Review: Insomnia by J.R. Johansson

Book: Insomnia
Author: J.R. Johansson
Series: The Night Walkers
Publication Date: June 8th, 2013
Publisher: Flux
Rating: 2 Stars

It’s been four years since I slept, and I suspect it is killing me.
Instead of sleeping, Parker Chipp enters the dream of the last person he’s had eye contact with. He spends his nights crushed by other people’s fear and pain, by their disturbing secrets—and Parker can never have dreams of his own. The severe exhaustion is crippling him. If nothing changes, Parker could soon be facing psychosis and even death.
Then he meets Mia. Her dreams, calm and beautifully uncomplicated, allow him blissful rest that is utterly addictive. Parker starts going to bizarre lengths to catch Mia’s eye every day. Everyone at school thinks he’s gone over the edge, even his best friend. And when Mia is threatened by a true stalker, everyone thinks it’s Parker.
Suffering blackouts, Parker begins to wonder if he is turning into someone dangerous. What if the monster stalking Mia is him after all?

I, like everyone else, got pretty interested in the premise of this book. It's always interesting to see how authors twist the whole concept of dreams and how they influence reality. Insomnia reminded me of Wake in the way it makes dreaming a curse. The entire tone of Insomnia is creepy and dark, and it's easy to feel just as confused as the main character, Parker, about who the real victims and instigators are.

The beginning and end of the book were interesting, but I slogged through the middle. I didn't feel very invested in any of the characters, least of all Parker. Johansson was doing a balancing act with making the main character a possible antagonist, and in this case, I didn't think it was very well done. I never really empathized with Parker's situation or wanted to believe that he wasn't the one doing all the stalking and causing all the chaos. Most of the time, I was sick of him being melodramatic and creepin' on other people when I think there could have been more reasonable ways of dealing with his many situations. In addition, his whole issue with sleep isn't clarified enough for me to buy it completely. First of all, why is he still able to function like a normal person and play soccer (minus all the ogling of his co-captain's sister-in-law)? Second of all, how come he can take naps and not have dreams? Some of the stuff just doesn't add up. Or maybe I just missed stuff while being bored.

The other characters are equally flat. I do like the fact that Finn and Addie were so supportive of Parker, but they were just that. Neither of them did anything beyond that, and I just can't shake the feeling that they're nothing but two characters who will help Parker out of sucky situations. Mia, the girl that Parker thinks is his salvation, is nothing more than a girl who had a crappy past that she was trying to run from. In the end, I definitely felt like she didn't deserve any of the stuff that Parker or anyone else did to her, but is that all she is? The engineered subject of our pity? What happened to the spitfire in the beginning of the book, who did have a comeback or two to Parker's? That part of her seemed to disappear the moment a threat appeared.

I guess Insomnia is more contemporary and grittier than I expected, and I didn't really like that. I enjoyed Wake by Lisa McMann more, though, and it was still pretty firmly rooted in reality. Maybe my dislike has something to do with the main character, Parker, who doesn't seem to do much. There is an interesting idea that the next book will hopefully expand on more, but I don't think I'll continue with the series.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the chance to read and review this book.
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Review: The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna

Book: The Lost Girl
Author: Sangu Mandanna
Publication Date: August 28th, 2012
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Rating: 4 Stars

Eva's life is not her own. She is a creation, an abomination--an echo. She was made by the Weavers as a copy of someone else, expected to replace a girl named Amarra, her "other," if she ever died. Eva spends every day studying that girl from far away, learning what Amarra does, what she eats, what it's like to kiss her boyfriend, Ray. So when Amarra is killed in a car crash, Eva should be ready.

But sixteen years of studying never prepared her for this.

Now she must abandon everything and everyone she's ever known--the guardians who raised her, the boy she's forbidden to love--to move to India and convince the world that Amarra is still alive.

What Eva finds is a grief-stricken family; parents unsure how to handle this echo they thought they wanted; and Ray, who knew every detail, every contour of Amarra. And when Eva is unexpectedly dealt a fatal blow that will change her existence forever, she is forced to choose: Stay and live out her years as a copy or leave and risk it all for the freedom to be an original. To be Eva.

From debut novelist Sangu Mandanna comes the dazzling story of a girl who was always told what she had to be--until she found the strength to decide for herself.

But I don’t have a sword. My shield is broken. I don’t know what is and isn’t honorable anymore. And now I’ve sent my knight away.

It took me a long time to finally get to reading this book, but I guess the wait was worth it. I've hear raving reviews about it for a long time, but when I initially read the blurb, it didn't really appeal to me. After all, we've already seen lots of stories about girls who switch spots in life. True, there's a more supernatural twist added to this premise, but not enough to change the supposed outcome (girl adjusts to new life, finds new boy to love, makes friends that she never would've made otherwise, etc). Really, it should have all the elements of a feel-good chick lit.

But that's not what The Lost Girl is about. It's comprised of three parts. In the first, we learn about Eva's peaceful life in a cottage beside a lake, surrounded by people who love her but always with the looming concern that one day, she will have to serve her purpose. She exists for another person, and it's difficult because she must imitate every facet of her Other's lifestyle. In this part, I really appreciated the kindness that humans are capable of, especially in the way Eva's guardians behave. Although they follow the rules, the small allowances they make are what endeared me to them. Sean, especially, is wonderfully portrayed as logical but sweet. In my opinion, the first part is the best portion of the book: Eva's world and her conflict is beautifully portrayed, and the way it all comes screeching to a halt adds to the drama.

In the second part, Eva adjusts to her new life. What I loved about this was her frequent memories of her old life and the bittersweet nostalgia that those memories are tinged with. I liked her new family, and I thought there was a nice balance between their belief and disbelief that Amarra was still alive. It was relatively normal and typical, until she starts breaking the rules. The third part is when she finally goes on the run.

What stands out about this book is not its idea, but rather the way it's executed. The emotions running through it--desperation, hope, desire--are almost tangible. Each character is well-written, though maybe not as three-dimensional as I'd hoped. I can't say I absolutely loved the book, but I liked the precision that characterized its structure. I couldn't really get sucked in because I was always dubious about the idea of having an echo replace a loved one. What kind of person could convince him/herself that a copy is the same as the original?

At any rate, I enjoyed the book, especially the sweet love story and Eva's struggle for freedom. It's not the most intricate plot I read, but I definitely think this is a worthy debut.

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Review: Pivot Point by Kasie West

Book: Pivot Point
Author: Kasie West
Series: Pivot Point #1
Publication Date: February 12th, 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Rating: 4 Stars

Knowing the outcome doesn’t always make a choice easier . . .

Addison Coleman’s life is one big “What if?” As a Searcher, whenever Addie is faced with a choice, she can look into the future and see both outcomes. It’s the ultimate insurance plan against disaster. Or so she thought. When Addie’s parents ambush her with the news of their divorce, she has to pick who she wants to live with—her father, who is leaving the paranormal compound to live among the “Norms,” or her mother, who is staying in the life Addie has always known. Addie loves her life just as it is, so her answer should be easy. One Search six weeks into the future proves it’s not.

In one potential future, Addie is adjusting to life outside the Compound as the new girl in a Norm high school where she meets Trevor, a cute, sensitive artist who understands her. In the other path, Addie is being pursued by the hottest guy in school—but she never wanted to be a quarterback’s girlfriend. When Addie’s father is asked to consult on a murder in the Compound, she’s unwittingly drawn into a dangerous game that threatens everything she holds dear. With love and loss in both lives, it all comes down to which reality she’s willing to live through . . . and who she can’t live without.

This book packs a punch, it really does. I've been reading positive reviews about it for a long time, and so I was pretty excited when I won it through First Reads. When I started, I wasn't too blown away. The story centers around Addie, who has the ability to see two alternate fates when she's forced to make a decision. She decides to use the power when her parents divorce and she has to choose who she'll follow: her father, to the "normal world," or her mother in the world she's used to.

The superpowers themselves aren't that amazing. They're very similar to your typical X-Men powers, from moving mass to erasing memories. What really surprised me was how Kasie West wove the plot. She approaches it in a different and creative way by alternating between the two possible futures that Addie sees. We know which choice Addie is experiencing by the definitions that precede the chapters, which either have a word containing PARA (for Paranormal) or NORM (normal, obviously). I bet some of you are like, "Well, duh. What else could they be for?" but I actually only figured this out when I was 3/4 through the book. Call me stupid -_- I thought they were just dumb definitions that were supposed to somehow hint at what the chapter was about.

My favorite part was probably Addie's Norm life. I think that's because of Trevor. He's adorable and quietly confident, as opposed to Duke. Duke is the very exemplification of any annoying YA teenage boy: charming, cocky, making the girls drool (I do not drool over football players who think they're cool, thank you very much). I was like "Oh God, love triangle" when I started reading about Duke and Trevor, but it turns out that it's not a love triangle. Addie's choice of boys is made from the very start, and I think West deserves points for subtly hinting at who really is the boy for Addie. Back to Trevor; his love for comics was a surprise, and I really enjoyed it. The approach that Addie takes to finally telling him about her secret is interesting. I doubt many girls who are hiding their supernatural abilities from unsuspecting, cute high school boys use a comic to get their point across. Addie's final choice absolutely broke my heart, since I was rooting for the other option. Hopefully, things will get better in the second book...

Anyway, apart from the boys, I really enjoyed the plot. I do find Poison a bit random and believe that West should've expanded on why the Bureau decided he was the one guilty. Also, I'm still waiting to see why there's such a big deal made about the fact that Addie is Divergent and not Clairvoyant. Other than that, I was way hooked on the last couple chapters. The ending definitely threw me for a loop; I wasn't expecting so many secrets kept. And when you step back and think about the book and the way that West chose the characters that she did to have certain powers, you really have to admire the way she strung everything together so that all of these choices are relevant. All in all, this book has restored my faith in YA.

Also, Trevor and Addie 5EVA.

Thanks to HarperTeen for giving me a chance to read and review this book.

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Review: Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Book: Obsidian
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Series: Lux
Publication Date: May 8th, 2012
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Rating: 3.5 Stars

Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I'd pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring.... until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something...unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon's touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I'm getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don't kill him first, that is.

THIS BOOK HAS MADE ME SO CONFUSED. If you look at the shelves I've placed it on in my Goodreads review, you'll probably think I have schizophrenia or some other terrible psychological disorder that only comes into play when I'm reading books.

I was so angry at the start of this book. To me, Kat (Katy? Kittycat? Kitten? WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR NAME?) was suffering from a severe case of Bella Swan Idiocy, what with her stumbling over tree roots and flat ground and ogling Daemon just because of his insanely good looks.

Even though I couldn’t stand him, and I actually think he might be the first person I ever hated, he was…he was a god. Who knew the kind of girls he was used to seeing in bathing suits.

 

She was every bit the annoying girl who doesn't know she's pretty, gets insanely jealous whenever another girl gets within ten inches of a guy she says she hates, and gets distracted whenever he takes off his shirt (which is a lot, in this book). 

I was sick of that. Frankly, I was ready to flip some tables and call it a day.

But then... something changed. Maybe it was around the time Katy dumped a tray of spaghetti over Daemon and his fake girlfriend's head, or maybe it was when her comebacks started getting better. At any rate, that was when I began getting interested. It amazed me that this book had such a high rating, and they definitely didn't skimp on the advertising, since covers popped up everywhere. My every step on GR was dogged by the stupid green cover with its flawless models with their glowy green eyes. Which led me to believe that there was something about this book that I was missing. In the first half, all I could think was two stars this book sucks two stars why would anyone read this piece of crap TWO ST-- 

I mean, it's horribly cliche-ridden. As I've already mentioned, we have the cutely clumsy heroine, who attracts the attention of a guy who's 1000000x hotter than her and his hot sister, they're hiding some freaky supernatural secret, and the heroine discovers this secret because she's stupid enough to walk in front of a truck. It's a recipe for disaster.

Strangely enough, it works. Not for the first half. That was just frustrating and made me want to stab Katy in the face. But after she discovers their secret, I looked forward to the book. One thing that I absolutely love, and that I have to commend Armentrout on, is that the woman knows how to write chemistry. Not only do they have a fuse-blowing make-out session (literally), Katy and Daemon have these sweet and hot moments together that made me root for them. The ending was a nice addendum to this, and it shows that Katy isn't a weak-spined character like I originally believed. Rather, she's pretty liberal with her middle fingers and insults.

Daemon fell to his knees beside me, pulling me into his strong, solid arms. “Kat, say something insulting. Come on."

There were just these moments that made me laugh, which contrasted with my eye-rolling in the beginning. I know a lot of people have issues with Daemon, but I have already come to this understanding with myself that I'm attracted to douchebags, so despite Daemon's controlling, possessive, and overconfident demeanor, I find it very endearing. Others might think I'm a whacked out freak who will end up calling the suicide hotline sobbing about domestic abuse, and I am perfectly fine with that. Just leave me to my own dysfunctionality, and we'll be good.

Barring the fact that I like assholes, the plot of the book was strangely intriguing, too. This is my second alien book, Gravity being my first. And I think I realized with this one how much liberty writing about aliens affords you. I mean, with vampires and werewolves there's all that stuff about sticking to the rules with the bloodsucking and silver bullets and garlic necklaces. But with aliens, all that's really required is that they're from another planet. That's it. They could look like Alex Pettyfer or a half-cooked pig with an apple in its mouth, and nobody would complain. Although I prefer Alex Pettyfer. Anyhow, the plot's not that incredible or special, but it was mysterious, and there are still a bunch of things that haven't been explained fully.

In conclusion, I am so bewildered. Everything inside me is screaming at me not to like this book because it smolders of cliche, but what has made us believe that cliche is bad? If it's written well, why shouldn't I like it? Why should I let the critical reviewer inside me say otherwise? Oh yeah, Katy's a book blogger too. It sort of annoyed me in the beginning, just because she annoyed me and so consequently everything about her annoyed me, but then I started liking it towards the end, especially since I empathize. It's been so long since I've read something that had legit chemistry, I think I'm okay with all the possible problems lurking in the book. I feel quite mellow right now.

If anyone was able to make sense of this garbled review, I applaud you. You guys should be running the nation, not those seat-warming nobodies. 
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Review: Gravity by Melissa West

Book: Gravity
Author: Melissa West
Series: The Taking
Publication Date: December 18th, 2012
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Rating: 3.5 Stars

In the future, only one rule will matter:

Don’t. Ever. Peek.

Seventeen-year-old Ari Alexander just broke that rule and saw the last person she expected hovering above her bed — arrogant Jackson Locke, the most popular boy in her school. She expects instant execution or some kind of freak alien punishment, but instead, Jackson issues a challenge: help him, or everyone on Earth will die.

Ari knows she should report him, but everything about Jackson makes her question what she’s been taught about his kind. And against her instincts, she’s falling for him. But Ari isn’t just any girl, and Jackson wants more than her attention. She’s a military legacy who’s been trained by her father and exposed to war strategies and societal information no one can know — especially an alien spy, like Jackson. Giving Jackson the information he needs will betray her father and her country, but keeping silent will start a war.

This was a book I was really looking forward to reading. I kept stalking its page on Goodreads for new reviews that would praise it. I enlarged the cover and mooned over it thousands of times because that blue is absolutely lovely. Also, I kept forgetting the publication date, so I kept hoping that it was earlier than I thought it was (it wasn't.).

In conclusion, I had very high hopes for this book. Very. High. Which will probably mean my review isn't too trustworthy and that this book is much better than I say it is. Because Gravity isn't a bad book. Not by a long shot. It's actually quite interesting, what with its synthetic foods and the existence of another planet that's basically paradise apart from earth. And in the middle of it all, we have Ari, who's the Commander's daughter and a future leader herself. In addition, she knows how to shoot a gun and disarm an enemy in ten seconds. Instead of crying at every turn, she holds back a scream. Which is an improvement, but not much of one.

My biggest issue with the book is the lack of world-building. I didn't know the origin of half of the things that were mentioned, from how Earth was split up the way it was, to why people didn't want to go to Loge when it seemed like such a great place. Also, I didn't understand why Ari trusted Jackson so easily. Their love never seemed real. Rather, it felt contrived. I just didn't know why Ari threw away her connection to her father and her years of training because of a boy she's only seen from a distance telling her that her own side wasn't to be trusted. It made her seem way too malleable and manipulable, which contrasted with the whole strong, untouchable persona she's supposed to be portraying.

I liked the idea and Ari's parents, especially her mother. But as with the other components of the world that she lives in, the other people in her life are too one-dimensional. Her parents, Gretchen, Lawrence. We only get tiny glimpses that they're people other than the roles they're supposed to lead in the book, but it's not enough to convince us that they're worth rooting for. Maybe if I hadn't been expecting this book to exceed my expectations so much, I wouldn't have been so disappointed. It's an original idea, but the execution wasn't all that special. I was especially disappointed by the flop of a love story and how there was no reference to peeking except in the tagline of the cover. The entire book has made me despairing for a good love story, so if anyone has recommendations, I'll gladly take them!
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Review: Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

Book: Nevermore
Author: Kelly Creagh
Series: Nevermore
Publication Date: August 31st, 2010
Publisher: Atheneum Books
Rating: 4 Stars

Cheerleader Isobel Lanley is horrified when she is paired with Varen Nethers for an English project, which is due—so unfair—on the day of the rival game. Cold and aloof, sardonic and sharp-tongued, Varen makes it clear he’d rather not have anything to do with her either. But when Isobel discovers strange writing in his journal, she can’t help but give this enigmatic boy with the piercing eyes another look.

Soon, Isobel finds herself making excuses to be with Varen. Steadily pulled away from her friends and her possessive boyfriend, Isobel ventures deeper and deeper into the dream world Varen has created through the pages of his notebook, a realm where the terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe come to life.

As her world begins to unravel around her, Isobel discovers that dreams, like words, hold more power than she ever imagined, and that the most frightening realities are those of the mind. Now she must find a way to reach Varen before he is consumed by the shadows of his own nightmares.

His life depends on it.

I'd seen good ratings for this, so I decided to try it out, especially since I'm a fan of Edgar Allan Poe's creepier works. I'll admit I was wary about reading it because of the cover. But it's funny how the floofy pink dress Isobel is wearing on the back cover comes into play.

Damn, I loved the atmosphere in this book. Maybe not in the beginning fifty pages of the book, but the tone became really haunting. When I think about Nevermore, I can't help seeing smoky swirls of gray that resemble the background of the book. The entire thing is just really creepy and shivery, and it did a great job of bringing back the darkness of Poe's stories.

I'll admit, the beginning annoyed me because it seemed like the beginning of any cliche YA novel about the pretty, popular girl getting involved with the wrong guy and losing her friends in the process. But Isobel pleasantly surprised me. I liked her snarky comments because they added a degree of realism to the shifty dream world that composes the rest of the book. It really seems like two parallel stories going on at the same time, and in the end, when reality and the dream world begin to converge, I really felt it. Anyway, Isobel shows an interesting amount of spunk for a heroine, although there were times when she may have been toeing the line between cool and stupid (ie. when she leaves Reynolds's scythe there instead of picking it up, when she watches Reynolds and Death fight even when she should've run ten minutes ago, and when she attempts to sit by Varen. Really, what did she expect, that he would welcome her with open arms?). All in all, though, I was pleased by her behavior.

I can't say much for Varen. I honestly don't know much about him, and there's not much of a difference between him and any other angsty male who scribbles ranty poetry and glares at everyone, except his angst has literally created a world of its own. He was gone for most of the time, and Isobel was left to fight his battles for him. He retaliates once or twice, but I never really see him presenting himself strongly at any time in the novel. I was especially disappointed in the end, when he's sitting in his couch and all depressed and trapped. The book really is more about Isobel than it is about her and Varen, which is why I don't sense much character development on Varen's part. The only place where he's truly a person to me is when his dad catches him at home with the Chinese food. That was when I was crying for him (slightly), even though that scene isn't mentioned again.

The plot itself is really interesting. Isobel begins hallucinating, hearing voices and seeing people, and then she plunges into a figurative rabbit hole into Poe's/Varen's world. Things get really creepy once that starts to happen, and Creagh describes everything from the Nocs to the floating objects in Isobel's room with vivid detail. I especially liked the scene from Masque of the Red Death, when Isobel is inside Prince Prospero's multicolored rooms of doom. That scene really came alive for me, and I was pretty disappointed that Isobel didn't stay longer.

I can definitely see why this book got the good ratings that it did, but I do hope that some of the topics are explored more, and that Varen's character is developed further in the next book. And the Poe references sure help!
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Review: Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Book: Paranormalcy 
Author: Kiersten White
Series: Paranormalcy
Publication Date: August 31st, 2010
Publisher: HarperTeen
Rating: 3 Stars

Evie's always thought of herself as a normal teenager, even though she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she's falling for a shape-shifter, and she's the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours.

But Evie's about to realize that she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

So much for normal.

Don't you love it when true love triumphs between two inexperienced teenagers who happen to save the day because of their great capacity for emotion? It's so precious. It makes me weep.

Don't get me wrong; Paranormalcy isn't that bad. In fact, it can be even argued that it is one of the saving graces of the genre. The problem is that it just isn't anything new. Sure, I laughed, and I felt a little bit when characters died. But my general feelings are ambivalent. And when you read a book, is your only expectation that it not be gruesomely terrible, or even not bad? Especially after reading something like Days of Blood & Starlight, I needed something light, and this book did that for me. But I couldn't find any of the sort of depth and humanity that I did in Karou and her friends.

It was just so... meh. I can think of more thinks I didn't like about it than what I did like. For example, I didn't like the main character, Evie. Maybe it's a product of growing up, but I thought she didn't act her age. I can understand that she's been isolated from society, but does that really mean she has to go around calling everything cute and obsessing over pink things? There is this one part I remember where she said, "I even got a cute last name, Green." And the freaking out over lockers and high school things? It was cute (oh God, I sound like her now) in the beginning, but then it just became redundant. I got the fact that she was inexperienced. Also, Easton Heights sounds really dull. I prefer Gossip Girl.

The plot was... nice, I guess. It wasn't really anything new. Reth really interests me, though. He's so cruel yet attractive. Wow, I'm as bad as those Mary Sues. But Lend was too boring for me, especially compared with someone like Reth. If you're going to make one of your love interests a faery, you'd better match up. Lend is interesting, but in the end, if we deconstruct him, he's a teenage boy who reacts to things quite boringly. There wasn't even much wittiness tossed in there. He's supposed to provide a dose of normal, but I didn't quite like the normal that I got. Everything was mostly predictable, although I didn't expect what happened to Lisha.

I've been ragging on the book enough, though. I'm not giving it 3 stars for no reason; I did like some of the things that happened. Although the dialogue wasn't very witty, the way the book was written was very light-hearted, despite all the intense stuff happening. In that way, the normalcy helped ground it. I liked reading about Evie's interaction with the paranormal creatures that she bags and tags; there just wasn't enough of that. As far as supernatural YA goes, this is pretty decent.  

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Review: Broken by A.E. Rought

Book: Broken
Author: A.E. Rought
Publication Date: January 8th, 2013
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Rating: 2 Stars

Imagine a modern spin on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein where a young couple’s undying love and the grief of a father pushed beyond sanity could spell the destruction of them all.

A string of suspicious deaths near a small Michigan town ends with a fall that claims the life of Emma Gentry's boyfriend, Daniel. Emma is broken, a hollow shell mechanically moving through her days. She and Daniel had been made for each other, complete only when they were together. Now she restlessly wanders the town in the late Fall gloom, haunting the cemetery and its white-marbled tombs, feeling Daniel everywhere, his spectre in the moonlight and the fog.

When she encounters newcomer Alex Franks, only son of a renowned widowed surgeon, she's intrigued despite herself. He's an enigma, melting into shadows, preferring to keep to himself. But he is as drawn to her as she is to him. He is strangely... familiar. From the way he knows how to open her locker when it sticks, to the nickname she shared only with Daniel, even his hazel eyes with brown flecks are just like Daniel's.

The closer they become, though, the more something inside her screams there's something very wrong with Alex Franks. And when Emma stumbles across a grotesque and terrifying menagerie of mangled but living animals within the walls of the Franks' estate, creatures she surely knows must have died from their injuries, she knows.

Alex FRANKS goes to SHELLEY High. Oh my, could this possibly be a FRANKENSTEIN retelling? Except now the monster has become a hot seventeen year old boy?!?!?

 

Joker approves.

This would've been a great book if it hadn't been so reminiscent of Twilight horrified. Rought had a lot of things going for her. She had a strong main character, a successfully enigmatic male lead, and a plot that any classic/YA lover would be drawn to. I love retellings, and this is the first retelling of Frankenstein that I've seen. In the first couple pages, I rushed through this book. It was exciting, exhilarating, and I wanted to know more about Daniel and Alex and Em. Even though the GR blurb pretty much ruined the big secret for me, I still wanted to get to the bottom of everything and understand it completely. Also, Rought's writing style? Gorgeous. Sometimes it seems to go into the realm of too dramatic, but most of the time, it contributed just the right amount of haunting beauty and really added to the dark tone that existed throughout the book.

 There didn't seem to be much going wrong in the first, oh, 100 pages. And I thought this book would be great, but as is the case with my crappy badness-radar, I turned out to be wrong.

Alex Franks was great for five pages. Then his whole mysterious, hood-over-face thing got old fast. It's been done so many times before, and besides his apparent good looks (in which case, why would he need the hood? And if the hood was to hide himself and people had already seen his face, what was the point?), there wasn't really much else he had going for him. I know, I know, he's related to Em's old boyfriend, but despite that, I still felt like she was cheating on Daniel. And this sort of bothered me. Also, what was the deal with Josh? He seemed like such a comical mustache-twirling villain that I couldn't take him seriously. On top of all that, he was a ginger. Figures.

The beginning and end were pretty interesting. There's some action and guts in the last couple pages. But the middle is just mind-numbing backwards and forwards lovin' between Em and Alex, with a couple memories of Daniel scattered in to make her feel guilty. I was never sold on the love. Isn't Rought essentially showing that Em only loves Alex because Daniel's in him? That's messed up, man.  What guy wants to be loved because he reminds his girlfriend of her old boyfriend? No one, unless he couldn't get a girl any other way. And given Alex's supposed good looks, I think he'd be able to get someone.

Em is a badass in the first couple pages when she punches people and throws insults, but she softens too much. Sadly, she follows the trend and starts crying a lot. Not that she doesn't have reason to, but sometimes the tears were just unnecessary. I appreciated Rought's integration of Em's mom and dad instead of making her some poor orphan, but I think she really could've done a better job with her characters. None of them really made sense to me.

I recommend giving this book a try, even if it does get redundant in the middle. The end is pretty cliche, but you should just stick with it for the writing style. I think that was my favorite part.

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Review: Entangled by Nikki Jefford

Book: Entangled
Author: Nikki Jefford
Series: Spellbound
Publication Date: February 20th, 2012
Publisher: Nikki Jefford (self-pubbed)
Rating: 3.5 Stars

Two months after dying, seventeen-year-old witch Graylee Perez wakes up in her twin sister Charlene’s body.

Until Gray finds a way back inside her own body, she’s stuck being Charlene every twenty-hour hours. Her sister has left precise instructions on how Gray should dress and behave. Looking like a prep isn’t half as bad as hanging out with Charlene’s snotty friends and gropey boyfriend.

The “normals” of McKinley High might be quick to write her behavior off as post-traumatic stress, but warlock Raj McKenna is the only person who suspects Gray has returned from the dead.

Now Gray has to solve the mystery of her death and resurrection and disentangle herself from Charlene’s body before she disappears for good.

***Entangled is a young adult paranormal fantasy romance suitable for ages 15 and up.***

The supernatural version of Freaky Friday! Ah, I love that movie. The Pre-Lindsay Lohan Drug Addict & Rehabbed Drama Queen days. Entangled is about a teen witch named Graylee with a particularly depraved sister. Graylee dies and gets put back in her sister's body every other day, which naturally, causes a couple of problems. Some of which are her inability to understand French every other day in French class and that she has to kiss sexy warlock Raj in her sister's body.

It does take a while for Entangled to get to the good, death-and-switched-bodies part. Jefford spends a couple pages detailing what kind of world Graylee comes from and the characters that surround her. It was fun experiencing high school through Graylee's eyes, since she has a sarcastic, jaded voice that I really enjoyed. Fortunately, this voice doesn't go away as the book progresses; in fact, it gets stronger as Graylee has to deal with her sister Charlene's body and Charlene's gropey boyfriend and insipid friends.

The plot of the book is easy to follow; I finished the book in a couple days, and I was surprised by how easily I could get sucked into it within minutes of reading. There are some questions left unanswered, like what exactly those poisonous chocolates were for, or what happened to Charlene's annoying friends, Raj's family issues, and what Graylee's mom was up to. It's a light-hearted book, with problems to be found in being unable to conjure clothing into place, or muting people, or coveting invisibility. However, this brevity also takes away from some of the more intense problems. The end happens quickly, and I felt that there wasn't enough devoted to the resolution.

Raj and Gray share the narrator's position, and I really liked Raj. He's an example of a sensitive bad boy done well, though I thought his affection for Gray was a bit sudden. It was nice reading from both their perspectives, from Gray's biting tone to Raj's harder but more regretful one. I would've loved to know what exactly happened after he handed his Zippo over, but I guess I'll have to content myself that he and Graylee are now free to suck face forever.

If you want a light read about bitchy witches, make sure to check this one out!

Thank you Netgalley for giving me a chance to read and review this book.

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Review: Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard

Book: Something Strange and Deadly
Author: Susan Dennard
Series: Something Strange and Deadly
Publication Date: July 24th, 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
Rating: 3.5 Stars

The year is 1876, and there’s something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia…

Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she’s just read in the newspaper—

The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.

And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor…from her brother.

Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she’ll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including their maddeningly stubborn yet handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.

It's one thing to fear death, but it's another to fear the Dead.

There's no denying that this book is kind of awesome. I liked the promise behind the setting. 1800s Philadelphia... Not Victorian England, but Philadelphia. AMERICA. I am proud.

Anyway, there's been hype around this book even before it was published, and I was excited to get to it. Especially since I don't read zombie books often, so this would've been new for me.

However, despite the fast-moving plot and somewhat-likable characters, this story still leaves quite a bit to be desired. There are many questions that are left unanswered, and I always got the feeling that the entire thing was a bit... anachronistic. It's not just the zombies in industrial-era Philadelphia thing, which would have been spectacular if it'd made more sense, but I guess the fact that the plot's motive is never really explained is what muddies up the whole story and makes the things that happen seem out of place. One part I couldn't reconcile was the connection between zombies and spirits and black magic. While creative, this mixture brings in a bunch of completely different subjects and attempts to meld them together, and though Dennard does a decent job, I wasn't ever fully convinced.

There's lots of action, but some of it is a bit choppy and hard to read, as well as overuse of the word, trot. In the midst of it is Eleanor Fitt, who plunges into this medley of ghost killers and slow and hungry zombies and necromancers with realizations that usually strike her quickly and illogically. She does have some moments where she kicks some faces in, and there is a surprise at the finale that really shocked me, but her character development wasn't all that believable to me.

Like Eleanor, the other characters are never fully developed, and I was never that invested in their lives. You know a story hasn't made much of an impact on you when a key character dies and you're just sitting there going "huh" instead of bawling your eyes out. I don't understand why Jie kept saying "yeah?" at the end of her sentences. If it's because she's Chinese, I have never in my life met someone Chinese who asks a question at the end of everything he/she says. Daniel's dialogue was also a bit stilted, but I've never liked the whole cut off end of word thing (saying runnin' instead of running, etc).

I do admit that I liked the romance, and it was one of the more interesting parts of the novel. The characters do suck face, but nothing between them settles down, even at the end. I liked that Daniel was all grumpy and sweet, and I found the love story likable, especially since it's not too central to the story but manages to develop nicely regardless. That doesn't detract from Eleanor's capacity for irritating me, but it was still cute.

That said, I want to know if Eleanor meets Daniel again. I also want to know if the little twist at the ending will change her at all. Dennard did leave the book on a bit of a bittersweet cliffhanger, so I'll definitely read the next one and hope it's better than the first.
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Review: Rapture by Lauren Kate

Book: Rapture
Author: Lauren Kate
Series: Fallen
Publication Date: June 12th, 2012
Publisher: Delacorte Press
My rating: 2 Stars

The sky is dark with wings....

Like sand through an hourglass, time is running out for Luce and Daniel. To stop Lucifer from erasing the past, they must find the place where the angels fell to earth.

Dark forces are after them, and Daniel doesn’t know if he can do this — live only to lose Luce again and again. Yet together they face an epic battle that will end with lifeless bodies...and angel dust. Great sacrifices are made. Hearts are destroyed.

And suddenly Luce knows what must happen. For she was meant to be with someone other than Daniel. The curse they’ve borne has always and only been about her — and the love she cast aside. The choice she makes now is the only one that truly matters.

In the fight for Luce, who will win?

Rapture is the astonishing conclusion to the FALLEN series. Heaven can’t wait any longer.

Not quite as bad as I expected. I'm disappointed, though. Let me tell you why.

If you're given this awesome pitch about this love that transcends time and space, that has happened over and over again and fallen apart the same way, wouldn't you be interested? I know the sappy romantic me would be. I'd heard about Fallen and its bad ratings before I read it, but there was that doubt in my mind. How bad could it be? With a plot like that...

After I read the first and second books, I got my answer.

Really, REALLY bad.

It's just... I began these books expecting this beautiful love that would make me cry, that would make me hold onto Daniel and Luce and never want them to go and always want them together and want to buy some Superglue so I could just stick them together forever.

Instead, I got a useless wimp and an emasculated, chauvinistic (how oxymoronic!) idiot.

So you can see how I'd be disappointed.

I think this could contend with Romeo & Juliet over Most Tragic Love Story That Actually Sucks.

Now, let's bring ourselves away from the series and focus on Rapture specifically.

It was actually halfway decent. I was surprised that Kate managed to tie up the loose ends that she apparently couldn't do in the third book. The third book was basically mindless fluff. I loved the time traveling, but it was pointless and didn't do anything else except further give examples of Daniel's and Luce's baseless love.

Anyway, there is stuff that happens. Angels die and there's this huge climactic moment (which isn't that climactic, really. We were all expecting it), and also a couple "big" reveals. You might be surprised, you might not. Kate has really amped up the description. I mean, she's never been that bad at it, but I really noticed it in this book. I actually quite enjoyed it, except for the parts where it got all weepy and melodramatic. I never really liked Dee. She just seemed a bit too deux ex machina for my tastes, and her dialogue was really awkward. I guess she was supposed to be a wise old owl among the little winged birdies, but she just sounded like she was pulling shit out of her ass.

I guess where this book really fails is the characterization part. Luce is as useless as ever, and I found her general limp noodle-ness, as well as her whole caring about others as an obvious attempt to cull readers' sympathy, extremely grating on my nerves.

 

Daniel, of course, it as emasculated as ever. He doesn't do anything besides fluttering around and going "Shh" whenever Luce tries to ask a question. I just don't understand why it took so long for her to figure out the truth about herself. Sure, in her past lives, she wasn't allowed, but why couldn't she know in her human one? This self-awareness thing sounds really phony to me.

Lucifer is... I don't even. Kate manages to make him sound not like the lonely, complex figure from Paradise Lost, but rather a really arrogant and hateful teenage boy. He actually says things like "Baby, that's your Achilles' heel."

What kind of evil mastermind calls people "baby"?! Or maybe they do, but they sound really sleazy and laughable in the process.

So, there's Lucifer. Then there's God. Or should I say GodDESS.

That's right. God is a woman. Kate is really having fun with this, isn't she? First Gabbe, and now God, of all people.

Let me be honest. I don't think anyone should try to portray God in a book. I'm not Christian or religious or anything, but I just find it difficult to be able to use the right words to capture the inspiration of so many religions of the world. Most authors will mess it up, and that's what happened here. Maybe it was an attempt to buoy the feminists, or she was just trying to twist things a bit, but it did nothing, especially since God didn't seem that frightening or like someone who created the universe. It just... didn't make sense. Also, there were these fluctuations in capitalization. Like sometimes God would be called You, then other times just "she" or "you." So the religious/angelology/demonology part of this book is still called into question. I guess my gif doesn't have much oomph now, if God is really the person who's portrayed in this book.

The ending was blah. It's been done before. If you've read Reincarnation by Suzanne Weyn, you'd know what I'm talking about. Astonishing conclusion my ass. I care about Cam, too. What the hell happened to him? At least he had some spice to him. He appeared approximately two times before being overshadowed by Daniel again.

Ugh, Daniel. You ruin everything.

Anyhow. This series is finally over. Hopefully, Kate has learned some things.

Also, I think it would've been really funny if Luce's roommate Nora was Nora Grey from Hush, Hush. They could've shared all their issues with overprotective boyfriends and dysfunctional lives and cried together.

YAY FALLEN IS OVER LET'S ALL REJOICE.

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Review: The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa

Book: The Lost Prince
Author: Julie Kagawa
Series: Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten
Publication Date: October 23, 2012
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Rating: 3.5 Stars

Don’t look at Them. Never let Them know you can see Them.

That is Ethan Chase’s unbreakable rule. Until the fey he avoids at all costs—including his reputation—begin to disappear, and Ethan is attacked. Now he must change the rules to protect his family. To save a girl he never thought he’s dare to fall for.

Ethan thought he had protected himself from his older sister’s world—the land of Faery. His previous time in the Iron Realm left him with nothing but fear and disgust for the world Meghan Chase has made her home, a land of myths and talking cats, of magic and seductive enemies. But when destiny comes for Ethan, there is no escape from a danger long, long forgotten.

My name is Ethan Chase. And I may not live to see my eighteenth birthday.

[Ash] glanced over his shoulder. smirking. "Care to join me, Goodfellow?"

"Oh, ice-boy. A moonlight stroll with you? Do you even have to ask?" 

I missed Ash so much in this book. So much that it hurt.

 

Come back, Ash. I'll do anything. I'll have your babies. I don't think you understand the sacrifice I'm making here.

And that little snippet of Puck. It made me feel so nostalgic. 

I think that was the main problem I had with this book. I didn't really feel anything for the characters. For the first half, I was on the edge of my seat waiting for Meghan and Ash to appear again. Then, in the second half, I was on the edge of my seat waiting for them to come back. 

Ethan is an ehhh character. I didn't really like reading the book from his perspective, because, let's be honest: he was a bit of a whiny brat for the first part. He does get better, though, in the last hundred pages. That's when he starts kicking some ass instead of just going "dammit, dammit, dammit... ooh, shiny swords" all the time. 

Mackenzie... I didn't like her much, just like Ethan. She was too persistent, and it kind of bothered me. Especially when she insisted on sticking her nose into Ethan's business and following him around. Even after the big revelation in the end about her, I couldn't turn my entire attitude towards her around. Also, I have a feeling that Kagawa is going to turn her into a faery or something and make her immortal off the tears and laughter of children.

I'm just hypothesizing here. 

Also, the book starts veeery slowly. I had the same problem with The Iron King, when it takes a couple chapters for Meghan to see Ash, and even longer for her to get out of her boring, real world and into the Nevernever. It seems to take Ethan twice as long in this book, and it's not very fun hearing him complain about his life and seeing him be a jerk to everyone who comes across his path. 

A lot of people have mentioned how Meghan appears once, and Ash and Puck only come out of their moonlight lovin' twice. Well, it's true. And it makes me sad. But at least they appeared. I'm thankful for that, especially since I was really sick of the characters. Actually, Ash's and Meghan's child (CHILD. THEY HAVE A CHILD. SQUEE.), Keirran, was intriguing. I think I need to read Iron's Prophecy to understand what's going on with him, but I think he's going to become evil. Which is not very cool. Anyway, I found him a lot more interesting than Ethan. This book might have been more interesting if it had been written from his perspective. 

However, if we move past the lackluster characters to the plot, we will find a vast improvement. This book centers on the Forgotten fey, and it's pretty creepy. They basically are these fairy-ghost-zombie things that appeared in The Iron Knight, and they're making their dramatic comeback. It's very creative, and of course, Kagawa still possesses her unique flair for making the magical setting of the land of Fey come alive. The ending is actually really disturbing, especially the part where Ethan's stuck at the bottom of a giant hole (talk about hitting rock bottom, eh? punpunpun.) I was a bit disappointed as far as climaxes go, since Keirran sits there and goes "durrr" while Ethan's dying. But he wakes up, so that's good. 

My feels are apathetic towards this book, but I can't deny that I like the idea that's forming here. As long as Kagawa keeps her characters developing, writes with that same magical style, and gives me more Ash, I think I'll enjoy this series!

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Review: Grave Mercy by R.L. LaFevers

Book: Grave Mercy
Author: R.L. LaFevers
Series: His Fair Assassin
Publication Date: April 3rd, 2012
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Pages: 549
Rating: 3 Stars

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae’s most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

For while I am Death’s daughter and walk in His dark shadow, surely the darkness can give way to light sometimes.

Killer nuns? Historical fantasy? Right on!

I wasn't all that interested in the first couple chapters. Well, the first chapter definitely got my attention. First chapters that involve almost-rape always capture my attention. I think that's what they're supposed to do. But after that, things got a bit ehhhh. Okay, convent with lots of poisons that Ismae is fortunately immune to. Lots of man hating, as well as a class in which women can learn how to seduce...? Some interesting side characters that you think are going to have greater importance but end up popping up only once or twice throughout the story. Most of all, there was a lot of preaching about how killing a man is better than...doing anything else with a man. Yeah.

One heart cannot serve two masters.

The political intrigue was good stuff. It takes some serious logic to think of all the plots and pitfalls that come with being a duchess. Although, I didn't really get the duchess. She didn't really do anything useful except be pale yet determined (???)  all the time. While we're on redundancy, I have to mention that there was a lot of elbow grabbing and iron grips. What's with that?

 In addition, I want to point out that despite the gigantic problems that arose, they were all solved relatively quickly and efficiently. Duchess can't get a good husband? Here comes a man who just happens to have just lost his wife and has both looks and a formidable army! French whore (I don't call her this, the abbess does. Are nuns allowed to call other women whores? Huh.) and her son might be traitors? Just swear an oath and be spared from death (why didn't they do this sooner...?) I just don't think problems that concern a country's future can really be solved so easily. Then again, this IS a YA novel. Can't expect serious fiscal-crisis-stuff. That would ruin everything. Just like it's ruining America now. Ahem. Moving on!

The romance made me roll my eyes a healthy number of times. Example:

Perhaps Mortain knew I could not kill him even if he bore the marque. I cannot kill the only man I have found it in my heart to love.

Of COURSE he's the only man. You were locked up in a convent for most of your life until you met him! 

Anyway, Ismae sort of bothered me. She was way too good at everything she did, and even though I have great admiration for her collection of poisons and that badass bracelet she uses for strangulation (or something of the sort), there's no way for one person to excel at killing and hiding the way she does. Just... nuh-uh. No way. And that part at the end where she saves Duval? Totally expected something like that. The only problems she seemed to have concerned her angsting over him and the way she completely lost all of her nunnery smarts whenever he came into the picture. 

I do have a soft spot for Duval, though. He's way too sweet and perfect, which is how I like my fictional men.

“I know some call him oath breaker, for although the oath he swore to Saint Camulos required him to stand and fight, he turned his back on the fighting and instead carried me to safety. But as he explained to me later, what good is fighting if what you are fighting for is lost?”

Deep stuff. Anyway, Grave Mercy is how I've come to expect all these paranormal/fantasy/whatnot young adult novels to be. Now authors are trying to throw in kickass heroines and swoon-worthy males at an alarming frequency, and I don't think I like it. But you could definitely do worse than this book. Thus, 3 stars.

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Review: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Book: Shadow and Bone
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Series: The Grisha Trilogy
Publication Date: June 5th, 2012
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Pages: 358
My rating: 4 Stars

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart.

"The problem with wanting," he whispered, his mouth trailing along my jaw until it hovered over my lips, "is that it makes us weak."

After seeing raving reviews about this book pop up all over GR, I finally felt peer pressured enough to read it. I must say, I was hooked. From the first page, I got sucked into the beautiful world that Bardugo creates, and I think that's what sets this novel apart from many. The world of the Grisha is mysterious and appropriately dark, with exotic tones that come from a lot of thorough research done on Russian customs and culture. It reminded me a bit of Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone, which took place in the magical city of Prague.

Alina's world came alive with me in all the right ways, without the boring info dump that usually accompanies complicatedly woven universes. I found the concept of the Shadow Fold and the volcra interesting, as well as the privileged lives the Grisha lead apart from the rest of society. There are many small details that are included that wowed me. My favorite part in the story was when Alina's Tailor friend, Genya, gives her a makeover using rose petals and gold. I thought it was creative, and the idea very interesting.

While the conflict between light and dark is nothing new, nobody has written about it the way Bardugo does. The skills of the Grisha which set them apart from everyone else yet endanger them, and the threatening extinction of their kind, are fascinating, though not completely original.

One of my favorite aspects was the love interest(s). Usually, I root for the promiscuous bad boy (which is very bad of me, I know), and not the best friend. But this time, I found myself loving Mal for his determination and his obvious concern about Alina despite everything. The Darkling was too dark and edgy for me, I think; towards the end, he did seem truly evil. There's a difference between a sexy bad boy and someone who's an actual threat to my life. However, since 90% of my Goodreads friends are psychos, they'll probably ship him and Alina. Which I totally understand, because I'm a bit of a psycho myself.

My one real problem with this book is the characterization. The world of the Grisha is spellbinding, but the characters are average. Alina is a classic orphan turned savior of the world, Mal is her sweet childhood best friend, and The Darkling...actually, The Darkling's a bit confusing, and I'll see what happens. But the thing is, I never truly felt connected with them in their troubles, and despite the colorful world that Bardugo creates, I couldn't fall in love with the characters too.

That aside, Shadow and Bone is definitely something that should be read! And now I want a kefta. Preferably in black.

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Review: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Book: Shiver
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Series: The Wolves of Mercy Falls
Publication Date: August 1st, 2009
Publisher: Scholastic Inc
My rating: 3 Stars

Grace and Sam share a kinship so close they could be lovers or siblings. But they also share a problem. When the temperature slips towards freezing, Sam reverts to his wolf identity and must retreat into the woods to protect his pack. He worries that eventually his human side will fade away and he will be left howling alone at the lonely moon. A stirring supernatural teen romance.

Actual Rating: 3.5 Stars

Shiver was a rollercoaster ride for me. Actually, it seems like Stiefvater's books all have a similar element. There were moments when I thought this was THE BEST WRITING EVER and others when I could have cared less.

This book is about a girl who is obsessed with a wolf. I went into this expecting to be a bit creeped out, and I was. But not nearly as much as I was expecting. It must have been Stiefvater's writing style or something, because I found Grace and Sam's relationship beautiful and sad.

For a brief moment I wished with all my heart that he was just a normal boy, so that I could storm away with my pride and indignation. But he wasn't. He was as fragile as a butterfly in autumn waiting to be destroyed by the first frost.

And therein lies the problem. Sam reads like a girl. An overly angsty, dramatic girl. If there's one thing about this relationship that I'm sure of, it's that Grace is the one wearing the pants. Which, if you like reading about that thing, is cool. It didn't bother me too much, although there were a couple times when I sort of thought, Come on, man. You're a man, aren't you?. Grace is much more rational and clear-headed, and that contrasts a lot with Sam's romantic personality. While I was reading their respective chapters, though, I'd sometimes forget who I was reading because they both sounded the same.

Also, what is the deal with the missing parents in Stiefvater's books? Grace's parents are always absent, and this is brought up as a problem. But then it's never mentioned again, so I was left scratching my head and wondering what happened. The world-building is also a bit questionable. All I got was that they live in a puny town and the seasons change. Um. Okay. I just didn't know enough about it for it to come alive for me like it did in Stiefvater's other book, The Scorpio Races. Besides that, the side characters were all sidelined by Grace and Sam's all-encompassing obsession with each other. Unlike The Scorpio Races, where I felt there wasn't enough of a relationship between Sean and Puck. Stiefvater really likes her opposites, doesn't she?

Now that I've railed about the stuff I didn't like, I'll talk about what I did like. The writing. I'm seriously jealous of Stievater's prose. Although the book would have been fine
if
she
hadn't
written
like
this
so
much.
Sam and Grace's relationship, at some moments, was actually extremely heartbreaking. There's no doubt that they're in love (though the origins of this love is slightly...disturbing). The part I loved most was when Sam was undergoing his final transformation into wolf.

I felt him shuddering, shuddering against me as he buried his face in my hair[...]He bowed his head and I watched his shoulders ripple and shake, watched the silent agony of the change until that one soft, awful cry, just when he lost himself.

I would be a monster if I didn't think that wasn't emotional. Also, I liked Isabel even though she was a complete jerk at some moments and joked at very inopportune moments. She lightened the atmosphere, and I appreciated the way she took Grace under her wing towards the end.

Speaking of the end...that was just so mean. Almost on par with Lauren Oliver's evil cliffhanger at the end of Delirium. I bet if I hadn't already known that Sam was going to survive (well, obviously, or else how could there be a sequel?), I would've been bawling. See, this is why authors shouldn't tell us there's a sequel until it's...published. Ha. Imagine the insanity that would transpire if authors couldn't tell us there was a sequel.

Going to get Linger from the library once I have a chance! And going to learn how to make quiche now (this is relevant to the book. Just read it.)
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Review: Timepiece by Myra McEntire

Book: Timepiece
Series: Hourglass
Author: Myra McEntire
Release Date: June 12th 2012
Publisher: Egmont USA
Source: NetGalley
Pages: 336
My Rating: 2 stars

My only reaction to this book: meh.

I think I couldn't enjoy this book partly because I remember next to nothing from Hourglass and didn't have the time or patience to reread it again, and partly because I didn't much care for Kaleb's character.

Too many rules. There are way too many rules about time traveling, and I couldn't keep all of them straight. For the first half of the book, I was just wondering, Who's Dune? Who's Nathan (actually, I still am not too sure who Nathan is). What's duronium? When did Michael and Em get their rings? Who the hell is Poe? Too many characters, too much going on. Too much of everything, with the exception of an engaging plot. It's a cheap trick, I'm starting to think, to take away lives easily by changing time. It's redundant, and frankly, boring. The same problem can't keep popping up every ten pages; the point of a story is for the people to hurdle barriers and meet new ones. Also, the way McEntire tells the story wasn't particularly interesting, either. The "climax" at the end lasted about five pages, while there were about a couple hundred pages of Kaleb and Lily running around from place to place discovering new things in massive info dumps. Seriously, this is how the climax went down:

Kaleb: He has my girlfriend! I'll kill him!
Lily: Aahhh I'm scared.
Kaleb: He has my girlfriend! I can actually see it happening now! I'll kill him!
Jack: *evil laughter*
Kaleb: Ohmygod where did you come from! What do I do now!?
Lily: I was too stupid to lie before, but I am now because my boyfriend told me to!
Jack: *more evil laughter*
Teague: The answer to all your problems--me--is here!
Lily: *suddenly gets smart and strikes deal with Teague that Teague is too stupid to see through*
Kaleb: We're safe! But Em and Michael are gone :(
Em and Michael: We're here!
Everyone: Yaaaay!

If you do not have the reaction of "wtf" to my summary of the last part of this book, I beg you to explain it to me. Because I fail to understand what the big deal was, if everyone was just going to magically appear (not kidding, they really do). There is no thought-out resolution. Everyone. Just. Appears. And the cliffhanger? Come on. It's so soap opera-like that I cringed. Jack is a failure of a villain. I mean, "rotten to his core?" Come on. The explanation of why he was doing everything was rushed, so I came away going, okaaaaaaay, and I should care about this why?

Kaleb seemed to be a shortcut of explaining all the emotions of the characters so McEntire wouldn't have to actually describe them. Maybe if she'd bothered to write more according to how the others interacted with Kaleb instead of how Kaleb was feeling what they were feeling (mega-confusion, right?), I would've felt more connected to the story. I didn't like the main character of this story. Not at all. He is, of course, the reformed bad boy with a drinking problem, tats, and piercings all over the place, as well as an unhealthy libido that is what attracts him to Emerson's best friend, Lily, in the first place. He also is so full of rage and desperation that it blocks out anything interesting about him. Half the time, he's ranting about his anger and sadness, and the other half he's waxing poetic about Lily. In other words, he seems like your average teenage girl (minus the lusting after Lily thing).

Don't even get me started on their relationship. Three quarters of it was comprised of Kaleb talking about Lily's smell or how she looked. Their more emotional reasons for liking each other were painfully shallow. Just because a guy is desperate and self-destructive does not make him attractive! If I met a guy like Kaleb who tried to cop a feel when I was clearly uninterested, in addition to his constant rage over everything, I would scream and run. Really. So no points to Lily, even though she was clearly McEntire's attempt at a kickass female character. I totally rooted for her in the beginning, but when she started showing off that lacy camisole and touching Kaleb's face (lots of face-touching), I was out of there.

There's more I could say about this book, but that's it for now. I don't think I really like much about it, although I did enjoy the descriptions of the rips. I love the concept of time travel, especially when the characters go to different centuries or places, but and the series in general has none of that appeal. However, I will say that the characters aren't as stupid as some of the ones I've read. Which is why I gave the book 2 stars. I may also have been so confused by information overload and all the different places they were running to that I might not have even realized they were being stupid.

I think I've given up on this series, but that's no reason for you to! I'm sure if you've read Hourglass recently, this book will be much more enjoyable.

I do love this cover very much, despite the fact that it's very deceiving. It should show Kaleb punching through a door instead.

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Review: Angelfall by Susan Ee

Angelfall by Susan Ee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

OH. MY. GOD.
I CANNOT. EVEN. FATHOM. WHAT JUST HAPPENED.
Review to come because I put off about 3 hours of studying for this.

Edit-Rating: 4.5 Stars
This book is incredible. The very first sentence just sucks you in, and I swear I tried, but I could not untangle myself from this story. I had to finish it, and finish it I did, at the price of not getting any work done. But it was well worth it. Why?

Because Penryn is a badass, that's why! And because Raffe makes all the girls' hearts flutter.

So, let's think about what you get from this book. You get a heroine who can actually kick some serious butt and has undying loyalty that gets her in bad situations but simultaneously makes her endearing and not whiny. In addition, she is not willing to sacrifice her strange family even for some hot stranger with wings (Hush, Hush, anyone?). You get a dreamy guy who is all suaveness and charm but gets some serious hurt throughout the story instead of somehow being untouchable. Also, he doesn't sound like some blathering romantic and actually is not emasculated by his time near possible love interest (*cough* Daniel Grigori *cough*). And you get a plot that leaves you reeling and basically sobbing for the next book.

A bonus? There are flesh eating creatures and some Mengele-esque experiments.

I think I've already given away too much, but it's safe to see here that this story is definitely original. Susan Ee knows what she's talking about, and she's not afraid of writing it. While I recommend this for slightly more mature young adult audiences, I think that everyone would get a kick out of this book. This is the first book in months in which I have actually been emotionally invested in, and that's a bad sign about the publishing industry, if they're publishing books like Fallen over jewels like this one. While I would have liked a bit more world building, like why Gabriel was flying around in the sky in the first place, that definitely didn't affect the pace with which I devoured this book. I seriously devoured it. I put my iPod in my bathroom, and after I finished showering, I stayed in the bathroom for an hour reading.

Engrossing. If you're looking for action, stop here. Right now, I believe this is the best post-apocalyptic book out of 2011 because of the amazing job Susan Ee has done with her characters and her plot. All of her characters have weaknesses and distinguishing points, with the exception of Obi, who I was little iffy about. The love relationship develops slowly and subtly, in a way that's believable. And I loved the voice that Ee gave to Penryn. She doesn't wax poetry or complain shallowly (Juliette from SHATTER ME and almost all other heroines), and her voice comes as painfully sincere. A teenager thrust into the boots of a grown-up who is taking the responsibility but holding on to who she is the way she knows how. The fact is that nobody in this book is perfect, and that's definitely a change from the usual la-la-la the world is blowing up around me but nothing's my fault trend.

This is also the best book about angels I've read so far. Daniel Grigori, Patch Cipriano, and the Churches can all burn in a bloody hellfire as far as I'm concerned. Ee did her research. She definitely didn't mess up with the Grigori and the archangels. Somehow, she has spun it to a darker angle than most would be used to. The end definitely made me clutch my chest. I had no idea what would happen to the characters, and I zoomed through the last 100 pages because I couldn't bear not knowing what would happen to everyone. It threw me for a loop, but the book did end on a hopeful note that closed it off but had me banging my head when I realized that I don't know when the sequel is out.

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