pub date: December 27, 2011
publisher: EgmontUSA
pages: 352
source: NetGalley
format: digital
appeals: vampires
content: a lot of good stuff
thoughts:
Loved it!
I wasn't sure about this book when I first read the summary. I thought it sounded somewhat interesting, but mostly odd. I'm not sure why I decided to request it from NetGalley, except that I enjoy Jennifer Lynn Barnes' other novels.
Whatever the reason behind requesting the book, I was amazed just how wonderful this book was. I loved it!
I definitely wasn't wrong about the oddness of the story, but that was one of the things I loved so much. It's odd in the oddest, coolest, funnest way imaginable. It takes place in the alternate existence of our world in 2011 (or there abouts) where all the creatures, and then some, that exist in our imaginations are real. That cool guy Darwin discovered their existence and since then scientists have been fascinated by them. The plot was surprising and oh-so-much fun.
All the characters were great, but I especially loved Kali. Her growth as a "human" and as a "predator" was believable (in the paranormal way such things are believable), and I really cared about what she did and how she did it.
Things I loved:
all the creatures Kali hunts.
interesting people Kali meets in school and outside of school.twists and turns in Kali's story that I was not expecting at all.
world building!
the excitement.
Kali's romantic entanglement.
I usually dislike romance in books where the relationship is instant. I want development! The (slight) romance in this novel was quick, but it was so artfully done. Even though their attraction went deep fast, it was done in such a way that it was believable and it made sense. And it was fun.
Another book I can't recommend highly enough.
summary:
Every other day, Kali D'Angelo is a normal sixteen-year-old girl. She goes to public high school. She attends pep rallies. She's human.
And then every day in between . . .She's something else entirely.
Though she still looks like herself, every twenty-four hours predatory instincts take over and Kali becomes a feared demon-hunter with the undeniable urge to hunt, trap, and kill zombies, hellhounds, and other supernatural creatures. Kali has no idea why she is the way she is, but she gives in to instinct anyway. Even though the government considers it environmental terrorism.
When Kali notices a mark on the lower back of a popular girl at school, she knows instantly that the girl is marked for death by one of these creatures. Kali has twenty-four hours to save her and, unfortunately, she'll have to do it as a human. With the help of a few new friends, Kali takes a risk that her human body might not survive. . .and learns the secrets of her mysterious condition in the process
pub date: September 1, 2011
publisher: Carolrhoda Books
pages: 306
source: NetGalley
appeals: contemporary, paranormal, romance
content: clean
thoughts:
Wow. Wow, wow, wow.
I thought this book was original and exciting and suspenseful. It was filled with great characters and a really remarkable mystery. Anderson's language and descriptions were beautiful. I loved how the aspects of the plot were revealed. I had to know what was going to happen next.
I read a few reviews for the book before reading Ultraviolet myself and it tainted my reading experience by ruining some of the mystery of the book. So I have lots I'd love to write, but I kind of don't want to because I don't want to wreck it for you.
Which makes this a really lame review. Sorry.
It was a 5 apple book until the last fifth of the book. I liked the ending and I thought it was rather mind blowing, but it was...odd. And not what I wanted to happen. So now it's 4 apples.
In parting: Read this book! It is super cool.
summary:
"Once upon a time there was a girl who was special. This is not her story. Unless you count the part where I killed her."
Sixteen-year-old Alison wakes up in a mental institution. As she pieces her memory back together, she realizes she’s confessed to murdering Tori Beaugrand, the most perfect girl at school. But the case is a mystery. Tori's body has not been found, and Alison can't explain what happened. One minute she was fighting with Tori. The next moment Tori disintegrated—into nothing.
But that's impossible. No one is capable of making someone vanish. Right? Alison must be losing her mind—like her mother always feared she would.
For years Alison has tried to keep her weird sensory abilities a secret. No one ever understood—until a mysterious visiting scientist takes an interest in Alison's case. Suddenly, Alison discovers that the world is wrong about her—and that she’s capable of far more than anyone else would believe.
pub date: August 2, 2011
publisher: Hyperion
pages: 288
source: publisher for review
appeals: witches, mystery, paranormal-ish, romance
content: clean
thoughts:
It took me two weeks to get through the first 80 pages. Nothing really happened and I was bored. So I made myself sit down and get it read so I could move on to a new book. And happily, it got better. Around page 100 the plot picked up and it just kept picking up. I thought the ending was really exciting and I read the last 50 pages in one sitting, speeding through.
The uncle, and most of Lexi's town were so frustrating! I always respect authors who write annoying and closed minded characters. Because I hate them and they frustrate me and I want to reach into the book and knock their head against a tree. But...such a strong emotional response is because the character, however annoying, is written in a believable way. I don't know that I'd be able to do that myself. So yes, annoying, close-minded uncle, but remarkably written character.
The writing was BEAUTIFUL. Even at the beginning when I was bored with the slowness of the story, I thought the descriptions were amazing. I loved the way Schwab used language. It was stunning.
The romance was fun, but at the same time really quick. Lexi and the boy are suddenly kissing a lot and I wasn't sure where those lovey feelings came from. Though sudden, still fun.
Probably my favorite aspect of the novel was the history of the near witch and how she played into the present time with Lexi. I loved the world building as pertaining to the witches, and that was when the novel really got interesting to me.
I'm not sure what to rate this book. There was a lot I enjoyed about the novel and the ending was strong and exciting. But the beginning so wasn't. I'll go with 3.5 apples.
summary:
The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children.
If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company.
And there are no strangers in the town of Near.
These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life.
But when an actual stranger—a boy who seems to fade like smoke—appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.
The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.
As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi’s need to know—about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.
Part fairy tale, part love story, Victoria Schwab’s debut novel is entirely original yet achingly familiar: a song you heard long ago, a whisper carried by the wind, and a dream you won’t soon forget.
pub date: February 8, 2011
publisher: Viking Adult
pages: 595
audience: adult
source: ALA Midwinter
appeals: history, science, romance, paranormal,
content: swearing, blasphemy, and some sexual content
thoughts:
Wow, I loved this book. The thing is, I NEVER would have picked it up if I hadn't been given a copy and if I wasn't in a reading slump right now. It's HUGE. And ADULT. But I needed something different and it was just sitting there on my book shelf and my sister really liked it. The author was at the ALA Midwinter Conference in January signing ARC copies and as I was passing I was asked if I wanted one. I am not the kind of person to say no to a free book (even when it's 700 pages of adultness). And I'm so glad I didn't, because it's a really good book!
I loved the different characters. The daemons, vampires, and witches had their own distinct traits and talents. And though for the most part they don't like each other and do not work well together, it's amazing what a little yoga can do to make differences diminish. I loved Diana's aunts and their house, which was a character in and of itself. The different locations and the history was all so great.
I LOVED Matthew. He wasn't perfect, but he was a really good guy. I liked Diana. She was a strong heroine AND she wasn't stupid. YAY. Sometimes strong female characters behave stupidly and then bad things happen. But bad things happened to Diana and she wasn't stupid. I liked that. Does that make me weird? (don't answer).
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the science and history of the book. It didn't bog down the story, though I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning reading and sometimes it was a little too deep for my sleep deprived brain.
Did I mention how long this book was? Well, it's LONG. Yet for all the story in it's pages, I want MORE. It wasn't enough. I CANNOT wait until the next book comes out. Whenever that is. I have no idea. Anyone else know?
blurb:
Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.
Debut novelist Deborah Harkness has crafted a mesmerizing and addictive read, equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. This smart, sophisticated story harks back to the novels of Anne Rice, but it is as contemporary and sensual as the Twilight series-with an extra serving of historical realism.
pub date: 2010
publisher: self published
pages: 234
source: ebook from author
challenges: ebook
appeals: paranormal, romance, love triangle,
content: lots of kissing, sex that is left to the imagination, violence, some swearing
goodreads:
Marion, Virginia seemed like a nice place to live a normal life, but she is not a normal girl. Laney has special abilities that keep her looking over her shoulder as she makes her escape from the men who had kidnapped her. A young doctor's interest is piqued when he witnesses her mysteriously curing a young child's illness. He befriends her due to his growing fascination with uncovering the true nature of her abilities, but not without harboring secrets of his own. Laney's budding relationship with a local boy puts both of them in danger when the men she was hiding from find her. All of their lives will change forever as ancient secrets become unearthed.
me:
I thought Laney's abilities were rather cool. And later on in the book when the reader, and Laney herself, discovers why she has the abilities she does, that was neat, too. There are exciting things that happen in the plot, a lot of characters with unique skills that make them interesting to read.
So while I liked the concept of the book, I had a hard time reading it because I thought the characters were underdeveloped and acted in ways that made no sense to me.
For example:
Laney is hiding from an evil man. She is afraid of him and afraid what he would do if he found her and anyone connected to her. So she moves around a lot and changes her name and hair color before settling in Marion.
Though Laney says a couple of times that she shouldn't get attached to anyone because she puts them in danger, her behavior does not match her worry. Within two days she's sleeping with her new boyfriend. For someone who has been through traumatic experiences with other men, she sure is trusting.
Laney has the skill of healing people so she wants to volunteer at the hospital so she can use it. But for someone on the run from an evil guy who knows her abilities, she isn't worried about instantly healing people who are really sick. I would be worried this would attract attention. And it does--the doctor, Eli, realizes rather quickly that something is going on. Luckily Eli doesn't want to expose her.
But Laney doesn't know this. Within minutes of meeting Eli, Laney is telling him everything about her healing skills. I just don't get why she would be so trusting of strangers when she knows what others have done with this knowledge.
There is one guy who does act suspiciously around Laney, but it doesn't raise any red flags for her. She just finds his nosey behavior rude and annoying.
But what really bothered me was the way Eli kept touching Laney's cheek and kissing her on the mouth and hugging her. Touchy, touchy! Laney thinks nothing of it, doesn't find it at all odd that this man who is practically a stranger is touching her so much. Eli obviously likes Laney, but Laney is clueless and accepts all this attention without batting an eye. All the while Laney is sleeping with someone else.
And then of course there are the other men Laney kisses. Wow. And it never crosses her mind that she is cheating on her boyfriend. It bothered me and I thought it should have bothered her.
So, mostly I had a hard time with this book because I didn't understand why the characters, especially Laney, behaved the way they did. The relationships aren't developed. And because of Laney's loose lips, I didn't really like her much.
pub date: August 1, 2009
publisher: Little, Brown for Young Readers
pages: 352
source: library audiobook
appeals: historical fiction, sisters, paranormal, gothic, demons
content: clean
goodreads:
Sixteen-year-old Lia Milthorpe and her twin sister Alice have just become orphans, and, as Lia discovers, they have also become enemies.
The twins are part of an ancient prophecy that has turned generations of sisters against each other. To escape from a dark fate and to remain in the arms of her beloved boyfriend James, Lia must end the prophecy before her sister does. Only then will she understand the mysterious circumstances of her parents' deaths, the true meaning of the strange mark branded on her wrist, and the lengths to which her sister will go to defeat her.
me:
I actually own this book, but got the audio from the library and listened to it while on a road trip to Idaho this past weekend. I liked the reader and enjoyed the book a lot. It wasn't what I expected, which is always fun because it keeps me guessing. I was surprised to find that it's kind of a fallen angel book--and I listened to it just days after I said I wouldn't read another one of those kinds of books. But it wasn't an angel romance, and the fallen were more demons than anything else, so it didn't bother me too much.
I thought the world Zinks created was really interesting, and Lia and Alice's roll in the prophecy was rather cool. The characters were well developed and I especially liked Lia's friends. Alice makes a nice foil for Lia, and I'm interested to see where it goes in the next book.
Something that did kind of irritate me were the secrets. Lia's father kept secrets from her, then died. So Lia is left to search out the secrets when he should've just told her long before. I understand that without the secrets, then there would've been no story, but still it was annoying how ignorant Lia was when everyone around her knew what was going on.
Then at the end there is someone else that has information for Lia, and instead of just giving it to her, they hide it and evenually die. She then has to search out this other secret she spent half the book trying to find! I really don't get why this person didn't tell her sooner.
But Lia does the same thing--she doesn't tell her boyfriend what is going on, leaving him in the dark. Irritating! Nothing good ever comes of keeping secrets and it really bothered me that she wouldn't be honest with the boy she claimed to love. She had her reasons, but I thought they were kind of lame ones.
So besides all the secrets, I liked the book. This sets up the trilogy rather nicely.
Prophecy of the Sisters reminded me a lot of Libba Bray's A Great and Terrible Beauty.
