The Golem and the Jinni (TLC Blog Tour)

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
Grade: 4 stars out of 5
Published: April 23, 2013; Harper / hardcover
FTC: ARC provided by publishers for tour

"In The Golem and the Jinni, a chance meeting between mythical beings takes readers on a dazzling journey through cultures in turn-of-the-century New York.

Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life to by a disgraced rabbi who dabbles in dark Kabbalistic magic and dies at sea on the voyage from Poland. Chava is unmoored and adrift as the ship arrives in New York harbor in 1899.

Ahmad is a jinni, a being of fire born in the ancient Syrian desert, trapped in an old copper flask, and released in New York City, though still not entirely free

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Ahmad and Chava become unlikely friends and soul mates with a mystical connection. Marvelous and compulsively readable, Helene Wecker's debut novel The Golem and the Jinni weaves strands of Yiddish and Middle Eastern literature, historical fiction and magical fable, into a wondrously inventive and unforgettable tale."

Helene Wecker built a fantastic world in The Golem and the Jinni. In the beginning of the novel, the onslaught of characters was overwhelming. The story does not truly revolve around the golem or the jinni, but rather the communities in which they dwell in. Imagine their tale to be a ball of yarn and slowly it unravels. At the end, all the characters that were introduced, that was originally thought to be irrelevant, were all tied together. Quite honestly, the first half of the novel barely caught my attention, but the last half was a whirlwind of emotions--grief, anger, and finally satisfaction.

Wecker did a wonderful job writing the different lives: Sophia (the wealthy heiress), Saleh (the blind doctor turned ice cream maker), Arbeely (the tinsman), Anna (the charismatic baker), Michael (an atheist and a Rabbi's nephew), Schaalman (an intelligent evil trapped wizard). Somehow or another, Wecker managed to combine this motley crew with the golem and the jinni to create this tale. The golem,named Chava by her guardian Rabbi, was given curiosity  intelligence, and properness, but her growth, given those few traits, was expotential. She is a strong heroine, literally and figuratively, but has weak moments of insecurity. The jinni, named Ahmad by Arbeely, was someone who was difficult to sympathized in the start. He was pompous with a full ego, a frivelous attitute towards women, but had moments like Chava of insecuity and homesickness, that was touching. I grew to empathize Ahmad. Chava and Ahmad's character grew to become someone with human qualities despite being made from earth and fire, respectively. In the end, I enjoyed reading all the characters for not one was truly evil. Wecker added depth to her characters and their tale.

I would recommend The Golem and the Jinni to those who enjoy reading character driven plots. It was slow build to the climax, and the climax was worth it.

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Visit Helene: website / twitter / facebook

 

Helene Wecker grew up in Libertyville, Illinois, a small town north of Chicago, and received her Bachelor’s in English from Carleton College in Minnesota. After graduating, she worked a number of marketing and communications jobs in Minneapolis and Seattle before deciding to return to her first love, fiction writing. Accordingly, she moved to New York to pursue a Master’s in fiction at Columbia University.

She now lives near San Francisco with her husband and daughter. Her first novel, THE GOLEM AND THE JINNI, will be published in April 2013 by HarperCollins.

The Dark Heroine Blog Tour Review

The Dark Heroine by Abigail Gibbs
Grade: 1.5 stars out of 5
Published: March 5, 2013; trade paperback; William Morrow
FTC: ARC was provided by publisher for blog tour

Oh how I wanted to love this novel. My favorite genre is paranormal romance, and this was up my alley. The synopses was something that I wold pick up in a heartbeat, but as I've learned, the synopses does not always agree with the book. 

When Violet Lee witnesses a killing in front of her, she is taken captive by none other than Kaspar Varn, heir to the throne of a vampire kingdom. Together, Violet and Kaspar will succumb to fate and their passion.

Smack dab on the cover of The Dark Heroine, it is claimed that this is “The Sexist Romance You’ll Read This Year”. Quite honestly, you might say this is indeed sexy; it is full of kisses, sex, rape, and don’t forget the orgies. Vampires, however, don’t seem consider the time and place for most of these actions though. Just a fair warning, all of that does occur. The book was not graphic though, but there are many cusses.

I do enjoy Gibbs’s world building. Her idea of multiple dimensions and parallel connections and a prophecy of nine women tying them all together were intriguing. It is something a little different from the other paranormal romances I’ve read. I also appreciate her slow introduction into the world; there’s nothing more boring than reading pages and pages of information just thrown in your face. The Dark Heroine, however, has only covered 1 dimension in which the vampires reside. The sequel will cover where the magicians reside, so it is a slow world building, but definitely more gratifying than word vomiting.

The pacing to The Dark Heroine was awkward and clunky. The shifts between politics and romance were abrupt. In one chapter there’s talk about going into war and fighting hunters, the next chapter some vampire guy is hitting on Violet and asking her to a dance/ball. What?

Anyhow. Violet Lee is not one of my favorite heroines. She’s a damsel-in-distress and constantly forgets that is a hostage that may cause a war. She’s spunky and has plenty of lip, but I find Violet so frustrating and too naïve. In a hypothetical scenario where I was held captive in a building full of people who can kill me and happily drink my blood, and my death can cause a full on war, I would not play a prank on someone who does seem to like me very much. I love sleep and all, but if it was between my life and not getting a good night’s rest, I would choose life. There is a time and place to play pranks. There is also Violet’s thinking that they should treat her better. I laugh and laugh because she is a hostage and that thought pattern eludes her. Throughout the novel, the vampires do treat her kindly, but when they threaten and are physically rough she cries. Get over it. (As a side not, Violet’s eyes are violet, but there is no real significance to her eye color so I do not quite understand why it was mentioned so often.)

Then there’s Kaspar. I have few more colorful words than jerk, a term most commonly used by Violet in describing Kaspar. (Really, is jerk all that you can come up with?) Kaspar is the typical bad boy turned good guy by the right girl. He is obnoxious, a manslut, arrogant with an ego that can fill the room, with bits (tiny bits) that show him to be gentle and caring. There are some chapters when Kaspar’s emotions are at a high that it will be in his POV which offer some insights. I wished these chapters were more frequent as many of his actions were at odds to what he says and what (he says) he feels.

The romance between Violet and Kaspar appeared to be forced. Riding on the fate track works and calling it love was contrived. I found the foundation of the romance to lean more on lust and the rest (conversations, intimate moments, commonness) hastily thrown  on top.

The side characters on average were eh. I liked some, but many were cliché. Violet’s best friend is of course beautiful and flirty. To the readers, she doesn’t sound like a very good friend. Kaspar’s best friend, Fabian, doesn’t sound quite a great friend either. And I do not, do not, understand why being rejected by a girl is a good to participate in an orgy. I would name more, but the list will get too long.

In all, I would most likely not read the sequel toThe Dark Heroine. While I find the world building fascinating, the characters and writing style did not click for me. I rolled my eyes and scoffed too many times for me to consider this book something I would want to read again.

On another note, The Dark Heroine is pitched for lovers of Twilight and A Discovery of Witches. I have not read A Discovery of Witches so I can vouch for that comparison, but comparing The Dark Heroine to Twilight is pushing it.

Visit the author's Wattpad page, Facebook page, or the Facebook group for Dinner With a Vampire 

-or-

follow the tour

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 :)

Secrets of a First Daughter

Secrets of a First Daughter by Cassidy Calloway

Grade: 3 stars out of 5

I enjoyed the prequel; the sequel didn’t wow me as much.

Being the president’s daughter is hard enough, but dating your bodyguard in secret is just as hard.

I appreciate the author’s focus of having Morgan act like a typical teenage with typical teenage (just on a bigger scale). That being said some of her antics are outlandish and frankly unbelievable. I found the secondary characters under developed, though still fun, and simplistic. The conniving school rival had just one emotion, and while the solution to “getting back at her” was ingenious it didn’t have enough oomph.

What redeemed Confessions of a First Daughter was the sparkling, budding romance between Morgan and Max. In Secrets of a First Daughter, there are hints, but nothing awh-worthy. I was waiting for that ear-to-ear grin. Alas it didn’t come. It did have a happy cheesy ending that made my sweet tooth content for a moment there!

Do love the code-names!

Source: personal

Cover B

Published: 2010 Sept 1

Amazon

Fallen Angel (semi-rant)

Fallen Angel by Heather Terrell

Grade: 1 star out of 5

Heaven-sent?


Ellie was never particularly good at talking to boys—or anyone other than her best friend and fellow outcast, Ruth. Then she met Michael.


Michael is handsome, charming, sweet. And totally into Ellie. It’s no wonder she is instantly drawn to him. But Michael has a secret. And he knows Ellie is hiding something, too. They’ve both discovered they have powers beyond their imagining. Powers that are otherworldly.


Ellie and Michael are determined to uncover what they are, and how they got this way . . . together. But the truth has repercussions neither could have imagined. Soon they find themselves center stage in an ancient conflict that threatens to destroy everything they love. And it is no longer clear whether Ellie and Michael will choose the same side.

To sum up my opinion on Fallen Angel: did not like; will not touch sequel; probably won’t read any paranormal books by Terrell.

Novels like Fallen Angel make me dislike the paranormal genre. What once was so original has become this washed-out cliché garbled mess. Try as I might, I can’t completely shy away from fantastical elements. They are what take me to a new place and yet I seem to be going to the same place over and over again with overly hyped “pretty cover” books.

The love connection between Michael and Ellie was strenuous at best with no backbone to the story. Or maybe it had a backbone like a jellyfish. Either way I didn’t buy the little melodramatic tête-à-tête.

A big detail that sets Fallen Angel apart from other “angel” books is that whenever they kiss Michael and Elli always have to suck on each other’s blood. It’s an addiction. A really sick, why!?, addiction. An addiction that I wasn’t too fond of because there’s nothing more fun then reading about two people  tongue wrestling and slurping down each other’s blood. A little pain with pleasure please. Everyone’s a masochist. Or would it be a sadist?

Of course Michael and Ellie believe they’re vampires because they drink blood (and can see things when they do), have really sharp teeth, and can fly. When really the title is “Fallen Angels” so it’s sort of a WTF moment. The title is ONE BIG spoiler that readers can’t avoid. Oh and the idea of them being vampires goes on for about half the book. (Or a bit more, I don’t know since I no longer have the book.) Until the parents set them straight with a tale that’s decent. I believed it. I didn’t believe what Ellie does after it.

The rising climax was well done but the actual climax was lack luster.

Anyway I’m done. Ish.

Source: from me, myself, and I 

Cover B-

Published: 2011, January 1

Amazon

Desires of the Dead

Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting

Grade: 3 stars out of 5

Violet Ambrose has the ability to find dead bodies through their echoes. She can also find the ones who killed by their imprints. This may be a “cool” trick for some people to talk about, Violet doesn’t think so. But her ability has attracted the FBI and her bestfriend turned boyfriend has attracted a rival for Violet that wants her gone.

Having read the prequel, The Body Finder and was less than amazed, I went in reading Desires of the Dead with a held breath. I came out. Here’s the thing, Desires of the Dead does not impress at all if you were to focus of the thriller/mystery genre. By page 60 I already figured out who the supposed “killer” and the one who wanted Jay all to herself was. It wasn’t hard frankly speaking. As a coming-of-age and romance novel, it fairs much better.

Jay and Violet really connect to each other, but it’s almost too sweet. Yet I seem to have a sweet tooth and find myself with a smile cheesy grin on my face. They’re adorable together, what can I say.

Back to the crime thriller aspect of the novel: there’s a small twist that isn’t so obvious with puts very contemporary issue of the forefront. Not the killing part I mean. The FBI shtick was only an introduction it seemed. There are plenty of open-ended questions and new characters that need more developing for me to get a grasp of.

Desires of the Dead sets the tone for a chapter with Violet.

Source: unsolicited ARC from HarperTeen

Cover D

still don't understand the concept of these flowers being on the cover

Published: 2011 March 1; hardback

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

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

Amazon / Indie Bound / Book Depository

T2T Tour: The Ivy

The Ivy by Lauren Kunze and Rina Onur

Source: ARC from Greenwillow

Grade: 2 stars out of 5

Callie finally made it to Harvard, but making it is just one step of the battle. She may have won the battle to get into Harvard, but there’s still a war.

The Ivy stood out as a novel for its perfect timing just days before or after school started. Some part of the brain wonders the ‘what if’ question: what if I made it to an Ivy League school? And if The Ivy by Lauren Kunze and Rina Onur is a reflection of that ‘what if’ I can safely, or at least half of me, say that I am happily enough not to attend.

Ever wonder what happens beyond those gates, doors, and buildings? The answer: booze, sex, and drugs. Oh and a little killer envy and backstabbing gossip. The Ivy reads more like a MTV reality TV show than an intellectual entertainment novel. It’s like watching a lion kill its prey in real life: fascinating and dangerous to your health. I was surely fascinated with The Ivy the first several pages and the first couple of chapters then I slowly realized this was it: a drama-filled, neurotic novel that leaves you wondering if it stepped over boundaries.

A likes B, but B is in love with C, and C doesn’t know what she wants. And oh, there’s also D, E, F, and G, but they’re mostly there for the good booze and fun sex. You kind of wonder throughout the whole novel if they use condoms or talk about STD testing because of how frequent these people do the deed then you realize it is a major buzz-kill and all the characters are fictional so you just go with the flow. (How come Callie doesn’t have sex with ____ but does with ___ and calls it “bliss”!? It doesn’t connect in my head!)

The Ivy is a battle ground rather than a school where it’s clawing your way to the top of the social hierarchy. This is the in-between session of the “Gossip Girls” crew going to college; bring out those claws baby. But Kunze and Onur throw in a couple ginormous multi-syllable words that will you scratching your heads and a few stress filled scenes as Callie decides her classes and extracurricular activities. They also include family emails, school papers, and quick little paragraphs debriefing Harvard homework. On a side note, one of the roommates/side characters speaks French 90% of the time. Seeing as how I do not speak French and am too lazy to look the words up I cannot tell if it’s correct.

And now I am leaving with a few messages:

• !@#%%$# ← gets annoying
• WHERE’S THE FREAKING THIRD BALL!?
• All the characters I like do not get a spotlight ever. Makes me sad.

The caption for the book reads: Get in or Get Over it. Does that mean I'm over the series whereas others will get in and stay in?

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Lauren Kunze and Rina Onur are graduates of Harvard University, where they were roommates for four years.

This review is part of Traveling to Teens tours.

Firelight

Firelight by Sophie Jordan

Source: ARC from Carol (Bookluver Carol)

Grade: 2 stars out of 5

Jacinda is the first fire-breathing draki to be born in the pride over the past couple generations. Because of this, the pride is determined to keep this trait alive within the community and Jacinda becomes nothing more than a “thing”—a breeder. But her mother wants nothing to do with that and so she secretly escapes Jacinda and her twin sister Tamra out of the community in the mountains. They escape to a desert town where the scorching heat is slowly killing the inner dragon…something that her mother and sister want, both of whom cannot manifest into draki.

In a new school Jacinda comes face to face with Will, a draki hunter who had almost captured her once. Something about Will makes Jacinda’s true form come out, something that is attributed to a strong sense of emotions: anger, fear…and passion. But Jacinda should not only keep her guard up with Will because her family is also being hunted by the pride.

While Jacinda is a fire-breather there was nothing intense or smoldering about Firelight for me. If fact I find entire novel lukewarm, slowly getting colder and colder. But dang, I wanted to love this book! This was a novel that I've been waiting and dying to read for months now with a summary that commanded to be devoured.

There are various things, however, that I found disappointing about the novel:

1. Jacinda, Will, and almost all the characters in the novel: everyone is alarmingly flat. There seemed to be one or two thought processes behind each character. For Jacinda it is about rejoining the pride or at least letting her draki survive. It is about battling her desire to stretch her wings or doing what is best for the family. Jacinda takes 3 steps back, 5 steps forward, 18 steps back, 1 step forward, does a little hokey pokey and throws her hands up. In the end her major decision she was supposed to face is decided for her.

Will, Will, Will. Will can fade into the wall for all I noticed. His presence is a dim light only fortified when Jacinda starts whining. Nothing about him really leaps at me.

There were also too names that served no purpose. Unless they play a role bigger than a ‘Hi’, ‘Bye’ or random date I prefer not to memorize so many names.

2. This is a scene from the book. It is not spoilish enough to ruin the plot, but if you hate spoilers of ANY kind then you can skip this (in fact highlight it if you're curious): Jacinda gets bullied and jumped and what does her sister do? Throw a fit.

I understand that living in your sister’s shadow can piss you off, but when your sister gets punched and kicked by a group of jealous girls in the bathroom you are more angry that you did not make the cheerleading squad than your sister getting hurt!? And maybe the argument is that it is your sister’s fault because she liked somebody and that somebody liked her back, but that somebody is supposedly “claimed” by this girl who has a big say if you make the squad or not. There is always next year to try out sister!

Perhaps if Tamra had been more developed with more time to shine rather than ‘I hate you’ and ‘You’re my sister, I love you’ I can be slightly more sympathetic to her, but right now I find her extremely childish.

3. I need more background information about the draki and the hunters. How much does the draki communities interact with the human world? If a draki’s ability to shift into humans is survival technique how did hunters first find them and how does the rest of the world not know? How is each different draki’s ability passed down? Sure isn’t heredity it seems.

4. The ending: cliff hangers piss me off, but sometimes it is necessary when it comes to series. This ending felt more like someone hacked it off a manuscript. Just saying.

I like a few of the characters, but they played secondary roles. I like some scenes in Firelight, but there was no strong emotional outburst from me. I think the cover is gorgeous. Stunning! But what good does that do for the novel?

Cover A-

Firelight is out now: Amazon / Indie Bound / Book Depository

Love Sucks

Love Sucks by Melissa Francis

Source: HarperTeen

Grade: 4 stars out of 5

Love Sucks is the sequel to Bite Me, a novel that I called "Awh!". Well if that was awh I'm calling Love Sucks "Sexy!" AJ's mother is pregnant by Ryan's father with the prophesied child. Ryan just happens to be AJ's ex-boyfriend who still has a hard time stopping her feelings for him. If that's not awkward, AJ's biological dad is trying to use her to take over the world. Well more like forcing her to find him these stones, "runes", that has the potential to time travel. Thus comes in Lex, her godmother's nephew, to help AJ harness her vampire powers and protecting herself from her father's side of the family. (He's super hot, super British, and really sweet underneath.)

Helloooo dream cast! If you're looking for something fun, look no further! Love Sucks immediately takes off where Bite Me ends so it would be really helpful for the reader to pick the prequel up first. Other than that, lean back and enjoy this action packed ride with bad-kicking, forbidden loving, and tension! It starts off slow, but picks up speed quickly to the point where I could not keep my eyes from the page (and ignoring "Deal or No Deal!"). I find all the male characters irresistibly charming, even the little middle graders (really energetic and bubbly, infectious kids). No one was overly dramatic in the boo-whoo-the-world-is-out-to-get-me type of fashion. Confused on the last fight though.

Order Love Sucks! or order Bite Me!

TLC Book Tour: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwama and Bryan Mealer

Source: Harper Perennial

Grade: 4.5 stars out of 5

Stop by William's blog as well as the rest of the blog tour stops.

In a lifestyle where the amount of crop harvested accounted for everything, "The slightest problem in weather, fertilizer, or seed productivity could tip families off the edge into hunger" (79). That was the life of William Kamkwamba. Education has always been a luxury that many could not afford and because of the famine, William is one of many drop-outs. He later seeks out the library as a source to fill his crave of education--self-educating himself. This is where William first learns of windmills and is inspired to create one. It forever changed his life.

William is the boy who harnessed the wind and channeled it into electricity. He is the boy who intrigued several, captivated many, and inspired thousands. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is an emotional impacting novel that gives the readers' a taste of the harsh African life. Before the "uplifting" part came, it is a depressing and harsh reality that many only know so little about.

Having taken a course that focused several months on child soldiers in African and corrupt governments, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind brought back that time for me. Along with the heart-wrenching famine that killed thousands, still creating a horror scene with precise diction in written form, I struggled to maintain a separation from my learnings and  the novel, but it was hard. In my mind, not only did I picture the arid land and skeleton framed beings struggling about, but splashes of red lined the picture. Blood, anger splotches at the corrupt government.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind commands attention and sucks the reader in, compelling a one-sitting read. It has a narration of a great storyteller: captivating the audience, installing a sense of fear, creating tension, an emotional link, and ending with a grand moral and an uplifting morale. Weaved throughout the novel, there are tidbits of Kamkwamba's childhood and culture. Below is a crude diagram of the novel: the main line is the general plot, sometimes going off tangent that takes time.

In a sense The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is a memoir, just one that is written by someone else, of William Kamwamba's entire life, not just the windmill part.

One of the biggest highlights of the novel is the accompanying pictures. However I struggled a lot through the actual "windmill" building aspects. It just completely flew over my head. I also wished for a glossary at the book of the novel as a reference for many of the words.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind was extraordinary. A novel that I would suggest others to at least reach the 100th page.

Freak Magnet

Freak Magnet by Andrew Auseon

Source: Harper Teen

Grade: 3.8 stars out of 5

Have you ever lived on the edge? Where your highs reached the peaks of the mountains and your lows reached the depths of the ocean? That sums up Charlie quite nicely. Charlie's isn't what you could call the "best" customer service because his mouth gets the best of him at times—always speaking more than needed, and most of the time, more than he should. That's why when Charlie spots the most beautiful girl that he has ever seen, he just has to tell her that. Even if that means chasing her down the street and around the corner screaming at the top of his lungs "GIRL!"

Gloria should be used to this after all she's just a magnet for strangers. Strangers who come to her and hand her random things or just saying the oddest things. She likes to call them freaks. And Charlie is the next freak drawn to this magnet.

But things aren't as they appear. Charlie loves astronomy as a means of escaping reality. A reality where his mother has been diagnosed with Huntington's disease since he was the age of 7. And Gloria who continues to mark down her memories in poetry, cooping with her brother's death, and a mother who just does not understand her.

Freak Magnet starts out with a high: energetic, loud, in your face. Downhill it goes. The further the novel is read, the higher the peak reaches until the inevitable happens. Gravity finally takes over and things begin to fall down. This course narration reveals the depth of inner insanity. Self denial: I am fine, I am okay. But that denial crumbles with various shocks: the progression of the disease, or the meeting of Charlie. Pieces are hard to pick up—jagged, sharp pieces—that requires a careful touch. Something that only family that can pick up the first piece. Saddening, tender, and fitting so well with the general storyline, these two past and current stories brought a further depth into the tale.

Charlie and Gloria are opposites in personality and appearance. Charlie is full of life, bubbly, with too much energy that it seems as though his eyes are flickering (who also happens to wear a Superman outfit below his clothes). Gloria is solemn, preferring to live her life in her brother's old car, surrounding herself in dirt and her duvet. Opposites attract they always say. Watching these two, their antics bring a grin from the readers' face. However I feel as though Charlie carries the weight of their relationship/friendship.

As I said the lows were ocean low. Toward the end I felt Charlie extremely unlikable, but a part of me understood his actions. There was also the case for the ending itself. Imagine just gazing at the setting sun, perfect. What about tomorrow though? Where will they be? Can they last? What about the families?

Freak Magnet makes me want to Auseon's other novels now.

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You can order Freak Magnet now.

Blog Tour: The Fixer Upper

The Fixer Upper by Mary Kay Andrews

Source: Harper for TLC book tours

Grade: 3.5 stars out of 5

Dempsey Killebrew has no other choice but to move to Guthrie, Georgia when her boss is caught in a political scandal of bribing a US Congressman. Her father just inherited a house in Georgia in which he wants Dempsey to renovate to flip for profit when she gets fired from her job and her reputation in D.C. is in shambles. But the house is in need of much more than a sweep of the broom and a little Windex and Dempsey plans to tackle this project head-on with Michael Jackson on her iPod. The FBI is at her door though demanding Dempsey to help them get her boss to confess and put him firmly behind bars or else she risks getting herself in jail for 15 years with a heavy fine. And let's not forget that Guthrie is a small town where everyone knows everybody's business.

The Fixer Upper was a book that I had procrastinated on reading. I cleaned the house, read a couple of other books, reviewed plenty more and finally, grudgingly, began reading. The Fixer Upper gave off this sense of heavy, boring, full of legal and house cleaning information, but it was surprisingly easy to read and time escaped me.

The legal and political aspect of the novel were straight forward, to the point, and just enough to make the reader understand without taking up paragraph after paragraph worth of pages. The house flipping, on the other hand, was pretty hefty in terms of going in depth and filling up pages. I particularly did not mind it much because I enjoy watching DYI shows, but some readers will find themselves frustrated at the details.

The characters were a bit off putting for me especially Dempsey. It seemed to me that she had an Electra complex where she liked men who reminded her a bit of her father; particularly in the age category. It seemed to be a reoccurring theme in The Fixer Upper: older men dating younger woman. Her father marries a woman who is only 4 years older than Dempsey and Dempsey finds herself attracted to men who are about her father's age. It gets into a creepy factor when Dempsey describes men whom she finds attractive and then brings her father up. But it gets better (in a good way, not in a sarcastic way), trust me. I do find many of the characters likable and easy to relate to at times.

The Fixer Upper is ultimately a fun, great read that helps time to pass by quickly. It is dramatic and scandalous and enjoyable to read.

Find out more stops to The Fixer Upper tour here. You can find Mary Kay at her website and her twitter.

The Fixer Upper is now available in paperback.

The Reckoning (Rant)

The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong

Source: Personal

Grade: 3.8 stars out of 5

In this final installment of the New York Times’ Bestseller, The Reckoning will have its readers’ pulse racing in this rush to the finish line. Chloe, Derek, Simon, and Tori are still escaping from Edison Group and yada yada yada. Let’s get to the juicy part: they run, they get caught (of course), kick-butting ensues and happy…ending? Before we talk about the ending let’s discuss the joy ride getting there.

What I loved from the two prequels—The Summoning and The Awakening—are still there thankfully. The Reckoning was fast paced occurring in about a week’s timeslot with enough ghost, demons, and werewolf Changings to last for the next several months until I start foaming for the next book by Armstrong. The fight scenes are detailed and more are easy to follow that is until the scene has about 50 billijian people in it and everyone is trying to kill each other. But other than that, we’re good.

There are several twists in the book some make me gasp, some make me gleeful, some make me give the book the stink-eye (really though, really!?), but I’m general happy with them. Though if Armstrong would clarify and explain some aspects of the twist in the novel I’ll be SUPER-happy.

Thus draws to the conclusion, a shake-the-book conclusion because I need more! I need more answers, I need more closure, but I ultimately need a solid end to a SERIES. If it were a standalone book with some slight details taken away, heck I would have taken the ending with stride, but as a series ending it lacks so very much. Whatever happened to them?

And then I find out that Armstrong has this new series/trilogy: The Gathering (Darkness Rising #1), which just makes me tilt my head and quickly clamor up my seat to read all that I can about it. From the FAQs:

Will any of the Darkest Powers characters appear in this trilogy?

Kelley intends to join the two groups of characters, but that won’t happen until at least the last book in this trilogy.

Oh my God *pulls hair*. So Darkness Rising will feature another group of experiments by the Edison Group and will not feature Chloe or Derek until the last installment of that trilogy.

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P.S. Are Armstrong's adult paranormal series any good? I need more of her books (as a poor substitution of me already missing Derek and Chloe and the gang).

TLC Blog Tour: The Truth About Delilah Blue

The Truth About Delilah Blue by Tish Cohen

Source: Harper Perennial for blog tour.

Grade: 3.5 stars out of 5

Delilah Blue Lovett has always been a bit of an outsider, ever since her father moved her from Toronto to L.A. when she was eight, claiming Delilah's mother no longer wanted to be part of their family. Twenty now and broke, but determined to be an artist like her errant mom, Delilah attends art class for free--by modeling nude at the front of the room, a decision that lifts the veil from her once insular world. While she struggles to find her talent, her father, her only real companion, is beginning to exhibit telltale signs of early-onset Alzheimer's. And her mother, who Delilah always assumed had selfishly abandons them, is about to reappear with a young daughter in tow...and a secret that will change everything. Delilah no longer knows which parent to trust--the only one she can rely on is the most broken person of all: herself.--from the back of the book

With an emotional immature mother and a father who will do everything for his little girl, The Truth About Delilah will wreck havoc on a reader's immediate response on responsibility. They made side with the mother who has been hunting for her daughter for years with milk cartoon ads, news shows, and websites or the father who believes that an environment of artistically lazy-bums living off a wealthy trust fund a.k.a. smokers, druggies, and just lazy-bums is not good for a child growing up. My heart goes out to the father who has early signs of Alzheimer's who has been through thick and thin for his daughter some might say that taking her away from a mother may offset that good attribute.

Then there's Delilah who cast in a whirlwind of lies and confusion. She inspires to become a famous artist yet lacks the proper training and sense of center. A reflection of her family life. Delilah makes the perfect character to be dissected and reconstructed in both words and in painting.

While The Truth About Delilah Blue makes this reader giddy with the psychological impact, the time sequences and warping loses my focus. The prologue of third person to second person point of view left things off shaky start from the start that took several pages in to confirm my initial assumption and understanding. I also wanted more of the background information of the father and mother instead of assuming once again what had occurred. The ending, as well, leaves a dramatic finesse but lacks clarity and finality.

Head on over to the TLC website from the other stops in the tour.

The Vinyl Princess

The Vinyl Princess by Yvnonne Prinz

Source: Personal Bookshelf

Grade: 3 stars out of 5

The Vinyl Princess—I just can’t help but roll that title in my mouth. The Vinyl Princess stars Allie, a sixteen year old vinyl, LP, obsessed freak. She has a typical routine going, but this summer spells not one, but two guys and a close-up with a gun, her mother’s boss roaming her house in underwear, and freshly printed copies of her own zines.

The Vinyl Princess I expected more from. I think this is partly my fault; I am not a music fan. I like music and will listen to it whenever I can turn the radio on, but I never go out of my way. This novel is all about music—shopping lists full of them. I ended up skipping an entire page because it was just one long list of bands and titles—ones that I particularly never heard of. It’s great if the reader is willing to explore all those bands, but I can honestly care less.

The romance I thought would be so much stronger. It’s not. It’s touch and go and even then it wasn’t a touch, more so a poke. But I blame Allie at times. I seem to love all the characters, but Allie is the only one whom I can’t place a finger on. The side characters, the background people, heck even the bad guys I felt more intuned with than Allie. She has a lackluster narration that is only spiced up by the people she knows. And spiced up they did.

But The Vinyl Princess’s best quality is the discussion of the ever declining importance of indie shops. Nowadays everything has gone mainstream; why carry hundreds of LPs or CDs when it can all be compacted into an mp3 player? Why buy and carry hundreds of books when all you need is an e-book reader?

Overall The Vinyl Princess is slightly predictable and bland. The deeming factors include the (not so) hidden mantra and Allie’s mother and her new boyfriend. If you adore music then this is an automatic book for you. If you’re like me who prefers convenience when it comes to music you might be on the fence for this book.

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Jellicoe Road (Ranting Rave)

[On the] Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

Source: Contest from eons ago that I forget who I won it from

Grade: 4.5 stars out of 5

I can form no words to describe what happened in Jellioce Road so GoodReads has to suffice for this:

‘"What do you want from me?" he asks. What I want from every person in my life, I want to tell him. More.

Abandoned by her mother on Jellicoe Road when she was eleven, Taylor Markham, now seventeen, is finally being confronted with her past. But as the reluctant leader of her boarding school dorm, there isn't a lot of time for introspection. And while Hannah, the closest adult Taylor has to family, has disappeared, Jonah Griggs is back in town, moody stares and all.

In this absorbing story by Melina Marchetta, nothing is as it seems and every clue leads to more questions as Taylor tries to work out the connection between her mother dumping her, Hannah finding her then and her sudden departure now, a mysterious stranger who once whispered something in her ear, a boy in her dreams, five kids who lived on Jellicoe Road eighteen years ago, and the maddening and magnetic Jonah Griggs, who knows her better than she thinks he does. If Taylor can put together the pieces of her past, she might just be able to change her future.”

I had Jellicoe Road for months to years, but I just never had the urge to pick it up. On April 3rd (according to GoodReads) I began the book with Ka-Yam as an agreed upon scientific purpose because we realized some time ago we rated almost the same books identically. I read the first few chapters and screamed hell. I was so utterly lost, so inexplicably confused, so demented to struggle through this that I didn’t care if I was snarking on someone because of my attitude I had with the book.

I am not a memorizer. I am a logistical person (I am logical in my own mind) so shoving name after name after name down my throat will only result in something bad. And with its decision to juxtapose two different storylines at the same time, it creates an even bigger mess in my mind. I just could not deal with the book and I was not going to. Instead I put Jellicoe Road down and purposely drowned it underneath my other books to diminish my guilt for not reading it. I read three to four other books between the interval on when I stopped and when I decided to unearth the book again. And Oh.My.God. I should have never stopped.

Jellicoe Road was painstakingly detailed to the point where I had the urge to create the family tree and draw red swirly things and hearts all around it. I fell in love with the characters and felt a deep connection as if they were my own family. I grieved, I cried, I rejoiced, and I loved (—every freaking minute of it even the first few chapters that I had trouble with).

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all doing direct the other way."

—Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

Before I Fall

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver (March 2nd 2010—Harper)

Grade: 3 stars out of 5

Source: B&N First Look Program

Summary: “What if you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?

Samantha Kingston has it all—looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12th should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it’s her last. The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. In fact, she re-lives the last day of her life seven times, until she realizes that by making even the slightest changes, she may hold more power than she had ever imagined.”

Review: Before I Fall, and please don’t kill me for saying this, was an okay read. I am a not fangirl of Lauren Oliver just yet. But seriously it’s really scary to give this book 3 stars on GoodReads when all you see is a bunch of 5s and ‘FAV’s! I’m petrified to be killed after this, but that’s what the internet is for—hiding behind a screen.

I’m not bothering to resummarizing the book in any shape or form and will get to the grit of the issues I had.

A) Because I find myself not connecting with any of the characters. When I should be balling my eyes out, pouring my heart out to Sam, or pretty much setting me off on a philosophical rant I just sat there. Um, okay, next.

B) While I found each chapter on its own very rewarding at times, together they did nothing. It plays with ‘what would you do if you knew today was your last day?’, but sometimes I feel like there was unnecessary scenes.

C) The relationships in the book? Very flat. Guy-whose-name-escapes-me and Sam together? Okay, yeah, I didn’t get that. From his perspective she is sort of randomly attacking him because she has been practically ignoring him throughout the years.

Now that’s out of the way here’s what I liked about Before I Fall:

D) The concept. So much potential, perfect setup, the possibility was endless. Top score for originality.

E) The ending. Total shock, but still has that believability factor.

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I’m confused. Who does the model represent?