Review: Enchanted

Enchanted by Alethea Kontis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I absolutely LOVED this book. Love love love. I could seriously not put it down once I started it. The storytelling was fab, I adored the way Kontis weaved in other well-known fairy tales and created her own out of them, and Sunday was so lovable that I just wanted to squeeze her.

Also, can I just say, STAND-ALONE!!! It was a stand-alone! No sequel to read, no series to complain about, it ended! Guh, love it!

Alethea Kontis needs to keep writing and writing and writing because I could just read this kind of thing forever.

I had two minor problems with the book - the timing seemed off, and the characters got confusing. It felt like the book was taking place over several weeks, but in actuality, according to the days mentioned periodically, it was only about one week. Too much was crammed into that one week for it to be coherent, but hey, it's magic. The names of the girls drove me nuts, not because they were the days of the week, but I had a heck of a time remembering which was which. I kept getting Saturday and Sunday mixed up, and Wednesday kept popping up when I didn't think she was even in the room. I kept reading Seven as a number and not a name, and when Monday and Thursday were brought up I had to remind myself they were married and absent. Also, what the heck was up with Rumbold and Thursday? That never really got explained, which was a shame, because I would have liked to have seen more of that backstory.

Putting this one back on my shelf of keepers, and making a plan to re-read again someday.

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Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Why did I wait so long to read this? What an excellent debut novel!

I truly enjoyed just about everything about this book (even and except the photographs). The photos were helpful and creepy at the same time. In the beginning they really freaked me out, especially the one of the "monster" and the ones of the children, but as the book went on they really illustrated what was happening and gave me an image in my head to focus on as I followed along with the story.

The book starts off chillingly enough. The reader quickly understands that the monsters Abe (Jacob's grandfather) is talking about are real - not just Nazis but something else. I think Jacob realizes this as well, subconsciously, but just refuses to believe it. While he may long for an extraordinary life, he is used to the mundane and doesn't quite want to think that his grandfather's stories are true.

But the monster he sees in the woods after he finds his grandfather is real enough, whether he is talked out of it by a psychiatrist or not. And the idea of that monster was enough to give me the creeps. I was actually expecting a lot more of a horror book, but it quickly turned into a creepy fantasy, which is much more my speed and made me very happy.

I don't want to give anything away for those who haven't read it yet (I know several of my friends have this on their To Read list and I don't want to ruin it for them), so I will just say that the twist at the end involving the bad guys really was well-done and unexpected. Never in a million years would I have seen that coming!

Recommended to everyone who can handle a little bit of monsters, a little bit of creep, and a lot of great writing and storytelling. I've seen comments about a second book and a movie (holy cow), which would be awesome, but even if it were left as a stand-alone I would be completely satisfied with the ending.

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Review: Behind the Throne

Behind the Throne by Chad Denton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: I was sent this for free by the author.

Behind the Throne is a great look at the power that came from queens and mistresses in European history. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about people I never knew had existed, and the power they held in relation to their kings and the people around them. It is disconcerting to know that many of them died with ruined characters or despised by the people and/or their families. Some of them, luckily, were beloved until the end.

Since this book lacked a serious copy-editor, I believe that it could be much better if given a good clean-up. I strongly urge a publisher to give it the attention it deserves, as I really enjoyed reading it and would love to see it out in a formal format. Note to Chad: If you want help editing, I would be glad to do it ;)

If you can get your hands on it, give Behind the Throne a shot.

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Review: Love on the Run

Love on the Run by Katharine Kerr
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This series just gets better and better! In the 4th installment of the Nola O'Grady books, Nola is yet again fighting back against the forces of Chaos and those who would harm her family.

Here is my unapologetic disclaimer: I love Katharine Kerr's works. At least everything that I've read, anyway. I don't think I've ever been disappointed. There, I've said it. Maybe I'm biased, but I really LOVE this series. I can't get enough of Nola and Ari! It's a fun adventure with a lot of serious thought-provoking themes and ideas. The book doesn't take its vague genre seriously, and the frequent mention of psychic squids makes me giggle. I love it at the end when Nola gets so tired of seeing them that she orders calamari and eats it in front of the apparitions, making them nervous, and then blows the squid-smell at them until they go away. HI-larious!

THERE ARE SOME MINOR SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT

After someone tries to kill Nola's sister Maureen on the night of Nola's engagement party, she is thrust into further danger on the deviant world levels. Traveling between One, Three and Six, Nola and Ari investigate the collapsing of the gates, the murder of a TWIXT agent, and Maureen's ex-boyfriend who has a vendetta against her for leaving him. Trying to balance her family's outrageous problems, her relationship with Ari, and all the action on the deviant world levels could make a normal person go nuts. Nola, on the other hand, sure knows how to handle herself.

I did a beta read of this book before it was published, and there were definitely some noticeable changes and improvements. I appreciate knowing how Cam and everyone else know that their Nola is dead. It was heartbreaking to see them realize that our Nola was not the same person, and yet Cam's denial was more genuine this read. The timing problem for me, where I wasn't sure how long a time span this was all happening in, was fixed and definitely made much more sense. Now I can see it takes place over a period of a few weeks, as opposed to what I couldn't tell were days or months.

Overall, this is yet another fantastic installment of a great series I can't get enough of. I highly recommend it to all fans of fantasy, urban fantasy, even mystery. It has just enough action, romance, humor, and thoughtfulness to get you through. If you haven't read from the beginning, start with License to Ensorcell.

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Photos: My Library Takes Shape

My reading corner

Chris and I moved into our new house a couple of months ago, and while we still haven't completely gotten our stuff organized, things are starting to come together.  Since it's just the two of us (for now), he took one of the three bedrooms for his office, and I took another for my library.

The shelves don't match, they are overflowing and double-stacked in some places, the books are completely unorganized, and I have yet to spend any real time in there doing what I intended to do, which is read.  But it's starting to feel like a cozy reading room, with my Aunt Mary Chair (also known as "The Ugly Chair"), which came from, you guessed it, my Aunt Mary.  It has this great pink fabric with birds all over it.  It matches absolutely nothing in my house, and I love it.

My mother suggested I have the chair reupholstered when I first took possession of it two years ago, as Chris and I moved into our apartment.  I balked at the idea.  "Reupholster it?  What's wrong with it??"  As if the garish fabric was the most beautiful thing in the world.  I think it's beautiful for several reasons: first, it came from my Aunt Mary, whom I loved dearly (and still do, even though she is in the great beyond).  Second, I'm a sucker for pink, and birds.  (Slight OT moment here - have you seen Put a Bird On It?  Chris showed me this video.  I didn't think it was as hilarious as he did, but I totally think of it now whenever I look at my chair.)  Third, it is a unique piece of furniture with a great background, and the fabric just works for it!  Yeah, this thing isn't going to get reupholstered anytime soon.  Funny thing is, my mother now agrees with me.  *sly smile*

Messy corner of the library

You've noticed on the chair is a white quilt.  Well, that was a housewarming surprise from my parents (Mom?  Was Dad involved?  Who knows.  Haha).  See, my mother told me when the lace from her wedding dress didn't really work with my veil, that she was just going to throw the thing out because it's ugly anyway.  This made me sad, because I love my mom's dress.  If I were a size two, I would have worn my mom's dress.  Alas, she was a skinny-minny when she got married, and I was not.  But I digress.  Instead of throwing away her gown (which I remind you, I love), she sent it off to be turned into a quilt.  Sewn together with some other fabric are pieces of the lace, and the satin (I think it's satin, I'm not up on my fabrics) from her dress.  Yes, my heart almost exploded from happiness when I opened it up and saw what it was.  Since I don't want it to get ruined, for now it will hang over my Aunt Mary Chair.  Hmm...I wonder if this corner is going to turn into the "things I cherish" corner...

Anyway, back to the library.  The next picture up there is of the other side of the room, kitty-corner to the reading corner.  The bookcase on the right is Chris's, and is full of his books, and the one on the left is mine, and is also full of my books.  The bottom shelf is empty right now because I moved a lot of the larger books to the bookcase by my chair, and to the bookcase in the living room.  I also got rid of a bunch of books (some by accident, but I guess if I haven't read them then I probably never would have), so there is some empty space for me to stretch the collection out a bit.

Eventually the plan is to have matching shelving, with the shelves all around the walls.  For now, it'll do.  I feel quite calm when I walk into that room, which is helped by the great window that takes up about half of the back wall and looks out on our back yard.  We got some really nice curtains for cheap for that room, and I like to point out how much I paid for them every time I give a tour ($5 in the clearance bin at Boscov's.  I know!).

In the living room I have my barrister's bookcase and the built-in that came with the house, both of which are pretty full of my special books and classics.  I hope to one day (soon) get the library organized and archived, so that I know what I have and what I'm missing.  I am still missing a few of my favorite books, but they've been missing through three moves so by now I'm sure they're gone.  I will replace them, someday.

It's nowhere near Belle's library in Disney's Beauty and the Beast, but it's mine.  And I'm happy to have it.

Just a few things.

I'm starting to feel like I'm reading the same book over and over again, so I've given up on YA for now and have moved back into adult fiction. Right now I am reading Madame Bovary, Janeology by Karen Harrington, and will hopefully be starting Dan Simmons' latest, Flashback, soon.

I am also working through my feelings of frustration at reading, because as much as I was enjoying the YA fiction I had been reading, there was a lot I was angry and annoyed with (see previous posts).  It got to the point I wasn't happy reading it anymore, because I just couldn't keep seeing the same old thing.  Even Delirium didn't live up to the hype I'd heard.  Maybe it's just disappointment, but I am starting to feel like there aren't a lot of great books coming out.

The fact that I have Flashback in my possession makes me giddy, though, because Dan Simmons is in my top five favorite authors of all time.  As a "grown-up" I find I'm more able to handle the horror aspects of his novels, so I'm really looking forward to getting into those books.

In talking with a writer friend, it was mentioned that I helped her fix some problems with her latest work, which really felt good.  She sent me a signed copy of the book, and I noticed that I'm mentioned, along with several others I know, in the acknowledgments.  That made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  I love being able to help writers, probably because I've lost sight of my own writing and long for a way to participate in the culture of authorship.  Maybe I should go into proof-reading, or editing, or something along those lines, because it's a great feeling knowing that when an author needs help, I can help, even if it's just with something small.  Since I haven't read the edited version of the book, that's something I'm excited to do once I finish Flashback.  My signed copy will go on a shelf, though, since I already bought my own on its release day.

I'll try to do more of this kind of post, and less of the reviews, since I have a feeling the reviews are boring people and I really wanted to get into how books fit into my life/how I mold my life around books on this blog, more than reviews.  As always, if you or a friend have a writing project and need an outside eye, I'm always here and ready to help.

Review: The Selection

The Selection by Kiera Cass
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

ARGH ACK I DON'T WANT ANOTHER SERIES!!!!! *FLAIL*SPASM*TWITCH*

...Now that that's out of my system...

Seriously, I thought this was a stand-alone until I got to the end. Grr! So tired of authors who are completely incapable of wrapping things up!

...Now that THAT'S out of my system...

I really REALLY liked this book. So much so that I really REALLY wanted it to end with the first book. I don't want to have to wait until next year for book two, because this SHOULD have ended here. HERE. Not next year. NOW.

Yet again, my YA gripes have presented themselves. 1: series. 2: I have no idea what ANY of the characters look like. "Beautiful" does not tell us what they look like. 3: Love triangle. Both boys are sexy. Both boys like her. Both boys are complete opposites.

This review isn't very positive, even though I liked the book a lot. That's because I liked the book a lot and wanted to, you know, read the end. The "danger" was introduced very briefly and unsatisfactorily. I never truly feel that anyone is in danger, even if they're hiding in an underground vault, or behind bulletproof curtains. Aspen popping up at the palace was so predictable it was laughable. Of COURSE there's a girl there who's a megabitch and yet gets to stay anyway. Of COURSE Maxon doesn't see that she's a megabitch, because these morons never do.

Note to author: FINISH THE DARN BOOK. I want a conclusion, not a TBC! I get that there's a lot of money to be made on a series, especially for formulaic YA novels, but come on! This is a one-volume book at best.

But really, I liked this a lot, even if it sounds like I didn't. The writing was fun (albeit lacking in real technique), the story was fun (despite its predictability), and the only thing that could have ruined the entire thing for me that I'm really glad didn't happen was megabitch being a spy and turning in Aspen and America (America? Seriously?). I'll probably pick up book 2, and be even more disappointed when it turns into a book 3...and I will continue to perpetuate the cycle... If you don't like waiting for sequels, then just don't read it until next year and you're golden.

Oh and in case anyone's wondering...Team Maxon. Just sayin'.

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Observations on YA

As you can tell by all my recent reviews, I've been deep into YA fiction the last few weeks (months?).  There's so much coming out that I want to read, it seems like the genre has experienced an explosion and I don't want to miss anything good.  However, with all the reading does come some observations:

1. YA authors don't like to describe the main characters.  I first noticed this with Twilight (yes, I read book 1).  Bella isn't really described - we don't truly know what she looks like.  When all the snark started, many commentators speculated it was so that the reader could put herself into Bella's character and imagine that Edward was in love with HER.  The more YA I read, the more I think that's true.  I don't have a clear image of Cassia from Matched, or Eve from Eve (unless you count her red hair), or even America from The Selection (currently in progress).  The authors say "She was beautiful with long/short/wavy hair."  Great.  What does that even mean?  I think it's time for YA authors to take a class together on descriptive narrative.

2. Apparently, there can't be just one book.  Every book is "(Title) Chronicles Book 1" or what have you.  I love series as much as the next person, don't get me wrong, but can I please read a stand-alone?  Does every story really need to be told in 3, 4 or even 5 parts?  Another course suggestion: Conflict Resolution in 500 Pages or Less.

3.  Teens apparently only like reading about romance amid danger.  Think about it:  Juliette from Shatter Me loves Adam, and together they must brave the dangers of the Re-establishment.  Eve loves Caleb, and together they must brave the dangers of the king and his soldiers.  Cassia loves Ky, and together they must brave the dangers of their dystopian society.  Anyone seeing a common theme here?  I remember being a teen girl, and I remember how much I LOVED boys.  But I hardly wanted to read about loving boys ALL the time.  Course suggestion: The Inner Workings of Teen Girls.

4.  YA authors don't understand the concept of Sci-Fi.  I've read one good SF book for teens: Cinder.  Yes it's a series.  No, Cinder isn't exactly described very well.  Neither is Prince Kai.  Neither is anyone else for that matter.  Yes, there is a love-conflict.  But you know what?  It's REAL SF!  It's not just two teens falling for each other in a futuristic world where technology only comes into play when they're talking about what they're doing.  Cinder is a cyborg for crying out loud!  Most of the book is heavily focused on technology, interplanetary struggles, and other SF themes.  It's great!  I really wish that more YA authors, who are using futuristic technologically advanced worlds would do something more with it.  Make it more SF.  I know, if there are teens and even adults out there reading stuff like Cinder, they want more of it.  Course suggestion: SF Themes and How to Expand Your Horizons.

That's about all I have for now, although if you have more to add, feel free to comment!

Review: Cinder

Cinder by Marissa Meyer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a great beginning to what looks like an exciting trilogy. If you've read The Snow Queen and The Summer Queen, you will recognize a great attempt at world-building and technology. You will also notice a similarity in the main character to reject then accept her "fate," or rather what path her life is going to follow.

***THERE ARE A FEW SPOILERS BELOW***

Review: Eve

Eve by Anna Carey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Eve was good, not great, but good enough to keep me reading through the whole thing. The fact that school becomes a dangerous place for Eve in the beginning sets up a very interesting premise - women used as breeding fodder to repopulate the earth. Only it's not a natural breeding - they are implanted with embryos and then forced to spend the rest of their lives strapped to gurneys, giving birth every 9 months to God knows how many children. I wish there had been a bit more information about that, such as how many children they gave birth to at a time. There was mention of a "litter" and their stomachs being unnaturally bloated with children, but were there multiples in there? How many? Will we find out in the second installment of the series?

OK, here's my gripe: Why is it that every single YA book that comes out now is suddenly part of a series? Are YA authors unable to write a one-book story? Is it impossible for them to resolve a story in one volume? I honestly thought Eve was a stand-alone until I got to the end, at which there was no end, and saw the ad for Once in the back of the book. Really? I really thought this was going to be a stand-alone with a resolution at the end.

End of gripe. I guess it's the new "thing" today. Oh well.

***There are a few minor spoilers after this point***

Review: Crossed

Matched by Ally Condie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There are no real spoilers in this post, fear not!

I wouldn't call this great fiction, nor even great YA fiction, but it was definitely something I really enjoyed reading. It started off a little slow. I still don't know what any of the characters *look* like. I'm left with blank faces in my mind, which can get irritating. But I'm finding this is more and more common among YA writers - don't describe the characters, let the readers see who they want to see. Is this beneficial? I'm not sure yet.

What I am sure of is that this book really sucked me in. I started and finished it in two days (one day I was super sick and the second day I stayed up until after 11pm to finish, and I'm usually in bed by 10 because of my early mornings - yes I am an old fart). It was engrossing from start to finish, I wanted more and more and more. What was going to happen between Cassia and Ky? Was she going to kiss him in the end? Would it destroy her world? What exactly was going on between Cassia and Xander? Was Xander only in love with her because of the Matching? Was Ky? AAHHH!!! So many questions!

This was certainly YA dystopian fiction, and it was good stuff. I didn't enjoy it as much as some of the other YA dystopian fiction I've read, but I definitely liked it a heck of a lot more than Shatter Me, which made me want to throw up. (Hmm...maybe that's why I was so sick on Saturday after finishing it the day before...)

I'm looking forward to the next book, even if the reviews are less-than-stellar. I'm really glad I gave this one a shot, because the last one I read (Shatter Me) left me with a bad taste in my mouth for YA fiction - it was depressingly bad, and this was definitely an uplifting book in the sense that it brought me out of my YA funk and back to the real world of books. Yay!

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Review: Shatter Me

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I have wanted to read this for months. MONTHS. I placed a hold on it at the library finally when I wasn't having any luck getting it through BooksFreeSwap. It sounded SO GOOD. Sure the concept was familiar (Rogue from X-Men, duh), but it sounded like it had been done completely differently.

Well, my eagerness and excitement was disappointed. The strikethroughs throughout the entire book put me right off. The stream-of-consciousness style writing was done very poorly. And in the end, everything happens just a little too easily, and remains unexplained in every way at the conclusion of the book.

**SPOILERS BELOW**

Review: We Need To Talk About Kevin

We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Finally finished! This book was FANTASTIC by the end but so incredibly boring for such a long time. I wish like crazy this had a better first 2/3 but it really didn't get great until the last 100 pages or so. The end was heartbreaking and cathartic as we find out exactly what Kevin did and how he did it. Read it, but be prepared to hate a good chunk of it.

7/30/2012 - OK here's the real review after I've had some time to digest. There are spoilers in this post.

It took me FOUR MONTHS to finish this book. That is how badly I hated the first 300 pages. I was determined, after having it sit on my desk for so long with people asking me "Oh what's this about? It looks so interesting!" that I was going to finish it, come hell or high water. And I finally did, last night, as I lay in bed determined to get this book OFF of my "Currently Reading" list.

Review: Darkness Rising by Peter Koevari

Darkness Rising by Peter Koevari
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this book by the author to read and review**

A great continuation of the story begun in Prophecies Awakening, Darkness Rising is book two of the Legends of Marithia series. I actually enjoyed Darkness more than Prophecies, because the story seemed to flow a bit more coherently. It is clear that Mr. Koevari took into account the feedback from the first book and used it to his advantage in crafting a much more put-together story.

In Darkness, most of the book revolves around the characters getting ready for the upcoming mega-battle between Shindar and his vampires and skeleton warriors, and Vartan and the forces of elves, dragons and humans. While that can sound boring, it was actually done pretty well. The war was always in the back of my mind, because everything that was happening was based solely on that war. Vartan's training, and all of the information he received from the dragons, helped the reader see why and how this war is being fought.

I had only one major problem with this book: there were a LOT of grammatical errors. They were made the same way throughout, however, which suggests that it is just a misunderstanding of how exactly punctuation plays a major role in the structure of a sentence. I would suggest having a proofer go over and correct the manuscript, just for the sake of continuity and clarity.

After reading this book, I am definitely looking forward to seeing how the war ends, whether Vartan activates Talonsphere or someone else does, what happens to his marriage with Helenia, and the fate of the Marithian people and the world.

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Review: Prophecies Awakening by Peter Koevari

Prophecies Awakening by Peter Koevari
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this book by the author to read and review.**

Prophecies Awakening is a great start to at least a duet of books. It had its ups and downs, but overall was an entertaining read.

There were some high points, such as the character of Tusdar. He provided the few moments of comic relief, which were welcome among such dark scenes and ideas. I also appreciated Vartan's character development, but wish there had been more to it. There is mention of him training with the dragons, but no expansion of it. In one chapter he is clueless to magic, in the next he knows how to do a ton of stuff. Magic is awesome, but how did he learn it?

Many such instances of skipping-over happened in the book, which I minded but not *too* much. A scene between the Elven Queen and one of her soldiers, in which she kisses him and then apologizes for it, struck me as odd considering she had just lost her husband, whom she had seemed to love so much. More interaction and development between the two characters would have been welcome there. Also, many things seemed to happen very quickly. I'm left wondering just how long it was between the night the prince killed the king, to the night of the climax battle. There was mention at one point that Kassina was days away from the elves' home, and yet it seems like only hours later her army is at their doorstep. Some time context would have been helpful. Dialogue was also a bit stilted and formal for some of the situations the characters were in. Just loosen up the tongues a little bit (use more contractions, add in some dialect) and it would have had a much better flow.

Sorry to start with the negatives - overall, I am left with a pretty positive feeling on the book. I enjoyed some of the character development but feel like I wasn't given enough time to "bond" with Aidan and Tusdar. The world building was pretty interesting and I'd like to see more of it in the next book. I wish I had a better picture of the cities in my head, though, because I'm left with images from Lord of the Rings movies to fill in the blanks, and they don't seem right. I also saw some parallels to Star Wars (at least with the market full of off-worlders - just rang bells in my head), and even to Katharine Kerr's Deverry series (considering how dragons can turn human and vice versa - in her books humans can turn into dragons through a very old and difficult spell). I could definitely tell that Mr. Koevari has thoroughly immersed himself into the fantasy genre in his reading, and that is appreciated.

This book was a quick read (I finished in one day) and, while it wasn't perfect (so little fantasy is these days), it was a good story, had a good amount of action, and kept me interested until the end. It also sets up very nicely for the sequel. Although I'm not usually interested in vampire fiction, this wasn't quite that. There was enough other fantasy that I could believe the vampires fit in it, and it was worked in in an interesting way. I would recommend this to other fantasy readers who aren't looking for high fantasy, but instead a good battle story with interesting characters and a complex world.

(On Goodreads I gave this 3 stars out of 5, because that is what "I liked it" represented. On Amazon, it gets 4 stars out of 5, because that is the equivalent of "I liked it.")

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