Rift by Andrea Cremer

Release Date: August 7, 2012
Publisher: Philomel
Pages: 448
Source: Copy provided by publisher for review

Sixteen-year-old Ember Morrow is promised to a group called Conatus after one of their healers saves her mother's life. Once she arrives, Ember finds joy in wielding swords, learning magic, and fighting the encroaching darkness loose in the world. She also finds herself falling in love with her mentor, the dashing, brooding, and powerful Barrow Hess. When the knights realize Eira, one of their leaders, is dabbling in dark magic, Ember and Barrow must choose whether to follow Eira into the nether realm or to pledge their lives to destroying her and her kind.

With action, adventure, magic, and tantalizing sensuality, this book is as fast-paced and breathtaking as the Nightshade novels.

Wow! Rift was definitely an exciting read! Well paced, plenty of action, good writing and character development--Rift kept me hooked till the end!

I liked Ember's character; she may wield weapons most of us have never even seen, but she's still a character readers can relate to with her drive and determination. Overall, I thought most of the characters were good. There is quite a wide range of characters among the Guard, which makes them a very dynamic group.
The antagonist has more depth than I would have expected, which was a pleasant surprise! She isn't just your typical evil-and-out-to-accomplish-evil-things from the get-go, but was instead someone who had good intentions and wanted the best for the people she cared about, but ended straying from her goals after being misled and enticed onto a path that isn't entirely savory. It was a nice change from the 2D villains who roam around causing death and destruction and just seem bad from the start so the story can have an antagonist.

For a book that was well-written and had a plot that didn't follow the same loops that most paranormal YA fictions do these days, that tagline on the front cover was quite a let down! "She can battle darkness, but she can't fight love?!" To me, it made gave the impression that the book was much more cliche than it actually was! The book is much better than the tagline, believe me! I also like the cover itself, but it is a bit busy. There seems to be quite a bit of writing; if they were to ditch some of it, or shrink the font size (i.e. of the tagline or the part about it being the prequel to the bestselling Nightshade series), I think the cover would look even better, since the text wouldn't take away from the image (which I am a fan of).

I actually didn't read the Nightshade series by Andrea Cremer before reading Rift. I actually really enjoyed reading Rift and had no trouble understanding everything--I think the Nightshade prequel series will be a stand-alone series, and from what I understand, is set centuries before the events that take place in the Nightshade series. I would recommend Andrea's newest series to her fans and would also recommend Rift to those who haven't read her other works before--I think fans of the paranormal genre will find Andrea's latest offering to be an enjoyable read that sets itself apart from some of the more run-of-the-mill paranormal books in the YA genre lately!

I am eagerly awaiting the next book in this prequel series, Rise, but in the meantime, it looks like I should read Andrea's Nightshade series!


Overall: 4.5 out of 5
Plot: 4.5 stars
Characters: 4.5 stars
Writing: 4.5 stars
Cover: 4.5 stars

Monarch Beach by Anita Hughes

Release Date: June 19, 2012
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Pages: 288
Source: Copy provided by publisher for review

When Amanda Blick, a young mother and kindhearted San Francisco heiress, finds her gorgeous French chef husband wrapped around his sous-chef, she knows she must flee her life in order to rebuild it. The opportunity falls into her lap when her (very lovable) mother suggests Amanda and her young son, Max, spend the summer with her at the St. Regis Resort in Laguna Beach. With the waves right outside her windows and nothing more to worry about than finding the next relaxing thing to do, Amanda should be having the time of her life—and escaping the drama. But instead, she finds herself faced with a kind, older divorcee who showers her with attention… and she discovers that the road to healing is never simple. This is the sometimes funny, sometimes bitter, but always moving story about the mistakes and discoveries a woman makes when her perfect world is turned upside down.

Monarch Beach is a nice summer read. It details Amanda's life after walking in on her husband having an affair and her journey of recovery and self-discovery as she tries figure out who she is. It's not the most profound book I've ever read, but I found it enjoyable.

One issue I did have with Monarch Beach was the constant name-dropping with all the designer clothing. While I understand that some of it was necessary to help set up who Amanda's mother was (as it is a big part of her identity), I felt that about halfway through the novel it was getting overdone. Although a little bit of the name-dropping was okay in the beginning of the novel for Amanda's mother, and yes, some for Amanda too, it really wore on me after awhile. Amanda's every outfit brand was given and for me, it became overkill. I can appreciate a cute outfit and I understand that Amanda is into fashion, but I'd rather focus on the story being told rather than if the main character is wearing Gucci or Chanel.

Monarch Beach is definitely geared towards an older audience; I normally don't accept books that aren't YA for review (there are more books in the YA genre than I'll ever be able to read in my life time!) but the author was really nice when she contacted me and the blurb caught my eye. It's unlike most books I read and I figured why not give it a try? I'm glad I did; it's an enjoyable beach read with a more serious side; a story of one woman's journey to self-discovery, but there's a resort and some more fun moments during her journey!


Overall: 3.75 out of 5
Plot: 3.5 stars
Characters: 3.75 stars
Writing: 3.75 stars
Cover: 4 stars

Undead by Kirsty McKay

Release Date: September 1, 2012
Publisher: Scholastic
Pages: 272
Source: Copy provided by publisher for review

Out of sight, out of their minds: It's a school-trip splatter fest and completely not cool when the other kids in her class go all braindead on new girl Bobby.

The day of the ski trip, when the bus comes to a stop at a roadside restaurant, everyone gets off and heads in for lunch. Everyone, that is, except Bobby, the new girl, who stays behind with rebel-without-a-clue Smitty.

Then hours pass. Snow piles up. Sun goes down. Bobby and Smitty start to flirt. Start to stress. Till finally they see the other kids stumbling back.

But they've changed. And not in a good way. Straight up, they're zombies. So the wheels on the bus better go round and round freakin' fast, because that's the only thing keeping Bobby and Smitty from becoming their classmates' next meal. It's kill or be killed in these hunger games, heads are gonna roll, and homework is most definitely gonna be late.

Although the premise of the story sounded like a lot of fun when I first got this book, I will admit I was a little hesitant. The paranormal genre has really taken off in YA and there's been everything from vampires and werewolves to witches, faeries, demons, and yes, zombies. But in that mix there's also been a lot of forbidden love and a generous helping of the mushy stuff with little focus on adventure and action. Now don't get me wrong, I love a good romance and I can be a sucker for happy endings, especially if the couple face the storm of forbidden love together! But lately, there have been plenty of books that have very similar story arcs, little to no plot and a heavy emphasis on just the budding romance and sadly, nothing else in the book. I wouldn't mind seeing a little more action (of the adventure kind, before you all get any ideas!) in those novels; what could possibly bring a couple closer together except for stopping world domination together??

I guess I needed a little break from all the paranormal books with forbidden romance, and thankfully, one of the publicists at Scholastic handed me a copy of Undead! Undead is absolutely jam packed with action! After a zombie Apocalypse breaks out, Bobby, Alice, Smitty and Pete have to fight for their lives and find a way out of this mess!

Popular girl Alice (a.k.a. Malice, as dubbed by Smitty), Pete the geek, Smitty the loner and rebel, and Bobby, the new girl, make up quite a motley crew for this adventure! They all have their own unique voices and there is plenty of comic relief, even during this crazy trip where they're trying to avoid getting chomped by zombies! Alice may be a mascara-obsessed beauty queen, but I found her hilarious in Undead! She somehow finds it possible to keep up at least part of her beauty routine despite this massive infestation of the undead and she is one snippy, crazy girl! Smitty was also hilarious with his snide comments and wit! I think I found this novel so enjoyable not only because of the non-stop action but also because of the polar opposite characters that are forced to work together!

To me there was more action than anything else in this novel, but it was still a fun adventure overall since the action was balanced with a decent plot and an amusing cast of characters!

Overall: 4 out of 5
Plot: 3.75 stars
Characters: 4 stars
Writing: 4 stars
Cover: 4.5 stars

Lies Beneath by Anna Greenwood Brown

Release Date: June 12, 2012
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Pages: 303
Source: Copy provided by publisher for review

Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy. But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother's death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family's homestead on the lake. Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's daughter, Lily. Easy enough—especially as Calder has lots of practice using his irresistable good looks and charm on ususpecting girls. Only this time Calder screws everything up: he falls for Lily—just as Lily starts to suspect that there's more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined. And just as his sisters are losing patience with him.

"I hadn't killed anyone all winter, and I have to say I felt pretty good about that."
With a first line like that, how could I not want to find out what happens?! Just like the mermaids this book is about, the story is alluring and quickly drew me in! Lies Beneath paints a completely different picture of what mermaids are; dispel all the images you have from Little Mermaid of happy mermaids swimming along and singing! The mermaids in this novel are vengeful monsters who are more than willing to kill to get what they want! It was an interesting alternative to the happy mermaids I grew up with, but since it was pretty well developed in the novel, this dark alternative wasn't so hard to accept!

Lies Beneath was well written and had me hooked in. However, while it's a well-told story, it was not anything new or different than how many of the YA novels go these days. The storyline itself was not anything out of the ordinary and seemed to follow the basic formula most YA novels go by these days; boy meets girl, they fall for each other. But boy has secret and tries to keep it from girl. Of course girl finds out and they must make it through the storm together. While it was relatively ordinary, I still found the novel quite enjoyable to read. It might not be anything new, but it was still well-written.

Another point of the novel that was disappointing was the romance. It wasn't as strong as I had hoped it would be. Calder and Lily fall for each other relatively quickly and it was not as developed as I thought it would be. It felt almost like love-at-first-sight but then the author tried to also have them fall for each other in the more realistic (to me, at least) way: after talking, hanging out and getting to know each other. It wasn't quite developed enough either way, and consequently, just fell flat after being caught in the in-between the two.
Additionally, while I understand that Calder is a hot, delectable merman, his way of wooing his lady friend got rather creepy at some points! Spying on your love interest from the bushes? I'm sure Calder didn't mean it quite that way, but it sounds like amateur stalking to me!

I would have liked to learn more about Calder's sisters! They're such villains, but they were so interesting! Wish they had gotten the limelight a little more often and wish there were more snippets from their pasts! They were definitely dark creatures that I wish I had more insight to--how did they all develop such drastically different, yet essentially similar personalities? How was their interaction with their parents? I would have liked to learn more about their mermaid mother as well! We don't get to learn that much about her in this novel, but it sounds like she definitely had a story to tell as well if her children felt so strongly for her!

It sounds like Lies Beneath is the first book of a new series so I have high hopes for its sequel! Definitely hoping for more character development and another adventure!


Overall: 3.75 out of 5
Plot: 3 stars
Characters: 4 stars
Writing: 4.5 stars
Cover: 3.75 stars

Halflings by Heather Burch

Halflings by Heather Burch

Release Date: January 10, 2012
Publisher: Zondervan Publishing
Pages: 288
Source: Copy provided by publisher for review

After being inexplicably targeted by an evil intent on harming her at any cost, seventeen-year-old Nikki finds herself under the watchful guardianship of three mysterious young men who call themselves halflings. Sworn to defend her, misfits Mace, Raven, and Vine battle to keep Nikki safe while hiding their deepest secret—and the wings that come with.

A growing attraction between Nikki and two of her protectors presents a whole other danger. While she risks a broken heart, Mace and Raven could lose everything, including their souls. As the mysteries behind the boys’ powers, as well as her role in a scientist’s dark plan, unfold, Nikki is faced with choices that will affect the future of an entire race of heavenly beings, as well as the precarious equilibrium of the earthly world.

I had high hopes for this novel! The angel genre really seems to be taking off right now and this sounded like a high-stakes adventure with a touch of forbidden romance--tempting, no? Unfortunately, I was rather disappointed after reading Halflings.

It felt like the entire book was just to set up another book. Back story, some action scenes placed here and there, more back story, and some very tell-but-not-show character development. Instead of revealing hints about the halfling's character through the actions, a lot of it was done through statements and dialogue--'the youngest halfling is a protege' 'the eldest halfling is a player because of this'--which seemed to slide the three halflings into very general, cookie-cutter roles: the good boy, the bad boy and the naive young one.

Sadly, our leading lady, Nikki, did not seem all that more three-dimensional either. I thought the author was trying a little too hard to make Nikki a strong female character who could kick butt. Nikki is athletic, brave, and a karate student. I definitely like a strong female lead, but Nikki's character seemed too forced, especially the most obvious character trait--she must be strong, so she does karate! Despite the author's attempt to make Nikki a courageous heroine, the other characters she created seem to counter that. The novel had a real Twilight-feel to it; Nikki's in trouble?--halflings to the rescue! While I get that a mortal can't fend off a handful of demons from hell by herself, it would have been nice to see Nikki put her skills to use to get out (or out-smart her way out) of some of those sticky situations she found herself in! She played damsel in distress one too many times for me to see her as a bold, independent girl.

The romance was a bit of a let down too; while it was nice to see the 'nice guy' (Mace) get a chance for once, there was also the aforementioned love-triangle. The romance between bad-boy Raven and Nikki seemed too sudden; I mean, she didn't like him for so long then suddenly one day, boom! she changes her mind. The romance between Nikki and Mace was much more believable though at first the main focus was purely on looks.

I'm sorry to say that this book fell flat for me. The writing wasn't even a redeeming factor; it was not very engaging and I found it rather flat and uninspired. The novel was unoriginal, poorly written and boring at points; I really had to push myself to keep going through the novel. Here's hoping the series improves, but unfortunately, I don't think I'll be sticking around to read on.


Overall: 2.25 out of 5
Plot: 2 stars
Characters: 2.25 stars
Writing: 2.25 stars
Cover: 3.50 stars

Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard

Release Date: March 13, 2012
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Pages: 352
Source: ARC provided by publisher for review

It all begins with a stupid question:

Are you a Global Vagabond?

No, but 18-year-old Bria Sandoval wants to be. In a quest for independence, her neglected art, and no-strings-attached hookups, she signs up for a guided tour of Central America—the wrong one. Middle-aged tourists with fanny packs are hardly the key to self-rediscovery. When Bria meets Rowan, devoted backpacker and dive instructor, and his outspokenly humanitarian sister Starling, she seizes the chance to ditch her group and join them off the beaten path.

Bria's a good girl trying to go bad. Rowan's a bad boy trying to stay good. As they travel across a panorama of Mayan villages, remote Belizean islands, and hostels plagued with jungle beasties, they discover what they've got in common: both seek to leave behind the old versions of themselves. And the secret to escaping the past, Rowan’s found, is to keep moving forward.

But Bria comes to realize she can't run forever, no matter what Rowan says. If she ever wants the courage to fall for someone worthwhile, she has to start looking back.

Kirsten Hubbard lends her artistry to this ultimate backpacker novel, weaving her drawings into the text. Her career as a travel writer and her experiences as a real-life vagabond backpacking Central America are deeply seeded in this inspiring story.

At first, I couldn't really get into the story. Bria seemed kind of pretentious to me and despite the fact I've wanted to backpack myself, I couldn't really connect with her. But I'm glad I stuck with the novel because that definitely changed! Wanderlove definitely grew on me and definitely got better a couple of chapters in!

As you get to know Bria and her art school aspirations, the unhealthy relationship she had with her ex-boyfriend, and her reasons for the backpacking trip, you find ways to connect with her, and she becomes more alive as a character. She goes on an incredible journey and watching her tackle unfamiliar territory, meet new people and face her past proves to be quite a trip! There's never a dull moment on the trip, but there's time for reflection as Bria begins to move forward and piece together an idea for her future.

There's also some art interspersed throughout the book and it seems to grow along with Bria during the trip. The last few pieces are certainly little masterpieces that capture the essence of what Bria learns throughout her time in Central America!

Lastly, what's an adventure without a little romance to spice it up? I have to say, I quite enjoyed the romance aspect of this novel! It's not a "love-at-first-sight" kind of romance but a gradual, progressive one. That, in my opinion, is closer to real life (oh, I believe in attraction at first sight, but I don't think love is always at first sight!) and it was really cute watching Brian and Rowan get to know each other and fall for each other! It made it seem sweeter in some ways than the romances where the main characters meet each other in page one and are snogging by page three! It's nice to watch the characters get to know each other a little better first!

This book is not what I would normally pick up and read, but I'm very glad I gave it a chance! I've been reading a lot of fantasy and dystopian lately, so Wanderlove was a terrific change of pace for me! Definitely give Wanderlove a try, even if you're not normally into the backpacking and self-discovery sort of thing, it may surprise you and you might enjoy it as much as I did!


Overall: 4.75 out of 5
Plot: 4 stars
Characters: 4.25 stars
Writing: 4.5 stars
Cover: 3.25 stars

Immortal City by Scott Speer

Release Date: April 3, 2012
Publisher: Razorbill
Pages: 336
Source: ARC from publisher for review

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.

The Good
Definitely an intriguing idea! The author develops an interesting society that has embraced Angels and not only is their protection one of the most sought-after commodities, their appearances is too! (Think Angels as the new celebrities; screaming fangirls, posters, endorsements, TV shows, magazine spreads, the whole nine yards!) Author Scott Speer definitely captures the way our society is star-struck and our worship of celebrities very accurately! The scene is set quite nicely and the concept is readily developed so readers really get a feel of just how big this Angel phenomenon is--and just how unfair the system is too.

Writing & Style
It's not written in first person present! I've got nothing against first person present but it's refreshing to read a novel written in third person past! However, it's not very consistent; it fluxes (especially in the beginning of the novel) between letting us know everything (character's thoughts, reactions, the surroundings, etc) to a limited view of the situation unfolding. I think that's officially called third person omniscient and limited if I recall correctly from my days in high school english class?
The pacing is also not very consistent; it starts off at a decent pace but then it slows considerably after the first chapter before picking up again for the last quarter of the book. Nonetheless, as the novel started to pick up at the end, I found myself hooked in and unwilling to put it down!

I wouldn't describe the style as minimalist by any means, but it's not as flowery as other novels. The style is very to-the-point and readers aren't weighed down with extensive elaboration on details, which gives this novel more of an action-type feel.

Plot
There was one! It wasn't just a sappy romantic novel where the hot hunk (an angel in this case) rescues the fair damsel in distress over and over again, until it culminates into a world-shattering kiss! I found the plot enjoyable, not the most original but it had some turns and was complex enough to keep me interested! I feel that plenty of stories these days have a very flat plot that often seem boring, if not contrived because there just aren't any intricacies to them. However, Immortal City has a decent plot and several view points from which it's told, so I had a good time reading it! I really liked the parts told from Sylvester's point of view; the author ties his part in nicely and so it doesn't seem too out of the blue or out of place. It really adds to another dimension to the story.


The Not-So-Good
Name dropping. There was quite a bit of it in this novel. Although mentioning brand names once or twice doesn't bother me, after a while--especially calling Maddy's new cell phone by its full name, the Blackberry Miracle--it got excessive. Over-saturation of brand names and logos happen enough in our everyday lives, it would be nice it wasn't rubbed in our faces when we're trying to enjoy a book; I personally think it's a distraction from the story at hand.

Characters
Most of the characters were believable enough but a little more on Ethan would have strengthened the story considerably. He didn't get enough screen (book? page?) time and I would have liked to learn more about his story!

Angels...?
Although I think it's a really interesting idea, I personally don't think angels would sell their services. Maybe I'm just too naive with a view that angels are these pure creatures and who watch over people, especially children and those who can't defend themselves, but selling their services just seems so materialistic and well, earthly. Maybe I've been reading too many fairytales, huh? Just my opinion :)

Overall
I really enjoyed the book and I'm glad it was a self-contained novel. Lately I've been reading a lot books that are firsts in series and while some of them leave the perfect cliffhangers, others leave you feeling unsatisfied, as if the whole book was just a setup for the next two or more books to come. While there is a hint of a possibility of more to come, Immortal City wrapped the story up nicely and leaves some things to the imagination.

The story does pick up steam just after the half-way mark, so if you're thirsting for more action, keep reading! I think fans of other angel novels will enjoy Immortal City, especially anyone who's been looking for more action in the angel genre! Not the most polished book written, but a great read that I highly enjoyed!


Overall: 4.25 out of 5
Plot: 4 stars
Characters: 4 stars
Writing: 4 stars
Cover: 4 stars (I think I like the ARC's cover better; it's shiny (!) and it shows not just the angel but the city as well, which I think captures the essence of the story better.)

The Selection by Kiera Cass

The Selection by Kiera Cass

Release Date: April 24, 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 327
Source: ARC from publisher for review

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in the palace and compete for the heart of the gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself- and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

This is one of my longer reviews, and I have some very mixed feelings about this novel, so I've split the review up on different aspects I wanted to point out!

PLOT
To be honest, there's not much of a plot. I read one blurb that described The Selection as a cross between "The Bachelor" and The Hunger Games and I'd say that description pretty accurately sums up the book as a whole. I'm not an avid view of "The Bachelor" or any reality TV for that matter but I found The Selection entertaining. Like a TV show, the novel felt like an episode in a series; it's just a segment of what happens in the overall story. By the end I felt that the whole novel was a set up for what would happen next.

ROMANCE
On Maxon and America; I wasn't really feeling that much chemistry between them. There were some sparks here and there but it seemed like they went through the mechanics of falling in love but the natural attraction and chemistry just wasn't really there--maybe this will change in the sequel(s).

The beginning of the novel had a very Twilight feel to it; America absolutely and unconditionally adored her boyfriend Aspen and was constantly praising him. His looks were described quite a few times and America fawned over him. The same features were described over and over again and nothing but Aspen's looks and supposed virtues were spoken of by America. It got rather tiresome but thankfully that bit mellowed out a bit by the time America arrived at the palace. It just wasn't a very dynamic relationship between the two and to me, it felt like they should be together more because they had already been together for two years rather than they should be together because they complement each other and are good for each other.

DYSTOPIAN?
I'm a dystopian junkie so I was disappointed with how little the caste system in The Selection was developed and described--I would have loved to learn more about the system and the different castes! If there was more world building I think I would have liked the novel a whole lot more!

CHARACTERS
Not all the characters were well developed though the author does try for a few of them, including America, Maxon, and Marlee. I definitely would’ve liked to know more about the other characters, especially the royal family and the other girls in the Selection and I would’ve loved to learn more about their stories! But since there wasn’t that much development for the other girls, it felt like they were fillers and most of them fell into a typical stock character; the mean one, the ambitious one, the one who will marry for position and wealth (and not necessarily for love), the shy one, the power-hungry one, etc.

I feel like I should make a note about the names; the names aren't conventional, I mean, the main character's name is America! There are also characters named Tiny, Tuesday, Kamber, Gavril, among others. It took some getting used to but I suppose it grew on me a bit, after all, the world they live in has changed significantly from ours (there's been a Third World War since our time to theirs!). I will say that America's last name, Singer, did not grow on me--it wasn't exactly creative (I'm sure you can guess what one of American's main talents was).

WRITING
I didn't find the writing all that great. It was rather inconsistent; some descriptions were more flowing but then there were some that spawned a few unintended snickers and others that were so basic I'm sure a grade-school student could had thought of them. The vocabulary wasn't that expansive and seemed quite rudimentary. The Selection just did not have the flow nor the polish that many other YA books exhibit, though I understand that this the author's debut novel, so hopefully it can only get better from here!

OVERALL
I know overall this review isn't the most flattering I've written for a book but I will say one thing: it was an entertaining novel to me. There are definitely parts I did not like but there were also parts I did like. It's not as creative as I thought it would be, plot and device-wise; for instance, the interview scenes reminded me very strongly of the interview scenes in The Hunger Games. Yes, I'm very mixed over The Selection. No, it is not the most creative YA novel I've ever read and it's definitely not the best dystopian novel I've ever read, but it is also not, by far, the worse YA novel I've ever read. It was a very promising premise and the author went with it, but unfortunately, it didn't meet my expectations and was disappointing in spite of all it's potential.

Yet, despite the reservations I have, I, for one, am looking forward to finding out what happens next in the sequel! (Does this mean I would like reality TV? The characters in this novel didn't seem as blatantly catty as a lot of those girls on the reality TV do, though.) I do hope the writing improves though!

Overall: 2.75 out of 5
Plot: 2.5 stars
Characters: 3 stars
Writing: 2.75 stars
Cover: 4.5 stars (definitely an eye-catching cover!)

Take a Bow by Elizabeth Eulberg

Take a Bow by Elizabeth Eulberg

Release Date: April 1, 2012
Publisher: Point
Pages: 280
Source: Copy provided by publisher for review

From the fantastic author of The Lonely Hearts Club and Prom & Prejudice comes a story of all the drama and comedy of four friends who grow into themselves at a performing arts high school.

Emme, Sophie, Ethan, and Carter are seniors at a performing arts school, getting ready for their Senior Showcase recital, where the pressure is on to appeal to colleges, dance academies, and professionals in show business. For Sophie, a singer, it's been great to be friends with Emme, who composes songs for her, and to date Carter, soap opera heartthrob who gets plenty of press coverage. Emme and Ethan have been in a band together through all four years of school, but wonder if they could be more than just friends and bandmates. Carter has been acting since he was a baby, and isn't sure how to admit that he'd rather paint than perform. The Senior Showcase is going to make or break each of the four, in a funny, touching, spectacular finale that only Elizabeth Eulberg could perform.

While the topics addressed in this novel aren't exactly lighthearted, the writing itself isn't heavy, which makes Take a Bow a fun read. Overall, it's a well-written coming-of-age story. Although I would say that I enjoyed reading it, I don't think any of the characters stood out in a particularly significant way. I liked Emme's kindness, Ethan's journey to come to terms with what matters to him, Carter's journey of self-discovery, and I especially liked the dynamic of the members of the band (especially Jack and Ben, who added quite a bit of comic relief!) but no one stuck out as a very memorable character. Yes, the vicious resident user-and-abuser, Sophie, was a believable character, but she just wasn't that unique from any other antagonists. She was just mean and manipulative--there wasn't a personality quirk, uniquely snarky dialogue, or something huge about her past that will make her very memorable.

Don't get me wrong, it's well written and most of the main characters are alive and not 2D, but they just aren't very strong characters I'd definitely be able to point out if someone were to ask me for examples of favorite or eye-catching characters. They just seem like the ordinary--well-developed, but ordinary nonetheless--characters you'd find in a coming-of-age story.

I would like to expand briefly on the 'well-developed characters point' however; Sophie was quite a nasty piece of work! She maybe your typical antagonist, but man, was she a self-absorbed, unrepentant, manipulative girl! Ms. Eulberg certainly created a vicious villain (okay, that might be a bit strong, but she was horrid!) who had no conscience and was ready to use and abuse her few friends to get to the top! Sophie was definitely a believable character--she came alive on those pages so much that I wanted to slap her for her ruthless treatment of Emme!

There were points in the novel where I wanted to reach in and shake Emme! I was definitely rooting for her but wanted her to grow a backbone and stand up for herself! It was so frustrating to watch her let people (especially her "best friend") walk all over her and take advantage of her! Warning--mild spoiler alert! After a while it got tiresome to watch how predictable Emme could be, but the climax of her confronting the issue mostly made up for all of that frustration! She did a nice job at the end and I was definitely cheering the way the characters were! End spoiler alert.

I have never attended a performing arts school so I'm not sure how realistic Take a Bow is, but Ms. Eulberg did a great job creating a high-tension, high-pressure environment (which I'm sure performing arts high schools are!). There was a lot of intense competition between students to be on top, to nab spots, but I am very grateful the author did not take the excessively catty and melodramatic drama-infested route! The lack of those two characteristics (which I think I've had more than enough of for a while) really made this book that much more enjoyable. It made it easier to focus on each of the characters' journeys (which I believe is more important) instead of trying to keep track of who stole which person's lip gloss and who trashed their locker before an extremely important (and tear-filled, no doubt) audition. My favorite part about the arts-related setting was reading about Emme and the band performing! They're such a hilarious and dynamic group--it was a blast to both read about their performances and cheer them on during their struggles!

While I liked the switching view points and the differences in the writing styles for each character, I didn't find the plot all that imaginative. Carter's story ("who everyone wants me to be, but who I want to be") is one I'm afraid I've read about in some form or another countless times. But still, the chemistry between the characters, their interactions and how all of their parts tie in nicely with each other helped contribute nicely to the story!

Yes, it's not the most original story (plot or character-wise) but it is well-written and I enjoyed it very much! It doesn't drag at all, but the story is still well-developed and the author doesn't try to sell any of the characters short! It was a great and pretty easy read that I would recommend to those who are looking for something a little more fun!

Overall: 4.25 out of 5
Plot: 3 stars
Characters: 3.75 stars
Writing: 4 stars
Cover: 4.5 stars

Perception by Kim Harrington

Perception by Kim Harrington

Release Date: March 1, 2012
Publisher: Point
Pages: 288

When you can see things others can't, what do you do when someone's watching you?

Everybody knows about Clarity "Clare" Fern. She's the psychic girl in school, the one who can place her hands on something and see hidden visions from the past.

Only Clare would rather not be a celebrity. She prefers hanging back, observing. Her gift is not a game to her.

But then someone starts playing with her head . . . and heart. Messages and gifts from a secret admirer crop up everywhere Clare turns. Could they be from Gabriel, the gorgeous boy who gets Clare's pulse racing? Or from Justin, Clare's hopeful ex-boyfriend who'd do anything to win her back?

One thing is certain. Clare needs to solve this mystery, and soon. Because the messages are becoming sinister, and a girl in town has suddenly disappeared.

Clare's back! I definitely enjoyed reading the second installment of the Clarity series! The writing was as good as the first book. Clare's voice was still pretty strong in this novel, and she's also matured from her experiences in Clarity. It did seem to me, however, that Clare's voice wasn't quite as strong, nor as spirited, as it was in the first novel. Maybe it's because she's matured a bit? But I don't know, it just seemed to lack some of the spunk and brightness she had in the first novel. It was almost as if she was a bit more subdued (her voice at least) in Perception, despite having a more personal mystery to solve.

Another similarity to the first novel was the mystery part of the novel. I don't mean the actual mystery itself--Clare's on a completely new adventure this time!--but like the first novel, the mystery at hand in Perception was a bit predicable. While it was slightly less predictable than the mystery in the first book, I guessed the perpetrator about half way through the novel. The writing is good, however, and doesn't drag, so despite being predicable still, it was an enjoyable read!

Thankfully, there's more character development for Gabriel so he's not just the cookie-cutter handsome, mysterious, good-looking hunk again! I enjoyed learning more about Gabriel, Justin and the other characters in Perception. The writing is well-balanced; it doesn't focus so much on back story that the plot drags but it doesn't constantly throw you into the fray without letting you glimpse at the characters' pasts. I was a bit disappointed that we didn't get to learn anything more about Clare's father but hopefully there will be more light shed on that subject if there's to be a third novel!

I don't want to give it away, but I for one think Clare made the right choice between the two love interests! The strong character she exhibited in the first book was obvious in Perception as well and I'm happy that this was on YA novel where the female lead truly knows and understands her leading men and chooses between them for their personalities and the way they treat her--not just because his eyes are sooo dreamy, and the kisses are simply world-shattering. Don't get me wrong, those are desirable qualities as well, but they shouldn't be the only factors when agreeing to be someone's girlfriend! I could really feel the chemistry between the two and the development of the romance between them was realistic and believable, which is a breath of fresh air amongst all the 'star-crossed lovers' that have been dominating YA fiction lately!

All in all, it was enjoyable and I certainly appreciated the more realistic romance! I hope to learn more about Clare's family, especially her father, and her past if there's to be another novel!


Overall: 4 out of 5
Plot: 3.75 stars
Characters: 5 stars
Writing: 4.5 stars
Cover: 4 stars

Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

Release Date: April 24, 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 320

Everything is in ruins.

A devastating plague has decimated the population. And those who are left live in fear of catching it as the city crumbles to pieces around them.

So what does Araby Worth have to live for?

Nights in the Debauchery Club, beautiful dresses, glittery make-up . . . and tantalizing ways to forget it all.

But in the depths of the club—in the depths of her own despair—Araby will find more than oblivion. She will find Will, the terribly handsome proprietor of the club. And Elliott, the wickedly smart aristocrat. Neither boy is what he seems. Both have secrets. Everyone does.

And Araby may find something not just to live for, but to fight for—no matter what it costs her.

What would you do if you were surrounded by misery and decay on all sides? Try to make changes and improvements to the world around you? Take advantage of the misfortune of others? Or would you be like Araby and seek solace in the arms of oblivion?

Just a few pages into the novel and I could see why Araby threw herself into oblivion every chance she could! The author certainly did a good job creating a dreary, painful world! The world building is quite good for this novel and I think the author was trying to go for a steampunk setting but I don't think that was fully developed...one or two bits of technology in a world dominated by bodices and carriages isn't quite enough to sell it for me. Maybe an update on the demeanor of the citizens and possibly the infrastructure and running of the country and I would have accepted it as steampunk! Nonetheless, the world building is well done here and the depressing mood dominates the plague-ravaged country!

Masque of the Red Death is a re-imagining of sorts of Edgar Allan Poe's short story of the same name. While the dismal state the world is in is similar to Poe's story, an aspect that is markedly different is Prince Prospero. In Bethany Griffin's re-imagining, he is a manipulative, power-hungry psychopath whereas Poe's Prince Prospero seemed much more ignorant and preoccupied with frivolous things. Prospero's lack of conscience and remorse in Bethany's novel was frightening! Bethany does do a good job of capturing the same depressed feeling though!

There was definitely some great world building, but I have a bone to pick with some of the characters! April was rather inconsistent, or maybe she's just a fantastic actress. Her secrets were a bit hard to believe at first since she was an airhead with a taste for booze and drugs. Elliot...well, he's a bit of a jerk, and as Araby found his personality abrasive at the beginning, I really don't understand why she jumped to help him every time he asked--no, that's too nice, ordered--her to do something for him. He asked her to risk her life for him multiple times and she complied from the get-go and I couldn't see any clear motivation for her to help a virtual stranger--and a rude stranger at that!

There was a twist in the novel and I don't think I entirely buy it. Although you could argue that it wasn't entirely out of character, it certainly seemed highly unlikely, give the development of events in the novel leading up to that point! I'm sure this sounds rather vague so I apologize, but I don't want to give anything away and spoil the fun!

A minor point I felt like mentioning was the Debauchery Club; when I read the blurb I was expecting something wild and possibly even borderline obscene since it was the once place people could escape all the gloom around them. But instead, it seemed like a rather tame place that certainly didn't live up to its name!

The ending felt weak compared to the rest of the novel. While I get that continuing the adventure could require quite a number of pages more, the ending felt rushed, as if the author had to hurry and find a spot to cut off the story until the sequel(s).

While I can say that I enjoyed this novel and will most likely read the sequel, I have this odd feeling that there's something off about it. I'm not saying it's a bad novel, but to me it doesn't seem entirely put-together. It seemed like the author put too much effort into developing the characters at points and the plot ended up dragging a bit and being put second. At other points the plot was being rushed along and became the only focus. I guess that's the 'off feeling' I'm getting; the plot and character development in the novel wasn't balanced.

Despite any misgivings I may have, I am sure many readers will enjoy Masque of the Red Death! The world-building is excellent, the love-triangle will appeal to many, and the slightly steampunk setting was pretty cool!


Overall: 4 out of 5
Plot: 3.75 stars
Characters: 4 stars
Writing: 4 stars
Cover: 4.5 stars

Darkness Falls by Cate Tiernan

Darkness Falls by Cate Tiernan

Release Date: January 2nd 2012
Publisher: Poppy
Pages: 400

Nastasya has lived for hundreds of years, but for some reason, life never seems to get any better. She left her spoiled, rich girl life to find peace at River's Edge, a safe haven for wayward immortals. There, she learned to embrace River's Edge, despite some drama involving the sexy Reyn, who she wants but won't allow herself to have. But just as she's getting comfortable, her family's ties to dark magick force her to leave.

She falls back into her old, hard partying ways, but will her decision lead her into the hands of a dark immortal? Or will it be her first step to embracing the darkness within her?

I like that Nastasya has matured since the last book and continued to do so in Darkness Falls--she slowly begins to face her fears and her problems instead of just running away as she's done in her past 400 years. Her voice has also matured and has mostly lost the childish-ness she exhibited in the first book, another sign of her growth. Of course she maintained a touch of snark and cynicism, plus plenty of sarcasm, but she's less whiny, which is good! I really liked how she not only began to face her problems but also tried to fix them, and also how she's learning to empathize with others!

There was more action in this novel than in Immortal Beloved, which was fun! Although it was great to get to know more about the characters and to watch Nasty grow, the action definitely upped the excitement for the novel! I would even say that if there had been more action, the novel would have been even more enjoyable! It was good to see Nasty putting the lessons she learned in a classroom into effect!

More about River's past is also revealed in Darkness Falls and that was quite a story! Nasty's definitely not the only one who's dealing with demons from her past, that's for sure! We also learn more about Incy, which reveals a lot about his motivations. He's definitely more of a complex character than he appears to be in the first novel, which was great. There is definitely more character development in this novel and I liked learning more about the characters' pasts; it explains a great deal about their personality and decisions.

Overall, I'd say Darkness Falls is a stronger read than Immortal Beloved mostly because the writing has improved a bit. I feel the writing also reflects Nasty's attitude and demeanor, and since she's matured considerably from the first novel, the voice in Darkness Falls is less whiny and much more enjoyable! The actual plot (described in the blurb) took a couple of chapters to actually start up, but I felt the pacing was pretty good once it did.

I enjoyed Darkness Falls, and I do believe this is a trilogy, so I am already looking forward to the third book!


Overall: 4 out of 5
Plot: 3.75 stars
Characters: 4 stars
Writing: 4 stars
Cover: 3.50 stars

Abandon by Meg Cabot

Abandon by Meg Cabot

Release Date: April 16, 2011
Publisher: Point
Pages: 304

Though she tries returning to the life she knew before the accident, Pierce can't help but feel at once a part of this world, and apart from it. Yet she's never alone . . . because someone is always watching her. Escape from the realm of the dead is impossible when someone there wants you back.

But now she's moved to a new town. Maybe at her new school, she can start fresh. Maybe she can stop feeling so afraid.

Only she can't. Because even here, he finds her. That's how desperately he wants her back. She knows he's no guardian angel, and his dark world isn't exactly heaven, yet she can't stay away . . . especially since he always appears when she least expects it, but exactly when she needs him most.

But if she lets herself fall any further, she may just find herself back in the one place she most fears: the Underworld.

There's something definitely dramatic about Meg Cabot's writing! It's been a while since I've read anything by her, so it took a couple of chapters to accustomed to it again. I'm not the biggest fan of Meg Cabot's writing but I do prefer her style over those of some other authors. It may be dramatic, but it's relatively approachable and reads smoothly. I will say, however, that the vocabulary in this novel was really repetitive; the words "incident," "accident," "cemetery sexton," among others appeared over and over again.

The story is told predominantly in flashbacks, and I think this works for Abandon. As the story progresses, readers wonder what happened in Pierce's past and who is that John character? Readers are drawn in and kept interested by the flashbacks that present the readers with more insights to Pierce's past. Although I for one believe that the flashback style works for the novel, the actual story moved really rather slowly. It dragged at points, rehashing the past several times and nothing new happened for pages.

This book was marketed as a 'modern retelling of Persephone' of sorts but it hardly felt like that to me. I'm a big fan of mythology and spent plenty of time as a kid reading about them and I studied Latin (and to a lesser extent, Greek) in high school so I had an opportunity to re-visit and study the famous Greek and Roman mythology then. So when I heard about Abandon, I was excited! I love mythology from all cultures and I haven't read very many modern re-tellings of Persephone, but unfortunately, I was rather disappointed in this aspect. While Abandon has a few elements from the myth of Persephone (an underworld of sorts and a death deity) I would hardly call it a modern retelling of Persephone. Maybe it'll become more of a retelling in the later books in the trilogy, but book one, Abandon, definitely did not feel like a retelling.

The romance in the novel didn't seem very strong either; there was some mild chemistry between Pierce and John but John seemed really distant, a jerk at times, and inconsistent so it was hard to gauge the actual romantic interest between the two. But of course when the two finally kiss, the whole world is blocked out except for the kiss, everything else is forgotten, and he's so dark and mysterious but romantic, etc. etc. etc. which seemed cliche to me. I was hoping Meg Cabot was going to whip up a much stronger and steamy romance between the two leads, but alas, it was not so.

This last point might sound a bit nit-picky, but I for one was not very impressed by the name of Pierce's love interest, who also happens to be the aforementioned death deity: John. It sounds a bit, well, underwhelming and hardly impressive. With Meg Cabot's signature dramatic style of writing, I would have thought she would've picked a name that was a tad more impressive. Or at least one that matched the leading character (who's name was much more unique): Pierce.

I definitely have mixed feelings about this book; overall, I enjoyed it at points. However, none of the characters seemed very strong to me and not as memorable as those from Meg Cabot's other novels. Characters like Samantha from Meg Cabot's All-American Girl and Mia from The Princess Diaries definitely had a louder, more vibrant personality and Pierce seemed almost tame compared to Samantha and Mia. I'm not a fan of Pierce, though there are two more books left in this trilogy that could change my opinion! I found her a rather weak character who was careless, uncaring and not exactly the brightest bulb in the bunch. I'm hoping the trilogy gets better, though I'd have to say overall, I was disappointed with Abandon. I guess when you're already a best-selling author who is loved by so many fans, expectations are higher and unfortunately, I don't feel that Meg Cabot quite lived up to that expectation this time.


Overall: 3 out of 5
Plot: 3 stars
Characters: 2.75 stars
Writing: 3.5 stars
Cover: 5 stars

Vanish by Sophie Jordan

Vanish by Sophie Jordan

Release Date: September 6, 2011
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 294

An impossible romance.
Bitter rivalries.
Deadly choices.

To save the life of the boy she loves, Jacinda did the unthinkable: She betrayed the most closely-guarded secret of her kind. Now she must return to the protection of her pride knowing she might never see Will again—and worse, that because his mind has been shaded, Will’s memories of that fateful night and why she had to flee are gone.

Back home, Jacinda is greeted with hostility and must work to prove her loyalty for both her sake and her family’s. Among the few who will even talk to her are Cassian, the pride’s heir apparent who has always wanted her, and her sister, Tamra, who has been forever changed by a twist of fate. Jacinda knows that she should forget Will and move on—that if he managed to remember and keep his promise to find her, it would only endanger them both. Yet she clings to the hope that someday they will be together again. When the chance arrives to follow her heart, will she risk everything for love?

Jacinda's loyalty to her kind was tested and it was a very difficult struggle for her. Afterall, most of her pride has treated her as nothing more than a prize, the pride's only fire-breather. But they are still draki, and of course there are those in the pride that mean a lot to Jacinda.

I enjoyed reading Vanish and liked that it was fast-paced, just like Firelight was. Readers get to learn more about Cassian and get to see a different side of him. He becomes a character with more dimensions in Vanish and Tamara has really grown as well--hope to see more of her in the third book! Jordan's writing is very easy to read, approachable and with plenty of action, romance and draki, this fast-paced sequel to Firelight will keep readers hooked!

One thing that bugged me, however, was Jacinda's ping-pong game of emotions over her love interests. Will is back in her life, but Cassian has wedged his way in as well. As mentioned, readers will get to see a different side of him and understand him better, and he's not as cruel as one might have initially thought.
(Mild spoiler alert ahead! Stop reading here if you don't want to read the spoiler!------>) That said, some sparks fly between Cassian and Jacinda and after that, Jacinda really can't seem to make up her mind. When she's with one, she thinks of the other and starts to have some mixed feelings. While I get that the situation must be very confusing to her, and no doubt is causing plenty of emotional toil, she spends half the book not knowing how she feels about the situation. When she's with Cassian, it's Will she constantly thinks of. But when she's with Will, she thinks that she shouldn't be with him, she's gotta leave him (even if it's only to protect him) and guiltily thinks of Cassian. The emotional ping-pong game got rather tiresome after awhile--wish she would stop shying away from her feelings so she could figure things out and just pick one of them! (Granted, I'd feel terrible for the guy she didn't pick!) At the risk of sounding very corny, she should really follow her heart or she could risk spending her life life second-guessing herself.
Cassian turned out to be not a bad guy and was definitely a stronger character in Vanish. After seeing how he and Jacinda interacted, a part of me was rooting for him. It was hard not to, since he really helped her out of a few tight spots, and genuinely seemed to care about her and not just her ability to breathe fire.
(End spoiler)

All in all, I had fun reading Vanish and can't wait for the third installment of Sophie Jordan's series!


Overall: 4.5 out of 5
Plot: 4 stars
Characters: 4 stars
Writing: 4.75 stars
Cover: 4.75 stars

First Day on Earth by Cecil Castellucci

First Day on Earth by Cecil Castellucci

Release Date: November 1, 2011
Publisher: Scholastic
Pages: 150

A startling, wonderful novel about the true meaning of being an alien in an equally alien world.

"We are specks. Pieces of dust in this universe. Big nothings.

"I know what I am."

Mal lives on the fringes of high school. Angry. Misunderstood. Yet loving the world -- or, at least, an idea of the world.

Then he meets Hooper. Who says he's from another planet. And may be going home very soon.

This book was very different from what I expected; when I first read the plot I thought it was going to be a considerably thicker novel (First Day on Earth is just 150 pages) that focused not only on Mal's journey towards self-discovery, but also on theories about extraterrestrial life and specifically Mal's interactions with them. However, the novel focuses mainly on Mal's self-discovery.

Mal is what most people would consider a loner; he doesn't have many friends and is 'the quiet kid in the corner' at school. Ever since his Dad left him, his Mom's been a wreck and a drunk, leaving Mal to take care of himself and her. Years ago, he went missing for three days and the police found him in the middle of the desert. Everyone thinks he had a seizure or some sort of medical issue that caused him to wander into the desert, but Mal thinks he was abducted by aliens.

Mal finds solace in helping small animals he finds (often taking them to the nearby shelter for help) and goes to a support group for abductees. There, he meets Hooper, whom he gets to know better. Hooper tells Mal he isn't from around here--he's actually from another planet. It seems to make sense, afterall, Hooper does have some weird habits and did seem kind of odd ever since Mal met him.

Not your typical YA novel, but I rather liked it. It's different and the style works nicely as well. It's short, to the point with nothing drawn-out. Explores a teen's life as he wanders on the path towards self-discovery; a path that we all know is by no means a flat, carefree walk in the park! Sure, he's got some of that teen-angst going, but Mal genuinely does want to figure out who he is. Everyone's felt lost at some point, and with life-changing events, it can be easy to lose your sense of self-purpose and direction. I feel that the author does a good job conveying this feeling of loss and the desire to find oneself throughout the novel, despite how short it was. Characters were also reasonably well-developed for the brevity of this novel, and I must say, I really enjoyed Hooper's character. He was quite a hoot; nice comic relief for the more depressing moments Mal had!

Overall: 4 out of 5
Plot: 4 stars
Characters: 4.25 stars
Writing: 4.5 stars
Cover: 3.75 stars (love the font)

Clarity by Kim Harrington

Clarity by Kim Harrington

Release Date: March 1, 2011
Publisher: Point
Pages: 242

When you can see things others can't, where do you look for the truth?
This paranormal murder mystery will have teens reading on the edge of their seats.
Clarity "Clare" Fern sees things. Things no one else can see. Things like stolen kisses and long-buried secrets. All she has to do is touch a certain object, and the visions come to her. It's a gift.
And a curse.
When a teenage girl is found murdered, Clare's ex-boyfriend wants her to help solve the case - but Clare is still furious at the cheating jerk. Then Clare's brother - who has supernatural gifts of his own - becomes the prime suspect, and Clare can no longer look away. Teaming up with Gabriel, the smoldering son of the new detective, Clare must venture into the depths of fear, revenge, and lust in order to track the killer. But will her sight fail her just when she needs it most?

I definitely enjoyed reading Clarity and it's a great debut for author Kim Harrington! Clare's a great character; she's a bright, funny girl with the occasional sarcastic quip! Clarity was fast-paced, fun read! I found the mystery part a bit predictable by the middle, but the novel was well-written and by no means dragged out, so it was still an enjoyable read!

What I really liked was how Clare and her entire family had 'gifts' so their interactions were quite amusing at times but it also allowed them to support each other since they understood what it was like to have abilities that, as Clare put it, caused tourists to flock to them but also caused the locals to scorn them. The focus of the novel, therefore, wasn't about Clare trying to find acceptance within her family; they already knew who she was, she just had to find herself in the outside world.

One small issue I had with the novel was Gabriel, one of Clare's love interests. He seemed like your typical stock mysterious, handsome guy. I think he was supposed to thicken the mystery a bit but he felt a little bit like a cookie-cutter character to me. His character does get a bit better during the last bit of the novel though. That said, it's only a minor thing I was a bit disappointed in--nothing to stop anyone from reading the novel of course!

Overall: 4 out of 5
Plot: 3.5 stars
Characters: 5 stars
Writing: 4.75 stars
Cover: 5 stars (love the light colors! beautiful!)

Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

Release Date: January 17, 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 416

For months part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the raging forest fire from her visions and rescue the alluring and mysterious Christian Prescott from the blaze. But nothing could prepare her for the fateful decisions she would be forced to make that day, or the startling revelation that her purpose—the task she was put on earth to accomplish—is not as straightforward as she thought. Now, torn between her increasingly complicated feelings for Christian and her love for her boyfriend, Tucker, Clara struggles to make sense of what she was supposed to do the day of the fire. And, as she is drawn further into the world of part angels and the growing conflict between White Wings and Black Wings, Clara learns of the terrifying new reality that she must face: Someone close to her will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.

What I really like about this book is Clara's voice; she's got a sense of humor and a great personality that draws you into the story. The fire from Unearthly was only the beginning; now that her purpose from the vision she had as an angel-blood has passed--her purpose that she did not fulfill--Clara's future seems much less certain. It's an exciting, and nerve-wracking, journey for Clara and readers as she discovers more about her angel-blood status and tries to unravel the secrets around her.

It's Clara's voice and the story that hooked me into the book! The fantasy genre of YA has been overrun with vampires, werewolves and forbidden love for quite some time now, but angels and a story arc other than one of forbidden love is quite refreshing! Hallowed is definitely well-written and at a few points Clara even gently teases the more melodramatic characteristics of the Twilight series and books of similar nature that are now prevalent in YA fiction.

I felt that the actual plot itself wasn't very long. It probably could have been summed up with about half the pages used and readers would have still gotten the general gist of what goes on. However, while some may potentially deem Hallowed a "slow" book compared to it's predecessor, it's often the journey and not just the end results that count. Clara had a lot to learn and figure out about herself--and her purpose--if it had all be presented to her on a silver platter, she hardly would have learned anything! Clara's journey has only just begun, and as readers will see in Hallowed, there is still much for Clara to learn--about her abilities, her future and her past! As they say our experiences make us who we are, and if everything's done for us, we wouldn't have much left to experience!

That said, I did feel that a certain dream sequence did repeat itself several times without Clara (or readers) learning anything more. What made it sound so repetitive, I think, was that in the middle of the novel the dream/vision was presented with only minor variations on wording and sequence of events. The dream was (this), then Clara thought and felt (this). Not much else was learned from the sequence and Clara did not even brainstorm a new interpretation of the dream/vision. This was repeated a few times--adding little but a few extra pages to the novel. It was only at those points that I felt the novel could have picked up the pace a little bit.

Lastly, I have to admit that I didn't really feel it for Clara and Tuck until the very end. Although Clara said she loved him, I didn't get that feeling from her, during her interactions with him. It was as if that spark and that chemistry wasn't entirely there anymore. There were many points in the novel that I felt there was much stronger chemistry between Clara and Christian and Tuck just didn't seem as strong of a character. This last point could be the reason why Clara spent a great deal of the book seemingly bouncing back and forth between the two--she couldn't really make up her mind about her feelings for the longest time. I can't say much more for fear that I might spoil something, but it'll be interesting to see what other readers think about the leading men in this novel!

Hallowed was not as strong as I thought it would be, but even with the reservations I had, I had a good time reading it! The writing is great and Clara's voice and humor is a breath of fresh air! Fans of Unearthly will no doubt enjoy Hallowed, which is still a relatively creative and very enjoyable novel, especially in the fantasy genre that is now dominated by vampires and werewolves!

Overall: 4 out of 5
Plot: 3.50 stars
Characters: 4 stars
Writing: 5 stars
Cover: 5 stars (love the embossed, silver (shiny) lettering and the feather woven in!)

Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan

Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan

Release Date: September 7, 2010
Publisher: Little, Brown
Pages: 416

After living for hundreds of years, would you begin to lose the ability to feel and to appreciate the little things? After all, what's one moment to you, than the merest blink of an eye? You'll have many more moments to come--an infinite amount of moments, in fact. So what would you do? Jet off to see the world? Donate some time to help worldly causes? Mindlessly drift from party to party, just trying to pass time and have fun?

The latter is what immortal Nastasya--Nasty to her friends--picks. Nasty indulges in fancy parties, excessive drinking, and her friends' carefree (and careless) attitudes. What's one more night spent with exciting company and good drink? It's not like she has to worry about her liver or a possible car accident afterwards--immortals are a pretty hardy bunch with plenty of time for their antics.

Boz, Incy, and a few other immortals from Nasty's close group of friends are living it large--expensive parties, trips to the other end of the world on a whim, and fast cars and designer clothes are the norm for them. Reckless behavior is second nature, since they hardly have to worry about the repercussions. Car crash? No problem; immortals will likely escape with just a few scrapes and bruises.
Incy and Nasty have floated from party to party together for years, leading to a close friendship between the two. Incy parties hard because he doesn't have anything better to do with his time, but Nasty parties to forget her past--and this party lifestyle definitely suits her needs. That is, until one night Incy goes too far and uses his magick to snap a man's back.

Shaken that her close friend could use his magick for bad and could just harm an innocent man without any remorse, Nasty flees her group of friends. And for the first time in decades, Nasty has feelings of guilt and cowardice. but after centuries of stamping out true emotions and feelings, Nasty does not know who to turn to, except for a woman named River whom she had only met once--and decades ago at that. Traveling from London to Massachusetts to find River and her place if she's still there, Nasty pins her last hope of possibly having something different than a life filled with nothing but debauchery on someone and some place she did not truly know, let alone understand. But Nasty may get more than what she's bargained for when she reaches River's End. The lifestyle of those there are very different from the one Nasty's gotten used to over the past few decades--and there's someone there who may have something to do with the past Nasty's buried deep for years.

Nasty definitely grew and matured a bit during the progression of the novel. Although she maintains some of the childishness and immaturity she displayed rather prominently during the beginning of the novel. She's also got a vulnerable side that surfaces as sarcasm and attitude, which puts her at odds with some of the others at River's End.
I would have thought that having lived over 400 years, and having seen what Nasty had, would have given her some perspective and made her mature at least a bit more than she had. I mean, she really didn't have it easy at points in her life--death, pain, famine, and loss--but she still sounded like a teenager most of the time. While I agree that some of those events could be traumatizing enough to make her repress them, the general hardships she had to go through before her wild party days should have still made her more mature than she sounded in Immortal Beloved.

The beginning of the book was okay. It was the second half that drew me in more and it was with greater reluctance that I set the book down when I had to as I got further along. The beginning had almost a Gossip Girl-esque feeling to it; parties! Rumors! Glamor! Flamboyant friends! But then things mellowed out and Nasty began her journey towards self-discovery.

I guess you could also say that certain times during Nasty's time at River's End (almost like a rehab for immortals) were slow as well. Things did not progress very quickly (I'm sure Nasty felt that way too!) but this could have also been to showcase Nasty's own journey at River's End. Her chores were described maybe once too often (there are only so many ways you can write about washing kale) but the flashbacks and other events kept it interesting enough that I wanted to keep going.

All in all, I enjoyed reading Immortal Beloved. However, I also felt that this novel was holding back, especially during the last third or so, to set up for a sequel. Although that part was not quite that enjoyable, I am looking forward to continuing Nasty's journey in the sequel, Darkness Falls which hits bookstores this month! I would like to add that I do hope that Nasty will grow and mature even more in book two as the immature voice that told the first part of this story was not exactly my cup of tea.

Overall: 3.75 out of 5
Plot: 4 stars
Characters: 4 stars
Writing: 3.75 stars
Cover: 3 stars