Paranormal

FLASH REVIEWS: YALSA’s 2013 Hub Reading Challenge, Check-In #2

Eight down… and seventeen more to go. That’s not a very encouraging statistic considering I began this challenge back in February and I now have only until 11:59 p.m. (because every minute counts!) on Saturday, June 22nd to live up to my reading pledge. But as this is Summer Reading season and I HATE to fail at anything, I still think I can do it. Maybe. Possibly. Okay, my chances aren’t great, but I refuse to give up!

Anyway, here are the three books that I have read for the challenge and haven’t yet reviewed. (Thumbs up on all three, by the way. Although one definitely stands out for me far and above the others.)

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Fantasy/Mystery/Paranormal Romance
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
I soooo wanted to love this book. And I did like it—a lot. But for me it did not quite have the same magic and ingenuity that made The Scorpio Races so enthralling. I think part of the problem is that I missed the first-person narration that allowed me to empathize so strongly with previous Stiefvater characters. (Although switching to third-person narration does fix the tendency I’ve noticed wherein Steifvater’s dual narrators often read as too alike and not fully distinct from one another.) But ultimately The Raven Boys lacked the lyrical qualities that drew me to Shiver and (most particularly) The Scorpio Races.

That is not to say that the book isn’t well written. It is, very much so. And the premise is intriguing. Blue is an interesting, likeable character who comes from a family of clairvoyants but remains a bit of an outsider. After all, she is not clairvoyant herself, though her presence somehow acts as an amplifier for others’ gifts. Meanwhile, there are the “Raven Boys” of Aglionby Academy. Gansey is the de facto leader of a group of misfits at the prestigious boys’ school. He feels responsible for guarding his troubled friends’ well-being and is obsessed with unraveling a mystical mystery that becomes key to the book (and presumably the rest of the series). Like most of the locals, Blue wants nothing to do with the stuck-up Raven Boys, but then she meets Gansey, whose fate seems tied to Blue and a deadly curse. All the elements—mystery, heartbreak, friendship, betrayal, moral dilemmas—are there, but they only began to come together for me near the book’s end. It was well past the mid-way point that the characters and their relationships began to fully engage my interest, but once this happened I was hooked. Luckily, this is only the first book in the Raven Cycle quartet. I think now that the characters have been introduced and the tone set, The Dream Thieves (due out in September) has the potential to far surpass its predecessor.

Drama by Raina Telgemeier
Genre: Graphic Novel/Realistic Fiction
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
This graphic novel from the author of Smile is a quick and amusing read. I loved Callie and really enjoyed all of her
interactions with her drama club pals, particularly her friendship with Liz. However, I do feel like the book reinforces stereotypes by [POTENTIAL SPOILER: Highlight to read!] having all three of
the male performer characters turn out to be gay (or potentially gay)
and making the only female performer into a self-absorbed, melodramatic
diva. But then this title was selected as one of the Great Graphic Novels Top Ten 2013 and as a 2013 Stonewall Honor Book, so maybe it’s just me. I have yet to see any other reviews that raise the same concerns. But regardless of my quibbles, I thoroughly enjoyed this story about a perpetually lovestruck 7th grader who adores the theater and her role on the crew of the school play. This title should find particular favor with middle-school Glee fans.

The Diviners by Libba Bray
Genre: Horror/Historical/Speculative Fiction
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
As The Diviners was a 2013 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults Top Ten selection, I chose to listen to this book in audio format. It was a much better experience than my last encounter with a Libba Bray audio book. At first, the 1920s slang and historical background seemed a bit gimmicky and overdone, but I was quickly drawn into the creepy, atmospheric world Bray creates. The Diviners is shamelessly excessive—the slang, the numerous characters, the mysteries—but this perfectly reflects the sumptuous excess of the era and lends the book an epic quality that promises good things to come. Featuring disparate teen protagonists with nothing in common other that a secret special ability, a ghostly serial killer, and the vivid setting of Prohibition-era New York, this is one of the most memorable series openers I’ve read in ages. Even better, while reaching a satisfactory resolution to the main plot of this book, there are overarching mysteries that have me eagerly awaiting the second book of the planned quartet.

REVIEW: Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning

Rating: 4/5 Stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Fairy
Audience: Adult/High School

Summary: When her sister is murdered in Dublin, Ireland MacKayla Lane travels there in order to bring the murderer to justice.  Little does she know that there she will discover a world of Fae, Druids, and other realms. Along her journey MacKayla will learn dark family secrets as well as discovering untapped supernatural talents. She will find she has strength and resources that she never thought she possessed as she fights for her very soul and even the fate of the world.

Lucinda’s Views:  A departure from her Highlander novel series, the Fever series is pure urban fantasy.  In MacKayla’s quest to find the fiend who murdered her sister she is caught up in a world she never dreamed that she was a part of, let alone responsible for saving.

Abounding with Celtic and Irish lore, this series pulls in legends, bardic tales, and modern fairy tales and ties them together into a cohesive whole that will entertain but at the same time make you wonder….What if?  The Fae of MacKayla’s world are nothing like the Tinkerbell of modern ideology.  These Fae are dangerous, frightening and out to satiate hungers that have been harnessed for millennium. 

MacKayla’s journey from Southern socialite to a strong, independent woman will keep you interested as well as the myriad of characters that MacKayla encounters. The dark, sexy Jericho Barrons, the Seelie Prince V’Lane, and the irrepressible Dani O’Malley, who is not what she seems, are all well-developed and mysterious.  If you like Urban Fantasy and want to read a well-written original series I encourage you to check this series out!      

REVIEW: A Discovery of Witches and The Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

Star Rating: 4.5/5
Genre: Supernatural Fantasy/Time Travel
Audience: Adult, Young Adult

Summary: In two sweeping novels that range in setting from modern-day Oxford to Elizabethan England, Deborah Harkness tells the story of the lovers Matthew and Diana, a vampire and witch who are breaking every taboo to be together.  It all begins when Diana calls up the alchemical treatise “Ashmole 782”.  Unbeknownst to Diana, this manuscript has not been seen in hundreds of years and is said to hold the key to the origins of the three races; witches, vampires and daemons.  Subsequently, Diana simply sends it back to the Bodlien Library’s stacks.  With this one act, Diana suddenly finds herself the object of a race against time, at the center of a powerful magic, and in a struggle for her very life and that of the vampire she loves. 

Lucinda’s Views:   I have a confession to make, I have a guilty pleasure.  I love a good supernatural love story/fantasy, so I eagerly grabbed A Discovery of Witches when it first came out.  Then I heard that the sequel was arriving, so I got out my handy Nook and reread A Discovery of Witches.  It was as absorbing a book as it had been during the first read.  Diana’s tenaciousness and true strength of character draws the reader in and holds them in thrall until the last page.  Matthew is the quintessential vampire hero, strong, protective, and a little bit of an enigma.  As seen in Shadow of Night, Matthew has been a hidden player throughout much of our modern era, including being a member of the School of Night.  (An organization founded by Sir Walter Raleigh during Elizabeth I’s reign.  It consisted of some of the most gifted minds of the day.)  Anyone who loves the combination of history and fantasy will enjoy this aspect of the novels.  These book are well-written, interesting, and will hold a fascination for any reader who picks them up.  I can’t wait for the third novel in the trilogy to be published!

FLASH REVIEWS: A YA Roundup

So I recently realized that over the past year I’ve read several YA books that I never got around to reviewing. Now, many of these books have sequels out or soon to be released. Here’s a quick look at some of the books I overlooked:

All These Things I’ve Done (Birthright #1) by Gabrielle Zevin
Genre: Dystopia/Crime Fiction/Romance
Rating: 2.5/5 Stars
 In a near future where chocolate and
caffeine are contraband, water and
paper are carefully rationed, and curfews are strictly enforced, sixteen-year-old Anya Balanchine finds
herself coping with an ailing grandmother and mothering her orphaned siblings.Oh, and she also gets herself tangled up in the illegal family business while falling for the son of New York’s new District Attorney. Anya is a strong and fascinating character and this book provides a slightly different slant in dystopian literature, but I felt that some of the details strained credibility. For me the book fell a bit flat, especially the romantic relationship. But there’s still hope for this wonderful premise and characters: Book 2, Because It’s in My Blood, is due out September 18, 2012.


Ashes (Ashes Trilogy #1) by Ilsa J. Bick
Genre: Apocalyptic Fiction/Horror
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
On the run from an incurable brain tumor, 17-year-old Alex is camping alone in the mountains when catastrophe strikes. The sudden explosion of an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) instantly kills most of the adults and turns many of the younger humans into crazed, flesh-eating monsters. Tough and resourceful, Alex teams up with a contrary eight-year-old and a young soldier named Tom. The first half of this novel is a high-energy gorefest that kept me enthralled, but events take a sudden turn midway though. The creepy factor ratchets up in a totally new way, but the sudden veer had me baffled for a bit. However, the cliffhanger ending takes a turn back in the right direction. There are tons of questions left in the air, and I can’t wait for the sequel, Shadows, due out September 25, 2012! For its foray into societal issues and mores as well as the vivid action sequences, Walking Dead fans will definitely want to check this one out.
Glow (Sky Chasers #1) by Amy Kathleen Ryan
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: 3/5 Stars
Decades ago, when it became clear Earth would not survive much longer, two pioneer spacecraft were launched to locate and colonize  a New Earth. Fifteen-year-old Waverly and her boyfriend Kieran were born aboard the Empyrean, a completely self-contained habitat. The Empyrean and its inhabitants are still at least 40 years away from reaching their goal when their sister ship, New Horizon, inexplicably attacks and kidnaps all of the girls. Suddenly, Kieran finds himself in a power struggle with Seth, who becomes both a romantic rival and a rival to Kieran’s role as future leader of the ship. Meanwhile, Waverly must figure out a way to thwart her captors. This is a fast-paced space epic with some fascinating twists. A less-than-subtle dig at the corruptible qualities of organized religion may alienate some readers.  The second installment of the series, Spark, was released July 17, 2012. 

 

Hourglass (Hourglass #1) by Myra McEntire
Genre: Science Fiction/Mystery/Paranormal Romance
Rating: 3/5 Stars
Seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole sees ghosts. Or, at least she believes that’s what they are. Now that she is home—after being hospitalized for a nervous breakdown—her older brother and guardian has hired the Hourglass Institute to help Emerson deal with her “hallucinations.” But Micheal Weaver is not the therapist Emerson expects; instead he is a consultant for a secretive organization that works with gifted people of the X-men variety, helping them to develop and use their abilities for good. Emerson believes he’s nuts at first, but soon she’s thinking all sorts of things might be possible, including time travel. This book isn’t perfect, but Emerson is a likeable, slightly offbeat narrator, and the romantic triangle that develops with Michael and Kaleb is intriguing if a bit predictable. Hourglass is a clever combination of science fiction, superheroes, and paranormal romance that will appeal to a wide range of readers. The sequel, Timepiece, is now available.

Wither (Chemical Garden Trilogy #1) by Lauren DeStefano

Genre: Post-apocalyptic Fiction
Rating: 3/5 Stars
In a future world where genetic engineering has created a disease that kills women by the age of 20 and men by the age of 25, polygamy has become a way of life for the rich and a means of ensuring survival of the species. Rhine is sixteen when she is kidnapped from her Manhattan neighborhood and forced to become the bride of Linden Ashby, one of the most handsome and affluent young men in Florida. Even as Rhine struggles with her feelings about her new husband, she also develops a wary relationship with one of the household’s male servants. And yet she is determined not to allow her developing relationships to make her lose sight of her goal to escape and somehow reunite with her twin brother. This is a creepy, dangerous world filled with hidden agendas. The narrative tension is high and although I was often frustrated by Rhine’s inner conflicts, I fully plan to discover more of this disturbing world in Fever.

REVIEW: Bewitching by Alex Flinn

Rating: 3/5 Stars
Genre: Supernatural Fantasy/Romance/Historical
Audience: Young Adult

Summary:  In this spin-off of Beastly, Kendra the witch tells her own tales including how she discovered she was a witch in the plague year of 1666, survived the Titanic, and has helped poor souls across the centuries of her life.  The latest of her “poor” souls is Emma, a plain, but beautiful within stepsister who just need to “get out from under herself.” In addition, interwoven within the whole book are the tales of Cinderella, The little Mermaid, and The Princess and the Pea.

Lucinda’s Views:   This book was a quick, enjoyable, light summer read.  Kendra is a sympathetic character, who somehow even makes cursing someone seem like the “thing” to do.  One can understand her need to “help” these poor souls as she comes across them.  However, her “help” has mixed results, but somehow things always seem to be set right in the end.  If you enjoy fairy tales, supernatural tales or teen romance…this is the book for you.

REVIEW: The Witches of East End by Melissa De La Cruz

Rating: 3/5
Audience: Older Young Adult/Adult
Genre: Paranomal Romance/Mystery/Fantasy

Summary:
It’s the beginning of summer in North Hampton, and beautiful Freya Beauchamp is celebrating her engagement to wealthy Bran Gardiner, the heir to Fair Haven and Gardiners Island. But Freya is drawn to Bran’s gorgeous but unreliable brother Killian, and sparks fly when the two decide to play a dangerous game, following an ancient story of love, betrayal and tragedy that harks back to the days of Valhalla.

Witches of East End follows the Beauchamp family—the formidable matriarch Joanna and her daughters Freya and Ingrid. Freya, a sexy bartender, has a potion to cure every kind of heartache, while Ingrid, the local librarian, solves complicated domestic problems with her ability to tie magical knots. Joanna is the witch to see when modern medicine has no more answers; her powers can wake the dead. Everything seems to be going smoothly until a young girl, Molly Lancaster, goes missing after taking one of Freya’s irresistible cocktails. As more of the town’s residents begin disappearing, everyone seems to have the same suspects in mind: the Beauchamp women.
Lucinda’s Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this book. As a fan of mythology it was refreshing to see a tale with Norse, rather than Greek mythology at its core.  The character development was interesting and kept me reading.  I finished this book quickly.  The one drawback to this book is the “too” neat ending.  The book seemed to end very abruptly, with a very hurried resolution to problems that should have taken at least a couple more chapters to reach their denouement.  This book comes with a PG-13 rating due to  some steamy romantic scenes.  While they are steamy they are tastefully written.  The epilogue provided an unseen twist that I’m sure will lead to the next book in the series.  This author also writes the Bluebloods vampire series for young adults.

REVIEW: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Rating: 4/5 Stars
Audience: Young Adult/Teen
Genre: Paranormal Horror

Summary:  Theseus Cassio Lowood kills ghosts. Well, the bad ones anyway. You know those urban legends and ghost stories about vengeful spirits taking their anger and disappointment out on the living? Some of them are true, and it is Cas’s job to stop them once and for all. He travels from town to town with his witch mother and their cat Tybalt, killing murderous ghosts and secretly preparing himself for the day that he will confront the ghost that killed his father. Now he has a new ghost in his sights: Anna Dressed in Blood. But something about her is different than the other ghosts Cas has faced. She’s incredibly strong. And she knows she’s dead. For over fifty years, Anna has killed everyone who has dared step foot inside her family home. But for some reason, when Cas invades her territory, she lets him live.

Tracy’s Thoughts:
“Spellbinding and romantic,” declares Cassandra Clare on the book’s cover blurb. Spellbinding, yes. But romantic? Um, no… Not so much. Anna Dressed in Blood is more Supernatural than Twilight (or whatever paranormal romance is your current favorite). Yes, there is a late-emerging romantic subplot here, but it is not the heart of the story.

As a horror story, I didn’t really find it all that scary, either. At least, not leave-the-light-on and jump-at-small-noises scary. But. Kendare Blake’s writing is absolutely gripping. Vividly cinematic (unlike one zombie book I could name) and satisfactorily gruesome, Anna Dressed in Blood is definitely creepy and disturbing. I was enthralled by the atmospheric description and the compelling, first person narration:

The stagnant clouds make me motion-sick for some reason, so I go back to looking at the forest, a blanket of pines in colors of green, brown, and rust, struck through with birch trunks sticking up like bones. I’m usually in a better mood on these trips. The excitement of somewhere new, a new ghost to hunt, new things to see…the prospects usually keep my brain sunny for at least the duration of the drive. Maybe it’s just that I’m tired. I don’t sleep much, and when I do, there’s usually some kind of nightmare involved. But I’m not complaining. I’ve had them off and on since I started using the athame. Occupational hazard, I guess, my subconscious letting out all the fear I should be feeling when I walk into places where there are murderous ghosts. Still, I should try to get some rest. The dreams are particularly bad the night after a successful hunt, and they haven’t really calmed down since I took out he hitchhiker.

An hour of so later, after many attempts at sleep, Thunder Bay comes up in our windshield, a sprawling, urbanesque city of over a hundred thousand living. . . . It’s only as we get into the heart of the city—the older part of the city that rests above the harbor—that I see what I’m looking for. . . .

Over the course of my life I’ve been to lots of places. Shadowed places where things have gone wrong. Sinister places where things still are. I always hate the sunlit towns, full of newly built developments with double-car garages in shades of pale eggshell, surrounded by green lawns and dotted with laughing children. Those towns aren’t any less haunted than the others. They’re just better liars. I like it more to come to a place like this, where the scent of death is carried to you on every seventh breath.

Cas is a dynamic character: bold, snarky and wonderfully quick-witted. But he’s also fallible. Every now and then, he fumbles on a job or is caught off guard, with no idea how to respond. He doesn’t always know the answers—especially once he is faced with a ghost like Anna—and admits to manipulating people to achieve his goals. I didn’t always like him, but I understood him and was invested in his story. Plus, his wry humor adds a wonderful dimension to the story, as do the secondary characters. Cas reluctantly makes friends with a geeky psychic and the school’s queen bee, who for once does not fall into the popular girl=mean girl stereotype. And of course, there’s Anna. You wouldn’t expect to find a homicidal ghost known to rip people in half a sympathetic character, but Blake has managed to imbue Anna with a vulnerability that doesn’t make her murderous history any less disturbing. Perhaps more so, if anything.

Anna Dressed in Blood also does an excellent job of setting itself up for further books in the series without sacrificing the story at hand. It stands on its own, but also leaves you wanting more. Personally, I’m hooked and looking forward to the sequel, Girl of Nightmares, due for release in August 2012.

REVIEW: Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (Spoilers present)

Rating: 3/5 Stars
Audience: Older Middle/High School/Adult
Genre: Vampire Fiction/Romance

Summary: In Breaking Dawn, the fourth and final installment in the series, Bella’s story plays out in some unexpected ways. The ongoing conflicts that made this series so compelling–a human girl in love with a vampire, a werewolf in love with a human girl, the generations-long feud between werewolves and vampires–resolve pretty quickly, apparently so that Meyer could focus on Bella’s latest opportunity for self-sacrifice: giving her life for someone she loves even more than Edward.

Lucinda’s Views:  In the last installment in the Twilight Saga, Stephenie Meyer doesn’t fail to deliver.  I really enjoyed re-reading this book after seeing the movie on opening night.  (Side note:  The book and the movie follow closely and the film is well done.)  Having said that, Bella’s new adventures kept me interested as her evolving relationship with Edward takes on some unexpected turns.  The way that the story neatly wraps up the love triangle between Edward, Jacob and Bella is satisfying, and the ending to the book rings true. 

On a deeper level the story ponders some of the ethical questions that plague our society today….”Is terminating a pregnancy morally right?  Which person is more important the mother or the baby, especially when the mother’s life is in danger?” 

On another note, the appearance of the Volturi bring more vampires out of the woodwork, several of whom I would like to see further stories about.  Vampires such as Garrettt, and the reappearance of the Denali vampires for instance.  Another possible story that I would like to see is the relationship between Jacob and Renesmee.  Possible spin offs?  Who knows?  Only Stephenie Meyer.

Just a little trailer from the movie to whet your appetite 🙂

Found this interview with Stephenie done by Nancy Pearl…Interesting!

REVIEW: The Parasol Protectorate Series by Gail Carriger

Rating:3.5/5
Audience: Young Adult/Adult
Genre: Steampunk/Vampire/Werewolf

Summary: This delightful comedy of manners set in the late Victorian Era, details the adventures of Alexia Tarabotti, a woman who is a preternatural.  In other words, she has no soul and her touch causes vampires and werewolves to revert to their former human selves, thus rendering them no longer immortal.  Alexia is a quiet spinster just trying to survive life with a vacuous mother and selfish half-sisters, when adventure suddenly finds her.  Join Alexia as she snares a great catch for herself on the marriage mart, foils several plots to kill Queen Victoria, and learns what constitutes proper dress for dirigible travel. This series starts off with Soulless and is followed by Changeless, Blameless, Heartless, and the soon-to-be published Timeless. (2012)

Changeless     Blameless    Heartless  Timeless
Lucinda’s Views:  This series, is a delightful romp through Victorian England.  However, it is a Victorian England where vampires and werewolves move through high society.  An England where the Queen has werewolf bodyguards and their existence is not a secret.  Alexia, is a complex, but pragmatic character whose soullessness is supplemented by her cool, almost sarcastic logic.  If you enjoy the ins and outs of Victorian etiquette and love a good intrigue, with a dash of romance thrown in you will enjoy this series.  As the series progresses, the characters become more complex and develop surprising depths.   Part of these developments include surprising revelations concerning the nature of Alexia’s union with Lord Maccon,  revelations concerning the unflappable Professor Lyall, and a whole new view of Lord Akledama’s drone Biffy.  On the whole, an entertaining read for fans of the steampunk genre.