Seeds of Rebellion

This is book 2 in Brandon Mull's Beyonder's trilogy (Brandon Mull of Fablehaven fame). I think it's so strange... I loved all five Fablehaven books. LOVED them. But for several reasons, the first book in this trilogy (A World Without Heroes) - and now this book - fell short of my expectations.

First off, the characters just didn't quite click with me. Jason is supposed to be a young teenage boy, but he acts, reacts, thinks, and in general behaves like a young adult. I feel the same way about Rachel. If Brandon wants to write a YA novel, that's fine with me, but he's not going to convince me that these two are typical 14 year-olds. And on the subject of characters, the whole book is so fast-paced and plot-driven that there's very little character development. That goes for both the main characters and the side characters. There are so many characters that I had a hard time keeping track of half of them because Brandon doesn't spend any time letting me get to know them. He frequently kills off characters and every time it happened I went, what? who was that again? I sometimes wonder if he purposely fills his book with less-important characters so people won't be sad about all the deaths. I don't know, but in my opinion, a death is only moving and plot-enhancing if a) I care about the character or b) it enhances a theme in the story, like injustice. Here the deaths just felt random and unimportant. Which bothers me because then we're just desensitizing kids to violence. This is a children's book, after all.

Beef #2: The writing is unnecessarily verbose (because I just used that word does that make me unnecessarily verbose?). Here's a sample sentence: "His Herculean torso bulged gratuitously." Occasionally I enjoyed Brandon's wordy concoctions, but it just started feeling bulky. And the other thing is that his characters talk like that too. All of them. What this did is made it even harder for me to tell characters apart and constantly confused me. There's no individual voice for individual characters.

And I have more complaints. I feel like Brandon overuses a particular literary device called "deus ex machina". Sudden solutions to impossible problems just swoop in out of nowhere and save the day. If you've read the book, here are a couple examples: (SO DON'T READ THIS NEXT SENTENCE IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK YET!) think of how Jason gets back in Lyrian (really? He's all sad and then he just goes straight back to the same hippo, hops on in, and problem solved?), how they all escape from the zombies (seriously??? zombies???) the Amar Kabal rescuing them from Maldor's troops, Rachel's miraculous use of Edomite magic on several occasions, Galloran showing up exactly when needed with more sword-prowess than is possibly believable. And really, why is everyone so very good at their specific talents? Nobody seems to have to work to learn or grow or become better which makes everything all that more unrelatable and difficult to get into.

I've complained enough. I still enjoyed reading this book, despite my issues. Brandon Mull's world is detailed and imaginative. I like the various races of people. I thought the plot was much more interesting than the story from the first book - far less formulaic and more surprising and clever. I thought it ended rather spectacularly, actually, with promises for the future that I'm looking forward to seeing fulfilled in the third book, Chasing the Prophecy. Which I will definitely be reading. I'll keep reading Brandon Mull, waiting for the magic to happen again.

Touch of Power

From Goodreads:
Laying hands upon the injured and dying, Avry of Kazan absorbs their wounds and diseases into herself. But rather than being honored for her skills, she is hunted. Healers like Avry are accused of spreading the plague that has decimated the Fifteen Realms, leaving the survivors in a state of chaos.

Stressed and tired from hiding, Avry is abducted by a band of rogues who, shockingly, value her gift above the golden bounty offered for her capture. Their leader, an enigmatic captor-protector with powers of his own, is unequivocal in his demands: Avry must heal a plague-stricken prince—leader of a campaign against her people. As they traverse the daunting Nine Mountains, beset by mercenaries and magical dangers, Avry must decide who is worth healing and what is worth dying for. Because the price of peace may well be her life...

You know, I almost bought this right out. I own 6, no make that 7 books by Maria V. Snyder and she's one of my favorite authors. I figured I'd wait and get it from the library first, just to make sure. I should have trusted my instinct and just bought it. :D I really loved this.

I don't know if I can say exactly why, but Maria's writing (I own a lot of her books - that puts us on first name terms right?) clicks with me. It's the mix of fantasy, adventure, magic, romance, strong female heroines, and just good old-fashioned gorgeous writing that gets me.

Excellent plot, character development, magic system, action sequences, setting... All in all, my kind of book. I'd even recommend this over the Poison Study series (since Touch of Power doesn't have the graphic torture scenes that occasionally popped up in the Poison Study books), so if you haven't read anything by Maria V. Snyder, I say this this is a great place to start.

Incarnate and The Alchemy of Forever

I unintentionally read Incarnate by Jodi Meadows and The Alchemy of Forever back to back (just so happened that they both became available from my library the same week) and after I read them I realized they were so similar that I'd better just review them back to back. :D Both involve people who have the ability to reincarnate and have been alive for hundreds of years. There are several other similarities, and both even have a masquerade ball scene where the heroine wears a butterfly costume. So, to start off:

Incarnate

From Goodreads:
New soul

Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

No soul

Even Ana's own mother thinks she's a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she'll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

Heart

Sam believes Ana's new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana's enemies--human and creature alike--let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else's life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?
Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life.

Incarnate has been on my to-read list for a while, partially because it received a lot of hype, and partially because I was convinced that the hype was merited when reviews started rolling in about how great it was. I think because of all that hype I was a bit disappointed. I wanted to be WOWED. I enjoyed it and I have very few complaints with it, but it didn't deliver on the WOW.

I liked how original and different this felt. I haven't read many reincarnation books, but this one took a completely new twist on it. I liked seeing the contrast between Ana (who is living her first lifetime) and everyone else around her (who have all been alive for thousands of years), and how she coped with that without whining about it. She was determined to find her place in this world.

I also like the slow build of her relationship with Sam. Trust comes slowly and realistically. Then friendship (with a lot of help from music, which makes my inner musician very happy). Then - and it didn't take a rocket scientist to know it was coming - love. But I liked that even though I knew Sam and Ana would end up together I still enjoyed watching how it unfolded. With the minor beef that I couldn't quite get rid of the icky feeling their age difference gave me. 50,000 year old man falls in love with 16 year-old girl? Just try not to think about it.

And my only real complaint is that some things felt hurried and unexplained, especially at the end. I wanted Ana to spend a little more time discovering the mystery behind her existence. I wanted more of the dragons and sylph and strange religion. The focus ended up being on the love story, which was nice, but I wanted more. Will definitely be checking out the sequel, though.

The Alchemy of Forever

From Goodreads:
Seraphina has been alive since the 1300's, made immortal when the boy she was beginning to love back then, Cyrus, saved her from death with a strange liquid - a method of alchemy that lets them swap bodies with any human being. But now, in modern day America, Sera has decided that she can no longer bear the weight of stealing people's lives so she can keep living on. So she decides to run away from Cyrus and end her stolen existence once and for all. Her plan goes awry when she accidentally takes the body of a dying teenager and feels forced to take over her life. When the lines between Sera and Kailey's identity begin to blur, Sera finds a reason to desire to live once more. But she can't shake the guilt of having taken Kailey's life, even if she was dying. And what if Cyrus finds her?

Seraphina, like everyone in Incarnate except Ana, has been alive for generations. The difference is, that when she needs a new body she doesn't die but instead has to kill someone else and take that body through an alchemical process invented by Cyrus (who is, by the way, one of the most terrifying villains I have found in YA literature). I can't blame her for trying to escape, or for waiting so long to do so (as Cyrus creats a coven of other incarnates and Ana's best friend is one of them - a best friend she is terrified of abandoning to Cyrus's rage and retaliation).

But Sera does escape and takes over Kailey's life with what I thought was incredibly unbelievable ease. Nobody questions it! Everyone is just pleasantly surprised at how nice and thoughtful Kailey suddenly is. Sera fools Kailey's friends, teachers, parents, brother, and the very friendly boy next door. This kind of disappointed me. So improbable. It would have made the story more interesting and created some great tension if even one person questioned Sera/Kailey. Noah (boy next door) and Sera have a sweet little romance, but like with the whole Ana/Sam thing it bothered me that Sera was ancient and Noah was just a teenage boy. But Sera is an interesting character and I think she deserved to enjoy family and friendship since she'd spent so many years suffering with Cyrus.

Who is completely diabolical.

The lengths he goes to to find Sera are scary and ruthless. He's manipulative and creepy and really, just plain evil. There are a lot of very scary surprises from him in the second half of the book.

I'm getting long-winded (my main blogging flaw, I know), so I'll just wrap up and say Alchemy of Forever is fast-paced and good. I could hardly put it down until I was finished, but it left me feeling unsatisfied. I had a lot of questions unanswered, which is sometimes a good thing but in this case NOT. I think there were places that needed to be fleshed out more and I think the whole Sera/Kailey was too easy and made it harder for me to suspend my disbelief. Will still be checking out the sequel, because holy cow what a cliff-hanger. You've been warned. :D

Tuesdays at the Castle

From Goodreads: Tuesdays at Castle Glower are Princess Celie's favorite days. That's because on Tuesdays the castle adds a new room, a turret, or sometimes even an entire wing. No one ever knows what the castle will do next, and no one-other than Celie, that is-takes the time to map out the new additions. But when King and Queen Glower are ambushed and their fate is unknown, it's up to Celie, with her secret knowledge of the castle's never-ending twists and turns, to protect their home and save their kingdom. This delightful book from a fan- and bookseller-favorite kicks off a brand-new series sure to become a modern classic.

This book is so charming. I love Jessica Day George's writing and have enjoyed all of her books so far, and this is no exception. The whole idea of a castle with personality isn't totally original (hello Hogwarts) but the castle plays a much bigger role in the plot so it doesn't feel like too much of a repeat.

And I loved the castle. I want it. I want secret passageways and towers and miraculously appearing rooms. I'm still trying to figure out how I can (really and truly) build a secret passageway in my house (hooray for a supportive husband!) and so stories with a setting with this kind of atmosphere always click with me. I liked the characters as well. Celie was funny and her siblings felt real and not canned.

I'll admit that I had a hard time logically with some of the ways the story wrapped up. It was a really sudden ending and there were a lot of questions I had left unanswered and I was worried that the book would end on a cliff-hanger as I got closer and closer to the end and things still weren't wrapping up. Now, though, I kind of think I would have preferred a cliff-hanger to all the hastily tied ends I ended up with. 

One last minor beef. It took me several pages to figure out how to pronounce Celie's name and that bothered me. Every time I came across it my reading groove was thrown off as I tried out several pronounciations. It wasn't until I figured out that her real name was Cecelia that I figured I'd just pronounce it "See-Lee" because it seemed the most logical shortened version of Cecelia. Does an uncertain character name bother you? I usually just decide on a pronounciation so I can get on with things. I know that I pronounced Hermione's name wrong until the fourth HP book where she explained to Viktor Krum how to pronounce it right. *embarrassing*

One more thing - this book is even more fun to read aloud! As I was reading it, my 7 year-old kept asking me questions about it. She thought it sounded so fun that I decided to read it out loud to her. I worried it might be a little old for her, but I was wrong. She LOVES it! This is the kind of book that kids love, I've decided. Sometimes I read children's books that I think are more for adults than kids, but this one really is a kid pleaser.

Highly recommended! And while you're at it, pick up Jessica Day George's Dragon Slippers trilogy, and her fairy tale retellings: Princess of the Midnight Ball; Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow; and Princess of Glass. Oooh! And just discovered a new one coming out November 13th this year: Princess of the Silver Woods.

The Hero of Ages

This is the final book in Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy and it was a fitting and intense end. Sometimes I think I overuse the word epic, but in this case, Hero of Ages really deserves it. This was truly EPIC fiction. I love endings like this where pieces from all the books come together. Brandon Sanderson used just the right touch of foreshadowing here so that I wasn't wholly surprised by the ending, but also wasn't able to predict it. Really brilliant writing.

I'd say more, but at this point in a series almost anything else I could add would include a spoiler! Let's just say that this is a perfect ending to a spectacular fantasy trilogy.

Everneath

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath, where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans. Now she's returned- to her old life, her family, her friends- before being banished back to the underworld... this time forever.

She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these months reconnecting with her boyfriend, Jack, the one person she loves more than anything. But there's a problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen.

As Nikki's time grows short and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she's forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's...

I'm always a sucker for greek mythology retellings, and I've read every Hades/Persephone retelling I've heard of. This one beats them all.

Such beautiful writing, amazing characters, fascinating plotlines, and heart-wrenching romance. I think part of the appeal for me was the originality of the mythology and plot. Aside from the Hades/Persephone story, a little bit of the Orpheus/Eurydice story is mixed in (if you're not familiar with that one, click here), along with several original elements of Brodi Ashton's invention. I was completely sucked into this original world and story, but loved that it was grounded in mythology that I'm very familiar with.

And I desperately loved Nikki and Jack's story. It's not that often that I encounter what I consider "true love" in a YA romance, and Everneath has it. And don't be fooled into thinking this is going to be another warped love triangle where Nikki blows off the nice guy for bad-boy Cole. It's made very clear from the beginning that Cole is evil (though complicated evil). I also really enjoyed the other "real world" parts of the plot where Nikki reconnects with her family and other friends and works to overcome depression (I'd be depressed too if I'd just spent 100 years having my soul sucked out by some creepy immortal). This is a gorgeously-written story about recovery and consequences and it ends with a bit of heartbreak, but also on a note of hope. I can't wait to read the sequel.

Dragonswood

From the book jacket:
Wilde Island is in an uproar after the recent death of its king. The uneasy pact between dragons, fairies, and humans is fraying, and a bloodthirsty witch hunter with a hidden agenda whips villages into frenzies with wild accusations. Tess, a blacksmith’s daughter from a tiny hamlet near the mysterious Dragonswood, finds herself caught in the crosshairs of fate when she is accused of witchery and has to flee for her life along with her two best friends.

Not even Tess’s power to see the future can help the girls as they set off on their desperate journey, but she keeps having visions of a man wielding a sword. And when she finally meets him, Tess has no idea how to handle the magnetic attraction she feels for him, or the elusive call she hears from the heart of the Dragonswood.

In this epic romance, an ancient prophecy comes true in a way neither dragon, fairy, nor human would have predicted.

Hello beautiful stand-alone fantasy novel. Are you as sick of trilogies as I am? It was so nice for a change to read a book and have that be the whole story, knowing that I won't be waiting years for closure. What a fascinating concept! There are witch-hunting elements, medieval England elements, and lots of great fantasy elements: dragons, fairies, and magic. And none of these are done in a tired-out, we've-heard-it-all-before way.

Granted, there are a couple things that were a little too predictable, but overall, this felt refreshing. And engrossing. I loved Tess. YA lit these days is highly populated with strong female characters, ones who stand up and fight back when the world is crushing them down. I wish some of these books had been out when I was in high school. I think this novel is great and when I finished reading it felt ready to take on the world. Beautiful setting, fantastic characters, overall a sure winner. And the cover is eye-catching, no? 

The Girl of Fire and Thorns

From the book jacket:
Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.

Elisa is the chosen one.

But she is also the younger of two princesses, the one who has never done anything remarkable. She can't see how she ever will.

Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs the chosen one, not a failure of a princess.

And he's not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies seething with dark magic are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people's savior. And he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.

Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young.

Most of the chosen do.

It's taken me a couple of days to figure out how I feel about this book. It is fantastic fantasy, but I didn't love, love it like I wanted to. The story was completely engrossing. The mythology was a strange mix of Catholicism and, I don't know, maybe what you'd find in a Kristen Cashore novel (Graceling or Fire). The religion isn't overwhelming or preachy, though. It's just the source of magic. I loved Elisa's character. She is so strong and real. She has weaknesses and like any real person, she makes mistakes sometimes. She works through them and pushes past them. She's bold and confident and courageous. A fabulous heroine. 


I gave this 4 stars on goodreads, but I wish I could have given it 4 and a half. The reason that this isn't a 5 star book for me is because of one plot element I struggled with. Elisa begins the book being very obese. It's not the obesity that bothered me (heaven knows it's not like I'm in great shape), it's the fact that Elisa wasn't considered beautiful or worthwhile by men until she loses weight later in the book. Elisa's personality is always vibrant and powerful, but it's not until she's skinny that any of the boys look at her. This bothered me. That, and sometimes at the beginning of the book the descriptions of her gorging herself grossed me out a bit.


Despite that, I definitely recommend this book. You will be completely swept up by the plot and mythology. The story is both empowering and heartbreaking. There are unforgettable characters. This is one of the best fantasy books I've read in a long time.

Sweet Venom

From the book jacket:
Grace just moved to San Francisco and is excited to start over at a new school. The change is full of fresh possibilities, but it’s also a tiny bit scary. It gets scarier when a minotaur walks in the door. And even more shocking when a girl who looks just like her shows up to fight the monster.

Gretchen is tired of monsters pulling her out into the wee hours, especially on a school night, but what can she do? Sending the minotaur back to his bleak home is just another notch on her combat belt. She never expected to run into this girl who could be her double, though.

Greer has her life pretty well put together, thank you very much. But that all tilts sideways when two girls who look eerily like her appear on her doorstep and claim they're triplets, supernatural descendants of some hideous creature from Greek myth, destined to spend their lives hunting monsters.

These three teenage descendants of Medusa, the once-beautiful gorgon maligned by myth, must reunite and embrace their fates in this unique paranormal world where monsters lurk in plain sight.

Ok. I really loved this. But then, I'm a sucker for greek mythology based books (as long as they're done well of course). This was great. It was enough familiar mythology so I wasn't lost trying to figure out what was going on, but it was also original enough to feel completely fresh and exciting. Modern-day descendants of Medusa and her sisters? So cool. I loved the way the three sisters came together and the way Tera Lynn Childs was able to weave their plots together. There's a hint of romance in here for a couple of the girls and I thought it was just right for teenage readers. No head over heels infatuation or undying eternal love. Just a little teenage romance. Very fun. Most of all, though, this book has a cool plot that kept me asking questions and surprised me with the answers. Lots of fun action. My only complaint is that the book ended, just as it was starting to get really good. Can't wait to continue this series!

Liesl and Po

Liesl lives in a tiny attic bedroom, locked away by her cruel stepmother. Her only friends are the shadows and the mice—until one night a ghost appears from the darkness. It is Po, who comes from the Other Side. Both Liesl and Po are lonely, but together they are less alone.

That same night, an alchemist's apprentice, Will, bungles an important delivery. He accidentally switches a box containing the most powerful magic in the world with one containing something decidedly less remarkable.

Will's mistake has tremendous consequences for Liesl and Po, and it draws the three of them together on an extraordinary journey.

From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver comes a luminous and magnificent novel that glows with rare magic, ghostly wonders, and a true friendship that lights even the darkest of places.


Magic. Pure magic. And it can all be attributed to Lauren Oliver's gorgeous writing. The plot seems like it ought to be fairy tale cliche by reading the blurb (girl locked up in the attic by her evil stepmother?) but it's so not. The story is beautiful and reminded me of The Tale of Despereaux. Characters and events and objects and storylines interweave and mesh. I read this nice and slowly and just savored it. I haven't loved loved a book like this in a while. Oh the writing. It makes me depressed actually because I know I don't write like Lauren Oliver. She made me pause at times and just shiver. And occasionally laugh. And once even tear up just a bit.

This book is incredibly sad and poignant at times. It's about coping with loss and grief. But it's also about joy and love and happiness. It's a book I know I will want to share with my kids. And the illustrations! Such beauty. This is a great book and it doesn't surprise me that it's on lists of possible Newbery books or 2011 (which should be announced very soon!).

One minor beef that I want to mention is that Po, the ghost, is described as being a boy-or-girl-but-most-likely-boy. Po is always referred to as "it" and the reason for this gender neutrality is because after death, a person's soul meshes and blends with the universe and things like gender are vague and unnecessary. The same goes for Po's pet Bundle (cat-or-dog-but-most-likely-dog). This irked me just a bit because it seemed to be implying that gender doesn't matter and that after we die it ceases to exist and that theory does not work with my religious beliefs. I call this a minor beef because, surprisisingly enough, the issue is actually resolved at the end in a way that I won't share (trying to be spoiler free here). Anyway, it's just a teeny thing that shouldn't keep anyone from reading this beautiful book.

Chime

From Goodreads:
Before Briony's stepmother died, she made sure Briony blamed herself for all the family's hardships. Now Briony has worn her guilt for so long it's become a second skin. She often escapes to the swamp, where she tells stories to the Old Ones, the spirits who haunt the marshes. But only witches can see the Old Ones, and in her village, witches are sentenced to death. Briony lives in fear her secret will be found out, even as she believes she deserves the worst kind of punishment.

Then Eldric comes along with his golden lion eyes and mane of tawny hair. He's as natural as the sun, and treats her as if she's extraordinary. And everything starts to change. As many secrets as Briony has been holding, there are secrets even she doesn't know.

Chime is gorgeous and haunting. It is very dark. Much more of a Grimm fairy tale than a Disney fairy tale. But I've always loved witch stories. This one has some serious depth to it and is extremely engrossing. Everything is very vividly and realistically described. I didn't have any trouble suspending disbelief, even for the magic.

I had a little trouble at first with the writing voice. It is very first-person, stream-of-consciousness. We read what Briony is thinking as she's thinking it, and, like any real person, her thoughts are often disjointed. She jumps around, she has random memories, she thinks completely unrelated things. Also, the language in this book is very artsy. Franny Billingsley uses some very bizarre metaphors and her descriptions are a little wacky. But, once I got used to it and dove in a bit more, it sucked me in. I loved the weirdness and the little bit of creepiness.

One of the reasons this book is so dark is that Briony suffers from a lot of guilt and depression. But it's not that she's feeling sorry for herself. There are some very real things that she has done wrong. Or so she thinks. Also, Briony has suffered from some heavy emotional and verbal abuse, and once a message has been ingrained in a person's brain like that, it can be very hard to silence those inner voice. Oooh, this book is so psychological. Since we get the story through the filter of her brain, the answers and the whole picture aren't immediately noticeable. There are some surprises and I loved the journey we go through with her to unravel the tangled mess in her soul.

And speaking of journey, my favorite part of this book is the absolutely beautiful love story. I'm talking real love, based on months of friendship, laughter, and mutual support. I get so sick of the insta-lust in so many YA books these days.

Anyway, I don't think this is a book I can recommend without reservation, because it is very dark and Briony's brain is a bit of a depressing place to live in, but I just know that I loved this. Kudos to Franny Billingsley and I'll be looking for more from her.

The Scorpio Races

Summary:
It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

I've been trying to write one-sentence reviews of the books I read on goodreads, and to illustrate how I felt about this book, this was my one sentence: "Even the man-eating horses weren't able to make this book more exciting."

I was both unsurprised and disappointed to find that I disliked this book. I've read really positive and really negative reviews. One book reviewer I really like recommended this book if the reader liked The Blue Sword and Fire (by Kristen Cashore) - both books I love. So, even though I wanted to be done with Maggie Stiefvater after Forever, I decided to pick this up.

It dragged and dragged and I found myself skipping forward, scanning pages for more interesting bits (something I never do). You would think, wouldn't you? That if there are brutal, flesh-eating horses on nearly every page that there would be some action? Something exciting going on? Nope.

And the thing that I just couldn't figure out (and maybe I missed it because I skipped that part) was why on earth anyone would choose to ride these horses in a race every year, especially because people died constantly. Why??? What was the point? It wasn't like in the Hunger Games where if you're going to be subjected to brutal violence at least it was because you had no choice. The only thing I could figure is that the people in Maggie Stiefvater's world lusted for violence.

And the romance took up such a very small amount of page time (I know because once I got sick of the plot that's what I started scanning pages for). Overall, this book was frustrating and I could barely finish it.  The only reason I still have this two stars on goodreads instead of one is because Maggie Stiefvater has a gorgeous, poetic way with words. I paused several times to reread her descriptions. The setting really came alive and I could imagine and feel exactly what her world looked like, smelled like, tasted like, sounded like. Maybe she'll release another book and I'll try again someday, but I won't be in any hurry.

Slayers

From Goodreads:
Dragons exist. They’re ferocious. And they’re smart: Before they were killed off by slayer-knights, they rendered a select group of eggs dormant, so their offspring would survive. Only a handful of people know about this, let alone believe it – these “Slayers” are descended from the original knights, and are now a diverse group of teens that includes Tori, a smart but spoiled senator’s daughter who didn’t sign up to save the world.

The dragon eggs have fallen into the wrong hands. The Slayers must work together to stop the eggs from hatching. They will fight; they will fall in love. But will they survive?

This book is written under a pseudonym by a best-selling author of YA teen fiction *cough*Janette Rallison*cough* because it's out of her usual genre. Said author is not really trying to keep her identity secret, so I don't feel too bad about outing her - she's mostly going along with her publisher's thoughts that this book might reach a larger audience under a pseudonym.

My thoughts? It's Janette Rallison! It's dragons! How could it be bad? It's not and I loved it. It's a little bit X-Men meet Percy Jackson and yes, some plot elements do feel a little over-used and cliche (and predictable), but it doesn't seem to matter much because the writing is so great. Janette Rallison is still funny, the YA romance is still sweet and entertaining, the characters' powers are cool, and the dragons are terrifying. I loved all the dragon mythology. The first and last chapters are sooo good and I can't wait to read the sequel.

This book actually shows some surprising depth too. We delve into the psyche of a traitor. There are several surprisingly complex and compelling characters, to tell the truth. I won't say any more because I don't want to give anything away, but I really enjoyed this and will probably buy it. Never mind that the cover looks like it has some weird dragon-ish looking rocket ship (it's supposed to be a dragon egg).

Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Images from Laini Taylor's website

I've been meaning to read a book by Laini Taylor for a long time. I've been reading her blog for ages and have always enjoyed her clever and poetic way with words. I've known for ages that I should read something by her, but never got around to it. I'm glad this was my first introduction to her reading - this book is truly beautiful!

The word "poetic" just doesn't cut it. Laini's writing is so gorgeous, I felt myself slowing my reading pace wayyyy down so I could savor little things - descriptions, settings, clever turns of phrase. It was some of the best writing I've read all year.

The characters are all so vividly colorful. I could easily visualize everyone and everything in this world. There was a nice balance, too, of cleverness, humor, mystery, suspense, romance, and above all, fantasy.

This book is pitched as a modern, paranormal romance, which is, in general, a kitschy genre these days. Daughter of Smoke and Bone is so much more than that. At first I thought it was going to follow typical YA paranormal rules and be boring, but after just a few pages, everything changed. Holy plot. Every chapter dragged me in further and I was so immersed in this story. There were some HUGE shocking revelations and plot twists, along with some very cleverly played subtle tips and hints from the writer. I would call this foreshadowing at its finest, and I would certainly call Laini Taylor a masterful writer.

To sum up, Daughter of Smoke and Bone has nothing less than the best plot I have read all year. I really loved its dark, fantasy feel, which I know may not be for everyone - but I believe that the writing is so good and the plot is so good that anyone would enjoy this.

The Son of Neptune

If you've been reading this blog, you know that I have been sooooo excited to read this. And, as always, Rick Riordan delivers.

This is my favorite of his books yet.

Welcome back Percy! It was so nice to read from Percy's perspective again, and his adventure is incredible. The new characters are some of my favorite yet. Hazel has one of the most compelling back-stories I've ever encountered, and Frank has the coolest powers of any demi-god we've ever met in Rick Riordan's world. I loved reading about the roman camp. I loved everything about this book.

Book three will be called The Mark of Athena and I can't wait. Oh Annabeth. Oh Son of Neptune. Why did you have to end??????

Thanks Rick Riordan for giving me something to look forward to!

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship Of Her Own Making

Summary from goodreads:
Twelve-year-old September lives in Omaha, and used to have an ordinary life, until her father went to war and her mother went to work. One day, September is met at her kitchen window by a Green Wind (taking the form of a gentleman in a green jacket), who invites her on an adventure, implying that her help is needed in Fairyland. The new Marquess is unpredictable and fickle, and also not much older than September. Only September can retrieve a talisman the Marquess wants from the enchanted woods, and if she doesn’t . . . then the Marquess will make life impossible for the inhabitants of Fairyland. September is already making new friends, including a book-loving Wyvern and a mysterious boy named Saturday.  With exquisite illustrations by acclaimed artist Ana Juan, Fairyland lives up to the sensation it created when the author first posted it online. 

I wanted to be swept away by the magic and the whimsy of this novel but I had a hard time getting into it. I started it before my vacation. Gave up and read something else. And then I tried to read it after my vacation. I gave up and read something else. And then I got even farther into the book (about 80 pages) and gave up again. I came back to it and the rest managed to fly by, but it was hard to become comfortable with this writing style for me.


I think you can already tell how the book is going to go, just by reading the title. Every sentence is wordy and complex. All the descriptions are way over the top. It feels very Alice in Wonderland-ish, but it's just so very long.... For me, it was just too much, but I've read tons of reviews that absolutely rave about this book.


And I can see why, because holy cow was the plot good. 


It was a brilliant weaving of events, places, objects, characters. It felt Newbery-ish in that way and I've been hearing buzz that it's high in contention for the Newbery. I'd be surprised, though - Newbery hasn't picked many fantasy books recently. 


Anyway, by the end I was completely in love with the characters and even a little misty-eyed at one point. The villain is a fantastic, complex creation. And September is very likable. Nay, lovable. And my favorite character was half dragon (ok, technically half Wyvern) and half library. What's not to love? This book came really close, but I just don't feel like I can give it a completely glowing review because the language and story-telling style were hard for me to get into.


P.S. And I have to mention that part of the reason I picked this up in the first place is because September is from Omaha! Since I lived there for three years I thought it was fun to have it mentioned so often, even if the Green Wind never mentioned Omaha without insulting it. :D

The Lost Hero

I don't think I need to do any more gushing about Rick Riordan on this blog. But in case you've never heard me rave about his books before....

READ THEM!

I love them. Every single one. The Lost Hero is the first book in Riordan's "Heroes of Olympus" series - the series that comes after the Percy Jackson books. I reread it because Son of Neptune, its sequel, was just released yesterday and I'm dying to get it in my hands (except we're a bit poor to be buying books at the moment so I'm going to have to wait). I love these books - the adventure, the magic, the mythology, the humor, the bits of romance, the plots... everything about Rick Riordan's writing is fantastic. There's something for anyone to enjoy out of these books.

And I'm so excited because he just announced that after Heroes of Olympus and his Egyptian series, he'll be publishing a series based on Norse mythology!!

So, if you haven't read this book, pick it up. But read the Percy Jackson series first (which you won't regret). But don't watch the movie. And be glad that you won't have to wait long to read the sequel to The Lost Hero, especially because of its last sentence. I have never read a last sentence that made me more desperate to read a sequel than the last sentence in The Lost Hero.

The Girl Who Chased the Moon

Summary:

Emily Benedict has come to Mullaby, North Carolina, hoping to solve at least some of the riddles surrounding her mother’s life. But the moment Emily enters the house where her mother grew up and meets the grandfather she never knew, she realizes that mysteries aren’t solved in Mullaby, they’re a way of life: Here are rooms where the wallpaper changes to suit your mood. Unexplained lights skip across the yard at midnight. And a neighbor, Julia Winterson, bakes hope in the form of cakes, not only wishing to satisfy the town’s sweet tooth but also dreaming of rekindling the love she fears might be lost forever. Can a hummingbird cake really bring back a lost love? Is there really a ghost dancing in Emily’s backyard? The answers are never what you expect. But in this town of lovable misfits, the unexpected fits right in.

Delightful! And delicious. :D This is a perfect light, for-fun read. What really took me by surprise in this book is the brushes of magic. I was expecting it to be all contemporary and to find logical explanations for everything. Instead, Sarah Addison Allen left me just a bit enchanted, wishing something magical would happen in my life.

This book follows the stories of two women (with intertwined lives). I liked that it combined a teenager's story of finding answers about her mother's past and an adult woman's story of reconciling her past with her hope for the future. So in a way, it's both an adult and a YA book. I liked all the characters really, and though this feels like a fluff read, some of them are going through very real and serious problems. In some of the flashbacks we have to face depression, cutting, suicide, and teen pregnancy. Instead of turning this book into a downer, though, these elements help ground a story that would otherwise be a bit too fanciful and sickly-sweet. Sometimes I felt like the plot got a bit soap-opera-y, but then I decided that with a book like this, the trick is to not overthink it and just enjoy the ride.

Which I did. And now I want to make a cake. Mmmmm.... I promise this book will make you crave cake.

Ruby Red

Summary:
Sixteen-year-old Gwen lives with her extended - and rather eccentric - family in an exclusive London neighborhood. In spite of her ancestors' peculiar history, she's had a relatively normal life so far. The time-traveling gene that runs like a secret thread through the female half of the family is supposed to have skipped over Gwen, so she hasn't been introduced to "the mysteries," and can spend her time hanging out with her best friend, Lesley, watching movies and talking about boys. It comes as an unwelcome surprise then when she starts taking sudden, uncontrolled leaps into the past.


She's totally unprepared for time travel, not to mention all that comes with it: fancy clothes, archaic manners, a mysterious secret society, and Gideon, her time-traveling counterpart. He's obnoxious, a know-it-all, and possibly the best-looking guy she's seen in any century...

This is the time travel book I have been looking for. It has everything I love in a time travel plot, lots of crazy time mix-ups, people seeing themselves in unexpected years and places, and a timeline that is decidedly NON-linear. All that, plus this has all the charm of a contemporary teen story and is incredibly funny. I laughed out loud multiple times. It all takes place in London and the setting is wonderfully described (especially during London's different time periods). The story is deliciously detailed and has a fabulous air of mystery to it. The characters are awesome, especially Gwen. The biggest problem is that this book feels like 1/3 of a story (makes sense seeing that there will be two other books in the series). Sapphire Blue comes out early next year and I can't wait. This isn't one of those series where each book stands alone. This is a series where I read it feeling like, "Wait, there aren't very many pages left and I still haven't figured out this, this, and this... not to mention THIS!!!" Aahh!! I wish the whole story was all in one book.

This series was originally published in German and as I read it I felt like the cadence and rhythm of the words reminded me of a Cornelia Funke novel (Inkheart trilogy). I figured that was because they were all translated from German, but turns out this novel was translated by the exact same person who translated Cornelia Funke's novels. Makes sense!

Anyway, I loved this. It's exactly my kind of book.

(This is the point where I sigh and complain about how long my to-buy list is getting...)

Series Wrap-Ups

These books are both the final books in their respective series and since I don't feel like I have that much to say about them (I've been lukewarm on both series from the beginning) I figured I could lump them together for you here without getting into too much trouble. :D And since these are sequels I'm not going to provide official summaries because I don't want to give away any spoilers.

That said, my thoughts on The Forgotten Locket can be summed up in a few words: boring, overly-complicated, insipid (which means bland or without flavor). This was my favorite book in the series though, so you can tell from that how much I really didn't like the first two (The Hourglass Door and The Golden Spiral). This one finally dives into the time travel aspect of the plot, but it does so without helping readers along or explaining the complicated premise of Lisa Mangum's time travel theory. Since I'm not a huge fan and have only read the previous books once I felt completely lost at times. I felt like all the complications and time twists were a bit pointless and I could spot several MASSIVE GAPING logic holes in the plot. That, and I've never really loved the romance between Abby and Dante. Blame that on the fact that my past makes it unlikely that I will ever be swayed by a smooth-talking Italian. I disliked that some of the characters I actually liked (Abby's family and friends from the "real" world) were not in this book at all. Anyway, I felt like Lisa Mangum was trying to be overly epic and grandiose and "save the world!" but it come off too heavy-handed for me. A little comic relief would have helped, but there was none. I don't recommend this series. With all the great YA lit in the world, there's no need for you to waste your time on this series.

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater is a significantly better book, just based on the quality of the writing and the plot. Despite that, I've never been overly fond of this series. It is about werewolves, so I'll just get that out of the way right off the bat. It's probably the last werewolf/vampire book I'll read (unless something new comes out with majorly positive reviews) because I'm way sick of them. I'm just... ready for something new. This book wasn't unpleasant to read, however. Maggie Stiefvater has a beautiful way with words and poetry and song lyrics have always played a bit part in her plots. I like that. Another pro for this book is that all the overly-mushy teenage obsessive teen love stuff is all out of this series' system. Grace and Sam have settled into something very real feeling and much more palatable to read. I liked the way it ended (which I won't go into details on). I'm glad I finished this one up, but I can't say that it's on my to-buy list.