Book Review: Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama

September 4, 2012 by 7 Comments

Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama
Release Date: September 4, 2012
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Source: ALA 2012
Rating: ★★★½☆ 
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository

Fierce, seductive mermaid Syrenka falls in love with Ezra, a young naturalist. When she abandons her life underwater for a chance at happiness on land, she is unaware that this decision comes with horrific and deadly consequences.

Almost one hundred forty years later, seventeen-year-old Hester meets a mysterious stranger named Ezra and feels overwhelmingly, inexplicably drawn to him. For generations, love has resulted in death for the women in her family. Is it an undiagnosed genetic defect . . . or a curse? With Ezra’s help, Hester investigates her family’s strange, sad history. The answers she seeks are waiting in the graveyard, the crypt, and at the bottom of the ocean—but powerful forces will do anything to keep her from uncovering her connection to Syrenka and to the tragedy of so long ago. – Goodreads

Review:
Although I read plenty of paranormal books, mermaids are one creature that never quite caught my interest. Many mermaid books seem fun, but after having studied Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid” a few years ago, I felt I needed a darker edge in my YA introduction to them. So, I waited and Elizabeth Fama’s Monstrous Beauty seemed to fit the description. The verdict? Way to set the bar, Elizabeth Fama!

Elizabeth Fama’s prose is beautiful and it was the main highlight of Monstrous Beauty for me. I am envious of her talent and the way she made her book atmospheric with her poetic use of words. She had seamless transitions between the alternating time periods and the right amount of an eerie undercurrent throughout. The two main characters, Syrenka and Hester, were very different from each other but their stories came together in a satisfying way. I must admit that I was partial to Syrenka’s chapters, as she was such a layered and mysterious character, and, HELLO, a mermaid, but Hester grew on me somewhat as the story progressed.

The only real issue I found with Monstrous Beauty was the mystery. Though Elizabeth Fama did a great job transitioning between the past and the present, it was too easy for me to piece together all of the details and I found it frustrating when Hester didn’t do the same. If it wasn’t for that predictability, I think this would have been rated higher for me.

All that said, Elizabeth Fama has a beautiful and haunting book in Monstrous Beauty and I appreciate the darkness she offered for my first YA mermaid read.

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Book Review: Storm by Brigid Kemmerer

August 24, 2012 by 3 Comments

Storm by Brigid Kemmerer Storm by Brigid Kemmerer
Release Date: April 24, 2012
Publisher: Kensington
Source: Purchased
Rating: ★★★★☆ 
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository

Becca Chandler is suddenly getting all the guys – all the ones she doesn’t want. Ever since her ex-boyfriend spread those lies about her. Then she saves Chris Merrick from a beating in the school parking lot. Chris is different. Way different: he can control water just like his brothers can control fire, wind, and earth. They’re powerful. Dangerous. Marked for death.

And now that she knows the truth, so is Becca.

Secrets are hard to keep when your life’s at stake. When Hunter, the mysterious new kid around school, turns up with a talent for being in the wrong place at the right time, Becca thinks she can trust him. But then Hunter goes head-to-head with Chris, and Becca wonders who’s hiding the most dangerous truth of all.

The storm is coming. – Goodreads

Review:
Brigid Kemmerer’s Storm immediately had my attention from its opening scene where Becca, the main female lead, saves Chris Merrick from a brutal beating. From there it was a roller coaster of intensity as she uncovered all the details of the difficult situation she found herself in — from discovering that there are individuals who can control the elements to dealing with the torment she deals with at school.

While Brigid Kemmerer had a lot of action — and I think the use of elements was so cool and different — the real highlight of Storm was how realistic her characters were. Having grown up with three brothers, I found that the dynamic between the Merrick boys was especially authentic. I loved that they were foul-mouthed, volatile, frustrating, and completely unpredictable. In addition to that, I also loved how Brigid Kemmerer handled the bullying Becca endured at school. Becca’s hurt was palpable and, as difficult as her situation was, I liked that Brigid Kemmerer had such a strong focus on it.

If there was one issue that I found with Storm, it was the relationship between Becca and Chris. Don’t get me wrong, I really liked them and they were the ones I was rooting for! But…I wish there had been more. Hunter and Becca got plenty of scenes where I saw their growing friendship and I feel that I missed that sort of gradual development with Chris and Becca. Still, I did enjoy what I did get.

In conclusion, if you’re looking for an exciting, fast paced read, look no further than Brigid Kemmerer’s Storm. You really can’t go wrong with the use of elements and the hot boys that can control them. Can it be Tuesday now? I want to get my hands on Gabriel, I mean, Spark.

Psst, there’s currently a Kindle and Nook deal for this!

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Book Review: Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

August 5, 2012 by 7 Comments

Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake
Release Date: August 7, 2012
Publisher: Tor Teen
Source: ALA 2012
Rating: ★★★★☆ 
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository

It’s been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can’t move on.

His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live–not walk around half dead. He knows they’re right, but in Cas’s eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.
Now he’s seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he’s asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong…these aren’t just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.

Cas doesn’t know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn’t deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it’s time for him to return the favor. – Source

Review:
Anna Dressed in Blood was fantastically spooky so I was very eager to get my read on with Kendare Blake’s sequel, Girl of Nightmares. It’s hard to say which book I liked more, but I can definitely say that Girl of Nightmares was just as creepy and fun as the first book.

First up: Cas, I missed you! Kendare Blake continued to write his character with such an authentic teenage boy voice. He’s snarky, dramatic, and he curses — A LOT. I’ve been in one of those weird reading funks again, but it was so easy to get caught up in Cas’s adventures because his character is so charismatic.

Along with Cas, Carmel and Thomas were great to see again. This trio continued to have several hilarious moments that had me laughing late into the night, but I also came to appreciate the depth of their friendship. They don’t deal with easy stuff and I really liked that Kendare Blake explored how difficult and straining that can be.

The main mystery of Girl of Nightmares was finding out where Anna went after the events in Anna Dressed in Blood. There is plenty of creepy between the two books, but I found Girl of Nightmares to be somewhat more unsettling because Cas deals with a lot of his fears internally. There are still several moments of “in your face” creepiness, though, so worry not if that’s what you’re looking forward to.

Finally, there’s the ending. Could Kendare Blake write a more brilliant conclusion? Maybe, but it’s hard to imagine because what she has already is so perfect. I’m going to miss these characters, but I am so in love with how their story wrapped. I’ll eagerly look forward to reading what Kendare Blake writes next.

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Book Review: Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins

April 8, 2012 by 4 Comments

Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins
Release Date: March 13, 2012
Publisher: Disney/Hyperion Books
Pages: 327
Source: Purchased
Rating: ★★★☆☆ 
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository

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? – Goodreads

Review:
Rachel Hawkins’s Hex Hall series has been a highlight on my bookshelf since I first picked it up. Hex Hall and Demonglass are funny, charming, and an overall delight to read. I admit, I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump as of late, so perhaps that affected my enjoyment of it, but I felt so BLAH after I finished Spell Bound. Such a disappointing feeling to have for a series I’ve loved so much!

First of all, I thought that the pacing was off. I felt like I was thrown in different directions too quickly and I never felt fully immersed in the book. I don’t think it should have been so rushed and the storylines should have had more depth to them. Yes, this has always been a fun series without too much ~srs bsns~, but it was all too flat for me.

Because of the pacing, I also found it very difficult to connect to the characters. Of course, I did grow familiar with them in the first two books, but I didn’t feel like I enjoyed them as much in this installment. Was Sophie always this quippy? The answer to that is probably “yes,” but I felt like she was over the top in Spell Bound. In my review for Demonglass, I commented that she was very subdued in it and it was the complete opposite here. Don’t get me wrong, her humor has always been one of my favorite parts of the series, but it sometimes felt very out of place in the more tense situations here. Jenna was still great, and her friendship with Sophie continues to be a highlight, thankfully; no complaints there. The stuff with Archer had its hilariously cute moments, too, but I did not enjoy the inclusion of Cal and Elodie in the equation; it felt very unnecessary.

The ending. Ack. I won’t go into details because it would be a big spoiler, but a certain part of it also felt unnecessary. It felt thrown in and…BLAH. It’s depressing how little emotional impact it had for me and the characters. It should have been a big thing. Alas…

Overall, I didn’t find Spell Bound to be a very fulfilling conclusion to the series. It lacked the energy that I loved from the first two books and it makes me sad that this is how I say goodbye to these characters. As a whole, this is still a series that I will continue to love, but Spell Bound left me wondering, “Where did all the magic go?”


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Book Review: Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma

June 9, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma
Release Date: June 14, 2011
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Pages: 352
Source: Netgalley
Rating: ★★★★☆ 
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository

Chloe’s older sister, Ruby, is the girl everyone looks to and longs for, who can’t be captured or caged. When a night with Ruby’s friends goes horribly wrong and Chloe discovers the dead body of her classmate London Hayes left floating in the reservoir, Chloe is sent away from town and away from Ruby.

But Ruby will do anything to get her sister back, and when Chloe returns to town two years later, deadly surprises await. As Chloe flirts with the truth that Ruby has hidden deeply away, the fragile line between life and death is redrawn by the complex bonds of sisterhood. – Goodreads

Review:
I’m not sure what I expected when I began reading Imaginary Girls, but the book ended up being so unique and completely different from anything I’ve ever read before.

Though the relationship between Chloe and Ruby is complex, intense and, at times, a bit disturbing, their love for one another is also very apparent. Having practically raised her, Ruby has a special pull over Chloe and yet it becomes very clear that Ruby is equally dependent on her younger sister, willing to do the unthinkable — the impossible — for her. We see the strange power Ruby has over their town, but it’s her relationship with Chloe that moves the story forward, revealing just how far she’s ready to go and the sacrifices she’s willing to make to protect her. As Ruby’s secrets and hidden layers are brought to the surface, Chloe does show moments of uncertainty, but her loyalty to her sister always wins out.

There isn’t a lot of action in the story, but there’s definitely a lot of tension. With every character we see, there’s a growing undercurrent of unease, as well as a threat of something darker. There are moments where scenes seem to be straight out of a horror film, leaving me to want to turn on every light in my home.

The book did have its slow moments, but the beautiful writing kept me hooked. I made so many highlights of quotes and passages, each time struck by the magic Nova Ren Suma wove into this story. What I loved most, though, was the mystery that remained after the last page was turned. A clear explanation of certain events that occurred is never given, and while some readers may be left feeling frustrated by this, I was left to feel more than a little unsettled and haunted — in the best possible way.

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