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Originally posted at The Wandering Fangirl.
Following the afterlife of a girl who dies from a broken heart -- literally, her heart breaks in two -- this is a sweet, quirky novel about what it means to move on. Brie spends most of the novel going through the various stages of grief over her own death, and though they're clearly written out in the narrative and by Patrick, her guide to the afterlife, it's all very well done. It's not a perfect novel, and at times I really wanted to shake Brie, but I devoured it in two sittings (as I waited in line for The Hunger Games and in bed after!).
Following the afterlife of a girl who dies from a broken heart -- literally, her heart breaks in two -- this is a sweet, quirky novel about what it means to move on. Brie spends most of the novel going through the various stages of grief over her own death, and though they're clearly written out in the narrative and by Patrick, her guide to the afterlife, it's all very well done. It's not a perfect novel, and at times I really wanted to shake Brie, but I devoured it in two sittings (as I waited in line for The Hunger Games and in bed after!).
Originally posted at The Wandering Fangirl.
So, take YA historical fiction, throw in a dash of paranormal, a heavy heaping of romance, a bit of intrigue and some ASSASSIN NUNS, and you have Grave Mercy. It's definitely a unique book, as I haven't read anything like it in YA lately.
Ismae is an incredibly strong character - from the start of her journey toward being an ASSASSIN NUN to the main plot and the way she weaves herself into it, she's always very present, and you're always very aware of her. Whether you like or dislike her as a character, there's no doubt she leaves an impression. I found myself wanting to shake her at times, even dipping into the occasional bout of dislike in certain chapters, but eventually she won me over. Some of her character progression was predictable, but I enjoyed reading the conflict between her ASSASSIN NUN life and her budding romance.
The plot itself...is interesting. So much intrigue, so many twists and turns, and yet it all gets buried under the romance. I found the romance aspect nice, but there came a point where it got to be too much when I just wanted to find out who the traitor was. At times, this felt way too much like a historical romance novel that had been branded YA simply because of Ismae's age and the toned down violence. Everything about it, from the tone to the plot, seems to scream adult fiction. Which isn't a bad thing, don't get me wrong.
It was a decent read. The aspects I liked (the intrigue, Ismae's growth) just barely outweighed the ones I didn't (romaaaaaance), and I especially enjoyed that there was only a dash of paranormal, and it's treated as normal in Ismae's world. I don't know that I'd immediately recommend this to anyone, but it's worth a shot if you're the type of person who really likes a little intrigue and ASSASSIN NUNS in their YA historical romance.
So, take YA historical fiction, throw in a dash of paranormal, a heavy heaping of romance, a bit of intrigue and some ASSASSIN NUNS, and you have Grave Mercy. It's definitely a unique book, as I haven't read anything like it in YA lately.
Ismae is an incredibly strong character - from the start of her journey toward being an ASSASSIN NUN to the main plot and the way she weaves herself into it, she's always very present, and you're always very aware of her. Whether you like or dislike her as a character, there's no doubt she leaves an impression. I found myself wanting to shake her at times, even dipping into the occasional bout of dislike in certain chapters, but eventually she won me over. Some of her character progression was predictable, but I enjoyed reading the conflict between her ASSASSIN NUN life and her budding romance.
The plot itself...is interesting. So much intrigue, so many twists and turns, and yet it all gets buried under the romance. I found the romance aspect nice, but there came a point where it got to be too much when I just wanted to find out who the traitor was. At times, this felt way too much like a historical romance novel that had been branded YA simply because of Ismae's age and the toned down violence. Everything about it, from the tone to the plot, seems to scream adult fiction. Which isn't a bad thing, don't get me wrong.
It was a decent read. The aspects I liked (the intrigue, Ismae's growth) just barely outweighed the ones I didn't (romaaaaaance), and I especially enjoyed that there was only a dash of paranormal, and it's treated as normal in Ismae's world. I don't know that I'd immediately recommend this to anyone, but it's worth a shot if you're the type of person who really likes a little intrigue and ASSASSIN NUNS in their YA historical romance.
Orginally posted at The Wandering Fangirl.
Bunheads is a surprisingly slow, calm story. We follow the life of Hannah, a dancer in the prestigious Manhattan Ballet Company and all that entails. For a novel about ballet dancers, it's obvious Sophie Flack knows what she's talking about with all the little details, the emotional highs and lows, the pressure and ambition. Thing start to falter a little when it turns out that the entire novel is based around Hannah's growing realization that there might be more to life outside the ballet. It's a decent character growth novel, but ultimately, Hannah didn't seem to be a strong enough character for that to be all it is.
Bunheads is a surprisingly slow, calm story. We follow the life of Hannah, a dancer in the prestigious Manhattan Ballet Company and all that entails. For a novel about ballet dancers, it's obvious Sophie Flack knows what she's talking about with all the little details, the emotional highs and lows, the pressure and ambition. Thing start to falter a little when it turns out that the entire novel is based around Hannah's growing realization that there might be more to life outside the ballet. It's a decent character growth novel, but ultimately, Hannah didn't seem to be a strong enough character for that to be all it is.
Orginally posted at The Wandering Fangirl.
Set in a future where church and state are the same thing and changing someone's DNA to change the pigmentation of their skin is a crime deterrent, we follow the story of Hannah, a woman (girl, really) who is convicted of murder after she has an abortion. Though it sounded like everything that would get my blood boiling (separation of church and state and women's rights being hot button topics for me), I thought Hillary Jordan handled this really well. Hannah's journey is a slow moving but interesting one, and I felt for her every step of the way. The writing wasn't as strong as it could have been, but I really appreciated that while the novel takes religion head on, it also makes a point to have Hannah's faith stay strong and point out that there is a good and bad to belief, just as there is in every other aspect of life.
Set in a future where church and state are the same thing and changing someone's DNA to change the pigmentation of their skin is a crime deterrent, we follow the story of Hannah, a woman (girl, really) who is convicted of murder after she has an abortion. Though it sounded like everything that would get my blood boiling (separation of church and state and women's rights being hot button topics for me), I thought Hillary Jordan handled this really well. Hannah's journey is a slow moving but interesting one, and I felt for her every step of the way. The writing wasn't as strong as it could have been, but I really appreciated that while the novel takes religion head on, it also makes a point to have Hannah's faith stay strong and point out that there is a good and bad to belief, just as there is in every other aspect of life.
Orginally posted at The Wandering Fangirl.
I was really looking forward to this since I first heard about it, and boy, was I disappointed. The way Brodi Ashton retells the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, as well as her take on the Underworld is great, but the execution doesn't live up to the idea at all. I knew going in that it would involve a lot of true love, but I wasn't expecting 300 pages of our main character, Nikki, moping about and trying to figure out a way to say goodbye to her loved ones by doing absolutely nothing. Everything that happens to her is due to outside forces -- and by forces, I mean Cole and Jack, the boys in her life. Nikki doesn't do much but do some sleuthing and a lot of knitting. I did enjoy Jack, and the last 20 pages of the book picked things up considerably, but that didn't make up for the rest of it.
I was really looking forward to this since I first heard about it, and boy, was I disappointed. The way Brodi Ashton retells the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, as well as her take on the Underworld is great, but the execution doesn't live up to the idea at all. I knew going in that it would involve a lot of true love, but I wasn't expecting 300 pages of our main character, Nikki, moping about and trying to figure out a way to say goodbye to her loved ones by doing absolutely nothing. Everything that happens to her is due to outside forces -- and by forces, I mean Cole and Jack, the boys in her life. Nikki doesn't do much but do some sleuthing and a lot of knitting. I did enjoy Jack, and the last 20 pages of the book picked things up considerably, but that didn't make up for the rest of it.
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Orginally posted at The Wandering Fangirl.
The Parasol Protectorate is one of my favorite series to date, so I was super excited for Timeless for so long. I love Alexia, Conall is one of my favorite book boyfriends, and the entire cast of characters, including the Maccon family's new addition, are wonderful. I love the change in scenery to Egypt, while keeping the action at home in London fresh and moving forward by splitting the POV with Biffy. Biffy! Wonderful, cravat wearing, fashion conscious Biffy. He really made the book for me, and was lovely to follow as Alexia's adventures in Egypt took a turn for the crazy. (As they tend to do.) The main plot itself didn't feel as though it was totally thought out, but as always, Alexia and the cast of characters I've grown to love make up for it.
The Parasol Protectorate is one of my favorite series to date, so I was super excited for Timeless for so long. I love Alexia, Conall is one of my favorite book boyfriends, and the entire cast of characters, including the Maccon family's new addition, are wonderful. I love the change in scenery to Egypt, while keeping the action at home in London fresh and moving forward by splitting the POV with Biffy. Biffy! Wonderful, cravat wearing, fashion conscious Biffy. He really made the book for me, and was lovely to follow as Alexia's adventures in Egypt took a turn for the crazy. (As they tend to do.) The main plot itself didn't feel as though it was totally thought out, but as always, Alexia and the cast of characters I've grown to love make up for it.
Originally posted at The Wandering Fangirl.
The Immortal Rules is everything I wanted and didn’t get out of Julie Kagawa’s popular Iron Fey series.
In a post-apocalyptic, vampire-ruled future, we’re introduced to Allison Sekemoto, a human fighting to survive in a city where starving is just as popular a death as being drained by a vampire. She’s incredibly fierce and strong from the word go, willing to do anything to keep herself and her crew alive. Which leads to a decision that gets them all killed (bad luck there, girl), and while Allie is on death’s doorstep, a vampire offers to help her by turning her. Though she hates vampires, she fears death even more, and accepts.
I knew from the very moment she admitted she’d rather be a thing she hated than face her fear of death that I would love Allie. While she’s very strong and incredibly principled, she still has a vulnerability to her that’s easy to relate to, and she doesn’t overdo the “I’m a vampire, woe is me” angst too much. Julie Kagawa struck the perfect balance here.
Also perfect is the pacing and action. While we do spend time with Allie as she learns what being a vampire entails, everything still moves at a whip crack pace; the seeds of vampire politics are sown, and when she’s suddenly thrust out on her own into the unforgiving world at large, it makes sense. From there it’s scene after scene where everything’s always moving at the perfect pace — slow enough for characterization and tension build up, but fast enough that you’re never bored and keep the pages turning.
The secondary characters were drawn nicely, though some more than others. Zeke turns out to be a wonderful romantic foil for Allie, though he did seem a little too perfect at times. Jeb, the leader of the wandering humans Zeke belongs to, is just as strong a presence as Allie is. Also great is Allie’s sire, Kanin, who leaves a strong impression with what page time he has. The rest of the characters sort of blend together, apart from the one catty girl who hates Allie just because she’s in love with Zeke, too. It’s the one aspect of the novel I hated, simply because it didn’t need to be there.
All in all, The Immortal Rules is an explosive start to a vampire series, with a main character who holds a ton of promise. Everyone should check this one out.
The Immortal Rules is everything I wanted and didn’t get out of Julie Kagawa’s popular Iron Fey series.
In a post-apocalyptic, vampire-ruled future, we’re introduced to Allison Sekemoto, a human fighting to survive in a city where starving is just as popular a death as being drained by a vampire. She’s incredibly fierce and strong from the word go, willing to do anything to keep herself and her crew alive. Which leads to a decision that gets them all killed (bad luck there, girl), and while Allie is on death’s doorstep, a vampire offers to help her by turning her. Though she hates vampires, she fears death even more, and accepts.
I knew from the very moment she admitted she’d rather be a thing she hated than face her fear of death that I would love Allie. While she’s very strong and incredibly principled, she still has a vulnerability to her that’s easy to relate to, and she doesn’t overdo the “I’m a vampire, woe is me” angst too much. Julie Kagawa struck the perfect balance here.
Also perfect is the pacing and action. While we do spend time with Allie as she learns what being a vampire entails, everything still moves at a whip crack pace; the seeds of vampire politics are sown, and when she’s suddenly thrust out on her own into the unforgiving world at large, it makes sense. From there it’s scene after scene where everything’s always moving at the perfect pace — slow enough for characterization and tension build up, but fast enough that you’re never bored and keep the pages turning.
The secondary characters were drawn nicely, though some more than others. Zeke turns out to be a wonderful romantic foil for Allie, though he did seem a little too perfect at times. Jeb, the leader of the wandering humans Zeke belongs to, is just as strong a presence as Allie is. Also great is Allie’s sire, Kanin, who leaves a strong impression with what page time he has. The rest of the characters sort of blend together, apart from the one catty girl who hates Allie just because she’s in love with Zeke, too. It’s the one aspect of the novel I hated, simply because it didn’t need to be there.
All in all, The Immortal Rules is an explosive start to a vampire series, with a main character who holds a ton of promise. Everyone should check this one out.
Originally posted at The Wandering Fangirl.
The Peculiars is a novel that seems like tons of fun and could be host to a thrilling adventure and a journey of self-discovery, but it simply falls flat.
The story starts off strong as we’re introduced to Lena Mattacascar, who has extra knuckles in her hands and feet, something she believes to be a sign of goblinism, which might make her a Peculiar and thus unacceptable to society and herself. Most of the novel centers on Lena’s growing struggle with herself, what being part goblin might mean, and how she can accept herself for what she is — if she can even reach acceptance in the first place. The only real excitement happens in the first big set piece of the novel, as Lena meets Jimson Quiggley on a train, and their train is stopped by someone breaking a hostage free. Excitement! Action! Intrigue!
Then we spend a huge chunk of the middle of the novel with Lena and Jimson getting to know each other, getting to know Mr. Beasley and his library, and Lena moving into Too Stupid To Live territory.
I truly wanted to like Lena after we first meet her, but I liked her less and less with every stupid decision, rash action or conclusion jump. It’s obvious to us as readers that she’s seeing everything wrong, but she’s so willfully stubborn about everything, so caught up in her own self-loathing and her view on Peculiars that she can’t grow as a person. What little growth we do see happens in the last 50 or so pages of the novel, and that’s too little too late.
Jimson Quiggley and Mr. Beasley, along with Marshall Sartre and a whole host of secondary characters didn’t feel drawn in enough. With the novel focusing on Lena’s internal struggles it makes sense that the other characters wouldn’t be as prominent, but there can be more to a character than “he’s very rational and likes books” and “he has drawn on eyebrows for some reason.”
As for the steampunk element, there wasn’t much of it. There is an aerocopter, yes, and some other attributes that would put this novel in the steampunk genre, but it doesn’t have the feel of steampunk; it simply feels like historical fiction with some slight alterations.
Overall, The Peculiars showed some promise in the ideas and basic story. While a part of Lena’s story is interesting, it doesn’t hold up to the poor execution of the novel as a whole.
The Peculiars is a novel that seems like tons of fun and could be host to a thrilling adventure and a journey of self-discovery, but it simply falls flat.
The story starts off strong as we’re introduced to Lena Mattacascar, who has extra knuckles in her hands and feet, something she believes to be a sign of goblinism, which might make her a Peculiar and thus unacceptable to society and herself. Most of the novel centers on Lena’s growing struggle with herself, what being part goblin might mean, and how she can accept herself for what she is — if she can even reach acceptance in the first place. The only real excitement happens in the first big set piece of the novel, as Lena meets Jimson Quiggley on a train, and their train is stopped by someone breaking a hostage free. Excitement! Action! Intrigue!
Then we spend a huge chunk of the middle of the novel with Lena and Jimson getting to know each other, getting to know Mr. Beasley and his library, and Lena moving into Too Stupid To Live territory.
I truly wanted to like Lena after we first meet her, but I liked her less and less with every stupid decision, rash action or conclusion jump. It’s obvious to us as readers that she’s seeing everything wrong, but she’s so willfully stubborn about everything, so caught up in her own self-loathing and her view on Peculiars that she can’t grow as a person. What little growth we do see happens in the last 50 or so pages of the novel, and that’s too little too late.
Jimson Quiggley and Mr. Beasley, along with Marshall Sartre and a whole host of secondary characters didn’t feel drawn in enough. With the novel focusing on Lena’s internal struggles it makes sense that the other characters wouldn’t be as prominent, but there can be more to a character than “he’s very rational and likes books” and “he has drawn on eyebrows for some reason.”
As for the steampunk element, there wasn’t much of it. There is an aerocopter, yes, and some other attributes that would put this novel in the steampunk genre, but it doesn’t have the feel of steampunk; it simply feels like historical fiction with some slight alterations.
Overall, The Peculiars showed some promise in the ideas and basic story. While a part of Lena’s story is interesting, it doesn’t hold up to the poor execution of the novel as a whole.
Originally posted at The Wandering Fangirl.
The Glimpse is an odd little book. Under the dystopian genre, you can do just about anything you want to create a dystopian world. Make love a disease? Sure. Have people die at age 20/25? Why not! Create a religious state? Go for it! But you have to be careful, well-researched, and most importantly, conscientious when you pick a topic that is sensitive to many readers. [b:When She Woke|11045709|When She Woke|Hillary Jordan|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1306504418s/11045709.jpg|15966434] treated religion very well, presenting both good and bad sides without feeling like the author was talking down to the reader from a soapbox. [b:Delirium|7686667|Delirium (Delirium, #1)|Lauren Oliver|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1298079937s/7686667.jpg|10342808] did a good job in showing how the heroine is shaped by the dystopian environment she grew up in, as did [b:Wither|8525590|Wither (The Chemical Garden, #1)|Lauren DeStefano|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327878510s/8525590.jpg|13392566].
Sadly, The Glimpse doesn’t do exactly what it should; it simply beats the reader over the head with “crazies” and “pures” and mental asylums as we follow Ana’s journey. Like most heroines in dystopian YA lately, she’s grown up with an idea of how the world should work, and that should be enough to forgive her for the way she looks down on those with mental illness.
But it isn’t.
Ana is an incredibly frustrating character to follow. From the start, we’re with her as her whole world shatters when she’s told the truth about her mother: that she was a crazy, and Ana was a carrier as well. Except…nothing happens to her. Not until her future husband is kidnapped and she suddenly makes the decision to leave her gated community for the dirty, crazy streets of London. Despite her adventures on her own, from meeting and falling for a supposed terrorist to admitting herself into a horrifying mental asylum, Ana doesn’t seem to grow. Her experiences open her eyes to what the world is really like, yes, but as far as I felt, she never really has a light bulb moment. She doesn’t really change, and that’s not fun to read.
I’d talk about the secondary characters, expect none of them really stuck in my mind or stood out. Jasper was bland and Cole, the supposed terrorist she falls in love with, wasn’t any better.
As for the plot, I couldn’t care one bit. It didn’t move along as fast as it could have, and everything crawls to a stop when Ana ends up in a mental asylum for reasons I won’t go into because they might be considered spoilers. The whole mental asylum section…I have a problem with abuse perpetrated simply for the sake of a) making the character suffer, and b) being shocking.
And after all she goes through, does Ana even think ‘hey, that mental asylum was awful, maybe I should do something about it’, or I don’t know, think something like that? Nope.
That was my main problem with the book — for all that Ana goes through, it doesn’t seem to change her as a character. She sees the world in a different light and can’t stand her situation anymore, but she’s still the same boring character she is at the start of the novel, and I didn’t care less how the novel ended, just that it did.
The Glimpse is an odd little book. Under the dystopian genre, you can do just about anything you want to create a dystopian world. Make love a disease? Sure. Have people die at age 20/25? Why not! Create a religious state? Go for it! But you have to be careful, well-researched, and most importantly, conscientious when you pick a topic that is sensitive to many readers. [b:When She Woke|11045709|When She Woke|Hillary Jordan|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1306504418s/11045709.jpg|15966434] treated religion very well, presenting both good and bad sides without feeling like the author was talking down to the reader from a soapbox. [b:Delirium|7686667|Delirium (Delirium, #1)|Lauren Oliver|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1298079937s/7686667.jpg|10342808] did a good job in showing how the heroine is shaped by the dystopian environment she grew up in, as did [b:Wither|8525590|Wither (The Chemical Garden, #1)|Lauren DeStefano|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327878510s/8525590.jpg|13392566].
Sadly, The Glimpse doesn’t do exactly what it should; it simply beats the reader over the head with “crazies” and “pures” and mental asylums as we follow Ana’s journey. Like most heroines in dystopian YA lately, she’s grown up with an idea of how the world should work, and that should be enough to forgive her for the way she looks down on those with mental illness.
But it isn’t.
Ana is an incredibly frustrating character to follow. From the start, we’re with her as her whole world shatters when she’s told the truth about her mother: that she was a crazy, and Ana was a carrier as well. Except…nothing happens to her. Not until her future husband is kidnapped and she suddenly makes the decision to leave her gated community for the dirty, crazy streets of London. Despite her adventures on her own, from meeting and falling for a supposed terrorist to admitting herself into a horrifying mental asylum, Ana doesn’t seem to grow. Her experiences open her eyes to what the world is really like, yes, but as far as I felt, she never really has a light bulb moment. She doesn’t really change, and that’s not fun to read.
I’d talk about the secondary characters, expect none of them really stuck in my mind or stood out. Jasper was bland and Cole, the supposed terrorist she falls in love with, wasn’t any better.
As for the plot, I couldn’t care one bit. It didn’t move along as fast as it could have, and everything crawls to a stop when Ana ends up in a mental asylum for reasons I won’t go into because they might be considered spoilers. The whole mental asylum section…I have a problem with abuse perpetrated simply for the sake of a) making the character suffer, and b) being shocking.
And after all she goes through, does Ana even think ‘hey, that mental asylum was awful, maybe I should do something about it’, or I don’t know, think something like that? Nope.
That was my main problem with the book — for all that Ana goes through, it doesn’t seem to change her as a character. She sees the world in a different light and can’t stand her situation anymore, but she’s still the same boring character she is at the start of the novel, and I didn’t care less how the novel ended, just that it did.
