ARC Review & Discussion: The Darkest Part of the Forest (Read-A-Long)

Title: The Darkest Part of the Forest
Author: Holly Black
Category/Genre: YA, Contemporary, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Release Date: January 13, 2015

See it at Goodreads

Children can have a cruel, absolute sense of justice. Children can kill a monster and feel quite proud of themselves. A girl can look at her brother and believe they’re destined to be a knight and a bard who battle evil. She can believe she’s found the thing she’s been made for.

Hazel lives with her brother, Ben, in the strange town of Fairfold where humans and fae exist side by side. The faeries’ seemingly harmless magic attracts tourists, but Hazel knows how dangerous they can be, and she knows how to stop them. Or she did, once.

At the center of it all, there is a glass coffin in the woods. It rests right on the ground and in it sleeps a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives. Hazel and Ben were both in love with him as children. The boy has slept there for generations, never waking.

Until one day, he does…

As the world turns upside down, Hazel tries to remember her years pretending to be a knight. But swept up in new love, shifting loyalties, and the fresh sting of betrayal, will it be enough?



Lyn of Great Imaginations and I recently read The Darkest Part of the Forest and then had a fun discussion review on it! Today we are sharing our thoughts on the read, and as you can see had slightly different experiences. I always love having read-alongs like this and sharing our discussions since it gives an edge to the review process and changes the pace sometimes. :P

From my perspective, you can tell that I really loved The Darkest Part of the Forest. It was one of my favorite reads of the year, and I was so excited after finishing it. I will be highly recommending it to many!

Lyn: Alright! Pixie and I did a co-reading of Holly Black’s The Darkest Part of the Forest. Now we’re co-reviewing the book together!

Alright, Pixie! You seemed very whipped up over the book. What was your overall take of the novel?

Pixie: I was immersed into the story from the very first page! I seriously could not stop reading this book. Haha.

Lyn: I LOVED that the book started with a glass casket. That is one of my top attention-grabbers: anything that sounds like it could be ripped right out of a D&D game. Big plus there.

Pixie: Yes! There were some very easy visuals because the descriptions were amazing.

Lyn: This was my first Holly Black novel, so I was very nervous about picking up this novel, since I had no previous exposure to her writing. Is this your first HB book?

Pixie: No. I’ve been a big fan of hers for years. She was one of my first YA authors after I picked up Melissa Marr in my early twenties. :)

Lyn: How did it compare to her other books?


Pixie: DPotF had a more contemporary vibe to it. I liked that. Despite the fantasy elements, it felt as if she gave her characters (and world) a more modern approach.


Lyn: I do love some contemporary fantasy. I suppose you could label this urban fantasy.

I suppose I should come out and be honest - I wasn’t crazy over this book. I gave it three stars. :( Womp Womp. The descriptions were beautiful and I really loved the plot, but the characters were very dull and flat for me.

Pixie: LOL, don’t feel bad. I gave it four stars. I don’t think it was her best (Coldest Girl in Coldtown still wins, I’m almost sure), but I liked the story and world-building for the most part. My biggest complaint were the characters also. I felt they could have used more. Especially in the romance.

Lyn: The romance REALLY killed it for me. I am very critical when it comes to pairing, and I seemed to get side-tracked by the constant “Who does s/he like more/the best?” The whole “let’s play fantasy pairing!” issue really killed a lot of my enthusiasm. I know it sounds horrible, because I so loved the whole GLBT angle, but it just didn’t end up working for me. I wanted more fae and court life.

Pixie: Oh I agree! I almost want to say that if it were longer or more detailed in some areas to better explain some things, it’d be even better for that area. It can be difficult for stand-alones in my opinion to gain some perspective for romances. I think I could’ve done without a romance and would’ve loved the whole general story.

Lyn: I have to give props to the author for writing a stand alone. I love my series, but it seems that a multi-book series is all the rage right now. I think it would have helped if the book was longer. There was quite a bit going on for such a short page count.

Pixie: Major props to her. I’m the same way. I love stand alones. :) I always find myself going to Holly Black’s books because that’s what she writes a lot. Fantasy and stand alones. But I agree, would’ve been nice seeing more. Or maybe I’m just selfish and wanted more of that pretty writing. Lol.


Lyn: I am excited to read The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, so I have a basis of comparison. The descriptions were awesome, but the writing left something to be desired. It almost felt like this was a short story that the publishers pushed to become a novel, so the writing felt a bit forced. Maybe it was just boredom setting in, but I really didn’t feel the heart of the writer in this one, you know?

Pixie: I understand what you’re saying. I have seen her writing through the course of the years and it does come off a bit differently here. I’m excited to see what you think of Coldest Girl!

Lyn: Same here! Is there anything else we want to cover?

My take away from this is flat characters that i wanted to like in the worst way, but the plot was awesome and the description of the fae and the magic of the forest was very dazzling.

Pixie: That is almost my same take, except I think I was a bit more enchanted than you by the book. :P Other than that, I don’t think there’s really anything else I have to discuss without
putting in spoilers and I don’t want to go doing that. Lol.

Lyn: So agree!


 

Pixie's Rating: 4



 

Forgotten Fridays (#2): Vampire Academy

This week I joined Forgotten Fridays with the lovely ladies of Great Imaginations!

What is Forgotten Fridays? It’s a fun feature that was created to give attention to the older books (published a year or more ago) that we review and discuss together! Check out more on this feature by visiting Great Imaginations! (The above image also belongs to Great Imaginations)


 

(See it at Goodreads)

We were reading and discussing Vampire Academy-- which happens to be one of my favorite series ever, so this was a fun re-read for me, and a first time for the others. After re-reading Vampire Academy (probably my fourth time haha) for the first time in a couple of years, I saw it in a slightly different light. Have we ever discussed how as a blogger, I’ve noticed my reading tastes changing through the year--me becoming more critical at times? Yeah well it happens.

Not to say I didn’t still enjoy reading, of course. I just realized how much different things have changed since the last time I read it. VA is great for its mythos and unique characters, but I did see where it was a little cheesy. And the slut shaming I never really paid attention to before. Overall, I still enjoyed going back into the world and characters. Especially being reminded how great Dimitri was at his job. Haha.

I love group discussions and read-a-longs though. Here’s why, the fun sharing of the conversation between some very different readers. I think we all liked it really--and the analyzing of the story and characters we each had.

Hey check out the discussion we had, which is also seen over at Great Imaginations!


Bekka: Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m really excited to talk about this book.

Lyn: I have to admit, it was better than I thought. There were just a few things that bothered me, but overall, it was promising.

Pixie: It’s always been a bit of a funny first book to a series for me. The first time I’d read it, I almost didn’t want to continue the series. A little cheesy.

Kara: I mostly liked it. Ultimately, I had a few issues *coughs* the writing and the infodumping. But as far as the story itself, I liked it. Also liked the vampire mythology and thought it was unique.

Bekka: THE WRITING. So painful at times. It could have used some tightening, especially in the weird way the author phrased things, like “I arrived at the cafeteria.”

Lyn: I had issues with the world building. Why would the stronger vampires not take over the weak, non-breeding vamps? Did I miss something?

Pixie: I always wondered about that with the vamps, too, Lyn. But I’m with Kara on really enjoying the mythology.

Lyn: It was a different take. Kara, you are right about the info dumping. I felt sort of lost most of the time. Confusion was a large part of the story for me.

Bekka: Totally agree. There were times, especially during the explanation of the breeding system that it all went right over my head and I just kinda had to roll with it.

Lyn: I agree, Bekka. My brain was on overload at times.
I know it sounds like I am knocking the book. I did really like Rose quite a bit.

Kara: Yes, I LOVED Rose. For the most part. There were a couple of times where I was a little irritated by her recklessness and found it to be a bit much, but I really did like the evolution of her character and her devotion to protecting Lissa.

Lyn: It was really nice to read about a strong-bonded girl-girl relationship.I found that so refreshing, and I miss that in YA fiction at times. I loved the theme of friendship and loyalty.

Pixie: Rose is probably one of my favorite female characters of all-time. And I love the bond her and Lissa share because we don’t get to see many best friend relationships in books.

Bekka: Rose made this book for me, all the way. I don’t really understand what it is, because I feel like if you put all of her characteristics together (physically attractive, funny, confident, sarcastic, etc) you would come out with a “Mary Sue” type character, but it SO WORKED for Rose.

Kara: You know what I didn’t understand? The Dimitry fangirling. Maybe he gets better in later installments, but I thought his character was supremely flat. I don’t understand the big deal and wondered the whole time while I was reading when he would get more of a personality. I just didn’t see anything unique to swoon over.

Lyn: I….fangirled. I love the whole stoic, ice-cold male prototype. I like to try to win over my book crushes. I think it might be a personality thing. I didn’t like how he shamed Rose about her sexuality, but I just really felt attracted to his character.

Bekka: I fangirled over the relationship, but not necessarily the character. I loved Rose’s crush on him and her unabashed flirting that sometimes crossed the line into Totally Hitting on Him territory.

Kara: Okay, maybe it was my issues with the writing because I found all of this flat. I do believe this was the author’s first YA book, right? Maybe that’s it. I just feel like everything was all on the surface and I didn’t connect with a lot of it, including the relationship. Just when I would start to get into it, she would summarize or infodump and yank me out of the story. There was SO MUCH summarizing. It was brutal for me. Especially towards the end. Major telling instead of showing. The amateur quality just stuck out at me.

Bekka: Amateur is exactly the word I would use to describe the writing, which is a shame because I think the story underneath is awesome.

Kara: Yeah, SO awesome. I agree. But the writing quality declined, and now I wonder if her adult book was the same or she wrote on a more amateur level because she doesn’t think teens need it. O_o

Lyn: I really want to read Gameboard of the Gods and see if her writing has grown. It feels like something the author wrote at the start of her career (which, I see, is true). She has a very detailed mythology in her story, and I would love to see if the writing matches the world building.

Kara: I have not heard good things from others about that book. A lot of people I follow either DNFed or didn’t like it because they found it boring. If you read it, I would be interested for sure to know how you felt. As for this one, I am rating it 3 stars. Normally this would mean I am probably not going to continue on, but in this case, I think it might get better a book or two into it, plus the mythology has me intrigued.

Bekka: I’m gonna rate it a 3.5. I just really loved Rose, I don’t know. As for the rest of the series? Hell yes, I am continuing. I kind of want to drop everything and just read read read Vampire Academy.

Lyn: 3 stars. I want to continue because I invested in the UK version of the books. The covers are to DIE for. Dearly Departed Pixie said she rated it 3.5.

Kara: We are reading Jellicoe Road next which is Lyn’s pick and I don’t know about you guys, but I am excited. I have wanted to read this FOREVER but could not find the time.

Lyn: I DNFed the first time around, but Jessie convinces me to push through and read it. I am thrilled to give it another shot.

Bekka: Same. I made it about twenty pages in, but it was soooo confusing. But everyone is NUTS for this book so I am going to give it a real shot this time.

Kara: I hope it doesn’t go the way of Going Bovine for me. LOL. Okay, are we finished?

Lyn: Yes, good, done, in the can.


As you can see, I wasn’t around long… and sadly we missed Jessie from Ageless Pages Reviews, which read it with us but didn't get to make the discussion. But it still worked out. :)

Also, my original rating of this book has went from a 4.5 down to the mentioned above, 3.5. It’s not that I liked it any less than before, I just noticed that I was being a bit too generous as a reviewer with the rating. Book two is a must. That’s when we meet Adrian! Yippeee!

Have you read Vampire Academy? Would you agree with some of the points made? Are you thinking of reading this one? What about the movie?? (Which I could probably write a separate review for on its own--I did at my entertainment blog when I first saw it. Had so much to say.)

See you again soon, lovely readers!

Review: Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone (Group Read-A-Long Discussion Review)

Title: Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone
Author: Kat Rosenfield
Category/Genre: YA, Mystery, Drama, Contemporary

Amazon


Becca has always longed to break free from her small, backwater hometown. But the discovery of an unidentified dead girl on the side of a dirt road sends the town--and Becca--into a tailspin. Unable to make sense of the violence of the outside world creeping into her backyard, Becca finds herself retreating inward, paralyzed from moving forward for the first time in her life.

Short chapters detailing the last days of Amelia Anne Richardson's life are intercut with Becca's own summer as the parallel stories of two young women struggling with self-identity and relationships on the edge twist the reader closer and closer to the truth about Amelia's death.



Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone was a slow mystery/melodrama surrounding the events of a teenage girl and her small-town life. Alongside this, there was also the story of Amelia, the tragedy of her and her death after her body was discovered on the side of a back road in Becca’s hometown.

I’d received a copy of this book thanks to Wendy Darling after it being on my wish list for the longest. Funnily enough, I hadn’t read much into the reviews, or even focused heavily on the blurb before I came across the book and just knew I wanted it badly. So maybe I had different expectations or ideas of how I thought it was supposed to be, but once I began reading I found I wasn’t exactly reading what I thought I was going to be reading.

Also, at the end of September, I’d done a group read-a-long with Jessie from Ageless Pages Reviews and Lyn from Great Imaginations and we had a lot to discuss regarding the title when finished. So this is a group review as well, by sharing some of the discussion below so you can get the general idea of how I (and they) felt about the book. And I’ve only shared a part--not the whole conversation.

A Portion of a Spoiler-Free Discussion

 

Jessie: So, Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone. Or Amelia Anne Is Dead and Becca Has Boyfriend Problems.
Lyn: That is...the greatest thing I have read.
Lyn: I was a little miffed when the honest-to-Gods good story cut away so we had to read about a high school graduate and her boy issues

Pixie: That's how I felt Jessie. I liked Amelia Anne, but my expectations going into it was at a really high level.. and I was so bummed.

Lyn: I had a high bar set as well.
Lyn: It felt like two different books in one novel.

Jessie and Pixie: YES.

Jessie: I wanted more from each storyline. The switching back and forth helped to make Amelia more of a character, but Becca was left feeling less developed.

Lyn: Becca's part wasn't bad, it did hold a level of beauty, but I liked Amelia's story much more. I think if we had seen the same level of backstory from Amelia, it would have made a much better book.

Pixie: I really liked (though it was so sad) Amelia's story. Wish the whole book would've been THAT and Becca’s would've been cut.

Jessie: I would love to read that book. Amelia was a pretty great character. And Luke had some definite potential as an antagonist. More than Craig anyway.

Lyn: I agree with Pixie that Amelia should have been the focal point of the book - Becca should have been the back burner.

Jessie: And though the storyline wasn't as much as I'd hoped.. I admit I LOVED the writing. From the first page, I thought Rosenfield was talented.

Pixie: I do agree.
Pixie: I’d def read more of her work.

Jessie: Especially if she continues to write like that.

Lyn: The writing is BEAUTIFUL! It was haunting and it had a beautiful flow.
Lyn: If this is what the author promises for the first book, then I am excited to see what else she has to offer. Her prose is lovely and chilling.

Jessie: So, this book was a mixed bag. Some I really enjoyed and some that could use some more work.

Lyn: I think this author shows a lot of promise. I am going to add her to my list to watch. This wasn't a bad book, but I think it would be fair to make a side note

Jessie: I wanted to love it, but I admit I do feel rather lukewarm about it.

Pixie: I'm also lukewarm.


We agreed on some major points--- the biggest things being that the three of us were really taken by the beautiful writing of this book. This author is going on our watch lists for sure, and I already know that I’m looking forward to reading more of her work. It was clear throughout that she was talented at telling a story and creating a cast of characters. Another was that while we’d been slightly let down by the overall story, we did still enjoy it by the end. Mostly because of Amelia’s side of things. So... it didn’t end up being a favorite, but I’m sure I’d still recommend it to someone even the slightest bit interested in this dramatic tale of loss, small-town life, moving on, and mystery.

With that said, I give it a decent 3.5 rating!

Also, I just adore read-a-longs and group discussion reviews, don't you? =D

Shakespeare Month Read-A-Long: Final Act

Unfortunately there's only been two posts between Thoughts of an Endless Dreamer and I this year for this event. Both of us seemed to have things come up at the worst times and things didn't quite work out the way we'd planned. There's always next year, though! And I'm still doing the Classics' Challenge all year long, which anytime I post a review in connection with that, I'll be sure to have an attached button to make a note.

Closing out the Shakespeare Month, I'm doing a quick recap to say we finished off the month reading (re-reading) Much Ado About Nothing and Othello. I personally found a new favorite with Much Ado--which I hadn't picked up since high school--and also realized how much more I like Othello now that I'm older and can appreciate the story and characters than when I was younger. It's a funny thing that...as much as I liked Shakespeare as a teen, too, there were several of his plays that I just didn't get at the time also. That's why I like taking the opportunity to do re-reads every so often. :)

On Tuesday, we celebrated Shakespeare's date of birth (born April 23, 1564--died April 23, 1616) and I tweeted out the question: "What is your favorite Shakespeare play (or plays)?"

Well... I certainly have more than one. Lol. I do believe my top favorite will always be Romeo & Juliet. It was the first I'd ever read, the characters I know best. I watched several adaptations. I've read it so many times. I've adored several books based on the play. You get the picture by now. :P It's probably cliche to say that I love this one the best since it's his most well-known play, but I don't care.

Another favorite of mine has always been Macbeth. And most recently, I've found myself being drawn in more and more to Hamlet--despite my initial distaste for it in the beginning.

I don't just like his tragedies though...so not to worry! Of course I adored Much Ado because the character dynamics are just outstanding, and A Midsummer Night's Dream because well, it's Puck.

What are some books I'd recommend reading if you're a Shakespeare fan?

Escape From Verona by David Gray -- It's a re-telling of what could've happened if Romeo & Juliet had actually faked their deaths and went on the run from their families. Along the way, they meet some other notable characters from some of Shakespeare's most famous works like Petruchio and Desdemona and Othello.

Falling For Hamlet by Michelle Ray -- Absolutely one of my favorites so far. A Contemporary re-telling of Hamlet (obviously) and I thought the author did a fantastic job of bringing the story to the modern age, which is often hard to do. This book made me re-read Hamlet and fall in love with it even more. So I had to give it the bonus points for that.

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion -- Everyone always acts so surprised when I tell them that this one is loosely inspired by Romeo & Juliet? Anyway. Definite recommendation.

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa -- I can't say for sure, but I can see an inspiration from A Midsummer Night's Dream. At least there's several key characters used. Puck, Tatiana, Oberon, Queen Mab. And it's a wonderful series full of amazing characters that you'll get easily attached to.


Do you have any recommendations of your own?


And with Shakespeare Month coming to a close, I leave you with this:






     

Shakespeare Month Read-A-Long: Macbeth

The first week of Shakespeare Month focused on Macbeth and we (Thoughts of an Endless Dreamer and I) are wrapping this one up and getting ready to move on to the next one.

Macbeth has always been considered one of Shakespeare’s darkest and most powerful when it comes to his tragedies due to the politics and psychological intensity. It’s also one of his shorter plays, though still impacting with stand-out, memorable characters and a plot filled with chaos. (To be fair and add in a quick thought, I always have had an opinion that Macbeth was one of Shakespeare’s weaker ‘villains’ though. Lady Macbeth was perhaps the real troublemaker here, but that’s probably just me.)

My favorite portion of the play would have to be Act 5 because it’s the darkest and saddest, with the most thought-provoking lines. Most particularly, Act 5: Scene 5, after Macbeth hears of Lady Macbeth’s death and gives the Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow speech.



Oh look, it’s Patrick Stewart delivering the Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow speech. Love. <3 So what if it’s from the modernized movie. It’s still Patrick Stewart and he delivers that speech amazingly.

That’s it for today’s edition. Onto the next play for us! I do believe we’re starting Much Ado now if I’m not mistaken. :D



 

Welcome to Shakespeare Month

 

 

So, you're probably wondering what this is about? Basically, this is where my friend (and a fellow blogger), Thoughts of an Endless Dreamer, and I have teamed up together to fan-girl and re-read some Shakespeare plays during the month of April. Why? Because we're Shakespeare fanatics. Why April? Because April 23rd marks the date of Shakespeare's birth, and the date of his death. So naturally, this is what fits best. :P

How this works basically is we've picked three plays to read (or in our case re-read, whichever). This year it's two tragedies and one comedy. Each play will have a week-long focus. It's pretty simple. I'm sure this is an event Taylor and I would love to do every year, and we welcome anyone who wants to jump in and participate with us. :)

This year, the three plays we're working with are:

Macbeth
Othello
Much Ado About Nothing

Macbeth is the first one we're starting (Wednesday!) from 4/3 - 4/10.


Happy reading!