Review: Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

From Goodreads: It's been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can't move on. His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live - not walk around half dead. He knows they're right, but in Cas's eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with. Now he's seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he's asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong ... these aren't just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears. Cas doesn't know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn't deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it's time for him to return the favor.

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Basically, if Kendare Blake's Girl of Nightmares had featured more of Cas hunting ghosts and less of him obsessing over Anna, I'd have given it a higher rating. While a still a solid sequel though, it just lacked the creepiness of Anna Dressed in Blood.

Since I wasn’t keen on the romance between Cas and Anna to begin with, Cas’ constant moping about Anna made me annoyed with him, especially because it affected his ability to kill ghosts. Thank goodness for Thomas’ optimism and Carmel’s levelheadedness! In fact, I really liked Carmel’s characterization in Girl of Nightmares because she wasn’t afraid to take a step back and stop hanging out with Cas and Thomas when she found the situation becoming a bit too much for her to handle. Unlike Cas and Thomas, who are used to not living a normal life, I thought it was a really smart decision on Carmel’s part to try and figure out what she actually wanted.

I also liked the expansion of the world from Anna Dressed in Blood as Girl of Nightmares explores Cas’ father’s past as a ghost hunter and the athame’s connection to The Order of Biodag Dubh, which eventually leads Cas and his friends to visiting London and Scotland. Besides the awesome and scary scene in the Suicide Forest, I enjoyed meeting Jestine, who almost seemed like a female Cas to me. 

Girl of Nightmares was released by Tor Teen in August 2012. 

Comments About the Cover: I love the colours used, that you can see the dead faintly, and how Anna looks like she’s beckoning you to come join her. It’s brilliant!

Review: Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne

From Goodreads: Growing up on Forge’s streets has taught Kyra how to stretch a coin. And when that’s not enough, her uncanny ability to scale walls and bypass guards helps her take what she needs. But when the leader of the Assassins Guild offers Kyra a lucrative job, she hesitates. She knows how to get by on her own, and she’s not sure she wants to play by his rules. But he’s persistent - and darkly attractive - and Kyra can’t quite resist his pull. Tristam of Brancel is a young Palace knight on a mission. After his best friend is brutally murdered by Demon Riders, a clan of vicious warriors who ride bloodthirsty wildcats, Tristam vows to take them down. But as his investigation deepens, he finds his efforts thwarted by a talented thief, one who sneaks past Palace defenses with uncanny ease. When a fateful raid throws Kyra and Tristam together, the two enemies realize that their best chance at survival - and vengeance - might be to join forces. And as their loyalties are tested to the breaking point, they learn a startling secret about Kyra’s past that threatens to reshape both their lives. 

My Rating: 2.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: With its promise of thieves and assassins and the author mentioning on Goodreads that one of her inspirations is Tamora Pierce’s The Song of the Lioness quartet, Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne was a novel that I couldn’t wait to get my hands on. Sadly, the writing was simplistic and the characters left little impression.

To me, it felt like there was a lot of telling rather than showing going on in Midnight Thief. As well, more description would definitely have helped to make the setting and characters more vivid. That being said, Midnight Thief was a breezy read, and I can easily see it appeal to older MG readers.

Like the setting, the characters were also pretty flat. The story is narrated through both Kyra and Tristam’s points of view, but I never found the switches in narration to be seamless. In fact, Tristam’s narration was very unexpected and abrupt at the beginning because for the first five chapters, everything was told from Kyra’s perspective. However, I liked Tristam better than Kyra, who joins the Assassins Guild yet objects to killing (uh, so why join the Assassins Guild at all?!), but only by a slight margin because both characters were similar in that they didn’t think too much about the possible consequences of their actions. Since I couldn’t have cared less about the fate of the characters, I also ended up not caring if they would get together or not.

Midnight Thief will be released on July 8, 2014 by Disney-Hyperion. 

Comments About the Cover: I love it! The cat looks fierce, and is just daring you to find out what it’s hiding! 

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

Review: Perfected by Kate Jarvik Birch

From Goodreads: As soon as the government passed legislation allowing humans to be genetically engineered and sold as pets, the rich and powerful rushed to own beautiful girls like Ella. Trained from birth to be graceful, demure, and above all, perfect, these “family companions” enter their masters’ homes prepared to live a life of idle luxury. Ella is happy with her new role as playmate for a congressman’s bubbly young daughter, but she doesn’t expect Penn, the congressman’s handsome and rebellious son. He’s the only person who sees beyond the perfect exterior to the girl within. Falling for him goes against every rule she knows ... and the freedom she finds with him is intoxicating. But when Ella is kidnapped and thrust into the dark underworld lurking beneath her pampered life, she’s faced with an unthinkable choice. Because the only thing more dangerous than staying with Penn’s family is leaving ... and if she’s unsuccessful, she’ll face a fate far worse than death. 

My Rating: 2 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Perfected by Kate Jarvik Birch was a book that ended up on my radar because of its interesting premise. Unfortunately, the execution was lacking, and more depth was needed from both the characters and the plot. 

It was really hard for me to care about what happened to the characters because they had such little personality. Ella, for example, doesn’t even think about how limiting her life is until she’s told so by an activist ... and then continues to make no attempt to change her way of living. Only when her romance is threatened does Ella decide that she wants out. 

I found the romance to be cheesy and totally insta-love. Spoiler alert: What seventeen-year-old would give up family, money, and security to be with someone who’s illiterate and knows nothing about the real world?! It also needed more clarity because it just seemed that out of nowhere, Penn went from not being able to stand Ella to being in love with her.

The worldbuilding could have been expanded upon as well because there was no context for how and why the United States would pass laws allowing people to own genetically engineered humans as pets. Nor did I think it was a very realistic idea because why would anybody spend so much money to take care of someone who contributes nothing to society! 

A story that ultimately fell short of my expectations, Perfected will be released by Entangled Teen on July 1, 2014. 

Comments About the Cover: I would prefer to have a girl inside the gilded cage instead of just a dress. 

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

Review: Free to Fall by Lauren Miller

From Goodreads: Fast-forward to a time when Apple and Google have been replaced by Gnosis, a monolith corporation that has developed the most life-changing technology to ever hit the market: Lux, an app that flawlessly optimizes decision making for the best personal results. Just like everyone else, sixteen-year-old Rory Vaughn knows the key to a happy, healthy life is following what Lux recommends. When she’s accepted to the elite boarding school Theden Academy, her future happiness seems all the more assured. But once on campus, something feels wrong beneath the polished surface of her prestigious dream school. Then she meets North, a handsome townie who doesn’t use Lux, and begins to fall for him and his outsider way of life. Soon, Rory is going against Lux’s recommendations, listening instead to the inner voice that everyone has been taught to ignore - a choice that leads her to uncover a truth neither she nor the world ever saw coming. 

My Rating: 4 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Although it took a bit of time for me to get into Lauren Miller’s Free to Fall, I eventually ended up sucked into the book because of all the twists that it kept delivering. Initially a story about a girl attempting to discover more about her mother, the plot becomes so much grander and ends up filled with secrets, lies, and conspiracies!

Learning more about her mother really causes Rory grows throughout the novel. At the beginning of Free to Fall, she’s very much dependent on Lux for decision making; but as she learns more about the app, she starts to rely on her own inner voice. (I would have preferred the Doubt to have been more like an intuition rather than an auditory hallucination though.)

I also liked the romance, which I thought was paced nicely. I did think, however, that the misunderstanding between North – who I found very cute – and Rory before they got together wasn’t really necessary. But, the two were rock-solid once they did become a couple.

Finally, I enjoyed the message Miller attempted to convey. Using Milton’s Paradise Lost as inspiration along with a strong dose of neuroscience and psychology, Free to Fall demonstrates the importance of choice and examines how people’s dependence on technology can lead to corporations manipulating their consumers.

A fantastic sci-fi novel, Free to Fall was released by HarperTeen in May 2014. 

Comments About the Cover: It kind of reminds me of Parallel’s cover, even though both of Miller's novels are standalones.

Dark Metropolis Giveaway

Cabaret meets Cassandra Clare-a haunting magical thriller set in a riveting 1930s-esque world.

Sixteen-year-old Thea Holder's mother is cursed with a spell that's driving her mad, and whenever they touch, Thea is chilled by the magic, too. With no one else to contribute, Thea must make a living for both of them in a sinister city, where danger lurks and greed rules. Thea spends her nights waitressing at the decadent Telephone Club attending to the glitzy clientele. But when her best friend, Nan, vanishes, Thea is compelled to find her. She meets Freddy, a young, magnetic patron at the club, and he agrees to help her uncover the city's secrets-even while he hides secrets of his own.

Together, they find a whole new side of the city. Unrest is brewing behind closed doors as whispers of a gruesome magic spread. And if they're not careful, the heartless masterminds behind the growing disappearances will be after them, too.

Perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare, this is a chilling thriller with a touch of magic where the dead don't always seem to stay that way.

As part of the blog tour for Dark Metropolis, I have a giveaway of the book for US residents:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa

From Goodreads: Half Summer faery princess, half human, Meghan has never fit in anywhere. Deserted by the Winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the Winter faery queen. As war looms between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron fey - ironbound faeries that only she and her absent prince have seen. But no one believes her. Worse, Meghan's own fey powers have been cut off. She's stuck in Faery with only her wits for help. Trusting anyone would be foolish. Trusting a seeming traitor could be deadly. But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can't help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-too-human heart. 

My Rating: 2.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Back when I reviewed Julie Kagawa’s The Iron King, I was told by a number of people that I should continue on with the series because it gets better. Perhaps the later books do, but that was not my experience with the sequel, The Iron Daughter. 

I can’t quite remember if I found Meghan annoying in The Iron King, but I really wanted to punch her after reading The Iron Daughter. It just felt like she was either sobbing or obsessing about Ash throughout the entire book. 

I’m still puzzled as to why people have fussed so much over the romance, which continues to feel very forced to me. It’s pretty clear that Ash isn’t over Ariella, but if Meghan’s fine with that, well, there’s another reason that I find her pathetic.

Seriously, if it wasn’t for Puck, Grimalkin (who always seems to conveniently appear to bail Meghan and her friends out of trouble), and Ironhorse, I probably wouldn’t have bothered to finish The Iron Daughter. The question now remains: To read The Iron Queen or not? 

The Iron Daughter was released in August 2010 by Harlequin Teen. 

Comments About the Cover: It's not amazing or anything, but I like it better than The Iron King's.

Review: To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

From Back Cover: Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren't love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she's written. One for every boy she's ever loved - five in all. When she writes, she can pour out her heart and soul and say all the things she would never say in real life because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean's love life goes from imaginary to out of control. 

My Rating: 3.5 hearts

Thoughts on the Novel: In my early days of blogging, I saw quite a few positive reviews for Jenny Han’s Summer series. But since the premise of the series never appealed to me, I haven’t read any of her books until now. Given the synopsis, I was expecting To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before to be a very romance-centric novel, but was pleasantly surprised to find out it focused equally on family.

I loved the Covey family and wouldn’t hesitate to be adopted by them! I just felt the family dynamics, particularly the relationship between siblings, was portrayed so realistically. As the eldest child, I have no idea how true to life Lara Jean’s relationship with her older sister, Margot, is; but the relationship she has with her younger sister, Kitty, is definitely very accurate. Like Lara Jean, though I got along with my younger siblings most of the time, we did fight and get great glee out of annoying each other.

Moving on to Lara Jean as a character, I found her to be a bit immature and naïve at times. But at other moments, I could completely relate to her thoughts and experiences. For example, the way Lara Jean describes her driving is pretty much how I feel when I drive, which probably explains why I still only have my G1 license.

The romance was the weakest aspect of the book for me. I just couldn’t support Lara Jean’s feelings for Josh, Margot’s ex, at the beginning of the novel, and later on, thought he acted way too much like a jealous boyfriend. As Lara Jean began to hang out more with Peter to try and get over her feelings for Josh, I ended up slowly liking Peter. The open ending kind of ruined how I felt about him though because when someone – it’s unclear who, but I’m assuming it’s Peter’s ex-girlfriend – spreads rumours about Lara Jean being a slut, Peter doesn’t defend Lara Jean, a fact she somehow forgets. Also, it just seemed like Peter and Lara Jean randomly decided that they had feelings for each other and were over the people they liked, yet their actions suggested otherwise.

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before was released in April 2014 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. 

Comments About the Cover: Since Lara Jean is half-Korean, I’m really glad that the cover features an Asian model. 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Simon and Schuster Canada) for free.

Mini Reviews: The Hunt by Stacey Kade and Boys Like You by Juliana Stone

From Goodreads: Ariane Tucker has finally escaped GTX, the research facility that created her. While on the run, Zane Bradshaw is the only person she can trust. He knows who-and what-she is and still wants to be part of her life. But accepting Zane's help means putting him in danger. Dr. Jacobs, head of GTX, is not the only one hunting for Ariane. Two rival corporations have their sights set on taking down their competition. Permanently. To protect Zane and herself, Ariane needs allies. She needs the other hybrids. The hybrids who are way more alien and a lot less human. Can Ariane win them over before they turn on her? Or will she be forced to choose sides, to decide who lives and who dies? 

My Rating: 3 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: The Hunt by Stacey Kade is a sequel that really relies on readers remembering what happened in the previous book because it doesn’t provide much recap of the events that occurred in The Rules. Much more action-oriented than The Rules, I liked that The Hunt expanded the scope of the plot to show what GTX’s competitors are up to and how their hybrids differ from Ariane. The drawback to Ariane and Zane being on the run, however, was that the arguments they kept having became sort of repetitive after a while. But, overall, I found The Hunt to be a solid sequel; and its cliffhanger ending pretty much ensures that I’ll be reading the next book in the series.

The Hunt was released in April 2014 by Disney Hyperion. 

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

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From Back Cover: For Monroe Blackwell, one small mistake has torn her family apart – leaving her empty and broken. There’s a hole in her heart that nothing can fill. That no one can fill. And a summer in Louisiana with her Grandma isn’t going to change that … Nathan Everets knows heartache first-hand when a car accident leaves his best friend in a coma. And it’s his fault. He should be the one lying in the hospital. The one who will never play guitar again. He doesn’t deserve forgiveness, and a court-appointed job at the Blackwell B&B isn’t going to change that … Captivating and hopeful, this achingly poignant novel brings together two lost souls struggling with grief and guilt – looking for acceptance, so they can find forgiveness. 

My Rating: 2.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Considering that it features two broken characters, I was expecting Boys Like You by Juliana Stone to be a bit more emotionally intense. Instead, I feel like Stone sacrificed a more drawn out healing process in favour of romance. It's not that the characters didn't learn to deal with their issues and understand that life goes on, but they seemed to come to this conclusion in a very simplistic manner and relied a bit too heavily on each other. Also, the romance was very insta-love, and it annoyed me how Monroe and Nathan kept mentioning how hot the other person looked or repeatedly felt that the other person was worth getting to know simply because they could tell they were broken too by gazing into their eyes.

Boys Like You was released by Sourcebooks Fire on May 6, 2014. 

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

 

original image from thegate.ca

Review: Plus One by Elizabeth Fama

From Goodreads: Seventeen-year-old Soleil Le Coeur is a Smudge - a night dweller prohibited by law from going out during the day. When she fakes an injury in order to get access to and kidnap her newborn niece - a day dweller, or Ray - she sets in motion a fast-paced adventure that will bring her into conflict with the powerful lawmakers who order her world, and draw her together with the boy she was destined to fall in love with, but who is also a Ray.

My Rating: 2.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Having loved Elizabeth Fama’s Monstrous Beauty, I had pretty high expectations for her newest novel, Plus One. Unfortunately, Plus One didn’t exactly deliver.

A huge part of that was because its plot was so far-fetched. See, you’re basically thrown into this alternate version of the U.S. where a strict curfew maintains a division between Rays (people who go to school, work, etc. during the day) and Smudges (people who do the same during the night), with no explanation given until 30% in – a bit too far into the story in my opinion – for how and why this division came about. On top of that, you’ve got a protagonist who has decided that she’s going to steal a baby without considering all its implications (e.g. like the fact that she has no diapers, will have to feed the baby every two hours, etc.). Let’s just say that things only got crazier from there, with the plot really revolving around the baby stealing incident.

The character of Sol was another issue I had with Plus One because she was far too thoughtless for my liking. Case in point: her decision to steal a baby, which she does so by hiding the baby under her hoodie and then putting the baby in a drawer! What I did like though about Sol was her loyalty to the people she loves. Unlike Sol, D’Arcy was much more level-headed, which is why I liked him better.  

I also didn’t like the romance as much as I was expecting. It’s funny that while Sol and D’Arcy weren’t together, I kept waiting for them to discover how they were connected and to just kiss; but then as soon as it happened, I wanted the opposite because they quickly moved from kissing to having sex and declaring their love for each other.

A rather disappointing novel, Plus One was released in April 2014 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 

Comments About the Cover: I think the cover and synopsis give a false impression that this is a romance-centric novel. It’s not; instead, Plus One attempts to show what people are willing to do for love (of any type). 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Macmillan Children's Publishing Group) for free via NetGalley.

Review: The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

From Goodreads: As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions. One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him - with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin. But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined.  

My Rating: Definitely higher than 3.5 hearts but not quite 4 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski was a book that I initially had no plans to read. After seeing all the positive reviews for it though, I changed my mind for two reasons: 1) it was a fantasy and 2) the romance was deemed not to be an insta-love one.

Although I can’t say that The Winner’s Curse blew my mind, I did like it a lot. The worldbuilding was pretty solid; and while I had a bit of trouble visually conceptualizing how Rutkoski’s world would be arranged on a map, it wasn’t too difficult to imagine the setting because Rutkoski takes her time immersing you into her world.

What I didn’t enjoy as much was the romance. Yes, it was slow-paced and set up in such a way that you could logically understand why Arin and Kestrel would fall for each other, but the actual writing of the novel made their feelings sort of appear out of the blue. Also, considering that Kestrel and Arin don’t have a long history with each other, it was mystifying to me how Kestrel could still be attracted to Arin after what he did to her friends and townspeople.

As individual characters, I liked Arin and Kestrel much better. Right from the start, I had a feeling that there was more to Arin than met the eye, but I would have never guessed what he was up to! Kestrel, unfortunately, wasn’t as interesting as Arin because she seemed rather content with her life of attending parties and engaging in gossip. However, she does occasionally show that she isn’t entirely comfortable with the way her society functions. I just wish that she had been more vocal with her opinions. 

The Winner’s Curse was released in March 2014 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 

Comments About the Cover: I think it’s pretty and love the dress, but am not a fan of the camera angle or the model’s pose.

Review: Dear Killer by Katherine Ewell

From Goodreads: Rule One - Nothing is right, nothing is wrong. Rule Two - Be careful. Rule Three - Fight using your legs whenever possible, because they’re the strongest part of your body. Your arms are the weakest. Rule Four - Hit to kill. The first blow should be the last, if at all possible. Rule Five - The letters are the law. Kit takes her role as London’s notorious “Perfect Killer” seriously. The letters and cash that come to her via a secret mailbox are not a game; choosing who to kill is not an impulse decision. Every letter she receives begins with “Dear Killer,” and every time Kit murders, she leaves a letter with the dead body. Her moral nihilism and thus her murders are a way of life - the only way of life she has ever known. But when a letter appears in the mailbox that will have the power to topple Kit’s convictions as perfectly as she commits her murders, she must make a decision: follow the only rules she has ever known, or challenge Rule One, and go from there.

My Rating: 1 heart 

Thoughts on the Novel: Dear Killer by Katherine Ewell was a book that I wish I could say something redeeming about. But I can’t. And since letters play an important role in the book, here’s my letter to Dear Killer.

Dear Dear Killer,

Your premise was utterly ridiculous as it features a teen serial killer who receives mail from people wanting her to kill others. Though Kit (aka the Perfect Killer) has killed over fifty people (since the age of nine) and it appears that everybody seems to know where her mailbox is located, the police have somehow not yet discovered her identity.

I thought you would get better at some point and so continued reading on. You didn’t. Instead, you remained unbelievable. As further proof, you decided to have the police not even realize that their serial killer was a teenager until Kit tells them so. The police then continue to remain inept by not considering Kit a suspect when she has access to information that only the murderer would know, inviting her to a crime scene in the hopes of her providing them with a fresh pair of eyes to the case, etc. It’s not just the police who is incompetent though but the public at large as well because apparently in your version of London, office buildings lack security and cameras. And don’t even get me started on the idea of someone not reporting the identity of the Perfect Killer after she attempts to kill them but is unsuccessful!

Another reason I disliked you Dear Killer was because you had a main character who I felt completely disconnected from. I didn’t like her voice, and I didn’t like her arrogance. And to top it off, she was a crappy murderer! Not only does Kit not fit the psychological profile of a serial killer, but there seemed to be no real reason for her to be killing anybody. Yes, you talked quite a bit about moral nihilism but do you seriously expect me to believe that weak argument?! Furthermore, Kit hardly prepares for how she’ll commit the murder – basically, she relies on good luck – and when she does so, it seems way too easy. Oh, and then she returns to the scene of her crime!

Finally, I found it seriously creepy and disturbing that you tried to create a romance between a much older cop and a teenager.

P.S. The conversation with Diana was weird!

A novel I wish I had DNF’ed, Dear Killer was released by Katherine Tegen Books in April 2014. 

Comments About the Cover: I like that the background is a letter.  

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

Review: Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

From Back Cover: It was Sloane who yanked Emily out of her shell and made life 100% interesting. But right before what should have been the most epic summer, Sloane just ... disappears. All she leaves behind is a to-do list. On it, thirteen Sloane-inspired tasks that Emily would normally never try. But what if they could bring her best friend back? Emily now has this unexpected summer, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected) to check things off Sloane's list. Who knows what she'll find. 

My Rating: 4 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: After I ended up loving both Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour and Second Chance Summer, Morgan Matson quickly joined my list of contemporary authors I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend. So, I was thrilled when I received an ARC of her newest novel, Since You’ve Been Gone, for review because it shortened my need to wait for its release.

In a well-ordered universe, here are five reasons (in no particular order) why you should get your hands on a copy of Since You’ve Been Gone:

1. The realistic depiction of friendship: I thought Matson did a fabulous job of showing a friendship from a variety of different angles. For example, through Emily’s thoughts, you see Sloane portrayed ideally whereas through flashbacks, you come to learn some of Sloane’s faults. When combined with Sloane's list of dares and the ending, the flashbacks also enable the reader to understand how important their friendship is to both girls.
2. The protagonist: I found Emily really easy to relate to because her personality is similar to mine. The way she reacts and the choices she makes are ones that I could see myself making too if I were placed in the same situation.
3. The slow personal growth: Accomplishing Sloane’s list of dares causes Emily to change in a very natural way, and it’s only at the end of the novel that you realize just how much she has grown over the course of the summer.   
4. The secondary characters: I loved that they seemed like real people and were complex. For example, though Collins is Emily’s friend, he is also simultaneously jealous of her friendship with Frank, his best friend, because it means that he gets to spend less time with Frank.
5. The romance: Although I didn’t completely love the romance because Frank still had a girlfriend when he hooked up with Emily, I did like how it developed. I found the transition from the two being acquaintances to friends to something more to be very nicely paced.

Since You’ve Been Gone was released on May 6, 2014 by Simon & Schuster. 

Comments About the Cover: Besides making me want a scoop of ice-cream, I like that the cover has a fun summer feel to it. I also really like that it emphasizes the friendship aspect of the novel by showing two girls hanging out and looking like they’re having a good time.

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Simon and Schuster Canada) for free.

Mini Reviews: Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend by Katie Finn and The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith

From Goodreads: Gemma just got dumped and is devastated. She finds herself back in the Hamptons for the summer - which puts her at risk of bumping into Hallie, her former best friend that she wronged five years earlier. Do people hold grudges that long? When a small case of mistaken identity causes everyone, including Hallie and her dreamy brother Josh, to think she’s someone else, Gemma decides to go along with it. Gemma's plan is working (she's finding it hard to resist Josh), but she's finding herself in embarrassing situations (how could a bathing suit fall apart like that!?). Is it coincidence or is someone trying to expose her true identity? And how will Josh react if he finds out who she is?  

My Rating: 2.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: When I saw the summary of Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend by Katie Finn, I thought it sounded like a fun summer read. Unfortunately, while it was pretty easy to breeze through Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend, I found the plot twist to be very predictable and Gemma to be incredibly naïve! Considering that she had been lying the whole summer, how on Earth could that she think that her apology to Hallie and Josh would be accepted as heartfelt?! I also wasn’t thrilled by the ending because I assumed this was a standalone – and there’s no reason why it couldn’t have been one – and so was surprised to find a cliffhanger ending which promises more petty drama in the future. 

Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend was released on May 13, 2014 by Feiwel & Friends. 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Macmillan Children's Publishing Group) for free via NetGalley.
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From Goodreads: Lucy and Owen meet somewhere between the tenth and eleventh floors of a New York City apartment building, on an elevator rendered useless by a citywide blackout. After they're rescued, they spend a single night together, wandering the darkened streets and marveling at the rare appearance of stars above Manhattan. But once the power is restored, so is reality. Lucy soon moves to Edinburgh with her parents, while Owen heads out west with his father. Lucy and Owen's relationship plays out across the globe as they stay in touch through postcards, occasional e-mails, and - finally - a reunion in the city where they first met. 

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Having now read three of Jennifer E. Smith’s novels, I’ve come to the conclusion that although her novels have cute premises and are enjoyable in the moment, they’re books that just don’t linger with me. However, though I’ve (apparently) given each book the same rating, I’d have to say that I liked The Geography of You and Me slightly more than The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight and This is What Happy Looks Like because it shows how time and distance can affect people’s perceptions of each other and their relationships. While I liked that Smith realistically portrays how hard it can be to maintain a long distance relationship, I was never fully invested in or sold by the romance of Lucy and Owen.

The Geography of You and Me was released by Poppy in April 2014. 

Review: Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor

From Goodreads: By way of a staggering deception, Karou has taken control of the chimaera rebellion and is intent on steering its course away from dead-end vengeance. The future rests on her, if there can even be a future for the chimaera in war-ravaged Eretz. When Jael's brutal seraph army trespasses into the human world, the unthinkable becomes essential, and Karou and Akiva must ally their enemy armies against the threat. It is a twisted version of their long-ago dream, and they begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people. And, perhaps, for themselves. Toward a new way of living, and maybe even love. But there are bigger threats than Jael in the offing. A vicious queen is hunting Akiva, and, in the skies of Eretz ... something is happening. Massive stains are spreading like bruises from horizon to horizon; the great winged stormhunters are gathering as if summoned, ceaselessly circling, and a deep sense of wrong pervades the world. From the streets of Rome to the caves of the Kirin and beyond, humans, chimaera and seraphim will fight, strive, love, and die in an epic theater that transcends good and evil, right and wrong, friend and enemy. At the very barriers of space and time, what do gods and monsters dream of? And does anything else matter?

My Rating: 4 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: If it wasn’t for the blogging community, I probably would have never read Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone series. Eventually succumbing to the hype, I read both Daughter of Smoke and Bone and Days of Blood and Starlight last year, and have been eagerly waiting since for Dreams of Gods and Monsters.

Since my thoughts about Dreams of Gods and Monsters are pretty scattered and I want to limit the amount of spoilers in my review, I decided to do a pros and cons list. 

Pros:

• Taylor’s writing remains as beautiful as ever.
• While a part of me acknowledges that Karou forgave Akiva a bit too easily, another part of me understands that it was inevitable because peace would only occur between the chimaera and seraphim if their leaders put aside their need for vengeance. The romantic tension between Karou and Akiva was just so good!
• I loved the slow growth of Liraz as a character over the course of the trilogy, but especially over this novel.

Cons: 

• Every time I got to Eliza’s POV during the first two-thirds of the novel, I had to force myself to read it because I knew that she was important. But, I just had an unbelievably difficult time caring about her, and resented her for taking away precious page time from Karou and Akiva. I would have liked to see her importance to the story be revealed earlier.
• The inclusion of the Stelians not only made Jael’s surrender too simple, but also expanded the worldbuilding way too much for my liking. By the end, the focus wasn’t so much on the war between the chimaera and seraphim and its resolution, but on the greater war threatening Eretz. I totally didn’t understand all the talk about the godstars, and was disappointed to not learn, for example, why Akiva is so special, even by Stelian standards.
• Although I thought the person Ziri ended up with was perfect for him, I wasn’t completely sold on the romance because he had been crushing on Karou for pretty much the whole series. It just seemed like he developed feelings for someone else after one interaction with them – an interaction that readers aren't even privy to!

The final book in the trilogy, Dreams of Gods and Monsters provides enough closure so that readers will be satisfied, yet leaves the door open for a possible return to the world of Eretz if Taylor chooses to do so in the future.

Dreams of Gods and Monsters was released by Little, Brown & Company in April 2014. 

Comments About the Cover: It kind of creeps me out, which I guess is okay considering the title.

Review: Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman

From Goodreads: In 1930s Munich, danger lurks behind dark corners, and secrets are buried deep within the city. But Gretchen Müller, who grew up in the National Socialist Party under the wing of her "uncle" Dolf, has been shielded from that side of society ever since her father traded his life for Dolf's, and Gretchen is his favorite, his pet. Uncle Dolf is none other than Adolf Hitler. And Gretchen follows his every command. Until she meets a fearless and handsome young Jewish reporter named Daniel Cohen. Gretchen should despise Daniel, yet she can't stop herself from listening to his story: that her father, the adored Nazi martyr, was actually murdered by an unknown comrade. She also can't help the fierce attraction brewing between them, despite everything she's been taught to believe about Jews. As Gretchen investigates the very people she's always considered friends, she must decide where her loyalties lie. Will she choose the safety of her former life as a Nazi darling, or will she dare to dig up the truth - even if it could get her and Daniel killed? 

My Rating: 3 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Anne Blankman’s Prisoner of Night and Fog was a debut that I had been looking forward to reading since last year. Sadly, while I did think it was a decent read, I struggled to connect with the story for a number of reasons.

First, I had an issue with how fast Gretchen believed everything that she was told by Daniel. I mean, it just seemed like one minute she was a staunch National Socialist and the next minute she was all confused because some stranger – who also happened to be a Jew and therefore someone she would be biased to not believe – tells her that her father was murdered! Oh, and how convenient that Gretchen held on to the shirt that her father was wearing when he was killed so that the plot could be moved along!

Another element of the story that I didn’t like was the romance. Although it was nice that Gretchen and Daniel’s relationship started off with them hesitant to trust each other, I thought it progressed rather quickly. Considering that Gretchen viewed Jews as subhuman initially, I was rather surprised, for example, that Daniel invited someone that Hitler favoured into the house he shared with his cousins after just three interactions!

Lastly, I found most of the secondary characters to be very flat. Although I thought Prisoner of Night and Fog was well-researched, the characters from the Nazi party just came off like names with little personality attached to them. Even Hitler seemed like a two-dimensional character, which I thought was very unfortunate.

Prisoner of Night and Fog was released on April 22, 2014 by Balzer + Bray. 

Comments About the Cover: I love the foggy background as it makes the model’s face in the foreground really stand out. It may be just me, but I think her eyes look a little haunted, which reflects the title nicely. 

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

Review: Split Second by Kasie West

From Goodreads: Addie hardly recognizes her life since her parents divorced. Her boyfriend used her. Her best friend betrayed her. She can’t believe this is the future she chose. On top of that, her ability is acting up. She’s always been able to Search the future when presented with a choice. Now she can manipulate and slow down time, too ... but not without a price. When Addie’s dad invites her to spend her winter break with him, she jumps at the chance to escape into the Norm world of Dallas, Texas. There she meets the handsome and achingly familiar Trevor. He’s a virtual stranger to her, so why does her heart do a funny flip every time she sees him? But after witnessing secrets that were supposed to stay hidden, Trevor quickly seems more suspicious of Addie than interested in her. And she has an inexplicable desire to change that. Meanwhile, her best friend, Laila, has a secret of her own: she can restore Addie’s memories ... once she learns how. But there are powerful people who don’t want to see this happen. Desperate, Laila tries to manipulate Connor, a brooding bad boy from school - but he seems to be the only boy in the Compound immune to her charms. And the only one who can help her. As Addie and Laila frantically attempt to retrieve the lost memories, Addie must piece together a world she thought she knew before she loses the love she nearly forgot ... and a future that could change everything. 

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: With the way Kasie West’s Pivot Point ended, the sequel, Split Second, made for an interesting read because unlike the reader, Addie doesn’t have any significant memories of Trevor. The way the story was written though was never confusing, and for that West needs to be commended.

Although I didn’t love the plot of Split Second as much as Pivot Point because it involved the Containment Committee and the Compound yet never gave us much information about them, I loved returning to Addie’s story due to her endearing personality. Of course it was also great to see her meet Trevor and fall in love with him all over again.

Besides the perspective of Addie, Split Second was narrated by Laila. While I didn’t really like Laila in Pivot Point, she grew on me over the course of this novel because she was much better developed and easier to sympathize with. I especially enjoyed her interactions with Connor, who I think complemented her well. 

Split Second was released in February 2014 by HarperTeen. 

Comments About the Cover: I’m not really a fan of it.

Waiting on Wednesday: Ruin and Rising

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme held by Jill at Breaking the Spine to feature upcoming books that we can't wait to get our hands on. 

Title: Ruin and Rising
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Date of Release: June 17, 2014 

Goodreads Description: The capital has fallen. The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne. Now the nation's fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army. Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives. Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova's amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling's secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction - and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for. 

Why am I waiting? Hello, have you not read this series?! I need to be reunited with the Darkling and Sturmhond!

Review: Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens

From Goodreads: Alexi Littrell hasn't told anyone what happened to her over the summer. Ashamed and embarrassed, she hides in her closet and compulsively scratches the back of her neck, trying to make the outside hurt more than the inside does. When Bodee Lennox, the quiet and awkward boy next door, comes to live with the Littrells, Alexi discovers an unlikely friend in "the Kool-Aid Kid," who has secrets of his own. As they lean on each other for support, Alexi gives him the strength to deal with his past, and Bodee helps her find the courage to finally face the truth. 

My Rating: 4 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: The last book I read that involved the subject of rape was Kirsty Eagar’s Raw Blue, a novel that I gave five stars to three years ago. Although Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens didn’t elicit the same level of emotions in me as Raw Blue, I was still very much drawn into the story.

It took some time for me to realize what the main topic of Faking Normal would be because the synopsis doesn’t state outright what happened to Alexi. As well, Alexi has done her best to block out the incident and to pretend that everything is normal, though her trauma is manifested in other ways like compulsively scratching her neck.

Faking Normal is also about a boy having to come to terms with the fact that his father killed his mother. Known only as the Kool-Aid kid to Alexi at first, Bodee and Alexi slowly strike up a tentative friendship when Alexi realizes that Bodee has seen the scratches she so carefully hides. Over time, the two begin to rely on each other for more support because they don’t have to pretend to be normal with each other.

I loved the pacing of Faking Normal since it wasn’t rushed, and was therefore perfect for the novel. The reader slowly comes to realize what has happened to Alexi, falls in love with Bodee gradually, and learns, eventually, who raped Alexi.

A well written debut, I look forward to seeing what Stevens writes next. Faking Normal was released by HarperTeen in February 2014. 

Comments About the Cover: I think it’s plain-looking and don’t really like the transparent trees.  

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

Review: A Death-Struck Year by Makiia Lucier

From Back Cover: The Spanish influenza is devastating the East Coast - but Cleo Berry knows that's a world away from the safety of her home of Portland, Oregon. And then the flu moves into the Pacific Northwest. Schools, churches, and theaters are shut down. The entire city is thrust into survival mode - and into a panic. Seventeen-year-old Cleo is told to stay put in her quarantined boarding school, but when the Red Cross pleads for volunteers, she can't ignore the call. In the grueling days that follow her headstrong decision, she risks everything for near strangers. Strangers like Edmund, a handsome medical student. Strangers who could be gone tomorrow. And as the bodies pile up, Cleo can't help but wonder: When will her own luck run out? 

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: A Death-Struck Year by Makiia Lucier is a historical fiction novel that examines the impact of the Spanish influenza in Portland during the months of October and November 1918. Since WWI was also occurring at this time, it would have been nice if Lucier had interwoven the effects of the war on Americans a bit more strongly into the story. That being said, I thought A Death-Struck Year was very well-researched, even if it did take me some time to get into the story.

Cleo, the main character, was very realistic. While I had my future planned out as a seventeen-year-old, unlike Cleo, I realized that I didn’t want to be a doctor or a geneticist once I went to university. This insight left me confused about what career path to pursue, and so I could relate to Cleo right from the start when she was complaining to her older brother that she didn’t know what she wanted to do with her life. I also liked that her decision to volunteer for the Red Cross wasn’t impulsive and that she got scared when confronted with her own mortality.

Additionally, Lucier did a really good job of showing how people’s reactions can vary during tough situations. Although many people volunteered for the Red Cross or helped neighbours and strangers despite the risk of infection, others abandoned their sick family members or took advantage of their neighbours’ misfortunes. I would have liked though for the deaths that occurred in A Death-Struck Year to have left more of an emotional impact on me.

Finally, I liked that the romance in A Death-Struck Year didn’t overshadow the plot. The subtleness of it was appropriate and realistic because both Cleo and Edmund, a medical student, were too busy taking care of the sick and dying to spend a ton of time together.

An informative read, A Death-Struck Year was released in March 2014 by HMH Books for Young Readers. 

Comments About the Cover: The face mask makes it pretty memorable. 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Thomas Allen & Son) for free.