Please take a moment to read the note at the bottom of this review. Thank you! <3 <3
Title: Age of Miracles
Author: Karen Thompson Walker
Category/Genre: Apocalyptic, Sci-Fi, Fiction, YA
See it at Goodreads
“It’s never the disasters you see coming that finally come to pass—it’s the ones you don’t expect at all,” says Julia, in this spellbinding novel of catastrophe and survival by a superb new writer. Luminous, suspenseful, unforgettable, The Age of Miracles tells the haunting and beautiful story of Julia and her family as they struggle to live in a time of extraordinary change.
On an ordinary Saturday in a California suburb, Julia awakes to discover that something has happened to the rotation of the earth. The days and nights are growing longer and longer; gravity is affected; the birds, the tides, human behavior, and cosmic rhythms are thrown into disarray. In a world that seems filled with danger and loss, Julia also must face surprising developments in herself, and in her personal world—divisions widening between her parents, strange behavior by her friends, the pain and vulnerability of first love, a growing sense of isolation, and a surprising, rebellious new strength. With crystalline prose and the indelible magic of a born storyteller, Karen Thompson Walker gives us a breathtaking portrait of people finding ways to go on in an ever-evolving world.
Age of Miracles probably would have never happened for me if it hadn’t been for Kara’s recommendation of it-- I mean, she insisted on this title until I found myself putting it on my wish list and then before I knew it, she’d gifted it to me (I believe if I remember correctly it was for my birthday or Christmas in 2013). But you know how most of us are… we can get some of our most-wished books and they can still end up sitting on our shelves for months due to books and books stacking up to be read.
Well, I finally sat down and picked it up. And I’m so so so so glad I did. (I’m sorry I let it sit on the shelf collecting dust for so long though.)
This may sound a bit funny to you, but I’m practically prepared for an apocalyptic situation. Whether it’s zombies, heavy war fall-out, environmental, or whatever. If I should find our world in a crumbling state that required us to shut down, close up and be stocked up to last a while, I can nearly safely say my home would be ready depending on the situation and timeframe. Probably not anything as far as going into some bunker, but enough to lock down and be stocked up.
But that’s the problem. Someone isn’t ready for just everything, right? Especially something as sudden and drastic as the rotation of the earth slowing, changing the gravity, affecting so much else like hours, environment, tides, weather, and more. Who could really expect something like that? After all the years of global warming research or years of dealing with tensions of war or even years of strange experimental science? It was a complete blindside!
And this is where Age of Miracles picks up. Julia, a young eleven-year-old girl, growing into her adolescence and a curious mind, tells the strange story of this phenomena that Karen Thompson Walker weaves for the reader. Making sure not to leave out any details. Julia even includes the sad deaths of the falling birds-- because the gravity is different after the slowing of the earth as she tries to explain-- and the odd illnesses that people get, and I sympathize with her worries and her deep sense of only wanting to help anything and everyone she can try. I also get a sense of motherly protectiveness when she begins her first crush, and has other experiences that crush me (I don’t want to go into too many details afraid of spoilers) and relatable experiences as a growing pre-teen. I liked that Walker tried portray to Julia’s growth and life moving forward despite the current Armageddon.
Age of Miracles was one of the last reads I finished before 2014 ended. I’m glad I ended the year off on such a good note with this fantastic book. A tragically sad one, but beautiful. The way it ended openly, leaving the reader with many questions and thoughts still left me satisfied because it leaves you to your own conclusions. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys end-of-the-world type reads, fiction, family drama, teen drama, contemporary, or surrealism.
Speaking of end-of-year reads: This may very well be my last review for The Bookaholic unless I guest post for Taylor from time to time. I’m making my final move to blog over at Great Imaginations and I hope to see you all there as well. You can still contact me at the provided places in the contact section if needed or find me on Twitter or Goodreads. The Bookaholic has been up for four wonderful years. I’ve been blogging for four wonderful years. I can only hope to continue doing fantastic things for many more.
Thank you everyone for the continued support. <3 <3
Title: Belzhar
Author: Meg Wolitzer
Category/Genre: YA, Contemporary, Fantasy, Magical Realism
See it at Goodreads
If life were fair, Jam Gallahue would still be at home in New Jersey with her sweet British boyfriend, Reeve Maxfield. She’d be watching old comedy sketches with him. She’d be kissing him in the library stacks.
She certainly wouldn’t be at The Wooden Barn, a therapeutic boarding school in rural Vermont, living with a weird roommate, and signed up for an exclusive, mysterious class called Special Topics in English.
But life isn’t fair, and Reeve Maxfield is dead.
Until a journal-writing assignment leads Jam to Belzhar, where the untainted past is restored, and Jam can feel Reeve’s arms around her once again. But there are hidden truths on Jam’s path to reclaim her loss.
From New York Times bestselling author Meg Wolitzer comes a breathtaking and surprising story about first love, deep sorrow, and the power of acceptance.
Let me start by saying that Belzhar has one of the covers I can’t seem to stop staring at. It’s one of my favorite covers in the last few years for some strange reason--despite that I don’t think there’s anything different about it really, but it’s just out there, and it sticks out particular to me. If I hadn’t picked it up at BEA, I still would have grabbed it up immediately from a bookstore without bothering to find out what it could be about first. And I didn’t know at the time of pick-up what it was even going to be about, I just felt inexplicably drawn to this title and wanted it badly. It was at the top of my list of must-haves for the cover alone. I know… how wrong of me as a reader, right? But it happens to the best of us.
When I pulled myself from my reading slump recently, I knew which title I was going to go for: Belzhar. The cover was calling to me again from my shelf, and I had to know if the contents inside was just as good. I’d finally learned what it was supposed to be about by then, too, and it sounded intriguing. Reviews from my peers were up and down though. Half seemed to really like it, and the other half seemed to really dislike it. So I was stuck at a crossroads on which side I could end up on.
From the start, I adored the story. The details and background into The Wooden Barn were interesting, along with the variety of the characters. I also really liked how the story drew parallels to The Bell Jar and each character had their own little world. It had a strong beginning to the introduction of each individual and their tragedies, along with the development of their personalities.
However, toward the end of the middle and the last portion of the read is where it began to fall flat. This is where I begin to pick up minor details (and some annoyances) that just felt off to me mostly. I didn’t particularly like the characterization of DJ--the girl with the ‘eating problems’ because well, I didn’t feel like she was displayed properly as someone who deals with this. From my own personal experiences, DJ’s character was certainly treated like a joke in my honest opinion… and I would’ve like more from her so that a reader could understand. If the author wanted to portray characters dealing with real issues, then portray them. Otherwise, maybe DJ shouldn’t have felt like such a forced character. This is only my opinion naturally. I did like that she was open in her feelings and sexuality later. I just wanted MORE.
It’s such a hard book for me to review without revealing spoilers. I kind of want to talk about THAT ENDING but I can’t. It just didn’t satisfy though. I feel like it could’ve been more also though. It was a good twist, I’ll give it that. But I do feel it would still have more impact had it been what readers thought it was going to be from the beginning. Maybe some changes--but I didn’t feel the impact. And the twist disappointed in the long run leaving me to feel deflated and blah when the last page turned. I still had more questions of the characters and their stories, too. So yeah...
The romance, though slow and subtle throughout, was strange for the most part. I couldn’t connect. When it happened toward the end of the middle I was just left feeling “okay.” I liked him as a character overall and was glad to finally know his story as well, but it was underwhelming to say the least.
Saying all of this, you’d think I’d hated the book. But I didn’t. There was an odd sense of likeness throughout and I never wanted to put the book down because I had the desire to keep reading this odd story, up until the end as I said above. Mostly, I just really like the general idea and the Bell Jar theme of the overall piece. It’s a book I will still keep in my thoughts for a long time and will continue to recommend to others when looking for something different to read.
I would definitely read more from this author in the future, for that I'm certain. :)
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
This a two part review coming from both of us today since we read this title together!
Title: Made For You
Author: Melissa Marr
Genre/Category: Contemporary, YA, Realism, Mystery, Fantasy
See it at Goodreads
Bestselling author of the Wicked Lovely books Melissa Marr’s first contemporary YA novel is a twisted southern gothic tale of obsession, romance, and murder. A killer is obsessed with Eva Tilling. Can she stop him, or will he claim her?
When Eva Tilling wakes up in the hospital, she’s confused—who in her sleepy little North Carolina town could have hit her with their car? And why? But before she can consider the question, she finds that she’s awoken with a strange new skill: the ability to foresee people’s deaths when they touch her. While she is recovering from the hit-and-run, Nate, an old flame, reappears, and the two must traverse their rocky past as they figure out how to use Eva’s power to keep her friends—and themselves—alive. But while Eva and Nate grow closer, the killer grows increasingly frantic in his attempt to get to Eva.
For the first time, New York Times bestselling author Melissa Marr has applied her extraordinary talent to contemporary realism. Chilling twists, unrequited obsession, and high-stakes romance drive this Gothic, racy thriller—a story of small-town oppression and salvation. Melissa’s fans, and every YA reader, will find its wild ride enthralling.
Pixie's Review
Melissa Marr is perhaps one of my favorite authors EVER. Ever. Ever.
I was a bit star-struck when I met her finally at BEA. She’s such a huge inspiration to me and my own writing, and I’ve absolutely adored everything I’ve read of hers through the years. Picking up Made For You possibly had me slightly worried in the beginning because this time around, it was a little more special. This was probably one of the books I’d been anticipating most throughout the year, or at least at the very top of that list of a short list of books, and from a reviewer’s perspective I didn’t want to give it any different treatment either. I’m not. After finishing it, I can be honest with my review, just like I can be honest when I say Johnny Depp has his ups and downs in his roles. So that’s good and a bit of a relief on my part. If I felt like I couldn’t give my full, honest opinion, I wouldn’t have even posted my thoughts.
But here I am.
Made For You was certainly a different read for me from what I’m used to with Marr. And it wasn’t the best I’ve picked up from her. Maybe it was because of the Contemporary aspects, not quite the fantasy I adore in her usual style, but I still enjoyed it. There was an addictive quality to the story that kept me flipping the pages to find out what was going to happen next--and I was held in a constant suspense. My biggest issue was I predicted the mystery pretty early on, but I’m always a good guesser at these things and so when I realized I was right later, it took so much out of the supposed twist I felt a bit of a disappointment.
I really enjoyed the presence of the parents and their interactions. We didn’t have our usual absentee parents (though I thought that was how it was going to be at first) for a teen, and instead had some interactive ones. They were obviously still trying to learn about their child. And that was pretty realistic in my opinion. A teen changes and grows a lot through those years. Communication is key.
The romance didn’t do it much for me. I liked it to an extent. It was cute. It built up nicely even, but I felt the background lacked some. I wanted to know more and had some burning questions of why’s. But there were interesting pieces put in that left me feeling like FINALLY, NORMAL TEENAGERS. NORMAL RELATIONSHIPS. So for that, I really enjoyed the realistic aspects of the story and character developments.
I felt like Marr may have wrote out of her comfort zone for this book when I finished reading. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. I rather enjoyed reading something different from her. I hope she continues to deliver work in other styles and genres and shows that she can do whatever she likes. It takes a lot of skill to do that. It wasn’t my favorite Marr novel, but I still read through it rather quickly and enjoyed it. I’d certainly recommend if you enjoy mystery and unusual contemporary with fantastical elements.
Pixie's Rating:
Taylor's Review
Well it's no secret that Melissa Marr is one of my absolute favorite authors! If you know me even a little bit that's a fact that is well known lol. I adore her books there isn't a single one I've read over the years that I haven't liked. But not only that, she's just an awesome person! I love her personality and she's such a big inspiration and I am determind to meet her one day in person!! That being said, I was pretty darn jealous of everyone who went to BEA this year and got to meet her. And when I say "pretty jealous" I really mean Wicked-Witch-Of-The-West green with envy lol.
But anyways, lets talk about this book Made For You!
As soon as I read the synopsis I was immediately intrigued, of course because it was Melissa Marr it went right on my TBR list and I featured it on one of my Waiting on Wednesday posts as well. The thing that caught my attention the most was the fact that it's something totally different than any of the other books I've read by Marr, I love her Wicked Lovely series with a passion and all of her other books lean more towards the fantasy realm but this one is a contemporary type, which I do happen to be a fan of as well.
I'll go ahead and say it wasn't the best book I've read by her, but even so it still strongly held my attention and I couldn't put it down because I was ready to see what would happen next in the story! And like Pixie mentioned in her review, I figured out the mystery fairly early into the book and I kept my fingers crossed that I'd be wrong when it was all said and done, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. So there was a little disappointment there because I was hoping for more of a twist and that the mystery aspect wouldn't be so predictable.
I liked the way Marr portrayed the romance in the story, it was one of the more realistic ones I've come across in quite awhile and I thought it was well paced and didn't just happen all of a sudden. I'm not a fan of the whole insta-love thing at all. But at the same time I do wish there had been a little something more to it, maybe that's just my inner hopeless romantic side coming out. But I couldn't help feeling like it was lacking a little bit, and there were some questions I would have liked to have answers to. But as far as characters go, I thought they were very well written and they grew and developed well throughout the story.
Overall I really enjoyed this book, it was a nice quick read and it was cool to see one of my most favorite authors step out and do something different. If you're a fan of mystery and contemporary I would definitely recommend giving this a read! And of course becasue I love her other books so much if you haven't read any of them I very highly recommend those as well!
Taylor's Rating:
Title: In the End (In the After #2)
Author: Demitria Lunetta
Category/Genre: YA/Sci-Fi/Post-Apocalyptic
See it at Goodreads
She thought it was the end of the world... But it was only the beginning of the end.
It's been three months since Amy escaped New Hope. Since she's seen Baby, or Kay, or Rice. And she's been surviving on her own, like she did before she was "rescued" and taken to what she thought was a safe haven. Then, in the midst of foraging for supplies, her former fellow Guardian's voice rings out in her earpiece. And in a desperate tone, Kay utters the four words Any had hoped she would never hear:
Dr. Reynolds has Baby.
Now it's a race against time, for Baby is in imminent danger, her life threatened by the malevolent doctor who had helped start the end of the world. In order to save Baby, Amy will have to make her way to Fort Black, a former prison-turned-survivor colony. There she will need to find Ken—Kay's brother—for he holds the key to Baby's survival.
But before she can do any of this, she'll have to endure the darkest places—and people—of the prison. And one small slip-up could not only cost Baby and Amy their lives, but threaten the survival of he people in the After.
Demitria Lunetta has created an utterly compelling conclusion to the story she set forth in In the After. Readers of the Hunger Games trilogy will not be able to pit down this book, which is gripping from beginning to end.
I thought In the After was good, more of a well-enough read to spark a curiosity in continuing the series to see where it was going to lead. But I had no idea what to expect when I picked up its sequel, In the End.
To be fair, I have to admit I didn’t remember much how the first one ended. I had bits and pieces of memory, and In the After didn’t provide an over-abundance of refresher in the beginning, but a nice small one. Just enough for me to recall what I couldn’t, and I was glad for that. Lunetta did a great job with the little details to remind the reader of what happened in the first book in case there was any need for a refresher, without making it too clear or obvious. It tied in nicely.
It’s also pretty rare for me to love a sequel so much. There are few authors on my list that have done this, and now In the End is one of them. I like this second installment even better. It was gritty and chaotic and I loved it so much. When I turned to the last page, I was sad I couldn’t continue. I want more! I’m ready for more. This series is the kind of sci-fi futuristic weirdness I’ve been looking for since I started blogging.
We see new characters in this installment, too. A lot of them. But don’t worry, there won’t be much confusion. There’ll be some characters you hate. Some you really like. And some you can’t quite understand.
I want to talk about some particular characters in general also and so I don’t give away many spoilers (since it’s the second installment to a series, it’s hard to keep from doing this) I'm not going to go into a whole lot of detail, though if you haven't read I have to just put this little warning here just in case.
There’s Tank. He’s a deranged psycho/pedophile. This isn’t said in plain simple words, but it’s easily implied several times through details and actions. His character felt very foreshadowed at times. Whenever there was a situation/something going wrong, I always knew way ahead he was either a root cause or around about to make more trouble. I often got annoyed at his character, which I guess could be the definite idea behind him… but I didn’t find him very villainous either if that makes sense. He was supposed to be pure evil. I didn’t really feel it most of the time. Just annoyance. Perhaps just me, but that was how it was. Probably my biggest issue with the whole book in general, too.
There’s Jacks. New place for Amy. She meets a new guy. And sounds fantastic. He is a tattoo artist, people. This is what I call a character soul mate. He was protective of Amy, but he had his own little secrets (that she later found out of course). He had his vulnerabilities as well. I only felt like I didn’t know him as well as I’d like to have known him by the end of reading. Maybe I’ll know him better in the next installment. I hope. I’m also pretty curious to see how things turn out because that was an awfully curious ending that seems it’s going to lead to a possible complication. And that’s all I’ll say on that in case you haven’t read it.
And the last one I’ll talk about -- The Warden. Possibly the only character I think didn’t make too much sense. Also another villain type, but not quite villain because he didn’t really seem to have that much of a role to me. I would have liked more on him. More action or words. But he felt… just there. Just a character presence and I didn’t really know him much other than a few details and that he was the leader of the place that Amy had come to stay at in this installment.
With that said, there were a couple disappointments, mostly with some character development in maybe those few areas, but it kept me reading and wanting more despite that. I liked that this installment develops more into the world-building and what the world (and humanity) has become since the outbreak. I also liked seeing more of the politics of it. And the details, despite gruesome at times, provide enough imagery to give you a vivid imagination of the story. It’s frightening. But in a good way. ;)
A definite series to read if you haven’t picked this one up yet!
Title: The Forever Song
Author: Julie Kagawa
Category/Genre: YA, Paranormal, Fantasy, Post-Apocalyptic
See it at Goodreads
Vengeance will be hers.
Allison Sekemoto once struggled with the question: human or monster? With the death of her love, Zeke, she has her answer.
Monster.
Allie will embrace her cold vampire side to hunt down and end Sarren, the psychopathic vampire who murdered Zeke. But the trail is bloody and long, and Sarren has left many surprises for Allie and her companions - her creator Kanin, and her blood brother, Jackal. The trail is leading straight to the one place they must protect at any cost - the last vampire-free zone on Earth, Eden. And Sarren has one final, brutal shock in store for Allie.
In a ruined world where no life is sacred and former allies can turn on you in one heartbeat, Allie will face her darkest days. And if she succeeds, her triumph will be short-lived in the face of surviving forever alone.
THE FINAL HUNT IS ON.
The Forever Song, the final installment for the Blood of Eden series, didn’t give me as much oomph as the first two books-- the second still being my favorite, I think-- and while it was still great, I felt it flat most of the time. I’m also in a terrible reading slump, so most of the books I’ve been picking up lately, I’ve not had much desire to really read anyway (it’s a tragic situation to go through for any reader or book blogger).
**Also, there might be minor spoilers ahead. It's hard to avoid that when reviewing a later installment for a series.**
We finally get Zeke back into the story. Most of my followers and reader friends already know I haven’t been a Zeke fan since the beginning. He was a lot more tolerable in book two… I was even emotionally impacted by the ending there because I finally felt a mild attachment to his character.. But once again, The Forever Song gave me a Zeke I couldn’t like. Much more of an annoyance than anything, to be honest. I get that he’s upset… I just didn’t want to spend over half of the book reading the back-and-forth between him and Alison on this when I felt like there were more important things going around the characters. It wasn’t terrible enough to completely affect my enjoyment of the story, but I could have certainly done without a lot of it.
I particularly liked the further development of Jackal. He became a key character that I got attached to easily, despite his brutal honesty and sometimes hardcore style. Often, I felt like he was much more the type for Alison’s personality. But I don’t remember his description or how “old” he looks. I just have my own imagination when his character is speaking. Haha.
Kagawa also knows how to make you hate a bad guy when you really need to hate one. That’s for sure. Characters are put through some hell and torture, and there’s a lot to endure, and by the end you’re likely to be left saying “whoa.”
I also really liked the attention to details and ideas of family strength. Kagawa painted great pictures for the readers with her words and actions to develop a story about bonding, family, loving unconditionally, and sacrifice.
If you haven’t yet started this series, I don’t know what you’re waiting on. It’s one of the best vampire reads out there. Read it. Come on.
Title: Prisoner of Night and Fog
Author: Anne Blankman
Category/Genre: YA, Historical Fiction, Romance
See it at Goodreads
In 1930s Munich, danger lurks behind dark corners, and secrets are buried deep within the city. But Gretchen Müller, who grew up in the National Socialist Party under the wing of her "uncle" Dolf, has been shielded from that side of society ever since her father traded his life for Dolf's, and Gretchen is his favorite, his pet.
Uncle Dolf is none other than Adolf Hitler.
And Gretchen follows his every command.
Until she meets a fearless and handsome young Jewish reporter named Daniel Cohen. Gretchen should despise Daniel, yet she can't stop herself from listening to his story: that her father, the adored Nazi martyr, was actually murdered by an unknown comrade. She also can't help the fierce attraction brewing between them, despite everything she's been taught to believe about Jews.
As Gretchen investigates the very people she's always considered friends, she must decide where her loyalties lie. Will she choose the safety of her former life as a Nazi darling, or will she dare to dig up the truth—even if it could get her and Daniel killed?
From debut author Anne Blankman comes this harrowing and evocative story about an ordinary girl faced with the extraordinary decision to give up everything she's ever believed . . . and to trust her own heart instead.
Prisoner of Night and Fog presented a story that felt much different from the usual World War II tale we often see. This wasn’t about the Holocaust or a Jew trying to survive in a camp or hiding out in family’s home, etc.. Instead, we’re given a different perspective with the view of a German girl within close proximity of Hitler himself and having a Nazi-crazed brother. A girl that doesn’t quite understand the reality of her world in the beginning, but begins to see things as she learns through observation and a growing conscious.
This book pulled at my heart strings in so many ways. Many times, it’s said a child will only know hate and such by how they’re raised within their family, and I was glad in a way that the content of this story proved otherwise. I’ve always felt a child can learn these ‘traits’ --and unlearn them-- through other means besides family: whether it’s peers, current events, and their own growing mind that makes them their own individual self. I’ve witnessed this first hand, myself being a parent and raising my own stepchildren... As well as my own upbringing. People who know me best, know that I’m very open-minded and loving and supportive of many organizations. I try to raise my step-kids the same way, but I also did teach them to be their own individual selves with the right to what they believe when they were old enough to understand. There have been numerous times when I’ve had to chastise one for hateful remarks, and it wasn’t because they learned these thoughts/beliefs from home--but from peers and being easily influenced with those similar situations. It hurts at times, when I hear immediate assumptions coming from people of any child during adolescent ages: “oh they get that from their parents…” No. That’s not how it always works. One can’t judge by this. And it also works vice versa: beliefs/morals can change on their own as well, despite what one might be ‘used to hearing’ around them. I have vastly different beliefs from my mother-- and she tried to raise me on hers. We’re all just our own individuals eventually, in my opinion.
Trust me, I had a reason to get sidetracked with a semi off-topic discussion or whatever.
This is why I connected with PoNaF so much, I think. Gretchen has been raised around these ideas presented to her that we know of as hate, and many times in the beginning, the reader is brought back through her thoughts and fears while she is around her newfound Jew friend, Daniel, to remind herself how “wrong” it is when it’s not. And her revelation to knowing Hitler and his side has been wrong all along was mesmerizing and chaotic and brilliant. I adored the way she interacted with Daniel, the forbidden feelings that left the reader on the edge of their seat hoping they wouldn’t get caught since it was such an awful time… And the slow growth and development as she came to realize there was something wrong with the world after all, and it was only about to get worse when Hitler--Uncle Dof--would come into full power. It all started with that first kind act of a helping hand that most people nowadays probably wouldn’t take a second to consider doing. Back then, it was different, especially depending on who you were. She didn’t hesitate, stepping up to her crazed brother, and it only showed once again that hatred works differently for every human brain.
The really interesting part of it was also Hitler. He was presented in this story unlike any other I’ve read in recent years: He was nearly humanized. Almost to a point where a reader could sympathize with him as a character until his later traits come out and you begin to really understand the depth of What Is Adolf Hitler. I genuinely believe the truth in this book. The man was pure psychopath. It astounded me to read him as a character--not just in the background somewhere with small notations of the damage he is causing. But dialogue and interaction. I’m still dumbfounded by this guy.
The romance even worked. I didn’t expect to like it so much going into the book, to be honest, but when it happened, it worked. And it worked beautifully. Sure, it may have been a little cliché. You probably couldn’t have got any more cliché than that, really, with the romance…. However, it was completely beautiful and adorable and I loved it. Shipping that ship there totally.
I was locked in tight for this book from the moment I’d started reading. It’d been a book I’d anticipated since the start of the year and I’m glad I had the opportunity to sit and read this one after the hectic schedule I’ve had lately. Once I’d started, I couldn’t put it down… and I didn’t. I read through the night until I reached the end because I had to know what happened next. Every time I tried to stop, I was continuing on to the next page or chapter! Certainly not a title you want to miss out on this year!
Title: Anything To Have You
Author: Paige Harbison
Category/Genre: YA/NA, Romance, Contemporary, Drama
See it at Goodreads
Nothing should come between best friends, not even boys. ESPECIALLY not boys.
Natalie and Brooke have had each other's backs forever. Natalie is the quiet one, college bound and happy to stay home and watch old movies. Brooke is the movie—the life of every party, the girl everyone wants to be.
Then it happens—one crazy night that Natalie can't remember and Brooke's boyfriend, Aiden, can't forget. Suddenly there's a question mark in Natalie and Brooke's friendship that tests everything they thought they knew about each other and has both girls discovering what true friendship really means.
This is not my first foray into Paige Harbison’s work. One of my very favorite books ever is a modern re-telling of the classic, Rebecca, by this eccentric and well-written author called New Girl. I’ve noticed through various reviews that her work seems to be a hit-or-miss with most people, but I certainly found her a big hit after now reading two books.
Anything To Have You was a bit of an up and down read for me though compared to the last Harbison book I’d read. Although still a compulsive read, I found it often anger-inducing toward various characters. But maybe this is what makes it the controversial piece it was intended to be, and the realistic contemporary it is.
I once liked a friend’s boyfriend (with no action taken towards those feelings). And in another separate situation, a different friend dated one of my ex-boyfriends (that I’d had a pretty long-term serious relationship with and despite the “ex” part, I still felt angry over the situation for a period of time). Ever been in a situation like either of these? This is the basic general idea of Anything To Have You. That particular boundary between friends and their romantic relationships. I thought at times it portrayed it perfectly; others maybe not so much.
Natalie and Brooke are an odd pair to be friends--complete opposites. But really, sometimes opposites attract. My BFF and I are completely opposite and have been friends for nearly twenty years now. But even we still have our common grounds. And I just didn’t see at least one thing in common between these two here. This didn’t really affect my overall enjoyment of the book, and I did enjoy reading, so don’t get me wrong when I start get into some of these (quite) picky areas ahead.
Let’s face it: We were all teenagers once. Some readers that pick up this title still may be in their teen years or just barely be leaving them behind. Harbison again delivers an excellent and realistic approach to a mostly normal teenage lifestyle/experience, depending on their circumstances. She presents her characters as being not-so social with the parental figures most of the time, sometimes even focusing on spats about college discussions/grades/important future decisions, and spending more time with friends. She shows the teens drinking/various drug use and experimenting, sex, ideas of relationships, thoughts on love, etc., but all with a different perspective from varying characters depending on personality and/or circumstance. Natalie, for example, is not usually so much the social butterfly amongst her friends or the “drinker/partying” type, and has a beautiful relationship with her single father that I rather adored. Brooke is borderline needing to enter rehab and has a destructive relationship with her married parents that I found bratty and annoying. Like I said, BFFs but complete opposites. Haha.
However, the author completed her purpose of showing a realistic cast of characters I found to be memorable… even easily relatable to at times.
My annoyances found their way into the building of the story. And as much as I’d like to really get into a lot of them, I can’t get too detailed without spoiling anything. I can say a little something about a particular thing because it’s part of the synopsis. There’s a party, and as usual someone gets so drunk they have what have come to understand as “black-out sex” and then supposedly don’t remember the next day. This kind of plot device has always been a huge issue for me because I genuinely don’t find it to be realistic enough, no matter how drunk, unless someone is found out to be drugged. And in the beginning, I almost thought that was where the story was going to go. I felt sorry for said character for some time--thinking “this must’ve been what’d happened and ohmygod how is she going to find out and when” only to find out that, no, it was just that same ol’ kinda device I’ve read before. I also really dislike the excuse of “we were drunk and one thing led to another” anyway when it comes to cheating, so maybe the whole idea of the romance in general just irked me. I totally got it, I did, but I couldn’t be into the ship here as much as I’d wanted to be--despite that it was cute at times and maybe it was rightfully so even in some ways.
The quirks may have been bothersome during its moments, but not enough to ruin it. In fact, I’m happy to say it’s one of the few reads that’s successfully passed through my horrendous reading slump lately so that says something at least! :)
And I do know that no matter what, I’ll always pick up a book with Harbison’s name on the cover. Because at least when I open the pages of her books, I’ll meet characters that are realistic and relatable, and a story that is irresistible and poignant.
Title: We Were Liars
Author: E. Lockhart
Genre/Category: YA/Contemporary/Romance
Expected Release: May 13th
See it at Goodreads
A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.
We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.
It’s really quite hard for me to talk of this book and the characters without giving away spoilers, to be honest.
While I was rather surprised at the shortness of the presented work, along with the quickness of how everything began to be pieced together, it all gets fashioned and twisted into various ways that if I begin to even try and explain a portion of We Were Liars, I may as well be giving away fragments of mystery that you should discover for yourselves! This is not an action-packed read. It's not fast. It's not thrilling. This is more like that slow-building family drama with the light romance and fascinating background...
We Were Liars presents the compelling and unexpected mystery that will leave you gasping at a mind-bending surprise ending. Just when you think you have one thing figured out about one character, you are knocked completely around. And that right there is hard to do with many books I pick up nowadays.
Despite that I can’t make many comments toward the story or characters without fear of placing in spoilers, I can say that We Were Liars was memorable. I struggled to put it down. My only issue might’ve been was the need for more--more from the background and group and their stories. It felt short, but an easy, smooth, and classy read. I look forward to picking up this author’s work again in the future.
Title: Panic
Author: Lauren Oliver
Category/Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance, Drama
Expected Release: March 4th
See it at Goodreads
Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a dead-end town of 12,000 people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do.
Heather never thought she would compete in Panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors, where the stakes are high and the payoff is even higher. She’d never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought.
Dodge has never been afraid of Panic. His secret will fuel him, and get him all the way through the game, he’s sure of it. But what he doesn't know is that he’s not the only one with a secret. Everyone has something to play for.
For Heather and Dodge, the game will bring new alliances, unexpected revelations, and the possibility of first love for each of them—and the knowledge that sometimes the very things we fear are those we need the most.
I’ve had trouble recently with an annoying reading slump. So when I picked up Panic, I almost prepared myself to put it back down again to wait until later. But FINALLY something clicked in only a few paragraphs, and before I knew it, I’d read nearly half of it by the end of the day. I couldn’t put it down because of the desire to keep reading…to find out what is going to happen next with the characters. It was a fantastic feeling.
Losing the reading slump was great, but the story itself was even better. It was probably what I needed. A chaotic, dramatic, contemporary. Despite it being told in two perspectives also, it worked because they were so different.
The twist wasn’t unexpected--which is to be expected for me most of the time anyway, I guess. I pretty much had it figured out about halfway through, and that’s okay. And though it has a typical romance style (not saying because it could be a spoiler) that I’m normally annoyed by in recent times, I think it worked out here and I felt all the feels.
At times, I do admit to finding the storyline in general a bit of a confusion. Mostly with the whole concept. We have this game, Panic, that graduating teens participate in if they want. It’s stated in the book that it’s been a tradition for several years. Yada yada yada… BUT it’s not known through the town by adults (like law enforcement, the parentals, etc.)? And it’s an incredibly small town, with up to forty of these teens taking part in this throughout the summer? Yeaahhh. That really didn’t make much sense as I seemed to understand it from the information while reading. Especially being from a small town like that myself. Trust me, everyone would know, no matter how ‘secretive’ you say it is. Also since it has been classified a tradition, and has been going for several summers. But that was just a minor complaint for me… and maybe it was just me. I don’t know. Haha.
Otherwise, I found it realistic for the most part with the way a small country town and its life is portrayed. Everybody knows everybody. Teens and young adults finding random things to do to ease the boredom (field parties, jumping off of cliffs, mudding, etc.). The whole young idea of getting away as far as you can… Only most to realize later that the small town life isn’t so bad after all and ending up back in one, even if it’s not the same one, with a parent or relative saying “I told you so.”
The romance was easy and realistic as well. [mild spoiler maybe] With it starting at the point of a breakup instead unlike most books, I found this to be a fresh approach to kicking off the romance and putting our love interests together at the end. [/maybe spoiler] There is a small amount of slut shaming throughout I’d say, but I didn’t find it aggressive and managed to even gloss over it. To be honest, I think when emotions run high during a rough breakup/cheating or a hurtful argument like some of these situations, the character is only reacting realistically.
I did enjoy reading the descriptions, along with the various connections built by the characters throughout the story. I certainly wouldn’t have been able to take part in an activity like that with some of the challenges they were required to do. Oliver did an amazing job developing the growth of each individual to create their own personality… though sometimes I wish I had more information/background on some, even if through a flashback (but I know we couldn’t have a five-hundred page book, right? Hehe). And I wished it didn’t have to end! Perhaps one of my favorites for the year so far and will be an easy re-read time and time again.
Did I hear right, too? This has already been sold off to become a movie? Oooohh, I sure hope!
Title: Prince of Shadows
Author: Rachel Cain
Category/Genre: YA, Retellings, Romance, Historical Fiction
See it at Goodreads
In the Houses of Montague and Capulet, there is only one goal: power. The boys are born to fight and die for honor and—if they survive—marry for influence and money, not love. The girls are assets, to be spent wisely. Their wishes are of no import. Their fates are written on the day they are born.
Benvolio Montague, cousin to Romeo, knows all this. He expects to die for his cousin, for his house, but a spark of rebellion still lives inside him. At night, he is the Prince of Shadows, the greatest thief in Verona—and he risks all as he steals from House Capulet. In doing so, he sets eyes on convent-bound Rosaline, and a terrible curse begins that will claim the lives of many in Verona…
…And will rewrite all their fates, forever.
When it comes to Shakespeare re-tellings, Romeo and Juliet is probably the most common among the bunch. It’s also the re-telling I tend to avoid as much as I can because of the overused plot in today’s novels. We even see hints of the tragedy in various modern romances without any intention so you can imagine that it gets a bit tiring to read at times when seeking out something fresh instead.
The thing is: Romeo and Juliet is quite likely an easily named Shakespeare favorite of mine. And that’s hard to do out of the other plays that I also love. But this is another reason why I can’t bring myself to read many re-tellings with this one. It’s because I love the original so much, I can’t (and don’t usually enjoy) read most without getting too technical or picky and fussy over the piece.
Prince of Shadows was an exception. After I heard this was going to be Benvolio’s story, and that Romeo/Juliet were going to be the background characters this time, I had a strong sense I needed to read this book. It sounded different from the usual re-telling at least. And that’s exactly what it gave me. This wasn’t the typical modern re-telling. It wasn’t really a re-telling at all to be more concise about it. It was a fresh, unique story about the infamous peacemaker, Benvolio, and his very own adventure--taking place during the time period of our original characters.
There are some notable differences to the cast of characters presented in Prince of Shadows that make it its own fresh and unique tale, while still keeping it at an authentic tone and style. I was pleasantly surprised by it. The secret life of Benvolio and his late-night thievery was fun. Rosaline being a romantic interest made perfect sense. It all just wrapped beautifully together and I was thoroughly compelled by this addictive story. I didn’t want to stop reading. Not a fan of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet? Prince of Shadows may just change your mind!
Title: Lady Thief
Author: A.C. Gaughen
Category/Genre: Historical Romance, Romance, Retellings, YA
Release Date: Feb. 11th
See it at Goodreads
Scarlet’s true identity has been revealed, but her future is uncertain. Her forced marriage to Lord Gisbourne threatens Robin and Scarlet’s love, and as the royal court descends upon Nottingham for the appointment of a new Sheriff, the people of Nottingham hope that Prince John will appoint their beloved Robin Hood. But Prince John has different plans for Nottingham that revolve around a fateful secret from Scarlet’s past even she isn’t yet aware of. Forced to participate at court alongside her ruthless husband, Scarlet must bide her time and act the part of a noblewoman—a worthy sacrifice if it means helping Robin’s cause and a chance at a future with the man she loves. With a fresh line of intrigue and as much passion as ever, the next chapter in Scarlet’s tale will have readers talking once again.
Ever since I read Scarlet, I fell in love and could not stop thinking of it. I’d even said in my review how it made me a fan of Robin Hood again, which is a hard thing to do since I was so tired of all the remakes from the movies and such. But it was different and beautiful and the characters are amazing…and I was sad for some time when I thought it was just going to be a stand-alone.
Then the news struck that it was going to be a trilogy and I rejoiced and waited (rather impatiently) for Lady Thief. I am so thankful for the opportunity to have an e-ARC, and can’t wait to get my hands on a final copy for my shelf as well. I can’t say whether or not Lady Thief was better than Scarlet. It was such an emotional rollercoaster on many levels. And the characters showed much more development in this installment that it made it that much more impacting.
To be honest, I have a hard time reviewing Lady Thief without revealing spoilers or speaking of how much pain it caused. So much happened that I want to gush about or cry over. My poor heart. And then to leave off with that kind of ending? How could that happen?! GAUGHENNNNN!
Ahem... I’m okay. I think.
Anyways, let’s just say Lady Thief was chaotic. This book left me as speechless as the first, and now I don’t know how I’ll handle the wait for the next. You want good historical-style romance or a Robin Hood retelling that’s refreshing and will knock your socks off? This series right here will do it. One of the best I’ve had the pleasure of picking up in the last decade.
