Review: Ask Again Later by Liz Czukas

Books where characters get to live out two different realities and then face the consequences after seeing the results are something I find very interesting. Who hasn't wanted to go back in time and see how something would be if we had chosen a second option? Hindsight really is 20 / 20. Plus, as a hopeless romantic, prom is something that can easily draw me to a book. Both my senior prom and the spring formal I went to during university were 'blah' to say the least, so I guess it would be fair to admit that I enjoy living through these things vicariously when book characters experience them.

Ask Again Later had lots of prom goodness, but did it give me my cute fluffy romance fix? Read on and find out. :)

(Summary from GoodReads)

Despite what her name might suggest, Heart has zero interest in complicated romance. So when her brilliant plan to go to prom with a group of friends is disrupted by two surprise invites, Heart knows there's only one drama-free solution: flip a coin.

Heads: The jock. He might spend all night staring at his ex or throw up in the limo, but how bad can her brother's best friend really be?

Tails: The theater geek...with a secret. What could be better than a guy who shares all Heart's interests--even if he wants to share all his feelings?

Heart's simple coin flip has somehow given her the chance to live out both dates. But where her prom night ends up might be the most surprising thing of all..

Premise vs. execution. I know we've had this discussion before. When they are equal, we get a book that is great. When they aren't, we get a book that is okay, mediocre, or worse. For what it's worth, Ask Again Later isn't a terrible book. At no point did I want to DNF while reading it. In the moment, it was entertaining. But at the same time, I feel that it ultimately failed because when I set my Kindle down and started thinking about what I'd say in this review, it dawned on me that I didn't care.

About the plot. About the characters. About the motivation that was a huge part of Heart's overall conflict. The story did not win our heroine my sympathy and I actually kinda felt she brought on her own misery. Maybe it's because I actually had a friend somewhat like her during my high school days (the general disinterest in dating--not Heart's exact motivations for it) and I could never totally grasp that / my 16-year-old self was probably very confused / frustrated by it. 

Okay. Let's tackle each of these issues...

This was a small book with an absolutely monster cast. This was 'helped' by the fact that there were two dates going back and forth, and by the fact that both Heart and her brother Phil had large groups of friends. The problem this posed for me is that I never really felt any kind of connection to any of the secondary characters. Even the 'love interest' (whom I won't name, even though it gets REALLY obvious about 5 pages after the Amazon sample ends) really didn't wow me. I could never really, totally grasp what he saw in Heart or what she saw in him. 

Which leads me to say that I could not identify with our leading lady here. Heart had some interesting quirks and didn't seem like a terrible character. But she threw her teenager cred' away for me when she pretty much told us that any decision made at 18 is probably a stupid choice we will ultimately regret. Is this "true"? Is it something we might think or say later--often to someone who is currently 18? Perhaps. But in literature it makes me think of a villain coming on stage and going, "Hey, look! I'm evil!" ...Just doesn't fly, in my opinion. 

Which leads to motivation, heading full circle back to my issue with the plot. The real conflict of this book revolved around the reason that Heart would not date, why this lead to her actual love interest not inviting her to prom, and why she was so incapable of rejecting the two guys who did. I can somewhat understand the motivation given. But the extreme to which it was given, and the lack of background about it--how did she come up with it? when did it actually occur to her that it was necessary? if her situation with her mom effected her this much why is she emulating her mother's love of vintage clothes?--kept me at arm's length. I didn't really buy into the idea that a teen girl would think in this way, and that kept me from getting more invested in the story. 

I didn't hate Ask Again Later, and I'm sure I'll check Liz Czukas books in the future because I did like her writing style. She did a great job with Heart's voice and, while I didn't 'click' with Heart, I recognize that she was unique and distinct. With that said, I don't think I've ever been so glad to have bought a book on my Kindle, because this would be on a one-way trip to the Value Village bin otherwise. (My room is tiny! I don't have space for books that I don't mad-love.) If you can get this book from the library or you totally LOVE the Kindle sample go ahead and read it. But ultimately, this would be something I'd suggest borrowing or skipping over buying, if I'm being really honest. A shame--it had potential. 

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Review: A Death-Struck Year by Makiia Lucier

It can be a real challenge to talk about a book like A Death-Struck Year. Why? Because if you love a book like this, there's bound to be some nutbar who mistakes you for some kind of disease-loving ghoul. While if you hate it, there'll be someone who might accuse you of being insensitive to things that happened in the past. Your damned if you do, damned if you don't.

I'll put it out there right now: I feel the same way about plagues that many people do about zombies. I find them freaking scary. And the thing is--and I mean this as nicely as possible--you're far more likely to be facing a disease then a half rotting corpse who wants your brains in this world of ours. (That's not to discredit genres like fantasy, which I actually write, but...) Fantasy, horror, etc. don't scare me. But a book like this? I'm still thinking about it and reeling from it almost a week after reading it. That's not easy when I'm going through a phase where I'm reading a lot.

(Summary from GoodReads)

A deadly pandemic, a budding romance, and the heartache of loss make for a stunning coming-of-age teen debut about the struggle to survive during the 1918 flu.

For Cleo Berry, the people dying of the Spanish Influenza in cities like New York and Philadelphia may as well be in another country--that's how far away they feel from the safety of Portland, Oregon. And then cases start being reported in the Pacific Northwest. Schools, churches, and theaters shut down. The entire city is thrust into survival mode--and into a panic. Headstrong and foolish, seventeen-year-old Cleo is determined to ride out the pandemic in the comfort of her own home, rather than in her quarantined boarding school dorms. But when the Red Cross pleads for volunteers, she can't ignore the call. As Cleo struggles to navigate the world around her, she is surprised by how much she finds herself caring about near-strangers. Strangers like Edmund, a handsome medical student and war vet. Strangers who could be gone tomorrow. And as the bodies begin to pile up, Cleo can't help but wonder: when will her own luck run out?

Riveting and well-researched, A Death-Struck Year is based on the real-life pandemic considered the most devastating in recorded world history. Readers will be captured by the suspenseful storytelling and the lingering questions of: what would I do for a neighbor? At what risk to myself?

An afterword explains the Spanish flu phenomenon, placing it within the historical context of the early 20th century. Source notes are extensive and interesting.

I think that A Death Struck Year was totally spot on. It's clear that Makiia Lucier has done her research and that she put a lot of effort into getting the details of the time period and the fear that people were experiencing then right. The idea that this book would have taken place before my grandparents were born is really something. Yet despite this, the writing style stayed contemporary enough that I was able to zip through the book with ease. This is something people will either love or hate, but personally it worked for me. We're in first person here and making Cleo's thoughts clear was important, especially with all the chaos surrounding her. 

Cleo was a well developed character who had moments when I wanted to hug her and moments when I wanted to hit her. She straddled the gap between teenage girl and young woman well, presenting a front that I felt was believable for the time and relatable for modern readers. I've seen a few complaining that the novel starts slow. I feel that it had to. If we had been tossed directly into the Flu from page one we would not be able to appreciate the full depth of Cleo's growth in the novel or just how deeply the Flu impacts her life. 

I liked the reason that Makiia gave for Cleo's decision to join the Red Cross as a volunteer. I also think it's interesting--and that it speaks to her motivation's credability--that there are people torn over whether her choice made sense. But really think of it... Would you be willing to risk your own life to save others? Could you really be sure if the answer was yes or no? Or about what might change that answer? Cleo's motive was actually stronger than what I would expect in real life, yet it met with the fictional need for a choice to 'make sense' in a way that (I feel) fabulously enriched her character. 

The connection between friendship and the spread of the Flu is something that is touched on in A Death-Struck Year and I think it is handled well. It would have been all too easy to have Cleo remain untouched by the effects of what is happening, to be in the midst of this storm without ever being effected by it, but thankfully (in relation to *fiction*) Makiaa Lucier had the courage to go beyond that. There is loss in this novel, and there was one part in particular that did produce tears from me. That's no small feat. I think that this added to the realness of the story and drove the point home about just how bad the whole situation could be--and that Cleo was able to keep going despite this. Although I will say I noticed a similarity between this book and In The Shadow of Blackbirds that made me go, "Really?". It was just too much of a coincidence. 

The last thing I want to say is that I did enjoy the romance between Cleo and Edmund, and I was glad that it didn't get in the way. It could have gone all kinds of wrong in the midst of a story like this, but it was balanced in such a way that I never felt like it acted as some kind of magical balm that made what was going on around these characters somehow 'okay'. (That would have irritated me.) I also feel that in this story the open nature of the ending for the book and romance was appropriate. I think there was likely a split on those who felt Cleo and Edmund might continue any type of correspondence or connection after the Flu, and this ending allows for the reader to make up their own mind. This wouldn't work for me in every book, but here it was a satisfying solution. 

I totally loved A Death-Struck Year and would gladly recommend it to those who enjoy historical fiction and / or those who are as fascinated / horrified with tragedies of the past as I am. I feel that Makiia Lucier did a fabulous job of bringing 1918 Portland to life, and in humanizing a time in history that must have been terrifying for those who lived it. This is a book where I knew what I wanted going in, and I had received it by the time I hit the home button on my Kindle. I cannot ask for more. 

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Review: If Only We by Jessica Sankiewicz

I've said it before and I'll say it again: it's always tough to review a book when I have any inkling at all who the author is. I don't know Jessica as well as I know Marie (Landry) or Krystle (Jones), but it's still a tough position to be in. All the moreso because while I did really like If Only We, I can't just give this five hearts and call it a day. Which truthfully kinda kills me.

This is the third time I've sat down and tried to read If Only We, and once I got going I am happy to share that I ended up reading it within a couple days. But the fact that it took me multiple attempts probably makes it clear there was an issue or two.

So, what's the deal with If Only We? What worked for me--and what didn't? Read on and find out.

(Summary from GoodReads) 

They say all it takes is one wrong move and you lose the game. One false step and you’re trapped. One slip-up in your choice of words and you ruin a friendship forever. That is what they say. They say I lost.

I do not believe them.

At the end of the summer after graduation, Adrienne wonders what happened to cause her life to be in ruins. She isn’t getting along with her mom, her stepsister isn’t talking to her, and, to top it off, the boy she’s been in love with doesn’t want anything to do with her. She believes the turning point was a choice she made at graduation. When she wakes up the next day, she has been transported back three months to that moment, the one where everything started to fall apart.

Adrienne realizes she has been given a second chance—and this time she doesn’t want to mess anything up. Reliving the entire summer, though, turns out to be a lot harder than she thought. As the same days and weeks go by, she starts to see how simple decisions can make a huge impact on the world around her. Despite knowing some of what lies ahead, there are some things she didn’t anticipate. She thought she knew what mistake led her to where she ended up the first time. She was wrong.

And by the time summer is over, she discovers what was really at stake.

I wanted to read If Only We from the moment that I first read the summary. To me it sounded like someone was going to take time travel and blend it with a contemporary novel, which I thought was really genius. And in essence, this was what I feel I got. 

I like how many different things we got to see Adrienne juggling as she went through her second chance summer. (Sorry, I had to do that.) Her friendship with Lindsay, her relationship with her mom, her bond with her little stepsister, Kaitlin, and of course, her growing feelings for Chevy. I really liked the cast of characters I got to meet in this book, and I came to care for several of them (especially Kaitlin and Chevy) deeply. 

I found Adrienne to be a likable heroine and I enjoyed seeing her grow during the course of the book. I also like how the whole time travel thing was used. It wasn't a spoon full of sugar to magically fix everything. It was clever, allowing opportunities to resolve some issues, while causing others to again rear their ugly heads in ways Adrienne could not have predicted. 

In some ways Adrienne's mom comes across (in Adrienne's mind) as sort of the "villain". I liked how we get a real, tangible feeling of the guilt and dread that clashing with / disappointing her mom causes Adrienne. I also like how, by book's end, we do come to learn that Adrienne's mother, while stuck in her ways and pushy, does actually love her daughter. 

So, what were those issues I brought up? Well, for starts I had a bit of trouble with the opening. There was far too much thinking and not enough doing for a beginning, though I did like how this came intto focus as we found Chevy at the cemetery. 

The problem is that this lulling tactic does not contain itself to the beginning of the book. There were multiple places where summary was used while I sat here wondering why we were getting summary rather than a scene. Some of these were gray areas where either method could have worked and I question whether it was done due to any risk of repetition on the time travel aspect. Others were actually disappointing to me since I feel that they missed opportunities to get to know the people in Adrienne's life better. To put it another way: I would have gladly read the 'more' that some things would have added as scenes rather than summary, since I was interested enough in the characters to be sorry I missed getting their actual views about certain situations. 

If Only We has a terrific premise, memorable characters and a powerful message. While I didn't connect with the book as deeply as I had hoped, I did end up very wrapped up in Adrienne's world and I look forward to reading whatever Jessica chooses to write next. Definitely worth checking out. 

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Review: Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens

There are three things I'm usually looking for when I read a contemporary novel: to jump into a situation I've never experienced (or sometimes one I *pray* I'll never experience), to hopefully watch a character / cast of characters grow and (hopefully) succeed, and to be given either insight or understanding about something I might not have known about before. In regard to these things, Faking Normal had several different levels of appeal. The idea of having someone come to live in my home is something I think I'd find very strange. The trauma that we know Bodee has witnessed had hairs on my arms standing on end. And I had to know whether, and how, Alexi would find the strength to acknowledge and deal with what happened to her.

Was Faking Normal able to do justice to the story of these two brave, wounded souls? Was it too dark, too light, too "romance-y" for its subject matter? Or did it manage to hit just the right notes? Read on and find out.

(Summary from GoodReads)

An edgy, realistic, and utterly captivating novel from an exciting new voice in teen fiction.

Alexi Littrell hasn't told anyone what happened to her over the summer. Ashamed and embarrassed, she hides in her closet and compulsively scratches the back of her neck, trying to make the outside hurt more than the inside does.

When Bodee Lennox, the quiet and awkward boy next door, comes to live with the Littrells, Alexi discovers an unlikely friend in "the Kool-Aid Kid," who has secrets of his own. As they lean on each other for support, Alexi gives him the strength to deal with his past, and Bodee helps her find the courage to finally face the truth.

A searing, poignant book, Faking Normal is the extraordinary debut novel from an exciting new author-Courtney C. Stevens.

For some reason I'll never fully understand, I am drawn to contemporary novels where the characters are facing things that are real, and yet seem so bizarre within my own context of living that they almost seem otherworldly. It is this sense of "How does this *happen*?!" that first grabbed me about Faking Normal and put it on my must read list. How would YOU react if your father killed your mother? That is the agonizing reality that now makes up the minutes, days and hours of Bodee Lennox's existence. And I must say, when all is said and done, this was the first of many ways he amazed me.

But I'm jumping ahead. Bodee was by far my favorite character, and he is definitely important. But lets not discredit Alexi Littrell, our main character and narrator. Alexi is definitely facing demons of her own, and I feel that Faking Normal portrayed her struggle, and gave me ways to understand and relate to her situation that I don't think a book has ever presented me with before.

Let's get real honest: Alexi has been raped. I am pretty sure most people will figure this out very quickly. What won't be discovered as fast, and what is put to brilliant use, is how we discover "whodunit". It's not, from what I pieced together, that Alexi doesn't *remember*. Rather, as with most cases in real life, this happened because of someone close. The horror of such a betrayal, and the fear of the ramifications that exposing this individual would have, both succeed (for lack of a better word) in keeping her silent for a large majority of the novel--even to herself, and therefore to the reader. Considering the culture we live in, the prevalence of blaming victims for crimes committed against them, and the things we learn about Alexi's past, I found this extremely believable.

I've gone to town blasting books for this kind of narrative manipulation in other reviews. So, why do I not only condone but also praise it here? Because it allowed me to actually experience the fear of others that Alexi must have been dealing with each day (and which she will likely struggle with long after I closed the book). Every male character (except Bodee, whom if we're going to parallel solving the mystery / naming the villain as a metaphor becomes our 'detective' and therefore an illogical suspect) is a giant question mark. A potential threat to be cautiously observed, thoroughly analyzed and always, on some intuitive inner level, either mistrusted or outright feared. I probably switched my theory on who was responsible three times during the course of the book. What's more, my own mood began to echo Alexi's own highs and lows as she attempted to keep "faking normal". A character who initially seemed lightyears different then me in her circumstances became someone within fiction that I feel I've had one of the most tangible experiences of not just sharing, but in some strange small way living, a story as. Incredible.

Okay. Now we can talk about Bodee. :)

Let me start with this: Bodee may be my favorite love interest in any YA novel I've ever read. Period. Hands down. No competition. And here's the kicker: he's a good guy. (Shocking, I know. I have that whole 'I love villains tendency and I'm still telling you this.) Why? Because as much as I love the 'bad boys' of literature, I can tell all of you that in real life, I'd want (and am actually fortunate to have) a guy like Bodee. Bodee is not a magical pill that makes Alexi better. Bodee is not perfect--we've already established he's going through his own hell during this book and while I found him strong, please don't confuse that with him traipsing through the tulips like nothing is happening. Bodee is genuine--his honesty was extremely refreshing and oh so needed in this book. And Bodee is the kind of guy who is there when he is needed.

I also think that there may have been some clever symbolism that I quite liked. There were some Christian tones to this novel (which may be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your reading tastes) and I think that was put to good use. I'm wondering if Bodee's hair is suppose to be an allusion to God granting us the rainbow, which is a symbol of hope. I also wonder whether the bird that Alexi sees later in the novel is a throwback to the Dove which brought back proof of land after the flood, since the bird in Faking Normal is in part connected to Alexi finally facing the "flood" of her emotions regarding her situation and finally finding the courage to actually face it. Okay--analysis over, people. I promise. :)

The last thing that I want to say before I wrap this up is that despite the dark issues the characters are facing, this novel is absolutely not a downer. There are genuine moments of humor and warmth and the story is moreso about these characters finding peace and healing than it ever is about them wallowing in the tragedies that have befallen them. I was sucked in from page one and as the story drew to a fitting close the world that Alexi and Bodee inhabit is one which I was sorry to have to leave. I am confident that these two characters and Faking Normal, as a whole, will have a place in my heart for a long, long time.

I can usually answer this really easily, but when it comes to a story with issues as heavy and potentially personal as those found here, I must first advise people to look within themselves. You know what will help or hinder you. Again: I feel that Faking Normal was honest but extremely positive. I absolutely loved it. I think it was beautiful. As a book, without worrying about any other concerns, I would recommend Faking Normal without any hesitation. The slow, beautiful growth of trust, friendship and affection between Alexi and Bodee was of a quality where upon finishing Faking Normal, part of me was tempted to go back to the beginning and read it again. I can give no higher praise.

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Review: In The Shadow Of Blackbirds by Cat Winters

Something I've always been interested in, and which I read shockingly little about in fiction, is history. I've had a great interest in not only what happened in the past, but how people truly *lived* it--what it was really like--since I was in my teens. While browsing a Fresh Batch post I came across another novel, A Death-Struck Year, which grabbed my interest. And as I did my research about reading *that*, I discovered this book.

I wasn't sure what I would think of In The Shadow Of Blackbirds going in. I didn't have any real expectations, outside of being interested in examining the Spiritualism craze, the paranoia and fear during the Spanish Influenza, and the effects of WW1. On all three of these accounts, the book made great use of clearly well done research and took strands of history an ocean apart and yet intricately related, weaving them into a tapestry of a novel that I could not put down.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me try to explain things a little better...

(Summary from GoodReads)

In 1918, the world seems on the verge of apocalypse. Americans roam the streets in gauze masks to ward off the deadly Spanish influenza, and the government ships young men to the front lines of a brutal war, creating an atmosphere of fear and confusion. Sixteen-year-old Mary Shelley Black watches as desperate mourners flock to séances and spirit photographers for comfort, but she herself has never believed in ghosts. During her bleakest moment, however, she’s forced to rethink her entire way of looking at life and death, for her first love—a boy who died in battle—returns in spirit form. But what does he want from her?

Featuring haunting archival early-twentieth-century photographs, this is a tense, romantic story set in a past that is eerily like our own time.

First up, I will say this: going into a book without a clear and defined expectation--a detailed and specific "promise" that I expect the author to fulfill--was both terrifying and refreshing. As a reader of fantasy and romance (mostly) my expectations are usually very straight forward: I want a happy ending for whatever couple I'm shipping, and I want the bad guys to get stomped. In The Shadow Of Blackbirds, being something outside of my normal reading scope, did not present such a clear and definitive expectation. I ended up deciding, and then needing to re-evaluate, what I wanted from and for the characters, and that is part of what I think made it so brilliant and refreshing.

I genuinely enjoyed Mary Shelley as a heroine. Something I have noticed in fiction is that we often tell the reader that a character is smart, yet we generally fail to actually carry through on showing their intellect in action. Much of the time we seem to prize bravery and / or physical strength instead, or we give a character intellect as a side note to these things. Mary Shelley is a fairly average sixteen year old girl who happens to be very bright and curious. It is her keen mind that makes Mary stand out, and it is that mind which she uses to solve the majority of what is thrown at her in this novel. She does develop and grow as the story progresses, but that growth always stems from things which were true to her character from the beginning.

On top of this, I feel that the side characters all play into Mary's central strength well. I felt that their reactions to her wits and eccentricities were believable for the time period and that in combining the two, Cat Winters made good use of opportunities for character growth, conflict, and an enrichment of the time period she was writing about. ("Brains" were not on the list of qualities that a 1918 gentlemen sought in a potential wife. Let's leave it at that.)

I wasn't sure how I would feel about having a paranormal element enter this story. Between seeing the effects of the Spanish Flu, the damage done to young men sent home by the war, and the effects of patriotism--and paranoia--on peoples' lives, the book was already pretty scary just using what was real. However, I do think that the way the paranormal aspect of the book was handled, and how it lead to an intriguing mystery which required Mary to delve into the parts of the story I had come to read about, was clever and well thought out.

The last thing that I must speak about is how powerful the combination of things happening in this time period were in creating a setting and set of circumstances which I actually found more terrifying than I found the paranormal aspect. There are things you will learn in this book which are not for the faint of heart. It's not violently graphic or gruesome, but it also does not shy away from the realities of the world these characters were living in. If your imagination is anything like mine, the reality of what's going on will still be effective. I had the "pleasure" of reading this during the wee small hours of the morning. I'm not totally sure I'd do it that way if I were reading the book for the first time again. I'll admit it: I'm a wuss and I had trouble getting to sleep!

A satisfying and believable ending acts as the cherry on top of a story which hooked me from start to finish. I read the enter book in one day and not once did I want to put it down. If you haven't read In The Shadow Of Blackbirds yet, I would highly recommend that you check it out.

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Review: Revealed by P.C. and Kristen Cast

It's no secret that I am a big fan of the House of Night series. These books were my introduction to YA and also played a role in a decision regarding world building in my own series. At the same time, the greatest challenges I face when reviewing a House of Night book are twofold: (1) Not being biased and automatically giving each book five hearts. and (2) not ruining the books for those who haven't read them, while still aiming to provide a review that is actually worth reading. With this being, to my knowledge, the second to last book? That challenge is harder than ever.

Was Revealed perfect? No. It did several things that surprised, irritated or confused me. But was it bad? Again, no. It did things that shocked, amazed and intrigued me. But I think I should quit with the introduction and start the review. Maybe it will all make more sense that way.

(Summary from GoodReads)

The spellbinding eleventh and penultimate installment in the #1 New York Times bestselling vampyre series

Drastically altered after her fall at the end of Hidden, Neferet is now more dangerous than ever—and her quest for vengeance will wreak havoc on humans, as well as Zoey and her friends. Chaos is loosed in Tulsa and the House of Night is blamed. Can Zoey stop Neferet in time to keep her anger from escalating to full-on war? Or will someone else have to step in to take the fall?

The House of Night series is an international phenomenon, reaching #1 on U.S., German, and UK bestseller lists, and remaining a fixture on The New York Times Children’s Series bestseller list for nearly 150 weeks and counting. With more than 12 million copies in print, rights sold in thirty–eight countries to date, and relatable, addictive characters, this series is unstoppable. Now, in the eleventh and penultimate installment of the series, the action is more intense and the stakes even higher as Zoey and her friends battle to protect their school and home from devastating evil—all while balancing romances, precarious friendships and the daily drama of the House of Night's halls.

I don't know whether the person who wrote the blurb for this read the book or not. If they did, they sure as hell didn't read the same book I just finished five minutes ago.

Did I enjoy my time with Revealed? Sure. There was lots of good stuff in here for fans who are deeply invested in the series. And I suppose one should be if they are reading the eleventh book of a series. But, and this is a big but, this book was what I would call an interlude. Did things happen? Yeah. But they were little things that escalated, things that might normally get woven through a book. They did not hold up strongly enough to actually warrant being the sole focus of an entire novel. 

Things I liked... *ponders*... The whole Stevie Rae / Rephaim / Dallas issue that went on, and how it was resolved. The scenes regarding Kalona / Nyx / Erebus. (Who is a total asshat, btw. Really don't like you, dude.) I liked the growth in Shaylin and Nicole's characters, but their sudden attraction to each other seemed...off? Probably because I thought Shaylin was interested in Erik and Nicole use to be with Dallas. It didn't *bother* me. It was just more like "Huh. That was tacked on." I liked Damien and Jack far better. 

Things that bored me, confused me or ticked me of: The Zoey / Heath / Stark thing. Multiple partners doesn't suddenly become appealing to me because it's M/F/M. Sorry, but no. The passively written chapters about Nefret's history, complete with her seeming delight in pain--both her own and others. Blech! The way the book ended. There was no real structure here. I get that this is a "great" way to create a big problem at the start of the final book, but... I don't know. It just didn't work for me. 

I will say this much: I'm dying to know what's up with Old Magick and whether Sgiach has any clue how much the Seer Stone is screwing with Zoey. Did she give it to Zoey with this in mind? Or was it an honest mistake? Has something screwed with it that I didn't catch? (I'll be paying more attention to that when I re-read the whole series in 2014!). It's definitely left me with food for thought. 

Here's the thing. If you are a fan of the House of Night series and love these characters as much as I do, you will probably enjoy Revealed and would likely be well rewarded by reading it. However, in my humble opinion Revealed is not structurally sound as a novel. There's way too much trying to go on, there is no central resolution to the problem posed at the beginning of the story, and it actually ends on an (annoying!) cliffhanger. 

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Review: Wherever You Go by Heather Davis

I did a lot of trading at this year's Ontario Blogger Meet Up, and Wherever You Go was one of the books I was most excited to read when I got back from the event. Anyone who has followed this blog for any length of time knows I'm intrigued with the concept of death--both what happens when we die, and how those who remain living can seek and find the strength to keep going when they are left behind. I'm also not one to shy away from books that feature illness, and Alzheimer's is something I'm not terribly familiar with, so I was curious to see how it would get tied into the story. Ready to see what I thought of Wherever You Go? Well, read on and find out. :)

(Summary from GoodReads)

Seventeen-year-old Holly Mullen has felt lost and lonely ever since her boyfriend, Rob, died in a tragic accident. The fact that she has to spend most of her free time caring for her little sister and Alzheimer’s-stricken grandfather doesn’t help. But Holly has no idea that as she goes about her days, Rob’s ghost is watching over her. He isn’t happy when he sees his best friend, Jason, reach out to help Holly with her grandfather—but as a ghost, he can do nothing to stop it. Is his best friend really falling for his girlfriend?

As Holly wonders whether to open her heart to Jason, the past comes back to haunt her. Her grandfather claims to be communicating with the ghost of Rob. Could the messages he has for Holly be real? And if so, how can the loved ones Rob left behind help his tortured soul make it to the other side?

Told from the perspectives of Holly, Jason, and Rob,Wherever You Gois is a poignant story about making peace with the past, opening your heart to love, and finding the courage to move forward into the light.

Told not only in three distinctive voices, but also in three distinctive writing styles, Wherever You Go grabbed my attention from page one and never let go. As a writer, I was immediately intrigued by Heather Davis' choice to have Rob's POV in 2nd person, Holly's POV in first person, and Jason's POV in third person. Sounds like a mess right? Well, it totally wasn't. It created an immediate distinguishing factor for each of these characters, helping me know immediately whose head we were in. 

Wherever You Go is a genre blender, mixing a mostly contemporary plot with a cool ghost-fueled paranormal undertone. The plot is slow moving in an elegant, character driven way. It made me want to know more about each of the major characters and the people in their lives, and then it slowly pieced things together in such a way that all three of the major characters interconnect in ways I might not have expected at the novel's beginning. 

Of course, that type of storytelling only works if the characters are interesting and likable, which was the case all the way around with the main cast of this book. Holly has so much she needs to deal with and so much expected of her that I just wanted to hug her. Jason came across as a genuinely nice guy and I loved how my perspective of him changed as I read the book, rather than being formed at the beginning and kept in one place all the way through. 

Rob was a believable ghost--he made sense to me. He wasn't all high and preachy about how awesome it is to be dead (as we often see creatures in more PNR-centric fiction.) Instead, he kinda reminded me of "The Happy Phantom" by Tori Amos, where she sings: 

Or will I see you dear and wish I could come back
You found a girl that you could truly love again
WIll you still call for me when she falls asleep
Or do we soond forget the things we cannot see

A lot of Rob's plot deals with the fact that Holly and Jason are growing close, while Rob is stuck watching this rather than moving toward "The Light". (Which, for anyone who doesn't like religion shoved down their throat, remains very neutral. I know that kinda thing can bug some people.) 

I only had two issues with this book. One was the way that Heather Davis constructed the black moment for her romance. It relied very much on he said / she said and involved a bit of slut shaming (it was a rumor, but still--not cool), which tends to make me mad. The other problem is that while it was alluded to why Rob's friends had issues with Holly, it was never properly addressed (which is a big problem since it effected the black moment in Holly and Jason's relationship.) Considering that we get both Rob and Jason's POVs, I felt there was no logic to keeping the reader in the dark from start to finish. 

Despite any complaints, Wherever You Go is a novel that I truly enjoyed and that I had absolutely no trouble completing. It has a fairly original concept and for the most part it carries that off well. If you like stories where real contemporary issues take a turn for the paranormal or semi-magical, this is a book that I would strongly recommend. 

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

Review: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

After seeing this at WalMart for weeks and not buying it, I finally decided to look it up and find out what it was about. After finding out what it was about, the idea had to grow on me. Once the idea of buying this book happened, it didn't let go. And once I started reading The 5th Wave, I could not put it down.

I was a little wary of reading this, despite my growing interest, since it deals with aliens coming to Earth. (It's done in a very different way than how my Kindred do this, but I couldn't know that going in.) However, as an aspiring author I will add this prior to my actual review: I am very glad I read The 5th Wave when I did. It got me thinking *way* more about what effects another species coming to our planet would have on us as a whole, regardless of their intentions.

Okay, enough detours. Let's get to the review! :D

(Summary from GoodReads)

The Passage meets Ender’s Game in an epic new series from award-winning author Rick Yancey.

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.(

The idea of aliens doing something, anything, to our planet is a far cry from being new. But as with most plots or premises, it's not whether it's new in itself, but rather how it is used, that matters. For the record? The 5th Wave wastes absolutely none of the potential of this idea. In fact, it takes something that I would normally consider a very plot heavy idea and turns it on its head by having the story's characters be the driving force behind both what is going on and just how shocking / devastating / frightening the events going on actually are. 

The two things that really stood out to me about this book as a writer, aside from what I said in my opening, were the level of consequences that the events of the story had on the characters, and the way that Ethan's character was used. I had my theories about Ethan as the book progressed, and I was thrilled at what happened with regard to him. As for how plot effected character here, I love the fact that I slowly discovered just what the 5th Wave actually was, and how because of the pacing of that discover and how it coincided with my growing attachment to the characters, the discovery was possibly one of the most mind shattering things I've ever read in a piece of speculative fiction. 

The characters, from major ones like Cassie and Zombie, to more minor ones like Ringer and Dumbo, each had things about them that drew me in and made me care. In a story like this the height of the stakes is only increased more by the attachment formed to the characters, and I was really happy to see the potential for that not to go to waste. The situation these people were put into might not have been something I've encountered in real life, but the characters were real, and that sold me on them, their world, the conflicts they were facing, and ultimately their story as a whole. 

There is a bit of a romance here and while I love one aspect of it (who is Ethan?), the actual romance pacing isn't necessarily the best ever. That's okay, though. That's not really the core of this book and it does something so freaking cool that I'm willing to forgive it. (Plus I'm not really against insta-like / love unless it's totally stupid and this wasn't.) I think Rick Yancey struck a good balance here, and I (again!) love how the romance between these two played into the story overall. I don't think we see enough stuff like this. 

If you like science fiction or post apocalyptic reads I would strongly advise that you check this novel out. There is a lot of interesting stuff here and by the time you finish I assure you The 5th Wave will stick with you long after you turn the last page. It starts out a little odd and there are some flashbacks (not everyone likes those) but trust me: give this time to get going and you won't want to put it down.

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository 

Review: Stained by Cheryl Rainfield

This review is part of the blog tour for Stained by Cheryl Rainfield. I received a copy of Stained via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Having read and loved Cheryl Rainfield's novel Scars, I was extremely excited when I was contacted to take part in the tour for Stained. With Scars, which I stumbled upon in a rather roundabout way, I was drawn in immediately, and I was eager to find out whether Stained would have the same type of effect.

Despite knowing I liked Cheryl's writing style, however, Stained also represented a departure in genre for me. While it is still in many ways a contemporary novel, Stained also has suspense and thriller elements. It was very interesting reading something that both delved so deeply into its core characters and moved at a frantic pace, using in-novel timestamps to move everything along.

So, are you curious to find out what I thought of Stained? Read on and I'll share my thoughts. Hopefully I'll also convince you of why you should really sit down and check Stained out, regardless of what genre(s) of fiction you normally settle in with.

There is part of me that wands to skip writing a review all together and just go "Read it! Read it now!". But that would do both me as a reviewer, and this absolutely mind shattering book, a disservice.

The first thing I must tell you all is that while Stained is beautifully written, it is not a book for the faint of heart. Many books about abduction, violence, abuse and rape within YA take place after the trauma to the main character has occurred. We deal with the aftermath, the overwrought emotion, the 'what happens next'.

In Stained we live the experience, which is something that I found very gripping as a reader, but which I am very aware my cause triggers for some people. I'm extremely glad that Cheryl decided to take her book this route, as she is brutally honest and does not romanticize this the way I've seen a few other writers do. This is a journey into the depths of the heart of darkness. There are things that happened in Stained that made my skin crawl. But the important thing here isn't how horrible what happens to Sarah is. What matters is that despite being trapped in this living nightmare, we see a girl with the strength to not only survive, but also have the strength and desire to live by novel's end. (How she gets there and what, exactly, happens along the way? You'll have to read Stained to find that out.)

Stained is both a very tense, emotional novel, and a very meticulous, character driven one. I loved both Sarah and Nick. I think that Sarah is a fantastic main character and I really appreciated the fact that we see both her strengths and weaknesses, and then see these things effect her during her abduction. I think that there is a great deal of challenge in creating a character who can balance having both strength and vulnerability. With Sarah, Cheryl succeeded in striking that balance time and again.

As for Nick? I loved, loved, loved Nick. Nick is not your typical YA hero. He's fat. He's a nerd. He's a little out of the main stream. Yet he is oh so very real, and I loved his feelings for Sarah--both romantically and as a friend. I also really loved how his perspective was used to break up sections of the novel, both to increase and break points of tension, and to give the reader a glimpse of what was going on in the outside world. Further, with the amount that he (and her family) cared for Sarah, the amount they stood to lose if she was not found, my dread increased tenfold. I think that it was vital to show us that Sarah had things to live for, people who loved her. By sharing Nick's perspective, the reader will get that message loud and clear.

The last thing I want to give a nod to is that this is another book I've read this year that has the theme of super heroes being incorporated into showing the progression of a character's awareness of her own self worth. This is an idea that I find really fun and inspiring, and I loved the idea that if Sarah could somehow get out of this mess, she and Nick might be able to make comics together. When things were at their hardest, remembering how much she valued the ideas of her heroic character, Diamond, was one of the things that gave her the strength to keep going... I've never been in the situation Sarah faces in Stained, but as a lover of comics, video games and fantasy novels, I could immediately relate to this aspect of her personality and how it served as both her passion and a method to cope with the challenges in her life.

Stained is the kind of book that I wish everyone would sit down and read. From the beauty of the writing, to the depth of the characters, to the importance of the message, to the absolutely gripping plot... There is so much here that was brilliantly done that it's honestly very hard to get it all into words for you guys without going too far and risking turning this review into a novella.

Just trust me (provided something here didn't flash a warning off in your head)... This is one of the must-read books of 2013 and I'm certain that even as we pass into the new year, it will undoubtedly keep that must read status. Stained is a story of love and loss, hope and despair, sorrow and survival. Above all, it is a story of courage, hope, and the will to live that will stick with you long after the final page has been turned.

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository 

Make sure you come back tomorrow! (Oct. 2nd, 2013) I have a great interview with Cheryl and an awesome giveaway you won't want to miss. :D 

Don't miss a stop on the Stained blog tour. For the complete schedule click here!