Gretchen C. Hohmeyer's Blog, page 68

Top Ten Most Intimidating Books

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!

Okay, this is going to be the loosest use of the definition of “intimidating” in all of time and space. I taught myself to read at 3 and read and can read 700 page books in a disturbingly short period of time, so “intimidating” isn’t usually what I apply to books–I tend to look at challenging books as a challenge of how long it’ll take me to finish them. But anyways. Here we go (in no particular order)!

1. Tree of Codes by Jonathan Safran Foer

This is one of the latest books that my book club, Bibliomancy for Beginners, has read, and it was intimidating because the pages were die-cut. It was a really crazy and clunky read that was just … weird, I guess.

2. Gameboard of the Gods (The Age of X #1) by Richelle Mead

With this one, I just really wanted to like it because I adore Mead’s Vampire Academy and Bloodlines series. I also hadn’t read an adult paranormal romance in a WHILE. I gave it 3 stars, so I guess it went fairly well.

3. Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link

Another Bibliomancy for Beginners book, this one was a collection of short stories by a person that I’ve had hyped up in my head for years now. I’m just not a short story person, though.

4. Uses for Boys by Erica Lorraine Scheidt

Between the subject matter and the fact that this one is told in a verse-style, I should have known I wouldn’t like it. I just never expected to have such a dramatically bad reaction to it.

5. Nerve by Jeanne Ryan

I signed up for the blog tour for this one, knowing that it was going to be a thriller and scared to death about it. I don’t do well with scary books. Thankfully, I made it out unscathed. Mostly.

6. Defiance (Defiance #1) by C. J. Redwine

This one was only intimidating because it was the first book I ever received from Edelweiss and I really didn’t want to muck anything up.

7. City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments #4) by Cassandra Clare

The Mortal Instruments was only supposed to be a trilogy, and this book scared the crap out of me on a number of levels. It honestly confirmed a lot of those fears, but thankfully City of Lost Souls restored most of my faith.

8.

I had heard so much about this book, but I didn’t think there was any way I was going to like it. I wasn’t even sure I should try, given the strangeness of the narration style. But I did, and I’m SO GLAD.

9. The Immortal Rules (The Blood of Eden #1) by Julie Kagawa

The first “big name” book I ever received for review. Nuff said.

10. The Unfailing Light (The Katerina Trilogy #2) by Robin Bridges

The amount of mythology in the first book was staggering. The second book was the first physical ARC a publisher had ever sent me. Much intimidation all over the place.

Book Blitz: “Haven” by Laury Falter – Excerpt + Giveaway!

Title: Haven, Part I of the Apocalypse Chronicles

Author: Laury Falter

Release date: June 22, 2013

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Age Group:  Young Adult

Event organized by: AToMR Tours

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16621789-haven

Haven, the first book in the Apocalypse Chronicles…

On an ordinary day in early September, Kennedy Shaw leaves for school unaware that within a few minutes the world she knows will be gone – succumbed to an outbreak of epidemic proportions. After finding a safe haven inside the security of her enclosed high school, she learns that four others have survived, one being a bold, mysterious transfer student from Texas whose unruffled demeanor harbors more than a cool interest in her. As they struggle to survive the dead fighting their way inside, will Kennedy discover there is more to life than survival? And will she and the others find a way to live in this terrifying new world?

About the Author

Laury Falter is the author of the bestselling Guardian Trilogy. She writes young adult paranormal romances and urban fantasy when she’s not taking her stray dogs for a walk or enjoying a date night with her husband.

Laury has released two series, the Guardian Trilogy and the Residue Series (a spinoff of the Guardian Trilogy books), and is currently releasing her third series, the Apocalypse Chronicles.

To learn more about Laury and her novels, visit her at:

Website: lauryfalter.com

Twitter page: twitter.com/LauryFalter

Facebook page: facebook.com/pages/Laury-Falter/19603...

Goodreads page: goodreads.com/author/show/4061922.Lau...

EXCERPT

The first Infected who came into view was balding. The half moon of white hair around the back of his head was severed in half by a gash that left his neck and the collar of his light blue business suit a crusty red. His hand on the railing was the same ruby color. The one coming up behind him was a girl in her twenties with bleached blonde hair and a tattoo that curled up the side of her neck. The Infected trailing her was a woman with an afro and oversized gold hoop earrings. There were more – I could hear their feet on the stairs – but they hadn’t located me yet. Once they did, I knew nothing could tear them away. This was why I had the rifle pointed at Mr. Suit. If I hit him just right there was a possibility he would collapse against the wall and topple backwards, into the crowd, momentarily blocking the rest from advancing. That might buy me enough time to run for the next set of stairs and, possibly, to safety.

My heart was pounding so hard that I was afraid it would interfere with my aim, even at this short distance. The muzzle was bobbing so rapidly it reminded me of peaks on a hospital pulse monitor. As I’d been trained, I stopped, took a deep breath, and attempted to steady my heart rate. One of my dad’s favorite sayings coursed through my mind, reminding me how to take an accurate shot and calming me instantly. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast, Kennedy. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

As I contemplated my plan, biding my time to get the right shot off, something happened on the floor below. It started with a roar, which was odd because I’d never heard a single Infected roar. Then a commotion followed that caused Mr. Suit and the others to seek the source of the interruption behind them. Apparently, their judgment hadn’t been so dramatically impaired that they knew enough to turn around. This took their focus away from me and I immediately stepped toward the stairs I’d been eyeing. But then I froze…because Ms. Afro had suddenly been yanked out of sight. I watched as Ms. Biker Girl prepared to lunge but also quickly disappeared down the stairs. Mr. Suit was then yanked away, his head snapping back as he vanished in the same direction as the others. Whatever was making its way up the stairs was cutting through the Infected like they were paper dolls. Then the turmoil came to a sudden end and the warehouse settled back into silence, with only the wind whistling through the openings in the building to fill the void. Beneath that hushed sound came another one. A footstep. It was sturdy, landing solidly and with intent. The sound came again. And again. And then there before me stood Harrison, chest heaving, eyes bulging, lips drawn back in a snarl.

My heart leapt at the sight of him, both because I didn’t expect him to appear and because I didn’t expect him to appear like this. What I saw in him was the same behavior so visibly obvious in the Infected. Only one word could describe them both: enraged.

“Harrison?” I whispered, which seemed to bring him back to me.

He had been inspecting the upper floor before his eyes stopped on me. He blinked and straightened out of his crouch, relaxing his face until it returned to the same gorgeous Harrison so familiar to me. He came forward, up the remaining step, but no farther, as hesitancy spread across his face. I was vaguely aware of it wavering as I found myself running for him.

Before I knew it, I was in his arms and my face was pressed against his firm chest and his warm, secure arms were encircling me.

“Kennedy,” he whispered back, hoarsely, full of the emotion he held for me and vowed he would never show.

GIVEAWAY 

(1) eBook copy of Haven (Part I of the Apocalypse Chronicles). Books will be gifted from Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Open internationally. To enter, leave a comment with your name and email!

Weekly Wrap Up + Stacking the Shelves for 6-30-13

Welcome to this week’s wrap up and Stacking the Shelves! This week’s posts on the blog ran the full gambit of reviews to giveaways, so you aren’t going to want to miss out! I also got some interesting ARCs this week AND won a giveaway, so happy dance time! As always, the video will explain it all. Otherwise, read on!

THIS WEEK ON THE BLOG!

Book Blitz: The Queen of the Realm of Faerie by Heidi Garrett – Excerpt + Giveaway – This giveaway is for THREE books, so you won’t want to miss out on it!

Top Ten Books I’ve Read So Far in 2013 – This is pretty self explanatory, and was actually pretty easy to do. I haven’t given that many 5 star reviews this year!

Bibliomancy for Beginners Hangout: Wards of Faerie by Terry Brooks – Otherwise known as possibly the most ridiculous hangout video BfB has yet to record. Check back this week when we review Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas!

ARC Review: Dare You To by Katie McGarry – 4 stars – I had some issues with the male lead in this one, but as always McGarry put together a solid and emotional novel that left me reeling.

Review: The Collector by Victoria Scott – 2 1/2 stars – This one … this one I was not a fan of. I wanted to be, but oh boy I wasn’t.

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews!

FROM NETGALLEY

Belladonna (Secrets of the Eternal Rose #2) by Fiona Paul ~ Goodreads

FROM EDELWEISS

Once We Were (The Hybrid Chronicles #2) by Kat Zhang ~ Goodreads

ARC

The Morning Star (The Katerina Trilogy #3) by Robin Bridges ~ Goodreads

Review: “The Collector” by Victoria Scott

The Collector (Dante Walker #1) by Victoria Scott

Goodreads | Amazon

Dante Walker is flippin’ awesome, and he knows it. His good looks, killer charm, and stellar confidence has made him one of Hell’s best — a soul collector. His job is simple, weed through humanity and label those round rears with a big red good or bad stamp. Old Saint Nick gets the good guys, and he gets the fun ones. Bag-and-tag.

Sealing souls is nothing personal. Dante’s an equal opportunity collector and doesn’t want it any other way. But he’ll have to adjust, because Boss Man has given him a new assignment: Collect Charlie Cooper’s soul within 10 days.

Dante doesn’t know why Boss Man wants Charlie, nor does he care. This assignment means only one thing to him, and that’s a permanent ticket out of Hell. But after Dante meets the quirky, Nerd Alert chick he’s come to collect—he realizes this assignment will test his abilities as a collector, and uncover emotions long ago buried.

Thanks to NetGalley And EntangledTeen for this ebook! 

2 1/2 stars

When this book came out in April, I watched the blogosphere explode. Given the premise of this book, I thought that maybe there was something to it, so I tracked down a copy of it on NetGalley. you’d think I’d have learned after the Sweet Evil fiasco that maybe I should avoid books I hype up in my head.

There is a quote from the aforementioned Wendy Higgins in the front of my copy that “you will not like Dante at first.” Boy, was she right. I don’t go for the cocky-off-their-butt male leads, and Dante is the leader of them all. He waltzes into Charlie’s cute little life and tears it apart like it’s nothing. He makes fun of her, he hates on her friends and he treats her grandma like the plague. But, lo and behold, Charlie begins to grown on him and he begins to change his ways.

The thing is that I never learned to like Dante. I developed an underground love of Charlie that snuck up on me, but that’s about it. Everybody else felt flat with me. Or maybe I was just so put off by Dante that I never even tried. I’m not sure. The thing with Dante is that the second he drops his bad-boy attitude, he starts getting preachy on inner beauty and all that stuff, and I still wasn’t a fan.

I really respect what this book was trying to say, don’t get me wrong. I love the approach that Scott took to the ever problematic issue of body image and self worth. I love, love, love the premise of this book. It was the world backdrop behind Dante and Charlie that kept me with the story, even when I wanted to hit Dante over the head with a 2 ton weight.

The plot itself was fairly predictable. The huge reveal at the end didn’t surprise me, and neither did the plug for emotion. I guessed most things, to be honest. I think the best parts were listening to Dante narrate the events I saw coming from a mile away, because despite (slash because of) his attitude he has a fun way with words.

I guess my main problem with this book is that I’m not a fan of the anti-hero. The tone went from cocky to preachy and neither of them had me amused. I may revisit this one when I’m in a better mindset to read it, because this is one of those books that requires the right time and place to be enjoyable. If I ever do revisit it and change my mind, I’ll let you know. I won’t be chomping at the bit to do so or get the sequel, though. I have no problem admitting this book is just not for me!

ARC Review: “Dare You To” by Katie McGarry

Dare You To (Pushing the Limits #2) by Katie McGarry

Goodreads | Amazon

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk’s home life, they’d send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom’s freedom and her own happiness. That’s how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn’t want her and going to a school that doesn’t understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn’t get her, but does….

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can’t tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn’t be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won’t let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all….

4 stars

Thanks to HarlequinTeen and NetGalley for this eARC! This title is now available.

In the beginning I accepted one thing. I knew that I could in no way love this book as much as I loved Pushing the Limits. But I had faith in Katie McGarry to come through and write something that would rip at my heartstrings. Thank God I had so much faith, or I might not have made it past the first part of the book.

This book is really all about Beth, with a few of Ryan’s problems thrown in. Beth Risk is trying to get her alcoholic, drug using mom away from her mom’s boyfriend who beats them both, but ends up getting arrested for her mom. Her Uncle Scott comes to bail her out, telling her that he now has custody of her. Beth used to love her uncle, until he–like everyone else in her life–abandoned her to play Major League Baseball. He also makes her move away from her friends, Isaiah and Noah (!!) and relocates her to a frightfully cookie cutter small country town. Here she meets Ryan, a baseball pitcher with a bright future, seemingly with the perfect life that Beth hates. Queue the attraction.

Like I said, this is Beth’s book. It was for her story that I read the book, crying for her and shouting with her all the way. I really didn’t like Beth in Pushing the Limits, and it took me a while to warm up to her abrasive personality in this one, but it was worth it. Like what Ryan sees when Beth lets her walls down, figuring out the softie inside Beth was heart wrenching and beautiful. I was so glad I stuck with her. (Except for her continuing dislike of Echo. BETH.)

My real problem with this book–and the reason the first 1/3 or so was really hard to read–was Ryan. Don’t get me wrong: towards the end of the book he turned into a really sweet, rounded character with a personality that made me fall in love with him. However, in the beginning, his cocky attitude was more than I could stand. He was a real brat and made no apologies about it, which made him really hard to like. I was also curious as to why–and this is going to sound really bad–Ryan’s life problems were relatively simple compared to Beth, Noah and Echo. This has nothing to do with the NATURE of Ryan’s life problems, just that they didn’t seem to have as many angles as Beth, Noah and Echo. Again, this is a statement specifically about a writing style, not the content. Mostly, though, it was his attitude. Once I warmed up to him, though, I was in love. Baseball player and a writer? MARRY ME.

The plot of this one was fairly predictable, but that didn’t make it any less enjoyable–which is a testament to how awesome McGarry is. I enjoyed the journey more than the destination, which is not something I can always say about ya romances. I also loved how characters that we had met in Pushing the Limits, mostly Noah, Echo and Isaiah, were not just a side note in this story, but also a cause of tension and action. This is mostly in reference to Isaiah, but Noah and Echo were more present than I thought they’d be. (It still wasn’t a lot, but still.)

All in all, if you liked Pushing the Limits READ THIS ONE. If you are looking for a ya romance that is realistic and about more than boy meets girl, READ THIS ONE. Be prepared for the emotional onslaught that McGarry unleashes like no other I have read. It’s so worth it. It’s beautiful.

Now I want to go re-read Pushing the Limits. Check out my review of that one HERE!

Bibliomancy for Beginners Hangout: “Wards of Faerie” by Terry Brooks

Welcome to this week’s hangout, which comes out a wee bit late but no less awesome! This week we’re reading Wards of Faerie by Terry Brooks! Several of the Bibliomancers struggled to even finish the book, so this should be really interesting! For next week, get excited because we’re reading Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas!

Wards of Faerie (The Dark Legacy of Shannara #1) by Terry Brooks

Goodreads | Amazon

When the world was young, and its name was Faerie, the power of magic ruled—and the Elfstones warded the race of Elves and their lands, keeping evil at bay. But when an Elven girl fell hopelessly in love with a Darkling boy of the Void, he carried away more than her heart.

 

Thousands of years later, tumultuous times are upon the world now known as the Four Lands. Users of magic are in conflict with proponents of science. Elves have distanced their society from the other races. The dwindling Druid order and its teachings are threatened with extinction. A sinister politician has used treachery and murder to rise as prime minister of the mighty Federation. Meanwhile, poring through a long-forgotten diary, the young Druid Aphenglow Elessedil has stumbled upon the secret account of an Elven girl’s heartbreak and the shocking truth about the vanished Elfstones. But never has a little knowledge been so very dangerous—as Aphenglow quickly learns when she’s set upon by assassins.

 

Yet there can be no turning back from the road to which fate has steered her. For whoever captures the Elfstones and their untold powers will surely hold the advantage in the devastating clash to come. But Aphenglow and her allies—Druids, Elves, and humans alike—remember the monstrous history of the Demon War, and they know that the Four Lands will never survive another reign of darkness. But whether they themselves can survive the attempt to stem that tide is another question entirely.

Top Ten Books I’ve Read So Far In 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish!

This is a fairly tough list for me, but I think I managed to cull it down to 10 books I’m happy with. These books are in no particular order, except that the last 3 or so didn’t get a full 5 star rating on Goodreads.

1. The Cadet of Tildor by Alex Lidell

I was with this book from the cover reveal to the blog tour, and boy was I not disappointed. I think all fans of Tamora Pierce should read this book ASAP.

2. Mind Games (Mind Games #1) by Kiersten White

I didn’t expect to like this book, actually, because of the way it was written, but … it’s Kiersten White, so of course I read it. I was really surprised with how much the book won me over!

3. Shadows in the Silence (Angelfire #3) by Courtney Allison Moulton

*insert bawling, fangirl flailing and jumping up and down with joy* I love this series, can you tell? Because, I love this series, in case that wasn’t obvious.

4. Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3) by Cassandra Clare

If you thought I let loose a bunch of tears for Shadows in the Silence, this onslaught was like Niagara Falls. Just … all of the feels. ALL OF THE FEELS.

5. Asunder (Incarnate #2) by Jodi Meadows

Showcasing that not all sophomore/middle trilogy novels are awful with exhibit A, right here. Just … this book. I heart it.

6. The Boyfriend App by Katie Sise

This book was just hysterically trippy and ridiculously cute. It’s a smile for a rainy day.

7. The Indigo Spell (Bloodlines #3) by Richelle Mead

ADRIAN. *fans self* *fangirl squeals* *shipper feels* *cartwheels a few times* *happydance* WAIT, THE ENDING WHAT? NO!

8. Splintered (Splintered #1) by A. G. Howard

I didn’t expect to like this one. I hate Alice in Wonderland. But this? This was something beautiful.

9. Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt

This book is the cutest break up book I’ve ever read. I held it close to my heart and stayed there for a while.

10. Transparent by Natalie Whipple

Invisible girl. Running from the mafia. Living in a world with other mutants. The X-Men fan in me POUNCED on it and didn’t let it go.

Book Blitz: “The Queen of the Realm of Faerie” by Heidi Garrett – Excerpt + Giveaway!

Welcome to The Queen of the Realm of Faerie Book Blitz hosted by Xpresso Reads, which celebrates the release of two of Heidi Garrett’s titles The Dragon Carnivale and True Love’s First Kiss. Let’s take a look at them, shall we?

The Dragon Carnivale (The Queen of the Realm of Faerie #3)

Energies in the Enchanted World are shifting and new alliances are forming; the Battle of Dark and Light has begun. The half-faerie Melia is desperate to make things right with Ryder, the young priest from Idonne, but first she must warn the halfbloods in the Mortal World that Umbra is coming for them, and face the powerful Dragonwitch and her spectacular Dragon Carnivale

True Love’s First Kiss (The Queen of the Realm of Faerie #1-3)

In the Enchanted World, true love’s first kiss is magic.

Nandana’s Mark, Book 1: When two half-faeries—Melia and her younger sister—are cursed under dreadful circumstances, true love’s first kiss is the remedy.

The Flower of Isbelline, Book 2: Nothing but true love’s first kiss can save Melia’s younger sister from blind ambition and ruin.

The Dragon Carnivale, Book 3: Melia must choose the freedom she cherishes or true love’s first kiss—and a relationship that promises to secure her place in the Whole.

The Queen of the Realm of Faerie is a fairy tale fantasy series that bridges the Mortal and Enchanted worlds. The main character, Melia, is an eighteen-year-old half-faerie, half-mortal. She lives in Illialei, a country in the Enchanted World, with her two sisters and their mother. Melia’s father has been exiled to the Mortal World, and her best friend is a pixie.

When the story opens in the first book, Melia is troubled by her dark moon visions, gossip she overhears about her parents at the local market, and the trauma of living among full-blooded faeries with wings—she doesn’t have any.

As the series unfolds, the historic and mystical forces that shape Melia’s life are revealed. Each step of her journey—to find the place where she belongs—alters her perceptions about herself, deepens her relationships with others, and enlarges her world view.

True Love’s First Kiss is a compilation of the first three books in this ongoing series.

AUTHOR BIO

Heidi Garrett is the author of The Queen of the Realm of Faerie series. Her personal message to all her readers is:

Once upon a time, you lived in an enchanted world, too…

May you always see the magic in your life.

The Queen of the Realm of Faerie includes many strong female characters within an intricate fantasy land. It is also a fairy tale fantasy.

The first book, Nandana’s Mark, is one of those free ebooks; the second book, The Flower of Isbelline, is now available; and the third book, The Dragon Carnivale, will be released in June 2013.

Heidi’s hope is that when you read her books, you will rediscover the enchantment in your own life. 

She currently resides in Eastern Washington State with her husband and their two cats. So far, she loves the snow. Being from the South, she finds it very magical.

LINKS:
Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter 

EXCERPT FROM THE DRAGON CARNIVALE

Melia kicked her legs hard.

An invisible wall blocked her every effort.

She sensed what was happening: the ancient door between the worlds was closing. She felt with her fingers for a seam, a crack, any open sliver, but all she could think of was Tatou. Had her friend made it through?

She opened her eyes; the river water had become something more like wind. It pushed her eyes shut. She opened her mouth and choked on a gust. If she didn’t push through to the other side…

Her frantic fingers found an edge. She shoved with the heel of her hand. Her head and neck passed through before a weight slammed into her chest. Immobile, she kicked harder.

She pulled up on her arms. Pressure caught one of her wrists. Frantic, she yanked with all her strength. The bracelet on her left hand burst; the individual pearls scattered between the worlds, lost to her forever.

Melia heaved. Her legs remained trapped. She found a plane with her palms. She pressed down. The door wanted to close; she focused her mind. She imagine fluttering through an archway. Resistance scraped her thighs, her knees, her shins.

When it slammed her toes, she screamed.

THE GIVEAWAY 

To celebrate this dual release, I’m giveaway one ebook of True Love’s Kiss AND a silicon bracelet, which is pictured. This giveaway is open internationally and ends July 10th. To enter, just leave a comment with your email. For extra entries, make up a tweet about this and link me to it!

Weekly Wrap Up + Stacking the Shelves for 6-22-13

It’s that time again! Let’s check out what happened this week, and what books I’m going to be checking out in the future!

THIS WEEK ON THE BLOG

The Magic of Books – Possibly the most personal blog post I have ever written; includes much bookish love for Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Top Ten Books at the Top of My Summer TBR List – Basically the next ten books I’m reading and reviewing for the blog.

Waiting on Wednesday: The Fiery Heart  - Gosh darn it Richelle Mead, why you gotta make November feel so far away with all your teasers!

Bibliomancy for Beginners: Hangout Video for Tree of Codes by Jonathan Safran Foer – My book club tries and somewhat succeeds to figure out the most literary book we have yet to read. And it’s die-cut, so it’s double cool.

Book Blast: 15 Minutes by Jill Cooper – There’s an excerpt, there’s a giveaway, there’s a book trailer…there’s EVERYTHING. It’s awesome, go check it out!

ARC Review: Transparent by Natalie Whipple – I rated this four stars and I definitely recommend it! It wasn’t what I expected at all and that was a good thing!

FROM THE LIBRARY

Wards of Faerie (The Dark Legacy of Shannara #1) by Terry Brooks ~ Goodreads

Inferno (Robert Langdon #4) by Dan Brown ~ Goodreads

FROM NETGALLEY

Taste Test by Kelly Fiore ~ Goodreads

This Song Will Save Your Life by Lelia Sales ~ Goodreads

FROM EDELWEISS

The Edge of Falling by Rebecca Serle ~ Goodreads

ARC Review: “Transparent” by Natalie Whipple

Transparent by Natalie Whipple

Goodreads | Amazon

Plenty of teenagers feel invisible. Fiona McClean actually is.

An invisible girl is a priceless weapon. Fiona’s own father has been forcing her to do his dirty work for years—everything from spying on people to stealing cars to breaking into bank vaults.

After sixteen years, Fiona’s had enough. She and her mother flee to a small town, and for the first time in her life, Fiona feels like a normal life is within reach. But Fiona’s father isn’t giving up that easily.

Of course, he should know better than anyone: never underestimate an invisible girl.

4 stars

Thanks to HarperTeen and Edelweiss for this eARC! This title is now available.

This is one of those instances where the blurb did not adequately prepare me for what was about to happen. As it turns out, it’s even better than I could have imagined.

The book starts off with Natalie and her mother out on the job for her dad. Instantly, I was alerted that this book had so much more depth to it than the blurb had suggested. For one, Fiona isn’t just invisible–she’s one of a bunch of people in her world who have a special ability. Her mother is a telekinetic, which makes them a perfect pair of agents for her father’s mafia. That’s right, her dad isn’t just some lowlife crook–he’s a crime boss with a special power that allows him to bewitch all the women around him to love him. This adds stakes to Fiona and her mother’s escape, as both of them are basically addicted to her father and risk relapse. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Fiona and her mother pull off the job successfully, but things turn for the worse when Fiona’s father decides that she needs to start moving up in the ranks of criminals. Instead of just stealing, he wants her to kill people. This is the last straw for Fiona and her mother. They make a break for it–but the kicker is that they’ve done this before. Her mom always cracks and gets her father to come get them. Fiona not only has to try to “fit in” and stay hidden, but also keep her mother from relapsing back to her father. Their escape leads them to a tiny town full of a couple families of “special” kids, and Fiona starts to feel like this could be home after all.

And then her psychopathic brother and father find them. Whoops.

I honestly wasn’t expecting the kind of world this book was set in, because the blurb I read never hinted at it. I requested the book mostly because I wanted to figure out how Fiona was going to escape at all, being invisible. The real plot of the book is much more interesting, and I’m glad I picked it up just from that. I’m a sucker for books about kids with mutant powers. (Don’t ask me about X-Men, we’ll be here forever.)

There were also several more plot elements then I was expecting. I hoped for action, certainly, and I got it. This book kept MOVING. But there were also points where the stakes were no less high, but yet not centered around a fight scene or a car chase. Whipple keeps your heart rate up as Fiona’s mother threatens their safety because she’s addicted to her father, or because of Fiona’s learning disability. These little things probably made the difference between a three and a four star rating for me. I love it when an author remembers that little details are as important as big ones.

I think my biggest issue with this book was the characterization. Don’t get me wrong, I loved most of them. From Fiona’s sweet brother to her awesome “Pack” of friends to her cute love interest, I was sold on them all. It was our main character, Fiona, who really bothered me at key moments. I think it was mostly because she had moments of out-of-character stupidity that were clearly only there to further along the plot. This is a huge pet peeve of mine, especially when the biggest use of this is to instigate the ending of the book, which I didn’t believe at all because FIONA. This made the difference between the five and the four star rating for me.

All in all, though, I’m really depressed that this book doesn’t have a series tag on Goodreads. I can’t imagine where the story would go from there, but I wish I could spend more time in this world. I look forward eagerly to Whipple’s next work! If this book sounds the least bit interesting to you, I suggest that you get your hands on it. I really enjoyed it!