Review: A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall

From Goodreads: The creative writing teacher, the delivery guy, the local Starbucks baristas, his best friend, her roommate, and the squirrel in the park all have one thing in common - they believe that Gabe and Lea should get together. Lea and Gabe are in the same creative writing class. They get the same pop culture references, order the same Chinese food, and hang out in the same places. Unfortunately, Lea is reserved, Gabe has issues, and despite their initial mutual crush, it looks like they are never going to work things out. But somehow even when nothing is going on, something is happening between them, and everyone can see it. Their creative writing teacher pushes them together. The baristas at Starbucks watch their relationship like a TV show. Their bus driver tells his wife about them. The waitress at the diner automatically seats them together. Even the squirrel who lives on the college green believes in their relationship. Surely Gabe and Lea will figure out that they are meant to be together ...

My Rating: 1 heart 

Thoughts on the Novel: Have you ever looked at a book, and despite the great reviews for it, known instinctively that it wasn’t for you; but you read it anyway because so many other people liked it … and you end up wishing you hadn’t? Well, that was my experience with A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall.

One of the reasons I was so resistant to reading A Little Something Different was because I thought the concept sounded gimmicky. And I was right! The book just had too many unnecessary narrators. For example, I could have done without the POVs of the bench that thought Gabe’s derriere was perfect and could tell what he was doing or how he was feeling based on the way he was sitting, or the squirrel that claimed to not understand human but could still somehow recap exactly what Gabe and Lea were saying. As well, I found it hard to care about any of the narrators, and thought some of the guys sounded a bit like they were written by a female trying to get into the mindset of a guy.

The romance – it took Gabe and Lea almost a whole school year to get together! (Seriously, grow a pair, and stop wasting my time!) – also got annoying after a while because it involved so much telling. I really have no idea why all these characters kept talking about how much chemistry Gabe and Lea had when in reality, the two were barely even talking to each other and were pretty much strangers. Here’s what I wanted to say to some of them:

• Inga (Gabe and Lea’s professor) – Just because you think Gabe and Lea belong together in your head, it is not okay to belittle another female student (Hillary, who is portrayed as a ditz) for having a conversation with Gabe. Please act like a professional! (Inga is not the only female character in the book to call Hillary names.)
• Frank (a Chinese delivery guy) – You deliver to college students living in dorms. Why is it such a big deal for you if two people living in the same building have the same order? How could this not have happened to you numerous times before?
• Bob (a bus driver) – Yawn, moving on!
• Charlotte and Victor (a Starbucks barista and a classmate) – I liked you guys until you had a personality transplant (and started shipping Gabe and Lea). (Also, I worked for a year in a coffee shop during high school, and never stood around making up stories or wondering about the people that I served.) 

I considered DNF’ing A Little Something Different before reaching its midpoint, but then kept on reading it because I wanted to know why Gabe was – as Lea says – so weird. Once I found out, I figured I might as well finish the book because there was only a little more left to read. 

A Little Something Different was released in August 2014 by Swoon Reads. 

Comments About the Cover: It’s cute, and all the red can be associated with love.

Review: We Are All Made of Molecules by Susin Nielsen

From Goodreads: Thirteen-year-old Stewart is academically brilliant but socially clueless. Fourteen-year-old Ashley is the undisputed “It” girl in her class, but her grades stink. Their worlds are about to collide when Stewart and his dad move in with Ashley and her mom. Stewart is trying to be 89.9 percent happy about it, but Ashley is 110 percent horrified. She already has to hide the real reason her dad moved out; “Spewart” could further threaten her position at the top of the social ladder. They are complete opposites. And yet, they have one thing in common: they - like everyone else - are made of molecules.

My Rating: 2.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Using the themes of death and divorce, Susin Nielsen’s We Are All Made of Molecules explores how families can change and adapt. Unfortunately, my enjoyment of the book was tempered by: 1) the character of Ashley and 2) the use of rape as a plot device.

Told from the alternating points of Stewart and Ashley, We Are All Made of Molecules chronicles what happens when two families decide to merge. Although I thought both Stewart and Ashley seemed very stereotypical, Stewart was at least a pretty decent character. Ashley, on the other hand, was not only mean and constantly putting others down, but Nielsen chose to highlight that Ashley wasn’t as smart as Stewart by having Ashley continually mix up words (e.g. using unconstipated instead of emancipated, etc.). This drove me crazy!

Another issue that I had with We Are All Made of Molecules was that Ashley wasn’t almost raped once but twice in the book - just so that she could experience some character growth! Also, nobody experienced any major consequences in the aftermath of either situation. It’s just too bad that a topic like rape was used as a plot device, and wasn’t handled more sensitively.

We Are All Made of Molecules will be released by Tundra Books on May 12, 2015. 

Comments About the Cover: Though I like its colourfulness, I don’t think it really matches the title of the novel.  

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Random House of Canada Limited) for free via NetGalley.

Review: Cold Burn of Magic by Jennifer Estep

From Goodreads: It's not as great as you'd think, living in a tourist town that's known as "the most magical place in America." Same boring high school, just twice as many monsters under the bridges and rival Families killing each other for power. I try to keep out of it. I've got my mom's bloodiron sword and my slightly illegal home in the basement of the municipal library. And a couple of Talents I try to keep quiet, including very light fingers and a way with a lock pick. But then some nasty characters bring their Family feud into my friend's pawn shop, and I have to make a call - get involved, or watch a cute guy die because I didn't. I guess I made the wrong choice, because now I'm stuck putting everything on the line for Devon Sinclair. My mom was murdered because of the Families, and it looks like I'm going to end up just like her ...

My Rating: Wavering between 3 and 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: After enjoying the Mythos Academy series, I was looking forward to reading Cold Burn of Magic, the first book in Jennifer Estep's newest series. Cold Burn of Magic, however, was kind of not what I was expecting.

Firstly, the pacing was very uneven (but that may have been because this is the first book in the Black Blade series). See, Cold Burn of Magic starts off quite excitingly with Lila stealing a necklace from a house and getting chased by guards after she's caught, and ends on a solid, noncliffhanger note; but sort of stalls in the middle as it introduces the reader to an urban fantasy city where regular humans, humans with talents (i.e. superpowers), and monsters coexist. Unfortunately, a lot of this introduction came via telling rather than showing. For example, although there's a lot of talk about monsters, we don't really see any until the end when one conveniently appears to save Lila and Devon, the romantic interest. 

Secondly, though I liked the characters, Devon pales in comparison to Logan, the romantic interest from the Mythos Academy series. In fact, I liked Felix, Devon's best friend, better than Devon! As well, Lila reminded me a bit of Gwen because they both have powers that enable them to peek into other people’s minds. (Speaking of powers, the talents that people could have in Cold Burn of Magic weren't very well explained. For example, I still don’t understand how it’s possible for people to steal each other’s talents.)

Cold Burn of Magic will be released on April 28, 2015 by K-Teen. 

Comments About the Cover: It doesn’t really look very memorable. 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Kensington) for free via NetGalley. 

Review: Shutter by Courtney Alameda

From Goodreads: Micheline Helsing is a tetrachromat - a girl who sees the auras of the undead in a prismatic spectrum. As one of the last descendants of the Van Helsing lineage, she has trained since childhood to destroy monsters both corporeal and spiritual: the corporeal undead go down by the bullet, the spiritual undead by the lens. With an analog SLR camera as her best weapon, Micheline exorcises ghosts by capturing their spiritual energy on film. She's aided by her crew: Oliver, a techno-whiz and the boy who developed her camera's technology; Jude, who can predict death; and Ryder, the boy Micheline has known and loved forever. When a routine ghost hunt goes awry, Micheline and the boys are infected with a curse known as a soulchain. As the ghostly chains spread through their bodies, Micheline learns that if she doesn't exorcise her entity in seven days or less, she and her friends will die. Now pursued as a renegade agent by her monster-hunting father, Leonard Helsing, she must track and destroy an entity more powerful than anything she's faced before ... or die trying.

My Rating: 4.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: With its creepy cover, Courtney Alameda’s Shutter was a book that I had no plans on reading … until I got a copy of it for review. So, I decided to give it a try, hoping that it wouldn’t be too terrifying.

Surprisingly, I ended up really enjoying Shutter. I don’t generally read horror novels so I don’t know how effective mirrors and cameras are in actually capturing and trapping violent ghosts, but Alameda’s explanations seemed pretty believable to me. I also liked how Alameda incorporated references to Dracula throughout Shutter.

Furthermore, I liked Micheline and all her friends, and thought they had a great group dynamic. In particular, the relationship between Micheline and Ryder as they transitioned from friends to something more was pretty cute and believable. I would have preferred it though if Micheline’s relationship with her dad had been less clichéd and if there had been more females in the novel.

Ultimately, if you loved Kendare Blake’s Anna Dressed in Blood, you’ll probably enjoy Shutter as well. It’s just as violent and gory, but has a slightly more predictable plot.

Shutter was released by Feiwel & Friends in February 2015. 

Comments About the Cover: It’s so dark and scary-looking! 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Raincoast Books) for free.

Mini Reviews: A School for Unusual Girls by Kathleen Baldwin and Mortal Gods by Kendare Blake

From Goodreads: It’s 1814. Napoleon is exiled on Elba. Europe is in shambles. Britain is at war on four fronts. And Stranje House, a School for Unusual Girls, has become one of Regency England’s dark little secrets. The daughters of the beau monde who don't fit high society’s constrictive mold are banished to Stranje House to be reformed into marriageable young ladies. Or so their parents think. In truth, Headmistress Emma Stranje, the original unusual girl, has plans for the young ladies - plans that entangle the girls in the dangerous world of spies, diplomacy, and war. After accidentally setting her father’s stables on fire while performing a scientific experiment, Miss Georgiana Fitzwilliam is sent to Stranje House. But Georgie has no intention of being turned into a simpering, pudding-headed, marriageable miss. She plans to escape as soon as possible - until she meets Lord Sebastian Wyatt. Thrust together in a desperate mission to invent a new invisible ink for the English war effort, Georgie and Sebastian must find a way to work together without losing their heads - or their hearts ...

My Rating: 2 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: A School for Unusual Girls by Kathleen Baldwin had the potential to be a decent read. Unfortunately, its emphasis on romance came at the expense of characterization and plot development. Whereas I felt like I barely got to know the secondary characters, the main character, Georgiana, came across as pretty immature and impulsive. She also kept complaining about her red hair and feeling unloved, which became annoying because she wasn't Anne Shirley! 

As well, the short time span that the book covered made nothing feel believable. For example, Georgiana develops an invisible ink within six days, yet tons of people had tried to do something similar, with limited success. She also meets and falls for Sebastian during this time, and then is later involved in an extremely quick rescue of someone.

A School for Unusual Girls will be released by Tor Teen on May 19, 2015. 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Raincoast Books) for free. 
.................................................................................................. 

From Goodreads: Ares, God of War, is leading the other dying gods into battle. Which is just fine with Athena. She's ready to wage a war of her own, and she's never liked him anyway. If Athena is lucky, the winning gods will have their immortality restored. If not, at least she'll have killed the bloody lot of them, and she and Hermes can die in peace. Cassandra Weaver is a weapon of fate. The girl who kills gods. But all she wants is for the god she loved and lost to return to life. If she can't have that, then the other gods will burn, starting with his murderer, Aphrodite. The alliance between Cassandra and Athena is fragile. Cassandra suspects Athena lacks the will to truly kill her own family. And Athena fears that Cassandra's hate will get them ALL killed. The war takes them across the globe, searching for lost gods, old enemies, and Achilles, the greatest warrior the world has ever seen. As the struggle escalates, Athena and Cassandra must find a way to work together. Because if they can't, fates far worse than death await.  

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Mortal Gods by Kendare Blake was what I wanted the previous book in the Goddess War series, Antigoddess, to be more like. Though there were still parts where the pacing lagged, Mortal Gods had more action, and finally explained why the Greek gods and goddesses were dying. It also made Odysseus – one of my favourite Greek heroes; Perseus is the other – more like his reincarnation in that he's shown to still be wily (polymechanos, according to Homer) because he appears to have been keeping some secrets. As well, I like that Blake continues to have the gods remain prideful and not care too much about the effects on the humans involved in their affairs.

Mortal Gods was released by Tor Teen in October 2014.

Mini Reviews: Antigoddess by Kendare Blake and Omega City by Diana Peterfreund

From Goodreads: Old Gods never die … Or so Athena thought. But then the feathers started sprouting beneath her skin, invading her lungs like a strange cancer, and Hermes showed up with a fever eating away his flesh. So much for living a quiet eternity in perpetual health. Desperately seeking the cause of their slow, miserable deaths, Athena and Hermes travel the world, gathering allies and discovering enemies both new and old. Their search leads them to Cassandra - an ordinary girl who was once an extraordinary prophetess, protected and loved by a god. These days, Cassandra doesn’t involve herself in the business of gods - in fact, she doesn’t even know they exist. But she could be the key in a war that is only just beginning. Because Hera, the queen of the gods, has aligned herself with other of the ancient Olympians, who are killing off rivals in an attempt to prolong their own lives. But these anti-gods have become corrupted in their desperation to survive, horrific caricatures of their former glory. Athena will need every advantage she can get, because immortals don’t just flicker out. Every one of them dies in their own way. Some choke on feathers. Others become monsters. All of them rage against their last breath. The Goddess War is about to begin.

My Rating: 3 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: While I liked the writing and the premise – the gods and goddesses of Greek mythology are somehow dying, and have, in order to survive, resorted to fighting each other and trying to find the reincarnation of the Trojan princess Cassandra for answers – of Kendare Blake’s Antigoddess, it felt very much like a prequel. Nothing really happened for the majority of the book, and the question of why the Greek gods and goddesses were dying remained unanswered. Furthermore, the ending felt a bit rushed, with one of the immortal characters dying way too easily. Despite these flaws, I’m going to give Antigoddess’ sequel, Mortal Gods, a try. Having read her Anna series, I know Blake is capable of doing better!

Antigoddess was released by Tor Teen in September 2013. 
.................................................................................................. 
From Goodreads: Gillian Seagret doesn't listen to people who say her father's a crackpot. His conspiracy theories about the lost technology of Cold War–era rocket scientist Dr. Aloysius Underberg may have cost him his job and forced them to move to the middle of nowhere, but Gillian knows he's right and plans to prove it. When she discovers a missing page from Dr. Underberg's diary in her father's mess of an office, she thinks she's found a big piece of the puzzle - a space-themed riddle promising to lead to Dr. Underberg's greatest invention. Enlisting the help of her skeptical younger brother, Eric, her best friend, Savannah, and Howard, their NASA-obsessed schoolmate, Gillian sets off on a journey into the ruins of Omega City, a vast doomsday bunker deep inside the earth. But they aren't alone inside its dark and flooded halls. For while Gillian wants to save her dad's reputation by bringing Dr. Underberg's secrets to light, there are others who will stop at nothing to make sure they stay buried ... forever. 

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Having loved Diana Peterfreund’s For Darkness Shows the Stars series, I was curious to see what she could do with a MG novel. Perhaps it's a bit unfair, but I guess I wasn’t expecting Omega City to feel like a MG book … and was a bit disappointed as a result. For example, the villain lacked complexity, and I knew the characters were never really in any danger. I also had to really suspend my disbelief with regards to the plot because it involved four kids and a teen discovering an underground city and running around unsupervised, chased by three adults who were the ‘bad’ guys. That being said, I’m not the target audience for Omega City; MG readers who enjoy action and adventure should easily find the story captivating.

Omega City will be released on April 28, 2015 by Balzer + Bray.  

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (HarperCollins) for free via Edelweiss.   

Review: None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio

From Goodreads: What if everything you knew about yourself changed in an instant? When Kristin Lattimer is voted homecoming queen, it seems like another piece of her ideal life has fallen into place. She's a champion hurdler with a full scholarship to college and she's madly in love with her boyfriend. In fact, she's decided that she's ready to take things to the next level with him. But Kristin's first time isn't the perfect moment she's planned - something is very wrong. A visit to the doctor reveals the truth: Kristin is intersex, which means that though she outwardly looks like a girl, she has male chromosomes, not to mention boy "parts." Dealing with her body is difficult enough, but when her diagnosis is leaked to the whole school, Kristin's entire identity is thrown into question. As her world unravels, can she come to terms with her new self?

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Although its plot wasn’t really that remarkable, None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio was a book that I think YA needs more of due to its frank discussion about gender diversity. Since I’ve kind of been in a review slump lately though, I’m just going to list what I liked and disliked about None of the Above:

Pros:

• Kristin was very easy to relate to, and the range of emotions she experienced once she learned about her diagnosis were all very understandable. 
• I really liked how Gregorio used her own experiences as a surgeon as well as the situation of Caster Semenya to show what it means, in reality, to not fall neatly into the gender binary.
• I also liked how informative None of the Above was. Despite knowing the difference between sex and gender, for example, I still learned quite a lot from the book. 

Cons:

• I thought that Kristin was a bit too hasty in getting gonadectomy. It felt more like an emotional decision than a calculated decision to me, and I would have preferred it if she had thought a little more about the risks associated with surgery.
• I didn’t really see a process to self-acceptance; Kristin just seemed to become okay about her body quite suddenly. 
• I wasn’t really a fan of the romance. It felt like Gregorio needed a reason for the guy Kristin became interested in to dump his girlfriend so that he could get together with Kristin, and so Gregorio came up with a lame excuse for why things weren’t working out between them. I don’t understand why authors think a girl in a YA novel must have a boyfriend!  

None of the Above will be released tomorrow by Balzer + Bray! 

Comments About the Cover: It’s cute, and I like the use of blue and pink because they're the colours that society has come to think of as for a 'boy' and a 'girl'.  

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (HarperCollins) for free via Edelweiss. 

Mini Reviews: Things We Know by Heart by Jessi Kirby and The Secrets We Keep by Trisha Leaver

From Goodreads: After Quinn loses her boyfriend, Trent, in an accident their junior year, she reaches out to the recipients of his donated organs in hopes of picking up the pieces of her now-unrecognizable life. She hears back from some of them, but the person who received Trent’s heart has remained silent. The essence of a person, she has always believed, is in the heart. If she finds Trent’s, then maybe she can have peace once and for all. Risking everything in order to finally lay her memories to rest, Quinn goes outside the system to track down nineteen-year-old Colton Thomas - a guy whose life has been forever changed by this priceless gift. But what starts as an accidental run-in quickly develops into more, sparking an undeniable attraction. She doesn't want to give in to it - especially since he has no idea how they're connected - but their time together has made Quinn feel alive again. No matter how hard she’s falling for Colton, each beat of his heart reminds her of all she’s lost ... and all that remains at stake.

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Having read Jessi Kirby’s previous novels, I knew what I’d be getting when I began Things We Know by Heart – a contemporary novel that’s easy to dive into. I wish, however, that Things We Know by Heart had focused a little less on the romance (which I enjoyed, despite thinking that both Colton and Quinn fell for each other quite quickly) and a little more on organ donation and on the thoughts and feelings of those involved, particularly because I liked both Quinn and Colton. Quinn’s grief felt very real to me and I could relate to her need for closure, whereas Colton stole my heart because of his kindness and appreciation for life. 

Things We Know by Heart will be released on April 21, 2015 by HarperTeen. 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (HarperCollins) for free via Edelweiss. 

.................................................................................................. 

From Goodreads: Ella and Maddy Lawton are identical twins. Ella has spent her high school years living in popular Maddy's shadows, but she has never been envious of Maddy. In fact, she's chosen the quiet, safe confines of her sketchbook over the constant battle for attention that has defined Maddy's world. When - after a heated argument - Maddy and Ella get into a tragic accident that leaves her sister dead, Ella wakes up in the hospital surrounded by loved ones who believe she is Maddy. Feeling responsible for Maddy's death and everyone's grief, Ella makes a split-second decision to pretend to be Maddy. Soon, Ella realizes that Maddy's life was full of secrets. Caught in a web of lies, Ella is faced with two options - confess her deception or live her sister's life.  

My Rating: 2 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: The Secrets We Keep by Trisha Leaver was a book that turned out to be a disappointing read. Personally, I just couldn’t form an emotional connection with Ella because I didn’t understand her motivation for pretending to be Maddy. I mean, it’s understandable that her parents were joyous when they heard the news that Maddy survived – at least one of their daughters did. I have no clue though why Ella would assume that that meant that they wouldn’t be happy to hear that she, instead of Maddy, survived. As well, although the synopsis suggests that Maddy’s life was full of secrets, Maddy really only had one big secret, which unfortunately just wasn’t scandalous enough for me.

The Secrets We Keep will be released on by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux on April 28, 2015.  

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Raincoast Books) for free.

Review: The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey

From Goodreads: Beneath the streets of New York City live the Avicen, an ancient race of people with feathers for hair and magic running through their veins. Age-old enchantments keep them hidden from humans. All but one. Echo is a runaway pickpocket who survives by selling stolen treasures on the black market, and the Avicen are the only family she's ever known. Echo is clever and daring, and at times she can be brash, but above all else she's fiercely loyal. So when a centuries-old war crests on the borders of her home, she decides it's time to act. Legend has it that there is a way to end the conflict once and for all: find the Firebird, a mythical entity believed to possess power the likes of which the world has never seen. It will be no easy task, but if life as a thief has taught Echo anything, it's how to hunt down what she wants ... and how to take it. But some jobs aren't as straightforward as they seem. And this one might just set the world on fire.

My Rating: 2.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey was a book that I was really looking forward to reading. Unfortunately, while I found it entertaining due to its fast pace, the plot reminded me far too much of that of Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone. The characters in The Girl at Midnight could have also been more fleshed out.

The protagonist of The Girl at Midnight, Echo, is a human girl who ran away from home, and is adopted by the Avicen. A skilled thief, Echo – whose appearance is never really described so you can’t picture her – is tasked to find proof that a) the mythical firebird from Avicen lore exists, and b) its location. Echo isn’t the only looking for the firebird though; Caius, a Drakharin, is too. Whichever species finds the firebird first gets to permanently decide how to end the war between the Avicen and the Drakharin.

At first, even though Echo and Caius's star-crossed attraction reminded me a bit of the attraction between Karou and Akiva, especially with Echo running around as an errand girl for another species, I wasn't too concerned. There were differences in plot; and at the time, I was more worried about the potential development of a love triangle because Echo already had an Avicen boyfriend. The ending, however, appears to be completely ripped off from Daughter of Smoke and Bone!

The Girl of Midnight resembles Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments (a series I haven't read, but have read lots of reviews and spoilers for) in some aspects as well. Although I wasn’t invested in the attraction between Echo and Caius, I was interested in a romance potentially developing between Dorian, Caius’ guard who harbours unrequited feelings for Caius, and Jasper, an Avicen. Doesn’t that sound a lot like Alec and Magnus though?

Another issue that I had with The Girl at Midnight was that the characters’ backstories could have been better developed. We’re given pieces of information about their past, but this information never appears important; it’s almost as if the characters’ pasts should just be glossed over. For example, we know that the main reason Caius wants the firebird is so that he can end the war through peaceful means rather than through violence because he was once in love with an Avicen who was then burned to death by Caius' twin sister, Tanith. What remains unclear though is how a Dragon Prince managed to meet an Avicen not just once, but multiple times in secret, and how Tanith found out about their relationship.

I’m not sure if I’ll read the sequel to The Girl at Midnight, but if I do, I hope the sequel will be more original and have better characterization. 

The Girl at Midnight will be released on April 28, 2015 by Delacorte Press.

Comments About the Cover: It’s gorgeous, and was one of the reasons why I became tempted to read The Girl at Midnight. 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Random House) for free via NetGalley. 

Review: Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman

From Goodreads: The kingdom of Goredd: a world where humans and dragons share life with an uneasy balance, and those few who are both human and dragon must hide the truth. Seraphina is one of these, part girl, part dragon, who is reluctantly drawn into the politics of her world. When war breaks out between the dragons and humans, she must travel the lands to find those like herself - for she has an inexplicable connection to all of them, and together they will be able to fight the dragons in powerful, magical ways. As Seraphina gathers this motley crew, she is pursued by humans who want to stop her. But the most terrifying is another half dragon, who can creep into people’s minds and take them over. Until now, Seraphina has kept her mind safe from intruders, but that also means she’s held back her own gift. It is time to make a choice: Cling to the safety of her old life, or embrace a powerful new destiny?

My Rating: Somewhere between 3 and 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Having loved Rachel Hartman’s Seraphina, I had extremely high expectations for its sequel, Shadow Scale. Sadly, while I did like Shadow Scale, it just wasn’t as good as Seraphina.

Shadow Scale begins nicely with a prologue that recaps what happened in Seraphina. I found this quite helpful because almost three years after having read Seraphina, I couldn’t really recall what had happened in the novel. The plot of Shadow Scale then expands on the detailed worldbuilding of Seraphina by allowing the reader to now learn about the cultures of Goredd’s neighbours, the Ninysh, the Samsamese, and the Porphyrians, and see how they have interacted with the saarantrai and the ityasaari. 

Another thing that I enjoyed about Shadow Scale was that we get to meet the half-dragons from Seraphina’s garden of grotesques and find out their backstories. When Seraphina leaves Goredd, she’s quite excited by her task of trying to gather the ityasaari because she thinks that she’s going to find a group of people that she can automatically connect with. Over the course of her journey however, Seraphina comes to realize that just because the ityasaari have all been procreated from a dragon and a human, it doesn’t mean that she can assume that they’ve had experiences similar to hers.

Where Shadow Scale could have been improved was the relationship between Seraphina and previously introduced characters such as Kiggs, Glisselda, and Orma. The romance, for example, needed more closure. As well, since Seraphina hardly gets much page time with Kiggs, Glisselda, or Orma in Shadow Scale, I felt a distinct lack of emotional connection with these characters this time.

The plot of Shadow Scale also began to feel repetitive after awhile as it involved Seraphina finding a half-dragon, only to realize that Jannoula, the villain of the story, was mentally connected to them. Since Seraphina didn’t know how to fight Jannoula, she appeared to have little agency throughout the novel. This reached a climax with the deus ex machina ending. 

Shadow Scale was released on March 10, 2015 by Random House Children's Books. 

Comments About the Cover: I like it, but I prefer Seraphina’s cover. 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Random House) for free via NetGalley.

Review: The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord

From Goodreads: It’s been a year since it happened - when Paige Hancock’s first boyfriend died in an accident. After shutting out the world for two years, Paige is finally ready for a second chance at high school ... and she has a plan. First: Get her old crush, Ryan Chase, to date her - the perfect way to convince everyone she’s back to normal. Next: Join a club - simple, it’s high school after all. But when Ryan’s sweet, nerdy cousin, Max, moves to town and recruits Paige for the Quiz Bowl team (of all things!) her perfect plan is thrown for a serious loop. Will Paige be able to face her fears and finally open herself up to the life she was meant to live?

My Rating: 4.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: After not really liking Emery Lord’s debut standalone, Open Road Summer, last year, I debated whether I should read her newest novel, The Start of Me and You. I’m so glad that I decided to give her writing a second chance because I would have missed out on a great contemporary novel.

Here are five reasons why I think you should read The Start of Me and You too:

1. The voice of Paige: One of the biggest reasons I loved The Start of Me and You was because of how easy it was to hear Paige’s voice in my head. She’s introverted and kind of nerdy, and I liked her right away!
2. The friendships: When I read the synopsis and saw the cover for The Start of Me and You, I figured that it would involve a lot of romance. Instead, more of the novel is focused on friendship than romance. Not only do we see Paige befriending Max and through him, Ryan, but I loved that Paige also had a close group of girl friends who were always there for each other. More importantly, these girls were solid secondary characters who had their own personalities, perspectives, and lives, and weren’t just in the book for the sake of being there.
3. The romance: The romance in The Start of Me and You is exactly the kind of romance I enjoy because it begins with Paige and Max starting off as friends and Paige not even considering Max to be her type. 
4. The familial relationship: Just as important to Paige’s story are her interactions with her family. I loved that Paige’s parents and sister were present throughout The Start of Me and You and that one of the people Paige admired and constantly talked to was her supportive grandmother.
5. The realistic dealing of grief with the passage of time: Finally, I liked that Paige’s grief over Aaron’s tragic death was portrayed realistically. Not only does she mourn the fact that she will never see Aaron grow up, but she also mourns the fact that she will never see what they could have been like as a couple. As well, I liked that Lord showed that despite people trying to move on, grief has a way of occasionally creeping back into one’s thoughts. 

The Start of Me and You will be released by Bloomsbury on March 31, 2015. 

Comments About the Cover: Although it’s cute and romantic, the novel makes it clear that Paige has recurring dreams of drowning and is terrified of even going into a pool. So, I doubt that she’d be casually hanging out near a large body of water. 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Bloomsbury Publishing) for free via NetGalley.  

Review: A Wicked Thing by Rhiannon Thomas

From Goodreads: One hundred years after falling asleep, Princess Aurora wakes up to the kiss of a handsome prince and a broken kingdom that has been dreaming of her return. All the books say that she should be living happily ever after. But as Aurora understands all too well, the truth is nothing like the fairy tale. Her family is long dead. Her "true love" is a kind stranger. And her whole life has been planned out by political foes while she slept. As Aurora struggles to make sense of her new world, she begins to fear that the curse has left its mark on her, a fiery and dangerous thing that might be as wicked as the witch who once ensnared her. With her wedding day drawing near, Aurora must make the ultimate decision on how to save her kingdom: marry the prince or run.

My Rating: Somewhere between 2.5 and 3 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: As a fairy tale, the story of Sleeping Beauty was never one that I felt the need to reread or re-watch. But, since I love seeing what an author is capable of doing with a retelling, I decided to give Rhiannon Thomas’ A Wicked Thing a try.

A Wicked Thing is very much a character-driven story. After being woken up with a kiss and finding out that all the people she’s ever known are dead, Aurora is a girl who’s thoroughly confused about what to do and believe. This isn’t surprising given that she was locked in a tower while growing up so that she would remain safe. Now, she’s expected to marry a person who a book claims is her true love, and be the saviour for her suffering kingdom. Aurora, however, just wants to be free from the constant expectations placed upon her.

Although I liked the characterization of Aurora, it took a long time for her to decide to not simply be a pawn for other people to manipulate. As a result, I eventually got bored of the story – so much so that I considered DNF’ing it at several points. In addition to the slow pacing, there was also no romance. However, I would say that there are three potential love interests for the sequel.

A Wicked Thing was released in February 2015 by HarperTeen. 

Comments About the Cover: That pose looks like an uncomfortable position to fall asleep in for a century. 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (HarperCollins) for free via Edelweiss. 

Review: Uninvited by Sophie Jordan

From Goodreads: When Davy Hamilton's tests come back positive for Homicidal Tendency Syndrome (HTS) - aka the kill gene - she loses everything. Her boyfriend ditches her, her parents are scared of her, and she can forget about her bright future at Juilliard. Davy doesn't feel any different, but genes don't lie. One day she will kill someone. Only Sean, a fellow HTS carrier, can relate to her new life. Davy wants to trust him; maybe he's not as dangerous as he seems. Or maybe Davy is just as deadly.

My Rating: 3 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Uninvited by Sophie Jordan was a book I hesitated to read because I hadn’t really liked the first book, Firelight, in Jordan’s previous series. But, I decided to give her writing another chance because I thought the premise of Uninvited sounded interesting.

One of the aspects of Uninvited that I enjoyed was the growth in Davy’s character. At the beginning of the novel, she had the perfect life – she was rich, popular, smart, musical, dating a hot jock, and had a loving family. Once Davy tested positive for HTS, however, her friends dropped her and her parents began to avoid interacting with her. Yet even as her life changed; Davy continued to believe herself to be superior than other HTS carriers. Over time though, Davy learned to look beyond people’s superficial features, and became less of a damsel in distress.

The same depth of characterization, unfortunately, wasn't given to Sean. Not only would I have liked to learn more about him, but he just seemed to serve the purpose of conveniently showing up whenever Davy needed help. As well, even though the romance wasn’t insta-love, it sure seemed like it because I had no clue why Sean fell for Davy. What made her so unique from the other girls that he interacted with? 

Another reason I had to lower my rating of Uninvited was because of the weak worldbuilding and premise. For example, even though the novel was set in 2021, there wasn’t much of a difference in the technology. In addition, I learned very little about the Wainwright Agency or how HTS was discovered.

Furthermore, from a scientific perspective, the premise of Uninvited is illogical. Since, HTS affected more males than females in the book, this suggests that it's a case of X-linked recessive inheritance. For Davy to be a carrier and her brother to not be one, it implies that her HTS allele is on the X chromosome provided by her father. This would mean that Davy's father should also have the HTS allele and therefore test positive, which he doesn’t!

Ignoring my issue with the genetics of the premise though, – I spent way too much time thinking about that, – I liked that Uninvited makes readers think about whether we’re a product of nature or nurture. Although the governmental authorities in Uninvited seem to side towards nature, the book does a good job of demonstrating instances where people committed violence as a result of their environment.

Uninvited was released in January 2014 by HarperTeen. 

Comments About the Cover: Why is the model positioned like that?!

Review: The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand

From Goodreads: The last time Lex was happy, it was before. When she had a family that was whole. A boyfriend she loved. Friends who didn't look at her like she might break down at any moment. Now she's just the girl whose brother killed himself. And it feels like that's all she'll ever be. As Lex starts to put her life back together, she tries to block out what happened the night Tyler died. But there's a secret she hasn't told anyone - a text Tyler sent, that could have changed everything. Lex's brother is gone. But Lex is about to discover that a ghost doesn't have to be real to keep you from moving on.

My Rating: 4 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Although I’ve read numerous books where the main plot involves a character dealing with the death of a loved one, I’ve yet to read a book where the loved one is a teen that died by committing suicide. The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand helps to fill that void in the YA genre.

While I would liked Lex regardless, due to her love for math and science and the fact that she embraced her nerdiness, Hand also made Lex easy to sympathize with. What really struck me though while reading The Last Time We Say Goodbye was how incredibly real Lex’s emotions felt - from feeling guilty about not having responded to her brother’s text the night he committed suicide, to being angry at her brother for leaving her family even more broken than it originally was, to distancing herself from her friends in order to avoid feeling any type of emotion - and how evident it was that she loved her brother.*

Given how common suicide is as a cause of death, I would have liked the back of The Last Time We Say Goodbye to have contained a list of resources for teens thinking about committing suicide or trying to deal with the death of someone who has committed suicide. As well, since Alexis was beginning to look forward to moving away for college and starting over somewhere where she wouldn’t be known for the tragedy her family experienced, it would have been nice to have an epilogue to see how she was doing after some time had passed.

A moving novel that explores the what-ifs that can never be answered when a loved one commits suicide and the accompanying guilt and grief that comes with their death, The Last Time We Say Goodbye was released by HarperTeen on February 10, 2015. 

Comments About the Cover: I like how the title is written on a Post-it and stuck on a mirror because that was how Tyler left his suicide note.  

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (HarperCollins) for free via Edelweiss.

*Hand mentions at the end that her own brother committed suicide when he was a junior in high school, and I think the emotions that she personally must have experienced in the aftermath of her brother’s death were conveyed extremely well into the pages of her novel.

Review: Fairest by Marissa Meyer

From Goodreads: Fans of the Lunar Chronicles know Queen Levana as a ruler who uses her “glamour” to gain power. But long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress, Levana lived a very different story – a story that has never been told ... until now. 

My Rating: 4 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: When I first found out that the release of the final book in Marissa Meyer’s The Lunar Chronicles, Winter, would be delayed by almost a year, I groaned and wondered why I was being tortured. Thankfully, to ease the wait for Winter, Meyer wrote Fairest. 

A novel that tells the backstory of Queen Levana, Fairest enables the reader to see Meyer’s villain in a new light. No longer do you just see Levana as some power hungry ruler trying to conquer Earth through biological warfare, but as a more complex character who started with good intentions of wanting to ensure that her home and people prosper. However, years of neglect by her parents, psychological abuse from her sister Channary, and unrequited love eventually cause Levana to resort to any method possible to gain affection. It’s impossible to not pity her by the end of the novel!

A highly recommended read if you’re a fan of The Lunar Chronicles, Fairest was released in January 2015 by Feiwel & Friends. 

Comments About the Cover: The cover does a great job of making you wonder what Levana’s face looks like under her veil.

Review: Monstrous by MarcyKate Connolly

From Goodreads: The city of Bryre suffers under the magic of an evil wizard. Because of his curse, girls sicken and disappear without a trace, and Bryre’s inhabitants live in fear. No one is allowed outside after dark. Yet night is the only time that Kymera can enter this dangerous city, for she must not be seen by humans. Her father says they would not understand her wings, the bolts in her neck, or her spiky tail - they would kill her. They would not understand that she was created for a purpose: to rescue the girls of Bryre. Despite her caution, a boy named Ren sees Kym and begins to leave a perfect red rose for her every evening. As they become friends, Kym learns that Ren knows about the missing girls, the wizard, and the evil magic that haunts Bryre. And what he knows will change Kym’s life.  

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Although I found Monstrous by MarcyKate Connolly to be a solid read, I do think this book will appeal more to its target audience of middle-graders. As an older reader looking for a great MG read, I found the plot lagging at times, and wasn’t at all surprised by the twists that were revealed. (The lone exception would have to be the ending – but that was only because it was so random).

To younger readers, especially young girls, however, I’d recommend that they give Monstrous a try. Firstly, it has a female protagonist who isn’t a damsel in distress. In fact, I really liked that Kymera repeatedly rescues her friend, Ren, rather than it being the other way around. Secondly, I appreciated that the one of the messages of Monstrous was to not judge people based on their physical appearance.

Monstrous will be released by HarperCollins Children's Books on February 10, 2015. 

Comments About the Cover: I love the illustrated look of the cover! 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (HarperCollins) for free via Edelweiss.

Review: My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga

From Goodreads: Sixteen-year-old physics nerd Aysel is obsessed with plotting her own death. With a mother who can barely look at her without wincing, classmates who whisper behind her back, and a father whose violent crime rocked her small town, Aysel is ready to turn her potential energy into nothingness. There’s only one problem: she’s not sure she has the courage to do it alone. But once she discovers a website with a section called Suicide Partners, Aysel’s convinced she’s found her solution: a teen boy with the username FrozenRobot (aka Roman) who’s haunted by a family tragedy is looking for a partner. Even though Aysel and Roman have nothing in common, they slowly start to fill in each other’s broken lives. But as their suicide pact becomes more concrete, Aysel begins to question whether she really wants to go through with it. Ultimately, she must choose between wanting to die or trying to convince Roman to live so they can discover the potential of their energy together. Except that Roman may not be so easy to convince.

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: With the increasing number of books devoted to the topic of mental illness, Jasmine Warga’s My Heart and Other Black Holes distinguishes itself by not just having its main character contemplate suicide, but looking to do so with a partner. While I found My Heart and Other Black Holes to be pretty solidly written, there were some issues that I had with it. So, I figured I’d do a pros and cons list for this book. 

Pros:

• Based on the subject, I thought My Heart and Other Black Holes would be a darker read. Instead, it had a quite hopeful tone.
• I like that Warga didn’t glamourize depression and that she shows how important it is to talk to someone and seek help if you, or someone you know, is suffering from depression.
• By having Roman be depressed, I really liked that My Heart and Other Black Holes showed that depression can affect anybody; there isn’t a certain type of person that’s more prone to depression than someone else.
• Both Aysel (pronounced Uh-zell) and Roman came across as layered, realistic characters.

Cons:

• To me, it seemed like Aysel got better because she started falling for Roman. I think there should have been a stronger and clearer emphasis on the fact that love isn’t a cure for depression.
• I also didn’t think that having two suicidal teenagers fall in love was the best recipe for a romance. Despite their chemistry, I would have liked it better if Aysel and Roman had simply stayed as friends.
• Early in My Heart and Other Black Holes, it’s implied that part of the reason Aysel is currently so depressed is because of something her dad did. While Warga makes it seem like a huge mystery, it turns out that there isn’t some crazy twist behind what he did. He murdered someone, plain and simple, although it sounds like he did so while experiencing a delusion. 

My Heart and Other Black Holes will be released on February 10, 2015 by Balzer + Bray. 

Comments About the Cover: It’s interesting and different. 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (HarperCollins) for free via Edelweiss.

Review: Defy by Sara B. Larson

From Goodreads: Alexa Hollen is a fighter. Forced to disguise herself as a boy and serve in the king's army, Alex uses her quick wit and fierce sword-fighting skills to earn a spot on the elite prince's guard. But when a powerful sorcerer sneaks into the palace in the dead of night, even Alex, who is virtually unbeatable, can't prevent him from abducting her, her fellow guard and friend Rylan, and Prince Damian, taking them through the treacherous wilds of the jungle and deep into enemy territory. The longer Alex is held captive with both Rylan and the prince, the more she realizes that she is not the only one who has been keeping dangerous secrets. And suddenly, after her own secret is revealed, Alex finds herself confronted with two men vying for her heart: the safe and steady Rylan, who has always cared for her, and the dark, intriguing Damian. With hidden foes lurking around every corner, is Alex strong enough to save herself and the kingdom she's sworn to protect?

My Rating: 1.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Defy by Sara B. Larson was a book that began quite promisingly with a premise that reminded me of one of my favourite childhood series, Tamora Pierce’s The Song of the Lioness quartet. Once Alexa’s twin brother, Marcel, died however, my enjoyment of the story deteriorated because the romantic subplot took over.

This basically resulted in Alexa transforming from a seemingly competent soldier – the best of Prince Damian’s guards, actually – to one who simply couldn’t help but ogle male chests, swoon over guys’ eyes, blush, cry, and/or run away. Forget surviving, this girl clearly had her priorities straight by being more concerned about whether she was in love with Damian or Rylan, a fellow soldier, and how she could tell the other guy so without hurting their feelings.

Not only was it annoying having to read over and over again about heat rushing to Alexa’s cheeks and other places, but there was barely any worldbuilding. My knowledge of the fantasy world Larson created was literally this: a) there are three countries and their royal houses seem to be related, b) two of those countries are at war, c) there’s magic (and no explanation for why some people have it), and d) there’s a jungle. Oh, and to ensure that the reader realizes how vile the king is, there are breeding houses. (Since it takes time for babies to grow, I personally am not sure why the king thinks breeding houses are the best option for creating future soldiers; to me, conscription and training women to become soldiers would be more reasonable options).

Suffice it to say, other than its beginning, Defy didn’t resemble The Song of the Lioness quartet in the least.

Defy was released in January 2014 by Scholastic Press. 

Comments About the Cover: If there’s a sword on the cover, chances are I’m probably picking up the book.