, Natti is being stalked by a mysterious, charming high school senior, Seth O’Keefe, who is annoyingly persistent in his attempts at seduction.
Seth O’Keefe is secretly a member of the Sons of Set, an order that worships the Egyptian god of chaos. Seth’s blessing from Set, his “charm,” never failed, except with one person: Natti Stone. Her ability to elude him infatuates and infuriates him, and he becomes obsessed with the chase. But the closer he gets to her, the more his emotions take a dangerous turn, and he risks breaking one of the most valued covenants of his order. The punishment for which is a fate worse than death.
The adventure this unlikely couple becomes engulfed in could cost them their lives and their souls.
*Note: Content for Upper YA*
***Excerpt***
There was a crash and a loud gasping moan. She
turned to the door next to her and stepped into the room. Her eyes widened as
two entangled bodies jumped in the dark; the light shining from the hall
streamed over the couple. She recognized the tall, copper haired upperclassman
from the parking lot; the boy who had sent her the enchanting smile. Now he was
completely shirtless, his fly clearly unzipped, and a brunette held tight in
his arms. The girl glared at Natti. She struggled a little against the boy’s
grasp, trying to cover herself with her bra.
Natti blinked in complete shock. “Okay.” She
finally glanced at the empty room. “This is obviously not American Literature.”
“No duh!” the brunette snapped.
The young man smiled and turned to the girl in
his arms. The brunette’s cold demeanor melted away once her eyes met his. He
stroked her cheek, sending visible shivers through her body. Natti rolled her
eyes, ready to gag.
“Now, now, Charlotte.” The honey-sweet voice
made Natti freeze when she was just turning to leave. It gave her a dizzy
feeling; a fog creeping at the back of her mind. “We shouldn’t be rude to our
guest.” The boy’s eyes traveled Natti’s curves again. His grin widened.
“Perhaps she’d like to join us. Maybe we can all get to know each other a
little better.”
He motioned Natti to come inside. She
unconsciously took a step forward; a strange force compelled her to join them.
Her hands were reaching to pull her shirt off. It was as if she was no longer
in control.
What the
hell . . . ? Natti shook
her head, finding the strength to resist through a familiar heavy sensation
that rested against her chest. It was one she often got when someone lied to
her. She was born with it. A gift, her grandmother called it, which could tell
her when something wasn’t right. And as much as her body suddenly wanted to be
next to the boy, feeling the skin of his lean, muscular chest, her gift was
telling her something was off. His intentions were not pure.
She lowered her hands to her side, taking a
step back into the hall. “Sorry.” She shook her head. “I don’t do threesomes.”
About the Author
During her high school years, Kelsey Ketch could always be found tucked away in a little corner of the hall or classroom, writing her fantasy worlds and creating illustrations and maps. Today is no different, except now she’s writing in the break room at her office building or at the tables of the Barnes and Noble Café in Cary, North Carolina. She is also an avid reader, a part-time book blogger at Ketch’s Book Nook, and lives with her two orange tabbies and awesome and humorous flat-mate.Daughter of Isis is her debut novel.
For more information, please visit her site at kelseyketch.com.
***Author Links***
Cover Reveal Organized by:
Join the Agenda! A special message from Gennifer Albin, featuring prizes and scholarships!
I am super excited to be helping author Gennifer Albin release her new Join the Agenda video!
Are you ready to join the Agenda? Are you ready to enter to win prizes and scholarships? Look no further! Watch the video for details, and go to Gennifer’s website to join!
SPREAD THE WORD!
August 10, 2013
Weekly Wrap Up + Stacking the Shelves for 8-10-13
Hey there, and welcome to another weekly wrap up! I really wanted to do a video for this week, but it is literally taking all my energy to sit here and type up this post. I figured it would be embarrassing to fall asleep on camera. I’ve had a really hard week, as the slow week on the blog shows, and I hope you’ll bear with me while I try and get back up to speed. In the meantime, here’s what I actually posted this week!
THIS WEEK ON THE BLOG:
Top Ten Books I Wish Could Have Had Sequels – This started off as a hard post, but then I hit my stride and I’d forgotten some of these babies. I even found out that one of these books IS actually going to have a sequel, which made me super happy.
Bibliomacy for Beginners Hangout Video: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Cathrynne M. Valente – Phew that’s a title. My book club was at it again, this week with one of my picks. Watch us as we laugh uncontrollably about mustaches and wyvern-library hybrids.
Review: Vortex by S. J. Kincaid – I finally got my hands on the sequel to one of my favorite books of 2012. It didn’t disappoint!
BOUGHT:
Vortex (Insignia #2) by S. J. Kincaid – Goodreads (See my review)
Maid of Secrets (Maids of Honor #1) by Jennifer McGowan – Goodreads
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein – ()
NETGALLEY:
The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle #2) by Maggie Stiefvater – Goodreads
Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer by Katie Alender – Goodreads
August 8, 2013
Review: “Vortex” by S. J. Kincaid
Vortex (Insignia #2) by S. J. Kincaid
The impossible was just the beginning. Now in their second year as superhuman government weapons-in-training at the Pentagonal Spire, Tom Raines and his friends are mid-level cadets in the elite combat corps known as the Intrasolar Forces. But as training intensifies and a moment arrives that could make or break his entire career, Tom’s loyalties are again put to the test.
Encouraged to betray his ideals and friendships for the sake of his country, Tom is convinced there must be another way. And the more aware he becomes of the corruption surrounding him, the more determined he becomes to fight it, even if he sabotages his own future in the process.
Drawn into a power struggle more dramatic than he has ever faced before, Tom stays a hyperintelligent step ahead of everyone, like the exceptional gamer he is—or so he believes. But when he learns that he and his friends have unwittingly made the most grievous error imaginable, Tom must find a way to outwit an enemy so nefarious that victory seems hopeless. Will his idealism and bravado cost him everything—and everyone that matters to him?
Filled with action and intelligence, camaraderie and humor, the second book in S.J. Kincaid’s futuristic World War III Insignia trilogy continues to explore fascinating and timely questions about power, politics, technology, loyalty, and friendship.
4 stars
WARNING: This review WILL contain spoilers for the first book, Insignia . Read my review of that one HERE!
I already knew, when I started reading this book, that there was no chance of me having the ridiculously enthusiastic reaction that I had to the first book. Still, I was excited to open the pages and get into a story I was sure to make me laugh. What I found was a plot in two, strange parts.
The book opens up after a kind of lull. Time has passed since Tom’s last great battle with Medusa, and things are starting to return to normal. He’s visiting with his father away from the Spire, and decides to use his secret abilities to attack a man who steals from his father. This gets him into a lot of hot water with Blackburn, who swears he’s trying to protect Tom – but Tom still doesn’t trust him after what happened with the census machine. Scary still, Wyatt is growing closer to Blackburn, while Tom and Vik might be growing apart. Oh yeah, and there’s the fact that Tom has to try to impress a corporation if he wants to ever fly in the big leagues – something he’s not very good at. Meanwhile, Medusa still hates him. It’s not exactly a good time to be Tom.
The beginning of this book is much like the riotously funny ride that was Insignia. I decided to read much of this into the wee hours of the morning, forcing myself to smother my mouth with a pillow before I woke the whole house up with my laughing. Tom, Vik and Wyatt are like a Harry, Ron and Hermione for a new generation. Their friendship makes the book for me.
The best way I can describe this book, though, is in two halves:
Part 1: Tom is the Boss
Part 2: Tom realizes he is not the Boss
It was almost weird, when the books decided to switch parts, how the gears shifted and the subject matter suddenly got more serious. Tom himself doesn’t take much of Part 1 seriously, choosing instead to follow his stubborn head over everything else. Part 1 is the funniest and probably my favorite part of the book simply because I enjoy laughing at Tom and Co’s shenanigans.
The shift into part 2 is a sudden drop. All of the sudden, SH*T GETS REAL. The swearwords are necessary. I honestly couldn’t believe my eyes with what happened to Tom. And then Vik. And then Yuri and Wyatt and OH MAH FEELS.
And it’s legitimately at 50% of the way through. I know, I updated my Goodreads.
Usually, I am not a fan of books that differ in tone and content so sharply, but for Vortex it kinda worked. The whole premise is Tom finally realizing that his stubbornness is not a noble independence. He has to come to grips with the consequences of his decisions. I still think that it dropped too sharply, but there was never any question with the stakes after that. The stakes are high, high, high, and maybe Tom needed that boost to realize that he should think a few more of his decisions through.
I still think, given all those realizations, the end should have been a bit different, but I digress. It was a hellava exciting ending.
All in all, I still really enjoy these books. I can’t wait to pass this off to my 17 year old brother so that we can laugh over them together. Maybe I’ll even get my 13 year old brother to read with this too. I have faith. If you’re looking for a good scifi laugh with serious undertones, I recommend these books! I’ll be waiting with baited breath for the final installment!
August 6, 2013
Bibliomancy for Beginners Hangout Video: “The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making” by Cathrynne M. Valente
Welcome to this week’s Bibliomancy for Beginners! This week we read my pick, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by the fantastic Cathrynne M. Valente. As you may or may not know, I took a writing class from Ms. Valente last year and fell in awe. This should be a good one! Stop by next week when we read Possession by A. S. Byatt!
Twelve-year-old September lives in Omaha, and used to have an ordinary life, until her father went to war and her mother went to work. One day, September is met at her kitchen window by a Green Wind (taking the form of a gentleman in a green jacket), who invites her on an adventure, implying that her help is needed in Fairyland. The new Marquess is unpredictable and fickle, and also not much older than September. Only September can retrieve a talisman the Marquess wants from the enchanted woods, and if she doesn’t . . . then the Marquess will make life impossible for the inhabitants of Fairyland. September is already making new friends, including a book-loving Wyvern and a mysterious boy named Saturday.
With exquisite illustrations by acclaimed artist Ana Juan, Fairyland lives up to the sensation it created when the author first posted it online. For readers of all ages who love the charm of Alice in Wonderland and the soul of The Golden Compass, here is a reading experience unto itself: unforgettable, and so very beautiful.
August 5, 2013
Top Ten Books I Wish Could Have Had Sequels
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!
So, for this TTT, I tried really hard to stick to stand alone books that I wanted more out of. I could have gone on and on about series that I wanted to continue, so this made this a little bit more challenging and–I think–a little more true to the spirit of the topic. So here we go, in no particular order!
1. Transparent by Natalie Whipple
I honestly couldn’t believe this book was a standalone, and said so in my review.. Such a rich world and such a unique idea! Or, at least, Natalie made it feel that way. There are clearly many more stories to be had in this world, and I hope that Natalie does so someday.
2. Vengeance Bound by Justina Ireland
I actually didn’t really enjoy the book itself, but gosh did I enjoy the premise. Mythological murder monsters inside a girl’s head? I’m down with that. It seems that Justina’s next book is actually in the same vein as this one, so this might be a cheat, but…I’m still going to put this here!
3. The Cadet of Tildor by Alex Lidell
I refuse to believe that this book is a standalone. It might not actually be; Goodreads might not have a series tag. But still. As far as I know there isn’t a second one, and that is a serious crime. I gushed about this one in my review, and I will continue to follow Alex–whatever she chooses to write next.
This book got my heart pumping like few others–my review got hyper. I realize that any other book set in this world would have a very similar plot, and that’s why a sequel doesn’t make much sense, but man a girl can wish.
5.
Once again, I recognize that this may be a cheat because Rose Under Fire is by the same author and set in the same time. But still. I want the main character of Code Name Verity to have another novel, one where she gets a happy ending. Please? Please. Because I’m still crying. (See for more crying.)
6. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
WHAT happens to Aibileen? Minny? All my other favorite characters? I wanna know!
7. Cleopatra’s Moon by Vicky Alvear Shecter
I’ve read a bunch of books on Cleopatra Selene’s teen years at this point, so I’d love one about what she did after she finally got out of room. Please Vicky? you’re my go to girl, as I said in my review! 
8. Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines
I actually hated the way this book was written, but the world was so interesting (futuristic Gladiator culture? yes please!) I was sad to not a) enjoy my time there more and b) get to see more of it.
I haven’t read much by Eoin, but I have enjoyed NOTHING more than this book. This book takes so much time that it wouldn’t make sense to have a sequel per se, but gosh I’d enjoy more time in this world. 1890s, Ireland, flying machines. I’m done.
10. Streams of Babel/Fire Will Fall by Carol Plum-Ucci
This is perhaps in the top 5 of most poignant dystopian novels I’ve ever read, and was written before dystopians were even a craze. I recommend this for all readers looking for a book to make them think on a global level about bioterrorism. I guess there really isn’t a way to write a sequel on these, but gosh. Just do this again, Carol. It was amazing.
