by Kay | Aug 9, 2011 | Reviews |
I don’t finish a lot of books. Truck loads. I’d say about 1 in 4 books I start, I don’t actually finish. While I do love writing negative reviews (because they are just so much more entertaining) I am not going to suffer through a book just in order to rant about it! But it means that I never get the chance to not recommend the books I don’t finish. So this year, I’ve taken note of the books I haven’t been able to finish and why I haven’t been able to finish them.
I’d say “enjoy”, but that feels rather wrong.
Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz: I was not expecting miracles with Blue Bloods, I knew it wouldn’t be very good. But seriously? What was with the 300 narrators? I’m fine with multiple narrators, as long as they are all following some sort of game plan. Blue Bloods just seemed to follow a dozen inane, unrelated, and petty squables. Oh, and what was with the overblown clothing descriptions? Who the hell cares what they are wearing??!
Across the Universe by Beth Revis: I read a review calling this the YA book for people who thought The Host by Stephanie Meyer was science fiction. And after only 20 pages, I completely agreed with them. Across the Universe felt like science fiction 101. Barely-there world building, boring characters, and no apparent originality. Perhaps it improves after a few hundred pages – but given the vague, emotionless writing, I doubt it.
The Hollow by Jessica Verday: Girls who follow creepy boys around cemeteries are my definition of the Too Stupid to Live (TSTL) heroine. I worked out the “twist” 40-odd pages into the book, and jumped to the end to find out I was right. Everything in this book was too cookie-cutter: the villain, the romance, the spooky setting. It felt a lot like Light Beneath Ferns by Anne Spollen (which was another book I didn’t like!). Alas.
Torment by Lauren Kate: God, the first chapter of this book made me roll my eyes so hard I hurt. I look back on my review of Fallen, and all I can say is “what was I thinking?”. Fallen must have had little of the nauseating tru wuv business – but Torment has it is spades. Horrible, pinching, nasty spades. Eugh. The whole “we’ve been in love for centuries… you just don’t remember” business is just such a cop-out. And lame. Really really lame.
Blue Moon by Alyson Noel: I’ll be honest, I didn’t make it past page 5. Because everything I disliked about Evermore was in abundance in Blue Moon… rather like Torment. Just skip this series. No, seriously, just skip it.
Tiger’s Curse by Colleen Houck: I had been so excited to get Tiger’s Curse along with its sequel Tiger’s… something else. I had gotten an email from the publishers asking me to review it, and I went “OMG YES”.
And then I started reading it.
And, yeah… no. Just no. The main character is ludicrously childish and the writing is extremely disjointed. I had to re-read passages two or three times in order to understand who was doing what… until I just didn’t care what happened next. Also, writers that insult vegans? So off my wishlist.
by Kay | Aug 6, 2011 | Reviews, Summer Shorts |
Summer Shorts: YA stories from Subterranean Magazine
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 | Aug 4, 2011 | Reviews |
Siren by Tricia Rayburn
Series: Siren #1
Published by Faber and Faber on February 1st 2011
Pages: 377
Genres: Paranormal YA, Young Adult
Source: Received for review from publishers
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Rating: Seventeen-year-old Vanessa Sands is afraid of everything—the dark, heights, the ocean—but her fearless older sister, Justine, has always been there to coach her through every challenge. That is, until Justine goes cliff-diving one night near the family’s vacation house in Maine, and her lifeless body washes up on shore the next day.
Though her parents hope that they’ll be able to find closure back in Boston, Vanessa can’t help feeling that her sister’s death wasn’t an accident. After discovering that Justine was keeping a lot of secrets, Vanessa returns to Winter Harbor, hoping that Justine’s boyfriend might know more. But Caleb has been missing since Justine’s death.
Soon, it’s not just Vanessa who’s afraid. All of Winter Harbor is abuzz with anxiety when another body washes ashore, and panic sets in when the small town becomes host to a string of fatal, water-related accidents in which all the victims are found, horrifically, grinning from ear to ear.
Vanessa turns to Caleb’s brother, Simon, for help, and begins to find herself drawn to him. As the pair try to understand the sudden rash of creepy drownings, Vanessa uncovers a secret that threatens her new romance—and will change her life forever.
Thoughts: Siren is exactly what I expected: no more, no less. It is a YA novel with a paranormal heroine, a protective love-interest, inexplicably evil villains, a toothache-sweet best friend, and a bitchy-but-beautiful teenage competitor. I’d compare it to The Body Finder… except I actually liked Siren!
Siren had quite a few unexpected twists in it. For starters, we actually get to meet Vanessa’s sister before she dies and see what happens in the immediate aftermath of her death. It made the loss all the more real, so it is actually believable when Vanessa goes to her vacation home looking for answers into her sister’s death. Her relationship with Simon Carmichel was also extremely unusual for a YA book. There is none of the pining and hand-holding – they gradually grow to like each other, but the death of her sister and the disappearance of Simon’s brother are the priority.
But my real problem? The writing. Not necessarily the words on the page, but the words that weren’t on the page. Siren was just extremely confusing. The simple things – like who is driving the car, or what the weather is like – could not be followed. All of the sudden a character would be throwing a cup of coffee that had never been mentioned, besides a short line written paragraphs before vaguely that mentioned a convenience table.
And while we’re at it, character relationships and their individual motivations were just… unintelligible. I felt like Tricia had a plot in mind, complete with 3D characters, she just couldn’t get it onto paper! Although her one-dimensional, evil-for-the-sake-of-it villains? Yeah, I don’t think Tricia had any motivation in mind for them.
Bottom line? Siren is enjoyable but flawed. Pick it up if you’re looking for something a bit different in your paranormal YA, but don’t go out of your way to get a copy.
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 30, 2011 | Reviews, Summer Shorts |
Summer Shorts is weekly feature of short story/novella reviews, posted every Saturday 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 two stories from the fantastic on-line science fiction magazine Lightspeed. This week, I’m reviewing two fantastic tales – one novella, one short story – by one of my favourite authors: Patricia Briggs.
If you don’t know Ms. Briggs, you should remedy that immediately! She writes the fantastic Mercy Thompson series – which features werewolves, coyotes, the best vampires ever written, mechanics, trailers, and some scary, scary fey. Both of these stories are set in that verse.
Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs
Thoughts: So, I started reading Cry Wolf – the first novel in Briggs’ series about Anna and Charles – and remembered that there was a story that came before the novel: Alpha and Omega. I put the book aside at page 50, and picked up Alpha and Omega. And now? Now I am trying to work out new ways to say “wow”.
Patricia Briggs is an amazing writer. She writes stunning, character driven novels without having to go over-the-top with the style of her prose. This talent transcends into her short stories flawlessly. Alpha and Omega tells the story of the first meeting between werewolves Charles (Samuel’s brother, if you read the Mercy Thompson series) and Anna. Anna has been the victim of her alpha and her Chicago pack, who changed her against her will, raped her and kept her at the edge of starvation. Needless to say, she is not in a good place when we meet her.
Knowing that, how on earth could Briggs consider throwing her into a relationship with Charles, whose wolf immediately chooses Anna to be his mate? Instant mating for an abuse victim? How is that supposed to feel realistic? Well, Briggs manages. Aiding her in the plot development are the jumps between different points of view. Unlike her Mercy novels, Alpha and Omega is told by both Anna and Charles – so we see how uncomfortable they both are with the new connection. Knowing that Charles is truly a stand-up wolf makes it easy to root for him.
Bottom line? While Alpha and Omega is the first installment in Briggs’ Anna and Charles series, it wraps up well. There’s no need to read Cry Wolf afterwards but I am certain you’ll want to!
The Star of David by Patricia Briggs
Thoughts: Oh, Ms. Briggs. I absolutely love you and wish you didn’t have to eat or sleep so that you could spend dedicate more of your life to writing. *pines*
So, The Star of David. First off: it is (mostly) narrated by a man – a werewolf man. It’s the first time I’ve ever read anything by Briggs not narrated by a woman and it wasn’t until I’d finished that I realised that there might have been a difference. There isn’t. Briggs rocks any gender. Second thing you should know: while it is set in the Mercy/Alpha and Omega verse, it stars all new characters. If you’ve never read any Briggs, you can read The Star of David and not worry about a thing.
There’s a tonne of action, emotional drama, and character angst in The Star of David. It’s a much shorter tale than Alpha and Omega – a real short story. And yet Briggs still manages to get more than enough in. I’d love to meet David again in one of her other novels (although I might have and just don’t remember). He’s a mercenary, sure, but he is also such a delicate puppy under all that fur.
Bottom line? Another brilliant tale by Patricia Briggs. Her werewolf series is an absolute gem – short stories included!
by Kay | Jul 28, 2011 | Reviews |
The Glass Demon by Helen Grant
Published by Puffin on 2011-06-14
Pages: 305
Genres: Paranormal YA, Young Adult
Source: Purchased myself
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Rating: The first death: Seventeen-year-old Lin Fox finds a body in an orchard. As she backs away in horror, she steps on broken glass.
The second death: Then blood appears on her doorstep – blood, and broken glass.
The third death: Something terrible is found in the cemetery. Shards of broken glass lie by a grave.
Who will be next? As the attacks become more sinister, Lin doesn’t know who to trust. She’s getting closer to the truth behind these chilling discoveries, but with each move the danger deepens. Because someone wants Lin gone – and won’t give up until he’s got rid of her and her family. Forever.
Thoughts: Helen Grant is one of the few YA authors to have gotten her novels reviewed by the mainstream newspapers – The Guardian, The Times, etc. have given her glowing reviews you’ll find spotted across the back cover of her books. This unusual sight made me pick up The Glass Demon, and I am pleased to report that the blurbs were right. Helen Grant is pretty fantastic.
Grant took a risk when writing The Glass Demon – even though the novel is narrated by an English girl, it is set in Germany and the majority of the dialogue is in German. (That is, fake!German that we read as English.) Jumping between languages, and all the complications that arise because of it, is part of everyday life for Lin. As someone who grew up bilingual, I adored finally reading a novel in which the protagonist had two languages to choose from. It’s unusual in YA fiction – hell, it’s unusual in adult fiction too!
US Cover
Then there’s atmosphere – something The Glass Demon had in spades. It is set in a small, creepy town in the backwoods of Germany – complete with gothic ruins and forests that the Brothers Grimm grew up in. To that Grant added a series of terrifying deaths and a demonic legend, all written in a light, suspenseful style… the book is scary yet utterly captivating.
As for Lin? Well, she’s actually rather ruthless. I simultaneously loathed her and loved her as she made both brilliant and incredibly stupid decisions. In short, this girl was as realistic as they come – she didn’t fall head-over-heels for the “love interest”, she had wildly inappropriate thoughts about priests, and had a family that took the fun out of dysfunctional.
And then there’s the ending… which just made the book for me. It left room for interpretation while leaving no room for a sequel. In short? Fan-bloody-tastic.
Bottom line? The Glass Demon is a spooky, atmospheric, captivating read – if you are looking for an excellent standalone YA novel, look no further.
