R7: Team #2 ~ Two Hot to Handle

[Tiffanie]

For the Aliens shelf I will be reading:

[Steph Ann]

We're ready for our Angels & Demons stamp! Yay! :)

Angels and Demons: 5/5
Stamp Received: 7/16/13

Barbara: The Darkest Edge of Dawn, 4 stars, Review
Breann: Into This River I Drown, 5 stars, Review
Christal: Kill City Blues, 5 stars, Review
Steph Ann: Demon Night, 4 stars, Review
Tiffanie: Rapture, 4 stars, Review

[Steph Ann]

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed Enclave, Tiffanie! I've been wanting to read that for a while now. :)

[Christal]

I'm going to switch my books around a bit because I haven't been able to start my dystopian book yet.

For Dystopian:

For Aliens:

[Steph Ann]

I've switched your books around on the master list, Christal!

[Steph, Serious series addict]

CONGRATULATIONS, Two Hot to Handle!
You now have an updated BINGO card with a stamp on 'angels & demons'. 

[Your updated BINGO card can be viewed on page 1]

Good Job!! :D

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Congrats 2 Hots!

[Steph Ann]

Thanks, Steph & Sandra! :)

[Breann]

Aliens:Details of the Hunt
7/17/13
3.5 stars

This book has a little something for everyone:

Pirates
Aliens
It’s a little bit historical
A little bit futuristic
Sci-fi romance
A mutiny aboard a pirate ship

Find something to tickle your fancy? Not yet? Okay, I’ll keep going...

Bounty hunters
Fated Mates
Treachery
A good ol’ treasure hunt
Some ass slapping
and, most importantly, TENTACLES

Too much? Over the top? YES! Was it so fun anyway? YES!

We have an alien bounty hunter, Talos, who was sent back in time to grab Captain Aiden Maymon to help search for treasure he had buried. Now, the cover is seriously bad but it does a good job of depicting how Talos was described. Yeah, yeah, Aiden could be compared to a certain pirate we all know and love. But what other pirate am I supposed to imagine? I don’t have much background in this so when someone says pirate, I think Jack. Even so, Aiden was a really fun character who immediately causes tons of mischief for Talos to deal with. And Talos was not expecting to find a mate, especially not someone like his pirate.

I went into this book knowing that everything was going to be thrown in. I think that helped me enjoy it more than I would have if I had just assumed it was only a sci-fi romance. This was my first foray into some tentaclesex and there’s not much I won’t read so HECK YES I was excited about it! I really had no clue what to expect with the how, and the what, and the where with all the tentacles. But, lemme tell you, I liked how they did it, what they did and where they did it. Me likey some tentaclesex.

My only gripe was the whole fated mates bit. Just because they’re fated isn’t an excuse for a lack of chemistry between the couple. I just don’t buy the whole “you make me hard, therefore you are MINE” spiel. Aiden was just really easygoing about the whole thing. Too easygoing. There wasn’t any angst over him being 700 years in the future surrounded by aliens in a space station. I don’t know about you, but I’d be freaking out. Instead, Aiden’s good with it...as long as he’s gettin’ buggered by that tentacle. So, basically, I didn’t buy into the relationship and the I Love You’s that were being thrown around.

Go in ready for some cheesy pirate lingo, a big gray alien with weird bumpy things on his chest and a giant tentacle.

Ye'll 'ave a jolly time, savvy?

....uhhh...*clears throat* Sorry about that... couldn’t help it.

[Steph Ann]

Now I'm finding myself curious about tentacles, which is a sentence I never thought I'd say, lol. Great review, Breann! :)

[Breann]

Steph Ann wrote: "Now I'm finding myself curious about tentacles, which is a sentence I never thought I'd say, lol. Great review, Breann! :)"

hehe... I know right? :D

[Barbara ★]

Aliens:

Read: July 17, 2013
Rating: ★★★★★

Review:
This book had one thing going for it before I even opened it up - it's set in my favorite place on earth - ALASKA. So knowing I was going to love the setting if nothing else, I started my grisly Alaskan adventure. Well I shouldn't have been surprised that I loved it since I've given 5 stars to 6 of the 7 books I've read in this series. So why has it taken me so long to get back into the series I love, I can only imagine is because #6 (which I read in November 2011) is the one I didn't particularly like so it put me off.

I absolutely loved Kade (no last name)! He was the perfect hero - tough, fierce, 6'5", built like a mountain, dermaglyph tats and of course, emotionally traumatized by his family. What's not to love. His mate, Alaskan bush pilot Alexandra Maguire, was a great heroine too. Of course, she had previous doings with rogue vampires and for obvious reasons was scared to death of them. When she encounters a horrific murder scene reminiscent of her own private nightmare, she is suitably upset and reluctant to discuss said scene. Enter Kade who she has an instant affinity for and vice versa.

Kade is in Alaska to investigate this murder as the Order feels it might be rogue vampires loose in the wilds of Alaska. Unfortunately Kade feels that the killings are being committed by his twin brother, Seth so he investigates alone so he can handle the problem as determined by vampire law. Of course, pilot Alex's skills are required and Kade and Alex subsequently spend lots of time together. The attraction is quick but the romance is sweet. I loved Kade's waffling - I love her but I'm too dangerous for her to be around. Should I or shouldn't I, etc. I was surprised (well not really) by Alex's rapid understanding of the situation and acceptance of vampires in general and Alex's role in particular.

I will definitely be reading more in this series...soon!

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Great review Breann!!

[Breann]

Barbara ★ wrote: "Aliens:

Read: July 17, 2013
Rating: ★★★★★

Review:
This book had one thing going for it before I even opened it up - it's set in my favorite place on earth -..."

This was one of my faves in this series!

[Breann]

Sandra wrote: "Great review Breann!!"

Thanks :D

[Christal]

You're brave, Breann! I would have been scared off by that cover, lol.

[Breann]

LOL! Yeah, it's a seriously bad cover. But most covers are in the M/M genre, I've learned to ignore them. :D

[Steph Ann]

Shelf - Aliens



Read: 7/18/13
Rating: 5 stars

Review:

I absolutely love this series. Sure, it can be a little (or a lot) over the top at times, but it never stops being fun. This time around, Kitty's trying to find her footing in her new position as ambassador while desperately missing being in the field. Not to worry though because she still manages to find herself in the middle of various plots against the ACs, and as usual, mayhem ensues. All of the beloved secondary characters make appearances, although I would have loved to see Reader more often. I stayed up late to finish the book, and I'm already anxious to get my hands on the next one.

[Barbara ★]

Shelf is paranormal-mix but the shelf is so small (ony 7 pages) that you can also choose from this shelf paranormals

[Barbara ★]

For Paranormal-Mix I'll read which I found on the Paranormals shelf

[Breann]

For Paranormals I'm going to read

[Tiffanie]

For Paranormal-Mix shelf I will be reading

[Steph Ann]

Thanks for posting the shelf again, Barbara. I'm still trying to get set up at the new place and haven't had a whole lot of computer time.

For paranormal mix, I'll be reading .

[Breann]

Tiffanie wrote: "For Paranormal-Mix shelf I will be reading "

I LOVE this series Tiff! Hope you like :)

[Tiffanie]

Breann wrote: "Tiffanie wrote: "For Paranormal-Mix shelf I will be reading "

I LOVE this series Tiff! Hope you like :)"

I had this book for 3 years in my TBR pile. I really need to go through that mountain of books more often.

[Christal]

Barbara ★ wrote: "For Paranormal-Mix I'll read which I found on the Paranormals shelf"

I loved this book, Barbara. I hope you will too!

For paranormals, I will read . I plan to have all three of my books caught up and read before Saturday.

[Christal]

Shelf: Paranormals
Read: 23 Jul 13
Rating: 4 Stars
Review:

I'll be honest, it took me a little while to find my groove with The Blue Blazes but when I did, I thought this book was great. It's very dark and gritty and very different from most of the urban fantasy out now. The closest series I can think to compare it with would be the "Downside Ghosts" books by Stacia Kane, but only because of the vast and detailed world building. Mookie is no Chess -- he's a take-no-crap badass -- and the stories are completely different, but if you enjoy the mythology behind Stacia's series, you should definitely check out Chuck Wendig's The Blue Blazes.

Mookie Pearl is an enforcer for New York's local mob, The Organization. The only thing is, he doesn't just have to concern himself with human criminals, he also has to take care of the local supernatural population. See, when we started drilling underground for resources we found a lot more than we bargained for. The monsters started coming from our tunnels underground and they want to take over our world now. Mookie and The Organization work behind the scenes to keep the monsters in check, but don't mistake them for good guys. They are still hardcore mobsters that are most concerned with making money, selling drugs, and keeping control of their turf. The drug that they peddle is called "Blue Blazes," hence the book's title, and it allows the user to see the supernaturals and also gives them enhanced speed and strength. Without the Blue, you're flying blind and have no idea what it is that goes bump in the night.

Mookie was an awesome main character. He is tough and not always the brightest, but he has a good heart and he does try to do the right thing when he can. It's just that sometimes doing the right thing means that he has to crack a few skulls. Mookie is dedicated and loyal to The Organization to a fault; he tries to take on too much at times and feels responsible for many of the people he works with. His daughter, Nora, is trying to stage a coup and take over The Organization and that leaves Mookie feeling very divided. He is loyal to the The Boss, but Nora is still his daughter. Chuck Wendig has created a fascinating and multi-layered lead character for The Blue Blazes and I am very anxious to see how Mookie's world has changed in the next book.

Like I mentioned before, The Blue Blazes started a little slow for me, but don't let that deter you. Press on past the 15% mark and the story starts to build very quickly. There are gangsters, and gobbos, and shadow demons, and nagas, and half-breeds, and drugs, and violence, and gore, and guns, and grit grit grit. This is urban fantasy gone noir. Just when you think you understand who is behind everything and what is going on, Chuck Wendig pulls back another layer and throws you for a loop. I loved this story and am so happy that it is planned to be a series. I'm planning to check out Mr. Wendig's "Blackbirds" series now and am looking forward to exploring more of his stand alone novels soon. Chuck Wendig is definitely a writer to watch and I am very thankful that I was introduced to him via The Blue Blazes.

[Breann]

Paranormals: The Dream Hunter
7/24/13

2.5 stars

I have a couple other series that I’m about 11 books in and they can still get me all fangirl-squee-hyperventilating and whatnot. I wish I could say the same for this series. I wish, I wish, I wish.

Geary (short for Mageara) and her family have been searching for Atlantis. Meanwhile a dream hunter, Arik, has been stalking her in her dreams. While in her dreams Arik desperately wants to be with her outside of the dreaming realm so he strikes a deal with the devil. Hades only needs one thing in return, Geary’s soul. Okay, let’s stop here for a minute. Are you for reals? You want to meet the woman of your dreams and then give her soul away after two weeks? How am I supposed to like you now? How? Ugh. Anyway, Arik is now human and on Earth. Geary finds him and somehow he ends up on the little Atlantis adventure with her. This is Arik’s first time on Earth so he doesn’t understand many things and makes little mistakes. It made him a little more likeable and endearing to me. It was cute. Their romance starts to heat up and, of course, Ms. Kenyon delivers some fun banter and sexy loving.

Then comes in The Conflict. This is where these books lose me. Every time. I get to know the MC and the secondary characters. They’re cute, fun and I’m ready for their HEA. Then all these new gods, hunters, and I don’t even know whats come in. They all have Greek names that I'm completely unfamiliar with and she’s lost me. So basically, I’m not quite sure how everything was resolved.

(view spoiler)[Then the last chapter? WTF! I’m guessing this isn’t really #11 and it’s not going in the timeline of the rest of the series. I saw Nick’s name and I was SO EXCITED! But then he's all friendly with Ash? What? I was confused and then realized it must not be in chronological order. Then I was pissed. Whatevs. (hide spoiler)]

I don’t know if I’m continuing after this or not. I might go back to the Chronicles of Nick series instead and see if that reignites my interest in this series.

[Barbara ★]

Paranormals:

Read: July 24, 2013
Rating: ★★★

Review:
I had great difficulty getting into this novel. I loved the concept but the first 200 pages were B.O.R.I.N.G.! The letters are a neat way to get around the amnesia thing but they are very disruptive to the flow of the story and Mr. O'Malley went a little nuts with these "Dear You" letters. They're basically just massive info dumps of which most is extraneous information. It's most like a stream of consciousness verbalized.

Case in point: a letter starting on page 179 and ending on page 182 ends with this statement...

"I'm telling you all this because, as a result of my weeks and weeks of after hours studying and reviewing and anal-retentive tracings of moneys, I have found another irregularity, one that may be big enough to justify destroying me. And as soon as I've taken an aspirin, I am going to chase it down."

And even after a 3 page monologue, she still didn't indicate what she found. That's 3 pages I didn't need to read because it doesn't advance the plot at all.

Somewhere around page 200, the action finally starts and the pages basically started turning themselves as I couldn't read it fast enough. I will definitely be continuing the series as the major info dumps should be done.

I liked all the characters - the good, the bad and the ugly but honestly I loved the Grafters the best! They were majorly creepy and the fact that (view spoiler)[ they will be joining the Checquy is just too cool and leaves great opportunities for even wilder happenings. (hide spoiler)]

[Steph Ann]

Shelf - Paranormals/Paranormal Mix



Read: 7/25/13
Rating: 3.5 stars

Review:

This book was just so-so for me. There were times I was really enjoying it (especially whenever Nix was around - love her), and then other times where it felt like the plot was dragging. I liked both Conrad and Neomi, so I'm not sure why I had such a hard time. I still really enjoy the series though, and am looking forward to Cade's book coming up next!

[Steph Ann]

Here's an update on where we are with shelves that are still in progress. If you see anything that doesn't look right, let me know!

Dystopian: 5/5
Stamp Received: 7/29/13

Barbara: Delirium, 3 stars, Review
Breann: Mind Fuck, 4 stars, Review
Christal: Viral Nation, 4 stars, Review
Steph Ann: Heart of Obsidian, 5 stars, Review
Tiffanie: Enclave, 5 stars, Review
______________________________________________________
Aliens: 4/5
Stamp Received: not yet

Barbara: Shades of Midnight, 5 stars, Review
Breann: Details of the Hunt, 3.5 stars, Review
Christal: The Darwin Elevator
Steph Ann:Alien Diplomacy, 5 stars, Review
Tiffanie: Born of Shadows, 5 stars, Review
_________________________________________________
Paranormal Mix/Paranormals: 4/5
Stamp Received: not yet

Barbara: The Rook, 3 stars, Review
Breann: The Dream Hunter, 2.5 stars, Review
Christal: The Blue Blazes, 4 stars, Review
Steph Ann: Dark Needs at Night's Edge, 3.5 stars, Review
Tiffanie: Succubus Blues

[Christal]

Book: Viral Nation
Read: 25 Jul 13
Shelf: Dystopian
Rating: 4 stars
Review:

Viral Nation is a new book in the popular dystopian/post-apocalyptic genre, but it presents an interesting new story and has fabulously unique characters. Shaunta Grimes quickly sucked me into her world and I couldn’t stop turning the pages. Some of the harder science fiction elements were a little shaky for me, but it didn’t matter overall. I really enjoyed this book and cannot wait to read the conclusion to Clover’s story in the next.

Clover and West, siblings and our main characters, live in a version of the USA that has been devastated by a viral disease. Humanity is slowly rebuilding though, thanks to a suppressant that was discovered and replicated for mass distribution. The twist? The suppressant was discovered by a man who traveled through a portal below Lake Tahoe and found himself two years in the future. He took samples of the suppressant with him back to the present day and enlisted the help of a chemist to replicate the serum. The Company ends up privatizing the manufacturing and distribution of the suppressant and pretty much position themselves to be in charge of everyone. There are nightly curfews, forced employment, rationed food, and Foster City - a place were children are “cared for” by foster parents when the jobs of their actual parents force them to live outside the home. Clover and West have a decent day-to-day pattern and go about their lives fairly easily until a dispatch from the future shows that West will murder a girl within a few weeks. Clover and West end up going on the run to save him and Bridget, end up meeting other kids who have issues against the way society is run, and find themselves at the head of a burgeoning revolution.

Clover was an incredibly different character with a very distinct voice. The way Ms. Grimes portrayed her autism and the little tricks she has to help manage it was very well done. Clover is truly the heart of Viral Nation and lifts this book above others in the genre. West’s voice was a little less distinct, but it was obvious how much he loved and cared for his little sister. Together, they made up a great main character team and I can’t wait to see in what directions the next books pulls them.

The main characters were also very colorful. Jude and the other Freaks that team up with West, Clover, and Bridget didn’t have a lot of individual page time, but they each brought a different personality to the team and I am eager to learn more about each of them. I think Clover’s dog Mango really stole the show though. It was a great use of a non-human character and Ms. Grimes made him feel integral to both Clover and the story.

The plot of this book was a little like the TV show “Revolution” meets the movie “Minority Report.” While society is still trying to rebuild itself and manage its meager resources, they also have the ability to travel two years into the future and return with bits of information. I found the technology clash to be fascinating, but I admit that I want to know more about how they are able to travel into future and why only specific people can do it. Hopefully that will be explored a little more in the next book. Viral Nation did feel a little bit like a build-up novel, but it still read quickly and kept my attention throughout. I’m so very excited to see everything the was setup here come to fruition in the next novel. I definitely recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys dystopian/post-apocalyptic novels, especially if you are looking for something a little bit different in the genre.

[Steph Ann]

We're ready for our Dystopian stamp! :)

Dystopian: 5/5
Stamp Received: 7/29/13

Barbara: Delirium, 3 stars, Review
Breann: Mind Fuck, 4 stars, Review
Christal: Viral Nation, 4 stars, Review
Steph Ann: Heart of Obsidian, 5 stars, Review
Tiffanie: Enclave, 5 stars, Review

[Breann]

Steph Ann wrote: "We're ready for our Dystopian stamp! :)

Dystopian: 5/5
Stamp Received: pending

Barbara: Delirium, 3 stars, Review
Breann: Mind Fuck, 4 stars, Review
Christal: Viral Nation, 4 stars, Review
Steph ..."

Yay!

[Steph Ann]

The new shelf is up: supernatural

This will give us 4 in a row once we get our aliens shelf completed! :)

[Steph Ann]

For supernatural, I'll be reading .

[Breann]

I'll be reading for supernatural

[Breann]

Steph Ann wrote: "The new shelf is up: supernatural

This will give us 4 in a row once we get our aliens shelf completed! :)"

Woot! Finally :D

[Christal]

I'm 50% done with my aliens book so I hope to have it done tomorrow. For supernatural, I think I will read The Weight of Souls by Bryony Pearce. Sorry I can't link it from my iPhone app.

[Tiffanie]

For supernatural shelf I will be reading

[Barbara ★]

I'm going to read for Supernatural but I can't start it until August 1st.

[Steph, Serious series addict]

CONGRATULATIONS, Two Hot to Handle!
You now have an updated BINGO card with a stamp on 'dystopian'. 

[Your updated BINGO card can be viewed on page 1]

Good Job!! :D

[Sandra, Kindle Operator Licence Required]

Congrats 2 Hots!

[Tiffanie]

Aliens Shelf: Completed 07-28-13
Born of Shadows Sherrilyn Kenyon

5 Stars

Caillen born a gutter rat, finds out he is the one thing he never expected.

Desideria...strong, warrior, never flinching, never showing fear....wanting only to be held and loved.

Can the two of them uncover the truth to expose traitors on both their worlds? Or will they die trying.

Book 4 in The League Series. I really liked this book and this series. I'm glad Kenyon decided to re-release the first 3 and continue writing this series.

[Steph Ann]

Shelf - Supernatural



Read: 8/2/13
Rating: 4 stars

Review

I'll be honest, the first 30-40% of this book was a struggle for me. It moved really slowly, and I found myself having a lot of issues with Clary. In that first section, anytime the story wasn't from Clary's point of view, the pace picked up, and I'd be interested in what was going on. By the time the second section of the book started, I was very interested in what was going on and had a hard time putting the book down. Sure, some things happened that I thought were fairly predictable, but I was still enjoying it. I thought everything was tied up very nicely, and I was satisfied with the ending.

I think my biggest problem with this series is that I like the secondary characters more than Clary and Jace. I'm not sure why, but I've just never totally warmed up to them. I still enjoy the books, but I don't ever feel anxious to get my hands on the next book once I finish one.

I've rambled for awhile now, so suffice to say, I did end up enjoying the book despite the slow start, and I figure any book that I have a hard time putting down deserves 4 stars.

[Breann]

Supernatural: Hell's Pawn
8/2/13

3.5 stars

This was odd, different, strange, bizarre but in a good way.

John has just arrived in Purgatory. He’s going through his orientation and all that good stuff when his “welcomer” put the other new arrivals under a weird trance. John was able to break out of this and explore Purgatory on his own. In doing this he meets some super fun residents of Purgatory, namely, Dante. Purgatory is a lame ass place to be. There is nothing to do there, except play the little game they have for their residents. People- er- dead people can earn or lose points to either go up into the clouds or down in the flames. So there are these “pretend people” who walk around and have a scene where they need help and whoever does the good deed receives points on their record. Weird. Anyway, John is over the game. As is Dante. They want out, and frankly, they don’t care if they’re going up or down as long as it’s anywhere but here.

As you can guess, John and Dante end up in Hell. While in Hell they learn that strange things are happening in the afterlife. Souls from all religions and beliefs are getting stuck in Purgatory, even those who don’t believe in it. So, John’s mission, straight from an Archduke of Hell, is to gather up an army. They’re going to fight for their souls back.

Basically, the story is of John, Dante and the very seductive Incubus, Rimmon, traveling through the different realms of the afterlife. This was pretty fun. John gathered all the different gods from all the religions around the world, past and present. Greek gods, Egyptian gods, Roman gods, terracotta armies from China...everything. It was all kinda cool. Anything can happen in the afterlife. Glass men who have spider-like arms. Random fire breathing people. Talking terracotta heads. It’s all just....different. But, don’t forget, in a good way.

Now, Kindle says 278 kindle pages. It didn’t feel that short. By the end I was feeeeeeeeling the length of this book. Which is weird because it’s not long. Things started to drag for me, hence the loss of a half star.

All in all, another good read from Jay Bell. At least he didn’t smash my heart into a million pieces and scatter them across the Earth so they’ll never go back together quite the same way. Again. But I did get a bit emo at the end. Mr. Bell knows how to tug at my heart.

[Barbara ★]

Supernatural:

Read: August 2, 2013
Rating: ★★★★★

Review:
This is a series I've greatly enjoyed from the beginning and have been unable to choose between Will and Jem (though his disease might have swung me towards Will if I were Tessa.) Well coming into Clockwork Princess we know that Tessa is going to marry Jem or is she? Jem is very sick and surviving only with the aid of yin fen, a drug that temporarily alleviates his symptoms but also accelerates his decline. This does not keep him from fighting the clockwork creatures when they attack the Institute.

The Magister still wants Tessa and we finally find out why. This was really interesting and had quite a few surprises as well. The section involving the giant worm was really creepy and scary but I liked how Gabriel Lightwood finally does the right thing. I really liked the addition of Gabriel at the Institute. It's too bad the series is over as I wonder if he and Cecily would have...

All in all this was an exciting conclusion that tied up most of the loose ends. A truly wonderful series that had a little something for both Will and Jem fans.

[Steph Ann]

I've got us all updated! :)

[Breann]

Steph Ann wrote: "I've got us all updated! :)"

Hoping for readers choice today :D

[Christal]

So I was going to read The Weight of Souls for supernatural, but I finished All Our Pretty Songs first and realized it is on the same shelf. So, here's my review for that one.


Shelf: Supernatural
Read: 1 Aug 13
Rating: 4 Stars
Review:

All Our Pretty Songs had some of the most gorgeous prose I’ve read lately. Sarah McCarry has woven a beautiful paranormal tale about love and the ends we will go to protect it. I loved how this story was clearly inspired and influenced by Greek mythology, specifically Ovid’s Metamorphoses. As the first book in a new trilogy, it was surprisingly effective at establishing distinct characters without ever revealing the name of the narrator. I am very excited to see where Ms. McCarry takes the story in the next two books.

Our narrator is life-long best friends with beautiful Aurora and has a budding relationship with music maestro Jack. When Aurora and Jack become entrenched in the ominous world of a man named Minos, they may end up on a path that our narrator cannot travel. As much as she loves them both, the narrator must learn if she has the strength to save them… if they even want to be saved.

I loved how the paranormal events in this book bled into the stark reality. At times, everything was very cut and dry. The narrator was either firmly in our world or venturing into the underworld, but there were also those moments when you couldn’t be sure what was real or not. Ms. McCarry made those moments very chilling and unsettling. I hope we will get to see many more in the future books. While the magical elements were a little overt to be considered a traditional magical realism novel, I still think that genre is where All Our Pretty Songs fits best.

The character of the narrator is still a bit of an enigma. We know about her life and family, the people she loves, the dedication to her art, her strength and her passion, but Ms. McCarry still keeps her a little closed, just a little disembodied. Oh, the power of names! We are following a character that we don’t truly know but one that we do believe in. Aurora and Jack were both very tragic and damaged characters, but it was also easy to see why the narrator would love each of them so deeply. I’m not sure which character in All Our Pretty Songs my heart hurt the worst for.

If this book is any indication of the quality of future books, the METAMORPHOSES Trilogy is one to definitely keep your eye on. Clocking in around 240 pages, it a quick read but leaves the reader with a dark and ominous feeling. The story line wraps up satisfactorily without leaving the reader hanging, but still eager to see where the story goes from here. Though this is billed as a YA novel, I would strongly suggest it only be given to mature YA readers. I think it worked well as an adult story actually; the only thing that felt truly YA about it were the characters ages. Highly recommended for those readers looking for something a little darker, something a little out of the ordinary.