From This Moment On (Blog Tour)

From This Moment On by Bella Andre
Grade: 2.5 stars out of 5
Published: 5-25-13 / Harlequin MIRA / paperback
Cover C
Source: ARC provided by Media Muscles for review purposes

Synopsis:

Marcus has always been the responsible older brother, taking care of the family when their father passed away. When Marcus sees Chase and Chloe together, he realizes that maybe what he has with Jill isn't what he dreamed of. He decides to cut loose and enjoy the night. He never expected to Nico, a woman that he wasn't supposed to see or even think about the next morning.

Nicola has been under the scrutiny being a world famous artist. But the image that the tabloids has created isn't the real her. Tonight, however, Nico decides that enough is enough and tires of hiding away in her hotel. She never expected to find a man like Marcus.

Review: I will admit that I enjoyed From This Moment On more The Look of Love. There were far less inconsistencies and characters that made me want to shake them. Bella Andre seems to prefer love-at-first-sight rather than a slow build-up. This might be preferred to some readers as this keeps the plot very fast with a happy ever after in a 200+ page book.

I prefer Marcus and Nico over Chase and Chloe mostly because I struggled with Chloe's immediate actions to Chase. Nico and Marcus, however, do try to behave as though they are uncomfortable with the idea of developing a strong connection and intimacy in a short time. The continuation of their romance was more believable, and I found myself rooting for the two of them.

The struggles that Marcus faced is a situation that many could find themselves in: a child forced to become an adult after a parent's death. Nico's situation on the other hand is a little less common for most people, a pop-star that is placed in a bad spotlight and hurt by someone she once trusted. The two have very little in common (even their age-gap is a decades width), but I found their relationship promising. I enjoyed their  banter and the intensity of their heat and sparks. Again, however, I thought it moved too quickly for my taste.

There isn't a villain to the story so it was a character driven plot that spins in circle at times. The plot is very simplistic, and I fail to see why Bella Andre sees the need to introduce all the Sullivans again in this short book. Since the plot was simple, I found myself bored at times and rushed towards the end. 

In the end, I'm on the edge of Bella Andre's works. I find them okay reads, but not something I will go back and reread.

The Golden Lily

Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets—and human lives. Sydney would love to go to college, but instead, she’s been sent into hiding at a posh boarding school in Palm Springs, California–tasked with protecting Moroi princess Jill Dragomir from assassins who want to throw the Moroi court into civil war. Formerly in disgrace, Sydney is now praised for her loyalty and obedience, and held up as the model of an exemplary Alchemist. When a shocking secret threatens to tear the vampire world apart, Sydney’s loyalties are suddenly tested more than ever before. She wonders how she's supposed to strike a balance between the principles and dogmas she's been taught, and what her instincts are now telling her.

The Golden Lily (Bloodlines #2) by
Richelle Mead

Grade: 2 stars out of 5

Oh my... I love Richelle Mead. She is my favorite author, currently. I've read a little bit from each of her series, especially Vampire Academy, and I'm totally in love with her heroines and her writing style. Rose, Eugenie, and Georgina are very similar-- strong, witty, beautiful, full of biting retorts, not always thinking before speaking, etc. So, when I heard that she was going to kinda-sorta continue the Vampire Academy Universe from Sydney's POV, I was REALLY excited. I wanted to read her tell a different sort of character, because Sydney is, as Mead stated herself, the opposite of impulsive Rose. Sydney is always calculating, reserved, thinks ahead, etc. I wanted to see Mead write from out of her comfort zone.

I liked Bloodlines #1. Twas good.

The Golden Lily - kill me, but 3 months later, and I still haven't brought myself to finishing it. For a Mead book, for me, that's UNHEARD of. I think someone's dead... or in trouble. I think there's a love triangle. I don't know... AND I DON'T CARE. I even didn't feel like writing my own summary and stole it from goodreads.com.

Sydney is boring. She's perfect in every way. She's smart, she's pretty, she's skinny, she's kicking ass, she's magical (or something). At least Rose had a couple faults. Adrian (and so many people will be mad at me) is boring. More drinking, more underachieving, I want him to do more than just wallow in his pity and Sydney's hot body. Everyone else has lost their pizzaz, their uniqueness. If Richelle Mead killed them all in the next book (what is it called, Indigo Spell?), I would be like 1000000x less upset then I was at the end of Shadow Kissed, and I was INCREDIBLY sad at the end of Shadow Kissed.

I think Mead's throwing too much into here. The pairings are clear, even with the love triangles. Sydney has too many responsibilities and not enough hours in the day. And frankly, I am just not interested in any super powers she may have (duh, I haven't finished the book).

Maybe I'll crack it open the next time I want to procrastinate on my homework. And I'll come back and finish this review.

Carrier of the Mark

Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

Grade: 2 out of 5 stars

Megan Rosenberg has just moved to Ireland because of her father’s new job. Being the new girl in her school is something that she’s used to, but having hotandsexy Adam DeR¬¬ís’s attention is unusual. Megan can’t believe the rumors her new friend Caitlin says exist about the DeRíses, but Megan can’t ignore the weird events that happen whenever she’s around Adam or his twin sister Áine.

So it’s Saturday and I’m in the library, right? I’m skimming over novels in the teen section because I have time to waste before my train. I pick up books, inspect the cover, read the back, and read the author’s bio, when all of a sudden, like a freaking flood light, this book’s spine pops out at me. Lo and Behold, my first name! Cover is EXTREMELY pretty with a pretty girl in a dress (Yan’s rant on bookcovers). I read the back, and yeah it feels like it’s already been done but I don’t care, I’M EXCITED! I read the author’s bio, and as I suspected, she was raised in Ireland. I take the book home on the train and read it.

On Monday, I walk into my 9am class about 10 minutes early. My friend is already there, and I can no longer contain my rant. I slam the book on the desk and the following conversation takes place.

Fallon: “I hate this book.”

Zach: “Why?”

Fallon: “There’s this chick, and she goes to a new school for the first time and there’s this really hot guy and from across the room their eyes meet and BOOM they’re automatically in love. She doesn’t know him, but she already can’t get him out of her mind. And then he saves her life, and then share intimate moments, even though they’ve never really spoken before. Then it turns out he and his family have super powers, and so does she, because they’re loosely related or something, and then, even they’ve only been dating for about 2 weeks, they are already worried about having kids and people attacking and shit.”

At this point, many others have come into the room, and they want to know what it is I’m talking about, so I explain the pretty cover book with my name on it and how UPSET I am at how terrible it is. (Then some other girl mentions how The Hunger Games is such a good series and I should read it. That’s when I realized I was a book-hipster, as I was going to say “First chapter of Catching Fire sucked”. Good thing I didn’t.)
Anyway, I hate this book. I read a different review of how it’s exactly like Twilight, and I must agree. Lots of “Protect her despite what she thinks” and “I have to ask my boyfriend for permission to hang out with my friends”. Megan’s mother is not in the picture, she takes care of her father, Adam protects her from getting raped, his sister Áine likes her, his brother Rían doesn’t, they have special powers, etc. Then they brought in the elements and I’m like “Wow, so this is like Avatar the Last Airbender.” Then the author tried to explain it using genetics and I lost it, because then it was turning into something like Vampire Academy, especially going crazy when the use of the element of spirit was mentioned. And the entire time I was reading this, even at the end, I felt that it would be okay if they all died because I didn’t see how their powers made any impact on other humans. I WAS ACTUALLY WISHING THE CHARACTERS WOULD DIE.

Megan was bland, Adam was a tad bit too perfect, the Evil Organization was half-assed, and the ending was too unbelievable (Megan got snatched off a horse and kidnapped! LOLOLOL). It was so unrealistic, even for a paranormal romance, and not for the first time I’m wondering just how exactly how hard it should be to get published. I’ve written better lab reports than this.

I give it 2 stars because of the cover, the author’s last name*, the use of elements, the horses, and the fact that it takes place in Ireland. It’s almost too charitable. I’m glad I didn’t buy the book and I feel sorry for the person that reads it after me.

*Edited by Yan: Fallon and Fallon, heh :)

Triangles by Ellen Hopkins (Audiobook Review)

Triangles: A Novel by Ellen Hopkins

Narrated by: January LaVoy, Jan Maxwell, Janel Moloney, Michele Pawk

Grade: 2.5 stars out of 5

Length of Production (Unabridged):  8 hours and 14 minutes

Published: Simon and Schuster Audio in 2011
Source: Simon and Schuster Audio

This (audio)book is for mature readers! I will try to keep this PG-13, but things that I do think might offend somebody will be hidden(ish). 

A triangle is a three-sided polygon. There’s obtuse, acute, and, ever so perfect, equilateral triangle. My geometry teacher would be so proud knowing that I remember that. Triangles, however, is a novel about 3 women dealing with life’s hiccups (or in this case, backhanded slaps). All 3 women are connected by blood and by friendship. 

Holly: tied down in her own home; she wants to escape.
Andrea: looking for a relationship like what Holly has with her husband, Jace.
Marissa: dealing a terminally ill daughter, a rebellious gay son, and a husband that’s never home (and continuously hitting up that alcohol).

Having never read any of Hopkins work, but heard the great praise I was eager to start Triangles. As I hit midway through the story I realize maybe it wasn’t for the best that Triangles was my first Hopkins novel.

First off with the audiobook you lose her style of writing. Her verse prose comes across as regular paragraph writing. I’ve read sections of Triangles (from the physical book) and when it’s laid out it has more life. There are mini-breaks in-between chapters, which has two poems in one: one where you can read left to right from up to down; and there’s this single phrase from the title straight down on the left-hand side that is beautiful. With the audiobook you can’t experience the different ways how Hopkins chose to write Triangles  you can’t see the creativity and the work that was put in. You can only listen.

Secondly, with the voice narration I had trouble finding a definite distinction between Marissa and Holly. I went by context as to who was who rather than just listening and immediately knowing. With Andrea’s narrator, she didn’t change her tone often enough for me. She sounded indifferent and slightly exasperated (with a whiny pitch) throughout most of the CDs and by the words coming out her mouth, I expected something else. The narration for the inbetween sections that try to connect the different character chapters (but it’s not really needed) I thought was the best. It gave me the right tone with a loud voice.

Overall I didn’t have much trouble with the audiobook. Every word came out crystal clear, no static, no murmuring.

My third problem with Triangles was the characters. Will you find these girls and guys in real life? Probably. Will you want to immediately punch most of them in the face once they tell you their story? I would.

Holly is my least favorite character out of all 3. In fact she’s the only character whom I really hated. Let’s play pretend:

If you and your partner were having issues in the bed since nothing is doing it for you, would you:

1. communicate and try to spice things up
2. you know what you like so just finish it off by yourself, hint hint
3. start writing erotica, join a critique group, have sex with 2 of the 4 (5?) people in your critique group. Eventually end up having a foursome with your NOT husband in public. <--small spoiler so highlight to read.

If you say 3, congratulations you are a Holly and you officially suck. (And by suck I mean that in the most nonsexual connotation.)

But seriously it’s like me doing badly on an exam. Instead of getting a tutor or talking to the teacher for help, I run away from home and join a circus for the rest of my life. Jumping the gun aren’t we?

Holly’s sections are the most sexually explicit scenes. She has sexapades and experimentations that are not made from public reading (or listening), which is why I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone under the age of 18. (Even then I wonder how young are the kids when they are mature to read about sex. It seems as though there’s plenty of teenage pregnancies.) Here’s a snippet of what I’m talking about: (sexual, so highlight to read)

‘“Now that you’re wet, I’m going to do something I’ve always wanted to.” He slips one finger inside me. Two. Three. At four, the pressure becomes terrific. But when I squirm, he gives my arms a warning tug. “No. Hold still.”


 I do and he works his entire hand into that narrow place. And, over the flashing silver pain, I shudder orgasm. “That’s my girl.”’

Holly was the most difficult to like because quite frankly I just wanted to hit her. Did she try to communicate to anyone? No. Hardly anyone in Triangles tried to talk to other people to help with their problems and eventually it became this giant ball of yarn: entangled and never-ending. Victims do not have to stay as victims. Am I encouraging people to who have been cheated on to have revenge sex with someone else? Of course not, but there other ways to get your point across.

I found Holly to be one-dimensional. She is this 'itch whose actions reflect that. Sure there are one and two scenes with her children, but it's far and few with nothing fleshed out as if it's a passerby comment.

Andrea and Marissa are not the strongest characters I’ve come across. Andrea has an unfortunate string of bad luck with men, but her life isn’t disastrously horrible. For me, it was Marissa’s story that stole the limelight. It was powerful, raw, and something you worry about in the future. Shelby is the angel in her eye, but at age 4 she doesn’t have much longer to live. It’s tragic. Your emotions cannot help but pour out. On top of that, she’s dealing with a teenage gay son whose father isn’t the most accepting of his sexual preference. And he’s doing drugs. 

And a character was raped. And someone is HIV positive. And there’s a teenage pregnancy. And there are abandonment issues. And cheating. There are lots and lots of cheating with emotional and physical acts of adultery. (Revenge cheating definitely makes everything so much better.)

My fourth reason why I wasn’t a huge fan of the book: Ellen Hopkins shoves too many problems in a not-so-tiny book. Really, let’s stick a son/daughter who’s a solider in the war against Afghanistan then we’ll have everything. Eventually you wonder if this is the most ill-fortuned group of people you’ve ever read in a book. (Answer: It’s pretty darn close.) I understand that Hopkins is leading the charge of writing books outside of the comfort zone, but there is a limit. No need to hit the reader with a mallet to get your point across—life sucks, deal with it. I get it. A girl can get lost and frustrated with a book like this.

Jerry! Jerry!

The ending did nothing for me. Three of the couples needed marriage counseling or just break up. But they most likely won’t. Because no one really talks in this book. The person who Andrea ends up with came from nowhere.

Let’s end this review in a positive note. Triangles is filled with flawed characters who would make a dynamic episode of Jerry Springer. There’s enough heart wrenching scenes to make me think about my own life and what is means and what could happen. It’s a powerful tale, just not one I will be reading again.

The Catastrophic History of You & Me

The Catastrophic History of You & Me by Jess Rothenberg

Grade: 2 stars out of 5

Dying of a broken heart is just the beginning.... Welcome to forever.

BRIE'S LIFE ENDS AT SIXTEEN: Her boyfriend tells her he doesn't love her, and the news breaks her heart—literally.

But now that she's D&G (dead and gone), Brie is about to discover that love is way more complicated than she ever imagined. Back in Half Moon Bay, her family has begun to unravel. Her best friend has been keeping a secret about Jacob, the boy she loved and lost—and the truth behind his shattering betrayal. And then there's Patrick, Brie's mysterious new guide and resident Lost Soul . . . who just might hold the key to her forever after.

With Patrick's help, Brie will have to pass through the five stages of grief before she's ready to move on. But how do you begin again, when your heart is still in pieces?

Who else thought how awesome The Catastrophic History of You & Me sounded when they read the summary? Dying because of heartbreak? Wow. That’s different.

When I read the book, however, I had thought that Rothenberg would bring more details. Scientific and biological evidence of how and why Brie’s heart broke in half. Perhaps it’ll be something like from The Sky is Everywhere—a hidden heart problem that no one seemed to catch—or maybe a heart problem that has always been there, but the stress of heartbreak was the final straw. What happened was that Rothenberg introduced a new illness: BHS, Broken Heart Syndrome. Really? Really. Desk, meet head; head, prepare for pain. There are biological anomalies everywhere and I get that this is a work of fiction, but I felt robbed almost. Since I’m already amped up, let’s talk cheese.

What do you do when the MC is a girl that you do like not? Loathed at times even. Well you keep reading and hoping that you will grow to like her. There might be a string of sympathy, or empathy, that sets off a domino effect with a final hit of ‘wow, I wish I knew that girl’. But no, The Catastrophic History of You & Me left me thankful that I didn’t know Brie. (I didn’t get the cheese nicknames until a third way in because I’m not a big fan of cheese so I have very limited knowledge of cheese names.)

While her best friends and her boyfriend(s) and family loved Brie, I could barely tolerate her. She was selfish: selfish actions with selfish motives that did no one any good. It was all about her, her, and oh yeah, her. Brie didn’t care that she might have ruined someone’s life: college plans, friendships, public lives, etc. Brie’s mind only seemed to consider the immediate results from an action. Any long-term effects or consequences never popped into her mind until it hit her face on. Even then I felt like she couldn’t have figured out how it all came to be.

Would I call Brie psychotic? At times, yes. Her actions were extreme: breaking car windows, pushing an oncoming bike down, tripping someone where it breaks their leg, and so forth. Heartaches hurt. It sucks to be dumped and it sucks even more when you are lied to. But to assume only makes an ‘ass’ out of ‘u’ and ‘me’. And Brie did was assume the worst. I think being dramatic makes life more fun, but I would not to be her friend just in case she might stab me in the back (literally and figuratively).

While we’re talking bad things let’s continue on about the big reveal in the end. Everyone gets a HEA (happy ever after), but the build up to the HEA was clunky. A little foreshadowing here and there (but it’s pretty much the same scene each time) then BANG. I had a little trouble swallowing it—just a little—especially with the great emotion upheaval that makes me want to puke. We’re soul mates even though just a couple chapters ago I professed that my greatest love broke my heart and killed me so I should now try to kill him because “If I couldn’t have him, nobody could” (ARC 173). L-O-L. Freaking LOL. You’re 15 going on 16 going to jail if you were still alive. This was her first boyfriend.

I couldn’t connect to the love interests. They seemed more like good friends.

I didn’t understand her father’s infidelity. Maybe it’s because The Catastrophic History of You & Me is told through 1st POV and Brie is not the most astute character.

I couldn’t wrap my head around the mechanics of Heaven and being dead. (If there are extras to the novel, I hope they would include a couple of chapters from the D&G handbook.)



I did, however, like the dog. He rocked.

I liked the other characters that were dead. They had personalities.

Brie was not the only thing about The Catastrophic History of You & Me that has a connection to cheese; the entire novel was cheesy in the end.

Cover B-

Source: LibraryThing ER

Published: 2012, February 21; hardcover

Read more reviews:

YA Bliss's REVIEW

Sophistikated Reviews's REVIEW

Between the Sea and the Sky

Between the Sea and the Sky by Jaclyn Dolamore

Grade: 2 stars out of 5

"For as long as Esmerine can remember, she has longed to join her older sister, Dosinia, as a siren--the highest calling a mermaid can have. When Dosinia runs away to the mainland, Esmerine is sent to retrieve her. Using magic to transform her tail into legs, she makes her way unsteadily to the capital city. There she comes upon a friend she hasn't seen since childhood--a dashing young man named Alandare, who belongs to a winged race of people. As Esmerine and Alandare band together to search for Dosinia, they rekindle a friendship...and ignite the emotions for a love so great, it cannot be bound by sea, land, or air." [from Amazon]

I had hoped that story would be just like the cover: breathtaking. But it wasn't.

Let me go off tangent a bit and hopefully bring this back to Between the Sea and the Sky. For class I read Free to Choose by Milton Friedman and Utopia by Thomas More and currently reading The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs. On paper it sounds terrific, but idealistic. The world has too many variables for many of their ideas to be true. What they had on paper could not and did not translate into the real world. That was how I felt about Between the Sea and the Sky.

Between the Sea and the Sky had wonderful elements that should have transformed the book from being OK to being WOW. Perhaps Dolamore should have pulled back some elements and just focused on one or two aspect of the novel: saving Dosinia and rekindling the friendship between Alandare and Esmerine.

Instead Dolamore decided to incorporate racial discrimination and the rippling effects of stereotypes into the novel. It might have added an additional layer to the novel, but it took away the character development and story development. I felt disconnected to everything.

I thought the secondary characters (such as the younger sisters, all 5 of them) were empty fillers. They brought nothing substantial to the novel and quite frankly I had to edit to number (5) three times before I managed to count them all. I only enjoyed two secondary characters: the bookstore owner who was once a mermaid and Alandare's father. She, the bookstore owner, was quirky with a fascinating history. The same with the father. He was not the most well likable character, but he was fascinating and interesting with so many nuances.

I didn't care for the relationship development between Alandare and Esmerine. I thought their childhood friendship was the best part to read having a soft affection for their shared of books, but the tension ridden sexual relationship was too quick. The leap from friends to something more to {SPOILER} marriage {END SPOILER} blew my mind. Between the Sea and the Sky clocked in at 240 pages. There was not enough pages for me to believe the transition AND the final decision that changed Esmerine's life forever AND saving Dosinia. The characters themselves were good. They had good history, solid internal conflict, and intriguing personalities.

Another aspect that I had trouble connecting to was the cause of the entire novel: Dosinia. I did not like Dosinia. I found her actions very selfish. I know that we should do what makes us happy, but we should also consider how our actions affect others. For me, I was not unhappy about her motives, but rather her inconsideration to not tell anyone. She is a daughter, a sister, and a great sister. It affects a lot of people.

All in all, I love the world Dolamore created. I love it to bits. It was imaginative, vivid, and dark at times. I'm trying to figure out if there was a moral to the story because if there were this would be a great fairy tale story. But the fatal flaw was the shortness. I couldn't connect to characters or the general story.

Cover B+/A-

Source: ARC from Bloomsbury for blog tour

Published: October 25, 2011

Order on Amazon

Falling for Hamlet

Falling for Hamlet by Michelle Ray

Grade: 2 stars out of 5

On and off again playboy/boyfriend Hamlet is the Prince of Denmark. As the daughter of the King’s advisor, Ophelia’s relationship is far from being blessed by her father, brother, and Hamlet’s mother. But they’ll make it work unless, of course, there’s a murder and murderer in the royal family.

Having read Hamlet in senior year of high school I am familiar with the original storyline. My classmates and I read the play at home, performed certain scenes in class and watch two versions of the movie. I was instantly pulled in by Falling for Hamlet by the synopsis and my love for Hamlet. I loved the character Ophelia and couldn’t wait to begin Ray’s rendition of Hamlet where Ophelia does not die. Sadly Falling for Hamlet was a difficult read for me.

I found Falling for Hamlet to be a very dull read during the first half of the book. Ray’s takes her time to situate the characters in the modern time period and redefine Ophelia’s personality. That process was mundane and stifling. It was so hard to get pass the first couple of chapters that it took two weeks for me to finally force myself to read the book, even then I will admit to skimming pages. Here’s the part where I think my love for Hamlet was Falling for Hamlet’s downfall: I know the storyline, I know where it’s heading so nothing is of great surprise, which was why I found the book boring.

When Hamlet’s madness finally kicked in I realized how much I missed his soliloquies. His soliloquies were what made the readers believe that Hamlet was on the border between sanity and insanity. In Falling for Hamlet, the readers only see what Ophelia sees. Hamlet in Falling for Hamlet doesn’t have the fluidity; his actions aren’t very clear. When the other characters fell into madness it came off more as selfish and annoying than crazed. Ray didn’t take the opportunity to develop some of the other characters as much I hoped she would. While the King was more fleshed out in the short time the readers know him, Gertrude, the Queen, was still one-dimensional.

Ophelia’s role is a subtle one and doesn’t play a huge part. When Ray decides to continue the original storyline of Hamlet, Ophelia is not present in the scenes. In my personal taste I wanted Ophelia to be in on the action and have Ray shift the storyline a bit to incorporate Ophelia while still have that signature “tragedy”.

As I mentioned the lack of fluidity of Hamlet’s actions, Ray decided to write a talk show, an interrogation and Ophelia’s retelling all at the same time. Each chapter began with the talk show then moved into the retelling and abruptly shifting into an interrogation from investigators. Too much. Scenes also become borderline ridiculous when Ray moves everything to modern times. People still fence right? For me, it was strange when Ray replaced fencing with lacrosse in the climax. Again, maybe it is a reader’s preference and Ray wanted to add something original and something of her own. Lacrosse is a dangerous sport.

Finally I have to point out the text speech Ray incorporates quite frequently in the book is annoying. I realize that books take years to be published, but I think she should have gone back in and edit those text messages. For example: “Strnge thngs r afoot @ the circle K…. Go hm. H wl need u” (Ray 90) is confusing. It took a while for me to understand whatever the heck Ophelia was trying to say. I even read the previous paragraph again, but still couldn’t decipher this code. I don’t know why Ray decided to spell out circle when it could have been abbreviated to “cir.” and then remove all the vowels in “home” to spell “hm”. At least I think that was supposed to be home. Ray does this again in another text message on page 250 with come (cm) to my confusion.

Falling for Hamlet was not for me. I’m sure there is an audience out there for this classics retelling by the other reviews are saying for this book.

Cover D-

Er. No. No, no, no, no. Awkwardly placed chair. A couple up against a wall? Micro-mini skirt? Definitely speaks Hamlet (sarcastic). 

Published: 2011, July 5; hardcover

Source: HipScout

Amazon: preorder

Instructions for a Broken Heart + Interview!

Instructions for a Broken Heart by Kim Culbertson

Grade: 2.8 stars out of 5

Jessa is a busy girl with a plan, but does that plan include a boyfriend? When boyfriend Sean cheats on Jessa, best friend Carissa is there to cheer her up. Sorta. Perhaps the trip to Italy and a cute boy will help Jessa.

In many ways I’m torn on Instructions for a Broken Heart. With its many praises and awards I’ve set the bar high for Culbertson. This is the second novel I’ve read by Culbertson and while Instructions for a Broken Heart was better than the first, it still lacked substance for me. It was still quite good with so much room for potential. Instructions for a Broken Heart could have been a favorite summer contemporary read: redemption and personal growth, bittersweet romance, and a gorgeous setting.

Instructions for a Broken Heart was too short of a novel for me for all the subjects it touched. There were too many unfinished businesses for many of the characters for me to be left satisfied. I loved the beginning and the middle and the climaxing explosive Jessa had, but I was uninspired by the ending. Coming out of it I felt that Culbertson should have left the romance alone and focused on Jessa just healing.

When I first read the synopsis for Instruction for a Broken Heart, I immediately thought of 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson. Seeing as how I never read the book (lightly skimmed then passed it on), this plot was still very new to me. I found the idea to be endearing and motivating where the best friend can uplift the main character’s mood even across the ocean. And with another best friend to help guide the main character and to explain the reasoning behind each instructions, it was to a fool-proof plan. That was until I read the book. Culbertson juggled too many things.

SPOILER: The confession of the best friend, the kiss with the teacher; the break up and hook up of Natalie (the girl who Jessa’s boyfriend cheated with); the nasty wife of the other school’s chaperone; the dashing boy who had trouble in school; the other boy who sort of hovered in the background only to come in the last minute, etc. The list goes on and on about what the novel touched on. It was too much for this little book since all these characters were so one-dimensional. I could only imagine reasons/motives/the emotional guilt each one of the side characters held, but I was never shown aside from a sentence or two. By the time I started to connect to them they were gone.

It’s so frustrating when the author has so many great ideas but then I’m not connecting. Less, in this case, is more. Sticking with just one or two problems for an almost 300 page novel and focusing on that to flesh everything out would have been better.

Cover C+/B-

Published: 2011 May 1; paperback

Source: review from Sourcebooks

Amazon

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Why did you chose Italy for the backdrop of the story instead of, say, France or England?

In my second year of teaching, I took 16 students to Italy with another teacher friend of mine.  We had an amazing trip.  I’ve always wanted to go back to Italy and when I thought about writing a book set in another country, I immediately went to my journal from Italy and started flipping through it.  Something about the colors of Italy, the light there – it’s different.  It’s transformative.  I just knew it would make the right backdrop for Jessa’s own artistic and personal awakening.

Were you part of a drama club when you were in school?

I was a big drama nerd in high school.  And I taught high school theatre for eight years. There is something about the community of a theatre group – I just love how close everyone becomes working together on weekends, after school, long evenings.  It does become a big family…often a big, dysfunctional family, but a family.  I miss it sometimes.

What's your favorite part of a play? The acting, the costumes, the mechanics of a play, etc.?

I’m a writer so the script is always really important to me.  I have to love the pacing of a play, the energy of the words.  But I also really, really liked being a director.  I directed a lot of shows those years I was teaching drama and there was something quite magical about the page to stage process…taking the words on a page and ending up with a finished, polished play at the end.  Writing a novel has a bit of the same energy – taking a thread of an idea and fleshing it out until it becomes its own entity.

And because I'm reading classics this semester, what is your favorite classic?

Classics…hmmm.  Well, I’m a big Shakespeare girl.  I absolutely love Hamlet (it always seems to make its way into my novels).  Obviously, I love A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce which is featured in Instructions for a Broken Heart.  I love his language in that book, the way his character just splays his heart out on the page and all that conflict between the “right” thing to do and what he truly wants to do as an artist.  I love that book.  

Spring is almost here! Any plans for spring cleaning or gardening?

My six year old daughter is redoing her room into the colors she wants (as opposed to what we painted it before she was born).  We’re having fun sorting through her stuff and letting her get rid of the things that she’s outgrown and make room for her “big girl” things.  I’m loving working with her on that project (even if it’s pulling on my heart a bit to bid farewell to the butter yellow walls).  

Thanks so much for having me on your blog!

Tempest Rising

Tempest Rising by Tracy Deebs

Grade: 2.5 stars out of 5

Tempest’s mother left her, her father, and her two younger brothers six years ago for the ocean. On Tempest’s seventeenth birthday, she will make the same choice: to remain on land or to live in the ocean. Because of Tempest’s seventeenth birthday, she will become a mermaid just like her mother, but unlike her mother, Tempest is vehemently against the idea. She wants to travel abroad, become an artist, be there for her father and brothers, and continue to catch the waves with her on-and-off again boyfriend, Mark. As the dark ocean calls to her and a new boy shows up, Tempest finds the decision harder than she expected especially as the lives of thousands rest of her shoulders.

Tracy Deebs likes to dance around words. Many times while I was reading I wanted to cross out some phrases because they were so unnecessary. For example, “He was in here, doing this, not because he was in the mood to play anymore than I was, but because he didn’t want to leave me alone” (289 of ARC). This pattern of writing comes up frequently:  blah blah blah not because blah blah, but because blah blah blah. Be direct, say what needs to be said. I couldn’t really enjoy the novel because this and some other glaring writing styles kept staring back at me. The other “glaring” detail I noticed was the author’s love for dashes. A majority of those dashes could have been replaced by simple commas or eliminated altogether. I dare you, to those who own a copy, to open up a random page and not find an em dash.

I had trouble sinking my teeth into Tempest’s relationships. Tempest Rising is on the borderline between “love” and “lust. More than half the time I swear it’s lust. I wanted a lot more from the novel in terms of dialogue and character connections before drooling all over each other. SPOILER [highlight to read]: when Tempest cheats on Mark, I expected Tempest to confess and live up to her mistakes. But she doesn’t and that really disgusted me. The ending really really pissed me off because it was a cop-out. I needed Tempest to face her punishment, but she gets away looking like the good guy when clearly she was just as guilty. 

The world building was vivid and nicely executed. Having read about mermaids and other sea creatures before, I’m no stranger to the underwater world.  Deebs managed to differentiate between each sea creature while still keeping intact the traits that make them “sea creatures”.

What Tempest Rising excelled in was the emotional turmoil that drove the book along. Readers can feel the angst that Tempest dealt with when deciding life’s choices. The little glimpses of the mother’s disappearance were evident in the other characters, fleshing them out instead of being just mindless secondary characters.

But don’t knock down the fight scenes. Tempest Rising had rough, hands-on fighting and wasn’t afraid to kill off some people. A little sad twist in the end.

Tempest Rising could have been a contender, but the writing style of Tracy Deebs was not for me. The nuances of the novel kept me from really enjoying what other readers seemed to love.

Cover A

Published: 2011 May 10; hardcover

Source: ARC from Walker Books for blog tour

Amazon

City of Fallen Angels: Ramblings/Ranting

The following review (well you can't really call it that) is filled with whatever thoughts popped into my  head when I furiously typed it all down. Can you tell I was a little angry/frustrated? I've left the "review" in white so to read it in all its glory, highlight the entire empty white space. Please note I really did love the Moral Instrument series. I'm just not in love with this installment at all. Some small parts were good, I'm just more vocal about the bad parts.

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Grade: 2 stars out of 5


I must say I was quite excited when Cassandra Clare announced the extension of the Mortal Instruments installment. I can assume that other fans of the TMI series were excited as well. However if City of Fallen Angels is any indication of what the other two sequels will be like I am going to pretend I never heard the news and that City of Glass was the ending. If I knew that preordering the book a month in advance just to be disappointed, I would have ordered something else from Barnes and Noble. 


My biggest issue with City of Fallen Angels was the pacing. Sometimes it just dragged like a zombie dragging its lifeless leg on the road. Other times the actions flew by so fast that I was gaping like a fish. 


The relationship that we know and love between Jace and Clary GONE! Where the heck did it go!? I did not just spent 10+ hours reading the first 3 books rooting for them only for their relationship to revert all the way back to the beginning. I thought the books would help move the relationship along, not to go backwards. I love you, but I’m not good for you. I’m only avoiding you and hurting your feelings to protect you without even discussing why I’m doing it in the first place with you and blahblahblahblah….  Whatever happened to originality, creativity, and straight forward talking things out that I loved!? 


The humor! It’s gone! Disappeared along with Jace’s logic! I can’t even focus on Simon whom what the novel was about because I’m so distraught about Jace and Clary. The connection between the two came down a dry humping in an alleyway and almost sex. Gah! No more talking about it because it’s just making me frustrated all over again.


Okay Simon. Simon, Simon, Simon. Simon was the nerdy boy who didn’t think he couldn’t really get the “girl”, but when he turned into a vampire he somehow got a lot hotter. And then girls come flocking his way. Simon ends up dating both Maia and Isabelle and lo’ and behold they find out. (How could they not!?) But there’s a happy ending of course. More on that later.


The City of Fallen Angels explores Simon’s powers and the Cain’s curse. It’s wicked and strange, but wow is it a great way to protect you from dying. But Simon needs guidance and someone to make sure he doesn’t eff things up with his newfound powers. Hello new character that somehow fits perfectly into the jigsaw puzzle that is City of Fallen Angels. He’s kind of the hot sensitive dude. The whole finding your long lost girlfriend/boyfriend and making up was too fast for me. The agency he worked for was spotty and I don't believe it was ever mentioned before. I don't understand why Clare would make new elements to the novel when the point was to tie up lose ends. 


I found the plotline to be almost cliché at times. What I wasn’t hoping to find, I found. Clare purposely leaves these gaping holes in the novel where the rest of the novels pick up. 


I miss Alex and Magnus. Not enough in the book. Need more Luke too. Was an on-and-off fan of Isabelle.

Cover C

err why did they show Clary's face? The last 3 books were faceless people and why is Clary on the cover!? She already had one so leave Simon alone in all his glory.

Published: 2011 April 5

Source: personal

Amazon

Gone

Gone by Lisa McMann

Grade: 2 stars out of 5

Janie thought she knew what her future held. And she thought she’d made her peace with it. But she can’t handle dragging Cabel down with her.


She knows he will stay with her, despite what she sees in his dreams. He’s amazing. And she’s a train wreck. Janie sees only one way to give him the life he deserves: She has to disappear. And it’s going to kill them both.


Then a stranger enters her life — and everything unravels. The future Janie once faced now has an ominous twist, and her choices are more dire than she’d ever thought possible. She alone must decide between the lesser of two evils. And time is running out....

In this last installment of the Dream Catcher Trilogy, Gone is the weakest link. Wake was one of the first books I heard of when I started blogging (eons ago), but one that stuck with me. I inhaled Wake and Fade instantaneously, preordered Gone. I waited patiently, but then the early reviews started to pop up. Some were raving, others thought Gone was mediocre, and there were those who were disappointed. Scared to be disappointed I left Gone on my bookshelf for almost a year.

It’s been months since I’ve last read Wake and Fade. I’ve read a couple hundred since the last installment, but continued to remember the simplistic, stark, raw writing style McMann had. In Gone the writing felt terse and rushed. Did my reading taste developed over time that I no longer appreciated McMann’s writing style?

The overall novel felt rushed and so full of plot holes. Her father came from out of nowhere. Cabel’s characterization was squeezed into one or two lines that did nothing, but made my opinion of him turn 180. The secondary characters seemed to have disappeared. And her mother fades in and out.

Gone was just one long angst-ridden internal monologue. With loud static. A part of me wants another installment that serves as the final book. Gone could have been that exclusive excerpt or novella that readers can choose to read.

Source: personal

Published: 2010, February 9

Amazon

The Fallen: Raziel

The Fallen: Raziel by Kristina Douglas

Grade: 2 stars out of 5

Allie Watson always has an issue with time. But now she doesn’t have to worry about it anymore. The next thing Allie knows after walking into the street is sexy, brooding man telling her that she’s dead. Allie will not take that as an answer.

The Fallen: Raziel was a very dramatic read with Biblical context. I found the novel nicely set up as the Fallens being the ferrymen of the dead and the state of being neither dead nor alive. However, while the settings were wonderfully done I have some issues with the characters.

Raziel is hardheaded and a destructive character. Down is up and I don’t know where I stand with him. He can be kind but most of the time he plays with Allie’s heart. Or perhaps Raziel doesn’t know where his own heart lies? After this last lover’s death (as Raziel lives for a very long time while his lovers eventually die) Raziel doesn’t want to suffer the heartbreak again. So instead he turns to celibacy and being cold-hearted to strangers.

Until he met Allie.

Allie is smaller than curvier than her coworkers or the women walking down the streets of NYC in their heels. Allie writes Biblical mysteries with a side job so she knows a thing or two of the Fallen’s history. It works well with the novel in a big coincidental kind of way.

I don’t quite understand the relationship between the two as they seem to really hate each other’s guts, but lust for one another just as much. The sudden shift to affection had me a bit angry at the sudden development. I later accepted it as the novel progressed, but at that moment, the book let me down so much.

I also couldn’t understand Azazel, the head of the whole group, and why he was such an ass. The action/fight scenes ended as quickly as it started. Just an explosion of carnage and blood. The entire novel had a very slow, molasses-paced, start that hardly went anywhere.

Overall I’m not sure where I stand with this series. Usually the first book in a new series sets the tone for the rest. If the rest of the series is an indication of what The Fallen: Raziel started, then I am afraid that I will no longer continue the series.

Cover D

FYI: Raziel's a blond, but his wings are kind of midnight-blue

Source: review copy from Pocket Books

Published: 2011, January 25

Jenna and Jonah's Fauxmance

Jenna and Jonah's Fauxmance by Emily Franklin and Brendan Halpin

Grade: 2 stars out of 5 [for the plot, its potential and the side-characters who were great]

Jenna aka Charlie Tracker is having a fauxmance with costar Jonah aka Fielding Withers aka Aaron Littleton. In reality they can barely stand each other. But their agents need them to fake it so ratings could stay up. But when rumors start to fly that Fielding is gay and their relationship is a lie, Charlie and Aaron hide away.

I am so freaking happy that Fielding is not his real name. No offense to any Fielding's (first names) of course. Anyway onto the novel.

Jenna and Jonah's Fauxmance sounds quite adorable, but in reality the two fight so much and practice their scripts/fake life/how they should act that it's not adorable. They're both quite the blockheads and the novel drags. I kept hoping in the end that the pace would pick up and the story would lighten up. Um, not so much. I gritted my teeth and held on just hoping and hoping. 

The novel is quite repetitive and I felt the same scenario being played over and over again. On and on, back and forth Charlie and Aaron bicker, piss at each other, fake romance for the cameras, and then make up...sorta. I didn't see much character development and got a little annoyed with both. If this were to be a movie I would be the person in the back of the theater screaming "shut up and get on with it!". 

As I don't have much positive things to say about Jenna and Jonah's Fauxmance I'll be the one to shut up now.

Source: Walker Books

Cover B

Published: 2011 February 1; paperback and hardcover

Amazon

So Much Closer by Susane Colasanti

So Much Closer by Susane Colasanti

Grade: 2.8 stars out of 5

Colasanti works has a way that fills me up with great expectations and jittery happy feelings and then just pops that balloon. Sometimes it deflates slowly, other time it’s a sudden pop. So Much Closer was a deflated slowly. The first book I read by Colasanti, I enjoyed it, but didn’t love it. The second okay was cringe-worthy. The third, So Much Closer, was eh. Ehs are the worst because there is hardly much you can say. Book by book, I am starting to believe Colasanti’s novel are not for me.

Brooke just “Knows” that Scott is the “one” for her, but she’s scared to tell him. When she finally builds enough courage she discovers that he’s moving to New York City. Coincidentally Brooke’s father is living in New York; suddenly Brooke wants to spend more time with daddy dearest and the better schools in New York than New Jersey. So Much Closer follows Brooke to the Big Apple where it’s not the view that changed.

Brooke is a genius with an IQ higher than most but Brooke doesn’t have common sense. Coming from a girl who has been told she lacks common sense, this is huge. Brooke hauls herself to New York to follow a guy she barely knows and he barely knows her. Her wild choice to chase after him may to some be romantic, but it’s a decision I find unrealistic. If someone had told me that they followed me to a new state because they think they “love” me I would creeped out—flattered of course, but I would think they were crazy. If Brooke and Scott were, say, best friends it would be better. Yet they weren’t; they were acquaintances if barely.

I found the little outbursts by Brooke random. There is some build-up, but not enough to make sense of the emotional, dramatic talks between Brooke and her dad, Brooke and her mom, Brooke and her friends back in New Jersey. Her decision for a career path and to take school seriously was so quickly determined that it’s just a flip of the page.

When Brooke accepts a tutoring gig in a school program to help John who has dysgraphia, Colasanti introduced a character that was likable, energetic, and charismatic. I was infatuated with John because of his bubbly attitude and optimistic views. John was definitely one of very few shining points to the novel.

So Much Closer needed to be more developed. Why is Brooke both cynical and romantic? The ending leaves many unanswered questions. Where will Brooke go to college? What about her family issues? Is Candice still really pissed because Brooke chased after Scott? What happened with Scott!? Was the guy at the coffee shop just part of the growing process because if so I found it unneeded…?

Source: ARC from Viking from LibraryThing

Cover C

it fits Colasanti's other works, but something about that one shoulder sweater--those colors!--and the guy makes me twitch

Published: 3 May 2010; hardcover

Amazon

Vampire Crush

Vampire Crush by A.M. Robinson

Grade: 2.8 stars out of 5

Sophie wants to be editor in chief on her school’s newspaper. Her next assignment to prove that she’s capable involves interviewing the group of new kids to the school; a topic that strays off from her normal articles. But these teenagers are different from the rest of the school including her old childhood friend, James, who came back after his parents’ death.

Vampire Crush is what the title sounds like: it involves vampires, involves crushes; fun and flirty and not series. That being said Vampire Crush was not for me. I laughed a lot while reading the novel, but in the end I found the world building and the explanations not up to per.

Sophie doesn’t exactly have that many friends (1 and that’s a maybe) with enough acquaintances. After reading the novel you can kind of understand why. She’s not the friendliest of the bunch with enough sass, sarcasm, and underhandedness that it makes me, the reader, a bit ticked off by her.

James was hot. Well as hot as someone could be without going crazy over the description of his physical appearance. Hot as in personality wise. The baddies were odd. Most of them weren’t exactly baddies but more loners and followers. They had whimsical personalities that were a hoot to read. The family was equally weird to an extent, but just as fun to read.

Now that’s said and done, everything else was a miss. The fantastical elements were lacking definition. The whole with Sophie and Vlad and the pointy star thingy did not work for me. What happened after? How did it affect Sophie? Did Sophie really change!?

Vampire Crush does not bring anything new to the table. Aside from the funny remarks, the novel is unimpressive and lacks the fine tuning.

Cover D-

Would pass by it in a heartbeat if I saw this in a bookstore.

Source: Eleni from @lafemmereaders

Published: 1 January 2011; paperback

Amazon

You Killed Wesley Payne

You Killed Wesley Payne by Sean Beaudoin

Grade: 2.8 stars out of 5

You Killed Wesley Payne was just too much for me. While in the midst of being surrounded by Beaudoin’s originality and creativity I was lost more than once, and bored a good third of the book. After finishing the book I was a little ticked off. There’s a thin line between a great plot twist and some random bloshite* and Beaudoin tip toes his way back and forth on that line.

You Killed Wesley Payne offers readers some extras: a clique chart and index, a glossary because readers will really need this, and a few original Dalton stories. On screen this is a brilliant idea. On paper the chart is complicated, difficult to follow, with bolded text, bigger bolded text, and lines crisscrossing whichever way. The index was massive blocks of text that after two full paragraphs I gave up entirely. The glossary and extra stories I had no qualms with. Those I enjoyed immensely especially with the continuation of Dalton’s side notes and remarks.

With the actual body work of the novel the language is the first thing I picked up on. Some reviewers called it neo-noir. I have no idea what that means and will not pretend otherwise, but as I stated previously, the glossary will help out immensely. Secondly I noticed the lack of authority figures and the amount of violence and corruption there is in the book. Dystopia, anyone, within a high school setting? That’s a new one for me. Continuing through, readers find scenes dealing with relationship issues—parental, siblings, and opposite sex wise. Realistic, almost contemporary fiction? I’m a fan of contemporary. So You Killed Wesley Payne was imaginative, definitely something I haven’t particularly read, with two possible genres that I’ve enjoyed before, with a murder mystery at the forefront; what’s not to love? The answer to that question is the pace. The heavy text, the random dialogue that does not fit, and the slow crawl with no action set the book back so far.

In the end I did not enjoy You Killed Wesley Payne. There is a big audience for the creativity that You Killed Wesley Payne demonstrated, but I am not part of that audience.

*a term originated by Beaudoin

Cover C-/D+

Source: Hip Scout / Little, Brown and Company

Published: 01 February 2011

Amazon

The Fortune of Carmen Navarro

The Fortune of Carmen Navarro by Jen Byrant

Grade: 2.5 stars out of 5

The Fortune of Carmen Navarro is influenced by the musical, Carmen. Jen Byrant had a few things in mind even before writing the book of how she wanted it to turn out, slightly spoilish: “(1) Carmen would remain a fiercely independent young woman; (2) that a soldier (or a cadet at a military school) would fall in love with her; (3) that his desire for her would consume him and bring about his downfall; and (4) that their relationship would end in violence” (Byrant 228).

However despite the onslaught of drama and feministic influences The Fortune of Carmen Navarro was short of being spectacular. Told through 4 different perspectives there still remains a lack of awareness in the character’s mind or behavior. Rather than a trajectory of movement as their thoughts would ramble on and off, there just seemed to be one or two main ideas lodged in each character. The novel is of moderate length, but once you split the book between 4 different people, it makes it so much smaller. The Fortune of Carmen Navarro  needed to be more fleshed out.

Carmen is “a fiercely independent young woman” that we’re told is exotic, is beautiful and that despite dropping out of high school to work at the local Quikmart, is smart. She is ambitious. Carmen wants her name out there and her band to be in the biggest spotlight of all. But I found her highly unapproachable and unlikable. Carmen was very much, in my opinion, a difficult girl to befriend in real life: selfish, stubborn, headstrong, and so used to getting her way. Boys come and goes. Friends are very few and those few are mostly male.

Maggie is Carmen’s best friend and as close as not blood related sisters can be. It is uncommon for the secondary character to have their own role in novels, but Maggie does. Maggie wants to be a veterinarian (or as Maggie and Carmen say, an animal doctor); she’s smart, but very “plain” or so we’re told over and over again. Maggie lacks self-confidence and being around Carmen for so long can do that. Your best friend can get every guy she wants and you’re just her little brainy side-kick. Carmen is magnetic, charismatic, and a sight to behold. But still.

Ryan the cadet is just another puppy that has fallen under Carmen’s beauty and her voice. Byrant focuses solely on his shift from piqued interest to adoration to love to obsession—all in relation to Carmen. The transitions are smooth and the obsessive thoughts are spot-on. But I have so much trouble understanding why. Why does Ryan love Carmen so much even after the cold shoulder?

Will, Ryan’s close friend, is forgettable. His chapters only further showcase how Ryan is falling under the Carmen spell slowly but surely. Everything else didn’t have a point in the context of the plot.

The tension riding up to the ending was palpable. The climax was anticlimactic. All the ending proved was how much I disliked Carmen and how befuddled I was by Ryan’s actions. Was The Fortune of Carmen Navarro  a twisted coming-of-age story?

Source: Knopf

Cover: B

Published: 9 November 2010

Amazon

The Replacement

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

Grade: 2 stars out of 5

Mackie has always been different. The scent of blood makes him faint and any chance of him touching iron? Slim to near. Why? Because it might kill him. Mackie has always known that he is different.

When a classmate’s sister goes missing (surely that girl who was in the coffin was not Tate’s true sister) Mackie can’t help but be drawn in. Because he was also one of them. A replacement child after the true child was snatched away.

Okay, first things first: Is novel about faeries or zombies? My brother read this before me and claimed it is zombies, but I’ve always thought it is about faeries. Unless, of course, it is a merge of the two. Another question does anyone else have issues with Tate?

While the first question is merely an icebreaker, the second raises a lot of concerns for me. Here we’re presented with a bad-ass female lead who is a potential love interest to Mackie, our hero for the tale. Tate, for the life of me, I just couldn’t sympathize or frankly, understand her. After her sister’s kidnapping Tate gets hard—picking fights, physically fighting and dealing serious blows, and gets really close to bullying Mackie. But here’s the real kicker that baffles my mind: Mackie falls for her. Hard. This is where I scream: WHY!? One chapter it’s avoidavoidavoid because she knows Mackie’s secret and the next thing I know they’re making out on the ground. Yes I did a double take. Yes I read the scene and some of the scenes before over again just to be absolutely positive that I did not miss anything important. But no I just still did not understand. Is there perhaps a deeper inclination of why they happen to like each other? Emotional trauma links the two together because no one else seems understand? Or am I merely making a big deal out of nothing.

Another concern is how much does the town know and understand about a separate community that lives among them: the replacers and the replacement. There’s an underline tone throughout the book that there are more people who knows about the Morrigans (the faeries/zombies hybrid) that meets the eye. Speaking of which Mackie’s best friend, Roswell, is considered blessed rather than cursed like the whole town, but what does that really mean?

Okay enough of my ranting. Yovanoff does an exceptional job at world building and the written word as well. She builds from the ground up and puts in place rules, regulations, and standards that fit well. The siblinghood between Mackie and his sister broke my heart that I would love to read over and over again. The friendship of Mackie and Roswell was solid and a great highlight to take note of. When Mackie is first introduced to the world of Morrigan, it felt real. It was definitely a classic horror scene, but beautifully done.

It was just with everything else that I had issues.

Cover: A+ (OMFG I love this cover to death)

Source: ARC from RazorBill; finished copy which I acquired personally

Published: 21 September 2010 (debuted at NY Times bestseller's list! go Yobanoff*)

Amazon

*just because the book wasn't suited for my taste doesn't mean I can't be happy for a debut author and the kick-butt marketing team :)

The Boyfriend Game

The Boyfriend Game by Stephie Davis

Grade: 2.8 stars out of 5

Trisha loves soccer and when the chance arises to join the varsity squad as a freshmen comes up, she’s going to spend as much time as possible to practice. That’s where Graham comes in. Recently transferred Graham is also a huge soccer fan and player and he wants to hone his skills to beat another player on the male varsity soccer team for center right. Graham and Trisha agree on a practice schedule where soccer balls aren’t the things that moving. [that last sentence was horrible, I know.]

The Boyfriend Game is small—150 pages with big font and big spacing. It’s a predictable chick-lit, feel good teen novel that won’t impress any reader, but will definitely bring out that smile. It’s that end of the day, sink back into the chair cozy, heart warming read. There is no deep anguish or emotional drive that neither makes The Boyfriend Game memorable nor exceptional.

The Boyfriend Game is fast-paced with Trisha and Graham falling head over heels much faster than I wanted. The secondary characters provide that extra level of entertaining, but failed to do much more.
In all, this is a quick 1 hour read, or less, that uplifts the mood.

Cover B- 

Source: Personal Copy

Published: March 3, 2009 (it is no longer available via Amazon, but through third party)

The Frenzy

The Frenzy by Francesca Lia Block

Grade: 2 stars out of 5

At the age of 13, Liv experienced two changes: her first period and her first shift. After finding out her mother shot and killed a wolf, sudden rage filled Liv where she fled to the woods to seek comfort against her desire to kill her mother. Liv’s life drastically changes from then on.

Francesca Lia Block is one of those authors that I felt guilty never reading her novels. Her books won awards, recognition, and praise, but I am weary of hype now. Having received an ARC of The Frenzy for review my excuses for not a Lia Block novel ran out and it is really is a small book that I should have no trouble reading in-between classes and assignments.

The Frenzy as a whole was a large melting pot of disappointment. Lia Block has various mini-themes throughout the novel: homophobia, racism, abuse, suicide, low self-esteem, sex, etc. Issues that when dealt with correctly can expand the novel into something more yet The Frenzy was an underwhelming and underdevelopment piece of work that lacked clear direction.

One of the things that I first noticed about The Frenzy was its tendency to jump around. Trying to picture a clear timeline of certain events was like trying to swat a fly. Many paragraphs began with “Before I ____, I ____” with one of the biggest event was losing her virginity to Corey. When we’re introduced to Corey they had already “made love”, but as we are further taken into their relationship they had not yet have sex. Everything was spoken in past tense, but some scenes were spoken in the present or would it be the future?
Another issue I have was the “curse”. It is spoilery so please don’t read this paragraph if you hate spoilers. So Liv’s mother shoots a werewolf, the wife of said werewolf places a curse on her. Liv is born as a werewolf. Yet we later find out that the mother had an affair or at least a one-nighter with another guy in town, who turns out to be a werewolf. So my question is: is Liv a werewolf because of the curse or because of her true father or a combination of both? It seems as if Lia Block indecisive as to what she’s writing and just spewing this at the reader to make things more “interesting”, “dynamic”, or “tension-filled”.

Pace, the gay male in a small town who is best friends with Liv. I love his character. But by the end of the novel I fill like he’s a coat-rack that is a main prop for Liv’s excuses and I don’t understand the purpose of his character. Liv confines in him and he faces one of the many issues today, but the way he develops and ends that makes me wonder.

The ending makes me want to cover my eyes. Liv is running away from her problems and not dealing with anything and the novel ends on such a bad note. Spoilery so again, don’t read if you feel uncomfortable about it: so two teenagers, well every much adults very soon, run to New York on a motorcycle. Where do they plan to go? They’re families do not whole-heartily “approve” of their relationship and only one of them actually had original plans to go to NYC for college. NYC is far different outcry than say the woods in the town.

The Frenzy has too many components for this underdeveloped plotline that if had been taken further would have been great.

Cover: B-/C+ (It's striking and fits Liv's appearance, but lacks anything spectacular)
Source: ARC from HarperTeen

Published: October 1, 2010

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