*Review* Kiss of Broken Glass – Madeleine Kuderick

 Kiss of Broken Glass

Madeleine Kuderick

224 pages

Read 10-16-14

Source: Library

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 Madeleine Kuderick’s gripping debut is a darkly beautiful and lyrical novel in verse, perfect for fans of Sonya Sones and Laurie Halse Anderson. Kiss of Broken Glass pulses with emotion and lingers long after the last page.

In the next seventy-two hours, Kenna may lose everything—her friends, her freedom, and maybe even herself. One kiss of the blade was all it took to get her sent to the psych ward for seventy-two hours. There she will face her addiction to cutting, though the outcome is far from certain.

When fifteen-year-old Kenna is found cutting herself in the school bathroom, she is sent to a facility for mandatory psychiatric watch. There, Kenna meets other kids like her—her roommate, Donya, who’s there for her fifth time; the birdlike Skylar; and Jag, a boy cute enough to make her forget her problems . . . for a moment.

I have read only two other books written in verse, but I have found I do enjoy the ones  have read and look forward to reading more.

Kiss of Broken Glass deals with a hard topic – cutting – and what could drive a person to do it.  I found Kenna to be very realistic and tortured, even if she didn’t want to admit it to herself.  Through Kenna we learn about the drive and ache of her addiction to self harm and the author does a great job of making us feel that need right along with Kenna.  The book spans only 72 hours, but in that short period, things become very eye opening.  The book was an incredibly fast read, but it was also powerful.

The few characters we meet during the commitment weren’t around very long, but they each had their own special impact on Kenna.  I especially liked Skylar and her honesty.  She was very open about everything and I think that helped Kenna be more honest with herself.  Donia was ok, but she was also someone who wanted to help Kenna keep cutting and didn’t seem like someone much into quitting self harm.  I didn’t get to know Jag too well, but the little bit I did see of him I did like him.

I definitely enjoyed this book and look forward to more work from this author!

Well written, powerful, fast read, really puts you in the main character’s shoes.

*Review* We Were Liars – E. Lockhart

 We Were Liars

E. Lockhart

Read 1-24-14

Source: Netgalley

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 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. 

Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.

I went into this book half blind and decided to request it from Netgalley since I had seen a few high star reviews, so I decided to give it a shot and I am certainly glad I did.  There was a lot I really enjoyed about this story and it has stayed with me since I finished it and I think it will stay with me for a while after.

The main character, Cadence, is part of a group of friends that call themselves the Liars.  I am not sure if I just didn’t pick up on something, but I’m still not sure why they call themselves the Liars, especially since the adults lied more than the group did.  But, anyway, Cadence we get to see before and after her accident and how it affects her.  Her friends are each very different from one another and have different personalities, so they stand out well from each other.

“Gat seemed spring-loaded.  Like he was searching for something.  He was contemplation and enthusiasm   Ambition and strong coffee.  I could have looked at him forever.”

Though there wasn’t a lot of action going on, I enjoyed the writing style, which felt lyrical and poetic.  It isn’t fast-paced, but it still keeps a hold on you and makes you want to read more.  For me, it is beautiful and honest writing.  One of my favorite things about this story was the ending.  Generally, it takes a lot to surprise me, and this story did it and it will tug at your heart strings in the process.  Also, there are some time jumps back and forth a few times, so if you are someone who gets confused by time jumps, just be warned because sometimes flashbacks just jump right in.

Definitely a book I recommend, especially if you are a contemporary fan or enjoy surprise endings.  Beautiful and tragic, one you won’t quickly forget.

Beautiful writing, surprise ending, enthralling, powerful.

*Review* The 5th Wave – Rick Yancey

 The 5th Wave

Rick Yancey

457 pages

Read 1-11-14

Format: Audiobook

Source: Library

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After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

I had read plenty of reviews talking about how great this book is and how it isn’t what you expect from an alien book, so I decided to find out for myself how great it actually was and I am happy to report that these claims of greatness are true.  I wasn’t completely sure of what to expect with this story since I’ve never read a book that involved aliens before aside from The Host, but I enjoyed it so much more than I thought I would.

The world depicted in this book is a scary place.  Imagine waves of awful things occurring, not knowing who to trust, and fighting everyday to survive, not knowing what is truth or lie.  It’s ugly, no matter who you are.  I also like the cover and how it goes with the story (can you see the giant bird?).  The characters are also really great.  Cassie is a very strong and determined female MC, and even after all of the crap she goes through, she is still willing to do whatever it takes without being whiny.  I like Evan a lot, he is unusual, but I really like him, even though he has some flaws.  And with Zombie, I enjoyed seeing the military aspect of it and what they have to go through on that end.

I read this mostly in audio format, up until the last 30 minutes when my audiobook files became corrupted and stopped working, then I finished it out in a borrowed hardcover.  Both narrators did really well reading it and had nice voices.  The action scenes were great, both in print and on audio and not at all confusing like some can be.  The book also switches points of view from  female and male characters, and I think the author did a really good job of rotating between two different genders’ mindsets.

Though there is some love interest stuff in the story, there is no real gushy mushy romance.  I didn’t expect there to be either, considering aliens are trying to wipe out the human population.  It also isn’t easy at all, which makes it more real than if they had had some sort of crazy romantic love story in the middle of an extraterrestrial takeover.  This one is definitely a book for guys or girls, and even for those who might not care for alien books much because it really isn’t the kind of aliens you think.

Scary world, great characters, good readers, not what you expect.

*Review* Teardrop – Lauren Kate

 Teardrop

Lauren Kate

441 pages

ISBN: 9780375990694

Read 10-20-13

Source: Literary Lushes ARC Tours

Format: Paperback ARC

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Never, ever cry. . . . Eureka Boudreaux’s mother drilled that rule into her daughter years ago. But now her mother is gone, and everywhere Eureka goes he is there: Ander, the tall, pale blond boy who seems to know things he shouldn’t, who tells Eureka she is in grave danger, who comes closer to making her cry than anyone has before.

But Ander doesn’t know Eureka’s darkest secret: ever since her mother drowned in a freak accident, Eureka wishes she were dead, too. She has little left that she cares about, just her oldest friend, Brooks, and a strange inheritance—a locket, a letter, a mysterious stone, and an ancient book no one understands. The book contains a haunting tale about a girl who got her heart broken and cried an entire continent into the sea. Eureka is about to discover that the ancient tale is more than a story, that Ander might be telling the truth . . . and that her life has far darker undercurrents than she ever imagined. From Lauren Kate comes an epic saga of heart-stopping romance, devastating secrets, and dark magic . . . a world where everything you love can be washed away.

So, even though the Fallen series fell kind of flat for me for the most part, there was just no way I could pass up reading a book with such a gorgeous cover!  Sometimes, it is good to judge a book by the cover because I am certainly glad that I gave this book a shot.  I loved it so much and it was so much better, in my opinion, than Fallen was.  I really can’t express how much more I liked it over Fallen.  The story was better, the characters were better, the relationships were better.

First, we have Eureka, who is a bit moody yes, but who wouldn’t be after their mother died?  She does typical things of those in mourning and depressed, but she doesn’t cry.  It takes a very strong will to not cry over some of the things this poor girl is put through.  She is quite strong and very determined.  There weren’t any parts that stuck out to me where I wanted to smack her like some of the characters I’ve come across, though I did hate her stepmother, Rhoda, but of course we were supposed to hate her.  Ander is interesting, I’m not in love with him yet, but I do like him.  I had a stronger connection with Brooks, really.  I wasn’t very crazy about Cat, she is a bit of a slut and bounces from guy to guy like it’s nothing, but she is a really good friend to Eureka.

The story was really great and had a lot of strong points and a lot of secrets.  I kept wanting to read and find out more and what does this do and what is going to happen here and what is that about??  I just wanted to know more, more, more, so reading it in two days was definitely not a problem.  I never found myself rolling my eyes at anything like I did several times through out the Fallen series.  I think she greatly improved with Teardrop and I hope the rest of the series is awesome, too.  Also, the descriptions were great and I loved so many of them!

Can we go back to that cover again?  I mean really, JUST LOOK AT IT.  I could get lost in it.  So. Freaking. Beautiful.  It was also my Cover Crush a couple weeks ago and one of my favorites for the year.  There’s a good bit of meaning in the cover as well.  I really hope people who dislike Fallen like I did (at least the first two books, the second two were okay) still give her new series a chance.  And for those who loved Fallen, definitely check this one out!  Thanks again to wonderful ladies over at Literary Lushes for letting me part of this ARC Tour!

Great strong main character, lovely descriptions, kept me reading and wanting to know more, secondary characters okay.

 

*Review* Just One Day – Gayle Forman

 Just One Day

Gayle Forman

368 pages

ISBN: 9780525425915

Read 10-11-13

Source: Library

Format: Hardover

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A breathtaking journey toward self-discovery and true love, from the author of If I Stay

When sheltered American good girl Allyson “LuLu” Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines.

Oh, how wonderful this book was!  I did enjoy If I Stay, but I gotta say I enjoyed this one even more!  There is so much I loved about this book and almost nothing that I didn’t.  I’ll start with the scenery.  There are a few places we visit in this story, like England, Holland, and mainly Paris!  Everything is so beautiful and real and alive in my head.  The descriptions are just lovely.

I mostly liked Allyson.  I liked that she got to be someone different, Lulu, for that single day, and it seemed to be truer to herself than she thought, but I didn’t like how she was at first while she was dealing with her tough times.  I kind of wanted to yell at her to get over it a couple of times, but at the same time I can understand why she would be that way.  Oh, Willem, I would love to meet you in real life.  He has now been added to my book boyfriend list for sure.  And Dee, he is so cool, too, quite a character, and in a very, very good way.  I love Allyson and Dee’s friendship and the way he is there for her.   Even the characters you meet in passing are great.

This story was very touching and beautiful and really gets in you heart.  I am glad I don’t have to wait an entire year before reading the second part to this story!  I think I would die because of the way it ended, but luckily, I already have the next one in hand, yay!  I am itching to continue it!  Aside from a great story, it also has great life lessons and I love to see how Allyson starts to see them, too and changing.  If you like contemporaries, or if you have been looking for one to try, this is definitely a wonderful one to pick up!

Great characters, beautiful descriptions, realistic, sometimes Allyson was…annoying.

*Review* Fangirl – Rainbow Rowell

 Fangirl

Rainbow Rowell

433 pages

ISBN: 9781250030955

Read 9-13-13

Format: Paperback ARC

Source: Lit Lushes ARC Tours

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A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love. Cath is a Simon Snow fan.Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . .But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving. Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere. Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to. Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone. For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

Wow, this book was so much wonderful!  Though I very recently bought Eleanor & Park, I haven’t read it yet, I got it just before Fangirl and since Fangirl was for an ARC tour, I read it first, and based on it, I can’t wait to start Eleanor & Park!  This book is just so magical and real and relatable.  Thanks to the girls at Lit Lushes for letting me part of the tour for this amazing book!

Cath is definitely many people are going to be able to see themselves in, I know I did.  I was also the quiet girl who was often the “teacher’s pet” and got the high GPA and didn’t go to parties; the nerd who would rather stay home in her own little world rather than go out and get drunk like the other college students.  I also wrote fanfiction (though I haven’t in a little while now) and I have always been a high anxiety kind of person, though maybe not quite as high as Cath’s.  The only real complaint I have for this book is sometimes Cath gets a bit too whiny with a couple of things, but other than that this book is magnificent.  Levi was awesome for the most part, definitely crush worthy and I loved how loyal of a friend he was.  My heart was breaking for Cath with her sister, her twin sister, who didn’t seem to want to be part of a twin pair anymore going into college.

This book deals with some pretty deep issues that I wasn’t expecting and they were handled really well and very realistically.  This whole book was so realistic and touching and heartbreaking and hopeful.  It was also very creative with how be got to see tidbits of the Simon Snow books and Cath’s fanfiction mingled in.  The writing style is fabulous and I was certainly won over and am now a loyal fan for Rainbow Rowell.  I had to force myself to stop reading several times when I had to do “more important” things.  Loved the whole thing!  A truly fantastic book!

Wonderful characters, great writing, super relatable, Cath a bit too whiny in a couple places.

 

*Review* The Fairest of Them All – Carolyn Turgeon

 The Fairest of Them All

Carolyn Turgeon

288 pages

ISBN: 9781451683783

Read 8-10-13

Format: Paperback

Source: The Fantastic Flying Book Club Tours

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What if Rapunzel was Snow White’s evil stepmother? From the author of Godmother and Mermaid, The Fairest of Them All explores what happens when fairy tale heroines grow up and don’t live happily ever after.

Living in an enchanted forest, Rapunzel spends her days tending a mystical garden with her adoptive mother, Mathena. A witch, Mathena was banished from court because of her magic powers, though the women from the kingdom still seek her advice and herbal remedies. She waits, biding her time to exact revenge against those who betrayed her.

One day Rapunzel’s beautiful voice and long golden locks captivate a young prince hunting in the forest nearby. Overcome, he climbs her hair up to her chamber and they fall into each other’s arms. But their afternoon of passion is fleeting, and the prince must return to his kingdom, as he is betrothed to another.

Now king, he marries his intended to bring peace to his kingdom. They have a stunning daughter named Snow White. Yet the king is haunted by his memories of Rapunzel, and after the mysterious death of his wife, realizes he is free to marry the woman he never stopped longing for. In hopes of also replacing the mother of his beloved daughter, the king makes Rapunzel his queen.

But when Mathena’s wedding gift of an ancient mirror begins speaking to her, Rapunzel falls under its evil spell, and the king begins to realize that Rapunzel is not the beautiful, kind woman he dreamed of.

I was so excited when I found out I was going to be a stop on the book tour for The Fairest of Them All, and when I had the beautiful book in my hands, I think I squealed some.  This book was really quite incredible and a masterful rewrite and combination of two popular fairy tales.

The two main women in this story are Rapunzel and Mathena, who is the witch that cares for Rapunzel.  Both are strong and complicated characters with layers and secrets a bit darker than most.  Between the beginning of the book and the end, you will not look at either of these characters the same again.  We see Rapunzel over the course of several years and her transformation from an innocent young adult to the shadow of herself she becomes.  Layers are added onto Rapunzel, where as with Mathena, layers are removed and we learn her secrets later in the book.

The writing is beautiful and very much like a classic fairy tale.  The author paints us incredible scenes full of emotion and turmoil.  The descriptions are also lovely as is the cover of the book that gives us a beautiful picture of Rapunzel.

Generally, it is pretty hard to surprise me, but the twists this story takes was definitely not what I was expecting, especially the really big “Whoa, really?” moment.  Thank you Carolyn for actually surprising me.  I loved seeing the realistic magic, plus a bit of unrealistic magic mixed in, with the plants and herbs being used.

All in all, I greatly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to people who enjoy fairy tale retellings and magical realism.  The book is listed as young adult, but I would suggest it for the older teen and up side because of the sexual content.  Definitely an author to add to my favorites!

Complex characters, beautiful writing, creative, older YA audiences.

 

*Review* I Hunt Killers – Barry Lyga

 I Hunt Killers (Jasper Dent #1)

Barry Lyga

361 pages

ISBN: 9780316125840

Read 7-9-13

Format: Audiobook

Source: Library

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What if the world’s worst serial killer…was your dad?

Jasper “Jazz” Dent is a likable teenager. A charmer, one might say.

But he’s also the son of the world’s most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, Take Your Son to Work Day was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could—from the criminal’s point of view.

And now bodies are piling up in Lobo’s Nod.

In an effort to clear his name, Jazz joins the police in a hunt for a new serial killer. But Jazz has a secret—could he be more like his father than anyone knows?

This summary really had me interested in this book.  Told from the POV of a serial killer’s son?  Sign me up.  I wasn’t sure what I expected from this book, but it wasn’t what I thought it was going to be, and that’s a good thing, because it was better!  It was quite detailed when it came to crime scenes and it was pretty exciting.

Jazz is not your average high school guy.  His father is one of the most notorious serial killers, and he has to live with this and be reminded of it every day.  Though his father has been in prison for the past four years, he is still plagued by memories of him and how he was teaching Jazz everything there is to know about how to get away with killing.  Jazz is a strong character and I love his best friend Howie, who is quite the wise guy and provides a lot of humor.  Connie is likable and loyal to Jazz, though I didn’t feel quite as connected to her as the other two.

The killer is not obvious, which I really liked, but my only gripe is SPOILER: we still don’t know exactly who the person is.  We found out who he was posing as, but not who the person actually is.  But, it is supposed to be this way, so hopefully I will find out more in the next book.  The reader was also really good.  I liked his voice and how he played Howie was my favorite.  If you are wanting a good murder mystery/thriller, then I definitely give this book a chance.  It was a great read and kept my earbuds glued to my ears.

Great characters, good reader, interesting story, looking forward to the next book.

*Review* Ink – Amanda Sun

 Ink (Paper Gods #1)

Amanda Sun

326 pages

ISBN: 9780373210718

Read 7-18-13

Format: ARC Paperback

Source: Literary Lushes ARC tours

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On the heels of a family tragedy, the last thing Katie Greene wants to do is move halfway across the world. Stuck with her aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, Katie feels lost. Alone. She doesn’t know the language, she can barely hold a pair of chopsticks, and she can’t seem to get the hang of taking her shoes off whenever she enters a building.Then there’s gorgeous but aloof Tomohiro, star of the school’s kendo team. How did he really get the scar on his arm? Katie isn’t prepared for the answer. But when she sees the things he draws start moving, there’s no denying the truth: Tomo has a connection to the ancient gods of Japan, and being near Katie is causing his abilities to spiral out of control. If the wrong people notice, they’ll both be targets.Katie never wanted to move to Japan—now she may not make it out of the country alive.

The first think that caught my attention with this book was the cover.  It is beautiful and graceful and the dripping title is ominous. Then I read the synopsis and found out it takes place in Japan and I knew I had to read it for sure! Thanks to Brittany and Alyssa at Literary Lushes I got to be the first stop on the Ink book tour they are hosting and was able to enjoy this great book.

This author writes incredibly well and I loved the descriptions throughout the book, especially with the cherry blossom trees. The way she wrote out the imagery was very artistic and beautiful.  It is obvious that she had spent some time in Japan and I liked how she included Japanese words through the book. My only complaint on that would be that some of the words I still couldn’t figure out and they were italicized everytime (stupid complaint I know, but my brain kept accenting the words as I read it since they had italics).

As for the characters, I liked Katie pretty well, though I’m not sure why she really felt the need to know what Tomo was up to. She did well as a character who was learning the ways of a new culture and I liked how the book started out with her making a foreigner’s kind of mistake. With Tomo for some reason I didn’t have the connection I wanted, though I’m not really certain why. He was mysterious and confusing at first, but we get to see who he really is eventually.

This story felt very Japanesey to me (not that I’ve been there just seen a lot of movies, anime and manga) and pretty much the whole time it played out like an anime in my head, lol. The concept of having Japanese gods is really cool, though I didn’t learn as much about the mythology as I would have liked.

All in all I felt it was a really good story and beautifully written. I definitely will be reading the next book since the characters stuck with me and I must know what happens to them. Thanks again to the ladies at Literary Lushes! Check out there website to see what tours they are hosting and even join our awesome bimonthly Twitter chats!

Beautiful writing, good characters, great concept, would have liked to have seen more about the mythology.

*Review* Scarlet – Marissa Meyer

 Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles #2)

Marissa Meyer

452 pages

ISBN: 9780312642969

Read 5-24-13

Format: Audiobook

Source: Library

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The fates of Cinder and Scarlet collide as a Lunar threat spreads across the Earth…

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

Last year I absolutely fell in love with Cinder, and I even did something I never do – I reread it this year before reading Scarlet.  I have so many books I need to read that I never get to reread books, so that should tell you how much I loved it.  Scarlet was an excellent sequel to Cinder and I loved it almost as much.

For this installment, the POV isn’t just from Cinder, but also from Scarlet who lives in France with her grandmother who is missing, so be warned if you are weird about switching POVs.  Every now and then I got caught up in one of the girls’ POVs and got confused for a split second when it switched (easier to do with audio).  The reader was pretty good, but I wasn’t certain about her accent for Scarlet.  I wasn’t sure what she was going for, it didn’t really sound French like her friend’s did.

I really enjoy the imagery that Marissa is able to create and the characters are so real.  Iko is one of my favorite secondary characters ever (along with Zuzana in Daughter of Smoke and Bone).  Carswell Thorne was interesting and I look forward to seeing more of him (plus his first name is my last name!  How cool is that?) and I really like Scarlet since she is another strong female character.

The spin that Marissa has taken on these fairy tales and mixed them with elements of science fiction and Sailor Moon is incredibly wonderful and imaginative.  I can’t wait to read the rest of them and I really wish I didn’t have to wait so long!

Imaginative, great characters, wonderful descriptions, alternating POV.