Gretchen C. Hohmeyer's Blog, page 79
November 5, 2012
ARC Review: “Velvet” by Mary Hooper
Velvet by Mary Hooper
Velvet is a laundress in a Victorian steam laundry. With both her mother and father dead, she is an orphan and has to rely upon her own wits to make a living. The laundry’s work is back-breaking and Velvet is desperate to create a better life for herself. Then Velvet is noticed by Madame Savoya, a famed medium, who asks Velvet to come to work for her. Velvet is dazzled at first by the young yet beautifully dressed and bejewelled Madame. But soon Velvet realises that Madame Savoya is not all that she says she is, and Velvet’s very life is in danger …A romantic and thrillingly exciting new novel from an acclaimed and much loved historical writer for teens.
2 1/2 stars
Thanks to Bloomsbury and NetGalley for this eARC! This book will be released November 13th, 2012.
The blurb calls this book “romantic” and “thrilling.” The fact is, this book is neither.
Honestly, I was expecting so much more from this book. The premise was interesting, and Mary Hooper is an established historical fiction writer. Sadly, this book plays on too many historical fiction cliches that bother the heck out of me.
The first problem is the way the book was written. I have no idea why so many historical fiction books think they need to ramble on like historical pieces of the times. Yes, I understand there is certain language you can and cannot use when writing in historical periods, but we’ve cut out the rambling in modern day books for a reason. This is certainly a personal thing as well, since I prefer all unneccesary words to be cut, but still. It bothers me, and it made me iffy about the book from the get go.
The second was the characters. Apart from Madame Savoya, they were all pretty flat and generic. Velvet annoyed me especially, since she had the potential to be such a strong main character, but then fell into the utterly gullible and naive cliche. She toyed with Charlie (a boy from her past who is inexplicably smitten with her even though she brushes him off at every turn), with whom there was NO connection of any real kind, no matter how much they protested there was, and then she was completely taken in by both Madame Savoya and George, her assistant.
The kicker came with the ending–or rather, the lack thereof. I hit the button on my Kindle for the next slide and NOPE. Nothing. I literally couldn’t believe it. Looking back on those two pages or so, I guess they do suggest an ending, but it’s NOT a finished one. Not by a long shot. The climax is a brief and abrupt thing, then all of the sudden you have TWO pages of falling action and that’s just it. Note that when I say two pages, I’m talking for the screens of my small-as-possible Kindle. I’m not sure if this would even make two pages of book. Before this I was thinking of opimistically giving the book 3 stars, but this just killed the book for me.
I will say, however, that the idea continued to impress me all throughout the story. The intrigue that Hooper worked in was basic at times, but the entire setting–mediumship, etc–was really enjoyable and interesting. I learned a lot both about the real ideas of spiritualism and about how all the hoaxers got away with what they did. This is basically the thread that kept me reading.
I don’t read a lot of historical fiction, but I LOVE the genre. Maybe my standards for what I do read is a little too high, but this book just fell way short of all of them. I wanted so much more from the book, but I found the standard writing style, flat characters and an ending-that-wasn’t. Most of my frustration comes from the fact that I believed this book could be so much more. Hooper has a fantastic idea, but the execution just didn’t fit.
November 3, 2012
Stacking the Shelves #10
Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews!
It has been FOREVER since I’ve done one of these, and this post will show it! This is one of the biggest Stacking the Shelves posts I’ve EVER HAD. So here we go!
For Review – eARCs
Splintered by A. G. Howard ~ Uses for Boys by Erica Lorraine Scheidt
Who I Kissed by Janet Gurtler ~ Wilde’s Meadow by Krystal Wade
For Review – Physical ARCs
Infatuate by Aimee Agresti ~ Secrets by Tim Mettey
Bought
Cleopatra Confesses by Carolyn Meyer ~ Origin by Jessica Khoury
November 2, 2012
ARC Review: “Who I Kissed” by Janet Gurtler
Who I Kissed by Janet Gurtler
She Never Thought A Kiss Could Kill. . .
Samantha is new at school and just recently joined the swim team. She’s been flirting with one of her teammates, Zee, who invites her to a party and just as quickly dumps her for another girl. Hurt, but pretending not to care, she turns to his best friend, Alex, and gives him a kiss. And he dies—right in her arms. Alex was allergic to peanuts, and Samantha had eaten a peanut butter sandwich right before the party. She didn’t know. Overnight, Samantha turns into the school pariah and a media sensation explodes. Consumed with guilt, abandoned by her friends, and in jeopardy of losing her swimming scholarship, she will have to find the inner-strength to forgive herself for the tragedy.
3 1/2 stars
Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for this eARC! This book was released October 1, 2012.
By the time I was approved for this on NetGalley, I had completely forgotten I’d requested it at all. I wish I remembered the reasoning behind it, but I don’t. This isn’t a typical book for me to pick up.
As it appears, this book has a very emotional story in it. Unlike some books I’ve read recently, it really does cut to the chase with Alex’s death and leaves a majority of the book to Sam dealing with her grief. (Books that don’t disperse with things they’ve already told us will happen in the blurb seem to be a trend for some reason lately.)
Sam herself is a pretty strong character. Her grief is real. That said, the way that she deals with it sometimes leaves the reader and well as her detached from the whole thing. I understand that it’s hard to write about a character being detached while keeping the reader connected, but by the end of the book I found myself connecting less and less with Sam–which is a problem when it’s her emotional story driving the entire thing.
However, the multitude of Sam’s emotional stories in this thing was even a bigger problem. This book is hardly just about Sam, Zee and Alex. It’s about her estranged relationship with her father, the fact that her mother died young and Sam never knew her and then on top of that all of the different grief storylines. There’s Sam trying to deal with the death herself (this includes her refusal to swim and a bad relationship), Sam dealing with her classmates and then Sam trying to deal with Alex’s family. Frankly, it’s all just too much. While I understand what Gurtler was trying to do and have the utmost respect for it, it didn’t come off as well as I’d have liked. Too many subplot lines are smushed into the cracks.
The rest of the characters didn’t really have the chops to back up these plot lines, either. Honestly, the character with the most pop was Sam’s crazy, amazing aunt and her dog. At times I felt closer to the characters who were dead, Alex and Sam’s mom. Several more minor characters get more face time than Zee, despite Sam’s continued affirmations that he’s important. Once again, with all the different plot lines, there were too many characters with too many good, deep ideas to all fit into one 312 page book.
I will say, though, that the story still packs an emotional punch. I felt for each character every step of the way, even if I was more connecting to my own feelings of lost than the ones being portrayed in the pages. Not one of the topics dealt with in this book is an easy one, and each one is important. It also wasn’t your typical high school drama story, even if some of the background characters did fall into cliches. They weren’t important enough for me to really care, and they constructed fast stereotypes so that Gurtler could get on with the story.
All in all, I would recommend this to lovers of YA contemporary novels who want larger themes than just romance. I think fans of authors such as Sarah Dessens would absolutely adore this one. I enjoyed this one as much as I did because of how different it was from my normal reading, and the attempt to make it about so much more then just romance.
November 1, 2012
Review: “Beautiful Disaster” by Jamie McGuire
Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire
The new Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate percentage of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance between her and the darkness of her past, but when she arrives at college with her best friend, her path to a new beginning is quickly challenged by Eastern University’s Walking One-Night Stand.
Travis Maddox, lean, cut, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby needs—and wants—to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a floating fight ring, and his days as the ultimate college campus charmer. Intrigued by Abby’s resistance to his appeal, Travis tricks her into his daily life with a simple bet. If he loses, he must remain abstinent for a month. If Abby loses, she must live in Travis’s apartment for the same amount of time. Either way, Travis has no idea that he has met his match.
One star
Thank you to NetGalley for this ecopy! Beautiful Disaster is already in stores.
Warning: This book contains language, sex, blood, violence and gambling.
You know, technically, there is very little wrong with this book.
It catches your emotions, it invests you into the characters and it never stops moving. In any other book, this would garner a much higher rating. But there is a problem. Actually, there are a lot of them. Let me list off a few technical things, and then get to the big problem:
#1 Travis is actually an unlikeable character. He needs a life. And depth of any kind. Not acting like he needs bipolar medication.
#2 Abby. UNLIKEABLE. Totally off kilter. Acts like a nice girl and then a bad girl back and forth like a pendulum. Her character has the attempt at depth, but the book is too much of a yoyo for it to be anything but weird.
#3 Supporting characters are also lackluster and fairly disastrous themselves.
#4 Plot twists. Too many of them. Also, too many of them are totally unbelievable and contrived to make the book work.
#5 The language. (Not the kind you think!) Any girl besides America and Abby in this book is referred to as a bimbo, slut, stupid, STD-infected, etc. These two are CLEARLY not angels, but why is EVERY other girl worse than the two girls in crazy, possessive relationships?
But now we get to the real problem…
I cannot justify championing the kind of relationship on display in this book.
Yes, yes, I understand that Abby makes Travis a better person. I understand that together they work out. But the problem is the fairytale they’re perpetrating—something girls shouldn’t be made to believe in.
Travis a violent guy. He is a drunk. HE IS A VIOLENT DRUNK. Even when he is trying to be sweet, he’s beating people up and completely controlling Abby’s life. They aren’t together, but he won’t let her date other guys. He messes up her dates. He completely blows up at her.
This is called a possessive guy, ladies. And not matter how much we want to believe they will change, Abby and Travis’s story isn’t the norm. It’s the exception. It’s the mother of all exceptions.
I have watched friends go through possessive relationships. I have seen how shattered they are when they come out. Right at this moment, I have to live watching a dear, dear friend have her life dictated to her by a boy who says he loves her and only wants what’s best for her.
All throughout this book, my stomach was twisting and churning, bringing forth all these memories. Just the things I watched happen this very evening. As much as I want to believe that this is real life, that every girl can have a happy ending, I just can’t forgive this book for trying to say it’s possible.
SPOILERS AHEAD
I mean, does Abby even get a happy ending? She has this turbulent, violent relationship, almost dies and then she marries the guy at nineteen? On top of everything else. I understand that there have been plenty of marriages that have lasted from that age, but again—they are no longer the norm. I ESPECIALLY don’t want girls in possessive relationships MARRYING the guy just because they think that will bring him inner piece, as happens with Travis.
SPOILERS END
All and all, I have too many personal opinions that killed this book for me. I have nothing against the author and totally believe the book has the best of intentions, but I can’t get past my own mental blocks. I cannot recommend this book to other girls, for fear of the example it will set. For fear of the message it would send. In the hands of my dear friend, this book would be ammunition, reason to stick it out even longer in the belief that time with tame her guy and eventually he’ll calm down and learn to trust her completely. Maybe she’ll think she has to take gigantic steps to prove it to him.
They say trust isn’t given; it’s earned. But relationships are built on trust—they DO NOT end with it. They grow with it. Possessiveness is NOT an attractive quality, and very rarely—if ever—does it have a happy ending. EVERY SINGLE PERSON deserves better, guy or girl. As someone who can’t stand to watch one more person go through this kind of thing, I’m begging you:
Trust that you deserve to be loved the right way.
Trust that you deserve the right kind of guy—you don’t have to settle.
Trust that you deserve to be trusted.
Please. Don’t wait for the fairytales that might never come. No matter how many books and movies out there that make you want to believe.
October 31, 2012
Waiting on Wednesday #31
Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine!
Title: The Indigo Spell
Author: Richelle Mead
ETA: Febuary 12, 2013
Summary from Goodreads: In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she finds herself struggling to draw the line between her Alchemist teachings and what her heart is urging her to do. Then she meets alluring, rebellious Marcus Finch–a former Alchemist who escaped against all odds, and is now on the run. Marcus wants to teach Sydney the secrets he claims the Alchemists are hiding from her. But as he pushes her to rebel against the people who raised her, Sydney finds that breaking free is harder than she thought. There is an old and mysterious magic rooted deeply within her. And as she searches for an evil magic user targeting powerful young witches, she realizes that her only hope is to embrace her magical blood–or else she might be next.
Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, the Bloodlines series explores all the friendship, romance, battles, and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive—this time in a part-vampire, part-human setting where the stakes are even higher and everyone’s out for blood.
What are you waiting for?
October 30, 2012
Top Ten Favorite Kick-Ass Heroines
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!
I am SO excited for this topic, I have NO IDEA how I’m going to pick just ten for this topic! Also, if you’re seeing this, I’m so happy because that means I haven’t been swallowed by Hurricane Sandy. Or wait. I have Auto-Post. Maybe I have… Er. ANYWAYS!
1. Yukiko from Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff
Anybody who can befriend a thunder-tiger deserves to make this list. She isn’t bad with a small knife, either. And she has no problem murdering emperors. (See my review HERE!)
2. Calaena from Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Teenage female assassins? Uh, YES. There is no way she DOESN’T make this list. She also never shies away from violence, and loves to cause a ruckus herself. (See my review HERE!)
3. Allie (Allison) from The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa
Kick ass theif turned kick ass vampire. It doesn’t get much better than that. (See my review HERE!)
4. Ismae from Grave Mercy by R. L. LaFevers
This girl was raised to be an assassin by KILLER NUNS. I have yet to see an assassin training establishment that awesome. (See my review HERE!)
5. Ellie from Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton
She’s snarky, has swords of light and totally knows when to cease the killing and go to a party. Need I say more? (See my review HERE!)
6. Rose from Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
The Queen of Snark right here. Also the queen of snarky kick assery. It doesn’t get much better than her!
7. Kel from First Test by Tamora Pierce
Okay, she’s a little less snarky than the other girls on my list, but there is no way you can weild a sword better than this girl.
8. Alanna from The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce
Not only is she the best at weilding a sword, but she can also kick ass with magic. Her temper is pretty fierce, too.
9. Eona from Eon by Alison Goodman
Pretends she’s a guy so she can prove her kick assness. Also controls a dragon. Do not mess with.
10. Evie from Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
Her weapon of choice is a pink, glittery taser named Tasey, but don’t underestimate her even without it–she can kill with snark alone, I swear. And also fashion sense.
October 29, 2012
ARC Review: “Undeadly” by Michele Vail
Undeadly (The Reaper Chronicles #1) by Michele Vail
The day I turned 16, my boyfriend-to-be died. I brought him back to life. Then things got a little weird…
Molly Bartolucci wants to blend in, date hottie Rick and keep her zombie-raising abilities on the down-low. Then the god Anubis chooses her to become a reaper-and she accidentally undoes the work of another reaper, Rath. Within days, she’s shipped off to the Nekyia Academy, an elite school that trains the best necromancers in the world. And her personal reaping tutor? Rath. Who seems to hate her guts.
Rath will be watching closely to be sure she completes her first assignment-reaping Rick, the boy who should have died. The boy she still wants to be with. To make matters worse, students at the academy start turning up catatonic, and accusations fly-against Molly. The only way out of this mess? To go through hell. Literally.
4 stars
Thanks to Harlequin Teen and NetGalley for this eARC! This book will be released November 20th, 2012.
After so many fricking books that started with a prologue that happened later in the book, I was ready to DNF the next book that did that to me. (Hint: I really, really don’t like that.) When that happened with Undeadly, I slid down in my chair and cried for a while. Then I kept reading.
And reading and reading and reading.
I’ll be honest, technically–especially in the second half–this book probably rates more around 3 1/2 stars or something. But I’ll call it four because of the sheer “I’m having so much fun” factor.
Molly is my kind of girl. She acts tough, but she doesn’t pretend she doesn’t want a guy to notice her. She is also ridiculously snarky and sarcastic, which basically means I was meant to love her. Her first person narration made even dull moments seem fantastic. I was in love with her from the first second, and she basically kept me going when things started to get technically screwy.
But! Before that!
The world that Vail has created is amazing. Not only are zombies, ghosts and necromancers common place, but I love Molly’s bland observations about things that seem normal to her but are crazy to us. Even just her describing the backstory of her powers and the zombies everywhere is enjoyable to read. I’m usually not too forgiving of infodumps, but turns out I’ll forgive anything if someone tells me about it with the right amount of snark.
I also usually don’t forgive moving the story to an academy of any kind. I got over that with Harry Potter–and even JK Rowling got bored with it and moved Harry away from Hogwarts. Honestly, I still sorta don’t forgive it here because it was after that shift that things got weird. More on that later…
Other than Molly, the other characters weren’t particularly exciting, but they weren’t horribly bland either (most of them, anyways). The move to the academy introduced way more character than necessary that all seemed to want to be important that weren’t, and that’s…well…when things got weird.
I guess I should explain that.
Basically, after Molly hit Nekyia the story got really choppy. The characters became less rounded, there was way more of them then need be and the continuity started to make no sense. One second we’re here, then this is happening, then this and it was like trying to smash together puzzle pieces that didn’t fit. I still don’t get how or why some things happened. This is basically the sole reason I docked an entire star.
One more word for the wise: that blurb up there? I don’t know what book they’re talking about, but it really warps the storyline of the actual novel.
But anyways…
Yeah, the ending of the book was choppy, but I put up with it because MOLLY. Screw the semi-love triangle, Molly is way too good for that. Despite what Vail throws at her, she always has a comeback. Plus, the Ancient Egyptian mythology this is based on would have won me over any day besides. This book was basically a conglomeration of so many things I loved that I just passed over the choppy bits with a small note and waited for them to smooth down again.
And then Vail leaves the book ON A CLIFFHANGER. But that’s another story.
Do you like necromancy? Read this book. Do you like zombies? Read this book. Do you like books that aren’t romance heavy? Read this book. Do you like Egyptian mythology? Read this book.
READ THIS BOOK.
The second book in this series, Unchosen, will be released in 2013.
October 26, 2012
Promo Post: “Sheltered” by Debra Chapoton – Excerpt
Give a big welcome to Debra Chapoton and her book Sheltered!
Debra Chapoton has taught kids of all ages in her main career as a teacher. She has a BA in Spanish and a Master of Arts degree in Teaching English. She started writing in 2002 and was surprised to find out that the characters quickly take over the action and dialogue in the stories.
Her first YA novel, Edge of Escape, was self-published and then discovered by Piper Verlag Publishing and translated into German. Stalking and obsession get a sympathetic twist in this story of physical and psychological survival.
Her second YA novel, Sheltered, detours into a different genre as she writes about five teens who confront supernatural forces. Two boys and three girls all harbor secrets which make some of them susceptible to demon possession. Embracing all things supernatural might protect them, but are they ready for the consequences?
Chapoton has also written eleven chapter books for middle grade kids and a non-fiction work for adults, Crossing the Scriptures.
When she’s not writing Chapoton enjoys the quiet of the full log home she designed and built with her husband. They live in the middle of 62 acres of beautiful woods in northern Michigan.
Sheltered
Blog | Website | Paperback | Kindle | Nook | Goodreads
Living together unsupervised, five troubled teens confront demonic forces and are compelled to deal with their problems in distinctly different ways. Paranormal meets psycho meets Goth in this story of a supernatural haunting and budding love.
High school junior, Ben, hacks into his step-father’s real estate holdings and provides rooms in an old two-story house to various outcasts: the schizophrenic kid, the angry Goth girl, and the homeless girl who worships him. When Megan needs a place to live she comes to the rooming house with a different set of problems and the ability to confuse and attract Ben.
One by one strange and mysterious occurrences stretch the teens’ beliefs in the supernatural. How they deal with demons, real and imagined, has tragic as well as redeeming consequences.
You know you want more, right? Well, here’s an excerpt!
Prologue
Next Wednesday
Emily knew the precise moment that Ben returned, she felt him in her scars. She watched him carry some things to the house, heard the door close; she smiled when she heard him call out that Santa was here. He did that once before, in early December, insisting that she accept the gift he held out, not wanting her to wait until Christmas to use the mittens he knew she needed.
She went toward her door now, wondered what he had brought, and then heard Megan’s voice below. Oh no, he probably brought something for her. She scuttled back to her nest by the window and stared outside, was still staring fifteen minutes later when she saw them walk down the street, Ben shouldering a shovel, his other hand knotted with Megan’s.
She touched the skin on her arms, lightly at first, making it tingle. The image of Ben with Megan multiplied across her mind in broken mirrors, a repugnant picture that reflected her own self-loathing. She scratched at her scabs, felt the pricks of pain force away the ticklish sensations. She closed her eyes.
When she opened them she saw a figure standing at her door.
“Who–?” she started, but the figment waned to less than a shadow. Still, though, there was something at her door.
She rose slowly and held her hand out.
Its face was more womanly now, friendly, motherly. Yes, she knew this face. Its pearly white skin so shocking against the ruby lips, the stringy hair a match to her own. Her mother.
She stretched her fingers toward the face. The hallucination faded then sharpened. The eyes began to blaze. She drew her hands back to her own face. What’s wrong with me? The delusion grieved Emily; all around her fluttered a longing.
And a deadly fear.
October 25, 2012
Blog Tour: “The Messenger” by Pamela DuMond – Giveaway!
This tour is hosted by A Tale of Many Reviews! For a list of participating blogs and all their goodies/giveways, click HERE.
The Messenger (Mortal Beloved #1) by Pamela DuMond
Facebook (Book) | Facebook (Author) | Twitter | Website | Goodreads
Createspace | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo
Infinity. Life. Death. Rebirth. Some souls are meant to be together, but pursuing true love can be dangerous and often deadly. When sixteen-year-old Madeline falls in love with Samuel, a boy who lives hundreds of years before she is even born, she will risk her very existence to be with him.
Madeline’s from present day Chicago when she is pushed onto the train tracks, and accidentally time travels to a bloody war between the Natives and the colonists. She falls in love with a Native boy, Samuel. But, she’s living in the body of a colonial girl and their romance is a crime that carries harsh punishments.
Madeline discovers that she is meant to be a Messenger, a traveler who if properly trained, can slip through time’s fabric at will. The Medicine Woman mentors her. But Madeline doesn’t fit in this world. She’s different from the other colonists. Rumors of witchcraft and spying arise. Deadly Hunters, dark-souled predators as well as skilled time travelers, crave Madeline’s powers. Can Madeline find the way back to her future? And will that future include her one true love, Samuel?
GIVEAWAY TIME!
You know you want this one, and I’ve got just the thing! There is not one but TWO giveaways happening for this book! One is US only, for 1 hardcopy of the book. The other is INTERNATIONAL for five, YES FIVE, ebooks! ENTER NOW!
October 24, 2012
Waiting on Wednesday #30
Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine!
Title: Gameboard of the Gods
Author: Richelle Mead
ETA: June 4th, 2013
Summary from Goodreads: In a futuristic world nearly destroyed by religious extremists, Justin March lives in exile after failing in his job as an investigator of religious groups and supernatural claims. But Justin is given a second chance when Mae Koskinen comes to bring him back to the Republic of United North America (RUNA). Raised in an aristocratic caste, Mae is now a member of the military’s most elite and terrifying tier, a soldier with enhanced reflexes and skills.
When Justin and Mae are assigned to work together to solve a string of ritualistic murders, they soon realize that their discoveries have exposed them to terrible danger. As their investigation races forward, unknown enemies and powers greater than they can imagine are gathering in the shadows, ready to reclaim the world in which humans are merely game pieces on their board.
Gameboard of the Gods, the first installment of Richelle Mead’s Age of X series, will have all the elements that have made her YA Vampire Academy and Bloodlines series such megasuccesses: sexy, irresistible characters; romantic and mythological intrigue; and relentless action and suspense.
What are you waiting on?
