Review: Chosen by P.C. and Kristin Cast

by Kay | Jan 7, 2010 | Reviews | 0 comments

Chosen by Kristin Cast, P.C. Cast
Series: House of Night #3
Published by ATOM, St. Martin's Griffin
Pages: 352
Genres: Paranormal YA, Young Adult
Source: Purchased myself
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Rating:
Also in this series: Marked, Betrayed, Tempted

SPOILERS for previous books!

Dark forces are at work at the House of Night and fledgling vampyre Zoey Redbird’s adventures at the school take a mysterious turn. Those who appear to be friends are turning out to be enemies. And oddly enough, sworn enemies are also turning into friends. So begins the gripping third installment of this “highly addictive series” (Romantic Times), in which Zoey’s mettle will be tested like never before. Her best friend, Stevie Rae, is undead and struggling to maintain a grip on her humanity. Zoey doesn’t have a clue how to help her, but she does know that anything she and Stevie Rae discover must be kept secret from everyone else at the House of Night, where trust has become a rare commodity.

Speaking of rare: Zoey finds herself in the very unexpected and rare position of having three boyfriends. Mix a little bloodlust into the equation and the situation has the potential to spell social disaster. Just when it seems things couldn’t get any tougher, vampyres start turning up dead. Really dead. It looks like the People of Faith, and Zoey’s horrid step-father in particular, are tired of living side-by-side with vampyres. But, as Zoey and her friends so often find out, how things appear rarely reflects the truth…

Thoughts: I have had such a roller-coaster ride with the HoN series. I was stunned (not in a good way) by Marked, blown away (in a good way) by Betrayed – and then I wanted to burn Chosen.

Seriously.

This was by far my least favourite book. It put the series on hold for me, and I likely would not have continued had it not been for the fact that I had already bought the rest of the series after reading Betrayed. I have to say, the books do return to the mediocre-yet-addicting quality of Betrayed… but you have to get past this thing first.

What made this book so bad was the unimaginable stupidity of Zoey. Along with this stupidity came the extraordinary stupidity of her friends – all of whom failed to realise that they were equally as dumb. In fact, the only one with any sense at all was Aphrodite… but of course no one listened to her because she is such a “poo-head.”

*sighs*

Bottom line? Read the a summary of the book on-line and then skip ahead to Untamed.

Waiting On Wednesday – To Come and Go Like Magic by Katie Pickard Fawcett

by Kay | Jan 6, 2010 | Weekly Feature | 3 comments

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that are being eagerly anticipated.

To Come and Go Like Magic by Katie Pickard Fawcett
Young Adult – February 9th 2010 by Knopf Books for Young Readers (Goodreads)

Twelve-year-old Chili Sue Mahoney has never been outside of her small Appalachian town. Momma says Mercy Hill, Kentucky, is her “true home,” but Chili longs to see the world—to have the freedom to leave and to explore.

So when Miss Matlock is brought in as the 7th grade substitute teacher, Chili and her classmate Willie Bright are thrilled. Everyone knows Miss Matlock has traveled around the globe. Why she’s come back to her childhood home after all this time is a mystery, but Chili and Willie are eager to befriend her despite the rumors. As the three spend time together, Chili learns about the jungles and deserts and cities of the world. But she also discovers that there’s more to Mercy Hill than she thought: beauty, in the people and places she’s known all her life, and secrets, sometimes where they’re least expected.

Told in vignettes and set in 1970s Appalachia, To Come and Go Like Magic is a heartwarming and hopeful debut novel about family, friendship, and the meaning of home.

This book sounds absolutely magical, but for some reason I have not seen it posted about on any of the blogs I frequent! I think it deserves a space on your wishlist and I actually plan on pre-ordering it (which is a pretty big step for me!). Also, if you are participating in Kristi’s 2010 Debut Author Challenge – this book qualifies as one of your 12. ♥

LotR Readalong Update (1): The Hobbit

by Kay | Jan 6, 2010 | Events for the Bookish | 4 comments

It’s January, 2010… which means The Lord of the Rings Readalong has begun!

In January, the readalong is being hosted over a A Striped Armchair. Eva has posted some great opening questions to get the discussion going. I have tried to answer them all to the best of my ability!

I can’t remember a time when I hadn’t heard of The Hobbit. My mother is a big fantasy/science fiction fan and I remember her pushing me to read the books. It was never too overt, but I had them on my one-day-when-I-am-nine TBR list. Then I was stuck in a rather hideous class unfortunately called “library” and was asked to either sit in silence or read. I fortunately spotted the school’s copy of The Hobbit lying unread in a dusty cover – so I opted for the latter. I must have been nine or ten – I honestly don’t remember.

What I do remember was devouring the entire book in 3 days. It consumed my every thought. After reading it, I felt compelled to do something to further my experience… so I wrote my first real book review. It was a whopper – maybe 5 pages long, complete with illustrations of Middle Earth. Needless to say, my “library” “teacher” was stunned to see me hand it in, especially as it was completely unprompted!

Immediately after I started to read The Lord of the Rings… but that is – unfortunately – a rather short story for another month!

Illustration by Alan Lee.

As for the fantasy of Tolkien’s world – I’m afraid to say I fell out of love with the genre in my teens. I had been an avid sci-fi/fantasy fan before I hit 12… but I got distracted by fandom. When I went off to uni, I tended to read rather literary fiction… and stayed rather far from the fantasy shelves. Over the past two years I have been re-kindling my love for all the genres, but have not yet made it back to Tolkien!

My plan for reading The Hobbit and, subsequently, The Lord of the Rings is to buy new copies. We have my grandfather’s hardbacks from the 50s sitting on the shelf – and while they are well-loved from years of browsing – I want a copy I can lose without crying! (BTW – remind me to share pictures of them as they are beautiful books!)

So I have ordered illustrated (paperback) editions of the four books. I considered buying them in hardback because of my love for Alan Lee’s illustrations (isn’t his watercolour of Smaug amazing?)… but then thought about lugging them around town with me! So, instead I plan on getting a book of his art to satisfy my longing for Middle Earth. As soon as my copy of The Hobbit arrives, I plan on setting aside an entire Saturday to devote to it.

If you haven’t signed up for the readalong, there is still time! Add you name to the LotR Mr. Linky to begin – or revisit – your own journey through Middle Earth.

Review – Evernight by Claudia Gray

by Kay | Jan 5, 2010 | Reviews | 6 comments

Evernight (Evernight Series, Book 1) by Claudia Gray
Amazon UK / Bookdepository / Librarything / Goodreads

Rating: 3/5 stars
Pages: 352 pages

Summary: Bianca wants to escape. She’s been uprooted from her small hometown and enrolled at Evernight Academy, an eerie Gothic boarding school where the students are somehow too perfect: smart, sleek, and almost predatory. Bianca knows she doesn’t fit in.

Then she meets Lucas. He’s not the “Evernight type” either, and he likes it that way. Lucas ignores the rules, stands up to the snobs, and warns Bianca to be careful—even when it comes to caring about him. But the connection between Bianca and Lucas can’t be denied. Bianca will risk anything to be with Lucas, but dark secrets are fated to tear them apart . . . and to make Bianca question everything she’s ever believed.

Thoughts: Let me start off by saying there was a point, just about half way through the book, when I was ready to write a five star review. I was in love with Bianca – and more importantly, her parents. They were a real family who enjoyed listening to Jazz and watching 1930s films. They were perfect, and even Bianca, with all her teenage worry and angst, was lovable. Watching her pine over the mysterious Lucas was just OMG-squeeful.

But a few pages leter, I wanted to rip the book to pieces. Without giving away too many spoilers, let’s just say that there is a certain honesty one expects from a narrator. And that Bianca had kept this particular secret for half a book… well, it just kinda made me angry.

After that, I just never really trusted any other characters. I realised that I needed to be more forgiving – Gray had to write the story the way she did in order to succesfully develop the book. But I still haven’t gotten over it… and that kinda hindered my appreciation of the rest of Evernight. To be honest, by the time we got to the climax of the story I was so bitter I was rooting for the baddies! I feel kinda bad about that now, and perhaps I should have taken a break from Bianca before finishing.

Bottom line? While I do think YA fans should pick up Evernight – brace yourself for a shock. I already have a copy of the sequel Stargazer and have hope that I will love the entire book this time!

100+ Reading Challenge

by Kay | Jan 4, 2010 | Reading Challenges | 2 comments

I’ve done it again…! This is my very last challenge for 2010 – cross my heart! But unlike my other challenges, this one really will be a tough one to accomplish. I have never broken the 50-book line in a year, so why am I joining a 100+ book challenge? Partly because I am compulsive (and kinda insane) – but also because I really really need to clear out my TBR pile! I have 150+ books waiting to be read – so even cutting down on my book buying addiction is not going to help. I need to take action, rally the troops… so I joined a challenge?