Book Talks by The Library Lady

Blood Bound

2012-02-10T21:50:00.000-08:00

Blood Bound

by Rachel Vincent

Six years ago, Liv left her long-time boyfriend moments before he was going to propose to her because her friend, a seer, warned her of a future with him too horrible to imagine.

Now, Liv is forced to work with her ex again to find the killer of the husband of another friend from her past. Her friend has called on a childhood oath, bound with magic impossible to break, so she must do this.

She hates being with him again almost as much as she still loves him, but she has no choice, though she's not sure that she really minds.

But being the best blood tracker around means that Liv doesn't just have to worry about her ex; she also has to deal with her current employer and his very dangerous contract with her.

Just when things finally seem to work out, Liv stumbles upon an even bigger and more dangerous plot, along with a number of untold secrets.

Can she make it out alive despite the foretelling of death?

Final thoughts: I still love Rachel Vincent, but this book needs a little help. **Spoiler alert** There are a few logic problems like if the mother had "seen" her own future, her daughter's, and the future of all of her friends when she was only 12, and she had the power to manipulate it all, why wouldn't she just avoid the father in the first place? If she'd done that, she may not have had her baby (for all of 9 months before getting killed), but she'd have been alive and her friends would have been able to avoid all the dangers and pitfalls. The main characters could have lived happily ever after on their own if the seer had just changed one little point in time.**End spoiler** The switch between PoV's was annoying, as well. If it had been consistent, it would have worked. Instead, it starts out pretty regular and then suddenly just becomes Liv's story, ignoring Cam's voice altogether. There were parts that would have been great from Cam's side, but Vincent just stopped using his voice mid-way, which didn't serve the story well.

Rating: 4/5 (more of a 3.5)

Grave Dance

2012-02-10T18:38:00.000-08:00

Grave Dance

by Kalayna Price

Left feet suddenly start showing up in Fae territory. Just left feet. Nothing else. And Alex Craft is called in to try and get a read on them. Unfortunately, even though Alex can now see across multiple realities without really trying, she still can't see the memories of the dead that once wore them.

She's also dealing with magical constructs trying to kill her and the Queen of the Winter Court suddenly has become very interested in claiming all the Fae in Nekros, including (or maybe, especially) Alex herself.

The two loves of her life have suddenly reappeared in her life after disappearing for the past month, so Alex must deal with their feelings about her (love) and about each other (hate).

And on top of everything, she's attracted the attention of a very wealthy, very powerful man who wants her to open the Aetheric for him and his followers so they can touch it for themselves and get blissed out on the feeling.

Somewhere in all of that, she must also keep her old friend safe, figure out a way to keep all of her current clients, and stop accidentally creating holes to the Aetheric that are causing more than a little trouble.

Final thoughts: I read it. I finished it. But I don't remember much of it. I know it was ok as I read it, but after I put it down, I was done. I'm not sure if I'll read the next one.

Rating: 3/5

Grave Witch

2012-02-05T10:46:00.000-08:00

Grave Witch

by Kalayna Price

Alex Craft is a "magic eye" (though she hates that term). She's a private investigator who uses her grave sight power as a witch to call up the memories of the dead and get them to pass information on to the living.

She's got an important case coming up, which is good because she's completely out of cash and needs the money. The person who hired her is her younger sister who she never sees, and the dead guy is the now-dead governor who she's not supposed to be near, so it's not complicated at all, right?

Actually, it's a high-profile case that's way above her access level and the lead investigator is more than a little angry that she's interfered.

Add to that a soul-sucking curse that will kill her in days if she doesn't stop the spell-caster, repeated kidnapping attempts, a slaver who wants to sell her to the highest bidder, an attempt on her life, a father who hates her magic, and the press everywhere, and Alex has her work cut out for her.

And did I mention that Death follows her? Literally?

Final thoughts: A quick read with a lot to offer, but not the best supernatural urban-lit I've read. I understand the need to establish the magical guidelines like shielding and planes of existence, but the constant descriptions became really annoying. Over and over and over again. At least it became less descriptive over time and more of a quick mention. I wish we'd seen a few of the other characters more, but Alex was gritty, realistic, and relatable.

Rating: 3/5

Never to Sleep

2012-01-28T20:53:00.000-08:00

Never to Sleep

by Rachel Vincent

Sophie Cavanaugh has had to deal with far too much family drama. Her cousin is definitely not normal and it's hurting Sophie's social game. As she is getting ready to claim her spot as the first ever junior captain of the squad, she's suddenly faced with something completely amazing and something else completely nightmarish.

If she can survive one, maybe she can claim the other...

Unless it's all just in her imagination and she's just as crazy as her cousin seems to be.

Final thoughts: TOO SHORT! Sophie's story (a very short novella) was great and I want to read more. The fact that I have to wait until summer to read Vincent's next Soul Screamers story is torture and I'm not yet sure if this is helping to tide me over or making it worse. MORE!

Rating: 5/5

New Girl

2012-01-28T20:32:00.000-08:00

New Girl

by Paige Harbison

She's the new girl at Manderley and she only wants to fit in. Unfortunately, from the moment she walks through the doors to her new boarding school for her senior year, she's reminded constantly of HER.

Becca.

She'll never be as pretty. She'll never be as popular. And she'll never have Max, no matter how much she tries.

But Becca is gone. She's been missing since the end of the previous year. And while no one wants to believe she's dead, most don't really believe she's alive.

So the new girl must live in her shadow or fight for her right to be there.

Final thoughts: Yet another surprise retelling. I don't know why I'm not paying attention to the publisher's notes. It was when the new girl was dressing for the Halloween party when I finally put together the pieces that this was Daphne DuMaurier's Rebecca. Sometimes I feel really dense. And once again, I'm faced with a truly poor retelling. This is simply bad. If, like Rebecca, we'd only seen things from the new girl's point of view, it might have been ok, even suspenseful, but we kept slipping over to Becca's vision and that was just a mess. It got truly messy by the end of the book when the author seemed reach a point where Becca's POV just wasn't good enough and we got treated to three other people's views for just a few pages. No one in the book seems to have a reason for liking Becca. She's extremely manipulative and the two guys who seem to care at various point also seem to know exactly what she's doing. There's also far too much drinking, drugs, and casual sex. The final discovery at the end was junky and haphazard. It also doesn't bode well that even the publisher spells the name of the school differently from the author on the book's description.

Rating: 2/5

me@you.com

2012-01-16T17:17:00.000-08:00

me@you.com

by KE Payne

Imogen Summers has a great boyfriend; everyone thinks so... except Imogen herself. Recently, Immy has been thinking that there might be more than just hanging out, the occasional kissing, and the nightly walk home.

Isn't dating supposed to be exciting?

Things change when Immy finds an online site about her favorite TV show, which includes two lesbian characters as the leads. In the chat room and forums, Immy finally feels free to say what she wants and she finally feels like maybe she's not completely different than all the other people around her.

When Imogen meets a girl in the forum named Fickle, she also feels that she may finally get what everyone else is talking about when they use the word "love".

Could it be that Immy isn't the straight girl she always thought she was? Could it be that her thoughts have never been with the guys she's dated because she's never really wanted to date them?

Final thoughts: This was an OK book about coming out, both herself and to others (though never to her family, which is disappointing). However, it was a little stilted and Immy's self-discovery was awkward. There is definitely a struggle for those who are dealing with this issue, but Immy's emotions seemed strangely controlled most of the time and then extremely wild at odd times. This book is a good conversation starter for those who are trying to figure themselves out, but there are other, better books out there for LGBTQ kids. My other struggle is that this is set in England, so the English is a little different. It didn't completely detract from the book, but having to translate slang like Soz (sorry... which is used on almost every page) and words like trainer (shoes) and jumper (sweater), got a little distracting.

Rating: 3/5

Epic Fail

2012-01-06T14:44:00.000-08:00

Epic Fail

by Claire LaZebnik

Elise and the rest of the Benton clan move from Massachusetts to Los Angeles when her parents are hired at a very upscale prep school where it's actually surprising if you're NOT the child of someone famous.

Upon arriving, Elise meets Derek Edwards and is both immediately smitten and completely turned off. Her sister, Jules, falls for the super-cute, super-nice Chase, who is Derek's best friend. In order to help her shy sister date Chase, Elise must hang with Derek so they can all go out and do things together.

Derek's the hottest thing at Coral Tree Prep and knows it, but doesn't seem to care. He also doesn't seem to care about Elise, until she starts hanging out with Webster. Then, the sparks fly for more than one reason.

Can Elise keep all of her sisters on track, while falling for a guy who she can't even figure out?

Final thoughts: When I started to read this, I'd forgotten it was a modern Pride and Prejudice, but it didn't take long to figure out. It's almost a point-by-point recreation, except for the high school updates and the lack of a marriage proposal (it's a date to the semi-formal instead). It's so very obvious in so many ways. Elise Benton = Elizabeth Bennet. Derek = Darcy. Chase = Charles Bingley. Webster Grant = George Wickham. Layla = Lydia. Georgiana = Georgia. And more... It's ok, but not amazing. The characters are a little flat and Elise's parents are frustrating with their strange rules and odd timing for forgetting and enforcing those rules. This could have been much better, but it wasn't really bad, either.

Rating: 3/5

Catching Jordan

2012-01-04T22:42:00.000-08:00

Catching Jordan

by Miranda Kenneally

Jordan Woods is the star QB of the high school football team. They're on their way to way to a championship season if everyone can keep their heads and stay focused.

Of course, that becomes a bit of a problem when Ty shows up.

Ty was the QB at his school before he was forced to move to Tennessee. He's talented. He likes to be in charge. He's used to being in charge. And he's completely gorgeous.

That last one wouldn't be such a problem if Jordan weren't the first female QB with legitimate college prospects, who had also previously been completely oblivious to boys and completely focused on football.

Now Jordan has to contend with a real threat to her position on the team, a real threat to her college hopes, and a real threat to her love life.

Final thoughts: This is a mess of a book. Ty is the enemy; now he's a good guy, just misunderstood. Nope! He's a bad guy... nope, just has a past. Jordan has never even kissed a boy, is suddenly worried that some people might think she's a slut, and then immediately loses her virginity without even thinking about the consequences to her reputation. She's going through such angst that she ditches school, and football practice, multiple times, even though football is her LIFE! (or so she says). There's the constant problems with her dad, which are suddenly resolved somehow. Overall, cutesy, but not great.

Ranking: 3/5

Halflings

2011-12-19T19:42:00.000-08:00

Halflings

by Heather Burch

Nikki's lives a relatively normal life. She likes school, martial arts, motorcycles, and art; but she doesn't really seem into boys. Of course, that all changes when three of the most gorgeous boys suddenly enroll at her school and two of them develop an almost unhealthy interest in her.

This comes after she's attacked by hell hounds, but before she finds out exactly what the boys are: halflings. They are half angel, half man and all Adonis-like in appearance. One attracts her with his sensitivity and genuine affection, while the second appeals to her danger-loving and butt-kicking side.

As the halflings and their angel mentor try to find out what Nikki is and why she's being attacked by hell hounds and demons, Nikki struggles to find out what her parents are doing hanging around with a man she's never met, but who claims to have known her for years.

Mix that in with a burned out research facility full of the dead bodies of scientists working on genetic manipulation, and there's some real trouble heading Nikki's way.

Final thoughts: Maybe I've just overloaded on supernatural young adult books, but this was just awful. The writing was poor and kept skipping around like someone with a thumb jammed on the remote control. One scene would finish up and transfer to the next, only to start up mid-conversation with no real transition. Nikki is revealed early on to be a Seer, using her artwork to draw the future, but this is only used once and seems to exist only to further the plot as it is NEVER done again. It's only even mentioned once or twice from that point. By the end, there's no resolution or explanation to anything. And let's have yet another Twilight comparison, shall we? Mace is gorgeous, strong, constantly watching over Nikki (almost like a stalker), enters her house without permission, follows her, saves her life more than once, won't teach her to fight for herself, almost leaves because it would be better for her if he left (but then he changes his mind because she needs him), etc... Raven is also gorgeous, strong, doesn't feel the need to constantly watch Nikki, but is there when she needs him, he is more "dangerous" and willing to let her do dumb things, and is having problems getting along with Mace because she seems to love him more. There's a whole list of other problems, especially with the story line, plot structure, and missing information. I'm soooo not reading the next one.

Rating: 1/5

Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen

2011-12-09T10:58:00.000-08:00

Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen

by Donna Gephart

Olivia has always been the master of trivia. Terrible things await those who interrupt her Jeopardy! time on any given night. She's as good, or even better, than the adults on the show. Her only weakness is the dreaded Geography.

Each year, Jeopardy! devotes one week to kids and it's Olivia's last chance to enter before she ages out of the competition. With the help of her mother, brother, maybe-not-so-evil-almost-stepfather-Neil, and her maybe-not-so-evil-cute-boy-next-door-Tucker, Olivia hopes to train up and get on that show before it's too late.

Of course the one person she desperately wants to help her is the dad who left her family to marry her former best friend's mother and move them across the country to California. Maybe, just maybe, if she can get on to Jeopardy!, which is filmed in Culver City, CA, maybe she can finally see her dad again and get him to remember his original family.

But, even if she gets there, can she win, get oodles of cash to help her family, and maybe get her dad to remember she exists?

Final thoughts: Upper-elementary book and it shows. Officially, Olivia is 12, but seems to have the emotions of an 8-year-old and the extreme trivia knowledge of a 20-year-old who studies trivia 24/7. Her obliviousness to her dad's treatment of her and her brother is sometimes annoying, like you want to reach through the book and shake her a little while you shout, "He's a gambling addict! He cares more about the high of winning than he does about YOU! Neil is the dad you SHOULD have! Pay attention!!!!" The book ends a little suddenly and there are a few unresolved issues left hanging, which is frustrating. Children of divorced parents, especially those struggling through these tough financial times, will appreciate many of Olivia's problems and be able to relate to those.

Rating: 3/5

Hades: Lord of the Dead

2011-12-02T18:38:00.000-08:00

Hades: Lord of the Dead

by George O'Connor

According to Greek mythology, when you die, you are escorted by Hermes to the River Styx where Charon will then take you on his boat, past Cerebus, and to the other side of the river. There, you join the masses of dead and wander the Underworld forever under the watchful gaze of Hades.

Above, in the world of the living, Demeter and her daughter are struggling to get along. Kore just wants to have a little freedom from her mother's control. However, she never thought that the way should would finally escape would be when Hades himself comes to take her down to his world to be his bride.

Now Demeter, Goddess of the Harvest, is neglecting her duties as she tries to find her daughter. But, having renamed herself Persephone and having found a new identity, it's possible that the girl formerly known as Kore doesn't want to be found.

Final thoughts: O'Connor admits to taking a few liberties with the story on this one, but it's worth it. Except for a few panels where Kore/Persephone and her mother seem to be speaking in modern teen/mom talk instead of something a little older, and the switching of viewpoints from 2nd to 3rd and back again, I just don't have much to complain about. This is yet another great tale from O'Connor that makes the Greek myths accessible and extremely visual. It's one thing to read the words, but it's another to see O'Connor's amazing illustrations.

Rating: 5/5

Intertwined

2011-11-30T22:01:00.000-08:00

Intertwined

by Gena Showalter

If there is anyone who could use a few minutes by himself, it's Aden Stone. Except he's never alone. Aden has four souls living in his brain. They've been there as long as he can remember. None of them know how they got there.

Unfortunately, while the souls can speak inside Aden's mind, Aden can only communicate with them by speaking out loud and this leads to everyone physically around him thinking that he's completely insane.

It doesn't help that each of the souls has a power that can transfer to Aden when needed. One can travel through time. One raises the dead. One can predict the future. And one can possess any human with physical contact.

The future predicting soul has seen a girl who will be Aden's dream and his nightmare. He's also seen that one of the souls will be freed if the right choices are made.

So now Aden has to find the girl and make all the right choices to either save himself or destroy himself.

Final thoughts: UGH! I swear, I've almost forgotten how to use my Kindle because I've avoided it so much as I've been reading this book. I tried and tried and tried to finish this thing. Kindle says I'm at 76%. But I just can't force myself anymore. This is a mess. It starts off with Aden "accidentally" raising the dead when he wanders into a graveyard and then there is the girl he has a physical reaction to whenever she comes near, the vampire, the werewolf, the "powers" that for some reason have to all be demonstrated one after the other, the obligatory and repetitive references to people thinking he's insane (or, at least, highly unstable, which he seems to be), etc... Plus he's a badass with weapons tucked into his boots, but is a wimp who is constantly worrying more often than not and making horrible choices (lucky for him that his vampire girlfriend can screw with people's memories and cover his mistakes). There was just too much here trying to cover too much ground and not really getting anything done. I literally put down the Kindle and ignored it for a week, opened it for an hour of struggling through this, and then closed it for another week.

Ah, Amazon... you have failed me with you recommendation.

Rating: 1/5

Shut Out

2011-11-11T13:06:00.000-08:00

Shut Out

by Kody Keplinger

After yet another make-out session with her boyfriend is ruined by the rivalry between the football and soccer teams, Lissa decides she's had enough. She's sick of the fight coming first. She's sick of her boyfriend leaving her to do battle. And she's really sick of people getting hurt.

So she decides to do something about it.

She gets all the girlfriends of soccer and football players together and proposes a radical plan: a sex strike.

No more sex. No more nookie. Not even second base until the guys arrange a truce and stop the tricks, the pranks, and the injuries.

But Lissa didn't count on her boyfriend being a jerk.

She didn't count on the guys fighting back.

And she definitely didn't count on Cash Sterling.

Final thoughts: Cotton candy book. It's cute, but no great shakes. Interesting little teen romance that's OK, but not written well in some places. I was frustrated by some of the inconsistencies and the constant references to the Lysistrata. It felt a little forced, like the author was saying, "GO OUT AND READ THIS GREEK PLAY!!!" However, past that, it was still sweet and Chloe, Lissa's best friend, was a fun read. It was also good to see girls finally TALK about sex in a realistic way.

Rating: 3/5

Drink Deep

2011-11-09T21:02:00.000-08:00

Drink Deep

by Chloe Neill

It's been two months since the Master of Cadogan House was murdered in front of Merit's eyes. The House is still devastated. The vampires are still reeling. Merit is still alone.

On top of that, a representative from the GP has taken over the running of the House, rationed food and blood, reinstated archaic rules, and prevented the vamps from doing their jobs.

As an added bonus, nature itself seems to have gone completely wonky. The water has become a black, magical vacuum. The skies have turned red and is shooting out deadly lightning. And the supernatural creatures around Chicago are all at a loss for what's wrong.

For Merit, the time for mourning is over, even as her dreams of Ethan have become more vivid and her best friend has all but disappeared as she works to pass her sorceress exams.

The Sentinel also has someone who's interested in her as more than just a friend or partner, even if she's not yet ready for that.

And the bad times just keep on coming...

Final thoughts: I'm glad I trusted Neill even after the last book. I was a little nervous walking into this book, but I was rewarded.... mostly. While in the last book, the writing was tightening up and getting more focused, now it's bare minimum. I missed the relationship between Merit and Ethan, which, of necessity, had to be lacking, but was really important just because it was key to all of the previous books. The ending felt really rushed and a little obvious. This is more of a book to connect the previous one and the next one, so I'm not jumping up and down, but it's still Merit, so I'm still happy to have read it.

Rating: 4/5

My Very UnFairy Tale Life

2011-10-16T21:43:00.000-07:00

My Very UnFairy Tale Life

by Anna Staniszewski

For years, Jenny has been an adventurer. With the help of her somewhat helpful gnome guide, Jenny has been traveling from world to world, helping to find the lost, rescue the stupid, and solve unsolvable problems.

But after one too many adventures that leave her scarred physically and emotionally, Jenny has had enough. It's quitting time. All she really wants is homework and some friends.

Unfortunately, the adventuring world needs her more than ever. Can she really have a normal life in the human world? Is normal for her different than everyone else's normal?

Final thoughts: Blah. This was boring and dull. There were a few moments when it looked like something truly sinister was happening, but those ideas were ignored and the story moved in different directions. Jenny's one great skill is cheesy cliches. Her idea of "crisis mode" seems ridiculous. And does anyone really think she'd be able to convince an entire school that she, at 12, would be directing a movie with no cameras around and a giant monster flying in? Really? It may be cutesy to some, but it was really just annoying to me. Finally, there was nothing "fairy tale" about it. Yes, there were gnomes and unicorns, and talking sheep, but nothing that was reminiscent of a fairy tale anywhere. The title just does not fit.

Rating: 2/5

If I Die

2011-10-09T21:40:00.000-07:00

If I Die

by Rachel Vincent

Kaylee Cavanaugh is used to dealing with death. She's a bean sidhe, a singer of souls; it's her job to sing souls to the great beyond.

But when death tells Kaylee she's on the list to die in just a few days, that's a bit of a surprise.

To take her mind off of her definite impending death (turns out you can only avoid the Reaper once, and she did that when she was three), she decides that her math teacher has to die, too.

She hasn't suddenly become homicidal; it seems that her new math teacher is also an incubus who has been feeding off the lust of mothers, while working to impregnate their daughters with future incubi. He also has now set his sights on Emma, Kaylee's best friend.

With the help of Sabine (her frenemy), and Tod (something more than a friend), Kaylee is determined to take down the threat to all high school girls before he can take another life.

Final thoughts:

I spent almost the entire book going saying to myself, "She wouldn't. She wouldn't! She so would NOT do that!!!!" and then it was "She did WHAT?!?!" The books keep getting better. It's like a supernatural soap opera.

Rating: 5/5

Forever

2011-09-18T22:10:00.000-07:00

Forever

by Maggie Stiefvater

When Sam appeared to be cured of his regular winter conversions into a wolf, he and Grace thought they would finally be able to be together. But even they could not have imagined the horror of Grace suddenly changing.

Now they must go back to waiting for one of them to become human again so that they can be together once more.

If that isn't enough, another body has been found near Sam's home and this one is the last straw for the true humans in Mercy Falls. Now the hunt is on... literally.

Now Sam, Cole, and Isabel must work together to protect Grace and the rest of the wolves, while also trying to find a cure.

In this final book of The Wolves of Mercy Falls, everything becomes much more serious and love may not be able to save the day.

Final thoughts: Wow. What a wild ending. I never would have thought it would go the dark direction it did. Sam went from completely confident in his fate and his love to completely unglued with worry. I struggled with some of this one, but in the end it was all worth it. Good, solid, final book.

Rating: 4/5

The Knife of Never Letting Go

2011-09-02T22:28:00.000-07:00

The Knife of Never Letting Go

by Patrick Ness

It's the future. Generations into our future. Colonists have left our planet for New World to create a haven and a sanctuary away from the wars of men.

But they get more than they bargained for when the Noise comes.

They can hear the thoughts of men. The thoughts are everywhere. There's no way to get away from them.

In an effort to end it, the colonists kill off the creatures who were already living there when they arrive, but it doesn't end the Noise.

Over twenty years later, Todd Hewitt is only a month away from becoming the last man of Prentisstown. All of the women are dead and he was the last baby, so he's the last of the dying settlement to reach manhood.

However, everything Todd has ever known about his town gets flipped on its side when he and his dog, Manchee, find Quiet.

Now Todd has a new journey to manhood. One he never expected to take.

Final thoughts: This was a tough read. The book was great. The characters were extremely well drawn. The suspense was nearly constant. And that's the problem. There was a large amount of suspense and very little downtime. It was also gory, violent, and sometimes downright scary. I truly felt for the main characters and nearly cried a few times when they faced a few painful events. It's from another trilogy, but at least this time the other two are already out. However, I may still have to switch to something else for a while, because this was just hard to read.

Rating: 5/5

The Girl Who Could Fly

2011-08-22T21:33:00.000-07:00

The Girl Who Could Fly

by Victoria Forester

Piper's parents come from a long line of practical people. If it always worked before, why change it?

When Piper was born, she was already an impractical baby. Her parents had long since given up on having children before she was conceived, so her birth was a bit abnormal and caused a lot of talk around town.

Shortly after she was born, she began to float. She was bumping the ceiling before she crawled on the floor. She also had ideas and thoughts that were far from practical, and she wasn't ashamed to share them.

Her parents kept her at home (except for church) in order to protect her and keep them all from becoming the talk of the town gossip.

However, when Piper figured out how to control her floating and actually fly with purpose, there wasn't much her parents could do to keep it from becoming headline news.

Now Piper has been offered the chance to go to a private school and meet children just like her.

Could it be too good to be true?

Final thoughts: The author quote on the cover was written by Stephenie Meyer and describes this book as "the oddest/sweetest mix of Little House on the Prairie and X-Men." That seems pretty accurate. For the most part, it's a slow, rambling story of a country bumpkin with an extraordinary ability and a few moments of action. The action itself sometimes seems written as if there should be some images to go with it. It's very relaxed except for hyper moments of action that speed up for a few pages and then slow right back down again. Cute, but definitely meant for upper elementary students.

Rating: 4/5

Once a Witch

2011-08-17T20:01:00.000-07:00

Once a Witch

by Carolyn MacCullough

When Tamsin was born, her grandmother declared that she would become the most powerful witch in the family and should would be a beacon for the family. But when she turned eight, she had still never performed a spell or done any apparent magic.

It seemed that she had no Talent.

Her grandmother was wrong.

Now Tamsin does everything she can to avoid her family and their Talents. She's even headed off to a boarding school to try and have a "normal" life.

However, things all change when Tamsin comes home to help with the family store. A professor enters and mistakes her for her extremely powerful sister. He commissions her to find a family relic that he claims had been stolen from his ancestors.

With the help of her childhood friend, Gabriel (who also happens to be extremely cute), Tamsin is determined to prove that even without her own Talent, she can still be important to the family.

But will she really be able to help? Or will she destroy everything she's been raised to know about her world?

Final thoughts: Yet another book that had a cool idea, but it never really grabbed me. And it's another trilogy. I'm really starting to wonder how long the publishers will continue to push this trend of spreading out perfectly good single novel ideas into long trilogies that don't really need/deserve it.

Rating: 3/5

Angel Burn

2011-08-04T21:42:00.000-07:00

Angel Burn

by L.A. Weatherly

Angels are real.

They have wings. They glow with a kind of heavenly light. They fly. And when they touch you, you feel blissed out and blessed.

What angels don't tell you when they touch you is that they are feeding on your soul. They suck away your life force and leave behind disease and destruction.

If you've been touched by an angel, you don't have long to live and what life you do have may not be that great.

Alex knows this. He's hunted angels since his mother was killed by one when he was five. At 17, he's one of the best angel assassins out there and he knows it. When he's called to kill Willow Fields, it's just another hunt to him.

Until he see her...

She's like nothing he's ever seen before. She's both human and angel, a combination never thought possible before.

And she's on the most wanted list of the angels out there because it's been predicted that she will lead to the destruction of all angels.

Can Alex figure out what's going on and keep Willow alive long enough to stop the coming invasion?

Final thoughts: Eh. I've read better. I've read worse. Weatherly's writing needs a bit of help. It's all tell instead of show. "I hate him" "I hate her" "Wow! I love him" "Strange! I love her" It's also got a bit of Twilight in it with the girl volunteering to put herself in harm's way for the greater good and the guy ordering her not to and telling her he'll die without her. Could be better. I'm not eagerly anticipating the second book (of yet ANOTHER trilogy). I may read it. I may not. So... eh.

Rating: 3/5

Book Blogger Hop

2011-08-04T20:05:00.000-07:00

Book Blogger Hop

I've been missing these because I've been slow to read new stuff recently and didn't want to have week after week of hop links and nothing new. I HAVE been re-reading books from my teen years, but reviewing those seems wrong since I'm very biased about them.

For more information about the hop, go HERE.

So the question of the week...

“What is the one ARC you would love to get your hands on right now?”

Honestly, if I could get my hands on Chloe Neill's new Chicagoland book or Rachel Vincent's next Soul Screamers book, I'd be in heaven. Waiting for them is torture! Plus I may need to re-read them all if I have to wait much longer, which means even less time to read original new stuff.

Abandon

2011-07-28T12:59:00.000-07:00

Abandon

by Meg Cabot

She met him when she was seven. She had just seen her grandfather buried and then watched a bird die in front of her eyes. He came out of nowhere and brought the bird back to life, but couldn't save her grandfather.

He amazed her.

At fifteen, she drowned in her own pool trying to save a bird. He found her in the Underworld and she made her way out and back to life.

Now, at seventeen, after almost two years of problems stemming from coming back from the dead, Pierce has moved to her mother's ancestral town and begun a new life with the same old questions and the same old problems.

Because he hasn't let her go. He always seems to be there when she needs him most, even if she'd prefer that he leave her alone.

But when she finally seems to get rid of him, she may need him more than ever.

Final thoughts: I'm so conflicted about this one. I LOVE Cabot's work, in general, but this was just not up to her normal standards. The writing was stilted, often with quotes being broken up in strange ways. "'I hope you're not planning on kicking me,' he said, not even bothering to look up from his book, 'as hard as you did those doors.'" (299) She also had a tendency to repeatedly say things like "If I had known then about this, then I would have..." or "If they knew what I knew...", often at the end of the chapter. It was like having mini-cliffhangers that wouldn't be resolved for entire chapters. The chronology was frustrating with flashbacks showing up out of nowhere and then disappearing. Pierce wasn't very sympathetic as a character; she was actually whiny and often blamed others for her problems. Most of the rest of the characters were very one-dimensional and were obviously only there to further specific plot points. The only person I really liked was John because he seemed the most realistic, even though he had the least believable storyline. All in all, this was disappointing. It's also yet another trilogy AND the end just lies there like a hangnail; it's a painful finish that never seems to resolve. I'll probably read the next book when it comes out, but I'm not going to run right out and get it immediately upon release.

Rating: 3/5

Jenna & Jonah's Fauxmance

2011-07-18T11:27:00.000-07:00

Jenna & Jonah's Fauxmance

by Emily Franklin and Brendan Halpin

Charlie Tracker and Fielding Withers, better known as Jenna and Jonah on their nationally syndicated sitcom, have led double lives for the past few years. In order to get ratings up after their first season, their managers came up with a plan to have them fall in love in real life, or at least pretend to. So now they plan dates and outings to give the paparazzi a few good pictures for the gossip magazines. Of course, the fact that they hate each other's guts makes that really difficult for them.

But when the paparazzi find out it's all a sham, Charlie and Fielding, go into hiding together to wait out the storm. While away, they find out that they have more in common than they thought.

Could it be that the two worst enemies in Hollywood may be the most in love?

Final thoughts: This started out so good! It promised to be a great cotton candy book with tons of fluff and no substance. Unfortunately, the authors pushed their agenda too hard. It was supposed to be a modern day Much Ado About Nothing so they had the two characters suddenly star in the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's version of the play even though they were completely wrong for the characters that they were playing. It was forced, unbelievable, and often uncomfortable. The first part of the book was good, but then it became obvious and underwhelming.

Rating: 3/5

Nerd Girls: The Rise of the Dorkasaurus

2011-07-13T20:22:00.000-07:00

Nerd Girls:

The Rise of the Dorkasaurus

by Alan Lawrence Sitomer

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When Maureen, 8th grader and self-proclaimed dork, risks her own reputation to protect an allergy prone girl from becoming an involuntary YouTube sensation, she unwittingly makes a couple of friends and begins a plot to take down the ThreePees (Pretty, Popular, and Perfect).

The ThreePees dominate the talent show every year and are determined to win one more time before heading off to high school. Maureen and her new pals are determined to take them down.

With the help of her prankster brother, a "department store mom", and a robotic dog, they might even be able to win.

Final thoughts: Full of stereotypes and constant name-calling, this book just isn't fun. Maureen spends the whole book talking about justice and wanting vengeance and then never really steps up. She constantly gives up, actually. If other circumstances didn't arise to push her, she'd have just given up after the first incident. She has no redeeming qualities, really, and spends most of the time criticizing her friends and calling them names (though the author tries to make it read like the friends are ok with that). It's a quick read, but Maureen is a horrible protagonist. I felt sorry for the other girls who thought that she could "lead" them against the popular group. And as for that group, there's one character who is supposed to be some kind of comic relief, but she just comes off and truly idiotic and annoying.

Avoid.

Rating: 2/5

Misfit

2011-07-12T23:12:00.000-07:00

Misfit

by Jon Skovron

Jael's been moving from town to town her whole life and when she was eight, she found out why: she's a half-breed. She's the child of a demon mother and a human father. While she's never met her demoness mother, the demon that tried to attack her in the playground convinces her that what her father tells her is true.

Now, at 16, Jael's father gives her a necklace left to her by her mother and soon everything changes. With the help of her demon uncle and a skater who may become more than a friend, Jael must learn to control her powers and believe in her abilities to fight the demon that killed her mother.

Final thoughts: Meh. There were some good ideas, but the author just couldn't seem to pull it all together. It was a disappointment. I found myself repeatedly turning the Kindle off (ARC provided by NetGalley), and leaving it off for days at a time. There were a few decent moments, but not enough to recommend the book as a whole. The religious aspect was also clever, but I've seen it before, though not often.

Rating: 2/5

Wisdom's Kiss

2011-06-27T15:55:00.000-07:00

Wisdom's Kiss

by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

A scheming duchess determined to have the one land left that hasn't succumbed to her machinations.

A young princess heading off to marry the duchess's son and unite the kingdoms.
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An acrobat who falls in love with the young princess before the wedding.

A grandmother who seeks only to keep her kingdom and family safe.

A young orphan with a gift for seeing the future.

A cat who seems to understand more than he should.

All these characters come together to save a kingdom, or tear it apart.

Can witchcraft save the day?

Final thoughts: This book is told from EIGHT points of view. It gets a little tiresome changing the P.o.V. every couple of pages. The story is cute, as is the interweaving of a few fairy tales, but the author seems to be a little too clever for her own good at times. It gets a little weighed down in cleverness and twists. It's ok, but not fabulous.

Rating: 3/5

Legacy

2011-06-23T22:14:00.000-07:00

Legacy

by Cayla Kluver

For a hundred years, the lands of Hytanica and Cokyri had been at war. One day, the sky turned blood red and the Cokrian forces disappeared. And so did the first newborn boy. As long as the sky bled, baby boys disappeared. When the sky finally cleared, forty-nine boys had been kidnapped by the Cokyrians. Forty-eight bodies soon appears outside the walls and the Cokyrians were apparently gone for good.

Sixteen years later, as Princess Alera turns seventeen years old, her homeland is expecting her to marry the man who will become the next king shortly after their wedding. Her father has his preference, but Alera can't stand the man. Unfortunately, time is ticking and she has few options.

When a Cokyrian boy shows up who appears to be the forty-ninth kidnapped Hytanican boy, Alera's world flips upside-down and her prospects definitely change. But not everyone thinks this boy can be trusted.

Final thoughts: Blech. This is written so poorly! It COULD be good, but it spends so much time talking about what people are wearing and how their hair is done. The writing is stilted and has no flow. It seems formulaic and childish. For example, "The lovely Lady Hauna... with her demure seventeen-year-old daughters... the sensible Lady Edora had accompanied her vivacious daughter Kalem... the exceedingly proper... brought easily excited... and bubbly Semari had come with the sedate Baroness Alantonya." One long sentence filled with adjective after adjective about person after person. Ugh.

Alera's primary suitor is described throughout much of the book as being cruel, overbearing, somewhat violent, condescending, and arrogant, but everyone agrees that he would be a great king. What?!?!?! And the land of Hytanica is constantly referred to as being chauvinistic, that women are inferior to men in all things and must defer to men at all times, along with constant references to how Alera can't be left alone with boys her age because it was inappropriate. The book itself ended unsatisfactorily. It wasn't a clean break (for yet another trilogy), but it had more of a sputtering finish. Maybe it was supposed to be a cliffhanger, but it just kind of... ended. And I really don't care how the story ends. There are just too many problems with this; I don't plan on reading the sequels.

Rating: 2/5

Book Blogger Hop

2011-06-17T08:06:00.000-07:00

It's been a while so it's definitely time to HOP again.

This week's question is:

“How many books are currently in your To-Be-Read (TBR) Pile?”

I don't really have a TBR "pile". What I have is a number of books that I haven't read interfiled with books that I have read and may even read again. Plus I have a "stack" of books on my Kindle just waiting to be read. NetGalley.com is a force of "chaotic good" since it both provides me with free books AND provides me with free books. In all though, I probably have about 30-40 books that I have never read and need to.

Queen of the Dead

2011-06-13T19:49:00.000-07:00

Queen of the Dead

(Ghost and the Goth, Book 2)

by Stacey Kade

Not long ago, Alona Dare was a happy, healthy, first-tier senior looking forward to finishing out her last year of high school with a bang. Then she got hit by a bus. There was definitely a bang there.

Now she's the "spirit guide" of Will Killian, goth boy. He's been able to see ghosts his entire life, whether he wants to or not. While most of his life, this has been torture, Alona has actually managed to use her spunky, take-no-prisoners attitude, to give Will a break from all the constant talking and requests for help.

But when another girl shows up with a talent to see ghosts, Will gets a little too intrigued for Alona's taste. As he gets caught up in finding out about the Order and their apparent desires to save humanity from the "echoes" of the dead, Alona goes out on her own to find a way to try and keep her memory alive.

And with Alona, nothing is ever easy.

Final thoughts: Not as fun as the first book. This one goes from cotton candy to a dark and gloomy pretty fast. And it appears that this will be yet another trilogy, if not more. Teen ghost series? Eh. Plus the cover doesn't match the book at all, which is disappointing.

Rating: 3/5

The Ghost and the Goth

2011-06-07T17:52:00.000-07:00

The Ghost and the Goth

by Stacey Kade

Alona Dare looks like she has it all together. She's top of the social food chain, physically perfect, gets whatever she wants, is the envy of every girl, and the object of every boy's affection.

But stepping in front of an oncoming bus ends all that for Alona.

Now she's stuck waking up on the same stretch of road every day at the same time, forced to watch the world go by without ever being able to communicate with the people around her.

That changes when she sees Will Killian see her.

He's been able to see the dead all of his life, but he's spent years trying to hide that fact. Because the dead talk.. a LOT. Whenever they find out that Will can hear them, they won't leave him alone and they beg him for favors to help them get to the great beyond.

Now Alona has found him.

He may never find peace again.

Final thoughts: Cotton candy book at its best. There's nothing really deep and meaningful here, but it's plenty of fun. Looking forward to the sequel. (I wonder if the author wrote this on a dare. I only speculate since every time I read Alona's name, in my head it sounds like All On A Dare.)

Rating: 5/5

Overprotected

2011-06-02T12:32:00.000-07:00

Overprotected

by Jennifer Laurens

Ashlyn is a high society girl who doesn't get to live with the rest of society. Ever since she was kidnapped by a former nanny who was obsessed with her dad, her dad has been obsessed with her safety. She's escorted everywhere by a bodyguard, has no moment of peace outside of her own bedroom, and is followed by the stares of others who think she's strange for her security detail.

Weirded out by her current bodyguard of three years who seems to have developed a bit of an obsession about her, Ashlyn conspires to get him fired. She's also trying to get rid of the detail altogether since she's nearly 18 and figures she can now be trusted on her own.
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She was wrong.

Not only does her father hire a new guard in record time, but he's the boy who used to torture Ashlyn as a child. There's no way she'd be in danger of falling in love with him.

Or is there?

Final thoughts: Blech. Poorly written tripe. It's a YA Harlequin with bad characters, shifting time and plot structures, no real story, and a horribly written "romance". It's obvious almost from minute one what's going to happen all the way through. Everything is telegraphed way in advance. You KNOW she will fall in love from Colin the moment she sees him on the street. You KNOW what will happen near the end of the book with Stuart. You KNOW how it will all end by the second chapter. It's awful. Ashlyn's "hatred" of Colin seems to solely be based on him chasing her with a crab on the beach when she was five and even that, which is sooo important at the start of the story, is ignored halfway in. Other things bug me like why would a father so extremely concerned with his daughter's safety hire a 21-year-old with NO training (only aspirations to be an FBI agent) instead of hiring a 40-something former cop? Why would Colin reach for a gun that wasn't there at one point in the story when no one ever mentioned a gun before? Why would the author telegraph that Ashlyn calling her father "Dad" instead of "Daddy" would be a big deal by saying something to the effect of "I later figured out..."? Why is the guy on the cover 30 something and the girl obviously in her 20's when she's supposed to be 17 and he's supposed to be 21? So much more to complain about, but I've wasted enough time on this book already.

Skip it.

Rating: 1/5

Numbers 2 : The Chaos

2011-05-24T22:53:00.000-07:00

Numbers 2 : The Chaos

by Rachel Ward

Fifteen years after his mother made news when it was discovered she could see the dates of people's deaths, Adam is now fighting the same curse, but it's worse for him. Adam doesn't just see the dates; he sees part of the deaths themselves. He feels the pain and can usually sense the cause. After his mother dies of cancer, on a date she knew because Adam told her before he understood what the numbers meant, Adam is alone with his grandmother and the burden of knowing when everyone around him will die.
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When 01012027 starts appearing in the eyes of almost everyone around him, Adam knows he needs to get them out of London fast. But things are never simple.

Sarah has come into his life. She has her own visions of fire, death, and her own daughter. She also sees Adam taking her child through the flames. She doesn't see him come out. But even though she fears what he will do with her daughter once he has her, she's inexplicably drawn to him.

Now they must find a way to survive their visions while the rest of the world fights to destroy them and their futures.

Final thoughts: Just not as good as the first one. Numbers had the advantage of creating a whole new future and "gift" that I'd never seen before. While Adam's is slightly different, it's not different enough. It's not really a rehash of the first book, but it's not a solid continuation. I was often frustrated by the choices made by the characters and just couldn't see where things were going. The final scenes were unclear and discovering that this is yet another trilogy with an "exciting conclusion" coming, was annoying. This one could have ended at the first book and I would have felt completely satisfied. Now the future of the series hangs over me and I've lost the magic I felt about the first one.

Rating: 3/5

My Soul to Steal

2011-05-15T21:12:00.000-07:00

My Soul to Steal

by Rachel Vincent

Recovering from her boyfriend's betrayal of her body and soul, Kaylee is trying to cope with all of the changes in her life that she's had happen to her over the past year. She has discovered that she's a bean sidhe (banshee), she sings souls away when they die, her boyfriend is her kind and understands her the way no one else has, and that same boyfriend is recovering from a strong addiction that led him to completely destroy Kay's trust in him.

She could really use a break from all the drama.

Like that's going to happen.

Especially not when her boyfriend's ex comes to town and makes no secret that she's there for Nash. She wants him back and will do anything to get him. She's also a mara, a living nightmare. She can read a person's deepest fears and twist them into nightmares that can haunt souls.

When teachers start dropping dead and the student body turns against each other, Kay thinks she knows who to blame, even when no one else sees it.

Can Kaylee stop the death and destruction before it comes after her?

Final thoughts: This is a like a supernatural soap opera; it keeps going and going and yet I don't want it to end. It's feeling a little drawn out, though. I hope that Vincent isn't one of those authors who just keeps stringing her readers along. I also hope that Kay opens her eyes and sees Tod in a different light. Between the books from Kay's side and the one from Tod's, they totally belong together (even if he is undead). I'm looking forward to the next one coming out this year.

Rating: 4/5

Wherever You Go

2011-05-13T14:28:00.000-07:00

Wherever You Go

by Heather Davis

It's been months since the car accident that killed Rob and nearly killed his girlfriend, Holly. Now Holly has to live with the guilt and the dirty looks from her classmates who blame her. She also has the added burden of taking care of her grandfather with Alzheimer's when he moves in. Her mother works two jobs to support the family, while Holly has to do all the work at home to get her sister to school, her grandfather to his day center and doctors' appointments, and she still has to get good grades in school.

Jason, Rob's best friend, sees Holly struggle and begins to realize that she's in pain. He knows that the other students are wrong about Holly and he starts to feel like maybe Rob didn't deserve her. Now he must find a way to convince Holly, and his own friends, that it's OK for the best friend and girlfriend of the dead guy to get together. It may even be fate.

And then there's Rob. He's floating around, watching his family and friends struggle with his death, even while he himself must come to terms with what happened. Luckily, the Alzheimer's that plaguing Holly's grandfather also allows that grandfather to see Rob. Maybe Rob has a chance to help his friends before he sees "the light".

Or maybe he'll be trapped, helplessly watching, forever...

Final thoughts: There are some interesting ideas here, but it just doesn't come together well. Davis has made the choice to change the viewpoint of each character to help delineate between the three, but she's really just made a mess. Holly is all first person (I, me, etc...). Rob is the rarely used second person (you, your). And Jason is in third person (he, his). It's extremely confusing to start because the writing style keeps switching and you have to re-set your brain over and over again. Holly's mother just ticks me off. I understand that she's struggling to keep the bills paid, but she never fully acknowledges what she's doing to Holly or how poorly she's treating her. Often, as I read Holly, I kept feeling like I was reading about a 12-year-old and not a 17-year-old girl. Her feelings were immature and childish and just didn't sit well with me. The ending got a little preachy with the whole accepting life/fate/the future, etc... This is a good book to recommend for those dealing with grief, but it's a little heavy for the casual reader.

Rating: 3/5

Spellbound

2011-05-08T22:33:00.000-07:00

Spellbound

by Cara Lynn Shultz

Emma's brother died when he was 14, followed shortly by her mother. After her abusive stepfather nearly kills her while driving drunk and getting into a huge accident, Emma finally decides to take up her aunt on her offer to move in with her in New York.

Now she's enrolled in an ultra-expensive, ultra-exclusive high school as a junior and she just wants to get through as anonymously as possible.

But being anonymous is difficult for her when she ticks off the most powerful girl in school the first day, seems to blow up all the light bulbs around her, becomes friends with the school's leading witch, and falls completely head over heels for the most gorgeous guy who ever walked the earth (who happens to be in her English class).

All the signs, both in life and in her dreams, are telling her to stay away from Brendan, but how can she when he's suddenly become all she can think about?

Final thoughts: Turn off your brain for this one. Just enjoy the ride. If you stop to think all of the details, you'll miss out on a fun tale. It's like a great meal, with a slightly weird aftertaste. There were also some formatting issues on my Kindle for this copy from NetGalley.com, so even though the book was done and there were thank yous from the author, I suddenly found myself in what I believe is the epilogue. The ending was a little sudden and felt a little forced. The epilogue leads me to think this is yet another trilogy. And the Twilight similarities haunt this book as they haunt so many now. But it's still a fun read and good for any lover of YA teen romances.

Rating: 4/5

Hard Bitten

2011-05-05T19:44:00.000-07:00

Hard Bitten

by Chloe Neill

Things aren't going well for the vamps. Humans, who had finally seemed to be accepting them, are now protesting outside the Houses. The vamps are tense after it was found out that one of their own leaders betrayed them. And the Cadogan House is recovering from serious damage after a major attack.

Now is not a good time for something else to go wrong.

When the mayor of Chicago calls Merit and her House master, Ethan, in for a meeting, it just can't be good news.

It seems that some vamps have gotten out of control and begun attacking humans. A new drug has hit the street. A familiar face has appeared.

Oh! And the leader of the Greenwich Presidium has come to Chicago to inspect Cadogan House and decide its future.

So, no stress.

Final thoughts: Mind. Blown. Neill has completely outdone herself on this one. While not the best of the Chicagoland Series, this one has the biggest impact. If you're planning to read this before you read any of the other three... DON'T. This one has quite a bit of bang for the buck. There are moments when I wondered why Merit and others weren't putting the puzzle together, but even I didn't see a couple of the twists coming. With each book, Neill is tightening her writing style, so the action and romance are constantly flowing throughout. I missed Mallory and Catcher; they just weren't in it enough. But the story really was the focus and it was good. I've read some reviews that criticize the ending, and I get it, but I'm going with the flow on this and hoping that Neill gives us a good follow-up. If nothing else, it definitely has an emotional kick.

Rating: 5/5

Cryer's Cross

2011-05-04T10:02:00.000-07:00

Cryer's Cross

by Lisa McMann

Kendall's entire life has been as predictable as the numbers she counts to keep calm. In her small town, with her friend/boyfriend, Nico, and the familiar routine of farm life, school, soccer, and dance, Kendall has everything she needs to keep her OCD fairly under control.

But things change when Tiffany disappears.

One day she's there. The next day she isn't.

Kendall's daily routines are shot as the town searches frantically for Tiffany.

Over time, the town gives up, and things seem to go back to normal. But now someone new disappears and it's personal to Kendall.

Suddenly, messages begin to appear on a desk in the classroom. Messages that could lead to the answers... or the end of everything.

Can she find him before it's too late? Or will she be the next one to disappear?

Final thoughts: A light spine-tingling horror/thriller that's more about Kendall than it is about the mystery itself. I liked Kendall and found her to be extremely relatable, even with the OCD driving so many of her thoughts. Jacián was interesting to read, as well. I wish their relationship could have been fleshed out more. The ending seemed a bit rough, but went well with the overall story. Definitely a good read for someone wanting a story that might give him/her the creeps, but also wants to sleep at night.

Rating: 4/5

Starcrossed

2011-04-28T15:33:00.000-07:00

Starcrossed

by Josephine Angelini

Helen has always been freakishly strong, freakishly fast, and freakishly beautiful. She's never understood why she's been so freakishly everything, but she's also freakishly afraid of any attention. All she wants to do is make it through high school and get off the island of Nantucket that she's lived on for as long as she can remember.

Then Lucas comes to town.

At first, all Helen wants is to murder Lucas. She's got an extreme need to quite literally kill the most gorgeous boy on Earth, even though she has no idea why. Of course, the three creepy women who cry tears of blood and appear whenever Lucas is near may have something to do with it.

Things get even more complicated when she finds out that the reason she's so freaky is because she's a demigod, the direct descendant of one of the gods of Greek mythology, and Lucas is the descendant of Apollo, God of the Sun.

No one knows who Helen's descended from, but they know she's an enemy of Lucas's family, and he's not the only family member around. In fact, there are at least a hundred cousins who would gladly kill her.

Now she's being attacked by different people and, while technically enemies, Lucas has made it his job to protect Helen from those coming after her.

Can they find out who she is and end the blood feud that has been haunting their families for thousands of years?

Final thoughts: This is one of those books that drags you in and keeps you reading, even when things don't always make sense. I read an ARC on my Kindle from NetGalley.com, so some of the formatting was off, which contributed to the confusion a bit. Initially, the book seemed entirely from Helen's point of view, and suddenly, for only a paragraph or two here or there, the author would switch viewpoints and then switch it back. I understand why she felt the need to do it, but it got distracting when the PoV would suddenly change without warning. Some of the events happened so fast, especially at the end, that they didn't always make sense, and I'm still confused about the last 5% or so, but I'm looking forward to reading the sequel in what I suppose will be yet another trilogy. I LOVED Helen and Lucas and so very much want them to be able to work this all out (even with all the Bella/Edward undertones haunting the book). The whole Delos family was just fun to read.

It's Romeo & Juliet meets Greek mythology.

Rating: 4/5

Wither

2011-04-26T09:41:00.000-07:00

Wither

by Lauren DeStefano

In the future, the world has been destroyed by war. North America is allegedly the only thing left standing on the planet that can still be seen from space. Everything else is in pieces.

In an effort to rid the world of diseases like cancer, scientists created what they thought would be the perfect children. They were born healthy, free of illness, and ready to fix the world and make it a better place.

Scientists got it wrong.

The first children were healthy. But THEIR children were not.

Now all of the next generations have a deadline. Males die at 25. Females die at 20.

Like clockwork.

As some scientists strive to find a cure, other "pro-naturalists" fight against them and argue that it's time for the humans to die out as a species.

In the middle of all of this is Rhine Ellery. Kidnapped and sold to a wealthy household, she and two other girls are forced to marry one man in the hopes of keeping the human race alive.

All she wants to do is escape and back to her twin brother, Rowan, but she must play the dutiful and loving wife if she ever wants a chance to get out.

Now it's a fight against time. She's only got four years before she's scheduled to die. She can only play out her "relationship" so long before she'll be forced to commit herself. She can only survive so long against her husband's father, who seems to be on to her and will do anything to prevent her from leaving.

Even kill.

Final thoughts: Another good dystopia. Was there a memo sent out about this? Something like "In lieu of vampires and werewolves, try talking about the end of the human race as we know it." This is very good, but I hadn't quite realized what I was getting into. I also found myself questioning the fact that, if the human race is dying out, why are girls being murdered left and right? Wouldn't people keep even the ugly ones around just to help keep the population up? This is kind of A Handmaid's Tale meets Logan's Run. It works and I LOVED Rhine. I look forward to the next two in yet another trilogy. (And I LOVE the cover!!)

Rating: 4/5

The Goddess Test

2011-04-24T20:09:00.000-07:00

The Goddess Test

by Aimée Carter

Kate Winters and her mother move to Eden to prepare for her mother's death. After four years of her body being ravaged by cancer, her mother's body has finally given up and it's time to say goodbye.

When they arrive, her mother directs her to a huge estate surrounded by a large hedge that blocks the view of the mansion within. But Kate gets a better look later when she's tricked there by a jealous high school girl who thinks Kate is after her guy.

This starts off a string of events that eventually leads Kate to her "goddess test". It seems that the Greek Gods of mythology really do exist. And now, with the world's population growing so quickly, Hades (now known as "Henry") has become overwhelmed and can barely keep up with the arriving dead.

When his wife, Persephone, left him for a mortal generations ago, Henry let her go in the hopes that he would find happiness, but now it's all getting to be too much. He and the council have come to the agreement that if he can find a new wife within a century, he would stay on as the guardian of death. However, if he can't, he must give up the responsibility and fade from all existence.

Kate Winters is his last chance. The previous eleven girls selected for the test never made it to Christmas. They either failed the test or were murdered.

Now Kate must find a way to pass the test and survive the evil intentions of whoever is plotting to kill her. In return, she gets 6 more months with her mother before her mother finally dies, and she gets to become a goddess herself, to rule over the domain of the dead six months out of the year, immortal.

Oh yeah... if she passes, she must also marry Henry, so no pressure.

Final thoughts: This is a good story with some interesting twists. It's a great way to get girls involved with Greek myths. Boys have Riordan's Percy, and now girls have Kate. I liked Kate and her honesty. Her reasons for beginning the test are clear, even if it's all a little unbelievable. She does seem to accept her situation more quickly than many would, but once she's there, it all makes sense. There's some drama, some romance, and some good "moments", so it's an easy recommendation. The one thing I think the publisher should do is remove the character chart at the end of the book. I read this on a Kindle, so it wasn't an issue with me (I didn't even know it was there until the end), but a person reading this in a classic book format could easily find this and then spoil the ENTIRE book. The chart is nice, but it would be better to redirect people to a website with the chart instead; that way, there's no accidental spoilage for the casual reader.

Rating: 4/5

The Cellar

2011-04-15T15:25:00.000-07:00

The Cellar

by A. J. Whitten

It's only been a few months since Meredith and Heather lost their father in a horrible car accident when Heather was driving. Things haven't gotten better for them. Heather still blames herself. Meredith still doesn't know how to talk to her. Their mother spends every free moment using "retail therapy" to try and make the pain go away. And an aunt has moved in with her twin sons to try and keep the family running.

Now the decrepit eyesore of a house next door has been rented out by an extremely reclusive boy and his mother. The mother is never seen in public. The windows and doors are always closed tight even in the hottest weather. The boy is always wearing sunglasses. There are bugs, vultures, and piranhas at the house. People who enter don't leave... alive.

Heather is completely in love at first sight.

Meredith sees right through him even though every female around thinks he is amazing.

Mom doesn't care as long as she can spend money.

Things are wrong and no one but Meredith seems to see it.

And something is going on in the cellar that's too horrendous to consider.

Final thoughts: UGH! This was a horrible attempt to mix Romeo and Juliet with zombies and it is one of the most horrendous things ever written. It's only slightly better than R. L. Stine books (though that's not hard, since those are complete trash). Are zombies mindless undead dragging limbs around to eat humans or are they intelligent creatures who can manipulate minds? Even that can't be answered since there seem to be more than one type of zombie, though it's never explained why. The authors (a mother/daughter team) can't make up their minds about if Adrien is evil and manipulative or completely lovesick. There is a LOT of detailed descriptions of torture, eating of humans, tearing of flesh, etc... Don't read if you have a weak stomach or recently ate. Boys who love horror books will probably love this, but it's poorly written. This could be a step between Stine and almost any other author of horror who is a better writer, but it really should just be avoided.

Rating: 1/5

Dead Is Not an Option

2011-04-12T11:10:00.000-07:00

Dead Is Not an Option

by Marlene Perez

Graduation is on the horizon and Daisy's life is about to change in more ways than she could imagine.

Her nemesis, Circe, is back in town. The Weres and the vamps are fighting for the first time in decades. Her best friend's dad seems to be rolling in the proceeds of his newest book. And college acceptance letters are arriving.

Well... They're arriving for everyone else.

For some reason, Daisy isn't getting her letters. She also isn't getting Lily and Balthazar changed back from being a jukebox and a pig, respectively. She isn't getting answers as to where her father had been taken when he was imprisoned by the Scourge. And she sure as heck isn't figuring out what she's going to do if Ryan goes away to college when she still doesn't know where she's going.

But things finally seem to be coming to a boil when vamps and Weres start getting attacked and disappearing, and now Daisy only has a few weeks to solve the mysteries that surround her and her hometown of Nightshade before it's all too late.

And there's Prom to think about, too!

Final thoughts: Like all the rest in the series, I really like the premise. Like all the rest, I felt really rushed through it. Like watching a movie on 2x speed or being dragged through a museum by a stubborn child, there was just NO time to really sit back and enjoy what I had in front of me. I love Daisy and Ryan, as well as the whole town, but I wanted to savor it more. The end was a big blur and still felt a little unfinished. I kept expecting just one more thing to happen or be said to tie it all up, but it just never "completed". It's still an enjoyable read and the series as a whole is great.

Rating: 3/5

The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group

2011-04-11T19:00:00.000-07:00

The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group

by Catherine Jinks

Toby Vandevelde is famous. You may not know him by name, but you've probably heard of him. He's the kid who was found naked in a dingo cage after being reported missing by his mom.

No one seems to know how he got there, least of all him. He was just kicking back on his bed, enjoying a few minutes of privacy and then he was on a hospital bed being told he'd disappeared the night before.

Was he kidnapped? Was it a prank? Was it, as his mother suspects, drugs?

Nope.

Toby is about to find out that he's inherited a strange genetic disorder: lycanthropy.

Of course, Toby can't believe any of this. Werewolves are just myths. He and his friends are determined to prove Reuben (also a werewolf) and the priest who've come to convince him of his heritage that they're wrong.

But things go from bad to worse when Toby is kidnapped by men running illegal werewolf fighting rings.

Final thoughts: Much like The Reformed Vampire Support Group, this was good, but not great. I got caught up in the action from time to time, but the action sometimes got a little too confusing. I was often faced with either backing up to re-read or just push through and hope I figured it out. My usual choice was to push through. It took a long time to get to the action, as well. The reader is forced to sit through multiple episodes of Toby and his friends trying to trick Reuben into revealing that he's been lying about Toby's "condition". It gets repetitive fast and becomes frustrating because Toby never seems to give up on these traps. It also took too long to see Nina, and Dave was just a blip at the end, so I missed them, though it's understandable since this is Toby's story. LOVE the cover, though!

Rating: 3/5

The Education of Hailey Kendrick

2011-04-08T14:38:00.000-07:00

The Education of Hailey Kendrick

by Eileen Cook

Ever since her mother died in a freak accident while crossing the street, Hailey has been the perfect daughter focusing on never causing trouble and always being safety conscious. Now in her senior year, with the perfect boyfriend, great grades, tons of popularity to keep her company, and college applications on the way, there's really not much bad going on for her.

But bad news often comes like a snowball rolling downhill and Hailey's gotten caught in the damage. Everything, and I mean everything, has suddenly gone completely wrong. She loses her perfect boyfriend. Her grades are suffering. She's shunned by everyone. And no college will take her if her record doesn't clear up.

Hailey's made a HUGE mistake that may never be able to be fixed, but she's just got to try and make things right.

Final thoughts: Meh.

Ok. Really. This book could have been more fun. It wasn't a disaster, but it's definitely not memorable. Hailey's choices make absolutely no sense and then she just keeps making more bad choices. It might make sense if Cook hadn't already introduced her as a super-responsible girl, but this sudden about-face into stupidity makes little sense. It was fun to watch. I'll admit that. But thinking back on it, I just don't get the choices that were made.

So, yeah... Meh.

Rating: 3/5

Darkness Becomes Her

2011-04-06T09:03:00.000-07:00

Darkness Becomes Her

by Kelly Keaton

Ari has always hated her hair. Her hair has caused her more trouble than she can handle. It makes her stand out. It makes her different. It makes her an easy target for the hunters who are after her. And someone really wants her even though she has no idea why.

After discovering that the mother who abandoned her to foster care (and quite a few evil foster parents) killed herself while in an insane asylum because she kept thinking that snakes were crawling in her head, Ari must head back to the city of her birth to find out why her mom is dead and weird men dressed in black and speaking a foreign language are trying to kill her.

So Ari heads to New 2, which is the new New Orleans that is still recovering from the aftereffects of hurricanes that decimated it more than a decade before. The only people who live there are the freaks, the paranormal, and the businessmen who see money in the tourist trade.

But as she starts to get her first questions answers, new ones keep coming up and Ari has no idea who she can trust.

Final thoughts: This could have been soooo much better. Keaton seems determined to touch on every single possible paranormal creature there is from Greek mythology to vampires, but it never fully engages. She flits from scene to scene with no real transitions and doesn't spend enough time going into depth on anything. She literally could have doubled the length of this book and I still think there would have been more she could have said. I was also bothered by the somewhat sudden change of heart of Ari's romantic interest as he went from appearing to hate her one moment to being completely in love the next, with no real explanation as to why. Finally, the tag on the book is "Beneath every beauty, evil stirs." but I can't see it. Ari's not evil, at least not yet. Her circumstances were not of her making and she wants a little revenge, but she's not the evil one. Now if the author or tag writer meant the antagonist, that really should be made more clear. Hopefully the next book will get better.

Rating: 3/5

Hard to Get

2011-03-31T09:46:00.000-07:00

Hard to Get

by Emma Carlson Berne

Val thought she had the perfect boyfriend in Dave. After all, it was definitely the longest she'd gone out with one guy, so that must mean it's special. And it was... until she caught Dave making out with another girl in the parking lot of her high school.

Now "available", Val is suddenly bombarded with date offers from guys around the school, many of whom she doesn't even know. When her friends point out that this is because she's suddenly "on the market", which has never been true for her for more than a week, Val realizes she's been a bit too focused on being a girlfriend and hasn't focused enough on being herself.

She decides to swear off boys for the next month, and her friends make it "interesting" by making it a bet. Winner gets to wear real diamonds to prom; loser has to wear the ugliest purple prom dress and matching heels ever made.

Unfortunately, it all gets way too complicated when Val meets Adam. He's "arty" and normally not her type, but there's definite chemistry there.

So what's more important? The possibility of true love or avoiding having to wear the nastiest dress on the planet?

Final thoughts: I grabbed this paperback from the giveaway pile at work. It's obvious cotton candy and has no literary merit whatsoever. However, it's fluffy and light on the brain. There are a few problems with pacing and time seems to speed up and slow down without making much sense, but it's easy to read and a good brain cleanser, especially when I've got a few paranormal and dystopia novels on my to-read list. Think of this book as a light sorbet for the brain.

Rating: 3/5

Funny? Or just plain sad...

2011-03-29T12:59:00.000-07:00

Making its way around the Twitter-verse and Blog-o-Sphere right now is the book review and ensuing comments on Big Al's Books and Pals for The Greek Seaman by Jacqueline Howett. Now, normally I stick to book talks and reviews, but this is one I had to share. If you haven't seen it yet, please take a few minutes to go to http://booksandpals.blogspot.com/2011/03/greek-seaman-jacqueline-howett.html and browse the comments. Beware: eating and/or drinking while reading the author's responses could cause you to choke from laughter and/or surprise.

Back now?

Good.

For me, this kind of publicity for a blog is a God-send. Who knows how many readers Al just added to his feed (I know I'm one of them). His simple, honest review, has gone viral because of the overreaction of the author and her complete disdain for social norms. I could only wish for this kind of publicity for my small, lightly read blog.

Of course, for Ms. Howett, this publicity is both good and bad. There has surely been an up-tic in the number of books sold, just because people wanted to read the bad grammar for themselves and see if it was as bad as it looked in the blog and comments from Ms. Howett herself. In the mid-run, this kind of publicity will surely hurt sales for a while. In the long-run, despite people proclaiming that they will never read any of her books, this kind of thing is likely to wear out in a few days/weeks. It's possible that if she keeps her head down for a bit and stops responding to comments, Ms. Howett could get out of this relatively unscathed.

I hope she (and other authors) learn something from this because it's a great lesson in publicity one-oh-one.

For more information on Ms. Howett, here's her blog: http://jacquelinehowett.blogspot.com/

Love, Inc.

2011-03-29T09:15:00.000-07:00

Love, Inc.

by Yvonne Collins and Sandy Rideout

Zahra's life has always been a little different than everyone else's. Her father is Scottish and her mother is Pakistani, which makes Zahra a red-headed, curry-hating, pastry-cooking, half-Pakistani with a love of baking and a penchant for making cursed cookies that doom her relationships at the first taste.

Now that her grandparents have moved in and taken over her room and her parents have separated leaving Zahra with two half-homes and a pair of parents who never talk, Zahra wants to make things right.

Her first attempt at improving her life leads to accidentally setting the kitchen on fire, and that leads her to group therapy, which then leads her to Syd and Kali. In normal times, these three girls would probably never become friends, but things are definitely not normal, especially when they discover that they haven't just been two-timed; they've been three-timed. Eric/Rick/Rico has conned them all and now it's payback time.

But what started out as a simple case of revenge turns into a business opportunity for the girls. They create Love, Inc. to help mediate hook-ups and break-ups, make matches, find cheaters, save relationships, and plot revenge.

While they fix everyone else's love life, can they fix their own?

Final thoughts: This is a basic book with a basic plot. It's not particularly engaging. I often put the book down and forgot about it, which is never a good sign in my opinion. I struggled with the concept that Eric would be cheating with three girls who just happen to be forced into the exact same group therapy session, meeting at the same place, at the same time, in a large city. It strained the bounds of logic. Once past that, the rest of the story has promise and Zahra's voice is nice. Not a book to strongly recommend, but definitely something to hand to girls of mixed heritage who struggle to figure out where they fit.

Rating: 3/5

Delirium

2011-03-18T16:24:00.000-07:00

Delirium

by Lauren Oliver

Lena remembers her mother distinctly, even though she was a just a child when her mother jumped to her death. She remembers the dancing. She remembers the singing. She remembers the hugging. And she remembers her mother's final words, "I love you. Remember. They cannot take it."

Now Lena is looking forward to the day when they will take it. When the government will perform the procedure that will take away her fear, her doubts, her pain, her memories, and her love. Because in Lena's world, love is a diagnosable disease. Deliria nervosa.

It's the reason the world got so bad. It's the reason for hate and war. It's the reason for jealousy and envy. And it's now curable. A simple procedure and it's all gone. The day she turns eighteen, Lena will be free.

And then she meets Alex...

Final thoughts: Dystopian novels can really drag a person down. This one is yet another great one like The Hunger Games, Divergent, Across the Universe, and Matched, but it's the first in another trilogy and it's a cliffhanger. It's a GOOD cliffhanger... but it's a cliffhanger nonetheless. I love Lena and her path of self-discovery. I love Hana and her zest for life. Most of all I love Alex and his bravery. I can't wait for the next one, but I have to because 1) it's not out for a while and 2) this one just drained me completely.

Rating: 5/5

Book Blogger Hop

2011-03-17T22:48:00.000-07:00

"Do you read only one book at a time, or do you have several going at once?"

Personally, I really can't "read" two books at once. I usually have one that I focus on and will occasionally have a "back-up" book around if my mood changes or if I left my main one somewhere out of reach. The second one is usually a re-read, though, so I almost never count is as reading more than one at a time.

I'm currently reading Delirium, by Lauren Oliver, and while I'm loving the idea of it, it's hard to read another dystopian novel. This one is good, but so many before have also been good. Why are dystopias so draining on the soul?

Small Persons with Wings

2011-03-10T19:30:00.000-08:00

Small Persons with Wings

by Ellen Booraem

When she was just five, Mellie Turpin lost her small person with wings (NEVER call them fairies). Well, she didn't really lose him, she just accidentally angered him so much that he left her. She didn't know that he was a secret. She didn't know she wasn't supposed to tell. And she certainly didn't know that she wasn't supposed to offer to bring him to school for show-and-tell like one might bring a pet.

Now he's gone.

The other kids think she lied. The school psychologist thinks she needs help. The bullies think she's easy prey. And she's made a real enemy in one girl who now insists on tormenting her and calling her "Fairy Fat".

Soon, Mellie comes to realize that her small person with wings wasn't real and she throws herself into logic and science. Anything having to do with creativity and imagination is just plain dangerous in her mind.

Now it's the end of seventh grade and word comes that her grandfather has died.

Mellie couldn't be happier.

Her grandfather was an angry drunk who used to insult her and her family and then throw liquor bottles at them, so she doesn't really miss him. She also won't miss the relentless name-calling and teasing because now she gets to move with her parents to take over her grandfather's inn and start a new life.

But there's a catch...

It turns out that her grandfather's house is the home of another small person with wings, as well as a family heirloom and history that Mellie would never have believed if she hadn't seen proof with her own eyes.

Now someone, or something, wants the magic for him/her/itself and Mellie may be the only one to protect it.

Final thoughts: Cute, fun read with a few interesting ideas. I enjoyed the small persons with wings when they interacted one on one with Mellie. It's just a little over-complicated with the three different kinds of magic and the family history. Booraem seemed to have gotten a little involved in her own cleverness at times, so some things that may have been witty or funny, just come off as overdone. Mellie is also hard to classify. She's supposed to be thirteen, but often the story seems like it's told from an 8 year old instead of a soon-to-be 8th grader. Also a few of the things like the grandfather never ever being nice to her (and even regularly calling her fat) and the last couple of pages just didn't sit right. I liked the overall plot, but the details just needed work.

Rating: 3/5

Entwined

2011-03-09T15:34:00.000-08:00

Entwined

by Heather Dixon

Legend has it that generations before, the High King had been a villainous man who had magicked the castle and trapped the souls of his victims in mirrors where they would slowly freeze to death. Now, in Azalea's time, remnants of the High King's magic linger in the occasional tea set and carpet. It also lingers in the hidden passages, including the one in Azalea's room.

Now that her mother has passed away, Azalea is in charge of her eleven sisters and must keep their spirits up even while the king has gone into mourning and shut the girls away in the palace. They are forbidden every joy, even dancing.

But at night, the girls take their secret passage to the silver forest where they happily dance until their dancing slippers fall apart.

They've taken an oath and cannot tell the king, but he is determined to find out where they go. He sets up a contest for the eligible gentlemen to solve the riddle of the damaged slippers.

Could it all be too late?

Final thoughts: A retelling of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale "12 Dancing Princesses", this one is slow to start, but really gets rolling about a quarter of the way through. The king's bad temper is very difficult to fathom in the beginning, but his change of heart seems well written. Some of the story's points seemed obvious, but older girls and young teens, especially those who haven't read the story before, will enjoy discovering the secrets. I loved Lord Bradford and really wish I could have seen more of him. Azalea was strong and clever, so I never got tired of reading from her point of view. I only wish the time period had been a little more detailed. It felt like it was supposed to be set during a kind of industrial revolution for this fairy tale land, but I had a difficult time relating to it because I just couldn't picture it. Of course, that may be my fault since I kept picturing stone castles and the author referred to new and improved steam train technology.

Rating: 4/5

A Touch Mortal

2011-03-04T09:39:00.000-08:00

A Touch Mortal

by Leah Clifford

Eden has made the choice. She's decided that since life hasn't been very good to her, she's going to leave it. But the moment she decides, Az walks into her life and everything changes.

Az is more special than Eden could ever have thought. He's an angel caught between worlds. He left "Upstairs", but still hasn't completely fallen "Downstairs". He has more free will than most angels, but is always in danger of coming one of the Fallen.

Eden keeps him from Falling, but now she's in danger.

A choice must be made.

Final thoughts: An absolute mess of a book with moments of greatness hidden in the pages. The author seems to have some sort of logic in her head about what's going on, but she's very bad at conveying it. I constantly found myself questioning things, especially those things having to do with suicide. In Clifford's world, once a person commits suicide, she disappears quite literally from the lives of the people she left. Parents and friends forget about you. Your room is magically converted to an office. Your social security number disappears. All evidence that you existed is gone.

REALLY!?!?! Because that's NOT how it works in the real world. Eventually, most people move on, but the initial impact of a suicide is horrendous and gut-wrenching to those who knew the person. No one just disappears within days of dying. I really don't like the message conveyed with this concept. Kids thinking of killing themselves already believe that no one will care if they live or die; did we really need a book that encourages that opinion???

Eden herself is a massive ball of contradictions. She's strong when the author needs her to be, but weak when the author needs it. It's not character-driven personality, but plot-driven.

And can someone explain to me why suiciders (Siders), suddenly return from death and wander the Earth only in the last hundred years or so and why the powers that be above really have no idea what's going on? No logic at all.

Again... moments of greatness surrounded by mounds of trash.

Rating: 2/5

Dead Is Just a Rumor

2011-03-01T15:51:00.000-08:00

Dead Is Just a Rumor

by Marlene Perez

The town of Nightshade has never been what one might call "normal". In fact, it's really more para-normal. With ghosts, vampires, werewolves, witches, telepaths, an invisible man, and an allegedly haunted jukebox, there's not much normal about Nightshade at all.
.

Now in her senior year, with her father recently returned from years of being held prisoner by the anti-paranormal group, the Scourge, and her boyfriend coming to grips with his own wolfy behavior once every 28 days or so, Daisy is finally coming into her own.

Of course, now that her father is home, he seems to be smothering her with over-protectiveness, partially brought about by the fact that he hasn't seen her since she was 12. And she seems to have somehow made an enemy of a friend without knowing how she did it. And there's the chef that she's won cooking lessons with who appears to want a servant instead of a student. And there's the chef's pig, who seems smarter than the average pig (with a full head of hair, no less). AND there's the new guidance counselor who seems to have it out for her.

Yeah. Senior year's going to be a breeze.

Final thoughts: I enjoyed this quick read. It wasn't too straining on the brain and Daisy always has a fun attitude to read. It's in keeping with the previous three books in the series, so there's nothing out of the ordinary. My only problem has more to do with the fact that I was obviously not the intended audience, which isn't so much a problem with the book, really. I figured out from the early chapters where everything was going, so the "mystery" element just wasn't that mysterious. I mean, the chef's name is CIRCE and she has a pet PIG. Come on! Does no one in Nightshade read Greek Mythology and see a connection here??? The ending felt a bit rushed, too. It was like, "Oh no! Daisy's in danger! Go get some hel... Oops! Nevermind. Everything's ok." And then it ended. Still, I'm looking forward to reading the 5th and final installment. (Note to Marlene: MORE RYAN!!!)

Rating: 4/5

A Tale of Two Castles

2011-02-25T13:28:00.000-08:00

A Tale of Two Castles

by Gail Carson Levine

At just twelve years old Elodie leaves home and sets off aboard ship to the town of Two Castles where she hopes to become a mansioner (actor). But fate has other plans for her. She instead becomes the assistant to the town dragon who is an expert in inductive and deductive reasoning. By paying close attention to her new masteress's teachings and to the world around her, can Elodie figure out who has betrayed the town ogre and poisoned the king?

Final thoughts: It's a short book talk because the book was just bland. Levine tried so hard to create this whole new world with new words and a new system of government and education that she completely overshot and made it boring. I struggled through this one and barely made it to the end. Honestly, I should have shelved this one after the first couple of chapters. I have really loved some of Levine's previous work, but this one was just not worth the read.

Rating: 2/5

The Silver Bowl

2011-02-21T13:56:00.000-08:00

The Silver Bowl

by Diane Stanley

Molly has been independent and willful ever since she was a little girl. When she gets in trouble one too many times, her father sends her to Dethmere Castle to be a scullery maid. As she leaves, her mother gives her some good advice: never let people know what you can see.

Molly, and her mother, have the gift of "sight". They can see the future and the past. If anyone ever finds out, Molly could be branded a witch.

So Molly heads out at just seven years old to work at the castle. In the beginning, she gets in as much trouble as ever. But slowly, she learns her place in the world and becomes a respected member of the staff. She's even trusted with polishing the King's silver, which only one other person in the castle is allowed to do.

However, Molly's trouble really begins with the silver bowl that she must polish and the secrets it holds within. Can she, a lowly scullery maid, save the kingdom from its curse?

Final thoughts: It was an interesting premise, but it was just poorly done. There's no consistency to the timeline at all. You can go from a minute-by-minute description in one paragraph and suddenly find yourself 3 months later in the story. Things just speed up and slow down with no warning. The prince's change of heart regarding Molly is just too sudden. One moment he's criticizing her and the next he's calling her his good-luck charm. And the relationship with Tobias was just completely dull. There was no personality from anyone in the story, least of all Molly herself. Mediocre read at best.

Rating: 2/5

Haven

2011-02-18T08:42:00.000-08:00

Haven

by Kristi Cook

For years, Violet has tried to get people to believe her. She's begged, she's pleaded, and she's even tried to sneakily suggest, but when her father goes on a journalistic assignment to Afghanistan, Violet pulls out all the stops. Yet he still doesn't listen to her. And now he's dead.

You see, Violet sees the future. And the future she usually sees is of violence against her family. So she got to see the murder of her father as if she was there in the room weeks before he even left her with her stepmother.

Now, a couple of years later, Violet has the chance to start over. Her stepmother gets a lucrative job offer in New York and Violet gets the opportunity to go to Winterhaven, an exclusive boarding school that's even more exclusive than she thought. While she thought she was leaving behind the taunts of "freak" from her schoolmates and getting a chance to be someone completely new, it turns out that the school she goes to is full of "freaks" like her.

Everyone at Winterhaven has a secret.

Everyone at Winterhaven has a "gift".

And one boy in particular has Violet's eye.

But his secrets are more dangerous than anyone else's. And while she's drawn to him in ways she cannot explain, she must also watch out for him and for his future.

Who else is better equipped to see what lies ahead than a precog in love?

Final thoughts: The writing in this one drew me in quickly and kept me eager to read more. It wasn't until after I put it down that I got the sense that much of this had been done before. At least this one did a better job of it than most. There is a whole Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Twilight aspect that, while not new, at least had some new, creative twists. Once again, my biggest complaint is that this appears to be the first in a trilogy. Can we not have a single supernatural romance in ONE book?? Also, the cover is bland compared to the story. I guess the butterfly is supposed to represent coming out of a cocoon or something, but this cover needs more than a vague metaphor.

Rating: 4/5

Afterlife

2011-02-16T14:28:00.000-08:00

Afterlife

by Courtney Allison Moulton

Ellie's dreams have recently begun taking on a frightening edge. Previously, they had been normal (well, as normal as a teenage girl's dreams can be), but now they are becoming violent and real. When Ellie wakes from them, she has the distinct feeling that these are more like memories because she always feels like she's really there.

And maybe she was.

One day, a gorgeous stranger shows up and tells her that she's much more than an average teen. She's the Preliator. For thousands of years she has been reincarnated, killed the descendants of the Fallen, and stopped Lucifer from building an army of souls to fight against the angels of God and Heaven.

It's a little more than a girl like Ellie can take, especially when she can't remember most of it.

It seems she skipped a generation in her reincarnations and no one knows quite why, but they do know that something big is coming and Ellie is the only one who can stop it from destroying everything she knows and loves.

Final thoughts: I'm conflicted on this one. On the one hand, it's a pretty decent read. There's action and romance enough to hold my interest while reading it. But it didn't grab me and make me want to never put it down; in fact, I didn't read it at all for the entire weekend. However, I never really felt like giving up on it either. The first hundred pages or so actually made me angry because it felt like a Buffy rip-off. A kind of "Chosen One" who is watched, guarded, and taught to slay demons of varying strengths with different kinds of powers. She has dreams of her past lives. There's also a love that can't be shared for various reasons, some of which made no sense. Ellie also has to make up excuses to people to explain how things keep getting destroyed around her, which Buffy got to be a real pro at doing. There's more, but I don't think I want to go into all of them.

Essentially, this was just ok. No great shakes. I'll read the sequel (in yet another trilogy... really!?!?), but I don't think I'll get all bouncy in my chair when it comes out.

Rating: 3/5

Hereafter

2011-02-10T12:01:00.000-08:00

Hereafter

by Tara Hudson

Amelia doesn't know why it happened or when it happened, but she does know it happened. She died. And now she's a ghost in a prom dress who primarily hangs around an old, dangerous bridge over a river. She's tried talking to people. She's even screamed at them. But it does no good. She can't see them and she hasn't met any other ghosts, so she wanders around lost and alone.

Until one day a car careens off the bridge and Amelia sees a boy floating from the vehicle. She hears his heartbeat and knows that she has to do something to save him.

Somehow, she does. And now she can be seen by someone.

Now that Joshua can see her, hear her, and even touch her, Amelia finally has something to live for. Of course, that's a little difficult seeing as how she's already dead, but neither she nor Joshua seem to mind.

Can Amelia and Joshua find a way to be together when everything and everyone around them seem to be conspiring to keep them apart?

Final thoughts: I soooo needed this book. After zombies and dystopias, a good, solid, paranormal romance was exactly what the librarian ordered. This book is well written, romantic, and suspenseful. Amelia's quest for self-discovery is perfectly timed and I was hard-pressed to put this one down. Excellent book. My only problem is that this is, once again, the first in a trilogy. For the most part, this book could just end as it is, but the author left a few little tidbits and crumbs about possible storylines that can be used for the future, so it's just a little unfinished. I really wish that publishers and authors could just put out single volume stories again.

Rating: 5/5

The Forest of Hands and Teeth

2011-02-08T14:38:00.000-08:00

The Forest of Hands and Teeth

by Carrie Ryan

For generations, the fence has stayed strong. There are occasional breaches, but the Guardians, and Sisterhood which leads them, have kept the village safe. Practically from birth, villagers are trained on how to handle any breaches from fighting to getting up onto the platforms in the trees.

After her mother gets too close and becomes infected by the Unconsecrated, Mary is sent to become a Sister and devote herself to saving the villagers, both their physical bodies and their immortal souls. But Mary does not want this life. She wants Travis, even though he is betrothed to another. And she wants to see the ocean, which her mother used to tell her about and show her a picture of when she was a child.

She wants so much more than the village can give her.

She wants answers.

How did the Unconsecrated really come to be? Are they really the last of the human race? Is the ocean real? Is there anything else out there away from her small village and limited choices?

Will she find out the answers before it's too late?

Final thoughts: I guess I'm just not a zombie fan. I really tried to get into this, but the whole post-apocalyptic feel just wasn't jiving with me. I also had a very hard time believing that Mary really loved Travis. They just weren't together often enough in the book and, what time they were together, there just didn't seem to be any chemistry (no matter how many times the author said there was). I just felt that Mary was a little selfish and slightly obsessed. Even when things are going to crap around her, she's completely focused on finding the ocean and to hell with the people she loves. It just lacked flair. I have the ARC for the third book, but I don't know if I care enough to get the second one so that I can read it (and have it make sense) or if I should just hand it off.

Rating: 3/5

The Gathering

2011-02-04T13:55:00.000-08:00

The Gathering

by Kelley Armstrong

Maya's town is a little different than most. Created by a scientific research organization to house its employees and their families while staying away from the corporate spies that want to steal their secrets, the little town isn't even located on most maps. The children have grown up learning in a small school and have been trained how to handle strangers who ask too many questions.

But now a new stranger has come to town and she's asking questions that pique Maya's curiosity. Why do the children have annual physicals conducted by the scientists every year when they "tour" the research facility on school field trips? Why do animals seem to flock to Maya and heal more quickly under her care? Why was she abandoned at the hospital as a child? What does her paw-print birthmark mean? How could the captain of the swim team die in the middle of a lake she'd swum in practically since birth? And what does the hot new guy want from her?

As Maya and her best friend, Daniel, search for answers, it may be that searching could be the worst mistake of her life.

Final thoughts: This is not a novel; this is the first third of a novel. This is only the exposition of a novel. Almost everything in this book is a set-up for the next two in the trilogy. The cliffhanger isn't even really a cliffhanger as much as it is a "turn the page to find out" only to find out there's nothing on the next page. It's like buying a book to find the printer messed up. There's some interesting storyline stuff going on here, but it's obscured by the fact that there isn't much plot. The supernatural element may be great... once we can get to it.

And I'm a little disturbed by the references to Native culture. I've checked Armstrong's bio and there is nothing to suggest that she has any Native history, but Maya is supposed to be something (though she was abandoned and adopted, so no one knows what she is), her adoptive mother is Navajo, and there are references to tribes, laws, and other stories throughout the book. Having followed Debbie Reese's blog for a few years now, I'm wary about recommending books that will indulge stereotypes like skin color, religion, tribal histories, etc... In her "Mea-Culpa" page on her website that is there to discuss errors and plot holes, Armstrong mentions about another book of hers that she doesn't want to "appropriate anyone's faith for my fiction." However, I'm concerned that she's appropriating a culture here. Hesitant to recommend this one.

Rating: 3/5

Desires of the Dead

2011-02-02T08:54:00.000-08:00

Desires of the Dead

by Kimberly Derting

It's been three months since a serial killer nearly ended Violet's life, but now things are going well for her. She's got great friends, decent grades, and a yummy boyfriend who would (and has) jumped in front of a gun for her.

She's also got a stalker who seems to like leaving dead animals and threatening letters for her.

And there's the fact that there's a pesky woman who works with the FBI and her very cute teen partner who has his own secrets.

Add to all of that a couple of new students with their own trauma and the body of a boy in a storage container at a shipping yard and it seems that Violet's life will probably never go back to normal (whatever that is).

When you're a girl who can sense the bodies of those killed by violence, is anything really normal?

Final thoughts: I really liked The Body Finder and was hoping for more of the same from Derting with this second book. Unfortunately, it got a little predictable at parts and definitely hit the repeat button a few times. Violet makes a number of bad choices, the biggest being not confiding in anyone. Throughout the book she keeps pushing people away, which seems stupid when just talking to a couple of people could have solved her problems in half the time. Violet's connection with a new boy also leads me to think that future books are bound to have some romantic entanglements no matter how devoted she and Jay seem to be, especially since Derting basically kept shoving it in my face over and over again.

Rating: 3/5

Hate List

2011-01-31T22:29:00.000-08:00

Hate List

by Jennifer Brown

She didn't think it would go down like that.

She had no idea he would do it.

She'd only started the list because she needed a way to vent about being bullied and teased.

It wasn't supposed to become what it was.

It wasn't supposed to become a hit list.

It wasn't supposed to become his hit list.

Now, months later, Valerie is left to pick up the pieces of her life, even as many wish her dead.

After all, it was her list to begin with.

After all, he was her boyfriend.

She should have known.

She should have seen.

She should have stopped it.

At least that's what everyone thinks.

Including Valerie.

Final thoughts: Wow. This one is an intense read. It brings back memories of Columbine and other school shootings. I was amazed to find myself not only sympathizing with Valerie, but in some ways empathizing with her, as well. While I was tremendously lucky to have a few very good, sane friends in high school, I was often an outsider. I never faced the daily ridicule that were constants for Valerie and Nick, but I saw it regularly as a teacher later in life. I tried so hard to help those kids. I hope I made a difference. And I truly hope that others can read this book, see the victims around them, and step up to offer them hope. This is a must read, especially for troubled high school students.

Rating: 5/5

Unearthly

2011-01-30T23:21:00.000-08:00

Unearthly

by Cynthia Hand

At 14, Clara found out the family secret. She's an angel. Well... one-quarter angel on her mother's side. She's stronger, faster, and just a little bit smarter than the humans who surround her. She can speak any language. She can communicate with animals (though birds seem to hate her). And she's got wings. Yup! Honest to goodness wings!

At 16, Clara has her first vision, which reveals her "purpose". It's her reason for existing. And it has to do with a forest fire, silver truck, and a very, very cute boy. Once the location of her vision is known, her family packs up and leaves California to head out to Wyoming so that she can save the boy in time.

At 17, things get very complicated. She falls in love. She wasn't supposed to. She has a mission to complete and he may get in the way.

On top of all this is Clara's knowledge that she lacks knowledge. She knows some stuff about being angel-born, but it never seems to be enough. Her mom is keeping secrets from her and those secrets could ruin everything and get in the way of her purpose.

Final thoughts: The last angel book I read was Hush, Hush, and I was not a huge fan, so diving into this book made me nervous. However, I was pleasantly surprised. Clara is as real as she can be for a teenage angel and her struggles seem realistic given the circumstances. I had a few problems with the romantic lead. His transformation from semi-jerk to awesome guy seemed to skip a few needed moments in the book, but I liked the relationship overall.

Rating: 4/5

The Body Finder

2011-01-30T12:13:00.000-08:00

The Body Finder

by Kimberly Derting

Violet Ambrose and her family have always known she was a bit "different". Ever since she can remember, she's gotten a sense about the dead creatures around her. Those that have died at the hands (or paws) of another, leave an "echo" behind. That echo can attach itself to Violent by her senses. Sometimes it's a bad odor, other times it's a song, and sometimes it can even be an aura.

When she was eight, while walking in the woods with her dad, Violet was inexplicably drawn to a mound of dirt by a sound, an echo, a voice that begged to be found. Under the dirt was the body of a young girl.

Since then, her family has been very protective of her. They've kept her from hospitals and cemeteries as much as possible to shield her from the echoes around her.

But Violet still senses them. She's even got a little graveyard at her home for all of the dead animals she's found that were killed by predators. Their echoes fade once they have a resting place, and Violet feels better knowing that they will no longer be alone in the woods.

Now Violet has other things to think about. As she starts her junior year of high school, she faces a hard choice. Her best friend who has known her forever and knows about her "talent" has also changed over the summer. He's now hot, buff, and seems to be completely oblivious to the fact that Violet has suddenly developed feelings for him that go way beyond friendship. Does she tell him? Or does she keep the secret and try not to be jealous when he asks the most popular girl in school to go to the homecoming dance?

Things get even worse for Violet when she's out on the lake during the last summer party and she follows a visual echo to a dead teenage girl in the water. Soon after, girls start to go missing and Violet's gift may be the only thing out there that can stop the killer.

Final thoughts: This is a great little YA supernatural book. I downloaded it onto my Kindle because I have the ARC for the sequel sitting at my desk at work and I didn't want to read it without reading the first one. I'm glad I did. While there were some problems with the flow of the story (spending so much time on the possible romance that the murders get ignored for a while and then vice versa), the overall story is really good. There are a few edge-of-your-seat moments and a couple of plot twists, but there are also a couple of obvious choices. In the end, it's a solid supernatural murder mystery that should be added to anyone's "to-read" list. I dare you to watch the trailer and not feel intrigued.

Rating: 4/5

Die for Me

2011-01-28T15:32:00.000-08:00

Die for Me

by Amy Plum

After Kate's parents died in a horrific car accident, she and her sister move to Paris, France to live with her grandparents. While her sister seems determined to ignore her grief by partying every night and flirting with every guys she sees, Kate disappears into her grief and barely leaves her room.

One day, while out in a local café trying to return to the real world, Kate spots Vincent. He's gorgeous. He's chivalrous. And he's undead.

Turns out, if you die while trying to save others, there's a possibility that you can come back to life... in a way. However, once you are brought back, you have an overwhelming urge to save everyone around you. Of course, it turns out that if you die while betraying and killing someone, you can come back to kill even more. So there's a war and now Kate's in the middle of it.

Can she open her heart to love and still survive... literally?

Final thoughts: Checklist time! Let's see if we can name all the ways this is Twilight for the zombie crew!

1) Girl who thinks she's only plain-looking meets gorgeous boy, compares him to characters from Greek mythology, and doubts he can ever love her the way she loves him. All the while, said boy is completely in love and thinks she's the most beautiful person ever born, but is always afraid she'll run screaming from him because of what he is. CHECK!

2) Immortals. CHECK!

3) Good immortals vs. bad immortals! It's really all a choice. CHECK!

4) Supernatural powers to predict the future and manipulate emotions. CHECK!

5) Girl in the supernatural group who is drawn to the new human chick and they become best friends instantly. CHECK!

6) Father figure who leads the group and works to keep it from harm while making mad cash so everyone is rich. CHECK!

7) When kissing boy, girl sometimes forgets to breathe. Also loses train of thought when looking into his eyes. CHECK!

8) Girl saved from certain death by Alice/Edward = Charlotte/Vincent. CHECK!

9) Girl risks self to save family member and is saved by boy she loves. CHECK!

10) Three days to convert to supernatural being, can't sleep, sometimes cold/dead looking. CHECK!

11) Boy leaves girl alone to keep her safe/sane, but can't stay away. CHECK! (though really from New Moon)

12) Girl somehow awesomely able to handle the truth and can even do things that most humans can't, which makes her a perfect addition to the group. (Oh, yeah. And almost everyone in the group loves her and would do anything for her.) CHECK!

... and oh-so-many more similarities. This could go on for days.

It's Twilight... but as zombies. Good zombies. We don't eat humans; we save them! zombies. Messy. Confusing. And an obvious knock-off complete with New Moon aspect. There are two more planned in this knock-off trilogy by all appearances so I'm willing to bet other supernatural beings show up and there may even be a wedding and/or baby in the future for Kate.

Ugh.

Rating: 2/5

Books and Movies

2011-01-27T10:09:00.000-08:00

Maggie Stiefvater, author of Shiver, recently posted a blog asking people to stop sending her headshots and requesting casting information for the movie adaption of her novel. You can read the whole thing here.

This leads to a few questions:

1) How much say should an author have in the casting of his/her own movie?

2) How much say should the potential audience have in the say of the casting of the movie adaption of their beloved book?

Personally, I think the problem stems from Stephenie Meyer and Twilight. Yes, there had been plenty of converted books cast before and there had been plenty of speculation about casting choices. I remember oh-so-long-ago when Daniel Radcliffe was cast as Harry Potter and the fans screamed both in support and anger. But the real hard push by fans to have a say in casting came when Stephenie Meyer became a regular poster on her own website. She posted actor headshots early on of people she thought were perfect for the roles. She commented regularly on Catherine Hardwicke's casting choices. When Kristen Stewart was cast, people were relatively happy. But when Robert Pattinson was cast, the fans and fansites became incensed. Flame wars erupted everywhere. It was only when Stephenie herself stepped up and posted that she approved of the choice that people calmed down. (Of course, I personally think that both actors were tremendously mis-cast since I love the books but HATE the actors' choices in their performances.)

Now, as more and more novels are being adapted (Shiver, The Hunger Games, the entire Twilight franchise, etc...) the fans seem to have an expectation that the authors are a part of the movie production. While Meyer was very hands-on with Twilight and often posted about talking to the directors and the screenwriter, most authors sell the rights and lose control of their work.

So how much say should the original author have in the adapted work? When does the author have to step back and let changes be made? And who is the final decider of what works and what doesn't?

These things will bug me for days now.

Divergent

2011-01-19T09:41:00.000-08:00

Divergent

by Veronica Roth

In the future, the people are separated into five distinct and different factions. Candor see the world in black and white and always tell the truth. Erudite live to learn and prize information above all things. Amity live to be happy and joyful. Dauntless respect only the brave and love danger and fighting. Abnegation sacrifice everything for the good of all.

Beatrice has lived in the Abnegation faction her entire life, but she's never felt like she belongs. She's not nearly as giving as her parents and her brother has always been kinder than she. But now she's turning 16 and she has a choice to make. She can choose to stay with Abnegation and spend her life living selflessly for others or she can become Dauntless and learn a more physically demanding life, but one that does not force you to give up comfort... or love.

As she struggles with figuring out who and what she is, she also finds herself having to fight against the world around her... a world that is not as ordered and orderly as it seems.

Final thoughts: I got this as an ARC from the ALA Midwinter Conference and I've got to say that I am sooo glad I didn't have to wait for this book! While I've worried over the new trend in dystopian YA fiction, this one is totally worth checking out and possibly keeping by your side for always and ever. I LOVE this book. Beatrice (Tris) is such a real character. She's full of conflicting feelings and emotions, but her real personality is always true and constant. She's a cross between Katniss's badassness (The Hunger Games) and Cassia's honesty and love (Matched). The romance is awesome. The story is strong. The only bad thing is that it is the first of a trilogy, so now I have to wait for the next book. Completely wonderful and fantastic.

Rating: 5/5

Ascend

2011-01-15T09:43:00.000-08:00

Ascend

by Amanda Hocking

With Wendy's wedding approaching and war on the horizon, she must now make preparations to keep her people from dying. The choices she makes now will either guarantee the future of the Trylle or destroy them completely.

Final thoughts: Ugh. I am so disappointed by this book. It was an absolute mess. Hocking seems to have realized late in the game that she needed to resolve points from her first two books in this trilogy and she kind of just jams those resolutions in without any honest flow. There's also a Bella Swan element here of Wendy constantly wanting to go out and save the day on her own and having the men who love her constantly tell her they won't lose her like that and "never do that again".

Hocking also seems to have no idea about the realities of war and she even seems to forget the time period she's in. A whole city has been attacked and Wendy first sends 10 people out to go help them. Those 10 people come across the attackers in a forest and surprise them. But if everyone is driving cars and cities aren't that far away, how come the attackers stopped at all and how did the 10 scouts (who are in cars driving on roads) just happen to come across them in the forest? Later, Wendy herself goes out to the town, makes one round in the palace ballroom that's being used as a hospice, and then she goes out and cleans the town. Yup. She and the others clean. No rescuing of anyone. No burying. Cleaning.

The romance part isn't handled well either. Wendy has three guys in her life, but the person she seemed to want the most for the first two books is just kind of there in this one and she's suddenly deeply in love with someone else.

Another similarity to Meyer's work is the seeming need for everyone to have a happy ending. Breaking Dawn annoyed me because everyone ended up happy. Ascend is similar. All things work out for everyone good and nice. Bad guys are no longer around and/or bad. Blah blah blah. I could go on and on for days about the problems in this book.

Hocking needs an editor desperately. Her FAQ says that she writes each book in about three weeks. It really shows in this one. Writing a book and self-publishing it doesn't mean it's necessarily worth reading and this one isn't.

Rating: 2/5

Across the Universe

2011-01-14T15:46:00.000-08:00

Across the Universe

by Beth Revis

She only agreed to go because she didn't want to leave her parents.

She didn't know how wrong everything would go.

No one did.

No one could.

And now she's been awakened early and she can't go back to sleep. She can't sleep through the rest of the 300 year journey across space to the new planet. She may be dead long before her parents ever wake up...

He's been brought up to be the future leader.

It's his job to keep the people on the ship safe as they travel.

But he didn't know the secrets that were being kept.

Almost no one did.

And now he needs to get the answers to his questions and find out the secrets before more are unfrozen and awakened.

Before more die.

Together, maybe they can find the truth.

Final thoughts: Wow... This one will be screwing with my head for a while. This is Revis's debut novel and it's amazing. This ship world that has been created and all of the controls that are in place are mind-boggling both in complexity and simplicity. I highly recommend this to both sci-fi lovers and those who like a good edge-of-your-seat thriller.

Rating: 5/5

The Samantha Granger Experiment : Fused

2011-01-12T12:05:00.000-08:00

The Samantha Granger Experiment : Fused

by Kari Lee Townsend

Sam's parents had warned her that she was far too dependent on technology and gadgets. She couldn't go anywhere without the latest tech and she got easily lost without her handy phone GPS. But they never could have expected things to go down the way they did.

One night, while lost in the woods, Sam turns on her GPS, turns a corner, and finds the discovery of the century. A blue, glowing meteor is lying in a crater in the forest and Sam gets the sudden urge to touch it.

Big mistake.

After receiving the literal shock of a lifetime, she gets a figurative one. Her phone is gone, but she can suddenly do everything it could. Her hand is now a dial pad. Her eye is a camera. Her brain can tap the Internet. And her world has just turned upside-down.

She's only 13 years old. She's finishing middle school. She's got a major crush on an awesome guy. And now her phone's tech is taking over her life.

Now she must become Hard Wired (or maybe some other hero name that won't get confused with "Harry Weird") and try to track down why 911 calls are not getting through to anyone but her and why there have been so many recent break-ins.

Can she save the town and still get the boy?

Final thoughts: This is a cute premise, but it's an absolute mess overall. The story jumps all over the place and some things that really should be explained just never are. Sometimes Sam is completely in control of her new powers, while other times she's as lost as the reader. And somehow, everything seems to magically work out at the end, though it does finish off with an obvious "to be continued" type ending. Upper elementary and middle school girls will probably enjoy it, but it's just not executed well enough to recommend.

Rating: 2/5

ALA Youth Media Award Winners

2011-01-10T11:08:00.000-08:00

Congrats to all of the winners of this year's

American Library Association

Youth Media Awards!!

John Newbery Award Winner - Moon Over Manifest by Claire Vanderpool

Randolph Caldecott Medal - A Sick Day for Amos McGee, illustrated by Erin E. Stead

Michael L. Printz Award - Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award - One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia (also the winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction)

Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award - Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave, illustrated by Bryan Collier

Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent (Author) Award - Zora and Me by Victoria Bond and T. R. Simon

Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent (Illustrator) Award - Seeds of Change, illustrated by Sonia Lynn Sadler

Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Practitioner Award for Lifetime Achievement -

Dr. Henrietta Mays Smith

Schneider Family Book Award - The Pirate of Kindergarten by George Ella Lyon, After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick, Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John

Laura Ingalls Wilder Award - Tomie dePaola

Margaret A. Edwards Award - Sir Terry Pratchett

May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award - Peter Sis

Mildred L. Batchelder Award - A Time of Miracles by Anne-Laure Bondoux, translated by Y. Maudet

Odyssey Award - The True Meaning of Smekday, produced by Listening Library

Pura Belpre (Author) Award - The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan

Pura Belpre (Illustrator) Award - Grandma's Gift, illustrated and written by Eric Velasquez

Robert F. Sibert Medal - Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World's Strangest Parrot by Sy Montgomery

Stonewall Children's and Young Adult Literature Award - Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award - Bink and Gollie by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee

William C. Morris Award - The Freak Observer by Blythe Woolston

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults - Janis Joplin: Rise Up Singing by Ann Angel

More details and information can be found at the ALA website.

Switched and Torn

2011-01-07T09:52:00.000-08:00

Switched

by Amanda Hocking

Wendy was only six when her own mother tried to kill her with a knife at her birthday party. Since then, she's lived with her older brother, Matt, and her aunt, Maggie. They are really all the family she's ever known, especially after her father died and her mother attempted filicide.

And while she's felt loved her entire life, she's never really fit in. Because of her own temper issues and inability to focus, she's had to change schools repeatedly over the years, forcing her brother and aunt to move from place to place.

Seventeen and fully resolved to make sure she never forces her family into moving again, Wendy finally seems to be getting her act together. She's doing better in school and has even met a cute guy: Finn. Of course, he's always watching her, which is a little creepy, but it's also a little hot.

Unfortunately, it turns out that Finn has a secret and that secret is really about Wendy. It seems that Wendy isn't really her mother's child. She's a changeling. A troll. A Trylle, actually. And her powers (yup, powers!) have started developing a little early, forcing her real mother to call her back early before members of an opposite and dangerous group get ahold of her.

Now all Wendy has to do is figure out who she really is and learn to embrace it.

Torn

by Amanda Hocking

Just weeks after running away from home to fulfill her destiny to be queen of the Trylle, Wendy has run away again with her brother's brother to return home. Unfortunately, the homecoming is short-lived and, before she can even settle in, she's kidnapped.

What she learns from her captor, her rescuers, her mother, and the man she wants to be her lover turns everything she knew on its head.

Can she be the Princess that the Trylle need and prevent the Vittra from ending the lives of more innocents?

Final thoughts: These books were recommended to me on my Kindle by Amazon. At first, I ignored the recommendations, but I'm glad I finally gave them a chance. Amanda Hocking is a self-published author who has a real talent. While there are some difficulties with flow and some of the relationships don't seem to be how they are described, the story is compelling. I was hoping to review all three in one post, but, alas, the final book, Ascend, seems to be delayed until next week. Good, solid read with a little supernatural and a lot of chemistry/friction/romance.

Rating for both books: 4/5

The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend

2011-01-03T18:57:00.000-08:00

The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend

by Kody Keplinger

After a horrendous break-up with her "boyfriend" when she was only a freshman, Bianca's pretty much sworn off love. It really only causes problems and everyone suffers in the end. Love really takes years to get to, anyway, so why waste trying to find it in high school?

So she's settled on just being best friends with two of the prettiest girls in school and watching them have fun. Now all she has to do is finish her senior year and she'll be off to college.

Unfortunately, she has a bad night with her friends when they all go to a club and leave her at the "bar" to drink Cherry Cokes and watch them dance the night away. That's when Wesley Austin, known player and man-whore, sits down to talk to her. He explains that she's the Duff (Designated Ugly Fat Friend). If he makes nice to her and makes her happy, he may be able to sleep with one of her pretty friends, since he'll have scored points with them by talking to her.

This becomes too much to deal with for Bianca, who's never thought of herself as anything so negative before. She's always been herself (even sometimes rudely so), but always true, real, and a real friend.

She gets more bad news when her family falls apart in front of her very eyes and the only time she ever feels like the world doesn't suck is when she's in the arms of the very same man-whore who started it all: Wesley.

Can she find her way back to herself and maybe even to love? And will Toby Tucker ever finally give her the time of day?

Final thoughts: We've all felt like the Duff before. It's natural. But knowing that we ARE the Duff and being able to turn that into a positive can be very difficult. Keplinger also references The Scarlet Letter and Wuthering Heights to great affect, hopefully inspiring others to read those, too. Overall, it was a good read and very self-affirming. Bianca's story is fairly realistic and honest.

WARNING: this is a YA book, but it is definitely for more mature readers. There is sex and foul language, which, while honest for many 17-year-olds, may be inappropriate for younger teens.

Rating: 4/5

Anna and the French Kiss

2011-01-02T13:05:00.000-08:00

Anna and the French Kiss

by Stephanie Perkins

Anna had everything planned. Her senior year was going to be amazing. She had an awesome best friend and a guy who was heading towards being her boyfriend. Everything was looking good.

Then her dad decided to use his daughter to increase his status. A famous writer of schlock about-to-die books (you know the ones where the woman finds romance, discovers she has cancer, spends her last days in love, and croaks at the end), he wants to send his daughter to a boarding school in Paris in order to help bump up his reputation in the states.

Unable to fight him, Anna is shipped off and now must figure out how to live and study in France even though she's only ever taken Spanish in school and she's absolutely horrible at learning new languages.

Fortunately, Anna has a great new friend in the girl next door who gives her a built-in group of friends. And with those friends comes Étienne St. Claire. He's gorgeous. He's smart. And he has a great accent. There seems to be great chemistry. If only he didn't have that pesky long-term girlfriend with him.

Can Anna learn to live and love in the city that is built for that kind of thing?

Final thoughts: Great teen romance. Anna is realistic and funny. She has a great voice and her problems are real. Most people would be ecstatic to spend a year in France, but Anna's reasons for being unhappy are honest and unforced. Perkins has done a great job making the story real. My only issue has to do with Étienne's problems and his handling of the whole girlfriend vs. the love of his life issues.

Rating: 4/5

Harper Connelly Books 2-4

2010-12-19T09:08:00.000-08:00

Grave Surprise

by Charlaine Harris

While providing a demonstration for a professor and his class, Harper runs across the grave of a girl she had searched for years before and had not found. What follows is a dangerous journey to find the killer and figure out why that killer lured Harper to that grave.

Ice Cold Grave

by Charlaine Harris

For the past few years, boys have been mysteriously disappearing. Initially shrugged off as having run away, the new sheriff thinks something more sinister is going on and calls on Harper Connelly and her special "talent" to find the truth. What Harper finds is a mass grave filled with the remains of tortured boys. She also finds out that the killer is not too happy to have had his burial ground found, and now he wants Harper dead.

Grave Secret

by Charlaine Harris

Brought in to simply tell a family whether or not the now-dead patriarch was murdered, Harper comes across the body of assistant who had died around the same time and makes a pronouncement: the girl had died in childbirth and not appendicitis. Now the family of that patriarch needs to find the child and discover if she is the heir to a fortune, or just the daughter of some random guy. During her search, she also finds clues to solve the crime of her sister's disappearance eight years before. But can Harper figure out all the clues before it's too late?

Final thoughts: The first two books in this series were pretty good. They had a mystery, drama, and a pinch of the supernatural. However, the third book (Ice Cold Grave) was when Charlaine Harris seemed to get writer's Tourette's. Where the first books had been tame enough to recommend to older teens, this third book suddenly became curse central with f-bombs dropped left and right. Harris also seems to find it necessary to go into great detail about the torture and rape of the dead boys. Finally, she decided to drop in a semi-incestuous, and very graphically described sexual relationship between Harper and her stepbrother. The last book felt like Harris was giving up the series (possibly after complaints about the third book) and just wanted to tie up the loose ends. It was a hasty, messy way to conclude Harper's story and the last few pages were a throwaway to give some closure.

Rating: 3/5 for the series as a whole. Grave Surprise: 4/5. Ice Cold Grave: 2/5. Grave Secret: 3/5

Grave Sight

2010-12-14T21:15:00.000-08:00

Grave Sight

by Charlaine Harris

Harper Connelly makes a living finding bodies and figuring out how they died, but she's not a cop. When she was young, she was struck by lightning, which gave her the ability to sense the dead.

Yup. That's right. She can sense the dead. They buzz in her brain until she's right over them and then she sees their last moments.

Cemeteries can give her a peaceful buzz or a major headache. The more recent the death, the louder the noise. The more violent the death, the scarier the picture.

And while she can see a murder victim's final moments, she can never see the killer. But that's ok with her. She doesn't want to solve cases (except for that of her younger sister's disappearance and probable murder); she just wants to find the body, declare the cause of death, get paid, and get out of town.

Unfortunately, while the residents of Sarne need her services, she's very unwelcome while she's there. And when she finds the body of a dead teenage girl whose mother is murdered soon after the discovery, she now becomes a key person in an investigation where no one wants her around, and someone really seems to want her dead.

With the help of her friend/coworker/stepbrother, can Harper solve a town's mystery when the town doesn't want her around?

Final thoughts: Nice change of pace from the Sookie Stackhouse novels. This book is aimed more at older readers (think college and beyond), so it's off my normal YA review path, but it's still decently written. Now that the basic premise has been set, I'm sure the next books in the series will have less exposition and more plot. Decent read all around.

Rating: 4/5