Mini Reviews: Wings of the Wicked; Hold Me Closer, Necromancer; Looking for Alaska

Hey Blogger Buds,
I have these books piling up that I really want to review....I just never get around to it. And time passes, my memory gets foggy with old age, and I lose interest in writing reviews.
So here we go, quickfire.
I've listed a few things here: A goodreads link, a short blurb of my own creation, and a song that connects to the book.

Wings of the Wicked by Courtney Allison Moulton

Linkage: Angelfire Review ~ Will Doll ~ Cadan Doll

Blurby: In the sequel to Angelfire, Ellie has to deal with growing into her powers, her feelings for her guardian, Will, and deceit, while she's struck with tragedy after tragedy and is presented with life-changing secrets.

(Why can't I be this good at blurbing my OWN books?)

Review: WotW was absolutely phenomenal. I was blown away. You've gotten so much more familiar with the characters at this point, and they're all just adorable and amazing. Really strong, and kick-butt. I'm a total "Wellie" shipper. They're there for each other through thick and thin, balancing the other out perfectly. When tragedy strikes, they present a united front, Will holding Ellie while she screams and cries, even when she's so mad she tries to hurt him. No pun intended, their love is undying.

Of course, this book also featured my favorite character a great deal--Cadan. He's just...awesome. In so many ways. (In my dream world, I'm Team Rivdan.)

The only critique I can make is that when Ellie suffered, I didn't feel her pain. Some really bad...stuff...hits the fan, and it destroys (not literally, don't worry) destroys Ellie, but I didn't really feel it as much as I wish I had.

I NEED book 3.

(Plus, the fight scenes were epic.)
Song: Guardian Angel by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
Rating: 8 stars AMAZING

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Blurby: Miles Halter, unpopular dork obsessed with last words, goes to Culver Creekboarding school, where he finds new friends in the Colonel, Takumi, and the hurricane which is Alaska Young, who turns his life upside-down, shakes it up, and opens up, leaving it to explode like a soda bottle.

(Bad metaphor simile, I know)

Review: I was a little bit underwhelmed by Looking for Alaska, but it felt very real. All the characters were well-rounded and charming. The numerous pranks sprinkled throughout make me question John Green's schoolboy days, though...

I just felt like there was something missing, some sort of draw, throughout the first part of the book. I didn't feel the tension.

"After" was amazing, though. I didn't see it coming until about a page before, I just couldn't imagine it...and then BAM. I felt the agony.

Emotional rollercoasters FTW. A billion percent.

There isn't a real answer, in the end, but I think it's fitting that way. There's hope for everyone, all the strange and quirky characters.

Song: Looking for Alaska by Hank Green
Rating: 3 stars Okay

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride

Blurby: Sam LaCroix was a pretty average joe (or Sam, as the case may be)...until someone tells him he's a necromancer. Yup, "necromancer" as in "you can raise the dead, and that makes you a threat to that power-hungry necromancer down yonder, but to make up for it, here's a werewolf girlfriend." Wait. What? Necromancers and werewolves?

Review: I think what makes this book so fantastic, the key part of it, is the characters. Sam is just so...real. I don't think I will ever find a character as mundane as Sam. He works in fast-food. He plays potato-hockey (you read that right). He has a snarky little sister, and a cool mom. His friends are also super loyal...and really, really quirky. His name is short for Samhain (apparently pronounced Sowin.)

I didn't like the multiple POVs at first, they were distracting and boring enough to make me give up on the book for a while, but once I got into it, I got into it.

I have three complaints. (1) Sam took everything in stride, which irks me in paranormal books. "I'm a necromancer? Weird. But, ya know, I can live with that." DUDE. FREAK OUT. *grabs Sam and shakes him by the shoulders* (2) The writing was a little bit repetitious. (3) The book was mad funny, but most of the brilliantly mad funny was in the beginning, so my high hopes weren't met after those opening pages.

I just found out that there's a sequel. YES.

Song: Hold Me Closer, Tiny Dancer by Elton John (of course)
Rating: 5* Original and well thought out.

Peace and swords,
Riv

Bargains and Betrayals Mini-Review and the Reason I Didn't Post on Sunday

Hey Blogger Buds,
Sorry for the late post today. I'm going to start with a mini-review for Bargains and Betrayals, the third 13 to Life book by Shannon Delany. Add it on Goodreads.  I'm calling this a mini-review, because I didn't write it in order to put it up here. I wrote down my thoughts on Goodreads, and I'm sharing them for you here.

This review is spoilery from 13 to Life, the first book, and slightly spoilery (I did my best to be vague) from the second book, Secrets and Shadows.
It's a strange thing when you find a second book that is better than the first. But while 13 To Life was good, Secrets and Shadows was amazing. And I therefore had high expectations for Bargains and Betrayals. I was bored with Jessie throughout the beginning. She was sitting there, away from everyone else, doing stuff that, although it moved the plot forward, was dull.
For this reason, Shannon Delany decided to write from Alexi's point of view as well; so we can see what else is going on. It was interesting to see how Alexi thought, he's a tragic figure. He has a sense of humor though, and it was enjoyable.
What bothered me was Pietr. He changed a lot while Jessie was gone, and when they were reunited, he was just so...weird. I'd seen him through Alexi's eyes a bit, but I don't understand how he changed so much in such a short amount of time.
All this aside, the book was amazing and brilliant. I feel like Shannon Delany could easily have wrapped up the entire series with this book, and it both excites me and annoys me that there's a sequel. I'm going to read it, of course, because I love these books, but it would be fine if there were just a few changes, and the books ended here.

I give Bargains and Betrayals 5 stars.

Now that that's over, this is the reason I didn't post on Sunday:

You don't want to know how long it took me to get this shot.

And:

Or this one. This one was really hard to do. Notice my thumb holding a book up. (I  think it's my thumb...)

I was at the last Borders books left open in Manhattan. I was very excited. All YA titles were 80% off. My sister had to restrain me. (Trust me, there were at least three or four more books that I would have gladly taken, if I'd had a little less [more?] sense.) I've read one of these, and I can't wait to get to the rest!

Linkage leads to Borders, so you can buy your own, full-priced, copy. I got:

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey (read, and LOVE the ending.)

A Need So Beautiful by Suzanne Young

Clarity by Kim Harrington

Wildefire by Karsten Knight

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

I got a sick deal. And I don't use the word "sick" so often unless I'm, well, sick. I spent $17. $17 is the price of Wildefire, A Need So Beautiful, and Clarity. These books are worth more than $75, plus tax.
Be jealous.
And go to any Borders still open in your area.
Trust me, it's worth the trip. I was actually insanely lucky that there were a handful of YA books left. (My sister told me, before we left "don't bother printing out a list of books you want. You'll probably just grab whatever's there." I didn't need to just grab. I had a slight selection.)
It's tragic about the Borders bankruptcy, and all the lost jobs, but can I ask you guys a question:
Do these books have gorgeous covers, or what?

What do you think of Borders closing down? Sad to lose the chain-store/indie? Happy to "finally get rid of that wannabe"?

Peace and sick deals,
Riv

Like Mandarin Midway Mention

Hey Blogger Buds,
I haven't had an MM in a while, so let me refresh your memory.
Midway Mention is a feature here on Riv Reads, in which I talk about a book I'm currently reading. Usually, I'm about halfway through the book.

Today's MM is for Like Mandarin by Kirsten Hubbard. It's about Grace Carpenter, a average girl who wants to break free and leave Nowheresville, Wyoming. Grace has another goal that focuses around wild, beautiful, carefree Mandarin Ramey. Grace wants to be Like Mandarin.

MM:
I'm absolutely LOVING this book. As cheesy as it may sound, I see myself in Grace. Sure, I live in the city that never sleeps, not in the badlands of Wyoming, but Grace wants to leave, and see something besides what she's seen all her life; she wants to meet new people, find someplace different.
The book is written really well, and I can understand and feel Grace's emotions, her frustration, her anger, her sadness, her elation, and everything in between.

So far, I give Like Mandarin 5 stars. I would give it more, except I haven't finished it yet, and I want to wait until I'm done to rate it off the charts.
I'm on page 177 out of 305 (more, if you count the acknowledgments.)
Add Like Mandarin on Goodreads.

Peace and oranges,
Riv

Secrets and Shadows Review

Hey Blogger Buds,
I just finished Secrets and Shadows, the sequel to 13 To Life, and it was absolutely fantastic. I wasn't so wowed by 13 To Life, but I really like S&S, so I decided to share the love. Remember, if you haven't  read 13TL yet, this review contains spoilers from it! (13 To Life: Goodreads Amazon)
So if you read 13 To Life and are having second thoughts about buying thee sequel, read on!
Other books/characters mentioned in review: Severus Snape, Mockingjay, Phantom Tollbooth
(Linkage below)


Blurby (not sure if this is the official one, but Goodreads had this one, and Goodreads knows All):
Nothing's simple when you run with werewolves. Jess Gillmansen thinks she's seen it all but her eyes are about to be opened to even more danger and a reality far more paranormal than she's suspected. With Jess' realization that the Rusakovas' mother is still alive and imprisoned, the group's choices become harder and trust more important. Lines are drawn and relationships change as the broken Rusakova family struggles to reunite to free their mother - and those who Jess thought to be normal people show themselves to be much, much more...

Review:
I read 13 To Life several months ago, so when I started S&S I was a bit disoriented, (Who's that character again?) but I got an idea pretty quickly, and the book proceeded to blow me away.
Character time...
~Jessica is so strong and intelligent. When Pietr starts to pull away, she does her best to get over him. Even in stressful situations, Jess keeps her head, and is absolutely devoted to her friends.
~Pietr and Max kinda switched places in my heart. Pietr was the sweet, devoted boyfriend in 13TL, but I just wanted to smack him, or shake him roughly by the shoulders throughout this book. Max I loved though. He used to be the obnoxious, dumb player, but Max did a complete turn-around. He's like a loyal dog (pun intended), always watching out for Jessie, even hopping in his car to pick her up wherever she is, no questions asked. Max is just sweet :) and Pietr is just a jerk until, of course, you find out why.
~Derek is the Snape of the book (before you find out where Snape's loyalties truly lie. I'm not spoiling anything about Derek!). Of course, as fantastic as this book was, it can't be equated to  Harry Potter (but what can be?). I think calling him the Snape pretty much sums it up, though.There was one scene with Derek that I did not like, as I was totally disoriented, but I think that's what Shannon Delaney was driving at...?
~Jess's Father bothered me.  He kept on jumping to conclusions, from right in the beginning all the way to the end. A couple of pages in, he sees a bruise on Jessie's face, and his reaction is to ground her and refuse her from seeing Pietr, because a bruise has to mean that she went to see him and he's abusing his girlfriend. I wanted to slap some sense into him. He was very bothersome (enough so that I actually said 'bothersome').
I love, Love, LOVE some of the issues addressed in this book. Namely, abusive relationships. I don't want to give anything away, but, ironically, I like to see taboo subjects un-tabooed. (Yes, I'm aware it's not a word.) There was also some great other topics.
It's funny. As a joke, Jessie, in several places, refers to Max as a loyal dog, or teasingly, just a dog. She even, in a mock-fight, says to Cat, "You're brother, Max, is such a cur." Jess has a great sense of humor in general, and Pietr has a tendency to state the obvious. ;)
The ending was awful. No. Wait. That came out wrong. It wasn't awful in a Mockingjay way, it was awful in a "Noooooo! This can't happen to Jess! No, Jessie! Nooooooo!" Shannon Delaney did nothing wrong. :) It was a bit weird, though. Again: Daddy's acting like Milo and Jumping to Conclusions. After I finished the book I took a nap, and my dreams were filled with saving Jessica. A warning to readers: In the back of the book, there's a page about Bargains and Betrayals, the third book. On that page, there's the hook, which spoils the last chapter. So don't read that big sentence.
Although very little bothered me about this book, unfortunately it was more than just Jessica's dad. I love the scientific explanation of the Rusakovas' shifting,  but once you start to introduce real paranormalcy into the world, it gets a bit too iffy for me, and it detracts from the book.
Overall, book love. I was very impressed, and I really liked it, even more than 13 To Life. This is a surprise, as sequels usually aren't so great.

Rating: 5 stars

Can't wait for the last book! Bargains and Betrayals available August 16!

Linkage: Goodreads Amazon BookDepo Author Site Book Site (I'm lessening the links. If anyone uses Borders or B&N, let me know, and I'll put the links back!)
Already read S&S? Add the third book, Bargains and Betrayals: Goodreads Amazon BookDepo

Peace and wolves,
Riv

Guest Post: Beastly Review

/FHey Blogger Buds!
So, Khadija of Black Finger Nailed Reviews, another awesome teen blogger, wrote a review for me, back in August. I never got it up, so it's here today! She's written a lovely review on Beastly. You guys know me; I can never keep my mouth shut, so I'm here in red to toss in my two cents. I read Beastly too, and I give it a 4 out of 5 stars. Links below, as usual.

Title: Beastly

Author: Alex Flinn

Genre: Young Adult

Rating: 5 out of 5

Cover Rating: 4 out of 5 (I love the symbolism for the rose)

Description: I am a beast. A beast. Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog, but a horrible new creature who walks upright – a creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore. I am a monster.

You think I’m talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It’s no deformity, no disease. And I’ll stay this way forever – ruined – unless I can break the spell.

Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and a perfect life. And then, I’ll tell you how I became perfectly beastly.

My Review: Ok I’ll admit I’m not a very romantic type person…..(That makes two of us.)

And I don’t always exactly enjoy reading about two people falling into mushy gushy love, where they are completely dependable upon each other. Yes I’m a bit of a feminist (hence my vendetta against Bella Swan and all things Twilight) and I agree it destroyed romance.

But I did like the romance in Beastly. Maybe it was because the Beast was so depressed the way he was, maybe it was the references to The Curse of Jullian Gray and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, I don’t know. But the point is the romance portion of the book = surprisingly tolerable….maybe even nice. (Yuppers)

Beastly is a definite page turner for sure, you become enthralled with finding out whether or not the Beast gets his kiss and the spell that was cast is broken.

I’m all for YA books from male point of views just because they seem to be not so common in the YA world. So that was another plus for Beastly and probably its greatest appeal to me. I first heard about this book as recommendation from a friend but at the time I didn’t go look it up or find a summary. It wasn’t until the recent movie trailer that my interest was sparked. I went on a hunt (Google is my greatest hero [Yay!]) and found out as much as I could. My findings where that it was a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, except from the Beast’s point of view. I’ve always been curious, it’s a story I’ve always wanted to read….what it was like for the Beast.

Beauty and the Beast was my favorite childhood book, I loved fairy tales and I must have read Beauty and the Beast a hundred times. It wasn't the romance that was appealing; it was Belle, this girl that was able to appreciate the beauty in the small things….(Aww)

Her ability is to see the world in such a way. And also to see past exterior beauty and look within to discover one of the kindest men there ever was.

I got to read this modern-day fairytale and see it all from the Beast’s point of view. What it was like for him…and really the only words I can use to describe it with are Friggin and Awesome (Friggin AND Awesome? Wow...).

I give this book a 5 out of 5, I can’t stop talking about it and always recommend it. It’s a great read and definitely worth the time. :)

Check out more about Beastly and other Alex Flinn novels at www.alexflinn.com Also check out the new movie site for Beastly http://beastlythemovie.com/

Rock on Peeps,

(Rock on, Khad)

Khadija

Did you love Khadija (who doesn't?) and her review? For more, check out her blog,

www.blackfingernailedreviews.blogspot.com

Peace,
RR


Linkage: Amazon  B&N BookDepository Goodreads Borders AuthorSite

Drought Review

This book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinion expressed here are my own.
Hi Blogger Buds!
So, I received Drought by Pam Bachorz for review! I loved Pam's Candor, and I reviewed it HERE. If there's one thing you can count on from Pam, it's a spectacular ending. And...well, I'll save it for my review. (All links below)

Blurby:
Ruby dreams of escaping the Congregation. Escape from slaver Darwin West and his cruel Overseers. Escape from the backbreaking work of gathering Water. Escape from living as if it is still 1812, the year they were all enslaved.
When Ruby meets Ford--an irresistible, kind, forbidden new Overseer--she longs to run away with him to the modern world, where she could live a normal teenage live. Escape with Ford would be so simple.
But if Ruby leaves, her community is condemned to certain death. She, alone, possess the secret ingredient that makes the Water so special--her blood--and it's the one thing that the Congregation cannot live without.
Drought is the haunting story of one community’s thirst for life, and the dangerous struggle of the only girl who can grant it.

Short Review:

Another original semi-dystopian fiction from Pam Bachorz, taking place in the near-future, about one girl with a kind, brave heart. Ruby is a character who is selfless but still determined. Ford is a great male MC, no cookie-cutter with a haunted past, who's a go-getter who knows when to stop. A beautiful, heart-wrenching ending, and I would expect nothing less from Candor's author.

Longer Review:

I loved Candor, and was so excited to get Drought. I was so excited to dive into it, and the premise is so brilliant. I was confused in the beginning as to what was happening, but Pam cleared up everything for me pretty quickly. That actually surprised me, because I'm so used to author's that keep the reader in the dark, but it would have been a hard book to understand without the elaboration (is that a word?). And this book takes place in 2012--tastefully distant from now, but frighteningly close.

The book was filled with lovable, if ignorant characters. I can't say too much, as it would be massively spoilery.

The protagonist, Ruby, is mature and intelligent. Her heart is torn, but she always makes sacrifices. I don't want to say any more, for fear of being spoilery, but she's awesome.

Sula is Ruby's mother, and one of the community leaders. She's a zealot, doing whatever it take for her Community, and truly believing in Otto. (I'll be talking about him in a second.)

Ford is an Overseer, who loves Ruby. He's determined, but still doesn't cross any boundaries. His love for Ruby is so strong, he can't stop coming back to her. Ford is a welcome change,as he's not "a tortured soul with a dark, tormented past". He's a normal guy, trying to keep his job to pay for his sick mother's medical bills.

The Community works for Darwin West, who is Ebil. Sorta. Well, yeah, okay, he's ebil. But he's not fully to blame, because he's offered to free everyone, if Sula will love him and stop "enduring". But he's evilness.

Religious Aspect, Otto, and Fighting:

Otto. Ruby's father, Otto, had "Sacred Blood" as does Ruby. It's the only thing that can save the Community. I didn't appreciate this religious aspect of the book, where the Community prays to Otto, their savior. The Community spends their Sunday mornings praying to Otto to come save them. And while they wait for his return, they believe they have to "endure", and not "fight". Ruby's mother is constantly telling Ruby to "wait for Otto" to save them. They were in love before Otto disappeared, and Sula is so intent on waiting for his return, she refuses to save the Community herself by marrying Darwin West.

Ruby doesn't fully believe in Otto's return, and can't believe the father she never met would want everyone to suffer. She finds the Community's  desire for Otto to save them is insane, when they can free themselves, but her word means nothing.

I didn't really appreciate the religiousness of Drought, though I understand the reason for it. And I had some suspicions in the end, though I won't voice them...*zips lips*

The Ending: (Not spoilery, just me rambling)

I want to perform a lobotomy on Pam. (No, not like that.) I want to take the part of her brain that makes up endings and install it in my brain. Because Pam is Queen of Book Endings. She doesn't write happy endings. She writes gut-wrenching, tear-jerkers that make you want to throw the book down, scream at the imperfection, then snatch it back up, kiss off the wounds you inflicted, and hug it tight, saying sorry and promising never to let go of it, simply because of those last pages.

Just like in Candor, it's perfect and impossible to put the words "Happy ever after" in the end.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. Pam Bachorz awesomeness.

Linkage: Goodreads AuthorSite Amazon Borders Barnes&Noble BookDepository 

Peace,

Riv

Current Music: Look After You by The Frey (listening to Drought playlist on Pam's site)

Current Mood: Jealous of Pam Bachorz Awesomenss

Sapphique ARC Review and Happy Holidays!

Hey Blogger Buds!
I was going to make a quickie post yesterday, but my cousin got engaged and the party was last night. I didn't get home until after 1 am, so....here I am! Merry Christmas to those celebrators, Happy Hannuka to those celebrators, and Happy Kwanza to those celebrators!

A few weeks ago I won a contest. (Yay!) One of the prizes was an ARC of Sapphique by Catherine Fisher. The book comes out in two days, but I have a review planned for then but I want to get my review in before the release date. Whenever I get ARCs I like to write something about them, even if I didn't get the book in exchange for it. I chose to write this review of Sapphique.

All links below.

This review CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM INCARCERON the previous book.

Now that that's out of the way....

Blurby:
Finn has escaped from the terrible living Prison of Incarceron, but its memory torments him, because his brother Keiro is still inside. Outside, Claudia insists he must be king, but Finn doubts even his own identity. Is he the lost prince Giles? Or are his memories no more than another construct of his imprisonment? And can you be free if your friends are still captive? Can you be free if your world is frozen in time? Can you be free if you don’t even know who you are?
Inside Incarceron, has the crazy sorcerer Rix really found the Glove of Sapphique, the only man the Prison ever loved. Sapphique, whose image fires Incarceron with the desire to escape its own nature. If Keiro steals the glove, will he bring destruction to the world? Inside. Outside. All seeking freedom. Like Sapphique.

Review:
Incarceron was a pretty good book, but Sapphique blew me away. I remember really enjoying the previous book, but  this was wonderful, though it had it's problems.
Incarceron was told from the POVs of Claudia and Finn. Catherine Fisher artfully switches between characters throughout the story, without the clear-cut switches of the first one. It transfers smoothly and I loved seeing the points of view of the different characters.  Very few of them had hidden thoughts. Because of this, I'll talk about more than  one or two characters, like I usually do.
~Claudia Arlexa started off obnoxious and self-centered. She softened up a lot, and you can really see this when she thanks a servant in the Wardenry and surprises them. In the middle of the book, Claudia gets a real reality-check when she sees the commonfolk of the Realm. She's a fearless, tough, MC, though I can't really see her ever surviving the Prison, the way she was brought up.
~Finn Starseer/Prince Giles(?) is incredible. He was a bit of a bother in the beginning, exploding at the littlest things, but he has such a true self-doubt that you can't help but like him. He's brave and even after living in the Prison, he's kind.
~Attia, the dog-slave. She's brilliant. Remember all the plot twists in the end of Incarceron? I hope when a book ends that way, but there were a handful of twists like that in the beginning, which was hysterical. She maintains faith in Finn, that he'll come back for her, and she puts up with Keiro, which is a miracle.
Speaking of Keiro, aaawww. He's infuriating, but you can't help but feel bad for him. He's a half-man and he hates himself for it, but he still loves himself. (That's a spoiler from Incarceron, not Sapphique, for those getting mad right now.) He's so annoying and full of himself in the beginning, but he becomes a bit more tolerable as you go along. Definitely pitiable.
~Jared Sapient. One thing that bothered me thoughout Incarceron was his age. Just like Cinna from Hunger Games, I had no idea how old he was throughout the first book. Fortunately, shortly into the second, Queen Sia confronts him about his illness and mentions that he's barely thirty. I love Jared. He's awesome. So selfless and brilliant. He really loves Claudia, as obnoxious as she is, and he always does what's best for everyone, even when that puts is own life at risk.
~Rix was hysterical. I couldn't figure out if he was insane or telling the truth throughout the entire book, but his tricks were incredible. You'd have to read the scene in the Dice with the attackers to fully understand...
~Incarceron. The Prison is its own character, is it not? Incarceron is just evil, though a tiny bit pitiable. He wants one little thing, and everyone is against him. He was forced to act a certain way, so he fought back.
Wow. That was a long character analysis.
It was a thrilling, action-packed book and I have only a few complaints. I felt like there were a handful of quick problems that came before some of the characters, and they weren't described well enough. I had no idea what happened, and in the end they were all fine. Especially the ending. It was like "What's  happening?"
My other problem was the questions left unanswered. You never learn how much metal is in Keiro, and the real truth about Giles/Finn/whatever.
The ending was odd. It made sense in a way, but some stuff was just weird.

That was pretty long review.
5 stars
Links: Amazon Author Site Goodreads Book Deposity

Some stuff I had to share:
"Once Incarceron became a dragon, and a Prisoner crawled into his lair. They made a wager. They would ask each other riddles, and the one who could not answer would lose. It it was the man, he would give his life. The Prison offered a secret way of Escape. But even as the man agreed, he felt its hidden laughter.
They played for a year and a day. The lights stayed dark. The dead were not removed. Food was not provided. The Prison ignored the cries of its inmates.
Sapphique was the man. He had one riddle left. He said, "What is the Key that unlocks the heart?"
For a day Incarceron thought. For two days. For three. Then it said, "If I ever knew the answer, I have forgotten it."
--Sapphique in the Tunnels of Madness"

Peace,
Riv

Black Cat Review

This is an auto-post. Some links may be broken.
Hey Blogger buds,
Today, we have White Cat by Holly Black.

Blurby:
Cassel comes from a family of curse workers -- people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn't got the magic touch, so he's an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail -- he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.
Ever since, Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts crumbling when he starts sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He's noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him, caught up in a mysterious plot. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he also wonders what really happened to Lila. Could she still be alive? To find that out, Cassel will have to outcon the conmen.

Review:
I heard a lot about White Cat, and I was excited to read this. It pulled me in from the beginning, though I had some problems initially. First and foremost, and I read the blurb and my first thought was "outcon the conmen"? Can you get any cheesier?
But alas, it made no difference. The book had a brilliant premise, and a like-able main character, Cassel Sharpe. When it comes to con, Cassel is brilliant. The King of Con (and awesome at alliteration!). He has faults, like any other character, and problems, but he'll always get out of a sticky situation, or someone will help him.
The book has a very bittersweet ending, with some brilliant prose.
As I said before, the premise is ingenious. There are people who can work magic with their hands, so everyone has to wear gloves....Okay, when I paraphrase, it doesn't sound that cool, but it is.
I would give it 10 stars, but the book didn't captivate me that much. Not for any particular reason, but for me, personally, it wasn't captivating. I give it 5 stars, though.

*****5 stars

Peace,
RR

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Current Mood:...?

Mockingjay Review and Contest is CLOSED

Hey Blogger Buds,
Today I'm posting my MJ review. I'm going to keep the intro short, because you've heard of this book, unless you've been living under a rock. I only have a few minutes, so the review is, unfortunately, short.
My Forgive My Fins contest is now closed.


Blurby:
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she’s made it out of the bloody arena alive, she’s still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what’s worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss’s family, not her friends, not the people of District 12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment of Suzanne Collins’s groundbreaking The Hunger Games trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about books of the year.


Review-Not Spoilery:
When it comes to books that are household names-Harry Potter for instance-I can't get fully obsessed with it. Twilight never stuck with me. Harry Potter I love, but I'm not obsessed with it. Then there's the Hunger Games. I loved these books, even though I only started a few months before Mockingjay. But until recently, I didn't even know HG was so popular. It wasn't that amazing to me.
Onto my review. The beginning was kinda slow, but still very intense, with Collins' writing. She's absolutely brilliant. Then it picked up even more, and was brilliant. I felt it was reaching a point of such intensity....and then something happening, crushing me. I'm also among the people who disliked the ending. It was a bitter-sweet HEA, but still too perfect for Katniss's miserable life.
Something happened to Peeta in the Capitol and I love Peeta but...it was so cool, from an reader's POV.
I love Katniss, always. And then there's the boys. I've never been a fan of love triangles, and this was predicable. One boy was my favorite, but the way everything was written, I knew she would pick the other boy. Predictable. And she did.
Some stuff was just messed up. Near the ending, she takes a stand and does something completely...insane. What the HECK? Why did she listen to that person?


On to the spoileries. This is written white on white so no one looks at before reading the book.
First off, she chose Peeta. Duh! I love Gale, but I knew who she would pick. And when Peeta and Gale were talking latee one night in the cellar and Katniss overheard, she totally overreacted about the "survival bit."
The Capitol Hunger Games bit? Besides for the fact that it was totally out of character for Katniss, what happened in the end? There's no mention of the Games at all.
RIP Finnick. I MISS HIM! And there was no emphasis on Annie getting all depressed or anything over it.
RIP Cinna. Until the last page I was expecting Cinna to pop up. It never actually said that he was dead!
The fainting. Katniss fainted and just let everything happen! I wanted her to be more involved than fainting during war and waking up later.
What the heck? She LISTENED TO SNOW.
RIP Prim. Enough said.
And the ending. Gale just disappeared from the storyline! There were no farewells or anything, he just left Peeta and Katniss together.
Overall, it could have been better.

What are your thoughts?

SPOILERY COMMENTS!


5*

Catchup Week: Tyger Tyger Review

Like I said, I won't bail on you guys!
I recently finished Kersten Hamilton's book, Tyger Tyger.



Blurby:
Teagan Wylltson's best friend, Abby, dreams that horrifying creatures--goblins, shape-shifters, and beings of unearthly beauty but terrible cruelty--are hunting Teagan. Abby is always coming up with crazy stuff, though, so Teagan isn't worried. Her life isn't in danger. In fact, it's perfect. She's on track for a college scholarship. She has a great job. She's focused on school, work, and her future. No boys, no heartaches, no problems. 

Until Finn Mac Cumhaill arrives. Finn's a bit on the unearthly beautiful side himself. He has a killer accent and a knee-weakening smile. And either he's crazy or he's been haunting Abby's dreams, because he's talking about goblins, too . . . and about being The Mac Cumhaill, born to fight all goblin-kind. Finn knows a thing or two about fighting. Which is a very good thing, because this time, Abby's right. The goblins are coming.

Short Review:

Overall, it was an incredible book. It had the subtlest mention of romance, humor, tension, emotion, and everything in between. I highly recommend it for those who like action, but romance is not a priority.

The Long Review:

I really enjoyed reading Tyger, Tyger. It had bits of romance, which I enjoy more than romance being the whole plot. I read the book in one weekend, I think (and I slept a bit!).  Rereading the back-cover blurb, I felt that it didn't summarize the plot well. The book leaps right in, which I liked. But, according to the blurb, there's a lot of talk of things happening in the beginning. For example, Abby doesn't go on ranting for days on end about her dream; which I expected. And she doesn't think that Finn is insane...well, not for too long at least.

I liked the action and humor mixed in. For example, Abby who is Italian, has friends in low places. Very low places, like ally-lurking Maphia-type places. Which adds in humor (especially when her cousins are named after the Mutant Ninja Turtles!) And then there's Aiden, described as the "human iPod." Whenever anyone sings a song, he immediately picks up and starts singing too.

Which reminds me, this book was filled with a lot of foreshadowing. Thinking back, that aspect of the book was incredible. But there were some things that I'll get to in a moment.

Teagan. Overall I found Tea to be a like-able protagonist. She was intelligent, capable, and independent. It was the first time I'd ever heard the name "Teagan" before, so it took some adjusting to, earlier on.

Now, on to what irritated me.

Besides for the whole "Teagan" thing, I found emotions to not always be well places. I've noticed this a bunch of times lately, but the protagonist took many things in stride. "So how  was your day, Tea?"----"Great. Any news?"----"Yeah. Goblins exist."----"Really, that's cool. I've got some homework to do, see you later." Well, it didn't go quite like that, but she accepted many things. Finn started bantering about cat-sidhe, and Tea's only thought was okay, he's crazy. And then she found out the truth and her thought process was something along the lines of, Huh. I guess he's not as crazy as I thought, because I've seen them too!

One thing that really got on my nerves: around a hundred pages in, tragedy struck Tea's family. It happened right before school was out. The book skipped those three months and went straight to September/October again. I would have liked to read about those three months and how Tea coped. It mentioned her sadness a drop when it began narrating again, in the beginning of the last year of school, but not a lot. I would have liked to see her emote more.

Another problem I had with the book was the amount of characters. There were few present characters, but many of legend and lore. The book is based on the Fenian Cycle, and there are many characters mentioned. I got confused with all of the names, lessening my enjoyment.

But overall, I liked the characters, the plot, and the references to different things. (Tea's mother's storybooks, Irish lore, Shakespeare)  I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I eagerly anticipate the sequel. The book will be available in November, by Clarion Books.

*****somewhere between four and five stars, but I'm leaning towards 5*

Peace,

RR

Current Music: Go by BLG

Current Mood: Meh

Disclaimer: This ARC was provided by the author, free of charge, in exchange for an honest review.

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The Review You've Been Waiting For....LINGER!!!

Hello my Bloggy Friends,
To start off, I apologize for my continued MIAness. A friend of mine was in town the other day, and I was busy. To make up for it, though, I have a special review for you! And, for the occasion, the review is GREEN!!!


Goodreads Blurb:
In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past...and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack. And Isabel, who already lost her brother to the wolves...and is nonetheless drawn to Cole. At turns harrowing and euphoric, Linger is a spellbinding love story that explores both sides of love--the light and the dark, the warm and the cold--in a way you will never forget.


My Review:
I was a little tentative to start Linger because of the multiple points of view. As you know, instead of Shiver's two characters-Grace and Sam-we have four; the original two along with Isabel and Cole.

I felt like the plot buildup was a little slow. It started out awesome; I had high expectations. Then something happened that made me really excited, but then it died down again very quickly. The main problem was something wrong with Grace, and I felt like this problem wasn't emphasized as much as it should be. This could be done on-purpose, but I felt like I was ignoring it, just to find out it was the main problem.
Instead, I found myself focusing on Sam and his problem with Cole, which didn't turn out the way I expected it to. Look to the right for a line graph I made on the buildup.
On to Cole. He surprised me. He started off as this obnoxious kid, doing idiotic things and being an overall jerk. But...he was really intelligent. The intelligence doesn't seem to fit with the image I have of him; and I don't like it. It's fun to watch him not be a jerk though, like with Isabel...
Which brings me to the romance. In Shiver, Sam wanted to stay human so he could be with Grace; the romance was a key part of the book. In Linger, I felt like the romance wasn't emphasized like it was supposed to be. There was no "I love you" and only a bit of "I miss you" when Grace and Sam weren't together. There was also very little kissing between the two. This brings us to the Cole-Isabel relationship. I was led to believe that there was something there but...there wasn't.
One of my favorite parts of the book was when Cole showed some of his genius and came up with a theory about the werewolves. It put a whole twist on the generic idea of why werewolves (or at least these werewolves) are the way they are.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading this part.
Overall, I think Shiver was better, but I enjoyed Linger too. I loved the ending, and now I'm dying for Forever. You may have heard "I now have to wait forever for Forever" so I'm going to spare you the cheesy lines. It was good. I look forward to Forever. I'm the type that when I finish a good book, I'm excited for the next because I liked it. But after a while, that initial desire fades a bit and my thoughts change to "I'm excited because I know I liked it." I know that I know that I want it.  After reading Shiver, I felt this way about Linger; the initial desire is slowly fading as I await book 3. I hope you enjoyed the review, and weren't annoyed by the length.


OVERALL RATING: ****/ 4 and a half stars, but because I'm prejudice nice, I'll give it 5.


Peace,
RR


Current Music: Love Drunk by Boys Like Girls (just the chorus. I hate the song.)
Current Mood: Tired, sick again