Hi there! I’m Kay: an opinionated book blogger enamoured with the world of novels. Reader of Speculative Fiction (the posh word for Sci-Fi/Fantasy) and Young Adult novels. Believer in the many uses of the towel, the science of deduction and other fandom in-jokes.
This blog has been closed since early 2016. To the publishers and writers: thanks for all the support over the years. To my readers and fellow bloggers: keep in touch!
Recent Reviews
Review: Before I Wake by Rachel Vincent
Before I Wake by Rachel VincentSeries: Soul Screamers #6
Published by Harlequin Teen, MIRA
Pages: 346
Genres: Fantasy YA, Young Adult
Source: Purchased myself
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Rating:
Also in this series: My Soul to Take, My Soul to Save, My Soul to Keep, My Soul to Steal, If I Die, With All My Soul
Spoilers for previous books! Covering up her own murder was one thing, but faking life is much harder than Kaylee Cavanaugh expected. After weeks spent "recovering," she's back in school, fighting to stay visible to the human world, struggling to fit in with her friends and planning time alone with her new reaper boyfriend.
But to earn her keep in the human world, Kaylee must reclaim stolen souls, and when her first assignment brings her face-to-face with an old foe, she knows the game has changed. Her immortal status won't keep her safe. And this time Kaylee isn't just gambling with her own life .
Thoughts: Before I Wake was just an absolute treat. We’re six books into the Soul Screamers series now, and I can firmly state that none of the characters we met in the first book are the same – Kaylee most of all.
And thank God for that! Kaylee is one of those characters that has rather frustrated me over the years. She always feels pathologically responsible for the decisions of others – which leads to books and books of guilt, guilt, guilt. It’s been frustrating beyond belief.
But her death in If I Die and her break up with Nash have, well, made Kaylee grow up. This is rather sad, in a way. A lot of reviewers have commented on how they felt sorry for Kaylee in this book, that she was so depressed and that it was sad to see her that way. I understand where they are coming from. After all, she died. She can’t just “get over” that. But I happen to think that overcoming her death made her grow as a person – even if she’s not the same (happier?) girl we met in the first book. Bad things happen and they suck – but that’s part of growing up and sometimes people can come out the better because of them.
Gosh, that was maudlin.
Anyhow, I also loved what Vincent did with everyone else in this book. I very nearly felt sorry for Nash in this book (an absolute first for me, devoted anti-Nash fan that I am), and I certainly felt for Sabine (who I’ve always liked despite her insanity). Both Sabine and Nash have to deal with their own fallout from Kaylee getting together with Tod, not to mention Nash’s never-ending addiction problems. I am so glad I am not reading a book from their POV, because that would be epically woeful.
Vincent also went all out plot-wise. The ending of Before I Wake was an absolute shocker and all I could think was, “wow”. Love that this series can still surprise – considering all the bombs Vincent has dropped in this series, you’d think we’d see it all coming! But no… she’s still got us on tenterhooks.
Best for last: Tod. He remains one of my favourite characters ever and fortunately there is plenty of him in this book! I don’t want to give a single thing away, so all I will say is this: every word out of that boy’s mouth was a bloody gift.
Bottom line? While not quite as stellar as stellar as If I Die, but up there. I cannot wait for the seventh and final book in this series: With All My Soul.
Read-a-thon Mini-Challenge: Show It Off!
Hey there, fellow read-a-thon-ers!
Thinking about sneaking a nap in? No way! Grab a cup of tea or coffee (or a Red Bull) because you’re in for the long-haul now. While you’re at it, get out your camera’s for Hour 20 “Show It Off” Mini-challenge.
Here’s what I want you to do: I want you to show off a book (or books) from your library that you are extremely proud of. The unique, signed or simply dear-to-your-heart editions that you’d grab if there were a fire.
Need some examples? Well, how about that signed, personalised edition by your favourite author? Or how about that shelf of painstakingly-collected of every Jane Austen-related book in existence? Perhaps you’ve an extremely dog-eared copy of a book that’s been passed down through your family? Anything goes – just make it something special to you.
Me? I want to show you two very special sets of J.R.R. Tolkien books. The Hobbit belonged to my grandfather and is a 1966 stunning hardcover edition. Then there’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, from 1965, that belongs to my mother (she kindly lets me read them) and that she’s had since she was a girl. These books have followed us across oceans and into several different homes – they’re special and they’re beautiful. They are the representation of Tolkien that I grew up with, and I can’t imagine his writing any other way.
- Take a picture of a book/books from your library you really want to show off: signed editions, rare editions, obsessively-organized Sherlock Holmes collections – just whatever is special to you!
- Post your photo on your blog, twitter, facebook, flickr, etc. then add your link below.
- If your email address is not on your blog/twitter/etc., please post it in the comments with the number of your entry. (i.e. “I’m Sarah, entry #5, my email is…”)
- One winner will be chosen to receive a $15/£10 gift certificate to Amazon.
- This challenge will close at 5 am CDT / 12 noon CET.
Dewey’s 24-hour Readathon: TBR pile, Updates and Mini-Challenges
It’s Readathon season once again! I am so very excited about this year’s readathon. For starters, I am going to be hosting a challenge at Hour 20 – stay tuned for that, it will be brilliant! – and I have decided to ignore all my regular TBR books, and focus on some that have been on my shelves for ages. It’s really rather self-indulgent of me – I can’t wait to get started!No idea what I’m on about? Head over to http://24hourreadathon.com/ to find out more and to sign up! Then check out twitter and follow #readathon @readathon and #RahRahReadathon for more updates.
So, what’s on my TBR pile?
I’ve chosen a really diverse set of books this year; I’ve got anthologies, a graphic novel, some contemporary YA, a few next-in-the-series, and a first-in-the-series. Diversity is key for readathons – you always need that back-up novel for when things start to turn south.
This pile is also a shout-out to my very first Readathon back in 2010, when I read Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles and Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow. Now I’ve the sequels to those books on my pile for this readathon! Symmetry, guys, symmetry.
- Corsets and Clockwork (Anthology)
- Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead (Graphic Novel)
- Enthralled (Anthology)
- The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
- Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
- Defiance by Lili St. Crow
- Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles
Updates
Hour 2 – I’ve just started Defiance by Lili St. Crow. And… I’m a wee bit lost. I really loved the first three books in this series, but I think it’s been almost 2 years since I read them! I’m starting to get back in the swing of things now though…
Still, I think only in the Big Apple could you drop a huge white-pillared school for the half-vampire and werwulf hunters of the dark forces onto a big piece of prime parklike Manhattan real estate and nobody even care.
– p.25 Defiance
Hour 5 – I’m about half way through Defiance now – enjoying it but I get rather frustrated with Dru and Christophe. *sigh* Will have to take a quick break for work purposes, then back to reading!
Hour 8 – OK, I did take a bit of a break to eat and whatnot, but I have been reading. And I can’t firmly tell you that the Christophe/Dru business going down in Defiance is crazy.
Hour 9 – Well, that’s Defiance done. I really love how this series stars a properly tough female character, and how Lili St. Crow doesn’t shy away from the scary stuff. But the love triangle? Bloody annoying.
Now reading the Vampire Academy graphic novel – really enjoying revisiting this world!
Hour 10 – Graphic novels are awesome. They’re proper reading but are short enough to get through quickly. Think I will read Chain Reaction now!
Hour 12 – OK – nap time. But this will set my alarm so that it’s 100% Just. A. Nap.
Hour 18 – I BACK and read to rumble read!
Hour 21 – To be honest, I’ve spent the majority of the past few hours just commenting on posts. There have been so many great challenges and challenge entries – especially to my Show it Off challenge. Some of the books people have shared have been beyond stunning. ❤
Hour 22 – OK, so I am 33 pages into Chain Reaction and it is so adorable. OMG.
Hour 24 – I fully plan to continue reading Chain Reaction after the readathon ends. It’s super addictive and I don’t think I want to put it down quite yet.
Mini-Challenges
Hour 1 – Starter Questions
Hour 18 – The “Challenge your Brain” challenge
A challenging book on my shelf: The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell – This non-fiction exploration of myth has been on my shelf for a while now. It was a gift from my mother and has been described as a rather life-changing book. But its weighty-ness has made it a rather difficult one to approach!
A challenging word: This one I spotted in Defiance; I understood it off the bat from the context, but the word itself was new to me!
di·ur·nal
adj.
- Relating to or occurring in a 24-hour period; daily.
- Occurring or active during the daytime rather than at night: diurnal animals.
Hour 19 – Book Sentence!
Hour 22 – Diagram a Sentence
OK, over at Word Lily we’re being asked to diagram a sentence – something that I had never even heard of! This will be my very first attempt at venturing into the terrifying land of grammar, but I thought I should give it a try.
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Hour 23 – Book to Movie
Crystal Reed as Dru (Strange Angels).
We’ve been asked to cast a book from our readathon pile over at Reading Through Life. I usually love this challenge, as I usually have an actor on the tip of my tongue… but not this time for some reason. So I had a good, hard think about it and… BAM. Got it!
My choice of actress to play Dru from the Strange Angels series would be… Crystal Reed.
She plays the fabulous Allison Argent on MTV’s Teen Wolf, and suits Dru perfectly. She’s a lean brunette – just like Dru – who already plays a character that can kick ass and take names as well as any man.
Seriously, she’s perfect. I have stars in my eyes just thinking about her starring in a Strange Angels adaptation. ❤_❤
Hour 24 – End of Event Meme
Which hour was most daunting for you?
Probably waking up at Hour 18 – I’m still pretty impressed that I did it.
Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
Nothing specific, but people: graphic novels. Buy them/Borrow them/Steal them from your younger brother for the next readathon. They are awesome and make you feel super productive.
Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
Nope! You guys were absolutely awesome!
What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
Not sure if you did this last readathon, but I really appreciated the tweets and retweets. It was a really useful way to stay on top of all the mini-challenges
How many books did you read? What were the names of the books you read?
Two: Defiance by Lili St. Crow and Vampire Academy Graphic Novel by Richelle Mead. I also started Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles which I plan to finish today!
Which book did you enjoy most?
Hmm… well, probably Defiance. But I have a feeling that once I finish Chain Reaction, that will be the favourite!
Which did you enjoy least?
I guess that leaves Vampire Academy – which I really did like, but it didn’t have quite the same gravitas as the novel.
How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
I really hope I can do the April 2013 readathon – it depends on my schedule! This is such a fun community event and hosting a challenge made it all the more enjoyable for me. Plan to host another if I can!
Review: Breathe by Sarah Crossan
Breathe by Sarah CrossanSeries: Breathe #1
Published by Bloomsbury, Greenwillow
Pages: 384
Genres: Science Fiction YA, Young Adult
Source: Received for review from publishers
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Rating:
When oxygen levels plunge in a treeless world, a state lottery decides which lucky few will live inside the Pod. Everyone else will slowly suffocate. Years after the Switch, life inside the Pod has moved on. A poor Auxiliary class cannot afford the oxygen tax which supplies extra air for running, dancing and sports. The rich Premiums, by contrast, are healthy and strong. Anyone who opposes the regime is labelled a terrorist and ejected from the Pod to die. Sixteen-year-old Alina is part of the secret resistance, but when a mission goes wrong she is forced to escape from the Pod. With only two days of oxygen in her tank, she too faces the terrifying prospect of death by suffocation. Her only hope is to find the mythical Grove, a small enclave of trees protected by a hardcore band of rebels. Does it even exist, and if so, what or who are they protecting the trees from? A dystopian thriller about courage and freedom, with a love story at its heart.
Ahead: BAD SCIENCE, characters who go off the rails and a good premise.
Thoughts: I really wanted to love Breathe. Really, I did. It had an extraordinary premise with an environmental message I fully approve of. I mean, how many YA books deal with deforestation and mass climate change?
The first half of Breathe was really rather good. Sarah Crossan bounced back and forth between three well-developed characters – all teens, but all radically different. There’s the cold resistance member who seems horrid, but is really just trying to stay alive. The scholarship girl who is brilliant but will never get anywhere because of her birth. And the rich-but-mostly-kindhearted boy who doesn’t stand up to the system, but doesn’t lie down in front of it either. Three kids who are pretty much on their own, and who all learn to fight the status quo in their own way.
As I said, pretty good stuff – and while I wasn’t over the moon about the characters, I could see myself starting to connect with them. But then, about half way through the book, things started going downhill. The chapters started getting shorter, yet covered twice as much action. Characters were introduced who were supposed to be leaders but were genuinely psychotic – but no one dealt with or acknowledged this. And badda-bang instalove! I was kinda shocked.
But it was about to get worse… bring in the bad science.
OK, I understand that most people are not scientists – but there were mistakes in this book that were the equivalent of writing, “the island of France” or “Earth’s second moon”. Things so blindly obvious, someone should have noticed them. I don’t necessarily think Sarah Crossan should have been responsible for spotting her scientific faux-pas, but someone. Anyone.
*Minor Spoilers*
For those of you who are doubting me, here’s an example. Breathe describes a world where, as the oxygen levels decrease, people start dropping like flies. Suddenly, graveyards are full, mass burial sites aren’t enough, so… people start burning the bodies.
*head desk* You cannot burn people in a low oxygen environment!! Flames need oxygen!! Human bodies are not super combustible! It’s basic chemistry that we worked out in the stone age.
I told two people this specific example, and both of them spotted the mistake immediately. Why didn’t an editor? I can only pray that that line did get cut from the final version… but doubt it.
*Even More Spoilery*
Another thing that made no scientific sense whatsoever was the rebel’s miraculous ability to breathe in a low oxygen atmosphere. It’s true that people who live in high-altitude areas develop higher red blood cell counts and can cope in less oxygenated atmospheres… but not the 6% oxygen levels of Breathe. This becomes even more unbelievable when you find out that all the rebels had to do to breathe like this was practice and throw in a few meditation sessions.
What’s sad is that science in Breathe didn’t need to be bad science. If a one-line explanation had been tossed in saying that humanity had evolved genetically to require less oxygen, I could have bought this. It’s science fiction, for goodness sakes! That Breathe masquerades as a scientifically sound novel is rather… off-putting.
*END Spoilers*
So, after all that, am I going to read the sequel Resist? Maybe. I know that Sarah Crossan is capable of writing a good book – there’s half of one right here in Breathe.
Waiting on Wednesday: Salvation by Anne Osterlund
“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that are being eagerly anticipated.
Salvation by Anne Osterlund
Contemp YA – January 10th 2013 by Penguin Young Readers Group – Goodreads
A smart, unexpected romance from an award-winning author.Salvador Resendez–Salva to his friends–appears to have it all. His Mexican immigrant family has high expectations, and Salva intends to fulfill them. He’s student body president, quarterback of the football team, and has a near-perfect GPA. Everyone loves him.
Especially Beth Courant, AKA the walking disaster area. Dreamy and shy, Beth is used to blending into the background. But she’s also smart, and she has serious plans for her future.
Popular guy and bookish girl–the two have almost nothing in common. Until fate throws them together and the attraction is irresistible. Soon Beth is pushing Salva to set his sights higher than ever–because she knows he has more to offer, more than even he realizes.
Then tragedy strikes–and threatens to destroy everything that Salva has worked for. Will Beth’s love be enough to save him?
Thoughtful and romantic, this is a beautifully written story about following your heart and fulfilling your potential.
Anne’s description of this book is pretty brilliant, take a look:
If I wanted to be cheesy, I could pitch it as “Perfect Chemistry meets Romeo & Juliet;” but then you’d assume you know the end. And you don’t.