*Review* Everblossom – Larissa Hinton

 Everblossom: A Short Story and Poetry Anthology

Larissa Hinton

53 pages

ASIN: B005H5GKIY

Format: E-book

Source: Author

Everblossom is a short anthology of stories and poetry that represent different stages of a flower (seed, bud, blossom).  The stories and poems are dark, light, realistic, fantasy, heartbreaking, disturbing and everything in between.

The stories are very diverse and I enjoyed them, though there were several typos throughout the book.  I enjoyed the writing style and felt it was very clear.  I have to say I enjoyed the poetry more than the stories, however.  I found the Words Speak Volumes poems were very intriguing and well written.  Almost every line was a single word that may or may not directly connect to the next word, but all together, it spelled out the entire story without having to include every word like a story.

I rated this book as a 4, though it was really almost a 4, but above a 3.5, so it’s real rating would have to be 3.75.  The stories still had me intrigued and left me wanting to know more about what was going to happen in the stories, so the author did well at keeping your attention and interest.

This book could fall under adult or young adult because of the subjects it goes over, though I wouldn’t suggest anyone 13 or younger read it because some of the harsher subjects.  All in all, I enjoyed it, but I wish it had been longer.

Diverse, dark in places, well-written, unique, a bit too short.

*Review* Triangles – Ellen Hopkins

 

Triangles

Ellen Hopkins

544 pages

ISBN: 9781451626339

Read 9-23-11

Release 10-18-11

     Ellen Hopkins is the bestselling author of incredibly popular young adult novels, such as Crank and Glass, that are enjoyed both by teens and adults.  Triangles is her first adult novel, which is written in verse instead of the common prose of most novels.  This novel is definitely meant for mature readers, and in my opinion, if you are easily offended, you may not like it because of some of the issues and content that comes up during the story.  That being said, I thought it was a very wonderful book.  It is very artistic in its structure, words, and story. 
     This book follows three women, Marissa, Holly, and Andrea, through some very tough times they are having with family, love lives, and careers.  There are many emotional and personal changes that happen for these women, and the author’s words do an amazing job of transporting you along on their journey.
     The book being written in verse gives a whole different feel to the novel.  It has a different flow and emotions are emphasized in a different way.  When grammar and punctuation are not something you have to pay strict attention to and rules can be bent, other things happen with a story, and the beauty of it can be accentuated even further.  Hopkins’s verses are geniusly written and absolutely exquisite.  
     The personalities of the characters really come through in this work, and I feel as if I know them well.  Their true selves shine through in each verse, raw and real.  The writing of this work is very honest and how-it-is, all reality, making it very believable; it matches the drama of real life.  The pages of poetry are full of lovely descriptions and meaning, both obvious and hidden.
     The only bad thing I could possibly say about this book is that it has a tendency to be confusing at first when it switches from the view points of the three women.  I think that was a me thing, though, and has nothing to do with the author’s style, since I am not very used to reading books with more than two view points.  So many of the author’s words are powerful, but I think the most powerful was the last poem.  Wonderful!

Magnificent, artistic, real, honest, descriptive.         4.5 stars!

*Review* The Language of Flowers – Vanessa Diffenbaugh

The Language of Flowers

Vanessa Diffenbaugh

308 pages

ISBN: 9780345525543

Read 8-23-11

     The Language of Flowers is a beautiful novel about Victoria, a foster child that has been passed home to home, unable to be placed with a family.  When she turns 18, she is emancipated from the group home she currently stays and is forced into a world where she needs to take care of herself and live on her own.  The only skill she has is knowing the language of flowers, a Victorian era form of unspoken communication delivered through the special meanings of flowers.  Her life takes a big turn when she meets a florist who hires her on at her shop and continues to change when she meets a mysterious flower vendor at the local market.
     Today is the release date for The Language of Flowers, and it was a fantastic read!  I am very glad I was able to read it and review this magnificent story before it was released.  This book is written in an impeccably beautiful way.   The flow of the words and style is magical and musical; perfection on a page.  Not only is the style of writing beautiful, but so is the story; it tells the difficult life of a child in the foster care system, finding love, losing it, and forgiveness.
     Victoria is such an incredibly strong character, and she is like a flower herself, only a bud at first, then slowly opening herself up letting a select few slip past the wall she keeps herself guarded behind.   She has a lot of ups and downs throughout the book, and you ride the emotional roller coaster right along side her.  The author words keep you pulled into the world of this book and you feel every emotion the characters do; my heart ached so much for Victoria as i read her story and her challenges. 
     Flowers have a big place in Victoria’s life, since she is not very good with people, she find she can communicate what she wants to say to them with flowers, whether they understand it or not.  They have so much meaning for her and I really enjoyed learning the meanings behind the different flowers in the book.  This story was very original and lovely.

Emotional, exquisite, heart-breaking, hopeful, simply marvelous!!    5 stars!!

*Review* The Girl Who Chased the Moon – Sarah Addison Allen

 

The Girl Who Chased the Moon

Sarah Addison Allen

265 pages

Read 5-14-11

ISBN: 9780553385595

     Mullaby, NC is a mysterious and secretive town where Emily Benedict has come to live with her grandfather after the loss of her mother.  Not only did her grandfather know of her existence until recently, but he is also a giant, towering over everyone in the town.  Emily discovers the overly tall man is not the only oddity in Mullaby, but also little lights that dance around in the woods near the house and other strange happenings.  Emily has to find her place in this bizarre town and uncover secrets about its residents and even about her own mother.
     This is another fantastic novel from Allen, and it was actually the first by her that I read and I instantly fell in love with her style of writing.  It’s so beautiful and poetic with a lovely flow and she has an amazing way of making magic seem realistic.  The cover is what attracted me to this book originally with its dark background, contrasting subject and fluttering butterflies.
     Emily is a strong character that has to cope, not only with the death of her mother, but also the harsh way some of the townspeople treat her and make her feel alienated.  I didn’t have a single favorite character because they were all so well written.  By the time the book ended, there was an opening left to be able to continue a story for a different character, and I am hoping the author does decide to write one for this character.
     Everything is nicely wrapped up for this novel and nothing is left in question.  This is a truly wonderful story and I can’t wait for more from this author.  Highly recommended for those who enjoy an element of magic and a literary novel.

Poetic, mysterious, meaningful, beautiful, absolute pleasure to read!  4.5 stars!

*Review* Graveminder – Melissa Marr

 Graveminder

Melissa Marr

324 pages

ISBN: 9780061826870

Read 8-8-11

     Graveminder is a fantastic novel of the walking dead, not your typical zombie-like story.  Unlike the popular zombies that you see in movies, these walking dead are aware of things going on.  Rebekkah is the granddaughter of Maylene, who is the graveminder, and when she is murdered, Rebekkah must return to Claysville.  On top of her grandmother’s murder, many other issues are thrown onto her, including a past relationship she has been running from, a difficult inheritance, and something that is running around hurting the townspeople.

Melissa Marr is known for her Wicked Lovely series in which she shows us the world of fairies.  She has a superb way of creating worlds and being able to put the reader into them.   Graveminder is her first adult novel, and I was just as sucked into this story as I was with the  Wicked Lovely series, which is for young adults.  Her style of writing and description make it hard to put the book down and bring yourself back into the real world.

With this style of story, the author has stepped outside of the box for what is normally seen as the walking dead, giving this novel a freshness that others of the same subject do not have.  Strong characters, strong relationships between them, and a strong story, I recommend this to those who are already a Melissa Marr fan and to those who want something outside the norm.

Fast-paced, hard to put down, intricate, extremely well-written.  4.5 stars!

*Review* The Peach Keeper – Sarah Addison Allen

The Peach Keeper

Sarah Addison Allen

288 pages

ISBN 9780553807226

Read 6-17-11

     In Sarah Addison Allen’s The Peach Keeper, Paxton and Willa are the granddaughters of two women who founded a local women’s club that will be celebrating its 75^th anniversary.  A gala is to be held for the anniversary gala at an old historical home that Paxton has had renovated into an inn, but when a tree on the property is removed, a skeleton is discovered, and family secrets that tie the two girls together start coming to the surface.  This is a wonderful story about friendship, love, and self realization. 
     I absolutely love Allen’s style of writing; it is very lyrical and beautiful with such a smooth flow.   She is able to paint such a clear picture of what is going on that you don’t have to try hard to imagine the story playing out.  The characters are very strong and likeable; the author puts them through situations that many people experience in real life that are not just found in fiction, making them relatable to the readers. Each character has their own personality and they mesh well with the other characters.  I really like the relationship between Willa and Paxton and I enjoyed how their friendship grew and became a strong bond, not to mention their relationships with Colin and Sebastian. 
     The setting is in a small NC town called Walls of Water, and it feels like it is its own little world; cozy and close-knit (mostly).  There is also a small magical touch to it that adds to the mystery of what happened in the past.  This novel is so well-written that you can’t help but to be sucked into it and become involved with the characters.  The Peach Keeper is such a beautiful novel; beautiful style, beautiful story, beautiful cover, and I highly recommend it to any and every reader. 

 Lovely, engaging, meaningful, highly recommended, 4.5 stars!

Intro and First Review – Witches of East End

Hello!  This is my review blog, it’s also my first blog; period, unless you count my old Myspace profile entries.  I hope any who come to read my reviews enjoy them and find them helpful.  I am definitely a huge bookworm and this blog is for others and myself, sometimes people need help picking a book, and I love to write what I think about books I read, so it’s a win-win situation!  I hope my blog is enjoyable and check back for more reviews!  🙂

Vyki

Witches of East End

Melissa De La Cruz

288 pages

ISBN 9781401323905

Read 6-4-11

Format: Paperback

Source: LibraryThing

From the author of the highly addictive and bestselling Blue Bloods series, with almost 3 million copies sold, comes a new novel, Melissa de la Cruz’s first for adults, featuring a family of formidable and beguiling witches.

The three Beauchamp women–Joanna and her daughters Freya and Ingrid–live in North Hampton, out on the tip of Long Island. Their beautiful, mist-shrouded town seems almost stuck in time, and all three women lead seemingly quiet, uneventful existences. But they are harboring a mighty secret–they are powerful witches banned from using their magic. Joanna can resurrect people from the dead and heal the most serious of injuries. Ingrid, her bookish daughter, has the ability to predict the future and weave knots that can solve anything from infertility to infidelity. And finally, there’s Freya, the wild child, who has a charm or a potion that can cure most any heartache.

For centuries, all three women have been forced to suppress their abilities. But then Freya, who is about to get married to the wealthy and mysterious Bran Gardiner, finds that her increasingly complicated romantic life makes it more difficult than ever to hide her secret. Soon Ingrid and Joanna confront similar dilemmas, and the Beauchamp women realize they can no longer conceal their true selves. They unearth their wands from the attic, dust off their broomsticks, and begin casting spells on the townspeople. It all seems like a bit of good-natured, innocent magic, but then mysterious, violent attacks begin to plague the town. When a young girl disappears over the Fourth of July weekend, they realize it’s time to uncover who and what dark forces are working against them.

With a brand-new cast of characters, a fascinating and fresh world to discover, and a few surprise appearances from some of the Blue Blood fan favorites, this is a page-turning, deliciously fun, magical summer read fraught with love affairs, witchcraft, and an unforgettable battle between good and evil.

This is the first entry of my book review blog, so I am very excited to have this started.  My opening review is going to be Melissa De La Cruz’s Witches of East End, which I won as an advanced reader copy (ARC) from Librarything.  I chose this one first since it was released yesterday.  This novel is about a family of witches (a mother and her two daughters) that live in a small town and are restricted from using their powers so they live like regular people.  Strange things start happening in the town, and the witches are determined to find out what it is, even if it means getting into trouble for disobeying the restriction.