by Kay | Feb 11, 2010 | Reviews |
Hearts at Stake (aka My Love Lies Bleeding) by Alyxandra Harvey
Series: The Drake Chronicles #1
Published by Bloomsbury, Walker Books for Young Readers
Pages: 256
Genres: Paranormal YA, Young Adult
Source: Purchased myself
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Rating: On Solange’s sixteenth birthday, she is going to wake up dead. As if that’s not bad enough, she also has to outwit her seven overprotective older brothers, avoid the politics involved with being the only daughter born to an ancient vampire dynasty, and elude Kieran Black—agent of an anti-vampire league who is searching for his father’s killer and is intent on staking Solange and her entire family.
Luckily she has her own secret weapon—her human best friend Lucy—who is willing to defend Solange’s right to a normal life, whether she’s being smothered by her well-intentioned brothers or abducted by a power-hungry queen. Two unlikely alliances are formed in a race to save Solange’s eternal life—Lucy and Solange’s brother Nicholas, and Solange and Kieran Black—in a dual romance that is guaranteed to jump start any romance-lover’s heart.
Thoughts: Hearts at Stake is a fun debut novel but don’t set the bar too high when you pick it up. The action was entertaining, but not all that memorable. Plot turns and twist were all over the place, and kinda hard to follow. The world building consisted of tell-and-no-show. And as for the romance, well, both pairings fell flat.
But it was still an entertaining read! Harvey has a tongue-in-cheek style that I enjoyed – and we have to give her serious credit for creating the most violent vegetarian (Lucy) I have ever read! I also loved the relationship between the two narrators: best friends, Lucy and Solange. They are fiercely protective of each other, but extremely different. They work very well together, as whatever one of them lacks the other makes up for. It was a lovely dynamic!
It was released in the US with the cover/title you see before you… but in the UK they decided to rename it to My Love Lies Bleeding and gave it a Twilightesque cover. Usually I like the changes made by UK publishers, but not this time.
Hearts at Stake is a light-hearted, funny read. So although there is a lot of life-threatening violence… it is light-hearted violence! (If that makes any sense.) So, if you can, try to get a US copy (I got mine from Fobidden Planet in London) so that the content matches the cover!
Bottom line? This was a fun, light-hearted read – but I was not particularly in love. Pick it up if you are looking for a fast-and-fun read! The next book in the series, Blood Feud, is out in July.
by Kay | Dec 26, 2009 | Reviews |
Evermore by Alyson Noel
Published by St. Martin's Griffin
Pages: 306
Genres: Paranormal YA, Young Adult
Source: Purchased myself
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Rating: Since a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever can see auras, hear people’s thoughts, and know a person’s life story by touch. Going out of her way to shield herself from human contact to suppress her abilities has branded her as a freak at her new high school—but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste…
Ever sees Damen and feels an instant recognition. He is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy, and he holds many secrets. Damen is able to make things appear and disappear, he always seems to know what she’s thinking—and he’s the only one who can silence the noise and the random energy in her head. She doesn’t know who he really is—or what he is. Damen equal parts light and darkness, and he belongs to an enchanted new world where no one ever dies.
Rec for people who love: Twilight-esque romances
Thoughts: Okay, let me start by saying that the writing in Evermore was excellent. Alyson Noel has buckets of talent when it comes to writing. I know a lot of people have criticized this book for being too similar from Twilight. But honestly, I found it not similar enough! While with Twilight, you love the book because you love the characters – I just couldn’t love these characters.
My problem was with the romance. Ever, our heroine, was wonderful. A bit thick-headed at times, but identifiable and in a very real amount of pain from the loss of her family. That she then inherited a debilitating “gift” made her suffering all the worse. It was refreshing to read about a heroine who is just as supernatural as her love interest!
But then there is Damen, the “hero”… yeah, I was not so keen on him. We never really understand his motivations – and considering his actions usually made him seem like a total asshole, I really needed some kind of explanation for his behaviour. It was frustrating, and even Ever thought so! Thing was, she was in love with him despite all her attempts to forget him completely. I had no such luck!
Bottom line? Great writing, lackluster romance. I do plan on picking up the sequels and remain hopeful that Damen will grow on me!
by Kay | Jul 31, 2009 | Reviews |
Marked by Kristin Cast, P.C. Cast
Series: House of Night #1
Published by ATOM, St. Martin's Griffin
Pages: 368
Genres: Paranormal YA, Young Adult
Source: Purchased myself
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Rating:
Also in this series: Betrayed, Chosen, TemptedWhen sixteen-year-old Zoey Redbird gets Marked as a fledgling vampire she must join the House of Night school where she will train to become an adult vampire. That is, if she makes it through the Change. But Zoe is no ordinary fledgling. She has been chosen as special by the Goddess Nyx and discovers her amazing new power to conjure the elements: earth, air, fire, water and spirit. When Zoey discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school's most elite group, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look within herself to embrace her destiny - with a little help from her new vampire friends.
Rec for: People over 17, and vampire chick-lit.
Thoughts: I was in a wee bit of shock for the first couple of chapters of this book. The teenagers are just such teenagers it was almost painful. Drunk, back-stabbing, swearing, fornicating teenagers.
I wanted to put it down – mostly out of shock – but what kept me going was the universe. In the acknowledgements at the start of the book, P.C. Cast thanks her editor for the words “Vampire Finishing School” – and I have to thank her too. They have created a very unique universe in an already saturated genre; kind of Harry Potter meets Anne Rice. Admittedly, I had to suffer through a variety of excruciatingly boring religious rituals before I could bring myself to appreciate the verse. Not only are the rituals long and tedious, but they also form a pretty central part of the story. Which means skipping ahead is a no-no if you want to understand what on earth is going on.
So, having said that, what did I enjoy? Well, the main character, Zoey, is a pretty likable gal who honestly wants to do what is right. Had we gone to school together, I would have really liked her – even though on paper she is a rather typical heroine. Her gang of merry men are also pretty adorable – and YAY for a gay teenager (her buddy Damien) being featured in a popular YA novel. Also, the token nemesis, Aphrodite, is extraordinarily villainous (although no where near as bad as Monica from the Morganville Series).
All in all, it was an OK book. There’s some potential in the series, so Betrayed is already in my basket!
