Quicksilver by R.J. Anderson
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I don't even know where to start with how utterly consumed with bitter disappointment I am about this book.

It just took all the bad bits from the first book, but amplified them, with no amazing ending to cover them up.

So, let's begin. I don't like Tori, the MC of this novel. I found her cold, distant, hard to relate to and generally unlikeable. She just had this brash, rough manner about her that grated me up the wrong way. I'm guessing that was perhaps what the author intended, for her to be a hard, untrusting, serial liar that is at times, more than a little bland. You can get away with those kinds of characters when they're not carrying the story, but Tori's the Main Character. How are we supposed to engage with someone who just makes it so damned easy to not like them? Then, towards the end, just when I think she can't get any worse, she goes and does something so ridiculously annoying, I very nearly stopped reading right there. It's just a desperate attempt to get attention. The boy she likes found out her entire life is a live, he leaves, and Tori just so happens to pick a spot right near where this boy runs, at exactly the time he runs, to end it all. Then admits she did it a little bit on purpose, with absolutely no regard to how it's going to affect the other person, just guilt tripping him into liking her again, at least that's what it seemed like to me. Considering her personality up till that point, it was totally out of character.
And like Alison from Ultraviolet (I'll get to her in a second), Tori spends an unbelievable amount of time talking about herself (which would be ok if she had anything interesting to say) or trying to hype up a threat that has no real presence, nor any real hint of danger, over and over again. Just a vague threat in the background, the only purpose it's serving is to give the illusion that there is some kind of plot going on here. Of which there isn't. The reason why she has to keep reminding us is the story is so blah, with nothing exciting going on, that it's easy to forget that there is any kind of threat.

Anyhoo I'm getting ahead of myself. Back to the characters. Ok, so Tori's an irritating robot with barely any personality. Now on to the others. I'm not even going to bother with the equally bland, plus stupidly stereotypical Asian boy, whose strict parents want him to be a doctor when all he wants to do is teach kids PE. Did I mention he wears glasses?...


SPOILER ALERT!!!






So, shockingly enough, Sebastian returns. Big surprise, yet in transit he seems to have gone through a personality transplant, as the person who appears is nothing like a Sebastian from Ultraviolet. The author has quite successfully rearranged him into weak, suspicious and cowardly husk, in no way resembling the charming, slightly awkward, but generally agreeable guy we got to know in the first book.

And then there's Alison. Oh. My. God. PEOPLE THAT ANNOYINGLY PATHETIC SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO EXIST. Even when she's not directly involved, when it's other characters talking about her, they make her sound so spineless, and just...WEAK!!! Not only that, but they ladle on the pity with a bucket. It's all 'oh, poor Alison', 'she's so brave', 'she's been through so much, more than any of us could ever imagine, yet she'd such a trooper,'. Look, I get she's been through stuff, and it's going to have an effect, but there are ways of getting people to sympathise with a character without making them so fragile that it's like they're made of glass and if someone so much as looks at them, they'd shatter.
Then we hear from the girl herself, though it's through an email, or 'letter' as they insist on calling it. Jeez, the girl is 17 yet she sounds like an old person from some bygone era. Then she's digging for sympathy too, going on about how delicate she's feeling, how paranoid, how much pain she's in, but the way she says it makes me want to throw things at her. SPEAK LIKE A NORMAL PERSON FOR FUCKS SAKE. What teenager sends an email, sorry 'letter!!!!' to her friend saying, 'He held my gaze steadily as he said those words, and his voice didn't waver'. Who would say that?!! She just comes across as so pathetically tragic. Good grief, it's I wonder the girl can stand up, what with having no fucking spine!!!! I just couldn't sympathise because I was busy trying to control my rage.










SPOILERS OVER

So now on to the plot. I've already mentioned the author was trying to make something out of nothing. I felt no real threat of danger from either of the bad guys, no sense of urgency with what they were doing, because most of the time I didn't know, as the plot peppered with technical junk that I couldn't give two shits about. Basically there was no need to write a sequel, yet I imagine the publishers pushed her to do it so she had to come up with something, but ultimately missed the mark by miles. She basically seemed to have no idea where to go.
It was quite messy in places too, jumping about all over the place, some parts poorly explained, at least to me. A lot of the time the characters appeared to be talking about stuff that they didn't feel inclined to fill me in on. There was also a lot of having to explain actions and motives, which were overly complicated, but without them, quite honestly, I wouldn't have got them otherwise, they were so tenuous and round-about.

Then we have the ending. Bare in mind, that I've been waiting for the same kind of gob-smacking, crazy, brilliant twist that there was at the end of Ultraviolet. So it's get towards the final chapters. Everyone's running around doing stuff. I'm not really sure what, or why because it's all jargon and words that may as well be written in a foreign language for all the sense they made, but they seem pretty panicked and nervous about the whole thing. Then lots of stupid things happen in rapid succession, one after another, each more outrageous and dumb than the last. But no matter how hyped the characters are, when you get down to it, it's an uninspiring and anti-climactic ending. A wet fart of an ending, if you like. Then it gets all cliched and B-movie-esque and I started skipping bits. Apparently though, all of the characters are able to forgive each other, even when they've been lied to, betrayed, used, ignored and been unbearably stupid/irritating. Woop-di-do what a nice neat little ribbon everything has been tied up with.

Oh, hell, I really wanted this to be good. But it's just not.

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Angelfall by Susan Ee
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Didn't finish this, which is a shame as I've been waiting for this to be released in actual book form for ages. Yes, I was mostly drawn in by the cover (as I think a lot of people probably are) but the story sounded pretty interesting too.

It's not.

The writing was pretty average and in some places quite amateurish, which I would expect from a self published ebook, but not from a book picked up by a big publisher, but I guess they just wanted a piece of the action and by action I mean money.

There was just no excitement. The plot just plodded along, dragging it's knuckles and grunting every now and then. I very rarely not finish a book, but I don't read that much any more, so my patience runs out so much faster when my attention isn't grabbed within the first few chapters. In fact I didn't just not finish, but I gave up halfway through a chapter, halfway through a page!!! That's just crazy!!!

Plus, I can't say I was overly fond of the characters. They were dull and blah really. The love interest was glaringly obvious. The author wasn't very good at subtlety. Gah!!!! I'm having real trouble with trying to get out what I mean, but the main character just came across as stupid because she kept questioning her motives, when it was obvious that at some point the revelation would come that actually, he's an enemy, but 'oh, how I love him so!!', blah, blah, blah...After they had teamed up, the first night they spent together, the angel dude actually gets up in the middle of the night and cuddles up next to her, which made no sense because they're ENEMIES!!!! No effort was put into building the relationship, it's like the author wanted to get to the lovey dovey stuff as quickly as possible.

And the mother?!!! WTF?!!! How was she not committed?!!

Yeah, so, not good I'm afraid. Which is a shame because the cover is very pretty. This then, is a lesson in that we shouldn't judge a book by it's cover!!! Or by it's Goodreads rating. I honestly don't understand why so many people love this.

Ok, my review is crap, but that's because it's poo and I just can't be arsed to write any more. However there are a truck load of 1 star reviews that explain PERFECTLY ALL THE THINGS THAT ARE WRONG WITH THIS BOOK!!! So go read them!!!

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Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This started off really strongly. I found myself eager to get home from work, collapse in a chair with a nice cuppa and immerse myself in an interesting plot that looked to be a real corker, characters with a sense of humour and splendidly witty and slick writing. Unfortunately though, this one seemed to suffer the same affliction that is affecting many in the YA book world at the moment. That is that they have all the right elements there ready and waiting to become something special...then it all gets thrown out the window in favour of the generic teen drama.

In this one all we have to do is substitute the high school for a training academy type set up and you've pretty much just got an episode of High School Musical, except with less singing and more magic. It stopped being about the mysterious Fold, a blanket of darkness dividing a nation, or the threat of war from neighbouring countries looking to take advantage of any weakness. No, instead we have balls and trying on dresses and bitchy classmates. There are even different cliques. All the Summoners sit with the summoners, all the fabrikators (or whatever they're called) sit with, yep, you guessed it, the other fabrikators. I was all ready and fired up for a compelling story, but what I got was somewhat lacking. Watered down shall we say.

OK, that all sounds quite harsh, but that's only because I'm not doing a very good job of hiding my frustration. It wasn't that bad. It's just I get pulled in by something, my interest piqued and then it all fizzles out like a firework in the rain. I feel cheated. It might be because I'm getting a bit bored of the whole 'normal girl discovers she has magical powers and saves the world, with a bit of room on the side for romance' type scenario. A situation that could be rectified if I were given a proper exciting story with which I could sink my teeth into and characters that I can engage with, not ones that I want to shake in a attempt to wake them up so they realise there are more important things going on in the world other then clothes and boys.

Sigh, I am probably being a bit too mean, but I can't help it. I glimpsed so much potential in this book. I'm just disappointed it didn't get the chance to shine as it should have.

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Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

OK, so if I was to have given this book a rating halfway through, it would not have been 4 stars as it was a real muddle. As far I could see there was no real plot, beyond the fact that Bitterblue was trying to unravel and uncover the secrets left behind from King Leck's (her father) reign.

Which is fine, I do love a bit of mystery and secret unravelling, but the things Bitterblue was investigating seemed to have no real correlation. Nothing seemed to connect or fit together which made me wonder why Bitterblue was investigating them to begin with. They were just plain random and there seemed to be no real starting point for where Bitterblue could begin her investigations and she ended up just going round in circles. Plus there was the fact that everyone seemed slightly unhinged. Which was a triumph if the author was trying to give the impression of a castle full of people not quite all there and poor Bitterblue stuck in the middle. It worked. but it made for a rather confusing narrative. Paragraphs would jump from one subject to another, conversations too would make little sense, though at times it seemed that the characters knew what they were talking about even if I didn't. It made the whole experience confusing and very hard to follow. But again, if we were supposed to be experiencing events as Bitterblue, then the author got it spot on, because I knew exactly how she felt. I had no frickin' idea what was going on, most of the time.

But then about halfway, there was a breakthrough, a wonderful and deeply satisfying breakthrough. Mysteries began to come together and resolve themselves. Plots that you thought bore no relation to anything, suddenly found themselves making sense, and linked in perfectly with other elements of the plot. The conversations still puzzled me every now an then, lots of instances when Bitterblue would be thinking one thing, but then say something in a completely different vein. There was much head scratching as I tried to figure it out. There was also a strange insult involving whether or not someone's child would be born with ears...yeah, that still makes no sense to me at all.

If the author had intended to confuse the crap out of us, so we could empathise with Bitterblue and the madness left in her fathers wake, to then reveal all in that wonderfully gratifying way, then, my hats of to you Kristen Cashore, you executed it perfectly!!! I shared so my of Bitterblue's confusion, then her pain and sadness when certain truths came to light.

Bitterblue herself was a character of depth and emotion. Of all Kristen's heroines, she is my favourite, with the right mix of characteristics and traits to make her believably human, her wish to believe in the people she surrounded herself with but also the ability to do the right thing, no matter how hard, was incredibly endearing. The poor girl goes through a lot, but never in that self pitying way. She struggles through, and we the reader, along with her. She has guts and gumption by the bucket load, but thus is perfectly offset with a vulnerability and a need for her life to be filled with the people she loves, yet still be able to let them go when she has to. Her drive to do something with her life and to right the wrongs done by her father truly make her a wonderful, delightful and inspiring character to read.

By the end of the book, I was well and truly hooked. When the threads came together they created something quite marvellous. This is, in my opinion, Kristen Cashore's best. I loved Fire, thought Graceling was OK, but Bitterblue was something else all together. I just hope that whatever she gives us next, whether another in this series (yes please XD) or something new, I hope she does it soon!!!

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Innocent Darkness by Suzanne Lazear
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

*headdesk* Why oh why do I do this to myself? I knew about halfway through that this was going to be one of those books that I was going to regret reading, but did I stop reading? Nope! That's because I still have this ridiculous need to reach the end of a book in the vain hopes that the story will get better, the characters will be less annoying, that it will stop being so gosh darned feeble and tedious. BUT THEY NEVER DO!!!

To be fair this book started out ok. It was never going to be amazing, or knock my socks off, but it held a certain amount of promise. I was intrigued by the Steampunk/faerie mix, two genres I enjoy and hoped would work well together. And they did for a while. Then all the other stuff started getting in the way.

The plot was nothing special. Headstrong girl unwilling to conform to social standards gets in trouble. She gets sent to an institution full of stereotypes, from the mean girls out to get anyone they see as a threat to the evil teachers deluded into thinking their way is what's best for everyone when in fact they're just plain psychotic. There was even a pervy doctor for crying out loud. This cast of completely unoriginal characters then do their up most to quash all of the things that make the girl 'special'.

Then we have the faery element. A sacrifice of a girl possessing a 'special' quality so that they can lavish her with wonders and trinkets, make her feel like a princess then kill her to restore the balance of the world. Guess who the lucky girl is. The rest of the book is spent twatting about not actually telling a story. Rather it turns into the Kevighn-Noli-Steven show, the plot taking the back seat to the inevitable love-triangle. Oh goody.

That being said, the plot might not have been too bad, if it hadn't kept being so over the top and forced. The author just seemed to be trying too hard to shock, rather than taking the time to build an atmosphere or explore a situation.

And the characters!!! Utterly generic. The main character had promise, but by the end she had turned into one of the simpering ninnies she was trying so desperately to avoid. The last third of the book she spends hurt, upset or crying. Most of the time all three. What happened to the strong girl who liked to fix machines and didn't want to end up a mindless drone? Enter the love interests. As soon as the males vying for her affections had been identified, it all went tits up. There was endless prattling on about out which one was better, which one should she choose, which one was the least dickish. Even when she made her choice, 100% and completely decided which one she wanted, she still faffed about, even though she declared that she had made up her mind. A. Nnoy. ING. I don't give a rats ass who, just PICK ONE GODDAMMIT!!!! The worst part is it's a split narrative, meaning we have to hear from the boys point of view, which included hearing about how amazing she is, how much they want her, how much they want to protect her, blah, blah, blah.

By the end of the book the girl has absolutely no spine left whatsoever and is more than happy to let one of her boys shower her with affection one moment, then push her away to next (most of the time literally). Then she lets him do it, all over again. Now, she says she will ignore him, that after trying to tell him how she felt and getting it thrown back in her face, she won't let him toy with her emotions anymore. Literally two sentences later she's letting him pull her into his lap for a hug. But it's ok, she doesn't help him pull her into his lap, she makes him do all the work. Thatta girl. You stand firm!!! Oh yeah and then she starts crying. What a shock.

Her characters are also all stupid. For the sake of the story, there are things they don't think of or miss, so it can be revealed as a big plot twist later on, but they are so glaringly obvious they just come across as feckless idiots. How many times did they repeat, 'be careful when making deals with the fae'? but they missed out one of the most important terms of their bargain, even though they apparently went over all the points in theirs heads over and over. They still missed it. How stupid can you get? There was also a lot of fobbing off in the narrative. A lot of cliches thrown in, a botch job at covering up the holes in the plot, so the author didn't have to try to explain inconsistencies. Some examples were lines like, 'I was trying to protect you' and, dammit I can't remember any more. That's how quickly my brain wants to be rid of this book.

There is also the fact that the ending just kind of fizzles out. A solution is reached in rather lack lustre fashion, again with more stupidity on the part of the characters, the lead in particular, but it just carries on...and gets really stupid. Plus, for some reason, the author refused to stop writing about a character when his part in the plot was over long before the ending. The only reason he remained was most likely to retain the 'excitement and drama' of the love triangle. As it had already failed to begin with, there was absolutely no need to follow the continued escapades of the man who lost. Especially when he just ended up in a brothel.

Then it turned into a seedy porn fest. Nothing up to 'Fifty Shades' standards, but it was just unnecessary and cringe-worthy. Not all females want or need soft porn in their books to enjoy them. I did NOT need an chapterly update of the goings on in the main characters nether regions.

The overuse of the word 'dollymop' made me want to hit things.

Oh heck, there's more, but that goes against my non spoiler giving principles. Heaven forbid I ruin it for you just in case you still decide to pick this up.

Suffice it to say I shall not be reading the further adventures of Noli the insipid.

Wow, that was harsh.


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Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I should hate this book. It has a plot based around relationships of a particularly fluffy and cutsey nature, it was predictable, cliched, over-dramatic BUT I LOVED IT!!!!! In fact even while reading, I was thinking to myself, 'I shouldn't like this. This is just the sort of book I try to stay away from' but there was just something so charming about the whole thing, that I just couldn't help myself. I freely admit it. Me, who usually hates anything overly sentimental and tacky (not that this was tacky in any way.)

This book reminds me of those girls you used to know in school. You know the ones. Not only were they popular, beautiful, intelligent, athletic, they had to be just so gosh darned nice. No matter how hard you tried, no matter how much you wanted to, you just couldn't hate them. Not that I wanted to hate this, but you know what I mean. It didn't matter that the revelations, betrayals and drama were glaringly obvious, Perkins managed through her approachable writing style and witty characters, to make it impossible to resist. I couldn't hate it even if I wanted to. Like a snuggly duvet, I dove in and let it wrap it's soft cuddleyness around me.

Even the constant to-ing and fro-ing, will they/won't they, Ross 'n' Rachelness of the relationship I enjoyed the most, that butterfly in the tummy feeling of waiting for the moment that you hope will come, that you hope will be amazing and worth it and be everything you wanted it to be.

The plot? well ok there wasn't much of one beyond the growing closeness between the two leads, but what there is in the way of distractions compliment the story. I found myself being drawn more to Anna and Etiene's backstories, how each had found themselves in a school for American kids that just happened to be in France, romance capital of the world. Speaking of France, the way the author described Paris actually made me want to pack my bags and leave immediately. In fact sod the bag. And I don't even really like France (too many trips as a child). Her Paris was quaint, charming, oozing in elegance but above all beautiful.

A few gripes remain though. Etiene's 'Briticisms' threatened to distract me from the story on a few occasions, but being written for an American audience, it is understandable that the author would play up the 'Englishness', but still, I know that pissed means drunk. I haven't read a lot of UK YA authors, but I'm not sure there would be quite so many 'buggers', 'sods' and 'wankers' and I honestly didn't realise that American girls loved Brit boys so much. Is that actually true? Other than that there was little to displease.

So, yeah it was girly and smulchy and romantic, but sometimes that's just what we need, to believe in fairytale romances, that relationships that seem to good to be true could really exist. Why? for the simple reason that they ignite that glowy place in our tummies that makes us feel happy and ok with the world. And we know that these kinds of stories aren't real, but where's the harm in a little day-dreaming? So the drama is heightened and the scenarios are unrealistic? This book made me feel all warm and fluffy in my cold stone heart that is allergic to romance of the gag-worthy kind. And there is a little part of me that hopes that maybe, somewhere out there, there are people experiencing something like this. I even might envy them a little bit...but not much XD

The only reason it got 4 stars instead of 5, was that though they didn't get in the way of my overall enjoyment, there really were a lot of cliches!!! But that's what made it so much fun!!

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Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Wahhhhh why? Why Maria would you do this to me? I love your books, all of them (though admittedly some more than others) but this?!!! I cannot speak, I am too overcome with all consuming disappointment....

...ok I'm done now. So that was a little over-dramatic and ever so slightly misleading. This book wasn't bad, in fact to most people this would probably prove to be a really worthwhile and rewarding endeavour. For me alas, this book held nothing new. I have read it before. It was called Poison Study, and was the authors first and best book to date.

The similarities are unfortunately many, from almost carbon copies of a number of characters to relationships developing in much the same fashion. For example, in Avry we have a new Yelena, Valek has been renamed, Kerrick. Even Ari and Janco (can't remember his name) make and appearance as Quain and Loren. As much as I liked the characters in Poison Study, I was hoping for something new, in fact I was expecting it, as the author has never let me down in the past.

Then we have the relationships. We have comradery of the dominantly male group, which harks to the bromantic affections Ari and Janco show to Yelena. The most notable similarity though, lies between the two leads. They begin hating each other with a passion (which was way too forced), then once they to get know each other, inevitably and unsurprisingly, feelings start to change. Shock!! There was one difference between this and Poison Study on the relationship and that was that I saw this blooming admiration coming a mile off. There was no subtlety, the characters quite stupid in their obliviousness to their feelings and of each others. Which was to say, devastating, as one of the reasons I loved Poison Study so much was the unpredictability of the relationships.

Not everything in in these two books was the same (as mentioned above). Where Poison Study had a plot that was both engaging and exciting, Touch of Power was sadly lacking. All they did was wander about and camp in caves. Every now and then they would get into some spot of trouble, but before long, they would be back to camping in caves. What we did see of the plot was brief and rather unsatisfying. I feel that if we had stepped away from the characters for two seconds, it could have been promising, but instead it was just a bit odd and random. Hopefully more will be explained in later volumes.

There was also a rather Mills and Boonish feel to the whole thing. A certain cheesyness that I found difficult to ignore. What with Kerrick and Avry's relationship being blindingly obvious, there was also a bit too much 'damsel-in-distressing' for my liking, which was at odds with Avry's personality. The end especially, when we are introduced to a fellow who pretty much wants to own Avry, claim her for himself, mostly just so Kerrick couldn't have her. It was just a bit bodice rippery, not in a graphic 'fifty shades' kind of way. I mean the guy pretty much brainwashes her into wanting him, controls her with his magic so she is powerless to resist him. And he's such a control freak. He goes ape shit when she doesn't wear the dress he picked out for her. What?!!!! I spent most of my time rolling my eyes whilst reading and truthfully, I'm finding it hard to explain exactly what it was that didn't sit well with me, without giving too much away (I fear I may have already said too much). The whole thing just seemed too contrived and pandering to the assumption that all females have fantasies of being dominated and rescued whilst pretending to be strong and feisty. Oh yeah, and the bad guy kept calling her 'my dear'. All. The. God. Damn. Time. It got VERY ANNOYING.

Everything was a bit too stereotypical and there wasn't much in the way of originality. It may seem like I am being way too harsh on this, but it's only because of how highly I rate Maria as an author. It is killing me having to say these things. Her stories usually inspire and shock and delight, but this one did none of those things, mainly because it held no surprises. If you are undecided as to whether to read this, I would say that if you have read Poison Study, then I wouldn't bother, you will find nothing knew here. If you haven't, then go read that instead!!

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Tempestuous by Lesley Livingston


This was a book that I wasn't in a huge rush to get to. I read the last two a while ago, and this one's been sitting on my TBR pile for a loooong time. I read it mainly because it was bugging me and it was preferable to the alternative. In the end, I liked it. It was ok. It didn't blow me away and the writing could be a little clinical and simple at times. Don't get me wrong, I can't stand overly poetic and flowery prose that spends three pages describing a door handle, but I need something more than a list of stuff that is happening. The author also had a habit of repeating herself, but I do that too, so I am willing to overlook it. Don't want to be a hypocrite now, do I? XD

Still, there was always a lot going on, it was relatively engaging and wraps up the series nicely. I started to get a little bored of the whole 'will they, won't they', Ross 'n' Rachel-esque relationship between Kelley and Sonny, which, by the way, remains one the the worst character names I have ever come across in literature. I mean come on, I can't take someone seriously if they're called Sonny!!!! It's a name right up there with Patch from the Hush, Hush series, which I think we will all agree takes the trophy for THE WORST name in the world books. Anyhoo, characters. It just didn't have me feeling all squiggly with glee as other book relationships have in the past. Plus there was a slightly pointless attempt at a love triangle which didn't really need to exist but still, as everyone else is doing it... There would be moments as well when the characters would feel a little flat to me, but then other times when they were actually quite funny and charming, so...

It's one of those books that I can easily see people loving. I have to say that I didn't LOVE it personally, but I did like it. It certainly didn't bore me, the finale in particular was pretty fun!! So you should probably give the first one (Wondrous Strange) a go, if you haven't already.

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Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh, it has been so long since I have been able to give a book 5 stars. But this is one that has most definitely and comprehensively earned them.

Good fantasy is easy to come by, great fantasy less so. This is, in my opinion one of the greats, for far too many reasons for me to write here, but I will share some of them.

Firstly there was the story. What a story. Full of bleakness and despair, hope and light, and so much emotion and spirit that I couldn't help falling into the world the author had created. It felt so alive, capable of twisting and turning in ways that left me reeling. There were so many peoples, so many cultures and somehow she was able to paint such detailed portraits of each with so few words. And that's the real marvel. It's not a long book, nor is it a series, yet the wealth of detail is miraculous. There were no gaps in the narrative, no moments of head scratching. I worried in the beginning as in the first few pages it felt as if I had turned to the middle of the book, but as I read, the author revealed her story through her characters. As each appeared, a new piece of the puzzle would fit into place. She paced it beautifully as it felt neither hurried nor stagnant. I have read authors who have tried to attempt the 'slow build'. They could learn a thing or two from Marchetta on the perfect execution of a well told tale.

And her writing, oh my. Lyrical without being ridiculous, but with sudden bursts of humour that had me snorting. Though there is so much sadness in this story, there is a balance. The humour is quick and sharp and delightful to read. One part in particular, as I wasn't expecting it sent me into a fit of giggles. Quite possible one of my favourite lines from a book ever. I will let you discover it for yourselves. Then through all the pain and suffering came the rewards, the parts that filled me with pure joy and warmth, for her poor characters really did deserve some happiness.

The most important part of this story though, and the part executed with the most loving care and attention, were her characters, the marvels that they are. Finnikin was a lead who was not afraid to show fear, but was not a coward. Nor was he looking to be the hero. He was honest and charming and the kind of character an author dreams of writing. Then there's Evanjalin. A ruthless and sometimes evil soul who was always on the path to good, she is a character of so many conflicts, but she was never confused as to what she was. A strong but broken girl that had pieced herself back together, so she could do what needed to be done. She wasn't a simpering brat, desperate to prove her worth and be worshipped for her selflessness. Yes, she had been through horrors, but somehow Marchetta made it impossible to dislike her for her unwillingness to share her ordeals, which can often times come across as forced, a character seeking pity so people would love and cherish her more. That wasn't Evanjelin, mainly because she just got on with the task at hand, no matter what it was.
If I could, I would mention the entire cast, as there are so many memorable characters, but that is the problem, there are just so many! All with stories and personalities of their own that Marchetta somehow managed to squeeze in amongst the dazzling unravelling of a fantastic plot.

Oh, boy. There is so much more I could say, but you'll just have to trust me and go read this yourself, so you can discover the things I have not said.

Quite simply I loved this book. It has everything I look for and more and will be one I hope to be able re-read again and again.

I seemed to have gushed quite a bit!! But it's just SO GOOOOOOD XD



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The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This isn't an easy one to review. As a whole, I did really like it. I loved the Latin influence in the invented cultures, all the place names etc, that was a nice touch. As well as this, all the right components were there, brilliant and engaging plot, characters I either wanted to hug or punch, effortless writing, seemingly this book has it all. Yet there is something niggling at me.

I think the easiest way to explain it is that the book feels like a trilogy in one volume. There are three parts and each is very different, from settings and characters to tone and atmosphere. Thinking of them as separate bits of the same story helps me figure how I feel about the book. The issue really is with the first and second part as these hold the most differences.

Part 1 is my favourite. She introduces her story and characters marvellously. I started reading late at night and though trying to go to bed, I would start the next chapter without realising because I was completely drawn into the story from the very first line. It also helps that I do love bit of palace intrigue!! XD The relationships that are built up in this part are wonderfully done and just how I like them, especially the romancey bits. Slow but not painfully so, rather they tease and tantalise leaving you wanting more. I was so invested in everything about the story that when part two came along, it was a bit of a shock, like a pie to the face.

Part two involves not just a rather dramatic setting change but also an almost entirely new cast. I will admit that I was little disappointed in the direction the author took. It's not that it was bad. There were still the same high standards of writing etc as in the first part, the new characters were well developed and believable and the story still engaging and exciting. So really it's just that I wanted more of the palace stuff and maybe there might have been a possible romantic interest in the first part that I really, really, really warmed to. It was the way she was leading up to it, it was sooo gooood!!! Deepening friendship, meaningful glances, growing respect etc all things that I love as I watch a relationship unfold. But in part two, we are introduced to another romantic interest, but this time there is none of the unhurried build up and for the male at least, the attraction is instant, which is no fun at all. I think it's safe to say that I am a big fan of the chase, rather than the end result. But I need to stress again, this is just my preference and others may have no problems with the changes in the story. The book is GOOD and I can understand the need for the second part as it is conducive (if that's the right word) the the development of the main character, Elisa.

Speaking of, my what a delightfully likeable and endearing character she is. Her battles with her body image are treated with equal amounts of sensitivity and humour, with a part in particular involving a young boys honesty that made me chortle!! I can find no real fault in her at all. The author has succeeded in creating a multi-dimensional character who can convincingly portray naivety, fear, courage and love with vast amounts of realness and genuineness, making her a wonderful narrator.

Lastly, part three took us back to the palace, and though still good, just felt a smidge rushed. It was refreshing reading a book with a proper and actual honest-to-goodness ending, but which entertained the possibility of more. This is most certainly a world I am eager to return to.

Also...PRETTY COVER!!!! XD

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Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Well, I'm glad I didn't go all the way to America for this. That would have been a huge chunk of money wasted. What a load of blah. Firstly I got confused as to the setting. In most cases, when a book contains some deadly virus-plague thing that slowly wiping out all humanity, I automatically think Dystopia. But when they started going on about steam carriages and corsets, I figured I was wrong. I know Steampunk can be set in an alternate future, but most of the time they hang about the Victorian era, where they belong. Also referring to the city they lived in as 'The City', also didn't really help. Don't get me wrong I like a bit of mystery, but at least let me know if we're in an alternate reality or not. That could be one of those silly things that just bugs me. I am aware that I am fussy.

Then there was the fact that the whole thing was told not just in the first person, but also in the present tense, which meant that we were finding things out when the main character did. Unfortunately the snag there was that no-one seemed willing to tell her anything. Sometimes she'd take it upon herself to ask a question, but then for some inexplicable reason, wouldn't (that was actually used in the book). Then you'd finally think they were going to tell her something and there'd be a distraction of some ilk and they'd forget all about it. Which wasn't annoying at all (it was, I'm being sarcastic). It really stunted the pace of the book, not that there was anything going anyway, but still, nothing was happening, really slowly. What did happen was lots of cliches I can imagine the author just shoving in willy nilly because she wanted a Mask of Zorro-esque scene with all the sword fighting and dress slashing, goddammit and no-one was going to stop her. That's the only explanation for it I can think of because THERE WAS NO REASON FOR IT, IT MADE NO SENSE AND WAS STUPID!!! Not to mention being pong-wiffy with cheeseyness.

And don't even get me started on the characters. E-gads. They just got worse and worse as the book progressed. The main character was a complete contradiction to herself and couldn't decide whether she wanted to be vulnerable or strong. She ended up being neither, rather a simpering self centred attention seeker (not in a show off kind of way, more in a woe-is-me I'm so alone and misunderstood kind of way) who wanted to play the hero but when it came down to it always managed to wheedle her way out of it. Other characters (mostly male) kept telling her she was brave, but I'm sorry, I saw not one shred of evidence of her apparent heroics. They must have been saying that just to get into her pants (and by that I mean undercrackers). All she did was moan about how no-one cared about her, ramble on about how guilty she felt over her brothers death and generally wallow in self pity. It's a wonder she got up in the morning. On that topic, it was mentioned that she was suicidal but apart from a couple of mentions, to me she didn't really come across as someone wanting to off herself. She just whined. A lot. The two male leads for just funny in their stereotypical-ness (not really a word but it'll do).

I'm not even going to talk about the god awful love triangle (or not much anyway), because I'm eating dinner while writing this and I don't want to up chuck into it. Suffice it to say there was lots of to-ing and fro-ing, sappy lines, denial and 'it meant nothing's' usually in the space of a few sentences. Yay

There'd also be random bits that were quite graphic and disturbing that felt a bit out of place.

Did I mention the main character was annoying...I did? Well, she really, really was. I think it was the fact that she was so spineless that got to me. There are just too many strong, female leads in the world of literature that there's just no room for self-centred girls like Araby...I've forgotten her surname, that's how much I didn't care about her or her problems.

I usually try to find a positive, but I can't even say the writing made up for everything. It was pretty basic and kinda obvious, just a series of lists describing things or events in rather unimaginative fashion.

I was originally going to give this 2 stars, but during the course of writing this I've changed my mind. So, sorry. This one for me at least, is a dud, though after looking at the reviews, I see I may be in a minority.

Edit: Oh crumbs and I completely forgot that the main character takes drugs. Because her life is soooo terrible and she has nothing to live for...blah, blah, blah!!! Doesn't that make her seem like a wonderful and noble person. Things start getting iffy? Time to space out and go to a happy place!!!



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Enchanted by Alethea Kontis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Is it my fate that I must read books that get my hopes soaring only to get them dashed on the rocks of bitter disappointment?! Every part of me wanted to like this, and there were some points that I did, though mainly in the beginning. However the further I delved, the greater my confusion, frustration and befuddlement (I am aware befuddlement and confusion mean the same thing. I use both to emphasise the depths of my perplexity) over a story that wasn't really sure what it wanted to be. Was it a sweet and heart warming fairytale of love and redemption, a dark and twisted thing that the brothers Grimm themselves would be proud of, full of wicked spells and dangerous obstacles? Maybe a coming of age story shrouded in fantasy? A mystery, family saga...? In truth it was a mixture of all, yet none of the elements to me,seemed to get on very well with each other. It plot conveyed an sense of not being sure in which direction it wanted to go, or whether to go in all directions at once.

We add to this already confusing mix the storyline itself. I believed this to be a re-telling of the Frog Prince, yet what it proved to be was far more cluttered. Though the Frog Prince is at it's core, many other classic fairy tales make an appearance, burdening an already weighty plot. The end result was not quite chaos, but it was within spitting distance of becoming a broiling concoction of far too much told with far too little. By this I mean that rather than deepening the story, exploring more the relationships of her many characters, the author seemed far more concerned with squeezing in as many fairytale references as she possibly could, most of them shoved in with what felt like little thought to how they worked as a whole. What this resulted in was a hodgepodge tale which got more and more bizarre and random as the book drew to a close. It all just seemed a bit, untidy.

I wanted to explore the blooming relationship of Sunday and her froggy companion. I would have liked to uncover a little more the mystery of the Godmother Sorrow and the nameless King, the tale of the sister's who were gone and the enigmatic Jack who never actually appears. The author introduced us to so much but didn't seem overly fussed about digging deeper. It's not a particularly hefty volume. A few more chapters could have worked wonders on a plot that overall felt a little heavy and cluttered and could have done with a bit of stretching out.

The best way I can sum up 'Enachanted', is by likening it to a dream, of the kind that will one minute have you sitting on a bus playing a game of cards with Papa Smurf, the bloke who works down the local newsagents and a trilby wearing panda, then suddenly transport you to the depths of the ocean and leaves you completely unconcerned by the sudden change in scenery, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, or simply unaware of it the change altogether. There was simply too much going on, each element a part of different a puzzle that won't fit together no matter how much you try.

However, after all that, I did still give it three stars. The reason, is that you strip everything back, there are fragments of light hidden beneath to fog. At it's heart, there are characters you can like, an ambitiousness on the part of the author in her attempt to weave so many threads together, though she may have lost sight of the essence of the true plot, that I have to admire and the simple fact that I didn't dislike it. There was still something that drew me in. That could partly be the sheer unpredictability of the plot though. Looking back, it was quite mad.

It's one of those books that, where I found fault, others might find charm, inventiveness and a story that certainly leaves you guessing.

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Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I would consider myself a fan of dragons (well, who isn't?) and though perhaps I haven't read a great many novels containing the winged beasts, I still get excited when I find a book that's gone out on a limb, pushed the boat out, taken a chance and tried something different. As much as I love the glorious creatures in all their fearful majesty, sharp toothiness and limb rendering awesomeness, I found myself being drawn to Hartman's vision of Dragon. A proud race of mathmagicians and scholars that fought for the land they had lived in for centuries, but where steadily being pushed out of.

Skip ahead to the events of Seraphina, and we have an uneasy truce between dragons and humans built on a simple wish for peace. What makes Hartman's dragons unique for me, is that to better understand and appreciate their former enemies, they take their form and walk among them. This of course is the cause of all the troubles and tribulations that occur, much of this down to the Dragons refusal to allow themselves to become befuddled by troublesome emotions and forget what they are. What this creates however, is an intriguing tale of two peoples seemingly complete opposites of each other, yet perhaps have more in common than you think.

The storytelling is delicious, Hartman spins her tale with grace and a deft hand. She will pull you slowly at first, so you don't notice how involved you are until it is a few hours later and you are turning the last page. I found someone I could relate to it Seraphina, the focus of this tale. Her unease in her skin resonated with me as I'm sure it would with many. I empathised with her seemingly impossible situation, the dark secret she carried that few would understand and would more likely shun her for. The relationships between characters were built on solid foundations and well explored The author was able to make it so you could understand the actions taken if perhaps you don't agree with them.

The only gripe I had appeared towards the end. It involved a certain male member of the cast, a man who valued honesty above anything else, sought the truth in all, told no lies and his willingness to live one the biggest lies of all. To me, it seemed to go completely against his character. Also some of the names where a bit annoying, but it wouldn't be proper fantasy if there weren't a few tongue twisters thrown in to make sure you're awake and paying attention =D

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So finally got round to writing a review. Egads I am getting really lazy at this, mainly I think it's because i feel like a am constantly repeating myself. Oh, well it's not like I have to read it >.<

Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book had me completely hooked from within the first 20 or so pages, then again, killing your main character right at the beginning is going to grab peoples attention. And no, that's not a plot spoiler because it says that in the synopsis!! What could be considered a spoiler is that she doesn't stay dead long, but it would be a much shorter book if the main character stayed dead, so I think it's kind obvious. Apologies though if you disagree.

The pace it moves at is really something. For once, the likenesses on the front cover are accurate. It is just like a mix between The X Files and an episode of 24, though Janelle has 23 days rather than 23 hours. You get a real sense of the desperation as the clock winds down to it's unknown conclusion.

Janelle is likeable and her narration easily readable. I've got much love for the relationship that build builds between her and the mysterious Ben too, who is just too hugable for words. I felt myself getting swept up into their story, which is obviously good news.

Now for the bad. I found the idea that Janelle could steal and hide her fathers research a little hard to believe. Him being an FBI agent and those files being highly classified, I'm pretty sure that she should have been arrested, but rather than that she completely gets away with it. Even though other agents know she has them. Really?

There was also a point where the story started getting a little flimsy. I had to stop reading at one point (it was after midnight after all on a work night!!!) and it was getting seriously good. But when I picked it up the next day, something felt off. I can't quite explain it (no surprise there). It just didn't feel like the same story. It was at the point the supernatural element was introduced, and from then it just fell a little flat. Things started to feel a little difficult to believe. I've said this many a time, but if an authors got an idea that is impossible and could never happen in a million years, or is completely made up, they still need to make it plausible. Norris just wasn't overly convincing when explaining certain bits.

Then again, I am very fussy!! It still gets four stars though because other than a couple of hiccups it was still immensely immersive and tremendously enjoyable so big thumbs up!!

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Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So I'm actually reviewing this about a week after I finished it, which means I have almost completely forgotten everything about it. That doesn't mean this book was in any way forgettable, only that my memory has more holes than it that Swiss cheese...is that the one with holes in?...never mind.

So, on to the book review. This one's a bit of a contradiction really. Mainly because on the one hand, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The plot was super immersive (yeah, that's right, I said super!!!) and always had me guessing as to which way a situation was going to swing or how a character was going to react. Which is obviously a plus because predictable books = major snores and drool puddles!!

And on the other hand? Lots of stuff that really annoyed me. The point though, is that it didn't. I didn't care that the main-ish character (I say 'ish' as there are lots of characters vying for the lead role) is a bit of an idiot and suffers from doormatitis. It also didn't bother me overly much that the author had a habit of repeating herself every few pages...you don't need to keep stressing the extreme danger her characters are in. We get it. Repeating it over and over again isn't necessary. Instead rely on your writing abilities to convey the tension and atmosphere of a the situation. We'll fill in the rest. Ok, it bothered me a bit, but no-where near as much as it should. There were more bad points, but I can't remember them, soooo, they can't have been that bad.

More on the plus side, we had split narratives, with each chapter told through the eyes of a different character. Even bigger plus, it was third person. Don't get me wrong. I love, or should say, loved first person perspectives. They're a real asset to a character driven story and give some real insights into their inner workings. But I've had enough. Every YA novel out there seems to be first person. It's BORING!! The danger was that some plot lines would be slightly less interesting and you'd be rushing the chapter to get to a more exciting part. But actually, they were all rather interesting, which I must say was delightful.

Though I mention earlier the main characters short comings in the brain department, I still empathised with her. Especially when we, as the reader, know things that she doesn't. It was frustrating, but I'm guessing that was the point. We are supposed to feel anger for her in her place. Or at least till she finds stuff out, then the shiteth will really hiteth the fan. Or I hope it does and she doesn't just accept it like she does some of the other revelations, which would have made me Hulk smash the shit out of everything within reach. In regards to the rest of the ensemble, there were plenty of good guys to root for and bad dudes (or dames)) to hiss at.

The world the author built was fascinating. Not the dull run-of-the-mill Earth one, but the world of The City. She gives an excellent impression of a debauched and dangerous city, not bothering to hide it's flaws, but that for all works well because every one who lives their knows their place in it and how it works.

To sum up then. By rights this should have irritated the flooping heck out of me. But it didn't. Huzzah!!

Wow, I managed to right more than I though. Go me!!!

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It's the April Wrap Up and May Haul/TBR

 A Book Review - Fairytale Retellings/Original Fairytales


Inspired my Misty from The Book Rat, this is a review of some of my favourite fairytale/original fairytale books.

The Pledge by Kimberly Derting
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I do so like being surprised. I have been buried under an abundance of sub par literature and books that can be summed up by one simple sound...meh!!! So imagine when my joy when I began reading this, when slowly and steadily it began drawing me in. It took a little while, but soon the well formed, fleshed out characters and intriguing story had me hooked.

I will admit, I wondered at the idea of this being a mix of both Fantasy and Dystopia. In all honesty this is more of the latter, the only hint of fantasy coming from a few brief displays of magic, and an antiquated culture missing the gleam, polish and advancement of many books boasting to be Dystopia. It was really rather refreshing. No futuristic pomp, just good old fashioned story telling.

The romance got dangerously close to tumbling off the edge and plunging into the realms of cheesiness, but thankfully kept it's balance and remained the right side of classy. There were characters you could believe in and get behind, with an all important strong female lead that carried the plot well.

All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable read >.

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Insurgent by Veronica Roth
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

After the awesomeness that is Divergent I was expecting so much of this...but alas, I was to be disappointed. Maybe that was the problem, I hyped it up too much.

To me this felt like a filler. A brief reprieve before the next book, where I hope, we'll get a bit more story. There wasn't really any advancement in the plot, just a lot of Tris' inner battles with herself. Self reflection isn't a bad thing, as it helps us get to know a character. Usually though, there is other stuff going on to buffer all that woe and angst and general-feeling-like-a-terrible-human-being-and-wondering-why-anyone-wants-anything-to-do-with-you-because-you-are-just-an-awful-person type stuff. It goes, action, relationship, battles-with-inner demons, revelation then rinse and repeat. In this it was just all fighting inner demons stuff. Even the relationship built up between Tris and Four felt like a shadow of it's former self and I didn't get that giddy feeling I got when I read Divergent.

Focusing now on the story, there seemed to be a lot of talk, and not a lot of action. There were no moments that left me gasping with shock. To be honest, most of the time I had trouble keeping up with what was going on. Perhaps for most people, events were sufficiently explained, but for me I'd be left scratching my head wondering what the hell the characters were on about. You'd get a piece of information, but it wouldn't be explained. It was like joining a conversation half way through but no-one bothering to fill in you on what you'd missed. I don't think I'm that stupid, but I just found it frustrating. The amount of times I'd flick back through the pages wondering if I'd missed anything. I vaguely remember feeling that way when I read the first one, but then there was so much awesome going on, it didn't really bother me. Unfortunately there were no such distractions in this one.

I am afraid to say, there was more that irked me, though much of it I can't go into detail about for fear of giving away spoilers. All I will say though is that for someone with an aptitude for Erudite, Tris was oddly willing to risk a lot for gaining information she was never actually given the details of, which to me seems illogical. Surely a smart person would want all the facts before charging off blindly, or is that just me?

There was also the authors strange habit of explaining things a number of pages later than she should, at least in my opinion. Ahhh, it's hard to explain without giving anything away. Basically something seemingly random would happen and I'd be left feeling completely confused until many pages later when we finally get the explanation. I explain it poorly, but if you've read the book and maybe get what I'm saying let me know >.< as I get the feeling most of what I'm saying may be down to me just being an idiot.

And now for the ending. I was really hoping this was going to be something epic that would wipe all my other gripes from my mind. Again, I was to be disappointed. Oh, there was a twist, but one that was very poorly executed. I think the author was going for the teaser. In not wanting to risk giving away too much and keeping up the suspense, she rather failed to really give us anything. I get a little bit of what was being insinuated, but I'm not 100% positive I've got the jist and I now get to spend the next year probably wondering what the hell it was all for, waiting for the next instalment to show itself.

Er positives...I read it reasonably quickly. If it had been really bad I would have just given up on it, though I think that was partly down to me waiting for the story to start happening and apart from the whole backwards explanation thing, her writing was still top class.

All in all, a rather unsatisfying and disappointing read. If I was sticking strictly to the Goodreads rating system, this should have got 2 stars, as for me, it was just ok, but in memory of Divergent I gave it a 3.

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A Book Review - Fantasy Series