Dark Star

Dark Star 
by Bethany Frenette

Audrey Whitticomb has nothing to fear. Her mother is the superhero Morning Star, the most deadly crime-fighter in the Twin Cities, so it’s hard for Audrey notto feel safe. That is, until she’s lured into the sweet night air by something human and not human—something with talons and teeth, and a wide, scarlet smile.

Now Audrey knows the truth: her mom doesn’t fight crime at night. She fights Harrowers—livid, merciless beings who were trapped Beneath eons ago. Yet some have managed to escape. And they want Audrey dead, just because of who she is: one of the Kin.

To survive, Audrey will need to sharpen the powers she has always had. When she gets close to someone, dark corners of the person’s memories become her own, and she sometimes even glimpses the future. If Audrey could only get close to Patrick Tigue, a powerful Harrower masquerading as human, she could use her Knowing to discover the Harrowers’ next move. But Leon, her mother’s bossy, infuriatingly attractive sidekick, has other ideas. Lately, he won’t let Audrey out of his sight.

When an unthinkable betrayal puts Minneapolis in terrible danger, Audrey discovers a wild, untamed power within herself. It may be the key to saving her herself, her family, and her city. Or it may be the force that destroys everything—and everyone—she loves. (description from Amazon.com) 

I liked this book. It had an interesting premise, a good main character, and a well built world...but it just didn't grip me the way I'd hoped it would.  While I wanted to know what happened, this was a book that when I put it down I did not have that intense, immediate desire to pick it back up. I'm not quite sure why.  

Things I liked: 

*Audrey knew her own limitations, yet felt compelled to do the right thing and to help people even against great odds. 

*Audrey and her mom's relationship.  It just read really "real" to me.  

*The romance. 

*The demon mythology and the idea of the Beneath, the Guardians, the Kin, etc. 

*The surprise of discovering what really made Audrey so special. 

So, why wasn't this book amazing? I have no idea.  I think maybe I wasn't in the right mood...or it just too a little too long for the suspense to really build? I'm really not sure.  I would recommend it to other readers, but perhaps not a reluctant reader as my feelings are so mixed...

Full disclosure: eARC received from Netgalley, phsyical book borrowed from my library

Hallowed

Hallowed 
by Cynthia Hand
Unearthly, book two

For months part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the fire from her visions, but she wasn't prepared for the choice she had to make that day. Now, torn between her love for Tucker and her complicated feelings about the roles she and Christian seem destined to play in a world that is both dangerous and beautiful, Clara struggles with a shocking revelation: Someone she loves will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning. (Description from Amazon.com) 

Oh, Cynthia Hand.  I love and hate you.  Truly.  When you had Clara and Tucker have that little, "I just had to tell you I love you, but you don't have to say anything back until you're ready" moment in the first book and I got all swoony, my heart sang... And now, now... my heart is breaking epically. (*See! No official spoilers, but you KNOW that something devestating is happening!! LOL*) 

I know, realistically, that in real life there are no truly happy endings.  There are always shades of gray and that we have to know that you embrace the joy to balance out our saddest moments, but man, I felt like Clara just could not catch a break in this book! Her love life, her home life, and her destined life all took a big hit.  It was one whammy after another!! 

While not everything came as a surprise (Hand does a great job at hinting towards two big revelations without actually giving anything away), it was brilliant to see new facets of Clara's world come to light.  New aspects of the life she must lead.  AND it was great to see that Clara would actually be able to make her own choices.  That, I think, was my favorite bit... I LOVE when a character breaks out of the "I can only do what I'm destined to do..." mold.  

Let me tell you, though this book hit me in the gut emotionally, I immediately put a hold on book three. I MUST know how it all ends.  Clara's story has me well and truly hooked. 

Full disclosure: Book purchased for my Nook

The Peculiar

The Peculiar 
by Stefan Bachmann

Don't get yourself noticed and you won't get yourself hanged.

In the faery slums of Bath, Bartholomew Kettle and his sister Hettie live by these words. Bartholomew and Hettie are changelings—Peculiars—and neither faeries nor humans want anything to do with them.

One day a mysterious lady in a plum-colored dress comes gliding down Old Crow Alley. Bartholomew watches her through his window. Who is she? What does she want? And when Bartholomew witnesses the lady whisking away, in a whirling ring of feathers, the boy who lives across the alley—Bartholomew forgets the rules and gets himself noticed.

First he's noticed by the lady in plum herself, then by something darkly magical and mysterious, by Jack Box and the Raggedy Man, by the powerful Mr. Lickerish . . . and by Arthur Jelliby, a young man trying to slip through the world unnoticed, too, and who, against all odds, offers Bartholomew friendship and a way to belong. (description from Amazon.com) 

The world that Bachmann built here was very intriguing.  I was impressed that the author is only a *teenager!*  He managed to drop me into a world that felt very real, and very alien from our own.  As a lover of all things fairy, a fan of the steampunk sub-genre and a murder mystery fan, this book hit just about every right note for me.  Bachmann did an admirable job mashing several genres together while not overwhelming the reader.  

I distinctly enjoyed both the new world and the concept for this book.  At times, though, I felt slightly disconnected to the main characters.  While I found Bartholomew to be a character I felt great sympathy for, at times he was hard to connect to, and when the perspective would jump to Arthur, I found that to be even more true.  I was very interested in seeing how things unfolded. I wanted Bartholomew to save his sister.  I wanted Arthur to uncover his government's corruption... 

Essentially, I enjoyed this book a lot and I hope there might be another in the works... I hope in the second that I have an easier time connecting to the characters, though, too. 

Full disclosure: Purchased for my Nook 

City of a Thousand Dolls

City of a Thousand Dolls 
by Miriam Forster
The Bhinian Empire, book one

Nisha was abandoned at the gates of the City of a Thousand Dolls when she was just a little girl. Now sixteen, she lives on the grounds of the isolated estate, where orphan girls apprentice as musicians, healers, courtesans, and, if the rumors are true, assassins. She makes her way as Matron's errand girl, her closest companions the mysterious cats that trail her shadow. Only when she begins a forbidden flirtation with the city's handsome young courier does she let herself imagine a life outside the walls. Until one by one, girls around her start to die.

Before she becomes the next victim, Nisha decides to uncover the secrets that surround the girls' deaths. But by getting involved, Nisha jeopardizes not only her own future in the City of a Thousand Dolls—but also her life. (Description from Amazon.com) 

I really enjoyed this book.  Forster introduces a new world where the eastern influences of our Asian cultures are highly evident but the fact that the world is also completely cut off from anywhere else gives it its own unique presence.  There also used to be magic in this world, though it has now disappeared... 

Nisha is an interesting main character. While there were moments that I grew somewhat frustrated because she could not see what was happening when I had already figured things out, I have to give her credit for her reactions once she did.  This is not a girl to take things lying down.  She refuses to let others decide her life.  She is gutsy, bold, independent, and her stubbornness and loyalty take her a long way.  She also has a strict sense of right and wrong that I highly admire. I cannot wait to see where the second book in the series will take her.  

The audio book is well paced and read in such a way that I could not wait to get back into the car each day to discover new layers of this world and to be pulled deeper into the mystery surrounding Nisha and the City of a Thousand Dolls. 

Full disclosure: Audio book received from SLJ for review

DNF - Cuttlefish

Cuttlefish

by Dave Freer

 

The smallest thing can change the path of history.

 

The year is 1976, and the British Empire still spans the globe. Coal drives the world, and the smog of it hangs thick over the canals of London.  Clara Calland is on the run. Hunted, along with her scientist mother, by Menshevik spies and Imperial soldiers, they flee Ireland for London. They must escape airships, treachery, and capture. Under flooded London's canals, they join the rebels who live in the dank tunnels there. Tim Barnabas is one of the underpeople, born to the secret town of drowned London, place of anti-imperialist republicans and Irish rebels, part of the Liberty—the people who would see a return to older values and free elections. Seeing no farther than his next meal, Tim has hired on as a submariner on the Cuttlefish, a coal-fired submarine that runs smuggled cargoes beneath the steamship patrols, to the fortress America and beyond.  When the Imperial soldiery comes ravening, Clara and her mother are forced to flee aboard the Cuttlefish. Hunted like beasts, the submarine and her crew must undertake a desperate voyage across the world, from the Faeroes to the Caribbean and finally across the Pacific to find safety. But only Clara and Tim Barnabas can steer them past treachery and disaster, to freedom in Westralia. Carried with them—a lost scientific secret that threatens the very heart of Imperial power. (description from Amazon.com)

I very much loved the idea of this book. I'm very into steampunk and I loved the sound of a very interesting submarine adventure... As I read, though, I had a very hard time with the tone of this book.  Within the first few chapters there are some very exciting explosions and escapes, yet they are revealed in such a third person past-tense way that there was no EXCITEMENT.  It just fell flat for me.  Unfortunately I have so many books that I need to read that I just couldn't make the time to finish this one.   

Check out other reviews here:
Shiny Book Review
Justin's Book Blog
Lovey Dovey Books

Full disclosure: Borrowed through interlibrary loan

Confessions of a Murder Suspect

Confessions of a Murder Suspect

by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

 

On the night Malcolm and Maud Angel are murdered, Tandy Angel knows just three things: 1) She was the last person to see her parents alive. 2) The police have no suspects besides Tandy and her three siblings. 3) She can't trust anyone--maybe not even herself. Having grown up under Malcolm and Maud's intense perfectionist demands, no child comes away undamaged. Tandy decides that she will have to clear the family name, but digging deeper into her powerful parents' affairs is a dangerous-and revealing-game. Who knows what the Angels are truly capable of?  (description from Amazon.com)

 

Okay, so I'm going to be brutally honest here.  I kind of hated this book. All around.  Yup.

 

Although I thought this was a clever premise and I went into reading with sort of high hopes, from about three chapters in I just wanted this book to be done already. Tandy is supposed to be cold and emotionless and yes, that comes across just fine.  It made me not connect with her or the other characters at all and then, then... then there were the moments when she obnoxiously addressed the reader directly. 

 

Dear Reader... I'm going to be really condescending and tell you that I can't reveal everything to you right now because, *gasp* otherwise, why on Earth would you finish reading the book??

 

Sorry. That got a little mean. I suppose I was struggling my way through the book, hating the voice, but still persisting until the big reveal.  I won't ruin it for any of you that may want to read this book, but I will tell you that I basically ranted to my husband for like 45 minutes about what a cop-out it was.  What a waste of time it was for me to read the book only to find out...

 

I had a raging ball of hate for James Patterson inside of me.  Not good.  So... well, there it is.  I didn't like it and I won't be reading the other books in the series.  I hope that you Patterson fans out there don't let me influence you, but...

 

Full disclosure: Borrowed from my library

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Guy Langman, Crime Scene Procrastinator

Guy Langman, Crime Scene Procrastinator

by Josh Berk

 

Guy Langman can't be bothered with much. But when his friend Anoop wants Guy to join the forensics club with him in the (possibly misguided) hopes of impressing some girls, Guy thinks why not.

They certainly aren't expecting to find a real dead body on the simulated crime scene they're assigned to collect evidence from. But after some girlish, undignified screaming, the two realize it is indeed a body. Which means they have stumbled across a real, dead murder victim.

Meanwhile, Guy has been looking into the past of his father—a larger-than-life character who recently passed away. He was much older than Guy's mom, and had a whole past Guy never even knew about. Could his father's past and the dead body be linked? Does Guy want to know? He's going to need all his newfound forensics skills to find out . . . (description from Amazon.com)

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What I really like about Josh Berk's writing is that he deals with real life "issues" and still manages to convey how funny everyday life can be... in the midst of a murder mystery and a family dealing with the grief of losing someone, I still found myself snorting as I read about Guy's daily activities.

In fact, I found myself snorting a lot as I read about Guy. I mean, this is a guy who fully admits to be incredibly lazy and loves to luxuriate in bubble baths...unless the Forensic Club barges in, that is!  There were a lot of moments where Guy was just being your typical teenager.  Playing video games, day dreaming about the girl he's crushing on...and then there were the moments when he was lifting fingerprints and stalking his half-brother in NYC. 

Funny, poignant, and with a mystery that though it seemed to be readily apparent what was going on, ended up having some surprising twists!

Full disclosure: Borrowed from my library

The Humming Room

The Humming Room

by Ellen Potter

 

Hiding is Roo Fanshaw's special skill. Living in a frighteningly unstable family, she often needs to disappear at a moment's notice. When her parents are murdered, it's her special hiding place under the trailer that saves her life.

As it turns out, Roo, much to her surprise, has a wealthy if eccentric uncle, who has agreed to take her into his home on Cough Rock Island. Once a tuberculosis sanitarium for children of the rich, the strange house is teeming with ghost stories and secrets. Roo doesn't believe in ghosts or fairy stories, but what are those eerie noises she keeps hearing? And who is that strange wild boy who lives on the river? People are lying to her, and Roo becomes determined to find the truth.

Despite the best efforts of her uncle's assistants, Roo discovers the house's hidden room--a garden with a tragic secret.

Inspired by The Secret Garden, this tale full of unusual characters and mysterious secrets is a story that only Ellen Potter could write. (Description from Amazon.com)

It's been a long time since I've read The Secret Garden, but as I was reading this book based on it I found things coming back to me.  I liked Roo as a character, finding her brusque, but understandably so. I thought that the new setting on an island at an old children's tuberculosis hospital was creepy and interesting.  It gave a really remote feeling that would have been hard to come by otherwise in a modern retelling and allowed for a very distinctive secretiveness surrounding Roo's new friend, "the river spirit."

The backstory and description of the garden held me captivated and I found myself wanting to see it.  When the family reunites over the garden's restoration, I felt touched.  Things wrapped up very quickly at the end, though, and I was left wanting just a little more. 

The book did leave me wanting to reread The Secret Garden. Since I probably won't have time (and because a co-worker keeps telling me that the movie is one of her favorites of ALL TIME), I checked out the movie version instead. This will allow me to revisit the original story and see if there was a little more at the end and what things may have been left out in this newer version. 

A quick and intriguing retelling of one of my favorite classic childhood tales.

Full disclosure: Borrowed from my library

Splintered

Splintered

by A.G. Howard

 

Publication date: January 1, 2013

 

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own. (description from Amazon.com) 

I LOVED this book.  I was simultaneously torn between wanting to desperately tear through it to find out all the crazy/wonderful things that would happen and wanting to put it down periodically so that I could savor that first reading for just a little bit longer. 

Howard wrote some ravishingly dark imagery in her version of Wonderland. Every time you think you recognize something from the original, there is a creepy and distinctive twist.  Even Alyssa turns out to have facets that you would not expect. The characters have motivations that make for a more intriguing and power hungry tale than Carroll's version and ultimately, you as the reader have no idea who may survive this twisted place. 

I'm having trouble even formulating an effective way to describe exactly how much I loved this book. Suffice it to say that even though I received a review copy, I will most definitely be buying my own hardcover copy in January so that I can read it again and ooh and ahh over the gorgeous aesthetic details (the cover, OMG!) inside and out while I do...

For now, let me just say I'm giving it a GOLD STAR and that I demand you all READ IT!!

 

Full disclosure: Review copy received from VOYA

Seraphina

Seraphina

by Rachel Hartman

 

Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.

Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life. (description from Amazon.com)

 

It has been a little while since I have read a story about dragons that has left me in awe.  It's not that the dragon books out there aren't great...it's that they all seem to have very similar lore these days.  Not so in Seraphina.  Though I have read books where dragons could take human form before, Hartman writes about this process and other dragon-y aspects in such a way that it felt utterly new and brilliantly done. 

 

I could picture the painful process of a giant dragon folding in on itself to take Saar (human) form. I could empathize completely with how they must feel trapped and utterly alien amongst humankind.  I understood their mathematical and scientific brains, revolted by human feeling and floundering as emotions they did not want flooded their systems. 

 

Hartman manages to convey excellently drawn perspectives of both humans and dragons as they beome embroiled in political strife.  Seraphina, who can see both perspectives, is the perfect narrator.  Her struggle to fit in, yet hide herself from scrutiny is fascinating. Her relationship with dragonkind draws readers in effortlessly.  Her struggle to fight off feelings for the one man she should never pursue...

 

A phenomenal fantasy debut, absolutely recommended to all fantasy readers, and well worthy of a shiny, shiny (dragon scale shiny, LOL) gold star:

 

 

Full disclosure: Borrowed from my library

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The Girl is Trouble

The Girl is Trouble
by Kathryn Miller Haines
sequel to The Girl is Murder

It's the Fall of 1942 and Iris's world is rapidly changing. Her Pop is back from the war with a missing leg, limiting his ability to do the physically grueling part of his detective work. Iris is dying to help, especially when she discovers that one of Pop's cases involves a boy at her school. Now, instead of sitting at home watching Deanna Durbin movies, Iris is sneaking out of the house, double crossing her friends, and dancing at the Savoy till all hours of the night. There's certainly never a dull moment in the private eye business. (description from Amazon.com)

 

Amateur sleuth, Iris, is back and the stakes have gone up another notch. The war is Europe is looming over everyone in Iris' life and it's starting to take its toll on her friends at school, her neighbors, and especially her father... The kids at school in the Jewish afterschool club have started receiving threats.  Iris learns her mother may have been murdered and because...well, the reason would have been absolutely horrifying! Unsure who she can trust, whether her best friend and father are lying to her, and feeling like her world is crumbling around her, Iris must do the best she can to find out all the nitty-gritty details to clear everything up and set her world back to rights. 

 

Again, my fellow Veronica Mars fans, remember those moments when Veronica's life was spinning completely out of control and while Veronica was emotionally crumbling, her mind seemed to clear and she became a private investigating MACHINE?  Those were the best parts of each season...the moments when I was absolutely riveted. This book, is that moment in written form.  Absolutely riveting and emotionally draining in the best type of way...

 

Full disclosure: Borrowed through interlibrary loan

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Dust Girl

Dust Girl

by Sarah Zettel

Callie LeRoux lives in Slow Run, Kansas, helping her mother run their small hotel and trying not to think about the father she's never met. Lately all of her energy is spent battling the constant storms plaguing the Dust Bowl and their effects on her health. Callie is left alone, when her mother goes missing in a dust storm. Her only hope comes from a mysterious man offering a few clues about her destiny and the path she must take to find her parents in "the golden hills of the west" (California). Along the way she meets Jack a young hobo boy who is happy to keep her company—there are dangerous, desperate people at every turn. And there's also an otherworldly threat to Callie. Warring fae factions, attached to the creative communities of American society, are very aware of the role this half-mortal, half-fae teenage girl plays in their fate. (description from Amazon.com)

This book is a little jewel that deserves a lot more recognition than it's gotten.  Debut author Sarah Zettel builds a fantastically atmospheric world with a compelling main character. This book is a brilliant blend of magic and realism. The Dust Bowl of the Depression Era practially seeps out of the pages. I found myself reaching for my drink over and over as I was reading, so entrenched in the dust storms my imagination pulled from the descriptions.

I loved, too, Callie's complex character. Not only is this a girl who finds that she is not quite human, but even when passing amongst the humans she was terrified of having her bi-racial background discovered. Everywhere she turned, Callie only found danger, intolerence, and the need for deception. Until she met Jack in a storm that changed her entire world and she found an ally who never seemed to care about her differences. 

I am more than ready to leap back into Callie's world, to discover her new abilities, and to see where her search for her parents takes her...I cannot wait for the next book in this trilogy.  

    Full disclosure: eARC received from NetGalley

The Peculiars



The Peculiars
by Maureen Doyle McQuerry

On her 18th birthday, Lena Mattacascar decides to search for her father, who disappeared into the northern wilderness of Scree when Lena was young. Scree is inhabited by Peculiars, people whose unusual characteristics make them unacceptable to modern society. Lena wonders if her father is the source of her own extraordinary characteristics and if she, too, is Peculiar. On the train she meets a young librarian, Jimson Quiggley, who is traveling to a town on the edge of Scree to work in the home and library of the inventor Mr. Beasley. The train is stopped by men being chased by the handsome young marshal Thomas Saltre. When Saltre learns who Lena’s father is, he convinces her to spy on Mr. Beasley and the strange folk who disappear into his home, Zephyr House. A daring escape in an aerocopter leads Lena into the wilds of Scree to confront her deepest fears. (description from Amazon.com)

I have mixed feelings about this book and I'm not sure exactly how to describe how I felt upon finishing it.  There were things I really loved, but somehow I still found this book to be lacking...something.  I am somewhat frustrated because I can't seem to identify exactly what it seems to need! Grr...

I liked the steampunk aspects of this book.  There were some cool inventions and I especially liked the description of the unique doors that guarded Mr. Beasley's fantastic library. The horseless carriages were cool, too. 

I liked that this book delved into the realm of the fantastic. People with wings, half-goblins, and other strange mutations.  It was an interesting exploration of what it meant to be "human." But... a lot of this aspect of the book wasn't even really address until the last third of the book and it's really left not fully explained to fulfill the need for a sequel. 

Lena was an interesting character, but she wasn't great.  I was actually more interested in Mr. Beasley, the well intentioned and handsome young librarian Jimson Quiggley, and even the beastly marshal that ends up trying to hunt everyone down.  While I was fairly solidly invested in the world of the book, I did not find myself that much behind the main character. :/

Were it not for the action sequence at the end and the idea that the Scree will be more fully explored in the next book, I would find this one almost forgettable. It was by no means awful, but I wanted SO much more. 

Full disclosure: Borrowed through interlibrary loan

The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell

The Wishing Spell

by Chris Colfer

The Land of Stories, book one

Alex and Conner Bailey's world is about to change, in this fast-paced adventure that uniquely combines our modern day world with the enchanting realm of classic fairy tales.

The Land of Stories tells the tale of twins Alex and Conner. Through the mysterious powers of a cherished book of stories, they leave their world behind and find themselves in a foreign land full of wonder and magic where they come face-to-face with the fairy tale characters they grew up reading about.

But after a series of encounters with witches, wolves, goblins, and trolls alike, getting back home is going to be harder than they thought. (description from Amazon.com)

 

I really enjoyed this tween-aged fairy tale adventure.  Though the twins started out feeling a little bit like stereotypes (the super smart girl and the troublemaker boy) they swiftly grew to have deeper personalities and they played really well off of one another.

 

I really enjoyed how Colfer delved into the afters of each fairy tale's "Happily Ever After." It was great to see a Goldilocks who was wanted across the kingdoms for theft, a Cinderella who was expecting her first child, and a Sleeping Beauty who wouldn't sleep until her kingdom recovered from her hundred years' repose. 

 

For a wild and whimsical adventure through all your favorite classic tales, try this one out!

 

Full disclosure: ARC received at BEA 2012



Wings of the Wicked

Wings of the Wicked

by Courtney Allison Moulton

Angelfire, book two

Life as the Preliator is harder than Ellie ever imagined.

Balancing real life with the responsibility of being Heaven's warrior is a challenge for Ellie. Her relationship with Will has become all business, though they both long for each other. And now that the secret of who she really is has come out, so have Hell's strongest reapers. Grown bold and more vicious, the demonic threaten her in the light of day and stalk her in the night.

She's been warned.

Cadan, a demonic reaper, comes to her with information about Bastian's new plan to destroy Ellie's soul and use an ancient relic to wake all the souls of the damned and unleash them upon humanity. As she fights to stay ahead of Bastian's schemes, the revelations about those closest to her awaken a dark power within Ellie that threatens to destroy everything—including herself.

She'll be betrayed.

Treachery comes even from those whom she loves, and Ellie is broken by the deaths of those who stood beside her in this Heavenly war. Still, she must find a way to save the world, herself, and her love for Will. If she fails, there will be Hell to pay. (description from Amazon.com)

It's been a long time since I read Angelfire. I vaguely remembered the plot, but when I started Wings of the Wicked, it took me a little while to remember who some of the secondary characters were and what the situation was like for Ellie at home, etc. However, once I got past the first quarter or so of the book, I got sucked right back in to Ellie's lives - the one she has during the day, and the one she has hunting reapers at night.

I loved reading about the way that Ellie had to try to balance her daily school life with her duties as the Preliator. I can't imagine having to essentially save the world!  I used to feel the same way when I watched Buffy: the Vampire Slayer on TV. I can't imagine having that type of duty and facing that type of danger every day.  Incredible....and I'm sure, super tiring.  I get tired just reading about it, LOL!

I got totally caught up in the action and drama of this book. The romance, the revelations, the reapers... and let me tell you, the ending of this book. WHOA. I tweeted the author the moment I put it down asking when book three comes out. I need it ASAP! There is a cliffhanger... a desperate cliffhanger...a don't hold your breath cuz you might actually die kind of cliffhanger...

The Garden Intrigue

The Garden Intrigue

by Lauren Willig

The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, book nine



Secret agent Augustus Whittlesby has spent a decade undercover in France, posing as an insufferably bad poet. The French surveillance officers can't bear to read his work closely enough to recognize the information drowned in a sea of verbiage.

New York-born Emma Morris Delagardie is a thorn in Augustus's side. An old school friend of Napoleon's stepdaughter, she came to France with her uncle, the American envoy; eloped with a Frenchman; and has been rattling around the salons of Paris ever since. Widowed for four years, she entertains herself by drinking too much champagne, holding a weekly salon, and loudly critiquing Augustus's poetry.

As Napoleon pursues his plans for the invasion of England, Whittlesby hears of a top-secret device to be demonstrated at a house party at Malmaison. The catch? The only way in is with Emma, who has been asked to write a masque for the weekend's entertainment.

Emma is at a crossroads: Should she return to the States or remain in France? She'll do anything to postpone the decision-even if it means teaming up with that silly poet Whittlesby to write a masque for Bonaparte's house party. But each soon learns that surface appearances are misleading. In this complicated masque within a masque, nothing goes quite as scripted- especially Augustus's feelings for Emma. (description from Amazon.com)

Oh, but do I love this series! It is wonderful historical fiction full of intrigue, romance, and strong characters both male and female.  I have learned more about the dealings between England and France during this time period from Lauren Willig than I ever did in school...

I love the descriptions of the dresses, the parties, the social ettiquettes, and of course, the spy codes. I love seeing smart women not only assist, but often outsmart their male counterparts.  I love it all. 

This particular volume in the series not only continued the trend of great characters, but also showed a great glimpse into a fascinating period in Napolean Bonaparte's "career."  It was so interesting to see what life would have been like as a part of his household while he became Emperor in France.  I loved seeing the connections between the politics, the parties, and the inventions of the period.

As for the next book, I *cannot* wait to see what happens to Eloise and Colin as she finds her time in England drawing to a close.  As always, their continuing story makes up all my absolute favorite bits in each book. 

Full disclosure: ARC originally received from NetGalley.

Kill Me Softly

Kill Me Softly
by Sarah Cross

Mirabelle's past is shrouded in secrecy, from her parents' tragic deaths to her guardians' half-truths about why she can't return to her birthplace, Beau Rivage. Desperate to see the town, Mira runs away a week before her sixteenth birthday—and discovers a world she never could have imagined.


In Beau Rivage, nothing is what it seems—the strangely pale girl with a morbid interest in apples, the obnoxious playboy who's a beast to everyone he meets, and the chivalrous guy who has a thing for damsels in distress. Here, fairy tales come to life, curses are awakened, and ancient stories are played out again and again.

But fairy tales aren't pretty things, and they don't always end in happily ever after. Mira has a role to play, a fairy tale destiny to embrace or resist. As she struggles to take control of her fate, Mira is drawn into the lives of two brothers with fairy tale curses of their own . . . brothers who share a dark secret. And she'll find that love, just like fairy tales, can have sharp edges and hidden thorns. (description from Amazon.com)
 
I loved the idea of this book. I loved it a lot...and while the world-building was wonderful, and the secondary characters were great, I was somewhat disappointed in the main character, Mira. 
 
Beau Rivage was a decadent, dark, and dangerous place. Full of everything I love in a dark fairy tale. The inhabitants of Beau Rivage were also fascinatingly dark. I loved the "evil" fairy who ran the seedy nightclub, the girl cursed to spit up jewels and flowers who sang as the headliner in a band, and I really loved the blue haired boy who fought so hard to keep from killing even one more girl with his kisses...
 
...and then there was Mira. The sad little girl who seemed so spunky and headstrong, but fell like the weakest  little doe straight into the arms of the big bad wolf.  It was a horrific case of "Bella-itis"  and I wanted to strangle her right through my car stereo. I even  found myself rolling my eyes so badly I was afraid they would roll right into the back of my head and never come out again at some points during her pining...
 
I loved the way the book ended. The right people found each other and curses, though not necessarily lifted, were lifted just enough for a potentially happy, yet realistically tough, ending. I would happily read another book set in the world of Beau Rivage. In fact, I would LOVE to delve back into this world to explore the remaining stories of some of the other characters. 

Dirty Little Secrets

Dirty Little Secrets
by C.J. Omololu

Everyone has a secret. But Lucy's is bigger and dirtier than most. It's one she's been hiding for years-that her mom's out-of-control hoarding has turned their lives into a world of garbage and shame. Tackling an increasingly discussed topic that is both fascinating and disturbing, C. J. Omololu weaves an hour-by-hour account of Lucy's desperate attempt to save her family. Readers join Lucy on a path from which there is no return, and the impact of hoarding on one teen's life will have them completely hooked. (description from Amazon.com)

This was a compelling, intriguing, and at moments both gross and shocking book. It's like a soap opera unfolding in front of your eyes - you see it happening, you know what's coming, and still you can't look away...you are hooked! 

My husband and I both watch Hoarders on TV.  I'll admit it. It's one of those shows you turn on and then can't turn off again. We'll watch it for hours. It's educational in a way, but it's mostly morbidly fascinating. You can't help but wonder for hours how it's possible that people actually live like that! It also has the dual  purpose of making me feel much better about how I live my life...sort of like Cops, LOL.

Anyway, this book read like watching an episode's aftermath. I could not put it down! There were moments  when I wished I could, but it was impossible. I can absolutely see now why several of  the teens in our Library had been bugging me to read this one! 

For something a little different that you won't be able to put down...try Dirty Little Secrets!

Kick

Kick
by Walter Dean Myers and Ross Workman

Kevin Johnson is thirteen years old. And heading for juvie. He's a good kid, a great friend, and a star striker for his Highland, New Jersey, soccer team. His team is competing for the State Cup, and he wants to prove he has more than just star-player potential. Kevin's never been in any serious trouble . . . until the night he ends up in jail. Enter Sergeant Brown, a cop assigned to be Kevin's mentor. If Kevin and Brown can learn to trust each other, they might be able to turn things around before it's too late. (description from Amazon.com)

I did not really enjoy this book. I wanted to, but there were a lot of things about it that actually bothered me.  I could see that it would appeal a lot to other readers, but it just didn't work for me.

Good things I saw:
*It's a quick read.
*Kevin is relatable and has a great family.
*Sgt. Brown was overall a good mentor to Kevin.
*It gives a good lesson about watching your temper and finding other ways to solve problems.

Things I didn't like:
*Sgt. Brown calling his wife (whom he supposedly loved very much) "Woman," constantly saying he wished she would stop talking at him and just "Shut Up." Grrr... As much as he was good with Kevin, I HATED the example he set as a husband.
*The sub-plot about the illegal immigrants being exploited was tied up too neatly and without a lot of explanation.
*Kevin's almost trip to perma-juvie was tied up way to easily in what I thought was an improbable fashion...

Overall, I had wanted to like this story, but I just found that I couldn't get past what I disliked. I will be recommending this to reluctant readers, though, and pointing out to teens that Myers' co-author is actually a teen himself!

Mini Reviews: The "My Life Has Gone to *Shizz" edition

Body of Water

by Sarah Dooley

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Twelve-year-old Ember’s trailer home has been burned in a fire set most likely by her best friend, a boy whose father believes Ember’s family are witches. Yes, Ember’s mom reads Tarot cards as a business. Ember’s friend set the fire to warn the family before his dad did something worse to them. The friend never intended to do so much damage.

Now the family is homeless, and living in a campground. They have no money. Ember’s beloved dog is missing. School is going to start, and Ember and her sister have no clean clothes, no notebooks. The only place Ember feels at peace is floating in the middle of the lake at the campground. She has to make a fresh start. Can she? (description from Amazon.com)

Ember - no house, no money, no clothes, no friends... life has definitely gone to *shizz!

I liked this book, though I thought that some parts wrapped up a little too conveniently at the end.  Ember was not a "likeable" character, per se, but I thought I understood where she was coming from all the way through.  Way more interesting than the poor cover that the book got saddled with...

A Million Shades of Gray

by Cynthia Kadohata

Y'Tin is brave. No one in his village denies that—his mother knows that it takes a great deal of courage and calm to deal with elephants the way that Y'Tin does. He is almost the best trainer in the village—and, at twelve-years old, he’s certainly the youngest. Maybe he’ll even open up his own school some day to teach other Montagnards how to train wild elephants? That was the plan anyway—back before American troops pulled out of the Vietnam War, back before his village became occupied by Viet Cong forces seeking revenge, back before Y'Tin watched his life change in a million terrible ways. Now, his bravery is truly put to the test: he can stay in his village, held captive by the Viet Cong or he can risk his life (and save his elephant’s) by fleeing into the jungle. (description from Amazon.com)

Y'Tin - his village is taken over, half flee, half are killed...his friends turn on him, his elephant may be finding a new home with wild elephants... life has definitely gone to *shizz!

Although I got a little frustrated with the simplified sentences that the author wrote in, they did seem to fit the story.  I liked Y'Tin and was fascinated with his relationship with Lady, his elephant. I found this to be a period in Vietnam that I thought I knew about, but this was definitely a new perspective to view things from. 



Spell Bound

by Rachel Hawkins

Hex Hall, book three

Just as Sophie Mercer has come to accept her extraordinary magical powers as a demon, the Prodigium Council strips them away. Now Sophie is defenseless, alone, and at the mercy of her sworn enemies—the Brannicks, a family of warrior women who hunt down the Prodigium. Or at least that’s what Sophie thinks, until she makes a surprising discovery. The Brannicks know an epic war is coming, and they believe Sophie is the only one powerful enough to stop the world from ending. But without her magic, Sophie isn’t as confident.

Sophie’s bound for one hell of a ride—can she get her powers back before it’s too late? (description from Amazon.com)

Sophie - boyfriend assumed dead, father missing, school taken over by crazies wanting to raise an army of Demons... life has definitely gone to *shizz!

A very good wrap-up to the trilogy.  I thought it packed just the right punch. There were funny bits, there were cool action scenes, there were hot romantic moments, and the resolution was well done. I am sad to see this trilogy end, but I thought this were left at a good point!