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Blog: Jagged Edge (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: 2 Stars, Jed Ringel, Book Review, Add a tag
Blog: Read Now Sleep Later (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: HarperCollins, dystopia, book review, paranormal, dystopian, revolution, Kimberly Marcus, 2 stars, ShatterMe, TaherehMafi, Add a tag
by Taherah Mafi
Category: Young Adult Fiction/Dystopia
Keywords: Dystopia, Revolution, Paranormal
Format: Hardcover, ebook, Audiobook
Source: Borrowed
Synopsis:
The heart-stopping conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Shatter Me series, which Ransom Riggs, bestselling author of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, called “a thrilling, high-stakes saga of self-discovery and forbidden love.”
With Omega Point destroyed, Juliette doesn’t know if the rebels, her friends, or even Adam are alive. But that won’t keep her from trying to take down The Reestablishment once and for all. Now she must rely on Warner, the handsome commander of Sector 45. The one person she never thought she could trust. The same person who saved her life. He promises to help Juliette master her powers and save their dying world . . . but that’s not all he wants with her.
The Shatter Me series is perfect for fans who crave action-packed young adult novels with tantalizing romance like Divergent by Veronica Roth, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and Legend by Marie Lu. Tahereh Mafi has created a captivating and original story that combines the best of dystopian and paranormal, and was praised by Publishers Weekly as “a gripping read from an author who’s not afraid to take risks.” Now this final book brings the series to a shocking and satisfying end.
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Blog: Read Now Sleep Later (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: book review, fantasy, dragons, resurrection, souls, Katherine Tegen, kimberlybuggie, 2 stars, bought, JodiMeadows, Newsoul, young adult, Add a tag
by Jodi Meadows
Category: Young Adult Fantasy
Keywords: Fantasy, Dragons, Souls, Reincarnation
Format: ebook, Hardcover
Source: Purchased
Synopsis:
DESTRUCTION
The Year of Souls begins with an earthquake—an alarming rumble from deep within the earth—and it’s only the first of greater dangers to come. The Range caldera is preparing to erupt. Ana knows that as Soul Night approaches, everything near Heart will be at risk.
FLIGHT
Ana’s exile is frightening, but it may also be fortuitous, especially if she can convince her friends to flee Heart and Range with her. They’ll go north, seeking answers and allies to stop Janan’s ascension. And with any luck, the newsouls will be safe from harm’s reach.
CHOICE
The oldsouls might have forgotten the choice they made to give themselves limitless lifetimes, but Ana knows the true cost of reincarnation. What she doesn’t know is whether she’ll have the chance to finish this one sweet life with Sam, especially if she returns to Heart to stop Janan once and for all.
Kimberly's Review:
It’s a really hard review for me to write. I had such hope for this series, especially because I enjoyed the first book so much.
While the first book in the series, Incarnate, is catching and fresh, I felt more and more distance from the characters as the series wore on. So by the time book three, the last book, came out, I was not heavily invested in the story or the main characters. Mostly, I wanted to see how it ended.
I think there was a lot of potential in the first book. The series is easy to read. The premise is intriguing. Souls reincarnated over and over again? 5,000 years of it? Imagine the baggage! The emotional turmoil! There was so much I wanted from this series! But sadly for me, it didn’t deliver.
There’s a lot of action, but not a whole lot of descriptions. A lot of the time I felt like I was mostly reading actions and dialogue, but I didn’t have a good sense of the motivation behind each character. Nor did I feel particularly drawn to any of them. I know I’m supposed to like Ana, and her devotion to New Souls is admired, but character wise, I felt like she was hollow. I still wasn’t sold on Sam either. Even in the first book, I didn’t totally buy him as the big love interest. He is sweet and kind but totally, utterly boring. Someone told me that they sometimes find some YA books hard to read because they play into male fantasy characters for teenage girls. And for this one, I would have to agree with them.
Sam is dull. Yes, he’s a musician, he’s been alive for 5,000 years. He has a little bit of baggage, as he is eaten by a dragon like 30 times, but overall, Sam mopes about playing music and telling Ana of his undying love to her. Really, Sam? Where’s the passion, the hurt, the strength? Where’s the madness and motivation and challenge? No, Sam is more like a wet noodle from a very old bowl of soup.
The secondary characters are not solid for me either such as Stef. Stef, who is reincarnated over and over again as Sam’s best friend and sometimes love interest, fades into the background by book three and nothing is really resolved. Even the big bad guy, the big evil, the man with the plan who wants to enslave everyone, is an annoying gnat you want to swat away. He's not the immediate danger, no matter how far into the series I got. I was more concerned with the townspeople wanting to kill Ana and her friends and the pregnant mothers who may have No Soul babies.
Imagine you have a town of people who have lived and loved over and over again for 5,000 years. It’s like an never-ending high school filled with love, hope, emotional angst and incestuous relationships. (I mean that as in my boyfriend is now your boyfriend, and now he’s my boyfriend again, etc.) But instead, we barely brush the surface of the last 5,000 years and what this means to each of the characters.
I’m sorry I didn’t enjoy Infinite. While I love the idea of the story and the possibilities of what it could have brought, I was left disappointed in the series and ending.
Visit the author online at www.jodimeadows.com. Facebook and follow her on Twitter @jodimeadows
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Blog: Read Now Sleep Later (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Fairytales, netgalley, kimberlybuggie, 2 stars, PrincessoftheSilverWoods, JessicaDayGeorge, RobinHood, young adult, book review, fantasy, mythology, retelling, Add a tag
Keywords: Robin Hood, Fairy Tales, Myths
Formats: Hardcover
Source: NetGalley
Petunia, the youngest of the twelve dancing sisters, is abducted by a "wolf" in the forest, a young man with the mask of a wolf. She finds him to be Oliver, an earl who has lost his land, and has been reduced to robbing passing coaches. Oliver swears to get her to her destination, but when he drops her off at the gates, he realizes that something is wrong and Petunia is in more danger than she realizes. Fairy tales and myths combine for a very cute story.
I really liked the mythology and the history. I think it would have been better to follow the journey from book one, but I didn't have any problems following the thread. It was interesting and imaginative, these interwoven fairy tales. I like Petunia, but she is sixteen so a couple times I rolled my eyes at her. A lot of the book is spent with her eleven sisters, all named after flowers. I'm sure it is hard to write a story about the twelve dancing princesses, but honestly, most of the time I was confused by them. None of them really stood out with a distinct personality. They all blended together.
This goes the same way for Oliver, his band of thieves, and the sisters' husbands. I didn't feel a real connection to any of them. I may have had a different experience if I had read the series from book one.
Overall, The Princess of the Silver Woods is fun and a clever twist on the stories of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, Robin Hood and Little Red Riding Hood. Fans of fairy tale retellings will enjoy this romp through the forest.
Find out more about the author at www.jessicadaygeorge.com and follow her @JessDayGeorge
Blog: Read Now Sleep Later (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: book review, fantasy, romance, competition, arc, 2012, spirits, assassins, alethea, netgalley, 2 stars, DAC 2012, NetgalleyChallenge, BloomsburyKids, SarahJMaas, ThroneofGlass, Add a tag
Category: Young Adult Fantasy
Keywords: Fantasy, romance, competition, assassins, spirits
Format: Hardcover, eBook
Source: e-ARC received from Netgalley
Synopsis:
After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men--thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom.
Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best. Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.
Alethea's review:
I did not expect reading Throne of Glass to be so laborious; I expected I'd fly through it like I did Robin LaFevers's Grave Mercy, or Leigh Bardugo's Shadow & Bone. Not so. It's not difficult reading in terms of language or complexity; it's more that I had trouble suspending my disbelief. This all stems from the most basic premise of the book: The King needs a champion; therefore the sponsors select as their candidates the meanest, baddest, scariest killers and sneakiest thieves in the land. Wait, what?
The entire time I kept asking, wouldn't it have been more believable to have the sponsors select the most shining paragons of valor and heroism from their military personnel and private bodyguards? So you could, you know, have them be in the same room as the King or Crown Prince or important people you don't want dead without having to slap the heavy duty chains or hiding all the silver? Why choose people least likely to honor a contract?
If you really had such a great military already that the infamous Adarlan's Assassin won't bother running away because you could easily hunt her down, why do you need her to try to win this contest? Just hire the guy she's afraid of and send her back to the salt mines already!
Not talking specifically about any one candidate, I get that a true champion might not be willing to overlook morality in favor of a nice fat paycheck for doing the King's dirty business. But I also don't understand how the King might think it's a good idea to let loose upon the land an unscrupulous rogue who might have reason to disagree with the King's own politics, since some of the people vying for the position hail from countries he very recently conquered? In my mind, the King was the villain of the piece from the get-go, and he could have been craftier about selecting a champion. Why not rope some honorable and respected warrior into the job by letting him think he's really defending his king and country, then corrupt him with wealth and power or threats against the people he loves? For most of the book, I could not shake how backwards it all was in my mind. I couldn't justify people's motives and that made for a very slow, torturous read (with lots of breaks to go play with my new kitten, who has claws like freshly sharpened knives).
This book is not entirely without merit. Some of the secondary characters are well drawn and even likeable. I really enjoyed Celeana's friendship with another female who is, like herself, an outsider. The love triangle develops gradually enough not to be jarring, though Celeana mooning over Crown Prince Dorian still had me rolling my eyes often. I think fans who are new to fantasy and have not already read lots of it will really enjoy this book. Inexperienced noobs, you win this round.
Overall, I found the story derivative and not terribly well-plotted. I don't think the elements that I deemed derivative were intentionally copied; I just think the author is very much a fan of fantasy and that her debut ended up reading like a big fanfic mashup of some of my favorite fantasy worlds. I felt that Maas was pandering to her audience too much with Celeana and Dorian's book addiction. Also, if someone can please tell me the significance of the title, I'd dearly love to know what it was. It took me a week to read this book and that little bit of trivia still managed to elude me. While I wasn't completely disappointed, Throne of Glass was still quite a let-down, and I hesitate to read the sequel.
*I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.
Visit the author online at www.sarahjmaas.com and follow her on Twitter @SJMaas
*FTC disclosure: I participate in the BookDepository affiliate program. Clicking on the link and making a purchase may result in revenue for this blog. I also participate in Indiebound, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble affiliate programs but the links from this post do not contain my affiliate code.
Blog: Read Now Sleep Later (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: kimberlybuggie, 2 stars, young adult, selfpublished, fantasy, Add a tag
Category: Young Adult Fantasy
Format: Kindle/Amazon.com digital
Kimberly's review:
Ves Asirin, an orphan with a memory loss disorder, wins a trip to the Tower of Parlen Min where he will get to meet a wealthy inventor. But this awesome trip isn’t all it’s cut out to be. Secrets lurk at the tower, and Ves is the only one who can help!
The author has some really wonderful ideas. The setting is fun and Ves is such a different character. His memory loss certainly hinders him at times, but it doesn’t disable him. He is a very clear character, strong in mind and uses many tricks in order to make up for his condition. The story is full of potential.
That said, I couldn’t get through the book.
While the ideas were there, I didn’t feel like it was properly executed. The writing was disjointed at times and I had problems following the plot. There was a lot going on. Twenty kids were introduced at once and they were all described by their first and last names along with their physical attributes. This became two pages of a list of strangers, many of them not appearing in the story for a very long time after that. By that time, I had forgotten they were even there. And these characters were mostly flat and uninteresting. Then again, Ves is SO interesting, maybe he makes up for it.
However, there is a ton of action in this book. It’s geared towards boys around 10-14, Ves himself is 11 years old, but Ves didn’t really act or think like an 11 year old. Not a bad thing, but I did think he should have at least been older than the other kids there.
Matt Xell has an active imagination and I look forward to seeing how this author grows.
Visit the author online at http://mattxell.blogspot.com.
Rating: 2/5 Stars
Genre: Contemporary
Release Date: 5/1/2011
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About the Book: Three days before her drama club's trip to Italy, Jessa stumbles in on her boyfriend with Natalie aka "the boob job." Now taking off to the most romantic city in the world. Jessa has a front row seat to Natalie and Sean's relationship. To help her move on, her best friend Carissa has sent along twenty envelopes titled "Top Twenty Reasons He's a Slimy Jerk Bastard," that Jessa is supposed to open along her trip. Each envelope includes instructions that are supposed to help Jessa get over Sean and maybe find herself along the way.
GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: I had high hopes for this book. The premise sounded cute and reminded me of Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes or maybe even P.S. I Love You. Unfortunately, the book ultimately fell flat for me.
I know Jessa is heartbroken, but the book is so full of her angst and not being able to get over Sean, that it grows a bit old. Maybe I would have felt sorry for her, but instead I felt she was a flat character who was whiny, annoying and she never seems to notice she's in Italy! I would love to travel to Italy and instead of enjoying her trip, Jessa spends the trip wallowing in self pity. I just couldn't feel any sympathy for her. I also never knew exactly why she was in Italy. She was there with her drama club, but why? What reasons did they have for going to Italy and what was the point of the trip? I guess I wanted more backstory and more details.
All of the characters suffered from being underdeveloped and there were too many of them to keep track of. So many of the characters and the plotlines seemed to start and then go nowhere. Things were thrown in, mentioned briefly, but then never developed or touched on again. Jessa is supposed to bond with another girl on the trip who finds her boyfriend cheating, but this never goes anywhere and is only mentioned a couple of times. There's a mean chaperon from the group Jessa's school is paired with, but her storyline never seems to have a point. She comes in, complains, and then leaves. Other characters are introduced, barely spoken to, and then be part of a major plot device that happens because they showed up. This never worked for me because I felt like I never knew any of the characters and never cared enough about any of them. I also felt the plot wandered around so much it never found its groove to really make it work. There were so many moments that fade out and stop just when the action is about to start. Overall I thought the plot had too much that was trying to happen and ended up getting lost along the way.
Carissa's notes and letters could have been fun, only they ended up being cruel and rude. Most of her reasons ended up not having anything that really would be to help Jessa (at least I thought) but instead pointed out what a jerk Sean was. Then we find out secrets Carissa has been keeping from Jessa about Sean. Honestly, at this point, I thought Carissa was a horrible friend, but instead we're supposed to forgive her and cheer on the power of girl friendship instead.
I also had issues with the suggestions that maybe Jessa made Sean cheat on her and she brought it on herself because she's ambitious and "busy". Jessa believes this line and part of her thinks that she deserved to be cheated on because she couldn't be everything Sean wanted or make enough time for him. This just really bugged me, esp
Blog: Read Now Sleep Later (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: reincarnation, 2011, netgalley, Courtney Allison Moulton, DAC 2011, 2 stars, HarperCollins, young adult, fantasy, arc, Add a tag
Publication date: 15 Feb 2011 from HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Books
ISBN 10/13: 0062002325 / 9780062002327
Category: Young Adult Fantasy
Format: Hardcover
Keywords: Contemporary, fantasy, adventure, rebirth
From goodreads.com:
When seventeen-year-old Ellie starts seeing reapers--monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell--she finds herself on the front lines of a supernatural war between archangels and the Fallen and faced with the possible destruction of her soul.
A mysterious boy named Will reveals she is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior, the only one capable of wielding swords of angelfire to fight the reapers, and he is an immortal sworn to protect her in battle. Now that Ellie's powers have been awakened, a powerful reaper called Bastian has come forward to challenge her. He has employed a fierce assassin to eliminate her--an assassin who has already killed her once.
(the synopsis continues but really, that's all you need to know.)
How I found out about this book: I downloaded the eBook from Netgalley.
My review:
I really wanted to like this book--but I just couldn't get into it. I've probably watched over 1000 hours of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and just about every event in the book made me recall something from the show. As a result I didn't want to spend any more time reading the book--I just wanted to throw on a Season 6 dvd (Spuffy all the way! er. ahem. back to the review...)
As much as I tried to pay attention to the story, I just got tired of the main character about 80 pages in. I knew I was in trouble when I kept forgetting her name :( There was hardly any mystery or anything to engage me as an audience member. Most things that Ellie (yes, I just looked that up) didn't know about her situation, I could guess, and what I didn't guess, she simply asked the ever-ready and helpful Will--and he answered. It was all so comforting, I dozed off. Yes, even when the big scary-whoosis attacks.
Maybe if I hadn't just read a friend's manuscript that was very alike in plot, though only about a 30% match in mythology. But the Buffy equation--[Chosen One + (Immortal protector x hottie) = Sorry, been there! Done that!]... Had I read this in manuscript form I would probably have said the same things to both authors: that they give up information so easily, I barely need to read the book to know what's happening.
I know there's an audience out there for this book--it's getting 4 stars on Goodreads.com--and those audience members may enjoy such reincarnation-themed books as Fallen by Lauren Kate, 4 Comments on Angelfire - Review, last added: 3/23/2011
I agree with everything you said, and then some. The only thing I can think of is that glass castle they keep talking about..
I'm glad I'm not the only one who rolled their eyes a lot and took a lot of breaks. Definitely wasn't what I was expecting out of this one.
Oh no! Thanks for the review Alethea! It is on my To Read list. Maybe I'll read a few other things first before rolling around to this one. Sorry you didn't like it!
i really want to read this one, too. i love assassins! but i've been on a streak of so-so reads lately so i might save this one for later just in case.
This makes me very sad because I've heard really great things about it! I think I still might read it but this review is making me think that maybe I'll wait a little while longer. Thanks for sharing :)
You know, if anything read it sooner so we can discuss, haha!
That's exactly it, Kristen! I was kind of expecting the title to mean something or be tied into the plot... If there is meaning, it's not communicated well. Sad trombone.
I'd say wait until you have a block of time to devote and see if you get hooked in more than me. If you're not hooked by p. 50, it's time to read another book.
Some readers really enjoyed it! I'm a bit jealous, actually. I wanted to like it.
If anything, read it sooner so we can talk about it, haha!
yeah i'll give it a go for sure. um someone needs to read dark companion so we can discuss. i haven't managed to convince anyone to finish it yet.
LOL! I think I have it; I'll give it a go.
The title comes from the last chapter, I think. When she goes off to sign her contract, and she "approached the glass throne" or something like that.
I agree with you in some aspects, especially your reasoning. But still I found it good. Great review!
AWWW. I have heard mixed reviews for this one--I guess it's a love it or hate it book. I have an ARC of this and I was trying to decide if I wanted to read it or not.
Hey, if you can get to page 50 without rolling your eyes more than twice, you should be ok ;)
Hi Vicky! I know, but usually the title is referring to something symbolic of what the book is about, but it's not a symbol if it doesn't mean anything, haha. It's just an actual throne of glass. Boring!
Most of the reviews I've read for this book have been very good. It's always good to read one that goes in a different direction. Great review, I'm still intrigued with this book and can't wait to see how I will feel about it
Hi Jolene! I'd love to hear what you think. Feel free to reply here!
so i am really close to finishing this now. i like it a lot more than you. and i get what you're saying about hiring the noble warriors to be your champions though i have to disagree. i think to win, you sometimes need those who are ruthless and who will play dirty. but i do have issues with the how the tournament was set up in general. i should finish it tonight. we shall discuss.