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Double Feature – Crown Duel and Court Duel by Sherwood Smith

Posted on January 19, 2012
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Reason for Reading:
  • I’ve had this on my TBR for two years, figured it was time to get around to it.

I also recommend:

Summary from GoodReads:

A deathbed promise to their father sends a daring girl and her brother off to war. Filled with intrigue, romance, and magic, this spellbinding novel is a dramatic coming-of-age story about a girl who rises from impoverished beginnings to take command of her own fate.

My Review:

Sherwood Smith, why oh why are your covers so horrifically bad?  Because girl… you can write oh so good.  Seriously, as I read this fantastic gem of a young adult fantasy duo I felt like pumping my fist and shouting GIRL POWER quite happily.  Because this girl, this Meliara, she knocked my socks off.

So basically this story starts with an impoverished member of the court and his two kids, a boy and a girl.  The girl has been left to her own devices, she’s run wild, and she does not have a good impression of the finery and snobbery of the court off in the distance.  But now.. her father is dying and the duchy is left to both girl and boy.  And to make matters worse – it appears they are going to war.

Meliara is gutsy in a very good way.  She doesn’t have magical powers that allow her to pick up a sword and kick some butt, she’s too petite for that, and Sherwood realistically portrays that weakness.  Instead, she sneaks, she spies, and she does what she firmly believes to be best.  From captures to escapes, double-crossings and alliances, and then to the scene at court and the flirtations, parties and secrets, this story moves quickly and had me flipping pages and very grateful that the edition I read had both books combined.

This is a satisfying, little gem of a fantasy that is the perfect solution for those of you out there who are tired of cliffhangers and want to read a good, solid story that will have you cheering and maybe even tearing up a little bit at the conclusion.

Check out these reviews!

Steph Su Reads

[ 5 Replies ]

Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder

Posted on January 13, 2012
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Reason for Reading:
  • I love reading Maria Snyder’s books.  This one was no exception.

I also recommend:

Summary 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…

My Review:

I’ve come to expect awesome things from Maria Snyder.  She writes about strong females, the perfect touch of magic, action, a little bit of romance – basically everything that makes the teenager in me giggle with delight.  Her latest book, Touch of Power, provided all those things.

Seriously, if you want to lose yourself in a good book, and know you have an entire day to allow yourself to get lost in it, you cannot fail with picking up one of Snyder’s books.  With Touch of Power, I found myself trapped away in this world where healing is not considered to be a good thing, and the young heroine is on the run…constantly.  So much so, in fact, even I was out of breath reading it!

The imagination of Snyder is to be envied.  The Death Lilies were magnificent – so incredibly interesting. The choice having to be made by Avry was heart-breaking .. how would you choose?  The combination of interesting characters, rough situations, and action scenes kept me reading from beginning to end in one sitting.  And that, my friends, is fun reading.

Check out these reviews!

In the Good Books

Bookalicious

[ 6 Replies ]

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Posted on December 27, 2011
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Reason for Reading:
  • I was a big fan of Anna and the French Kiss by the same author and, honestly, Stephanie Perkins is SO HYPED by the book blog community, how can you be a part of it and not read her books!?

I also  recommend:

Summary from GoodReads:

Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit — more sparkly, more fun, more wild — the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.

When Cricket — a gifted inventor — steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

My Review:

I’m going to jump on the Cricket bandwagon.  I. loved. him.

However, I do not love his name. Cricket, Stephanie?  Why Cricket?  And here I thought you couldn’t get worse than Etienne St. Clair.  I mean, you have these awesome, traditional, if somewhat old-fashioned, girls names with Anna and Lola.. but what is going on with the boy names?!  It’s just so hard to take a guy named Cricket seriously.

Speaking of Anna and St. Clair – LOVE the cameo’s here.

So the things I didn’t agree with, or that gave me a bad feeling from Anna and her story were still a bit present in this one.  I’m not sure why these stories need to have an element of breaking hearts through the whole flirting-with-cheating storyline, but I am really hoping the third companion book to these will see an end to that little bit.  I didn’t like it in Glee Season 1, I don’t like it here.

But I do love everything else.  I love Lola’s sense of fashion, her two dads, her family dynamics, the tension with Calliope, the best friend, the gorgeous boy next door, the history between them … I could go on and on, but most of all it boils down to just digging with Stephanie Perkins does to make what might otherwise be a hum-drum, teenage story into something like a party in between the pages.

Because that’s what this book is.  It’s a book party.  It makes me happy, giddy, and feel like I”m 16 years old again.

If you loved Anna, you are gonna love this book.  You haven’t read either of them?  Then get off your butt and do so! Libraries, book stores, and friends (I’m sure) will have them laying about, so fix it!

 

Check out these reviews!

Johan Unwound

Geeky Girl Reviews

[ 2 Replies ]

The Blacksmith’s Daughter by Arley Cole

Posted on December 7, 2011
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Reason for Reading:
  • Pam from Bookalicious was advertising this one and the synopsis caught my eye.

I also recommend:

Summary from GoodReads:

She believes she is only a blacksmith’s daughter, but he must discover the truth or risk losing his land—and his life.

Acwellen Lex’Magen rules as liege lord of a small country bounded by forbidding mountains and powerful neighbors. When the neighboring baron, allied with a powerful wizard, attempts to take over his land, first by political, then by covert means, Acwellen finds an ally of his own in Enith Roweson, an unassuming blacksmith who possesses powers he’s only known of in legends. As he attempts to unravel both the plots against him—-including the nature of the monsters sent to assassinate him—-and the mysterious powers Enith is only beginning to understand she has, he also finds himself falling in love with the blacksmith’s daughter.

My Review:

So, I expected good.  I mean, when Pam from Bookalicious started hyping this book I figured it had to be good – I trust her judgement, and so I took the leap.  I was not disappointed.

There’s something about good, wholesome, feel-good, fairy-tale-like fantasies that just make my heart warm, give me goosebumps and cause my to walk around my house with my nose buried in the book (or in this case, pressed to the screen of my Kindle).  Arley Cole takes tried and true methods to set up the scene, providing her readers with an incredibly strong female heroine who is smart, sassy, strong, clever, and magical – all combined into a short package.  And I loved her.

This book has tricks being played, wars being planned, good and evil wizards, mean fathers, a ditzy girl,  loyal followers, strong hero and heroine, history, world-building and more.  And best of all – for those of you who are scared of getting into the reading of a fantasy book, this is what I like to call “Fantasy-lite”.  Yes, there are strange names and beings – but it’s all put together in a nice package that will have you flipping pages in your hurry to get to the next one, rather than using the book (like some seriously intense fantasies inspire me to do) for a coaster.

I very much recommend picking up this book, especially if you have a teenage son or daughter interested in fantasy.  It’s good, clean fun.


[ 2 Replies ]

Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey

Posted on December 3, 2011
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Reason for Reading:
  • This title caught my attention on NetGalley – very interesting cover and idea.

I also recommend:

Summary from GoodReads:

It was a beautiful, warm summer day, the day Danny died.

Suddenly Wren was alone and shattered. In a heartbroken fury, armed with dark incantations and a secret power, Wren decides that what she wants—what she must do—is to bring Danny back.

But the Danny who returns is just a shell of the boy Wren fell in love with. His touch is icy; his skin, smooth and stiff as marble; his chest, cruelly silent when Wren rests her head against it.

Wren must keep Danny a secret, hiding him away, visiting him at night, while her life slowly unravels around her. Then Gabriel DeMarnes transfers to her school, and Wren realizes that somehow, inexplicably, he can sense the powers that lie within her—and that he knows what she has done. And now Gabriel wants to help make things right.

But Wren alone has to undo what she has wrought—even if it means breaking her heart all over again.

My Review:

Every time I sit down to write this review, I do so with the full intention of gushing with praise over it.  Then I remember – it basically deals with a ZOMBIE.  Granted, not the flesh-dripping, brain-eating type of zombie… but honestly, who among you out there would willingly kiss a guy who doesn’t have a heartbeat, is cold.. and is not Edward Cullen.

That said.. once you get past the whole kissing a dead guy thing, the story is actually pretty good.  Wren makes some very adult decisions, and deals with the adult consequences of the same. She has an interesting family dynamic happening, an established history (no three-minute falling in love here), and real issues with grief that she has to overcome in order to get on with her life.

As far as paranormal teenage stories go, this one is on the better end of the spectrum.  I was impressed not only with Wren, but also with Gabriel.  He wasn’t creepy, didn’t stalk on her, made good choices, was responsible, and most of all.. he wasn’t dead.  Hurray!

Check out these reviews!

Imaginary Reads

Five Alarm Book Reviews

[ 4 Replies ]

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Posted on December 2, 2011
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Reason for Reading:
  • I read Speak earlier this year and wanted to check out more of Anderson’s work.

I also recommend:

Summary from GoodReads:

Lia and Cassie were best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies. But now Cassie is dead. Lia’s mother is busy saving other people’s lives. Her father is away on business. Her step-mother is clueless. And the voice inside Lia’s head keeps telling her to remain in control, stay strong, lose more, weigh less. If she keeps on going this way—thin, thinner, thinnest—maybe she’ll disappear altogether.

In her most emotionally wrenching, lyrically written book since the National Book Award finalist Speak, best-selling author Laurie Halse Anderson explores one girl’s chilling descent into the all-consuming vortex of anorexia.

My Review:

In Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson tackles rape – and with Wintergirls she takes on yet another subject that girls today are dealing with.  Anderson has such a unique writing style – reading a book written by her is more than just a reading experience, it’s shocking to the eye.  Between the numbered chapters, the small thoughts infringing on the story, and the story itself I felt completely overwhelmed.

I devoured this book.

What was even more encouraging was hearing from my teenage sister how much it affected her.

I’ve never really been one to care about how I look.  When I discovered that makeup irritated my skin, I stopped wearing it without really caring (and thankfully I have a good complexion to help with that).  I dress comfortably, but not sloppily and I’m not stick thin – and I’m okay with that, and have been okay with that for years.  So I never really understood why.. until this book began to give me an idea of it.

This is one of those tough reads that should be read by parents and teenagers alike.  It’s a hard message, but one that needs to be brought out of the closet and talked about – because the more you talk about something, the easier it is to speak up about it, as odd as that sounds.

Check out these reviews!

A Readers Journey

Books and the Universe

[ 1 Reply ]

Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

Posted on November 26, 2011
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Reason for Reading:
  • The cover, and I’ve seen this book around on blogs.

I  recommend:

Summary from GoodReads:

From the moment she sets foot at her new school in Ireland, Megan is inexplicably drawn to the darkly handsome Adam DeRis. But Megan soon discovers that her feelings for Adam are tied to a supernatural fate that was sealed long ago—and that the passion and power that unites them could be their ultimate destruction.

My Review:

I’m really conflicted on this book – because first of all, it read like a big-time Twilight rip-off, and second of all… I was entertained by it.  That entertainment means I’m not going to go all crazy in my review, because, frankly, there are quite a few reviews out there that do that for me.

However, I do want to say this – if you are an author looking to write a book to appeal to the young adult crowd, think long and hard before making an “instant” relationship happen between two teens.  It’s unrealistic and it sets a really bad example and I don’t see it well received well at all in reading reviews and looking around the blogosphere (this is also in general, not just with this book – although it is guilty).

Now – I will admit I was fascinated by the magic system in this book, and aside from the relationships, everything else seemed pretty solid.  The setting was fantastic, the group of friends plausible, and the writing pulled me in and kept me entertained, despite the lack of original story-line.

All that said, I cannot blame Fallon for taking inspiration from the Twilight books. They are a huge success.  I think for those people who love the story, this book will be a great read for them, and for those who had some of the issues I had (the breaking of rules, the implausibility of parts of the Twilight story), you might actually enjoy this one more.

Check out these reviews!

Reading with Tequila

Books and the Universe

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How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr

Posted on November 20, 2011
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Reason for Reading:
  • Sara Zarr is one of my favorite young adult authors.

I also recommend:

Summary from GoodReads:

Jill MacSweeney just wants everything to go back to normal. But ever since her dad died, she’s been isolating herself from her boyfriend, her best friends–everyone who wants to support her. You can’t lose one family member and simply replace him with a new one, and when her mom decides to adopt a baby, that’s exactly what it feels like she’s trying to do. And that’s decidedly not normal. With her world crumbling around her, can Jill come to embrace a new member of the family?

Mandy Kalinowski knows what it’s like to grow up unwanted–to be raised by a mother who never intended to have a child. So when Mandy becomes pregnant, she knows she wants a better life for her baby. But can giving up a child be as easy as it seems? And will she ever be able to find someone to care for her, too?

My Review:

One of the things Sara Zarr does best is tell a bittersweet story that makes her reader think.  After reading book after book of young adult literature (most of which are mindless entertainment) it’s exhilarating to read a book that contains characters with depth, a story that has unexpected twists, and a message that is an important one.

I have to admit, the ending of this book through me for a loop.  The story began with a path and developed in a way that followed that path very well.. but then something began to happen.  I started with change, right along with the characters.  My preconceived notions changed, my feelings toward every single character were altered and as they grew, in maturity, in love, and toward one another, I found myself cheering heartily on the sidelines.  And, you can imagine, that there was quite a bit of emotion involved as well.

This is the kind of book you read when you are looking for an intelligent, touching, heartfelt read that leaves you a better person for having read it.

Check out these reviews!

My Shelf Confessions

Booking Mama

[ 2 Replies ]

Cinder and Ella by Melissa Lemon

Posted on November 18, 2011
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Reason for Reading:
  • This is another example of a cover that’s completely caught my eye.

I also recommend:

Summary from GoodReads:

After her father’s disappearance, Cinder leaves home for a servant job at the castle. But it isn’t long before her sister Ella is brought to the castle herself. What Ella finds there starts a quest that will change her life and the entire kingdom. Cinder and Ella is a Cinderella story like no other, and one you’ll never forget.

My Review:

Cinder and Ella is a fairy-tale re-telling.  If you read many of my reviews, you know this is a specific genre that I absolutely adore.  Even at 35, I never get tired of fairy tales and Cinderella is one of my favorites.

Melissa Lemon takes a far different path then anything I’ve read yet.  She splits Cinderella into two people – Cinder, a daughter who is obedient, servile, meek, and calm and Ella, a fiery-tempered girl who wants something more for her life.  Added into the mix is a legend of trees, kidnapping, evil Princes and clumsy Knights.

I will admit, this was a cute story.  It had a good message, dealt with some universal themes (needing independence, showing responsibility) and had a sweet love story threaded through it.  I think it’s a story that any young girl in her teens would enjoy, provided she wasn’t overly cynical and looking for sparkly vampires or the like.

Still… there was something a bit lacking.  I can’t really place my finger on it, but I think it had to do with Cinder.  I just couldn’t connect with her, instead getting the feeling that the book was more about Ella.  That isn’t in itself a problem, but when you name your book after two characters, I sort of expect them to be equally treated, and they weren’t.  Cinder came off as a bit of a sop and Ella was definitely the likeable, easy-to-connect-to character.

All that aside, if you are wanting a bit of a different twist on Cinderella, this isn’t a waste of a read.  It’s interesting, cute, will make you laugh and is short enough to read in one sitting.

Check out these reviews!

Imaginary Reviews

Nicole’s YA Book Haven

[ 3 Replies ]

Drink, Slay, Love by Sarah Beth Durst

Posted on November 4, 2011
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Reason for Reading:
  • I enjoyed Durst’s Enchanted Ivy, and when she contacted me to see if I’d be interested I thought I’d give it a shot.

I recommend:


Summary from GoodReads:

Pearl is a sixteen-year-old vampire… fond of blood, allergic to sunlight, and mostly evil… until the night a sparkly unicorn stabs her through the heart with his horn. Oops. 

Her family thinks she was attacked by a vampire hunter (because, obviously, unicorns don’t exist), and they’re shocked she survived. They’re even more shocked when Pearl discovers she can now withstand the sun. But they quickly find a way to make use of her new talent. The Vampire King of New England has chosen Pearl’s family to host his feast. If Pearl enrolls in high school, she can make lots of human friends and lure them to the King’s feast — as the entrees. 

The only problem? Pearl’s starting to feel the twinges of a conscience. How can she serve up her new friends—especially the cute guy who makes her fangs ache—to be slaughtered? Then again, she’s definitely dead if she lets down her family. What’s a sunlight-loving vamp to do?

My Review:

Normally, I don’t read these kind of books.  I wasn’t a big fan of the book this title plays off of, I’m not a big fan of the new vampire books in general – too.. “sparkly”.  Still, I really enjoyed Sarah Beth Durst’s Enchanted Ivy and thought I’d give this one a shot.  Although, honestly, had she not contacted me directly, I don’t think I would have gotten it.

So the positives – this book can be laugh out loud funny.  I’m not sure if that laughing is as a result of the story itself or at myself for reading it, but I did laugh quite a bit.  The whole premise is so outlandishly crazy – I mean, unicorns stabbing vampires through the heart – seriously? that I can’t help but chuckle even as a little part of me dies inside.

Although it has a predictable plot line (which reminded me of a mix-match of Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Drink, Slay, Love has likeable characters and a story that made for a very easy read.  I couldn’t help but get the feeling that Durst was poking fun at all the vampire stories circulating around these days and when the story got completely ridiculous, I kind of felt like I was in the “inside circle”, poking fun with her.

Overall though, this is a clean, fun read for those younger teenagers looking for something with a shiny cover and fun story.

Check out these reviews!

A Bookworm’s Haven

[ 3 Replies ]