Black City

Publisher: Penguin (Putnam)
Pages: 373
Publication Date: November 13, 2012
Type: ARC, won

A dark and tender post-apocalyptic love story set in the aftermath of a bloody war

In a city where humans and Darklings are now separated by a high wall and tensions between the two races still simmer after a terrible war, sixteen-year-olds Ash Fisher, a half-blood Darkling, and Natalie Buchanan, a human and the daughter of the Emissary, meet and do the unthinkable--they fall in love. Bonded by a mysterious connection that causes Ash's long-dormant heart to beat, Ash and Natalie first deny and then struggle to fight their forbidden feelings for each other, knowing if they're caught, they'll be executed--but their feelings are too strong.

When Ash and Natalie then find themselves at the center of a deadly conspiracy that threatens to pull the humans and Darklings back into war, they must make hard choices that could result in both their deaths.

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Similarly to its fellow Breathless Read, Origin, Black City had a lot to love and a lot to hate.  There were a number of things I enjoyed, and a number of things that put a bit of a damper on my reading experience.

It certainly wasn't a bad read.  Some of the concepts were exceptionally unique; despite having many marks of a typical dystopian or vampire novel, Richards took a new spin on a lot of the classics, and I enjoyed watching her world unfold.  The treatment of the Darklings was strongly reminiscent of the Holocaust, but the differences between these two events raised quite a few moral questions.  Because the Darklings are a legitimate threat, does that in any way excuse the despicable treatment?  Do you want the walls to come down, knowing it could end in a human massacre?

There were also a few very genuine moments that touched me, quite unexpectedly.  Oftentimes these occurred between family members, which was perhaps even better; there aren't enough complex familial relationships in a lot of YA fiction today.

And, deep matters aside, one of the greatest things about Black City is that it's what reviewers like to call "intensely readable."  Despite the plot not really picking up until about two thirds of the way in, I never found myself bored.  I wanted to read on, wanted to unravel the mysteries and see what would happen next in this dark, horrifying world.  

Unfortunately, despite its readability, Black City was still a let down in more ways than one.  The writing could best be described as . . . amateur.  It's somewhat understandable, considering this is Richards's debut novel, and there's definitely potential--throughout the novel, there were the occasional flashes of brilliance.  But the overall quality of writing was lower than I expect from a published novel.  

And that leads to my second issue, which is that the characters simply weren't real or likable.  Both their dialogue and actions were awkward and cheesy, more like caricatures than three-dimensional, believable people.   Not even likable caricatures at that.  They were at turns bratty, petty, idiotic, cruel, and a bunch of other negative adjectives that I'm too lazy to list.  I don't mind flawed characters when it's acknowledged that they aren't exactly the greatest of people, but I was supposed to believe that these guys were just the shit, and I couldn't buy it.  

Despite my troubles with the characterization, if the romance--the main plot of the novel--had developed nicely, over a logical period of time, I might have learned to love them.  Unfortunately, the dreaded insta-love struck once again in the form of--wait for it--soul mates. (Soul mates, Blood Mates, close enough.)  The time-tested excuse for a complete lack of any real connection or chemistry.  At one point, Ash tries to give a dramatic speech about why he really loves Natalie, y'know, for her, and all he can come up with are her annoying/endearing physical habits, because there is absolutely nothing between them but mystical lust and pretty words.

While most of this review would seem to indicate a strong distaste for the novel, the fact of the matter is that, when it comes down to it, I enjoyed this book.  Some parts of it irritated me to no end, but it was a quick, entertaining read, and I know many will like it far more than I.  Three stars for enjoyment.

Cold Fury

Publisher: Penguin (Putnam)
Pages: 313
Publication Date: July 24, 2012
Type: ARC, received for review

Jason Bourne meets The Sopranos in this breathtaking adventure

Sara Jane Rispoli is a normal sixteen-year-old coping with school and a budding romance--until her parents and brother are kidnapped and she discovers her family is deeply embedded in the Chicago Outfit (aka the mob).

Now on the run from a masked assassin, rogue cops and her turncoat uncle, Sara Jane is chased and attacked at every turn, fighting back with cold fury as she searches for her family. It's a quest that takes her through concealed doors and forgotten speakeasies--a city hiding in plain sight. Though armed with a .45 and 96K in cash, an old tattered notebook might be her best defense--hidden in its pages the secret to "ultimate power." It's why she's being pursued, why her family was taken, and could be the key to saving all of their lives.

Action packed, with fresh, cinematic writing, Cold Fury is a riveting and imaginative adventure readers will devour.


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If I look at this objectively, I can say that I enjoyed it.

It was fun.  It was interesting.  It was fast-paced and intriguing.  I never forced myself to read on, even through the info-dumps--despite the pages-long barrage of information, it was interesting enough to hold my attention.

And I really, really liked our heroine.  She was courageous, intelligent, cunning, relatable, imperfect.  She was thoughtful and witty, and her commentary on all that had happened--as well as this whole crazy world in general--was a pleasure to read.  Also, she kicked ass.  Yes, she did tend to take the approach of brute strength over reasoning, but it was refreshing to see a heroine who could and did try to handle her own problems.

But here is the problem: despite its marketing, despite the character's ages, I spent this entire novel feeling as though I were reading a middlegrade.

I have nothing against middlegrade.  Not at all.  Some of my very favorite reads are children's books.  But I was told this was YA, and the character is 16, so I came into this expecting a more mature novel.  One where side characters were created with real depth and attention, not made to be one-dimensional stereotypes.  One where the dialogue was sharp and captivating, not impossibly cheesy and unrealistic.  One where the plot was complex and thrilling, with actual stakes and actual obstacles, not a simple, random, tension-less creation where everything always works out.  One where the sixteen-year-old characters acted like teenagers, not elementary schoolers.

Also, while I won't go too in-depth for fear of a ramble/rant, I was very troubled by the way the subjects of bullying, suicide, and depression were handled in this novel.  It seemed as though all of it were created to be a superficial sub-plot, and the author seems to think that this can all be shoved away in an instant.  That someone who was genuinely contemplating killing themself will be A-OK once they find their "purpose" or "fate" or some bullshit like that.  It was yet another thing that stressed to me the overwhelming middlegrade tones in this novel; I know in many children's novels, authors are reluctant to get into the nitty-gritty of issues such as these, for fear that children won't be able to handle it/grasp the gravity of it.  While I disagree with this, I do recognize that it's common in novels aimed at a younger audience.  Since this is a novel geared towards teenagers, I see no excuse.

Overall? It's not a bad book.  It's really not.  The concept was great, the MC was well-developed and intensely likable, and the book itself always managed to hold my interest.  It just did not meet my expectations for a novel in this genre.

2.5 stars.

  

Born Wicked

Publisher: Penguin (Putnam Juvenile)
Pages: 330
Publication Date: February 7, 2012
Type: Hardcover, bought

Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they’re witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave.

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word... especially after she finds her mother’s diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family’s destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.

If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren’t safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other.

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Let me start off by saying this was not what I expected.

When I saw the premise of a novel set in the late 1800s, centered around witches, I expected it to be something ala the Gemma Doyle trilogy--set in a normal historical backdrop, with a fantasy element.  That does not describe Born Wicked.  Quite frankly?  Born Wicked is a dystopian, all the way, from the conglomerate countries that have taken over various parts of the world to the oppressive regime and secret rebels.  This was a dystopian with old speak and habits.

And as a dystopian, it was lacking in several areas.  The world-building was scarce.  Most of it is summed up in a few vague sentences.  We get very little information about the rest of the world, or even about Cate's New England.  I had a very blurry understanding of the setting, and that made it difficult to really place these events or put them in some sort of context.

Also, there was a simple lack of believability.  In this novel, girls are treated like total scum.  In fact, the Brotherhood's teachings center around just how awful and wicked girls inherently are, and how they must learn to be idiotic, docile creatures.  Forget preaching about Heaven and Hell, charity, divine figures, belief in the Lord!  All they preach about, all the time, is the wickedness of females.  Girls are considered useless, foolish, and idiotic.  They must either be engaged by their 17th birthday or declare their intentions to join the Sisterhood.  They are meant to look pretty and sit around, holding teas and gossiping.  If they act in any way that could be deemed scandalous--say, doing something other than looking pretty and gossiping--they can be  convicted and sent to a mental institution or a prison ship.

And even aside from their awful treatment of the female gender, the Brotherhood restricts society as a whole; they've closed the borders, censored books, controlled the post.  

But despite all of this, not once, in the past 100+ years, has their been any previous resistance.  None.  At least not anything the author found noteworthy.  And I simply didn't find that realistic at all.  The fact that no one, in over a century, had staged a rebellion against this cruel, controlling regime?  I simply couldn't buy it.  

Also, I was disappointed in the portrayal of the Sisterhood.  In novels where there's a group trying to rise against the restrictive government, I do like when the rebellious group is portrayed as more than just the wonderful saviors.  I think it's important to remember that it's not a black-and-white portrait, that there are many, many shades of gray.  Except . . . with the Brotherhood and the Sisterhood, it came off as more of a black-and-black, with Cate and those close to her being the only white in sight.  That was a bit of a letdown, because I think a more complex group would've been more realistic, and provided more of a moral conflict.

However, despite what it may sound like, I didn't really dislike this novel.  I quite enjoyed the writing style, despite the occasional hiccup.  It seemed suited to the supposed time period, and had moments of real loveliness.

I also liked the characters, for the most part.  While I wish the antagonists of the novel had been given some more depth, for the most part, the characters were interesting, flawed, and fun to read about.  While Cate did irritate me at times, I admired her spirit and her loyalty, and while at times I wanted to fault her for her selfish choices, I couldn't; because, honestly?  In her place, I can't say I'd have done any differently.  I enjoyed reading through her perspective, and I liked that her relationships with her sisters played such a crucial role in the plot.

The plot itself . . . was slow.  Not much really happened until late in the novel, but despite that, it didn't really bore me.  It was entertaining, even if it was fairly predictable and relied on the age-old plot device of a discovered diary.  The romance was surprisingly enjoyable, despite featuring a love triangle; it really wasn't much of a triangle at all, since there's only one person Cate really has feelings for, and I quite liked him.  Finn was sweet and adorable and he reads.  That's a keeper, Cate. That's a keeper.

While I had many critiques for this novel, when it comes down to it, this was a fun read.  It kept me interested from beginning to end, and I'm curious to see where the next novels will take us.  I would recommend it to fans of the dystopian genre, or to any who just really, really adore a man who reads.

3 stars.

Immortal City

Publisher: Penguin (Razorbill)
Pages: 336
Publication Date: April 3, 2012
Type: ARC, won

Jackson Godspeed is the hottest young Angel in a city filled with them.

He's days away from becoming a full Guardian, and people around the world are already competing for the chance to be watched over by him. Everyone's obsessed with the Angels and the lucky people they protect - everyone except for Madison Montgomery.

Maddy's the one girl in Angel City who doesn't breathlessly follow the Angels on TV and gossip blogs. When she meets Jackson, she doesn't recognize him. But Jackson is instantly captivated by her, and against all odds the two fall in love.

Maddy is swiftly caught up in Jackson's scene, a world of glamour, paparazzi - and murder. A serial killer is on the loose, leaving dead Angels' wings for the police to find on the Walk of Fame. Even the Guardians are powerless to protect themselves in the face of this threat & and this time it's up to Maddy to save Jackson.


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This will be a fairly short review, because I really don't have much to say about this novel.  In fact, my opinion of the entire book can essentially be summed up in one sentence:  I loathed almost every single character, but it still managed to entertain me.


The characters were insufferable.  They were all selfish, annoying, idiotic assholes, or so ridiculously one dimensional that it was impossible to take them seriously.  Maddy and Jacks are textbook examples of a PNR romance, and Maddy in particular fits the Mary Sue qualifications to the T.  She's quiet, thinks she's nothing special, is convinced that her great dashing supernatural hero could never love her, yet everyone fawns over her looks and adores her for no evident reason, and the love interest is completely smitten (and must spend the entire book assuring her of this).  Don't even mention Gwen to me.  If you needed any more of a sign that this novel was written by a male, Gwen is all the proof you could ask for.  I won't go into the details, but let's just say that if real girls said "OMG" as frequently as Miss Gwen, I'd have stabbed myself in the ear long ago.


Honestly, the only character I liked was David Sylvester, because he was just a badass.


Despite hating all the characters, though, it must be said that this novel did genuinely entertain me and demand my attention.  The beginning was a bit slow, but once I really got into this, I didn't want to put it down.  It's not that the plot was exceptionally new and complex, or that there was action at every turn, but something about this book made it intensely readable, and I respect that.  While I really despised this novel's casts, it still was, to some extent, an enjoyable read.


So this one earns 3 stars, and a tentative recommendation.  If you're looking for mindless entertainment and can stomach the typical PNR formula, I'd recommend you give it a try.

Sweet Evil

Publisher: HarperCollins (HarperTeen)
Pages: 441
Publication Date: May 1, 2012
Type: ARC, received as gift

What if there were teens whose lives depended on being bad influences? This is life for sons and daughters of fallen angels in Sweet Evil.

Tenderhearted Southern girl, Anna Whitt, was born with the sixth sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She’s aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but it isn’t until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage, and her will-power is put to the test. He’s the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna.

A cross-country trip to meet her father forces Anna to face the reality that hope and love are not options for her kind. When she confronts her destiny, will Anna embrace her halo or her horns?


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This book was a very quick, enjoyable read, but there were a few things that really soured my reading experience.


There were a number of things that I liked. I liked it's readability; I read the bulk of this in less than a day, constantly shunning my schoolwork in favor of reading another chapter.  I wanted to read on, and I love when a book keeps me invested enough for that to happen.


I really enjoyed the whole concept of this, with the Dukes, the Legionnaires, and the Nephs.  It was fascinating and unique and I loved every glimpse we got into this dark and crazy world.


I liked that family--whether it was the Nephs' parents or Patti--played a huge role in this.  I know I've said as much in several previous reviews, but I really do love when family is actually relevant to a book's plot and not simply shoved aside because they might interfere with the protagonist's doings.


I liked Kaidan despite myself.  I disliked the way he objectified Anna. I disliked his constant mood reversals. But the shallow part of me was attracted to him, and the not-quite-as-shallow part of me gave him a nod for effort.  There's something to be said about someone fighting their rules and their nature to do what's right, or defend what they care about.


Despite this, though, there was one thing that truly bothered me, and that ruined what otherwise would've been an enjoyable read: the messages this book sends.


Slut-shaming.  Scorning/looking with disdain upon/judging other girls because they have big boobs, they wear tight shirts and short skirts, they dare to flirt with the guys around them.  Clearly, they must be sluts and empty-minded, terrible people.  Anna has too much of a conscience to blatantly think something along those lines, but the narration constantly notes and belittles girls for their choice of clothing or behavior.  Furthermore, all the girls who flirt with Kaidan are made out to be lusty airheads.


I hate the message that this sends. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it.  And it's most certainly not just this book; frighteningly enough, I've seen much, much worse.  But diminishing girls because they dared to wear the clothes they wanted and talk to boys? Not okay. Never okay.


And, along those lines, the idea that virginity somehow makes you a pure and beautiful soul.  Anna's virginity is considered disgusting to all the evil, lusty demons; it's suggested that she be deflowered as soon as possible, because this will lead her further down the path to sin.


Um, excuse me?


I'm sorry, but someone's sexual activities does not say anything whatsoever about a person's character.  You can be a fantastic person regardless of how many people you have or have not fucked, and the same thing applies to you being an asshole.  Being a virgin does not make you a beautiful unicorn.


Aside from the disturbing messages, there was also a fair amount of telling, both in dialogue and in narration.  Fortunately, it never became too overwhelming, and didn't seriously hinder the reading experience.  I just cringed a bit whenever I saw a few solid paragraphs of dialogue.


In the end, would I recommend this?  I suppose.  It was an entertaining read, and will certainly appeal to fans of angel and demon lore.  My personal issues with the messages this book contains hindered me from truly enjoying this, but I'll stick around for the sequel to see where it takes us.


3 stars.

The Other Life

Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Pages: 352
Publication Date: May 15, 2012
Type: E-galley from publisher, via NetGalley

3 years, 1 month, 1 week and 6 days since I’d seen daylight. One-fifth of my life. 

Sherry and her family have lived sealed in a bunker in the garden since things went wrong up above. Her grandfather has been in the freezer for the last three months, her parents are at each other’s throats and two minutes ago they ran out of food. 

Sherry and her father leave the safety of the bunker and find a devastated and empty LA, smashed to pieces by bombs and haunted by ‘Weepers’ - rabid humans infected with a weaponized rabies virus. 

While searching for food in a supermarket, Sherry’s father disappears and Sherry is saved by Joshua, a boy-hunter. He takes her to Safe-haven, a tumble-down vineyard in the hills outside LA, where a handful of other survivors are picking up the pieces of their ‘other lives’. As she falls in love for the first time, Sherry must save her father, stay alive and keep Joshua safe when his desire for vengeance threatens them all.


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A quick read, an enjoyable read, and nothing particularly grating, but nothing that stands out as particularly new or exceptional.


This was not, by any means, a bad book.  I enjoyed it.  I liked the main character, who could actually fight for herself and those she cared about.  I liked Joshua, who was a far healthier and more likable love interest than you'll find in many YA novels today, though I was not particularly fond of how long (chronologically) it took them to fall for one another.  I liked the fast plot and tense action sequences, which were most likely why I got through this in less than day.  I liked that family was such a constant presence in this, something of real importance, not something to be brushed aside in favor of a hot romance.


But despite those, there wasn't that . . . spark in this, that extra something that demands my full attention, captures my emotions, convinces me that I am not a reader, but rather an invisible spectator to the fantastic events unfolding before me.  I was never fully invested.  There was the idle hope that things would turn out alright, but that tends to be a constant presence in any book I read, unless I really, really loathe the characters.  In this case, while I passively wished for things to turn out dandy--for Shirley to find her dad alive, for her and Joshua to get together, for all of them to emerge with their livelihood and humanity still intact--I wasn't devastated when things didn't go as planned.  I wasn't elated when they did.  I just couldn't bring myself to care, beyond cringing at Shirley's wounds.  And that, I'm afraid, resulted more from my squeamishness than genuine sympathy.


Also, the concept, while readable and fairly interesting, never felt like anything particularly shocking or new.  It's not that it was especially similar to any one book out there; it's just that I couldn't find any elements I'd never seen before.  While I was intrigued by both the idea and execution of the Weepers, and I enjoyed the setting, it never wowed me.  


And, quite honestly, I think that is the best way to sum up the book in general.  It was a quick, enjoyable read, and nothing more.  Would I recommend this?  Yes, I suppose.  It's short, it's entertaining, and I think many out there might find it far more special than I did.


3 stars.

The Immortal Rules

Publisher: HarlequinTeen
Pages: 485
Publication Date: April 24, 2012
Type: E-galley from publisher, via NetGalley

In a future world, Vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity. 

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten. 

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die… or become one of the monsters. 

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad. 

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike. 

But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.


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I'm a bit mixed on this one.  There were some things that I really enjoyed, and some things that really, really irked me.


On the one hand, there were a lot of positives:  


I liked the honesty of it, that Allie wasn't worshiped as some perfect creature; she was flawed, very much so, and that was acknowledged.  


I liked the romance; I liked that our love interest wasn't even introduced for two hundred pages, and that they didn't spout any instant claims of undying love.  I felt as though they did have genuine chemistry. 


I liked Zeke, though I can't say he lists as one of my top Fictional Characters to Swoon Over.  He was sweet, and thoughtful, but not flawless.  


I liked that Allie could actually fight and take care of herself, unlike the large majority of YA heroines today.  In many situations, she was the one saving everyone's asses.  


I liked that the vampires in this story were actually evil bloodsuckers.  It was refreshing as hell.


And most of all, I liked how very easily I could picture it all.  Though a few scenes were particularly vivid, this entire book panned out before my eyes.  I could see it, hear it, almost feel it, if I really stretched my imagination.  Cheesy as it may sound, I felt as though I were there, watching it all unfold.  That made this a far more engrossing read than it otherwise might have been.


But there were also several things that I really disliked.  I disliked that Kanin was such a token figure, the wise old mentor.  Sometimes, once she'd left him, she'd remember things he'd said, and I'd just sit there and scratch my head and wonder how anyone could talk like that and take themselves seriously.  


For another, Ruth.  I hate that her character was so demonized.  While Allie may have kicked some ass, she was the only female character capable of holding her own.  Ruth? Ruth was not only completely helpless, but she was the cruel, nasty tormentor, the one that's clearly meant to be hated.  She had almost no redeeming qualities.  She was flatly awful until the very end.  There was so much mental hate directed toward her, and every time Allie considered killing her, I wanted to facepalm.  Why, why is it such a terrible thing to have a prominent, likable female character besides your heroine?


My problem with Ruth goes hand in hand with my last big problem: the villains.  They were evil.  They were just evil.  There was no spark of decency, not even an explanation.  Just villains being their typical villain selves.  Making devilish plans, doing terrible things, etc.  Personally, that made it far harder for me to be really impressed or horrified by them.  The most terrifying villains are the ones that I can understand. 

This book was enjoyable.  I liked the idea, I liked some of the characters, and for the most part, I liked the plot.  But there were a few factors that made it difficult for me to enjoy this as much as most readers have.  If you are a purist fan of vampires, and if you like badass heroines, then I would recommend this book to you, but I can't say that it really wowed me.

3.5 stars, rounded down to 3, because I am sick and not feeling generous.

Supernaturally

Evie finally has the normal life she’s always longed for. But she’s shocked to discover that being ordinary can be . . . kind of boring. Just when Evie starts to long for her days at the International Paranormal Containment Agency, she’s given a chance to work for them again. Desperate for a break from all the normalcy, she agrees. 

But as one disastrous mission leads to another, Evie starts to wonder if she made the right choice. And when Evie’s faerie ex-boyfriend Reth appears with devastating revelations about her past, she discovers that there’s a battle brewing between the faerie courts that could throw the whole supernatural world into chaos. The prize in question? Evie herself. 

So much for normal.

Hmm. I have very mixed feelings about this book.  There were some things I really liked, and some things I really didn't.  I'm going to get the things I really didn't like out of the way.

Lend.  He, in this book, was a huge disappointment to me.  He's nice . . . he's sweet . . . he's beautiful . . . and he's utterly boring.  He doesn't even have the charming wit he carried about in Paranormalcy.  He was just this constant worrywart, and I actually found myself dreading the scenes he'd appear in.  The fact is, in real life? Sweet guys are the shit.  They're awesome.  They're great to be around. But in a book? Sweet and perfect and flawless doesn't cut it.  People don't pick up books so they can read about sweet and perfect and flawless.  They pick up books so they can find real people inside the pages, and I never found that with Lend.  This kind of worries me because I highly suspect that the two will end up together in the end.  I hope not, but I suppose I'll just have to see.

Arianna.  I just never felt her as a genuine character. It seemed, to me, like she was a very intentional filler.  Something for Evie to fret over when Arianna was in one of her moods, more ammunition to make Evie hate the faeries, a way to raise deep moral dilemmas.  It just felt so manufactured and intentional, especially when Arianna came and told Evie her story.  I never connected. I didn't find any real emotional depth with her and her struggles.

And finally, Evie. Believe me, it gives me a sad to put her on my list of dislikes.  And it wasn't that I disliked everything about her; she still had her awesome and adorable and kickass moments, and they were great.  But that Evie from the first book . . . I never really found her.  It was like all the excitement and wonder had been stamped out of her and all that was left was a constantly self-doubting girl who could do nothing but either fret over Lend, fret over whether or not she was a monster, or suspect/hate the faeries.  While the last two certainly merit fretting, I felt like I was caught in this constant loop of angst, reading the same dilemmas over and over again.  And while I still like the whole idea behind Evie using "bleep," because it's cute and there's an explanation, if I have to read "Oh, bleep" one more time I am going to go listen to a Lil Wayne song.

But! To the good!

Something I really liked was that I think Kiersten did a much better job in this one of carrying across a sense of seriousness and urgency and darkness when the plot demanded it.  This book was able to make me feel like there were real stakes (no pun intended) and real problems and a bunch of really fucked-up things that could happen in this world they live in.  I was really happy about that, especially with scenes like the spotting of the Dark Queen and Evie's discovery of who she is and the whole fiasco with Jack.  I did like, to a certain extent, that Paranormalcy was a lot cuter and lighter than most stuff on the market today, but I can't deny that I was glad to see Supernaturally up the ante, so to speak.

Besides that, the thing that I really loved was the moral gray area.  There were a lot of moral dilemmas in this story, and I loved that.  We have Reth, the amoral faerie, who has done tons of horrible things.  Yet, the truth of it is, he cares about Evie, and as he said to her, he has her best interests in mind.  Yes, the way he cares about her isn't how a human would care for another human, and yes, his idea of her best interests is rather different than hers.  But he is fighting his very nature to try and help her, and I love it.  I think he is one of the, if not the, most interesting characters in this series. I hope there'll be lots of him in Endlessly.

Then, we have the faeries in general.  The whole problem they pose.  They do terrible things, right?  They're a danger to the human race, aren't they?  Wouldn't it be safer for the world as a whole to send them into hell?  But then . . . is it entirely they're fault?  Aren't they just acting as they were made, doing as their situation dictates?  No, they are not good creatures and they're not doing good things, but can you really blame them?

It was really intriguing to read, and it genuinely made me think about the problem this poses.  Would it be better to send them in to hell and save the rest of the world from their antics, or is it worse to doom an entire race just because they do as they were made to do?

And finally, Jack.  I liked him, the little douchebag.  Not in the way I like love interests; I liked him because he was interesting, and because I felt for him.  Because he does a lot of awful things, but just like with Vivian, he was this broken, manic kid, fueled by revenge, nothing left to him but the idea of hurting the creatures that had tormented him his whole life.  I'm excited to see what Kiersten does with him.

So, yeah.  Some things in this were done excellently, some not so excellently.  However, this is a middle book, and I have faith in Kiersten.  Here's hoping Endlessly's interior will be as fabulous as its cover.

3 stars.

Timeless

When tragedy strikes Michele Windsor’s world, she is forced to uproot her life and move across the country to New York City, to live with the wealthy, aristocratic grandparents she’s never met. In their old Fifth Avenue mansion filled with a century’s worth of family secrets, Michele discovers a diary that hurtles her back in time to the year 1910. There, in the midst of the glamorous Gilded Age, Michele meets the young man with striking blue eyes who has haunted her dreams all her life – a man she always wished was real, but never imagined could actually exist. And she finds herself falling for him, into an otherworldly, time-crossed romance.
 
Michele is soon leading a double life, struggling to balance her contemporary high school world with her escapes into the past. But when she stumbles upon a terrible discovery, she is propelled on a race through history to save the boy she loves – a quest that will determine the fate of both of their lives.

This book had the misfortune of being my first book after The Fault in Our Stars.

I don't believe my overall opinion of this book would've been any different than it is now had I not read The Fault in Our Stars prior to reading this.  I still would've loved and been bothered by the same things.  But there wouldn't have been such a level of disappointment, because all I could think when I started was This is not The Fault in Our Stars. 


I got over this eventually.  Focused on this book and just this book.

It's not a bad book, really.  The time travel concept is very interesting (although, since I am a huge huge fan of time travel, I am a bit biased).  Michele did not follow the common trend of bitchy female MCs who constantly take out their angst on others.  Family played a huge role in this.  The song lyrics were lovely, but the songs themselves were even lovelier--I got the CD along with the book, and both Bring the Color Back and Chasing Time are absolutely gorgeous.  And, most importantly: the setting was freaking awesome.  The descriptions of New York City in the early 1900s made me ridiculously happy.  I loved seeing it in all the different eras, and as far as I know, Monir did a very good job of being historically accurate.

I saw all it had going for it, and despite the iffy start (which was also tainted by the aforementioned disappointment) I was starting to really like Timeless.

And then the insta-love.

Now, hear me out.  Michele and Phillip are not the worst star-crossed lovers you will find in YA fiction, not by a long shot.  They are both decent people, for one; their relationship does not involve stalking/abuse, for another; and I think the whole song-writer/composer combination works well.  But despite that, there was very little chemistry. Certainly not enough chemistry to justify them falling desperately in love with each other after talking to each other for less than a few hours.  Certainly not enough to make Michele swear she'll never fall for another boy for the rest of her life if she can't have Phillip after knowing him for days.  I'm sorry, but that's just not how it works.  They may be infatuated with one another. They may have even begun to really like each other. But love is not something that can just appear, something that can just magically form between two people who scarcely know each other.  Love is when you know another person as well as yourself, not when you've seen a beautiful boy in your dreams for years so the instant you meet him you decide it is true love.

Also, the characters didn't do anything for me.  I think a big part of this was the dialogue; it was cheesy, shallow, and unrealistic.  None of the characters came off the pages.  They were all very flat and distant.  Despite a very sad event that happens early on in the book and causes much grieving for the rest of it, I never once felt the slightest bit upset.  There was simply no connection.

The plot was pretty simplistic; there was no real climax or sense of urgency because there was no villain or anything of the sort.  It was simply Michele trying to rescue her "beloved."  Still a quick read, though--it's only 280-something pages.

I'm giving this three stars because of the things I liked, mentioned above (primarily the NYC settings).  However, I would only recommend this to someone who can stomach the insta-love and just try and appreciate the awesomeness of New York City's golden age.

Oh, and buy the CD.  You won't regret it.

3 stars.

Cold Kiss

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

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

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

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

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

I liked this book a lot more than I thought I  would, but was still very let down by a few aspects of it.

The writing was lovely.  I'll say that right off the bat, because that was one of the things I really, really liked. You all know I'm a big fan of lovely writing.  It was lyrical and powerful but never strayed into over-written.  It drove the whole story and made it so much easier to connect to Wren and all the crazy things she was feeling.

But Wren herself I was a little iffy on.  Sometimes I loved her, sometimes I wanted to slap some sense into her.  I loved that Garvey didn't try and paint her as the perfect heroine,  how Wren acknowledged that she was selfish and reckless and just generally terrible at making decisions.  I loved that I could feel everything she was going through, all the pain and confusion and regret and loss all bundled into one small, powerful girl.  I loved the way the power was just sort of a part of her, and the way Aunt Mari had explained it; like electricity, and they simply knew how to tap into it.  

I didn't love how she swooned for the hot new guy as soon as he came on the scene, despite the fact that her dead boyfriend was still in her neighbor's garage.  I didn't love how she strung Gabriel along, using him but then freaking out at him for trying to help.  I didn't love how she asked the stereotypical heroine question about three times--"Why do you like me?"

You may notice that all my dislikes of her revolve around Gabriel. That's because my main problem with the book revolves around Gabriel.

I think this book could've been really, truly beautiful if he did not exist.  If it was not about sending Danny to heaven because a hot boi came along, but simply about Wren and Danny and their past and their present, about Wren coping with the loss of his death and the knowledge that he never really came back, about her reconnecting with her friends and her family and her life.  So, yeah, maybe the little teen fangirls thirsty for fresh blood (no pun intended) would've been disappointed by the lack of a supernatural hot guy.  But the genuine book lovers? The people who can appreciate a good story? No. Not at all. Not the slightest bit.  This book still had some depth to it, but not nearly the amount it could have had if Gabriel simply did not exist.

It's not that I hated Gabriel.  He was better than a lot of PNR guys that girls fantasize about.  But he was also the stereotypical hot, brooding, falls-for-the-girl-the-instant-he-sees-her even though she's "nothing special" love interest that we see far too often these days. He had his moments, but the two of them moved far, far too quickly, and I never felt their chemistry like I felt Wren and Danny's.

The flashbacks with Wren and Danny were lovely.  By the time the book is coming to a close, the reader has a very strong feel for Wren and Danny's relationship, and it was adorable and sweet and real.  I genuinely felt that she loved him and he loved her and her without him was like a puzzle missing a crucial piece.  The only thing I did not like was a quote at the very beginning of the book, where Wren talks about how her relationship with him became her entire life, and then how "that's the kind of love they write movies about."  This was not actually true--she didn't just shun her friends and family while she and Danny were in a relationship, we learn later.  But that is what the prologue said, and it really bothered me. Because no, that is not the kind of love they write movies about. That is not love at all. When one boy becomes more important to you than the family and friends you've known for your entire life, that is obsession, and should not be dressed up as anything else.

The only other thing that bothered me in this book was that the whole dad thing was never wrapped up.  I seriously respect Garvey for writing a stand-alone PNR, because these days that's almost unheard of. Most of 'em like to milk the cash cow for all its worth.  However, there wasn't any explanation as far as Wren's dad was concerned.  It's one thing to have an open ending and another to explain nothing whatsoever.

I debated between 3 and 4 stars for this one.  Settled with 3, but it's more of a 3.5.  It's a good read with good writing, just could've been a lot more powerful.

3 stars.