The title reads like a plea, as does the first half of the book. We open on a young girl with a big secret in a small prison. It is cold. The food is unreliable. She is alone. Everyone in the surrounding cells is crazy. The question is...is she? The neurotic and refreshing writing style would suggest that just maybe she is. But when she gets a roommate for the first time in years, she proves that she's sane enough. They quickly form a connection - he seems like someone she's met before and she seems like the attractive girl who helped him find a shower on his first day. Instant chemistry. It's when they are released into the clutches of the typical evil overlord that the real trouble begins (I know, you probably thought starting in a prison was bad enough, right?). Alas, it turns out that the gilded and nicely appointed new complex is just a different version of the same prison, only this has psychological implications, as well, since the main man wants her to use her powers to torture people. Oh yeah, did I mention that her touch is agony to most humans? So she hasn't had any physical affection since....well...never, really.
Anyway, so she and the young lad (the one from prison, who, rather conveniently is one of the only two known people who CAN touch her) make a daring escape after experiencing horrors in the complex for a few weeks (horrors=random deaths, being forced to torture a child, beatings, etc.) and end up in a place where everybody knows your name. That's right - the bar, Cheers!
Just kidding.
They end up in what appears to be a safe zone for people who have special powers. I'm going to refer to it as a the Superhero Coven of Secrecy. This is obviously where they'll be laying low to regroup for the 2nd book, which I can't wait for.
Best Thing: The writing style. It was something different that explored how to put us into the mindset of our main character in a new and original way.
Worst Thing: The explanation for what her "power" actually was and how it worked was pretty lacking. However, I'm going to chalk this up to the fact that our narrator doesn't know much about her own power as of yet and will be learning more about the boundaries of said power in the 2nd book.
Overall Rating: I'm giving it 8.5 out of 10 for doing something different with the world of dystopian fiction. Yay, Book!
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
I could not imagine a more interesting cultural subset to dive into. Karen Russell took on the Florida swamps and I have to say - I think this book has the show Swamp People beat for sheer drama. The story focuses on a family, the Bigtree Tribe, that runs an alligator-wrestling amusement park called Swamplandia! The only problem (well, not the only problem) is that their star attraction, the mom, Hilola Bigtree, has recently passed away from cancer.
What follows is the slow destruction of any and every shred of normalcy the family had to begin with - which, spoiler alert, wasn't a whole lot. Of the three kids, Ava, the youngest at 13 serves as our most consistent narrator. Her perspective provides a very interesting view because she still walks the line between being a child and realizing that everything we believe as children may not be as real as we think. Ava's older sister, Osceola, seems to be going slowly insane and her brother, Kiwi, abandons the family for the mainland. The father has gone to the mainland, as well, seemingly to raise funds for the park.
This leaves Ava mostly to her own devices and when Osceola goes on some crazy trek to marry a ghost Ava is left to both hold down the park and try to find her sister. She enlists the help of an ambiguous character referred to only as The Bird Man which leads to inevitable disaster for Ava.
The book seems to be digging in slowly to each character's greatest fear and how each of them responds to being confronted directly with their own "worst case scenarios". Suffice it to say, no one does all that well.
Best Thing: Everything is described beautifully and I love the constant battle between the mythology of youth vs. the blunt harshness and realism of adulthood. The fact that it was sometimes hard to distinguish what was really happening and what was just the imaginings of a child made it interesting.
Worst Thing: Honestly, I felt that it was too long. You could tell Ms. Russell put a lot of research into the subject, but there were too many side narratives that weren't necessary and only took away from the main story - which, let's face it, obviously had enough going on.
Overall Rating: I give it 6 out of 10. Not my preferred style, but the language was beautiful and the strength and depth of the characters saved it for me.
Swamplandia! by Karen Russell
Fantasy Island Archives
Avoiding Commitment by K.A. Linde
Avoiding Commitment...totally apt title. One that we can all empathize with. We all have commitments we'd like to duck or regret ever having agreed to in the first place, but Jack and Lexi take things to a whole different level. The pair met in college and had a very on-again/off-again relationship for years. In the present day, Lexi hasn't heard from Jack in two years when he calls out of the blue to ask her to come convince his girlfriend that he's able to commit to her.
When you start reading their story, you feel bad for Jack -he's torn between an old high school girlfriend and the interesting new girl (Lexi) he met at college - but as you continue to read and the characters supposedly grow up, you start to just feel bad for everyone. It's almost like an episode of "Really?!" on Saturday Night Live. Really? You're going to cheat on your girlfriend again, Jack? Really, Lexi, you're going to cheat on your boyfriend because Jack snapped his fingers and batted his eyes? Really?? And then when you finally get to the point where you two are in a monogamous relationship with each other for the first time in 4 years you're going to cheat on Lexi with someone else?? REALLY???
It was impossible to like any of these characters unequivocally, because they took dysfunction to a completely new height.
However, the best thing about this book is that in the end, Lexi finally realizes that Jack hasn't just been playing with her, or playing her - he's been playing everyone and is, in fact, a total deadbeat. It's just a shame that Lexi basically had to be pealed away from the situation with a crowbar to see things clearly.
Best Thing: The last scene was the best - Lexi gets completely treated by Jack's fiancee and she gets to say everything the reader is thinking about Lexi throughout the book. Still - you feel bad for the girl. Lexi should've gotten in a few snipes herself!
Worst Thing: Because their relationship was so back and forth it could get a bit repetitive. Also - why can't Lexi keep it in her pants??? I know Jack isn't THAT irresistible.
Overall Rating: This book gets 7 out of 10. Steamy sex scenes, torrid love affairs, and characters that you either love, hate or want to slap - who could ask for anything more?
The Opportunist by Tarryn Fisher
Now, I don't get to use this word very often, but I have to say that I thought this book was very poignant. The story of Caleb and Olivia isn't a happy one, but the story itself is near-perfect. Olivia runs into her old flame, Caleb, in a music store three years after they broke up. She's still not over him - she considers him to be the love of her life and definitely the one that got away (though a more appropriate title would be the one she pushed away). She almost decides to just leave him in peace because during their relationship she practically destroyed him, but instead she goes back inside to find him. The problem? He doesn't remember her at all. He had a car accident that has left him a temporary victim of amnesia and Olivia, still loving him and still looking out for any and all opportunities, decides to re-introduce herself and take advantage of this memory lapse.
They start hanging out again and he starts falling for her all over again. The problem this time is that there is a new woman in his life, Leah. Someone he was going to propose to - and she's not happy to have another woman poaching her man. When Olivia comes home one day to find her apartment has been broken into and all of her belongings have basically been shredded, she knows it was Leah. Thinking on her feet, she convinces Caleb to take a few days off and go camping with her. On the trip, she admits that she's in love with him. When they get back and part ways, Leah is waiting at Olivia's apartment with an offer. If she leaves now - just disappears - she won't tell Caleb that Olivia's been playing him this entire time. Won't reveal their turbulent past together. Olivia takes the bait and moves her entire life to Texas.
Four years later she is a successful lawyer, engaged to another man, and working hard to convince herself that she doesn't still love Caleb. It's not working. When she has an opportunity to move back to Florida and become a partner in a firm, she takes it, not realizing that her first big job surrounds Leah, who is now married to Caleb! She balks when she find out who she's defending, but Caleb find her and comes to her directly about helping to get his wife off. She throws herself, against her better judgment, into the case and wins it for them. Exhausted, and still in love with Caleb, she decides it's time to lay everything on the line, so she hops a plane to Rome where Caleb and Leah are on vacation. She stands under his balcony and decides that she'd rather not destroy his life again - even though it's at the cost of her own heart. She says her piece from the courtyard below and prepares to leave, but finds that Caleb has been standing behind her the whole time, listening to her confession of love for him...
This book was definitely a page-turner. I read it in only two days and I was both sad and pleased by the ending. I think it's an example of a truly great love story - all of which end rather tragically, of course. Olivia Kaspen is one of the most realistic female leads in any book I've read in a very long time - in both her flaws and strengths. She isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination and she has basically crossed all lines for the man she loves - some of which are unjustifiable for any other reason than love. Caleb oscillates between being a victim and a volunteer throughout their relationship, which makes him endearing.
Best Thing: They never waver in their love for one another. Throughout all of the ridiculous circumstances and commonplace issues they go through, you never feel like they don't love each other. How you make a love story read like a thriller, I don't know, but Tarryn Fisher has done it!
Worst Thing: Honestly, I don't have any "worst things" for this book. My only hesitancy is that it is going to have a sequel, which I'm worried about. The story was so complete in and of itself, I don't think any kind of sequel is necessary.
Overall: Can't recommend this book enough - 9.5 out of 10! If you haven't bought it yet , you're missing out on a modern day Romeo and Juliet story -only with better characters!
Let me just start by saying that I definitely drew the short straw on this dual review thing because I have to talk about what I didn't like about the book! However, I did contribute to the positive section, as well, and I am still cursing the fates for having to be a Negative Nancy.
So...the only real issue I had with this book is that it seemed to fast-forward through parts of the story. There was a lot to cover and it was pretty well paced by the end, but in the beginning I felt like they were rushing through the plot points, hurrying to fit everything in. Also, by doing this, the author had to tell a lot of the story in the past tense - catching us up on the weeks or months that we'd skipped. I think this took a bit away from the sense of urgency or immediacy that is present in most books.
Another thing I thought could've been improved on was the characters back stories. I think they all had very rich back stories that helped shape them into the people they were. However, I felt like they didn't always embody those characters fully throughout the book. It was like actors performing the characters instead of the characters being realistic enough on their own. I love each of their stories and I thought they all made sense, but there seemed to be something missing in their interactions.
That last paragraph is how you know I'm upset with doing the negative part of this review because I'm obviously nit-picking. Still...I loved reading this book. I would give it 9 out of 10.
Paradise Hops is such a great name for this book. When I initially began reading this book I had no idea how many twists and turns it would take me on. The transitions between past and present seemed effortless and kept me on the edge of my seat eager to find out what happens next.
A huge thumbs up to Liz Crowe for the character development and growth throughout the book. I love how she sets up the story so that we are able to experience [briefly], Lori prior to meeting Garrett, and then watch as she slowly comes out of her shell and develops into a strong, opinionated, outgoing woman. As for Garrett, it wasn’t hard for me to fall for him although he is a little anal. He was exactly what Lori needed in order to deal with the past and move forward in her life. For the first half of the book we witness the progression of Garrett and Lori’s relationship and how they become more serious despite some of her own reservations. Reading the progression of the relationship is what helped me understand both Garrett and Lori as individual characters. We see Garrett being patient and understanding and of course growing more in love with Lori with each passing day. But when we get to Lori we see how she is in a never-ending battle with herself to accept Garrett for who he is and embrace her true feelings. These two characters have some of the more realistic personalities (considering the circumstances) I’ve come across recently.
When Eli is introduced into the story it’s like a breath of fresh air. He adds to the already present tension that Garrett and Lori are beginning to feel and stirs up certain feelings in her which have her question what she really wants. Now some would ask why is this one of the best things in the story? I’ll answer that by saying who doesn’t want to get hot and bothered by a super sexy alpha male. Eli brings with him the opportunity of a ‘game changer’. Like life, just when you think you have it all figured out you’re thrown a curve ball.
Another thing I really enjoyed with this book is the in-depth brewing knowledge. You could tell that the author comes from a micro-brewing history and knows a lot about the topic and I think it provided a very strong backdrop for everything else that was going on.
Over all Paradise Hops turned out to be more than just a book about love. I absolutely will recommend this to those that enjoy angsty story-lines and romance!
I would rate this book 8 out of 10
Best Thing by Deidre D.
Worst Thing by Liz B.
Liz's Playlist
Closer by Nine Inch Nailsails
One Step Closer by Linkin Park
Fire by Augustana
The Funeral by Band of Horses
Angels by The XX
Word Feud!
Where your favorite reviewers duke it out
PARADISE HOPS
NO SPOILERS
Overall Rating: 8.5
The scars are more than skin-deep in this book. Lori Brockton starts the book with a sad history and spends most of it trying to escape both things that have happened to her and things that she's done to other people. This book is about the strength of the human spirit, our capacity to love, and the balance between guilt and action. Lori find an escape from her past torments in Garrett Hunter, an attractive, empathetic, staid, and straight-laced general manager for the company. His love helps her climb out of the mire and establish herself again. That could be the end of the story...if it weren't for bad-boy brewmaster Eli Buchannan who Lori can't seem to resist. Trouble ensues and Lori must choose between two fantastic options.
Overall
Deidré and I both loved the book. We give it an 8.5 out of 10 overall and highly recommend for people who love non-conventional love stories with a lot of twists and turns. We both loved that throughout the book people kept finding strength when you think they have none left. Literally had me gasping aloud in surprise on multiple occasions.
Deidre's Playlist
Love is Hard by James Morrisons
Quicksand by Agnes Obel
Is this Love by Corrine Bailey Rae
For You by Angus and Julia Stone
The Scientist by Coldplay
Anomaly by Candice Stockstell
The Heroes of Olympus are assembled and their journey across the sea is under way! In this latest installment of the series, Riordan is taking the 7 demigods from the Great Prophecy to Rome. Some of our favorite old characters from the original series, Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase, are still around and still as exciting as ever. This book, like all of the books in the Heroes of Olympus series, has a rotating narrative by a handful of the characters. The Mark of Athena is told through the eyes of Piper, Leo, Annabeth, and Percy with Jason, Frank and Hazel all being included through their storytelling. Their collective task? Stop the ancient goddess Gaea, earth mother, from awakening and destroying the world. So, basically, a walk in the park.
But seriously, they have to save the world. Again. The hardest struggle seems to be each hero feeling appreciated and contributing their unique talents. This quest isn't just about one person, but demigods are a brave bunch and it's hard to find a way to work together. Not to mention the whole Greek/Roman divide and the soon-to-be-explosive discord between New Rome and Camp Half-Blood that they're leaving behind. Oh yeah, and they're on their way to kill giants - which is impossible without the help of a God. Unfortunately, with Gaea rising, almost all of the gods are going through multiple personality disorder with their Greek and Roman sides fighting for dominance.
"Wisdom's daughter walks alone..." Annabeth has been given a separate task by her mother. Athena wants her children to avenge her and has been sending them all to follow her "mark" for centuries. No one has yet succeeded in getting back the mysterious object that has been stolen by the Romans, but the larger quest will require Annabeth to succeed on her personal quest.
Best Thing: The story never feels bogged down. After so many installments of a similar story progression, it can get repetitive and start to feel stagnant. This book is fast-paced and fresh with a wealth of new information and new plot twists that are getting ever-more serious.
Worst Thing: There are times when Riordan will lose some of his older readers by humoring the younger ones. Some of the stunts that are pulled by the teens err on the side of silly. Just skim those parts with an indulgent eye-roll and you'll be fine...they're few and far between.
Overall: Someone should knight Rick Riordan. He is so skilled at seamlessly weaving together ancient mythology and everyday life, seven separate characters and narratives, and an overall goal and prophecy that I am literally in awe. 9 out of 10
The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan
Who exactly is Milla Blaire? That's the question the first book in Candice Stockstell's series asks. It seems like Milla has it all when we first meet her. She comes from a wealthy family, doesn't have to work hard for anything, and her biggest problem seems to be that people (especially men) pay TOO much attention to her. How a girl from a family with more socialites than the Hilton's ended up wanting nothing more than to curl up at home with a good book and a great cup of tea, I don't know.
However, everything changes when Milla discovers a singer called Eliza whose music she finds an instant connection with. Apparently Eliza has heard of Milla, as well. She is given the VIP treatment to fly from her home city of Chicago to Portland for a concert and an exclusive meet and greet with Eliza, herself.
On the flight to Portland she runs into the handsome and arrogant Aden Dilees, whose personality she takes an immediate disliking to, but who physically wakes her up more than any man she's known. A weird experience on the plane bonds them in a way Milla didn't expect and when they part ways she finds herself yearning for more time with this mysterious heir.
While in Portland in the days before the concert Milla seeks some relaxation at a day spa which gives her a make-over she can barely remember, but can't forget, either. Things begin to change for Milla after that as, with the help of Eliza and Aden, she begins to shed her old skin and become something completely different.
The book is extremely captivating and will definitely leave you cliffhanging after every chapter. Candice's philosophy seems to be a big part of the book and it shows in her characters in different ways. The concept was fresh and the characters both frustrating and delightful.
Best Thing: The big reveal is so highly anticipated by the end of the book that you're not sure it will live up to all of your theories, but the plot delivers and explains enough to leave you just satiated enough to hold you over for the next installment.
Worst Thing: I felt that there were almost too many ideas jammed into this first book. I would've liked to see the main narrative be a bit more streamlined, with less little events and characters being pulled in here and there. It could have been better organized and edited.
Overall: I give this book 6 out of 10. Fast-paced and exciting, but a bit scattered. Still, I'm waiting for the next one!
Crown of Embers by Rae Carson
I almost never truly like the second book in a trilogy. They're plagued with repetition and a lack of direction, while also being either a dumbed-down vehicle to advance the plot or ceaselessly plodding. I am SO happy to say that this was not the case for Crown of Embers. I was a huge fan of the first book, Girl of Fire and Thorns because it was an original look at young adult fantasy. The main character is an overweight person of color, which, as we all know, is very rare in the genre. As a person of color myself, I am often disappointed by the all-too-predictable blue-eyed heroines that don't reflect the diversity of the audience reading this genre. So, when Elisa was introduced in the first book I was pleasantly surprised. The first book was a journey of self-discovery and self-esteem as much as it was a story about a young princess who was marrying into a foreign country for political reasons. She finds and loses her first love, goes on a cross-country adventure, is thrown into political machinations, and eventually finds out who she is and what her destiny is.
In the Crown of Embers, we find Elisa, fresh off the death of her husband and her heroic efforts during the Invierne attack, leading Joya d'Arena as a young foreign queen. Assassination attempts abound and political unease forces her to consider marriage as a tool for fortifying her reign. She has the support of the people, but she must prove herself a stronger leader than her husband was in order to keep it. Ancient writings tell of a power source that, if properly channeled by the bearer of a Godstone, could give her the ability to control her powers and become a true sorcerer. This untapped power source, the Zafira, lies to the south. She agrees to a sham engagement with a southern lord, Lord Tristan, to justify her journey to find it.
Some old friends are back in the form of Father Alentin and Belen, the assassin, turned traitor, who pledges himself as Elisa's vassel to make up for past betrayals. Ximena, Elisa's guardian and one of her attending ladies, continues to watch over her as a mother would and protect her from dangers for physical and emotional. Mara, her other lady maid comes more into herself during this novel and serves as a loyal and surprisingly insightful friend to Elisa. Then there's Hector. The commander of her Royal Guard and Elisa's constant companion. The only one who made her feel welcome when she first arrived at the palace and who has grown into her closest adviser and friend...and now even more? The love story is seamlessly woven into the larger tale of political intrigue and power struggles, but it was one of the most heart-wrenching ones I've read in a long time. Rae Carson is insanely talented at telling a measured, balanced story that is both extremely compelling and outright delicious. The thrills are the slow, creeping kind, but there can be no doubt that they excite and amaze.
Honestly, I am still in awe at how much I enjoyed reading this book.
Best Thing: The story in and of itself is superb, but the love story had me up and down so many times I got dizzy. Elisa is a likeable, but realistic character that it's impossible NOT to root for. Each character, in fact, brings something wholly unique and important to the story and I love the efficiency with which Rae Carson drives the story forward.
Worst Thing: We explored the self-discovery plot thoroughly in the first book, so I was surprised to see it again be so prominent in this book.
Overall: 9 out of 10
The Crimson Crown by Cinda Williams Chima
Sometimes you read a book slowly just because you don't want it to be over. You want to savor the experience because you just know...a book like this doesn't come around every day. When I finished this book, I said, "I think this is the best book series I've read since Harry Potter". For me, there is no higher praise.
This was the 4th and final installment of the 7 Realms series from Cinda Williams Chima and the political climate of the realms has never been so rocky. Raisa is officially the queen and Han is her bodyguard and representative on the wizard council. Her biggest aim is to try to unite the various parts of her queendom - the wizards, the cityfolk, and the clans - which is something that hasn't been done since the breaking. Because she is the first queen in the last 1,000 years to have legitimate ties to each part of her queendom, her chances may be better than most. But are these groups ready to work together?
There's a problem with the army - there are still too many foreign soldiers and General Klemath refuses to do anything about it. Quiety, Raisa grooms a replacement for him, but before she has everything in order, the General stages a coup. He joins with the southern army and keeps the queen, with only a handful of guards, under siege in the castle.
Han, with the help of Crow and his ace in the hole Fire Dancer, is trying to gain control of the wizard council, but the Bayars are a huge road block - one that eventually imprisons Han in their dungeons and threatens to kill of the Gray Wolf Line completely. Luckily, Fire Dancer and Night Bird come to his aid and help him escape their clutches. He immediately rushes back to Fellsmarch Castle to aid Raisa, who he thinks is engaged to Micah (as if).
I highly recommend this book/series and I think it's one of those books (like Harry Potter) that crosses all age and preference lines. It has elements that speak to many different types of people, including magic, indigenous people, monarchs, historical ties, and political intrique. The world built by Chima is flawless and it's impossible to not be swept away by the characters, narrative, and heart of this story.
Best Thing: Everything that happens, happens for a reason in this book. It's a tight, efficiently told story with a lot of heart and is perfect for a number of different audiences.
Worst Thing: For once, I have no critique.
Overall: My first 10 out of 10 rating. Don't miss out on this book!
Promised by Caragh M. O'Brien
I have been reading a lot of final books in series recently! But this series is a bit more under the radar than some of the others. The Birthmarked series by Caragh O'Brien really lives at the boundaries of what your typical young adult dystopian novel looks like. It follows a heroine who is marked by a large scar on her cheek. She lives in a town outside the walls of another town and she is a mid-wife. However, the job requires a lot more than just delivering babies. Every month there is a baby quota for each midwife to fill. The babies of these unlucky mothers get "advanced" inside the wall and are given to foster parents. The reasons for this are initially unknown, but as we burrow deeper into the story we figure out that they need help from the people outside the wall to diversify their bloodlines. The people in the wealthier, more technologically advanced inner city are dying of hemophilia that is being inbred between the city's inhabitants. When Gaia takes a stand and tries to stop the baby advancing, she is run out of the city, decried as a criminal.
This takes us to Book 2, Prized, where Gaia journies to another city, across a vast wasteland, and is engulfed in yet another city with problems. This city's inhabitants are mostly men...they have all but stopped being able to produce girls...so women are prized and there are very strict guidelines for how men and women are allowed to interact. There Gaia meets two men, brothers, who both fall for her. But her heart belongs to her guy from book one, Leon, who eventually finds his way across the wasteland to be with her. Gaia has issues with the Matrach of her new city, Sylum, but works them out in the end and becomes the new Matrach herself.
In the final book, Promised, she is leading her new friends and the people she is responsible for in Sylum back to her old city to give them a better chance at survival. Gaia is a great heroine and the love story between her and Leon is extremely compelling. However, the third and final book is less about their love and more about how to figure out a way to compromise with her old city and implement a new way of doing things that works for everyone. Gaia is a very young leader and faces dissent for the first time. She's trying to be fair and just while protecting her people and dealing with uncooperative (though that's an understatement) leadership from her old city. But everything is coming to a seemingly unavoidably violent head and she's left grasping desperately at any chance to keep the peace.
Best Thing: Love the way Caragh O'Brien tells the story. Gaia isn't always sure what she's going to do and that comes across in her narrative. However, it allows the readers to empathize with her in a way that they often don't get. Also, the story, though not set in our time, draws huge parallels to issues of feminism, civil rights, and the nature of change.
Worst Thing: I thought the ending was a bit unrealistic considering the build up to it.
Overall: Not sure why more people haven't picked up on this one. 8.5 out of 10.
Because It Is My Blood by Gabrielle Zevin
Anya Balanchine is finally out of prison...at least for now. We start the book with Anya being released from Liberty and trying to figure out what school she's going to go to in order to finish her senior year. She has paid her debt to society for shooting her cousin (in defense of her boyfriend) and is ready to turn over a new leaf. The only problem is that no one has forgotten her personal history or that of her crime family. No schools will let her in and just when things are looking up and she finally gets let back into Trinity (thanks to a hefty bribe from an unknown source) things almost immediately go wrong again. She is brought up on trumped up charges for minor crimes by Charles Delecroix, her former boyfriend's father, as a way to get her off the radar and away from his son, Win, again.
Instead of accepting this bogus sentence, Anya uses her family's resources to go into hiding on a cocoa farm in Mexico. We get to see a softer side of Anya as she learns to love chocolate again and meets a bunch of new friends.
However, tragedy is never far away from our heroine and she is forced to return to America after an assassination attempt goes awry and hurts a member of the family she's staying with. Similar hits were put on her sister in NY and her brother in Japan with horrifying results. Months have passed while Anya was in Mexico and she returns to find the Balanchine family in crisis over the loss of her Uncle Yuri who led the illegal chocolate business. Her little sister has grown up, her best friend is pregnant, Charles Delacroix last the election for DA, and Win is the only thing she can count on.
Finally, Anya is given the chance to get out of the business all together and she does...but will that decision hold or is chocolate too much a part of who she is?
Best Thing: This book was wonderfully paced and took the reader on an emotional rollercoaster. As a follow-up to All These Things I've Done it is great and definitely drives the plot forward as Anya changes significantly during this book. The plot had just enough ups and downs and definitely ended on an unexpected note. If you like stories that shock you at every turn, this is the story for you. Zevin continues to deliver with her witty writing and nearly walk-off-the-page main character.
Worst Thing: My only problem was that by the end of this installment, I found that I was angry with Anya. I don't like when the main character seems to go even further off-kilter and Anya ends up throwing away the thing that meant the most to her by the end of the book. I think that showing the evolution of Anya is important, but I'm afraid Zevin may have gone too far in the final moments of this book.
Overall: 7 out of 10.
Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick
I remember first wanting to read these books based on the covers. They were beautiful and a little dark and I think they lived up to the books themselves. The covers and the narratives have all been building up to this one book - Finale. We jump right back into the story, with Nora who has just recently been made a Nephil, scrambling to organize the army that her dead father, Hank Millar (better known as the Black Hand) forced her to lead. The stakes are high, both personally and professionally for Nora because if she doesn't lead the army, then her and her mother's lives will be forfeit. On the larger scale,
if she doesn't find a way to keep fallen angels from trying to possess Nephil bodies than she could be overthrown as soon as Chesvan is over by her own people!
Nora and Patch have other problems, too. An archangel by the name of Pepper seems to be stalking Patch in order to chain him in Hell, Dabria is still sniffing around Patch, waiting for an opportunity to steal him from Nora, and Nora and Patch have to stop the production of Devilcraft on Earth, too. Unfortunately, Devilcraft seems like one of the only ways to put Nephilum on equal footing with Fallen Angels because it strengthens them, increases their speed, and ups their endurance. Sadly, Devilcraft is also innately evil and extremely addictive...can Nora and the rest of the Nephilum resist its seductive pull?
Vee, Scott, Marcy, and Nora's new 2nd in command, Dante, weave in and out of the story, helping and hindering as they go.
I was very disappointed after reading the 3rd book in this series and almost gave up on it completely, but I was pleasantly surprised by this addition to the story and I thought it was wrapped up in a very satisfying way for the readers. It's a fast-paced book with event after event stacking up and racing toward the appropriately climactic ending.
Best Thing: I really liked how it ended and that Nora and Patch didn't end up married...I thought that was a nice, modern touch to the story. I also appreciated how deftly all the loose ends were tied up, without going overboard to make the ending perfect.
Worst Thing: There were too many plot lines going on. Some of the side narratives, like the Dabria story and the Pepper story could've been toned down.
Overall: This book redeemed the series for me. I'll give it 7 out of 10. Not quite heavenly, but more angelic than most.
Eternally Yours by Cate Tiernan
Oh, has there ever been a more perfect man than Reyn? Good lord. I would like to keep this professional, but I think I might be in love. Northern Raider with a soft side? The very strong, very silent type? Tall, gorgeous, stoic? One word (accompanied by some drool): Yum.
Okay, now that that's out of my system, I can proceed to the actual review! I have loved this series from the very beginning. Nastasya is an extremely flawed heroine, but she is also totally unresistable. She's completely guileless and has never met a little thing called Tact, but she is always trying to be better and do better and that's all we suckers really want to see. Am I right? In this book we catch up with Nastasya after the garrish events that took place in Boston with Innocencio. She is trying to recover from losing two of her friends to death and one to insanity, while also facing the music of her choice to leave Rivers Edge and go to Boston in the first place. Which is made harder by the fact that no one at River's Edge is acting like it was her fault, when she feels to blame.
Then River's family starts showing up in droves. All four of her extremely old, extremely confrontational brothers appear and instantly start trying to get Nastasya kicked out. Because she is the sole heir to the long-forgotten Iceland house of power, she is a target for dark forces, especially because she is still relatively untrained in Magick! So, they fear for the safety of everyone at River's Edge and begin verbally attacking and trying to bribe Nastasya almost immediately.
And it would seem that their warnings are warranted. As time goes on, attacks begin to be waged on the property...charred circles around the house, window panes blown out, and chickens dying. Everyone wants to find out the source of these attacks, but when it appears that at least some of it is coming from within the house, they have to deal with the fact that their may be a traitor in their midst. Can they figure out who's got it in for River's Edge and it's inhabitants? Are their larger forces at work? And, perhaps MOST importantly...will Nastasya and Reyn be able to put aside their issues and the events of their sordid pasts to finally end up together?
Best Thing: This book has some of the most vivid characters and you really root for all of them to succeed. Also, the love story between Reyn and Nastasya is so much more realistic than most YA books would have you believe in terms of the ups and downs and baggage that keep them down.
Worst Thing: It seems to focus a lot on the micro level and the macro level suffers for it. Meaning that the individual interactions between characters are sharp and witty, while the larger plot line seems more rushed and less crafted than it should be. This book was better than the first two in that way, but still needed a firmer grasp on where it was going to end up with the larger story.
Overall: Great series. Great ending. Highly Recommend. 8.5 out of 10.
Mystic City by Theo Lawrence
We’re in post-global-warming Manhattan where the streets of the original city have been flooded by the ocean. But a new city has been built on top of the old. This new city is called the Aries, where the rich and socially relevant live, while the original city is called the Depths. Things in the depths aren’t so good – the poor and magically enhanced Mystics are relegated to this region of the city where the streets are dirty and the resources are limited. The Aries is run by two fighting families, the Fosters and the Roses.
Aria, our heroine, is a rose. Daughter to an empire and extremely well-off, we meet Aria at a hard time in her life. She’s recovering from an overdose and can’t remember the past two weeks of her life – the two weeks in which she carried out an illicit affair with Thomas Foster and fell in love. So, she wakes up engaged to a man she doesn’t remember loving and having weird flashbacks to their affair without being able to identify who her leading man is.
In the Depths, there is a boy named Hunter Brooks. Hunter is also heir to a legacy – a Mystic legacy. His mother, Violet Brooks, is the reason the Fosters and the Roses feel they need to unite their families. She is a mystic contender for Mayor and one of the first ones to unite the mystic vote and try to change the system of oppression in which Mystics live. They are drained of their magical power twice a year and their power is used by the city to keep the Aries functional while they wallow in The Depths.
Hunter and Aria meet and she is immediately drawn to him in a way she isn’t to Thomas. She ends up seeking him out in the Depths multiple times and they get to know each other. When her parents realize she’s been sneaking around they attempt to wipe her memory again and Aria realizes that she never overdosed – instead it was her parents all along trying to make her forget something…her love for Hunter.
As the election gets closer and Aria becomes more alienated from her family and from Thomas, she starts to fall in love with Hunter all over again. Can they work together to save The Depths and the mystics who live there or will this revolution rock the city in irreparable ways?
Best Thing: The character transformation for Aria was great to watch. She goes from this extremely sheltered princess to signing up for the rebellion in only a few short weeks. Her realizations were fascinating to watch.
Worst Thing: I thought this book was going to be interesting and I was excited to read it. It had all the elements of greatness – cool dystopian setting, interesting societal make-up, and young love – but it fell flat. I think the problems stemmed from an unclear vision of the world they live in. There were things incorporated from our current time and a few new technological toys - but nothing felt very revolutionary or new. In fact, I was extremely disappointed by some of the regurgitated ideas in this book. For example, there was a scene where Aria is looking for an address that she can’t find. Eventually, two buildings move aside to reveal the address…um…Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, anyone? And then there’s a balcony scene where Hunter is going to whisk Aria up to the roof and he has a “do you trust me moment”…Aladdin? Yeah? Really? Not cool. Also, all the memory loss made things seem redundant and there was almost too much drama. Like the pacing was off, or something. It desensitized the reader from truly understanding the impact of the drama because there were so many BIG, DRAMATIC scenes.
Overall: It could’ve been a contender…but it fell flat for me. 5 out of 10.
