940 Saturdays, by Harley A Rotbart | Book Review

This book was provided by its author and/or publishers in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of this publication. 

Author: Harley A Rotbart, MD
Publisher: Potter Style
Release Date: September 2, 2014
Format: Hardcover, 480 pages
Series: N/A
Genre: Non-Fiction; Crafts & Hobbies
Avg. Rating: ★★★✩✩

Amazon | Book Depository

There are 940 Saturdays between a child’s birth and the day he or she turns 18.

That may sound like a lot when there are adventures to plan and hours to fill. But as your child learns to walk, ride a bicycle, and drive, the years pass quickly. This beautiful package includes both a removable booklet with a thousand ideas for family activities that you and your child will love at every age, and a keepsake journal for preserving what you saw and did, thought and felt, so you can savor these memories in the years to come.

Obviously, I'm a little late to the game on this book (or the book is a little late on the game for me?) since my son was born in 2012 - so I've already missed the first (approximate) 104 Saturday opportunities to write about in this book. Nonetheless, I was very excited to receive this book and start on our memories together.

After getting this book and getting the chance to check it out firsthand.. I have mixed feelings about it. The best reasoning for my feelings, I think, is what I assume to be a missed connection that happened somewhere between the actual title of the book and the synopsis. It clearly states in the blurb that there is a removable booklet full of activities. But, after seeing the cover and full title of the book, wires got crossed and I thought that it was a book full of activities with a small journal area. Completely my fault. I might also note that this was the first time in YEARS that I didn't read any reviews before purchasing. Again, completely my fault. 

When you get this book, you get a book that is 480 pages. It's THICK - about 2 inches thick. And every single page of this book, aside from the booklet tucked neatly in an envelope on the inside of the back cover, is a journal page. You have room for two Saturdays on each page: each titled with the numbers 1-940 to represent every Saturday, along with a place for a date and about ten lines to write your journal entry on. Another hiccup for me - I write big, so I'm scared that the space provided may not be enough for me to write entire entries in. But it IS a beautiful book. The cover is what I call a soft hardcover, it's hard but has a padded feel to it. I do believe this book will stand the test of time. 

However, as I said, it's not what I expected. It's disappointing, but I can only blame myself. The booklet in the back IS full of ideas and you do have the added convenience of activities being divided into age groups. A lot of the ideas are what I would consider common and not very original, something that someone can think up themselves on a whim. In my opinion, I think this book would be more successful for me if the ideas in the booklet were written in the actual book itself - and they were a bit more creative and uncommon. Also, each entry for every single Saturday seems like it could get a little overwhelming after a while with trying to keep up with every single weekend day to write down what you did. But, again, this is just my opinion.

I'm giving this book 3 STARS out of 5, based solely on how I feel about this book - which is middle of the road and somewhat neutral. If you're one of those people that can keep up with weekly updates on your family and want something a little fancier than just a regular lined journal (with the restrictions of only writing on Saturdays), then I think you will REALLY like this book. Otherwise, with a retail price of $24.99, if you are NOT one of those people, then I might suggest otherwise. 

**Source: Publisher, via Blogging For Books

The Dead And Buried, by Kim Harrington

Author: Kim Harrington
Publisher: Scholastic Point
Release Date: January 1, 2013
Format: Hardcover; 304 pages
Series: N/A
Genre: YA, Mystery, Paranormal, Thriller
Avg. Rating: ★★★✩✩

Goodreads | Book Depository

A haunted house, a buried mystery, and a very angry ghost make this one unforgettable thriller.

Jade loves the house she's just moved into with her family. She doesn't even mind being the new girl at the high school: It's a fresh start, and there's that one guy with the dreamy blue eyes. . . . But then things begin happening. Strange, otherworldly things. Jade's little brother claims to see a glimmering girl in his room. Jade's jewelry gets moved around, as if by an invisible hand. Kids at school whisper behind her back like they know something she doesn't.

Soon, Jade must face an impossible fact: that her perfect house is haunted. Haunted by a ghost who's seeking not just vengeance, but the truth. The ghost of a girl who ruled Jade's school — until her untimely death last year. It's up to Jade to put the pieces together before her own life is at stake. As Jade investigates the mystery, she discovers that her new friends in town have more than a few deep, dark secrets. But is one of them a murderer?

There's nothing that I love more than a good mystery. Have it in any scenario and I will covet it - I'm just THAT crazy about a mystery. However, a good mystery has to have one quality to make me like it. I'm not picky, but I do ask that the mystery is just that - a mystery. I want to be able to read through the story pulling my hair out because I have no clue how to solve the mystery. I don't think that's too much to ask for. 

Unfortunately, it seemed as though that was too much to ask for with The Dead and Buried. It didn't take me much time at all (less than a third of the way through the book) to figure out what was going on in the story. I was slightly disappointed by how quickly the mystery was unraveled for me and almost wanted to go ahead and put the book down. But I didn't do that. I've read books by Kim Harrington before and I enjoyed them, so I wanted to give this book a chance. I also secretly hoped that if I continued reading, I would find out that I had everything wrong and didn't figure anything out. 

By the end of the story, I knew that I was right all along but I was very glad that I finished the book. Aside from the "mystery" (I use that term loosely), this story had some very redeeming qualities. I liked the cast of characters and didn't mind any mention of social circles. I was surprised to find out that I actually liked Alexa more than Jade, the main character. Alexa's role in the novel was actually small, but her personality really made her stand out in her parts of the story. The romance in this was a little aggravating to me. On one hand, you have the beautifully broken boy that is connected to the murder somehow that Jade feels a real connection to - which was nice. On the other though, you have the other boy that is basically drooling over Jade that she pretty much uses for her own reasons - that was not so sweet, and I honestly could have done without that little part. 

Obviously, a ghost story isn't something very new to Young Adult but the plot of this one was engaging enough to keep me going. I think that, aside from the small detail of the mystery not being so mysterious, this story is a good read. 

Rating: ★★★✩✩
Source: Purchase

Kim Harrington is the author of six books for kids and teens. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and son.

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Of Poseidon, by Anna Banks

Galen, a Syrena prince, searches land for a girl he's heard can communicate with fish. It’s while Emma is on vacation at the beach that she meets Galen. Although their connection is immediate and powerful, Galen's not fully convinced that Emma's the one he's been looking for. That is, until a deadly encounter with a shark proves that Emma and her Gift may be the only thing that can save his kingdom. He needs her help--no matter what the risk.

I think that I can safely say that, on my blog, books involving any type of mythology are set to a higher standard than just light and fluffy reads. Is it unfair? I don't think so. I think any time you're going to put your own spin on some type of lore that has been around for many, many years that you need to make your book stand out to be recognized among the masses. With that said, did I think that Of Poseidon stood out from all other mermaid books that came out before it? Yes and no. My opinion of this book kept wavering throughout and, even now while I'm writing this review, I cannot honestly say exactly how I feel about this book.

The most prominent problem that I had with this book has got to be the actual characters. There was a strong scene at the beginning of the story that showed a lot of promise, but the first glance of the characters really didn't live up to that hype throughout the rest of the novel. For instance, I think Emma has to be one of the most bi-polar female leads that I have read in a while. With her, there is the person that she thinks she is... then, there is the person she actually is. While she seems to see herself as a very sweet girl, some of her actions are actually quite sour and pretty much the polar opposite of what you would see from a "sweet" girl. Her internal dialogue and rationalization never quite match up to her actions and statements outside of her head, which was more annoying than anything.

Then, there's Galen. Oh, Galen... he seemed to have the potential to be a completely swoon-worthy male lead, but ended up being the douchey jerk that you always want to steer clear of. While sometimes playing coy and being a little possessive over someone you like is somewhat appropriate and cute, being that way 24/7 is not. I found his attitude to be entirely too self-serving and vain. He had a few nice moments, but definitely not enough to overshadow all of the rest.

Now, despite my lack of fondness for the characters I did find the mythology of this book to be up to par. The world-building and description in this book was nothing short of beautiful, minus a few inconsistencies that are so minor the point of bringing them to light is almost moot. Even though this book is over 300 pages, I found it to flow so exceptionally well that the pages seemed to fly by. Overall, I found Of Poseidon to be a decent read that is worth the time to give it a try. The cover is absolutely stunning and, of course, the writing is right there with it. As far as debut books are concerned, this one definitely made the cut for me in many aspects - just not the characters. ;)

Rating: ★★★✩✩ Avg 4.21
Source: Borrowed

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Title: Of Poseidon
Author: Anna Banks
Series: Of Poseidon, Book 1
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Format: Hardcover, 324 pages
Release Date: May 22, 2012

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The Fame Game, by Lauren Conrad

In Hollywood, fame can be found on every corner and behind any door. You just have to know where to look for it. Nineteen-year-old Madison Parker made a name for herself as best frenemy of nice-girl-next-door Jane Roberts on the hot reality show L.A. Candy. Now Madison's ready for her turn in the spotlight and she'll stop at nothing to get it. Sure, she's the star of a new show, but with backstabbing friends and suspicious family members trying to bring her down, Madison has her work cut out for her. Plus, there's a new nice girl in "reality" town—aspiring actress Carmen Price, the daughter of Hollywood royalty—and she's a lot more experienced at playing the fame game... When the camera's start rolling, whose star will shine brighter?

Filled with characters both familiar and new, Lauren Conrad's series about the highs and lows of being famous delivers Hollywood gossip and drama at every turn.

Reality TV isn't really familiar to me, though it isn't completely unfamiliar either. With this book, I felt as though it was pretty much like reading a book based on a reality television... and I'm not talking about the part of the book that is indeed about a reality show. If that was the intended outcome, then Conrad definitely succeeded in that. If it wasn't... well, it was.

This is a spin-off series from Lauren's L.A. Candy series. I have to admit, I tried reading L.A. Candy and it really just didn't work out for me - which is why you will never see a review for that book on this blog - I don't review DNF's for many reasons, including being fair to the author and giving them more positive publicity through those that do enjoy the books. With that being said, I can say that it was a good thing that I did read at least some of L.A. Candy because it helped the scoring of this book.

One of my big things in reading a book is checking out the writing - and every single aspect of it. I can honestly say that the writing in this book compared to L.A. Candy is much MUCH better, and it really shows that the author has evolved with each of her stories. I also enjoyed Madison as a character, which was surprising to me considering that I spent a good portion of the book having a very love/hate relationship with her.

As a matter of fact, I had a love/hate relationship with most of this book and its characters - ultimately finding more "hate" with the other characters than "love" like I did with Madison. Unlike her role in the L.A. Candy series, Madison is definitely more fleshed out and developed in this book, which is its own saving grace considering this is her book/story. The other characters fell a little flat for me. There wasn't much growth nor maturation, rather the characters seemed to be shallow and not much more past that. However, they were pretty good for some laughs.

The plot of this book was pretty much non-existent... or just seemed to play hide-and-go-seek with me, and I failed miserably at seeking. I couldn't tell you a single commentary about what the actual storyline of this book was as it felt more like a story told the way stories are told in tabloids - which, again, could have been a nod to that whole "reality television" feel that seemed to have been missed on me.

I'm sure it seems that I am ripping this book a new one because I hated it, but it's not true. In fact, it wasn't an incredibly atrocious read - it was actually fun. I'm just being hard because I feel like this story could have been taken to the next level because it does have the potential to get there. Having said all of this, even though this wasn't my favorite read of the year... I could definitely see where a lot of teens and reality show fans would love this book. If you're one of these, I would recommend checking this book out and forming your own opinion.

Rating: ★★★✩✩ Avg 3.57
Source: Young Adult Books Central

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Title: The Fame Game
Author: Lauren Conrad
Series: The Fame Game, Book 1
Publisher: HarperTeen
Format: Hardcover, 313 pages
Release Date: April 3, 2012

Purchase Book
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Art Geeks And Prom Queens, by Alyson Noel

Being the new girl is tough—just ask sixteen-year-old Rio Jones. A New York transplant, Rio has no clue how she's going to fit in at her fancy new private school in Southern California. Plus, being late, overdressed, and named after a Duran Duran song doesn't make the first day any easier.

Then, Rio meets Kristi. Beautiful, rich, and a cheerleader, Kristi is the queen bee of Newport Beach, and she isn't friends with just anyone, so Rio is thrilled when she's invited to be part of the most exclusive, popular clique. At first, Rio is having a great time, but as she becomes more immersed in the jet set crowd, she discovers an unwritten rule that her new friends forgot to mention: don't cross Kristi...

I have read a few of Noel's books in the past (read: Immortals series) and, although they weren't some of my favorite, I still enjoyed reading them. I've also heard a lot of people say that Noel's contemporary stories are a lot better than her paranormal, so I thought I would give one a chance. I did, and here goes the review...

Right off the bat, even just reading the blurb on the back of the book, I knew that it was going to be reminiscent of Mean Girls. I enjoyed Mean Girls when I was younger, so nothing made me think I wouldn't enjoy this story. However, everything that I didn't like in Mean Girls... I didn't like in this novel.

Rio, our main girl, starts out as a slightly awkward yet stronger girl. Sure, she's unsure of herself but she doesn't give much thought to what everyone thinks of her and she doesn't have to be popular to enjoy her days at school. At least... that's what I thought. Then she begins socializing with the popular girls at school and she changes - drastically. Suddenly she's too cool to hang out with her other friends, she likes to party, she likes to experiment with alcohol and drugs... basically, she turns into a follower. A very annoying one at that. Even her dialogue changes to fit the new personality she seems to have grown into. There are things she says in this novel (A LOT of things, actually) that made me want to roll my eyes. Like this:

JC looks at Tyler, eyes narrowed, jaw clenched, hands shaking, And even though I'm totally against violence of any type, I have to admit a part of me is thinking:
Ohmygod! Are they gonna fight? Over me?
Because how cool would that be!

See? But, as the novel goes on, she gets a little better and even more tolerable. However, a small part of me couldn't help but think that Rio wasn't the only one I had problems with - I just picked on her the most because she was the protagonist. To be honest, she was a little flat. And even worse, all of the other characters seemed to be almost one-dimensional and fell flat for me as well - even predictable. The "good" characters seemed to be good, and the "bad" characters were bad - with almost no redeemable qualities whatsoever. I couldn't help but think that some of the situations the characters were in seemed a little far-fetched. I understand teens aren't saints, but it seemed as though every single character used some form of alcohol and/or drugs. It was a little much.

I bet you're probably thinking that I hate this story, right? Despite what I have said though, I did enjoy this story. Yes, there were things that I think should be different in the story.. but it doesn't mean that it's absolutely horrid for being a little outside of what I think makes a great story. There were definite redeeming qualities to the story. Alyson's writing, though a little too conversational and simple for my taste, flowed well enough and eased you through the story. The story itself, even if slightly far-fetched, is something that is relatable and has a decent message that can be taken away. There were some good supporting characters that I enjoyed, and even the revised cover caught my attention.

If you enjoy stories like Mean Girls, I'm sure that you will enjoy this novel. And you'll probably enjoy this if you're a fan of Noel's other stories as well.

Rating: ★★★✩✩
Source: Young Adult Books Central

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Title: Art Geeks and Prom Queens
Author: Alyson Noel
Series: N/A
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Format: Paperback, 240 pages
Release Date: September 27, 2011

Purchase Book
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Blog Tour Review: My Own Worst Frenemy, by Kimberly Reid

Straight outta the Mile High City, Chanti Evans is an undercover cop's daughter and an exclusive private school's newest student. But Chanti is learning fast that when it comes to con games, the streets have nothing on Langdon Prep.

With barely a foot in the door, fifteen-year-old Chanti gets on the bad side of school queen bee Lissa and snobbish Headmistress Smythe. They've made it their mission to take Chanti down and she needs to find out why, especially when stuff begins disappearing around campus, making her the most wanted girl in school, and not in a good way. But the last straw comes when she and her Langdon crush, the seriously hot Marco Ruiz, are set up to take the heat for a series of home burglaries--and worse. . . .

Mysteries are typically hit or miss with me -- usually because, nine times out of ten, I guess everything before I'm remotely close to the end. I blame years of reading Nancy Drew and watching Scooby Doo for this. Who knew it would lead to years of bitter reading because I think I have everything figured out? Thankfully, I can't say that I was bitter at all reading My Own Worst Frenemy. I may have guessed a bit before the end, but the journey there was no less enjoyable.

Chanti is a character that you just can't help but like from the very first page. It takes a while to know her whole story but once you get there, your view of her really doesn't change. She's still the likable girl that you related to from the very first page.. just with a little more depth. Marco is a good interest for Chanti, but I wish we got to know more about him. A lot of the supporting characters fell a little flat for me because they weren't as well developed as Chanti. If any of them popped out though, it was definitely Bethanie - but, again, you want to know more about her.

The plot is good, if not a little simple. I liked the mystery, it definitely had some aspects to it that did keep me second-guessing myself through a good portion of the book. The cat fights were.. entertaining. The description of those as well as the surroundings kept you believing you were right there in the story with the characters. Overall, I think Kimberly did an incredible job with this book and I will be sticking around to read more from her.

Insatiable Review

Insatiable
Meg Cabot

Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: June 22, 2011
Series: Insatiable (#1)
Genre: YA, Paranormal
Pages: Paperback, 320 pages
Source: Publisher
Rating: 3/5 (Avg 3.5/5)

Sick of hearing about vampires? So is Meena Harper.

But her bosses are making her write about them anyway, even though Meena doesn't believe in them.

Not that Meena isn't familiar with the supernatural. See, Meena Harper knows how you're going to die. (Not that you're going to believe her. No one ever does.)

But not even Meena's precognition can prepare her for what happens when she meets—then makes the mistake of falling in love with—Lucien Antonescu, a modern-day prince with a bit of a dark side. It's a dark side a lot of people, like an ancient society of vampire hunters, would prefer to see him dead for.

The problem is, Lucien's already dead. Maybe that's why he's the first guy Meena's ever met whom she could see herself having a future with. See, while Meena's always been able to see everyone else's future, she's never been able look into her own.

And while Lucien seems like everything Meena has ever dreamed of in a boyfriend, he might turn out to be more like a nightmare.

Now might be a good time for Meena to start learning to predict her own future. . . .

If she even has one.

I have heard pretty decent things about this book, so it's been on my TBR list for a while. I was ecstatic to have the opportunity to review it for one of the publications that I review for, which is usually my cheap excuse to bump some good titles up a bit. Having said that, I have to say that this book, even though it only registers at a mere 320 pages, took me longer to finish over any other book this year.

I don't want to be harsh, but I feel as though the length of the description in this novel gets tedious quickly and, unfortunately, continues to stay so throughout the entire story. I'm all for good story background and getting to know your characters better... but there has to be a limit and somewhere along the way, Insatiable found and surpassed that limit. I found myself putting this book down entirely too many times... as well as skipping over paragraphs because they just didn't feel important or necessary to me. At all.

Aside from this, I guess I definitely cannot say that there wasn't good character descriptions and the characters were very dimensional.. down to pretty much knowing every single solitary thought going through their mind at every single solitary moment. However, no matter how much description and inner monologue I had, I still felt as though I didn't know Meena at all when she made certain decisions. Her thought process was bi-polar and erratic at best. I enjoyed the two male leads, and I have to say that Meena's brother did a complete turn-about that absolutely annoyed the crap out of me. Minor characters were surprisingly enjoyable, though.

I think a lot of paranormal lovers will enjoy this book and I wish that I could have gotten into it more than I did to truly appreciate such a well-written novel. Unfortunately, it fell a little flat for me though not enough to completely turn me against the series. I'm planning on picking up its sequel, Overbite, to see what happens next with Meena and crew... and hope I like it a little more.

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Buy: Amazon ● Barnes & Noble ● Book Depository ● IndieBound

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Early Review: Cryer's Cross, by Lisa McMann

Cryer's Cross
Lisa McMann
Hardcover, 240 pages
Simon Pulse

February 8, 2011

The community of Cryer’s Cross, Montana (population 212) is distraught when high school freshman Tiffany disappears without a trace. Already off-balance due to her OCD, 16-year-old Kendall is freaked out seeing Tiffany’s empty desk in the one-room school house, but somehow life goes on... until Kendall's boyfriend Nico also disappears, and also without a trace. Now the town is in a panic. Alone in her depression and with her OCD at an all-time high, Kendall notices something that connects Nico and Tiffany: they both sat at the same desk. She knows it's crazy, but Kendall finds herself drawn to the desk, dreaming of Nico and wondering if maybe she, too, will disappear...and whether that would be so bad. Then she begins receiving graffiti messages on the desk from someone who can only be Nico. Can he possibly be alive somewhere? Where is he? And how can Kendall help him? The only person who believes her is Jacian, the new guy she finds irritating...and attractive. As Kendall and Jacian grow closer, Kendall digs deeper into Nico's mysterious disappearance only to stumble upon some ugly—and deadly—local history. Kendall is about to find out just how far the townspeople will go to keep their secrets buried.

You have to give it to Lisa McMann, she has a way with third person present that hooks you into the story. I wouldn't particularly say it's the best writing with the greatest grammar, but once you get used to it … well, like I said, you can easily get sucked into the story.

I liked the plot to this story. McMann's story always seem to be very plot-driven, which works well. However, where it excels in plot … it lacks in other aspects. I don't think I would call Cryer's Cross a very character-driven book. For me, Kendall (our main character) seemed to be just a girl in a story with OCD and a love for dance and soccer. Really, that's all we learn about her. Her best friend Nico, is just that … a best friend that may be a little more. Then, there's Jacian – typical bad boy who's got a stick up his rear for some reason, but still manages to turn into that sweet guy that we want so badly for the love interest. Well, you have it. Why? I'm not sure, but it's there.

The chapter breaks with the “We” chants are confusing at the beginning but slowly, as the story and the reason as to why the disappearances happen unfolds, you start to understand these small paragraphs. They're creepy in their own way. As a matter of fact, the entire story has a very creepy feeling to it – from the small town feel to the disappearances, all the way to action at the end of the story. I think if there would have been more back story, there would have been an even bigger creep-factor to it. As it was, it was just a lingering thought in the back of my head.

With right at 240 pages, this was a very quick read for me. If you liked McMann's Dreamcatcher series, then you'll definitely love this book.

Source: E-galley, Publisher

Avg Rating: 4.0

Other Cryer's Cross Reviews
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Review: Choker, by Elizabeth Woods

Choker
Elizabeth Woods
Hardcover, 240 pages
Simon & Schuster
January 4, 2011
isbn: 144241233X
isbn13: 9781442412330

Sixteen-year-old Cara Lange has been a loner ever since she moved away from her best and only friend, Zoe, years ago. She eats lunch with the other girls from the track team, but they're not really her friends. Mostly she spends her time watching Ethan Gray from a distance, wishing he would finally notice her, and avoiding the popular girls who call her "Choker" after a humiliating incident in the cafeteria.

Then one day Cara comes home to find Zoe waiting for her. Zoe's on the run from problems at home, and Cara agrees to help her hide. With her best friend back, Cara's life changes overnight. Zoe gives her a new look and new confidence, and next thing she knows, she's getting invited to parties and flirting with Ethan. Best of all, she has her BFF there to confide in.

But just as quickly as Cara's life came together, it starts to unravel. A girl goes missing in her town, and everyone is a suspect—including Ethan. Worse still, Zoe starts behaving strangely, and Cara begins to wonder what exactly her friend does all day when she's at school. You're supposed to trust your best friend no matter what, but what if she turns into a total stranger?

I have been on the fence about posting this review for the past few days because it's not going to be one of the best reviews that I have posted for a book. However, I feel that it's necessary to be completely honest about a review, so I'm posting it.

I'll get the bad out of the way first. In retrospect, I think that I would have enjoyed this novel a little more if I wouldn't have guessed the plot within the first 75 pages of reading. Sometimes, when I do that, everything that leads up to the "big reveal" seems oh so very obvious. I also felt as though Cara was channeling her inner Bella Swan with her constantly convenient clumsiness. By that I mean she was too clumsy, but only when it seemed convenient in the story for her to be clumsy.

With that being said, let's move onto the things that I did like. The cover is absolutely stunning and I am in love with it. And looking past the obviousness for me, there were some very good plot twists and more darkness to the novel than I thought there would be. Zoe was a crazy character and I found myself spooked by her on more than one occasion. Clumsiness aside, I was also very sympathetic of Cara - even up to the bitter end. However, my absolute favorite character by far was Ethan ... and that boy went through entirely too much in this novel!

Elizabeth Woods is an amazing writer and I cannot give enough praise for how well-written and detailed this book is. She does an incredible job at fleshing out all of her characters, down to Cara's mom's cat - who I found to be a lot like my own spoiled fat cat. Like I said, I enjoyed this read ... I just guessed the plot too soon and it kind of spoiled it for me. This, however, is no cut toward the author - who's work I will follow because she's such a talented writer.

Source: Publisher

Avg Rating: 3.5

Other Choker Reviews
All About {n}
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Review: Gothic!, by Various Authors

Gothic!: Ten Original Dark Tales
by Various Authors
Paperback, 256
Candlewick
Published June 13, 2006
ISBN: 1406309672
ISBN13: 9781406309676

Rating:

Enter the gothic world in this celebration of the literary form made famous by such writers as Mary Shelley and Edgar Allan Poe. From a lovesick count and the ghost of his brutalized servant and a serial killer who defies death, to a house with a violent mind of its own and another that holds within its peeling walls a grotesque secret, these ten stories draw on dark fantasy and fairy tale, horror and wild humour, the supernatural and the surreal...

Since this is an anthology, it's going to be short and sweet because I don't want to give too much away! Gothic! is a collection of ten short stories by known and not-so-known authors that have one thing in common: they know how to write a pretty eerie story. Now, mind you, gothic isn't necessarily scary like horror stories are. Gothic stories don't necessarily make you lose sleep, but you may keep a few lights on when you go to bed.

In this anthology, you really have to take the good with the bad. Some stories are spot-on, they story is well-written and fleshed out enough to be an understandable short story and also has those "creepy" moments I talked about before. Some stories sounded promising, but fell a little short. Then there was one or two that didn't have anything, except maybe good grammar. I have to say that Neil Gaiman's story, "Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Nameless House of the Night of Dread Desire" was as good as I expected it to be. Gaiman's an incredible writer and he delivered in this as well. I think the story I was most disappointed with was Gregory Maguire's "The Prank". It was definitely not the worst, but I'm a huge fan of his and I thought he could have done a little better.

Overall, I'd recommend this as a good book to curl up with on the couch under the soft light of a table lamp late at night. I'd say this is "Halloween-creepy" - based on horror, but a little too commercial and kiddy to be truly scary.

Authors In Book: Deborah Noyes, Gregory Maguire, Garth Nix, Celia Rees, Barry Yourgrau, Janni Lee Simner, Vivian Vande Velde, Joan Aiken , more...M.T. Anderson, Neil Gaiman, Caitlín R. Kiernan

Review: Blue Moon, by Alyson Noel

Title: Blue Moon (Book #2, Immortals)
Author: Alyson Noel (alysonnoel.com)
Pages: 304
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: July 07, 2009

Genre: Young Adult
Themes: immortality, reincarnation, forbidden love, paranormal, high school

Synopsis: (From GoodReads) Eager to learn everything she can about her new abilities as an Immortal, Ever turns to her beloved Damen to show her the way. But just as her powers are increasing, Damen’s are waning. In an attempt to save him, Ever travels to the magical dimension of Summerland, where she learns the secrets of Damen’s tortured past; a past which he has always kept hidden from her. But in her quest to cure Damen, Ever discovers an ancient text that details the workings of time. Now Ever must chose between turning back the past and saving her family from the accident that claimed their lives—or staying in the present and saving Damen, who grows sicker every day...

Additional Information: Read an excerpt here. Book trailer follows.

My Review: At the start of the book, we learn that Ever is learning about her new powers from her Immortal boyfriend, Damen. Everything seems to be going perfectly for the couple until they see the new kid in school, Roman. Damen pays him no mind, but Ever is put off by him from the beginning. Then, things start changing. Suddenly, Damen starts acting weaker ... and altogether starts ignoring Ever. As a matter of fact, everyone seems to not like Ever at school anymore - even her friends Miles and Haven. Typical high school clique change, right? No, not necessarily. The school seems to be getting along fine and it seems as though the lines between cliques have been blurred. Everyone seems to be getting along, and agreeing on the fact that Ever is the only outcast in the school. Damen even goes as far as calling Ever a stalker and takes a sudden interest in the school's queen bee/ Ever's nemesis, Stacia. Ever's only ally during this time is Roman, the new kid who is constantly flirting with her. Ever knows something is wrong with Roman and somehow he's responsible for everything happening - but she has no proof and Damen seems to be slipping farther away from her. With the help of her psychic friend Ava, a few trips to Summerland and some intuition, Ever learns that all is not well and she doesn't have much time at all. And if she can't find a solution? Damen's immortal life may be at risk.

I mentioned on my Facebook that I literally stopped reading this a few times, which is why it took me a few extra days to do this review. There's just so many things that I can point out that make me want to scream, but I'll start with the good. Miles finally has some dimension! I know I mentioned in the first book that I was disappointed that the author didn't go anywhere with the token gay guy, but all is better. And there were definitely some spots in the book where it took unexpected twists, which was very refreshing. Having said that ... I feel as though Riley didn't get as much action time as she should have been given in this book. Yes, I know, she crossed over - but there were supposed to be signs everywhere for Ever! When you did get a sign and a scene, it was close to the end and just felt like an afterthought to me. The whole ordeal with Damen being weakened was a little sudden to me. I mean, it went from having a small problem with manifestation to a small bout of amnesia - to no amnesia and absolute disgust with Ever within a day. Oh, and you find out he's dying ... but there were never any signs that he was deteriorating. Instead, Damen's moments in the book were spent with threatening Ever and flirting shamelessly with Stacia. Yet, when the whole school seems to be acting the exact same to one another - Haven somehow manages to shine through by dressing like anyone that she likes at the moment. It was just so out of place. The plot seemed to be going in the same direction - which is Ever and Damen seem like they'll never get to actually enjoy being with one another - something always keeps them apart. And the worst part for me - Ever not following her instincts and her doing the exact opposite of what she should have done. To me, Ever just seems to be really immature, always acting irrationally. She never knows anything, but then out of the blue she has these genius ideas to save the world. With the negative out of the way, I can say that the read was light and flowed easily. Despite my complaints, I'm not going to stop reading the series because it does have that flair that keeps me coming back for more.

Rating: - As I said, the story frustrates me to no end. It has the "not what it may seem" moments, but then Ever's decisions are getting a little more predictable as you go along. It has a bittersweet happy ending, which gets you ready for the next book in the series. Again, there's nothing much I can say about the characters since they were a little ... distracted in the story. Despite that, the writing was wonderful and I do enjoy the world that is Summerland and look forward to reading more about it.

Summary: If you liked Evermore, then I'm sure you'll want to read this book. It's good for a nice, quick read. You learn a lot more about Summerland. Forbidden romance seems to be the theme this season, so if you love stories like that ... you'll probably like this one.

Source of Book: Purchased.

Other Books By Author: For a list of Noel's books, click here.

Review: Evermore, by Alyson Noel

Title: Evermore (Book #1, The Immortals)
Author: Alyson Noel (alysonnoel.com)
Pages: 320
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: February 03, 2009

Genre: Young Adult
Themes: high school, teenage love, immortals, reincarnation, tragedy

Synopsis: (From GoodReads) Since a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever can see auras, hear people’s thoughts, and know a person’s life story by touch. Going out of her way to shield herself from human contact to suppress her abilities has branded her as a freak at her new high school—but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste…

Ever sees Damen and feels an instant recognition. He is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy, and he holds many secrets. Damen is able to make things appear and disappear, he always seems to know what she’s thinking—and he’s the only one who can silence the noise and the random energy in her head. She doesn’t know who he really is—or what he is. Damen equal parts light and darkness, and he belongs to an enchanted new world where no one ever dies.

Additional Information: To read Chapter One and Two of Evermore on Alyson Noel's website, click here. Book trailer follows below.

My Review: Ever (original name, no?) survives a tragic accident that claims the lives of her father, mother, pet dog and twelve-year old sister, Riley. Unfortunately, Riley didn't actually cross over like the rest of her family (save Ever), so now she spends most of her time around Ever, or catching up on old neighbors and their gossip. Ever, now orphaned, is taken in by her father's twin sister - who is a lawyer and immediately gives Ever all that she could need to make herself feel more at home - tv, jacuzzi, stereo, the works. However, Ever would give it all back to have her family back. Not only does she have to start her life over in a new place, but she seems to have received psychic powers from her near-death experience. She can see auras, read people with just a touch and, worse of all, she hears everyone's thoughts. It's too much for Ever. She used to be popular at her old school and now - armed with her iPod on full blast to drown out the thoughts and hooded sweatshirts to conceal her mp3 player - she's considered a freak, only finding solace in her attention-craved, now goth, friend Haven and token gay friend Miles. That is, until she meets Damen. She's already heard about him, but she avoided eye contact with him when he sat beside of her in class. Then, there was the silence. Anytime Damen touched her, all she heard was silence. Damen has taken an interest in Ever - but who is this new girl, Drina, that she's seen him out with? And why is this new girl trying to take her best friend away from her? Ever didn't think it could get any worse ... until she found out that Damen is an immortal, and Drina's trying to kill her in order to get Damen back.

This is one of those books that I got a while back in order to get over my vampire obsession. I figured I could still do paranormal, but I needed to expand my horizons. The cover attracted me and I had heard a lot of things about it, but nothing overly great. I still picked it up, but I didn't get around to it until now. Thanks to my friend, I got a little hooked on the Harper Connelly Mysteries series by Charlaine Harris. Whoops. However, I'm hearing wonderful things about Shadowland and I really want to read it - so, what better place to start than the first in the series? It's just something I absolutely have to do - if I start a series, I start from the very beginning. Now, the story starts out okay. It drags out a little, and you have to read a while for some of the good stuff to happen. However, the filler that really kept me reading was Riley - Ever's sister that didn't cross over. She's a wonderful character. I just wish I could say the same about the others. I found the secondary characters not all that well developed. To be honest, Haven got on my last nerve with her attention-whoring ways. Of course, I never really did like anyone who changed who they were to get someone's attention. And Miles ... he's gay ... his character could have been wonderful in so many ways! But instead, he just came around in the story to add his two cents here and there, and he really felt like a filler to be ... but a filler in a bad way, not good like Riley. Ever could have been a little better as a main character. She just seemed so indecisive about everything and sometimes so needy when it came to Damen and her sister. The plot was good. I did like the story. Overall, the story was well-written, I just wish the characters were fleshed out a little better.

Rating: - Don't get me wrong, this is a good story and it's worth the read. But the characters held me back from four stars. However, I do plan on reading the sequel as well as the third installment that's come out recently.

Summary: The story starts out as a tragedy, but quickly turns into a love story between a girl and an immortal. As the story continues, you learn a lot more about why Ever has her powers as well as why she's being stalked by Drina, who claims to be married to Ever's boyfriend. It's a story that tells you it's definitely not the beginning of this love story - nor is it the ending.

Target Audience: Teenagers and older that loves the fantasy stories. If you like reading about crazy exes, you may like this story as well. ;)

Source of Book: Purchased with my own money.

Other Books By Author: The sequel to Evermore, Blue Moon, and now the third installment, Shadowland. Alyson Noel also has several other YA books that are non-paranormal, including Cruel Summer, Laguna Cove, and several others. For a full list, visit her website or click here.