Book Review: Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik

September 19, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik
Release Date: August 2, 2011
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 288
Source: Purchased Copy
Rating: ★★★☆☆ 
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository

Will Elise’s love life be an epic win or an epic fail?

At Coral Tree Prep in Los Angeles, who your parents are can make or break you. Case in point:

As the son of Hollywood royalty, Derek Edwards is pretty much prince of the school—not that he deigns to acknowledge many of his loyal subjects.

As the daughter of the new principal, Elise Benton isn’t exactly on everyone’s must-sit-next-to-at-lunch list.

When Elise’s beautiful sister catches the eye of the prince’s best friend, Elise gets to spend a lot of time with Derek, making her the envy of every girl on campus. Except she refuses to fall for any of his rare smiles and instead warms up to his enemy, the surprisingly charming social outcast Webster Grant. But in this hilarious tale of fitting in and flirting, not all snubs are undeserved, not all celebrity brats are bratty, and pride and prejudice can get in the way of true love for only so long. – Goodreads

Review:
Every time I saw the cover for Epic Fail come up on a blog I thought it was cute, but I never took interest enough to read the summary. It wasn’t until I saw a review that mentioned it was a modernization of Pride and Prejudice that I thought, “Hey, I should check this out!”

I read another Pride and Prejudice modernization earlier this year, Prom and Prejudice, and I didn’t get much enjoyment out of it because there wasn’t a real Lizzie and Darcy vibe for me. Here, though, I thought Claire LaZebnik stuck a bit too close to the source material and I had to pause multiple times to recall Jane Austen’s scenes. Yes, it is a retelling, and it’s to be expected to a certain degree, but I enjoy when authors shake things up a bit, make their interpretation stand out on its own merits, while still keeping touches of the original intact. That said, I think she did a great job modernizing the setting and basic storyline. I could have done without some of the minor characters that popped up, simply because I thought they were unnecessary to the plot here, but it wasn’t that big of an issue for me.

If you’ve read the original, you know how this plays out, so there are no surprises in store. As such, there is only so much character development that can take place which kept me from really enjoying the book. I wish there had been more scenes with just Derek and Elise, but I did love how chapter seventeen played out and those last couple of lines before the very last (yay, vagueness!). I wanted MORE!, but then the book ended abruptly after all the drama was dealt with. Sigh. The book could have benefited with additional fluffy scenes!

If you’re looking for a quick and light read, look no further. I finished it in one sitting and, though I obviously found some issues with it, I thought it was a fun way to pass the time.

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Book Review: Hunting Lila by Sarah Alderson

September 12, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Hunting Lila by Sarah Alderson
Release Date: August 4, 2011
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Books
Pages: 320
Source: Purchased Copy
Rating: ★★★★☆ 
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository

17-year-old Lila has two secrets she’s prepared to take to the grave. The first is that she can move things just by looking at them. The second is that she’s been in love with her brother’s best friend, Alex, since forever. Or thereabouts. After a mugging on the streets of South London goes horribly wrong and exposes her unique ability, Lila decides to run to the only people she can trust – her brother and Alex. They live in Southern California where they work for a secret organisation called The Unit, and Lila discovers that the two of them are hunting down the men who murdered her mother five years before. And that they’ve found them. Trying to uncover the truth of why her mother was killed, and the real remit of The Unit, Lila becomes a pawn in a dangerous game. Struggling to keep her secrets in a world where nothing and no one is quite as they seem, Lila quickly realises that she is not alone – there are others out there just like her – people with special powers -and her mother’s killer is one of them… – Goodreads

Review:
First, special thanks to Brodie for talking this one up because, if not for her, the book would have probably gone unnoticed by me. Sad times! Second, if the summary, my review, whatever, piques your interest for Hunting Lila…definitely get your hands on a copy! It’s such a fun read.

I have to admit that I wasn’t quite feeling Lila’s character at the beginning of the book. She was nice enough, but she obsessed over Alex. A lot. Yes, he’s hot and amazing and all that good stuff, but I found myself thinking, “Jeez, Lila, calm down!” But then I had to give her a break… For one, she’s seventeen! I cringe when I remember how I behaved at her age. Second, she’s been disconnected from Alex (and her brother) so it made sense that she was a bit consumed by her feelings for him. Plus, yeah, Alex? He is hot stuff so I couldn’t really blame her. If you’re anything like me, you’ll find yourself wishing that he and Lila would just get on with it. Ha! Anyway, while she continued to admire him throughout the course of the book, the focus of the story shifted to much more important things and I think Lila did some growing up as they unraveled.

Let’s talk about Lila’s ability — she’s telekinetic. Awesome, right? Well, not so much for Lila. Even when it keeps her safe at the beginning of the book, she’s terrified of what she can do. She’s being mugged, but instead of being relieved for her safety, she’s worried about what she almost did to one of her muggers. Crazy! Her fear sends her running to Southern California which is where the story really kicks off. Despite her best attempts to be “normal”, her emotions sometimes get the best of her which, in turn, only leads to her ability doing things out of her control (shutting doors, spaghetti incidents, etc). I loved how, even toward the end of the book, I had only a small glimpse of what Lila could do. She still wasn’t comfortable with her telekinesis and was only just beginning to accept it as part of who she was.

The book took on some exciting turns as the mystery behind the death of Lila’s mother came to the forefront. There were also some awesome side characters that surfaced during this time — some with their own special abilities. As the summary says, “nothing and no one is quite as they seem” and it is SO true. And, again, it’s only the beginning of this storyline so I’m excited to see where Sarah Alderson takes it next.

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Book Review: Possess by Gretchen McNeil

September 5, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Possess by Gretchen McNeil
Release Date: August 23, 2011
Publisher: Balzer & Bray
Pages: 384
Source: Purchased Copy
Rating: ★★★★☆ 
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository

Fifteen-year-old Bridget Liu just wants to be left alone: by her mom, by the cute son of a local police sergeant, and by the eerie voices she can suddenly and inexplicably hear. Unfortunately for Bridget, it turns out the voices are demons – and Bridget has the rare ability to banish them back to whatever hell they came from.

Terrified to tell people about her new power, Bridget confides in a local priest who enlists her help in increasingly dangerous cases of demonic possession. But just as she is starting to come to terms with her new power, Bridget receives a startling message from one of the demons. Now Bridget must unlock the secret to the demons’ plan before someone close to her winds up dead – or worse, the human vessel of a demon king. – Goodreads

Review:
Despite the huge pile of books I have waiting to be read, I’ve been in a reading funk for about a week now with nothing being what I was in the mood for. Possess arrived in my mailbox, and it stood out from everything else I currently had, so I decided to give it a go. I ended up loving it!

Creepy and suspenseful would be two words to describe it. Prior to reading it myself, I had read a few reviews that warned that there were some spooky moments in the book. I obviously didn’t take them too seriously since I decided to start reading this late at night… I soon found myself feeling paranoid in my own room, afraid that something/someone was lurking in the shadows. While no moments were terrifying, there was definitely enough to get some goosebumps on my arms. Needless to say, Gretchen McNeil created a haunting atmosphere (in San Francisco! AKA one of my favorite places ever!) that made me feel that I was right there along with the main character, Bridget Liu.

I really loved Bridget. She was the right amount of snarky, prickly, tough, vulnerable, and loyal. Her dynamic with her family was interesting; she’s still grieving over her father’s murder, trying to figure out how to deal with her mom dating, and watching over her younger brother, Sammy. Her scenes with her best friend, Hector, were a highlight for me and I wish we had gotten more of them. And then there’s Matt. What a sweet little romance! Their relationship never took over the story, but there was enough to get attached to them together. I thought Bridget dealt with her abilities in a believable way: uncertain, nervous, and all sorts of freaked out. It was great to see her grow more confident, though, and that, too, felt natural for her character.

There was only one issue I had with Possess and it was how it glossed over one event that I don’t even want to hint at for fear of spoiling it somehow. While it was meant to move the mystery along, I think it lost some of its impact when the characters — as well as myself — seemed to forget all about it. Still, I can’t say that the book suffered too much because of this. As I said, I did forget about it and that’s due to the fact that McNeil kept her story going at such an excellent pace.

From what I understand, a sequel to Possess is in the works, but here’s an awesome bit of info: this could easily be a standalone. Yay! There’s a very clear beginning, middle, and end, with enough resolution that I wasn’t left wanting to yank my hair out. However, I’m left wanting more! There’s still a lot left to explore and I eagerly look forward to it.

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Book Review: A Beautiful Dark by Jocelyn Davies

August 6, 2011 by Leave a Comment

A Beautiful Dark by Joceyln Davies
Release Date: September 27, 2011
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 320
Source: Netgalley
Rating: ★★★☆☆ 
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository

Skye never questioned the story of her life. Her Aunt Jo adopted her after the death of her parents when she was just a child, and together they flip through memories the way some people flip through photo albums.

She never questioned if the stories were true.

Until the night of her 17th birthday, when the arrival of two strangers intrudes on her cozy life. Polar opposites, like fire and ice, Asher is dark and wild, while Devin is fair, cold, and aloof. Skye has no idea what they want—only that their presence coincides with the beginning of some shockingly strange events. Events that Skye, if she dares to think it, might be responsible for causing.

High up in the mountains of Boulder, Colorado, Skye finds herself caught in the middle of an ancient battle, one that began untold millennia ago. Torn between unpredictable Asher, whom she loves, and the infuriating Devin, who she can’t stay away from, her fate is murky as a starless night. And as the secrets of her true identity are revealed, Skye realizes that her destiny may reside in the Heavens—or somewhere darker. – Goodreads

Review:
I’ve read my fair share of angel books this year and one might think, “Steph, you need to take a step back.” However, I’ve enjoyed quite a few of these titles, so I can’t help but be cautiously optimistic that the newest one will be as good as my favorites involving this particular element. A Beautiful Dark was only so-so for me, but it’s definitely a title that will appeal more to other readers.

Set in Colorado, Skye lives a pretty normal life. Though the death of her parents is still fresh in her memory, she has a great set of friends and interests to keep her busy. Come her seventeenth birthday party, though, everything starts getting messy, starting with the appearance of two guys, Devin and Asher, who are seemingly following her around. Cue the revelations, some teenage angst, and our fairly formulaic story kicks off!

If it annoys you when multiple boys are vying for the main character’s affections…this is a book where you’ll experience just that. It was pretty eyeroll worthy and, to make matters worse, I couldn’t even root for anyone because all three boys (yes, three) were bland. We had the bad boy, his opposite, and even a best friend thrown in there. And that was all that there was to them. We’ve seen these characters before. It was only at the very end that I thought that two of them had the potential to become multi-dimensional characters, but that will remain to be seen in the following books.

So what did I like about this book? It was entertaining and I think Jocelyn Davies has an interesting angel mythology story going on here. I liked that Skye didn’t magically fall into her abilities and that she was very much put off by it all. As a matter of fact, when the book concludes, she’s still trying to figure things out. The cliffhanger at the end also brings an interesting twist to the series and the characters can only develop from here on out. I do wish there had been more of that growth in this one, though.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read but it lacked that special something for me; it didn’t bring offer anything that I haven’t already seen before. I think it would be a great book for someone who is only just now dipping their toes in the genre.

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Book Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

August 4, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Release Date: November 15, 2011
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 352
Source: ARC from Comic-Con
Rating: ★★★★☆ 
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days. The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old-girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war– and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior. – Goodreads

Review:
Do you hear that? It’s the sound of my swooning. Not only do we have a delicious romance in this debut, but Tahereh Mafi’s writing? It’s the kind I want to melt into.

Having been deemed a danger to society after an accident, and given up by her parents, Juliette has been imprisoned in isolation. It’s been 264 days since she’s had any sort of human contact and her only comfort is a notebook. Despite the fact that she’s been mistreated all her life, Juliette is such a good person. I wanted to take her under my wing and take care of her. Then there was another part of me, the Warner side you could say, that wanted her take people down. She does experience some internal conflict, and we do see some of her darker moments, but despite everything she’s gone through, she’s so full of heart.

The romance. Oh, the romance! Adam Kent is pretty damn amazing. There are so many sides to him, but he is a perfect boy package if I do say so myself. Going into this, knowing Juliette’s ability, I didn’t expect all that much with the relationship stuff, except maybe some flirtation, but I was so wrong. Juliette and Adam’s scenes are effing HOT. Prepare yourselves, folks, this romance is a good one.

Then there’s Warner. He’s awful and all sorts of screwed up and yet…I really, really enjoyed his character. In no way would I excuse the things he did, but he’s so layered that I couldn’t help but be intrigued. There’s still so much to uncover about him, too! After the events that transpired in this one, he’s bound to get more interesting (insaneinsanesinsane).

Mafi’s writing is captivating. Normal every day things — breathing! blushing! — are absolutely beautiful when she describes them. There were so many instances when I had to stop and reread what I had just read to fully appreciate the words before me.

If I could single out the one issue I had with the book, it would be the ending. It wasn’t that it was bad, but it definitely took me by surprise… In the vaguest way I can say it: the familiar element from this story is being expanded into even more familiar territory and, well, I expected something more. Different. To be fair, though, I’m sure Mafi could bring a fresh twist to the direction and I am definitely excited to see how she does it in the next book.

Shatter Me was a a fantastic debut and I can’t wait to get a further look at this story and its characters.

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