by Kay | Oct 29, 2011 | Reviews |
My Soul to Save by Rachel Vincent
Series: Soul Screamers #2
Published by Harlequin Teen, MIRA
Pages: 362
Genres: Paranormal YA, Young Adult
Source: Received for review from publishers
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Rating:
Also in this series: My Soul to Take, My Soul to Keep, My Soul to Steal, If I Die, Before I Wake, With All My SoulWhen Kaylee Cavanaugh screams, someone dies.
So when teen pop star Eden croaks onstage and Kaylee doesn't wail, she knows something is dead wrong. She can't cry for someone who has no soul.
The last thing Kaylee needs right now is to be skipping school, breaking her dad's ironclad curfew and putting her too-hot-to-be-real boyfriend's loyalty to the test. But starry-eyed teens are trading their souls: a flickering lifetime of fame and fortune in exchange for eternity in the Netherworld—a consequence they can't possibly understand.
Kaylee can't let that happen, even if trying to save their souls means putting her own at risk….
Thoughts: My Soul to Save makes it clear what type of series Soul Screamers is… think post-book 6 Morganville Vampire. Episodic with a monster-of-the-week. Which is cool, but you need to know that before you start reading.
I enjoyed My Soul to Save even though I can’t say it was the most, er, gripping of novels. Honestly, when I worked out that the plot was going to revolve around saving pop queens who had sold their soul for fame… well, I was more of the “they deserve what they got” school of mind. But Vincent sold the nobility of the entire scenario and the pop queens actually turned out to be pretty sweet. Thank God, really, because there is nothing worse than hating the guest star.
But while I liked Kaylee (who is super independent but not at all idiotic) and the Netherworld (creepy, to say the least), I wasn’t really moved by this book. Everything was perfectly well written, the dialogue was tight and the plot was even tighter…. but My Soul to Save just felt like it was missing something. When I pick up a new book in a series, I expect something to fundamentally change. There has to be something new, otherwise why bother writing the book? And the truth is that nothing really changes at the end of My Soul to Save – a couple of things are different, but nothing fundamental.
These complaints are really rather minor, though. So while this book might not have been the most riveting, I am expecting earth-shattering things in Rachel’s next book!
Bottom line? Great YA series, good installment. Pick up the Soul Screamers series if you want something different-yet-familiar in your paranormal YA.
by Kay | Aug 2, 2011 | Reviews |
The Touch of Twilight (Sign of the Zodiac #3) by Vicki Pettersson
Librarything / Goodreads
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Rating: 3.5 stars
Pages: 406
Summary: On the surface she’s a sexy, sophisticated socialite, at home among the beautiful people of the Las Vegas upper crust. But Joanna Archer inhabits another world: a place ordinary humans cannot see . . . a dangerous dimension where an eternal battle rages between the agents of Light and Shadow. And Joanna is both.
Stalked by an enigmatic doppelganger from a preternatural realm, Joanna can feel the Light failing—which is propelling her toward a terrifying confrontation with the ultimate master of evil, the dark lord of Shadow: her father.
Vegas is all about winning big… or losing everything. To save her friends, her future, her worlds, Joanna Archer must gamble it all by fully embracing the darkness inside her.
Thoughts: Move over Faythe, Joanna Archer has just become my literary enemy #1. I honestly do not understand what is going through Vicki Pettersson’s mind when she writes Joanna Archer, because this character? She evokes homicidal thoughts.
So, why can’t I stand her? Simple: Ben so-not-worth-it Traina. The “love of her life”. Joanna is 100% obsessed with the man for no discernible reason. Hell, she even admits that she has no idea why she is willing to risk the entire city for the guy. Even when faced with evidence of him being BAD NEWS, she acts like a child who will set the house on fire to keep her hand in the cookie jar. GUH. Just writing about it makes me want to find a basilisk fang and stab her through the book!
*growls*
So… moving on. Despite her inability to think rationally, Joanna can be a pretty decent character when she isn’t mooning over Ben. And when she’s not? Pettersson’s fantastic Las Vegas verse truly shines. It’s rough, tough and utterly intriguing. I’ve always loved the grittiness of this series, and The Touch of Twilight stays true to it. It was strong enough to make me pick up the book despite my dislike of the second novel and despite my extreme dislike of Joanna.
Apart from the verse, there are also some amazing secondary characters in these books: Hunter and Chandra in particular. I’d always liked Hunter, but we find out a few interesting tidbits about him in this book that have made me desperate to know more about him. Chandra’s awesomeness, on the other hand, came completely out of left field. She had been a rather one-dimensional antagonist in the previous books, but we see a whole new side of her in The Touch of Twilight.
The conclusion of this novel has made me somewhat hopeful for the rest of the series. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but let me just say that it ends on a high note. City of Souls (book 4) is sitting on my TBR pile and I think I won’t wait another year before I start it.
Bottom line? Although Joanna will, no doubt, elicit thoughts of murder, the Signs of the Zodiac series is worth reading. Just don’t go in expecting perfection…!
Dear HarperVoyager (UK publishers): I know Joanna is rather annoying, but did you really need to stop publishing the books in the UK? Books 4-6 in this series are going to be from the US and my symmetrical bookshelves do not thank you.
by Kay | Jul 13, 2011 | Reviews |
Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
Series: Women of the Otherworld #1
Published by Orbit
Pages: 448
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Source: Purchased myself
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Rating: Elena Michaels is your regular twenty-first-century girl: self-assured, smart and fighting fit. She also just happens to be the only female werewolf in the world...
It has some good points. When she walks down a dark alleyway, she's the scary one. But now her Pack - the one she abandoned so that she could live a normal life - are in trouble, and they need her help. Is she willing to risk her life to help the ex-lover who betrayed her by turning her into a werewolf in the first place? And, more to the point, does she have a choice?
Thoughts: I’ve had Bitten on my shelves for a couple of years now and, despite my ardent love for Kelley Armstrong, I had trouble picking it up. This was partly because I had heard so many good things about the book but – if I’m completely honest – it had more to do with the book itself. Because for all the great reviews out there, there were also a number of reviews that were highly critical of Clay, one of the central characters. And after reading the summary of Bitten, I couldn’t blame them. This man chose to infect the love-of-his-life against her will… how could I ever like him?
So that was my main worry going into Bitten… but in the end, my read trouble was with Elena. While I could readily accept her leaving Clay after what he had done – she never really did. Instead she kinda strung him along… and that’s just not nice. The only thing that made me forgive her was the fact that she is monstrously screwed up. She was orphaned at a young age, sexually and emotionally abused growing up, and then turned into a werewolf against her will. These aren’t the sorts of experiences that leave you unscarred. But still, given that Bitten takes place 10 years after she was bitten, I think Elena had been given enough time to get her act sorted out.
Clay, on the other hand, was fantastic. I mean, I wouldn’t actually want to meet the man out of fear for my life, but I still adored him. I had heard him described as an older version of Derek (from her Darkest Powers series) – and that’d be correct with one amendment: Clay has no “human” conscience. He doesn’t do things because they are the right thing to do, instead he’ll do whatever he must in order to protect his pack. That includes the disemboweling of innocents (no, that doesn’t happen in Bitten, but I would never put it past him).
As you might have imagined, there is an insane amount of violence in this book. Usually, I’m all on board with blood and guts in my UF, but there was one scene of needless violence that really bothered me. I get that they are werewolves and that, in their wolf form, they’ll kill pretty much anything if it threatens them. But when Elena killed a dog while she was human, and neither she nor Clay felt the slightest bit of remorse? I was so so so not ok with that. Killing out of necessity I understand, but when they killed the dog out of convenience it just seemed… out of character.
And despite my issues with Elena and her somewhat-homicidal habits (Derek and Chloe need to stay far far away from the pack if they are still like this), I still enjoyed Bitten. It kept me up well past my bedtime; I was thinking about these characters while I wasn’t reading. And I think Stolen will be much better… Bitten was written as a stand-alone novel, and I truly believe it would have been a different (more enjoyable) book if Kelley Armstrong had written it knowing there’d be a sequel.
Bottom line? Kelley Armstrong is a fantastic author and her Otherworld verse is one I can’t wait to read more about. But is this her best book? Well… she can do better.
Favourite Quote:
The glowing ember shot into the sky, arced, then came tumbling down, end over end like a falling star. I glanced down at Clay. He was watching the sparkler and grinning with as much childlike joy as I´d felt, dancing around the grove with my fairy wand. I looked back up at the light, closed my eyes, and made my wish.
I wished I knew what I wanted.
by Kay | Jul 9, 2011 | Reviews, Summer Shorts |
Summer Shorts: Kelley Armstrong!
Summer Shorts is weekly feature of short story/novella reviews, posted every weekend of July and August, 2011. Every week has a different theme - be it featuring a specific anthology, a particular genre, or a great author.
Last week I reviewed a few tales from the
Mammoth Book of PNR, and this week I'll be reviewing some YA stories by one of my favourite authors...
Kelley Armstrong!
The following stories are all available online (free!) and are set in Kelley's Otherworld/Darkest Powers verse. If you haven't read her Darkest Powers series yet, a) run out and buy it b) these might not be quite as meaningful to you.
Kat by Kelley Armstrong
(Read it
here! Set in the Darkest Powers verse, following the story of another Edison Group subject.)
Favourite Quote:
As I strode into the alley, the driver leapt out, raising his gun.
“I come in peace,” I said, lifting my fingers in a V.
He paused, half out of the van, his broad face screwing up in confusion.
I raised my hands. “See? No pistol. No switchblade. Not even a ray gun.”
Thoughts: Kat is the story of another Edison group experiment, Katiana, and one of her (many) encounters with Edison group minions. I really liked Kat - she reminded me of Maya from The Gathering, and for a while in the story I actually thought she might be her long lost sister. She's tough and could no doubt kick my ass. She won't back away from a fight and, if the circumstances require it, she'll run straight into one. The story is only 20 pages long, but I would have been happy to have read an entire book in her POV.
As for the style of the story - well, it felt like it was straight out of the Darkest Powers novels. Lots and lots of action, a whole bunch of running-for-their-lives, and the occasional bit of snappy dialogue. While I can't say that I was blown away by it all, I certainly did enjoy the tale. I'm hoping Kat is a lead-up to a fuller story or, perhaps, her inclusion into some of Kelley's other YA novels.
Bottom line? Kat is an action-packed tale with the same feel as Kelley's Darkest Powers series. But even if you haven't read her trilogy, you'll enjoy it!
Divided by Kelley Armstrong
(Read it
here! Darkest Powers Story set between
The Summoning and
The Awakening.)
Favourite Quote:
"I do. I mean sure, I've liked a lot of girls and you probably think this is just the same thing. But it's not. I like being with her. Hanging out with her. Talking to her. Getting to know her. Not that I didn't want to get to know the other girls, but I really want to this time. I'm not just asking questions to make conversation. She's different and she's interesting, and she doesn't know she is and that's . . ." He glanced back at me. "I'm glad you two seem to get along." He grinned. "A nice change."
Thoughts: Spoilers for the DP trilogy! Divided follows Derek and Simon after they are separated from Chloe at the end of The Summoning. Divided is the second short story I've read from Derek's POV (Dangerous, I read and loved last year), and I can now officially say that he is the best narrator ever. Love this guy.
While - of course - it was fantastic to revisit my beloved DP characters, Divided did more than just that. It added to the canon of the trilogy. Kelley gives us more details about Chloe's mother's death (that was a real shocker), some insight into how Derek started to take more notice of Chloe, and how he felt about "using" her to get Simon to go on the run; and even some insight into how much Simon was honest-to-God pining after Chloe (see the quote, friggin' adorable and yet so sad).
Bottom line? If you love the Darkest Powers trilogy, you'll love Divided. It's a story I hadn't even known I'd wanted, and I am so glad it's been told.
FYI - If you're looking for some more great Darkest Powers stories, Kelley had completed three that are available here. She's currently in the middle of another story set post-The Reckoning, which you can follow on the Darkest Powers blog. Oh, and apparently the Enthralled anthology (edited by Melissa Marr) coming out in September is also going to be post-The Reckoning, set 2-3 weeks after the end of the book and told from Chloe's POV. Needless to say that that news got the book onto my wishlist!
Next week... Zombies vs. Unicorns!
by Kay | May 13, 2011 | Reviews |
Beauty by Robin McKinley
Published by HarperTeen
Pages: 272
Genres: Fairytale Re-tellings, Young Adult
Source: Purchased myself
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Rating: Beauty has never liked her nickname. She is thin and awkward; it is her two sisters who are the beautiful ones. But what she lacks in looks, she can perhaps make up for in courage.
When her father comes home with the tale of an enchanted castle in the forest and the terrible promise he had to make to the Beast who lives there, Beauty knows she must go to the castle, a prisoner of her own free will. Her father protests that he will not let her go, but she answers, "Cannot a Beast be tamed?"
Robin McKinley's beloved telling illuminates the unusual love story of a most unlikely couple: Beauty and the Beast.
Thoughts: Two things you should know before reading Beauty:
1 – Beauty was written in 1978, about 15 years before Disney’s Beauty and the Beast came out.
2 – This is Robin McKinley’s very first book.
Now, the first point is key, as there are a number of details with which the book seems to overlap with the Disney film. In fact, as I was reading McKinley’s book, I couldn’t help but wonder if the Disney epic had been based on her novel. Since I adored the film, I had absolutely no problem reading a similar (yet very, very different) version of the Disney tale. Still, it is important to remember that any Beauty/Disney overlaps are not at all the fault of McKinley.
In regards to the second point, I found it rather reassuring to know this was not the pinnacle of McKinley’s achievements. Although I enjoyed Beauty, it was not a breath-taking literary achievement. Having heard so many great things about McKinley’s writings, it was good to know that she’s had 30-odd years since the publication of Beauty to refine her style.
Now on to the good bits. Although I have no knowledge of the first Beauty and the Beast tale, McKinley’s style made me feel like I was reading the original version of the story. It was almost as though I were reading the un-filtered first version of the tale – without the weight of an author behind it, visibly guiding the story. Instead, this book just… was. You know what I mean, right? When you read Beauty, you can’t even begin to imagine someone actually writing it. The book, surely, just came into existence by itself.
And, because of that, I feel rather odd describing my issues with the plot – or rather the lack thereof. Even though, yes, this is Beauty and the Beast, everything still felt rather mundane. Beauty does this, then that, then the other, and then things work out to be such-and-such. It was more of a historical account than a dramatic novel, with none of the twists and curves you’d expect in “real” book.
But still, I really did enjoy Beauty. My unwavering love of the tale probably made me more forgiving of its dull moments… yet, I’ve no doubt that McKinley is a skilled author worth of praise.
Bottom line? Beauty is a must if you are a fan of the Beauty and the Beast tale. But if you’re not, I’d try something else from McKinley’s repertoire.
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