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
Monday Reading (July 4th, 2011)
In this weekly event hosted by One Persons Journey Through a World Of Books where we discuss what we’ve been reading this week (and, occasionally, what we haven’t).
- Bitten by Kelley Armstrong – Despite being a devoted fan of her YA work, it has taken me up til now to start on her adult fiction. Bitten is great, although I can definitely tell that Kelley has grown as a writer since she published this.
- The Touch of Twilight by Vicki Pettersson – It’s official. Joanna Archer is my least favourite heroine – supplanting Faythe from the werecats series. Even though I enjoyed this book and love the verse, I absolutely loathe this woman. Still, it’s a series well worth reading!
- Brother/Sister by Sean Olin
- Two stories from the Mammoth Book of PNR: Pack by Jeaniene Frost and How to Date a Superhero by Jean Johnson
- I think I will finally get around to finishing the Vampire Academy series this week… I only have two books left to read, so if I get cracking now I could have them all done by the time Bloodlines comes out.
Summer Shorts: Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance
Welcome to the first Summer Shorts post for 2011! I decided to revive this little feature, reviewing two short stories every Saturday of July and August, 2011. I am going to try to feature different authors or anthologies every week, and this week I’m staring with… The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance
Pack by Jeaniene Frost
(Author of the Night Huntress Series – Goodreads)
Thoughts: I was not at all a fan of Jeaniene’s Night Huntress series – I know lots of people think it is the best thing since sliced bread, but all I could see when I open the pages was “Buffy Fanfiction” in bright, flashing letters. But I thought perhaps with different characters, I might might learn to enjoy her writing. And I am pleased to say that I did!
Pack isn’t exactly fantastic. It’s a short story written in as though it were a novel… rather like a mini-novella. That kind of style really does not work when you only have a couple thousand words to get through. And yet, in spite of the style, Jeannie still managed to create interesting 3D characters, a solid universe, and an almost believable were-romance.
Almost believable, you ask? Well, keep in mind this is a short story – a short story that takes place in “real time”. So the were-romance does descend into the pits of the “we are mates and you are mine, growl” trope. But when that comes from a rather-sexy werewolf? I don’t really mind.
Bottom line? Not bad at all. Worth the 20 minutes it will take you to read it.
How to Date a Superhero by Jean Johnson
Thoughts: Wow, this story was terrible. The writing was depressingly amateur, the characters less-than-one dimensional and the plot non-existent. This is most certainly not a case of me disliking a story for its content – because there wasn’t really a story for me to dislike. And in a way, that is far far worse.
So, what exactly was the problem? Well, first off, the plot was rather stupid: spandex-wearing superheroes are “out” and are minor celebrities in their own right. There’s only so far a girl can suspend her disbelief… certainly not far enough to understand why people would wear spandex if they didn’t need to.
Then there was the pacing – or lack thereof. The story starts with a meeting that takes up about half the word count and is – in the end – utterly pointless. It felt like the first chapter of a tedious novel; I honestly would have stopped reading if it hadn’t been a short story. And finally, there was the “romance” angle – in which the two characters simply tell each other, “oh dear, I do rather fancy you”, and then live happily ever after. What. The. Hell.
Bottom line? Just… don’t.
50% of Young Adults are male… go figure
Yes, this is a random!dude reading Alyson Noel’s Blue Moon. I found it on Noel’s blog and it is originally from NYCSubwayGuys – a rather creepy tumblr I won’t link to…
So, there’s been some talk on twitter as of late about male authors in YA – or rather, the lack of male authors in the genre. I haven’t really been following the whole kurfuffel but I think the general conclusion (although correct me if I’m wrong) was that male authors can have a tougher time getting published because the YA market is swarmed with teenager girl readers. But is that true? OK, I’m sure this assumption comes out of actual data. There must be market research out there somewhere that says the following:
- Most YA readers are girls.
- Most YA readers (because they are girls) will read only women authors.
- The few male-YA readers that are out there only read the rough-tough, macho books that are especially released for them.
These are the generalisations that I have fallen into and, like most generalisations, I’m sure they are based on some sort of fact. But speaking from my own anecdotal experience, I think I’ve seen just as many men reading YA “in the wild” as I have women.
The other day, I was sitting in a London City Pret a Manger at 8 am tucking into a bowl of porridge. I was distracted by something, looked up, and saw the man sitting next to me was reading Maria V. Snyder’s Sea Glass. I was so surprised by this that I nearly went up to the guy and asked why he had picked it up! (You’ll be glad to hear that I managed to restrain myself.) But then I thought about all the times I have stood in the YA section at Foyles and spotted real life, adult men going through the shelves… it has happened more than once! And perhaps that’s the problem. These are male adult readers – men who aren’t bothered by the YA label when they pick up a book.
Did these men read YA when they were young adults? I don’t know. Hell, I never read YA as a young adult and I was the perfect target audience: teenage, female and a reader. So maybe the trouble isn’t with getting into the crossover adult market of male readers… and instead, the problem is getting teenage boys to pick up a book.
Hmm… good luck with that one.
Review – Brother/Sister by Sean Olin
Brother/Sister by Sean Olin
Librarything / Goodreads
Genre: Young Adult Thriller
Received for review from Puffin
Rating: 4 stars
Pages: 256
Summary: Will and Asheley have a troubled past. Their father left them when they were little, and their mother has just been carted off to an alcohol treatment center. Now, they have the house to themselves, and an endless California summer stretching out before them. Through alternating perspectives, they tell the story of how and why their lives spun violently out of control – right up to the impossibly shocking conclusion you’ll have to read for yourself to believe.
Thoughts: I really really enjoyed this book. I mean, really enjoyed it. Or maybe I loved it. Now that I think about it, I think I did kind of love it. Loved it like you love your best friend even after they’ve killed their father…
Where was I? Oh yes, Brother/Sister.
This book is dark – very dark. It has the magical trio that would make it great source material for an HBO show: great characters, bloody deaths and incest (albeit, there’s not that much incest). The novel jumps between two main characters, siblings Will and Asheley, as they recount their story to the police. Even though they were telling the same story, the differences between their accounts were fantastic. You know how they say no two people see the same thing? Well, that is exactly what Brother/Sister plays on. I was never sure which of them was the stable one…
Neither of the siblings have had any stability outside each other. Their father abandoned them, their mother is a violent alcoholic, and their school mates are all self-centred, abusive and petty children. That this turned Will and Asheley into less-than-stable individuals is not surprising. That I liked them and rooted for them anyways, well, that was rather surprising.
But while the characters and their ultra-realistic world were excellent, it was the mystery and suspense kept me reading. I thought I knew where the book was going, but half way through Olin took it to a whole new level. Most novels have 1 twist, Brother/Sister must have had 50. Hell, there were twists within the twists.
And the ending… just, wow. The ending made this book for me. Just when I thought things were winding down, BAM. Olin brings in yet another plot twist out of left field.
Bottom line? Brother/Sister is unexpected. Unexpectedly good, thrilling, disturbing… just unexpected. Read it if you’re starting to tire of the cookie-cutter YA that has been clogging the shelves.
Regarding release dates: This book is currently out in hardback in the US, but UK readers will have to wait until August 4th to get their paperback copy.
Cover Alert! The Calling by Kelley Armstrong
I’ve just discovered the US cover for the second book in the Darkness Rising series by Kelley Armstrong, and I am loving it! I was not overly keen on the US cover to the first in this trilogy, The Gathering (which I loved, by the way), but with this book, I am starting to come round. I know Kelley plans on introducing Derek and Chloe into this trilogy, and I can only hope that that happens in book 2!
The Calling (Darkness Rising #2) by Kelley Armstrong
April 2012 – GoodreadsMaya Delaney’s paw-print birthmark is the sign of what she truly is—a skin-walker. She can run faster, climb higher, and see better than nearly anyone else. Experiencing intense connections with the animals that roam the woods outside her home, Maya knows it’s only a matter of time before she’s able to Shift and become one of them. And she believes there may be others in her small town with surprising talents.
Now, Maya and her friends have been forced to flee from their homes during a forest fire they suspect was deliberately set. Then they’re kidnapped, and after a chilling helicopter crash, they find themselves in the Vancouver Island wilderness with nothing but their extraordinary abilities to help them get back home. Plentiful action and romance in this second installment in the Darkness Rising series will keep readers enthralled to the very last page!
Now I am extremely eager to find out what the UK publishers will come up with!