prioryofprose's Reviews (1.06k)

I finished Endless by Amanda Gray quickly. It was an interesting read, much different than my normal choices. I liked the main character, Jenny. She was unique, kind and possessed an interesting ability.

There were so big things I feel were not necessary for the story or should have been flushed out more. First off, I really don’t think that the character of Ben and the music box they found in the attic were at all necessary to the story. I think that Jenny could have figure out about her past through the Ouija board in the beginning of the story and her dreams. It seemed like Ben and Carol never really fit into the story and it was an odd side story just to add length to the book.

I also really though that Jenny’s ability should have been flushed out more. It was mentioned a few times that she covered her hands to avoid touching people, but there was really only that one little snip bit about Jenny touching a child and seeing the past. It was interesting and I think the author really could have gone father with it.

I also thought it was silly that Jenny accepted what Nikolai told her, she didn’t take time to think it over or actually get to know Nikolai. She had only seen him in her dreams a few times, it is not like she knew him. Sorry if this is cryptic, I am trying not to spoil anything.

I did enjoy Amanda’s writing style and almost think this book would have made a better series than a stand-alone. She had an interesting story, but rush parts of it to finish in one book. It think that it would have been interesting to learn more about The Order and “being out of time.”

This book was really interesting, probably one of the most intriguing stories I have read in a while. I did struggle a bit at the beginning to get into the story, the book starts as a journal and then jumps around between Sara and four other main characters. Once I got into the bread and butter of the story, I was sucked in. The ghost story was interesting and compelling. West Hall is a small town with a crazy secret that people are both risking their lives to hide and others are risking everything to make a fortune off the clues in Sara's diary.

My favorite character is Fawn, Ruthie's younger sister. She is very smart, but yet sensitive and tuned into the world around her. She is withdrawn from other kids, but she has an active imagination and whispers to her doll throughout the story.

The story really gave to light to depth of grief that humans feel when they lose someone they love and how far they would go to bring that person back to life. Really interesting read.

The book will publish February 11, 2014.

[a:Jennifer McMahon|29471|Jennifer McMahon|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1207151006p2/29471.jpg]

Defy just came out this week and I got an awesome deal on it on Amazon. It was really pretty good. It was the debut book from author Sara B Larson. I loved the era that the book was set in, castles and kings. The kingdoms have been in war for a while, well almost all of Alexa's life. Alexa posses as a boy to make sure that she is safe. The king has an awful idea of how women should be treated, so I think I would have done the same thing in Alexa's shoes.

The book was a quick read, I read most of it Thursday night. I liked the story and thought it developed well. I did not enjoy the dreaded YA love triangle. I personally have never been torn between two guys and it just seems so odd that quite a few books have this story line. Does this happen to people a lot? Did I miss out on some high school drama because I was not torn between two handsome boy that had eyes only for me?

I am interested to see where the series is going to go. The book ends well and almost could be a standalone. There are only a few unanswered questions, but I don't think I would be heartbroken if they did not get answered.

For more reviews visit http://aflurryofponderings.blogspot.com/

I had a really hard time with Prized, the second book in the Birthmarked series by Caragh O’Brien. I enjoyed Birthmarked and the dystopian world it created. The second book is a brand new world and almost completely a new set of characters, other than a few familiar places. I am having a hard time writing a review without spoilers, so I am just going to give pros and cons:

Pros:
The world building of Sylum is really interesting
The characters are well-written with interesting personalities and strong traits
Gaia does falter in her personality but stays true to herself
Story moves along solidly and compels me to listen (audiobook) because I wanted to know the end of the story


Cons:
I was SO agitated during this book with the way people acted
The Matrarac was so frustrating with her choices and her lack of seeing outside her box
The discrimination of men was so crazy, not even educating them and treating them like slaves
Leon! What the heck is wrong with him, I understand that miscommunication causes issues, but SERIOUSLY
The town people not wanted to better themselves even though they are living in a town that is “killing” them
The love square, geez wiz! A love triangle is bad enough and this was TOO much


Not a horrible book, definitely going to want to read the ending of the series to see what happens next, Promised.

I was searching in Goodreads and saw that Caragh was born in Minnesota, so that is neat that I am reading material from another Minnesota native. I can understand why she wants to write about warmer climates when it is -40 below here!

For more reviews check out my blog A Flurry of Ponderings

This was the book we picked for book club in February. We meet once a month a read a variety of books, so it helps me get out of the typical young adult book shell I am normally reading. This book was odd, sad, funny and unique. I definitely think I enjoyed reading it because I was in the right mood.

My step-father passed away a few years ago, and although we are not Jewish, I feel like there is a Shiva period after any major death. My family loves each other and has only minimal drama, but some of the feelings and actions during this book felt familiar.

One of my book club friends who has also finished to book said that she did not even understand why it was a story and the ending, but I feel like I got it. It was a time for a change, for rediscovery and for remembering what is important, even if it is your crazy family.

I do have to warn you that there was quite a bit of cursing and sexual content.

For more reviews, please visit A Flurry of Ponderings

I love Splintered. It was a fun adventures, twists and turns and amazing imagery. I have always loved the tale of Alice in Wonderland and I have been obsessed with fairy tale re-tellings. This version of Alice was interesting and I didn’t see the end coming, that always makes me enjoy a book more. I hate when it is so predictable. I thought A.G. Howard did an amazing job bringing the world to life, her writing and wit made the story memorable. I always know it is a good book when my dreams are filled with aspects of the book from reading right before bed. I really want to go to Wonderland.

I really liked the grow of Alyssa’s character throughout the book. There is such a social stigma of mental illness, especially since all the women in her family have gone “crazy.” I love the Alyssa found past the stigma and decided that she was going to be strong instead of just thinking that the madness would seek her out. But on the mental illness end, I thought it was really sweet how Alyssa’s father stayed madly in love with his wife, Allison. He visited her at the asylum constantly and never gave up hope that she would get better.

It rocked that there was not a deep love triangle in this book. Although there were two guys vying for her attention, I didn’t get that normal annoyance with love triangles that I normally do. I understand Alyssa’s attachment to Morpheus because of the comfort level from childhood. There are just certain people and places that feel like home and that attachment is deep.

Sometimes the imagery was so complex or out of the ordinary I had a hard time envisioning the characters she created. I wish that Disney would have waited for this book to come out to do Alice in Wonderland with Johnny Depp. I can totally see Tim Burton bringing this book to life in theaters and making it wicked cool. The bug-like, almost dead characters would be right up his alley.

The second book in the series is already out, Unhinged and I am excited and interested to read where she goes with this story. February might be a month of fairy tales for me with Cress, Unhinged, and Cruel Beauty!

For more reviews check out A Flurry of Ponderings